Zhu Yunying will not go to the Empress's place. After all, it is a place full of women. Even if Zhu Yunying is the emperor, it is not appropriate for him to go there now. The emperor should also have a sense of propriety and abide by certain rules.
It's fine if the Empress doesn't go. Even if the Emperor doesn't show up, no one will think that Xu Miaoqing has fallen out of favor or that her position has been shaken.
It would be better for Zhu Yunying to head straight to the Qianqing Palace. Although he knew that little Zhu was definitely not afraid of trouble, he still wanted to see the boy. If he was wronged, he would comfort him; if not, he would praise him. The boy's behavior was indeed quite good, making Zhu Yunying very proud and satisfied.
Zhu Yunying didn't care about the thoughts of those civil and military officials, nor did he need to. They might be thinking about limiting imperial power, or about giving Grand Secretaries more political power, but those were all just 'illusions'. Zhu Yunying had no intention of giving the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet more power.
He already had some answers in mind for some of his decisions. Discussing them in court was a way of showing respect to the civil and military officials, and it seemed to prove that Zhu Yunying was not an autocratic emperor.
Zhu Yunying would discuss some matters with his officials, but on other matters he needed to be decisive and autocratic. He couldn't discuss everything with his officials; he couldn't just discuss things with those people.
The emperor and his officials actually had different positions, so their motivations and other considerations naturally differed as well.
Upon arriving at the Qianqing Palace, Shuangquan immediately tiptoed over and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor Emeritus and the Crown Prince have not yet risen."
Zhu Yunying nodded and said with a smile, "Then let's rest in the courtyard for a while. Get us some snacks and a pot of tea."
If Zhu Yunying was moving very quietly at this moment, then it goes without saying that everyone else was also afraid of disturbing Old Zhu and Little Zhu's sleep.
Sitting in the courtyard, Zhu Yunying drank tea, ate snacks, and read memorials. His life was quite leisurely, at least for Zhu Yunying, he felt very relaxed.
Around noon, Old Zhu came out of his palace. When he saw Zhu Yunying, his originally serious face immediately turned into a smile. "What time did you get here? Go and wake me up when you arrived. I'm getting old and don't like to sleep too much."
Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "I just arrived and wanted to have a meal with my grandfather and Yin'er. Also, I had a bit of a fuss with Yin'er in court and wanted to come see him."
Old Zhu became proud and said happily, "Yin'er is more promising than you. He said that after coming down from the court, he was thinking about whether to go to the Eastern Palace or come here to rest. Our Yin'er was born to be an emperor, just like us."
Zhu Yunying chuckled, and said with a touch of pride, "Yin'er is really quick-witted. We didn't discuss this with him beforehand. We had told him not to talk too much in court and to be careful with his words. But when we were stuck in court, he came and started making jokes."
This naturally made Lao Zhu even more proud, and Xiao Xiao Zhu's performance was indeed something Lao Zhu could be proud of.
Shuangquan then said ingratiatingly, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has been here for an hour. He has drunk a pot of tea and eaten a plate of snacks. Perhaps he was afraid of disturbing His Majesty's rest, so he has been reading memorials."
Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunying with a smile. This eldest grandson, whom he loved most, had truly lived up to his love and care. He had always doted on Zhu Yunying, and Zhu Yunying had always been kind and affectionate towards him.
Zhu Yunying didn't pay much attention and said to Old Zhu, "Yin'er really made us happy today. No matter what, this kid is old. Putting aside his knowledge for now, his ability to adapt is already a remarkable skill."
Old Zhu agreed, saying, "That makes sense. We've spoiled him so much, and it hasn't been in vain. We're thinking of taking him out for a stroll sometime in the future. Our Yin'er will definitely be a good emperor. Our Yin'er is knowledgeable and thoughtful."
Zhu Yunying also felt that there was nothing wrong with what Old Zhu said, although it was partly due to Old Zhu's fondness for the family. Old Zhu could only see the advantages of the eldest Zhu, the youngest Zhu, and the little Zhu, while he could easily spot a bunch of flaws in others with just a glance.
Handing the memorial to Zhu Yunying, Zhu Yunying said, "It seems the war in Goryeo is coming to an end, and the imperial army should be returning soon."
Old Zhu nodded slightly, took the document, and said, "Then you need to start making some preparations. Soldiers are the simplest of people. If they have done something, you should reward them. They risked their lives to build this country for you, so you can't withhold the rewards you promised."
Zhu Yunying naturally agreed with this point and hurriedly said, "That's what we were thinking too. If we really want to talk about rewards for military merits, we'd kill anyone who dares to withhold them."
These are Zhu Yunying's true feelings. He is quite casual about some rewards, but he attaches great importance to others, even to the point of being meticulous and daring not to be careless in the slightest.
Military pay, military merit, and so on—these are indeed the simplest and most direct methods, but they are also the most effective. Sometimes, a violent institution like the military doesn't require much intervention, but other times it does require considerable effort to appease its inhabitants.
"Xu Huizu is back. You can use him one or two more times," Old Zhu said, looking at the memorial. "We know you're thinking about the Northwest. Xu Huizu can still be of great use. As for Fu Youde, you can leave him to rest and relax. Our Ming Dynasty has too many military leaders. We need to cut them down."
The largest factions within the Ming military were the Xu and Chang cliques, which naturally meant that no more Fu cliques could emerge. Even though Feng Sheng had made significant contributions, Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately sidelined him for various reasons, precisely because the Ming military couldn't afford to have any more factions.
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