The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 373 New Equipment
After staying at Li Jinglong's place for a while, Zhu Xiong Ying prepared to go to the palace to find Zhu Yuanzhang and Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely excited to hear that his grandson had returned. However, when he learned that his great-grandson had not come to see him upon returning to Yingtian Prefecture, but instead went to see his nephew Li Wenzhong, he was deeply moved.

But he was very unhappy inside.

"That little brat has been out for so long, and when he finally comes back, the first person he thinks of isn't his royal grandfather, but Bao'er!"

Upon hearing this, Crown Prince Zhu Biao curled his lip and said...

"It won't be long before Duke Cao goes to the battlefield. I guess Xiong Ying has something important to tell him. It's not a big problem. Besides, haven't we already planned to hand over some power to Xiong Ying?"

"It would be a good thing for U.A. to have more contact with the generals in the army!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but sigh. To be honest, he was suspicious of many people, including his own nephew.

He never expected that his grandson would value Li Bao'er so highly; this was indeed a very good thing.

He nodded in satisfaction after thinking about this.

"It's good that he thinks that way, but he shouldn't ignore me, his grandfather. Am I not a good enough grandfather? If I weren't here in Yingtian Prefecture cleaning up his messes, the things he did in the southwest would be enough for those civil officials to point their fingers and curse him!"

Crown Prince Zhu Yao was somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this, as it seemed that the situation was indeed as described. Previously, the Ming Dynasty had always been based on benevolence and righteousness, but the strategies Zhu Xiong Ying had used these past few times were rather unscrupulous.

Even if they want revenge, they've already pushed the border so far in their quest for it, and even...

The Liang King and the Great Yue King in the southwest have already been destroyed. Oh, and we should add the Southern Zhang as well.

If they said that the Ming Dynasty wasn't after territory or expansion, probably no one would believe them.

The envoys did not protest after learning of this. They were well aware that with the strength of the Ming Dynasty, it would be easy for them to do anything to them, so they did not have any particular thoughts about it.

However, compared to the envoy from this country, some people couldn't sit still, most of whom were civil officials from their own country.

Many civil officials believed that the Ming Dynasty was too powerful.

Sun Zhu Xiong Ying's actions will anger all countries, which is not a good thing for the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty should be based on benevolence and righteousness, so how could it do such a thing as seizing other countries' territory?

Some intellectuals even advocated returning these lands to those countries.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang's face extremely ugly. Those lands were won by his own grandson and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty with their own swords and spears. Now they were being handed back. Where could such a good thing be found?

After killing several civil officials, these people became much more obedient. Some even felt that the grandson of the emperor, Zhu Yunwen, was virtuous and talented and should be allowed to participate in these matters in the court.

He knew perfectly well what these people were up to.

He did not want any fratricide to occur, so after confirming Zhu Biao as the crown prince, he began to do his best to cultivate Zhu Biao, while his other sons did not have much influence.

Of the three generations, he had already determined that the grandson Zhu Xiong Ying was the most suitable for this position.

Therefore, he handed over all his power and influence to Zhu Xiong Ying.

As for Zhu Yunwen, he has indeed been quite courteous to scholars lately, even gaining the support of many intellectuals. However, he is well aware that Zhu Yunwen doesn't actually possess all that ability. His actions are entirely due to the fact that his scholars have done their homework for him beforehand.

Those scholars had taught Zhu Yunwen to be extremely dull-witted, and in many ways he had no opinions of his own, instead believing in the so-called words of sages.

If the design of the Ming Dynasty's future were truly entrusted to this person, it probably wouldn't be long before the Ming Dynasty would become the domain of these powerful families and scholars, leaving them with no chance of making any real power.

So he directly rejected the matter, but that did not extinguish the ambitions of those who secretly supported Zhu Yunwen.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his crown prince Zhu Biao and said...

"I told you to handle this matter properly, but look at you, you've confined the Crown Prince's concubine, Lady Lü, to her quarters while completely ignoring Zhu Yunwen. Do you think this approach is appropriate?"

"I think we should just send him back to his hometown of Fengyang or give him a fiefdom. Anyway, he's not suited to stay in Yingtian Prefecture!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao shook his head after hearing this.

"The scholars who support Zhu Yunwen still don't understand. Since they want to make trouble, let them make trouble!"

"Open methods are always better than underhanded schemes. I want to see what they're capable of, and besides, this is also a test for U.A.!"

"If Zhu Xiong Ying can't even handle this small matter, how will he be able to hold onto his position in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

"You don't mean to support Yunwen and Xiong Ying in their fight against each other, do you? Let me tell you, don't do something so foolish. It will only needlessly deplete the strength of my Great Ming!"

"Besides, if one side loses, the other side will definitely not tolerate that person's survival. I don't want my descendants to be stained with the blood of their own descendants!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao nodded after hearing this.

"Please rest assured, Father, I have absolutely no intention of supporting Yunwen. Besides, Yunwen is currently an incapable ruler and there is absolutely no need to support him!"

"But those scholars praised him as unparalleled in heaven and earth. Doesn't that say something?"

"Only by completely exposing these scholars to the people can they see what these scholars are really thinking!"

"Although the new school introduced by U.A. High School has made considerable progress in various places during this period, it has also encountered great obstacles and has been unable to be promoted in many places, especially in the Jiangnan region!"

"Why not let these people see what kind of people scholars are these days, so that those who are truly insightful will know what is the best way for our Great Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned upon hearing this, realizing why Crown Prince Zhu Biao had done this.

It seems that he wants to use this direction to see how many fish have jumped out, and then clean them all up. In the future, Zhu Xiong Ying will continue to promote his own new learning system, which will make it easier to think of this place. After that, he nodded.

"You have to talk to Xiong Ying about this yourself. No matter what, you absolutely cannot let any rift develop between you and your son!"

(End of this chapter)