Since the death of Prince Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned his ministers to ask about the appointment of a crown prince.
Under the seemingly peaceful court, there is already an undercurrent surging.
People from all walks of life came on stage one after another.
There is a strong possibility that the storm is about to come and the wind will fill the building.
Everyone knows that Zhu Yuanzhang is old and prone to illness, and his position as crown prince cannot remain undecided for a long time.
It won't take long for the new crown prince to be confirmed.
And now is the most critical moment.
…
In the garden of the mansion, Zhu Yunxuan was sitting on the swing, eating candy and swinging gently.
Ying'er stood aside, occasionally pushing the swing.
Feng Dazhuang was not far away, bending down to talk about what was happening in Yingtian Mansion.
This is what Zhu Yunxuan told him to do.
The world is so backward that it’s so boring that you can’t even read the news, so you can only send people to inquire about it.
"If we say that the person with the most strokes in Jinling City right now is you, His Highness the Grandson of the Fourth Emperor."
Zhu Yunzhen was having fun when he suddenly heard this sentence, and most of his good mood was ruined.
Feng Dazhuang said with great joy.
"The common people say that Your Majesty, Your Highness, is a poetic talent that has not been seen in hundreds of years. You can write poems at the age of seven, and you will definitely be on par with Li Du in the future."
"I heard that even the girls in Wanfang Pavilion, a brothel in the city, are reciting poems written by His Royal Highness."
Zhu Yunzhen slowly stopped the swing and said with a melancholy look on his face: "All the people praised me and no one scolded me?"
"This..." Feng Dazhuang looked embarrassed and did not dare to speak.
"Speak quickly, don't use all the nice things to say to flatter me."
"Grandpa Huang said that loyal words are harsh to the ears, and only traitors choose nice things to say and flatter others all day long."
"Dazhuang, are you a traitor?"
"Absolutely not." Feng Dazhuang quickly denied, his voice suddenly rising a few degrees.
Zhu Yunxuan smiled and said: "Then tell me, how do the businessmen in Jinling City scold me?"
Feng Dazhuang squeezed out a flattering smile and said, "How did His Highness know that some hateful businessmen were spreading rumors to cause trouble and slander Your Highness?"
Since ancient times, cutting off people's wealth is like killing one's parents.
I proposed to Lao Zhu to levy a business tax, and I would be surprised if the businessmen didn’t scold me to death.
There are always a majority of short-sighted people in the world.
Just thinking about the temporary taxes.
They fail to see that doing so will actually greatly promote the development and prosperity of business and allow them to make more money.
Zhu Yunzhen stared at him, and Feng Dazhuang suddenly felt a chill coming over him. He trembled all over. He realized that he had talked too much and said quickly: "I have talked too much. Your Highness, please forgive me." (Note: Eunuch of the Ming Dynasty.) Call yourself a slave rather than a slave in front of the prince.)
Zhu Yunzhen said: "I just want to know what they said about me."
Feng Dazhuang hesitated for a while, then said: "There are indeed businessmen out there who are gossiping, saying that His Royal Highness is ungrateful and unjust, and that he is not a benevolent and righteous person. The Jinyi Guards have captured him and punished him."
"In addition, the vast majority of the people in Jinling City praise His Highness the Emperor Sun's proposal to increase business taxes."
Zhu Yunzhen was stunned.
Right.
Businessmen were of low status, but very wealthy, so they easily aroused jealousy.
Just like the workers of later generations, most of them are happy to see the country impose heavy taxes on capitalists.
The same is naturally true for the people of Ming Dynasty.
Seeing merchants being heavily taxed by the court, they were too late to be happy, so how could they object?
The real opponents are the powerful ministers in the court, who often instruct their servants to do business and make huge profits from it.
Raising business taxes means collecting money from them, so how can we not strongly oppose it?
But Ming Dynasty’s public opinion control was also very powerful.
Jinyiwei is almost omnipresent, and no matter how dissatisfied they are, they don't dare to show it at all.
As a result, apart from the occasional one or two short-sighted businessmen, aren't there all those left singing praises?
At least that's how it looks on the surface.
How it goes in private, that's hard to say.
This is also because he is a nobleman of Tianhuang. If he did not have this status, the group of people would definitely jump and scold him. Maybe even the eighteen generations of ancestors would greet him together.
But he is Lao Zhu's grandson. As long as these people don't want to lose their heads, confiscate their homes and exterminate their clans, they certainly don't dare to scold them casually.
"In the eyes of the people, His Highness is truly like a god transformed into an immortal. His poetic talent is astonishing and his determination to govern the country. Some people are even talking in private, saying that it would be great if His Majesty made His Highness the grandson of the Emperor."
Feng Dazhuang had a bright smile on his face.
Zhu Yunzhen trembled all over and jumped down from the swing.
Ying'er was afraid that he would fall, so she hurriedly said: "Your Highness, be careful!"
He stepped forward and hugged him.
Zhu Yunzhen didn't care much and chased Feng Dazhuang and asked: "Is there really someone who spreads such a thing in private?"
Feng Dazhuang bent down and said, "I will never dare to lie to His Highness by lying."
Zhu Yunzhen's brows suddenly frowned.
Now not only the King of Yan, but also the King of Qin and the King of Jin have returned to Jinling City, claiming to be here to pay homage to their eldest brother Zhu Biao, but anyone with a discerning eye knows that they are here to establish the crown prince.
Who wouldn’t want the throne of the Nine-Five Supreme Being?
There is a surging undercurrent in Yingtian Mansion.
In history, Lao Zhu quickly established Zhu Yunwen as the emperor's grandson, which may not be without this consideration.
If the position of crown prince remains undecided for a long time, it will affect the political stability of the court.
But Zhu Yunzhen really didn't want to get involved.
After all, his goal in life is to be a happy prince, not an emperor who has everything to do.
But if you get involved in a dispute over the prince, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the consequences will not be good.
After the battle was successful, he became the emperor and governed the world, working tirelessly to read memorials and fight with ministers.
Heartbroken.
If you slack off even a little bit, you will be pointed at by those scholars and scolded as a fool.
After losing the battle, the new king ascended the throne, and his prince Xiaoyao could not succeed.
How could the new king tolerate a prince who had once competed with him for the throne of emperor?
It is considered a good life to be abolished and imprisoned, but it is also common to die from poisoned wine.
No, I must not let anyone think that I intend to compete for a big position.
Zhu Yunxuan looked up at the sky, thought for a moment, and said: "Dazhuang, go spread the news immediately and say that I heard that poem from a monk, just picking up other people's wisdom. It was not written by yourself."
"There are also ways to reduce or reduce business taxes, which are also under the monk's instructions."
"You are saying that I am actually stupid and have no talent at all."
"As for that monk." Zhu Yunzhen pondered for a while and said, "Just say that monk is a demon monk who talks nonsense and brings trouble to the emperor's grandson."
Pressing too hard is not a good thing.
We have to give those businessmen who are being taxed an opportunity to be discouraged and let them scold them as "demon monks."
Feng Dazhuang was stunned for a moment and fell to his knees: "I don't dare, I don't dare!"
Zhu Yunxuan glared and said, "Just do it if I ask you to do it. Why is there so much nonsense?"
"If you do this well, you will be rewarded heavily."
"If you don't do it well, I will tell Grandpa Huang that if you bully me when I am young, beat or scold me, or make trouble, Grandpa Huang will beat you to death with a stick."
Feng Dazhuang was so frightened that his face was like a paper army and he was trembling.
If Zhu Yunwen really wanted to say something, regardless of whether it was true or false, Lao Zhu would probably just order him to be beaten to death.
In this era, the life of a young eunuch is really worthless.
"Slave... I obey!" Feng Dazhuang said with a sad face.
At this moment, another young eunuch came to report.
"In response to Lord Tianfu Yin Gu's request for an audience."
Zhu Yunzhen said: "I've had enough fun today, it's time to study."
"When I go to review my lord, I tell him that I am studying and am not free today, and ask him to come back another day."
After that, he went straight to the study.
He had promised his second brother Zhu Yunwen that he would stop playing next time Mr. Gu came and he should keep his promise.
