When Crown Prince Zhu Biao heard what Zhu Yuanzhang said, he finally felt relieved.

Then he began to worry about Zhu Kai. After all, they were twins, and real brothers would always be closer than other brothers.

"What about Zhu Kai?"

"Zhu Kai already has his own princess. If we want to form an alliance, we can't let their daughters be concubines.

The best way is to find an inconspicuous son who can give them enough face but not allow them to really get in touch with the core of power."

Ma Xiuying was listening to Zhu Yuanzhang saying this, and she felt very uncomfortable. After all, wasn't this just using her own son? This was no different from using her own son as a tool.

When I chose Zhu Yuanzhang, I was really impressed by his character and talent, and I didn't even mind that he was a man with nothing.

Now they have become the masters of the world and have supreme power in their hands.

But they were unable to think more about their sons. What they should have really looked at the world and considered all the people in the world. Although Zhu Yuanzhang was a bit cruel in doing so, he was still a good emperor and he just sacrificed his son.

"Father, who are you going to choose? The third brother or the fourth brother? Or the fifth brother?"

Zhu Yuanzhang had already ruled out Zhu Di.

"Although Zhu Di is still young, it can be seen that he is a talented person who can lead troops in battle. He has a strong talent in this area, which is similar to what he has inherited from me, his father.

That's why he can't go. He is not the best candidate.

Although it is an arranged marriage, love grows over time. After being together for a long time, it is inevitable that there will be feelings. If the pillow wind blows and he really turns his elbow outward, it will be bad. "

I have to say that Zhu Yuanzhang really considered a lot and thought of almost every detail.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao then realized that although he was now the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, he was still far behind his father Zhu Yuanzhang.

At this moment, he was not thinking about the issue of interest distribution, but felt sorry for his two younger brothers. He knew that Zhu Gang and Zhu Chong would definitely not be willing to accept the marriage.

"Then the candidate now can only be chosen between the third brother and the fourth brother. Father, have you decided who is more suitable?"

"Biao'er, sometimes you are just a little too soft-hearted. There is no one more suitable for this kind of thing. It's just like assigning a task to someone, and he has to accept it."

"But after all, it's about marrying a wife. Even if we can't find a woman who loves us, we can find a foreign woman. It will be really difficult for them to live in harmony and respect each other."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he felt that his son was too naive and kind.

"Holding hands together? Being able to live in harmony is their destiny. Whether they can live in harmony depends on their destiny.

But when we royal family get married, the least important thing is feelings.

Being able to get along well is of course a blessing from heaven. If they don't get along well, it's just like raising an extra person. They are the princes of the Ming Dynasty and naturally have to bear their own responsibilities. They can't just enjoy power and ignore the responsibilities they should bear."

When Crown Prince Zhu Biao heard this, he thought of his wife. The two of them could be said to have lived in harmony. This must be what his father called fate.

But even so, they are far behind Zhu Kai. Zhu Kai and Xu Miaoyun can be considered childhood sweethearts, and the two of them have been granted marriage by the emperor. This must be the blessing of heaven that Zhu Yuanzhang just mentioned.

"Well, since my father has already made this decision, it is not convenient for me to say anything more.

What you just said makes a lot of sense. As princes of the Ming Dynasty, we naturally put the interests of the Ming Dynasty first.

Seeing that the world has just been pacified and we are facing internal and external troubles, as long as we can do something to help our Ming Dynasty.

No matter what happens, it's all good. I believe that no matter who is given this task, they will not refuse. But has the emperor really not decided who to let do this?
Whether it's the third brother or the fourth brother, they have very different temperaments. You must think carefully before making any arrangements, otherwise it will easily cause trouble."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked back at Empress Ma Xiuying. At this moment, he felt very bitter. He never expected that the sons he gave birth to would gradually become tools of power.

But what can he do? At the beginning, he chose Zhu Yuanzhang because he thought he was a decent man and he just wanted to have a normal family like all the women in the world.

I had never thought that I would have the opportunity to hold so much power today, let alone thought that I would be able to become the queen and rule the country.

All this is destined. Now that things have come to this, sacrificing one's son is normal.

"Zhongba, you don't have to look at me like that. If you ask me for my opinion, I will definitely disagree. But for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, I can only leave it to you, the emperor, to make the decision. I just need to take care of the affairs of the harem."

"Queen, thank you for understanding me so much. We have been married for so many years, you will definitely support my decision and choice. Only in this way can I remove Wang Baobao's military power openly.

I believe he would not be able to say anything if he was given a sinecure with no real power. The emperor's order is an imperial decree, and he dare not refuse. Even if he is dissatisfied, he can only kneel down and smile to express his gratitude. "

Zhu Yuanzhang planned the whole thing with full confidence while looking at his wife and son with a smile.

Mao Xiang turned around and had already made arrangements outside, and sent a lot of people to protect Zhu Kai in secret.

"Your Majesty, Lord Mao Xiang has sent back a message that he has arranged troops to protect His Highness Zhu Kai. I believe there will be no mistakes, so you can rest assured."

"I'm afraid there will be trouble along the way. Zhu Kai is a very adaptable guy. I believe he has already anticipated such dangers.

It is very likely that he would have started to arrange people in secret as soon as he received the news from the court, but if the Jinyiwei were to go out, it would also be more secure. Let's just arrange it like this, it won't be considered as spoiling this kid."

"Father, you have thought it through very carefully. If he knew about this, he would definitely be very touched. Father, you are so kind to him. We can really be reunited as a family during this New Year."

It was a relatively calm two days.

"My Lord, I have something to report!"

The men outside seemed very anxious and were shouting excitedly.

Even if he didn't report the news, Zhu Kai had already guessed what the news would be.

"What's the big deal? You've been out here for such a long time, and you've seen all kinds of storms. What's going on? Come in and tell me!"

Zhu Gang and Zhu Chong also seemed very anxious when they heard this.

"Brother, did you hear some news from the capital? Seeing how anxious he is to pass on the message, it must be information that has to be rushed 800 miles. Could it be that something has happened to our father and mother?" "I say, you think about bad things all day long, can you think about things from a positive perspective? The New Year is coming soon, maybe it's news that we are invited to return to the capital to celebrate the New Year."

Zhu Chong shook his head in disbelief.

"Brother, I think you are a little too fanciful, how could it be such news?

Father has left us here for such a long time and never asked about us. I'm afraid he has long forgotten that we are his sons. How can he still think of letting us return to the capital to celebrate the New Year?"

Zhu Gang's opinion was completely opposite to his.

"Third brother, I think you haven't considered it well. Father put us here because he believed in Second Brother's ability and didn't care about it.

How can ordinary people easily guess the emperor’s thoughts?
My father did this just to test the abilities of us brothers, and I believe there must be secret spies here helping him check the situation.

Even if my father is in Yingtian Prefecture, he knows everything we do here."

"You are right. I have not given it enough thought. Logically speaking, it is true. Father will never leave us alone."

While they were discussing, the messenger came running in, sweating profusely. He was so tired from running so much in the past few days that his legs were weak even when riding a horse.

When he came into the house, he saw Zhu Kai, who was sitting high up on the table with a very majestic look. He was so scared that he knelt on the ground.

"I meet the prince!"

"You look so sweaty, you must have come all the way from Yingtian Prefecture."

"Pass...pass the emperor's order!"

"I know that this is news from Yingtian Prefecture, that's enough. You should rest here for a while and catch your breath first. Don't be so anxious to convey the emperor's order. How can you be so careless?"

After Zhu Kai finished speaking, he ordered the maid next to him to give the man a glass of water.

"The villain dare not!"

"What's there to be afraid of? This is not the palace. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't follow so many rules and don't care about red tape. Just drink the water without worry.

You don't need to worry about delivering the emperor's orders. Leave the emperor's orders behind and go to the back to rest. You have been running for a day and a night. Even a body of iron cannot bear it."

"This is what I should do. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. But if I don't read out the imperial edict, it would be disrespectful to the emperor. If it is reported back to Yingtian Prefecture, I will lose my head."

"Hey, my second brother told you to go to the back and rest first, so you don't have to worry about it. Is it okay to disobey the prince's order?"

When the messenger heard this, he thought to himself that he couldn't afford to offend the emperor, and he couldn't afford to offend the prince either, so he decided to just forget it.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I will go to the back to rest first. Please execute the emperor's order immediately when you see it!"

"Yes, I understand, Your Majesty."

After saying that, the messenger took out a bamboo tube from his arms and presented it to the man with both hands raised above his head.

After Zhu Kai took the bamboo tube, he ordered someone to take the messenger to the backyard to rest.

When Zhu Chong looked at the familiar bamboo tube, he knew it must have been sent by his father Zhu Yuanzhang.

"It seems that Father's information is correct. Every time he sends secret reports to others, he uses a bamboo tube like this."

"Brother, don't waste time, open it and take a look. I wonder what arrangements the emperor has for us."

Zhu Kai was also very curious and concerned, so he quickly opened the bamboo tube and found a yellow cloth strip stuffed inside, which was indeed the material used by Zhu Yuanzhang most frequently for imperial edicts.

"It's Father."

Zhu Kai slowly spread out the rolled yellow cloth in the palm of his hand.

"Kai'er, I am glad to see you in person. You have been in Liaobei for more than a year. The border area is quite miserable. My son, I know how hard it has been.

As the New Year is approaching, I have specially ordered you to bring Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang back to Beijing for a reunion to ease your parents' longing for them.

Also bring Wang Baobao, the leader of the Mongol Yuan tribe, back to the capital. I have other arrangements, so keep this matter secret and do not let anyone else know about it. Once you see this letter, set off immediately and do not make any mistakes! "

Zhu Kai read the content and found that Zhu Yuanzhang actually only expressed two meanings.

The first one was to show concern for his son on the surface, but his real purpose was to get Zhu Kai to return to the capital to tell him about all his recent arrangements.

And he also wanted to bring the most dangerous enemy back with him. It seemed that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to take complete action against the Mongolian tribes.

Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang, who were standing nearby, also stretched their heads and saw the contents of the letter.

Zhu Kai looked up and saw the two men staring at the letter in his hand, and he immediately shouted at them.

"This is a letter my father wrote to me. Do you two know what it means to respect other people's privacy?"

"Brother, what is the right to privacy?"

"It is a secret decree that cannot be known to others. Have you ever heard that anyone who secretly reads the emperor's secret decree will be beheaded?"

"Brother, please stop making fun of us. We are just brothers here, who would leak this matter?
Besides, the emperor didn't say anything else in his heart, he just wanted you to take us back to the capital for a reunion, this is a family matter, not a state matter."

"You two have been following me for such a long time, how come you haven't made any progress? When you return to the capital, don't say you secretly checked the contents of the letter.

If something similar happens again in the future, you must be more careful and don't look at everything.

Sometimes knowing more is not good for you. Today I will teach you a little lesson. I don't want the same thing to happen to you a second time."

Zhu Chong was a relatively smart man, and he immediately understood why Zhu Kai was angry, because after all, it involved the Mongolian tribe and Wang Baobao, which was considered an important secret in the court. (End of this chapter)