Ming Dynasty: What's wrong with being a leisurely crown prince?

Chapter 41: Drawing a Big Pie in the Sky for Zhu Di

Zhu Di took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. At this moment, he realized that he had become a little too impulsive.

But looking at Zhu Gaochi's face really made him furious.

But Zhu Di knew very well that now, some things needed to be discussed properly.

"Boss, let's not talk about national affairs now, let's just talk about family matters, let's just pretend we're father and son having a casual chat."

"Please tell me objectively, am I really that bad?"

Zhu Gaochi was somewhat surprised upon hearing Zhu Di's words.

He was truly surprised by Zhu Di's attitude. He thought Zhu Di would lose his temper as usual, but unexpectedly, he didn't show any anger at all.

At this moment, Zhu Di's serious and calm demeanor seemed to reveal the true face of the Yongle Emperor.

Zhu Gaochi also became serious, and sat down on the steps next to Zhu Di with a smile.

"Dad, since you said it's just a casual chat between father and son, let's talk about it."

Actually, I admire my father a lot. In my eyes, throughout history, there have been very few emperors who could have done better than you.

Even Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang, although Emperor Wu of Han brought glory to the Han people, his excessive military campaigns caused great harm to the people, making it impossible for them to survive.

Although Emperor Zhenzong of Tang ushered in the Zhenguan era of prosperity, with its military might reaching its zenith and its people achieving both literary and martial excellence, many problems also sowed the seeds for numerous hidden dangers later on.

In my eyes, Dad, you are better than them, you do better than them.

Dad, you might think I'm flattering you, but I'm speaking from the heart.

After hundreds of years, Emperor Taizu restored the Chinese land to unity, enabled the Han people to rise again, and established the Han Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty.

Then, Father, you made the Ming Dynasty and the Han people famous throughout the world again, brought the Han people to a new peak, and made all sides submit.

You might say that the Oirats and Tatars are still around, so what does it mean that all sides have submitted?

However, I believe that as long as the Ming Dynasty's national strength continues to grow, when the time is ripe, Father, you will lead a million troops and march north.

Wherever the sun and moon shine, wherever mountains and rivers extend, all is the territory of the Great Ming Dynasty, and all is the land of the Han people.

At that time, the territory of my Great Ming Dynasty surpassed that of the Tang Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty. Even if all the emperors of the world gathered in one place, who could say anything to you, Father?

Zhu Di wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk, and Zhu Gaochi also happened to have a lot to say.

Actually, there are things that cannot be said casually, but now that Zhu Di has taken the initiative to ask, he can reveal quite a bit.

In Zhu Gaochi's heart, he truly admired Zhu Di, even considering him one of the greatest emperors of all time.

Comparing Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che), Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Shimin), and Zhu Di, while that's the case, it's not that the other two were inferior; rather, in Zhu Gaochi's eyes, all three were in the same league.

However, you can't point out Zhu Di's shortcomings in front of him, can you?

Normally, it's fine to annoy Zhu Di, but if you do it now, you're really asking for trouble.

There are actually many more things he couldn't tell Zhu Di, because none of them had happened yet.

But he knew those things, and that's why he admired him.

As he said, the true peak of the Ming Dynasty was actually during the reign of Yongle.

Hongwu's achievements in founding the dynasty were immense, but the Ming Dynasty's national strength, politics, economy, military, territory, influence, and so on were all at their absolute peak during that period.

The Ming Dynasty was the only one that maintained a significant influence over Europe throughout its entire reign.

Throughout its reign, it forced small European countries to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty for over two hundred years.

However, all of this was achieved by Zhu Di during the Yongle era.

But these peaks don't come by sitting around waiting. Pie doesn't fall from the sky, and you can't just sit around waiting for God to poop.

All of this was made possible by the Yongle Emperor.

As for not having enough civil and military officials, or not having added any other people, you'll find out later.

With little change in civil and military affairs, they are all just living off the legacy left by Zhu Di. What new differences are there?

In other words, Zhu Gaochi made some new changes, namely, recuperation and rest, which indeed allowed people all over the country to breathe a sigh of relief.

But then, it disappeared.

As for what he said last, it was just empty promises he made to Zhu Di.

He knew what kind of ambition Zhu Di had, and as long as he painted a good picture, he could subtly change Zhu Di's thinking.

That last sentence is both the ultimate form of the pie and his vision for Zhu Di.

Because Zhu Di could actually have gone that far.

Zhu Di was momentarily speechless as he watched Zhu Gaochi speak with such excitement and fervor.

In reality, he merely wanted to use this so-called casual conversation to see what Zhu Gaochi was thinking; it was a way for him to observe Zhu Gaochi.

But what Zhu Gaochi said made his heart burn with passion.

Although there wasn't much change on his face, the upturned corners of his mouth were particularly hard to suppress.

Was he really that outstanding?

Especially what Zhu Gaochi said later, and that last sentence, he knew that Zhu Gaochi was just making empty promises to him.

But this pie really made his heart flutter.

If he had truly accomplished that, he could not only have met Zhu Yuanzhang openly and honestly after his death, but Zhu Yuanzhang would have been proud of him.

He, Zhu Laosi, is no less capable than anyone else; he is suitable to be the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

As for whether Zhu Gaochi was just flattering him, Zhu Di could tell that Zhu Gaochi was sincere and couldn't possibly be faking it.

Having experienced so much, even Zhu Gaochi seemed somewhat naive in comparison.

It was precisely because of Zhu Gaochi's sincerity that his perception of Zhu Gaochi changed once again.

"You brat, I told you to speak properly, not to flatter me."

"The dignified Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, who only knows how to utter sycophantic words, if word gets out, I can't bear the shame."

Although he felt relieved, Zhu Di did not let Zhu Gaochi off the hook with his words.

Zhu Di was completely unaware that Zhu Gaochi was making empty promises to him, much like he was making empty promises to Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaochi's occasional provocations were for the same reason as seizing every opportunity to provoke Zhu Gaochi.

Zhu Gaochi's lips twitched as he watched Zhu Di, who clearly seemed to be enjoying himself but was actually criticizing him.

This person always says he's thick-skinned, but he really is.

"Father, since you put it that way, then I won't stand on ceremony."

I know that during the period when dealing with Jianwen, you pretended to be crazy and stupid in order to mislead him.

In order to forge weapons and armor, they even lived with chickens, ducks, and pigs.

After the Jingnan Rebellion succeeded, his state of mind underwent a complete transformation.

Father, think about it yourself. When were you so suspicious back in Beiping?

My second and third brothers and I all respect you very much, so why do you have so many doubts?

Ultimately, you personally conquered this empire. Do you really think we few would cause trouble? Don't you even know if we could possibly cause any trouble?

Moreover, you're not very magnanimous; you can't stand it if someone says a few words to you.

I know that you, Father, are worried that your ascension to the throne was illegitimate and that you need achievements to cover it up. Whether it is governing the country or promoting our national prestige abroad, you want to use great achievements to wash away those reputations.

But as long as you do what I just said, who can say anything? Aren't those all great achievements?

Zhu Gaochi showed no mercy whatsoever; he didn't hold back at all when it came to criticism.

In fact, Zhu Di had two issues that Zhu Gaochi genuinely wanted Zhu Di to improve.

That was Zhu Di's paranoia and narrow-mindedness.

It's normal for emperors to be suspicious throughout history, but Zhu Di was a bit too suspicious, targeting only his three brothers.

Fortunately, Xu Miaoyun is still alive, and Zhu Di has not yet reached the later stages.

Sometimes Zhu Gaochi even wondered if Zhu Di's abnormal experiences had affected his mentality.

Zhu Di, who was secretly pleased, gradually darkened his face upon hearing Zhu Gaochi's words.