My father, Zhu Di, was granted a second life by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Chapter 69 Puppet

The following morning, at the Qianqing Palace.

The old emperor was extremely busy, focusing intently on processing memorials; it had been a while since he had been this busy.

Six months ago, the old emperor completely relinquished power, issuing an order to the Office of Transmission: "From now on, all matters of state, large and small, shall be decided by the Crown Prince and then reported to the emperor."

From that time on, the Office of Transmission sent all memorials directly to the Hall of Literary Glory for the Crown Prince to handle.

Then, the Crown Prince reported the important military and state affairs to the old emperor for handling.

Judging from the current situation, it seems the old emperor is going to take personal charge and restart his workaholic lifestyle.

The Office of Transmission was a "mouthpiece" and one of the Nine Ministers. It was established in the tenth year of the Hongwu reign.

All official and private documents sent down to the emperor, the most important of which were memorials from various regions, were submitted to the emperor by the Office of Transmission.

Before the Hu Weiyong case broke out, Zhu Yuanzhang had already begun to gradually restrict the power of the Secretariat, forbidding memorials from going to the Secretariat first, and instead having them delivered directly to the old emperor by the Office of Transmission, in preparation for the future abolition of the prime minister.

When the old emperor was grooming his heir, he placed great emphasis on practical skills.

When Crown Prince Zhu Biao was only eighteen years old, the old emperor had him practice handling government affairs and issued a special decree: "From now on, all matters reported by the various departments shall be reported to the Crown Prince."

A year later, the old emperor issued another decree: "From now on, routine matters should be reported to the Crown Prince, while important matters may be reported to the emperor."

In other words, the Crown Prince was in charge of daily government affairs, while important matters were reported to the old emperor.

Four years later, the old emperor further delegated power, entrusting all government affairs to the crown prince in order to hone his ability to make independent judgments and decisions.

When Zhu Yunwen was made the Crown Prince, the old emperor was already sixty-four years old. Fearing that his days were numbered, he greatly accelerated the training process, skipping the first two steps and entering the third stage.

Things had finally made progress, and Zhu Gaoxi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Having his power to oversee the country abruptly stripped away, one wonders how the Crown Prince felt at this moment. Zhu Gaoxi secretly gloated.

"Grandpa, let me help you," Zhu Gaoxi volunteered.

"Don't move," the old emperor said without even looking up, continuing to write furiously.

Zhu Gaoxi had no choice but to put down the memorial in his hand, feeling embarrassed.

Zhu Youdun gave him a comforting look.

Don't be impatient.

Being with the old emperor means you have to follow his pace completely; you can't rush it.

Zhu Gaoxi smiled and ignored it, sitting quietly to the side and waiting.

"Your third uncle's eldest son is coming to the capital. What do you think?"

The old emperor refers to Zhu Jixi, the heir apparent of the Prince of Jin.

Zhu Gaoxi and Zhu Youdun both expressed their welcome and agreement.

Watching the old emperor busy with his business, Zhu Gaoxi's thoughts drifted far away.

While Zhu Gaochi was in the capital accompanying his grandson in his studies, the old emperor asked him to help review memorials.

Because some typos were not pointed out, the old emperor questioned him.

Zhu Gaochi's reply was quite clever: "Minor faults are not enough to offend the Emperor."

On another occasion, the old emperor asked Zhu Gaochi: "During the reigns of Yao and Tang, when floods and droughts occurred, how did the people survive?"

Zhu Gaochi replied: "It depends on the compassion of a wise and benevolent ruler."

Zhu Gaoxi recalled his historical knowledge and secretly pondered how the old emperor would cultivate him.

The old emperor completely ignored their presence, focusing intently on his work.

After an unknown amount of time, Huang Liang brought in a teapot, poured tea for the old emperor, and then immediately withdrew.

The old emperor then put down his pen and turned his gaze to Zhu Gaoxi. "Leaving aside intelligence, who is smarter than whom, reading memorials, weighing the pros and cons, and making appropriate decisions, which of these tasks does not require effort?"

Gao Xi, do you have enough strength to last this long?

The handling of state affairs is no child's play; we will not judge someone's competence solely based on their words.

Zhu Gaoxi calmly replied, "Grandpa, your grandson once climbed the mountain with you to Tianjie Temple."

The old emperor shook his head. "This is different from mountain climbing. Mountain climbing is only something you do occasionally. You have to deal with government affairs every day. When you're busy, you have to review more than two hundred memorials and more than four hundred state affairs every day. Xi'er, can your body handle it? This is not something you can do on a whim. It concerns the safety of the country."

The old emperor was clearly having second thoughts; the matter concerned the very foundation of the nation, and he needed to consider it carefully.

But what's the point of giving up halfway? What good will that do?

Having already offended the Crown Prince, giving up halfway would be tantamount to courting death. Should they beg Zhu Yunwen to spare their lives?

We can't learn that kind of humility.

Zhu Gaoxi was determined not to back down and answered loudly, "Grandpa, don't worry, I can do it."

The old emperor waved his hand, "No rush to answer, think about it again."

Zhu Gaoxi realized that, deep down, the old emperor's favorite candidate was still You Dun.

However, since You Dun was the eldest son and heir apparent of Prince Zhu Su of Zhou, he certainly could not be adopted into Zhu Biao's lineage.

This is more difficult to do.

Otherwise, the old emperor wouldn't have favored a five-year-old child.

Difficult!

Zhu Youdun understood his grandfather's helplessness and stepped forward to persuade him: "Before you come of age, your way of handling government affairs will not be exactly the same as your grandfather's. For example, you will not personally write down the red ink and select outstanding people from the Hanlin Academy to serve as advisors, just like the four assistant officials and grand secretaries that your grandfather set up in the past."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxi hesitated whether to propose establishing a cabinet.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to give up.

The old emperor was diligent his whole life and couldn't stand lazy people.

Forming a cabinet might be too advanced for the old emperor, and he might not be able to gain his approval. If he were to propose it rashly, it would be counterproductive if it offended the old emperor.

Zhu Gaoxi realized that the old emperor's favorite was still Youdun, so he took the opportunity to show that he had a very close relationship with Youdun, saying, "My brother and I will work together and put in the effort, so Grandpa can rest assured."

The old emperor's doubts were indeed largely dispelled, and his expression immediately brightened.

Zhu Gaoxi felt truly bitter that he had always been treated as a puppet.

He was pushed to the forefront to shield him from both open and covert attacks; perhaps this was how the old emperor perceived him.

Zhu Gaoxi tried his best to appear nonchalant.

Not everyone can become a puppet; it depends on a combination of chance and opportunity.

Zhu Gaoxi once again resorted to the Ah Q mentality of self-consolation.

"It would be great if you two could support each other. As a family, we should share weal and woe."

The old emperor looked at his two grandsons, who trusted and treated each other sincerely, and a gratified smile gradually appeared on his face.

Zhu Gaoxi could see that the old emperor wanted his descendants to be a loving family more than anyone else.

Unfortunately, Zhu Yunwen didn't understand these things and, confused, was misled by his civil officials into forcibly reducing the power of the princes.

Without the checks and balances of the royal family, the power of the civil officials is overwhelming. Can you suppress them all by your own strength?

In the old emperor's original plan, no matter how capable Zhu Gaoxi and Zhu Youdun were, they could only be key ministers at most, and they had to abide by the duties of a subject, and could not replace him.

However, Zhu Yunwen failed to grasp the deeper meaning, ruining his relationship with Zhu Youdun and Zhu Gaoxi to the point of no return. He remained obstinate and continued to worsen the situation.

If he can't even subdue his two young brothers, how can the old emperor entrust the country to him with peace of mind?

Zhu Gaoxi pondered the old emperor's thoughts and secretly resolved to take advantage of the situation and wait for Zhu Yunwen to lose his composure and panic under immense psychological pressure.

Whether it's a puppet or not is actually not important.

Although Zhu Gaoxi doesn't mind competing fairly with anyone, he won't compete with Youdun for that one and only spot.

Learning to treat one's family well is the first priority for a true man to stand tall and walk between heaven and earth.

Zhu Gaoxi disdained such jealousy and backstabbing.

He trusted his judgment and believed that others like him were people who genuinely wanted to get things done, rather than opportunists who only cared about power and profit.