Zhu Yunhuan had a lot of expectations for the emperor's birthday. Fortunately, everything seemed to be well prepared and many things were progressing in an orderly manner, so he didn't need to worry too much.

Just grasp the general direction, and other officials can handle the remaining details and specific implementation. The rules have been set long ago, and we only need to follow them, and there will be no mistakes.

It would be a lie to say that I don’t feel any excitement or anticipation, after all, the most important moment is approaching.

Even if it is not a coronation ceremony, as long as the edict of succession is officially announced, the Ming Dynasty will enter a new chapter, and Zhu Yunhuan, the crown prince, will no longer be just the crown prince.

This is not only a major event for Zhu Yunhuan, but also an extremely important event for many people. Their interests are also closely tied to this grandson, and their interests seem to be naturally consistent.

Chen Di came to the Wenhua Hall, originally thinking that he would be asked some questions regarding the preparations for the emperor's birthday, but the progress of some things clearly exceeded his expectations.

Zhu Yunhuan was very calm. He handed over the imperial edict and said, "Go back and find a few reliable and tight-lipped people to see if there is anything wrong with this imperial edict."

Chen Di, not knowing what was going on, took the imperial edict, but when he opened it, his face turned pale and beads of sweat the size of beans began to appear on his face.

Although I knew some things before and guessed some things, even if something really happened, there is no need to be too surprised. After all, these things were within expectations.

But the situation is a little different now. The Crown Prince directly handed over the imperial edict. Chen Di felt that his position on this matter was naturally extremely embarrassing.

Zhu Yunhuan obviously didn't care much about Chen Di's embarrassment, and said, "If there is anything wrong, please help to revise it and submit it to His Majesty the day after tomorrow. Do you understand?"

Chen Di nodded subconsciously and replied, "Your Highness, I understand."

Hearing Chen Di's weak voice, Zhu Yunhuan was also amused. "It's good that you understand. These things should not be publicized. Finding a few reliable and knowledgeable people is not a trivial matter."

Chen Di nodded repeatedly. This was indeed not a small matter. It could even be considered a huge and extraordinary matter, so naturally he needed to be extra cautious.

If they had only heard the contents of the imperial edict in the court, Chen Di and others would not have said anything. But now they were asked to help revise it, which was extremely special. They were the first ministers to know the exact contents.

This does require talented and knowledgeable people, but on the other hand, it naturally requires ministers who are tight-lipped and cannot cause a stir in the city too early.

But on second thought, the Crown Prince sent the imperial edict to him now, which also meant trust in him.

The Crown Prince has many learned people under his command, and they can also help revise and review the imperial edict. It is not necessary to have the Minister of Rites to get this done.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "Your Majesty is now raising the great-grandson of the Emperor. This is the son of my Zhu family, the heir apparent. I will add this to the imperial edict. Do you understand?"

Chen Di replied cautiously, "Your Highness, please understand. When the little prince was born, the position of crown prince had already been decided and everyone was loyal to him."

Chen Di was a relatively honest person after all. He knew what Zhu Yunhuan meant and did not think this was a good idea. If he added something to it, it would be easy for people to misunderstand some things in the future.

The emperor's great-grandson is now being raised by His Majesty personally, and this is something that can be recorded in history books. All this also shows that the emperor's great-grandson is deeply loved by His Majesty.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is also the emperor's love for the whole family. It is because of the former crown prince and the crown prince's grandson that His Majesty particularly likes the great-grandson.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said nonchalantly, "Don't worry about the future. What I care about is the order of succession to the throne of the Ming Dynasty. It is a fact that the great-grandson of the emperor is raised by your majesty himself. I am not afraid of what others say."

Chen Di had nothing to say. He naturally understood what the Crown Prince meant, and he believed that the Crown Prince could also understand the meaning of the reminder.

But the Crown Prince is now pretending not to understand and even involving other aspects of the matter. Naturally, we can only rely on the Crown Prince's opinions.

Let alone Chen Di, other officials were actually similar. Whether it was the emperor or the crown prince, they would indeed ask for the opinions of some officials on some major matters and would humbly accept advice.

It’s just that those two are extremely stubborn most of the time. Once they make a decision, there is no way for others to remind them or make them change their minds.

This is probably the reason why some civil servants are dissatisfied. The imperial power is too concentrated and the emperor is too powerful. Sometimes they can only do things according to orders and cannot act according to their own ideas.

This was of course a great dissatisfaction for the civil servants, as they had no way to put the teachings in the books of sages into practice.

After Chen Di left, Zhu Yunhuan looked at Daoyan and asked, "What do you think of Chen Di?"

Daoyan said modestly, "Your Highness, the Minister is an important official in the court. How can a humble official like me make irresponsible comments?"

Zhu Yunhuan looked up at Daoyan and said with a smile, "Are you asking me for an official position? Or do you think that with your talent you should do something bigger instead of just helping out in this position of Grand Secretary?"

This time it was Daoyan's turn to sweat. Although this grandson was not very old, he was very cunning. Especially in the past two years, Daoyan felt more and more pressured because the grandson's majesty was getting heavier.

Daoyan quickly expressed his feelings and said, "Your Highness, I am of humble origin. Your Highness did not consider my talents and knowledge inadequate to select me. I am grateful. I am already uneasy to be honored as a Grand Secretary."

This statement is half true and half false, so you just need to listen to it. If you take it seriously, it will be too easy to be deceived, which is not a good thing.

Daoyan's background was indeed "vulgar", and he was a monk, but he also practiced both Confucianism and Taoism. He was able to become a Grand Secretary and the confidant of the Crown Prince. In the eyes of many people, this was an absolute promotion and a huge change in his official career.

Zhu Yunhuan didn't care about that and asked directly, "Since you know this, then tell me about Chen Di. Why are you making so many excuses?"

Daoyan replied cautiously, "Your Highness, I think the Minister is ambitious and filial, and he has implemented many beneficial policies when he was in charge of the local government. I think there are few people in the whole court who can compare with the Minister."

There is nothing wrong with this statement. Chen Di was chosen as the Minister of Rites not only because of his filial piety, but also because of his achievements in local governance. His career started from a low point, but he was very steady and took one step at a time. Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "He is a capable minister, but it is difficult for him to be a capable minister. He can do well in the present, but he can hardly think about the future."

Daoyan was not sure how to respond to Zhu Yunhuan's comments. Although he probably agreed with them in his heart, it was really not a good idea to just agree with them, as that would be too rude.

Chen Di can handle the current tasks well and can also give suggestions for solving problems at times, but that's all. It is difficult for him to come up with some constructive opinions and he doesn't have much foresight.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "If I had known earlier, I would have let him continue to govern the area. He could have done a lot for the people. Now he is in the position of Minister of Rites, which is a bit of a waste of his talent."

Daoyan could only smile awkwardly. Chen Di once served as the Left Councillor of Shandong and the Left Governor of Yunnan. He was indeed a high-ranking official in charge of a region.

But to be honest, some important officials who hold great power in the local area have no resistance to becoming one of the six ministers. Not only is the official rank different, but the status is also higher.

Moreover, Daoyan felt that what the crown prince said was a bit extreme. Chen Di could be a governor in the local area. But when he came to the center, this Minister of Rites could do a lot of things. With his outstanding ability, he could naturally make greater contributions.

You don't necessarily have to be a temporary official to do things. You can naturally do a lot of things in the central government.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Xia Yuanji and said, "Your trip to the East Palace will cost a lot this time. Although some of the expenses were spent from the national treasury, some of them were taken from the inner treasury. Go and report to the Crown Prince's Consort."

The emperor's birthday naturally costs a lot of money, and everyone is aware of this. Logically speaking, these are also major events of the court, so naturally the national treasury needs to pay for it, and no one else can find fault with it.

But now that there is money in the treasury, Xia Yuanji, Yu Xin and others know better that most of the gold, silver and treasures brought back by ships are now in the hands of the royal family.

Before, everyone was fighting for the Maritime Customs because it was profitable, and the benefits even exceeded many people's imagination. This was the focus of the competition.

But now there is no way, the Crown Prince "acts on his own", although the court can get a lot of benefits. But the royal family, clan members, and some nobles can also get a lot of benefits from it.

The civil servants were heartbroken, and some landlords and wealthy merchants were even more distressed. Most of the interests had nothing to do with them anymore, and they could only grab what slipped through the fingers of the big men.

Zhu Yunxun continued, "The East Palace will pay 20,000 taels of silver for that matter. You can go find Yu Xin later, discuss the amount, and then report to me."

The emperor's birthday celebration had to be paid for by the imperial court, and naturally the coronation ceremony also had to be paid for by the imperial court. There was nothing to say about this, and everyone else thought that this was all natural.

The Eastern Palace is now willing to pay out 20,000 taels of silver, which is already a very good number and can almost account for more than half of the cost of the ceremony.

This crown prince certainly didn't want to be too extravagant. He had used some of the funds to subsidize his trip to the sea during his wedding. He probably wasn't willing to spend more money on his coronation ceremony.

As Zhu Yunhuan's money bag, Xia Yuanji naturally knew what to do. He really had to spend what he should spend and save wherever he could. Organizing a grand coronation ceremony would not necessarily please the crown prince.

Because by then, the Crown Prince will have to carefully count the accounts, and he might even feel very upset because he spent too much.

This is Zhu Yunhuan’s attitude. He really thinks that money needs to be spent where it is needed most. There are many places where the Ming Dynasty needs to spend money, and sometimes it even feels that it is not enough.

The military pay was actually quite good. Many soldiers in the Ming Dynasty were engaged in farming, and the court did not need to cram a large number of people into the army in order to maintain social stability like in the Song Dynasty.

As for the salaries of officials, there was no need to worry about anything. Even though Zhu Yunhu had slightly increased the salaries of officials before, it still could not change the reality that the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were very low.

This is the actual situation, and this is what many officials are complaining about now, but they still cannot change the reality. After the Ming Dynasty becomes richer, perhaps the treatment of officials can be improved.

Some major infrastructure projects are where the most money will be spent next, such as dredging the Grand Canal, etc. This is enough to make Zhu Yunhuan start to tighten his belt and save money.

It is also necessary to continue to develop the north, maintain basic combat effectiveness, and so on. There may also be some border battles that may break out at any time, and all of these also cost money.

Compared to the beginning of its founding, the Ming Dynasty was indeed much richer and stronger, but it was not enough to make Zhu Yunhuan feel that he had more money than he could spend.

Even though it seems that there is more income after the opening of the sea, it will not change the reality that the court needs to spend money everywhere.

Only when you manage a household do you know how expensive firewood and rice are. Zhu Yunhuan had previously continuously cut the treatment of royal family members and other issues. This was not simply because he considered that the court would be burdened with more and more things in the future, but also because there was a certain burden and pressure now.

After carefully reviewing the memorial, Zhu Yunhuan suddenly asked, "I remember that the reign title and other matters have been decided. Let the government prepare and inform the people in advance."

This is the way we count years now. It is not XXX year AD, but the emperor's reign title. We need to start making some preparations now.

Daoyan said, "Your Highness, don't worry. After His Majesty's birthday, government offices at all levels will certainly make some preparations, and the prefectures and cities will certainly inform the people at that time."

Zhu Yunhuan agreed with these, and it seemed that there was no need to rush to do these things. All he had to do was wait until Zhu Yuanzhang announced the edict of succession, and then many officials would start to get busy with many things.

Daoyan continued to persuade, "Your Highness, I think the most urgent thing is to make it right. Your Highness should invite His Majesty to the court, so that we can set things right."

Zhu Yunhuan immediately laughed, "Why? Grandfather Emperor presided over the morning court a few days ago. Isn't this enough to make some people quiet down?"

This matter is really hard to explain, because many things are like this, some people are willing to believe what they want to believe, and no matter how much others prove it, it is redundant for them.

Zhu Yunhuan thought it was unnecessary and said, "Forget it. These things are inevitable. There is no point in talking too much. It's good if there are no extra voices in the court. Do you understand?"

Daoyan understood that the Crown Prince only needed the court and the royal family to stop talking nonsense. Even if there were some discussions among the people, they should not pay too much attention to them. (End of this chapter)