The Three Yangs are terrified! Is this still the useless prince we knew?

Zhu Gaochi's robust voice echoed in the bleak, cold wind, and also in the hearts of Xia Yuanji, Fang Bin, and the others.

They looked at the Crown Prince, who was like a different person while acting as regent, and then at Prince Zheng Zhu Zhanjun, who had a calm expression, feeling that the world had become increasingly magical.

A Crown Prince, gravely ill, took an elixir of unknown origin and instantly became vigorous and energetic?

A useless prince who only knew how to gamble on crickets casually produced a divine weapon and a mountain of gold?

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it, even if beaten to death.

"Your Highness... You... You really intend to give... give that unit a designation?"

Fang Bin stammered, feeling both fear and hatred towards Zhu Zhanjun.

He feared the other party's unreasonable strength and methods, and hated himself for having just advocated for moving the capital south. Now that Zhu Zhanjun had turned the tide, wasn't he just a clown?

Zhu Gaochi's physical condition was better than ever, and his mind was much clearer.

He glanced coldly at Fang Bin, the authority in his eyes making Fang Bin's heart palpitate.

"What? Minister Fang has an opinion?"

"Your subject... Your subject dares not!"

Fang Bin flinched in fear. "It's just... this matter is not in accordance with the Ancestral System. To establish a military designation out of thin air, I'm afraid... I'm afraid the court and the public will discuss it, which will damage Your Highness's reputation!"

He dared not directly oppose Zhu Zhanjun, so he could only aim his attack at Zhu Gaochi.

"Reputation?"

Zhu Gaochi sneered. "Compared to the Emperor's safety, compared to the Great Ming's nation and its altars of soil and grain, what is this little reputation of this Crown Prince worth? The capital is about to be lost, why should we care about the Ancestral System? Or discussions?"

He waved his sleeve, saying domineeringly, "This matter is settled! Zhanjun, you depart immediately, without delay! Xia Yuanji, you stay and return to my residence with me. I will convene a court session immediately to inform the Three Masters Yang of this matter!"

The Three Masters Yang, namely Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu, were Zhu Gaochi's left and right hands, and the core team for the future Reign of Ren and Xuan.

Such important military and state affairs required their support to truly stabilize the rear.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Xia Yuanji bowed and accepted the order, but his heart was pounding.

Confess to the Three Masters Yang?

This matter was far more complicated than he had imagined.

Zhu Zhanjun cupped his fists towards Zhu Gaochi. "Father, Mother, then your son will depart. Please take care of yourselves, and I will bring good news!"

After speaking, he mounted his horse again, waved to the personal guards who had been waiting for a long time, and two figures quickly galloped in the direction of the main army.

Half an hour later, in the Eastern Palace, Wenhua Hall.

The brazier was burning hotly, but the atmosphere inside the hall was colder than the wind and snow outside.

Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi sat at the head, his complexion ruddy and his spirit vigorous, a stark contrast to his deathly appearance that morning.

Crown Princess Zhang sat beside him, her expression solemn.

Below them, three old officials with white beards and hair, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu, along with Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue, all wore looks of grave concern and unease.

They had just heard Xia Yuanji recount everything that had happened outside the city that morning at the fastest possible speed.

From the urgent, eight-hundred-li report of bad news, to Fang Bin's advocacy for moving the capital south, to Prince Zheng Zhu Zhanjun's divine weapon descending from the heavens, and finally to the Crown Prince's "resurrection"... each event struck the hearts of the three Grand Secretaries like a heavy hammer.

"Absurd! Simply utterly absurd!"

Yang Shiqi, who had the most upright temper, was the first to slam the table and rise, his white beard trembling.

He stared intently at Zhu Gaochi and said with grief and indignation, "Your Highness! You... How could you be so foolish! Secretly keeping three thousand armored soldiers, and heavy cavalry with full armor! This is treason! A crime punishable by extermination of nine generations of kin! Prince Zheng... Is he trying to drag the entire Zhu family down with him?"

Although Yang Rong and Yang Pu did not speak, the shocked and worried expressions on their faces already indicated their stance.

To these civil officials, a feudal prince secretly raising troops was a more terrifying matter than the Mongols reaching the gates of Beijing.

The former was an external threat, the latter was internal strife, shaking the foundation of the state!

"Master Shiqi, please calm yourself."

Zhu Gaochi raised his hand, surprisingly calm. "I know what you are worried about. But have you considered that if it weren't for Zhanjun, we wouldn't be discussing the Ancestral System and treason today, but rather how to pack our bags and flee back to Nanjing!"

At these words, Yang Shiqi was immediately silenced.

Yes, Xia Yuanji had also said earlier that at that time, the Crown Prince was spitting blood, the people were panicking, Fang Bin was leading the cry to move south, and the entire Crown Prince's residence was in chaos.

If Zhu Zhanjun had not appeared, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"But... but that still cannot be a reason for him to secretly keep heavy troops!"

Yang Shiqi still insisted, "Three thousand heavy cavalry, wealth that rivals a nation, miraculous medicine of unknown origin... Your Highness, don't you find this too terrifying? Our understanding of Prince Zheng was that he was just a leisurely prince who only knew how to eat, drink, and gamble? When did he gain such heaven-reaching abilities?"

These words struck a chord with everyone.

A person's change could not be this drastic.