Zhu Di's Ambition

"This child takes after me!"

Zhu Yuanzhang recited the poem twice more, utterly delighted, then said, "Bring me paper and a brush!"

Jixiang hurriedly brought the paper and brush. Noticing there was little ink left, he carefully ground some more while Zhu Yuanzhang took up the brush and copied the poem onto the paper.

The more he looked at it, the more majestic and sweeping it seemed.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought he might have liked this poem even more had it appeared before the founding of Great Ming, when he was still fighting to conquer the realm. But it was certainly fitting now, too.

"That wayward grandson has some ambition!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily. "He's surely eyeing my throne. No wonder he wants to contend for the succession. But his talent is truly impressive."

For generations, the Zhu family had been farmers who could not read a single word.

Now that the family had produced a wayward grandson who could write poetry, Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally delighted. He chuckled. "If he has the ability, I'll allow him that ambition."

Beside him, Jixiang set down the ink stick and said softly, "Your Majesty, the Second Imperial Grandson also wrote a poem. Would you like to hear it?"

"Recite it for me!"

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to see what sort of poem his consistently diligent, eager-to-learn model student had written.

Jixiang promptly recited it.

"It's fairly good!"

After hearing it, Zhu Yuanzhang considered it for a moment. It fell far short of Zhu Yuntong's, but he still ought to offer some encouragement.

So, fairly good it was!

It followed all the rules, which was better than those ignorant, uneducated sons of his, such as Zhu Gui. They had spent so long in the Great Ben Hall and still could not even write properly. He needed to send them out of Jinling to their fiefs.

"Summon them!"

As Zhu Yuanzhang thought this over, he added, "Have the Second Imperial Grandson and the Third Imperial Grandson come at noon to dine with me."

He had originally intended to summon only Zhu Yuntong, but with the contest for the succession underway, he could not let that wayward grandson get carried away. He needed to use Zhu Yunwen to spur him on.

Besides, Zhu Yunwen was also contending for the succession, and he could not let the boy despair just yet. Old Zhu merely disliked Lü Shi; he could not really say he hated Zhu Yunwen.

It was just that, after gaining a clearer understanding of him, he no longer liked Zhu Yunwen as much as he once had. He found the boy deeply hypocritical, but he would not distance himself from him.

He also needed to create a rival for that wayward grandson, to help him mature as quickly as possible and take over his position.

As emperor, he could not always act according to his likes and dislikes. There were many things he needed to consider and balance.

Old Zhu was no exception. He, too, had to weigh such matters.

"Yes!"

Jixiang hurried off to deliver the command.

At the Great Ben Hall, it was just time for the midday break.

Upon receiving the command, Zhu Yuntong and Zhu Yunwen had no choice but to head to the Hall of Martial Valor.

Finally able to see Old Zhu again, Zhu Yunwen was overjoyed. He kept thinking, Imperial Grandfather really hasn't forgotten me.

But as soon as they reached the Hall of Martial Valor and he heard Zhu Yuanzhang repeatedly praising Zhu Yuntong's poem, Zhu Yunwen once again felt his world crumbling. He was about to become nothing more than a backdrop.

Zhu Yuntong: "..."

The poem had reached the Hall of Martial Valor that quickly.

Just how many members of the Embroidered Guard had Butcher Zhu planted in the Great Ben Hall?

That afternoon, at the Prince of Yan's Residence.

"People outside are all saying Yuntong is cruel and heartless, devoid of benevolence or righteousness, and knows nothing but killing-that he's another Butcher Zhu, just like my imperial father."

Zhu Di naturally had informants in Yingtian Prefecture, so he could quickly learn what was happening outside.

Besides, the killings were hardly a secret.

Over the course of a single noon break, Zhu Yunwen and his people had spread the news for Zhu Yuntong again and again, forcibly branding him as cruel and heartless.

"One look tells you it's the handiwork of Your Highness's elder nephew."

Yao Guangxiao smiled faintly. "They're rather foolish."

Zhu Di smiled as well and asked, "How so?"

"Foolish in every way," Yao Guangxiao said. "Take this occasion, for example. They're proclaiming everywhere that the Third Imperial Grandson is cruel and heartless. Do they think His Majesty doesn't know? Of course he does. Not only will it accomplish little, it will also make His Majesty regard the Second Imperial Grandson as hypocritical."

"You're right, Master!"

Zhu Di agreed with him, then added, "Besides, my imperial father is Butcher Zhu!"

Yao Guangxiao smiled. "Precisely. His Majesty may favor the Third Imperial Grandson all the more for being just as decisive in killing as he is. The Second Imperial Grandson has outsmarted himself. And there's one more thing they've all overlooked."

"What is it?"

"His Majesty's approval!"

Yao Guangxiao said, "No matter how many supporters they gain, none of it matters as much as a single word of approval from His Majesty. The person who truly decides the heir is not the court's civil and military officials, but His Majesty alone! The Third Imperial Grandson seems to have grasped this. He has won His Majesty's deep affection, and that gives him ample advantage in the contest for the succession."

"This nephew of mine is no ordinary boy!"

Zhu Di thought little of Zhu Yunwen, but over the past few days, he had realized Zhu Yuntong was the greatest threat. "Before, he never showed the mountains or revealed the waters. He stayed silent, then stunned everyone with a single cry."

"He's merely protecting himself!"

Yao Guangxiao seemed to have seen through something else. He continued, "If he doesn't contend for the succession, then once Zhu Yunwen succeeds, I'm afraid his life will become very difficult."

As the true son of the principal wife, if he failed to take the throne, the concubine-born son who ascended it would inevitably regard him with suspicion. Especially since this principal wife's son had a powerful base of military support behind him.

To survive, his only path was to contend for the succession.

"He hasn't had it easy, either!"

Zhu Di sighed. "But I've had it even harder. If Father never intended to name me his heir, why did he used to say I resembled him most? He gave me a little hope, only to plunge me into despair. Heh..."

He gave a self-mocking laugh.

He always felt Zhu Yuanzhang had been deeply unfair, toying with his feelings.

Just then, a personal attendant returned and whispered into his ear for quite some time.

Zhu Di's expression immediately became a sight to behold. "Bring me a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone."

The attendant withdrew and soon brought back the Four Treasures of the Study.

Zhu Di ground the ink himself, then took up the brush and wrote down Zhu Yuntong's poem. He also had a few informants in the palace, and some news had already made its way out.

However, the Embroidered Guard had long since identified all his informants. Zhu Yuanzhang simply could not be bothered to act against them.

"Please take a look, Master. What do you think?"

Zhu Di handed the paper to Yao Guangxiao.

"Majestic and sweeping!"

After reading for a while, Yao Guangxiao's eyes lit up. He sighed in admiration. "A fine poem. But I am not qualified to judge it."

"Neither am I, but I wish I were!"

Zhu Di said, "I like this poem. 'To count the truly great, look to the present age.' Could that be me?"

"Where did this poem come from?"

"Yuntong wrote it."

"The Third Imperial Grandson possesses such talent? And such aspirations?"

Yao Guangxiao was astonished. He felt he needed to reassess Zhu Yuntong.

This Third Imperial Grandson was nowhere near as simple as they had predicted.

"Now that this poem has appeared, Father should favor him even more."

Zhu Di put away the paper and had someone take it to his study. Then he said, "Eldest Brother has already been buried, and there's nothing else keeping us in the capital for now. Father will probably send us back soon. Once we return, there will be no more hope of contending for the succession. I'll have to focus on commanding my troops."

"With troops comes power," Yao Guangxiao said.

Power was usually seized through military force. Zhu Di could only take this path. Once Old Zhu was gone, he could boldly make an attempt.

He had to return and build up his military strength. That, too, was part of Yao Guangxiao's plan.