Chapter 461 Crown Prince

Most of the princes, royal family members, nobles, and bureaucrats felt that Zhu Jianxuan would probably not directly appoint a crown prince at the grand court ceremony when he was 80 years old.

There is now less than a year left until the Great Hajj.

The Royal Industrial Group is extremely large in scale, and its internal affairs are extremely complicated.

The Royal Industrial Group headquarters and many of its important subordinate industries also organize and participate in various large-scale commercial activities before and after the Hajj.

During this period of time, the main person in charge of the Royal Industrial Group headquarters could only concentrate on dealing with activities related to the Grand Hajj.

It is impossible to make other major plans and affairs outside of this, and there is no way to make large-scale adjustments to the main personnel within the Royal Industrial Group.
The last batch of princes now go to the Royal Industrial Group, and can only learn how to deal with these activities during the Great Hajj.

They have no chance to demonstrate their abilities and ideas, and the gap between them cannot be reflected.

Nothing special can be achieved in just one year.

In fact, it was true. The princes who were thrown into the royal industrial group were extremely busy for the next six months.

Running around at various business events, running back and forth between factories, exhibitions and government offices.

The older princes who had been away for several years could barely adapt to this kind of life and could still insist on working for the existing managers and stewards of the Royal Industrial Group.

Review all important documents and reports to get a basic idea of ​​everything you need to know.

Visit all the places you need to go, and get a general impression of the locations and uses of all the important factories, warehouses, office buildings, and exhibition halls.

Meet all the people you need to know, such as the managers of subordinate institutions, officials of the corresponding government offices, managers and bosses of suppliers and customers.

The prince, who was in his teens and had not yet started his internship, felt very uncomfortable. He kept saying in his heart countless times that this kind of life was too uncomfortable.

However, considering their own status and their father’s request, they did not dare to give up.

In fact, the managers and stewards of the Royal Industrial Group would not require the prince to follow them in doing anything.

But the princes themselves did not dare to be lazy.

They can only keep forcing themselves to cheer up, dragging their own spirits to follow everyone to designated places, to learn about specific things, and to meet specific people.

In this context, when the 56th year of Tiangong was about to pass halfway, Zhu Jianxuan suddenly issued an edict to the Imperial Clan Court, the Honor and Conferment Court, and the Ministry of Rites:
Preparations were being made for the ceremony of enthroning the crown prince, which would take place on the first day of February, after the grand audience and when government offices were open on weekdays.

Zhu Jianxuan’s imperial edict was public. After it was sent to three departments, it took less than a day to spread to all the government offices of the central court.

There had been no news before that the emperor particularly liked any prince, so the news of deciding to appoint a crown prince seemed very sudden and surprised everyone.

However, considering Zhu Jianxuan’s age, as he is about to celebrate his 80th birthday, it is indeed appropriate to appoint a crown prince.

People from all relevant institutions immediately began to make preparations step by step, adding the ceremony of enthroning the Crown Prince to the existing Grand Hajj.

Other unrelated people instinctively speculated in their hearts who the emperor would choose as the crown prince.

The princes were all extremely nervous.

Even the oldest princes, who were about to turn sixty years old and felt that they had no chance, could not help but instinctively hold on to a sense of anticipation.

The youngest princes, the children who were not yet adults, also had an irrepressible longing.

There is almost no one who does not want to be the master of this world.

The feudal monarchs and high-ranking nobles in the outer seas were all particularly concerned after hearing the news.

The crown prince is the future emperor and their future monarch.

If you could know who the crown prince is and establish a good relationship with him before he ascends the throne or even is conferred a title, that would certainly be beneficial to you.

But it is almost impossible to determine who the prince is now.

The main reason was that the emperor had no inclination on this matter, and the princes had always been arranged in batches, with all fifteen brothers being assessed together.

The key is not to rank among the fifteen brothers, including the last thirty-three princes.

Time seemed to pass more slowly.

The entire Shuntian Prefecture, the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom, and the entire world are looking forward to the final revelation of this mystery.

Time finally slowly came to the fifty-seventh year of Tiangong.

On the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, the grand audience ceremony was officially held in the Grand Palace. Zhu Jianxuan, who was already eighty years old but still had fairly flexible legs and feet, walked up to the throne himself to accept the worship of everyone.

Then he asked the Chairman of the Council of State, the eldest prince Zhu Jingkun, to read the New Year’s edict.

The main content of the edict is actually a summary and arrangement, which explains in different categories the current overall situation of the Ming Dynasty and the important achievements achieved in the past five years and the past ten years.

Finally, it explains the court’s next plans and the direction in which it will guide and build.

This has become a custom during the Grand Hajj. Originally, this edict would be the focus of everyone’s research, and investment hotspots for the next few years could be found from it.

Following the emperor’s direction and the development direction of the court has been the most correct way of investing in the past few decades.

The emperor would then explain his general plans in the edict of the great audience.

So of course we have to listen carefully to this edict.

But now most people are a little unsettled, mainly because of the pressure of enthroning the crown prince.

News related to the Crown Prince is more important than those investment hotspots.

Zhu Jianxuan did not let them wait any longer. The key was to give the newly crowned prince some time to prepare.

So at today’s grand audience ceremony, after the routine summary of the planning edict was announced, Zhu Jianxuan took out a memorial book himself.

This is an exquisite blank booklet used exclusively by the emperor. It has only one page and only one sentence on it.

Zhu Jianxuan personally read out his own words, this extremely simple order:
“The Emperor’s 137th son, Zhu Jinggui, will be appointed Crown Prince. The enthronement ceremony will be held on February 1, the 57th year of Tiangong.”

The emperor’s direct orders were usually this simple, and their actual form was similar to the notes written by leaders in later generations, with only one sentence or a few general sentences.

Those very serious and formal imperial edicts that appeared in history, especially those that praised the person concerned to the sky, were usually specially prepared during ceremonies.

When Zhu Jianxuan’s order was issued, all the people at the Grand Audience were stunned.

Most of the royal family, nobles, and bureaucrats had no idea who Zhu Jinggui was, and most of the princes had no impression of their brother Zhu Jinggui.

Only the dozen or so princes who participated in the training with Zhu Jingkun knew that they had such a brother.

These people also have a superficial impression of this brother.

In their impression, Zhu Jinggui is very inconspicuous. He is very careful in everything he does, and can even be said to be timid.

Zhu Jinggui rarely takes the initiative to participate in discussions and almost never argues with others directly.

When others are speaking, he will never interrupt unless they say something extremely outrageous.

Whenever someone objected when he was speaking, he would almost always shut up.

Although he often voted against it, he was unwilling to support any plan that was even slightly radical.

But no one would consider him as a major competitor.

Most people naturally thought that an emperor with great talent and strategy like Zhu Jianxuan would definitely choose a prince who was responsible, courageous and capable to be the crown prince.

Therefore, the princes who knew Zhu Jinggui were now more surprised than others.

They totally don’t understand why their father chose Zhu Jinggui, a brother who usually only holds them back?
But the most surprised person at the scene was Zhu Jinggui himself.

When Zhu Jinggui, who is 28 years old this year, heard his name, he did not immediately understand what the sentence meant.

When I realized what was happening, I was completely stunned and couldn’t accept this reality.

Zhu Jinggui stood there in a daze for a long time, not realizing what he should do.

Until Zhu Jianxuan spoke again and directly called Zhu Jinggui’s name:

“Jinggui—come to me.”

Another prince behind Zhu Jinggui also carefully tugged at Zhu Jinggui’s sleeve.

Zhu Jinggui finally reacted and walked out of the crowd cautiously with extreme surprise and fear.

Then, under the gaze of everyone around him, he first bowed to Zhu Jianxuan in the middle of the hall:

“Your Majesty, I accept your order and thank you for your grace.”

Zhu Jianxuan was a little surprised, and then realized that he had been in a daze and forgot to come out to receive the order and express his gratitude. He only realized it when he had asked him to come over.

But he didn’t come over directly, but hurried to make up for what he had forgotten.

Zhu Jianxuan was quite satisfied with his reaction:
“Stand up and come here.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Zhu Jinggui bowed again and then slowly walked to Zhu Jianxuan’s throne.

Zhu Jianxuan gestured with his hand, asking Zhu Jinggui to stand at his lower right, opposite the eldest prince Zhu Jingkun at his lower left.

The eldest prince Zhu Jingkun celebrated his 60th birthday last year. Now he sees his younger brother, who is more than 30 years younger than him, has become the crown prince.

The key is that I haven’t heard that this younger brother is anything special. Now I can only see that he is more careful and meticulous, and knows how to make up for what he has forgotten.

With mixed feelings, Zhu Jingkun first bowed and smiled at Zhu Jinggui, and then led everyone inside and outside the hall to salute Zhu Jinggui together.

Zhu Jinggui, the prince who had been ignored by many people before today, is now the heir to the entire Ming Dynasty.

The formal enthronement ceremony in a dozen days will be more of a ceremonial nature, and Zhu Jianxuan’s decision has taken effect now.

Zhu Jianxuan watched everyone finish their salute, then looked at Zhu Jinggui who was standing at the lower right, and announced the end of the audience.

Zhu Jianxuan came down from the throne and left from the right side of the throne. When he passed by Zhu Jinggui, he stopped and instructed Zhu Jinggui who was standing there:

“Jinggui, come with me.”

Zhu Jinggui hurriedly followed Zhu Jianxuan out of the main hall, then got into Zhu Jianxuan’s car and returned to the hall where Zhu Jianxuan worked every day.

Zhu Jianxuan sat down behind his desk and asked his servant to bring an armchair for Zhu Jinggui so that he could sit next to him.

Then Zhu Jianxuan asked Zhu Jinggui casually:

“Jinggui, do you know why I chose you as the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty?”

Zhu Jinggui had seriously thought about why his father chose him, who was inconspicuous among so many brothers.

Zhu Jinggui had some guesses in his mind, but he didn’t dare to say it directly now, so he could only respond cautiously:

“Your Highness… I dare not presume to guess what your father is thinking…”

Zhu Jianxuan continued to ask and remind:
“You have to figure out why I chose you, so you can know what to do next.

“You can only lead Ming Dynasty to a better place if you can guess my thoughts…”

Zhu Jinggui understood what his father meant, so he could only speak out his guesses:
“I think it may be because I am more cautious and careful in doing things, because I am not better than other brothers in any way.

“The Emperor chose me because he wanted a ruler who could maintain the stability of the court and even the world.”

Zhu Jianxuan indeed thought so.

Most of Zhu Jianxuan’s own children, especially the princes who have completed most of the practical training in administration, have basic abilities to govern.

In classical dynasties, at least they were all wise rulers.

At the same time, what they do is start a business, and the main task of the next generation of emperors is to “maintain the business.”

Zhu Jianxuan felt that as an emperor who was to maintain his throne, he did not need to have extraordinary talents far beyond ordinary people, nor did he need a very smart child.

Being extremely smart can even be a negative quality; extremely smart people are often very conceited.

In addition to his status as a prince or even an emperor, everyone around him obeys his orders and the whole world respects him to the utmost, which makes it easier for him to become conceited.

On the basis of having qualified basic abilities, being in good health, energetic, having a stable character, and being careful and prudent are more valuable than having only extremely high intelligence.

It is indeed these characteristics of Zhu Jinggui that Zhu Jianxuan values. Zhu Jinggui does not like to argue with others and does not like to make particularly radical decisions.

At the same time, Zhu Jinggui was indeed careful in his work. He was the one who took the most notes among all the princes. He would write down everything he said to their teachers.

Zhu Jinggui is very methodical in his work. He forgot to express his gratitude in the hall, but he did it as soon as he remembered it.

He is also able to withstand strong pressure. He has been very busy at the Royal Industrial Group over the past six months, but he has never made any mistakes and he learns things very quickly.

His overall talent level, although definitely not a genius, is definitely among the smarter ones among ordinary people.

After listening to Zhu Jinggui’s report, Zhu Jianxuan nodded slightly and said:
“That’s about it. Now the Ming Dynasty is truly rich and has truly ruled the world.

“I have spent the last 20 to 30 years maintaining the steady operation of all this, and these are also the most important things you will do in the future.

“Space exploration can continue, but there is no need to be particularly utilitarian or purposeful about it.

“These exploration activities should be used as a means to train scientific researchers, control technology for aerospace equipment, and so on…”

After hearing this, Zhu Jinggui quickly agreed:

“I understand. I will keep my father’s teachings in mind, do my best to maintain the stability of the world, and adhere to all of my father’s arrangements…”

Zhu Jianxuan interrupted him when he heard this and continued to instruct the successor he had chosen:

“You can’t just follow my arrangements in the future. You need to understand the purpose of my arrangements.

“If there is a new way to achieve the same goal, then the ancestral law can be changed.

“At the same time, you should also understand that absolute stillness does not exist. There is only relative stillness in the universe, and the same is true for government and civil affairs.

“So the stability I’m talking about, the stability you should maintain, is always relative and dynamic stability, not static stability.”

Zhu Jinggui quickly agreed again:

“I understand. I will remember your teachings.”

Zhu Jinggui said a little more just now, which seemed to make Zhu Jianxuan unhappy, and then he criticized him a few words.

This time, Zhu Jinggui did not dare to express his opinions casually, for fear that Zhu Jianxuan would criticize him again.

But Zhu Jianxuan didn’t want him to worry like this:

“Now that I can still move, I can still give you direct requests and guidance, so if you have any ideas, just tell me directly.

“After I’m gone, no one will be able to talk to you like this.

“If there is something you don’t know how to solve, or if you don’t know whether your plans and ideas are appropriate.

“No one can tell you what to do anymore.

“You may be afraid of me now, but when you become emperor in the future and encounter problems that you cannot solve, you will miss me…”

Zhu Jinggui suddenly realized again, and then said awkwardly:

“Father…I understand. I really don’t have any ideas this time. I think the dynamic balance you mentioned makes sense.

“My son now hopes that the world can maintain this stable situation and let the prosperous times last forever.”

Zhu Jianxuan wanted to remind him that prosperity could not last forever, but at the same time he immediately felt that he could not keep denying him.

He is the future emperor, the ruler of the world, not a submissive subject.

Zhu Jianxuan then took a blank notebook from the table and wrote two simple commands himself:

“Order the Crown Prince to learn the main affairs of the Cabinet, the Secretariat, and the Royal Industry Group, and the Grand Secretary, the Minister, and the Treasurer to cooperate.”

He handed the question book to Zhu Jinggui and told him verbally:

“You should go to the Cabinet and the Secretariat to learn and find out how the Cabinet and the Secretariat do things.

“You should follow the proposals of the Grand Secretaries and ask them why they make such suggestions.

“For those memorials you have seen, if you have any reasonable solutions in mind, you can also write a proposal.

“Then write down your own thoughts and questions in your own notebook.

“Come and have dinner with me every evening and discuss your ideas and problems with me.”

Zhu Jinggui knew it and quickly agreed:

“My son, I obey.”

(End of this chapter)