The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 207 Zhu Biao hosts a banquet, gathering meritorious officials and nobles.

"If a reckless and tyrannical ruler were to emerge, decades of hard work by generations of our Ming Dynasty would be destroyed in an instant!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao smiled awkwardly upon hearing this. He knew very well that the person Li Shanchang was referring to was his own son, Zhu Xiong Ying.

When Li Shanchang, the Duke of Han, went to court twice, the first time Zhu Xiong Ying sent someone to marry him off, leaving him stranded at the gate of the Duke of Han's mansion, which was a great loss of face.

The second time, he intended to go to court to seek some benefits for these nobles of Huaixi, but who would have thought that in the end he would not receive any benefits and instead hand over the imperial edict.

For a high-ranking official who had governed the Ming Dynasty for many years, to lose face in front of a mere child was an extremely embarrassing thing for anyone.

"Zhu Biao invited you all here today, firstly to apologize to you all. Xiong Ying was young and impetuous and didn't know any better, which caused you a lot of trouble!"

"Secondly, it is to reward all the veteran ministers on behalf of my father. Without your dedication and hard work, there would be no peace in the Ming Dynasty today!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao turned his gaze to Li Qi, who was standing to the side.

"Brother Li Qi, how are you doing in Lin'an?"

Li Qi respectfully bowed to Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Lin'an is doing well. I was just mentioning His Majesty and Your Highness a while ago. During this time of His Majesty and Your Highness's absence, Lin'an has indeed missed them dearly!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao smiled and nodded upon hearing this, as his younger brothers and sisters all valued family ties very much.

"If you have nothing to do in Lin'an, you can go to the palace to keep the Empress Dowager company. Brother Li Qi is not young anymore. After a while, you can find an opportunity to go to the countryside for training and then return to be given important responsibilities!"

"As the eldest son of the Duke of Han, your abilities are naturally exceptional. I hope you can assist me as the Duke of Han assisted his father!"

Li Qi's eyes lit up when he heard this.

This is His Highness the Crown Prince trying to win me over; countless ministers in the court want to meet His Highness the Crown Prince.

Now that His Highness the Crown Prince was right in front of him and had made such a promise, he was naturally very happy.

At this moment, Korean Prince Li Shanchang coughed twice and looked at Li Qi with some dissatisfaction.

Li Qi realized that he had lost his composure and couldn't help but worry that it might affect the Crown Prince's impression of him.

Li Shanchang got off the carriage, and Crown Prince Zhu Biao hurriedly helped him up.

Li Shanchang said with some concern.

"Your Highness, this is absolutely forbidden! You are the Crown Prince, and I am your subject. How can the Crown Prince support his subject? This is truly against etiquette!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao said, trying to comfort him.

"Please rest assured, teacher. I invited you all here in my private capacity. I am not the Crown Prince, and you are not the Duke of Han. There is no imperial court here, only teacher and students!"

Li Shanchang postponed the trip twice more, and with a clear conscience, he walked towards the restaurant with the support of Li Qi and Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

The restaurant was extremely noisy at this time, with a crowd gathered together, discussing the matter.

Marquis Lu Zhongheng of Ji'an was extremely surprised.

"The Crown Prince is indeed the Crown Prince; he has such a powerful influence!"

Now, almost all the nobles and officials in Yingtian Prefecture have gathered here.

Soon, Crown Prince Zhu Biao entered the main hall of the restaurant, and the people sitting at the front were the first to stand up and bow to him.

These three were none other than Li Wenzhong, Duke of Cao; Xu Da, Duke of Wei; and Lan Yu, Duke of Liang.

Both Lan Yu and Fu Youde were extremely surprised to see Li Shanchang.

"Why is the Korean prince here?"

"That old guy hasn't come out for a long time; I thought he was dead!"

"Lan Yu said casually. Fu Youde, on the other hand, kept his head down and remained silent."

Although both of them were extremely arrogant, they were the two who shouted the loudest in the imperial court.

However, this contrasts sharply with Lan Yu's complete indifference.

Marquis Fu Youde of Yingchuan was indeed quite intelligent.

Among the civil and military officials in the court, Marquis Yingchuan Fu Youde joined the government relatively late.

Fu Youde only managed to catch the last one when the Poyang Lake Building project was almost finished.

If it weren't for the merits he accumulated over the years during his northern expeditions, he probably wouldn't be sitting here.

On the one hand, Fu Youde was not from Huaixi, and I also wanted to integrate into the circle of Huaixi nobles, which was not an easy thing.

On the other hand, Fu Youde and his ilk couldn't see eye to eye, and he had always disliked them.

Naturally, these people did not consider Fu Youde as one of their own.

However, he was very clear about how powerful the Huaixi nobles were. Although these people no longer held military power, most of those who held military power now were their former subordinates. Being a little carefree in the thatched cottage, or offending a few people, wouldn't cause much of a problem.

But in this situation, if he were to offend all these nobles, he would be stirring up a hornet's nest.

Lan Yu had no such concerns.

Firstly, many people on the military side were subordinates of his brother-in-law Chang Yuchun, so they naturally had to give him face.

In addition, I have accumulated a lot of connections over the years during my northern expeditions.

Even according to seniority, the current crown prince Zhu Biao still has to call him uncle.

That's why Lan Yu never worries about anyone's revenge.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao sat at the head of the table, followed by four dukes, a dozen monkeys, and numerous earls.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao looked at these people and said.

"All of you uncles are family, so I, Zhu Biao, won't stand on ceremony. Xiong Ying is still young and has caused you all a lot of trouble recently. I apologize to you all!"

Everyone cried out that they dared not.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao is the apple of His Majesty's and Empress Ma's eye.

Not everyone can handle his treatment.

As is well known, in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, there were only two sons: Crown Prince Zhu Biao and all the other sons.

If they actually accept this gift, they're probably not far from the end of the world.

Korean Prince Lee Seon-jang slightly opened his eyes.

“We are all elders, and even if His Highness the Crown Prince is being unreasonable, we can’t say anything. However, during the time he has been in charge of the country, the system of our Great Ming has been thrown into chaos!”

"Not only is there no Secretariat, but he also established some kind of cabinet and put the twelfth prince in the Hall of Diligent Governance to review memorials. It's simply absurd!"

What Li Shanchang least wanted to see was the cabinet established by Zhu Xiong Ying.

The Ming Dynasty had a central government office, and officials of the six ministries and the provincial administration commissions in the north and south would first report any matters to the central government office, and then select the important ones to hand over to Zhu Yuanzhang.

But now that a cabinet has been established, things are completely different.

The six ministers would report the matter directly to the cabinet, which would then draft corresponding handling opinions and submit them to the emperor for a decision.

This would mean that the emperor's power would greatly increase, and he could handle many things, which would surely throw the court into chaos.

(End of this chapter)