Chapter 8: How Can We Trust You?
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Zhu Yunxu was momentarily stunned.
What a joke.
He had just left the palace and returned home, only to be summoned back so soon for questioning.
Old Zhu, couldn’t you have just kept me there in the first place?
That would have saved me an extra trip!
Zhu Yunxu was full of resentment.
The journey from the palace to the Eastern Palace was no short distance.
In this era, transportation relied primarily on one’s own two feet.
Although he traveled by carriage, with wheels carrying him so he only needed to lie down, time could not be saved in the slightest.
He dared not show any sign of slackness in his speech while thinking this.
“Your grandson will obey the imperial decree!”
He immediately followed the eunuch who had delivered the summons and entered the palace.
Behind him, Zhu Yunwen watched his retreating figure; the smile on his face slowly solidified.
The gentle and kind expression gradually shifted, a murderous aura rising bit by bit.
After standing for a while, he too turned and left—first at a slow pace, then gradually quickening until he disappeared from sight.
…
Walking toward the palace, Zhu Yunxu pondered silently.
This time Old Zhu summoned him to the palace—surely it was to ask about his strategies for governing the country?
Yet he was unsure how best to respond.
As a time traveler, he naturally knew the correct answers.
However,
Progressive ideas often meant they clashed with the times.
Old Zhu would likely find them unacceptable.
How to persuade Old Zhu—that was the crucial matter…
“Your Majesty, the Third Imperial Grandson has arrived!”
“Let him in!”
Old Zhu’s voice came, and Zhu Yunxu strode inside.
Before him was a seemingly ordinary courtyard.
Within the courtyard stood a pavilion and a vegetable patch.
At this moment, Old Zhu was bare-shouldered, wielding a hoe as he dug the earth.
A line of palace maids and eunuchs stood nearby.
Zhu Yunxu’s expression froze slightly.
Unexpectedly, despite being the supreme sovereign, busy with reviewing memorials daily, Old Zhu still had the leisure to plant vegetables within the palace.
“Yunxu, you’ve come just in time. I’m tired of digging; come help me.”
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Old Zhu wiped the sweat from his face with a towel hanging around his neck, panting heavily.
Zhu Yunxu stepped forward, taking the hoe from Old Zhu’s hands and began digging vigorously.
He was still young and full of energy.
He didn’t spare any effort, digging much faster than Old Zhu had just moments ago.
“I’m old now, my strength isn’t what it used to be! Yunxu, you dig much faster than I do.”
“Grandfather Emperor is still strong,” Zhu Yunxu said as he dug, “Each official has their own duty, every craft its own trade.”
“The Grandfather Emperor is the Son of Heaven, governing the realm; digging the earth need not be done personally.”
“What do you understand?” Old Zhu shook his head.
“Knowledge gained from books is always shallow; true understanding comes from practice.”
“Encouraging agriculture and sericulture is a matter of national importance.”
“As the Son of Heaven, to truly understand the hardships of the people, one must experience them firsthand.”
“If you don’t dig and plant yourself, how will you know the lives of the common folk?”
Zhu Yunxu smiled: “Grandfather Emperor speaks wisely.”
The patch of land was not large, and before long, he had dug it all.
“Come, have some tea, sit down and rest.”
Old Zhu personally brought him tea and wiped his sweat with a towel.
“Thank you, Grandfather Emperor!”
Zhu Yunxu said quickly.
He was indeed tired; after a few sips of tea, he reclined in a chair beside the pavilion, gasping for air.
“Yunxu, how does digging feel?”
Old Zhu asked with a smile.
“Tiring!” Zhu Yunxu answered in one word.
Old Zhu continued, “Do you think you could farm this land better than an old farmer?”
Zhu Yunxu shook his head.
“No, I can’t.”
He added, “An old farmer has worked the land all his life; this is my first time planting vegetables. Surely I can’t do as well as he.”
“Exactly!” Old Zhu laughed. “Then why do you think, having never governed the realm or been involved in court affairs, that you could do a better job?”
Zhu Yunxu was stunned.
Old Zhu didn’t look at him but gazed toward the setting sun, speaking slowly.
“You know that when it comes to farming, you don’t expect to be better than seasoned farmers because you have no experience.”
“But governing the realm—you’ve never done it, yet you boldly claim you can shoulder such a heavy burden.”
“Do you think governing is easier than farming?”
“If that were true, why would the court bother to hold imperial examinations to select talented officials?”
“Why not just pick anyone to be an official?”
Zhu Yunxu sat up straight and looked at Old Zhu, opening his mouth to speak but then swallowed his words.
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Old Zhu turned to him and smiled.
“You probably thought that by summoning you to the palace, I wanted to hear your strategies for governing the country, to test what you would do as heir apparent.”
Zhu Yunxu’s face flushed slightly.
That was indeed what he had thought.
Today, before the ministers of the court, he had demanded the title of Crown Prince.
Old Zhu neither agreed nor reprimanded him.
In some ways, that was a kind of tacit acknowledgment.
Now, being summoned to the palace, naturally he expected to be questioned about governing.
He had spent much time preparing his answers on the way here, hoping to persuade Old Zhu.
But to his surprise, Old Zhu asked nothing of the sort.
“Grandfather Emperor, lack of experience doesn’t mean complete incapability.”
“Before Zhuge Liang came out of retirement, did he have governing experience? Yet he was able to settle the division of the realm with one word.”
Zhu Yunxu argued, “Just give your grandson a chance. I may not be as good as an old farmer at farming.”
“But I have one advantage over ordinary farmers.”
“I will constantly learn from experience and mistakes, improving my methods.”
“Again and again.”
“If you let me farm for three to five years, I will definitely surpass most farmers.”
He had received nine years of compulsory education and was immersed in twenty-first century scientific and cultural thought.
Zhu Yunxu was confident.
A university student farming for the first time would surely not match an experienced farmer.
But given time, the power of science and culture would gradually show, surpassing the farmers.
“Oh, comparing yourself to Zhuge Liang now, are you?” Old Zhu said with a steady gaze, smiling.
“Then let me quiz you: do you know how many counties and prefectures the Ming has? How many officials? How many people? How much farmland?”
“How much tax revenue does the court collect annually? How much does the treasury spend each year?”
Zhu Yunxu’s face went blank again.
His original identity was not particularly outstanding; he had no knowledge of these statistics in the memories he inherited.
As a modern time traveler, he truly did not know these things!
He could only shake his head and reply, cheeks flushed, “Grandfather Emperor, your grandson does not know.”
Zhu Yuanzhang was not angry, smiling instead.
“I know. In your heart, you believe you have good plans for governing, which is why you boldly claim the throne, to shoulder the fate of the Ming realm.”
“But your governing plans—I do not want to hear them!”
He fixed Zhu Yunxu with a serious expression, his eyes piercing.
“Because you have never dealt with practical affairs, what you think and imagine are mere paper talk.”
“Great generals rise from the ranks, great ministers emerge from the prefectures.”
“You have never led an army into battle, nor governed a single county or prefecture.”
“The so-called good plans you speak of are nothing but castles in the air.”
“Empty words do no good; how can I believe you? How can I entrust this realm to you?”