At the Qinhuai River ferry, the two princes exchanged a few words. Before long they found themselves sympathizing with one another.
Even so, such complaints could only be spoken quietly here. In the end, what truly intrigued them was the reason for the summons.
After all, both of them had already taken up residence in their respective fiefs. Under normal circumstances they would not be summoned lightly unless some important matter had arisen.
Had anything major happened this year?
Naturally there had.
The case of Hu Weiyong had shaken the entire court. Yet to be honest, it had little to do with the two brothers.
Aside from that, there were foreign affairs. The remnant Yuan forces in the north had stirred, but the commander Wan Zhe Buhua had already been captured. Moreover, if one calculated the time when the two brothers received the imperial summons, the Northern Yuan had not yet made any move.
Yunnan was much the same. The remaining Yuan forces there still held out, but they had not managed to create any significant trouble for quite some time.
In the end, Zhu Shuang, who had once served in the army, set the matter aside for the moment.
"What matter it is, we will know once we see Eldest Brother."
Zhu Gang agreed. Whenever the two of them were scolded by their father in the past, it had always been their eldest brother who mediated in between, preventing their father from delivering even harsher punishment.
Others might not know, but as the younger brothers of the Crown Prince, they understood very clearly how much their father valued their eldest brother.
Still, Zhu Gang did not forget to offer a warning.
"Now that we have entered Yingtian Prefecture, Second Brother should act with greater caution. After all…"
"I know."
Zhu Shuang nodded.
He had already begun to enjoy the freedom of life in his fief. Therefore, when he returned to his father's side, enduring a little and learning from his eldest brother how to behave like a dutiful son was hardly a difficult thing. In any case, once he returned to his fief, he would have plenty of time to live freely again.
The plan was simple enough.
What Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang had not expected, however, was that after only two years away from the capital, Yingtian had become strangely unfamiliar.
From the moment they entered the palace, the Yiluan Guard that had once been seen everywhere had disappeared. In its place stood an organization called the Jinyiwei.
And in front of the Jinyiwei, the identity of the two brothers as princes seemed to carry little weight.
It was also near the end of the year, the busiest time for the Son of Heaven.
The emperor of Ming was occupied with the rites of sacrifice to Heaven and the ancestral temple, and had little leisure to converse with the two princes. The Crown Prince, who accompanied the emperor constantly, was just as busy.
Meanwhile their fourth brother Zhu Di and sixth brother Zhu Zhen were occupied with their studies. During their spare moments the two of them often gathered together to discuss matters of the seas and distant western lands, subjects that felt completely unfamiliar to Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang.
As for their fifth brother Zhu Su, he was even busier. From beginning to end the two princes hardly saw him at all. They only heard from their mother that Zhu Su was now deeply engaged in studying the classics.
After considering everything, the only person who was easy to find and willing to spend time with them turned out to be their mother, the Empress.
Each time they sat with her for a while and chatted, when they looked up they would see her smiling gently at them.
The smile was very familiar.
When they were children and their mother had hidden some treat for them to guess, she wore exactly the same expression.
Could it be that Yingtian had undergone some changes they had not yet discovered?
Their father's old friend, the great general Xu Da, and the Grand Censor Li Shanchang should both know something. Yet now that the two brothers were not merely imperial sons but princes with their own fiefs, visiting them was no longer convenient.
Thus they could only suppress their curiosity for the moment and wait quietly until after the New Year to see what scheme their father was preparing.
For Zhu Yuanzhang, however, the series of sacrifices during this period filled him with great excitement.
The Crown Prince Zhu Biao accompanied him each time and stood close enough to see clearly.
Whenever his father recited the sacrificial text and reached phrases such as "by the Mandate of Heaven," "in response to Heaven," and "to carry out the Heavenly decree," his eyebrows would rise so high that they nearly disappeared beneath the ceremonial crown.
Zhu Biao naturally understood the reason.
According to the records of later generations, the Ming dynasty might have many flaws. Its reign might not be especially long.
Yet there was one fact beyond doubt.
In overthrowing the Yuan and restoring the lands of China, his father had performed remarkably well.
Zhu Biao even suspected that if the ritual officials were not present during the sacrifices, his excited father might have sat down and talked endlessly to the ancestors about what it meant to be the Hongwu Emperor and what it meant to be favored by the mysterious light screen.
After the rites of sacrifice to Heaven and the ancestors concluded successfully, both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao almost simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.
For them, the affairs of the New Year could now be considered half settled.
Next came the grand court assembly on the first day of the first lunar month, and it proceeded very smoothly.
For the officials, this was the first time since the founding of Ming that they had enjoyed more than half a month of continuous rest. Going through the formal procedures, offering their congratulations, exchanging cordial words with the emperor, and then ending the assembly early so that everyone could return home and continue their holiday was far more appealing than anything else.
By contrast, the officials who had to remain on duty during the New Year felt utterly miserable.
Although the emperor had said they could make up their rest after the second month, the rest obtained then could hardly compare to the holiday they were missing now.
After the grand court assembly came the reception of foreign envoys.
For the ritual officials, this process was already quite familiar.
Envoys from Champa, Chenla, and Java were regular visitors who came to present tribute every year. This time, however, the emperor behaved somewhat differently. He personally spoke with them about the customs and landscapes of their lands, and even granted the envoy of Champa a seat.
With genuine emotion he reminisced about the time during the Han and Tang dynasties when Champa had once been part of the lands of China.
The Champa envoy could only cough repeatedly.
As for Ryukyu, there was even less to say.
This island kingdom across the sea relied on Ming with complete devotion. The court had received their envoys three times the year before last, five times last year, and four times this year including the New Year tribute.
In short, they were old friends.
After all the other envoys had presented their gifts, the final one to step forward with tribute was the envoy from Japan.
The ritual officials were equally familiar with them.
If the envoys of Ryukyu were as familiar as old friends, the officials even felt a certain sympathy for the Japanese envoys.
From the seventh year of Hongwu until now, they had come every year to offer tribute. Every year the emperor had rejected them sternly without showing the slightest favor.
One ritual official remembered hearing them say privately that if they still failed to win the favor of the Son of Heaven this year, they might not be able to return again next year.
Now the officials watched as the Japanese envoys raised their gifts above their heads in offering.
The leader stepped forward respectfully and presented a written memorial.
Seeing the anxious expressions on the envoys' faces, the official responsible for delivering the memorial inwardly shook his head.
This had already happened six times.
The seventh time would surely be no different.
He accepted the memorial and turned to present it toward the emperor. Normally he would wait three breaths before hearing the emperor's harsh rebuke. He had already prepared himself to be sprayed with the emperor's scolding words.
Yet unexpectedly, the thin memorial was taken up and opened.
The ritual official was startled.
The Japanese envoys below were equally stunned. Then their faces filled with wild joy. They dared not make a sound and could only grip their thighs tightly while staring at the emperor of Ming, sincerely hoping that this time things would be different.
As if answering their prayers, Zhu Yuanzhang carefully read the memorial.
Then he lifted his chin slightly and asked a single question.
"Can Ashikaga Yoshimitsu suppress the wokou pirates?"