Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 497 Hong Xi’s eighth year
"Am I torturing him?"

In Wuying Hall, Zhu Gaoxu had never been so speechless.

Who among them, father and son, was tormenting whom, and why did they act like they were forcing the old man to march north?

"This matter was brought up by the Supreme Emperor. He is still in good health at the moment. As a son, his father's fate is difficult."

Zhu Gaoxu touched his mustache as he spoke.

To be honest, if the old man hadn't wanted to go to the north, Zhu Gaoxu would have planned to arrange for Meng Zhang and Zhu Neng to lead the army.

"If this is the case, then I will go and persuade the Supreme Emperor now!"

Although Xia Yuanji rarely argued with Zhu Gaoxu, he argued with Zhu Di many times.

Of course, Xia Yuanji disagreed every time, and then Zhu Di summoned Zhu Gaoxu to put the finishing touches on his policy.

In Xia Yuanji's view, Zhu Di was about to turn sixty-six years old, and he really shouldn't be marching north at this age.

"If you can persuade the Supreme Emperor, it will save some trouble."

Zhu Gaoxu was not prepared to stop Xia Yuanji. Although he did not think Xia Yuanji could convince Zhu Di, but by not letting Xia Yuanji try, others really thought he wanted Zhu Di to go north.

Thinking like this, Zhu Gaoxu stopped arguing with Xia Yuanji.

As an old minister of the Yan Mansion, Guo Zi also bowed and saluted when he saw this, and followed Xia Yuanji in the direction of Daming Palace.

Looking at the two people's backs, Zhu Gaoxu chuckled and shook his head, already thinking of the scene after the old man was entangled by Xia Yuanji.

"Your Majesty, Song Li, the Minister of Rites, would like to see you."

Xia Yuanji and the others had barely gone a word when the eunuch on duty came to report.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Xuan!"

Not long after, Song Li, who was in his sixties, walked into the hall, bowed to Zhu Gaoxu and said:

"My lord, the Minister of Rites, Song Li, is here to see Your Majesty."

"What's the matter?" Zhu Gaoxu put down his pen and asked with a breath of turbid air.

Facing the inquiry, Song Li bowed again and said:

"Forty-six countries including Japan, Korea, Siam, Yeletpali, Champa, Kampulchi, Managara, Tingalu, Pahang, Bani, Sulu, Dadi, Majapahit, Aceh, etc. A total of 3,700 Chinese envoys and businessmen have arrived in Nanjing."

"The remaining kingdoms of the East, the North, the South, Timur, Black Sheep, White Sheep, Mishil (Mamluk), Punggala (Bengal), Nunapura (North India), Dili (Delhi), Ananda The eleven kingdoms of Merit (Vijaya Nagar) have not yet arrived.”

"Based on the naval memorial, around June next year, ships escorting envoys from various countries will be able to arrive in Nanjing."

After Song Li's report was over, Zhu Gaoxu also nodded and said: "The Sixth Army Governor's Mansion will start a military parade in the square outside Daming Gate after the spring begins."

"At the beginning of July next year, soldiers and horses from Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Beizhili will gather here for a military parade."

"At present, overseas trade accounts for a quarter of the country's finances, which is already inseparable."

"Countries in the East, West, and Southeast Asia have also begun to imitate our country in using firearms, so they inevitably begin to feel more arrogant."

"With the help of this military parade, we can not only deter other countries and let them know the strength of China, but also ensure that our people of China will not be squeezed out by small countries in overseas trade."

"The Ministry of Industry has started building a military parade platform. You must communicate with them well. In addition, the dishes must be prepared. Although our country is powerful, we cannot look down on others."

"Some dietary and etiquette things that should be paid attention to must still be arranged in place."

"Of course, this does not mean that we should treat them as guests. We must remember that we are the masters, not them. Don't put the cart before the horse, but let them be arrogant."

Zhu Gaoxu is not worried that the trains, flintlock guns and other objects will be successfully copied by these countries if they are exposed this time.

These things are things that he spent a lot of manpower and material resources to come up with. Not to mention anything else, the more than 7,000 Taixue scholars and more than 300 Ph.D.s in Taixue alone are enough to defeat the scholars of the whole world.

Not to mention them, even those students who graduated from Daming Middle School would be treated as guests in other countries with the amount of knowledge they possess.

Because of this, students who graduate from high school are not allowed to go overseas to prevent them from fleeing to other countries with their knowledge.

This is also because Zhu Gaoxu specially issued an order after North Korea, Japan, and Siam hired many students who graduated from Daming Primary School.

As for firearms, whether it is Japan that was beaten, or North Korea, which secretly learned knowledge from the Ming Dynasty every day, or Siam and Majapahit in the South Sea, Timurid in the Little West...

Basically, these countries started to develop thermal weapons during their fights and contacts with the Ming Dynasty, especially Shaharul of Timurid, Ashikaga Yoshitsugu of Japan, and North Korea...

"By the way, I heard before that North Korea's Li Fangyuan is seriously ill. How is the current situation?"

Zhu Gaoxu remembered that a few days ago, North Korea reported that Li Fangyuan was seriously ill and was preparing to give up the throne to his son Li Chen.

"Back to Your Majesty, the envoy from North Korea reported that Li Fangyuan died of a serious illness last month. His son Li Chen is temporarily regent of the country. Please allow your Majesty to allow him to inherit the throne."

Song Li answered respectfully, while Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

"This Li Fangyuan is not stupid. He actually poached doctors from the imperial court. In fact, he lived for a few more years."

Li Fangyuan was supposed to die of illness in the fifth year of Hongxi's reign, but he hired several doctors from Liaodong with huge sums of money to go to North Korea to treat him.

Although this group of people helped him live for three more years, he eventually died at the age of fifty-nine.

As for his son Li Sun, he was King Sejong of whom later generations would be proud.

The Korean peninsula has its own language, but not its own characters. The nobles have long used Chinese characters from the Central Plains, but the people generally do not understand Chinese. Therefore, the government often uses an official reading style that uses Chinese characters to spell Korean, but for the people who do not know Chinese characters in the first place, It's still hard to understand.

In order to allow North Korea to have its own writing, he sent officials to Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty thirteen times to ask Ming Dynasty scholar Huang Zan about phonology issues. After many years of continuous copying and revision from the Central Plains, he finally produced a book "Hunminjeongeum" is the Korean proverb of later generations.

But historically he was able to do this because the emperors of the Central Plains at that time were Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Qizhen, but now the emperor of the Central Plains is himself.

With the current influence of the Ming Dynasty on the Korean Peninsula, if Li Chen dared to create his own words, even if Zhu Gaoxu didn't speak, the North Korean yangban would spray him with blood.

"Li Chen of North Korea, I heard last time that this person is disrespectful to the Celestial Empire. Let's put aside his canonization for the time being."

"Yes……"

Zhu Gaoxu put aside Li Sun's legitimacy with just one sentence.

He did this just to let Li Chen see his position clearly, and don't think that he couldn't see his attempts to get rid of the infiltration of Ming culture in Beijing.

As long as Zhu Gaoxu is willing, he can kill Li Chen without sending troops.

Thinking like this, Zhu Gaoxu also nodded and said: "If you have nothing to do, just step back."

"I excuse myself..." Song Li stood up, bowed, and slowly exited the Wuying Hall.

After he left, Zhu Gaoxu also turned to Yishiha and asked: "To what extent have the firearms researches in the Eastern and Western Southeast Asian countries been carried out? Have you ever investigated them?"

"Basically, it's still at the level of Huomen Gun and Hongwu Iron Cannon. In addition, their metallurgy is not good, so the iron cannons they cast have problems."

Yi Shiha explained the situation investigated by Xichang to Zhu Gaoxu: "Your Majesty, the population of the imperial court has exceeded tens of millions, why not take the opportunity to annihilate some unsubordinate countries?"

Facing Yi Shiha's words, Zhu Gaoxu glanced at him: "This is what Zhu Neng and others from the Sixth Army Governor's Mansion asked you to test, right?"

"I am ashamed of myself." Yi Shiha directly admitted that this move came from the Sixth Army Governor's Mansion. Zhu Gaoxu heard this and said:

"I have said it a long time ago. It is easy to eat, but it will look ugly when you spit it out due to poor digestion."

"I can understand that they want military glory, but they also have to consider the situation facing the court."

"Tell them to wait patiently. After this Northern Expedition ends, the imperial court will launch a second Northern War within ten years."

The second northern war Zhu Gaoxu mentioned was naturally fought by Yili in the direction of the Western Regions.

At the moment, Yi Li considered Wai Sihan to be a talented person, but if Zhu Gaoxu remembered correctly, he would only have ten years to live at most. Even if he did not die in battle, he would not have been able to live for many years at his age. .

Moreover, during this expedition, Zhu Gaoxu did not intend to eat the entire Western Region in one go, but wanted to eat Turpan and even the southern Xinjiang region.

The population of the entire southern Xinjiang is only over 200,000. If they are moved inland, a few hundred thousand criminals will be able to enrich the local population.

Coal combined with water pumps made it easy for the Han people to take root and live there.

As for Northern Xinjiang, we have to look at his physical condition at that time and the situation in Ming Dynasty.

If he can't recover it, then it's okay to leave it to Zhu Zhanhe. With the strength of the Ming Dynasty, it is not difficult to recover the Western Region. As long as the railway can keep up, it can easily control the area.

Besides, in addition to Northwest, he also has the more important and more difficult Sanxuan Shiwei to deal with.

Compared with the vast and sparsely populated northwest, the southwest with high mountains and dense forests is the highlight.

Wang Xuan, Muchun, Wang Kui and Fu Rang are all old, so he must seize the opportunity to deal with Southwest.

The Longchuan Railway was the beginning of the Ming Dynasty’s transformation of the Indochina Peninsula.

Relying on the granary and railway of Longchuan, as well as the Great Jinsha River in the Burmese plains, the land was continuously transferred to the left and right of the Great Jinsha River.

In short, we must not forget the war. The decline in military preparedness during the Xuande period led to the Tumubao Incident. Zhu Gaoxu could not make the same mistake as his eldest nephew. He had always focused on both military and economic matters.

Thinking like this, he suddenly remembered Zhu Zhanhe who was in Longchuan, and couldn't help asking: "How is the prince's situation?"

"Jianghuai Memorial, Your Highness has become much calmer." Yi Shiha responded, and Zhu Gaoxu nodded after hearing this:

"Since he is calm, let him return to Beijing after the Lantern Festival..."

"By the way, send another message to Muchun, Fu Rang, Wang Xuan, as well as my eldest brother and the third child to enter the capital."

"My slave accepts the order," he agreed, and soon an imperial edict was sent to the southwest.

In a blink of an eye, the crackling of firecrackers began to sound, and Hong Xi's eighth year arrived as scheduled.

But compared to the New Year's smoke, the "smoke" in the Daming Palace is undoubtedly thicker.

"Your Majesty, you are old. It's bitterly cold in the north and your body won't be able to bear it..."

"Fart, my body is very good!"

"Your Majesty, please leave this Northern Expedition to me."

"Zhu Neng, don't make any noise here. Be careful I leave you in Beijing this time."

"The Supreme Emperor..."

"You all get out of here!!"

In the Yangxin Hall of Daming Palace, Zhu Di blasted out Xia Yuanji, Guo Zi, Zhu Neng, Li Bin and others.

Even though everyone was kicked out, they still knelt at the door of the palace and bowed, admonishing Zhu Di through the doors and windows not to march north. In the past month or so, Zhu Di had been "harassed" by Xia Yuanji and Guo Zi in turns. Not only him, but also many military attachés and ministers of the Yan Mansion came to the Daming Palace to persuade him not to go to the battlefield.

But how did these guys know about Zhu Di's suffering.

"Grandpa, why do you insist on marching north?"

Six-year-old Zhu Qiyue looked at the angry Zhu Di. He was curious about why Zhu Di insisted on going to the north.

Facing this great-grandson, Zhu Di held him in his arms very fondly and sighed:
"It's not okay if my great-grandfather doesn't go. Only by going can we feel a little more at ease."

"But you didn't say that my grandpa is here, are you relieved?"

Because he often went out for walks with Zhu Di, although Zhu Qiyue was not young, his skin was slightly dark. Although he looked healthy, he always felt that he had nothing to do with his status as the emperor's grandson.

But it was precisely because of his appearance that Zhu Di liked him very much, so he said to him:

"It's because your grandpa is so capable that I'm worried."

"Can you do it well?" Zhu Qiyue was confused.

"It's good to be capable, but if you are too capable, it will appear that others cannot do it." Zhu Di sighed.

"Then you are saying that my grandpa can do it, so it seems that you, grandpa, can't do it?"

"Forehead……"

Zhu Di was confused by his great-great-grandson and didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only say: "Anyway, grandpa has to go to the north before he can come back comfortably."

"But they all said you would die on the road..." Zhu Qiyue spoke openly and directly exposed the worries of the ministers.

Hearing what he said, Zhu Di quickly spat a few times: "Bah, bah, bah, you can't say such things!"

Although he spat a few times, Zhu Di also knew the situation in the north, so after spitting a few times, he hugged Zhu Qiyue and said:

"Sigh... This man is going to die after all. It's better to die on the road than in bed."

"Think about it, a grown man dies on the bed while the people next to him cry and cry. How useless..."

Before Zhu Di finished speaking, Zhu Qiyue immediately said something shocking: "But didn't you say before that my great-great-grandfather was on the death bed?"

"Hey!" Zhu Di interrupted him, but he was not angry. He just said helplessly: "I didn't teach you these words..."

"You taught me this." Zhu Qiyue professionally tried to make trouble. Zhu Di said helplessly: "When did I teach you?"

"That's it..." Zhu Qiyue still wanted to think about it, but Zhu Di quickly interrupted:
"Okay, your grandfather, your grandmother, your mother, and your uncles and aunts are coming soon. You can't take it all one at a time this time."

"Why?" Zhu Qiyue's face tightened. When Zhu Di heard this, he also felt that there was something wrong with this etiquette. Is there anything I can't say? Didn't his father always talk to me about it before?
"It's up to you, just say what you want."

Zhu Di waved his hand and didn't bother to care what the boy called himself.

"Long live your Majesty, long live long live..."

Suddenly, a shout of long live came from outside the palace. When Zhu Di heard it, he quickly said: "Forget it, you'd better stop talking."

"Ah?" Zhu Qiyue didn't even have time to be happy before he was brought back to reality by Zhu Di's repeated regrets.

"Go and pick up your grandparents." Zhu Di patted Zhu Qiyue's butt, and Zhu Qiyue also jumped off the chair from Zhu Di's legs like a spring, and ran out of the Yangxin Hall at a trot.

"Little ancestor, please slow down..."

Wang Yan followed him, fearing that he would fall.

"Grandpa, grandma, grandma!"

Zhu Qiyue started calling people as soon as he ran out, but his sudden address of "A'Niang" made Mu stunned for a moment.

"You guys, who taught you this title?" Mrs. Mu squatted down and hugged him, dumbfounded. Zhu Qiyue chuckled: "I learned it from the guys who raise horses."

"It's better to be more formal in the future, you know." Mrs. Mu stretched out her hand and pinched Zhu Qiyue's face. Although she felt a little distressed that her precious son was brought like this by his grandfather, she couldn't say anything.

"You all should retire and go back to celebrate the New Year. If there is no formal meeting during the Chinese New Year, you will be asked to go home to celebrate the New Year, not come to the temple."

Standing not far away, Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhu Neng and others, and immediately signaled everyone to leave with a headache.

"Your Majesty, please advise the Supreme Emperor!"

Xia Yuanji banged his head three times in a row, which frightened Zhu Gaoxu for fear that he would break his head. You must know that he still expected Xia Yuanji to work for him for another ten years.

"Your Majesty, the Supreme Emperor only listens to your words now!"

Zhu Neng also rang his head three times in a row. Zhu Gaoxu looked helpless: "Okay, you go back to celebrate the New Year first, I will find a way."

"Yes..." Upon hearing that Zhu Gaoxu was willing to speak, the ministers immediately changed their faces, stood up, bowed and saluted, and then left the corridor in front of the Yangxin Hall.

"Grandpa, these old barbarians move pretty fast!"

Zhu Qiyue suddenly spoke, but Zhu Neng, Xia Yuanji and the others did not go far.

"You guys, please don't learn such words." Zhu Gaoxu couldn't laugh or cry. Zhu Neng and others also thought that Zhu Qiyue was too young, so they didn't say anything and left with their heads lowered.

After they left, Zhu Gaoxu took his thirteen sons and six daughters, including Guo Yan, Mu, Zhu Zhantan, and Zhu Zhanluo, into the Hall of Cultivation of the Heart.

Zhu Zhanhe is in Yunnan, and Zhu Zhanqi is currently in Jiaozhi, but this does not prevent Zhu Gaoxu from having many heirs.

Now he has fifteen sons and six daughters, and there is also a concubine in the inner court who is also very happy.

At his age, if he didn't have such a heavy burden, he could actually challenge Lao Zhu's record of twenty-six sons and sixteen daughters.

After all, Lao Zhu could give birth to Princess Baoqing at the age of sixty-six, so maybe he could do it if he worked hard.

It's a pity that his burden is too heavy, especially after the Guimao case. Although the punishment of seizing titles from the honorable ministers is enough to vent his anger, he still thinks about it from time to time and feels that the former heroes can no longer be trusted, so his heart becomes more and more Fa felt a little lonely.

Thinking of this, he glanced at his children.

Although they were very respectful to him, how did they evaluate his father in a place that he couldn't see?

Speaking of being a father, how deep can their relationship be...

"go in"

Zhu Gaoxu was the first to speak and walked into the Yangxin Hall. Under his leadership, everyone walked into the Yangxin Hall.

They came to the main hall and saluted Zhu Di in the side hall: "Father (grandpa)..."

Everyone bowed respectfully. Although Zhu Di was still sitting in his seat at this moment, he was slightly restless.

However, except for Zhu Gaoxu, Guo Yan, and Wang Yan, no one else could notice his restlessness.

"Okay, okay, you go to the Wanshou Palace next door to wait for your meal. I'll talk to the second child first."

Zhu Di smiled and motioned for Guo Yan and the others to leave. Guo Yan glanced at Zhu Gaoxu with a hint of joking in his eyes.

Zhu Gaoxu was helpless, but he still forced a smile and looked at Guo Yan: "You take the children to the Longevity Palace first, and I will talk to my father."

"Well" Guo Yan was too familiar with her father-in-law, so she had already guessed what Zhu Di was going to say to Zhu Gaoxu.

With a smile, he, Mu, Zhu Zhantan and the others left the Yangxin Hall.

In the end, only Wang Yan, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di were left in the entire Yangxin Hall.

Seeing that his daughter-in-law and grandchildren were all gone, Zhu Di quickly waved to Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu stepped forward helplessly.

As soon as he came to him, Zhu Di showed an aggrieved expression: "Second brother, I heard everything you just said to those old barbarians."

"I told you first that I will definitely go to the Northern Expedition this time. No one can stop me. You also promised me long ago."

"If you don't let me go now, then don't force me to fall out with you, old man!"

"I didn't say I wouldn't let you go." Zhu Gaoxu couldn't laugh or cry: "I was just fooling them. Unless you don't want to go to the Northern Expedition, no matter what others say, you will still lead the troops to the north."

"Besides, the money and food for the Northern Expedition have been prepared and will be shipped directly to Hailaer in the spring."

"Okay, okay!" After hearing this, a smile immediately appeared on Zhu Di's face. He stood up and patted Zhu Gaoxu's shoulder. Then he put his hands on his waist and looked Zhu Gaoxu up and down.

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu still had a full head of black hair, and although there were many wrinkles on his face, he still looked young, Zhu Di couldn't help but praise:

"Yes, it's still the same as before. He's full of heroic spirit, just like you!"

"..." Although he was already familiar with it, Zhu Gaoxu still couldn't hold back every time he heard the old man praise himself in different ways.

"Before the expedition, there is still a military parade to show, and it is also convenient for you to familiarize yourself with the army."

"But before that, I have to discuss something with you."

As soon as Zhu Gaoxu started to talk about the conditions, Zhu Di's face fell: "Second brother, you have to fulfill my wish. Don't try to play tricks on your father and me."

"Of course not." Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said: "In this Northern Expedition, you have to lead a team of imperial doctors to the north and have to check every day, otherwise I won't worry."

"That's it?" Zhu Di didn't believe that his second son would make such a simple request. After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu continued:
"If you feel unwell, you must go south immediately, and you cannot force yourself to go north."

"Okay, okay, I promise you." Zhu Di smiled broadly, but secretly thinking, "When we leave Beijing, it won't be me who has the final say."

"Eldest brother, the third child, and Zhan He, I have sent an order for them to go north. You can also have a family dinner before going off to the expedition."

Zhu Gaoxu continued to add: "In addition..."

"Second brother, do you really not want me to go? Are you making so many demands?"

Zhu Di interrupted Zhu Gaoxu. He just felt that the more things his second-in-command mentioned, the more things were meant to trick him.

"Okay, that's it."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and looked at Zhu Di at the same time.

Although he is sixty-six years old, Zhu Di's body still seems to be very healthy.

It was precisely because of his good health that Zhu Gaoxu agreed to lead his troops on the fifth northern expedition.

"Stop looking, your wife and children will go hungry if you look at them again."

Reaching out and patting Zhu Gaoxu on the shoulder, Zhu Di stepped towards the Longevity Palace.

Looking at his back, Zhu Gaoxu also had a smile on his lips, and followed his footsteps towards the Wanshou Palace...

(End of this chapter)