King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Zhu Tan showed a miserable look on his face. He looked into Zhu Di's eyes and spoke sincerely.

"Fourth brother, I really didn't think that much at the beginning."

"To be honest, I went to Peking to find you because I wanted to go on an expedition to Japan with you later."

"Brother, look, in the matter of wiping out the Japanese pirates, whether it is along the Shandong coast, near Changguo, or along the Fujian coast, or even to the Penghu Islands today, have the people under my command made any big moves?"

"All these credits are reserved for Fourth Brother!"

Hearing this, Zhu Di's expression changed, but his eyes were still staring at Zhu Tan, obviously not completely believing what he said.

Zhu Tan naturally knew that he didn't believe it, so he continued to deceive him with sincerity.

"I originally thought that when Fourth Brother led the troops to wipe out all the Japanese pirates, with all his might, I would go to the capital to meet Father and explain Fourth Brother's achievements to him, so that I could take the opportunity to ask Fourth Brother to join us in the Eastern Expedition."

"Fourth brother wiped out the Japanese pirates on his own. He is much better than his younger brother. I'm sure the old man won't say anything."

Zhu Tan's flattery had some effect, and Zhu Di's expression eased a little.

However, Zhu Di was a very smart person. It was impossible for him to be persuaded by Zhu Tan's words, so he spoke directly.

"So what do you think now? Are you going to tell Father about all the achievements here?"

"The credit for this originally belongs to Fourth Brother."

Zhu Tan said hurriedly: "Fourth brother only used two ironclad ships to wipe out all the Japanese pirates. This is definitely a great achievement."

"It's just that right now... I can't go back to the capital to help my fourth brother get credit."

"Hmm?" Zhu Di frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

"Didn't I go to Quanzhou to catch the traitors?" Zhu Tan said, "It was the Pu family. Fourth brother knows it."

Zhu Di said nothing.

"There is something fishy going on with the Pu family. My brother went to their mansion in Quanzhou City and was assassinated by one of their men!"

"Fortunately, you reacted quickly, otherwise the fourth brother wouldn't be able to see his younger brother now."

Hearing this, Zhu Di's expression changed visibly, and he asked, "Are you injured?"

"No." Zhu Tan said, "My brother was careful in advance and hid a musket on him."

Seeing Zhu Di's expression change slightly, Zhu Tan felt relieved.

The current Zhu Di is not stationed in the same place as during the Jingnan Campaign in normal history.

While Crown Prince Zhu Biao was still alive, what Zhu Di wanted most was to expand the territory for the Ming Dynasty and become a frontier king with outstanding military achievements. He did not have such big ambitions and still had some brotherly feelings in his heart.

In other words, as long as Crown Prince Zhu Biao is still alive, the Ming Dynasty will not be in chaos. At least these sons of the old man will behave themselves.

"What did you do afterwards?"

Zhu Di said, "The Pu family is really so bold as to assassinate the King of Qin?"

Zhu Di's voice became somewhat cold, and he was furious.

The brothers of the Zhu family plotted against each other in whatever way they wanted. The worst that could happen was a beating.

But if outsiders attacked his brother, Zhu Di would not be able to bear it and would want to skin them alive.

Seeing Zhu Di burning with anger, Zhu Tan felt warm in his heart.

Putting aside other things, Zhu Di was a competent brother. At least he really cared about his younger brother.

"Fourth brother, please listen to me slowly."

After a pause, Zhu Tan continued, "Of course, the person was detained, and some information was obtained, but this is not important."

"The key point is that the Pu family not only has a large amount of wealth in Quanzhou, but they also built a fortress outside the city and raised private soldiers!"

"Are they planning a rebellion?!"

Zhu Di glared at them, then stood up and turned to look at the Park family members who were squatting in the corner of the city wall and shivering, his eyes almost spitting fire.

The Ming Dynasty was everything to Zhu Di, and he would go berserk if anyone dared to take over the Ming Dynasty.

"Come on! Take these..."

"Fourth brother! He is still useful if we keep him."

Seeing that Zhu Di was about to kill someone, Zhu Tan quickly stood up to stop him and said, "The matter is not over yet."

"What else are you talking about!" Zhu Di glared and said, "They are raising private soldiers and plotting rebellion. Why don't we kill them all? Are we going to keep them for the New Year?!"

"Zhu Neng!"

Zhu Di shouted loudly, and Zhu Neng immediately stepped forward with a gloomy face.

Seeing this, Zhu Tan immediately said, "Fourth brother! Since my eldest brother has stepped forward in this matter, we must keep the people and send them to the capital!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di was startled and waved his hand quickly.

Zhu Neng in the distance stopped, turned around and went back.

"What did you say?" Zhu Di looked at Zhu Tan, frowned and asked, "Brother?"

"Brother, have you issued an order?"

"No." Zhu Tan said, "Big brother came in person."

"where?"

Zhu Di was stunned and immediately looked around for Zhu Biao.

"I went to Quanzhou. When my younger brother set sail, my elder brother had already returned to the capital."

Zhu Tan stepped forward, pulled Zhu Di to sit down, looked at Zhu Di's changing expression, and said, "Fourth brother, the matter of the Pu family is handled by the eldest brother himself. The water here is too deep."

"This little thing between us brothers..."

"Ha." Zhu Di suddenly laughed at this time, looked at Zhu Tan and said: "Old man plays a good chess game."

"You, boy, are the knife chosen by the old man."

Hearing this, Zhu Tan was suddenly stunned.

Zhu Di's thoughts were very quick. After hearing the news that Zhu Biao was coming to Quanzhou, he immediately understood what the old man meant.

"Sit there."

Zhu Di pointed to the chair in front of him, and Zhu Tan immediately sat down obediently. Then he looked up at Zhu Di and said with a bitter smile: "So fourth brother, I was also forced."

"My brother had no idea that there were so many things going on behind the Park family."

"This time when we go to Quanzhou, my younger brother plans to plunder the Pu family's assets, and then give all the spoils seized in Penghu to my fourth brother. We will make a profit of 50% between the two of us."

"But now that my eldest brother has come forward, then..."

"What else did Big Brother say?"

Zhu Di leaned back in his chair, his anger having subsided by half.

He indeed saw things more clearly than Zhu Tan. It was not that he was much smarter than Zhu Tan, but that he was older and understood the old man and the prince better.

"My eldest brother said that I don't have to go back to the capital, and I can stay in Penghu to build the port."

Zhu Tan said truthfully: "We will gradually move the shipyards in Liaodong here in the future."

"Also, he asked his brother to prepare for the conquest of Japan, and he also said that the old man would send more troops."

"What about me?" Zhu Di asked again: "What did you say about me?"

"Oh." Zhu Tan said immediately: "My eldest brother said that after the battle in Penghu is over, he will let my fourth brother go to the capital."

"Let me go back to Beijing?" Zhu Di frowned slightly and then fell into deep thought.

"Fourth brother, I think this is a good thing."

Zhu Tan spoke softly to comfort him: "If the old man was really angry, my brother would definitely go to you directly. He would not just pass on a message without even showing up." "And this time, the incident with the Pu family in Quanzhou was done by the Jinyiwei, so these people..."

Zhu Tan glanced at the people from the Park family in the distance, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Since Big Brother has said so, we should keep that person and send him to the capital."

Zhu Di stretched out his hand and gently pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked at Zhu Tan and said, "I will take away all the spoils of war in Penghu, including gold and silver, and send them to the capital."

"As for the food, supplies, and other things, leave them behind for now."

As he spoke, Zhu Di slowly stood up, looked at Zhu Tan with a pair of bright eyes, and said, "You, boy, also played a good game of chess."

"You dragged me, your fourth brother, into this, but you were able to escape unscathed. The key is that I couldn't even find an excuse to kick you."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tan stood up, pursed his lips, and said, "Fourth brother, I really didn't think so at first."

"Conquering Japan is a big deal. I don't have the ability to fight like my fourth brother, so I feel insecure, but I boasted in front of the old man."

"That's why..."

"That's why you dragged your fourth brother into this, right?"

Zhu Di glared at Zhu Tan, then smiled and said, "Okay, you are thoughtful and really know what your fourth brother wants."

As he spoke, Zhu Di took two steps forward, patted Zhu Tan on the shoulder, and said, "I guess my fourth brother won't be able to go on this expedition to Japan."

"If there is a chance in the future, let's fight side by side again, brothers."

After hearing Zhu Tan's explanation, Zhu Di's mood did improve a lot, but that didn't mean he completely believed what Zhu Tan said.

Zhu Di was completely relieved because Zhu Biao appeared.

Just as Zhu Tan said, if the old man was really angry because Zhu Di mobilized troops without authorization, Zhu Biao would never leave just leaving a word, and they would definitely meet.

Since he was ordered to come to the capital but there was no official imperial decree, it proved that the matter was not a big deal, and the huge stone pressing on his heart was naturally put down.

"I still need your battleship."

Zhu Di smiled at Zhu Tan and said, "The troops of Beiping Dusi must be sent back. We cannot go by land, as this will cause criticism."

"Fourth brother, what about you?" Zhu Tan asked, "Are you in such a hurry to leave?"

"Brother has sent the message, is it okay if I don't want to go?"

Zhu Di glared and said, "I can kick you, but my brother can't kick me?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tan immediately suppressed his laughter, which made Zhu Di glare at him again and cursed: "You stinky boy, don't let me get a chance, or I'll definitely kick you hard if I do."

"If you plot against me again, I'll let my big brother beat you!"

"I don't dare. I don't dare."

Zhu Tan shook his head and said, "Big brother has already scolded me."

"Deserved it."

Zhu Di glared at Zhu Tan again, then his expression softened and he said with a smile, "Okay, I'm leaving."

After saying this, Zhu Di turned around and left without saying another word.

When he left this time, Zhu Di took away all the people related to the Park family and most of the surviving Japanese pirates.

These people must be brought to the capital. First, to prove Zhu Di's merits and stop the gossips of the people. Second, to hand them over and find out what's going on behind their backs.

Zhu Di also left a few Japanese people for Zhu Tan, two of whom could speak some poor Chinese, and the rest were leaders of the Japanese pirates.

In a hurry, the mountains roared and the sea tsunami passed.

A large number of strongholds that the Japanese pirates had painstakingly built for decades were all destroyed. The Park family had been planning for decades, but in the end, all their efforts were in vain.

Zhu Tan no longer worried about the Park family's affairs. He knew in his heart that the old man would definitely make a big fuss about the Park family's affairs and stir up another bloody storm in the court.

And letting him not return to the capital is also to keep him away from this vortex and prevent him from getting involved in trouble.

From this perspective, old man Zhu Yuanzhang really looked at Zhu Tan differently. Although he used him as the first bird to take action, he had already chosen a retreat for him.

The matter basically came to an end. Zhu Tan did not stay in the city, but left many trivial matters such as tidying up the city to Tang He.

After the Pu family and the Japanese pirates were wiped out, only a few Penghu natives were left in the city, and the population was sparse.

Zhu Tan returned to the ship, sat on the couch in the room, looked at the sun rising in the distance, and sighed softly.

After this incident, he had a new assessment of the situation.

Old man Zhu Yuanzhang, eldest brother Crown Prince Zhu Biao, and Prince of Yan Zhu Di, none of them were given for nothing.

Zhu Tan was in the midst of chaos, and he felt that he was in charge of everything and was moving forward step by step.

Little did he know that he had fallen into the old man's trap from the very beginning.

But the old man had no intention of cheating Zhu Tan, so he was able to escape unscathed.

It is said that the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was cruel and a tyrant. This is really a generalization and is absolutely arbitrary.

The old man Zhu Yuanzhang's methods, strategies, layout, military and ability to control the overall situation are simply incomparable to ordinary people.

If he was just a tyrannical and tyrant, how could the old man have risen from humble beginnings and eventually established the glorious Ming Dynasty?
The tea on Zhu Tan's table had already gone cold. He picked up the teacup, took a look at it, then put it down in disappointment.

At this time, Ma He came in quickly, brought warm tea to Zhu Tan, and then stood aside.

Zhu Tan glanced at Ma He and asked with a smile, "Fourth brother is gone."

"I didn't let you go to meet your old master. You don't blame me, do you?"

"The slaves dare not."

Ma Hewen immediately lowered her head and said, "Everything I have is given by my master. I will do whatever my master tells me to do."

Did Ma He want to see Zhu Di? Zhu Tan was not sure.

But he was clear about one thing: this young eunuch would definitely prefer to stay with him because he could give him a broader sky.

"There are a few Japanese pirates left in the city."

Zhu Tan picked up the teacup, took a sip, then changed the subject and said softly, "They must have news from Japan."

"Now that the Eastern Expedition is imminent, I need to know everything they know."

Ma He's heart was moved when he heard this, and then he bowed and said, "I understand."

"You don't have to do it yourself this time." Zhu Tan put down the teacup and said, "Always asking you to do these things buries your talent."

"Just watch. There are plenty of people who can do the inquiries."

"Gather the information you have obtained, write it down clearly, and submit it to me."

These words warmed Ma He's heart, and he immediately said, "I obey your command."

"Okay, go ahead. I need to get some sleep."

Zhu Tan stretched out his waist and squinted his eyes and said, "These past two days, my days and nights have been reversed."

……

Penghu, North City.

Tang He settled all the remaining natives in the city. Now he was standing in front of the pirates' warehouse, looking at the warehouse filled with things, and frowned slightly.

He had received intelligence before that the Japanese pirates were harassing the Ming Dynasty, and most of the things they brought back to Japan were daily necessities, such as cotton cloth, food, iron pots and kitchen knives, as well as a lot of iron ore.

These are strategic materials that can be used to forge weapons and enhance combat effectiveness.

It seems that the country of Japan has long been eyeing the vast Ming Dynasty.

The Japanese pirates' harassment was not a spontaneous act at all. (End of this chapter)