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

When returning from the Eastern Palace, Zhu Di felt a little nervous, and his thoughts were basically written on his face.

As a vassal king of the Ming Dynasty, and one who has been a vassal king for many years, how could he not see through the current situation in the court, and how could he not understand the intentions of the old man and the prince.

But this incident still made him feel uncomfortable and he couldn't get over it.

Especially the last few words from Zhu Biao were like needles piercing his heart, causing him dull pain which he could not express.

"call……"

After leaving the palace, Zhu Di looked at the stars in the sky and let out a long sigh.

Now even he had to admit that in some things, the Tenth Master Zhu Tan did indeed do better and was more free and easy than him.

If Zhu Tan were to do this, he would definitely not have any psychological burden and would instead find ways to benefit himself.

Think about it from another angle. The Ming Dynasty originally belonged to the Zhu family. If a son can get some benefits for himself while helping the court, it is not a big deal as long as he does not violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty and does not go too far.

I did think too much about this matter.

His thoughts gradually became clear, Zhu Di smiled self-deprecatingly, and got on the carriage to return home.

The night passed quickly and dawn came in the blink of an eye.

At daybreak, many officials attending the grand court meeting had gathered in the Forbidden City, whispering to each other and discussing in low voices.

Zhu Di arrived early and stood among the ministers, but did not say anything to anyone.

Even when he met former generals, dukes and nobles of the dynasty, he would just nod slightly and did not look happy.

"What happened to your highness Prince Yan?"

In the distance, Duke Cao Li Jinglong spoke softly to Duke Zheng Chang Mao beside him, "Why do you look unhappy?"

Upon hearing this, Chang Mao also looked in the direction of King Yan, but said nothing.

When Li Jinglong saw this, his expression changed and he stopped talking.

Yesterday, Prince Yan returned to Beijing and brought back a large number of prisoners. I heard that Prince Yan and Prince Lu won a great victory on the coast of Fujian and wiped out the Japanese pirates.

But Li Jinglong knew that the main general ordered by His Majesty to suppress the Japanese pirates was Zhu Tan, Prince of Lu, and his deputy general was Tang He, Duke of Xin, and the Prince of Yan had nothing to do with it at all.

Now the Prince of Yan is bringing the captives back to the capital. There must be something wrong with this matter.

He asked Chang Mao, also wanting to ask if he had any inside information, but seeing that Chang Mao didn't say anything, he naturally didn't ask.

Soon, the palace gates opened and all officials entered the palace to attend the court meeting.

In the court, all officials bowed and kowtowed. Zhu Yuanzhang walked slowly to the cheers of the crowd and sat on the dragon throne.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao stood respectfully beside Zhu Yuanzhang with a calm expression.

"Be flat."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand calmly, and all the officials returned the greeting and slowly stood up.

"My ministers," Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice, "Today, the Japanese pirates are rampant. I have issued an order to the King of Lu, ordering him to wipe out the Japanese pirates."

"Prince Lu has received the help of Prince Yan and has now wiped out the Japanese. He has won a great victory. This is cause for celebration."

When all the officials in the court heard what Zhu Yuanzhang said, they all made their own judgments in their hearts and immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

"God bless the Ming Dynasty!"

The meaning of Zhu Yuanzhang's words was already very clear.

A few days ago, Li Shanchang told Zhu Yuanzhang in person that the Prince of Yan had violated the national law by privately mobilizing troops to fight and must be punished. Zhu Yuanzhang's words were to shut up these civil officials.

What I mean is, we knew that the Fourth Brother went to the battle, and now he has won the battle and wiped out the Japanese pirates. This matter is over, and if any of you make noise again, don't worry and we will be angry with you.

Li Shanchang was an old and experienced man, so he naturally would not resist at this time. He also knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying things like "God bless the Ming Dynasty".

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes swept across the room, his expression slightly changed, and then he said softly, "King of Yan."

"My son is here!"

Prince of Yan Zhu Di took a step forward and knelt on his knees.

"It was you and Prince Lu who jointly wiped out the Japanese pirates. Tell me the details. Stand up and tell me."

"Your Highness obeys your command. Thank you, Father."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di slowly stood up and then spoke.

"The Japanese were rampant. In this battle, I sailed from Liaoning and went south to wipe out the Japanese pirates along the coast of Shandong, Zhili, Zhejiang and Fujian. I destroyed their strongholds, killed more than 7,000 Japanese, and seized countless food, grass, cloth, gold and silver."

"After my investigation, I found out that the Japanese have been occupying the coastal areas for more than ten years. I felt something was wrong. After asking the Japanese leader, I learned that someone in my Ming territory was secretly colluding with the Japanese and enriching themselves by eating the country!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the court was shocked. Some looked indignant, some frowned, some seemed to be thinking about something, and some even had a changing expression.

Now, everyone knows why Prince Yan suddenly appeared in the court.

Zhu Di paused for a moment, then continued, "After further investigation, we learned that there are many people in the Ming Dynasty who are secretly colluding with the Japanese, and the Pu family in Quanzhou, Fujian is the most successful among them!"

"The Park family secretly recovered the gold, silver, and jewelry looted by the Japanese, and then sold them to Ming through their business. At the same time, they also provided the Japanese with food, cotton cloth, weapons, armor, and other items that were strictly prohibited by the court."

"Not only that, the Pu family colluded with officials from all over Fujian to privately lift the maritime ban. They sent people out to sea year after year to occupy the islands along the coast of Fujian. They also sent people to the main island of Penghu to reclaim land and used the land of our Ming Dynasty to reward tenants and attract population!"

"When I arrived in Changguo a few days ago, I found that the Japanese pirates were frequently attacking Changguo County, causing the people of Changguo to suffer and their lives to be ruined!"

"The mastermind behind this is actually the Park family!"

Zhu Di knelt down again and kowtowed heavily, saying, "Father! I think that the Pu family has such courage and power. It is impossible for them to rely on just a gentry clan. There must be accomplices in the court!"

"Please let me see clearly, Father!"

After these words, the entire court fell silent.

Zhu Biao's eyes moved slightly, and the expressions of all the officials passed through his eyes, and then he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked indifferent and asked softly, "Do you have any evidence for what you said?"

"This time, I brought back many members of the Park family, as well as a large number of Japanese pirate captives, all of which can serve as evidence!"

"Officials in Fujian and Zhejiang coastal areas did nothing and watched helplessly as the people of our Ming Dynasty died tragically. Your Majesty will know the truth once you investigate!"

Zhu Di had finished speaking, and he was bound to take the blame.

But after a night of thinking, Zhu Di had figured it out.

Since I have to take the blame, I can't do it in vain. I have to make enough money.

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and waved his hand, saying, "Get up."

Zhu Di stood up upon hearing this. At this moment, Li Shanchang suddenly stepped forward, knelt down and kowtowed.

"Your Majesty, according to what the King of Yan said, the parasites that have left the country must be eliminated immediately!"

"Your Majesty, please issue an order to thoroughly investigate this matter!"

Li Shanchang stepped forward and knelt on the ground. Many officials behind him also stepped forward and knelt on the ground, saying, "Your Majesty, please investigate this matter thoroughly and wipe out these pests!"

When Zhu Biao heard this, he narrowed his eyes again, with an imperceptible coldness in his eyes.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand calmly and said, "Pass on the order."

"The King of Yan brought back the captives and interrogated them one by one, recording every detail."

"All officials in Quanzhou, Fujian, will be dismissed and investigated."

"All officials and businessmen who have dealings with the Park family will be thoroughly investigated."

"All officials along the coast of Fujian and Zhejiang who have done nothing about the Japanese pirates will be investigated!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" As soon as the imperial edict was issued, the group of civil servants headed by Li Shanchang immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed, shouting "Long live the emperor".

All the generals knelt on the ground, but their thoughts were in another direction.

However, everyone knew that this grand court meeting foreshadowed the coming of a storm that would cover the entire court.

"King Yan."

"My son is here!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Di who was kneeling on the ground and said softly, "You have done a great job in killing the bandits. What do you want?"

Zhu Di's heart was slightly moved, and he kowtowed and said: "It is my duty to eliminate traitors for the country, and I dare not ask for reward."

"I only ask that the Emperor reward the soldiers who fought in the Beiping Military Command."

"Ha." Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Okay, then let's reward the soldiers of Beiping Dusi."

"You have made great contributions but you are not greedy for rewards. I am very pleased."

"Let's give you another errand."

When Zhu Di heard this, he felt a little confused, but he didn't dare to ask directly. Instead, he kowtowed again.

"I order you to station troops in Tamra, build a port, and train the navy. There must be no mistakes."

Zhu Di was shocked when he heard this. In an instant, he thought of countless possibilities and then became excited.

He could tell that the old man wanted to use him to fight, so he immediately kowtowed heavily and said, "Your son obeys your order!"

……

After the grand court meeting, the emperor went to his bedroom.

Zhu Yuanzhang leaned on the couch without any image of an emperor, reading the letter in his hand, while Crown Prince Zhu Biao sat beside him, seemingly thinking about something.

"What are you thinking about?"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not look at Zhu Biao, but read the letter and asked softly, "Why haven't you said anything for so long?"

"Replying to Father, I didn't think about anything."

Zhu Biao said softly, "I just feel that something is wrong with today's court meeting."

"Heh." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled lightly, threw the letter in his hand to him, and said, "What did you see? Tell me in detail."

Zhu Biao took the letter but did not read it. Instead, he said, "There is something wrong with Li Shanchang's behavior."

"Father, you are still..."

Zhu Biao raised his head and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's expression, but did not finish his words.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed slightly, and he said softly: "He is already old."

After hearing this, Zhu Biao knew what Zhu Yuanzhang meant and nodded, saying, "I understand."

"Everything is decided by the father."

"Yes." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Go down and inform Jiang Li to start working on it."

"Yes."

"Look at the letter in your hand."

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the letter in Zhu Biao's hand and said, "It's from your tenth brother."

"This brat is acting stupid again."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao immediately lowered his head and glanced over the letter in his hand. A slight smile appeared on his face, and he raised his head and said, "Tenth brother asked the court for the common people, and specifically asked for Wang Junliang, the county magistrate of Changguo?"

"It's really interesting."

"This guy is really smart." Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily, "Such a big thing happened, but he didn't ask a single question. But you can see the meaning behind his words. Isn't he trying to trick us?"

"Have you asked him if he would be willing to have Japan become his fiefdom?"

"Of course he doesn't want to."

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "When I asked him, he directly said that after conquering Japan, he would let father set up provinces and divide them into prefectures and counties."

"That brat has quite an appetite."

Zhu Yuanzhang also laughed and said, "He doesn't even want to be granted a country as a fiefdom?"

"Maybe it's because Japan is too poor." Zhu Biao also laughed and said, "Tenth brother loves money and enjoys life. Father knows that."

"It's because of this bad habit that he was sent out to sea!"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "If you have great abilities, go out and use them. It's no use to keep messing around at home."

"He wants to relocate people to Penghu. What do you think?"

Zhu Biao thought for a moment before replying, "If your father intends to develop the navy, then Penghu, Ryukyu, Tamra, and Dongying must all be occupied, with Penghu being the most critical."

"I think that not only should we relocate, but we should also set up a county in Penghu, send officials, and reclaim wasteland on a large scale."

"In three to five years, I will turn Penghu into the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and then I can plan for other things."

Zhu Biao looked at his father's face, and then said: "Not only Penghu, but after conquering Japan, we also need to relocate the people, open schools in Japan, and assimilate the people."

"We must also send a large number of troops to garrison and wipe out the rogues, so that we can turn Japan into the territory of our Ming Dynasty in the future."

"This tiny country is really worthless."

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke softly, "If they hadn't repeatedly invaded my territory, I would have been too lazy to care about them."

"Father." Zhu Biao heard this and said in a deep voice: "The Japanese in Japan are cruel and ruthless, but they can bend and stretch. They should not be underestimated."

"Although we have wiped out the Japanese pirates along the coast this time, there is no guarantee that they will come back again in the future."

"There is no reason to guard against thieves every day. It is better to solve the problem once and for all."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao, his eyes moved slightly. Zhu Biao stopped talking and smiled lightly, not avoiding the old man's gaze at all.

"Since you think so, then do it."

After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang finally said, "I'll let you handle this matter, but the Ministry of Revenue will not give you all the money."

"Opening up Penghu, governing Japan, and building a navy will all cost a lot of money. You have to find a way to get this big chunk of money yourself."

"My son understands."

"Also, give an order to that brat Lao Shi. If he wants to go to Ryukyu, let him go."

"Also send an order to the King of Ryukyu to ask him to cooperate."

"My son, I obey."

……

Zhu Di did not stay in Yingtian Prefecture for long. On the third day after the grand court meeting, he bid farewell to the old man and the prince and led his personal soldiers back to Beiping.

This time he received the imperial edict, and the old man asked him to respectfully attend the event. He was really flattered, and at the same time, excited and delighted.

The reason why he chose Beiping as his fiefdom was that he wanted to be a border guarding general of the Ming Dynasty, to conquer the northern border for the Ming Dynasty and wipe out the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Now, the northern border has been completely subdued by Zhu Tan, and there will probably be no war in the future. It is rather embarrassing for him as a prince guarding the border.

Now that the old man asked him to build a navy, it was exactly what he wanted.

He now wished he could fly back to Peking directly, start recruiting new troops immediately, and go straight to Tamluk.

He had even planned how to train troops, build cities, and govern his subjects on Jeju Island.

This time, the old man gave him great autonomy, which made him happier than giving him a mountain of gold. (End of this chapter)