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

"The old man is too stingy!"

A few days later, in the city on the main island of Penghu.

Zhu Tan sat in a courtyard that had just been renovated, looking at the imperial edict that had just been delivered to him, and complained to Tang He in front of him.

"Building ports, repairing cities, reclaiming land, building warships, and the old man didn't spend a penny!"

"Big brother actually wrote me a letter, asking me to find a way to help him get money!"

Zhu Tan felt as if he had eaten a dead fly. He felt extremely disgusted, but he couldn't say it.

He then got tens of millions of taels of silver from the Pu family in Fujian, and Crown Prince Zhu Biao told him to keep it for himself, but what is going on now?

Tang He was sitting opposite Zhu Tan. Hearing this, he just chuckled and said nothing.

He has followed the old man in battles for half his life, so how could he not understand the old man's character.

Prince Lu Zhu Tan would not do business that would lose money, so how could the old man do it? This is obviously a routine of giving you a sweet date first and then finding a way to take back a basket of it.

The key point is that Zhu Tan has gotten in and is now in a difficult situation.

"Father-in-law, what should we do?"

Zhu Tan placed the imperial edict on the table beside him, spread his hands and smiled bitterly: "If you want to develop the entire main island of Penghu, it will cost a mountain of silver!"

"Besides, this isn't my fiefdom, why would I spend money on it?"

"Your Highness, His Majesty did not ask you to take the money."

"But my eldest brother wrote to me and told me to help him find a solution!" Zhu Tan wanted to cry.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not issue a direct decree."

"No, there is no decree, but it will be too late if we wait until it is issued."

Zhu Tan knew what Tang He meant, so he pretended to be stupid and would talk about it later.

But Zhu Tan gathered money from all over the world, but most of the collected money was in the capital. The eldest prince asked him to find a way to help get the money, so how could he dare to disagree?

When he is happy, he is the big brother; when he is unhappy, he is the prince.

Seeing Zhu Tan's gloomy face, Tang He smiled and said, "Your Highness, what you said to me is just a few complaints. You should have a solution, right?"

Zhu Tan made a bitter face and nodded slightly.

He did have a solution, but it was a solution that would require him to cut his losses with great pain, and he really didn't want to do it.

Zhu Tan’s only way to make money steadily now is through his trading business. He makes a fortune every day and has basically monopolized the sale of refined salt in the entire Ming Dynasty. It is like an inexhaustible gold mine.

Zhu Biao wrote to him specifically asking him to help raise money. The meaning behind this was too obvious.

This inexhaustible mountain of gold is in the hands of Prince Zhu Tan. Normally, he can make a little more money, and the old man and the prince don't take it seriously. After all, it's good to keep the money in the family.

But now the prince needs money, so he has to be sensible and not wait for Zhu Biao to really issue an edict to the prince. That is a state affair, not a family affair.

"Father-in-law, you are going to cut my flesh."

Zhu Tan looked at Tang He distressedly, and said with tears in his eyes: "I feel like I have fallen into a pit, and I have so much pain that I can't express it."

Upon hearing this, Tang He just smiled but said nothing, and sneered at Zhu Tan's words.

What do you mean by falling into a pit? You obviously did this on purpose.

Isn't it obvious that he is trying to covet the prince by deliberately making the business so big that it covers almost the entire Ming Dynasty?
Crown Prince Zhu Biao was a man of loyalty and righteousness, and he never had any intention of coveting Zhutan Trading Company. If it were someone else, the boss behind the scenes would have been replaced long ago.

Of course, there are some things Tang He cannot say openly, even though he had already seen through Zhu Tan's conspiracy.

Zhu Tan did this because he wanted Zhu Biao to join the game, and it would be best if he could become the boss of his business. Then, whatever he did in the future would be justified.

The crown prince of the Ming Dynasty is the boss of a trading company. Who in the world dares to say anything more?
As long as Zhu Tan maintains a good relationship with Zhu Biao, he can do whatever he wants in this world.

Zhu Biao never fell into the trap. He saw through this and kept hesitating.

Now that Zhu Biao has written to him, it means that he has made up his mind and is ready to be deeply tied to Zhu Tan.

This is definitely not a bad thing for Zhu Tan.

"Hey."

After a while, Zhu Tan sighed again and said, "There is no other way. I can only confront my elder brother."

"I don't actually have much money. If I want to develop Penghu, I have to take the trade route."

Tang He glanced at Zhu Tan and rolled his eyes secretly.

You got the advantage and you still acted like a good kid. Now I feel like crying but I have no tears. I don’t know how to be happy.

From now on, you, King Lu, will be able to legitimately use the tiger's skin as a banner.

"Let's get down to business."

Seeing Tang He like this, Zhu Tan smiled, but he couldn't pretend too much, so he changed the subject and said, "Father-in-law, the emperor has approved our trip to Ryukyu, so we should prepare to leave in the next few days."

Tang He nodded and asked, "How many people are you going to send, Your Highness?"

"A warship." Zhu Tan said, "The rest of the soldiers will stay in Penghu and wait for the imperial court to immigrate here."

"When the time comes, we will set up a provincial capital and build a city, and we won't be responsible for anything else after that."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow, father-in-law, please prepare and I will go there myself."

"Yes."

……

In the evening, the sky was cloudless and the sun was scorching.

Zhu Tan sat alone in the room and began to outline his future plans.

There are two main things to do now, one of which is to conquer Japan.

The plan had been planned long ago and all we had to do was follow the steps, but things would become more complicated after taking over Japan.

If Crown Prince Zhu Biao wanted to be tied to his interests, he had to consider the interests of the court and could not enrich himself without restraint.

There is a large silver mine in Japan, Iwami Silver Mine, which is the core motivation for Zhu Tan to attack Japan.

However, he had no intention of keeping such a huge mountain of silver to himself at the beginning. He couldn't do it even if he wanted to, and he would surely choke to death if he kept it secret. It would be better for him to share the profits with the court.

The second is the business of the business.

Zhu Biao had already spoken, which was exactly what Zhu Tan wanted. The next step was to send silver and money to the prince, huge amounts of silver and money.

It is not difficult to see from Zhu Biao's letter that this matter was deliberately done by the old man Zhu Yuanzhang. His purpose was to test Zhu Tan and to further enhance Zhu Biao's prestige.

Both of the old man’s goals are consistent with Zhu Tan’s future development direction, so there is nothing to be afraid of.

However, the goods sold in the business are still rather monotonous. If we could convince the old man to do something, things would become much simpler.

But this is a big matter, so it is better to consider it in the long run.

All in all, the task of wiping out the Japanese pirates and taking down the Pu family in Quanzhou came to an end with Zhu Tan. He escaped unscathed. Not only did he handle the affairs of the old man and the prince, he also handled his own affairs. Everyone was happy.

As for going to Ryukyu, Zhu Tan also thought a lot about it and came up with several evil plans in his mind.

Although Ryukyu is small, it is not a monolithic entity. In this small place, there are three forces: the King of Zhongshan, the King of Shannan, and the King of Shanbei.

Zhu Tan vaguely remembered that in the original time and space, Ryukyu was unified during the Xuande period. The King of Zhongshan destroyed the other two families and established the first Shang Dynasty.

At this time, Ryukyu should still be in chaos, and the King of Zhongshan should not have the surname Shang.

But now the situation has changed. When the Ming Dynasty's ironclad warships arrive, everyone from Zhongshan to Nanshan will have to kneel down and kowtow.

A vassal state must look like a vassal state.

Thinking of this, Zhu Tan's mouth curled up and his mood improved a lot.

At present, everything is developing in a positive direction, almost consistent with Zhu Tan’s original plan, and the future is promising.

……

The next morning, the soldiers on the ironclad warship were already ready to go and boarded the ship.

Zhu Tan walked slowly out of the city. Before boarding the ship, he turned and said to Tang He behind him.

"Father-in-law, the city's affairs are temporarily handed over to you. Please take care of it."

"Once the officials recruited by the imperial court arrive, you won't have to worry about this anymore."

Tang He smiled lightly upon hearing this and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness."

"The two warships that the Fourth Prince took away will be back soon, so I will have a good time to sort them out."

"The Emperor has issued an order to add 30,000 soldiers to the Eastern Expedition Army. They should also be gradually transferred from Shandong Dusi to train."

"Ah."

Zhu Tan nodded and smiled, "All of this depends on my father-in-law."

After saying that, Zhu Tan turned around and slowly boarded the warship.

With the help of the early morning sun, the warship sailed away from the coast and headed towards the vast ocean in the distance.

On the warship, in the cabin.

Zhu Tan was drinking tea and looking at the nautical chart of the nearby waters, wondering what he was thinking.

"Your Highness."

Ma He then stepped forward and stood beside Zhu Tan, and asked softly, "Will the Japanese pirates who delivered the letter be released after they arrive in Ryukyu?"

"Hold it first."

Zhu Tan said softly, "Let's see what the situation is in Ryukyu. If the time is right, we can release it."

"Yes."

Ma He nodded slightly and took two steps back.

Zhu Tan formulated a fishing strategy, intending to use the captured Japanese pirate leaders to lure people from the Yamana Shogunate in Japan to Penghu, and then defeat them one by one and continue to nibble away at them.

But until today, Zhu Tan has not seen a single Japanese pirate arrive in Penghu, let alone their ships.

This naturally scared the few Japanese who wanted to survive half to death. They kept pleading with Ma He and told him some guesses and secrets. Only then did Zhu Tan spare their lives.

In fact, the actual situation was similar to what Zhu Tan had imagined. The Japanese pirates harassed the Ming Dynasty's border and came across the sea. They did not have strong long-distance sailing technology, so they definitely needed supplies in the middle.

Between Penghu and Japan, the only place they could rest was the Ryukyu Islands.

Now that these people have not appeared in Penghu, they must have noticed something wrong and are staying in Ryukyu for the time being.

Their staying in Ryukyu also gave Zhu Tan a reason.

……

Ryukyu, Zhongshan Kingdom, Uraten Ansi.

King Wuning of Zhongshan looked at the imperial edict of the Ming Emperor in his hand, and his brows were twisted into a shape of "川".

Prince Lu of the Ming Dynasty is about to arrive in Ryukyu. The emperor ordered the three kings of Ryukyu to receive him and follow Prince Lu's arrangements.

What does this mean? Let the prince of Ming Dynasty come to rule over the whole Ryukyu?

Although Ryukyu is small, it has its own system. Although it cannot defeat the Ming Dynasty, it is also an independent dynasty. The Ming Dynasty can take over its territory with just one imperial decree. Who would be willing to do that?

"king."

Behind Zhongshan King Wuning, a dark-faced young man spoke in a low voice and asked, "What did the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty say?"

"You look worried."

"The Ming Dynasty's Prince Lu is coming."

Wu Ning frowned, put the imperial edict on the table, and said softly: "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty ordered the three kings of Ryukyu to receive King Lu and obey King Lu's orders."

"I have already paid tribute to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but what about this imperial edict?"

Wu Ning's tone was a little stiff, and it was obvious that he was in a very bad mood: "Are you planning to take over Zhongshan's territory with just one imperial decree?"

The young man thought for a moment and asked, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. You have received the imperial edict from the Ming Emperor, and so have the other two."

"Let's see how they move."

"They?" Wu Ning snorted coldly, "The Ming army is at its peak, how dare they say no?"

"The King of Shanbei is still flirting with the Japanese. If the imperial edict of the Ming Dynasty arrives, he will be scared to death!"

"Kings."

The young man seemed to have thought of something, and bowed and said softly: "I think this is our chance in Zhongshan."

"Ok?"

Wu Ning turned to look at this person, frowned and asked: "What do you mean?"

"Among the three Ryukyu kingdoms, Your Majesty is the closest to the Ming Dynasty. We have paid tribute to the king many times over the years, and the Ming Emperor has also given us many rewards."

"On the other hand, the other two are not as good as before."

"Yeah." Wu Ning nodded and said, "So what?"

"Just because the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty gives me some rewards, I will give up my territory?"

"Your Majesty has misjudged your thoughts."

The young man hurriedly said, "You forgot that the Ming envoy was delivering an imperial edict to Japan a few days ago and rested in Putian City for two days. You even saw him in person."

"Didn't they say that the Japanese were disturbing the borders of the Ming Dynasty and the emperor was furious?"

"What's wrong?" Wu Ning was puzzled. "It has been many years since the Japanese went to the coastal areas of Ming Dynasty. It is not the first time that the emperor of Ming Dynasty was furious. What is different this time?"

How stupid!

The young man cursed in his heart, but said: "Your Majesty, think carefully, has the prince of the Ming Dynasty ever come to my Ryukyu before?"

"Has the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty ever given you such an order?"

"That's not the case." Wu Ning shook his head and said, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have thought about these things."

"This is unusual, Your Majesty." The young man continued, "Before, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was furious, and now the prince of the Ming Dynasty has come in person. This shows that the anger of the Ming Dynasty has reached its extreme. I'm afraid it will take action against the Japanese!"

"Ah?" Wu Ning glared at him and said, "Are they going to recruit soldiers from my Zhongshan Kingdom?"

"My Zhongshan Kingdom has such a small population, how can we defeat the Japanese?"

The young man was helpless, thinking that it was really disgusting to have such a stupid person sitting on the throne.

After a pause, the young man suppressed his restless emotions and said, "You see, Zhongshan has the best relationship with Ming Dynasty, and has nothing to do with Japan."

"Now that the Ming Dynasty is angry with Japan, it may send troops. Then can my Zhongshan Kingdom use the east wind to wipe out the other two countries?"

"Those two countries have been flirting with the Japanese, so they have some connection with each other!"

The young man was afraid that Wu Ning wouldn't understand, so he just said it directly. Wu Ning's eyes lit up when he heard it, and he said.

"Yes! We can use the Ming army to directly eliminate those two countries!"

"Then Ryukyu will belong to me!"

As he spoke, his eyes lit up, and he looked intently at the young man behind him and said, "This... This is a good thing!"

nonsense!

The young man rolled his eyes in his heart and said, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Your Majesty must seize it."

"When the time comes, you must give a warm reception to the Prince of Ming, and then find an opportunity to explain the matter of the other two princes to His Royal Highness Prince of Lu."

"If His Royal Highness Prince Lu gets angry, he might send troops directly to wipe out the other two countries."

"Yep!"

"That's great!" (End of this chapter)