Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian had no idea what Prince Fu was thinking, but it was impossible for him to banish Prince Fu when Concubine Zheng was sick.

This forced him to give up the idea of ​​sending Prince Fu to Southeast Asia and choose another prince:
"This prince cannot stay in the capital like Prince Lu did and leave all matters to his subjects."

"We must let him go and establish a vassal state in Borneo."

"The fruits of Zheng Zhilong's victory in the naval battle must be shared by the imperial court."

Zhu Youjian had great confidence in Zheng Zhilong's abilities and felt that he had a great chance of winning.

In history, he and his son Zheng Chenggong had never been defeated by the Dutch.

Even if they suffered a temporary setback, the Dutch, whose homeland was thousands of miles away, could not increase their military strength. Zheng Zhilong, with the Ming Dynasty behind him, had a steady supply of manpower and ships.

Therefore, the Dutch were bound to fail in Southeast Asia, it was just a matter of how long they could hold out.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Youjian naturally had to make plans for victory and send a vassal king to Borneo to take charge.

This was to prevent Zheng Zhilong from becoming too powerful after his victory, as the vassal states in Borneo would have to rely on him in the future.

Looking around at all the clan members, Zhu Youjian said to them:

"Yu Qing asked me to go to Nanyang to establish a fiefdom and inherit the title of Duke of Suguo."

"I have already promised him to go with Zheng Zhilong."

"Who among you here is willing to go with me?"

He ordered people to unfold the map of South Seas and point out the location of Borneo.

This island, later known as Kalimantan, has an area of ​​nearly three million square miles and can be divided into three kingdoms.

Zhu Youjian's plan was to enfeoff Prince Lu and then enfeoff a vassal prince.

The remaining one million square miles of land were divided among Zheng Zhilong, Yu Risheng, Hai Shuzu and others.

Among them, Yu Risheng is the Duke and will occupy 250,000 square miles.

Although Zheng Zhilong is only a viscount now, Zhu Youjian wants to reserve 250,000 square miles of land for him, and give him priority in selection.

Whether he is promoted to duke for meritorious service in the future, or Zheng Zhihu and other members of the Zheng family are given fiefdoms there, this land belongs to the Zheng family, and Zhu Youjian needs to allocate enough benefits to him.

The remaining 500,000 square miles of land were probably occupied by other leaders and meritorious soldiers of Zheng Zhilong's gang.

As the descendant of Hai Rui, Hai Shuzu should get 90,000. Shen Chuanfang and other people from Suzhou and Songjiang who went to Southeast Asia with him should also get some.

If indigenous forces such as Brunei surrendered, the Ming Dynasty would also have to leave them some land and confer titles on them, turning them into internal vassal states, as these forces once paid tribute as external vassal states.

It can be said that before the war even started, Zhu Youjian had already made the post-war division.

The various forces in the Ming Dynasty were also eagerly waiting for Zheng Zhilong to win.

The princes of the royal family were also tempted, especially after the retrial of the case of the fake King of Chu, the existing royal family of the Chu vassal state were all eyeing the throne of the King of Chu.

As soon as Zhu Youjian opened his mouth, the Princes of the Chu vassal states, including the Prince of Dong'an, the Prince of Wugang, and the Prince of Jiangxia, jumped out one after another.

Even some of the generals, lieutenants and other members of the Chu clan who had been so excited before wanted to stand out.

Zhu Youjian was very happy to see them so enthusiastic, and said to these clan members:

"Each of the princes who are going to establish their own fiefdoms can raise a force of one thousand households to one guard."

"The one who has made the greatest contribution in the future will inherit the throne of King of Chu."

"Other county princes can own territories in the Chu vassal state, or establish independent earldoms, and directly belong to the imperial court as meritorious nobles."

This made the Chu vassal kings very happy, but those Chu vassal clan members who also wanted to compete for the throne were dissatisfied. Zhu Huaqian, who was staying in the capital because of the fake Chu king case, said loudly:
"Your Majesty, I was the first to expose the fact that Zhu Huakui and Zhu Huabi pretended to be the heirs of Prince Gong."

"Why can't we, the people who have made great contributions, fight for the throne?"

These words made the county kings unhappy, as they did not want to have more competitors. Wugang King Zhu Huazeng said:

"Zhu Huakui and Zhu Huabi said they were posthumous twin brothers, but their faces were very different. Who wouldn't have doubts in their hearts?"

"We exposed his background back then, so we have no merit?"

"How dare you, a distant relative of our clan, dream of becoming the King of Chu?"

The princes of the Chu clan who were close relatives all stood on his side and rebuked the Chu clan members who wanted to fight for the throne.

The originally peaceful clan gathering was thrown into chaos by them.

Zhu Youjian had a headache after hearing this and ordered:

"stop fighting!"

"Anyone who can be confirmed as the heir of Prince Zhao of Chu is eligible to compete for the throne of King Chu."

"Clear out and sell off the wealth of the Prince of Chu's Palace, and use it all to buy weapons."

"In the future, one share will be given to lieutenants, two shares to generals, and three shares to princes, and they will be distributed to those who are willing to open up fiefdoms."

"Whoever conquers the most fiefdoms will inherit the throne of King of Chu."

This means that all registered royal family members of the Chu vassal state are eligible to compete for the throne.

The Chu clan was of course very happy about this, but the twelve princes were not so satisfied.

Because this means that not only do they have to face competition from other branches, but they also have to be careful and guard against those who are restless within their own branch.

But no matter what, the emperor had made his decision, and no matter how dissatisfied they were, they had no choice but to obey his order.

Zhu Youjian did not think highly of the princes of the Chu vassal state. Especially the lineage of the Wugang King, who was in charge of the affairs of the Chu vassal state when Zhu Huakui and his brothers were young, but watched Zhu Huakui inherit the throne of the Chu King with controversy. It was not until Zhu Huakui exposed the truth that he dared to jump out and testify. He was a very cowardly person.

Zhu Youjian looked down on such people, and other princes were even worse than him. These people were used to enjoying wealth and luxury, and they simply did not have the courage to burn their boats.

On the contrary, it is possible that talented people will emerge from the Chu vassal clan, gain a foothold in Borneo, and check and balance Zheng Zhilong and others.

After deciding on the policy for the fight for the King of Chu, Zhu Youjian was just about to make a move on other members of the royal family who did not have a prince, when the King of Zhou, Zhu Gongyao, suddenly jumped out and said:
"Your Majesty, if we fight for the throne like this, what will happen to the losers in the future?"

"If they still remain in Chu Fan as lords, I am afraid they will be suppressed by the new King of Chu."

"If disputes arise when establishing a feudal domain, it may even lead to hatred."

It is believed that this will be detrimental to the stability of the royal family and will likely lead to various disputes in the future.

Zhu Youjian was hoping for this to happen, so that the vassal state would not become too powerful and out of control.

But he certainly couldn't say that openly, so he said vaguely:
"I will have people draft the rules for competing for titles, and assign officials to supervise them."

"If any of the royal family suffers any loss, we will investigate it thoroughly."

"What do you think, brother Wang? Is there a better way?"

Zhu Gongyao sincerely considered the stability of the royal family and said:
"Your Majesty allowed the prince who failed in the bid for the title to establish an independent vassal state. I think the same should be done for other clan members."

"In this way, the clan members who failed in the fight for the title will not be under the jurisdiction of the new King of Chu, and there will be fewer conflicts."

"I just don't know what your Majesty meant by the noble status of a meritorious official."

Other members of the royal family also had doubts about this, and Zhu Youjian explained:
"To be independent as meritorious nobles means that the court commends them for their merits in opening up fiefdoms and grants them titles."

"After being conferred the title, he will no longer be a member of the royal family, just like other nobles who were conferred titles for their merits, and his title will not be recorded in the imperial book."

"As the descendant of Taizu, we will build a new ancestral temple and genealogy."

This was a measure taken by Zhu Youjian to reduce the number of royal family members.

At the same time, it also means to let them join the Noble Council as independent nobles and strengthen their control over the Noble Council.

After all, with the increase in the number of nobles from other families, there were only thirty princes, which was too few in the noble council. But with more than three hundred county princes, they couldn't all be included.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian allowed the prince who wanted to establish himself to be independent and granted him noble status.

This is certainly good news for some princes, especially those who have major conflicts with the prince. They have long wanted to separate and live on their own, and now they have finally found the opportunity.

King Zhou Zhu Gongyao was even more delighted and chased after the emperor and asked:

"Are the territories of these independent princes counted as part of the vassal states?"

"What kind of title can they be granted? Is it the rumored county earl?"

Apparently he had heard the rumors in the capital and knew that the Lifanyuan was planning to change the rank of prince to earl.

Zhu Youjian affirmed this:
"The status of a county king is noble, so the meritorious nobles should start with earls, and be granted the titles of duke, marquis, and earl based on their achievements."

"If you have made great contributions, you can also establish a kingdom and be granted fiefdom like the King of Jingjiang."

This made all the princes even happier when they heard it.

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They believed that the emperor was really kind to the royal family and that they also had the opportunity to become the Prince of Jingjiang.

The ordinary royal family members looked up and heard the emperor say:
"Even if the county king does not become independent, he will be renamed as a county earl in the future, and his title and salary will be replaced by the territory allocated by the vassal state."

"Generals who defend the country, generals who support the country, and generals who serve the country will be changed to first, second, and third class barons, and the baronial titles will be hereditary."

"The lieutenants of the state defense, auxiliary state support, and serving the state were changed to hereditary knights, with fiefs ranging from ten to thirty li squared."

"If they are my relatives within five degrees of mourning, or the prince's relatives within three degrees of mourning, their titles will start from Viscount."

This was the suggestion given by the Lifanyuan after careful discussion.

There were too many royal family generals who were made viscounts, and even more lieutenants, so they were demoted to barons and knights.

Only the relatives within the fifth degree of mourning of the emperor and the relatives within the third degree of mourning of the prince still start as viscounts and enjoy some preferential treatment.

This disappointed some members of the royal family, who felt that their treatment was a bit low. However, many people did not care, because many of them could not even get the royal salary, and it would be better to have a fief. If they were to go independent, they would have the opportunity to be promoted to a higher rank by making meritorious contributions.

Many people don't even notice that once a title is converted into a knighthood, it can only be inherited by one person. The descendants of the Lieutenant of Fengguo cannot all become hereditary knights in the future.

Zhu Gongyao didn't care much about the ordinary members of the royal family. He was concerned about the questions he had raised, which the emperor had not yet explained.

This made him so anxious that he wanted to ask again, but he didn't want to appear too anxious, as if he was interrogating the emperor.

Fortunately, the emperor did not let him wait for long, and continued:

"For vassal states within Shenzhou, even if the royal family has become independent, as long as their titles are not above earl, their territory will be counted within the kingdom's square thousand miles."

"Outside of Shenzhou, it doesn't count. No matter how much land the independent clans own, the prince can own a thousand miles of land directly under his jurisdiction."

This was a regulation he made in order to limit the expansion of power of the vassal kings surrounding the Ming Dynasty.

No matter what the reason, the maximum area of ​​a vassal state, or the sum of the areas of the same vassal states, cannot exceed a thousand square miles. At most, the area of ​​the bitter cold in the north can be doubled, and the Arctic Circle can be handed over to them for management.

However, he relaxed the conditions outside of Shenzhou, allowing these vassal states to divide the royal family and form a group of fiefdoms with the kingdom as the core. This would greatly enhance their ability to resist risks, but the power of their direct subordinates would be restricted.

This policy finally made Zhu Gongyao breathe a sigh of relief, feeling both sad and happy:
What worries me is that I have to establish a vassal state outside of Shenzhou, but what makes me happy is that the royal family of Zhou vassal can be independent and have their own territory of thousands of miles.

After thinking about it, he quickly decided:
"Your Majesty, I would like to go to the outside of Shenzhou to establish a fiefdom and make all the princes of Zhou independent."

"Your Majesty, please point out a place where they can be self-reliant."

This caused a great uproar among the clan members, but they soon realized:

There were seventy-seven vassal states in the Zhou Dynasty. Even if thirty-five were eliminated, there would still be forty-two left.

If these princes were to be treated as earls of 378 square miles, they would need 100 million square miles of fiefdom. The million square miles of Zhou vassalage was not enough for them.

Even if the requirement is lowered to 168 square miles, which is higher than the Viscount's, it still requires million square miles of fiefdom. Even if the entire Zhou domain is divided among them, the land is still not enough.

It is no wonder that Zhu Gongyao repeatedly asked about the independence of the royal family. After hearing the emperor's decision, he chose to establish a vassal state outside of Shenzhou.

If he did not do this, the territory directly owned by the King of Zhou in the future would be very small.

Zhu Youjian also knew the situation of the Zhou vassal state and admired Zhu Gongyao's determination. He even gave the policy of not counting the states outside of Shenzhou in order to encourage the King of Zhou to go out.

Now that Zhu Gongyao took the initiative to propose it, he was very pleased and said:
"There are many royal families in the Zhou vassal state, so of course I have to choose a good place for my brother."

"This land is across the sea from Daming, and the temperature difference is not much, but the rainfall time is opposite."

"Brother Wang, you can send people to explore first, and then take the royal family of Zhou Fan to open a vassal state."

(The Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires, the Spanish explored the San Francisco Bay area in 1542 and established forts and missions in 1776)

Pointing to the area of ​​California in later generations, he asked the King of Zhou to send people to explore.

The Spaniards had explored this place before, but they had not yet established a stronghold here, so in Zhu Youjian's view, it naturally did not belong to them.

He planned to send many of the Zhou vassal states, who were members of the royal family, to form a large fiefdom group to stop the Spaniards from advancing northward.

If the King of Zhou had the ability, he could have crossed the mountains and entered the plains in the east to enfeoff his clan members there.

In Zhu Youjian's opinion, this was one of the best places in America. Granting it to the King of Zhou was naturally not an unfair treatment.

But when King Zhou heard this, he almost collapsed.

Even though he knew he would be sent to a place outside of Shenzhou, he never expected it to be so far away.

It is separated from the Ming Dynasty by the Pacific Ocean.

No wonder the emperor generously allowed him to make the Zhou vassal clan independent and keep a thousand miles of land for himself.

This made him say with a bitter face:

"Your Majesty, this is too far."

"No ship from the Ming Dynasty has ever been there."

Zhu Youjian certainly did not allow him to retreat at this time, and tempted him:
"I have received the revelation from my ancestors, Emperor Chengzu, that there is a gold mine there."

“There are also numerous bison and tall fir trees.”

"As long as we can develop a little bit of it, Zhou Fan will be able to enjoy it endlessly!"

He tried his best to describe the richness of America and said that there were buffaloes everywhere in the place.

Especially the giant redwoods of America, which he asked King Zhou to explore as soon as possible and mine to build the palace.

In this undeveloped area, there are huge trees that are 70 to 80 meters or even hundreds of meters high. If the reinforced concrete technology is not mature when the Mingtang is built in the future, they will have to be used.

When King Zhou heard the emperor speak so confidently, even mentioning Taizu and Chengzu, he was tempted:
Not to mention the gold mines and bison, he had heard that Duke Jiangling made a fortune by selling the rights to mine giant trees.

If there really were giant trees 20 or 30 feet tall in America, the imperial court would have found a way to transport them out even if the journey was far.

Compared with sea transportation, transporting giant trees from the mountainous areas of Yunnan and Guizhou is more expensive, and they have already been completely felled.

If a giant American tree is discovered, it will be a unique product. The imperial court and various vassal states will definitely spend a lot of money to build palaces.

Under the emperor's repeated encouragement, King Zhou Zhu Gongyao decided to pay to recruit an expedition team and send people to explore.

After making the discovery, he took people to establish a fiefdom.

For this purpose, Zhu Youjian also promised to reserve for him a guard's worth of equipment, which he could purchase in the next two years.

(American Giant Wood Architecture) (End of this chapter)