Yongle Emperor's grandson: Zhu Yuanzhang with cheats, Zhu Di went crazy

Chapter 298 Interests and the Choice between Races
"This doesn't look good. You should just draw a dragon. Why is there a sun in the left hand and a moon in the right hand? What the hell is this? Is this a new light bulb design?"

In the Old Summer Palace, Zhu Zhanjun, Old Zhu and the old man were pointing and commenting on some paintings.

Ever since he saw that Western countries had their own flags, Zhu Yuanzhang, who always loved to show off, could no longer sit still and insisted on designing his own national flag for his Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Zhanjun didn't think there was anything wrong with it. After all, this had become an international practice in later generations.

Moreover, a country has its own flag, which can unite the hearts of the people and the army, so this task was thrown to Zhu.

Old Zhu was also very attentive. He brought together the descendants of Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Youxiao, who were good at painting and carpentry, to discuss how to make this national flag.

When they heard that it was such an important matter, they all worked very hard. Zhu Zhanji even used his talent for painting to draw the national flags of his imagination.

After the results were handed over to Lao Zhu, Lao Zhu was not satisfied with any of them.

Seeing that no one could make up their mind and the founding of the country was just a few days away, Zhu asked Zhu Zhanji to gather the members of the Zhu family to discuss which flag to choose.

The old man also had some paintings drawn for him and brought them here today.

After a round of selection, Grandpa Zhu, Fatty Zhu and their grandson were very satisfied with the flag.

The flag is red in color, with a five-clawed golden dragon hovering in the middle, with the dragon's left and right claws holding the moon and the sun respectively.

When they showed it to Zhu Zhanjun, he not only rejected it, but also made some comments on it.

"What electric light? Don't you think this flag is majestic?"

Old Zhu was a little unhappy. He thought that the flag he chose was very good and couldn't understand why Zhu Zhanjun looked down on it.

Zhu Zhanjun shook his head and said to the sulking Old Zhu: "Grandpa, do you understand what a national flag is?"

Old Zhu pointed to the golden dragon sun and moon flag in his hand and said, "This one is pretty good, the dragon represents the royal family, and the sun and moon surround it, representing endless life."

Zhu Zhanjun shook his head and looked at the others.

The old man, Fatty Zhu, Zhu Zhanji and others all agreed with what Old Zhu said.

With a sigh in his heart, Zhu Zhanjun said helplessly: "The national flag represents the entire country, not a family or surname."

Pointing to the painting in Old Zhu's hand, Zhu Zhanjun explained: "If you want the country to prosper, you need to unite the hearts of the people in the world and use all your strength together."

"However, your flag only represents the royal family, but ignores the people of the world. More importantly, it is too complicated."

“The more complicated something is, the more picky people tend to be. Once someone exaggerates certain flaws, the impact will be devastating.”

"Since you said so, you must have a blueprint in your mind." Old Zhu threw the painting in his hand aside and looked at Zhu Zhanjun expectantly.

Zhu Zhanjun nodded, took out a piece of paper and placed it on the table.

"this?"

Looking at this simple pattern, Lao Zhu was a little confused and said, "This is too simple."

Zhu Zhanjun smiled slightly, pointed at the drawing and said, "Simplicity is the truth."

To put it bluntly, the meaning of the flag is just a matter of a word from the superior.

“This one seems pretty good.”

After listening to Zhu Zhanjun's explanation of the meaning of the flag, Zhu Pangpang pinched his fat chin and gave corresponding affirmation.

"Scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans surround the Ming Dynasty, and the life is endless and the inheritance is eternal. It's very good~"

The old man slapped his thigh, turned to Old Zhu and said, "Dad, this is pretty good, why don't you consider it."

Old Zhu didn't say anything, but turned to look at Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Youxiao.

Zhu Houzhao quickly raised his hand and said, "I think the golden dragon flag looks better. Look how majestic and domineering it is." He pointed at the flag Zhu Zhanjun had taken out and said, "This is too simple. It doesn't show the spirit of our Ming Dynasty."

Old Zhu rolled his eyes and looked at Zhu Youxiao.

Zhu Youxiao did not answer immediately. Instead, he picked up two pictures selected by everyone and compared them left and right, and put the picture taken by Zhu Zhanjun in the middle.

"I agree with this, too. I won't talk about the big principles. I'll just talk about what I'm best at."

"Just like carpentry, the more complicated something is, the more likely it is to go wrong, and its use is very limited. It is often the simple things that are preserved the longest and are the most useful."

"That's what I mean, so I prefer this simple one."

Old Zhu cared most about whether the country he founded could be passed on. When he heard Zhu Youxiao say this, the balance in his heart slowly tilted.

Seeing that Old Zhu no longer insisted on his opinion, Zhu Zhanjun smiled and said, "In that case, let's vote by raising our hands. Those who support the dragon flag should raise their hands."

Zhu Houzhao immediately raised his hand, but when he saw that no one else raised their hand, he withdrew his hand in frustration.

"Okay, that's it."

Zhu Zhanjun picked up the Sun, Moon and Stars Flag and said to the person in charge of the Weaving Bureau who was waiting behind him, "Go and prepare."

"Ta Tata..."

Just as the people from the weaving bureau left, there was another sound of hurried footsteps.

When they looked back, they saw Fang Xuanling walking towards them quickly with a telegram in his hand.

Noticing the smile on the other person's face, Zhu Zhanjun asked, "Is there any result in the south?"

Fang Xuanling stepped forward, bowed to everyone, and then smiled and replied: "Your Majesty is indeed as good as a god in predicting things."

He put the telegram on the table and said, "Li Jing and Zheng Zilong sent a joint telegram, saying that they defeated the Gallic Rooster's support forces, 10 of the 4 steel battleships were sunk, and the remaining chose to surrender."

"As for the transport ships, nearly half of them were sunk, and the rest did not escape and all chose to surrender."

"In this battle, our army won a great victory, and the Gallic Rooster's plan to support Annan was completely shattered." While Fang Xuanling was talking, Zhu Zhanjun also finished reading the telegram.

When he saw the interrogation of the other side's officers and learned that the other side planned to bypass the coastal defense line and attack Peking directly along the previous route, he could not help but sneer.

There were some things he couldn't understand. Who gave the other commander the courage to attack the capital directly?

The Ming Dynasty is not a bunch of useless people like the Qing Dynasty. The troops guarding the capital are the most elite and have the most advanced equipment.

Not to mention the Gallic Rooster Alliance Army of just tens of thousands of people, even if they faced an army of 10, they could easily repel it.

"Tell Zheng Zilong to bring back a group of prisoners. Pick out those with different hair colors and skin colors."

Seeing the telegram saying that a lot of prisoners had been captured, Zhu Zhanjun suddenly smiled and told Fang Xuanling to notify Zheng Zilong to bring back a group of prisoners.

"You're not going to hold a ceremony to present the captives, are you?"

Old Zhu seemed to understand and asked meaningfully.

Zhu Zhanjun chuckled and replied, "After winning the battle, we naturally have to let the people know. What we learn from paper is not as strong as seeing it in person."

Old Zhu chuckled when he heard this: "That's true, but by then, these Gallic roosters will probably be jumping up and down."

Zhu Zhanjun's eyes flashed with disdain: "If he jumps, I'm afraid he won't jump high enough."

The news of the great victory spread quickly and the people cheered instantly.

In addition to this news, there was also news that the country was officially founded on the fourth day of the first lunar month.

A grand military parade will be held on the same day.

In a hotel in Peking, the conference room was silent.

Representatives from various countries sat in their respective seats and silently looked at the newly published Daming Daily in front of them.

The front page headline above has an eye-catching title.

"A gift to the founding of the country, annihilating a million enemies, great is our Southern Army, great is our Ming Navy!"

Looking at the eye-catching headline, the consuls of various countries fell silent. The Gallic rooster consul's knuckles turned white as he pinched the newspaper, and a clucking sound was heard.

"This is a wrong decision and a wrong war."

In the end, it was the Eagle Country Consul who spoke first.

He stood up and said to the crowd: "The Ming Dynasty is not the Qing Dynasty of the past. They have sophisticated equipment, elite soldiers, and timely intelligence."

"Sending a legion to come from afar to attack is a completely wrong decision."

"We already have some gaps with them, but we still came to their door to provoke them. This is simply courting death."

"Ha ha……"

The Gallic rooster consul could not help but sneer when he heard this. Things had already come to this, so what was the point of saying these hindsight remarks?

"Since Your Excellency has said so, I believe there is already a solution."

The Eagle Country Consul glanced at him, but did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Old Te who was picking his fingers.

Others also looked at Lao Te.

Being stared at by everyone, Lao Te understood that these guys did not trust him.

He smiled nonchalantly, stood up and said, "Since you don't believe me, I'll leave first."

After saying that, he stood up and was about to leave.

"Sir, we don't mean to drive you away. We just want to confirm which side your country is on in this confrontation."

The consul of the Eagle Country looked at Lao Te's back and suddenly asked a fatal question.

Lao Te stopped and turned to look at everyone present.

Facing everyone's gaze, he did not make any response, but returned to his seat.

No matter what, their beautiful country is not a country on the same side as the Ming Dynasty.

No matter how many interests he exchanges with the Ming Dynasty, when faced with a choice, he will still stand firmly on the side of his own race.

This is determined by his blood and skin, not those interests that can be discarded at any time.

Although the benefits are good, if it offends the entire West, it will be a disaster for the United States, not to mention that the United States is caught in an internal war.

Seeing that Lao Te had returned to his seat, the Consul of the Eagle Country smiled.

He waved his hand and asked the servants to leave. He took out documents and placed them in front of everyone.

"Everyone, before I tell you what I think, please sign this confidentiality agreement first."

When he walked up to Lao Te, he said something special.

"If you don't want to, you can just leave."

Lao Te did not respond, but opened the file and looked over.

Upon seeing this, his expression instantly became solemn.

Although the treaty before us is said to be confidential, it is actually more like a hidden alliance.

The newly rising Eagle Kingdom, the sun never sets, wanted to use the threat from the Ming Dynasty to unite the entire Western forces to fight against it.

(End of this chapter)