Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1166 Heir

Zhu Shenzhui's explanation finally made Zhu Minlan understand. After he suddenly realized it, he couldn't help but admire his father's foresight.

He never expected that the Ming Royal Bank actually had this function. This somewhat overturned his previous judgment. After feeling emotional, Zhu Minlan realized that he still had a lot to learn.

Picking up the tea and taking a sip with relish, Zhu Shenzhui was very satisfied as he looked at the prince who seemed to be thinking deeply. His prince was capable and had a strong understanding. Although he was young, he was good at learning and was a good successor.

However, it is impossible to cultivate a qualified heir in the deep palace. The times have changed, and the world has become different.

If we say that all dynasties over the past thousands of years have been centered in the Chinese region, and all dynasties merely maintained their continuity and resisted the nomadic peoples in the north, then today's era is in a period of great change.

Since Europe entered the Age of Exploration, the world has undergone tremendous changes. The collision and intersection between the East and the West has occurred. With the rise of the Age of Exploration, it also led to great geographical discoveries, which also changed the world pattern accordingly.

Moreover, we are now not far from the first industrial revolution in history. The first industrial revolution in history was originally initiated in Britain. The first industrial revolution also laid the foundation for the future development of the world and led to significant progress in global industry including economy, military, politics, and culture.

The impact was far-reaching, but Britain was still many years away from the Industrial Revolution. Charles II asked Zhu Shenzhu to return to Britain shortly after he returned from Mongolia. Zhu Shenzhu not only agreed to his wish to return, but also gave him a lot of money and property. In addition, he helped to arrange the hiring of Portuguese ships, carrying the thousand elite soldiers he recruited from Liaodong on board, and set sail for Europe.

When Charles II returned to England, no matter what the course of history would be, he would most likely officially ascend the throne of England. After all, as the Lord Protector of England, although Cromwell controlled the power of England and was equal to the king in status, he was not actually the king. Even though Cromwell wanted to become the real king of England, he was still afraid to take the last step due to the strong opposition of the aristocracy and the actual situation in England.

Although the previous British kings were sent to the guillotine by the nobles and clergy, and Charles II and his mother and brothers were expelled into exile overseas, the British nobles and clergy, and even the ordinary British people, still had complicated feelings towards the British royal family. Most people felt that it was Charles I who was sent to the guillotine. Although the mistake was made by Charles I, it had nothing to do with Charles II. In addition, according to the royal succession tradition of European countries, Charles II was still nominally the King of Britain, including the King of Scotland and Ireland. As long as Charles II did not continue his father's wrong policies, the British people would still accept the king's return to Britain and hoped to see him ascend the throne.

Cromwell, as the Lord Protector, was also very clear about this, which was the main reason why he had always refused Charles II to return to England. Moreover, Cromwell was in charge of the government, and although he was not the king in name, he was the king in reality. As long as he was alive, Charles II would not be able to return to England to become the real king. However, Cromwell was a man after all, not a god, and he was not young anymore. With the average life expectancy of Europeans, he was nearly sixty years old, and he was already old. In addition, due to injuries caused by war when he was young, he was in poor health and might have to return to the Lord's arms soon in response to God's call.

Cromwell was well aware of this, but he could do nothing about it. He could only think of ways to weaken Charles II's influence in Britain and train his own heirs. In his opinion, as long as Charles II was not allowed to return, his heirs would still firmly control the British government after his death, and his family would still have the final say in Britain. In the future, he would slowly let the British people accept his family's identity and status, and then find an opportunity to truly replace him and become the British royal family.

To be honest, this calculation seems to be a good one, but Cromwell forgot an important point, that is, his successor was far inferior to him in terms of personality, political and military means. Once Cromwell died, it would be impossible for him to hold on to the throne with only his plans during his lifetime and the ability of his successor. If Charles II returned to England at this time, with the support of the nobles, clergy and even the people, the possibility of restoration would be very high.

This is indeed the case. In the original history, Charles II returned to England and ascended the British throne in this way. However, France contributed more. After learning of Cromwell's death, France immediately thought of Charles II and took the initiative to offer to help him restore the British throne as bait.

Of course, this help was not selfless. You should know that Charles II had been in exile in Europe for many years. During these years, Charles II had asked for help from the French royal family but was rejected because Cromwell was alive and well at that time. The French royal family would never help a powerless exiled king at the risk of offending Cromwell. The cost was too high. If they were not careful, it would trigger a war between the two countries. Naturally, the French royal family would not do it. But as soon as Cromwell died, the opportunity came. Charles II, who was previously regarded as a trouble by the royal families of various countries, instantly became a hot commodity. The French royal family put forward conditions with the temptation of helping the other party to restore the throne. At this time, Charles II also urgently needed the help of a powerful European kingdom like France so that he could return to Britain and resume his status as king.

The two hit it off immediately. After signing a series of treaties favorable to France, Charles II landed in England under the escort of the French royal army and finally completed the restoration. However, this incident also led to many political and diplomatic problems for Charles II. Because of those treaties, Charles II was controlled by France during his reign in England, which made him very helpless. Even though Charles II's political skills were not bad, he still could not get rid of the control of France.

It can be said that after Charles II became the King of England, he spent the second half of his life trying to get rid of France's control over him, including its influence on Britain. Although he did a lot and achieved some results, he was not really successful until his death.

In order to prevent his descendants from continuing to be influenced by France, Charles II even made a shocking decision before his death. That is, he did not pass the throne to his son, but to his younger brother James II. In this way, the British royal family could break free from the influence of France and gain true independence.

From this point of view, although Charles II seemed cynical on the surface, he was actually very wise, and his actions later proved the correctness of his choice. But now everything has changed, because of the Ming Dynasty, with Wang Fuzhi and Zheng Hongkui landing on European soil, Charles II's life trajectory has changed, especially after he decided to follow Wang Fuzhi and others to the Ming Dynasty, Charles II could no longer rely on the French royal family to regain the throne as before, and he would rely on his own strength to regain the throne of England.

What will happen to Britain in the future, and how the world will change, are all unknown. But the general trend is unstoppable, and the changes in the whole world are real. Therefore, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty will not only face the problem of the northern nomadic peoples, but also the pattern of the whole world, including the progress of science and technology and the collision of cultures. If he still clings to the incompleteness, then the Qing Dynasty in history is the best example. Zhu Shenzhu does not want the heir, the crown prince Zhu Minlan, to ignore these and become a mediocre emperor.

Zhu Shenzhui had already started to arrange the training of the crown prince, or the training of the royal family, after he ascended the throne. He attached great importance to the education of the princes. Not only did he set up a teaching center in the palace, but he also stipulated that all princes must enter military academies after completing basic education. After graduating from military academies, they must hold certain positions in the army to gain a deep understanding and familiarity with military affairs, so as to control the army.

This is the case with the Crown Prince and the King of Song, except that because of the King of Song's external title, he has not actually completed his service after graduating from the military academy. After graduating from the military academy, the Crown Prince is currently serving in the General Council Office. Zhu Minlan's military position is not high, and he is only an Anyuan School (Deputy Hundred Households) military position. He usually does ordinary council work, but this arrangement works well. Zhu Minlan has learned a lot of knowledge that is not in the textbooks in the General Council Office, and has a deeper understanding of military affairs. In addition, there are a large number of children of nobles and wealthy families, including some children of civilians, in the military academy. Zhu Minlan can also win over these people through the friendship of classmates, and gradually form his future team.

But these are far from enough. The training of the prince involves all aspects. This is also the main reason why Zhu Shenzhu let the prince gradually take over government affairs and train him by his side.

Before Zhu Shenzhu went to Guihua City for the meeting, the capital had the crown prince as regent. At first, Zhu Shenzhu was worried that the crown prince would have problems as regent due to his lack of experience, so he deliberately made a lot of back-up arrangements before leaving to avoid some situations.

However, the final result still satisfied Zhu Shenzhui. Although Zhu Minlan, the crown prince, was inexperienced, he was cautious and cautious. Even when the emperor was away from Beijing, Zhu Minlan resisted the "temptation" and instigation of some officials in the court and made calm judgments, so that there were no problems in the country during his regent period.

After returning to the capital, Zhu Shencui was very pleased and felt that the prince had matured a lot, especially that he could keep a clear mind at that time, which was even more precious. So during these days, Zhu Shencui not only gave the prince more opportunities, but also let him gradually take on important responsibilities. For example, regarding the coin issue today, he not only let the prince directly participate, but also gave instructions and explanations afterwards, so that he could deeply understand his true intentions.

(End of this chapter)