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

Chapter 1279 Zhang Jie
The Imperial Clan Court acted swiftly, submitting a detailed report just a few days later, outlining the specific regulations for the enfeoffment of princes as regional vassals.

After all, given the previous examples of the Song and Yong states, and after consulting with the emperor, the Imperial Clan Court also knew where the emperor's bottom line lay. In addition, Zhu Yujian was quite capable, and those who had been in charge of the Imperial Clan Court for many years had a thorough understanding of the situation of the imperial clan, so doing this was not difficult.

Zhu Shenzhui found the memorial satisfactory after reading it, and approved it after making a few minor revisions. However, although the matter of enfeoffing princes outside the capital had been settled, there was still much to be done. Even if the Prince of Fu, the Prince of De, and the Prince of Rong were to be enfeoffed now, Zhu Shenzhui still needed to carefully consider where they should be enfeoffed.

Zhu Shenzhui considered for a moment and then had someone bring him a map of the New World. This map was originally obtained from Europe, but the map of the New World in Europe was relatively complete for the eastern region, while the western region was only an outline. However, in recent years, with the development of the Song and Yong Kingdoms in Europe, the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going navy has been exploring the terrain of the western coast of the New World and gradually improving the map while exploring sea routes, which is why the map exists now.

Although this map is correct in terms of coastline and general location compared to the actual New World maps of later generations, and the inland areas are largely blank due to the current situation, it is sufficient for Zhu Shenzhui.

On the map, Xin Yongzhou in the north and Xin Jing in the south were clearly marked, and there were also geographical depictions of the regions further south, including Central and South America. Zhu Shenzhui carefully looked at the map, thought for a moment, and then drew circles on three places. Two of these places were located in the middle of Xin Yongzhou and Xin Jing, which are the areas that later became Seattle and Portland. Here, Zhu Shenzhui picked up his brush and wrote two characters: "De" (德) and "Rong" (荣).

In this way, this place will become the fiefdom of the future Prince De and Prince Rong. Prince De's fiefdom is not far from the new Yongzhou, about 500 li away, and is connected by a bay in the middle, making it a good geographical location.

Although the Prince of Rong's fiefdom was not located in a seaport, it had an inland river connecting it to the sea and was slightly closer to the south, which was considered a good location.

The two fiefdoms were roughly the same size as Yong, thus placing them right between Yong and Song. Furthermore, neither Prince De nor Prince Rong had much of a relationship with Emperor Shenzong, making this position the most suitable for them.

As for Prince Fu, Zhu Shenzhui originally intended to place him in this area as well, but after thinking about it, he changed his mind and his gaze subconsciously moved downwards, eventually drawing a circle in the southern part of the Song Kingdom, which is the area of ​​Los Angeles in later generations.

To be honest, this place is quite good. Both its geographical location and climate are excellent. Although there used to be large deserts in the east and southeast, these deserts are some distance from the fiefdom. This does not affect the establishment of the fiefdom here, and the deserts can also serve as a natural barrier to protect the fiefdom.

The problem is that this region is somewhat close to Central and South America. A short distance further south lies the Spanish colonies in Mexico. Although the two are not currently contiguous, no one can guarantee what the future holds. If Spanish influence expands northward, or if the local situation changes, this region could face direct contact with its European colonies.

Zhu Shenzhui had his own reasons for designating this region as the fiefdom of Prince Fu. He not only separated Prince Fu and Prince Yong by a great distance, one in the south and one in the north, to prevent any potential underhanded dealings between the two kingdoms, but he also created a potential threat for Prince Fu. Whether Prince Fu developed his fiefdom in the future or the Spanish colonies in the south expanded northward, they were bound to clash.

In this way, the Prince of Fu's fiefdom now had a potential rival in the south, forcing him to seek the help of the nearest northern state, Song. This would solve the Prince of Fu's problem in the New World. Similarly, with the Prince of Fu in the south, Song could temporarily disregard the threat from the south and focus on developing and expanding. In this respect, Zhu Shenzhui had considered things in advance for Zhu Mincheng.

After demarcating the territories of these three fiefdoms, there were still many unclaimed areas in between. Zhu Shenzhui planned to set these aside for later use by the imperial clans to be granted fiefdoms elsewhere. The New World needed some leeway, didn't it? Otherwise, what would happen to the inland areas if all the coastal regions were sealed off? Whether for future considerations or for the Ming Dynasty to directly control several routes to the inland, leaving these areas unclaimed was essential.

In addition, the interior of the New World contains vast territories. Beyond the Rocky Mountains, which stretch from north to south, lies a vast plain. These areas are sparsely populated and ideal for farming and habitation. In the future, many members of the royal family can be gradually enfeoffed there. At that time, any area can be designated as a fief, and how they develop it will be up to them.

As emperor, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't possibly be all-encompassing; achieving this level was quite commendable. At least compared to the Zhou emperors of the pre-Zhou period, the Ming dynasty fulfilled its obligations to its vassal kings, providing them with some support and convenience. In contrast, during the Western Zhou dynasty, the emperor simply pointed in a direction when enfeoffing a vassal, completely disregarding how the vassal arrived or established themselves. Once given a title and sent to their fiefdom, their fate was left to destiny. Many vassal kings arrived only to be killed by local barbarians, ultimately suffering the loss of their kingdoms and their own lives.

Even the State of Yan, one of the seven Warring States, was one of the earliest vassal states of the Zhou Dynasty. However, it disappeared from history for several hundred years. Some say three hundred years, others say four hundred years. In any case, from the founding of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, there is almost no record of the State of Yan in historical books. If it weren't for consulting the original records of the enfeoffment of vassal states, even the reigning Zhou emperor probably forgot that such a state existed.

It wasn't until the Spring and Autumn Period that the State of Yan suddenly emerged, and only then did the states of the Central Plains discover that such a state with the surname Ji existed in the north. One can only imagine how the State of Yan survived those centuries of obscurity, and how many hardships it faced.

Compared to the feudal lords of the Zhou Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty's enfeoffment of vassal kings was remarkably benevolent. They did everything they could, and even provided some support later on. If, under such circumstances, these vassal kings failed to manage their fiefdoms well, ultimately leading to the downfall of their kingdoms, then the Ming Dynasty could not be blamed; it was simply fate, and there was nothing more to say.

After settling the fiefdoms of the three princes, Zhu Shenzhui then considered the fiefdoms of the other three princes: Prince Rui, Prince Gui, and Prince Lu. Although the enfeoffment of these three princes would have to wait until the former was completed, it was still necessary to plan their arrangements in advance.

Sending them to the New World? Zhu Shenzhui still had some concerns, which he had mentioned before. After all, their blood ties were too close, and it wouldn't be good for these people to cluster together in the New World. Therefore, after much consideration, Zhu Shenzhui decided to postpone any plans for the New World. There were other regions suitable for enfeoffment besides the New World, such as the large island east of Nurgan, also known as Kuyi Island, but the climate there was unsuitable. Although the area was large enough, if this were given as a fiefdom, wouldn't it invite accusations that the emperor was mistreating members of the imperial family?

After much deliberation, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't think of a better solution and had no choice but to put it aside for the time being. However, just half a month later, an event occurred that gave Zhu Shenzhui a solution to the problem. This event was an encounter battle between the Ming Dynasty's South China Sea Fleet and Dutch warships in the South China Sea. The cause of this naval battle was also unexpected, and it is necessary to mention a person who was once Zheng Zhilong's subordinate, named Zhang Jie.

Zhang Jie's position in the Zheng Group was not high; he was merely a mid-level leader. Zhang Jie's father and grandfather were also pirates. When Zheng Zhilong founded the Eighteen Zhi, he recruited a large number of pirate groups from the South China Sea and put them to his service. At that time, Zhang Jie's father took him to join Zheng Zhilong and became an ordinary leader under him, with about a hundred men and ten ships. Zhang Jie thus became Zheng Zhilong's subordinate.

There were quite a few people like this in the Zheng Group. After all, the Zheng Group evolved from a pirate group, and there were countless pirate leaders of all sizes within it. Following Zheng Zhilong, Zhang Jie and his son served the Zheng family. Later, when Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang fought a great battle at sea, Zhang Jie's father died alongside Zheng Zhihu. After his father's death, the young Zhang Jie took over the subordinates and warships that originally belonged to the Zhang family and assumed the position of leader.

When Zheng Zhilong was granted amnesty by the imperial court and transformed from a bandit into an official, Zhang Jie also became a naval officer of the Ming Dynasty. His official position was not high; he was merely a deputy commander of a thousand men, a title he was given in recognition of his father's death in battle alongside Zheng Zhilong.

Logically speaking, it would be quite good for a bandit to become an official, even just a deputy commander. However, Zhang Jie was later transferred to Chen Bao's subordinates. While under Chen Bao, Zhang Jie was mainly responsible for leading his men to collect "tolls" in the South China Sea, thus enriching Chen Bao.

Zhang Jie was living a good life. Besides handing over his share of the toll fees, he could also make a lot of money for himself. Over the years, he had amassed a considerable fortune. But for some reason, Zheng Zhilong suddenly turned on Chen Bao and killed him in no time. It was rumored that Chen Bao's death was because of the toll fees. He had deceived his superiors and obtained a large amount of wealth from Zheng Zhilong, which aroused Zheng Zhilong's murderous intent.

Upon hearing the news, Zhang Jie was terrified. He knew that if Chen Bao had done it, he, Zhang Jie, would have done the same! Everyone makes a little profit when dealing with money, and as a former pirate, Zhang Jie had naturally taken a considerable cut. Now that Chen Bao was dead because of this, how could Zhang Jie possibly survive if the investigation continued?

The more Zhang Jie thought about it, the more terrified he became. Not wanting to sit and wait for his death, he gritted his teeth and made a decision: to take advantage of the opportunity before Zheng Zhilong found out about him and run away. After all, he had been a pirate before, and if he couldn't do this job, he could just quit and go back to his old ways.

Besides, although Zhang Jie was just an ordinary leader, he still had men and ships under his command. Even if he couldn't be a big pirate, he could still be a small one. Moreover, piracy wasn't the only path for Zhang Jie. He could easily go to Southeast Asia, find a place to hide, live under an assumed name, and become a wealthy man, or even switch to being a maritime merchant. That would be much better than staying there and waiting to die, wouldn't it?
(End of this chapter)