My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 258: It's Like a Tribute to the Nation
These past few days, Yingtian Prefecture was very lively. First, the army that had gone on the southern expedition escorted the captives back to the capital in a mighty procession. The people cheered and the entire court was also excited.

When attending the grand court, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to commend and reward Xu Da and others in public, but they declined. The reason they gave for their refusal was very similar. They wanted to follow the fleet out to sea and continue to expand the territory for the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the reason why Xu Da and Li Wenzhong wanted to go to sea was actually very simple. When it came to being appointed as officials and generals, they were all dukes, which was the highest position they could reach, and there was no more reward they could get.

They have followed Zhu Yuanzhang in his campaigns since their prime, and have made countless contributions throughout their lives. Now that they have achieved success and fame, there are really not many things that can arouse their interest.

However, the Ming Dynasty lifted the ban on maritime trade and developed maritime trade, which opened their eyes to a new world. The world was too vast, and their vision was no longer limited to the Ming Dynasty. They also wanted to go out and take a look.

Of course, maritime trade is also related to their own vital interests, and sending fleets out to sea is just the right way to kill two birds with one stone.

Zhu Yuanzhang readily agreed to this. Although the charter set when establishing the Ming Maritime Trade Co., Ltd. stated that shareholders had the obligation to go out to sea and be responsible for trade, many nobles sent their younger generations to go out to sea, and no one went to sea personally.

However, since Xu Da and the others wanted to go, Zhu Yuanzhang could not stop them. The only thing he was worried about was whether the bodies of these old friends could withstand the hardships on the sea.

As for the younger generations like Zhu Di and Xu Huizu, let them go and fight on the sea.

However, the 100,000 captives brought back gave Yang Siyi a headache. All the Mongolian captives brought back last year were arranged to work in the mines. There were plenty of manpower and there was no need to open new mines yet. Now there were 100,000 more people to feed and feed, which was really a headache.

It’s not that the government can’t afford the money, but given Yang Siyi’s penny-pinching personality, the extra expenses are like cutting flesh for him.

If this happened in the Shang Dynasty, it would be fine to just use them to light sky lanterns for sacrifice, but now it is the Ming Dynasty, and everyone is a decent person. Who would do such a barbaric thing as sacrificing a living person?

For this reason, Li Min even teased Yang Siyi that for the manufacture of the new steam engine, he, Yang Shangshu, spent tens of thousands of taels of silver without blinking an eye, so how much money would it cost to raise a few prisoners?

It's not like I need to be fed with good food and drink, as long as I don't starve to death, that's enough.

However, Yang Siyi also had something to say. The construction of the new steam engine would contribute to the industrial development of the Ming Dynasty. To put it simply, it would make money in return, but using it to feed the captives would be like throwing money into the Qinhuai River.

A few days later, many foreign envoys flocked to Yingtian Prefecture.

Places like Siam, Johor, Java, Nan'an, Boni, Sari, Dogan, Goryeo, Ryukyu, etc., all the places you've heard of and haven't heard of, came in a swarm.

Even Japan sent envoys. Of course, the Jinyiwei spies who went to Japan with Daoyan also returned to the Ming Dynasty.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple were so busy that they were almost exhausted. Although it was not the first time they received foreign envoys, it was the first time that so many of them came at once.

However, they had no complaints. On the contrary, their faces were filled with proud smiles. They had never expected to encounter the legendary scene of all nations coming to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty in their lifetime. Their ancestors were so happy that they were filled with joy.

The Tongwenguan was already full, so they had to vacate the various mansions to accommodate the envoys.

Various countries spontaneously sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty. Some came to request the Ming Dynasty to grant them titles or to become its vassal states, while more came to pay tribute, hoping to develop comprehensive trade relations with the Ming Dynasty.

Among them, there was a unique one, that was the envoy of Champa. In addition to requesting trade, he also came with a special mission, which was to personally escort Li Jisun to Yingtian Prefecture and hand him over to the Ming Dynasty for disposal.

Li Jisong would never have thought that the Champa king would betray him so easily. He originally thought that the hatred between the Champa royal family and the Annan royal family had existed since ancient times, and the two countries had been fighting each other for a long time. He took advantage of this and fled to Champa, waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback. Unexpectedly, the Champa king presented him to the Ming emperor as a token of his loyalty.

It’s not that the Champa King was immoral, but he was really frightened by the 25,000 Ming troops led by Xu Da. It took the Ming Dynasty less than two months to break into Jiaozhou Prefecture and wipe out all the main forces of Annan, and they remained unscathed. Facing such an army, anyone would be scared.

If the Ming Dynasty dealt the same blow to Champa, it would be unbearable!
For this reason, Zhu Yuanzhang personally met with the envoys from Champa, and praised the Champa king Po Binasor for his righteous act. At the same time, he also rewarded the envoys of Champa generously.

The Champa envoys were extremely proud now. They all looked very happy and even walked with their heads held high, making the envoys from other countries extremely envious.

When he learned that his son Li Cang had been crushed to death by mountain people in Yunnan, Li Jishun's hair turned white overnight and he looked dozens of years older.

He regretted that he had easily provoked the might of the Ming Dynasty. Now he had ended up with such a miserable end, which was all his own fault.

Within a few days, he bit his tongue and committed suicide in prison. When Zhu Yuanzhang learned about it, he was also moved and then gave him a grand funeral.

After rewarding the Champa envoys, Zhu Yuanzhang met with the Jinyiwei spies again to learn the news brought back from Japan.

Nowadays, in Japan, the Northern and Southern Dynasties have reached a point of tension in their fight for the agency rights for various products of the Ming Dynasty, and many separatist daimyo in various places are also jealous and are eyeing the shogunate and the royal family.

As for the Northern Dynasty, under Daoyan's manipulation, Emperor Go-Komatsu had already begun to secretly accumulate his own strength, waiting for the right time to challenge the shogunate.

Today's Japan is like sitting on a powder keg, which may explode at any time.

Daoyan had also found out everything about the three silver mines that Zhu Yuanzhang had entrusted him with. He also knew which forces were entrenched near the silver mines, how many troops they had, and how strong they were. All of this was in the secret letter that Daoyan had written to him.

In this way, as soon as the situation changes, the Ming Dynasty can send troops to the island to intervene at any time.

After a busy whole day, Zhu Yuanzhang finally took a break. Although governing a big country is like cooking a small fish, if you want to cook this small fish well, you really have to be careful about all matters.

When I was a child, I fantasized that the most comfortable person in the world was the emperor. He had everything he wanted and didn't have to work. Now that I am the emperor, I find that it is not the case at all.

Being an emperor can be described in one word: tiring.

Sometimes he really wanted to go back to his hometown in Fengyang and work as a farmer for a few days, loosen the soil, hoe the land, plant some fruits, vegetables, etc., and relax for a while.

After returning to the bedroom, he walked towards the Buddhist temple in a hurry. It has been quite a while, and Old Li didn't even reply to the letter. Doesn't he know that Old Zhu is waiting anxiously?

You know, nowadays, apart from communicating with Li Han, there are really not many things that can make Lao Zhu completely relax.

When he walked into the Buddhist hall, his eyes lit up. Seeing another thick stack of papers, he immediately smiled. It seemed that Old Li had made another move.

That must be extraordinary!
(End of this chapter)