The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 139 King Wu Sends Envoy to Beijing
On the morning of June 1, the 38th year of Xianning, Wuying Hall in the Forbidden City, Yingtian Prefecture, Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Emperor Zhu Zhonglin sat on the throne, and the ministers and governors-general of various ministries stood on both sides after paying their respects.

The emperor remembered that today was June 1st, a new month had begun, so he asked:
"Is the world peaceful?"

The emperor's words were meaningful, and all the officials below knew it.

Because the expulsion of the King of Wu led to disasters all over the world, related messages circulated for two years, the year before last and last year.

Things that few people believed and even paid little attention to have become known to officials and the people who pay attention to political affairs.

The Minister of Revenue came forward and reported:

"Your Majesty, as of May, the four territories of our Ming Dynasty are peaceful and tranquil, and only Yingcheng in Hubei has reported a severe drought. Relief has been arranged."

Emperor Zhu Zhonglin looked at the governor of the Eastern Depot.

The nature of the East-West Factory has now changed to a military officer's factory, and the title of the person in charge has been changed to governor, who is also a normal person.

However, the relevant personnel were trained internally, not from the Five Military Governor's Office, and they worked in the East and West Factory system for their entire lives and would not have any dealings with the Five Military Governor's Office.

The factory supervisor immediately stepped forward and reported:

"Your Majesty, there is famine in Jiazhou, Shaanxi in the north, spring drought in Ningyang and Heze, Shandong, and spring drought in the prefectures and counties under Daming Prefecture."

After hearing this, the emperor asked:
"Only this?"

Factory Supervisor Reply:

"This is the information that has been summarized so far."

The emperor said without any expression:
"it is good."

The officials below all had mixed feelings.

Although there were spring droughts in a few places like this, overall the weather can be considered good.

But it’s only June now, and we’ve just entered the peak of summer.

If there is going to be a flood, it will probably happen in the next few months, so it’s too early to be happy.

Only if the second half of the year continues to be good, can we completely confirm that the rumors are just rumors.

The coincidence of the natural disaster and the King of Wu's departure from the capital was just a coincidence.

The Minister of the Honglu Temple hesitated for a few seconds, but finally had to stand up and speak:
“Your Majesty, the North American fleet returned to Beijing yesterday and reported that King Wu had arrived at the Australian vassal state.

“After arriving in Australia, the King of Wu sent envoys to Beijing to report on the affairs of North America and Europe.

"The envoy also arrived in the capital yesterday and is now waiting for orders outside the palace."

The fleet escorting Zhu Jianxuan did not go to the southeast of Australia, but went directly north from the west of Australia.

Those big ships are mainly traditional sailing ships, and it is very troublesome to go to southeastern Australia and then return to Beijing.

Moreover, there was a Wu fleet in southwestern Australia to support them, so the large fleet did not continue to follow.

The fleet commanded by Cao Zhendong is made up of all steam-powered sailing ships, which are much faster than ordinary sailing ships.

As a result, Cao Zhendong's departure time was several days late, and he finally arrived in Yingtian Prefecture on the same day as the sailboat from western Australia.

After the news was made public, the emperor and all the ministers present were a little confused.

The original rumor was that the natural disasters last year and the year before last occurred because the King of Wu was driven away.

Now that the King of Wu had returned to Australia, which was close to his homeland, the disaster had stopped.

So many people are confused that they don’t know whether they should expect good weather in the second half of the year or expect two more major floods.

The emperor was silent for a few seconds, then spoke without any expression:

"Xuan come in."

The eunuch immediately went out to notify.

Fei Chun and Cao Zhendong entered the hall, saluted the emperor, and then presented the letter, or memorial, from King Wu.

In the letter, Zhu Jianxuan first talked about things in America and Europe, then briefly introduced the situation in Australia, and finally explained his plans.

Recruit Japanese ronin as thugs to control the Red Sea region, and at least require Oman to submit to the Ming Dynasty.

Demanded that the Ottomans allow the Ming Dynasty to trade freely in the Egyptian region and allow the Ming Dynasty to build and operate a canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

After the emperor read it, he picked up his pen and wrote at the bottom of the letter:
“Okay, go ahead and do it.

“It can be done openly, without resorting to smuggling or anything like that.

“We can ask the navy for support and arrange for the army to choose a suitable place to fight against the Japanese shogunate and local troops.

"After the war, it shouldn't be difficult to ask them to allow the Japanese to immigrate abroad through the Ming Wu Kingdom instead of completely occupying the land of the Japanese archipelago."

Then he raised his head and gave the order directly to the cabinet:
"Draft an imperial decree to order the navy of the Front Army Commandery and the navy of the Right Army Commandery to accept the command of the King of Wu in the Indian Ocean and the Japanese archipelago and cooperate with the King of Wu in combat operations."

"Draft an edict to require the Duke of Min to cooperate with the King of Wu in carrying out operations in Japan and the Indian Ocean."

The emperor gave orders to the Governor's Office, which must be executed.

What was given to the Duke of Min was a request, a more urgent suggestion. If the Duke of Min really refused, the court generally would not do anything.

Deep down, the emperor didn't really believe in the idea of ​​telepathy between heaven and man.

The right to interpret the correspondence between heaven and man should be completely in the hands of the emperor himself, and no one else can take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble. In specific matters, if the emperor thinks his son's plan is feasible, he will continue to support his son.

At the same time, Zhu Jianxuan planned to establish connections with local feudal lords such as Kyushu in Japan through the Duke of Min and recruit Japanese samurai through civilian means, but the emperor did not agree.

You are a prince of the Ming Emperor and the king of a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. Why are you engaging in smuggling?

When the ministers heard the emperor's order, they began to wonder.

The King of Wu is now a vassal king. Although his enfeoffment has not been officially announced, he is no longer an ordinary prince.

Now the Emperor has given King Wu too much power. He can directly mobilize the navies of the two military governorates to move freely in the entire Indian Ocean and Japan. What exactly is he going to do with this?

Is this a formal plan to conquer Japan?

However, the emperor did not ask the various departments to cooperate and organize officials and immigrants to take over.

Then it may not be a real occupation.

The rest seemed to be military matters, which were basically decided by the emperor alone, and the ministers and generals had no say.

Finally, the officials and governors had no choice but to obey the order and began to draft a formal edict on the spot.

The emperor approved the edict on the spot and asked the eunuch in charge of the seal to take out his jade seal and use it on Zhu Jianxuan's letters, memorials and new edicts.

Finally, the letter and imperial edict were sent directly to Fei Chun, who was asked to take them back to the King of Wu and relevant personnel for review and execution.

After receiving the emperor's approval, Fei Chun waited for a few more days in Yingtian Prefecture.

After waiting for the fleet to complete its supply inspection, the two men immediately set off south to Quanzhou, where the Duke of Min's mansion was located.

In the Ming Dynasty of this world, the first Duke of Min was Zheng Zhilong, and the second was his eldest son Zheng Sen, also known as Zheng Chenggong.

Zheng Haikang, the great-great-grandson of Zheng Chenggong, had just succeeded to the throne four years ago and became the seventh Duke of Min.

Zheng Haikang is 45 years old this year, an age when he is still quite energetic and has a lot of experience.

Zheng Haikang certainly did not dare to neglect the visit of the envoy from the King of Wu. After receiving the news, he immediately ordered that the reception must be as grand as possible.

The 25-year-old Zheng Ruian, the eldest son of Duke of Min Zheng Haikang and the Duke's son, was somewhat confused:
"Dad, wasn't this Prince Wu exiled to America by His Majesty because he advocated reducing the power of the feudal lords? Why did he send someone to visit father?"

Zheng Haikang started to curse, and at the same time, he directly used the current situation to educate the future heir:

"What nonsense are you talking about? Are you a private businessman who reads too many newspapers? Are you confused?

"Your Highness Prince Wu is the richest prince in the Ming Dynasty and the most beloved child of the current emperor.

"King Wu now has Australia and North America, two such large territories, and he will only become richer and richer in the future.

"How could he possibly advocate for reducing the power of the feudal lords? Ask yourself whether you support reducing the power of the feudal lords?

“Even if he was young and ignorant, and thought about reducing the power of the feudal lords when he read ancient books, he no longer has this idea now that he has grown up.

“As for being exiled, if he is really driven to North America and is not allowed to return, that is exile.

“Now that His Royal Highness has returned to Australia, he can still visit me, the Duke, openly, which shows that His Majesty still favors him.

"He might just want to take a look at the territory in North America and arrange some matters in the distant fiefdom. After that, won't he come back?
"If our family wants to continue to make a lot of money in the future, we will inevitably have to deal with His Highness, so we must treat him well."

The logic of the judgment of Duke of Min Zheng Haikang was very clear, and the prince of Min Zheng Ruian also understood it immediately.

After His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu became a vassal king himself, it stands to reason that he should not continue to support the reduction of vassal states.

My father also asked himself whether he supported the reduction of the power of the feudal lords, and the same logic applies.

Would the heir of a feudal monarch support the reduction of feudal fiefdoms?

The answer should have been obvious.

But Zheng Ruian himself did not completely agree with it.

There is still a very strange impulse in my heart, and I still somewhat support the idea of ​​reducing the power of the feudal lords.

But the prerequisite is that the imperial court can march north to the Central Plains and recover the old territory and capital.

There are many analyses in private newspapers, and many scholars believe that only by successfully reducing the power of the local vassal states can the Northern Expedition be successfully completed.

Because there are traitors among the feudal monarchs, they will definitely cause chaos during the imperial court's Northern Expedition.

Zheng Ruian basically agrees with this analysis.

Zheng Ruian once hoped that as the commander of the Ming navy, he could completely destroy the barbarian fleet at sea.

Then escort the army to land at Tianjin Port, and then go straight to Shuntian Prefecture to capture the old dog Hongli alive.

That is to fulfill Yue Wangye's long-cherished wish and truly attack Huanglong.

If these can really be achieved, Zheng Ruian feels it is worth it even at the cost of giving up the vassal state.

But of course I can't say such things in front of my dad.

You will definitely be scolded by your father, and may even be beaten.

Zheng Ruian could only keep his thoughts to himself and began to wonder what the King of Wu's envoy would say.

What does the King of Wu want to do by coming to see his father?
Will the King of Wu, as the legend goes, still support the Northern Expedition and the reduction of the power of the vassal states as a vassal king?

Or just like what my father said, when I grow up and have my own interests, I won't care about these things anymore.

(End of this chapter)