Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 234 The Prince Escapes from Central Plains

at the same time.

At the mouth of Zhanjiang River, a ship of very strange shape has slowly sailed into the sea.

The sky was blue, with one or two white clouds floating in the distance. From time to time, a few seagulls landed on the deck handrails. Zhu Biao walked out of the room and came to the deck. Standing here, he suddenly felt refreshed, and his whole spirit was elevated to more than one level.

"Cool!"

He shouted loudly towards the distance, as if venting his anger for the fact that he had been working so hard in power for so many years and had not been able to relax.

To be honest, Zhu Biao could not remember how long it had been since he felt the joy of freedom.

If we really have to say a time, it seems to have started in the eighth year of Hongwu.

At that time, he was simply assisting Zhu Yuanzhang and did not participate in state affairs. He spent most of his time listening rather than doing anything.

Later, Zhu Yuanzhang thought the time was ripe and gradually allowed him to have access to power. In the end, he directly handed over all the emperor's affairs to Zhu Biao.

From then on, Zhu Biao finally understood why his father worked so hard every day. It turned out that being an emperor was not something that one person could do. It was really too tiring.

Compared to being an emperor, Zhu Biao prefers this day. After sailing for a whole day, the ship has finally officially entered the outermost circle of Nanyang.

In a little while, unless his father could grow wings, he would not return to the court at all.

Feeling full of energy, Zhu Biao walked to the edge of the deck while swinging his hands, looking down at the waves rolling up and down as the ship sailed. There were even some dolphins not far ahead.

Seeing these ocean aquatic elves, his tense spirit was completely relaxed.

I finally understand why my son always yearns for freedom.

Compared with the days in the palace, the difference is immediately apparent.

"Brother! Why don't you rest in the cabin and come outside?"

Zhu Chong's voice came from behind him. Zhu Biao did not turn around, but supported his hands on the railing, feeling the slightly salty sea breeze. He took a deep breath, trying to remember this moment forever.

"It's too stuffy in the cabin. I want to come out and take a look." Zhu Biao didn't turn his head to look at his brother. He just looked into the distance, as if the broad vision could bring him endless surprises.

Zhu Chong, with his neat slicked-back hair, followed his brother's gaze and couldn't help but look into the distance.

"Brother, aren't you worried that the emperor will be angry if you leave the palace like this? After all, you have been in charge of the entire court for two or three years. If you are suddenly gone and there is no one in the court to stabilize the country, what will happen if they start to riot against the people?" Zhu Chong frowned and asked this question.

In fact, he just couldn't understand how Zhu Biao dared to just leave and become a hands-off boss. After all, their father could be quite scary when he got angry.

Zhu Biao did not take this too seriously and replied in a relaxed tone:
"You don't need to worry about this. Father's power of deterrence is far beyond our reach. Even without me, he can still manage the entire court in an orderly manner, not to mention that many officials in the court have experienced the influence of the new culture.

Now is the period when the Ming Dynasty is in its prime. As long as these officials are not stupid, they will never do anything that is detrimental to their development.

Not to mention that the court is guarded by the Fourth Brother.

If this Ming Bear King shows his fangs inappropriately, no one will be willing to follow him when Ming migrates to the Far North on a large scale in the future. "

When talking about Zhu Di, a hint of pride appeared on Zhu Biao's face.

He turned his head to look at Zhu Chong, patted him on the shoulder and said:
"How about the second brother? The fourth brother has already created the name of 'Bear King' in the Far North. Have you thought about what title you will be called in the future? As the second brother, you must not lose to your younger brother in the future, otherwise you will be laughed at by others."

"Let them laugh if they want to." Zhu Chong did not show any emotional fluctuations because of his elder brother's teasing.

This surprised Zhu Biao very much.

He knew that his younger brother might have become very mature, but he didn't expect that he could be so mature.

Don't be afraid when Mount Tai collapses in front of you. With this mentality, you can succeed in everything you do.

"Second brother, if father and mother could see the changes in you now, they would definitely be very happy." Zhu Biao said with relief.

“But then again, this world is not the territory of the Ming Dynasty yet, and it is not certain what the future will be like. The only thing that is certain is that the Ming Dynasty will become stronger and stronger, and by that time, it will have more and more territory. We, the vassal kings, will not be able to connect the world into a whole.

We can only place our hopes on the future. When transportation is well developed, it will only take one night to travel from the center of Daming to any place in the world. Then, people around the world will be able to live a good life."

"Big brother is right, but it's a pity for the third brother. Big brother, do you think the third brother is really alive?" Zhu Chong's expression suddenly became gloomy.

Zhu Biao answered firmly:

"I believe that the third brother is still alive. He has been missing for almost a year. If we cannot find his whereabouts in the next year, then we must never let Father and Mother know this news in the future."

With Zhu Biao's encouragement, Zhu Chong became more confident.

The ship sailed for half a day and soon arrived at Li'an Port in Hainan. This place is very close to Sanya City, not far to the right of Sanya City.

Wu Zhen originally wanted to build this port in Sanya, but was vetoed by Yang Chen.

The reason for the veto was very simple. He said that Sanya City is a scenic spot on Hainan Island. If it is transformed into a port now, the people in the future will definitely blame him.

You have to know that a port covers a very large area. It would be too bad to transform this place full of maritime style into a port for transporting only cold weapons.

At that time, Wu Zhen was very dissatisfied with Yang Chen's opinion, because he believed that everything should be valued from the perspective of the military.

The two of them quarreled in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Faced with the two people's suggestions, Zhu Yuanzhang finally chose to agree with Yang Chen's opinion.

The reason is very simple, because Zhu Yuanzhang himself had never seen a beautiful beach scenery.

In addition, Sanya was described as very beautiful by Yang Chen, so Zhu Yuanzhang decided to set aside an area in Sanya City as a royal scenic area. In the future, when he felt that the weather in the north was getting cold, he could bring his descendants to Sanya to retire.

Although the Little Ice Age had begun to subtly affect the Ming Dynasty, it had not yet affected the Ming Dynasty to the point where even in the summer on Hainan Island the entire Hainan Island would be swept by the north wind.

Wait until the ship docks at the position where the Ming Navy introduced it.

Yang Chen then slowly walked out of the cabin in a sloppy manner.

"The boat ride was so dazed that I almost vomited the salmon I ate yesterday. Luckily I adapted in advance, otherwise the house would have been a mess."

After shaking his head to make sure he could still stay awake, Yang Chen quickly came to the deck. "Prince, how do you feel? Is it more comfortable to be on a boat than in the palace?"

"Of course." Zhu Biao showed a warm smile on his face and said, "Brother Yang, we will rest here for a few days and then go to Nanyang. Have you ever calculated how many troops we will need to bring with us?"

They had made many plans for their trip to Southeast Asia, but they had not yet finalized how many people to bring after discussing it all the way.

After Yang Chen pondered for a moment, he looked at Wu Zhen who had been waiting for them at the dock below.

"He should be ready. We just need to have a good rest on the island tonight." After Yang Chen finished speaking, he yawned and walked down.

The feeling of having your feet on the ground is incomparable to the trance-like feeling on the boat.

"Prince!" The moment Wu Zhen saw Zhu Biao, he hurried over and saluted.

"General Wu, how are you? The last time we met was a year ago. I didn't expect that you have become the naval commander now. I wonder how Hainan Island is doing?" Zhu Biao was very polite to him.

Because Wu Zhen was ranked ahead of Zhu Biao in seniority, it was not excessive for Zhu Biao to call him uncle.

Ever since the Ming Dynasty carried out military reforms at the suggestion of Yang Chen, the Ming Navy was officially renamed the Ming Navy.

As Wu Zhen was one of the few Huaixi generals who was proficient in naval warfare, the position of naval commander naturally fell to him.

It’s just that because the navy was established too recently and has few combat records, the navy and the army are not under the same jurisdiction.

For example, the Five Military Commanderies could not command the navy. Only the Minister of War could talk to Wu Zhen, or officials above the Minister of War.

Otherwise, the rest of the matters would be commanded by the Navy Marshal Wu Zhen himself.

Of course, Wu Zhen is not a military overlord who can command everything. He needs to communicate with Zhu Biao and others. Otherwise, if he is not careful, he will be reported by the surveillance members within the navy.

"Your Highness, I have prepared thirty warships. Each warship is manned by more than a hundred experienced naval officers from the Ming Dynasty. There are also many weapons on these warships, which can definitely sweep across the entire South Seas." Wu Zhen waved his hand, and three young men in blue armor appeared behind him.

"Your Highness, the three of them are all my subordinates. Each of them commands ten warships and can absolutely protect your safety at sea. No one will dare to attack Your Highness. If Your Highness wants to kill someone, they can move immediately!"

After Wu Zhen's introduction, Zhu Biao finally understood how powerful the configuration of his voyage this time was. It was simply terrifying.

Any of these guys could dominate Southeast Asia, but now they are his subordinates.

It was also the first time that Zhu Biao realized how powerful the Ming Navy was, which allowed him to say such crazy words.

Wait until dark.

Under Wu Zhen's arrangement, Yang Chen and his group went to a bonfire dinner and started their entertainment activities.

There are already many "Li people" on Hainan Island. These Li people are a nationality who fled from Guangxi, Guizhou and other Baiyue areas during the chaotic times before the Ming Dynasty and settled here.

Over time, the Li people living in Hainan gradually formed their own cultural circle.

To put it bluntly, it was a tribal state until the appearance of Wu Zhen, who led the Ming navy to kill many rebels who were unwilling to submit to the Ming Dynasty.

Those who were willing to pursue peace sent some of their young people to receive education.

After one year of development, quite a few people have mixed with the Li people, and these people will be the main developers of Hainan Island in the future.

Looking at the cheering crowd, Zhu Biao held a coconut with a glass straw on it.

Sucking the juice, he couldn't help but sigh:
"It's so refreshing! This fresh coconut juice tastes better than the old coconut juice transported to the capital. Yang Chen, I have decided that if I have the chance in the future, I must train Xiong Ying well. Then I can leave Nanjing City and go on vacation in the name of letting him practice on the throne."

Feeling the breath of freedom, Zhu Biao realized how boring his previous life was. Regardless of what he needed, at least he should have a life of his own.

Yang Chen put down the coconut milk drink in his hand and leaned back in the chair.

"If Xiongying knew about your idea, you don't know what he would say."

"I am the father and he is the son. Shouldn't the son help share the pressure with my father?" Zhu Biao said jokingly.

In fact, he is not young anymore, almost thirty years old, and has been in the Central Plains for more than twenty years and has never left the Central Plains.

His fate and personality began to change the day he came into contact with Yang Chen.

Not to mention that under Yang Chen's subtle influence, Zhu Xiongying's thinking is completely like that of a modern child.

The difference is that he has not seen some high-tech, but he has seen much more than others in terms of things that he can imagine, play with and understand.

Take light bulbs for example. Ordinary people were not able to install them in their homes. They could only be seen hanging light bulbs arranged by the court on some buildings in fixed commercial streets.

However, Zhu Xiongying could understand the mystery.

His openness gradually influenced Zhu Biao, causing Zhu Biao to involuntarily tend to move away from feudal ideas in the implementation of many policies.

"By the way, Zhu Chong, this time we are heading south, but we are going to get closer to Australia. Are you ready? This piece of land will be yours by then. Australia is much larger than the Central Plains of Ming Dynasty. If the Central Plains is combined with Xinjiang and Tibet, it will definitely not be as big as Australia.

If some of Australia's deserts can be transformed into places suitable for human survival in the future, this piece of land in Australia will definitely be comparable to the territory of the Central Plains."

Yang Chen looked at Zhu Chong who was resting with his eyes closed.

Zhu Chong didn't feel anything when the topic turned to himself, but he couldn't help feeling melancholy.

"Brother Yang, let's talk about Australia later. Even if I can manage Australia well, I can't stand the emergence of a group of native residents in Australia in the future. I can only say that I hope that after the roots of the Ming Dynasty sprout in Australia, a new Han civilization can be formed.

Rather than the north and the south being divided into one side.”

Zhu Chong knew very well that if he did not handle the Australian issue well, it would lead to national division in the future, and he would be the culprit behind this.

In order to avoid becoming the sinner in this incident, Zhu Chong had to be extremely vigilant and, if necessary, leave behind drastic measures for his descendants.

"Why are you three so depressed? From my perspective, Mu Ying, we should just enjoy our lives on this trip." Mu Ying, who was only wearing a pair of shorts and sitting not far away from us, couldn't help but speak.

In his opinion, it was a rare opportunity for everyone to leave their native Ming Dynasty. If they couldn't live happily, wouldn't it be a waste of time?
After he said this, the three of them stopped talking about these things.

The next morning, with Wu Zhen's farewell, the Future led thirty warships to the Riau Islands.

(End of this chapter)