Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 338: Qi and Jin select overseas locations, Yan vassal sends troops out to sea first [Please subscribe]

On the afternoon of the second day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Liu Kuan was called into the palace again.

But this time it was not Zhu Yuanzhang who came to him, but Zhu Biao.

The meeting place is Chunhe Palace.

When he arrived at the place, Liu Kuan found that Zhu Ying and Zhu Gui were also there.

"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and to His Royal Highnesses the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Qi."

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "No need to be polite, brother-in-law. Please take a seat."

"Yes."

After Liu Kuan took his seat, Zhu Biao got straight to the point and said, "Third and Seventh Brothers have both earned the qualifications to serve as vassal states overseas due to their meritorious service in the Northern Expedition, so they came to ask me about the location of the overseas vassal state."

"After all, I don't know as much about overseas as my brother-in-law, and the selection of a vassal state's location is extremely important, so I invited my brother-in-law to come."

Liu Kuan understood, then looked at the two princes of Jin and Qi and asked, "Have your two highnesses passed the literary examination for the qualification to become vassals?"

Zhu Yu was the first to speak, "If Fourth Brother can pass, I'm sure I can too. Don't worry about this matter, brother-in-law."

Zhu Ying said, "Brother-in-law, I was once your student after all, and I learned a lot. How could I fail the examination to qualify for vassalage?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Kuan wanted to remind the two of them that Zhu Di was the first to take the literary examination for the qualification to become a vassal. Zhu Di had little experience and was willing to go easy on himself, so it was natural that he would pass it easily.

But it is hard to say whether they can pass it in one go.

But he opened his mouth but didn't say anything in the end - this matter had little to do with him, and if he really said it out loud it would seem like he looked down on the culture of the two vassal kings, so it was better not to say it.

So he changed the subject and said, "Your Highnesses have previously learned a little about the situation on the overseas continents. You should have some general ideas about where to establish a vassal state, right?"

Zhu Yu was the first to speak, "I most want to go to Europe to establish a vassal state, but I also know that it is not realistic now; the second choice is South America, but that place is too far away."

"The next one is India, but my fourth brother went there first, so I don't know if it would be convenient for me to go there."

Liu Kuan commented, "Europe and South America are indeed too far away. It's not very convenient to go there and establish a vassal state now."

"As for India, since it involves the King of Yan, I can't say much. If Your Highness is truly interested in India, you can consult His Majesty and the King of Yan."

"Besides that, I have two places to recommend to His Royal Highness Prince Qi. One is the southern part of the Nanyang Islands, especially the Java Islands where the Majapahit Kingdom is located. Although the climate is a bit hot, the geographical location is very good."

"The next best option is Africa. It has sufficient resources and population, and is a vital route for maritime transportation between Europe and Asia, so it has great potential for future development."

Zhu Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Dongfan Island is hot enough. I heard from my sixth brother that the Nanyang Islands are even hotter. I don't want to suffer there."

"India, Africa... I'll discuss this with Fourth Brother first. If that doesn't work out, we'll choose Africa."

Zhu Biao couldn't help but ask, "Seventh brother, are you not interested in Australia?"

Zhu Yu shook his head and said, "Australia has relatively few usable resources and a small indigenous population, so it doesn't have many advantages. Geographically, it's not as good as South America or Africa. Going there is just for retirement, which is not very interesting."

Zhu Ying was not in a hurry. After Zhu Gui finished speaking, he said, "I would like to establish a fiefdom in Australia, but Australia seems quite large. I don't know where to establish a fiefdom. I wonder if my brother-in-law has any suggestions?"

Liu Kuan asked, "Does His Royal Highness have a map of Australia in his palace?"

"some."

Zhu Biao immediately ordered someone to get a map of Australia.

After a while, the map of Australia was hung on the screen in the hall.

Liu Kuan was not polite and went straight to the map to explain.

"The Australian continent can be roughly divided into three parts geographically: west, central, and east. The west and even parts of the central region are desert or barren, with an arid climate, and are definitely not suitable places for immigration."

"The east-central part is mostly plain grassland, with a large basin."

"To the east, there's a coastal mountain range that stretches over 6,000 miles from south to north. However, this range is relatively gentle, with most peaks only a few hundred meters high, making it easy to cross."

"Therefore, the most favorable areas for agricultural development are the southeast and south-central regions. The northern coastal areas can also develop agriculture and animal husbandry."

"By the way, this small area along the northeastern coast has a tropical rainforest climate, similar to the South Pacific islands."

"That's roughly the situation. I believe His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin has decided where to establish his fiefdom, right?"

Zhu Ying pinched his beard and said, "I'm interested in the southeast coast, but isn't that a bit too far?"

"It's a bit far." Liu Kuan nodded and then suggested, "If Your Highness the Prince of Jin insists on choosing southeastern Australia, you can try to suggest that the court establish a garrison in northern Australia. This will make it easier for immigrants to rest during their migration."

"In addition, some garrisons can be established along the eastern coast, or Your Highness can build some supply points of your own. This will facilitate immigration and communication with the outside world."

"Also, the seasons in Australia are completely different from those in the Ming Dynasty. If His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin wishes to establish a vassal state there, he must have the relevant talent to revise a dedicated calendar."

"Why are you so busy?"

Zhu Yi frowned for a moment, hesitating about whether to go to Australia...

After discussing this matter, Liu Kuan sat for a while and talked about other things with Zhu Biao.

Only then did he realize that Zhu Di would soon set off for Guangzhou with his entire family.

Because Zhu Di would go to India to establish his fiefdom next year, and the specific location he chose was probably equivalent to West Bengal in later India, and the more specific starting point for establishing the fiefdom was Kolkata in later times.

This place is at a similar latitude to Guangzhou and has a climate similar to that of the Pearl River Delta. Therefore, as early as two years ago, after Zhu Di decided on this place, all the immigrants he recruited gathered in Guangzhou to adapt to the climate in advance.

Zhu Di brought his family there early this time in order to adapt to the climate and understand the citizens of the future vassal state.

In addition, Zhu Di also planned to send an advance team to the vassal state this year. The first purpose was to collect local political and military intelligence, and the second was to serve as a vanguard for the vassal state's main force.

As for the supervision of Ming Dynasty's strategies such as "changing rice to mulberry" and "immigration" in Japan, it was handed over to King Zhu Zhen of Chu. Due to bad luck, although Zhu Zhen participated in the Northern Expedition, the accumulated merits were still far from enough to earn him a vassal state overseas.

However, once he has been in charge of Japan's affairs for a year or two, his achievements should be enough.

···
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On August 20th, Su Caiwei gave birth successfully to a son for Liu Kuan.

At that time, he gave it a name in his mind, Liu Pingding.

In the blink of an eye, it was early September, and the Liu family received another piece of good news. It was that Zhu Huilan got what she wished for and was pregnant with her second child.

First there was the happy event of Zhu Huilan's pregnancy, and then there was Liu Pingding's full moon banquet. The Liu family was full of joy throughout September.

At the same time, Zhu Di had been in Guangzhou with his family for more than half a month.

The weather in Guangzhou is still hot in September.

Zhu Di, wearing a loose silk shirt, accompanied by several entourages and hundreds of guards, saw off the advance team sent to India at the Pearl River Wharf.

"Counselor Liu, Captain Tan, this journey to India is nearly ten thousand miles away. It's a foreign land, full of dangers. I urge you to prioritize the safety of the advance team."

The advance team Zhu Di sent to India consisted of more than 300 people, with Captain Tan Yuan in charge of military affairs and Liu Jun, the counselor, in charge of other matters.

Tan Yuan, a 28-year-old from Zhu Di's guards, was originally a centurion, specializing in reconnaissance and intelligence. He was quick-witted, decisive, and highly skilled in martial arts. After being selected as the military commander of the advance team, Zhu Di directly promoted him to a thousand-man officer.

Liu Jun was thirty years old and was originally a scholar from Jingzhou, Huguang. He failed the provincial examinations twice and defected to Zhu Di after he opened a government office to recruit talents.

He is good at analysis, brave in making decisions, meticulous, diligent, and good at planning. He is not only a rare talent as an advisor, but also has the potential to grow into a Confucian general or a frontier official.

Among all the literati and strategists under Zhu Di, his ability ranks among the top three!

If the advance team's mission was not too important, Zhu Di would really be reluctant to send him out.

However, since he was sent, Zhu Di naturally gave him a very high salary - now the advisers in the Prince of Yan's Palace are divided into three levels, Zanhua, Counselor, and Military Advisor. Most of them are Zanhua, and there is only one Military Advisor, and that is Monk Daoyan. It is already an important task for Liu Jun to become one of the few Counselors.

Liu Jun and Tan Yuan were already grateful to Zhu Di for his recognition, and now they were even more moved when they heard him repeatedly instruct the advance team to pay attention to safety.

Tan Yuan immediately patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will take good care of the advance team!"

Liu Jun said, "I will do my best to plan and prevent the advance team from falling into danger."

Zhu Di had already said everything he needed to say, so he stopped talking now. He stepped forward, patted Tan Yuan on the shoulder, and shook Liu Jun's hand. He then bowed to the more than 300 people who had already boarded the ship behind him and said loudly, "I wish you all a safe journey! Take care!"

Zhu Di was quite good at winning people over, and the advance team was composed of people he trusted very much. At this moment, they all clasped their fists together and responded in unison: "Take care, Your Majesty!"

Liu Jun and Tan Yuan turned around and boarded the warship, which weighed only more than 2,000 tons, and then orders were heard from the ship.

"Sail!"

"Weigh anchor!"

Zhu Di stood on the dock, watching the battleship "Haiyan" sail away and gradually turn into a small white dot. Then he took his entourage and guards back to a villa outside Guangzhou City.

This villa covers an area of ​​nearly 20 acres, which is quite large. Even if it is located in the suburbs of Guangzhou, it is not cheap to buy it.

However, since Zhu Di decided to establish a fiefdom overseas and set up a government two years ago, he has raised a lot of funds by raising funds from merchants.

In addition, he had been named King of Yan for many years, and Zhu Yuanzhang had given him many rewards every year, so he had accumulated a lot of savings.

Later, he even converted all his merits in supervising Japanese affairs and the Northern Expedition into money. Therefore, he is now wealthy. Even though his overseas vassalage costs a lot of money, he is still willing to buy such a villa.

Of course, he is not extravagant or wasteful.

Even if he took his family to India, he would definitely leave some people in Ming Dynasty, and even return to Ming Dynasty after a few years. This villa in Guangzhou would never be left vacant and wasted.

After returning to the villa and dismissing most of the entourage and guards, Zhu Di went to the small training ground and saw Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxu practicing sword skills under the sun, sweating profusely.

Zhu Gaochi is now ten years old. He is only wearing a sweat shirt with his arms exposed. It can be seen that although he is still slightly fat, he is by no means obese. The outline of his muscles can be seen on his body, and his skin is tanned into a wheat color.

However, at this time, Zhu Gaochi was caught in a dilemma under the attack of his younger brother Zhu Gaoxu's wooden sword.

Zhu Gaoxu was only eight years old, but his height almost caught up with Zhu Gaochi. The most abnormal thing was that at such a young age, he had developed a body with clearly defined muscles!

blah blah blah!
Zhu Gaoxu slashed three times in a row, forcing Zhu Gaochi to retreat to the edge of the small training ground. He couldn't help but laugh, "Brother, you are no good. You can't even stop me for a moment."

Zhu Gaochi's face flushed, but he couldn't say anything - it was shameful for an elder brother to be unable to beat his younger brother who was two years younger than him.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Di immediately went over and shouted in feigned anger, "Gao Xu, how dare you talk to your elder brother like that?"

Zhu Gaoxu was not afraid of Zhu Di at all and retorted: "I am telling the truth, so what?"

Zhu Di hummed, "Well, now you should recite the second chapter of the Analects of Confucius."

"Learning Chapter 2?"

Zhu Gaoxu scratched the back of his head and said hesitantly: "Youzi said..."

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't continue after reciting only the beginning, and it was obvious that he couldn't remember the rest of the content.

Zhu Di snorted again and said, "Gao Chi, you carry it."

　Second update.

　　Thanks to [Go away, I don’t want to listen, I don’t want to listen] for the reward of 100 Qidian coins!
　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)