Bringing the Railway to Daming

"I humbly request Your Majesty's understanding!"

In the council hall, most of the other civil and military officials present also spoke up for Hua Wenxiang and Zhao Ken. Only a few important ministers of Xiang State, such as the military advisor Chen Bi, the commander of the garrison, the commander of the navy, and two other military commanders, did not express their opinions.

However, Zhu Bai, who had received some imperial education, knew very well that the fact that Chen Bi and other important officials had not expressed their opinions at this time was, in fact, a statement of opinion. If these people disagreed with Qi Tongsheng and others' ideas, they would definitely have spoken out and rebuked them, rather than remaining silent.

The silence was merely a gesture of respect to him, the king.

This discovery nearly sank Zhu Bai's heart to the bottom.

He considered himself to be no less capable than the princes and had made many preparations for establishing a domain. Although some people thought his idea of ​​building a domain based on the "benevolent way of the king" was naive, weren't Hua Wenxiang, Qi Tongsheng and others originally joined the shogunate because they agreed with his ambition?
Why did he feel a terrifying sense of alienation and disloyalty from the people after only half a month of establishing his vassal state?

After Zhu Bai fell silent, the rugged council hall also quieted down, becoming eerily quiet.

About a minute later, as some people were wondering if they had gone too far this time and might have provoked Zhu Bai to kill them, Zhu Bai finally spoke up.

Zhu Bai gave a cold laugh and said, "Since I entrusted Zhao Ken with the task of escorting the caravan, I have the authority to make decisions on the spot. Whether he has done good or bad things this time is none of your business. Do you think I am a foolish ruler?"

Qi Tongsheng and the others hurriedly replied, "Your humble servants dare not."

Zhu Bai snorted, "I think you dare to do this."

The ministers were at a loss for words.

At this moment, Chen Bi spoke up: "Your Majesty, perhaps we can send someone to investigate the course of events to see if it is indeed as Counselor Hua and Commander Zhao have said."

Zhu Bai knew that this was a way out.

He then said, “Of course I will send people to investigate this matter. If it is true, Counselor Hua and Commander Zhao will be rewarded for their merits. But if there is any deception of the emperor, you all know what the crime is.”

Hua Wenxiang and Zhao Dun hurriedly replied, "Your humble servants would never dare to deceive Your Majesty."

Zhu Bai asked, "Can the captured soldiers be rescued?"

Hua Wenxiang said, "Your humble servant is ashamed that he was unable to save them. The local people are fierce. When they saw our army enter the village, they killed the captured soldiers."

Zhu Bai said, "You went to rescue people this time, but you failed. How am I supposed to explain this to the families of the captured soldiers? Counselor Hua, you tell me, is this a merit or a demerit?"

Hua Wenxiang said, "It is my fault."

Zhao Ken followed up, "This humble general has also made mistakes."

Zhu Bai: "Oh, Commander Zhao, what wrong have you done?"

"This..." Zhao Ken really didn't know what to say for a moment. He had only subconsciously followed Hua Wenxiang's lead for certain reasons.

Seeing that Zhao Ken couldn't give a clear answer, Zhu Bai didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, he said, "Those who have made contributions will be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes will be punished. I will sort things out clearly. Alright, let's adjourn the meeting."

After the civil and military officials dispersed, Chen Bi was summoned by the eunuch to Zhu Bai's "study"—which was naturally also built of logs.

"What business does Your Majesty have summoned me for?"

Zhu Bai turned his back and looked at the map hanging on the wall, saying, "Mr. Chen, it's one thing for Zhao Ken and other military officers; their achievements are earned on horseback anyway, so we can understand."

"But didn't you, Hua Wenxiang, and Qi Tongsheng bring your families to this remote American wilderness thousands of miles away because you share our ideals and want to build the Xiang Kingdom with benevolent rule?"

"Why have you become estranged from us after less than a month here?"

Chen Bi said, "Why does Your Majesty say such a thing? How could we possibly be disloyal to Your Majesty?"

Zhu Bai said, "It's just the two of us here, and you are the person I trust the most. Why won't you tell me the truth even now?"

Chen Bi sighed, “Your Majesty, we have indeed never changed our aspirations, but we feel that the development of Xiang Kingdom can be accelerated.”

"Although the natives here resemble the people of China in appearance, they are not civilized enough. If we only rely on trade to get to know each other, it will probably take at least several years to assimilate them."

"Your Majesty, how many years in a person's life can one plan for achievements? Your Majesty, Hua Wenxiang, Qi Tongsheng, and I are all over forty years old. We are truly worried that we will not live to see the prosperous Xiang Kingdom under Your Majesty's benevolent rule. That is why we are a little impatient."

Zhu Bai listened in silence for a moment.

He is twenty-six this year, which is still young for a ruler of a country, but Chen Bi and others are indeed not young.

If the Xiang Kingdom were to be built up slowly and gently according to his previous plan, it would probably take at least twenty or thirty years to see significant results—Chen Bi and others might not be able to wait that long.

Seeing that Zhu Bai's expression had softened, Chen Bi said, "Your Majesty, we are actually short of manpower in building our vassal states. If these local tribes around us can submit, it will not only increase our manpower, but also save us from some dangers."

"If the members of this exploration team are captured, and these tribes are allowed to continue to exist, there will inevitably be various conflicts in the future, and some soldiers may even be killed or injured as a result."

"Therefore, I believe it would be better for us to take the initiative and first use our military force to coerce these tribes into submission. Once all the tribes within dozens of miles of the surrounding area are at our disposal, Your Majesty can then implement benevolent policies and gradually win their hearts." Zhu Bai frowned upon hearing this and asked, "If we force them into submission with military force, how can they possibly win their hearts?"

Chen Bi said, “Your Majesty, the local tribes are not a unified whole. Only those who are willing to submit are considered citizens of Xiang. As for those who are unwilling to submit, let them do hard labor and educate them slowly.”

Zhu Bai stared at Chen Bi and asked, "Mr. Chen, what do you think is the difference between this kind of vassal state construction and that of other overseas vassal kings?"

Chen Bi said, "The difference lies in the fact that Your Majesty has benevolence in your heart, and will ultimately follow the path of the benevolent."

Zhu Bai turned around again and said, "I need to consider this matter carefully—Mr. Chen, you may leave."

"My minister retire."

After Chen Bi left, Zhu Bai summoned a centurion of the Imperial Guard. There was no commander-level official among the Imperial Guards of the Princes; the highest rank was a chiliarch. Therefore, a centurion of the Imperial Guard was considered a high-ranking general in the vassal state.

This centurion held a particularly special position within the Imperial Guard because he was responsible for internal oversight similar to that of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhu Bai summoned him, intending to have him investigate whether Hua Wenxiang and Zhao Ken had lied about what they said.

Three days later, the centurion came to report to Zhu Bai.

The result was that things were basically as Hua Wenxiang and Zhao Ken said. At most, Hua Wenxiang's caravan was suspected of deliberately inducing the other party to be greedy and underestimate them when communicating and trading with the tribe.

Such matters are difficult to verify, so Zhu Bai could not convict Hua Wenxiang based on this alone.

Therefore, Zhu Bai ultimately rewarded the soldiers who participated in conquering the tribe, and Zhao Ken's military rank was promoted two levels. However, Hua Wenxiang, as the person in charge of the rescue, was reprimanded by imperial decree and received no credit.

Subsequently, Zhu Bai convened an expanded meeting that could be attended by mid-level generals and officials. At the meeting, he stated that the most urgent matter for the Xiang Kingdom at present was land reclamation and farming, rather than conquering the surrounding indigenous tribes.

However, after the first phase of land reclamation and farming is completed and the Xiang Kingdom reaps its first harvest, if the indigenous tribes within a 50-mile radius of Xiangjing do not submit, the Xiang Kingdom will order its generals to lead troops to conquer those who are disobedient and force them to submit.

In other words, Zhu Bai ultimately chose to back down and compromise—that is, to follow the ideas of most civil and military officials, to first rapidly expand the base of the vassal states, and then to practice the benevolent way of the king.

Whether this meant he was on the right path or was taking him further away from his ambitions, he didn't know...
···
The third day of the eighth lunar month.

Capital of the Ming Dynasty.

That morning, just like the previous year, Zhu Yuanzhang accompanied Liu Kuan to the bridge across the river.

Whether it was Liu Kuan's imagination or not, he felt that after a year, Zhu Yuanzhang not only did not continue to age, but was actually more energetic and spirited.

On the contrary, Liu Kuan noticed a few days ago that Zhu Biao had several more gray hairs on his head.

This made Liu Kuan wonder to himself, could it be that history has changed, but Zhu Biao will still pass away before Zhu Yuanzhang?
He didn't dare to think too deeply about it—he felt that as long as Zhu Xiong Ying didn't get ahead of Zhu Biao, everything would be fine.

Fortunately, Zhu Xiong Ying seems to be in good health and doesn't look like she'll die young.

In the middle of the bridge, Liu Kuan had tables, chairs, snacks, and even drinks set out, and then invited Zhu Yuanzhang to sit down first before he followed suit—for others, being able to sit with the retired emperor would be considered an honor. But for Liu Kuan, it was just an ordinary matter.

Perhaps because it was the second time he had encountered the strange fog, Zhu Yuanzhang appeared very relaxed.

"Liu Kuan, do you think this strange fog might be giving us face and appear again like it did last year?"

Liu Kuan was speechless, but said, "I do hope that the strange fog will give Your Majesty some face."

"Hahaha," Zhu Yuanzhang laughed, twirling his gray beard, "Don't underestimate our reputation—even Heaven gives us some face."

Liu Kuan said, "His Majesty the Emperor is the Son of Heaven, and he naturally has face in the eyes of Heaven."

He meant that Zhu Yuanzhang was a man blessed with good fortune.

The concept of destiny is vague and ethereal, and Liu Kuan didn't believe in it before. But as he grew older and gained more experience, he began to believe in it to some extent.

Some people are just lucky, and some people have a period of good luck. Conversely, some people are just unlucky, and some people have a period of particularly bad luck.

I can't accept it.

Zhu Yuanzhang, however, did not intend to discuss this further. Instead, he said, "It has been more than half a year since we last met after the New Year. Before the strange fog arrives, why don't you tell me some stories about the future?"

"What topic would Your Majesty like to hear about?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Before the weather got hot this year, we went to some places incognito and investigated several corrupt officials. There was even a local Jinyiwei commander involved, which shocked us."

"Our Great Ming Dynasty now treats its officials quite well, and its supervisory system is quite comprehensive, so how come there are still corrupt officials? Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard has corrupt individuals."

"I just want to ask, is there really no way to completely eradicate corruption?" (End of Chapter)