Bringing the Railway to Daming

Zhu Zhen was quite accepting of Liu Kuan's first suggestion, but he was somewhat hesitant about the second.

He said, "Duke Ningguo, isn't granting the people absolute usage rights for twenty or thirty years too long? I'm afraid it will lead to the formation of local armed groups."

Liu Kuan laughed and said, "Your Highness, you are overthinking it. As long as the land that can be enclosed by a reclamation order is limited to a small area, say three to five li in radius, how large a local armed force can be formed in such a small area?"

"What if a family obtains multiple reclamation orders through different people?" Zhu Zhen pressed.

Liu Kuandao said, "First, His Majesty has issued a policy stating that each family can only obtain one land reclamation order. Second, the issuance of land reclamation orders must be subject to stricter review to prevent individuals from using clandestine connections to gain actual control over multiple land reclamation orders."

"In addition, Your Highness can issue land reclamation orders in the beginning by rewarding or bestowing them. Later, when the people are enthusiastic about land reclamation, Your Highness can sell the land reclamation orders at a high price."

"Of course, no matter what we do, there will definitely be some hidden dangers—the fact that the United States of America gained independence from British rule in the past is a great reference."

"Therefore, how to obtain the benefits of the 'Reclamation Order' policy without being too affected by its hidden dangers depends on how Chu governs in the future."

Zhu Zhen fell into deep thought after listening.

Before long, he put the question aside and asked about other things. After chatting for about an hour, Zhu Zhen took his leave and left the palace.

Liu Kuan was about to leave when Zhu Xiong Ying stopped him.

"Teacher, what was the historical fate of my uncle, the King of Chu?"

Liu Kuan hadn't expected Zhu Xiong Ying to ask this. After a moment's thought, he said, "I guess it can be considered a peaceful death."

"Oh?" Zhu Xiong Ying seemed a little surprised, and asked again, "He was unharmed during Jianwen's suppression of the princes and the Jingnan Campaign?"

Liu Kuandao said, "In the original history, the Chu vassal state was considered a powerful vassal state, but it was not as powerful as the Yan vassal state. Therefore, when Jianwen was weakening the vassal states, he did not target the Chu vassal state first. Later, when the Prince of Yan launched the Jingnan Campaign, the Prince of Chu also raised an army in the south to provide support, which tied down some of Emperor Jianwen's troops."

"Therefore, the King of Chu was treated quite well during the Yongle reign, but he was also subject to great restrictions by Yongle. He died of illness around the twenty-second year of Yongle's reign."

He died in the twenty-second year of the Yongle reign.
Zhu Xiong Ying recalled the original historical timeline and silently calculated Zhu Zhen's lifespan, thinking to himself: That means he probably lived to be sixty-one years old.
After regaining his composure, Zhu Xiong Ying asked again, "What do you think of the current development potential of the Chu Kingdom?"

Now that the conversation has reached this point, how could Liu Kuan not see Zhu Xiong Ying's wariness of the Chu vassal state?
After all, Zhu Zhen was second only to Zhu Di in personal ability among the overseas vassal states. In terms of both civil and military achievements, even Prince Jin, Zhu Gang, might not be able to match him, let alone the other vassal kings. Most importantly, the Chu vassal state was close to the Ming Dynasty's mainland.

Thinking of this, Liu Kuan said, "Your Majesty, the territory of the Chu Kingdom now largely overlaps with that of the later Indonesian Kingdom, but it is not as large as Indonesia."

"Although Indonesia is now considered the largest country in Southeast Asia, its power is not strong in the world. Its territory is almost entirely in the tropics and mostly consists of islands, which naturally limits its development."

"Therefore, as long as the Chu vassal state cannot enter the Australian continent, no matter how well it develops in the future, its strength will be limited."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded slightly, it was unclear how much of Liu Kuan's words she believed.

"If Your Majesty has nothing else, I shall take my leave."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded.

After Liu Kuan left Fengxian Hall, Zhu Xiong Ying asked, "Wen Yao, what do you think about the Chu Fan matter?" Zhu Wen Yao was now sixteen or seventeen years old and was preparing to enter the army for training this autumn. His observation of politics over the past two or three years had not only familiarized him with the military and political affairs of the Ming Dynasty, but also greatly broadened his horizons and matured his mind considerably.

He pondered for a moment upon hearing this before saying, "What the Duke of Ning said earlier makes some sense, but if I remember correctly, the reason why Indonesia did not develop well in later generations is largely due to the fact that it was colonized by Europeans for too long, leaving behind many problems, right?"

"Therefore, I believe that the court should be more wary of the Chu vassal state and, when appropriate, even suppress it to prevent its national strength from rising too quickly."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded, “It’s good that you have this understanding—just as your great-grandfather once said, the development of a country is certainly closely related to its natural conditions such as its geography, but it is equally closely related to its rulers.”

"The Chu Kingdom is located in the tropical islands of the South Seas, which presents many disadvantages for development, but also many advantages. Your uncle, the King of Chu, is quite capable. If his descendants are also capable, the Chu Kingdom will surely become powerful."

"With such a powerful vassal state by our side, if any major changes occur in our Ming Dynasty in the future, it is inevitable that they will harbor disloyal thoughts."

"When you ascend the throne in the future, you must remember what I said today. Be wary of the Chu vassal state and suppress it if you have the opportunity."

Zhu Wenyao nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will remember this!"

···
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Zhu Zhen had finally returned to the capital, so naturally he wouldn't leave immediately after paying respects to Zhu Yuanzhang. Instead, he temporarily stayed at the Chu Prince's Mansion in the capital—which was actually the Chu Prince's office in the capital.

As a prince who established his own fiefdom overseas, Zhu Zhen would naturally not associate with the civil and military officials in the court. This can be seen from the fact that he specifically sought out Zhu Xiong Ying as an intermediary to ask Liu Kuan for advice, which shows that he was aware of the situation.

However, during the time Zhu Zhen lived in the Chu Prince's residence, people would visit him from time to time.

Zhu Xiong Ying secretly had the Embroidered Uniform Guard inquire and learned that those who visited Zhu Zhen were all wealthy merchants, most of whom wanted to do business with the Chu Kingdom.

'My uncle, the King of Chu, is truly adept at making money.'

With this thought in mind, Zhu Xiong Ying ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to record all the wealthy merchants who visited Zhu Zhen and to investigate them secretly to see if these merchants were still doing other things for the Chu Kingdom, such as inquiring about court secrets.

If we can find some leverage over the Chu vassal state, then it will be easy to suppress it.

Zhu Xiong Ying's attention did not linger on Zhu Zhen for long, because half a month later, in mid-February, Prince Yan, Zhu Di, also returned to the capital.

After paying his respects to Zhu Xiong Ying, Zhu Di followed the example of Zhu Zhen and also observed seven days and seven nights of mourning in front of the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

After resting for two days, he first went to the palace to visit Zhu Xiong Ying again and talked about some matters between the Yan vassal state and the court, such as the promise made by Zhu Yuanzhang that they would be allowed to relocate 5,000 households of Ming people after 20 years.

Although Zhu Xiong Ying did not want to allow powerful vassal states like Yan to send immigrants, it was something Zhu Yuanzhang had promised. Now that Zhu Yuanzhang had only been dead for a few months, he naturally would not go back on his word and thus agreed.

However, the scope of recruitment of people by the Yan vassal state was limited. Provinces with sparse populations and provinces along the southeast coast were not allowed to recruit immigrants a second time.

This undoubtedly increased the difficulty for powerful vassal states like Yan to conduct secondary migrations, but neither Zhu Di nor Zhu Zhen said anything about it.

After settling the matter, Zhu Di took some time to meet with Zhu Zhen, and subsequently stayed temporarily at the Prince of Yan's residence in the capital. Like Zhu Zhen, he also frequently invited wealthy merchants to his residence for face-to-face discussions… (End of Chapter)