Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 97: Father and son show off their acting skills, Zhu Di shows off his cards [Please read]

Seal the vassal overseas?

Zhu Su and the other three were stunned when they heard this.

It was obviously the first time he had heard of this.

Zhu Di was not surprised to see this, but pretended to be surprised and asked, "How come you don't know yet?"

Zhu Su asked, "Fourth brother, can you tell me what's going on?"

Zhu Di hesitated for a moment, then asked, "You all know the origins of my third brother-in-law, right?"

The three of them laughed when they heard this.

Zhu Zhen said, "Father and elder brother had kept it a secret earlier, but on Double Ninth Festival, we all watched the movie shown by our third brother-in-law. How could we not know his background? He is from a later generation."

"Movie?" Zhu Di couldn't help but feel puzzled when he heard the new term.

The three of them laughed again, with Zhu Yu laughing the most proudly.

He said, "Fourth Brother returned to Beijing too late to see those movies—The Imperial Guards, Lost on Journey, The Wandering Earth. Each one was better than the last. We were truly feasting our eyes!"

Zhu Su explained, "Movies are like operas; they are also stories performed by people. However, later generations, through unknown means, recorded them on tablet computers so that they can be played repeatedly."

"On Double Ninth Festival, my father, the emperor, and my mother, the empress, asked my third sister and her husband to come to the palace to celebrate. My third sister brought a tablet computer, so we were able to watch those three movies."

Zhu Di blinked his eyes and felt jealous when he heard this.

"You are so good, Liu Kuan. I am so close to you, but you didn't say anything when you had such a good thing."

"Father and my elder brother didn't tell me either."

"No, I'll go back and borrow Liu Kuan's tablet computer to try it out."

Although he felt sad, Zhu Di pretended not to care and nodded, "I see."

He continued, "Since you know that my third brother-in-law is from the future, you should understand that he knows about the future. According to him, the descendants of us princes are in great misery."

Zhu Di did not ask Zhu Yuanzhang for permission when he told his brothers about the overseas vassalage. However, Zhu Yuanzhang had not previously issued a gag order on the matter.

Zhu Di would not be so foolish as to mention the Jingnan Campaign. He only said that the later Ming emperors reduced the power of the princes and confined them to their fiefdoms. Not only did their descendants become useless and a huge burden to the court, but they were also at the mercy of others when the Ming Dynasty fell.

The three of them were very angry when they heard this, especially the younger Zhu Zhen and Zhu Gui.

Zhu Zhen angrily said, "How could my eldest brother's descendants treat us like this? This fiefdom was decided by our father. Countless court officials came to dissuade us, but were reprimanded. Some were even imprisoned. And now my eldest brother's descendants want to reduce the fiefdom?!"

Zhu Gui stood up and slammed the table - he had Hu blood, ate well, and had practiced martial arts since childhood. Although he was only seventeen years old, he was already tall and strong. This palm strike made the stone table shake.

"Big Brother's descendants are reducing the power of the feudal lords? This might have been Big Brother's idea! He treated us so well, we thought he was a really good person, but we didn't expect him to do such a thing later!"

"Let's go ask him later why he wants to reduce the power of the feudal lords and why he wants to treat our descendants like pigs! Is he doing this right for us and for our father?!"

Zhu Di's forehead was sweating and he felt embarrassed when he heard this.

Only then did he realize that his younger brothers, since they knew nothing about the Jingnan Rebellion, naturally did not know that their eldest brother, Xiongying, had died early, or that he had later seized the throne from Emperor Yunwen. So they regarded the reduction of the feudal system as something done by their eldest brother's descendants.

Although the reduction of the power of the princes was initiated by Zhu Yunwen, it was completed by three generations of Zhu Di, his grandfather and grandson.

If they really wanted to get the truth out of the eldest brother, wouldn't they have to beat him up?
Thinking of this, Zhu Di quickly explained, "Sixth and Seventh Brothers, don't worry, just listen to me. The later Ming emperors had no choice but to reduce the power of the vassal states."

He then talked about how the powerful vassal kings threatened the imperial power, and how a hundred years later the number of vassal kings would be too large and the court would find it difficult to support the clan salaries.

Finally, he said, "In other words, our father's policy of enfeoffment is fine now, but it will cause big problems in the future."

"After Liu Kuan's persuasion, my father also realized that this policy would be detrimental to future generations, so he asked Liu Kuan for advice, and he came up with the policy of 'enfeoffing vassal states overseas.'"

Then he followed Liu Kuan and talked about the vast overseas areas of the Ming Dynasty, the rich land, and the ignorance of the natives.

It then goes on to tell how the Western barbarians would start their great voyages a few decades later, colonize the globe, and compete for world domination. It even tells how two hundred years later, the powerful Western barbarians intended to invade the Ming Dynasty and turn the Ming people into slaves like the Yuan Dynasty did.

In order to achieve his goal, Zhu Di naturally exaggerated these things a little bit when he recounted them.

When Zhu Su and the other two listened, they were shocked and excited at first, and then angry and furious.

After Zhu Di finished speaking, Zhu Gui was the first to speak: "Since there are so many unowned and fertile lands, we must not let the Western Barbarians take them first!"

Zhu Zhen said, "Seventh brother is right. If the Western barbarians can embark on great voyages, occupy those unowned lands, and fight for hegemony over the four seas and eight wildernesses, then our Ming Dynasty can do the same!"

Zhu Su, however, said thoughtfully, "The 'enfeoffment of vassal states overseas' strategy proposed by my third sister-in-law, could it be that we, the princes, are enfeoffed as vassal states overseas, so that we can seize those unowned territories before the Western Barbarians do?"

Zhu Di smiled and nodded, saying, "Fifth brother is indeed smart, that's exactly what happened."

Zhu Zhen and Zhu Gui were still young and hadn't thought much about this, so they were even more excited when they heard this - going overseas to conquer the barbarians and then establishing a vassal state to rule over them, wouldn't that mean they could become local emperors? The thought of it was exciting.

Zhu Su frowned slightly and said, "Not to mention how far those unowned territories are from the Ming Dynasty and how dangerous the voyage is, even if we arrive safely, it would probably not be easy to establish a vassal state in such a barbaric land."

"Why, are you scared, Fifth Brother?"

Zhu Su smiled bitterly, "Fourth brother, don't provoke me. I just feel that establishing a vassal state overseas is definitely not that easy."

Zhu Di said: "If the Western Barbarians can sail tens of thousands of miles around Africa and reach India in a few decades, why can't the Ming Dynasty do the same?"

"Besides, the steam engine Liu Kuan is currently building can also be used on ships in the future. He will also cover the ships with iron armor, making them stronger and faster, so navigation will not be a problem."

"It's certainly not easy to establish a vassal state in a barbaric land, but it's better than being kept in captivity in the Ming Dynasty, with your descendants becoming useless or even beggars, right?"

After a pause, Zhu Di continued, "I'm saying this because I hope my three brothers will ask Father to decide on the overseas vassalage as soon as possible."

"Also, according to Liu Kuan, even if this policy is adopted, the princes can still choose whether to go or not. In other words, even if Fifth Brother helps me, it will not affect his future stay in the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Su hesitated for a moment and said, "Fourth brother, please give me two days to think about it. How about that?"

Zhu Di sighed inwardly, he never expected that a younger brother born to the same mother would be the most difficult to deal with.

He nodded and looked at Zhu Zhen and Zhu Gui: "Sixth and Seventh Brothers, you are always happy to be a vassal overseas, right?"

The two smiled and nodded.

"Of course I am happy to do so."

"Let's go back and ask the Emperor to make a plan to establish a vassal state overseas!"

···
Zhu Di met with his three younger brothers in the morning and was called to Fengxian Hall in the afternoon.

"Fourth Brother, you revealed the matter of establishing a vassal state overseas to Sixth and Seventh Brothers without even asking us, and encouraged them to act as lobbyists. You're so bold!"

Zhu Yuanzhang glared at Zhu Di and shouted angrily.

Zhu Di had anticipated this and bowed quickly. "Father, please forgive me. I thought my brothers knew about this, so I told them directly. Besides, after my brother-in-law told me about it that day, Your Majesty did not issue a silence order."

At the end of his speech, Zhu Di looked aggrieved.

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted, "Don't play these little tricks on us—if you really wanted to keep it a secret, wouldn't you test them first?"

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang saw through everything so clearly, Zhu Di simply stopped pretending and said directly: "I really want to be a vassal overseas. I hope that your Majesty will decide on this plan as soon as possible!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and walked down the imperial steps, pacing back and forth in front of Zhu Di with his hands behind his back.

"It seems that all my words that day were in vain. You didn't listen at all!"

"Embedding vassal states overseas sounds exciting, but how could it be so easy to accomplish?"

"Let's not even mention the dangers of sailing. Once we get to that wild and desolate land thousands of miles away, can you really control your men, both civil and military? What if someone rebels and I kill you and declare myself king?"

"If you fell ill overseas and died, buried in a foreign land, have you ever thought about how heartbroken your parents would be?"

"Even if everything goes smoothly, when will Mom and Dad see each other again after you leave?!"

At the end of his speech, Zhu Yuanzhang stood in front of Zhu Di, staring at him with red eyes.

After hearing these words, Zhu Di was touched by Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes and felt both moved and ashamed.

Zhu Di knelt down, bowed his head, and said, "I am unfilial. I never thought that this matter would make my father and mother so worried, and I never thought that we would be separated once I went overseas."

Then he raised his head, his eyes red, and his face, which was somewhat similar to Zhu Yuanzhang's, had a very determined expression.

"But my father once taught me that a true man should have ambitions and should wield a three-foot sword to achieve unparalleled achievements!"

"Now that I know what will happen in the future, my ambition is hard to suppress. If I stay in the Ming Dynasty, I am afraid my father and brothers will be suspicious of me, and my talents will not be able to be realized, and I will be depressed for the rest of my life."

“Only by going overseas can you see the vastness of the sky and the sea, where eagles soar and fish leap, and realize your ambitions!”

"Please grant me your blessing, Father!"

After saying this, he bowed deeply and kowtowed to the ground.

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　　Mid-Autumn Festival!

　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)