Zhu Yuanzhang: My second son is invincible!

"I have been there... In the eighth year of Hongwu, I was ordered by my father to inspect Zhejiang. In a fishing village in Taizhou, I saw an old woman whose three sons had been killed by Japanese pirates."

"Her two daughters were kidnapped, and she cried herself blind. Every day she sits by the sea, waiting for her daughters to return," Zhu Biao said softly.

The only sound in the warm room was the soft crackling of the charcoal fire burning in the floor.

"So my father said that this time, when we conquer the Japanese, we should not take prisoners or appease them, but kill them until they are afraid, until their descendants for three generations feel weak at the mere mention of the Ming Dynasty."

Mother, you think it's cruel, but is it cruel to those who were killed by the Japanese pirates?

Zhu Biao looked at Empress Ma and said.

Empress Ma sighed deeply and said, "It's not that I don't understand these principles, it's just... 110,000 people..."

"Li Wenzhong only reported the area of ​​Kyoto. If all 66 prefectures of Japan were wiped out, the number would be several times higher."

"But this is war, Mother. If we don't defeat them, it will be the people of our Great Ming who die in the future," Zhu Biao said bluntly.

Madam Chang couldn't help but ask, "What about...the women and children?"

"The women who are attractive will be escorted back to the Ming Dynasty. The Ministry of Revenue is already making arrangements for their resettlement. They will be assigned to meritorious soldiers as wives and concubines. The children will be kept in a centralized care facility. After the war ends, community schools will be set up to teach Chinese language and etiquette. Thirty years later, they will become subjects of the Ming Dynasty."

As Zhu Biao spoke, he took out another document from his sleeve and said, "This is the 'Regulations for the Settlement of Japanese Women' drafted by the Ministry of Revenue. Mother, you can take a look."

Empress Ma took it, but did not open it; she simply placed it on her lap.

Zhu Xiong Ying suddenly whispered, "Dad, will those children...cry?"

Zhu Biao looked at his son, his eyes softening, and said, "Yes, but Xiong Ying, you must remember, they cried because their fathers and brothers made the children of our Great Ming cry first."

The four-year-old child nodded as if he understood but not quite.

"Biao'er, does your father know about this?" Empress Ma finally spoke.

"I understand. The report was sent to Father first. After reading it, Father only said one sentence: 'Well done, keep killing.'" Zhu Biao said.

Empress Ma shook her head with a wry smile and said, "You two, father and son..."

"Mother, don't worry, your son knows what he's doing. He will kill those who deserve to die and spare those who can be spared. This is not just about venting anger, but about governing the country," Zhu Biao comforted his mother, holding her hand.

"Mother knows... but in my heart... I still feel a little reluctant," Empress Ma said, patting his hand.

"I understand, son. Oh, by the way, my second brother also said in his letter that they discovered the Ashikaga family's silver vault in Kyoto, which contained five million taels of silver and eight hundred thousand taels of gold."

Zhu Biao nodded, then changed the subject.

Empress Ma's eyes widened: "So many?"

"This is just the beginning. Japan's largest silver mine is the Iwami Silver Mine, which has not yet been fully occupied. General Xu Da estimated that if it could be fully mined, the annual output could reach..."

Before he could finish speaking, the door to the warm room was pushed open again.

Zhu Yuanzhang strode in, still carrying a chill with him.

"Father." Zhu Biao stood up and bowed.

"Your Majesty," Lady Chang also stood up.

"Sit down... what are you talking about?" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, walked to the warm couch, sat down with a thud, and casually pulled Zhu Xiong Ying onto his lap.

"We're talking about Japan," Empress Ma said.

"Oh, the second brother did a great job, chopping down Kyoto with one axe and capturing that Ashikaga brat. Li Wenzhong was efficient too, killing 110,000 in three days, fast enough!"

Zhu Yuanzhang grinned as he spoke.

Empress Ma gave him a reproachful look and said, "You! All you ever think about is killing, killing, killing."

"Girl, you don't understand. If you don't subdue Japan, they'll dare to rebel tomorrow. This time, we're going to make them remember this."

"The Ming Dynasty is not like the former Song Dynasty; it's not a place where they can come and go as they please!" Zhu Yuanzhang said earnestly.

As he spoke, he took out a roll of map from his pocket and spread it out on the tatami mat.

That was a map of the entire territory of Japan, marked with more than a dozen red dots in vermilion.

"Biao'er, look, this is the Iwami Silver Mine, this is the Sado Gold Mine, this is the Bessko Copper Mine... The second brother has taken over Kyoto, and the next step is to take over all these places."

"Dig! Dig as hard as you can!" Zhu Yuanzhang said, moving his finger across the map.

Zhu Biao leaned over to look and said, "Father, I have already given orders to my second brother, instructing him to stay in the capital and for Li Wenzhong to send troops to sweep across the various regions."

The airships are transporting goods day and night; the artisans from the Ministry of Works and the Taoist monks are already on their way and are expected to arrive in Japan before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

"Good! The sooner the better! Once we've emptied all these mountains of silver and gold, our Ming Dynasty's treasury won't be able to spend it all in ten years!" Zhu Yuanzhang said, his eyes shining.

Empress Ma said helplessly, "You two, father and son, one talks about killing, the other about mining, can't you think of anything else?"

"Yes! Once the silver is recovered, we'll first repair the Yellow River dike, then reduce taxes for three years, and then renovate all the schools in the country..."

"By the way, the Prince of Wu's mansion for the second son also needs to be expanded. It's too small and doesn't do justice to his achievements," Zhu Yuanzhang said, looking up.

Zhu Biao couldn't help but laugh and said, "Father, my second brother doesn't care about these things."

"He may not care, but we still have to give it to him! When the second son comes back, we'll throw him the most glorious victory banquet ever, so the whole world will know that our Zhu family has produced a war god!" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a wave of his hand.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

The sounds of firecrackers, gongs and drums, and cheers from the people could be faintly heard.

"What's going on?" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

A eunuch scrambled in, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement, exclaiming, "Your Majesty! Your Highness! Your Highness! Outside...the people are celebrating!"

"What are we celebrating?"

"The news of the great victory in Japan has spread. Now the whole city knows that His Highness the King of Wu has captured the capital of Japan and taken their general prisoner!"

People spontaneously took to the streets to celebrate, and firecrackers sold out!

Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter and said, "Good! Good! Let the people be happy!"

He picked up Zhu Xiong Ying and stood up, saying, "Come on, Xiong Ying, let's go up to the city wall with Grandpa!"

"I'll go too." Zhu Biao stood up.

Empress Ma and Lady Chang exchanged a glance and then stood up.

……