The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Inside the Leopard Room.

Zhu Houzhao once again had someone pack his things.

This time he seemed much more eager and determined than before.

"Don't bring anything heavy. It's wartime, so it's better to live a little harder. Why bring candlesticks? If we're going to ambush someone, we can't even light a fire at night. Why would we need candlesticks for candles? The most important thing is to protect against rain. Forget about things to repel mosquitoes. It's only the intercalary fourth month, there aren't that many mosquitoes yet..."

Zhu Houzhao was very excited, but he still made sure to make arrangements for the palace servants who were attending to him.

At this moment, Qian Ning came in from outside and was somewhat surprised to see the busy scene inside.

"Father, it's still early. Are we getting ready so soon? Shouldn't we send someone ahead to scout ahead?" Qian Ning asserted this time.

He thought, "Now that I'm calling you Father Emperor, you won't give me that attitude again, will you?"

Zhu Houzhao was too lazy to argue with him about the form of address, and casually said, "You've come at the right time. List out everything the Embroidered Uniform Guard needs to bring. Especially the cannons. I remember that a few new cannons were made last year. They're said to have a very long range. I haven't had a chance to see them yet. Bring them all."

"Um?"

Qian Ning was stunned when he heard this.

Did they build cannons last year?

Is that true?

Upon closer reflection, it makes sense. At the time, it was said that there were advanced breech-loading cannons, and the imperial court was ordered to supervise the construction of ten cannons, each costing one thousand taels of silver.

As a result, after layers of skimming, it's questionable whether the remaining amount is even enough to buy a sample to display.

You want to just hand over ten cannons? Even if you beat him to death, he won't give them up!

Seeing Qian Ning's strange expression, Zhu Houzhao frowned and asked, "Is there a problem?"

"No, Father, rest assured, I will arrange for men to move the cannons immediately." Qian Ning was also thinking to himself, "This silver shouldn't end up in my pocket, right?"

Who exactly embezzled the money? And how much does it have to do with me?

It's really worrying. I don't know the details behind it, so how can I make any conclusions?

The best way is to just find ten cannons and deal with the matter, which would save the trouble of finding a scapegoat.

Zhu Houzhao then asked, "Also, please invite Zaiyi and Tang Yin along. Are they still in Xishan?"

"Yes," Qian Ning said with a smile. "We have found six or seven mines, some of which are of very good quality. As His Highness the Crown Prince said, we can keep two of the better mines and mine them ourselves. This will solve the problem of coal heating for the palace and relieve a lot of pressure on the Yizhou Mountain Factory."

Zhu Houzhao asked, "If we save money for the court, will they give that money to me?"

"this……"

Qian Ning couldn't answer.

Clearly, in the emperor's eyes, the royal family belonged to the royal family, and the court belonged to the court.

It's also possible that in recent years, Zhu Houzhao has been severely suppressed by his court officials, leading to a lack of trust among them, which has caused Zhu Houzhao to clearly distinguish between "enemy" and "friend".

Zhu Houzhao said, "Then let them set off earlier. At least let the people in the court think that I am going to supervise the opening of the iron mine in Yongping Prefecture, so that they will be careless. After I finish this battle, I will catch them off guard!"

"Father is wise," Qian Ning quickly flattered.

Zhu Houzhao exclaimed, "I never expected things to go so smoothly this time. It turns out the next Tatar invasion will be from the east, not the west! Just what I wanted. Haven't they always looked down on me, thinking I wasn't qualified to lead an expedition in person? This time, I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget."

Qian Ning said, "Your Majesty, with this hasty troop deployment, we can only mobilize a limited number of men. Apart from the few hundred men from the Embroidered Uniform Guard who are accompanying us, we can only transfer two thousand elite troops from the four outer commanderies to assist us. Adding the troops that can be drawn from Jizhou itself, we can only manage about three or four thousand men."

Zhu Houzhao looked astonished and said, "Aren't three or four thousand soldiers enough? Didn't Tang Yin say that his sons and grandsons could only muster a little over a thousand cavalry at most? If we have three or four times their strength, and we still can't win even if we ambush them, then how can I face leading troops into battle in the future?"

"this……"

Qian Ning was also hesitant.

If something happens to you, that would be a serious matter.

You haven't appointed a crown prince yet.

Even if you adopt a son now, but don't bestow the title of prince upon him, he is not yet a legitimate heir.

Zhu Houzhao's adventurous spirit had reached its peak at this point. He said, "With muskets, cannons, and elite troops, how can we worry about losing this battle? Qian Ning, I'll give you a chance this time. I'll let you accompany me on this expedition and give you the opportunity to be the vanguard officer."

Qian Ning was shocked and hurriedly said, "Father, I still want to stay by your side and protect you."

"Lack of ambition!"

Zhu Houzhao said with displeasure, "You call yourself my adopted son if you can't even handle this? I don't have a good-for-nothing son like you! Fine, let Zaiyi go! If he performs well this time, I'll adopt him, and then let's see who dares to say anything!"

Qian Ning thought to himself, "So this battle has become the test for the heir apparent?"

If he really helps His Majesty win, will he immediately become a prince of the Ming Dynasty? Will I still be able to control him then?

……

……

Zhu Houzhao seemed afraid of the news leaking out, so he made a hasty escape before the ministers could react.

Leading two thousand men, they headed east from the capital towards Yongping Prefecture.

This was nothing new to the court officials.

On the 21st day of the intercalary fourth month, Yang Yiqing officially entered the cabinet. When he arrived at the cabinet, he did not see Jin Gui, but only Liang Chu, who was working there.

"Ying Ning, are you aware that His Majesty left the city yesterday?"

Liang Chu asked nervously.

Yang Yiqing replied, "I don't know yet."

Liang Chu sighed helplessly, "His Majesty brought a large number of guards with him when he left the city this time. I heard that he also mobilized the Shenji Battalion to accompany him, along with muskets and cannons. It seems that he has ulterior motives."

Yang Yiqing smiled and asked, "Did they head west?"

Liang Chu shook his head directly and said, "The east."

"hehe."

Yang Yiqing said with a relieved smile, "As long as it's not to the west, that's fine. What I'm most afraid of is that His Majesty will keep thinking about the battlefield against the Tatars. If we go to places like Xuanfu or Datong, it won't be easy to get His Majesty to calm down."

Liang Chudao said, "Aren't there Jizhou and Liaodong in the east as well?"

Yang Yiqing shook his head and said, "The foreign barbarians over there can't cause any trouble. I do know that His Majesty has recently been relying on the folk alchemist Tang Yin to survey coal and iron veins in Xishan and Yongping Prefecture. He should be going to Yongping soon, or perhaps His Majesty is just going there to take a look."

Upon hearing this, Liang Chu's expression turned quite displeased, and he said, "Since Ying Ning knew about this all along, why didn't he stop it sooner?"

Clearly, in Liang Chu's view, Yang Yiqing, despite his close relationship with the emperor and his ability to speak with him, has consistently failed to speak up for the court and the backbone of the civil officials.

Allowing the emperor to continue his tyrannical behavior is a dereliction of duty on your part as a minister.

Yang Yiqing replied calmly, "Are mines that easy to open? Besides, if His Majesty doesn't intend to mine the mines himself to raise the funds needed to manufacture guns, he'll have to ask the court for money. That's a bottomless pit; can the court afford it?"

The implication is that you make it sound so simple, that you want me to stop it, as if it's something that can be resolved with just a few words.

But the problem is, even if you succeed in stopping it, can you suppress the emperor's restless heart?

Liang Chu asked, "And what about that gun? What exactly is it?"

Yang Yiqing smiled and said, "There have been some changes, and they seem to be effective, but there is still a lack of more practical application. Only when His Majesty runs into a snag will he realize that only those firearms that have withstood the test of time can become the mainstay of the Ming Dynasty. Trying to change the manufacturing of firearms will affect the interests of too many people and is destined to end in failure."