The fierce grandson of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 167 Empress Ma: It's time to find a marriage partner for my eldest grandson!

But his old comrade-in-arms Xu Dazhi's reply was full of praise and impeccable manner.

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his gray beard, his wrinkles smoothing out, and shook his head with a smile, saying, "Tiande, you're just too modest!"

"No matter how capable our eldest grandson is, how can he possibly surpass you, the first meritorious contributor to the founding of the nation?"

"You helped us establish the Ming Dynasty, just like Jiang Ziya in the past—"

Jiang Ziya, also known as Taigong Wang, assisted the Zhou dynasty in overthrowing the Shang dynasty; his contributions were the greatest, and his status the most esteemed!

Over the past few decades, among all the civil and military officials, only Xu Da, a veteran and meritorious official, deserves such praise!

Zhu Yuanzhang paused, then glanced at the assembled officials in the hall, and said, "However, to be fair, our eldest grandson is indeed promising!"

"I remember a couple of years ago, when I was studying military strategy with you guys, Tiande, every time you came back to the palace and talked about it with me, you could apply what you learned to other situations!"

"Even in this pacification of Liaodong, if we can apply all the strategies we have employed, then we can say that we have not wasted your teachings, Tiande and the others."

Upon seeing this, Xu Da and the others repeatedly said they dared not.

Then, Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the report beside him and pondered, "Now that the overall situation is stable, Nahachu's surrender is only a matter of time. How to settle the surrendered people here is a major problem!"

"What do you think, Biao'er?"

Zhu Biao, dressed in civilian clothes, took half a step forward and replied in a deep voice, "In response to Your Majesty, I believe that after this battle, the primary focus should be on appeasement for the many surrendered soldiers!"

"Therefore, following the old precedent, they can be dispersed and relocated to various places such as Beiping, and given land and seeds so that they can settle down and engage in agriculture!"

""

"At the same time, in Liaodong, we should increase the number of garrisons and strengthen the local area—"

"As for Nahachu, he should be recruited to the capital, given a high-ranking official position and generous salary, and allowed to enjoy wealth and honor—this would both eliminate potential threats and demonstrate the Emperor's benevolence!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao was skilled in internal affairs management.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly as he listened to what was said.

"Biao'er is right, that's what we think too!"

"In addition, we should encourage people from the Central Plains to move to the frontier to assist in garrisoning and defending the borders."

"As for Nahachu, he's been running things in Liaodong for over twenty years, and he's always been a thorn in our side!"

"We let him go back then, thinking he would be grateful, but instead he repeatedly violated border regulations!"

"This pacification of Liaodong has finally resolved a major threat to us! And given Naha's high prestige within the remnants of the Yuan dynasty, we can forgive his past transgressions and, as instructed by Nai Ciwu last time, bestow upon him wealth and honor—"

"As for the defense of Liaodong, just as Biao'er said, it needs to be redeployed. Tiande will need to put in a lot of effort to manage this matter!"

The officials who were called upon by Zhu stepped forward and agreed.

Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang squinted and said, "After Liaodong is pacified, the northeast of our Great Ming will be secure. Next, we should concentrate the court's and the people's efforts on dealing with the remnants of the Yuan Khanate in the Mongolian Plateau!"

"And in my entire life, I rose from a cowherd to become the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, all thanks to the help of you, Tiande, who pacified the land and drove out the barbarians!"

"Whether the Ming Dynasty can be stable in the future depends on whether our descendants, such as Biao'er, the second, third, and fourth princes, and our eldest grandson, can live up to our expectations."

"But seeing what we've seen today, we can rest assured considerably! As for the future, we, as ruler and ministers, still need to work together with one heart and one mind!"

"Your Majesty, we obey!"

As soon as Zhu finished speaking, the assembled officials responded in unison, their voices echoing throughout the entire Hall of Literary Glory.

That same night, at Kunning Palace.

After returning to the inner palace, Zhu Yuanzhang inevitably chatted with Empress Ma about the good news he had received during the day.

When Xu Da's evaluation was mentioned, Old Zhu was overjoyed. Unlike his serious demeanor in public, he laughed and said, "My sister doesn't know! Today in the Hall of Literary Glory, Tiande praised our eldest grandson highly, saying that his military strategy is brilliant and that he will surpass him in the future!"

"We were overjoyed to hear that! Look around, with Biao'er and our great grandson here, we can finally secure a bright future for our Ming Dynasty!"

"Of course, I owe a lot to you in my life!"

"If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be where we are today! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been able to raise such good children as Biao'er and Da Sun." Empress Ma was deeply moved by her husband's words.

But as usual, she didn't take credit, but instead comforted him, saying, "What nonsense is Chongba talking about!"

"Biao'er, Ying'er, and Lao Si are all so promising because these kids are exceptionally capable!"

"The victory of Zhuge Liang in conquering the world was your achievement, and it was also Heaven's protection of our Great Ming! As for me, I only did what I was supposed to do!"

Moved, Zhu Yuanzhang put his arm around his wife's shoulder and sighed, "My dear sister—"

Empress Ma smiled and said, "We're family, and we've been married for a long time, so let's not stand on ceremony!"

"Based on the timeline, the fighting in Liaodong should have ended by early June!"

"Will U.A. and the others be able to return home in August?"

They talked about their grandson's return to Beijing.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought of the letter that had been sent from Beiping a few days ago.

It was written by Zhu Xiong Ying, the great-grandson of the saint!

It explained the resettlement of the surrendered soldiers and the future plans for the Northern Expedition.

Upon closer inspection, many aspects of it are truly eye-opening!

Therefore, in accordance with Sun Quan's plan and combined with the words of Xu Da and others, after the Liaodong campaign ended, in his mind, the main force would not retreat, but would continue to prepare for the battle in the northern desert.

Even after observing the intentions of the Holy Grandson, he had no desire to return to the capital!

From this perspective, his grandfather, the emperor, felt more comfort than heartache!

Now that my wife has asked, how should I answer so as not to worry her?

This presented Zhu Yuanzhang with a dilemma.

After a moment's thought, Old Zhu said, "Don't worry, sister!"

"As for when to return to the capital, it's too early to say right now. Let's wait until Nahachu surrenders and Liaodong is completely pacified before making any decisions!"

"However, our eldest grandson has been safely behind Beiping these past few months, so you can rest assured, sister."

Empress Ma was insightful and immediately saw through her husband's insincerity and ulterior motives.

She vaguely guessed what was going on, but didn't press for details. She simply said, "Chongba, you're the head of the family; you have the final say on all these matters!"

"But I told you before that I was going to arrange a good marriage for our grandson!"

"After all, in two years, our grandson will be sixteen! These days, I've been taking a good look and I already have a few candidates—"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but laugh and say, "As for my grandson's marriage, you, sister, can make the decision!"

"We've already divided the work: you handle the internal affairs, and I'll handle the external affairs—"

Far away in Jinshan, at the Ming army camp.

The night was deep and the wind was howling.

Inside the central command tent, however, the lights were on full display.

General Feng Sheng paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, his armor clanking as he did so.

-

The other generals all sat upright, waiting silently for something.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of rustling footsteps suddenly came from outside the tent.

As everyone looked in the direction of the sound, the soldier's loud voice came through.

"Report! General Nailawu and his men have returned from the enemy camp and are requesting an audience outside the tent!!"