Daming Greedy Wolf Star

Chapter 371 Five years, three people

Sometimes, people's actions can always shock others of the same kind.

Just like when the Central Plains was in trouble, some people rose up to resist, and only a few houses were empty; but some people knelt down and were willing to be the lackeys of the enemy.

Facing the huge pressure from the Ming army, some European countries tried to resist, like the Kingdom of Sicily and the Papal States, while others, like the Principality of Athens, knelt and laughed.

But in the history of the Principality of Athens, which does not have a long history, this is not an uncommon thing.

What I say here is not long-standing does not mean that the culture is not long-standing. Greece, or ancient Greek culture, is famous in human history.

The slave state was formed before 800 BC, which was much later than the establishment of the Shang Dynasty in the Central Plains in 600 BC, but it cannot be said that this civilization is not long-standing.

But still the same sentence, the Principality of Athens mentioned here is not Greek civilization.

The Principality of Athens was established in the early thirteenth century. It was a country established on the ruins after the Fourth Crusade. In the early days of its establishment, the Principality of Athens surrendered to the Kingdom of Thessaloniki and the Principality of Achaia.

In the past few decades, the Principality of Athens first surrendered to the Principality of Venice, and later in order to resist the oppression of the Venetians, it surrendered to the Eastern Roman Empire, which Zhu Zhanhe had just destroyed and had the castle as its capital.

Later, because the Eastern Roman Empire could not quench its thirst far away, and it was already in trouble, the Principality of Athens once again began to lick the butt of its old master, the Principality of Venice.

This is so far, but in history, the Principality of Athens has far more than this.

Historically, after the Battle of Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire began to show its fangs, and the Principality of Athens immediately slid and rushed to the front of the Ottoman Empire and began to kneel and lick.

However, this time the master was not like the previous masters that the Principality of Athens had licked. The Ottoman Empire directly killed the younger brother who wanted to kneel down and lick him.

Therefore, after knowing that the Principality of Athens sent people to submit a letter of surrender, Zhu Zhanhe was not surprised, and even thought this was the most normal thing.

"What about things?"

After going through these things in his mind, Zhu Zhanhe stretched out his hand to look at Mu Bin.

"Here it is!" Mu Bin immediately took out a letter. This was the so-called petition for surrender.

"Go aside!" Zhu Zhanhe slapped the letter aside angrily.

"I don't understand. What's the use of giving this to me? It's just a letter of surrender. Even if it's just a few words that break the heavens, do I still need to read such a small thing?"

"Ah?" Mu Bin's eyes widened and his mouth slowly opened, with a clear sense of stupidity on his face.

He didn't know what Zhu Zhanhe wanted except for the petition.

"What a benefit!" Zhu Zhanhe patted the table angrily.

"You just came to announce the good news. Do you know the history of the Principality of Athens? Do you know why they chose to submit a letter of surrender at this time?"

"The Principality of Athens has always been the target of bullying by various surrounding countries. To put it harshly but to be honest, one person can basically spit in their faces!"

"In submitting a letter of surrender at this time, besides feeling that our Ming army is too powerful to defeat him, doesn't he just want us to help him regain his position and beat up all the countries that have bullied him?"

"How can there be any good things in this world? They have taken advantage of it, but the coolies let us take care of it?"

"Uh..." Mu Bin scratched his head in embarrassment.

His thoughts are still very simple. In addition, when he was young, he "read a lot of poetry and books", and his thoughts still stayed in the Yongle Dynasty, when those corrupt scholars were the main body of the court.

You have already surrendered and you still want to give me benefits?Mu Bin had never considered this at all.

"Remember! Zhu Zhanhe knocked on the table angrily, making Mu Bin's eyes focus.

"It's a good thing that you study literature when you are young, and learn martial arts from your father when you grow up, but you have to strike a balance."

"The purpose of studying literature is to reason with people, and the purpose of studying martial arts is to make others listen to your reasoning quietly, instead of acting like a rogue when you are being reasonable, and being reasonable when you are being rogue."

"We have conquered King's Castle and have a very close bridgehead. The subsequent advancement is the easiest and logical thing for us."

"Even if the Principality of Athens doesn't surrender, we will fight over it. Their wealth will be ours by then. Now they want to protect themselves by surrendering. How can it be possible without paying a price?"

"Yes!" Mu Bin came to his senses and stood up straight.

However, the confusion on his face still did not disappear.

"Then...Your Highness, what kind of benefits do they have to offer, and how much will we have to offer before we accept their attachment?"

"Go, go, go!" Zhu Zhanhe grabbed the letter requesting surrender from the Principality of Athens and threw it away.

"Go back and study hard with your father before coming back! Do you really think this is a private school?"

"What a waste of acceptance! What is destined to belong to us, and now we have to give it up just because of the slightest benefit? How can there be such a wasteful thing in the world!?"

The envelope was so light and weak that it landed softly on the ground before it even flew out of the table. Zhu Zhanhe felt annoyed, so he grabbed the teacup on the side and threw it away.

Mu Bin ran away with his head in his arms, and ran out in a panic.

"Hmph! What a prodigal!" Zhu Zhanhe was still a little uneasy, and he was still a little angry that Mu Bin had left.

"What the hell, is the Mu family going to be in the hands of such a person in the future? This bastard won't ruin the entire Mu family's fortune, right?"

……

Just when opinions on the European side could not be unified, some people wanted to gain some benefits from Zhu Zhanhe, some wanted to surrender, and some wanted to resist, this was not the case in the Central Plains.

The matter of abolishing the latter was finally passed.

Zhu Qizhen, who was originally the eldest son of Emperor Xuande, also completed the transformation from the eldest son of a concubine to the eldest son with the title of his mother Sun Ruowei from concubine to queen.

However, much more needs to be changed than that.

Again, there is no such thing as a pie-in-the-sky good thing in this world. If there is, it must be something you can't bear. One piece of pie is enough to kill you.

Hall of Mental Cultivation.

This newly built palace, which is less than a year old, is the residence of the Empress Dowager Zhang of the Ming Dynasty. On normal days, almost no one would come here.

But today, a person came here, and he was a person that no one dared to stop.

Zhu Gaoxu sat in front of his sister-in-law. He didn't say a word, but silently pushed a copy of the imperial edict in front of his sister-in-law.

Looking at the imperial decree in front of her, Mrs. Zhang raised her head and closed her eyes slightly, as if trying to stop the tears that were swirling in the corners of her eyes from falling, but in the end she failed.

Although she has not read it, Zhang already knows what is written in this imperial edict.

The emperor has an heir, and he is the eldest son, so naturally... it is time to establish a prince.

but……

As the actual rulers of the Ming Dynasty, why did the King of Wu help Emperor Xuande, from deposing the queen to establishing the crown prince? This was not in the interests of the King of Wu.

Not only is it not the best choice, it can even be said to be the smelliest choice.

However, things still developed like this, at an angle and speed that is beyond ordinary people's imagination.

I don't know how long it took, Mrs. Zhang slowly lowered her head and stared blankly at the imperial edict in front of her.

Even though she had thought about it a long time ago and knew what was the best choice, she still hesitated when the reality came to her.

The price was too painful, and she... couldn't afford it.

Suddenly, a hand stretched out from behind Zhang, opened a small box in front of Zhang, and revealed the seal that symbolized the supreme power of the world in the air.

Mrs. Zhang turned her head suddenly and stared blankly as her son picked up the seal, slowly unfolded the rolled-up imperial edict, and then...

Cover it heavily!
"Zhanji..." Zhang felt like something was stuck in his throat, his lips were slightly open, and it took him a while to spit out these two words.

"Mother..." A smile appeared on Zhu Zhanji's unshaven face. The face that should have been dull and without much blood suddenly became a little dazzling.

"What is supposed to come will always come..."

"What should be done must always be done..."

"It's the same, you have to bear what you should bear..."

After speaking, Zhu Zhanji took a deep breath and turned to look at Zhu Gaoxu, who was silent.

"Second uncle..."

Just two words made Zhu Gaoxu's shoulders tremble slightly.

"When...will they come..."

"Back to Your Majesty..." Zhu Gaoxu slowly stood up, lowered his head, and bowed.

"If nothing unexpected happens...it will be the beginning of spring next year..."

"After one winter's consumption, coupled with the extremely high prices set by the imperial court for the mutual market this year, the grassland did not receive as many supplies as expected."

"So, the beginning of spring, which in the past represented a time when everything would get better, was also the time when they were most short of food."

"Okay..." Zhu Zhanji took a deep breath and pondered for a long time before starting to give orders again.

This is his first time since Zhu Zhanhe returned to Shuntian.

"Come here..."

"Pass down the order, the whole country prepares for war!"

"The Ministry of Households makes a thorough inventory and prepares food and supplies..."

"The Ministry of War inventories weapons and equipment..."

"Send orders to the border fortresses, the border troops prepare for war, and the three major battalions and the Japanese army prepare to mobilize troops to the border in advance..."

"Also, inform the Ministry of Rites that the Ming Dynasty will launch an army in early February next year for the Northern Expedition!"

Having said this, Zhu Zhanji's tone became much firmer, and he turned his head and looked at his second uncle again.

From this point of view, it has been a long time.

"Send someone to pass the imperial edict, Liu Sheng will command the Shenji Battalion, Chen Mao and Zheng Heng will lead the left and right wing armies and the left and right Ye armies..."

"Three thousand battalions... are commanded by Li Bin..."

"The fifth military camp... is commanded by Xu Heng..."

"Finally... tell the world..."

Zhu Zhanji took a deep breath and closed his eyes slightly. It was extremely brief, but a few words that could shock the world came out of his mouth.

"I...will lead the expedition in person!"

The eunuch Wang Zhen who was summoned fell to his knees with a plop, trembling all over and not daring to say a word.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation fell into dead silence.

……

In this world, nothing is what it should be. If you want to get something, you have to lose it first...

It's just that sometimes, the price you pay is a bit painful, and what you get is often not as good as expected...

Three people, maybe only three years, four years, five years at most...

No one would have thought that the Ming Dynasty in its heyday would actually take such a step...

(End of this chapter)