Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 606: The Underworld: A Small Achievement by Zhu Gaoxu

"This time, we have to get it back sooner or later!"

"Old Four, who told you to talk nonsense? Don't you know how to be patient?"

"Dad, I didn't expect that I could just do it there..."

A ray of brilliant light descended, and the three members of the Zhu family, who had appeared so dignified when they set out, now returned to the land of the Ming Dynasty in a very embarrassed manner.

Zhu Di and Zhu Yuanzhang at least knew to protect their faces, but Zhu Yunwen was not so good, his face was as swollen as a pig's head.

"Dad, wait until Gao Xu comes down, then we'll take care of them!"

Zhu Di spoke fiercely, but was kicked hard by Zhu Yuanzhang the next second: "Tiantian Gao Xu came down, you are cursing him!"

"I...I just miss him..."

Zhu Di looked as aggrieved as a son. Zhu Yunwen, who was standing next to him, wanted to laugh at him, but he ended up pulling the wound on his face and grimaced in pain.

"Go back quietly and don't let Lan Yu and his gang see us."

Zhu Yuanzhang patted the footprints on his body and felt very aggrieved.

The three of them, grandfather and grandson, were considered to be quite powerful, but Temujin's family was too large, with dozens of people rushing forward. Even Liu Ji'nu from the Liu family had to take a few punches, not to mention their Zhu family.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di and Zhu Yunwen quietly returned to the Daming Palace. Zhu Biao, who had been waiting for them, saw their appearance and knew that they had probably suffered a loss. He couldn't help but feel lucky that he was not the emperor.

"Dad, I've boiled the hot water for you, and prepared your clothes."

Zhu Biao stepped forward to support Zhu Yuanzhang, who gritted his teeth and said, "When Gao Xu comes, we must get our place back."

"But Gao Xu seems to be only in his fifties now?" Zhu Yunwen asked at an inappropriate time. Zhu Yuanzhang's face twitched when he heard it.

"If you don't speak, no one will treat you as mute!"

"Oh……"

Zhu Biao glared at Zhu Yunwen. Seeing his cowardly look, he wanted to beat him up again.

In this world, every piece of land will have crops discovered or introduced during the reign of that dynasty or emperor.

Just like the Qin Dynasty had traditional grains, the Han Dynasty had various fruits and vegetables introduced by Zhang Qian, and the Ming Dynasty had even more products.

After Zhu Di came to power, many crops that had been bred and improved by the Ming Dynasty appeared in the wild. As the masters of this land, all they had to do was to reclaim the wasteland and grow these crops into harvestable crops.

The small world given to the emperors by the underworld also has spring, summer, autumn and winter, but the land is extremely fertile.

Even normal grains can produce a stable output of 300 kilograms per year, and crops such as sweet potatoes and tomatoes introduced by the Ming Dynasty have an output of more than 1,000 kilograms per mu, and other crops are basically 400 to 500 kilograms.

Of course, they can choose not to farm. After all, they will not starve to death if they don’t eat. But in order to satisfy their appetite, they still have to farm.

Queen Ma, along with Zhu Gang and more than a dozen other children, opened up more than 20 acres of land. In addition to growing grains and vegetables, they also planted mulberry trees, raised silkworms, or grew cotton.

It has to be said that although the men of the Zhu family had no chance to work when they were alive, they were really good at working after they died.

Especially after Zhu Di came to power and brought with him more than a dozen brothers and sisters including Zhu Su, the Zhu family had more and more arable land.

A few years passed in a flash, and most of the 4,800-li circumference of the Ming Dynasty's land had been surveyed by Zhu Yuanzhang and his four generations of grandfather and grandson.

Eleven cities and more than 600 towns arrived with Zhu Di.

It’s a pity that this area is so large, but the population is only more than 8,000 people.

As ten years were about to pass and the emperor's gathering was about to begin, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di and Zhu Yunwen all secretly prepared themselves to be beaten up.

"Buzz rumbling..."

As the brilliant light appeared, they flew up into the air as expected.

"Mom, come out and see, Dad and the others have flown away again!"

After Zhu Biao finished speaking, he realized that the appearance of Hua Guang seemed to have caused an earthquake. Doesn't that mean...

"Zhu Yuanzhang! I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang and his men arrived, they heard the excited voices of Temujin's family ahead.

"Damn it, no slapping in the face this time!"

"I'll hit you in the face!"

"Grandfather, why don't we stop fighting..."

Temujin clenched his fist excitedly, but saw a man standing up guiltily to stop him.

When Zhu Di looked around, it turned out to be Borakhan, the Great Khan of the Golden Horde.
"Are you Bola?" Zhu Di asked tentatively. Bola was about to nod when he was pushed away by Batu: "Don't worry about your life after death. Beat you first!"

"Golden Family men, be alert and don't lose face!"

"Go on!"

"Not good, Lao Si, Yun Wen, run!"

Seeing that Temujin's family was about to come up for another fight, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately grabbed Zhu Di and Zhu Yunwen and prepared to run away. At this time, emperors of other dynasties also began to pay attention to this side.

Before they could come over to watch the show, a brilliant light suddenly flashed in the sky, and then a brilliant light suddenly appeared.

A tall figure gradually emerged in the brilliant light.

"Huh? This look... No, why did you get down, second brother?!"

Zhu Di originally wanted to run away, but when he saw the familiar figure appearing in the bright light, he realized it was his second son.

"Ok?"

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes gradually became clearer. His age remained in his early thirties, which was the peak of his physical fitness.

"Dad, Grandpa... Big Brother?"

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the three men in astonishment, and when faced with the appearance of Zhu Gaoxu, Bola trembled with fear.

"Why are you shivering?!"

Batu grabbed his collar, and Bola stammered, "He...he is Bogda Chechen Khan..."

"Bullshit! There will never be a Han Chinese Khan in Mongolia!"

Batu, Jochi, and Kublai all spoke up, but Temujin looked alert: "Are you a descendant of the Zhu family?"

"Well, the third... fourth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Gaoxu. Which one are you?"

Zhu Gaoxu casually glanced at the entire Golden Family. Except for a few who were relatively tall, about 1.8 meters tall, the rest were basically around 1.7 meters tall.

"I am Genghis Khan!" Temujin narrowed his eyes, and Zhu Gaoxu stroked his mustache:

"I've heard of it. Are you planning to take care of my family?"

"If there is a grievance, it should be avenged; if there is a vengeance, it should be avenged. This is what you Han people say."

Temujin waved his hand as he spoke.

Without saying a word, the whole family surrounded Zhu Yuanzhang and the other three.

"Boy, don't show off. If the situation gets bad, run!"

"Second brother, protect me!"

"Gao Xu, you stay behind, I'll take Grandpa and Fourth Uncle away."

"What are you talking about?"

Listening to what Old Zhu and the others said behind him, Zhu Gaoxu looked at them in surprise. Although he didn't know where this place was, it seemed that these three people had become less smart as they got younger.

"Do you still need to run when I'm here?"

The moment Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth, Kublai Khan and others rushed forward.

"come!!"

Having not fought for decades, Zhu Gaoxu now felt that his fists were particularly powerful.

With just one punch, Emperor Shun of Yuan was knocked to the ground.

Zhu Yuanzhang and his two companions originally wanted to have a back-to-back fight with Zhu Gaoxu, but Zhu Gaoxu just rushed out.

As he fought left and right among the crowd, there was almost no one who could stop him.

As he swung his fist, the Ming territory in the air began to shake and expand.

Five thousand li... five thousand five hundred li... six thousand li... six thousand five hundred li... seven thousand li...

As the territory of the Ming Dynasty continued to expand, Zhu Biao, who was still wondering about the cause of the vibration, suddenly saw rays of light appearing.

The scale of Huaguang this time is even larger than when his father and the fourth brother appeared.

The sixty-four ministers of Yantai of Emperor Wu of Ming Dynasty, Meng Zhang, Yang Zhan, Wang Xuan, Chen Chang, Chen Mao, Xu Sheng, Cui Jun, Zheng Jun, Jiang Gui...

In addition to them, a large number of sons of hereditary titles and civil officials with posthumous titles also came with their relatives.

Their appearance instantly made the empty streets of Nanjing city bustling with traffic.

In addition, a huge palace complex began to push aside houses and streets on the central axis of Nanjing City, revealing the appearance of a palace complex that a dynasty should have.

The Forbidden City in Beijing stands on the central axis of Nanjing City and is more than ten times larger than the nearby Wu Mansion and Daming Palace.

In addition, eunuchs such as Zheng He, Wang Yan, and Hou Xian appeared one after another, and they were followed by many capable eunuchs.

"Seven thousand six hundred miles..."

On the island, this number appeared in the minds of all the emperors, and then their attention was attracted by Zhu Gaoxu himself.

The original group fight turned into Zhu Gaoxu's personal show of a fierce tiger descending from the mountain. Wherever he passed, people fell down.

"Come forward together, don't fight alone!" Temujin commanded calmly. Under his command, seven or eight people rushed forward together.

Two people held Zhu Gaoxu's legs, two people held his hands, one person jumped on his back and strangled his neck, and the remaining few people punched and kicked him crazily.

However, this advantage did not last long. Zhu Gaoxu grabbed Yuan Ningzong and pressed him hard on Subutai who was not far away.

The remaining few people were also dealt with by him in the same way.

"This man is brave and far more courageous than me and Yuchi Jingde..."

Even Li Shimin, who loved to show off his power, had to admit defeat.

But fighting is fighting, and being an emperor is being an emperor.

Li Shimin was very curious as to why Zhu Gaoxu could manage such a difficult task as continuing to expand while ruling a territory of 4,800 miles.

You have to know that even his Tang Dynasty had already reached the limit of its rule at that time, and the only Mongolia, which was mainly nomadic and adopted a feudal system, could surpass his Tang Dynasty in later generations.

When Zhu Di came before, he was only busy watching the fights and the fun. But now that Zhu Gaoxu is here, he can ask some questions.

Li Shimin was still thinking, stroking his beard, but Zhu Gaoxu knocked down more than ten people like a monster, which even frightened Temujin.

Judging from his body shape alone, he knew from the beginning that Zhu Gaoxu was not a good person, but he did not expect Zhu Gaoxu to be so perverted.

After knocking down more than ten people in a row, he was only slightly out of breath. This kind of physical strength is really terrifying.

"Temujin, I've told you, once my son comes, you and your grandchildren will be nothing but chickens and dogs!"

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu showing his bravery, Zhu Di immediately walked out from behind him, with his hands on his hips, looking arrogant.

"Don't be too proud too soon. I want to see how many of my descendants your son can deal with!"

Temujin had a sinister expression. Without him saying a word, more than 30 emperors and khans of the Golden Family who were still able to stand stood up one after another.

"Don't talk too much!" Zhu Yuanzhang scolded Zhu Di, and then looked at Zhu Gaoxu: "How is it, is it okay?"

"It's just a small test..." Zhu Gaoxu panted slightly, took a deep breath, and prepared to continue.

Seeing that they were about to fight, a forty-year-old man holding grass, a thirty-year-old young man, and Liu Che walked to the center of the battlefield.

"Hey, hey, hey, everyone's dead anyway, there's no point in fighting like this, in my opinion, this is enough."

The forty-year-old man holding a grass in his mouth said cheerfully, and Liu Che next to him said directly: "If you fight again, you will fight with my Liu family."

"My Liu family doesn't have much else, but we have enough emperors!"

The thirty-year-old man holding a grass in his mouth also said, "That's enough. The emperor's gathering is not for fighting."

As soon as the three of them opened their mouths, more than twenty emperors with the surname Liu stood up, some of whom were only seven or eight years old.

"Keep fighting, my Zhao family can also get involved!"

Zhao Kuangyin's eyes widened, obviously upset about the Mongols using the skulls of his descendants as cups.

"So be it!"

Li Shimin also spoke on behalf of the Li emperor and ended this farce between the Ming and Mongolia.

Temujin looked at Zhu Gaoxu in front of him, then looked at the emperors around him, and then he gave up reluctantly.

Watching them disperse, Zhu Gaoxu casually brushed the dust off himself, while the Khans and Emperor Yuan who had been knocked down by him complained bitterly. The gap between the two sides was obvious.

"Second brother, why did you come down?"

After the siege was lifted, Zhu Di finally reacted and asked anxiously.

Zhu Gaoxu was nonchalant about this: "When the time comes, I will come down. Living to 65 is almost enough."

"I thought you could live to be seventy or eighty..."

Zhu Di sighed, then reacted and asked, "Are Zhanhe and Yue'er okay?"

"According to the will and the money and food I left behind, it's enough for them to squander their wealth for decades, as long as they don't squander it the way Emperor Yang of Sui did."

As soon as Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth, Yang Jian in the crowd felt many eyes on him and could not help but turn around and glare at the handsome Yang Guang.

Yang Guang did not dare to refute. After all, their Yang family was a small family, and Zhu Gaoxu was so brave that ordinary people did not dare to provoke them.

"That's good... That's good..."

Zhu Di smiled cheerfully and asked, "Have you made the tanks and ironclad ships?"

"No, it will probably take several decades." Zhu Gaoxu stroked his moustache and spoke. Zhu Di looked at Temujin's family with a sly smile:
"That's great. I guess in a few decades, there won't be any Golden Family anymore..."

"Speak less!" Zhu Yuanzhang kicked Zhu Di on the butt.

"Dad, Gao Xu is here, what are we afraid of..."

Rubbing his butt, Zhu Di spoke with grievance, but was met with another kick from Zhu Yuanzhang.

After this kick, he finally behaved himself. Zhu Yuanzhang also asked, "Gao Xu, tell me about the Jingnan Campaign."

"Jingnan?" Zhu Gaoxu subconsciously looked at Zhu Di when he heard this. He knew that Zhu Di must have said something to Zhuge Liang, but he was not sure what Zhu Di said.

"Uh... ahem! Come on, tell me about how I ordered you to take over Liaodong, Daning, and Shandong, and how you disobeyed my orders and surrounded Nanjing. You don't have to save face for me, you have to tell me everything with solid evidence!"

As Zhu Di spoke, he signaled with his eyes. After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu was speechless.

It turned out that all his actions were directed by the old man, except for forcing Zhu Yunwen to death, which was considered his own doing.

Old man, you really know how to take credit...

The corners of Zhu Gaoxu's mouth twitched, while Zhu Di kept signaling with his eyes from behind Zhu Yuanzhang.

Never mind, he is my father after all...

"Well, what my father said is pretty much right."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded in response to Zhu Yuanzhang, who immediately asked, "Tell me what territories you have opened up?"

"We didn't expand too much territory, we just relocated people and strengthened control over overseas areas such as Dongzhou, Beizhou and Nanzhou."

"It's better not to mention my small contribution."

Zhu Gaoxu answered lightly and spread his hands, as if he really did nothing.

If it weren't for the 7,600-mile territory that the underworld reminded them of, perhaps they would really think that Zhu Gaoxu had done nothing.

From 4,800 to 7,600, the 2,800 miles in between are larger than the combined total of the Han and Tang dynasties. Is this called "a tiny achievement"?
"In fact, my grandson will not become an emperor. It's just that my elder brother is too bullying and sent a few minor officials to bully me. That's why I had no choice but to raise an army."

"If you treat me well, I will follow your instructions and serve the Ming Dynasty well."

"I don't have the ability to be an emperor, what can the world do to me..."

As soon as Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth, Zhu Di and Zhu Yunwen both widened their eyes at his words.

Zhu Gaoxu, a man who had been planning a rebellion before Zhu Yuanzhang died, now said that he didn't want to be emperor?
"That's true, but you seem to have been preparing for a rebellion while I was alive..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's leisurely words made Zhu Gaoxu subconsciously look at Zhu Di, while Zhu Di looked away guiltily.

"You really dare to say anything to avoid being beaten..."

After complaining, Zhu Gaoxu still coughed:
"Because I know that my elder brother will definitely not follow my 'Theory of Reducing the Power of the vassal states'. If you don't want to be controlled by others, you have to work hard to become stronger."

"Just tell me how your grandson is doing and whether he is doing a good job. If my father had not ignored my advice, the Jingnan Campaign would have been over in half a year at most."

Zhu Gaoxu spoke confidently, and Zhu Di became anxious when he heard it:

"How can you talk like that, second brother? Your grandfather was still alive at the time!"

"You can't rebel while I'm here?" Zhu Yuanzhang glared at Zhu Di:
"Look at how cautious you are. You don't look like an emperor at all. If it weren't for Gao Xu, would you still be able to follow me here?"

"That's right, that's right!" Zhu Yunwen added fuel to the fire.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu also kept aloof, thinking it had nothing to do with him, and only Zhu Di bore the brunt of the fire.

"I think you have finished chatting about your daily life. In that case, can you help us solve some problems?"

Li Shimin stepped forward and spoke. Zhu Gaoxu glanced at him and said, "You are..."

"Li Shimin!"

Li Shimin introduced himself, but compared with Zhu Gaoxu, he suddenly felt guilty for some reason.

Compared with his "Heavenly Khan", Zhu Gaoxu's "Bogdachechen Khan of All Mongolia" is undoubtedly more valuable.

In terms of military strength, achievements, territory, and civil governance...it seems that I am not as good as the boy in front of me.

"So it's Emperor Taizong of Tang. I've heard of you for a long time."

When Zhu Gaoxu heard that it was Li Shimin, his expression became more expressive, and Zhu Di came up to him and said, "So you are Emperor Taizong of Tang. I'm so sorry. I've admired you for a long time!"

"It seems you have heard my story." Li Shimin's vanity was satisfied a little.

"It's more than just hearing about it. I feel like we are close friends!"

Zhu Di beat his chest and stamped his feet, but then added: "But I am better than you in one respect, that is, my son is more capable, and my grandson and great-grandson are also good."

"You..." Li Shimin was originally smiling and ready to accept the flattery, but when he suddenly heard Zhu Di mention the issue of succession, he almost couldn't breathe.
"By the way, where is Wu Zetian? Why don't I see her?"

Zhu Di looked around and Li Shimin immediately turned and left.

"Taizong, why are you leaving? Wait, don't you have something to ask me?"

"Oh, by the way, second brother, what are my temple name and posthumous title? You should know what I want, right?"

"Emperor Taizong Wen..."

"Haha, you still understand me, Old Second. I should be Emperor Taizong Wen, hahahaha..."

(End of this chapter)