The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 263 The Unknown Prime Minister
When Zhu Zhen received the news asking him to return to Beijing, he was really overjoyed.

When Zhu Zi was crowned King of Korea, which of the brothers didn't have red eyes with envy?

Being a vassal king within the Ming Dynasty, regardless of the power or power, was regarded as a thorn in the flesh by the civil and military officials.

The first two or three generations of monarchs had emotional ties, and they didn't know how to do anything to them.

What about future generations of monarchs?
The blood relationship has faded, and these vassal kings are enemies.

Just look at the Western Han Dynasty.

Being a king outside the Ming Dynasty is the real king.

He thought he would never have such a chance, but he didn't expect the pie to suddenly fall on his head.

You can imagine how happy I am.

If he hadn't still retained some sense, he would have rushed back to Yingtian immediately.

After that, he never made any further stops and rushed to the destination day and night.

There, I alone have the final say. I am God.

When Zhu Zhen asked about the imperial court's Nanyang strategy, he spoke about the new vassal system.

Finally, he said that the war was at a critical juncture and it was taboo to change generals on the spot. He would wait until the war was over before returning.

The best choice is to fight this battle honestly and then return to Beijing.

This kind of treatment was not something you could enjoy when you were a vassal king.

"Chu was the first vassal state with the same surname that the Ming Dynasty entrusted in Nanyang, and it was the key to the success or failure of the Ming Dynasty's Nanyang strategy."

Two months later, the judge Alutu was captured alive, which brought the trip to a successful conclusion.

Then he told him to cooperate with the imperial court in planning Southeast Asia.

Then he went into battle again.

I gave him a lot of encouragement.

"Don't talk to the prince about this matter. Even if His Majesty knows, he may not know it clearly. You should ask Chen Bandu."

This made Zhu Zhen look forward to the identity of the princes and kings even more.

Zhu Zhen remained polite to everyone, but agreed to nothing.

As for what the court wanted to do and how he needed to cooperate, he didn't say a word.

The first thing Zhu Zhen did when he returned to Beijing was naturally to pay a visit to his emperor, Lao Tzu.

Zhu Yuanzhang was quite satisfied with his son's performance, especially his stability at the last moment, which made him extremely gratified.

He knew very well that whatever he did at this time was wrong.

But making suggestions behind the scenes is completely different from taking care of things alone.

He did not return to Beijing immediately, but first wrote a long memorial expressing his gratitude for the gift.

Zhu Biao was naturally relieved to this younger brother.

The civil and military officials who had always kept a distance from him because of his status as vassal king also changed their normal behavior and took the initiative to get close to him.

But at this time when a person's character and ability were tested, Zhu Zhen withstood the temptation.

Concubine Hu Chong said: "Who else could be there besides him?"

Zhu Zhen said doubtfully: "Chen Bandu? Chen Jingke?"

He naturally knew who Chen Bandu was, but he just couldn't understand why he would ask a companion about such an important matter.
Naturally, he knew Chen Jingke's deeds, even more clearly than the average person.

For the return of King Chu, the powerful officials in Yingtian treated him very highly, and many people went out of the city to welcome him.

The emperor and the prince were so relieved that they handed over the new vassal system and Nanyang to a young boy?

Those who didn't come also sent a congratulatory gift afterwards.

Zhu Zhen naturally knew what to do.

"I hope you can cooperate with the court and complete this plan."

But he only talked about the court's plan, but did not say how to cooperate.

Naturally, the news that he was officially canonized as a prince could not be hidden from anyone. Soon everyone knew about it and congratulated him one after another.

And because he was granted the title of king of vassals, the morale of the Chu king's guards was also high and they fought more bravely.

Zhu Zhen asked in surprise: "Your Majesty and His Highness are so relieved?"

No matter how barren and barren Luzon is, they are also real princes and kings.

Then the current situation in Yunnan is analyzed.

Zhu Zhen was very confused, what happened? Did you not think it through clearly, or did you let me figure it out myself?
It was not until he went to pay homage to his mother that he got the answer from Concubine Hu Chong.

Many people even said that they would send their children to work under the King of Chu. I hope you will not refuse.

I will no longer suffer from this birdiness in the Ming Dynasty.

After that, he did not go to visit his mother, but first went to see Prince Zhu Biao.

Concubine Hu Chong lowered her voice and said, "What do you think? All the changes in the Ming Dynasty in recent years were caused by him."

"In the past two years, His Majesty and His Highness have asked his opinion on almost everything... Now he is the unknown prime minister of the Ming Dynasty."

"You'd better maintain a good relationship with him. It will be much easier to do things in the future."

Although Zhu Zhen found it unbelievable, it was not unacceptable. After thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was reasonable.

As the prince of the Ming Dynasty, he knew more information than the foreign ministers.

He knew very well what Chen Jingke had done.

If he had such a person under his command, he would definitely reuse him.

As for age...it's nothing compared to ability.

But another question came, how to meet Chen Jingke.

Private visit? Do not make jokes.

In terms of status, Chen Jingke was just a grandson's companion. He was a prince and king who was serious about the Eight Classics.

In terms of kinship, Chen Jingke is also his brother-in-law.

No matter where he looked, it was inappropriate for him to visit Chen Jingke.

Let Chen Jingke come to see you?

Forget it, it’s better not to stimulate yourself.

At this time, it was Concubine Hu Chong who solved the problem for her son.

"Can't you find a time when he and his great-grandson are together to visit your great-grandson?"

Such an opportunity is so easy to find. Chen Jingke and Zhu Xiongying are like conjoined twins, and they are basically together as long as they go to work.

So the next morning, Zhu Zhen met Chen Jingke.

Zhu Xiongying still respected this sixth uncle, and he praised him when they met, and said that if he needed help in the construction of Chu State, just ask.

Zhu Zhen took the opportunity to express his problem and how to cooperate with the court.

There was no need for Chen Jingke to answer, Zhu Xiongying gave the answer himself:

"Cars share the same track, books share the same text, and weights and measures are unified... Uncle Liu must shoulder this responsibility and promote the Ming Dynasty's standards throughout Southeast Asia."

Zhu Zhen nodded to express his understanding. The purpose of this thing was too simple, and he naturally knew it.

"anything else?"

Zhu Xiongying said: "Yes, we will cooperate with Temasek's work, supervise Temasek's every move, and report to the court regularly."

Chen Jingke emphasized: "Every move, no matter how big or small, must be reported."

Monitoring Temasek was Zhu Yuanzhang’s idea, and it was also Chen Jingke’s own idea.

The new vassal system and imperial plan were unprecedented for the Ming Dynasty and this era.

No one knows exactly how to implement it.

It is even more unpredictable what kind of problems may arise during the implementation process. Chen Jingke also crossed the river by feeling the stones, taking one step at a time.

In order to prevent Temasek from causing trouble, it must be regulated.

The Jin Yiwei and the Supervisory Envoy are the supervisory agencies on the surface.

But this is far from enough. These two groups are likely to collude with Temasek forces to deceive the superiors and conceal the truth from the inferiors.

And in a place where the sky is high and the emperor is far away, Temasek's power is really in trouble.

It is difficult for just a few people, the Jinyi Guards and the Supervisory Envoy, to achieve much.

Zhu Zhen is different. The Chu State is located in Nanyang itself, close to Temasek.

He still has an army in his hands and can send troops directly.

The key is that he is the prince of Ming Dynasty and has the same interests as Ming Dynasty, so he is not afraid of his rebellion.

It can be said that he is the last link to ensure that Temasek does not lose control.

Zhu Zhen was not stupid. He immediately knew that Temasek was the core of the imperial court's strategy in Southeast Asia.

He understood why he was supervising, because he was afraid that something might happen to Emperor Tiangao there.

The imperial court still believed in him as a prince, so they let him monitor him.

But this coordination is too general.

What does the court want to do in Temasek, and how can he cooperate? To what extent do you cooperate?
Fortunately, Chen Jingke then introduced the detailed situation and finally concluded:
"Temasek has two roles. One is to guard the Malacca Strait; the other is to promote and manage treasure money in Southeast Asia."

"The purpose of doing business is to better promote Baobao..."

Zhu Zhen asked a question that many people had asked in confusion: "You can directly order each vassal state to use treasure banknotes, why go to such trouble?"

Zhu Xiongying asked back: "How to let the treasure money flow into the vassal country? Will the Ming Dynasty reward it directly? Or force the treasure money to buy goods from the vassal country?"

Zhu Zhen subconsciously wanted to say, how could a vassal state regret the forced purchase?
When the words came to his lips, he realized that he was the one who was forcefully bought, and he immediately swallowed the words back.

"Great Sun Yingming, our Ming Dynasty is the country of the suzerain, and we should set an example for the world. How can we buy, sell and plunder goods from vassal countries by force?"

Zhu Xiongying almost laughed out loud, his face changed so quickly.

"So, everyone can accept the flow of treasure money into vassal countries through normal trade."

"The Ming Dynasty will buy some goods from the vassal countries and also sell goods to them."

"In this way, we can not only realize the exchange of materials to supplement each other's needs, but also allow the currency to circulate."

"Temasek is a commercial city built by the Ming Dynasty, aiming to promote and manage normal trade between vassal states, thereby realizing the circulation of treasure banknotes."

Zhu Zhen said sincerely: "Taishun Yingming, I will definitely cooperate with Temasek's work and monitor them at the same time."

Then Chen Jingke told him some of Temasek's rules and regulations, which gave him an idea.

After listening, Zhu Zhen was shocked again.

He originally thought that the city of commerce was just a metaphor, but he didn't expect that it would actually be built around commerce.

Therefore, all rules and regulations have only one purpose, to create a good business order.

This was completely beyond his knowledge, which led to doubts:
"This... raises the status of merchants to such a high level, which is too shocking."

Chen Jingke said solemnly: "The Ming Dynasty is also facing major changes that have not been seen in thousands of years. We must dare to break out of the stereotypes of our predecessors and find a path that suits us."

"Otherwise, how can I, the Ming Dynasty, rule this vast territory?"

Zhu Zhen said: "The new vassal system is very good, why do we need to do more?"

Chen Jingke said: "Then, repeat the mistakes of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties?"

Zhu Zhen naturally understood what it meant. If it were restricted by a simple sect-vassal relationship, sooner or later it would evolve into the situation of Shang and Zhou Dynasty.

The vassal kings grew bigger and eventually replaced the suzerain state.

If he were still an ordinary vassal king, he would definitely say: If you can have a kingdom of Zuo for seven or eight hundred years, what else can you be dissatisfied with?

But now that he is a vassal king, it is inappropriate to say this.

But his face was still full of incomprehension.

Is it possible to maintain the relationship between clan and vassal by using merchant methods?

Paying attention to merchants is a recipe for disaster.

Chen Jingke also knew what he was thinking, but he really couldn't explain the reason to him.

You can't tell him the empire's plan, right?

Moreover, with the education he received, he could not understand the imperial plan.

Even if I understand it, I still cannot accept using business as a link to realize this plan.

Just as Lao Zhu couldn't understand it, Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying could understand it, so he still agreed.

If the situation cannot be explained, just don’t explain it. Chen Jingke used the simplest way to answer him:

"That's why you, the prince of Ming Dynasty, need to keep an eye on Temasek."

"Once things get out of control here, Ming Dynasty can completely bulldoze this place and start all over again."

“This is why Temasek was chosen as the city of commerce.”

"Being far away from the mainland of Ming Dynasty, any problems that arise will not affect Ming Dynasty."

"As long as there are no problems in Ming Dynasty, everything can be done again."

Zhu Zhen then reluctantly accepted this statement: "It's okay to give it a try. If it works, that would be great. If it doesn't work..."

He is ready to destroy Temasek at any time.

As the prince of the Ming Dynasty, he could not sit back and watch anything threaten the Ming Dynasty.

Afterwards, Chen Jingke told him which areas required his cooperation and which areas he would focus on monitoring.

Most of the day has passed since the whole conversation.

Zhu Zhen had a general understanding of his mission.

In the next few days, he approached Chen Jingke several times and asked about things he didn't understand clearly.

Sometimes I say some of my own thoughts.

Through the conversation, he also had a general idea about how to build a Chu State.

Afterwards, he went to meet with Fu An and others. On the surface, everyone was naturally very polite.

At first, Fu An and others were worried about whether King Chu would not treat them well and would cause trouble for them at work in the future.

After some conversation, we found that although Zhu Zhen was not modest, he was still polite to them and said that he would cooperate with Temasek in the future.

This made several people feel relieved a little.

Soon the 20th year of Hongwu was over, and the Ming Dynasty ushered in the 21st year of Hongwu.

For Daming, this year can be said to be a fruitful year.

Everyone in the court was very happy, and the New Year was naturally happy as well.

Each vassal state also sent envoys to pay homage to the emperor.

It was much worse than the Wan Guo Dynasty in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. At least there were no visitors from the grasslands and the Western Regions.

However, representatives from the Nanyang countries, Liaodong forces, and Xikang also came from three tribes, making a total of nearly twenty countries and forces.

The scale is no longer small.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was not famous, he was also very happy.

When I was happy, I gave the ministers a rare long vacation.

Things that were normal in other dynasties made all civil and military officials burst into tears of gratitude.

But apart from the joy, there is also a little dissonance.

This disharmony comes from matters within Chen Jingke's family.

Specifically, Fuqing was not pregnant.

(End of this chapter)