The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 319 Tianzhu Strategy
The two brothers respectively told their own experiences, starting from the preparations after receiving Zhu Yuanzhang's letter, until the final plan was completed.

It was very detailed, even all kinds of plans were told.

From time to time, Lao Zhu would comment on what was done well and what needed improvement.

Zhu Biao, Zhu Xiongying and Chen Jingke could only listen.

Especially Zhu Xiongying and Chen Jingke, this was the first time they heard such a detailed military analysis, and they both felt they benefited a lot.

Zhu Xi was not interested at all and sat aside with Queen Ma.

After the two of them finished speaking, Lao Zhu laughed and said: "Haha... Yes, you two did not disappoint us... Tell me what rewards you want."

Zhu Fan said casually: "There is nothing I want... If you insist on giving me a reward, just move more people to Hexi."

Lao Zhu laughed and scolded: "You bastard, why do you mean I have to reward you..."

"Seeing as you have made such a great contribution, we will not be on the same level as you."

"As for how to develop the Hexi side, discuss it with your elder brother. From now on, he will be the master of Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Fan showed a heartfelt smile and said, "That's a good relationship. Big brother is much easier to talk to than dad."

Lao Zhu raised his hand and pretended to hit him. After scaring him for a while, he turned around and asked Zhu Di:

"Fourth, what do you want?"

Zhu Di hesitated and said: "Is this..."

Lao Zhu said angrily: "Is there anything we can't discuss with your father? As long as we don't want to be the emperor, we can discuss everything."

Zhu Di said quickly: "Dad, what are you talking about..."

Zhu Fan joked: "Dad, how can you say this in front of eldest brother and Xiongying? Let's talk in private later."

"Haha..." Everyone laughed.

Zhu Di fidgeted and said, "Third brother, show mercy."

Seeing that Zhu Di was really anxious, Queen Ma smiled and said:

"Okay, okay, don't bully the fourth child. If the fourth child wants anything, just say it."

"Your father and brother are both here. Anyone who can satisfy you will definitely be satisfied."

Zhu Di then said: "Didn't the ocean mission bring back a map? I have my eye on a piece of land..."

Everyone suddenly realized.

Instead of being angry, Lao Zhu said happily: "This is a good thing, what are you looking for?"

Zhu Fan interjected: "Let me guess what the fourth child is interested in."

Everyone was a little confused, what's there to guess? Just say no directly.

Zhu Fan didn't seem to notice everyone's doubts, and said to himself:
"Lao Si is an ambitious person, and the place he is looking for must have a vast territory and huge development potential."

"For the safety of the Ming Dynasty, large vassal states are not allowed to exist in the surrounding areas."

"The fourth child must also understand this truth, so the place he likes must not be close to the Ming Dynasty..."

"The one who meets these requirements...if I guessed correctly, it should be Tianzhu."

"Fourth, is my guess right?"

When analyzing the reasons, he spoke very slowly, and after speaking, he looked at Zhu Di meaningfully.

Everyone here who was not a blind person immediately understood what he meant.

This is to remind Zhu Di not to choose a feudal state near the Ming Dynasty, otherwise everyone will lose face.

There is only one person who is untroubled, and that is Zhu Di.

After hearing the final answer, he gave a thumbs up and said in admiration:
"It's third brother who understands me. It's Tianzhu that I like."

Seeing his "innocent" look, everyone was speechless.

Empress Ma couldn't help stroking her forehead, wondering how she could give birth to such a heartless son.

Although...well...yeah.

But seeing that he really chose Tianzhu, everyone was relieved.

Saved a lot of trouble.

Zhu Di thought everyone admired his vision and said proudly:
"This place is neither far nor close to the Ming Dynasty. It will not threaten the safety of the Ming Dynasty, and we can get support from the Ming Dynasty."

"It's similar to Third Brother's Broken Leaf River."

Everyone nodded, it was indeed true.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked with a suspicious look on his face: "Fourth brother, tell us honestly, who gave you the idea?"

Zhu Di did not hide anything and said, "It's the Daoyan monk you sent to Peiping."

Lao Zhu said with some surprise: "It's him. I didn't expect him to have such talent. It's an advantage for you."

Zhu Di was very proud. This was indeed a talent sent by his own father.

Lao Zhu sent Dao Yan to Peiping, not to spy on Zhu Di.

Because he had been a monk, he had a strong belief in Buddhism.

In order to exhort his sons to be good, an eminent monk was assigned to each son's fief.

As for its function, it’s okay not to mention it.

The one sent to Peking was Dao Yan.

Then Zhu Di hit it off with him and became close comrades-in-arms.

Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously looked at Chen Jingke and asked:

"Jing Ke, what do you think?"

Are you asking for his opinion on such a matter?
Zhu Fan and Zhu Di were both a little surprised, and even Zhu Xi was a little surprised.

They know Chen Jingke's ability and status.

But after all, I rarely stay in the capital, so I don’t know the details clearly.

Only today did they learn that this brother-in-law's status in the royal family was much higher than they imagined.

Chen Jingke was actually quite surprised. He didn't expect Zhu Di to focus on this.

Before Australia and America were discovered...more precisely, before America was discovered.

Suiyechuan and Tianzhu should be the most suitable places for ambitious people to show off their skills.

It was no surprise that Zhu Fan chose Sui Yechuan.

It is indeed surprising that a person like Zhu Di, who only thinks about war and is illiterate, knew to choose Tianzhu.

I have to say that he found a treasure.

A monster like Dao Yan was delivered directly to his hands.

In their previous life, the two of them worked together to overthrow Zhu Yunwen and create a prosperous age of Yongle.

Naturally, there will be no such opportunity in this life, but Dao Yan is Dao Yan, and in this situation, he is still helping Zhu Di plan.

And I fell in love with that Feng Shui treasure land at a glance.

Chen Jingke had been thinking about how to manage Tianzhu before.

The subcontinent is a fertile land with thousands of miles of fertile fields and hot and water conditions that are most suitable for farming.

If we don’t win this place, we will simply lose the title of the strongest vegetable growing nation.

However, although the fighting power of the Tianzhu people is very impressive, after all, they are also a subcontinent with a population of tens of millions.

The Ming Dynasty was an expeditionary expedition, so be careful.

Finally, based on the British colonial experience in India in his previous life, he initially formulated a plan.

It’s just that this plan needs a suitable person to execute it.

No suitable candidate has been found before, but now that Zhu Di has volunteered, the problem has been solved.

Of course, it is not for Zhu Di to go and manage.

He doesn't know how to play dirty, and he can't do such delicate work.

But the great monk Yao Guangxiao is suitable.

This demon monk has a thousand thoughts, and playing with Brother San is just like playing with a child.

Thinking of this, he nodded and said: "King Yan has unique vision, and this place is indeed the best choice for a feudal state."

"And from Tianzhu to the northwest, you can connect to the Western Regions. You can help each other with the feudal states of the King of Jin and jointly manage the Western Regions."

When the two brothers join forces to serve the countries in the far west, it will be a blessing to the countries. Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but nod his head when he recalled the topography of the two places.

Indeed.

Originally, I was a little worried that the third child would be alone and be bullied by all the countries in the far west.

The fourth brother also went over, and the brothers worked together to cut through the metal, and the countries in the far west had nothing but to be beaten.

Zhu Biao naturally would not refuse this proposal. The third and fourth sons were more ambitious than the last.

Placing their feudal state near the Ming Dynasty would benefit no one.

This situation is something that everyone is happy to see.

But then Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said: "Your third brother is going to visit Hexi. If you leave again, who can we rely on to fight Beiyuan?"

Zhu Fan said on behalf of his brother: "Our Ming Dynasty has a large number of soldiers and generals. How can the mere Beiyuan be an opponent? Even without the fourth child, we can still defeat Mobei."

Zhu Di said quickly: "I still want to fight Beiyuan... That's what I think..."

He recounted the strategy he had discussed with Yao Guangxiao.

Now Ming Dynasty needs to recuperate and is temporarily unable to expand externally.

They can develop the navy first and form their own team.

When the Ming Dynasty becomes stronger and has the ability to expand, it will then go to Tianzhu.

"When Gao Chi has learned a lot, let him take Dao Yan to Tianzhu. I will still stay in the Ming Dynasty to wipe out Mobei."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "That's fine... Jing Ke, do you have an idea on how to manage Tianzhu?"

Chen Jingke nodded and said: "Occupy Ceylon Island first and build it into an advance base."

"Then send troops to attack the countries on the Tianzhu continent. Don't wipe them out in one go, but turn their royal families and nobles into puppets."

"This will weaken the resistance of their nobles."

"The next step is to engage in slave trade and use their young men to help us lay the foundation for industry."

"This will reduce their population while increasing our strength."

"At the same time, we must promote Chinese thought locally, and when the time is right, we can completely annex the place."

Another point is related to Tianzhu’s population structure.

The upper castes are foreign Aryans, who are actually ancient Persians, and the lower castes are all locals.

As high-caste Aryans, they have never regarded locals as human beings.

Ming Dynasty could use the help of upper castes to reduce the population of lower castes.

It can save a lot of governance costs and reduce the blood on your hands.

Although it feels a bit deceptive, people always like to comfort themselves.

After explaining the general plan, everyone thought it was very good.

Only Zhu Di found it troublesome. In his opinion, wouldn't it be enough to just send troops to destroy the country?

Why go to all this trouble?

It's just that his opinions were ignored by everyone - even though this was his feudal country.

But he was still very happy, after all, his request was met.

After the matter was discussed, Zhu Biao expressed his position:

"Building a country requires a lot of talents. I thought I could let the third and fourth brothers build a mansion and appoint themselves as subordinates."

"In this way, they can better cultivate talents and build a team to lay the foundation for future nation-building."

Zhu Yuanzhang said happily: "It's good if you can think so... Do you hear me? Don't let your eldest brother down."

Zhu Fan and Zhu Di were naturally very grateful.

Afterwards, everyone discussed the details of the strategy of Tianzhu and Suiyechuan. In addition to military affairs, everyone also discussed cultural and ideological aspects.

Tianzhu has nothing to say, now there is only a caste system left.

It can be broken by force and the Chinese civilization can be forcibly promoted.

The trouble is in the Western Region.

The Western Region is now ruled by the Islamic religion, which greatly increases the difficulty for Zhu Fan to rule here.

Either he abandons his original faith and chooses to establish an Islamic state.

But he was naturally unwilling to do such a thing that betrayed his ancestors.

"So, King Jin has two choices... One is to establish a multi-faith country."

"Respect everyone's beliefs, and then introduce Buddhism and Taoism to compete with them and compete for people's hearts."

Zhu Biao sneered and said: "I choose the second one... Every time the Islamic religion conquers a place, it destroys its writing and inheritance and forces it to convert to the Islamic religion."

"Back then, the Western Region was ruled by Buddhism. They used butcher's knives to change the world in two hundred years."

"I will retaliate with the other party's methods and let them have a taste of my own methods."

Chen Jingke didn't object. It didn't matter what method he used. What was important was to complete his rule.

The first method is relatively easy, but it will leave consequences.

The second method will be difficult at first, but once completed, it will be done once and for all.

At this time, Queen Ma seemed to have thought of something and suddenly asked:
"Jing Ke, you are very dissatisfied with Confucianism. What kind of ideology do you want to have to rule the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Fan, Zhu Di and Zhu Xi looked puzzled. Why did they suddenly ask this question?
Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying showed expectant expressions.

Chen Jingke didn't expect Queen Ma to ask this question suddenly.

However, no matter how you want to transform Confucianism, you need their consent.

And after thinking about it for so long, he did have some ideas, just in time to communicate.

Thinking of this, he said:
"The failure of judicial independence tells us a truth. Thought determines the form."

"That's true of the justice system, and that's true of the country."

"If we want to build a great era, we must have a great idea as our guide."

"Otherwise, it will end up being reduced to the monarch's personal civil and military achievements, and eventually the person will perish and the government will cease to exist."

"The experiences of the Han and Tang dynasties are the best proof."

In the Han and Tang Dynasties, because of the monarch's personal pursuit of civil and military skills, he chose to expand externally and established a vast territory.

However, due to the lack of corresponding ideological guidance, I finally returned to conservatism.

"The current Confucianism is too conservative and cannot meet the needs of the Ming Dynasty."

"So we need to find a new idea that can meet our needs."

Hearing this, Zhu Fan seemed to have some realization.

Zhu Di and Zhu Xi looked confused.

What is judicial independence? What new idea? what are you talking about?

Queen Ma continued to ask: "What do new ideas look like? Do you have an idea?"

Chen Jingke nodded slightly and said, "I already have some ideas."

Zhu Yuanzhang perked up and asked: "What do you think? Tell us quickly."

Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying also pricked up their ears.

Chen Jingke thought about it and said, "New ideas cannot appear out of thin air, otherwise they will conflict with Chinese culture."

"Resolving this kind of conflict requires a lot of energy on our part, and the gain outweighs the loss."

“So, it’s best to innovate on China’s original ideas.”

"Confucianism is the most suitable. It constructs a complete ideological system and is very consistent with the traditional customs of the Chinese people."

"We cannot abandon this advantage."

Zhu Yuanzhang said anxiously: "We all know what you said, let's just tell you how to change it."

Chen Jingke was a little helpless, so he stopped explaining too much and went straight to the point:

"Give Confucianism a more ambitious ultimate goal."

"Then reinterpret Confucianism around this goal."

(End of this chapter)