The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 342 Untitled
In fact, all the ministers had already seen what Zhu Chong was doing.

But Zhu Biao had not issued an edict to restore his title before, so the ministers could not say much.

After all, he is the direct bloodline of Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, and he can't be locked up for life.

It is understandable that Zhu Biao, as the elder brother, was given a little freedom when he ascended the throne.

It shows that he, as an emperor, is kind and considerate of family ties like his brother.

However, the ministers were already prepared. If the emperor wanted to restore Zhu Chong's title, they would write a letter to stop him.

Not only civil servants but also nobles were prepared to do so.

It’s not that they have any selfish motives, but Zhu Chong’s behavior is too inhumane and violates taboos.

Not only did they kill so many innocent people, they also made the emperor sick with anger. The latter must not be tolerated.

If Zhu Chong is pardoned today, what will happen if a royal relative angers the emperor to death in the future?
So when the decree to restore Zhu Biao's title was issued, the ministers who had been prepared wrote letters to advise him.

Etiquette and laws cannot be abolished, and Zhu Chong’s title must never be restored.

They also took out the "Imperial Ming Dynasty Ancestor's Instructions": Even if you are as close as your own flesh and blood and you see each other day and night, you should still be vigilant in your heart.

This is the rule set by the Supreme Emperor. Your Majesty, you must not be confused.

Seeing that his ministers were using "Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions" to block him, Zhu Biao felt very helpless. It was a trap set by his own father.

The key is that my biological father is still alive, and it’s not easy to disobey him.

Chen Jingke was also quite speechless. This was indeed well-founded and difficult to refute.

However, he still agreed with the rule set by Zhu Yuanzhang.

I value family ties very much, but I cannot guarantee that my descendants will be like me.

We must remind future generations to be careful not to let the people around them be bewitched by them.

This is what a qualified politician should do.

If you just teach your children to love each other, then you are really crazy.

But now the problem is embarrassing, what should I do?
Let Zhu Yuanzhang revise "Huang Ming Zu Xun"?
Stop kidding. Do you really think you can just write this casually?

However, if you really think that Zhu Biao is helpless in this regard, then you are underestimating him.

He still did not take the same tough measures as Zhu Yuanzhang, but changed his approach.

Play the emotional card.

After all, Zhu Chong is my brother, I can't treat him unfairly.

So, let's compromise and immediately send him overseas after his title is restored.

Finding a small island in the South Seas and throwing it there is no different from exile.

The ministers are not stupid.

In the past, exiling people to overseas islands would truly be exile.

It’s different now, is that exile?

That's a division.

Moreover, that is the South Seas, the most prosperous section of maritime trade.

It may be poor now, but as long as it is well managed, it will surely prosper in a few years.

Who are you trying to scare here?

Besides, the stability of Nanyang is related to the country's finances. How can we let Zhu Chong, a troublemaker, get away with it?
No, we absolutely cannot restore his title to his former glory. We disagree.

Zhu Biao decided to take a step back and give him the island of Ceylon next to Tianzhu?

Staying away from the Ming mainland, should it be okay this time?

The ministers still opposed it. Ceylon was one of the most important sea supply bases for the voyage to the West. It would not be acceptable to give it to anyone else, let alone Zhu Chong.

It must be in the hands of the court.

Zhu Biao had no choice but to find an island further west.

Is this okay here?

At this point, the ministers' reactions had become:
No, this is also very important.

Even though it is an important fresh water supply area, it is not allowed.

However, the ministers did not notice that the topic had unknowingly changed from whether to restore the title to where to place the fiefdom.

Perhaps everyone noticed it, but they also saw that Zhu Biao was determined and did not want to provoke Zhu Yuanzhang.

Just pretend to be confused and choose to give in.

After all, those islands are tens of thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty, which is really no different from exile.

In the end, Zhu Biao decided to go to Paradise Island (Socotra Island), and his attitude became somewhat tough:
"This place is desolate and far away from the Ming Dynasty. Let's place the King of Qin's fiefdom here."

The ministers finally nodded and said, "Okay, let's leave it here."

As a result, Zhu Chong was restored to the title of King of Qin and his fiefdom was named Paradise Island in the Western Ocean.

In order to appease the ministers, Zhu Biao issued a strict order:
He was ordered to leave within three months without delay.

Even if it was a normal prince's enfeoffment, the time seemed too hasty, let alone a king like Zhu Chong who had been deposed for six or seven years.

The previous forces have been dismembered and there is no longer any team left.

It's a situation where you need money but have no money, and you need people but have no one.

In fact, money is easy to get. Even if Zhu Biao didn't pay, Zhu Yuanzhang and his wife would not watch their son leave empty-handed.

The key is still personnel and materials, these two things take time to prepare.

But three months is far from enough.

Therefore, when the ministers saw this imperial edict, they felt much more comfortable.

No matter what the emperor thought, at least he still took care of his ministers for the sake of face.

However, the changes that followed were completely beyond their understanding.

Li Shanchang's second son Li Fang, Xu Da's second son Xu Yingxu, Fu Youde's second son Fu Zheng, Tang He's second son Tang Fu...

The second sons of more than a dozen founding heroes took the initiative to write letters requesting to join the Qin State as officials.

Not only did they go there themselves, they also took out merchant ships, supplies and other things to show their loyalty.

Not only that, each company also sent a large number of people.

In the blink of an eye, the framework of the Prince Qin's Mansion was set up.

The ministers were dumbfounded. What was going on? Were the nobles crazy?

But everyone was not stupid and they immediately realized that it was the Emperor and the Empress Dowager who took action.

Only the two of them could have such great prestige that could make the nobles take out their coffin books to support the King of Qin.

The ministers could only stare blankly at this.

You can't possibly object to an old couple helping their own son, can you?
In the past, if the nobles supported the King of Qin, it would have been considered a rebellion.

But in this era of great feudalism, it is really normal.

It can be completely explained as not putting all your eggs in one basket, which is a common practice of large families since ancient times.

It can be said that everything is reasonable and legal, and there is no way to object.

With the support of these big families, all the materials needed to establish the feudal state were collected at the fastest speed.

It only took two and a half months for everything to be ready.

The only thing that the ministers couldn’t understand was, were these top nobles so loyal to the retired emperor and the empress dowager?

First, he cut off his own arm to support the court's various reforms.

Now they are providing money and manpower to help the King of Qin establish a feudal state. What are they trying to achieve?
If you want to separate the eggs, then wouldn't it be more reasonable to support the King of Jin and the King of Yan?

Unfortunately, they couldn't guess the real answer no matter how hard they tried.

During a private visit to Xu Da, Chen Jingke said: "I am afraid this difficult problem will puzzle the ministers for a long time."

Xu Da smiled and said, "Not to mention them, even I couldn't believe it when I first heard about this plan."

At this point, he lowered his voice and said, "To be honest, I thought at that time that His Majesty was worried about me and wanted to find a chance to get rid of me."

Chen Jingke did not laugh, but asked: "Are you so afraid of His Majesty?"

Xu Da sighed and said, "There are some things you don't understand... Forget it, it's better not to understand, it's better not to understand."

Chen Jingke thought to himself, how could I not understand? It is written in the history books of my previous life.

Xu Da changed the subject and said, "Your reforms have harmed the interests of everyone. Do you know why no one has ever taken action against you and your family?"

He offended all the vested interests, including the nobles, bureaucrats, the military, gentry, landlords, merchants...

Moreover, the offense was deep-rooted. It was no exaggeration to say that it was an irreconcilable feud.

But for so long, no one has ever assassinated him, not even targeted him.

This is indeed not normal.

Chen Jingke said: "Isn't it because of the emperor?"

Xu Da shook his head and said, "You have offended so many people that even ten emperors can't protect you." "Don't be unconvinced. People die for money and birds die for food. As long as the price is high enough, there are people who will come to kill you."

"And there's no trace of it."

"Even if you have people sent by His Majesty to protect you, what about your parents?"

Chen Jingke thought about it and realized that it was indeed so.

What is most common throughout history, both in China and abroad, is political assassination.

I won’t talk about the ancient ones, but the more famous ones in modern times include the imaginative Melody and the broad-minded Abe San.

In this day and age, it is too easy to buy a life.

He lives a secluded life and has people protecting him, so he is not afraid of being assassinated.

But my parents are different. They are the kind of people who can't sit still and go out for a walk every day.

They go to the streets to provide free medical treatment from time to time. It is very easy to do anything to them.

Why has no one ever done this?
Unable to figure it out, he could only look at Xu Da: "Why?"

Xu Da said: "Because only you can cure the Queen Mother's illness."

Chen Jingke immediately understood what he meant. To put it bluntly, he was still afraid of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Only Empress Ma could persuade Zhu Yuanzhang, and Chen Jingke's saving her was equivalent to saving everyone's amulet.

Empress Ma suffers from a chronic disease. Who knows if it will relapse in the future?
If Chen Jingke is killed, what if Empress Ma's illness relapses?
Therefore, no matter how much you hate him, you cannot touch him.

Not only can he not move, but he must also prevent others from harming him.

After thinking it all through, Chen Jingke couldn't help but feel a little scared.

Fortunately, Empress Ma was saved, otherwise Zhu Yuanzhang would have been killed by the noble group whose interests were damaged without even having to do anything.

Xu Da continued, "Later, it was because the emperor promised to give away a large number of fiefs. Compared with the little benefits that the fiefdoms would suffer from the reform, what did it matter?"

"On the contrary, we should thank you. Without your reform, the Emperor Emeritus would never have been able to implement such a policy given his character."

"So you have become everyone's benefactor again."

"Don't you realize that the nobles who used to be very dissatisfied with you for your civilized military management have become much friendlier to you?"

Chen Jingke thought about it carefully and didn't find anything different.

It's not his fault that he's slow, it's mainly because he has always been a recluse.

In the past one or two years, most of my thoughts have been on building a world of great harmony, and I haven't paid much attention to other things.

Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered something, raised his head and asked:
"In that case, isn't it time to let Boss Xu come back?"

Xu Da was choked for a moment, and after a while he said, "You don't blame him?"

Chen Jingke shook his head and said, "Why blame him? Everyone has a big family behind them and has no right to be willful."

Anyone who disregards the lives of his family and insists on fulfilling his own personal feelings is absolutely crazy.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously looked towards his home. Fang Xiaoru should not be able to hear it.

But Lao Fang did it for justice, not for personal feelings...

Well, no problem.

A happy smile appeared on Xu Da's face.

But Chen Jingke immediately said: "You may not blame him in the past, but the Great Enfeoffment happened so long ago, and he hasn't come back yet..."

"Heh...it seems that Boss Xu doesn't consider me a brother."

Xu Da said quickly: "No, no, Yun Gong is really busy in Liaodong... I will ask His Majesty to transfer him back to Beijing."

Chen Jingke said sarcastically, "How can that be possible? We can't delay Master Xu from serving the country."

"Besides, the whole Liaodong business is counting on him. How can we let him leave just for his own selfish reasons?"

Xu Da's face suddenly darkened: "Speak properly, don't think that only the emperor dares to hit you."

Chen Jingke said, "Don't rush back. Earn more military merits over there, and then go back to work in the Shenji Camp."

Xu Da's mind moved, and he said, "Shenjiying, is there going to be a big move there?"

Chen Jingke nodded slightly: "Not at the moment, but future wars will be dominated by firearms."

Xu Da frowned slightly. Firearms are indeed powerful, but their limitations are equally great.

It doesn't have any particular advantages over cold weapons, so how can it replace them?

However, he never doubted Chen Jingke's words. Although he was puzzled, he immediately said:

"Okay, I know what to do."

Chen Jingke did not continue to talk about firearms. Given the current comprehensive national strength of the Ming Dynasty, the cost of using firearms was too high.

The Ming Dynasty still has an absolute advantage in strength, so there is no need to forcefully develop such low-end flintlock rifles.

We will first set up a Shenjiying to train a group of firearms talents, and then when our comprehensive national strength increases in the future, we will research more advanced guns.

It’s not too late to take one more step.

Afterwards, the two talked about closing the country.

At present, Lao Zhu still does not plan to make this matter public, for fear of causing unnecessary turmoil.

More than a dozen top powerful families sent their family members to the State of Qin, on the one hand to support Zhu Chong, and on the other hand to make it easier for each family to train its own team.

If you, a powerful person, cultivate your team within the Ming Dynasty, you will inevitably be considered as a rebel, and your true identity will be exposed at that time.

If you go to Zhu Chong, you won’t have to worry about this.

Five years later, the Ming Dynasty completed its recuperation and accumulated enough strength.

Large-scale expansion can be carried out without affecting domestic people's livelihood.

By then, these more than ten powerful families can rely on their teams to quickly establish fiefdoms on the newly occupied lands.

It can only be said that although Zhu Yuanzhang retired, he seemed to never interfere with Zhu Biao's governance.

However, the Ming Dynasty was actually still moving forward according to his will.
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As the day of departure drew closer, Zhu Chong stopped running around and stayed in the palace to accompany Old Zhu and Empress Ma.

It will be really difficult for us to meet again from now on.

Besides, he was not planning to bring his wife and children with him this time.

He didn't know what the specific situation was over there, and he didn't want the three of them to take the risk.

It won’t be too late to take the three of them over once things are stable over there.

Old Zhu and Empress Ma also knew that it would be difficult for them to meet again, so they asked the painter to draw many portraits of the family as a souvenir.

No matter how reluctant you are, the day of departure will soon arrive.

Zhu Chong bid farewell to his parents and boarded a ship to an unknown distance.

Seeing that the plague god had been sent away, all the ministers celebrated.

However, they didn't know that it would not be long before Zhu Chong would give them a strong shock.

It only took Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma one day to recover from the sadness of separation.

Then Madam Ma said to Lao Zhu, "The second brother has already set out, now it's your turn."

Old Zhu was a little confused and asked, "What action?"

Madam Ma did not answer directly, but asked: "Why are you so anxious to give up the throne to Biao'er?"

Old Zhu was puzzled, but he still answered honestly: "Firstly, Biaoer is old, and secondly, I don't understand the changes more and more. If I stay in this position..."

Madam Ma interrupted him and said, "You study with Chen Jingke every day, but you still don't understand the new policy. Do you think the ministers outside can understand it?"

Old Zhu was shocked and immediately understood what she meant.

A big reason why he abdicated was that he hindered the implementation of the new policy.

However, those ministers from that time still occupy various important positions in the central government.

In fact, they have become a stumbling block to the new policy.

It's not that their loyalty is in question, but that the old bureaucrats are unable to understand the new ideas.

The current situation of Temasek is the best proof.

In order to stabilize the court, Zhu Biao did not make large-scale moves against the old men, so Zhu Biao had to do the evil himself.

Thinking of this, he said, "I understand...I will order them to change their positions."

Madam Ma shook her head and said, "You are already the emperor, how will others view you if you do this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little confused and asked, "What should we do? Talk to them and ask them to resign on their own?"

Empress Ma was very helpless and said, "Let's just say that we miss the life in Fengyang and Yingtian and want to go there for a visit."

"Isn't it reasonable to select some of the old officials to accompany you?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up and he said happily: "Oh, sister, you are so smart, why didn't I think of it."

"Besides, I promised you that I would take you to visit our beautiful country after I abdicate. This is a perfect way to kill two birds with one stone."

"Okay, okay, let's issue an order and go to Fengyang to stay for a few days."

(End of this chapter)