King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

A moment later, in Prince Lu's study.

When Zhu Tan entered, he saw Duke Xin Tang He sitting on a chair with a slightly frown on his face.

Seeing Zhu Tan coming in, Tang He quickly stood up, bowed slightly and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."

"Why is Old Taishan so polite today?"

Zhu Tan grinned, helped Tang He sit down, and sat in the main seat himself, then asked softly: "What is the matter that you come to see me at this time?"

Seeing Zhu Tan's calm expression, Tang He smiled bitterly and said, "Sometimes I really can't see clearly Your Highness."

"With a great war ahead and the court in turmoil, how come Your Highness is not worried at all?"

"worry about what."

Zhu Tan changed into a comfortable position and said, "It's you who is doing something wrong."

"You are also an old soldier, you have led troops for many years. Now the war has not even started, and you are so worried. I have never seen this before."

"After all, this is the first time to fight across the sea."

Tang He sighed softly and whispered, "Your Highness, before in the palace, you said that the armored warships would lead the way and directly attack the capital of Japan. Is that true?"

Zhu Tan's expression changed slightly when he heard this, and he smiled and asked, "Why do you ask this?"

"The King of Japan is just a decoration."

Tang He frowned and said softly, "We defeated the Japanese pirates a few days ago and captured some prisoners. We asked someone who knows Japanese to ask them about it."

"Although the King of Japan is high above, he cannot command the entire country. All parts of Japan are controlled by the princes. There is no such thing as a shogunate."

"In my opinion, destroying Japan or seizing its king is not the best strategy. After all, that country is not Goryeo, and it has not been unified yet."

"If the war starts, it will probably be protracted."

Tang He's voice was soft, but there was worry in his tone.

He was a veteran who had fought in many battles and knew the principle of knowing both yourself and your enemy. As early as when he was in charge of coastal defense to deal with Japanese pirates, he had a detailed understanding of the enemy.

People are still speaking more restrainedly now. The small country of Japan is actually divided into five parts at this time, with each prince occupying a piece of land and ruling as his own, almost independently.

Even if the capital of Japan was defeated in one fell swoop, the generals under the shogunate would not surrender. They would only think of this as an opportunity and continue to prepare their troops to confront the Ming Dynasty.

If this is true, it will be a long-lasting process.

After hearing what Tang He said, Zhu Tan did not respond. Instead, he picked up a grape on the table and ate it, as if nothing had happened.

Seeing this, Tang He frowned slightly and said, "Your Highness, are you not worried about this?"

"I have previously submitted a memorial to Your Majesty explaining the situation in Japan, but Your Majesty did not mention it today. I am afraid that..."

Zhu Tan looked at the grapes and smiled softly, "The Japanese princes are independent and although they are loyal to the King of Japan on the surface, they actually do not listen to him. Father has known this for a long time, but he just didn't say it clearly."

"Don't worry, Old Taishan. I already know all these things."

"Your Highness understands?"

Tang He was stunned when he heard this. From his perspective, Zhu Tan proposed in the palace to destroy Japan and even said that they should go straight to Huanglong and capture the Japanese capital. That was because he didn't know much about Japan.

The reason why Tang He spoke up to help was that he was afraid that Zhu Tan would be fooled by those civil officials.

But now it seems that Zhu Tan clearly knew it a long time ago, so why did he still do this?
The war against Japan is a trap no matter how you look at it.

"Think about it, Father knew that Japan was torn apart, but he still sent letters to them repeatedly and reprimanded the King of Japan. Why?"

After hearing this, Tang He thought for a moment, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He said, "Your Highness, do you mean that His Majesty did this on purpose?"

"Father has long been unhappy with the small country of Japan."

Zhu Tan said, "Who is father? He rose from humble beginnings but created unprecedented achievements. He created the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty with his mighty power. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the greatest emperor in history, right?"

Tang He nodded.

"What is Japan?"

Zhu Tan said with a smile: "They have repeatedly violated our borders, taking advantage of the natural barrier of the East China Sea to come to our Great Ming to take advantage of us, robbing gold and silver, burning villages, and killing our people. Isn't your father angry?"

"But even if I am angry, the Ming Dynasty has just been established. The Tartars in the north have not been destroyed, the barbarians in the south are dissatisfied, the tribes in the east are eyeing us covetously, and even Goryeo is taking advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to reach out. Father doesn't have the energy to care about these things."

"That's different now."

Zhu Tan looked at Tang He and handed him a bunch of grapes. Tang He didn't take it, but seemed to be thinking about something.

"The northern border was pacified, Yesudiel was executed, Toghon Temur was frightened out of his wits, and the Northern Yuan Dynasty was destroyed."

"Korean is pacified, Liaoning is strong and well-equipped, so there is no need to worry about the barbarians in the northeast."

"The Mu family is guarding the southwest, so there won't be any major incidents."

"Now those Japanese are still coming to attack us again and again. Isn't this courting death?"

Hearing this, Tang He seemed to understand, and immediately raised his head and asked, "Your Majesty has already planned to attack Japan?"

"If Father has no such intention, then it would be useless for me to say anything."

Zhu Tan smiled and said, "And when I gave my advice, I deliberately didn't mention the division of Japan, just to see how Father would react."

"If the emperor mentioned the division of Japan and the separatist factions, it means that he has not made a decision yet. I will say that I am not well-educated and will step down."

"But despite such an obvious mistake, Father pretended not to hear it and directly ordered the troops to be mobilized. Isn't it obvious what he meant?"

Tang He's heart was shaken, and now he understood everything.

At that time in the palace, he was scolded by Zhu Yuanzhang and was anxious. In addition, Zhu Tan suddenly said that he wanted to destroy Japan. In a hurry, he didn't think too much and spoke up directly.

After leaving court, he felt more and more that something was wrong, but he still couldn't figure out the mystery, so he came to Zhu Tan to discuss it.

"The emperor's decree actually has several meanings."

Zhu Tan then spoke softly, "First, we want to see how powerful the ironclad ship I mentioned is."

"The second is to look at the combat effectiveness of our border garrisons."

"Third, I also want to see how ambitious my son is."

As he spoke, Zhu Tan sighed softly, looked at Tang He and said, "It's hard to be a prince."

Hearing this, Tang He's mouth twitched and he couldn't help but look at Zhu Tan without saying anything.

The Ming Dynasty is strong today, but there are two things that are rare in ancient and modern times.

First, Crown Prince Zhu Biao’s position was extremely stable, which was rare in the world.

Since ancient times, the emperor and the prince have been wary of each other and suppressed each other, but Emperor Hongwu was not like that to the prince. Not only did he hand over most of the government affairs to the prince, he also took the initiative to send people to him, for fear that there would be fewer people under his command who would obey his orders.

Second, the favor bestowed upon Prince Zhu Tan is extremely rare in ancient and modern times.

Now the Hongwu Emperor's trust in Zhu Tan has reached a whole new level. Zhu Tan dares to bargain with the emperor. He possesses millions of wealth and his influence is spread throughout the court and the country, but the emperor doesn't care.

Looking at the past and present, is there any prince like this in the world?

It's difficult for a prince like this? Then how can the little princes who are still studying in the palace survive?
Not to mention the younger ones, even among the princes who have been appointed as kings, how many of them live a more comfortable life than Zhu Tan?

Seeing that Tang He didn't say anything, Zhu Tan knew that he was complaining in his heart, but he didn't care too much. He then changed the subject and said.

"Father's imperial decree has been issued, but there is no rush for the war. There are a few things that need to be done first."

Upon hearing this, Tang He immediately focused his thoughts and listened quietly.

"Old Taishan, you should go to Shandong Dusi first to select soldiers and go to sea for training. At the same time, you should also find out the situation of the Japanese pirates overseas."

"Before we go to war, it would be best to wipe out all the Japanese pirates along the coast, shut up those civil officials, and train our troops at the same time."

"Yeah." Tang He nodded. Zhu Tan's idea coincided with his.

After all, Japan is not Goryeo. There is no land border between them. This is the first time for the Ming Dynasty to fight across the sea. We must train carefully and strive for success in one fell swoop.

"I'm going to Peking in a couple of days."

Tang He was stunned and asked, "What are you doing in Beijing?"

"Go find the fourth brother and borrow someone for use."

Zhu Tan smiled lightly, and Tang He was confused.

……

During these days in the capital, Lan Yu was a little depressed, because the great achievement he had just achieved was gone, which made him extremely uncomfortable.

The imperial court is now preparing to send troops to Japan, but His Majesty did not mention his name.

Lan Yu submitted memorials to the emperor requesting to go to war, but they were all rejected, which made him even more depressed.

He could neither see the emperor nor submit memorials to the emperor, so he could only stay in his mansion and drink every day.

Without fighting, there would be no merit, and without merit, there would be no reward. He felt that the title he had was still too low.

Lan Yu had very complicated feelings towards Prince of Lu, Zhu Tan.

On the one hand, he felt that Prince Lu was a man of extraordinary talent and he admired him. On the other hand, he felt that Prince Lu was too popular and that he and other military officials in the court were overshadowed by him.

In addition, the emperor was extremely fond of him, and it seemed that as long as Prince Lu was there, these old generals would have no chance to fight in foreign wars.

Today, Lan Yu held a banquet at home and drank with his old subordinates. During the banquet, his subordinates complained again and again, saying that they were so depressed in the capital that they were about to get worms.

They were so frustrated, and so was Lan Yu.

He had thought that he would be able to fight a good battle and achieve great success by leading his army to Goryeo, but Goryeo was easily conquered by the King of Lu, and he had no place to use all his strength.

He wanted to lead his army directly to the northern border and put down the rebellion there, but the emperor ordered him to return to Beijing, saying that there was no need for the Ming Dynasty to send troops to the north.

Now that the war in the north has ended, only the barbarians in the northeast have yet to be wiped out. Even if Lan Yu were asked to fight in this battle, he would not look down on it at all.

At night, he lay in bed thinking about it, and finally decided to go see King Lu.

He would endure the ridicule from the other side as long as he could go to sea and fight.

Therefore, at dawn the next day, Lan Yu got ready and drove straight to Prince Lu's Palace in a carriage.

But after arriving at Prince Lu's Mansion and seeing the carriage parked in front of the mansion, Lan Yu frowned again.

The carriages of Duke Zheng's Chang family and Duke Cao's Li family were both there. It seemed that there were many people who shared the same idea as him.

Lan Yu got off the carriage in a depressed mood. Since he was already here, he couldn't turn back, so he could only bite the bullet and enter the Prince of Lu's Palace.

I was led to the study by the servant of Prince Lu. Before I even entered the room, I heard loud laughter coming from inside.

"Your Highness Prince Lu has a far-sighted vision, and I admire you."

"It's just a small matter, a small matter, hahaha."

Zhu Tan was chatting with Duke Chang Mao of Zheng and Duke Li Jinglong of Cao, who had just inherited the title. They were talking about previous events and were in a good mood when they heard a report from a servant outside.

"Your Highness, Yongchang Marquis Lan Yu requests to see you."

Upon hearing this, the two people in the room stopped talking and looked at Zhu Tan at the same time.

Zhu Tan smiled gently and said, "Please."

Lan Yu came in quickly and bowed to Zhu Tan, saying, "Your Highness, I am Lan Yu."

"Greetings to Duke Chang and Duke Cao."

"I dare not do so."

Chang Mao and Li Jinglong hurriedly stood up and refused to accept the greeting.

Although their titles were higher than Lan Yu's, they did not dare to be arrogant at all, after all, they were juniors.

Chang Mao was better off in this regard, especially Li Jinglong, who had just inherited the title and hadn't even warmed his position yet, let alone put on airs in front of the older generation of military marquises.

Lan Yu was naturally pleased with the two of them. Zhu Tan said softly, "You don't have to be polite. Please sit down quickly."

"Come here, serve some tea."

Li Jinglong and Chang Mao asked Lan Yu to sit at the top, and the three of them sat down one after another, and heard Zhu Tan laughing again.

"Marquis Yongchang came here to talk about sailing?"

Lan Yu's heart was slightly moved when he heard this. He glanced at the two people beside him and then said, "That's right."

"Your Highness, His Majesty has issued an order that you may deploy the accompanying generals at will."

"Lan Yu is not talented, but I am willing to join the army to fight and destroy Japan."

Zhu Tan's smile remained unchanged as he said softly, "I just told the two dukes about this matter."

"This battle is just a minor one, so there's no need to bother the veteran generals from the national school."

Lan Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately said, "Your Highness Prince Lu, if I join the army, I will obey orders and never..."

"You misunderstood. That's not what I meant, and I certainly don't mean to look down on you."

Zhu Tan interrupted Lan Yu with a smile and said, "This expedition to attack Japan is indeed not a big deal, otherwise why did the emperor only give us 40,000 soldiers?"

"Although Japan has millions of people, they are not useful. The people are poor and weak, and their fighting power is not strong. They just rely on their strength to bully the weak."

"Letting you go is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

"Your Highness..."

"Marquis Yongchang, please listen to me first."

Lan Yu wanted to say something, but Zhu Tan took the lead and said, "Even though the matter of Japan is settled, it does not mean that there will be no more wars in our country."

"The north has not yet been pacified, and the barbarians in the northeast are eyeing us covetously. This is one of the reasons."

"The southern tribes have always refused to obey the Ming Dynasty's discipline, hiding in the mountains and not respecting the law. This is the second reason."

"Outside of the Ming Dynasty, Burma, Siam, Luzon, and Vietnam, although they were all canonized by the emperor, they also have rebellious intentions. On the surface, they obey the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty, but secretly they all have their own plans."

"At present, our country is in a strong military situation. Destroying Japan is just a minor matter. The southern regions are the major issues."

Hearing this, Lan Yu's heart moved, and he subconsciously asked, "Your Majesty, do you intend to march south?"

"That's not true."

Zhu Tan smiled and said, "But Lord Lan, think about it, now that the northern border has been pacified and Goryeo has surrendered, the imperial court has brought a million soldiers. Are they all withdrawing?"

"If we have sufficient food and good soldiers, it would be a waste if we don't expand our territory."

"What His Highness said is absolutely true."

Li Jinglong, who was standing by, immediately chimed in and looked at Lan Yu and said, "Marquis Lan, you may not know that before you came, Lord Chang and I also asked His Highness, and His Highness said the same thing."

"Now that I think about it, Your Highness has foresight and has seen the path of our country in the next ten years."

Lan Yu also thought so in his heart. With this said, destroying Japan would really be just a small matter.

"I am leading the army to destroy Japan this time, but it is just a training exercise."

Zhu Tan added: "Once the soldiers and generals are well trained, this vast world will be a place for you to use your skills!" (End of this chapter)