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

Chapter 291 The momentum of the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty!
It was just past noon and the sun was shining brightly.

Today the sea breeze is blowing gently, and it seems that the fishy and salty smell of the past is gone. The sea in the distance is sparkling, but on Zhu Tan's ironclad ship, there is a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

The Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty arrived in person, and all the people on the ship were replaced. Even Zhu Tan's personal soldiers were driven away, and the entire ship was taken over by the Crown Prince's guards.

Now, besides Zhu Tan himself, there is only Ma He left on this ironclad ship who can serve.

The two brothers did not enter the cabin, but placed two small tables on the wide deck, and sat on the ground, drinking with each other in the warm sea breeze.

"When did big brother come?"

Zhu Tan stood up and poured a glass of wine for Zhu Biao, then sat back down and asked softly, "Your sudden appearance scared my brother."

"Father was afraid that you would cause a big fuss, so he asked me to come and see you."

Zhu Biao picked up the wine glass, took a sip, put it down and smiled, "Fortunately, we arrived in time, otherwise Jiang Li would not be able to do anything."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tan curled his lips and said, "What elder brother means is that the emperor already knew about this matter and just wanted to see what I would do."

"You kid, you deserve to be spanked for asking this question."

Zhu Biao chuckled and said, "Have you grown wings? Do you dare to speak ill of our father?"

"Then I wouldn't dare."

Zhu Tan immediately shook his head and said, "Brother, do you know that my younger brother was assassinated this time? It was a close call!"

"If that person had been just a little faster, you wouldn't be able to see your brother now."

"Go, stop talking nonsense."

Zhu Biao suddenly smiled when he heard this and said, "You are a clever boy. Who can plot against you?"

"I guess, even if you didn't fight back with the musket, you still have a backup plan."

Zhu Tan was not surprised at all that Zhu Biao knew the details of that day.

Although the soldiers of Shandong Dusi are now under his command and recognize him as their commander-in-chief, they are still soldiers of the Ming Dynasty after all, not soldiers of him, Prince of Lu Zhu Tan.

Whatever the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty wants to know, it is easy to do.

What's more, the assassination of the king was a big deal, so Zhu Biao would naturally take care of it personally.

"Hey." Hearing Zhu Biao's words, Zhu Tan grinned and said, "Big brother still understands his younger brother."

"I'm wearing chain mail."

"Humph."

Zhu Biao rolled his eyes at Zhu Tan and said, "I think you are just waiting for someone to assassinate you so that you can take advantage of the situation to make money legitimately and shut everyone up."

"It seems that what Father said is correct."

"What did the old man say?"

"Father said that you came to Quanzhou with bad intentions. Now that I see so much gold and silver piled up on your ship, it's just as he expected."

Hearing this, Zhu Tan just grinned and said nothing.

He had no intention of hiding these things, but knowing that he couldn't hide them, he might as well be open about it.

"Tell me, how much did you collect from the Park family this time?"

"There are more than four million in cash, and the other miscellaneous items combined are probably less than ten million."

Zhu Tan took a sip of wine, then looked up at Zhu Biao and said, "Brother, don't think about this money."

"That's all my brother's hard-earned money."

"Pooh!"

Zhu Biao spat in annoyance and said with a smile: "If I want this money, what does it have to do with you?"

Zhu Biao's words were obviously a joke, but it also indirectly proved that he was in a good mood.

He is the current crown prince, and can be said to be the crown prince with the most stable position since ancient times. He can even exercise many powers that only emperors have.

If Zhu Biao did this, the old man would not say anything, but would feel that the prince had less power.

In other words, if Zhu Biao asked Zhu Tan to send all the collected silver and money to the capital now, the court would need it, and Zhu Tan would not dare to say a word.

There's nothing I can do, he's the prince.

"Father has told me that you suffered a loss in the Park family's matter. Just keep the silver you got and pretend that father doesn't know."

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Tan again and said with a smile, "But you can't go out and talk nonsense about other things."

"Other things? What?"

Zhu Tan pretended to be stupid and looked up at Zhu Biao, which made Zhu Biao chuckle and said, "Don't play dumb in front of me, kid."

"If you didn't find something wrong with the Park family, why would you come here?"

"There's no need to hide anything between you and me, right?"

Zhu Biao's words didn't sound like something a prince would say, but more like something that an elder brother would say.

Compared with Zhu Di, Zhu Biao was obviously more magnanimous and had a higher vision.

"Hey." Zhu Tan grinned and said, "Didn't big brother tell me not to talk nonsense?"

"I don't know anything about the Park family."

"There are some things you still need to know."

Zhu Biao poured himself a glass of wine, raised his head slightly, and said, "The Pu family's surname is not Pu. Their ancestors' surname is Pu."

"When Song was still alive, he came to China."

"Their ancestral home should be near Persia."

Zhu Biao spoke softly, but Zhu Tan's heart moved slightly and his mind worked rapidly.

He was wondering why Zhu Biao was telling him all this.

"The Pu family flourished in China for hundreds of years, and only started to prosper during the Yuan Dynasty."

"They also rose to prominence during the Yuan Dynasty. You should be able to guess why they rose to prominence, right?"

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Tan. Although he didn't finish his words, Zhu Tan could indeed guess some of it.

What kind of dynasty was the Yuan Dynasty? It was an era when the people of the Central Plains were not treated as human beings. If you wanted to get rich in that era, you had to collude with the government and use all means to exploit the people.

"Later, when my father led an army to destroy the Yuan Dynasty, the Park family became less aggressive and their assets were concentrated in Fujian."

Zhu Biao continued.

"It was not until my father established the Ming Dynasty and the world returned to peace that they began to stir again."

"What the Park family wants is not gold and silver, nor reproduction, but the restoration of their country."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tan's brows suddenly frowned and he looked up at Zhu Biao.

Restoration? From Persia?

How come these two things sound so familiar when put together?

"They call themselves Jews." Zhu Biao spoke again, "They wander around the world with the goal of taking root in one place, multiplying continuously, trying to acquire a large amount of land, and restoring their country."

"This time they colluded with the Japanese pirates to attack Changguo and occupy Penghu for this purpose."

Hey!
Zhu Tan almost cursed out loud, and gritted his teeth in hatred when he heard this.

No wonder this incident was so weird. His Pu family lost money to gain publicity and even provided financial support to the Japanese pirates.

Zhu Tan had previously thought that the Park family was forced and intimidated by the military power of the Japanese pirates.

Now it seems that they did it on purpose from the beginning. They wanted to use the Japanese pirates and the financial resources and influence of their Park family to bite off a piece of meat from the Ming Dynasty.

"The Jinyiwei had already noticed the matter of the Park family."

Zhu Biao continued softly, "The reason why Father has not taken action is that he is waiting for the right time."

"You should be able to guess that the Park family also has contacts with some people in the court."

"Father, are you planning to destroy the whole thing?"

Zhu Tan spoke subconsciously, but saw Zhu Biao pursed his lips and smiled, saying: "I can't tell you about this." "But in short, you did a great job on this matter, and the emperor is very happy."

"The Park family is colluding with the Japanese pirates to split up the Ming territory. This is the reason for the expedition to Japan."

Zhu Biao took another sip of wine and said with a smile: "After the Japanese pirates around here are wiped out, you can start preparing to conquer Japan."

"By then, all the intelligence the court has will be told to you."

After hearing Zhu Biao's words, Zhu Tan realized that the old man had been playing a big game, which not only covered the country but also included Japan.

Now he also understood why the old man did not take action immediately after knowing about the Park family's affairs, because if he took action now, the benefits would be the greatest.

It can not only legitimately attack Japan, but also eliminate the Qing Dynasty's paralysis in one fell swoop, and also use it to deter the world. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

When it comes to the overall situation, control over the situation, and overall strategy, Zhu Tan still feels inferior.

He, a soul that traveled through time from the modern era, is no match for the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

"Oh, by the way, before leaving this time, Father specifically mentioned the Fourth Brother."

Zhu Biao spoke again, but Zhu Tan was stunned and asked subconsciously: "What did the old man say?"

"Father said that after the nearby Japanese pirates are pacified, the fourth child should return to the capital."

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Tan and said with a smile, "Do you want to hear what I am going to say specifically?"

"No, no, I don't want to listen."

Zhu Tan immediately waved his hands, then put on a sad face and said, "Brother, you don't know, Fourth Brother bullied me!"

"This time it was the fourth brother who insisted on coming. If the younger brother didn't let him come, he would kick the younger brother."

"Brother, I..."

"If you say that again, I'm going to kick you too."

Zhu Biao gave Zhu Tan a sidelong look, and Zhu Tan immediately shut up and chuckled.

"If your eldest brother is a fool, why would you go to Peking to find him if you didn't want the fourth brother to take the blame?"

Zhu Biao said unhappily, "You are afraid that things will get out of hand, so you want to find someone to take the blame with you, right?"

"hey-hey……"

Zhu Tan smiled, but very shyly.

He did have this intention. He wanted Zhu Di to participate in the campaign to eliminate Japanese pirates along the coast. He just wanted the fourth brother to help him take the blame.

In fact, before he set out on the expedition, he knew that the problem of the Japanese pirates along the coast was definitely not as simple as it seemed.

With the powerful firepower of the ironclad warships, it was not a problem to wipe out the Japanese pirates.

However, the Japanese pirates were always able to cause chaos along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, which would have been impossible without internal support.

Zhu Tan naturally would not wade into this muddy water alone, and would definitely find someone to share the burden with.

It just so happened that Zhu Di was in urgent need of showing off, and Zhu Tan was using the tiger's skin as a banner, so Zhu Di had to agree even if he was unwilling.

So in this psychological game, Zhu Di was at the third level, Zhu Tan was at the fifth level, but the old man was at the atmosphere level.

"Father knows all of your little tricks. The reason why he didn't tell you is because he wanted to see how big a mess you can make."

Zhu Biao took another sip of wine and then said with a smile: "But fortunately, you made a mess, but you finished it well."

"Except for screwing over Lao Si and Jiang Li, the rest is harmless."

"At least you didn't collude with the Park family and try to negotiate with the Japanese pirates to make money."

"I can't do that." Zhu Tan said immediately: "I am also a prince of the Ming Dynasty. There is nothing to talk about with the enemy."

"Ah."

Zhu Biao nodded and said, "But you still have to be careful."

"Old Four must have realized it a long time ago. If you meet him in the future and he wants to kick you, I won't stop him."

"Don't, big brother."

Zhu Tan was startled and said quickly, "Now that you've said this, how can you ignore your brother?"

"My brother is doing this for the sake of our Ming Dynasty."

"It's true that I did it for my country." Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Tan, his lips twitching slightly: "But it's also true that I did it for yourself."

"If I find out that you are trying to set a trap for your own brothers again, I will skin you alive!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tan felt a chill in his heart.

Damn, my elder brother Zhu Biao speaks these words with much more power than Zhu Di.

Zhu Tan was very sure that if he set a trap for the prince of the Ming Dynasty again and let others take the blame while he got the benefits, Zhu Biao would definitely beat him up, using the official method.

And when Zhu Biao beat him, the old man would probably shout from behind: Use some strength, haven't you eaten yet?
When Zhu Tan thought of this scene, he felt a chill in his heart and said quickly, "Brother, don't dare to do it again."

"You'd better not dare."

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "I have another question for you."

"What's the matter?"

"After we conquer Japan, how about I give it to you as a fiefdom?"

Zhu Biao's seemingly casual question immediately aroused Zhu Tan's vigilance.

His fiefdom has not been decided yet, and he is unwilling to go to the place chosen for him by his old man.

In addition, he has performed very well recently, which has improved the overall strength of Ming Dynasty to a certain extent. The old man doesn't want to let him go so soon.

This is something that everyone knows, so why is Zhu Biao asking this now?

"I do not want."

Zhu Tan thought about it for a moment, and flatly refused: "I won't go to that crappy place called Japan."

"After we destroy the Japanese royal family and take over that place, let father set up a provincial government."

"Oh, look how scared you are."

Seeing Zhu Tan like this, Zhu Biao chuckled and then said, "Okay, I'm just asking casually. This is not what father meant. Don't think too much."

"It's getting late, I should go back."

"Brother, are you leaving now?"

Seeing Zhu Biao stand up, Zhu Tan also stood up and asked, "It's not easy for you to come out, why don't you stay for a few more days?"

"There are still a lot of messes that I have to deal with."

Zhu Biao glanced at Zhu Tan and said with a smile, "The matter of the Pu family is not over yet."

"Furthermore, if we want to formally launch an attack on Japan, we need to prepare."

"Let me tell you one more thing. Father is worried that giving you 40,000 soldiers is too few, so he plans to give you more. The specific number has not yet been decided."

"How many ships have been built in Liaodong now?"

"My brother asked them to work as quickly as possible so that they can have 20 ships by the time of the expedition."

Zhu Tan said truthfully: "But it will take some time to build everything."

"Ah."

Zhu Biao thought for a moment and said, "Since we have wiped out the Japanese pirates this time, let's set up a few ports near Penghu."

"You take charge of this matter. In the future, the construction of warships can also be tilted towards Penghu."

"Okay, I'm leaving."

After saying that, Zhu Biao nodded to Zhu Tan, turned around and left without any hesitation.

But after he left, Zhu Tan fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)