Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Tang He's death was indeed a blow to Lao Zhu, but Lao Zhu had experienced too much in his life, so even if he was sad, he was not heartbroken.

Zhu Yunhuan also had some serious things to do, as there were still many things to do in the court.

Lan Yu and Chang Sheng happily came to the Wenhua Palace, "Your Highness, Longzhou native official Zhao Zongshou has submitted a letter of surrender."

Zhu Yunhuan immediately became amused. "He just started the rebellion. The imperial army hasn't arrived yet, but he's already asking for surrender. What's going on?"

Lan Yu said as a matter of course, "The king's army is powerful, so those chieftains are naturally afraid. Don't say that he is just the governor of Longzhou. Even if he is the Liang King of the Yuan Dynasty or the Duan family that occupies Yunnan and Guizhou, so what? The king's army is invincible, and these people are not enough to look down on him!"

There is nothing wrong with saying this. When a chieftain like Zhao Zongshou heard that the imperial army was coming to quell the rebellion, he was naturally terrified.

Facing the overwhelming victory of the Ming army, the Liang Wang of the Yuan Dynasty, Borjigin Bazalavarmi, fled Kunming and committed suicide. Duan Shi, the last of the Dali governors who had guarded Dali for generations, was captured alive after being attacked by Mu Ying and Wang Bi. Ming Sheng, the Xia Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, surrendered at the military gate with his hands tied behind his back and a coffin on a cart, his mother Peng and his officials.

The Si Lun Fa of Luchuan seemed like an invincible giant in the eyes of Zhao Zongshou and others, but he was defeated by the Ming Dynasty and had no power to fight back. He could only present some of his trusted aides along with tribute to the Ming emperor.

Zhu Yunhuan did not comment, but just asked, "What do you think?"

Lan Yu immediately replied, "Your Highness, I think those barbarians are fickle and it would be better to wipe them out in one fell swoop, so that they won't surrender and then rebel again, which is really annoying."

Chang Sheng also echoed at this time, "Your Highness, I think what the Duke of Liang said makes sense. Not to mention that those barbarians surrendered and then rebelled again, which is intolerable by heaven, Zhao Zongshou is a sinister and cunning person, even more unforgivable!"

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Chang Sheng and said, "You don't want to avenge your uncle, do you?"

Chang Mao died in Longzhou. Although it had nothing to do with Zhao Zongshou, Chang Sheng took his anger out on Zhao Zongshou and others.

Chang Sheng was immediately embarrassed and said quickly, "Your Highness, I am not a person who puts public affairs above private interests. It's just that Zhao Zongshou is the nephew of the former governor Zhao Tiejian. How can he inherit the official position?"

"Zhao Tiejian has no sons, only two daughters, one of whom became my uncle's concubine." Zhu Yunhuan said unhappily, "You can't let that woman be the governor of Longzhou, right?"

Zhao Tiejian and his wife Huang were so desperate that they gave their daughter to Chang Mao to keep him in bed for wealth and glory.

Chang Sheng immediately said, "Zhao Tiejian has a younger brother. The one who sent envoys to present tribute and local products was his younger brother. Besides, doesn't Zhao Zongshou have a son-in-law named Li Yuantai, who is also a local official?"

Zhu Yunxun couldn't help but look Chang Sheng up and down, and asked, "Second uncle, our family is rich and powerful, please don't accept anything that I shouldn't accept, and don't make things difficult for me."

Chang Sheng immediately hurriedly explained, "Don't worry, Your Highness. Who in the capital dares to give gifts to the mansion now? Not to mention entering the house, even if you enter, you must be kicked out!"

Zhu Yunhuan had no doubt about this. The Chang family was now wealthy and prosperous enough that they really did not look down upon ordinary gold, silver and jewelry.

What the Chang family cares about most now is Zhu Yunhuan’s status and the child in Chang Sheng’s wife’s belly. These two are the Chang family’s priceless treasures.

Zhu Yunhuan had a headache and said, "I know that it is said that we are closer to the Zhao family, but this matter is a bit complicated. Forget it, you two are both warriors and your positions are biased. This matter has been reported to the court, so you don't have to worry about it."

Since Zhu Yunhuan had said so much, even though they felt a little disappointed, Lan Yu and Chang Sheng did not give too much advice. These things were indeed not what they were good at.

After the two dukes left, Daoyan smiled and said, "Your Highness, Zhao Zongshou has submitted a petition for surrender. The court should approve it, right?"

Zhu Yunhuan asked, "Master, this person has already rebelled, and now he has just submitted a petition for surrender and the court has approved it. Isn't this a bit of a joke? If this is true, those chieftains will be unscrupulous in the future."

Two years ago, when Jianchang Wei surrendered and then rebelled again, Lan Yu directly led people to suppress the rebellion. Jianchang Wei Tusi Yulu Temur and his son Pang Bo were captured and escorted to Yingtian Prefecture for execution.

Daoyan smiled and said, "Your Highness, although Longzhou was also involved in the rebellion, the Zhao family was not involved. Among these chieftains, the Zhao family is the most submissive."

If this is true, it does make sense, and Daoyan is not exaggerating.

Chang Mao was demoted to Longzhou, and the Zhao family was very respectful and tried to please him. They also paid tribute to the court on time and never dared to delay.

As for Longzhou, this time it was also a rebellion, but the Zhao family was not involved. Instead, some small chieftains or some surrounding tribes started the rebellion.

Daoyan continued, "It would not be appropriate for the imperial court to stop the war. We should still suppress those who should be suppressed. But the Zhao family can be left here. If the imperial court wipes out all the chieftains in Longzhou in one fell swoop, I'm afraid there will be more troubles."

This is where Zhu Yunhuan was in a difficult position, because he knew that what Daoyan said was very reasonable.

There are too many small tribes in places like Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi. Most of them do not recognize the Ming Dynasty, but only recognize the chieftains, etc., and are very easy to be coerced.

If the imperial court were to wipe out all the chieftains at once, not to mention the high military cost, the subsequent development would also be a huge problem and definitely not an easy task.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Daoyan and said, "Master, do you mean to use the Zhao family as an example to let other chieftains see the benefits of submitting to the imperial court?"

Daoyan said, "Your Highness, this is exactly what I am thinking. I have heard that those barbarians do not know the king's rule, and even do not understand education. It will take a long time to make them return to their hearts."

Zhu Yunhuan did not refute, because the actual situation was similar to what Daoyan said. The degree of sinicization in some remote areas there was indeed low, so it was very difficult for the court to develop and manage them.

It is definitely not an easy task to manage these places because the level of sinicization is too low and they are not educated.

The same situation exists in Yunnan, so now the Mu family not only needs to garrison and suppress the rebellion, but also needs to cultivate land, promote education, etc. These are all big things.

It is not enough to just conquer the territory, and it is not enough to win the people's hearts and minds after conquering it. In many cases, subsequent governance is actually a more time-consuming and laborious task.

Daoyan continued, "I think that this time when suppressing the rebellion, the army should persuade those who were forced to surrender, and those who refuse to surrender should be naturally eliminated." As for the main culprit, there is no need to mention him deliberately. The ringleaders of the rebellion must be dealt with mercilessly, and everyone knows this.

Zhu Yunhuan was silent for a moment and then said, "That's true, but if we don't take ruthless measures to stop the rebellion this time, it will be difficult to convince the people."

Daoyan said, "That's not difficult. Zhao Zongshou came to the court in person to apologize and offer tribute, which shows his sincerity. Besides, the court has tens of thousands of troops going out to fight, so it would be unreasonable if there were no military achievements."

There will definitely be a fight, there is no doubt about this, and many people know that this is inevitable.

But how to fight, who to fight, or what kind of results to achieve, these are things that require careful consideration.

After all, Zhu Yunhuan was not a great general, and he was not the type who only cared about fighting and not construction. What he had to consider was actually the governance of some remote areas in Guangxi, which were also very important matters.

Daoyan continued, "Your Highness, I think we can take advantage of this opportunity to change the native chieftains into commoners. The court should set up guard posts and recruit officials to manage the local areas. If these chieftains do not obey, we will naturally suppress their rebellion."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Daoyan and said sincerely, "It's a pity that a great monk like you doesn't return to secular life. I also have this intention, but it's not easy to do."

Daoyan smiled and said, "Your Highness also understands that it is not easy to conquer a country, and it is even more difficult to govern a country. Guangxi is not a big deal, Your Highness just needs to spend more time on it."

These words sounded a bit impolite, as if they were educating Zhu Yunhuan, the crown prince, and there was indeed some suspicion of usurpation.

However, Daoyan was not panicked by this, because after getting along with him for a while, he knew that even though the Crown Prince was narrow-minded at times, he generally did not care about these words.

The most important thing is that this Crown Prince is very pragmatic, and he will be more tolerant if he recognizes a talented person. If it is a mediocre person, this Crown Prince will naturally find fault with him.

Zhu Yunxun laughed and said, "That's right. If you don't do something because you're afraid of trouble, that's naturally inappropriate. Okay, I understand this matter."

Some of the ideas proposed by Daoyan coincided with those of Zhu Yunhuan. This was also a good opportunity to use both kindness and force, allowing the Ming Dynasty to further strengthen its control over some areas of Guangxi.

Now with an army of 100,000 to rely on, it is natural that we should vigorously promote some matters such as the transformation of natives into officials and the appointment of new officials.

If those chieftains refuse to obey, then there is no need to be polite, as there are 100,000 troops there. If they do not obey the will of the court, then they are naturally traitors, so there is no need to be polite.

If you know the current situation, the court will still give you some respect. If you cooperate with the court, you will not only enjoy wealth and glory for generations, but in the short term you don't have to worry about falling into the mortal world.

As for wanting to rebel in the future, that would certainly not be a simple matter. The officials added by the court are to govern these places.

Moreover, it is necessary to set up garrisons in some places where rebellions are suppressed and strengthen a series of military presence as a guarantee, which can also make those ambitious people who are ready to make moves keep their tails between their legs.

Zhu Yunhuan had no doubt that some things had to be done. He could not just focus on the undeveloped overseas areas, etc. Governing the Ming Dynasty well was the most important thing.

As for things like adjusting the strategy, it was obviously out of the question, because when Zhu Yunhuan first asked Xu Huizu to send troops, he only considered using both kindness and force, and military and political means needed to go hand in hand.

Now that Zhao Zongshou is so aware of the current situation, it naturally means that some political means need to be used.

The military means only need some slight adjustments. Now there is only one more person who will not attack Zhao Zongshou.

Zhu Yunhuan called Fu Youde over and asked, "If I order not to attack Longzhou Governor Zhao Zongshou now, will it cause trouble for Duke Wei to use his troops?"

It's no wonder Zhu Yunhuan was so cautious, there were too many lessons from the past. Although there are some sayings that a general may not obey the orders of the emperor when he is away from home, Xu Huizu obviously did not have the courage to disobey the emperor's orders.

If I temporarily change some strategies now, which causes Xu Huizu and others to be restricted and defeated, Zhu Yunhuan will definitely not be able to forgive me. Such a thing must be avoided at all costs.

Fu Youde asked very cautiously, "Your Highness, is it Zhao Zongshou, the governor of Longzhou, or all the tribesmen?"

Zhu Yunhuan carefully explained to Fu Youde the surrender of Zhao Zongshou and made it clear that it was only Zhao Zongshou's unit.

After Fu Youde understood, he said directly, "Your Highness, I think if the order is issued at this time, it will not be a problem for Duke Wei. The court does not need to attack Longzhou, but only needs to change the route to Fengyi and other places. After Duke Wei decides on Fengyi, he can advance all the way to Dukang, Xiangwu, Nandan and other places."

Zhu Yunhuan understood immediately after hearing this, "Then we can set up Longzhou Command in Nandan, Fengyi, and Qingyuan."

Fu Youde felt that as a general, he could improve the court's use of troops and lay the groundwork for a series of subsequent military deployments and arrangements.

But he was a general, not a ruler. The crown prince was not just thinking about military means, but also using military means to bring some political means to the extreme.

After the army changed its route, it could quell rebellions in other places and set up garrisons in important places. More importantly, Longzhou, which was involved in the incident, suddenly became embarrassed. At that time, it would be difficult for the governor Zhao Zongshou to become a local emperor, as there would be a Longzhou Command to form a series of deterrents against him.

Zhu Yunhuan was in a very good mood and said to Fu Youde, "Go back and draft a memorial and report it to the court tomorrow."

Fu Youde naturally had no objection, as this matter was part of his responsibility. Even though he seemed to have retreated to the second line and no longer led troops, the Duke of Ying was still very influential in the military.

As for Zhu Yunhuan, he walked towards Wuying Palace happily. He basically had an idea about this matter. However, he still asked Old Zhu to check it a little more to see if there were any inappropriate places or places that needed to be improved.

It's not that Zhu Yunxun has no opinion, but he hopes to do some things to perfection. It's definitely not a bad thing for him to spend more time on things.

As long as you spend a little more time to get things done, it's worth it. (End of this chapter)