Ming Dynasty: Zhu Biao's younger brother, the most rebellious son in history

Chapter 105 Someone is colluding with the Japanese!
"It seems that the person who got information for me in Yingtian Prefecture deceived me! He said..."

Zhang Lin did not say the rest of the words. Basically, everything he did now was learned from Zhu Kai.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Kai turned out to be a completely different person.

Filial piety!

As a human being, how can you not be filial?
Zhang Lin's face turned red like a monkey's butt, and his face was full of self-blame.

How could I think that Zhu Kai was a good-for-nothing bastard?
This is really not right.

At this moment, Zhang Lin wanted to commit suicide, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Second Prince, I have wronged you. You are really..."

Zhang Lin was so ashamed and angry that he almost cried: "From now on, I will definitely change my bad ways and never do this again."

"That's right."

Zhu Kai was very happy to see Zhang Lin had mended his ways.

It seems that I have changed the stubbornness of a playboy through my own actions, which is a great achievement.

If Zhang Long doesn't give Zhu Kai the wine he has hidden away, Zhu Kai will be angry.

As for Zhu Kai’s words... Zhang Hao, Mao Xiang, Jiang Lin, and the five little tigers of the Zhang family believed them, and their faces showed serious belief.

However, when Zhang Zhou heard Zhu Kai's words, he showed a look of surprise on his face. But when he saw the admiration on Zhang Lin's face, after thinking about it, Zhang Zhou decided to shut up.

Forget it, this child is stupid, why are you still bullying him?

Is this what you call human affairs?

Think about Zhu Kai’s past bad deeds… That’s fine, the most filial Second Prince of Yingtian Prefecture has nothing to do with it.

As for Zhang Lin, he felt that his change had changed Zhu Kai and the guards around Zhu Kai's impression of him. This feeling of being recognized by others made Zhang Lin happy from the bottom of his heart.

Isn't this exactly what he wants?

Zhang Lin couldn't help but admire in his heart: There is still a future with His Royal Highness the Second Prince. If I follow my father... in the end I can only be like him, daydreaming about the iron certificate of immunity from death all day long.

……

After walking and stopping along the way, Zhu Kai finally arrived at the border of Qi and Lu.

It took only seven years for the Ming Dynasty to recover Qi and Lu, and most of the land was uninhabited. Zhu Yuanzhang then built the capital in the south, and the focus in the north was on the Great Wall. Although Qi and Lu were given priority in development, the main focus was on reclaiming land.

After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he had no time to deal with the problems in the north, so he simply set up the Qilu Provincial Administration, which was equivalent in size to half of the north.

Yanjing, Liaodong and Hebei are all included in it. Do you think it’s big?

In order to guard against the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty, the military and political power of Qi and Lu is now mostly concentrated in Yanjing and the Great Wall. In fact, there are not many people in the land of Qi and Lu in later generations.

Although Hu Weiyong was the governor of Qilu and in charge of most of the north, he never went to Yanjing once. Instead, he stayed in Quancheng and honestly dealt with the anti-Japanese affairs.

Of course, Hu Weiyong would definitely welcome Zhu Kai when he came to Qi and Lu.

In order to be able to see Zhu Kai as soon as possible, Hu Weiyong first sent a team of thirty people to follow Zhu Kai, and informed him of Zhu Kai's movements every day in an express manner of 800 miles.

Hu Weiyong was extremely eager to see Zhu Kai.

When Zhu Kai stepped into the land of Qi and Lu, the first person he saw was Hu Weiyong. Marquis of Jinghai Wu Zhen did not appear.

"Second prince!"

When Hu Weiyong saw Zhu Kai, he immediately pounced on him like a husky, with excitement on his face. When he got close to Zhu Kai, he immediately threw himself on the ground and prostrated himself, looking even more servile than a lackey.

When Zhang Lin saw this situation for the first time, instead of despising Hu Weiyong, he admired Zhu Kai even more.

Hu Weiyong was the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty and the right-hand man of the current emperor. He was so excited that he prostrated himself when he saw Zhu Kai. How honored it was for him to be by Zhu Kai's side?

That’s right, Zhu Kai felt very honored!
However, Hu Weiyong was not so happy when he saw Zhang Lin, and even felt a little annoyed.

It was this guy who delayed the Second Prince in Fengyang for some time, right?
This guy really deserves to be punished!
Hu Weiyong felt that it would be better for everyone if a playboy like Zhang Lin was sliced ​​into pieces as soon as possible.

Our master is still too merciful!
Hu Weiyong also knew that Zhang Lin was taught by Zhu Kai to manage things, so Fengxiang Hou Zhang Long specially sent Hu Weiyong a generous gift in advance.

If this kid can’t be skinned alive, I’ll write my last name backwards!
Zhu Kai didn't care about that. When he saw Hu Weiyong running over, he was so angry that he kicked Hu Weiyong on the shoulder, knocking him over. "You idiot, you've been in Qilu for such a long time, and there's no movement. The Japanese are still jumping around in Laizhou. What's the use of you?"

When Hu Weiyong heard Zhu Kai's words, he immediately realized that he had not read any of the letters he had recently written to Zhu Kai.

But what does that matter?

If the Lord says you are wrong, then you are definitely wrong.

No need to find any excuses.

After being kicked, Hu Weiyong quickly rolled to Zhu Kai again, not caring about the injury on his shoulder, and then flattered: "Weiyong really deserves to die for what the Second Prince taught him!"

"Your Highness, the Japanese invaders in Laizhou are gone except for those hanging on the city wall to bask in the sun. Marquis Jinghai is leading his men to organize the troops in Laizhou and have the soldiers practice naval warfare. We will go out to sea and fight once you give the order, Second Prince, to wipe out all the Japanese pirates entrenched along the coast of our Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Kai's hatred for the Japanese devils far exceeded that for the Kong family, which made Hu Weiyong puzzled, but he still did things according to Zhu Kai's instructions.

Hearing Hu Weiyong's words, Zhu Kai was very satisfied, and he completely forgot about kicking Hu Weiyong just now: "Get up, let's go to Laizhou together!"

Zhu Kai was very interested in fighting the Japanese devils.

Some were even impatient. Mao Xiang, Jiang Li and the five little tigers of the Zhang family thought that the warmongering nature in Zhu Kai had started to act up again when they saw Zhu Kai was so impatient. They had no idea that Zhu Kai was targeting the Japanese in order to compete for the first incense stick.

In today's Qi and Lu regions, the impact of the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty has not yet dissipated. The area is vast and sparsely populated, and the official roads along the way are bumpy and there is no sign of life at all.

This will be the biggest economic pillar of the North in the future!
Thinking of Qi and Lu's position in future wars, Zhu Kai already had a plan in his mind.

I want to destroy Goryeo and Japan, and bring people here to cultivate Qi and Lu.

As an important military town in the north, Qi and Lu must be consolidated!
"Old Hu, you've done a good job, but you still need to work harder."

Zhu Kai rode on his horse and said to Hu Weiyong: "In the future, we will conquer Wadao and Goryeo, fill Qi and Lu with people, let them farm, and see if our Han men need any women, let them marry two more women."

"Also, these women cannot become wives, they can only be concubines!"

Zhu Kai is a pure person. When he considers many things, he stands from the perspective of being a Han Chinese. Besides, under the influence of the patriarchal society, they will gradually become Han Chinese.

The trend of national integration is unstoppable!
Zhu Kai felt that what he had to do now was plunder!
Just like playing games in later generations, if you want to become stronger and stronger in the game, all you have to do is plunder the enemy’s resources and try to make the snowball bigger and bigger.

The establishment of the Ming Dynasty encountered the Little Ice Age, and the per-acre yield of grain products plummeted. What Zhu Kai had to do was to ensure that the Ming Dynasty could safely survive the Little Ice Age.

As long as we have enough resources, let alone a small ice age, even if a big ice age comes, the Ming Dynasty can still stand firm.

Hu Weiyong nodded when he heard Zhu Kai's words: "Second Prince is right. Let's not talk about the Japanese devils on the Japanese island. The Koreans are really abominable. Not only do they pretend to obey but they also act in double-dealing ways. They are secretly sucking blood from our Ming Dynasty. They should be killed completely!"

"Killing them is too easy for them. Let them work for our Ming Dynasty to atone for their sins. After they die... they can be buried in the soil and used as fertilizer!"

Zhang Lin was listening to the conversation between Zhu Kai and Hu Weiyong, blinking his eyes again and again.

Are Zhu Kai and the people around him so bloodthirsty in the way they do things?
Laizhou!

Located in the central part of Qi and Lu, except for Dengzhou Prefecture in the east, it is the closest to the Japanese island.

However, Dengzhou Prefecture is too poor now, and is basically wasteland. There are few people seen on weekdays. The Japanese pirates sent from the Japanese island come here for the purpose of looting, so they will naturally choose wealthy places.

Before this, the Ming Dynasty had been fighting against the Mongols. This was the founding war and it had no time to take care of other things. Facing the invasion of Japanese pirates, the Ming Dynasty chose to be defensive, moved the people to Laizhou Prefecture, and gave up Dengzhou.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, in the third year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang conferred the title of Marquis of Jinghai on Wu Zhen and sent him to Laizhou Prefecture to preside over the fight against Japanese pirates.

When it comes to dealing with the Japanese pirates, Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude is very tough, just one word: fight!

How dare these little scoundrels cause trouble on the land of my Ming Dynasty?
court death!

If it weren't for the lesson learned from the Mongol expedition to Japan, where a tsunami at sea led to the annihilation of the entire army, Zhu Yuanzhang would have planned to land on the island to fight.

In the entire Ming Dynasty, except Zhu Kai, no one knew the value of the Wa Islands. They thought that it was just a barbaric place and inhabited by a group of uncivilized savages, and there was no need to take it too seriously.

But who could have thought that such a savage from a foreign land would have such a big ambition? It was them who caused indelible damage to China four hundred years later.

There is no need for such a country to exist.

No matter what the people of the Ming Dynasty in the previous life thought, now it is the Ming Dynasty with Zhu Kai, and Zhu Kai must nip any potential threats in the bud.

Of course, some people will say that even if Japan and Goryeo are very annoying, that will be hundreds of years later, and it is a bit cruel to destroy them now.

However, Zhu Kai didn't think so. If you do something wrong hundreds of years later, couldn't you have prevented it hundreds of years ago?
Shit!

I am strong enough, what I say is what it is, why are you trying to defend yourself?
One word: do it!

Two words: destroy the country!

What the little brats did hundreds of years later, wasn't it also what your ancestors taught us?
……

Zhang Lin is basically a transparent person now. After being taught a lesson by Zhu Kai and realizing that he had a "misunderstanding" of Zhu Kai, Zhang Lin stopped talking and just followed around to learn from his idol.

But what the idols are talking about now really makes Zhang Lin feel his three views collapse.

What they were discussing was actually destroying the country and even eradicating its roots.

The men were captured and forced to do hard labor, and the women were used as reproductive tools to help the people of the Ming Dynasty give birth to children. This... Is the royal family of the Ming Dynasty so cruel now?
Isn't it the principle of reciprocity that everyone values?

Why are countries being destroyed so easily these days?
And they looked very excited... Especially the one named Hu Weiyong, he actually discussed with Zhu Kai where it would be most appropriate to bury the body, and said that the land there was barren, and burying the body there would bring the land back to life.

I'm crazy...

Zhang Lin's three views were completely shattered. Thinking about how Zhu Kai arranged for him to follow Hu Weiyong, such a murderous talent, how could he have a good ending?

Or, go to Zhu Kai and beg him to take back his decision?

But now no one cares about him... He is just a nobody now.

……

into the night.

Hu Weiyong continued to hold Zhu Kai's hand and talk non-stop, as if he had endless things to say.

When it was midnight, when everyone was asleep, Hu Weiyong realized that he had something to say to Zhu Kai, so he lowered his voice and said to Zhu Kai: "Your Highness, during the battle against the Japanese devils on the Japanese island, I found that someone was colluding with the Japanese pirates to seek benefits."

"It's normal. When the interests are enough to blind the morals in their hearts, some people will no longer care about the moral bottom line."

Zhu Kai was not surprised by Hu Weiyong's discovery.

He knew very well that in the middle and late period of the original Ming Dynasty, whether it was the Japanese pirates or the Qing Dynasty, there were people who were blinded by greed and took risks in order to get rich.

Merchants and wealthy families from Fujian and Zhejiang, as well as merchants from Jinshan and border generals, disregarded national interests for their own profits, frantically reselling and plundering wealth, and even joined the looting to earn profits that made their hands bloody.

It's so normal.

Hu Weiyong saw that Zhu Kai was not surprised, and then dropped another bombshell: "It's the Kong family."

The Kong family?
Zhu Kai smiled.

It is not surprising that they colluded with the Japanese pirates.

It’s not that Zhu Kai looks down on the Kong family, but the Kong family is too big and there are all kinds of people in it.

Moreover, fundamentally speaking, the Kong family was wrong.

Those who enjoy the protection of the Kong family only know the Kong family but not the Ming Dynasty. They believe that no matter what they do, as long as it is beneficial to the Kong family, there will be many people who do shameful things under the protection of the Kong family.

"The Kong family, haha... there are all kinds of birds in a big forest. It's time to clean them up."

Zhu Kai's tone was filled with disdain for the Kong family: "It just so happens that we are in Qilu, so let us teach the Kong family what the duty of a Confucian is!!"

Hearing Zhu Kai's words, Hu Weiyong breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Fortunately, what I thought turned out to be right. Zhu Kai really looked down on the Kong family, and from what Zhu Kai said, it seemed that he wanted to give the Kong family a severe beating.

"Indeed, Kong Kejian went too far."

When it comes to the Kong family, Hu Weiyong is very dissatisfied: "Kong Kejian is so rude. He is also a descendant of Yansheng Duke, but he doesn't know the etiquette at all. Your Highness, you came to Qilu, but they didn't send anyone to see you. They really take themselves too seriously."

After complaining to the Kong family, Hu Weiyong sneered again: "It doesn't matter, they will soon find out that if they offend Your Highness, they will suffer the consequences!"

"fart!"

Zhu Kai scolded Hu Weiyong without hesitation, which frightened him.

What?
Did I say something wrong again?

"Did I do that to them because no one came to see me? Bullshit!"

Zhu Kai scolded Hu Weiyong, "That's purely because they are blinded by greed and are harming the people, so they are helping the people to denounce the Kong family and restore order to the Ming Dynasty!"

Personal revenge?

does not exist!
If he wanted to retaliate, Zhu Kai would at most beat them up and that would be it.

"Your Highness, you really care about the people!"

Hu Weiyong's eyes suddenly filled with tears, and he prostrated himself before Zhu Kai: "In the future, I will follow your example and devote myself to the people until my death."

After Zhu Kai scolded Hu Weiyong, the matter was over and there was no further vengeance because there was no need.

Then, Hu Weiyong discussed with Zhu Kai about dealing with the Kong family. He said to Zhu Kai with some concern, "Your Highness, if we want to deal with the Kong family, it is not certain that we can uproot the Kong family with only the troops in the hands of Marquis Jinghai. Should we write a letter to Duke Song in Yanjing and ask him to transfer troops?"

"Need not."

To deal with the Kong family, is it necessary to mobilize border troops from Yanjing?
Zhu Kai shook his head: "No need for Wu Zhen, the troops I brought are enough."

Let’s not talk about anything else, just take the 1,200-man personal guard battalion led by Zhang Hao, all of which are equipped with futuristic weapons that Zhu Kai took out from the super ocean-going freighter.

Is there an AK47 army?
Zhu Kai had enough confidence that he could wipe out the entire Kong family with these 1,200 people.

Seeing Zhu Kai so confident, Hu Weiyong was filled with emotion: "Your Highness is Your Highness. Any enemy is like an ant in front of you. Whoever chooses to stand against you will suffer the greatest misfortune in his life." "Your Highness, you are so powerful that even the emperor back then was not as good as you. Moreover, Your Highness has a far-sighted vision and can see the future of the Ming Dynasty at a glance. Even His Majesty and the Crown Prince are not as good as you."

Unfortunately, Zhu Kai was unwilling to rebel.

Hu Weiyong felt very disappointed. Zhu Kai was obviously so powerful, why didn't he choose to rebel?
How wonderful it is to rebel!
Hu Weiyong also wants to be the best minister in the world!
Zhu Kai cursed, "Get lost!"

I would only become an emperor if I were crazy.

Could it be that Hu Weiyong is an undercover sent by my father and elder brother to my side? Is he deliberately trying to make me rebel?
Hu Weiyong first kindly comforted Zhu Kai to have a good rest, and then said goodbye and left.

After Hu Weiyong left, Zhu Kai also lay down on the bed and prepared to rest.

"The Kong family, they don't represent Confucianism!"

……

When Zhu Kai came to Qi and Lu, Hu Weiyong met up with Zhu Kai as soon as possible. This public news reached the ears of the Kong family as soon as possible.

Lu County was the capital of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Over two thousand years have passed, and the Kong clan has taken deep roots here. From the county magistrate to the common people, five to six out of ten have the surname Kong.

The current head of the Kong family is still Kong Kejian, the 55th generation grandson of Confucius, who is trying to gain benefits from both sides.

When Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, out of respect for the Kong family, he used Tailao (in ancient times, Tailao was a complete set of three kinds of animals, cattle, sheep and pigs, which was the highest etiquette) to worship Confucius in the National Academy, and at the same time sent envoys to Lu County to pay tribute.

At the beginning, Zhu Yuanzhang had great respect for the Kong family. He took the initiative to show goodwill to the Kong family because "Confucius's teachings are vast and long-standing, and parallel to heaven and earth." The general Xu Da in Qi and Lu also went to Lu County in person to persuade the Duke of Yansheng to meet him. However, since Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty was still in Yanjing (Dadu) at that time, the Yuan Dynasty team was intact, and there were still a large number of troops in Guanzhong, Henan and other places. Therefore, although the Duke of Yansheng Kong Kejian took the initiative to pay tribute to the Northern Expedition Ming Army, he did not want to have too much involvement with Zhu Yuanzhang in his heart. What if the Yuan army won again?

So when faced with Xu Da's invitation, Kong Kejian claimed that he was ill and could not go out, and only asked his son Kong Xixue to meet Xu Da.

Xu Da certainly understood Kong Kejian's cunning intentions, so he sent Kong Xixue to Nanjing to meet the emperor, so that the Kong family could experience the majesty of the Ming Emperor.

Then, before Kong Xixue arrived in Yingtian Prefecture, Xu Da drove Emperor Shun of Yuan out of Yuan Dadu. Kong Kejian then became afraid and quickly packed his bags and headed for Yingtian Prefecture.

Unfortunately, it's all too late.

In his heart, Zhu Yuanzhang had issued a killing order against the Kong family. If it weren't for the fact that the Kong family had such great influence in the world, Zhu Yuanzhang would have dealt with the Kong family long ago.

Now, the Kong family, under the leadership of Kong Kejian, has begun to take sides again.

The person they chose was Zhu Biao.

In ancient times, the eldest son of the legitimate wife was chosen as the heir to the throne. Zhu Biao was the first heir to the throne of the Ming Dynasty. It was not wrong for Kong Kejian to stand on Zhu Biao's side, but he chose to ignore Zhu Kai, which was very wrong.

When Zhu Kai came to Qi and Lu, it would have been nice for your Kong family to send someone over, but no one went and they simply chose to ignore Zhu Kai.

Kong Kejian didn't think there was anything wrong with his choice. Besides, he was the 55th generation grandson of Confucius, Duke Yansheng, and had the support of scholars all over the world. Even if he offended Zhu Kai, what could he do to him?
Just like before, when Kong Kejian pretended to obey Zhu Yuanzhang but actually disobeyed him, wouldn't Zhu Yuanzhang not dare to do anything to him?
Therefore, don't worry too much about offending Zhu Kai. The Zhu family will not be in a hostile state with the Yanshenggong family.

On the contrary, Kong Kejian said to his son Kong Xixue: "Not only will we not meet Zhu Kai, we will also ignore him. We will use our attitude to set an example for all scholars in the world: the eldest son of the legitimate wife will be the heir, which has been the norm since ancient times! We must follow the rules of propriety!"

Kong Xixue agreed with Kong Kejian's point of view, but he was skeptical of Kong Kejian's attitude: "Father, I heard that the second prince is a vindictive and lawless person. He relies on your majesty's favor to do evil in Yingtian Prefecture. I heard that your majesty intends to make him the crown prince and his successor."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Kong Kejian denied Kong Xixue's doubts without hesitation, "If Zhu Yuanzhang insisted on letting Zhu Kai become emperor, the world would be in chaos again. Zhu Yuanzhang was a man who was very good at weighing the pros and cons. He would definitely make a better choice between the second generation of the Zhu family and the continuation of the dynasty for a hundred years. Otherwise, he would become a joke."

Zhu Kai's reputation is already terrible. If he becomes emperor, then from the moment he ascends the throne, he will be as bad as Yang Guang and Hu Hai.

Zhu Kai becomes emperor?
There is no such opportunity at all!

Kong Xixue still said with some worry: "Father, if Zhu Kai retaliates without any care, we will probably be in great trouble. Besides, Hu Weiyong came to Qi and Lu and stayed in Laizhou, fighting against the Japanese pirates with Wu Zhen. We..."

"shut up!"

Before Kong Xixue could finish, Kong Kejian interrupted him and shouted angrily, "It has nothing to do with you, and it has nothing to do with our Kong family. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Kong Xixue shut up immediately.

Even if there were descendants of the Kong family colluding with the Japanese pirates, so what? As long as Kong Kejian did not admit it, what would Zhu Yuanzhang do even if he got evidence?
As long as they refuse to admit it, the Kong family will be fine.

Kong Xixue felt that Kong Kejian thought about the problem too simply. Their understanding of Zhu Kai was limited to his reputation in Yingtian Prefecture.

Isn't it too rash to make such a decision?

Kong Xixue felt that there was most likely a problem, but he couldn't tell exactly where the problem was.

I always feel that Zhu Kai is not as easy to deal with as I imagined.

……

Zhu Kai would not pay any attention to the Kong family now. He took his troops and went east with Hu Weiyong, passing through Laizhou Prefecture and arriving at Dengzhou Prefecture.

When Zhu Kai was still in Yingtian Prefecture, he wrote a letter to Hu Weiyong to scold him. Then Hu Weiyong began to take active action and pulled Wu Zhen to drive the Japanese pirates out of Laizhou Prefecture.

Just as Hu Weiyong said, in the present Laizhou Prefecture, apart from those hanging on the city walls, there are no more Japanese pirates in the city.

Hu Weiyong was also afraid that it would make Zhu Kai unhappy, so after eliminating a large-scale Japanese pirate gang in Laizhou, Hu Weiyong mobilized the people and offered a reward of two taels of silver to anyone who found and reported the Japanese pirates, and ten taels of silver to anyone who killed one.

There was a reward for capturing Japanese pirates. As soon as this order came out, the Japanese pirates who had managed to escape were immediately caught in the vast sea of ​​people. One by one, the Japanese pirates were captured. Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining Japanese pirates immediately fled to Dengzhou. Hu Weiyong pursued them relentlessly, so they were forced to continue fleeing eastward, and even escape to a small island outside.

Wu Zhen is now on the coastline. Relying on the captured Japanese pirates, he can obtain the location of the islands where the Japanese pirates are hiding. Then he will collect ships and prepare to go out to sea to destroy the Japanese pirates' lair.

At this time, Wu Zhen was preparing to go to sea to fight and make full preparations to welcome Zhu Kai.

What a joke! Everyone knows that Zhu Kai is a warmonger. As long as he comes, he will definitely fight. If we stop him, something weird might happen. It is better to find a way to let Zhu Kai fight while ensuring his safety.

When Zhu Kai appeared at the beach, looking at the rolling waves and the endless blue in front of him, the pores on Zhu Kai's body opened up and he looked extremely excited.

Before traveling through time, Zhu Kai was a sailor and spent two-thirds of the year on the sea. When he saw the sea, it was like returning home, with excitement and comfort radiating from his whole body.

Don't get too comfortable!
Hu Weiyong, who was standing next to him, saw Zhu Kai's look and thought that Zhu Kai was stunned by the vastness of the sea in front of him.

It was just like when I first saw the endless sea.

Shocked, normal.

Hu Weiyong helped Zhu Kai explain, "Your Highness, this sea is vast. I was also shocked when I first saw it. It is much wider than the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. I don't know how far it is from here to the Japanese island."

He looked like he was explaining things to Zhu Kai, but Zhu Kai didn't understand the sea as well as he understood it?
What a joke!
"No one knows the sea better than I do! And this is only the edge of the sea."

Zhu Kai curled his lips. Compared with the real ocean, what Hu Weiyong saw when he stood on the shore was just a small puddle.

Zhu Kai said to Wu Zhen and Hu Weiyong: "The land beneath our feet is a sphere. All people, things and objects are tied to the ground by a force called gravity. Don't think what I said is incredible. You can try it. Let a ship sail far away. The last thing you see is definitely the mast. If the place where we live is flat, then the ship will disappear until it is out of sight."

If it weren't for Zhu Kai's identity, Hu Weiyong and Wu Zhen would definitely think that Zhu Kai was talking nonsense.

Zhu Kai also knew that telling them now that the earth was round would be like playing the lute to a cow, but if he said it now, even if they didn't believe it, it would still have some weight.

What's more, Zhu Kai also had Hu Weiyong, a lackey, by his side. After hearing what Zhu Kai said, his first reaction was not that these words were false, but "I will verify it when I have time to prove that what Zhu Kai said is true."

Zhu Kai did not continue to teach the two about geography and physics, but instead asked Wu Zhen, "Old Wu, how are the boats for the voyage going?"

"It's ready."

Wu Zhen seemed very unconfident when he spoke. He was indeed well prepared, but that was only directed at the soldiers. If Zhu Kai wanted to go on the boat and act with the soldiers, he would definitely not be prepared.

Since Zhu Kai is here, the question of whether Zhu Kai will go out is inevitable. Wu Zhen simply asked Zhu Kai directly: "Brother Kai, do you also want to follow the soldiers to take a boat to clear out the Japanese pirates' nest?"

"What? No?"

Zhu Kai looked at Wu Zhen, "Do you still think I'm a burden?"

Wu Zhen did not answer Zhu Kai's question, but explained to him: "Brother Kai, fighting at sea is very risky, and the soldiers going there need to be proficient in water. Your Highness, are you......"

"Proficient in water?"

Zhu Kai laughed. He didn't expect that he would be despised for playing in the water.

The weather was already hot and the water wouldn't be too cold. Without saying a word, Zhu Kai took off his clothes, found a suitable position, and dived into the water.

"Old Wu, call over those who are good at swimming in your army, so I can compete with them!"

"..."

Wu Zhen said nothing.

He quickly drove all the soldiers around him who were good at swimming into the sea.

It’s not that I really want to compete with Zhu Kai, but I’m mainly worried that Zhu Kai will jump into the water and if he can’t float up, wouldn’t that be troublesome?

Besides, with Zhu Kai's physique, it would be impossible to pull him up without more than ten people. It would be safer to send more people down.

Hu Weiyong stood on the shore, looking at the nervous Hu Weiyong, but he was very calm: "Marquis Jinghai, don't doubt the Second Prince's strength. I have followed him for so long, and I have never seen His Highness brag."

Wu Zhen directly asked back: "We are standing on the same ball, do you believe it?"

"Believe!"

Hu Weiyong answered clearly and crisply, "Besides, the Second Prince is the one in charge here now, so it would be better for Marquis Jinghai to obey his orders."

If you don't listen, you will definitely have a place as Marquis of Jinghai in the booklet "Records of Traitors".

Wu Zhen had never been threatened like this before, and a trace of anger immediately appeared on his face. He looked at Hu Weiyong with murderous intent, but Hu Weiyong looked at him fearlessly, and then said to him calmly: "If Marquis Jinghai doesn't believe me, you can do things according to your ideas, but don't forget that I am the governor of Qilu."

If you disobey orders, you will be executed according to the law.

Wu Zhen felt a chill for no reason. Thinking of the rumor in Yingtian Prefecture that Hu Weiyong was Zhu Kai's lackey, and Hu Weiyong's performance after coming to Qi and Lu, Wu Zhen felt that this villain did not seem to be threatening, but rather stating facts.

Silently turning his head back, Wu Zhen looked at Zhu Kai swimming happily in the sea and said calmly, "Looking at Kai's swimming ability, he will surely be a brave general in a ship-based battle!"

He refused to bow his head, but expressed his agreement by recognizing Zhu Kai. Hu Weiyong then smiled: "I said, His Royal Highness the Second Prince can do anything!"

Zhu Kai's ability to board the ship to fight does not mean that the troops following him, such as Zhang Hao and Zhang Zhou, can also move forward together. Zhu Kai picked out 500 personal guards, took the weapons from the super ocean-going freighter, armed these 500 personal guards, and joined forces with the 3,000 troops led by Wu Zhen. Led by the captives, the group marched towards the sea in a mighty manner.

Hu Weiyong was not good at swimming, but after learning that Zhu Kai would also come to Qi and Lu, he practiced very hard. Although he was not as good as a fish in the waves, he had no problem walking on the boat as if it were flat ground.

The captive who showed the way to Zhu Kai's troops was also very interesting.

His surname is Lu.

He was a person with the surname Kong who was from the Kong family of Lu County and was an unknown number of generations away (generally speaking, people who were five generations away were considered outsiders, but the Kong family was a big tree, and no one was stupid enough to abandon this big tree and go out on their own).

According to Lu Renjia's confession, the head of his branch relied on the big tree of the Kong family to do some business in Qi and Lu, but their branch was too small and could not go further, so for their own interests, they decisively chose to take risks and cooperate with several roaming Japanese pirates and pirate gangs to plunder more profits.

After hearing this, Zhu Kai couldn't help but clench his fists.

This is a typical act of treason!

Zhu Kai remembered that when he was reading a novel on the boat before, it was mentioned that when Qi Jiguang was fighting against the Japanese pirates in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the Japanese only accounted for a very small part of them. The majority were pirates, some of whom pretended to be pirates in order to make huge profits.

Unexpectedly, the Kong family, which Confucian scholars regarded as a role model, was actually doing this kind of business that would cut off their lineage and exterminate their descendants.

Wu Zhen was also extremely angry about the Kong family's doing this. Coupled with the fact that Kong Kejian had previously underestimated Zhu Yuanzhang and the Ming Dynasty, Wu Zhen no longer had any good feelings towards the Kong family.

After dealing with this group of dwarf Japanese pirates, we will immediately deal with the Kong family!

The Kong family has done such a heartless thing, he wants to see who dares to protect the Kong family again!

……

Overseas, in the land of China, is a very mysterious place.

Penglai Fairy Island, sailing to the sea to search for immortals... With the influence of various mythological stories, and the precedent that the Mongols sent a large army to the east to destroy the Japanese islands but were completely wiped out, almost everyone in the Ming Dynasty had an inexplicable awe of the ocean.

However, this is just the near sea, there is also the deep sea!

Zhu Kai stood on the deck, gazing into the distance with bright eyes. The future journey of the Ming Dynasty was to the sea of ​​stars. Thinking of today's Europe, which had already shown signs of revival, they stimulated their ambition to conquer through one battle after another.

The world is so big, how could the Ming Dynasty not get involved?
So the first step to conquering the world is to conquer Japan.

There are many islands outside the Chinese land, and the Ming Dynasty does not control many of them. However, with Lu Renjia as a guide, they have a better understanding of the Japanese pirates on the islands.

This time, Zhu Kai led his troops to the largest gathering place of Japanese pirates. This was also what Zhu Kai meant. Don't think about those small fish and shrimps. If you want to fight, fight the biggest one to deter other small groups of Japanese pirates. Either surrender or wait to be killed.

Wuji Island, on this island, there is a group of Japanese pirates of about 3,000 people. According to Lu Renjia's intelligence, among these 3,000 people, more than 2,000 are his family members, with the family servants as the backbone, and a group of mountain bandits hidden among the people were recruited from Qi and Lu. The other 700 are Japanese devils. Lu Renjia also said that these 700 Japanese pirates are not united, and there seem to be several factions among them. If it were not for his family to suppress them, these Japanese devils would have fought among themselves.

For this reason, Lu Renjia was also very confused. There were only 700 people. If they were in Qi and Lu, it would be enough to find a few people from neighboring villages. How could there be any conflict?

Hu Weiyong and Wu Zhen even began to analyze whether the 700 Japanese devils did this on purpose in order to conceal their tracks.

Zhu Kai simply disdained all this analysis. What bullshit! They just had real conflicts. Seven hundred people were already the leading force in Japan's homeland, and Japan's Warring States period had not yet arrived. These seven hundred people probably wanted to return to their country to fight for hegemony after seeing how much money they had made.

What the hell is this Warring States period? It was just a bunch of villagers fighting.

Three thousand soldiers and horses, sitting on fifty boats, floated on the sea in a mighty force. There was no cover at all, and they appeared in the sight of Wuji Island.

The Japanese pirates on the island had sentries. When they saw the "Ming" flags and the large red flags hanging on the ships, they were shaking all over. They had seen the fighting power of the Ming Dynasty and had no power to resist at all.

Without hesitation, he went to report the enemy situation to the leader of the island.

When the leaders of the island heard the news that the Ming Dynasty had sent a navy to Wuji Island, with fifty ships coming at once to surround the entire island, they became paralyzed.

They didn't want to be embarrassed, but the situation was stronger than them.

The Ming Dynasty was still a behemoth that they could not resist. They also did not expect that the Ming Dynasty was so determined to wipe out the Japanese pirates. They chased them all the way from Laizhou to the island. If they continued to escape, they would have to swim back.

But on the island there were gold, silver and treasures they had looted for three years, as well as food, fodder, weapons and armor. If they fled like this, they would get nothing.

"Baga, I told you guys to leave, but you wouldn't listen! Now look what happened, we get nothing!"

One of the Japanese soldiers stood up, panicking and angry: "It has been said that the Ming Dynasty is not the Yuan Dynasty. We can beat those barbarians. The Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan Dynasty. You have seen the fighting power of the Ming soldiers. How can we be their opponent? Moreover, there are fifty ships coming this first time. Can the obstacles we set up around the island stop them?"

These words put everyone else in a state of disgrace.

Yes, the traps and obstacles they set up around Wuji Island were aimed at the Japanese pirates on the surrounding islands. Those obstacles could only stop small sampans. They could not stop the tower ships from the Ming Dynasty at all. As long as they kept moving forward, those obstacles would disappear without a trace.

How to do?
With their retreat completely cut off, the Japanese soldier faced this desperate situation and simply gave up: "Now, we can only fight to the death."

(End of this chapter)