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

Chapter 115 Father-in-law? That’s Lao Feng!

Feng Sheng didn't expect Zhu Kai to want to expand westwards, and couldn't help but shake his head: "Brother Kai, the Mongols also conquered a huge territory, but didn't they fail in the end? The Mongols existed for a hundred years, but in less than thirty years, the conquered territories outside began to become kings of their own and refused to obey the Mongols' orders."

"Even if we conquer all those lands, how can we manage them afterwards? The Western Region is more than ten thousand miles away from Yingtian Prefecture. It takes half a year to go back and forth. We can't manage it all."

"If you can't manage it, wouldn't it be better to make him king?"

Zhu Kai thought that the problem Feng Sheng was struggling with was too easy to solve: "As long as my father issues an order, no king is allowed in the current Ming territory. If you want to become a king, you must go to the newly conquered land outside to be the king. This is not exile, but giving them a chance."

"Generals like you can all be crowned kings. As long as we move the people to these places, in 20 or 30 years, all of them will be Ming people. Even if they become kings, what will happen? They only have one identity: Han people!"

"The sun, the moon, the mountains and the rivers will last forever, and the Ming Dynasty will last forever. Old Feng, the Ming Dynasty is not about how big the territory is, but how many Han people are on the territory. My Ming Dynasty is prosperous in literature and martial arts, and the people of the Ming Dynasty are shining like the sun and the moon. Why not?"

Feng Sheng was stunned when he heard Zhu Kai's words.

What the hell?
Make us king?
how can that be!

Feng Sheng felt that he was given the title of "Duke" because Zhu Yuanzhang remembered their brothers' merits, and would further confer the title of king... Even Xu Da didn't dare to think about it, so what qualifications did Feng Sheng have to think about it?

Second Prince, you can eat whatever you want, but don’t say anything you want, or people will die!

Zhu Kai spoke too boldly. Even the older Feng Sheng didn't dare to respond to him. If he said someone would die, then someone would really die.

Zhu Yuanzhang would not allow a king of the opposite sex to appear on the territory of the Ming Dynasty. In the fifth year of Hongwu, Xu Da could be made a king for his contribution in the expedition to the Mongols. Although the war was very tortuous, the final victory was unexpected. With such a great contribution, Xu Da's qualifications were enough to make him a king.

But Xu Da knew Zhu Yuanzhang too well. He knew that Zhu Yuanzhang would not make him a king in the Ming Dynasty. So after returning to Yingtian Prefecture, Xu Da took the initiative to take all the responsibility for the Northern Expedition on himself, cutting off the possibility of being made a king. Zhu Yuanzhang also let Xu Da go.

With the example of Xu Da, why would Feng Sheng get himself into trouble?

Inappropriate, very inappropriate.

"Old Feng, don't worry so much, everything will be fine as long as I'm here."

Zhu Kai sat on the chair and said to Feng Sheng: "Even if Old Zhu has ten more sons, it's useless to eliminate half of them. The remaining half is not enough. When the time comes, Old Zhu will definitely find a way to arrange you in."

It’s just a king, no big deal.

This matter still needs to be discussed with Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang in person.

Feng Sheng was very scared: "Brother Kai! Second Prince, you must not tell His Majesty about this."

By then, Zhu Yuanzhang will think that you are blinded by greed, and it will be too dangerous to ask Zhu Kai for the throne. If you anger Zhu Yuanzhang, not to mention the throne, you will also lose your current title of Duke.

No, absolutely not.

Zhu Kai laughed out loud: "Look how scared you are, Old Feng. There is a saying: If a person has no dreams, what is the difference between him and a salted fish? People should be able to dream, and we should also realize our dreams within reasonable rules."

You have a good idea.

Feng Sheng was secretly complaining in his heart, thinking that if Zhu Kai was not Zhu Yuanzhang's son, he would have died countless times by now.

If a person has no dreams, what’s the difference between him and a salted fish…When your dreams cannot come true, you will know the difference between a dream and a salted fish.

Seeing that Zhu Kai was still trying to make promises for him, Feng Sheng naturally refused to buy it and asked out of the blue, "What if the dream can't be realized?"

"Ah, this... When people realize their dreams, they always pay a certain price, haha..."

Zhu Kai laughed. Seeing that his father-in-law was not taking the bait, Zhu Kai changed the subject directly: "Well, Lao Feng, let's talk about the war. Wang Baobao wants to go to the Western Regions. You can't just watch him take all his men away, right? Our Ming Dynasty also needs people to work."

At this time, there were 150,000 soldiers on the grassland. Even if all the Mongols were soldiers, they would need 200,000 people to provide them with food, fodder, and military equipment, and perhaps even more people.

If Ming Dynasty had 200,000 more people, its development would quickly accelerate.

Seeing that Zhu Kai no longer mentioned the matter of being crowned king, Feng Sheng gradually relaxed. Seeing that Zhu Kai took the initiative to bring the topic back to the war, Feng Sheng was also happy to be free. He said to Zhu Kai: "Of course not. Originally, I planned to go to Jinxi to take charge, and then go to Ganlong to command. It is closer to where Wang Baobao is heading west, so I naturally want to take action against them before that."

"At the same time, I will send a large army along the Liaodong line to cut off the connection between the northern part of Liaodong and Wang Baobao. As for how to deal with these people, I haven't figured it out yet... However, Kai Ge'er previously recruited 20,000 grassland cavalrymen, gathered their tribes, and gave them Ming citizenship. This is undoubtedly a good start. When Wang Baobao leads his army westward, naturally there will be many people who are unwilling to go with them. At that time, whether they are willing to lead their tribes to surrender or fight to the death, we can be ready to deal with them."

“Well, this method is not bad.”

Zhu Kai was very satisfied with this measure. "We cannot let these tribes that have surrendered to us continue to stay on the grassland, not even around the grassland. We should send them to Qi and Lu, or to Huguang, and let them learn to farm."

No language barrier?
That doesn’t matter. There are Mongols who can speak both Chinese and Mongolian. We can manage these people in batches and there is no need to worry about them causing trouble.

As for why they are not allowed to stay on the grassland, or why they are allowed to stay in the cities around the grassland, it is because the environment in which they live has not eliminated the wildness in them.

Moreover, the people in cities close to the grassland have always been tough, so fighting is inevitable. When the time comes, the fighting among these people will affect development, and conquering them will be purely useless.

It was the fifth year of Hongwu, and the Ming Dynasty had only been established for five years. The people were still concentrating on farming and trying their best to support their families. A few foreigners came, and as long as everyone got along well and didn't cause trouble, who would bother to fight over anything?
So, now is the best opportunity.

Even if there are minor frictions in the future, it will be no big deal. Normally, the east and west ends of a village fight with each other. These things are just trivial matters.

The most important thing is to fight.

Zhu Kai couldn't help but rub his hands and fight: "Father-in-law, how are you going to fight? In my opinion, the Mongols are just grasshoppers in autumn, and they won't be able to jump for long. We can make a concerted effort to take down everything we want and can get."

Looking at Zhu Kai's warmongering look, Feng Sheng couldn't help but roll his eyes.

He gets excited when he hears about war, so this guy can only be a pioneer.

Zhu Kai, who knew nothing about warfare and tactics, turned out to be a great strategist. Feng Sheng had never expected this: "Although the strength of the Mongols is rapidly declining, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and their foundation is still there. In the art of war, there are many examples of trapped beasts fighting hard. If we can't take them down in one fell swoop, we have to take it step by step. The worst result is to drive them out of the grassland."

"Driving them out of the grassland and heading west is the best outcome. How can it be the worst?"

Zhu Kai almost wrote the eight words "Old Feng, can you fight a war?" in his mind.

Feng Sheng couldn't help but roll his eyes after hearing this. So you still want me to be crowned king?

I have never seen a son-in-law who would betray his father-in-law to death.

Feng Sheng had no intention of making him a king, but Zhu Kai did. He was really afraid that Zhu Kai would get excited and bring up this matter with Zhu Yuanzhang. By then, Feng Sheng would not be able to explain it clearly even if he had a hundred mouths. He needed to dispel Zhu Kai's idea of ​​making him a king: "Brother Kai, there is a kind of crime called false accusation, and there is a kind of accusation called nurturing an enemy to protect oneself."

If Feng Sheng let Wang Baobao go this time, someone in the court would take this opportunity to attack him. At that time, Feng Sheng's desire to lead troops to fight, or Zhu Yuanzhang's desire to let Feng Sheng lead troops, would be greatly affected.

Rumors are scary, and the story of three people making a tiger is just like this.

"Raising an enemy to protect oneself?"

Zhu Kai listened to Feng Sheng's words and sneered: "I'm here, what are you worried about?"

"you?"

Facing his son-in-law, Feng Sheng did not hide anything: "You can protect me for a while, but can you protect me for the rest of my life? Haha... kid, I still have a family. When the time comes, don't even mention protecting me, you will be a hopeless case."

The most important thing is that Zhu Kai is not the emperor.

If he were the emperor, why would he need to think about these things?
What a pity... Such a good talent cannot become the emperor.

Otherwise, let Zhu Kai rebel?

Of course, this rebellion did not mean a rebellion against Zhu Yuanzhang, but Zhu Biao, that kid with a kind face, looked easy to bully.

Zhu Kai looked at Feng Sheng, who kept glancing at him after he finished his sigh. He immediately became alert: "Old Feng, what are you thinking about?"

"Ahem, nothing." Feng Sheng quickly interrupted his reverie and said to Zhu Kai, "Well, I'm going to Jinxi, do you want to go?"

"Go, definitely go."

Zhu Kai naturally went wherever there was a lot of fun, but there was one thing he wanted to make clear to Feng Sheng: "But how are you going to get there?"

"Of course...I left Yanjing in the north and walked through the grassland."

Feng Sheng narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhu Kai: "How about it? Do you want to join us?"

"Old Feng, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but how could you leave such a dangerous place?"

Zhu Kai was very dissatisfied with Feng Sheng's decision, and then said: "As the general of the Ming Dynasty's northern border army, you naturally have to put the Ming Dynasty's border army first. You are not just one person, you represent the entire northern border army!"

"..."

Is this kid so sensible now?
Feng Sheng didn't expect Zhu Kai to have such awareness and was very satisfied.

It seems that Zhu Kai has grown up after marriage, and it was worth my sudden change of mind and testing Zhu Kai.

But Zhu Kai's next words made Feng Sheng break down his defenses: "It's too dangerous for father-in-law to go out. Let me help you with such a dangerous job, haha."

"..."

So it was Zhu Kai who wanted to go, and he thought I'd be in the way?

Feng Sheng spoke directly: "You little bastard, you deserve a beating again, don't you?"

As he said this, Feng Sheng picked up the whip and was about to hit the person.

When Zhu Kai got married, Zhu Yuanzhang said: Zhu Kai is a boy who deserves a beating, beating him won't have any effect.

Seeing Feng Sheng about to take action, Zhu Kai was not intolerant at all: "Old Feng, you are going too far! If you dare to take action, I will let you taste my iron fist!"

What father-in-law?
He is Lao Feng!

You didn’t even dare to hit me before, but now that you’re a father-in-law, you’re still thinking of taking advantage of me?

"Little bunny!"

Feng Sheng picked up a whip and chased after Zhu Kai to whip him, but Zhu Kai did not retreat but instead moved forward, staring at Feng Sheng with wide eyes. His bear-like body gave him great pressure.

This guy, he doesn't really want to take action, right?

Feng Sheng couldn't make up his mind for a moment. He knew that Zhu Kai was a reckless person and didn't care about the rules. If he was annoyed, he would really fight with him... Feng Sheng felt it was a bit dangerous.

His identity as a father-in-law was not secure, and in terms of hard power, Zhu Kai's hands-on ability was unmatched in the entire Ming Dynasty. Feng Sheng thought about himself... forget it.

There is nothing to say if he wins, after all, it is not a big deal for a father-in-law to beat his son-in-law, but if he loses, wouldn't it be a joke? Feng Sheng still has to command the North, and he doesn't want to become a joke in the North because of Zhu Kai.

With Feng Sheng saying "get out" angrily, Zhu Kai left nonchalantly.

Feng Sheng just didn't dare to gamble.

Coward!
But Zhu Kai dared. If he was forced into a corner, he could just fight back. It’s not like he couldn’t win!
Feng Sheng was so angry that he smashed the table, but in the end he didn't get a good result. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He was actually being controlled by his son-in-law. How could this be tolerated?

Her precious daughter Feng Yuting married him, but she couldn't control her son-in-law. What should she do if her daughter suffers from bullying at home in the future?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He picked up his sword and walked out several times, wanting to have a real man duel with Zhu Kai to determine the winner and decide life and death. However, Feng Sheng did not dare to gamble. Not to mention whether he could defeat Zhu Kai's bear-like body, what would happen even if he killed Zhu Kai?
Could I really just watch my daughter become a widow?

Feng Sheng thought about it, and finally put down the knife and picked up the pen: "Sister-in-law, I feel wronged, the second prince..."

As he wrote, Feng Sheng began to laugh.

You little bastard, I can't deal with you, but can the Queen also deal with you?

……

Not to mention the battle between Feng Sheng and Zhu Kai, the father-in-law and son-in-law, which determined the superiority and life-and-death battle, Feng Sheng and Zhu Kai's analysis of the Mongols was basically correct.

Just as Feng Sheng had collected information, Wang Baobao was preparing to retreat.

The Mongols cannot perish...

The reason is simple, Wang Baobao was not convinced.

Zhu Kai took out a weapon that had never been seen before. The kind of weapon that could take people's lives from dozens or even hundreds of meters away made Wang Baobao feel that the Ming Dynasty's victory was unfair.

If you have the ability, fight with real swords and guns on the battlefield!
Although he was not convinced, Wang Baobao was very afraid of Zhu Kai's weapon in his heart.

The Mongols also had skilled craftsmen. After seeing Zhu Kai's weapons, Wang Baobao immediately ordered the skilled craftsmen to make the weapons that Zhu Kai had. But those skilled craftsmen were also human beings. They didn't even know what weapons Zhu Kai had. How could they make weapons with just a few bullets?
After studying for a winter, the skilled craftsmen of the Yuan Dynasty came to a conclusion that the weapon in Zhu Kai's hand evolved from artillery and was a scaled-down version of artillery. As for why these scaled-down artillery could unleash such great power, the skilled craftsmen were at a loss as to why.

After hearing this, Wang Baobao realized that as long as the Ming army with mysterious weapons was still there, they would not be a match for the Ming Dynasty, and they would lose more than they win if they faced the Ming Dynasty again in the future.

What should I do?
The first thing Wang Baobao thought of was to leave and avoid the enemy's attack. After his strength was restored and he had developed the mysterious weapon, he would compete with the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the first thing Wang Baobao thought of was the Western Regions, the land in the far west. Although it could not compare with the wealth of the Central Plains, it was better than the grasslands. At that time, there would be no need to worry about the threat from the Ming Dynasty. How great is that?

Dreams are beautiful, but reality is cruel.

Wang Baobao expressed his idea in front of everyone, which immediately aroused opposition from almost everyone, including Toghon Temur, who had supported him from the beginning. He felt that Wang Baobao's proposal was really bad.

The reason is also very simple.

Although they are living a hard life now, they are close to the Ming Dynasty. Toghon Temur is still thinking about returning to the Central Plains one day.

Besides, the Western Regions are a bitter and cold place where even hair cannot grow. Temujin and Kublai Khan fought all the way but didn’t get anything good.

Except for Wang Baobao, all the other Mongol princes and ministers were unwilling to leave.

Wang Baobao was very troubled. He could beat the Mongols like this now, but the number of stupid teammates around him did not decrease, but increased instead.

This is fucked up!
He really wanted to drag this group of Mongol princes and nobles, and even Toghon Temur, to the battlefield to let them know the powerful force of the weapons in the hands of the Ming Dynasty.

We can't go on like this. If we continue, is there any hope for recovery?

Others disagreed, so even if Wang Baobao wanted to move his troops westward, it would not be easy.

So, at the beginning of spring, Wang Baobao told Toghon Temur that the Mongols had lost half of Liaodong and were in dire need of food. The Ming Dynasty was too strong and it was not feasible to rob them of their food, so they could only go west to the Western Regions to borrow food.

Toghon Temur could tell that Wang Baobao still wanted to go west. Although he did not agree, Wang Baobao now controlled the Mongol army, so he had to agree even if he did not agree.

At least Wang Baobao didn't mention moving westward again, so let's just do as Wang Baobao wants.

Wang Baobao took a defensive stance against the Ming Dynasty on the grassland, and then sent 30,000 troops to the Western Regions to plunder. Although the strength of the Mongols was greatly reduced, as the saying goes, "a lean camel is bigger than a horse", they could not defeat the Ming Dynasty, but they had no problem defeating the small countries in the Western Regions.

Of course, Wang Baobao ordered his men to attack the Mongols, but he remained vigilant against the Ming Dynasty and kept a close eye on its actions.

The Ming Dynasty had spies on the grasslands, and the Mongols also had spies on Ming territory.

When Wang Baobao heard the news that Zhu Kai appeared in the northern border, he immediately realized that the Ming Dynasty was about to take action again.

(End of this chapter)