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

Zhou Heng disagreed, but he couldn't tell whether it was right or wrong. He could only ask what he wanted to ask the most: "Lord Meng, what if they harm the interests of the people?"

"……Won't!"

Meng Duan replied, "Definitely not!"

"I mean just in case!"

"What if...Tang Taizong Li Shimin once said that we can learn from history to understand the rise and fall of nations."

This sentence has already shown Meng Duan's attitude.

Countless historical facts have proven that standing against the people will not lead to a good outcome. He did not believe that Zhu Yuanzhang did not understand the lesson.

At that point, what's wrong with rebelling?

There is no other reason, it’s just the trend of the times!

What Meng Duan and Zhou Heng didn’t know was that the “what if” they were talking about would basically never happen, at least not in the Ming Dynasty where Zhu Kai was around. As for the future... presumably by that time, Meng Duan and Zhou Heng wouldn’t be able to see it either, right?
……

The second day of the Chinese New Year is the time to go back to my parents’ home.

Zhu Biao had already agreed with Chang that they would return to Duke Zheng's Mansion today. After all, Chang Mao was his brother-in-law, and Lan Yu was also his uncle. Zhu Biao was unwilling to give up this family relationship. He also wanted to take this opportunity to see what progress Lan Yu and Chang Mao could make after neglecting them for a year.

The prince needs to prepare in advance when traveling.

Lan Yu and Chang Mao received the news earlier and had made preparations in advance.

When Zhu Biao arrived, Lan Yu and Chang Mao took people out to greet him.

This time, Lan Yu did not continue to act superior, but knelt down very respectfully to greet him.

"We are all family, no need to be so polite!"

Zhu Biao stretched out his hand to pull Lan Yu up, and asked with a smile: "Uncle has been idle at home for a year, and father and mother remember you."

When Lan Yu heard Zhu Biao's words, he trembled with excitement.

Is this a sign of reactivation?

"Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you Prince for your concern. I am fine."

Lan Yu's eyes were red. "Don't worry, Your Highness. I will not let Your Highness and His Majesty down."

One year, one year has passed.

One can imagine how excited Lan Yu was as he finally had the opportunity to lead troops into battle again.

"Haha."

Zhu Biao pulled Lan Yu and Chang Mao into the Duke of Zheng's mansion, "Uncle, don't just thank me and the emperor. If it weren't for Brother Kai saying that there were things that Lan Yu had to do, the emperor wouldn't have thought of you so early."

Zhu Kai speaks for me?

Lan Yu didn't quite believe it, but thinking about how much Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao doted on Zhu Kai, if Zhu Kai didn't agree this time, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao would definitely not use him.

What does Zhu Biao mean when he mentions Zhu Kai now?
It was to tell Lan Yu that Zhu Yuanzhang and I really wanted to use you, but how to use you, whether to let you continue to train troops in Yingtian Prefecture or lead troops out to fight, depended on Zhu Kai's opinion.

Lan Yu instantly understood what Zhu Biao meant. Even if he wanted to tear Zhu Kai into pieces, he had to swallow his anger at this moment. "Don't worry, Your Highness. The Second Prince and I have a very good relationship. Tomorrow I will bring a valuable gift to see the Second Prince. Hehe... He has been away for half a year, and we really haven't had a good conversation."

Although Chang Mao had not yet officially attended the court, he had grown up in a different environment and had been influenced by many people. He could hear the subtext behind many people's words. He felt sorry for Lan Yu as he looked at his smiling face.

Zhu Biao clearly knew that Zhu Kai and Lan Yu did not get along, and that Zhu Kai had been humiliating Lan Yu, even to the point that the dog raised in Fengxian Hall was called Miss Lan Yu. Despite such an insult, Zhu Biao still asked Lan Yu to go to Zhu Kai to seek forgiveness?
Isn't this bullying?
Your Highness, he is your uncle!

Isn't it too bullying for you to do this?

Zhu Kai is your biological brother, so has Lan Yu ever done anything to let you down?

Chang Mao knew every step of Lan Yu's plan. Everything was planned for Zhu Biao, but Zhu Biao didn't appreciate it. This made Chang Mao feel a little resentful towards Zhu Biao.

"Ah."

Zhu Biao was very satisfied with Lan Yu's attitude. As for Chang Mao's dissatisfaction with him, Zhu Biao did not take it to heart.

Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. As ministers, Lan Yu and Chang Mao should accept everything. If they don't accept it, Zhu Biao will not spoil them. They should just continue to stay at home. In a few years, Chang Yuchun's lineage will disappear from the Ming Dynasty court.

……

The New Year time passed quickly.

On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, court officials started to go to work. After the Lantern Festival, they were allowed to take a day off, which was considered a reward from Zhu Yuanzhang.

As soon as he got to work, Meng Duan came to see Zhu Kai and talked about Zhou Heng's matter.

Meng Duan and Zhu Kai didn't have much interaction, so when he saw Zhu Kai, he didn't waste any words and directly said what he wanted: "Second Prince, Zhou Heng is a very talented person, but he is stubborn, which prevents him from displaying his abilities. After my persuasion, his attitude has changed a little. Can you let him out of the cell first? He won't bother you again in the future."

"It's hard to make such a stubborn person change. Old Meng is still as good at fooling people as before."

Zhu Kai looked at Meng Duan with a half-smile, "Looking for trouble with me? He deserves it, right? Old Meng, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but what's the point of keeping such a stubborn person? It can only cause trouble for yourself."

"That's what the second prince said."

Meng Duan lowered his eyebrows and kept saying nice things to Zhu Kai: "Others may not understand the Second Prince, but I know you better. If it weren't for you, how could the people of Yingtian Prefecture live a good life so soon? The Second Prince cares about the people. I wish you could go out on the street every day. The people of Yingtian Prefecture cannot live without you, just like the Ming Dynasty cannot live without His Majesty."

"..."

As the saying goes, don't hit someone with a smiling face.

Meng Duan, this old liar, speaks in a roundabout way, making Zhu Kai feel like he has power but nowhere to use it.

This guy is really good at flattering people. And he flatters people in a very comfortable way.

Zhu Kai laughed out loud: "You old liar, are you still planning to deceive me? That Zhou Heng...if he really has changed, let him go to Big Brother. Big Brother needs someone like him."

"Ok?"

Meng Duan was stunned when he heard Zhu Kai's words, and then he thanked Zhu Kai sincerely: "The world does not know you, the Second Prince, but I have always believed that you are a person who cares about the people. Ming Dynasty is blessed to have you. If Your Highness needs me in the future, please feel free to speak to me. I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

"Okay, go ahead, go ahead."

Zhu Kai waved his hand, signaling Meng Duan to leave.

Zhou Heng is just a minor character. Zhu Kai would not be angry with a minor character.

He has been beaten, scolded, and thrown into a cell. The rest of the way depends on Zhou Heng himself.

Besides, he could even let Lan Yu go, let alone a mere Zhou Heng?
……

After Zhu Biao told Lan Yu that he could continue to lead the troops, Lan Yu had been preparing.

He planned to meet Zhu Kai and apologize to him in order to gain Zhu Kai's forgiveness. As for how Zhu Kai would punish him, he didn't care, as long as he could continue to lead troops to fight.

Chang Mao had been accompanying Lan Yu the whole time. Seeing the thorns Lan Yu had prepared, he couldn't bear it: "Uncle, are you really going to go and apologize? Not at all. Zhu Kai is nothing. He..."

"Shut up!"

Lan Yu mercilessly rebuked Chang Mao, telling him to shut up, and then angrily said, "You are a subject, and the prince is the master. As a subject, do you still want to disobey the orders of your master?"

"But……"

Chang Mao still refused to accept it. He felt that Lan Yu had made great military achievements, and that the Chang family and Lan Yu were on the same side as Zhu Biao. Wasn't Zhu Biao afraid of hurting his brothers' feelings by suppressing Lan Yu like this?

But for Lan Yu, these are not a problem at all!

Lan Yu was spoiled and arrogant, but he was wholeheartedly good to Zhu Biao. However, Lan Yu also saw clearly that in Zhu Biao's heart, Zhu Kai was a red line that could not be crossed. If anyone wanted to deal with Zhu Kai, he would beat the other person to death. Lan Yu saw this and chose to avoid him.

Since Zhu Kai holds such an important position in your heart, it's okay for me to not do anything, right? I should apologize and then go to fight.

Before, Lan Yu had always been worried about Zhu Biao, fearing that he would be too soft-hearted. However, he was fooled by Zhu Biao once, which made Lan Yu realize that Zhu Biao was not incapable of using his tactics, but was disdainful of using them. However, once he was pushed into a corner, he would use any means.

After seeing another side of Zhu Biao, Lan Yu felt somewhat relieved, so he was more confident in Zhu Biao.

A real man can bend and stretch, so what does that matter?
Back then, Han Xin could still endure the humiliation of being kicked in the crotch, but Lan Yu could only ask for forgiveness by carrying a thorn stick on his back. How could he not be able to bear this?

……

Lan Yu is a man who does what he says, and he has been idle at home for almost a year. While other generals are making great achievements, he can do nothing. This makes Lan Yu anxious like an ant on hot pan. Now that he finally has the chance to go to war, how could Lan Yu not speed up?
Go find Zhu Kai first and ask him to forgive you.

Inside the Wuying Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang was discussing court strategies with Zhu Biao. Now that the vast Mongol Yuan Dynasty had been defeated and Liaodong had also returned to the Ming Dynasty, these two places needed to be managed, but how to manage them was a difficult problem. Zhu Yuanzhang could only call Zhu Biao over to discuss countermeasures.

"Actually, we still want Kai'er to go."

The first person Zhu Yuanzhang thought of was Zhu Kai. He believed that Zhu Kai was the one who could govern the grassland well. "What do you think? If we enfeoff Kai'er to the grassland and let him lead the grassland and Liaodong? I have discussed it with your mother. He doesn't need to stay in the grassland all the time. He only needs to spend three to five months to formulate a development strategy for the grassland and Liaodong. That's enough. As for the third and fourth sons, we plan to let them go to the enfeoffment after they get married and let them assist Kai'er."

Zhu Biao nodded when he heard what Zhu Yuanzhang said. "Three to five months is enough. Brother Kai can't stay idle. If he is really fixed on the grassland, he may not be able to accept it. Dad, I have told Lan Yu that he is going to apologize to Brother Kai and ask for his forgiveness."

"Are you going to use him?" Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said to Zhu Biao, "You dealt with him too harshly. This is not right. The reason why Lan Yu went against Kai'er was entirely because of you."

"I know." Zhu Biao said with a wry smile, "However, Brother Kai is the most important person. Lan Yu cannot understand what I mean. Keeping him around will only cause trouble. If I don't punish him severely, he won't learn his lesson. I hope he really understands this time, otherwise it will be easy for Brother Kai to punish him."

His words were full of trust in Zhu Kai.

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said no more. This was Zhu Biao's way of controlling his subordinates, and Zhu Yuanzhang was not going to get involved.

"There is no danger in the north anymore. It is appropriate to leave the task of conquering the Western Region to Lan Yu. We should look south next."

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his attention to the south, especially Champa and Siam: "Kai'er said that the weather in the south is hot and grain can be harvested three times a year. If we can conquer these places, our Ming Dynasty will not be short of food in the future."

"We can take it down, do business with it, or use other methods."

Fighting is not the only way to solve problems. Zhu Biao learned a lot of ways to hollow out the enemy from his exchanges with Zhu Kai. He said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Those small countries have had exchanges with our Central Plains since ancient times. We can use the Ming household registration as bait to attract them to settle in our Central Plains. One day, when they find that the population has decreased dramatically, they will inevitably stop the people from continuing to go north. That will be our chance to send troops."

"What are you saying?"

Zhu Yuanzhang had a bad temper, and he didn't like these "boiling frog in warm water" ways of doing things: "Don't we just want a legitimate reason? We want to make their people live a better life, isn't this reason enough? Humph... those little kings of other countries submit letters to the Ming Dynasty all day long, wanting to be our vassal. We just accept them directly. If they don't want to, it means they have second thoughts about the Ming Dynasty. Isn't it reasonable to conquer them?"

Look, such a simple matter is not as complicated as Zhu Biao thought.

Zhu Yuanzhang clenched his fists hard:
"Biao'er, we are strong, they have to listen to us, otherwise they will be beaten!"

Zhu Yuanzhang just wanted to conquer by force, and he didn't care what would be written in history books.

History books are written by the victors. In a few hundred years, they will all be people of the Ming Dynasty. As long as those people can live a good life like the people in the Central Plains, who will remember that their country was destroyed?

Even Liu Chan could shout "I am so happy here that I don't miss Shu", so Zhu Yuanzhang didn't believe how high the awareness of ordinary people could be!

Although Zhu Biao disagreed with the measures taken by Zhu Yuanzhang, he could also tell that Zhu Yuanzhang's approach was the simplest and most convenient. He would clean up the mess after the battle. After all, he was fighting abroad and the impact on the Ming Dynasty would be very small.

"By the way, Biao'er, how is the harvest of high-yield crops?"

"very good!"

Zhu Biao still has control over Huguang, and Huguang is the first province to plant high-yield crops, and the task it undertakes is relatively heavy: "Last year was a bumper harvest, and the people were prosperous. We left enough seeds for the people and purchased the rest. This year we can expand the planting of potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes to five more provinces. After this year, the Ming Dynasty can plant these high-yield crops next year. Dad... At the latest next year, the people of our Ming Dynasty will not lack food, and no one will starve to death."

"Okay, that's good."

Zhu Yuanzhang had an almost morbid desire for food. No one knew better than him what it felt like to be hungry. It was a feeling he would never want to talk about in his life: "Biao'er, no matter what, we can't let the people starve. We absolutely can't!" (End of this chapter)