Of course Zhu Di and the other vassal kings did not want to be restricted to the Japanese country.
The most important thing is that they now control enough mineral deposits and have a lot of wealth, and this money comes almost continuously.
Medium-sized silver mines, according to current technology and reserves, can last for at least one or two hundred years, even if large-scale mining is carried out.
It is equivalent to saying that several vassal kings do not have to worry too much about money in this life.
Since the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, things like keeping private names in captivity are naturally a matter of course.
"Artillery is the key to sea ships. On the sea, matchlocks are not very useful, so we need enough artillery."
"A copper mine was discovered nearby two months ago. This will be our best source of artillery."
After talking about Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Di and Xu Yihua discussed expanding the production of the firearms workshop.
Xu Yihua frowned slightly: "Your Majesty, we already have seven firearms workshops under our command. If we increase the number of firearms workshops, it will inevitably cause waste. The key now is the issue of troop sources. It is difficult to recruit Han people, but these Japanese people are not a good idea.
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"We currently have less than 6,000 private soldiers under our command. Most of them are new recruits. Their combat capabilities vary greatly. Although there is no need for armor in the Nanyang area, it will also consume huge amounts of money."
"There are a lot of mineral deposits under our control now, but there are also a lot of places to spend money. The official ships must not be moved. The only way is to buy ships from the Ming Dynasty."
There is currently a shortage of talents in Yancheng, especially in the accounting field. There are not many people available.
Zhu Di brought here mainly military generals. Even though some civil servants knew arithmetic, they could not gain Zhu Di's trust.
When it comes to the finances of an entire vassal state, it is naturally impossible to just hand them over to someone's hands.
Therefore, Xu Yihua is basically temporarily responsible for all expenses and income of Yancheng.
Xu Yihua was proficient in arithmetic. When she was in the palace, she didn't think that it was virtue for a woman to have no talent, so she naturally learned everything.
Zhu Di frowned when he heard this: "The second brother has arranged for three thousand soldiers to go to Luzon, hoping to take advantage of it."
"We can't afford to be left behind here. We still need to occupy more territory first."
"Although these Japanese are not very useful, they can still fight if given some firearms. After all, our opponents are just some toasts."
"The expansion of troops should be done slowly. At most, we will spend more money to buy slave soldiers, but it is urgent to send troops to Luzon."
Zhu Di didn't want Lu Song to be captured by his second brother, Zhu Fan.
Now it seems that the four vassal kings are monolithic due to external forces, but in fact the internal battles have never stopped.
With the money earned from mining, everyone was rushing to buy slaves, which also led to human trafficking being the most popular on the Japanese island of Kyushu.
After all, the Ming Dynasty banned the slave trade, but Kyushu Island was a no-nonsense zone, and the feudal kings were short of men.
Whether these people serve as soldiers or work as slaves to mine, there is a large demand for them.
The price will naturally be higher than other places, which will also attract a large number of maritime merchants who traffic in human beings.
Of course, no one can say for sure whether they were merchants or pirates.
But these side details are not very important.
Expanding your own power is the most important thing.
The southern tour begins.
Tens of thousands of troops surrounded Zhu Yuanzhang and others in the center.
Currently, there is no concept of RV, but the sedans used by Zhu Yuanzhang and others are almost the same as RVs.
Not to mention the dragon chariot, it is a two-bedroom and one-living room that can be carried away.
The ones that followed basically had the size of one bedroom and one living room.
The luxury therein is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
It doesn't mean sitting in a sedan chair all the time. Occasionally, Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang would ride horses.
Obviously, no matter what age you are, it is a very happy thing to go out and play.
It's just that on the scale of the emperor's trip, no one with a blind eye dared to stop it.
These days we have plenty of food and clothing, and there are basically no bandits or the like.
Basically, I walked along the official road, and I would go and have a look at the villages and cities I passed, which was considered to be considerate of the people's sentiments.
"There have been so many changes in the past few years. If you didn't go out and walk around, you wouldn't know. Nowadays, even in a remote mountain village, even if it doesn't have enough food and clothing, it can basically have enough to eat."
"Speaking of which, this is all your fault, Dasun."
The so-called private visit incognito means that while the army was staying, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying took dozens of Tiqi to wander around the nearby villages.
There is no need to report any identity, it is extremely easy for thirty or forty fully armed Tiqi to defeat a village of several hundred people.
These are the best war horses. Even if there is the slightest abnormality, they can leave quickly without worrying about safety.
Zhu Yuanzhang just came out of the village and praised Dasun next to him.
You must know that in the past, in remote villages like this, there were almost no sources of food, and it was normal to have a sallow complexion and thin skin.
I just went in and took a walk around, and the villagers I saw were not strong, but none of them had much to offer, so it was obviously not a big problem to have enough to eat.
Their staple food is mostly rice and sweet potatoes.
You can save a lot of food, and you don’t have to worry about bloating caused by eating too many sweet potatoes.
The problem of bloating caused by eating a large amount of sweet potatoes became popular when the seeds were spread.
"It's better to eat some meat. I've been introducing white boar continuously, but the breeding is slow now. In a few years, even these remote villages will be able to eat more meat on weekdays."
Zhu Ying said with a smile while riding on the horse.
The introduction of white pigs has been something that has been done in the past two years, but unlike high-yielding crops, the reproduction of this kind of pigs is definitely not that fast.
Even if there are several babies in a litter, the speed is very slow.
Moreover, there are actually many types of white pigs. It does not mean that every white pig belongs to the large white pigs of later generations. This requires slow breeding and the survival of the fittest before it can slowly become popular.
For this reason, Zhu Ying also established a veterinary clinic.
Treat and prevent swine fever, chicken fever, etc.
"The third child has sent troops to Luzon. This is because he wants to expand overseas and get a share of the maritime trade."
"Since the third child is doing this, then the second, fourth and seventh children are basically the same. What does the eldest grandson think about this matter?"
After Zhu Yuanzhang chatted about local affairs, he turned the topic to the four vassal kings.
This does not mean that there will be no intelligence during the southern tour. At this time, the post station will convey all the information originally delivered to the capital to the post station near Zhu Yuanzhang.
What's more, it's news from overseas vassals.
"This is a good thing. I originally said that the vassal kings have the right to expand and want to gain some territory in other places. This is a harmless thing."
Zhu Ying replied casually.
Zhu Ying didn't have much thought about Luzon, as its construction would be too labor-intensive.
It would be a good idea to let the feudal princes develop it first.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "We read in the intelligence that there are a lot of gold mines there. I think the second ones are so interested in it, they are probably going to the gold mines."
Luzon is rich in natural resources and rich in gold.
This is naturally a huge discount for the four lords who have tasted the benefits of mining.
There were many silver mines in Japan, but not many gold mines. Basically, there were no large ones, but mostly small ones, which could not be mined for long.
"It will eventually flow into our Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Ying was a little indifferent.
Mining in today's world requires human lives. Every piece of gold is covered in blood.
There was no need for the Ming Dynasty to do such a thing. Just setting up a porcelain workshop would make money much faster than mining.
Ming porcelain is a best-selling hard currency throughout the world, and is much more valuable than gold.
"Annan has been a lot more restless recently. It seems that our schedule will be a little faster."
As the sky grew dark, Zhu Yuanzhang took the lead and rushed to the stationed place.
Since the news from Di Bao reached Annan, chieftain uprisings in various parts of Annan became more frequent.
There is nothing that can be done about this. Even though the number of Han people migrating is gradually increasing, looking at the entire Annan, the current Han population does not hold much advantage.
On the contrary, because the Han people continued to migrate, they were oppressing the living space of other chieftains, resulting in a lot of conflicts.
The Ming army can only be stationed in key big cities. It is impossible to say that the entire territory of Annan is taken into account. As long as it is not a big matter, there is no way to take care of it.
For the chieftains of Annan, it is obvious that the arrival of the Ming emperor this time will definitely have a great impact on the entire Annan.
So they made more noise, as if this could hinder the arrival of the Ming Emperor.
At the same time, a large number of guard posts began to gather on the Annan border.
"His Majesty is coming to Guangxi. We have been practicing more diligently recently. We must not let His Majesty see that we have lost our momentum."
"This time His Majesty entered Annan, we here also shouldered important responsibilities, escorting His Majesty, the grandson and others."
The commanders of the guard station were a little nervous.
The remote Guangxi has never received the attention of the imperial court, but this time His Majesty personally came to inspect it.
There is no fighting at the guard station here, so it is natural to be more lazy on weekdays. This time Zhu Yuanzhang came, in addition to the Imperial Guards, more troops were required to follow him to ensure the safety in Annan.
These local guard posts in Guangxi are the vanguard army.
"Is Your Majesty really coming to our Guangxi? This is great. I never thought that I would be able to see Your Majesty and his grandson in this life. I don't know if His Majesty is as he said in the storytelling."
"What I want to see most is my grandson. If I can see His Highness, even if I die in Annan, it will be worth it."
"Bah, bah, bah, what are you talking about? Annan is just a bunch of chieftains. When our army goes by, there are probably some blind people who dare to attack us. They really think we are just fools."
The soldiers in Guangxi were very excited about the upcoming arrival of His Majesty and Grandson.
This excitement made them even more energetic during training.
For soldiers all over the world, His Highness Taisun is the belief in their hearts. The life they have today, including the improvement in status, is the result of His Highness Taisun's gift.
This gratitude is hidden in every soldier's heart.
In fact, on the way to the southern tour, Zhu Ying had already sensed it very clearly.
Whenever I went to a guard station, all the soldiers seemed very excited when they knew it was His Highness Taisun.
Zhu Ying would often not just stand on the general stage at this time, but would weave in and out among the soldiers, trying to let every soldier see his own appearance.
Zhu Ying is used to this approach.
It seems like a simple routine, but it can win people's hearts very well.
Any soldier who sees his true appearance will be extremely loyal.
This kind of behavior allows Zhu Ying to better win the love of the lower-level soldiers.
Although it may not seem to have any effect, some reforms to the military can often reduce a lot of resistance to implementation.
For Zhu Ying, it was just a matter of time and space.
Annan.
At this moment, Zhu Gaochi's eyes were a little more fierce.
"Grandpa Huang is coming, but Annan is still in a mess now. These toasts have gone too far, and they need to be rectified properly."
"I heard that many chieftains are uniting and want to cause trouble after the arrival of Grandpa Huang."
Zhu Gaochi mainly preferred soft policies in Annan's governance.
Even after some chieftain uprisings were put down, they were not completely exterminated.
This also leads to the fact that Annan today does not have a strong fear of the Ming Dynasty.
The repeated rebellions gave Zhu Gaochi a headache.
Especially the rumors he heard recently made Zhu Gaochi decide in his heart that it was time to be more ruthless.
If you don't kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, these toasts won't know how to be safe.
Xia Yuanji also agrees.
"I have sent people to investigate. The news about the chieftain alliance is not groundless. There are many wealthy families who want to attack your majesty's dragon chariot."
"Of course, with their current strength, it is impossible for them to cause harm to His Majesty, but once they disturb His Majesty, it will be a serious crime for us."
"Your Highness, I feel that now we can only use thunderous means to suppress it first."
Zhu Gaochi asked: "Have you found out which clan is behind the scenes?"
There are many ethnic groups in Annan.
The largest population is naturally the Jing ethnic group, followed by the Dai Yi ethnic group, the Tai Dai ethnic group, the Mong ethnic group, and the Nong ethnic group.
There are dozens of other chieftain ethnic groups.
Xia Yuanji pondered for a moment and said: "Although there is no conclusive evidence yet, it is probably that they are the Daiyi tribe."
"The Daiyi tribe hates me the most, Ming Dynasty. Even if they are not them, they will definitely get involved this time."
"If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince thinks it is feasible, I think we should strike first."
After Zhu Gaochi heard this, he paused briefly and then said: "Then we'll start first. The current situation doesn't allow us to worry about so much."
"Even if there is any mess, we have to wait until Grandpa Huang is gone."
Zhu Gaochi had given many opportunities before, but had not achieved good results.
These natives seemed to be stubborn and showed no gratitude at all, and regarded Ming as an enemy from the bottom of their hearts.