After more than half a month of travel, the southern patrol finally arrived.
"I don't know how well Yunwen lives here."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the welcoming team under the city gate and sighed softly.
It can be said that this grandson has been growing up with him. Now that he is far away from the prosperity of the capital and comes to this desolate place, Zhu Yuanzhang has always felt a little pity in his heart.
Especially seeing this Wuli City.
The city wall is not made of masonry like the Ming Dynasty, but made of mud lakes.
It's said to be a city, but it doesn't seem to be much different from a village.
However, the situation in places like Nanyang is generally similar. Even in Annan, the East and West Capitals and Duobang City are slightly better.
In the distance, Zhu Yunwen's expression became excited when he saw the approaching southern patrol army.
No matter what you think in your heart, family love is always involved.
Zhu Yunwen broke away from the welcoming team and ran towards Zhu Yuanzhang at a trot.
Even if one of my shoes falls off while running, I don't care.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked excited when he saw his grandson. He waved his hand to stop the dragon chariot. When he saw Zhu Yunwen approaching, he stepped off the dragon chariot directly.
"Grandpa Huang!"
As Zhu Yunwen approached, he immediately knelt down and shouted.
"Get up, get up, our grandfather and grandson don't need these false gifts, let us have a good look at them."
"I've lost weight and become darker."
Seeing Zhu Yunwen now, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel a little heartbroken.
When Zhu Yunwen left the palace, he was still fat and white.
Now I am not only much darker, but also much thinner.
"Grandpa Huang, my grandson is doing well here, not miserable."
Zhu Yunwen said with red eyes.
At this time, Zhu Ying also walked over from the side.
Zhu Yunwen quickly bowed: "Brother."
Zhu Ying smiled and nodded: "That's right, he's a little less bookish, a little more manly, and more like a man."
Zhu Ying didn't care about Zhu Yunwen's little thoughts.
Whether it's intentional or not, it doesn't matter.
"Don't stay here, come up and tell us what happened after you arrived in Champa."
Zhu Yuanzhang took Zhu Yunwen's hand and got into the dragon chariot.
The sun is so scorching here that it’s really unbearable to be under the sun.
Zhu Ying also went up together. The dragon chariot was still very spacious.
Wuli City was not big, so it naturally could not accommodate tens of thousands of elite soldiers, so they set up camp outside, accompanied by five thousand guards, including the Jinyi Guards.
In such a small town, security is completely adequate.
Zhu Yunwen told some stories about his arrival in Wuli on the dragon chariot.
When the dragon chariot arrived at the city gate, Mrs. Lu was waiting here. Naturally, she could not come here like Zhu Yunwen.
"Greetings to Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Grand Sun." Mrs. Lu bowed and saluted.
Zhu Yuanzhang has always been quite satisfied with his daughter-in-law, and said with a smile: "It's too sunny outside, let's come up together."
Naturally, Lu did not shirk.
After getting on the dragon chariot, he said with a smile: "I heard that your Majesty and your grandson are coming. Yunwen hasn't slept well these past few days. Every morning, he asks how many days it will take for your majesty and his grandson to arrive."
"I've been waiting for it day and night, and finally it's arrived."
Lu's words obviously made Zhu Yuanzhang even happier.
All in all, this is a serious family, and Zhu Yuanzhang likes this happy scene the most.
"It's hard to live in this remote area." Zhu Yuanzhang said subconsciously.
This sentence immediately made Lu's eyes tremble.
Maybe His Majesty was sincere and didn't think too much about it, but Grandson didn't feel that way.
If you offend your great-grandson because of this, it is not a good thing.
Lu secretly took a look out of the corner of her eye and saw that His Highness Taisun's expression was calm and unchanged, and felt slightly relieved.
However, his son didn't seem to notice it, and it was Lu who had to speak.
"Yunwen and I are very lucky to have chosen this overseas territory. Although Wuli seems a bit desolate, it is rich in products."
"Being close to the seaside, there are many merchant ships coming and going. We don't need to pay taxes with Champa here. The trade on the seaside alone has an annual income equivalent to one million guanbao banknotes."
"Thanks to my grandson, we don't have to pay for the 50,000 elite soldiers here. There are also naval forces stationed along the coast. I feel most at ease."
Lu didn't mean to complain at all, but kept talking about Wuli's benefits.
When I listen to it, I feel like I am in a paradise.
The smile on Zhu Yuanzhang's face almost overflowed. He had previously thought that Yunwen was living a hard life here, but now he felt much more at ease.
Hearing what his mother said, Zhu Yunwen seemed to react and quickly agreed: "Yes, Grandpa Huang, you don't know, this place is definitely not as prosperous as the capital, but this small place also has the advantages of being a small place."
"There is no shortage of food and clothing. There are many merchant ships coming from the Ming Dynasty. Many of them come from the capital. They sell everything."
"My grandson here feels as if he is next to the capital. If he wants something, he can just say hello to the merchant ships coming and going, and it will be delivered to him in a short time."
Zhu Yunwen was right about this.
Champa was originally the first stop of the Ming Dynasty, and maritime trade in Southeast Asia basically stopped here.
Since the opening of the sea, more and more Ming families have participated in maritime trade, and the merchant ships coming and going at the port have never stopped.
Everyone, including Zhu Yunwen, is ready to buy a ship and participate in the maritime trade.
The most important thing is that Wuli, the vassal state of Zhu Yunwen, which is now Wucheng, belongs directly to the Ming Dynasty and has no direct relationship with Champa.
The most obvious benefit here is tariffs.
There is a small area along the coast, which is within the scope of Wucheng. Lu and Zhu Yunwen are already planning to build a small port, so that the customs duties will also be a considerable amount of income.
With 50,000 elite soldiers at hand, there is no need to worry about occupying the city.
It was too late for the Champa people to be afraid, so how could they dare to come and provoke him?
Zhu Ying frowned and asked, "Why didn't King Zhan come to the welcoming team this time?"
To be honest, this can be considered disrespectful.
Zhu Yunwen quickly added: "It was selfish of me that I didn't give him any news. I specifically asked him to come over later. I wanted Grandpa Huang and my eldest brother to stay here for a few more days."
Zhu Ying nodded.
As the dragon chariot entered, the appearance of Wucheng was also revealed.
A large number of people lined the streets to welcome him and shouted "Long live His Majesty". The scene was quite lively.
It's just that the accent in these words was very strong, and it was obviously a temporary explanation.
Zhu Ying's eyes also wandered around the city.
For a city, the main road is naturally the most prosperous place in the city.
The two sides of the main road in Wucheng have obviously been renovated, and the construction method can probably see some shadows of the Zhengyang Avenue in the capital.
When Zhu Yunwen came here, he brought many craftsmen with him.
Of course, cement technology also exists.
Just from the perspective of sight, except for the main road, the houses in the back are still in disarray, and there are even many thatched houses, which look relatively dilapidated.
If you look carefully at the welcoming people who line the streets, you will see that most of them are sallow and thin, dressed in ragged clothes, and have a bit of numbness in their eyes.
From these situations, Zhu Ying could guess that Zhu Yunwen's focus was not on the people.
Perhaps more emphasis is placed on seaside trade.
This is actually understandable.
Nowadays, Wucheng does not need much farmland for planting. Whether it is economic income or other aspects, it can be obtained from maritime trade.
For the people of Wucheng, there is obviously no need to recruit troops or anything like that, and there is no dependence on population.
Among the soldiers guarding the city, there was almost no Zhan, and all of them were Han Chinese.
These soldiers were very excited when they saw His Majesty and the Grandson, but they could not shout out due to their duty.
Zhu Ying was actually somewhat dissatisfied with this situation.
Because the current development of Wucheng is obviously separated from the foundation of the local people and completely dependent on sea trade and the care of the Ming Dynasty.
This is somewhat different from the overseas vassal states that Zhu Ying wanted to develop.
As for the school, I didn't see it at all, let alone any education.
Entering from the main road, you will soon arrive at Prince Wu's Mansion in the center of the city.
Prince Wu's Mansion is very grand and built entirely in accordance with the standards of the palace.
There is a very strong characteristic of the Imperial Palace here.
"Yunwen is built according to the standards of our capital, right?" Zhu Ying asked with a smile.
Lu's heart skipped a beat. The focus of her attention had always been on Taisun, because Lu knew very well who would be in charge of the Ming Dynasty in the future.
Zhu Yunwen didn't think much about it, but replied with a bit of pride: "Yes, the city lord's palace was really dilapidated back then. After thinking about it, there is nothing to be improved, so we might as well knock it all down and rebuild it."
"It took me a lot of effort to build this mansion, but the people here are too stupid to find good craftsmen, so it took a lot of effort to build it with craftsmen recruited from the Ming Dynasty."
The smile on Zhu Yuanzhang's face slowly faded a bit as he listened to Zhu Yunwen's words.
Obviously, when Zhu Yunwen arrived here, he began to pay attention to enjoyment.
Lu was a little anxious, but she couldn't say anything at this time.
Zhu Yunwen obviously didn't realize the change in the atmosphere, and still said with a smile: "It's half a month until Zhengdan. Grandpa Huang and my eldest brother will celebrate the New Year at my grandson's side this time."
Zhu Yuanzhang originally thought so, and naturally he had no objection.
He just turned around and glanced at Zhu Ying.
After being together with the old man for so long, Zhu Ying knew what the old man meant just by looking at her.
This is to give Zhu Yunwen a lesson.
Zhu Yunwen naturally attached great importance to the visit of Grandpa Huang and his eldest brother this time.
A lot of thought was put into everything from welcoming the team to the banquet.
"Yunwen, you have disappointed my brother."
After the dinner, Zhu Ying naturally invited Zhu Yunwen, showing no mercy.
Zhu Yunwen was stunned immediately.
"Brother, me"
Zhu Ying raised her hand to interrupt: "Let me ask you, before you came to capture the city, what did my brother in the capital tell you?"
"Do you want to fulfill your duty of education?"
"But tell me what you are doing now."
"Not to mention anything else, there are several Chinese schools in Wucheng alone, and how many of these people know Chinese."
Zhu Yunwen panicked and said quickly: "Brother, I was wrong."
Zhu Ying looked at Zhu Yunwen's behavior and said directly: "If you just want wealth and pleasure, why come to this distant Champa? Wouldn't it be much more comfortable to be a rich prince in the capital and don't have to worry about anything?
."
"In terms of military strength, you are completely dependent on the 50,000 elite soldiers I gave you. I have sent people to the military camp to inquire. Since arriving in Wucheng, you have not even recruited a single soldier. As for the local people,
He didn’t even pay any attention to it.”
"The city wall looks like that, and there is no intention of repairing it. Instead, it is a massive construction of mansions."
"Forget it. I also heard that the last time you went to the military camp was three months ago. Now your mother is still helping to manage the affairs in the army."
Zhu Ying really didn't expect that Zhu Yunwen would behave like this.
You must know that Emperor Jianwen in history worked hard on national government affairs.
He originally thought that Zhu Yunwen would be able to manage things well when he came to Champa, but he didn't expect such a result.
In fact, there will be such changes, and most of them are still influenced by Zhu Ying.
But having said that, most of the vassal kings who were sent abroad in history were basically in this situation.
Upon hearing such a reprimand, Zhu Yunwen was already at a loss and didn't know how to answer.
I felt even more aggrieved in my heart.
I've already been sent to Champa, what else do you want from me?
Can't I just have some fun?
The position of Taisun has already been given up to him.
These foreigners are not our common people, so why should I care about their life and death?
You have given me elite soldiers and a naval garrison, so why should I develop my own military strength?
Is it because I develop private soldiers and you think I have evil intentions against the Ming Dynasty?
After all, neither the left nor the right is right.
Zhu Yunwen only dared to think about these words in his heart and did not dare to say them in front of his eldest brother.
At this point, Zhu Ying actually gave up.
In fact, it was discovered through intelligence that the person calling the shots in Wu Cheng was no longer Zhu Yunzhen, but Lu.
Zhu Yunwen's situation has a lot to do with the Lu family.
Most of the 50,000 elite officers graduated from the Ming Military Academy, and some were even former members of the Xuanjia Guard.
Their most loyal target is, of course, His Highness Taisun.
From there, I learned that the person who gives the most frequent orders in the military camp is already the Lu family.
To put it simply, military power had passed from Zhu Yunwen's hands to the Lu family a long time ago.
In the beginning, these soldiers actually had a plan, but King Wu didn't care about anything, so it gradually became like this.
Including the construction of coastal ports, Lu is also in control.
It can be said that the Lu family is the current lord of Wucheng, and Zhu Yunwen is just a puppet in name only.
In fact, Champa was in a bridgehead position for Zhu Ying's Nanyang plan, so it naturally had to be fully controlled.
Especially in the area of education, we must hurry up and implement it.
Because Champa did not belong to the Han cultural circle before, it was more difficult to educate than Annan.
Under the current situation, Zhu Ying also understood that there was little point in looking for Zhu Yunwen.
The final implementation can only be done by Lu's side.