Seven ministers and Zhu Yuanzhang's grandfather and grandson are discussing matters.
Zhu Ying is talking about the plan to connect sea stations and reach Dongsheng Shenzhou.
"There is an isolated island in the northern part of the former Japanese kingdom called Ezo. It was persecuted by the shogunate. Now we should rescue it and educate its people."
"Later, a sea station will be built here as the third stop to Dongsheng Shenzhou."
The Ming Dynasty's steam ironclads have stopped being manufactured because the number has reached as many as five hundred.
If there is more, the consumption of coal will be too great.
Nowadays, train tracks are being built everywhere in the Ming Dynasty. In terms of coal consumption, nature is given priority to ensure train transportation.
Moreover, the Ming Dynasty itself is the overlord of the sea, and it does not make much difference whether it has iron-clad ships or not.
In the absence of a sea station for replenishment, a steam ironclad ship lacking coal would be a bit embarrassed.
After Zhu Ying finished speaking, Shen Shu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, bowed his hands and said: "Your Highness, should you consider suspending the matter of Dongsheng Shenzhou?"
"Now the Liang Kingdom is just gathering troops in Siam, and will attack Tianzhu in the spring. It may be possible to build a sea station to go to Tianzhu in advance to prepare for the expedition."
"Excuse me, I must be frank, but the matter of the Eastern Victory over China is still elusive. The 50,000-strong expeditionary force that went there is still missing, and we don't know whether they are alive or dead."
"The ancient books that Your Highness saw were probably just fabricated by Xiaohua. Why spend so much time searching for them?"
Shen Shu's face looked a little worried.
The so-called Dongsheng Shenzhou is just a story in rumors, and few people think it really exists.
The most important thing is the meaning of searching for Dongsheng China.
In the eyes of many ministers today, Taisun wanted to be like Qin Shihuang in the past, searching for the elixir of immortality that existed only in legends and was out of reach.
Maybe it's out of filial piety and I want to dedicate it to His Majesty, maybe it's also for myself.
But throughout history, any dynasty that has anything to do with these myths about gods has had a better time.
Shen Shu wanted to persuade his grandson to give up this idea. Although the Ming Dynasty was now powerful, the search for immortals was a bottomless pit. Who knew how much money would be invested.
My great-grandson is still young and has not yet reached the age of thirty. If we start looking for immortals from now on, how many years will it take to search for immortals?
Twenty years, thirty years, or forty years.
How much money will this consume?
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said: "The matter of Dongsheng Shenzhou was decided by us. Da Sun was just planning it. You don't need to say more about this matter."
His Majesty has spoken, which means the matter has been decided. Shen Shu could only sigh in his heart: "I will obey the decree."
Zhu Yingze said: "I know what all the ministers are thinking, but Dongsheng Shenzhou is not nonsense, nor is it an elusive place that cannot be found."
"There has never been anyone in this world who is immortal. Naturally, there is no elixir of immortality. I will not make such wishful thinking."
"On this point, ministers, please rest assured."
"The reason for arranging this matter is to consider the future of our Ming Dynasty. It has been nearly five years now, but there is no news. This shows the vastness of the territory and the authenticity of the ancient books."
"Such a huge and fertile land should be owned by our Ming Dynasty. Nowadays, guests from all over the world are served, and there are powerful weapons such as steam iron-clad ships. We should have the heart to explore the world, not just what is in front of us."
"In the hearts of Xia and Shang, the world is the land of Henan; in the heart of the First Emperor, the world is the land of Kyushu."
"However, today's world is not only the four seas, but also the Southeast Asia, the West, the Middle East, and even further afield."
"Who could have known that the world we see today is all the world we have."
"I just want to see how vast this world is."
Zhu Ying's words showed an unparalleled aura. Only the ancient sages could do such things as measuring the heaven and the earth.
The ministers, who were originally worried, no longer had other thoughts at this moment, and at the same time they were in awe of Zhu Ying's words.
This is also the case. On the surface, the same thing is actually different in nature if we put it another way.
Searching for the Eastern Victory in China can mean that the king is absurd and looking for the elixir of immortality.
You can also be a king or a sage who wants to explore the vastness of the world.
"Good eldest grandson, I have spoken to my heart. Now that our Ming Dynasty has such strength, it is natural for us to do some far-sighted things."
"My dear friends, don't delay and act immediately according to the previous plan." Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly.
"I respectfully obey the decree."
At this point, the ministers had nothing to say.
——
On a luxury carriage train from the grassland to Nanjing City.
The King of Qin, Zhu Xi, the King of Jin, Zhu Fan, and the King of Yan, Zhu Di, are here.
After the destruction of Goryeo, the Oara moved to the far north, and the remaining Tatars no longer posed a threat to the Ming Dynasty.
They can only hide in the big forest and live a life of survival.
But now, there are still a large number of grassland people, constantly trying their best to escape from the big forest.
Before the three kings set out, nearly 70,000 grassland people had taken refuge in the Ming Dynasty, and this number continued to increase with the arrival of winter.
Not only ordinary herdsmen, but also many fragmented tribes have completely surrendered.
The clan leaders of these tribes are relatively kind-hearted and cannot bear to have their tribes die with them, even though they know that after joining the Ming Dynasty, they will lose their status as nobility.
This also indicates that Tatar is collapsing. Even if it resists tenaciously to the end, it will just become a remnant in the big forest.
Therefore, there is no need for the three kings to stay on the grassland anymore, and they can return to the court with their troops.
"Every time I take this train, I can't figure out what's going on in Taisun's mind and how he could come up with such a thing."
"If there was no such thing as trains, how could our Ming Dynasty conquer the grassland and complete this most important event in history."
"Even the title of Liang Juxu cannot be compared to him."
Zhu Fan sighed and said, this is much more comfortable than rushing.
The luxury carriage is specially built and has not only a separate room, but also beds, tables and chairs.
Drinking tea, playing chess, drinking wine, and watching the scenery make the whole process comfortable and not monotonous.
Zhu Xi also nodded and said: "It is indeed a good thing. It is precisely because of this kind of sacred artifact that our Ming Dynasty can surpass all previous dynasties and achieve today's feats."
"Today's Ming Dynasty has the largest territory in history. Now Annan, Champa, Chenla, Siam, Korea, Japan, the grasslands, and the Western Regions are all in the hands of our Ming Dynasty."
"The third son's father-in-law, Duke Ying, is currently leading an army to conquer Tubo under the orders of his father. I think it won't be long before Tubo is completely included in our territory of the Ming Dynasty."
"I have never thought that our Ming Dynasty would be as powerful as it is today. Not only would it not be a waste of military power, but it would become more and more prosperous as the war progressed. It is simply unbelievable."
"Every time I think about it, I can't help but sigh that my grandson's ability is truly outstanding."
At first glance, Zhu Xi's words sounded like he was trying to flatter his great-grandson, but when he thought about it carefully, he felt that this was an exaggeration.
Even though Zhu Di had many opinions about Taisun in his heart, he had to admit that it was indeed Taisun who led the Ming Dynasty to the prosperity it is today.
"Maybe we should think about what's going on with the vassal state now."
Seeing that the two of them were just praising his grandson, Zhu Di felt helpless and could only speak first.
Now that the Japanese kingdom suddenly disappeared and was divided into four provinces of the Ming Dynasty, what should their vassal states do?
According to the rules set by Taisun, the vassal state of the Ming vassal king was not allowed to be within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but could only be outside the territory of the Ming Dynasty.
If this happens, will they have to move again?
"Ahem, maybe my grandson should have some arrangements."
There was silence for a moment, no one spoke, and Zhu Fan could only cough twice and say nonsense.
Zhu Cang sighed and said: "Now the Lord of Liang is preparing to conquer Tianzhu. You should also know the temper of Taisun. He definitely doesn't want us to go to the feudal country to live a happy life."
"We were able to stay in the Japanese country before because it was still useful. Now that the Japanese country has been pacified and the four provinces have been established, it would be rude if we still wanted to stay where we are."
Zhu Di's face turned dark.
It's not very polite.
According to what Zhu Xi meant, he was just following Taisun's arrangement and didn't want to get into any disputes.
He even wanted to propose it himself before his grandson could speak.
However, Zhu Di also knew very well that the original vassal state of Japan could not be retained.
Even if it is forcibly retained, it actually has no meaning.
The mineral deposits there are too many and too tempting. Now that they have been returned to the imperial court, Taisun will naturally not give them to them again.
Even if we don't deal with him now, when his father dies, the grandson's backhand will probably be a counterattack.
If the second and third sons were colluding with him, they could still resist, but looking at his situation, if he resisted, I am afraid that the second and third sons would join forces first and kidnap him and give him to his grandson.
Zhu Di said: "Since we are moving, we have to find a good place to go."
Zhu Fan responded: "Where else can we go, of course to Tianzhu. Let's not expect to be vassal kings now. It would be good to just be an expeditionary general to secure some territory for the Ming Dynasty."
"Even if we move the vassal state to Tianzhu, if Tianzhu is defeated, we will still have to move again. I can see through it."
"According to our eldest nephew's wishes, let's not think about living a happy life as a fool. Let's just be a general."
Zhu Fan spoke directly and said that after so many things happened, some of Zhu Ying's thoughts can now be said to be obvious.
He has no intention of letting a few people become princes in a stable manner. There is only one person who is living a relatively stable life now, and that is King Wu Zhu Yunwen.
But Zhu Yunwen's situation was different. He gave up his position as grandson, and he did this because of Zhu Yuanzhang's guilt.
Moreover, Zhu Yunwen was not a warrior and had never led troops to fight. It can be said that he did not pose any threat to the Ming court.
It is equivalent to giving a city in Champa for retirement.
Although Ning Wang Zhu Quan was in Goryeo, he did not establish a vassal state, and he was just like a feudal minister.
Nowadays, most of the princes have actually reached the age of being crowned kings, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not proceed to crown princes anymore.
When Zhu Di heard this, he could only say: "That's it, that's all. A general will be a general. After fighting for most of his life, if he really wants to do some local governance, it's just a fool's errand."
"I still have a life of running around, and this is what I want."
Zhu Fang agreed: "We don't need to think too much. As for the princes and the others, according to the situation of our Ming Dynasty, they will be arranged by the court anyway. In the future, the territory of the Ming Dynasty will be larger. If you find a good piece of land, it can be regarded as a vassal state.
Already."
"The more contributions I make now, the grandson will naturally not treat his own brothers badly, and there is no use worrying about them."
After chatting, the three kings simply didn't care anymore.
They had no way to resist anyway, so they might as well let nature take its course.
Zhu Fan said with some interest: "I heard rumors from the capital a few days ago that Taisun plans to set up a route to serve as a post station to supplement the steam ironclads and directly arrive at Dongsheng Shenzhou."
"Fifty thousand expeditionary troops were sent out five years ago. They are all the elites of our Ming Dynasty. Now they are engaged in sea routes. I think Taisun means that we must find Dongsheng Shenzhou."
"If Duke Liang Guo hears this news, he will probably be very happy. His eldest son Lan Taiping was the commander of the expeditionary force back then. Now so long, there is no news at all."
"You guys, second and fourth, tell me, how about we go look for Dongsheng Shenzhou, maybe there really is one. Then when the vassal state is established there, we won't have to worry about moving. Wouldn't it be nice?
"
Zhu Fang waved his hand: "Stop talking about it. I'm still talking about it. I've been marching for five years, and I'm afraid I've traveled thousands of miles. There's no news yet, and I don't even know the situation."
Zhu Di couldn't help but think deeply after hearing this joke.
If that realm really existed, it would indeed be a very good choice to become a vassal king there.
The sky is high and the emperor is far away, so we really don’t have to worry about the Ming Dynasty causing trouble.
While the three kings were on their way back to Beijing, the imperial court had already set a policy and began to build a sea route to Dongsheng Shenzhou.
The first thing to do is naturally to locate Ezo.
After an order was issued, the team from the imperial court had already set off, and various materials for the construction of the station were also being prepared and prepared to be transported to Ezo Island.
No one would think that Ezo could resist the Ming Dynasty. After all, Japan had already been defeated, and Ezo, with a smaller number of people, was just a piece of cake.
According to Zhu Ying's plan, he brought more than just the construction requirements for a post station.
After arriving in Ezo, the construction team will continue to take the boat northward to find a suitable location for the station.
This time, the imperial court deployed fifty steam ironclads and three hundred small boats to build a post station on the sea route.
Due to the transport of the expeditionary force last time, the map of the northern border has been basically explored in the past few years, and the route directly to the Bering Sea has been roughly planned.
Waiting for the location of the inn to be finalized, the small fortune ship will begin transporting coal to meet the needs of the steam ironclad navigation.
In terms of planning, this is a route starting from Nanjing and arriving directly at the Bering Strait.
According to the total budget of the Ming Dynasty cabinet, it will be a budget of 500 million treasure notes.