The King of Han sat on his chair with a very gloomy face. Soon after, a spy walked in from outside the King of Han's palace. When the spy came to him, he knelt on the ground with one knee.
King Zhu Gaoxu of Han glanced at him, and then asked calmly: "King Chu went to the Prince's Mansion again today?"
The spy responded: "The King of Chu stayed at the prince's residence for a long time today. I could only hear them discussing about the ingredients. In the evening, the prince and the princess wanted to let the King of Chu stay for dinner, but the King of Chu declined.
left."
"This is the tenth time this month that King Chu has gone to the Prince's Mansion."
The King of Han waved his hand to ask the spy to step back, a worried look lingering between his brows and eyes.
"Hmph, the King of Chu's communication with the Crown Prince has become closer and closer now. It seems that he is determined to stand by the Crown Prince's side."
Ever since Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Han, knew that the relationship between the king of Chu and the prince was getting closer and closer, he was on pins and needles every day, not thinking about food or tea. If the king of Chu helped the prince to stabilize his position, his chances of ascending to the throne would be very slim.
Although the three brothers were friendly and kind on the surface because of Emperor Zhu Di, this was only when the old man was around.
One day the old man dies, the relationship between their brothers will inevitably become tense. Now it seems that if that day comes, the King of Chu will definitely help the prince control the situation in Nanjing.
The King of Chu has strong military strength and rich wealth. Even if he joins forces with King Zhao, he may not be able to defeat Zhu Muchen. The well-equipped Shenji Battalion alone is enough for him and King Zhao to have a drink.
"No, we must deal with the King of Chu before the situation stabilizes. If he and the prince join forces to make arrangements in Nanjing City, then it will be too late by then."
The King of Han felt like a fire was burning in his heart, and he immediately began to make various plans against Zhu Muchen.
Outside the Prince of Chu's Palace, Zhu Muchen looked at the corpse of the assassin killed by the palace guards led by Aji. He held his forehead and asked: "Aji, how many times is this this month?"
Aji handed the firegun in his hand to the guard next to him, "Tell the prince, this is already the fifteenth time this month."
"As long as these assassins find any loopholes, they will rush into the house and rush straight to your room, the prince. Once they are caught, they will immediately bite the poison sac and kill themselves, leaving us with no clues."
Zhu Muchen sighed after hearing this. For some reason, this month, more and more assassins came to assassinate him in the palace, and there were countless memorials against him in the court. Most of them accused him of treason and wanted to make the emperor
Lock him up.
Of course, Zhu Di would not even read this kind of memorial. The King of Chu acted under his nose every day. If there was a rebellion, he would know it immediately.
The prince, on the other hand, was very disdainful of these memorials. The King of Chu went to the prince's house every day and said that the King of Chu was plotting a rebellion. It would be better to say that he bribed the King of Chu and prepared to rebel.
Under Zhu Muchen's careful arrangements, neither the assassin's assassination nor the malicious speculation in the court had any actual impact on him, it just made him feel tired.
When Zhu Haoran turned one year old and prepared to draw lots, Xu Xin originally wanted to hold it in a low-key manner in accordance with Zhu Muchen's wishes. After all, the city of Nanjing is changing, the undercurrents are turbulent, and it is very unsafe. No one wants to make a big fuss at this time.
Movement comes.
However, the tree wanted to be quiet but the wind did not stop. The lottery drawing ceremony for Zhu Haoran, the son of Chu King Zhu Muchen, became the focus of Nanjing overnight for some reason. Before the Chu King's Mansion released the news, a group of people took the initiative to come to the Chu King's Mansion.
Among them were not only the prince's family, but also Yu Qian, Xia Yuanji, San Yang and others, and even Zhu Di came in disguise. This scene was comparable to a grandson's wedding.
As a last resort, Zhu Muchen could only arrange these people well. Suddenly, because of the lottery ceremony for a child who turned one year old, the Prince of Chu's Mansion turned into a place where all the powerful people in Nanjing focused their attention.
On the day of the lottery ceremony, Xu Xin placed all the objects he could find in front of Zhu Haoran. Among them were sword models representing military commanders, the Four Treasures of the Study representing literati, and a bunch of various rare gadgets.
.
In the end, Zhu Haoran actually chose a small abacus and held it in his hand. He looked very happy, waving his hands and feet and shouting "Zizziya".
After Zhu Di saw King Chu's only son choosing abacus, he happily stroked his beard and felt more relieved about King Chu.
He smiled and said: "Okay, okay, my Ming Dynasty really needs a suitable person to take charge of money. Now I want to go out to fight a war, but the Ministry of Revenue keeps saying that there is no money. It's really annoying."
The prince pretended not to hear Zhu Di's complaints. No matter what the old man said, he had no money here.
Then the dinner party started. Everyone looked happy and drank several glasses of wine in a few words.
Zhu Zhanji's face turned red, and he came to Zhu Muchen's side holding a wine glass.
"King Chu, I have thought about the ocean strategy plan you mentioned last time, and I feel that it is indeed feasible. Why not take advantage of today to talk more about it."
Zhu Muchen waved his hands after hearing this. Last time he let himself go after drinking and talked nonsense. Unexpectedly, the emperor's grandson Zhu Zhanji would always remember it in his heart.
At this time, Prince Zhu Gaochi and Emperor Zhu Di were very curious about this. They asked Zhu Zhanji what the "Ocean Strategic Plan" was specifically, and Zhu Zhanji repeated everything that Zhu Muchen had said before.
After Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi only listened to a few sentences, a light flashed in their eyes. As the two people in charge of the country, they understood the significance of this "ocean strategic plan" far better than Zhu Zhanji.
"The King of Chu has such a unique strategy, why didn't you tell me earlier? Does the King of Chu think that I can't understand your strategy?"
Zhu Muchen couldn't laugh or cry when he heard this. Since Zhu Di had already spoken, there was no harm in him telling them about this plan.
Moreover, the three people in front of me, grandfather and grandson, are the current and future decision-makers of the Ming Dynasty. It may be a good thing for him to give some suggestions to these decision-makers.
Even Yu Qian, who was indulging in wine at the side, quickly dropped his wine glass and ran over after hearing Zhu Muchen was about to talk about his strategy again, looking like he was listening attentively.
As for Xia Yuanji, San Yang and others, they don't care much. After all, they are civil servants and are not very sensitive to such military matters. And although Zhu Muchen does have some abilities now, the four of them are also the pillars of the Ming Dynasty, regardless of
It is his qualifications, talents, experience, and seniority. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is unparalleled in both the government and the public.
They all thought that Zhu Muchen was just a talker and his boastful talk was just a flash in the pan.
Xia Yuanji was sitting next to Yu Qian, holding a wine glass and chatting with Sanyang. He turned around and saw that the drunkard Yu Qian had thrown the wine glass aside and sat there stupidly. He didn't pay much attention and thought to himself
It seems that Yu Qian's drinking capacity is too bad. He drank like this after only a few drinks.
Zhu Muchen did not tell Zhu Di and others about the specific matters of the navigation strategy, but first raised the issue of agricultural reform to Zhu Di. He knew well the importance of grain and grass in feudal society.
At present, the agricultural foundation of the Ming Dynasty is not very bad. As long as the court is willing to support the development of rice hybrid technology, the food and clothing problem of the Ming Dynasty can be well solved. As long as the people live and work in peace and contentment, the social system will be stable and prosperous.
Upon hearing this, Xia Yuanji and Sanyang became interested. Agricultural reform was an area they were familiar with. After hearing a few words from Zhu Muchen, they couldn't help but feel that there was indeed such a thing.
Meaning.
When Zhu Di saw the reactions of Xia Yuanji and San Yang, he knew that what Zhu Muchen was talking about must be very important, so he also concentrated on listening carefully.
The prince Zhu Gaochi and the emperor's grandson Zhu Zhanji had already listened in awe. They knew Zhu Muchen's abilities well. What Zhu Muchen said was often something that could bring great benefits. Their status in their hearts was still
Very noble.
As Zhu Muchen narrated, the banquet gradually became quiet. He proposed that in order to complete the agricultural reform of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty must have a powerful fleet of ocean-going battleships, collect various types of seeds from all over the world, and bring them back to cultivate various types of high-yielding warships.
Crops, and then these new varieties cultivated will be distributed and planted according to the soil environment of various places. By then, the entire Ming Dynasty will be high-yielding crops, and if there is a drought in one or two places, it will not have any impact.
World? Battleship? High-yield crops? Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi, Xia Yuanji Sanyang and others were all lost in thought. Zhu Zhanji and Yu Qian were better. They heard Zhu Muchen say it last time, although they still didn't understand it.
Zhu Di first asked: "We in the Ming Dynasty have hundreds of thousands of cavalry, and the surrounding small countries are not our opponents at all. Why do we have to build ships and go out on the water to fight with others?"
Zhu Muchen told everyone: "The world we live in is very large, and land only occupies a very small part. The distance between continents is the ocean."
"Swords, bows, crossbows and horses will eventually be eliminated. If we don't make progress, others will drive warships and mount cannons to attack us in the future. We, the Ming Dynasty, must stay ahead of the enemy and extend the tentacles of the Ming Empire to the whole world.
"
"Those who are willing to surrender to us will colonize and station troops, and those who resist us will be suppressed. The first step is to form a defensive island chain around the waters of the Ming Dynasty to protect the inland of the Ming Dynasty."
His decisive and impassioned words made the whole audience excited.
After being excited, everyone who heard Zhu Muchen's words looked deep in thought.
What King Chu said was really unbelievable, and what he said far exceeded their understanding.
"Our first step is to use Xiaoliuli Island as a naval base and build warships. We must also reform the internal military, abandon all cold weapons, replace them with firearms and artillery, and then establish a special operations team for use in various harsh combat environments.
