When she woke up, Zhu Yixi felt the softness around her, and unconsciously played with the roundness in her hands. For a moment, she felt some inexplicable surprise.
After becoming the emperor for so many years, even if Annan was captured and forced to hold sacrifices to the Ancestral Temple, he did not have so many surprises.
But as soon as the Crown Princess became pregnant, her feelings immediately changed.
Liu Afu lowered his head and stood outside the curtain. A slight muffled whisper came to his ears, and several white and tender figures were vaguely visible.
"The news from the East Palace came like this, and the Taiyuan Hospital also verified it."
Liu Afu said: "It was late at night, and the princess suddenly suffered from morning sickness and her face turned pale. After the imperial doctor checked her pulse, she confirmed again and again that she was pregnant."
"His Majesty drank too much yesterday, so he didn't dare to disturb you."
"I see."
Unconsciously feeling full and full in her mind, Zhu Yixi calmed down and said, "The Queen's corresponding reward has been prepared!"
"Went early in the morning."
"My share should also be sent according to regulations!"
"yes!"
The prince, who was eighteen years old and turned nineteen after the new year, finally had an heir.
Zhu Yixi had a lot of thoughts in her mind.
In all dynasties, the issue of second-generation succession has been a top priority. Some dynasties even collapsed because the second generation failed to take over.
For example, after the death of the real gold prince of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan completely reversed the process of sinicization and began to return to the original barbarism, and then there was a messy fight for the throne.
Not to mention the complete feudalization that was lost, let’s talk about the Yuan Dynasty. Excluding Yuan Shizu and Yuan Shunzong, the remaining nine emperors only lasted forty years in total, which can be said to be very tragic.
This is also the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang stubbornly carried out the eldest son inheritance system. He was really frightened by the chaotic succession of the Yuan Dynasty.
"No, if I teach my grandson, I will love my grandson just like Kublai Khan and Taizu..."
Zhu Yixi reacted immediately.
It’s really the bad nature of human beings.
At that time, Kangxi wanted to make his son Hongxi the crown prince, but he was frightened by the chaos in the Yuan and Ming dynasties, so he had to make his fourth son emperor. In his last edict before his death, he specifically asked the successor emperor to be named a prince.
The other sons were not mentioned at all.
Obviously, a son is not as important as a grandson.
"In the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were many chaos and chaos, and the world was at peace. The successors faced an extremely complex environment, and it was very easy for things to go wrong!"
"However, I thought better. The sons have been divided into feudal vassals, so there is no threat..."
Feeling satisfied, the emperor turned over and continued to gallop forward.
After all, in the middle of winter, you have to do some exercise to warm yourself up.
Not to mention the joy in the palace, the whole court and the public were also in joy.
The position of the prince is becoming more and more secure.
Liao Prince's Mansion.
At this time, the King of Liao had just finished dressing up. After hearing about this, he had to say: "Send someone to send a congratulatory gift."
"Sir, the princess has been sent off early in the morning."
"That's good."
King Liao nodded slightly and sat on the soft couch with a complicated expression.
Even if you know that this position is elusive, who doesn't have a little ambition in your heart?
There was still a little hope, but now it has been completely extinguished.
You should really be prepared to become a fan.
Because of the incident in the East Palace, the whole capital suddenly became lively, and all kinds of words gathered together.
But overall, happiness still dominates the majority.
The stability of the prince's status also means political stability, and this prosperous age can continue to be passed down.
…
It's December.
Qi State has entered the dry season.
After devouring the Sulu Kingdom, Qi State acquired a large number of craftsmen. Although it was not worth mentioning compared to the Ming Dynasty, it was still barely enough for use.
Moreover, the Sulu people have more agricultural experience than those savages, and can even feed Linzi.
Of course, what attracted the King of Qi the most was that Sulu was an island country. It not only had a relatively developed shipbuilding industry, but also had many people who could be sailors.
Taking advantage of this, Qi State established a shipyard near Linzi City, recruited some craftsmen in Luzon, and officially started the shipbuilding industry.
After all, in Nanyang, by relying on maritime trade to make a fortune, Qi could save at least ten years of effort.
King Qi put his hands behind his hands and inspected the shipyard he was concerned about. Looking at the ships gradually taking shape, he smiled:
"We don't have many countries in Qi, but we have all kinds of wood."
"Your Highness, the Westerners allow us to make a lot of progress by drying wood. If we go by previous years, the wood will have to wait for several years after drying in the shade!"
Gu Yuan was lame and followed King Qi, with his head held high and his chest high, showing the demeanor of a prime minister.
"If sea trade flourishes, we can sell sugar, spices, tobacco, fruit wine, wild slaves, timber and other materials, and we can earn at least an extra hundred thousand a year."
"That's a lot." King Qi sighed: "It's so difficult to govern a country."
"By setting up our own fleet, we can earn more. Then we will go to Tianzhu to do business like those Westerners. Ivory and precious stones are scarce."
The position of Qi State is a bit awkward. It is hidden by a group of islands to the south of Luzon.
But the Sulu Islands are different. Their location is critical, close to Borneo and the Spice Islands, and there are many ships traveling between them, so they can naturally bring different news.
"Your Highness, there are millions of people in Qin, and Annan is a land rich in grain. We can definitely go to Qin to buy grain."
Gu Yuan suggested.
"With the ships we have, we can go far across the ocean. We can definitely make a fortune by selling grain from Qin to Luzon."
"Hahaha, not bad."
King Qi chuckled: "When the ship is ready and our mines are almost open, we will use gold and silver to buy food, and then go to Luzon to exchange for silver coins."
"You can also recruit people from the Qin State." Gu Yuan continued to suggest: "There are too few immigrants in the country, and the number of wild slaves is gradually increasing. The people of the Qin State are more submissive than the barbarians after all."
"If we can recruit more than 100,000 people, our country of Qi will be truly established."
King Qi sighed.
The house is still too thin.
It would be great if Luzon was made a feudal country, so that he could wake up laughing at night.
Looking at the calm sea with the white seagulls rising and falling, King Qi whispered: "I will leave the rest of the state affairs to you."
"Your Highness, do you want to go back to Beijing?"
"That's right." King Qi said: "Princess, the prince is still in Beijing. It's already good for me to come to Qi to stay for the first half of the year."
"Don't worry, I will come back when the dry season comes. Then I won't be alone."
At these words, the officials of Qi State were shocked.
It seems that the King of Qi will completely annihilate the vassal state.
This is a great good thing.
…
Ceylon, Yanbao.
A few months after being transferred to Ceylon, Prince Zhu's family has developed rapidly.
After the Portuguese showed their goodwill intentions, they brought a caravan a few days later and established a trading station in Yanbao.
In the beginning, Yanbao could only rely on exploiting the tribes on the peninsula to contribute deer skins and other animal skins in exchange for some salt, gunpowder, and much-needed iron tools and cattle.
These critical supplies allowed Yanbao's strength to continue to grow.
The desire for supplies made Yanbao exceptionally united, and at the same time revealed its hungry ambitions.
In just a few days, they incorporated more than a dozen tribes, large and small, and established vassal armies, with their own men holding muskets to supervise the battle.
Relying on the human sea model, they conquered the tribes within a hundred miles of Yanbao in the first month.
In the second month, tribes of all sizes within two to three hundred miles of Yanbao also began to obey.
As a result, the number of villages controlled by Yanbao reached nearly fifty, and the population exceeded 2,000.
Zhu Cixi selected the best among the best, selected two hundred obedient native people based on their distance and degree of obedience, and made them the so-called Yan Army.
The servants were officers and the nephews were generals, but an army was initially established.
But at the same time, he also established a pro-army, composed entirely of muskets.
With the increase in population, Yanbao's direct management model is no longer feasible.
As a last resort, Zhu Cihong, as the king of Ceylon, transformed them into counties, that is, established a township system.
In other words, it is a local system unique to Ceylon.
With five villages as one li, Yanbao appointed him as the li leader, responsible for managing the five villages, such as tax collection, litigation, conscription and other matters.
On top of it, every five miles, that is, 25 villages, are regarded as a township, with a township chief, a township elder, and a township monk.
The township chief was a Han, that is, his son, and he had an army of fifty people under his command.
Responsible for the military.
The village elders are responsible for education and civil affairs, as well as grain collection and litigation, and are held by those with higher prestige among the natives.
As for the rural monks, this is a characteristic of Ceylon.
Because in this place, basically all Tamils believe in the so-called Brahmanism and have extremely strong religious thinking.
In order to better govern the country, it is necessary to manage religion, so there are rural monks.
Yanbao governs two townships, the township governs five li, and the li governs five villages.
At the same time, in order to divide the natives, Zhu Cixi gave the natives who surrendered in the first month one by one the Ming surname and allowed them to come to Yanbao to trade.
More importantly, their taxes are only 30%.
For other tribes, it is 50%.
The Yan army was also selected from these tribes.
The huge gap and preferential treatment gave this group of natives a greater centripetal force towards Yanbao.
At the same time, it also made the natives feel discordant, making it difficult for them to work together to threaten Yanbao.
Although there were only 2,000 people, Zhu Cixi managed it in an orderly manner. He was worthy of being a person who participated in the boy examination and had a deep understanding of the grassroots level of the Ming Dynasty.
In the center, Zhu Cixiang was also generous.
He named his second brother Zhu Ding the Duke of Dingguo, and his third brother the Duke of Yongguo. Each of them arranged a village as a direct management area, and tax collection and consumption were collected by him.
The third child is dissatisfied: Now that the emperor is far away, why doesn't the eldest brother make us princes?
Zhu Cixiang was not used to them and said directly, although this place is thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty, you should not forget that there are Portuguese people nearby.
Once they know that we have no deep connection with the Ming Dynasty, or even abandoned us, it will be dangerous.
He even asked the two of them not to change their original names, they were still Zhu Ding and Zhu Yong.
And he himself has always been known to the outside world as the Prince of Ceylon, Zhu Ci.
As the Chinese New Year approaches, the whole Yanbao becomes lively.
After successively cracking down on many tribes, Yanbao not only solved the problem of insufficient women, but also owned a large number of slaves.
There were no more than a hundred men, women, old and young, but there were more than two hundred slaves, and the number continued to increase as time went by.
The reason for the increase is naturally realistic requirements.
Reclaiming land naturally requires a large number of slaves. It is impossible for the Zhu family to do it themselves, right?
Zhu Ci was dressed in linen clothes, with his hair tied up, and a few personal guards behind him. Looking at the bustling market below, he couldn't help but feel filled with emotion.
Behind him is Yanbao where his family lives.
Tall buildings do not rise from the ground, but rise one step at a time.
"By going to the market like this, I'm afraid we will soon be able to collect enough ivory and furs to trade with the Portuguese."
"Brother, your method is better." Zhu Ding couldn't help but admire: "We only need to spend some sea salt, it is really profitable."
At this time, the youngest Zhu Yong also caught up. Seeing the two brothers chatting, he couldn't help but shake his head:
"Second brother, the wonderful uses of the market don't stop there."
"Those who can come to trade with us are all relatives. If they still get enough salt and grain from us, they can sell it to other tribes and earn more money."
"As time goes by, their centripetal force on our Yanbao becomes stronger."
The Qinbu refers to the tribes conquered in the first month when Yanbao was established.
Selection of soldiers and trade are their prerogatives.
They are located near Yanbao fifty miles away and are the best scouts.
"That's right." Zhu Ci nodded: "We use the salt boiled in sea water, the harvested grain, and the wine brewed in exchange for the furs and ivory of the natives."
"Then these furs and ivory were exchanged for Portuguese gunpowder and iron tools, and the cycle repeated."
"Within less than half a year's effort, it will surely develop and grow, and by then it will be able to attack the Kingdom of Jaffna."
"Only by winning the Kingdom of Jaffna will we be able to gain a firm foothold, and the King of Ceylon will be worthy of his title."
Yanbao is located in the old land of Portugal, the Malna Peninsula, hundreds of miles away from the Kingdom of Jaffna by land and less than two hours by sea.
If it weren't for the pressure of the Portuguese, the people of Jaffna would have stopped washing their hands long ago.
Therefore, Yanbao was eager to increase its strength and recruit those natives to form the Yan Army.
Thinking of this, Zhu Ci said seriously: "I married some natives for you. Although they are a little darker and shorter, they are the daughters of tribal chiefs."
"Treat them well, and it's best to have children."
Zhu Ding and Zhu Yong looked at each other and could only obey.
Almost every man in Yanbao had two or three native concubines. Although they couldn't understand each other, they didn't delay having sex every night.
Above the bed, there is also politics.
In sparsely populated Yanbao, this is an essential measure.
"Brother, it's best to bring some Han people over..."
Zhu Yong couldn't help but said: "I'm afraid that in a few years, the Zhu family bloodline in Yanbao will be in chaos."
"We will wait until we defeat the Kingdom of Jaffna."
Zhu Ci said in a deep voice: "Those Portuguese people are very greedy and can sell anything. As long as we can afford the price, aren't some Han people free to sell them?"
Only then did the two brothers feel satisfied.
If we can buy some Han people with money, then the Kingdom of Ceylon will be considered stable.
The three of them stood on top of the wall. Below was a market with hundreds of people, and in the distance were thousands of acres of cultivated land.