The seventeenth year of Chongzhen, which was supposed to be the fall of the Ming Dynasty, was spent smoothly under the rule of Lao Zhu.

And Lao Zhu also got a large number of simulation points because of this, but Lao Zhu didn't have time to care about this thing.

There are too many things to reform the imperial court, and he needs to do everything in every way, even if he doesn't need to do everything, but just formulating the charter will make him tired enough.

And in addition to the internal affairs of Daming, now that overseas affairs are just on the right track, all things also need to be decided by him.

For example, Chen Qiyu, who has already eaten half of the Wa Kingdom in silence, is basically a batch of twists and turns every half month.

It's not that Chen Qiyu is incompetent, but the establishment of Daming's power overseas, this is the first time that Daming has ever experienced it, Chen Qiyu really has no experience, even if he does, he doesn't dare to make decisions privately, so he can only let Lao Zhu take the idea, lest something bad is done and the taboo is violated.

And except for the Wa Kingdom, Zheng Zhilong and they are not idle.

Zheng Zhilong and they seem to be only doing business, running back and forth on the sea, but in fact, the people of the Ming Dynasty have long followed them all over the world.

These Ming people don't stir up trouble, just wait to see where the fight starts, and when the brains of the people hit the dog's brains, these Ming people will secretly poke and poke in front of those forces that have fallen behind, and be righteous with the Ming Dynasty, and let them find the Ming to uphold justice.

In fact, to put it bluntly, it is to find them an ally, after all, the Ming Dynasty is prosperous, and it is not a problem to send some troops out to support.

Of course, Daming has never been wronged.

But if the Ming Dynasty is allowed to intervene, the Ming Dynasty will ask for people, land, and resources, and at the same time begin to spread the culture of the Ming Dynasty and let the Ming Dynasty take root in the local area.

If someone wins with the help of Da Ming, and still wants to turn their face and deny people, it will be even better.

Hundreds of warships of the Ming Dynasty are waiting for you to come out, as long as you come out, then the Ming Dynasty will have enough reasons to fight you.

In this way, Daming doesn't need to ask for these things at all, such as people, land, resources, and forces, and he can directly reach out and take them himself.

In short, in the case of all soft and hard knives, the Ming Dynasty expanded not only the forces on the bright side, but also the soft forces that grew wildly.

Whether it is culture or language, these things are spread little by little with the Ming fleet.

In this steady development, three years passed in a flash, and the time soon came to the twenty years of Chongzhen.

In the past three years, because the restructuring is too urgent, Daming has not encountered crises and problems.

But because of the powerful firepower created by the Ordnance Bureau, Lao Zhu stubbornly suppressed all the crises.

Lao Zhu didn't care too much about these things, the restructuring was a process of trial and error, and he was also a human being, not a god.

In the case of such a drastic restructuring, it is already a blessing for Daming to be so stable, why do you want so much.

Now, Lao Zhu has come to Daming, and it has been five years since he was full, and in these five years, his appearance has not changed in the slightest because of the passage of time.

But at this moment, beside him, it was no longer Chongzhen who was standing, but a handsome young man with red lips and white teeth, this young man had a fair complexion, a dignified appearance, and a trace of heroism between his eyebrows, it was the crown prince Zhu Cihong, who was just eighteen years old.

Of course, Zhu Cihong stood in front of Lao Zhu, not that something happened to Chongzhen.

But Lao Zhu felt that Chongzhen was a little too stupid, so he asked him to get out of the way.

Chongzhen doesn't mind, Zhu Cihong is smart by nature, and because of what happened to Daming before, he has a calmness that does not match his age, not only Chongzhen feels that his son is very good, but even Lao Zhu is very satisfied with Zhu Cihong's talent.

So Chongzhen, who originally planned to retire at the age of fifty, has now decided to advance his retirement plan, and after Taizu leaves, he will help his son support the field for a few years, so that Zhu Cihong can take the opportunity to consolidate his power.

When Zhu Cihong was full-fledged, he directly picked his son and left.

This vast world has a lot to offer, why do you have to stay in the palace in a big place, it's not good to go to sea.

He heard Zheng Zhilong say that there are many countries overseas, even bigger than Daming, and as for the customs, they are very different from Daming.

So Chongzhen now points to taking his daughter-in-law to the sea after retirement, anyway, he now knows that he is not the material to be the emperor at all, what is the thankless picture, it is better to let himself live happily.

And Lao Zhu also felt that Chongzhen had no ambition because of this, although Chongzhen Chongzhen's decision was undoubtedly a good thing for Daming, but looking at Chongzhen who had no sense of responsibility, Lao Zhu, who had worked hard all his life, became more and more annoyed, so he simply asked him not to dangle in front of him.

Chongzhen didn't put this at ease, anyway, I have a good son, if he can be a good emperor, then it can be regarded as my responsibility to be an emperor.

As for Lao Zhu not waiting to see him, he didn't want to be scolded by Lao Zhu when he was already a little self-free, so in the past three years, he rarely came to Lao Zhu to hang out in front of him.

It's just that today Chongzhen felt that things seemed to be a little wrong, so he deliberately came out of the harem and came here to watch quietly behind the two men who don't know how many generations apart.

To be honest, Chongzhen was convinced by Taizu from the bottom of his heart, not only because of Taizu's means and courage, but more importantly, Taizu had been here for five years, and Chongzhen had never seen him rest for a day.

He only sleeps for more than two hours at most every day, he gets up before dawn, and he doesn't sleep until the night is late, no matter how he was the emperor before, but he asked himself that he was also diligent in government, but compared with Taizu, it was a small thing.

Taizu's body is like a real iron, if he is usually tired, he will go to the Ordnance Bureau and the Civil Weapons Bureau to discuss the future development direction with Bi Maokang and Song Yingxing, and it will be regarded as a rest for himself.

Then, after the discussion, he returned to the palace and began to continue to review the recitals, which was enough to make all the emperors in history ashamed.

Lao Zhu didn't care about Chongzhen behind him, he looked at Zhu Cihong and asked:

"Ci Hong, do you know what is the most important thing in Da Ming today?"

Hearing Lao Zhu's question, Zhu Cihong did not answer in a hurry, but calmed down and thought patiently.

In the five years that Grandpa Tai has been here, Daming's strength has undergone earth-shaking changes, and even the territory has nearly doubled.

Wa, Jiannu, Mongolia, Korea, Annam, Siam, Chenla, Sumatra and other countries have been actively or passively incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

In other words, in the era of the rapid development of Daming steam trains, there were no weak neighbors around Daming.

The rest of the slightly larger countries are not that the Ming Dynasty does not fight, but that the railways of the Ming Dynasty have not been repaired for the time being.

After all, with the power of Gatling guns and repeating rifles, there is no country to resist.

If you talk about the territory, the Ming Dynasty should be the most in China, there is no one.

So what should be the most important thing for such a large empire?