Yongle 10th year in July, Taicang Port Wharf.

"Damn it, the steam engine has to be on the agenda, I'm fed up with the monsoon."

Looking at the crowd of people on the dock, welcoming the people who came back from the expedition, Zhu Gaoyu muttered in a low voice.

After the end of the war in mid-April, Zhu Gaoyu left behind the Japanese army and returned to Daming with the remaining legions.

It's a little better when I go, just along the monsoon, but when I come back to Daming, it's hard work.

It is possible to go against the wind by taking the zigzag route, but for a super ship like the treasure ship, every time it turns around, it is a big project.

Good guy, it's been more than three months, all the way back, the sailors are tired and weak, if it weren't for the call to go home, it is estimated that they would have asked Zhu Gaoyu for advice, and then left when the monsoon came.

It is precisely because of the hard work of this kind of big ship that Zheng He waited for the monsoon to come every time he went to the Western Ocean.

"Oh my God, you're finally back."

When Zhu Gaoyu complained, there was also a person on the shore, who breathed a sigh of relief.

This person is our eunuch Zheng.

As the commander of the ocean-going fleet, after going to the West several times, he set his life mission on going to the West.

In addition to looking for the holy city in his heart to worship, he also wants to spread the prestige of the Ming Dynasty all over the world.

But there is a premise for all this, that is, he has a ship in his hands.

He hadn't worried about this before, but since last year, he, the commander of the treasure ship, has become the commander of the light pole.

At the beginning, most of the people under his command were poached by Wang Jin, a second or five boy, and he was so angry that he choked.

As a result, I haven't found Zhu Gaoyu to theorize, the old man gave an order, he didn't talk about people, and he didn't even have a boat.

If it weren't for the old man to appease him and say that he would return the boat to him after the war was over, he didn't know how depressed he would be.

In addition to Zheng He's mission to the West, there is another thing that makes the imperial court a little headache.

That was the envoy of the nations who had returned with him.

Because he didn't have a fleet on hand, Zheng He couldn't go to the West, and these people couldn't go.

The imperial court loves face very much, and these tributary envoys who come from afar must take care of people's food and accommodation.

From the envoys to the servants, there are thousands of people, and the cost of eating and drinking every moonlight is not a small expense.

No, the household department whose faces are black when they ask for money is asked for it, they write every day, let them get a batch of boats first, and send these people back.

When they Xia Shangshu left, they didn't have much money left, and if they were all spent, they wouldn't be scolded to death by Shangshu when they came back.

"Playing music!"

When the first warship entered the dock, Lu Zhen, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites who was ordered to come to greet him, waved his hand vigorously, and the accompanying court ritual music played a triumphant music.

Hundreds of dancers from the Workshop Division danced to the sound of drums on the dock platform to celebrate the safe return of these soldiers.

"Wansheng. Wansheng Wansheng"

The soldiers standing on the deck, looking at such a big welcoming scene, were very excited, and waved their hands vigorously to the shore.

"Fourth brother, thank you for your hard work!"

As soon as Zhu Gaoyu got off the boat with someone, Zhu Chubby, who was dressed in formal clothes, greeted him and gave Zhu Gaoyu a warm hug.

"I've seen His Royal Highness the Prince, His Royal Highness Jin An!"

The generals who followed behind Zhu Gaoyu saluted calmly, and there was no excitement on their faces to see the prince.

Zhu Chupang didn't seem to see the expressions of these people, and raised his hand slightly with a smile on his face.

"Okay, all up, you have worked hard for the country, Your Majesty has prepared a wine banquet in the court, and is waiting for you, and then you will have to toast the generals with a few glasses."

"The last general commands."

Zhu Gaoyu stood aside with a smile, not caring at all about the politeness of his boss and his subordinates.

Zhu Gaoyu is very confident in the people under him, if the boss says a few good words and pulls people away, it can only mean that he Zhu Gaoyu is blind.

After a few polite words with the generals, Zhu Chupang pulled Zhu Gaoyu and whispered as he walked forward: "The people from the Nankong family are here, are you prepared here, if you are not prepared, I will send them away." ”

Zhu Gaoyu, who waved to the cheering people on both sides, replied in a low voice: "It's just right to come, and it saves me from having people send things over." ”

"Old man, is this going to let them take over the title of Duke Yan?"

Zhu Fatty shook his head: "Chao Chinese Wu has this meaning, but the father emperor is still hesitating, he wants to take this opportunity to cancel this title, and by the way, take back the land rewarded by Shandong." ”

"What have those families done for so many years, I guess I have heard of it, Shandong has also been unlucky in recent years, large and small natural disasters have continued, and the land in the hands of the people has been almost collected."

"Our father wants to take back the land of the Kong family and give it to those landless people."

Zhu Gaoyu bowed his head slightly and asked, "Big brother, you also agree with this idea." ”

Zhu Fatpang hesitated for a moment and replied: "Actually, I don't agree, these lands are in the hands of the people, and they can support them for a few years, and once a natural disaster comes, it will still fall into the hands of those families." ”

"I've been worried about this matter for the past few days, and I haven't been able to think of a solution."

"Because of this, the affairs of the Kong family have been delayed again and again, and our father has not given the court an explanation so far."

After speaking, he looked at Zhu Gaoyu and said with a smile: "Your brain has been faster than me since you were a child, give me a trick." ”

Zhu Gaoyu looked at Zhu Chupang funny: "I just came back, big brother, you can't let me be idle for a few days." ”

"Haha..."

"Those who can work harder, you can help your brother."

"The old man doesn't want to have a headache, so he left this matter to me, brother, I have been thinking about it for several days, but I haven't fallen asleep, you see I have lost several pounds."

Zhu Gaoyu took a step back, looked at Zhu Chubby's chubby figure, and nodded seriously.

"It's a few pounds of weight, and it's hard for big brother."

"yes, you're going to have to help my brother."

"Okay, you allow me to think about this matter, and find a time to discuss it with the old man tomorrow."

"Haha, it's really my own brother, I know that I feel sorry for my brother."

"That's, my eldest brother, I don't hurt anyone."

"Meet His Royal Highness the Prince, His Royal Highness the King of Yue!"

The two brothers laughed and came to the welcome platform, followed by the officials who came to greet Zhu Fatpang, and hurriedly saluted to meet them.

"Thank you for your hard work."

After everyone saluted, Zhu Gaoyu also bowed his hand and said hello.

The next step is the official start of the welcoming ceremony.

On behalf of the old man, Zhu Chupang gave condolences to the soldiers who returned triumphantly, and greeted the ashes of those fallen soldiers heavily.

Finally, the wine and meat rewarded by the old man were distributed to the soldiers of the fleet, and the welcoming ceremony ended.

Some of the officers and men of the fleet would stay here to rest and enjoy the wine and meat rewarded by the imperial court, while some soldiers and officers followed Zhu Gaoyu to Jinling to receive the imperial court's reward.

The people of the Southern Confucius family, after receiving the ashes and identity certificates of Yan Shenggong and others, did not stay long, and left in a hurry.

"His Royal Highness King Yue, can you give me my boat?"

Zheng He, who had just sent off the Kong family and had been waiting beside him for a long time, finally found an opportunity to speak, and grabbed Zhu Gaoyu to ask for a boat.

Looking at Zheng He, who kept looking at the dock in the distance, Zhu Gaoyu smiled and quipped: "Gong Zheng, you are wrong, it is the ship of the imperial court, not yours." ”

Zheng He's expression froze, and he hurriedly smiled to the side, looking at Zhu Chubby, who was talking to the two, and saluted.

"The minister is guilty, please punish His Highness!"

"It doesn't matter." Zhu Chupang waved absently, and blamed Zhu Gaoyu: "Eunuch Zheng is dedicated to the dynasty and has no selfish intentions, this is well known, the fourth brother should not talk nonsense." ”

Zhu Gaoyu smiled and nodded, but an inexplicable color flashed in his eyes.

For Zheng He, Zhu Gaoyu is actually very complicated in his heart.

admired the other party's courage and deeds, and felt helpless that the other party only supported Zhu Chupang.

From the beginning of contact with Zheng He, Zhu Gaoyu understood that Zheng He absolutely supported the prince's lineage.

Or, to be more accurate, to support ancestral rituals.

Except for Zhu Chubby, Zheng He stayed away from other princes.

If it weren't for the fact that the two had gone to the West together, and Zhu Gaoyu talked to each other, Zheng He would probably only say a few polite words before leaving.

If the capable person is not used by me, no matter how great the skill is, it is meaningless.

Zheng He's voyage to the West has a great impact on the imperial court and the future, but for Zhu Gaoyu, who plans to place it in Southeast Asia, it is not necessarily a good thing.

Zhu Gaoyu and Zheng He, after all, are not all the way, and even in the future power relationship, they may be enemies.

No matter what later generations say or scold, Zheng He's move to the West, Zhu Gaoyu must stop him.

Even if he doesn't stop, he can't let Zheng He go.

It is enough to have him Zhu Gaoyu, and even he will do better than Zheng He.

In fact, Zheng He did not have so many reasons to go to the West as later generations speculated.

What to look for Emperor Jianwen is even more nonsense.

The old man doesn't care about the Jianwen that he is still doing on the throne, let alone the exiled emperor who is now like a lost dog.

The old man sent Zheng He to the West for only two purposes.

First, because the old man was born in rebellion, he urgently needed to make merits, be recognized by those Fanbang vassal countries, and prove the legitimacy of his identity.

Second, it is to make money, after a few years of tossing and turning in his Jingjing, the finances of the Ming court are completely defeated.

If you don't want to find a way to make some money, how can the grand blueprint in the old man's heart be completed.

The old man's idea was good, but he overlooked one thing.

Eating alone doesn't end well.

The goods that Zheng He carried to the West were all made by the government, and the money from the sale of these things went into the old man's own pocket.

This makes those big families who can only watch dryly, naturally blushing.

Therefore, as soon as the old man died, those people took action one after another, and forcibly stopped Zheng He's move to the West on the grounds of decadent money.

Even if Xiao Zhu did it a few times later, it was thunder and rain, and in the end, it didn't end.

The Manchu Dynasty did not support going to the West, not because they had any hostility towards it, but because they were hostile to it, the court did not take them with them to make money.

There is a good saying that it is more uncomfortable to see others making money than losing money yourself.

In order not to make yourself uncomfortable, then let others lose money with you, or don't make money.

And these people have gone even further, on the one hand, they are under the banner of the ancestral system, not allowing the emperor to open the sea ban, and on the other hand, they have made a lot of money by engaging in smuggling.

Thinking of the Ming Dynasty, the opportunity to surpass the historical dynasties and become the world's best through maritime trade, and to miss it in vain, Zhu Gaoyu sighed in his heart.

So whether it's for yourself or for the future of Daming.

Zheng He's trip to the West, he must take over.

As for Zheng He's arrangements in the future, that is the old man's business, and it has nothing to do with him.

"Gong Zheng, the fleet has just returned from a long voyage, it needs to be inspected and repaired, the soldiers fought for the country and came back alive from the battlefield, no matter what we say, we must let them reunite with their families more."

"People are not stones, they have thoughts and emotions, and we can't ignore their feelings for the sake of our own selfish desires."

After speaking, Zhu Gaoyu nodded to Zheng He, said hello to Zhu Panpang, and walked to the waiting convoy in the distance.

Zhu Gaoyu's words made Zheng He fall silent.

That selfish desire made him feel inexplicably sad in his heart.

He Zheng He can swear to the sky that everything he does has never been selfish, and he is dedicated to the court.

I thought that Zhu Gaoyu, who went to sea with him, should be able to understand him, but he didn't expect that he said these words today, which made him feel a pain in his heart that he was not understood.

"Eunuch Zheng, don't think about it, the fourth brother has no other meaning." Noticing Zheng He's somewhat lonely eyes, Zhu Fatpang was afraid that he would think too much, so he hurriedly spoke to appease.

"The fourth child actually didn't mean anything else, he just felt that the soldiers had been out fighting for a year, and he wanted the soldiers to reunite with their families more."

"Otherwise, you wait for a few days, and I will go back to discuss with Your Majesty, let the fleet recover as soon as possible, and start the next journey."

For Zheng He's trip to the West, Zhu Chupang has some ideas.

But it's useless to have ideas, his father is still alive, even if he has ideas, he has to hold back.

Glancing at the soldiers of the fleet who got off the boat and hugged their families, Zheng He also felt that he was a little anxious, and hurriedly shook his head and said: "His Royal Highness Prince Xie, His Royal Highness King Yue is right, the minister is indeed a little anxious, and he doesn't care about the feelings of the soldiers. ”

Zhu Gaoyu left without stopping at the dock.

He didn't even look at the items seized from the Japanese Kingdom.

It's not that he doesn't care about these things, but what he wants, he has already sent the fleet away, and what he left for the old man is the rags he has picked up.

He is not afraid that the old man will know.

He, Zhu Gaoyu, handed over all the silver mines to the imperial court.

The imperial court is full of oil, so what's wrong with letting me, a person who contributes, drink some soup and water?

Taicang Wharf is more than 500 miles away from Jinling, and the team walked for more than two days before returning to Jinling City.

"It's back, it's back......"

The people who had already received the news and were waiting at the city gate saw the procession coming from a distance and hurriedly lit the firecrackers to greet them.

"Let the brothers go back first to report their safety, and then assemble tomorrow morning and wait for the reward from the imperial court."

Looking at the family members of the soldiers who came around, Zhu Gaoyu saw that there were many soldiers who kept looking sideways, and their eyes were full of excitement and joy.

But because of the discipline of the army, he could only endure holding his chest up and not squinting.

Zhu Gaoyu was very satisfied with this and lived up to his training during this time.

Now the soldiers under his command already have some shadows of modern troops in terms of marching discipline.

When the left army conveyed Zhu Gaoyu's order, it instantly caused a burst of cheers from the soldiers.

After saluting Zhu Gaoyu's carriage under the leadership of the officer, he excitedly rushed to his family and hugged them.

Those who have never experienced parting will never be able to experience the excitement of people at this time.

Especially these soldiers of the expedition, no one dares to guarantee whether they will be able to come back alive after parting.

Through the curtain of the carriage, looking at the soldiers and their relatives who hugged each other, laughed excitedly and even cried, Zhu Gaoyu showed a smile on his face.

"Your Highness."

Putting down the curtain, Zhu Gaoyu was just about to order to go home, when the sound of greeting sounded outside the car.

Zhu Gaoyu opened the curtain and saw that it was several officers sent by the Fifth Army Battalion.

The five battalions did not stay in the flotilla, they returned with the team.

After all, they are only seconded, and now that the war is over, they naturally want to return to their original units.

Getting up and getting out of the carriage, Zhu Gaoyu arched his hand at several officers.

"I will truthfully report to Your Majesty the merits of the five military camps, and you can just go back to the camp and wait."

Zhu Gaoyu thought that they were here to say goodbye, thinking that after all, they had sold their lives under him, and now that they were leaving, they naturally had to send them away.

"This..."

The general who led the team hesitated, looked left and right, and saw that it was all his own people, and he gritted his teeth and knelt on one knee.

The same is true of several other generals.

"Brothers, who are you?"

Zhu Gaoyu was a little puzzled, and stepped forward to help a few people up.

"Your Highness, a few of us and our brothers have already discussed, and we admire Your Highness and are used to the days of fighting with you."

"I heard that Your Highness still has some places in your hands, and the brothers have entrusted a few of us to ask Your Highness, can you let me wait to follow you."

A good general and a good commander can give soldiers more chances of surviving on the battlefield.

Zhu Gaoyu is such a commander in their minds.

Think about it, if you fight a country that is not weak, and the number of casualties does not even exceed 500, where can you find such a general?

In addition, they have also been in contact with the navy for a period of time, and they have heard that the navy's military pay is never in arrears, and it is even higher than the military salary of other troops.

In terms of daily food, His Royal Highness is also very generous, and he has a meat meal almost every day.

On weekdays and holidays, their families can also receive some gifts.

Although it is not a precious thing, the soldiers keep this love in their hearts.

The soldiers of the Fifth Military Battalion who learned of this were naturally very envious in their hearts.

Coupled with the worship of Zhu Gaoyu, the idea of following was born.

If Zhu Gaoyu was just an ordinary prince and did not have the right to recruit soldiers, even if they had this thought, they would not dare to say it.

But Zhu Gaoyu is different, His Royal Highness the King of Yue, but the prince who has the right to lead the army.

Moreover, they also inquired that there are still 20,000 places in the navy in the hands of His Royal Highness, and His Majesty promised that as long as those who are willing to come to the navy can be transferred directly below the rank of captain.

It was precisely because of this that they moved the idea of following Zhu Gaoyu and dared to have the courage to bring it up.

"I see!"

Zhu Gaoyu showed a sudden expression, and said with emotion: "Actually, speaking from the heart, I am also reluctant to brothers, we are all people who have fought the battlefield together, I also wanted to leave you at the beginning, but I was afraid of delaying the future of my brothers, so I didn't say this idea." ”

"Now my brothers look up to me, and if I refuse, it will break my brothers' hearts."

stepped forward and helped several people up one by one, Zhu Gaoyu arched his hand and said seriously: "Thank you for not giving up, I will have a bite to eat in the future, and I will never be hungry brothers." ”

"My subordinates meet Your Highness!"

When several people heard this, they fell to the ground again and officially recognized the relationship between the top and bottom.

After saying a few words, several generals rushed back to the Fifth Army Camp with their troops.

The reason why they still need the five military camps is because they have to go back to report first, and then they can not leave until the paperwork from the military department arrives.

In addition, Zhu Gaoyu also gave them a mission.

That is, go back and see if there are any soldiers from the five military camps who are willing to come, and if there is, they will take them together.

Our Royal Highness the King of Yue, after hollowing out Zheng He's fleet, began to extend his claws to the five military camps.

If the old man knew that his fourth son was digging into his own corner again, would he regret that he was excited and gave so much power.

"Look at what, don't go home, get out of here."

Liu Sheng, who was leading the team in the distance, gave a fierce lecture to the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion who were looking forward to piercing with a black face.

Staring at the soldier who turned back three times at a time, Liu Sheng said viciously in his heart: Damn, as long as Lao Tzu is the commander for a day, no one will want to run.

(End of chapter)