amaotonovel Chapter 478 The Beginning: A Single Thought, and the World Expands
Chapter 478 The Beginning: A Single Thought, and the World Expands
Emperor Zhu remembered hearing it from some scoundrel.
"The moment a thought arises to open up the world, the universe instantly expands."
That bastard originally said that to mock the officials of the Ming Dynasty.
At the time, Emperor Zhu thought it was just nonsense.
They're just making excuses for those officials.
However, after truly experiencing the feeling of being on the open, Emperor Zhu realized that this statement made a lot of sense.
We've left the government affairs to Biao'er, and my girlfriend and I are enjoying life in Dengzhou. It seems pretty good.
But then he thought about it again and the Emperor Zhu couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
The Hu Yuan regime has not been completely eradicated.
The matter of those short, ugly Japanese killing the Ming Dynasty envoy has not yet been dealt with.
There have been rumors recently that Myanmar has copper mines, but it's unclear when they will be able to reclaim them.
In addition, the Ming Dynasty itself was a mess.
How could I, as a father, leave such a mess to Biao'er?
Emperor Zhu sighed softly and said to Empress Ma, "Sister, we've just thought about it."
“Once we’ve dealt with all the problems between Hu Yuan and the Ming Dynasty, we’ll hand the throne over to Biao’er.”
"We'll go stay in Ningyang County for a while first, and then go back to our hometown to farm."
Empress Ma glanced at Zhu Chongba once more.
At this moment, Zhu Chongba reminded Empress Ma of an old ox, panting heavily, who comforted himself while saying, "Once I finish plowing the fields on these hills, I'll put the plow on our son, and we can enjoy a peaceful and happy life together."
Imagining this scene, Empress Ma couldn't help but chuckle.
Emperor Zhu was somewhat bewildered by Empress Ma's laughter and asked, "Sister, what are you laughing at?"
Empress Ma exclaimed, pointing at Emperor Zhu and saying, "You said you'd clean up all the problems between the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty? Have you forgotten what your good son-in-law said?"
Upon hearing Empress Ma's words, Emperor Zhu's face immediately darkened.
After a long while, Emperor Zhu said somewhat exasperatedly, "Then let's wait and see. We really don't believe that with the Sun Gupu case, the Plowshare case, and the Blank Seal case in front of us, they would still have such audacity!"
……
Zhu Biao, far away in the capital, was nearly driven mad with anger.
In June of the fourth year of the Hongwu reign, his parents embarked on a northern tour, while he, the crown prince, remained in the capital to oversee the country.
In July of the fourth year of the Hongwu reign, news came from Dengzhou Prefecture that a new port had been built there, and preparations were underway to manufacture a large number of ocean-going ships.
In July of the fourth year of the Hongwu reign, before the end of the month, rebellions broke out in Hunan and Hubei, Fujian, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and the Jiangnan region.
The names they used were varied: some claimed to be former subordinates of Zhang Shicheng, some former subordinates of Chen Youliang, some former subordinates of Ming Sheng, and some even went so far as to claim the name of the White Lotus Sect.
Zhu Biao threw several memorials containing news of rebellion onto the table, gestured for the attending eunuchs to give them to Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, and then sneered, "My brother-in-law was right again."
Li Shanchang was slightly taken aback and asked, "Your Highness, what did the Imperial Son-in-Law say this time?"
Zhu Biao sneered and said, "When I went to Dengzhou before, my brother-in-law said that as long as the news of Dengzhou manufacturing a large number of ships spread, there would definitely be a rebellion."
Seeing that Li Shanchang was still somewhat dazed, Liu Bowen sneered and stroked his beard, saying, "Brother Shanchang, this matter is obvious."
“The construction of ships in Dengzhou Prefecture will inevitably affect the maritime borders and maritime trade.”
"The Prince Consort has hit someone where it hurts."
"This forced these people to come forward."
Li Shanchang remained silent for a while before letting out a long sigh and saying, "Anyway, it has to be resolved sooner or later, so it's better to resolve it sooner rather than later."
"However, I am curious about what these people are thinking."
"Ahead of us are the Sun Gupu rebellion case, the plow case, and the blank seal case."
“Tiande, Boren, and Dingchen are in the capital, and Siben is also in the capital right now.”
"If they jump out now, what will they use to fight Tiande and his group?"
"Can you win?"
As Li Shanchang finished speaking, Zhu Biao and Liu Bowen fell silent.
That's absolutely amazing!
Really.
Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Tang He, Li Wenzhong—weren't these all formidable and ruthless figures?
Li Wenzhong, in particular, was a ruthless figure in Luo Guanzhong's mind who could single-handedly charge in and out of the army seven times.
Chang Yuchun, needless to say, has done countless things like killing prisoners of war.
Not to mention Feng Sheng, Lan Yu, and Fu Youde.
There are countless capable generals.
There were even Mongol generals like Yanda Mashili who were devoted to Emperor Zhu and wanted to bring Hala and Lin back to power once again.
What do these rebellious idiots have to fight against these ruthless people?
Zhu Biao pondered to himself for a moment.
If we disregard his status as the Crown Prince, with his second, third, fourth, and fifth sons, plus his cousin Li Wenzhong and sworn brother Mu Ying, he might be able to go toe-to-toe with Xu... well, Chang... no, that won't work either. Maybe he could go toe-to-toe with Lan Yu a few times.
However, just as Zhu Biao was pondering this, Liu Bowen suddenly snorted and said, "Brother Tiande and Brother Boren, what about them?"
"Tsk tsk, Brother Shanchang, you overestimate those fools."
"There's no need for Brother Tiande and Brother Boren."
"As long as we tell the Prince Consort, all the prisoners will be exiled to Dengzhou, and the Prince Consort will be able to deal with them all."
Li Shanchang was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "That's right, these fools don't know what fighting is, let alone what rebellion is."
This time it was Zhu Biao's turn to be stunned.
After pondering for a while without figuring it out, Zhu Biao simply looked at Li Shanchang and asked, "Why does the Duke of Han say that?"
Li Shanchang bowed to Zhu Biao and replied, "Your Highness, in war, it is always the case that the many bully the few and the strong defeat the weak."
"So far, apart from killing officials and looting grain, those people have neither slogans to incite the people's hearts nor occupied any strategically important and easily defensible locations. This is not the way to wage war and rebel at all."
"And the prince consort organized the people to dig an artificial lake and also organized them to build roads."
"It's hard to say whether I can lead tens of thousands of troops, but a few thousand troops are definitely not a problem."
"Several thousand elite soldiers are sent to fight several thousand civilians who know nothing about military operations. Wouldn't that be an easy victory?"
"Moreover, the Prince Consort's reputation is already quite renowned."
Although Yang the Madman had a bad reputation in official circles and among scholars, his reputation among the common people was still acceptable.
If Yang the Madman leads the troops to quell the rebellion, those coerced civilians will surely think of surrendering.
Unfortunately, it's best to just think about it and forget about it.
If Yang Dianfeng were to go to the battlefield, it would be fine with Emperor Zhu, but the problem would be how to explain it to Empress Ma.
If this angers Empress Ma, wouldn't Emperor Zhu go crazy?
Thinking of this, Li Shanchang simply shook his head and looked at Zhu Biao, asking, "May I ask Your Highness, should we invite His Majesty to return to the capital to oversee things?"
Zhu Biao shook his head slightly, "They're just a bunch of rats rebelling. There's no need to trouble my father. Just handle it like the Sun Gupu case and the Plowhead case."
At this point, Zhu Biao couldn't help but sneer again, saying, "Speaking of which, these people are truly insatiable."
What's the point of making so much money?
No matter how much you earn, it's just enough for three meals a day; when you die, you're nothing more than a handful of dust.
The key question is whether they dare to spend the money they've recovered openly.
Look at my brother-in-law, look at how he makes and spends money.
A bunch of idiots!