In the twenty-first year of the Hongwu reign, in order to resolve the major threat in the Northeast, on the second day of the first lunar month, Emperor Hongwu appointed Feng Sheng, Duke of Song, as the Grand General Who Conquers the Barbarians.

Duke Fu Youde of Yingguo and Marquis Lan Yu of Yongchang were appointed as left and right deputy generals, Marquis Zhao Yong of Nanxiong and Marquis Wang Bi of Dingyuan were appointed as left assistant generals, Marquis Hu Hai of Dongchuan and Marquis Guo Ying of Wuding were appointed as right assistant generals, and Shang Yan, the commander of the vanguard, was appointed as military advisor. They led an army of 200,000 men to the north to conquer the remnant Yuan Grand Commandant Nahachu.

On the third day of the second month, Lan Yu led a light cavalry force out into the snow and killed Guo Lai, the Pingzhang, captured his son Bu Lanxi, and returned with his men and horses.

Nahachu harbored two ambitions and hesitated, sending envoys to the Ming army's camp on several occasions under the pretext of surrendering, in order to observe the Ming army's strength and weakness.

With the Ming army advancing step by step, Nahachu was forced to surrender. The Ming gained more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians, as well as countless sheep, horses, donkeys, camels, and supplies, and finally wiped out the Yuan Dynasty's influence in Liaodong.

At the end of June, Fu Youde stationed the newly acquired Han Chinese soldiers in Liaodong to defend Daning, while Feng Sheng and others returned victoriously.

Liaodong thus became part of the Ming Dynasty's sphere of influence, and later became part of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission.

Nahachu was granted the title of Marquis of Haixi and bestowed with a certificate of merit. His second son, Fojianu, was sent to the side of the Crown Prince Zhu Xiong Ying.

It is said that Nahachu was a descendant of Muqali, one of Genghis Khan's four heroes.

In fact, defeating Nahachu this time did not mean the end of the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition. Emperor Zhu appointed Marquis of Yongchang, Lan Yu, as the Grand General of the Expedition, Marquis of Yan'an, Tang Shengzong, and Marquis of Wuding, Guo Ying, as the Left and Right Deputy Generals, and Vice Commissioner-General Geng Zhong and Sun Ke as the Left and Right Assistant Generals, leading an army of 150,000 to continue the campaign against the Northern Yuan.

In the same year, ten-year-old Zhu Yunwen was enfeoffed as the Prince of Liyang, and Zhu Yuntong was enfeoffed as the Prince of Jiyang.

According to the imperial ancestral instructions, the title of a prince was generally two characters long, and it was often based on the ancient names of counties and prefectures.

Logically, Zhu Yunwen's fiefdom as a prince should have been in Liyang. However, Liyang was changed from a prefecture to a county and was under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture. Zhu Yunwen's fiefdom of Jiyang also belonged to Yingtian Prefecture, so they seemed to be of similar status.

However, everyone understood that once the Crown Prince ascended the throne, these two princes would be promoted to princes of the first rank.

"Grandfather, let the Prince of Zhongshan train the troops for me." Zhu Xiong Ying rushed to the Wuying Hall, somewhat excited. "Also, let the Duke of Cao accompany him. Sun Chen's four naval guards are still lacking a commander."

Old Zhu looked at the spirited young man before him and smiled. "Ying'er, don't think about your navy anymore. We need to choose a consort for you, that's the important thing!"

This is no big deal! Zhu Xiong Ying was anxious. "Grandfather, my first ship has returned. It was just a ship full of ordinary goods, but it actually fetched 90,000 taels of silver in Japan and is about to be put into the treasury!"

Zhu Xiong Ying proudly took out the folded document and handed it over.

Old Zhu was taken aback, then quickly took it, "Ying'er, I remember your fleet, did you go to Southeast Asia?"

"A fleet from Japan lost two ships." Zhu Xiong Ying was somewhat helpless, then annoyed. "Those Japanese pirates are so arrogant, daring to attack our royal army!"

Old Zhu knew the situation of Zhu Xiong Ying's navy. That fleet consisted of merchant ships and cargo ships, escorted by four Fujian-style ships. As for the goods, they were just some miscellaneous and common items. Rare luxury goods were scarce, and it was said that a ship's cargo only cost 10,000 taels.

Zhu Xiong Ying continued, "Grandfather, now that this batch of silver has been deposited into the treasury, I will use it to reward the good and punish the evil. However, in addition to compensating the soldiers, these soldiers should also receive some rewards, but this is something I cannot decide."

Old Zhu was silent for a moment, then asked, "Was it Zhang He who found the waterway and trained the navy for you?"

Seeing Zhu Xiong Ying nod, Old Zhu said, "He has repeatedly distinguished himself in battle, traveling to and from Liaodong for twelve years and escorting maritime transport ten times. He has made great contributions. We think he should be granted the title of Marquis of Navigation. Does he have any children?"

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded repeatedly, and Old Zhu continued, "If there are any offspring, summon one to the Crown Prince's residence, and you can make arrangements accordingly."

"What about Feng Cheng?" Zhu Xiong Ying asked with a smirk. "For the sake of the Duke of Ying, he should inherit the title."

Old Zhu shook his head and said directly, "Feng Sheng has just made a great contribution, so it's not appropriate to grant him a title now. Besides, it's just a minor achievement; bestowing a title on him so easily would make our Ming Dynasty's titles seem less valuable. Let him train some more, and let him and your second uncle contribute more. We'll grant them titles when we wipe out the Japanese pirates!"

Continuing to read Zhu Xiong Ying's memorial, Old Zhu suddenly laughed, "Ying'er, you've really grown up, daring to play tricks on your imperial grandfather!"

Zhu Xiong Ying feigned ignorance, looking puzzled, "Grandpa Emperor, I don't know what you're talking about?"

"You only said that two boats were missing, and more than thirty people were lost when the boats capsized. According to the battle report, three people died in battle, eighteen were wounded, and four died of illness." Old Zhu said to Zhu Xiong Ying in a serious tone, "Your Chenli has no money or grain losses, no official expenses."

Zhu Xiong Ying was a little helpless, so he could only take out another document from his sleeve. "Isn't this to show my grandson's achievements to Grandfather so that the accounts look better?"

Old Zhu chuckled, and after examining the situation carefully, said, "So, although the losses were considerable, this voyage earned our imperial treasury 40,000 taels of silver?"

"There should be some, not even counting the people my grandson sent to Japan to gather information," Zhu Xiong Ying said, continuing, "This time at sea, I doubt my men would dare to embezzle too much, but I reckon the lower ranks will still get a little something. Grandfather, we've made a profit!"

Old Zhu was silent for a moment before saying, "Your father is about to go to Xi'an for an inspection tour, so we don't have time to deal with you. Go and work on your navy."

Zhu Xiong Ying suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, "Didn't you say before that I was to accompany the Duke of Xin to inspect the coastal defenses?"

"Your father is going to inspect Xi'an, so you can stay with us." Old Zhu didn't care about keeping his word; he was just teasing his grandson. "We'll talk about it when your father comes back, and then we'll figure out your marriage."

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