The once grand Wu King's mansion now appeared even more magnificent and imposing.

Walking in front was Old Zhu, and half a step behind him was Young Zhu. These two were the rulers of the Ming Dynasty, and they were also the source of the endless glory and wealth bestowed upon Prince Wu, Zhu Yunwen. They were the most honored people in the entire Ming Dynasty.

Behind the retired emperor and the emperor were Xu Huizu, Chang Mao, Mu Chun, and Feng Cheng—these were the most powerful maternal relatives of the Ming Dynasty, and also top nobles with considerable real power. All four held the title of Duke.

As for Chang Sheng, Xu Yingxu, and the others, they could only follow at a distance, simply by keeping their ears open.

Zhu Yunying walked ahead and slowly said, "The Maritime Trade Office has brought many fine goods from overseas to the Ming Dynasty, and the imperial family and nobles have also benefited from it."

If Zhu Yunying had said these things in the imperial court, there would have been plenty of praise and flattery. Many civil and military officials also knew that the Maritime Trade Office was not very powerful at first, and it was the then Crown Prince Zhu Yunying who strongly advocated building ships and going to Southeast Asia.

Zhu Yunying continued, "I received a report some time ago that Annam is in turmoil and the powerful minister has murdered the emperor and seized power."

Xu Huizu and the others could only continue listening, wanting to know what the emperor was going to say next.

Zhu Yunying didn't keep them in suspense and continued, "Annam is an extremely important place. It can control Champa, Siam, and Cambodia nearby, and can also control Malacca and neighboring countries such as Sumatra, Palembang, Java, and Ningxia. If Annam is controlled, all the countries in Southeast Asia can be controlled."

At this moment, Mu Chun said, "Your Majesty, the countries of Southeast Asia are mostly wild and uncivilized. This place is filled with miasma and is mostly jungle. If the court were to mobilize a large army, the burden would be quite heavy."

Old Zhu was quite satisfied with Mu Chun's words. Because Old Zhu was a conservative man, he was content with governing the Ming Dynasty well. His primary concern was always the north; he never paid much attention to enemies in the south.

Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang also had some ideas, feeling that acquiring the land was insufficient to provide for the people, and acquiring the people was insufficient to command them.

In other words, Zhu Yuanzhang held a relatively conservative attitude towards foreign expansion, feeling that large-scale military campaigns might become a burden on the court, which was a rather unwise thing to do.

Moreover, the Southeast Asian countries were not necessarily easy to conquer, even with the Ming Dynasty's strong and well-equipped army. Furthermore, in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, there was really no benefit to be gained from the Southeast Asian countries.

Historically, the Qin and Han dynasties, and even the Holy See, all sought to develop Lingnan, which came at a considerable cost to the imperial court, proving to be extremely difficult. The Southeast Asian countries, located even further south than Lingnan, with their miasma, jungles, and fierce inhabitants, were indeed not easy to conquer.

Zhu Yunying said calmly, "Our Embroidered Uniform Guard and Eastern Depot spies have been out there quite a bit over the years. You all know about Champa rice. Not only is the yield quite large, but the Southeast Asian countries are also major rice producers, basically able to achieve three harvests a year. It is even more abundant in rice than our Ming Dynasty's Jiangnan region."

After saying this, Zhu Yunying beckoned to Wang Chengen, who immediately brought over a tray with some commemorative documents on it.

Old Zhu took a memorial and began to read it carefully. Xu Huizu and the others naturally also read the memorial carefully. Zhu Yunying, on the other hand, could now relax and leisurely enjoy tea in the pavilion.

The more he drank, the more familiar it seemed. This tea must be Da Hong Pao, and it must be the tribute tea that that rascal Zhu Yunwen got.

While everyone was carefully examining the intelligence information, Logan remained very patient, showing no impatience or need for any prompting at this time.

Old Zhu put down the memorial and asked Zhu Yunying, "Your Majesty, besides being rich in gemstones, are the Southeast Asian countries also rich in gold, silver, copper, and iron ore?"

"Grandfather, our Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard spies are not to be underestimated; they include people from all walks of life. In recent years, when we went to Southeast Asia to trade, we also secretly sent some people there to make maps and search for mineral veins." Zhu Yunying said to his father with a smug look, "It seems that they are not bad."

Zhu Yuanzhang has certainly tasted some of the benefits of these things. For example, the Ming Dynasty is now receiving a steady stream of silver, the Iwami Silver Mine is growing larger and larger, and the amount of silver being mined is increasing. Zhu Yuanzhang is already ecstatic.

Zhu Yunying continued, "The Southeast Asian countries also have many mineral deposits, but the people there are not very good at iron smelting and mining, so they can't extract them. We also think that our Great Ming Dynasty is vast and rich in resources, but the Southeast Asian countries also have many things to offer."

Zhu Yunying's views have actually shocked or puzzled many people.

Even after hundreds of years of constant incursions by the Khitans, Jurchens, and Mongols, Chinese civilization instinctively regarded this land as the center of the world, believing it to be vast and rich in resources, and generally looked down on those uncivilized lands.

This was a shock to many people. Even elites like Xu Huizu and Chang Mao instinctively felt that the Ming Dynasty had everything it needed and looked down on other places.

Mu Chun then spoke up, “Champa rice has long been famous, having been introduced during the Song Dynasty. I’ve heard that Fujian merchants frequently traveled to and from Champa, spreading it all the way from Fujian to the Jianghuai and Liangzhe regions.”

Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, saying, "I had people inspect it. Champa rice is early-maturing, drought-resistant, and has fine grains. During the Southern Song Dynasty, it was especially popular in the Jiangnan East and West Circuits and Liangzhe Circuit. Champa rice, when combined with late rice to form a double-cropping system, greatly increased grain yields. These things are undoubtedly excellent. Furthermore, I had people inspect it. The forests in Southeast Asia are lush, and the precious timbers such as Phoebe zhennan are even better than those in Lingnan!"

For example, when Zhu Yunying oversaw the construction of Beiping, a large quantity of Phoebe zhennan wood was transported to Beiping from Sichuan, Huguang, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Shanxi. Important buildings such as the palace, city gates, temples, and imperial palaces all used Phoebe zhennan wood for their beams and pillars.

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