After all, Zhu Xiong Ying was not young, and he wouldn't usually wander around the palace. Even when he needed to travel, eunuchs and maids would 'drive away' the concubines along the way in advance to avoid any clashes.

Fortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang's concubines usually resided in the East Six Palaces and West Six Palaces, so the possibility of conflict was not particularly high.

But the princes were astonished. What major event had happened that made the Crown Prince so impolite?

The guards stationed at the Qianqing Palace dared not stop him, nor was there any need to. The eunuchs didn't even have time to report in advance, because Zhu Xiong Ying rushed straight into the Qianqing Palace like a gust of wind.

"Ying'er!" Zhu Biao said, somewhat displeased, glaring at Zhu Xiong Ying. "Such a breach of etiquette, aren't you afraid of the censors...?"

Zhu Xiong Ying immediately knelt down, holding up the envelope in his hand, "Your Majesty, I, Sun Chen, have been in charge of the navy, suppressing the Japanese pirates and punishing the rebellious! Now, I, Sun Chen..."

Old Zhu laughed and threw the memorial at him, saying, "You little rascal, if you want to curry favor, go to the imperial court. Stop pretending in front of us!"

Zhu Xiong Ying felt wronged, but she got up with a grin and said, "Grandpa Emperor, this is great news! If it's true, our Great Ming will no longer have to worry about money. At that time, our Great Ming will no longer need to ban copper, and we'll have plenty of gold and silver!"

Old Zhu immediately became serious. Zhu Biao strode over and snatched the letter from Zhu Xiong Ying's hand. Before he could even read it, Old Zhu snatched it away.

Zhu Xiong Ying chuckled and said, "Grandfather, Father, I've said before that Japan seems to have an inexhaustible supply of silver. In recent years, I've sent many people to infiltrate and recruit those impoverished samurai in Japan. My men have worked diligently and have finally found some clues!"

Old Zhu and Big Zhu looked at the letter, and their expressions quickly turned to wild joy.

According to the report in the letter, the Imperial Guards who went to Japan were constantly infiltrating and gathering information, and were also recruiting some people from the local area.

It is said that a hundred years ago, the Japanese daimyo Ōuchi Hiroyuki visited Iwami Province and paid homage to the Hokuto Myōken Daibosatsu (Great Bodhisattva of the North Star). Silver had always been found there, and mining was underway, albeit inefficiently.

Ginpo Mountain is located in what is known as Iwami Province!

The imperial envoys and artisans have already gone to investigate, and there is a huge silver mine there. Its scale is currently immeasurable, and they urge the court to send people to investigate and study it as soon as possible.

Old Zhu laughed heartily, quite expectantly, "I imagine there will be more reports sent back in the next few days. Biao'er, you take care of the affairs of the court for now. We need to personally take charge of this matter. The navy, we need to get the navy back, we need to raise an army!"

Zhu Xiong Ying's expression suddenly turned bitter. "I've found a huge silver mine; I should be highly valued and generously rewarded. How come the small naval force I've painstakingly built up is about to be stolen?"

Oh well, it'll be mine sooner or later anyway, I'll just lend it to my grandfather for now!