Zhu bestowed upon Tang He three hundred taels of gold, two thousand taels of platinum, three thousand ingots of paper and yarn, and more than forty sets of colored coins. He also bestowed upon Tang He's wife, Lady Hu, the same amount of gifts. Furthermore, he issued an edict praising Tang He, saying that no other meritorious official could compare to him.

Because Tang He was very sensible, he sought an opportunity last year to retire and return to his hometown, which was exactly what Lao Zhu was looking forward to.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang gave Tang He a respectable position and built him a mansion in Zhongdu (Fengyang). After Tang He inspected the coastal defenses and was ordered to build the city, he could now retire and return to his hometown.

Song Lian and others were so envious they almost cried. Of course, Song Lian had already passed away peacefully. But in the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu was happy to see military generals retire and return to their hometowns, and he encouraged them because he wanted to reclaim military power.

As for the civil officials, forget about them; they won't leave the court until they've squeezed every last drop of oil out of them.

To achieve fame and success, return home in glory, enjoy the company of grandchildren, live a peaceful life in the countryside, and spend one's later years in tranquility—this was the dream of many scholar-officials.

However, when Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he stipulated that one must be seventy years old to retire. In the last two years, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that seventy was still too young, and that one had to be over seventy. Moreover, even if one wanted to retire, one had to personally go to the capital to submit a petition, and was not allowed to leave unless the Ministry of Personnel approved it.

Ultimately, it all comes down to what Zhu Yuanzhang (the Zhu Emperor) thinks. He needs useful people. Useful people will naturally stay in the court, while those he doesn't want to keep can simply become the subject of a beautiful story of harmonious relations between the emperor and his ministers.

With Tang He retiring and returning to his hometown, Feng Sheng has been largely sidelined for the past two years, without many important responsibilities. In fact, back in his hometown of Fengyang, Old Zhu is also building a house for Feng Sheng, and Feng Sheng is getting closer and closer to retiring and returning home.

Therefore, Lan Yu and Fu Youde became important officials in the court and are now the two most important military generals in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Xiong Ying was still focused on his navy, occasionally visiting the Ministry of Works to meet with some craftsmen. Besides researching large ships, he was also studying modern firearms.

He needed more reliable gunpowder, preferably more powerful and less affected by rain. He also needed to improve the reliability of firearms, whether cannons or muskets, minimizing barrel explosions. Zhu Xiong Ying also really wanted to establish the renowned Shenji Battalion.

Chang Mao set off. Led by Duke Chang Mao of Zheng, the nobles of the Ming Dynasty went to Beiping in the early spring of the twenty-second year of Hongwu. They were the first group to pave the way for the relocation of the capital. Even if they had some complaints, they dared not say anything in the face of an imperial edict.

Zhu Xiong Ying still did not go to the court; he only cared about his navy and the Ministry of Works, and was only studying his own Foreign Affairs Bureau.

Song Ne and other old feudalists were gratified. The Crown Prince's fondness for martial arts was something many civil officials worried about. But now things were different. The Crown Prince seemed to care a lot about civil administration as well, wanting to let the surrounding barbarians know about the Ming Dynasty's civil administration.

Let the misunderstandings be misunderstandings; Zhu Xiong Ying didn't care about them at all, as long as they were beneficial to his plan. These barbarian tribes needed to lose themselves in the civil administration and prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.

If they ever return to their homeland, these people should help the Ming army to punish the disobedient and manage the barbarian tribes who do not understand the ways of the king.

It would be quite good to cultivate a group of "traitors," especially since these people would also need to act as translators and gradually explain the local customs and national situation.

Even if it's not entirely accurate, it doesn't matter; this prior intelligence gathering is extremely important. Moreover, those who can come to study in the Ming Dynasty are not commoners; they either come from wealthy families or powerful and influential families, and therefore possess a considerable amount of information.

Zhu Xiong Ying considered herself a pragmatist; she naturally wouldn't do things that were thankless and difficult. Even if she was currently making some seemingly unprofitable deals, it was all part of a long-term strategy, with a clear objective.

As the Crown Prince, one of the most closely watched matters is naturally the selection of his consort. The second daughter of the Prince of Zhongshan will become his consort. At the same time, the daughter of Lian Zining, a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, will become his secondary consort.

It seems that the royal harem will finally have a 'properly married' 'mistress'.

The Emperor's harem is currently managed by Consort Guo, but she is not actually a member of the Zhu family's ancestral temple. After the Crown Princess passed away, Lady Lü managed the affairs of the Eastern Palace, but her status remained that of a concubine.

Countless civil and military officials are worried. It's one thing for the Empress to be concerned, but the Crown Princess should also be elevated to the position of Empress Lü, or the Crown Prince should be allowed to remarry.

There has been no movement all these years. No matter what suggestions the civil and military officials made, Old Zhu and Big Zhu ignored them all. They felt that things were fine as they were, and they were not in a hurry to remarry.

As a member of the Crown Prince's inner circle, Li Jinglong approached Zhu Xiong Ying once again, saying, "Your Highness, an urgent report has arrived from Japan."

Zhu Xiong Ying took the letter, examined the seal carefully, and then opened the envelope. Although he was usually calm and his expression was hard to read, this time was different.

"Cousin, immediately begin training the troops and take stock of all the warships of our Great Ming Navy!" Zhu Xiong Ying said excitedly to Li Jinglong, "This matter is of utmost importance, and you and the Duke of Wei should personally handle it. There must be no mistakes!"

Having said this, Zhu Xiong Ying, beaming with joy, was about to get up. But then, remembering something, he said, "You go and wait; Grandfather will issue an edict soon."

Zhu Xiong Ying is now somewhat unruly in front of Old Zhu. But in front of others, he has always been a very polite and well-mannered imperial grandson, often appearing as gentle and refined as the crown prince.

This time, however, Wang Chengen and the others followed, panting heavily. They simply didn't have time to send messages for Zhu Xiong Ying beforehand, or to remind Zhu's concubines along the way.

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