Think about it, Zhu Yunying was quite proud. He now had enough confidence to undertake certain tasks, including some seemingly large-scale operations. Whether it was military action or political activities, he had no major problems.

More than thirty years of accumulation and development have enabled the Ming Dynasty to continuously grow in national strength.

Although some wars, large and small, have not ended, the country is relatively stable and can be considered peaceful and prosperous. There have been no major natural or man-made disasters, which means the country has greater confidence.

Ma Sanbao leading a large fleet on voyages to the Western Ocean was nothing special; it was just a small matter. In fact, this was only the first voyage, and it was also a way to accumulate experience for future continuous voyages and explorations.

It's clear this won't be the first time; such activities may continue during Joo Yun-young's reign.

Of course, Zhu Yunying would also be mindful of the consequences. Historically, Ma Sanbao made seven voyages to the Western Ocean, but stopped after a period of great success.

A large part of the reason for halting long-distance sea voyages was financial considerations. This was a very large investment project, involving the construction and renovation of about two thousand ships, with each treasure ship costing about five or six thousand taels of silver. The various gifts and rewards carried on board were also very expensive, which was indeed a burden for the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, it was also because stubborn feudal ideology and the land-centric concept of an agricultural empire triumphed over the maritime concept that brought this outward exploration to a halt, a lesson that Zhu Yunying clearly needed to learn.

While Ma Sanbao's fleet did achieve some successful military victories in history, and indeed enhanced national prestige, it was mostly unprofitable ventures that weren't necessarily beneficial for trade development. This was something Zhu Yunying clearly needed to be mindful of.

It doesn't necessarily have to be all about making money, because some things aren't just about how much jewelry or spices can be brought back in the short term. But one thing is certain: it absolutely cannot become a financial burden on the Ming Dynasty.

In a good mood, Joo Yun-young hummed a tune as he arrived at the Qianqing Palace. Looking at the old Joo, curled up in a chair and dozing, Joo Yun-young felt a pang of sadness. The old Joo, whose hair had long since turned white, seemed to be aging rapidly; perhaps his time was indeed running out.

When Empress Ma passed away, Zhu Yuanzhang's hair seemed to turn white rapidly. After the death of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's hair turned white almost overnight.

Seemingly sensing something, Old Zhu slowly opened his eyes and smiled when he saw Zhu Yunying, "It's Ying'er who's here."

Zhu Yunying replied with a smile, "I just arrived and saw that my grandfather was dozing off, so I was planning to go back first."

“At our age, we’re always sleepy,” Old Zhu said, sitting up with some difficulty. “If you come, just wake me up and talk to me. I’d be happy to.”

Zhu Yunying smiled and said, "That's true. Judging from the way Grandfather looks, I'm afraid we don't have many more days left to talk to him."

Old Zhu smiled and jokingly scolded, "You've always been like this since you were a child, never respecting your elders. You were like this in the past, and you're still like this now, as if you're afraid we'll live too long."

Zhu Yunying sat down in front of the old Zhu and said, "We can only be so unrestrained in front of our Imperial Grandfather. Outside, we still need to be more polite. It's better in front of our Imperial Grandfather. Even in front of the Empress or the Crown Prince, we often have to keep a proper distance. There are some things we can't say, and some things we don't want to say. But with our Imperial Grandfather, we have no such constraints."

Old Zhu said happily, "I'm your grandfather, and you grew up right here with us. Whether you're an emperor now or in your thirties, it's all the same to us. I just think about how your grandmother is holding you, waiting for us to come back after we've done our good deeds."

That period was probably the happiest and most memorable time for Lao Zhu, but unfortunately, almost twenty years have passed.

Zhu Yunying said, "Back then, we didn't understand many of the things you talked about, but we do now. We're just about to send the navy out, and the fleet is ready. Now we're just short a few people, and we plan to reinstate Yu Tongyuan and Wu Zhong."

Old Zhu thought for a moment, then sighed and said, "Yu Tongyuan is not up to the task and is far inferior to his father and brothers. As for Wu Zhong, we don't know much about him."

"It's only because of their father's merits that they're being given a chance to be reinstated," Zhu Yunying said with a smile. "Many things don't require them to lead troops into battle, and their status is suitable for keeping some arrogant and unruly soldiers in check. Another one is Ping An, the son of Ping Ding, the former Vice Commander of Jining Guard, who is also my grandfather's adopted son."

Old Zhu nodded slightly and said, "Ping An, I remember he should be the Right Army Vice Commander, right? It's time for him to go out and gain some experience. Many of our adopted sons have died, but he survived because he was young."

“That’s what we think too. Military merit should be used, but it can’t all be military merit,” Zhu Yunying said with a smile. “We’re still thinking about the palm oil that was brought back from Southeast Asia last time. And that Champa rice, we feel there must be other good things there.”

Old Zhu didn't intend to say much. In fact, Old Zhu didn't understand why his grandson was so obsessed with going to sea.

According to Lao Zhu, it was certainly better to conquer land; as long as the fields were well managed, that was more important than anything else. Other things didn't matter much; he didn't have much enthusiasm for the sea.

Old Zhu's views are naturally those of a more traditional Chinese agrarian civilization, so it's perfectly normal that he doesn't have much enthusiasm or curiosity about the sea.

However, the events of these past years have made Lao Zhu less inclined to say anything, as he is a rather pragmatic person.

Over the years, we have indeed found many valuable things overseas, not to mention the silver mines in Japan. We also brought back a lot of gold and gems from Southeast Asia, and most importantly, various spices, which were relatively scarce in the Ming Dynasty.

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