Li Shanchang was a book lover and a man of wisdom in his youth. Later, he joined Zhu Yuanzhang's forces and followed him in battles, risking his life and making many contributions, comparable to Xiao He, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty.

However, Li Shanchang of today no longer possesses the prestige of being the first among the six dukes. He is no longer the Duke of Han, but has been stripped of his title and reduced to a commoner.

Upon arriving at Fulong Palace, Li Shanchang, who was already seventy-seven years old, looked very tired.

Zhu Xiong Ying still valued talent, so he smiled and comforted him, "Wang Cheng En, take Lord Li down to rest and take good care of him."

Li Shanchang was somewhat angry, but he also learned from his mistake and said, "This sinner is grateful for your kindness."

Watching Li Shanchang being taken away by Wang Chengen, Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and shook his head.

Old Zhu had quite a few complaints about Li Shanchang. Old Zhu acknowledged Li Shanchang's achievements, but Li Shanchang was somewhat tactless, arrogant, and outwardly kind and gentle, but inwardly jealous and harsh.

Even though Zhu Yuanzhang had repeatedly suppressed him, Li Shanchang still hadn't given up and was still hoping to be reinstated. This was probably due to his arrogance and the fact that he was the leader of the Huaixi nobles and still had considerable influence. This is likely the reason he was exiled now.

Take it slow. Zhu Xiong Ying doesn't expect Li Shan Chang to be as dedicated as he was back then. However, as long as he can handle some things well, Zhu Xiong Ying can relax a lot.

After all, when Zhu Yuanzhang went out to fight, he always ordered Li Shanchang to stay behind. The officials and the residents were obedient and the soldiers and the troops were safe. There was never a shortage of supplies for the soldiers and the troops.

Chang Mao arrived excitedly, but was somewhat dissatisfied. "Your Highness, why is it Xu Yungong who is leading the troops?"

Zhu Xiong Ying asked with a smile, "Uncle, do you also want to go to the northern desert?"

“Who wouldn’t want that?!” Chang Mao said matter-of-factly. “Your Highness, why don’t you give this position to me? Xu Yungong has only trained troops before, and has never commanded troops in the field.”

Zhu Xiong Ying was actually quite speechless and had a bit of a headache. "Uncle, you should take charge of the Tianjin Gate Guard instead."

This left Chang Mao stunned, his expression rather awkward. Mainly, he was used to being arrogant; upon hearing that Chang Mao was to lead troops in the field, he immediately fled back to Beiping. This could be considered dereliction of duty, but Chang Mao genuinely didn't care.

Zhu Xiong said earnestly, "Uncle, as long as you take good care of the Tianjin Gate Guard, you will be rewarded for your efforts."

Chang Mao was taken aback for a moment, then immediately asked, "Your Highness, are we going to launch a military campaign against Goryeo?"

Zhu Xiong Ying continued to ask, "Did your eldest uncle also figure it out?"

Chang Mao immediately started grinning foolishly and stammered, "The Tianjin Guard has more and more provisions and soldiers, and also a lot more navy."

Zhu Xiong Ying glanced sideways. In his mind, his uncle was a man of unrestrained and unruly behavior. Now, however, Zhu Xiong Ying felt that his uncle might be hiding some of his true abilities.

Sometimes, a little bit of showing off is enough. As long as the Crown Prince is aware of it, that's fine. Chang Mao doesn't intend to be too prominent.

He is the Crown Prince's brother-in-law and the Imperial Grandson's uncle. Not to mention that his father was the Prince of Kaiping, the Chang family now has another member, the Duke of Liang, Lan Yu. Just based on Chang Mao's identity alone, he is not suitable to lead troops in the field or wield too much military power. We must be wary of interference from the maternal relatives in politics.

Chang Mao smiled and said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "Your Highness, the second and third sons will be coming to Beiping in a few days. Let them go to Tianjin Guard. I don't need those military merits, and I don't care about them."

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and nodded, saying, "That's fine. Second Uncle and Third Uncle can share some of the military merits. Even if they can't be ennobled as marquises in the future, accumulating some military merits can help them be ennobled as earls or viscounts."

Chang Mao was quite satisfied. As the eldest brother, the title of Duke naturally belonged to him. Most of Chang Yuchun's legacy also came from Chang Mao. Chang Sheng and Chang Sen also started from a high position, but they basically only trained in the military; titles were largely irrelevant to them.

For many military generals, war was a good thing; it was a golden opportunity for them to be ennobled and promoted. They could gamble, and their descendants would also be blessed with wealth and honor—a dream come true.

Seeing Chang Mao leave satisfied, Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and shook his head. It seemed he had underestimated his uncle; he was a man who was rough around the edges but shrewd underneath. Perhaps he wasn't entirely hiding his abilities, but he was certainly not without cunning.

Zhu Xiong Ying was quite proud and satisfied. Being shrewd and knowing when to advance and retreat was not a bad thing. Chang Mao learning from the "mischievous Cheng Yaojin" was also not a bad thing.

Having an extra troublemaker would be more convenient in some situations. Zhu Xiong Ying also felt that perhaps it was time to give her uncle some signals; developing into a troublemaker wouldn't be a bad thing.

Making minor mistakes instead of major ones doesn't do Chang Mao any harm at all. He is Chang Yuchun's eldest son, the heir to the title of Zheng Guogong, and also the maternal uncle of the Crown Prince. With such a status, he might not be able to act with impunity in the court, but at least most nobles and other high-ranking officials wouldn't dare to offend him.

The Ming Dynasty is about to engage in multi-front warfare, which has been ongoing since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, so there is not much pressure.

For example, Mu Ying and Lan Yu are currently suppressing barbarian tribes in the southwest. Xu Yungong is about to lead three thousand troops to attack the northern desert. The Ming navy has begun to assemble and is about to fight for the silver mountains.

Japan had to be attacked; the crime was allowing Japanese pirates to harass the Ming Dynasty, so the Ming army had to punish the guilty.

We also need to take over Goryeo as a springboard, starting with Busan. This was also an important military stronghold for Goryeo, mainly for defense against Japanese pirates.

Goryeo also had serious accusations. A few years ago, Yi Seong-gye launched a military campaign at Wihwa Island, and taking advantage of this opportunity, he and the emerging scholar-official faction began to reform private land ownership. Last winter, Yi Seong-gye even killed Wang U, the Goryeo monarch who had been forced to abdicate.

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