A seemingly vigorous army galloped along the pipeline, with Zhu Xiong Ying spurring his horse and leading the army toward Tianjin.

Having won too many battles, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally wouldn't go out of the city to welcome Xu Yungong and his men. Such a victory would make him happy. More importantly, his descendants were quite capable and could properly assist his beloved grandson in the future.

Xu Yungong and the others naturally understood this as well; compared to the great generals who founded the country, their battle record was indeed mediocre.

After receiving these meritorious officials who had led the Northern Expedition to the Gobi Desert at the imperial palace, Zhu Yuanzhang dismissed them.

Upon arriving at the palace, Old Zhu felt much more relaxed. "Ying'er, you've really made something of yourself! We've received reports that these people outside Beiping are shouting 'Long live the Emperor' three times."

Zhu Xiong Ying was utterly speechless, and then asked, "Who leaked the information?"

“We’ll have him executed,” Old Zhu laughed, saying to Zhu Xiong Ying. “If it weren’t for your father’s sake, we would definitely have investigated this matter thoroughly!”

Zhu Xiong Ying laughed as well, then joked, "We should give her some dignity. Father is different; he is devoted to his beloved."

This truly reflects Zhu Yuanzhang's personality. When the Crown Princess was alive, he was basically devoted to her. At that time, Lady Lü was only a concubine, and Zhu Yuanzhang disliked her intensely. However, under the Crown Princess's persuasion, Zhu Yuanzhang accepted Lady Lü. Over the years, the Eastern Palace has indeed revered Lady Lü, because Zhu Yuanzhang only loved her.

Old Zhu was in a good mood and said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "Your father is soft-hearted, not as tough as us! But if you ask me, that Lu family is a bit cunning, she won't amount to anything."

Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said casually, "Grandson isn't worried at all. Grandson has good connections. Most importantly, neither Grandfather nor Father has any intention of changing the heir. Let her be; it's no big deal."

Old Zhu carefully observed Zhu Xiong Ying's expression, and then he also became happy. Mainly, he could see that his precious grandson was telling the truth, and had not said anything against his conscience. He really did not take the Lü family seriously.

"That Lady Lü, she really lacks magnanimity," Old Zhu laughed, saying to Zhu Xiong Ying. "Your mother was very magnanimous! Just look at her, when she was alive, she allowed Lady Lü to gain favor; that's the demeanor of a mistress of the six palaces. And look at that Lady Lü, all these years she's only given your father a few children, none of the other concubines have!"

Speaking of this, Old Zhu gets angry. He really feels that Zhu Biao's bloodline is too thin, far too thin. He should learn from him—more than twenty sons and more than ten daughters—that's true lineage!

Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said, "There are very few people as magnanimous as my grandmother and my mother. But my grandfather was right, the empress dowager should not interfere in politics. This rule should have been in place since my grandmother..."

"What do you mean by 'since your imperial grandmother'?!" Old Zhu interrupted Zhu Xiong Ying, displeased. "Don't talk nonsense. When your imperial grandmother was alive, she didn't interfere in politics!"

Zhu Xiong Ying looked at Old Zhu and said earnestly, "Grandfather, I remember those things. I remember them all. When we arrived at Kunning Palace, it was just a family matter. What was there to do with world affairs?"

Old Zhu was in a good mood and handed Zhu Xiong Ying a military report: "We've taken down Iwami. Those Japanese are quite spirited. They roam around like dwarf monkeys, making it difficult for our royal army to pursue and wipe them out."

Zhu Xiong Ying took the military report, read it carefully, and said, "It's not difficult for our Great Ming army to defeat those Japanese, as long as we cross the sea. We still need to take Busan, as it is our forward base."

"That's what we were thinking when we sent Feng Sheng over there," Old Zhu said. "Originally, we were thinking of letting him stop leading troops, but such an important matter still needs an experienced general to oversee it. Now we can rest assured, the silver mine is about to be mined."

Although both Korea and Japan are currently lodging protests and slightly amassing military forces, seemingly intending to reclaim lost territory, they appear to be hesitant to launch a full-scale attack, resorting only to protests.

The Ming Dynasty has no intention of conquering Goryeo or Japan at the moment, so it only needs to defend Busan and Iwami. It does not need more troops or to escalate the war for the time being.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Xiong Ying and said solemnly, "Ying'er, whether it's Goryeo or Japan, they are far inferior to us. However, we cannot be careless, after all, we are far from the Central Plains. We must ensure that our food supplies are well secured, as it will not be a matter of a day or two for us to conquer those two places."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded. It would take a lot of time to fully digest all of this. Especially since the Ming Dynasty had no intention of escalating the war, it naturally needed to be even more cautious and just protect those two bases.

Busan is a springboard and a forward base, and Iwami goes without saying, it is the future treasury of the Ming Dynasty.

As long as things remain stable, there's no need to worry about anything else. As for sending reinforcements, Zhu Xiong Ying doesn't actually have that plan; he needs to wait. Those two locations aren't his first choice either.

Old Zhu carefully instructed Zhu Xiong Ying. It was clear that Zhu Xiong Ying's tasks were not limited to building Beiping, nor were they limited to dredging the Grand Canal and developing Tianjin as a transit point and shipping center. Zhu Xiong Ying also needed to pay close attention to matters concerning Korea and Japan.

"Grandfather, if I were to give Goryeo and Japan to my grandson now, the navy would also be in my hands." Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said, "The elite troops of the nine border regions are in my hands, and several of my uncles are also under my control. My power is too great."

Old Zhu smiled kindly, "If you really want to save us trouble, then don't just concern yourself with these things. In Beiping, you haven't been involved in much local politics, which isn't a good thing. If you're going to be emperor in the future, you can't just be fighting wars."

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