Chapter 130 I'm Overfed
"Kill their entire family, take away their livestock, and cut off their way to survival..." Sweat broke out on Zhu Biao's forehead and his face turned pale.
"It would be wise to hang a dried-up head among the barbarians' homes, to serve as a warning to all who dare to offend the mighty Han, even if they are far away." Zhu Chong sneered grimly. "Ban Gu of the Eastern Han Dynasty said it well. We must remind those bastards of the Northern Yuan Dynasty of this."
"Brother, we really can't be soft-hearted. When the Mongol cavalry slaughtered the people of the Ming Dynasty and abducted our women and children, was it really just because they didn't understand morality? They occupied our Central Plains for a hundred years, so how could they have learned a single thing?"
"You always talk about the harmony between heaven and man. Why didn't heaven punish them when they did those filthy things? Don't tell me about that time hasn't come yet. That's all just baseless talk. I'm going to take revenge any day and focus on the present!"
"Whoever dares to touch a single needle or thread of the people of the Ming Dynasty will have his entire family killed. Whoever dares to break into my city and massacre the people will have his entire clan exterminated. Even if he flees a thousand miles away, I will pursue him and kill him!"
"Second brother, you really are..." Zhu Biao was stunned by Zhu Chong's impassioned speech, and it took him a long time to react.
Zhu Biao then dressed solemnly, and then bowed to Zhu Chong with a very serious look. Zhu Chong was frightened and quickly stood up and moved away.
"Brother, what are you doing? Let's talk properly, don't do this, you are too..."
"No, second brother, you should accept this gift from me!" Zhu Biao still had a serious expression on his face. "I thought you had just woken up and were unwilling to be left behind, but now it seems that I underestimated you!"
"Don't say that, brother. I am just a playboy. With you as my backers, I think that if I can't act lawless in Ming Dynasty, I might as well act lawless somewhere outside Ming Dynasty!" Zhu Chong quickly made excuses for himself.
"You..." Zhu Biao's expression suddenly turned into an embarrassed one when he heard Zhu Chong's words. "You, you really can't be praised for more than three sentences before your true colors are exposed. But what you just said really made me..."
Zhu Biao really didn't know how to describe his feelings at the moment, so he could only change the subject, "Never mind, your two schemes, I'm afraid if the entire court knew about it, not to mention in front of the Emperor, they would probably report you as a tyrant!"
Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Chong with a smile, a helpless and warm expression on his face. This was the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Chong's elder brother. No matter what Zhu Chong did, even if it was treasonous, he would only think about how to end it for Zhu Chong.
"Then we can only use the third option. In fact, they are all the same. Big brother, you should know that although Emperor Wu of Han was eventually hailed as the greatest emperor of all time, many people also said that he was too aggressive in military expansion and destroyed the foundation of the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, which led to Wang Mang's usurpation of power!"
"Hmm?" Zhu Biao's heart skipped a beat at Zhu Chong's words. He didn't know why his second brother ended up talking about Wang Mang's usurpation of power.
"It may be a bit of an exaggeration to say that Emperor Wu of Han was warmongering, but it is not unfair to him." Zhu Chong made a shocking statement.
"This demonstrates the cleverness of the barbarians outside the Great Wall. They distribute the spoils of their plunder to various tribes based on their actual conditions, allowing them to grow and prosper. This is why the various tribes of the Northern Yuan Dynasty were willing to obey the orders of any small imperial court."
"But, big brother, look at the history of war, including our Ming Dynasty. Has anyone ever thought of distributing the spoils of war to the people?"
"Hmm?" Zhu Biao was puzzled when he heard Zhu Chong's words. "Second brother, I beg to differ with you. The imperial court and the army contributed the most to the war. The spoils of war should naturally be distributed by the imperial court. What does it have to do with the people?"
"That's the problem." Zhu Chong shook his head and smiled, "War is certainly a contest between two dynasties and two armies, but aren't the people also involved?"
"Let's take the Ming Dynasty as an example. Every time we transport food and fodder to the front lines, aren't the civilians we conscripted?"
"When a war breaks out, whether it begins or ends, aren't the civilians the ones who suffer the most? Especially when the enemy is besieging a city and we are outnumbered, aren't it the civilians who help defend the city?"
"That's different!" Zhu Biao seemed very stubborn on this issue. "The people helped defend the city, but that was also to protect their own homes..."
"Then I want to ask you a question, big brother. When the people protect their own homes, whose homes are they protecting? Is it just the people's own homes? Aren't they Ming people? So what they are protecting isn't the Ming Dynasty?"
Zhu Chong interrupted without hesitation, "Country, country, first there is a country, then there is a home. Without a country, where is the home? The people helped our Ming army defend the city. Of course, they had their own selfish motives, but they are first and foremost citizens of the Ming Dynasty. No one can deny that!"
"So they are not only protecting their own families, but also protecting the great Ming Dynasty. Only by protecting the great Ming Dynasty can they have their own families. Otherwise, what is the point of protecting them?"
When Zhu Biao heard what Zhu Chong said, he was stunned. With the ideas he had been taught for a long time, he still could not fully accept Zhu Chong's point of view, but he could understand that what Zhu Chong said made sense.
"Since you said, big brother, that my first two plans were against the will of heaven and cannot be put on the table, then it's simple. Change the slaughter to abduction. I won't kill anyone, but I will capture all those guys in the north, leaving no one alive."
"Ah? Why are you arresting so many people? What will you do if there is trouble?" Zhu Biao was frightened.
"I'm just worried he'll cause some trouble!" Zhu Chong said murderously, "Anyone who dares to act recklessly will be killed without mercy. Stay still and become slaves of the Ming Dynasty. Exiled to the barren land, you'll open up wasteland and build roads, saving manpower for the Ming Dynasty!"
"Ah?" Zhu Chong's words once again left Zhu Biao dumbfounded. Could prisoners be used in this way? This was the first time he had heard of it.
"Brother, you should have heard that I persuaded our father to rebuild the straight road. Since we don't even need to recruit civilian laborers, we can use these prisoners and send them to work as laborers on the straight road!"
"At most, we'll give them food to eat. Anyone who disobeys will be chopped off on the spot. We won't feel bad about killing them anyway. Those who work honestly will have their merits redeemed. If they're still alive at the age of sixty or seventy, we'll grant them amnesty. The reason is, their merits will be redeemed!"
"As for the livestock we looted from the north, we'll give them to the people who've suffered from the war to raise. Once they've grown fat, the government will buy them. They can keep them for themselves, too. It'll be considered extra aid from the court."
"Brother, only in this way can the people have hope, and our court won't have to spend too much money on providing relief to the victims of the war. This way, the war will be a win-win situation!"
"Uh..." Zhu Biao was slightly out of breath. After hearing Zhu Chong's plan, Zhu Biao felt full.
But after hearing Zhu Chong's last plan, Zhu Biao pondered for a long time before praising and clapping his hands, saying, "Second Brother, your third plan is much more ingenious than your first two. Let me think about it carefully, and you can do whatever you want!"
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