"Your Highness, Prince Qin, you are already a prince. In the Ming Dynasty, besides His Majesty and the Crown Prince, you are the only one who is this!"
Fei Ju raised his thumbs high and looked at Zhu Chong's face carefully, not missing any of his expressions. "You are far away from Yingtian Prefecture now, just because a few refugees have made plans. Aren't you worried..."
"Marquis Pingliang, you're really overthinking it," Zhu Chong interrupted. "I really just want to properly resettle those people. You just need to help me come up with ideas that will allow me to build a city for those people without violating Ming laws."
"As for everything else, I will take full responsibility and will not involve you. You can rest assured!"
"As long as you can help me build the city legally and without causing criticism or impeachment, I will be very grateful to you, Pingliang Hou!"
I'm not at all confident in you! Fei Ju almost blurted out, but he didn't dare to have any naive thoughts about Zhu Chong's innocent-sounding words.
Without submitting a memorial to Yingtian Prefecture, without the consent of the Prime Minister and the six ministries, and without Zhu's approval, the city can be built like this, and it must be reasonable and legal, so that no one can use it to impeach. Such a good thing, I also want it!
Besides, I appreciate your gratitude. With my current status, I have everything I want, so why should I be thanked by you?
In my eyes, you are a dead person. As long as I want, you are ready to lie down at any time!
Fei Ju was roaring madly in his heart, but after thinking about it, he suddenly had an idea and came up with a plan.
"Your Highness, Prince Qin, tell me one thing for sure: you absolutely must build this city, no matter the cost?"
Fei Ju's current feelings towards Zhu Chong were indescribable, so he decided to take a risk. If successful, it would just push everything forward. If not, it would not be a big loss for him.
"I knew it all along. Pingliang Hou is a pillar of the nation." Zhu Chong rarely flattered someone. "I will do this. Pingliang Hou, don't worry, just speak freely. From now on, I will never mention what happened today to anyone. If you break this oath, you will be punished by heaven and earth!"
Fei Ju's expression suddenly became moved. In this era, most people, especially those with status, still attach great importance to oaths.
Basically, they do what they say. If they don't keep their word, they will be criticized and even attacked by countless people.
Fei Ju now felt more confident and told Zhu Chong the method he had just wanted.
Since he wants to build a city to shelter those untouchables, then let him do it. If he wants to think of a solution for him, then I will give him a way.
Anyway, he has sworn that he will never mention what happened today again, so I don’t have to worry about anything. Even if he breaks his oath, I will deny it and I believe no one can do anything to me.
Fei Ju then felt confident and said to Zhu Chong in a low voice, "Your Highness, Prince of Qin, it is not impossible to do this, but I'm afraid it will be a big risk for you, and I'm afraid I won't be able to support you at that time."
Zhu Chong's eyes narrowed slightly. He could tell from Fei Ju's tone that this guy really had an idea, but it was probably a bad idea.
But now, for Zhu Chong, no matter whether it is a good idea or a bad idea, he doesn't care too much. Anyway, the final decision is in his hands, so there is no harm in listening to it first.
"Marquis Pingliang, there's no need to remind me again. Just go ahead and say it."
"Okay." Fei Ju nodded and said, "Your Highness already knows that in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, it is absolutely forbidden for anyone to build a city without permission, but there are exceptions to everything."
"We are in Yunnan, and most of it is occupied by remnants of the former Yuan Dynasty. If Your Highness does not build a city within the control of the Ming Dynasty, then you only need to write a letter to His Majesty and explain the situation clearly before building the city. You should have a 70% chance of convincing His Majesty to agree."
"Then what are we waiting for!" Zhu Chong was overjoyed and immediately asked, "Then how do we submit the petition?"
"This is simple. It means that the city was built within the control of the former Yuan King Liang, and that the construction was spontaneously organized by the refugees. It has nothing to do with Your Highness. However, Your Highness persuaded the refugees that once the city is built, everything within the city will be under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty..."
Listening to Fei Juyi's talk, Zhu Chong's eyes narrowed slightly, and his eyes were full of excitement.
If we follow Fei Ju's method, there is a greater than 70% chance of this happening, and as long as it is done properly, there may even be an 80% chance.
However, Zhu Chong was not overwhelmed by excitement. He was still thinking about the risks that Fei Ju had just mentioned.
"Could you please explain to me the risks that Marquis Pingliang just mentioned?"
Upon hearing this, Fei Ju's eyes flashed, and he then smiled and said, "If Your Highness had paid attention to our Northern Expedition before, you would have known that the remnant Yuan forces on the grasslands are not a monolithic entity."
"In the past, some small grassland tribes admired the majesty of our Celestial Empire and took the initiative to write letters, expressing their desire to submit to our Great Ming. After receiving Your Majesty's approval and issuing an imperial decree to allow them to sneak into the interior of the country, these people built cities where they lived."
"Once these people have completed the construction of the city, the Ministry of Personnel, under the instructions of His Majesty and the Prime Minister, will send officials and troops to garrison there and formally incorporate those tribes and towns. In this way, the territory of our Ming Dynasty will continue to expand."
"For example, the current Changlin Guard, Hu Liao Guard, etc., all came from this..."
After hearing Fei Ju's explanation, Zhu Chong understood instantly. It turned out that this was the idea that the Pingliang Marquis had given him. If so, it was indeed a solution. After all, there had been precedents in his dynasty.
"But Your Highness, this is quite risky. The situation with the Changlin Guard and the Huliao Guard is different from that in Yunnan and Dian. They took the initiative to contact the court, and some had already built their cities before submitting the petition."
"Your Highness, if you wish to leave the country and build a city, you must understand that once outside the territory of the Ming Dynasty, our army will not be allowed to fight without the tiger talisman and imperial decree from Your Majesty unless we are attacked."
"Then I fear I won't be able to provide timely support to Your Highness. If anything goes wrong... I ask Your Highness to think twice before acting. This is a serious matter, and it's definitely not as easy as you think."
After hearing what Fei Ju said, Zhu Chong immediately understood that this was a good person. He explained all the pros and cons to him. After all, the old ones are the wisest. In just a short while, Zhu Chong's thinking became much clearer.
Just as Fei Ju said, the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty were powerful in Yunnan and Yunnan, and many places were not under the control of the Ming Dynasty, so the Ming Dynasty did not control much of Yunnan and Yunnan on the surface.
If Zhu Chong left the control of the Ming Dynasty, he would naturally not be protected by the Ming army. Once the remaining Yuan Dynasty King Liang knew about it, he would definitely send troops to plunder and harass him.
Zhu Chong was well aware of the cruelty and greed of the Mongols. Most importantly, he also understood that Fei Ju would not be able to support him in time. Therefore, if the former Yuan forces took the initiative to attack, Zhu Chong could only rely on himself to solve the problem.
It seems that Zhu Chong really oversimplified the problem. However, if you expect Zhu Chong to give up just because of this little difficulty, you are underestimating him.
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