In fact, the issue of Japanese pirates along the coast was not worth mentioning to Zhu Di and Zhu Gang.

The main thing is not to fight, but to find.

But compared to Zhu Di, Zhu Gang was obviously much happier.

He had just arrived, but already had a large amount of intelligence gathered.

In a city lord's mansion, Zhu Gang and many of his soldiers gathered together, among them there were also several businessmen.

These businessmen are the heads of the chamber of commerce under Zhu Ying.

However, although these responsible persons were dressed like businessmen, their facial features did not look like businessmen.

Not only is he of strong and sturdy build, but he also has a ferocious look on his face, which is no less than that of many generals.

If there is a conflict, roll up your sleeves and get to work at any time.

However, this is more in line with Zhu Gang's appetite. If they were really those mercenary businessmen, he would look down on them.

It's not that all businessmen are like this, it's just that the situation on the coast is relatively chaotic, so if you want to survive here, you must have some skills.

"Thank you for bringing me this news. In just a few days, we have captured hundreds of Japanese pirates."

"Tell me how you want me to reward you."

Zhu Gang smiled and said to the two businessmen that he was in a very good mood. Before they arrived, the two men had already started delivering information.

All the soldiers need to do is lead their troops and attack Huanglong directly to eliminate the Japanese pirates. The most troublesome thing is to find people. With a guide, Zhu Gang feels like he is traveling.

He doesn't even need to go out, he can just send a few teams of people over.

These unruly people disguised as Japanese pirates had no ability to resist when they encountered the government troops and were directly eliminated.

"Your Highness, you are too polite. We are just following orders. This is all arranged by the host. Please don't mention the reward again."

The businessman in the lead bowed and replied.

Hearing this, Zhu Gang also sighed. His nephew was really capable. It was obvious that he had already figured out the situation in the entire coastal area.

"Let me ask you, do you know the situation of my fourth brother?" Zhu Gang asked after a slight hesitation.

Hearing this, the two businessmen looked at each other, and after hesitating for a moment, the businessman who had been silent before nodded slightly.

Obviously, even when facing Jin Wang Zhu Gang, the two merchants were somewhat reserved. It seemed that the merchant who spoke first was the one in charge, but in fact, the real person in charge was the relatively silent merchant.

"Reporting to Your Highness, His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan has already arrived in Jiao'ao. The army is stationed there and there is no extra movement, but..."

“Ahem…”

Just when the businessman in front wanted to continue speaking, the businessman in charge suddenly coughed twice and interrupted him.

"Why, is there anything you can't say to me? Didn't your boss say you would help us with all your might when we came here to pacify the Japanese?"

"Or do you want to hide something, or hide it from your boss."

King Jin Zhu Gang's tone was somewhat unhappy, with a slightly reprimanding tone, and his eyes were also on the businessman in charge.

Hearing that the boss was involved, the businessman An couldn't hold back and quickly explained: "Your Highness, please don't misunderstand. We are absolutely loyal to the boss and there is absolutely no way we would hide anything."

"I thought you were mute." Prince of Jin Zhu Gang said unhappily.

The businessman in charge smiled bitterly. Since he had already exposed himself, there was nothing he could not say.

The reason why he interrupted the merchant in front of him was that he didn't want the Chamber of Commerce to get involved in the fight between the two princes.

They were not aware of the current situation of the Dong family, and the order they received was to assist Prince Jin Zhu Gang in eliminating the Japanese threat along the coast.

While telling the King of Jin the intelligence about the King of Yan, it also meant that the fact that they had arranged people to monitor the King of Yan was exposed.

"Your Highness, I only have an unformed guess and no real evidence, so I interrupted you. If this kind of conjecture leads to misunderstanding and makes Your Highness misjudge, it will be a sin."

The businessman in charge bowed and apologized, then explained what had just happened.

"Then tell me, what speculations do you have that could lead me to make a wrong judgment?" Zhu Gang asked.

At this point, the merchant in front lowered his head, and the merchant in charge at the back had no choice but to tell the story:

"According to our observations, Zhu Di's army scouts are exploring villages along the Shandong coast."

"It looks like they might be looking for traces of the pirates, but when I waited for the intelligence feedback, the enemy's scouts didn't even enter the village. They just observed outside the village and then turned around and left."

"It's OK if it's just one place, but according to our investigation, almost all the scouts sent by Zhu Di are like this."

Having said this, the businessman in charge stopped talking. Those present were all military generals, and what had been said was beyond comprehension.

"Tsk tsk, this fourth brother of mine is really daring. He can even think of a way to kill innocent people and take credit for it. People say that I am cruel, but isn't this even more cruel than me?"

King Jin Zhu Gang said this with a smile, but there was no accusation in his words.

Instead, I feel a little bit sad about Zhu Di's methods.

The army these days is not about not harming the slightest bit of the enemy. There is not much difference between soldiers and bandits.

"I will give you credit for this matter. Keep a close eye on it at all times. If you discover anything, tell me immediately."

"When the time comes, I will send a message directly to the Shandong Provincial Government and see what Zhu Di can do."

Prince of Jin Zhu Gang felt very happy at this moment. Being able to cause trouble to Zhu Di was the happiest thing he could experience at the moment.

"As you command." The businessman in charge bowed helplessly. He had not expected things to develop to this point.

I can only wait until I get back and report all the situations here to my boss.

If something goes wrong because of this, I'm afraid I won't have an easy life.

But overall, the Chamber of Commerce is very comfortable now.

Once these local coastal forces are defeated, overseas market shares will be released, and the profits that can be generated are estimated to be at least ten times higher.

However, the Chamber of Commerce is still most jealous of the Shandong coast, where the location is better and trade is relatively smoother.

…

The capital, the Duke of Liang’s Mansion.

Lan Yu was drinking with Zhu Shou.

Although Lan Yu is known as the leader of the young military generals, he is actually only 46 years old.

Zhu Shou, who was appointed as a Wanhu at the age of 23 and followed Zhu Yuanzhang to participate in the battle of crossing the river to the south, is also 60 years old this year.

Now in the 25th year of Hongwu, there are actually not many young generals among these early generals.

Zhu Shou was granted the title of Marquis of Zhuozhouhu, and his official title was deputy governor and commander of Henghai Guard.

Henghaiwei was less than seventy miles away from the capital. After hearing the news that Lan Yu had returned to the capital, Zhu Shou found a way to come to the capital.

Of course, as the commander of the garrison, he could not leave without permission. The only reason he could come to the capital was under the pretext of reporting his work to the Governor's Office.

Although Zhu Shou was more than a generation older than Lan Yu, he was extremely respectful to Lan Yu.

"Duke Liang, the crown prince has passed away and the grandson is still young. We don't know what to do. I feel relieved to hear that Duke Liang has returned to the capital."

After three rounds of drinks, Zhu Shou spoke frankly without too many concerns.

The sixty-year-old Zhu Shou has already developed a keen awareness of many things. In his opinion, the current situation is full of dangers, so he took the risk to meet Lan Yu in secret.

People like Zhu Shou and Cao Zhen were both Lan Yu's close friends and had extremely close relations with him.

"I was very anxious a few days ago, but now, there is nothing to worry about." Lan Yu looked relaxed, without the nervousness that Zhu Shou had.

After drinking the wine in the bowl in one gulp, he said with a smile.

Zhu Shou became a little anxious when he saw this. He wanted to say something, but immediately stopped and looked around subconsciously.

"Don't worry. I have already sent my trusted soldiers to guard the place. Walls have no ears. If you have anything to say, just say it." Lan Yu said frankly.

Hearing this, Zhu Shou couldn't wait to speak, but he kept his voice low: "Duke Liang, to be honest, a few of my brothers in Henghaiwei have found traces of Jinyiwei."

"I am worried that His Majesty will be wary of us, as the Crown Prince is still young."

At this point, Zhu Shou's meaning has become very clear.

In fact, Zhu Shou had some vague guesses about Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts.

He is sixty years old, and his family also has an eldest son and grandson, and he himself is a marquis.

The title is hereditary through the direct line of succession. If the eldest son is not around, the eldest grandson will naturally inherit.

His grandson is relatively young. If he dies, how can his eldest grandson, who is only ten years old, stop those uncles?

Zhu Shou felt the same way and realized that His Majesty might reduce their military power.

Of course, in Zhu Shou's opinion, the reduction of military power was just this much. They had all shed blood and sweat for the Ming Dynasty, so they would not be executed like those civil servants.

"If I'm not mistaken, nothing like this has happened in the past half month." Lan Yu said with confidence, like a fortune teller.

Zhu Shou exclaimed softly, and couldn't help but ask, "That's true. How did the Duke of Liang know that?"

Lan Yu smiled slightly, and instantly recalled the list that His Royal Highness Chang Sun had given him some time ago. At the very front, ranked third, was Zhu Shou's name.

"I know that because His Highness has returned." Lan Yu said slowly.

"Your Highness?" Zhu Shou was a little confused. A series of figures flashed through his mind, all of them were princes, but he couldn't guess which prince it was.

"Xiaoling Mausoleum, His Royal Highness Prince Yu." Lan Yu said frankly with a smile.

Zhu Shou cried and laughed when he heard this, "Duke Liang, please don't joke with me. Your Highness, that happened a long time ago. If I remember correctly, it was probably ten years ago."

Lan Yu nodded seriously and said, "You remembered correctly, this year is exactly the tenth year."

"General, please don't tease me. I can't take these farces seriously."

Seeing Lan Yu's appearance, Zhu Shou felt tired. I was talking to you about serious things, but you were telling me stories.

The most famous cultural heritage left by the Mongols in China is Yuan opera.

Yuan opera includes zaju and sanqu, mainly zaju.

The spread of rumors about the Xiaoling Mausoleum, because it involved royal secrets, was extremely easy to arouse people's interest. Seeing that the government did not step forward to stop it, soon some bold people used their imagination to make various farces.

As soon as these dramas related to the Xiaoling Mausoleum came out, they immediately caused a craze and spread at a speed dozens of times faster than before.

Along with the opera troupes, it quickly spread to the entire territory of the Ming Dynasty with the capital as its core.

If it takes some time to ferment, it will probably spread across the borders. Because of the dialects, there are already more than ten dialect versions of "Xiaoling Yuwang" today.

The Ming Empire was so powerful, and the imperial Xiaoling Mausoleum was the most mysterious. It is conceivable that the small tributary states would be extremely curious about these dramas.

Perhaps we don’t even have to wait until next year. This year, the drama of Prince Yu of Xiaoling will probably spawn more than a dozen translated versions.

Lan Yu was speechless. I was telling you the truth, but you thought I was joking.

However, Lan Yu not only knew about the drama of Prince Yu of Xiaoling, but he also particularly liked watching it recently. Every time after dinner, he would go to watch the drama and he was quite obsessed with it recently.

"The incident at Xiaoling Mausoleum was probably deliberately released by His Majesty to build momentum for His Royal Highness Changsun. I don't have the time to tease you. I don't know anything else about Xiaoling Mausoleum, but it is true that the ground cracked and the remains of Prince Yu were not found."

"Ten years ago, after His Royal Highness Chang Sun was buried, the stars shifted that night, the earth dragon rolled, and he floated away through the underground river. He was blessed by heaven and escaped the disaster. This is absolutely true."

"A few days ago, I had dinner with His Royal Highness Changsun. A few days ago, His Majesty asked me to select 5,000 men to serve as His Royal Highness's personal guards. Right now, His Royal Highness Changsun is training his soldiers in the Beijing Camp outside the city."

"Oh, yes, it is Cao Bing, the eldest son of Marquis Jingchuan. He is currently serving as a captain under Your Highness."

Lan Yu explained slowly that this matter was too unbelievable and most people would just treat it as a story. But if they really met His Royal Highness Chang Sun, they would be completely dumbfounded.

Just like Zhu Shou now, with his mouth wide open, stunned.

Lan Yu's words had a huge impact on him.

Zhu Shou had nothing to do on weekdays, so he liked to listen to operas, and the version of Xiaoling was the most popular one at present.

Sometimes Zhu Shou even imagined that if His Royal Highness Prince Yu really survived, then Prince Yu, as the eldest grandson, would definitely be the best successor to the Ming Empire.

The Duke of Liang is the uncle of Prince Yu. With this calculation, their line will be able to prosper in the future as it did in the past.

Now that his dream has come true, Zhu Shou was a little confused, just like Ye Gong who was fond of dragons.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Shou picked up the jar of wine next to him, took two big gulps, and then looked at Lan Yu.

He stared at Lan Yu for a long while, then patted his face and said, "Duke Liang, this... is not a joke."

Lan Yu said unhappily, "After some time, when His Highness returns from the Beijing camp, I will recommend you to His Highness and summon you to the capital. Then you can meet him in person and know whether what I said is true or not."

Zhu Shou swallowed subconsciously, still in shock.

…

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

Inside the Ming Imperial Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang had just finished his dinner and was taking a leisurely walk around the palace. Soon after, it was time to review memorials.

"Jiang Li, our eldest grandson has gone to the Beijing camp to train soldiers. What day is it today?" Zhu Yuanzhang stopped and asked suddenly.

"Your Majesty, today is already the twelfth day." Jiang Li replied immediately.

"Twelve days. I haven't seen my eldest grandson for twelve days. He has sent me a batch of memorials every two days, but he never mentioned missing me."

"I don't know how our eldest grandson is doing in the military camp in Beijing. Is he eating well and sleeping well? Life in the military camp must not be as comfortable as in the capital."

"With such dedication, it seems that Da Sun really wants to train some kind of soldiers. He has been training for twelve days. Could it be that the soldiers that Lan Yu gave to Da Sun are not elite?"

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke to himself, his tone starting out as a complaint but soon turning to one of longing.

In the end, he began to have wild thoughts and even speculated that it was the soldiers selected by Lan Yu who betrayed his eldest grandson.

"No, we have to go to the military camp tomorrow to see our eldest grandson."