The conquest of Japan is currently the top priority for the Ming Dynasty.

Because this is a national war!

There is no doubt that Japan must have already received the news.

The Japanese envoys have arrived in the capital, but have been kept in Tianjie Temple. Their daily travel is restricted, not to mention submitting documents.

In the words of Zhu Yuanzhang: What are you going to see? Just fight first and talk later.

The rebellious countries should be conquered first.

Now the time is ripe. Over at Zhengyang Gate, there are already hundreds of sails erected, all of which are sea vessels.

Unlike the former Mongol fleet, each piece of wood in these ships is made of fifty-year-old Yin wood, which is enough to ensure worry-free sailing on the sea.

There are also many types of ships.

There are ocean-blocking ships, sealing ships, warships, patrol boats, wave-opening boats, linked boats, and big fortune ships, etc.

Each sea ship is huge, like a building, standing tall on the river outside Zhengyang Gate, showing the power of the Ming Dynasty.

There are only more than a hundred ships here, but along the coast, thousands of ships are already waiting.

More than 500,000 soldiers set out after the New Year and have now arrived at the coast. Most of those who set out from the capital are generals from various routes.

For example, Feng Sheng, as well as Prince of Yan Zhu Di, Prince of Jin Zhu Gang, and Prince of Qi Zhu Gui.

Three princes and one duke.

This is the top-notch team for this expedition against Japan.

Outside Zhengyang Gate, the scene was even more spectacular this time.

Not only did Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying come together, but hundreds of officials also came to see them off.

The entire dock has been blocked off and approaching is strictly prohibited.

Looking at the soldiers and his three sons who kept getting on board, Zhu Yuanzhang felt quite sad.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang had already given up the idea of ​​conquering foreign countries a long time ago. He only wanted to strengthen the Ming Dynasty and pass it on to future generations.

After all, the former Ming Dynasty was full of problems. Even the national treasury was heavily in debt every year and could only be maintained by issuing treasure notes.

When fighting a war, it’s all about logistics.

For example, it’s not that we can’t defeat the small countries around us, but after the war, the treasury is empty and there is no way we can make up for the lost territories.

It's a loss if you attack here or there, so just don't attack.

The barbarians on the grassland are barefoot and are not afraid of wearing shoes. They will pay with their lives.

In fact, the grassland tribes rarely gained any benefits from taking advantage of the Ming Dynasty, and their casualties were even greater than those of the Ming Dynasty's border soldiers.

Often, an autumn wind may lead to the decline and disappearance of several tribes.

They just had to fight.

"We know you want to go, but you have to understand, my great grandson, that you are now the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty."

"The safety of the country depends on one's life, so don't act rashly."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his eldest grandson's eyes and knew what he wanted to do. However, although the position of crown prince was not that of emperor, it was not something that could be easily moved.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ying nodded slightly.

Zhu Yuanzhang consoled him, "It's not that you can't go, but you have to wait until the front line is stabilized and the dangers are gone before you can inspect it."

"You are the crown prince, not a general, so you don't need to participate in military operations."

A hint of pity flashed across Zhu Ying's eyes.

I couldn't even personally participate in the expedition against Japan.

However, it would be a good idea to go and inspect it after Japan takes over Kyushu Island.

"Grandson understands. I have been very quiet lately and want to take a good look at the Ming Dynasty. Please allow me, Grandpa."

Zhu Ying took the opportunity to speak.

The current situation in the capital is already very clear, but Zhu Ying now has more arrangements.

It is certainly not enough to just control the capital. Not to mention the far area, at least the entire Nanzhili region must be under control.

Especially in the garrison, it is even more urgent, and the spring ploughing work must also be implemented thoroughly.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "That's fine. We need to come up with a plan for where to inspect. It's time for our grandson to go check out our hometown in Fengyang. We've stopped in Zhongdu now."

"Now that we have enough money, maybe it can be put on the agenda again."

The feng shui of the Nanjing Imperial City is not very good. Zhu Yuanzhang had been short of money, so he stopped the construction of the Fengyang Imperial City.

Now that the national treasury is becoming increasingly full and high-yield crops are being cultivated on a large scale, the problem of food and clothing has been solved to a large extent.

Zhu Ying frowned slightly.

He naturally knew what the old man was thinking.

As the saying goes, fallen leaves return to their roots. Although the old man established his capital in Nanjing, he actually always wanted to move the capital to his hometown in Fengyang.

However, Zhu Ying still has many ideas about engineering construction in his mind, and spending a lot of money to build Fengyang Zhongdu will naturally cause some delays.

Just when Zhu Ying wanted to persuade the old man, he suddenly saw the old man's gray hair.

The old man is already sixty-five years old this year.

According to historical records, there are only five years left.

But as it stands, one can naturally live longer, but how long can one live when he is seventy years old?

Perhaps I have been counting on this in my heart all my life.

Thinking of this, Zhu Ying felt a little uncomfortable and nodded heavily.

…

"These damn Japanese pirates, well done for killing them."

"I've heard of the Japanese pirates before, but I didn't take them seriously. I never thought they were so hateful and cruel. They even spared no children. If I had known the rules on the grassland, I would not have harmed any child who was not old enough to ride on the wheel."

"Their behavior is no different from that of animals. No, calling them animals is simply slandering animals. They are worse than pigs and dogs."

"Before, I didn't understand why we had to raise such a large army to conquer Japan. It seemed like a thankless task to face Japan across the sea. Now I understand. We must educate these scum and let them know what is propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame."

"I hope the army will have smooth sailing and conquer Japan as soon as possible."

With the release of the second edition of the imperial gazette, the entire capital began to discuss Japan.

The word "Japanese pirates" became a hot topic in the streets and alleys of the capital.

The official reports recorded in detail the inhumane killings committed by the Japanese pirates in coastal areas, especially some extremely brutal methods. Even if the official reports only gave a brief description, they were still extremely horrifying.

Compared with the Japanese pirates, the begging on the grassland seems to have become much more docile.

The anger of the people of the Ming Dynasty was completely ignited.

At the foot of Jiming Mountain is the Imperial College.

"I know that the Crown Prince created the official newspaper because he wanted to completely control the people's hearts. A newspaper that costs three cents a piece is no different from cabbage. I don't believe there is any profit in these three cents."

A young man from a noble family said angrily.

His words were also agreed by many classmates.

"Your Highness must have been deceived by a villain. With such a huge sales volume, how much loss will there be every day? I heard that a million copies of the court newspaper are sold every day. Even if other projects are not counted, this is a huge hole that can never be filled."

"The most important thing is that when you go out, you will find that even the peddlers are discussing national affairs. They can't even read, so what can they understand? They speak in vulgar language."

"That's right, those rough farmers are not worthy of discussing with us. They are just mud legs who work hard in the fields."...

During the break time in the Imperial College, many students were discussing the matter.

The Imperial College is very busy now because the Fengyang Zhongdu Imperial College was abolished last year and its teachers and students were merged into the Nanjing Imperial College.

Therefore, in the Imperial College today, there are more than 8,000 students alone.

The Imperial College was the highest educational institution in the Ming Dynasty. As long as one could get in, if nothing unexpected happened, if one accumulated five years or more of study, one would be able to obtain a candidate official position.

Of course, it is not easy to become an official, but generally speaking, after seven or eight years, one can basically enter politics.

It is easier than passing the imperial examination.

Of course, not just anyone can study here.

Even if you are a scholar, you may not have this qualification.

Most of them are descendants of nobles and officials. At the very least, they have to be Beijing officials of the seventh rank or above to be eligible.

And the relationship must be within three generations; distant relatives do not qualify.

However, for many officials, this is not a big deal. If the relationship within the clan is distant, they can just adopt the child.

However, there are certain restrictions on the number of places, depending on the grade.

Further up is the Imperial Palace Academy, but this is mainly set up for the princes and grandchildren of the emperor. Even dukes and marquises are not allowed to study there without the personal permission of His Majesty.

There is also a small number of foreign students here.

People like princes from small countries can also come to study.

There are clear divisions here, forming many circles. What we just discussed is considered a middle-level circle. The person whose father is the highest-ranking official is the son of a vice minister of one of the six ministries.

These words were extremely high-profile and even involved the Crown Prince, so many people couldn't help but avoid them.

One of them, with an angry look on his face, pushed through the crowd and ran over.

"Who was the one who had the guts to talk about the Crown Prince behind his back? Stand up!"

This man was dressed like a young scholar, but he had a tough air and was definitely not a serious scholar.

Seeing this man come forward, the people around him immediately retreated further.

"It's Chang Jizu who's here. Oh my god, this is a big deal."

"The Chang family is the grandson's maternal family. If you dare to say that, you are really offending him to death."

"These guys deserve this bad luck."

Chang Jizu was the son of founding duke Chang Sheng and grandson of Chang Yuchun.

He and Zhu Ying can be considered as cousins.

Although Chang Jizu had only met the crown prince once, this did not prevent him from protecting everything that belonged to him.

Seeing the seven or eight people in front of him standing there in silence, Chang Jizu snorted coldly: "If you don't say anything, I'll take it as if you all said it."

"If you know what's interesting, step away."

As soon as these words were spoken, several people dispersed without hesitation, leaving only one person isolated in the field.

Chang Jizu didn't hesitate at all. He took a few big steps forward and punched the man hard in the face.

"Ouch."

With a scream, the man was knocked to the ground.

Chang Jizu had no intention of stopping and continued to punch and kick.

Seeing that a heavy blow was being used, the man on the ground did not dare to shout, but could only scream in pain.

Being able to study here, one must have some understanding of the ways of the world. If this matter gets out, even my father may not be able to cover it up.

As the beating went on, Chang Jizu began to feel bored. He did not resist and naturally lacked motivation.

Besides, this is the Imperial College, and it would be impossible to kill them, so he just stopped.

"If you dare to talk about the Crown Prince behind his back again, I will smash your stinky mouth."

"Also, don't be a peasant all the time. My grandfather was what you call a peasant a few decades ago."

"It's not just my grandfather. Most of the people who studied here, two generations ago, worked hard to make a living. Don't try to show off how noble you are."

After saying this, Chang Jizu left in a leisurely manner.

Seeing that he had disappeared, the classmates who had just left dared to step forward to help.

When the crowd saw that the excitement was over, they naturally dispersed.

Including the guards who were watching quietly from a distance, they also left with the crowd.

When Chang Jizu was beating someone just now, the guards were ready to maintain order. They saw that it was Chang Jizu, so they turned around and pretended not to see him.

Speaking of the soldiers in the capital, most of them had followed Chang Yuchun before, so they dared not bother with the prince of Kaiping.

Moreover, these words also involve the current Crown Prince.

"Ji Zu, don't be angry. These guys are now all siding with the literati. You know what they are like. Even if you beat them up, how many of them will care?"

"They are good at ruining other people's reputations, but other than that, they are just a bunch of rubbish, relying on the kindness of their fathers."

The person speaking next to Chang Jizu was Chen Zheng, the grandson of Chen Huan, Marquis of Puding.

At the same time, the descendants of the founding heroes will naturally be closer.

Chang Jizu said disdainfully: "Who do they think they are? They are just playing some evil tricks. If something really happens, their knees will be weak."

"I'm not angry with them, I just feel that the Imperial College is getting worse and worse, especially in the past two months, when the students from the other side were also incorporated. It seems that they only talk about literature and not martial arts, and they don't use their brains to think. Without my grandfathers fighting on the battlefield and establishing meritorious services, they wouldn't be able to live a carefree life now."

"Now they are getting bolder and bolder. They even dare to discuss things without permission from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. They are even saying that you can be punished for your words. Do they think that our Ming Dynasty is as spineless as the Song Dynasty?"

"We really need to teach these guys some lessons."

"To be honest, I don't want to stay in this Imperial College any longer. The teachers from Zhongdu are all pretty much the same. It's annoying just to see them."

When Chen Zheng heard this, he quickly looked around and saw that no one was around. He then said, "Ji Zu, be careful with your words. If this is heard and spread, those people will definitely deliberately ruin your reputation."

"It doesn't matter among classmates, but if someone with ulterior motives gets involved, it will have a big impact on Ji Zu."

Even the descendants of meritorious officials are somewhat wary of these literati.

Reputation is mainly spread by these people. If it is too bad, it will still have a great impact even if one takes the military attaché route.

Especially their third generation descendants.

Chang Jizu heard this but said nonchalantly, "Why should I be afraid? I know that His Royal Highness is going to open a military academy. I have received the news and it will be open in the next ten days or so."

"When the time comes, I won't stay in this place anymore. Following His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the right path."

When Chen Zheng heard this, his eyes turned and he said, "Ji Zu, you are the cousin of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's mother's family."

"Why not find an opportunity to meet with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and tell him about the chaotic situation in the Imperial College."

"We are leaving anyway, and the chaos in the Imperial College needs to be rectified."

As the grandson of a marquis, Chen Zheng had no problem entering the military academy.

Thinking about the days I spent in the Imperial Academy, I decided to think of a way to report everything going on here to the Crown Prince.

If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince knew about these things, he would definitely give them a severe beating.

Chang Jizu's eyes lit up: "Okay, your idea is good."

"I need to have a good talk with my father and pass this on. It won't be difficult to get a summons from the Grand Master."