With the arrival of early spring, in addition to the matters concerning the grassland military base, everything regarding Japan will also be officially implemented.

First of all, there is compensation from Japan. According to regulations, the first batch of compensation will be delivered to the capital in May this year.

The second thing is to transport most of the soldiers currently in Japan back and reorganize them.

The general who leads the troops is very important.

Feng Sheng was naturally not suitable.

Even if he was asked to go, he wouldn't dare to go.

"Grandson, what do you think of Duke Wei?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Ying.

This statement had a double meaning. Zhu Ying found it a little strange, but he didn't think much about it.

After thinking for a while, he nodded and said, "Duke Wei is certainly reliable. Duke Wei is now at the peak of his powers and has never been in charge of such a large army. We can be assured in handing it over to him."

Zhu Ying had not had much dealings with Xu Huizu, but he was not unfamiliar with Xu Huizu.

In history, at the beginning of the Jianwen period, Xu Huizu was given the title of Prince Taifu.

In April of the first year of Jianwen, on the anniversary of Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Prince of Yan Zhu Di sent his sons Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui to Beijing.

When the three of them arrived in the capital, Qi Tai asked Zhu Yunwen to keep them with him.

Huang Zicheng said it was not possible.

It is suspected that Zhu Di has some other arrangements that are unknown to us, so it would be better to send them all back.

It can be said that at this point, Huang Zicheng gave Zhu Di a great assist.

Xu Huizu secretly reported: "Among my three nephews, only Gao Xu is brave and fierce, and a scoundrel. Not only is he disloyal to Your Majesty, he will also betray his father. He will definitely become a great trouble in the future."

Zhu Yunwen asked Xu Huizu's younger brother Xu Zengshou and his son-in-law Wang Ning for their opinions. Both of them had received benefits from Zhu Di, so they naturally chose to protect them.

Under this circumstance, Zhu Yunwen finally repatriated the three people out of consideration for their blood relationship.

Zhu Gaoxu stole Xu Huizu's horse and escaped.

Xu Huizu sent people to capture him but failed. When Zhu Yunwen heard about it, he began to trust Xu Huizu a little more.

Before this, because of Xu Da's eldest daughter Xu Yihua, Zhu Yunwen had never dared to use Xu Huizu, for fear that he would cause trouble and secretly collude with Zhu Di.

Shortly thereafter, Zhu Di launched the Jingnan Campaign.

During the battle, Zhu Gaoxu, as the commander-in-chief of the Yan army, made great contributions.

Li Jinglong made two major mistakes in fighting the war, which led to his various defeats.

In contrast, Xu Huizu fought to the death all the way and defeated the Yan army repeatedly, including killing a Yan general.

Even after Zhu Di seized the throne, Xu Huizu refused to give in and did not recognize Zhu Di's status. Zhu Di, who was furious, did not dare to kill him. He could only order him to return to his private residence and strip him of his salary and title.

Zhu Ying was deeply impressed by these things, so he felt very relieved about Xu Huizu.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang's intention was obviously not to go so far.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Xu Huizu came to see me a few days ago."

Zhu Ying frowned, he thought Xu Huizu came to see the old man to talk about going to Japan to lead troops.

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately saw what his eldest grandson was thinking, and said with a smile: "He came to us not for himself, but for his little sister."

Xu Huizu’s younger sister?

After thinking about it carefully, Zhu Ying guessed that it was Xu Miaojin.

Now that things have been said, how could Zhu Ying not understand?

His sole intention was to push Xu Miaojing over to be the Crown Prince's concubine.

"Why, Grandson is not satisfied?"

"If I remember correctly, you and Xu Miaojin have met many times. At first, I thought you were going to marry a wife to be the Crown Prince's Consort."

"But the fact that Xu Huizu came to see us personally shows that he has probably already fallen in love with you, my grandson."

Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.

Hearing this, Zhu Ying pondered for a moment and said, "Grandson will follow Grandpa's arrangements."

This is a relatively direct statement.

Zhu Yuanzhang was also very satisfied.

They both knew in their hearts that Xu Miaojin was not the key here, but Xu Huizu was.

At present, as for Xu Miaojin, we can only say that we married her first and raised her later.

Zhu Gaochi and others also went to Japan this time, and they were also very important.

Before leaving, Zhu Yuanzhang specially called Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gang, and Zhu Yu to talk.

"As you all know, the fourth brother will not go to Japan this time. His son will go."

"We have already canonized Gao Chi as our crown prince. When we get to Japan, you uncles must not bully your nephew."

"Especially you, Third Brother."

"We know your temper best. Don't go to the new city and cause trouble like you did before."

"I hope you will remember the lesson from before and don't do anything that will disappoint me again."

"When we go to Japan, there will only be our own people there. If I find out that you two are trying every means to bully my nephew, I will break your legs."

Zhu Yuanzhang instructed.

Prince of Jin Zhu Gang and Prince of Qi Zhu Gui quickly stated that they would take good care of their nephew after arriving in Japan.

"The fourth brother went to the grassland. This guy is addicted to fighting."

"Don't blame me, you two. If you want to do the same as the fourth brother, I can agree to your request, but we have to do it well and our reputation will be ruined."

These two people are very stubborn, so Zhu Yuanzhang has to speak more seriously.

What Zhu Ying did not expect was that Zhu Gaochi asked to see him, wanting to fight for another spot and bring some people along.

You may be familiar with the first name.

It was Xia Yuanji, whom Zhu Ying had always been optimistic about but had not used.

"You are such a fat monkey, you can actually find such a talent."

Zhu Ying has always been very familiar with Xia Yuanji's situation, but under the current circumstances, Zhu Gaochi suddenly wanted to take him to Japan, which made Zhu Ying recall some things.

In the early days, Zhu Ying also approved of using Xia Yuanji.

Later I forgot about it and spent a lot of time in jail for nothing.

If I really follow Zhu Gaochi to Japan now, it can be regarded as fate.

When the matter was reported to Xia Yuanji, Zhu Ying thought there would be some changes, but Xia Yuanji just thought about it for a moment and chose to agree.

Zhu Ying asked curiously, "Why are you willing to give up the prosperity of Ming Dynasty and your current status and go to Japan?"

Xia Yuanji bowed and said, "Your Highness, my talents are redundant in the current Ming Dynasty. One more minister is not too much for the great Ming Dynasty, and one less minister is not too little."

"I have observed that Japan is now in the process of development and is in short supply of talent. Moreover, Japan is as important to the coastal area of ​​Ming as it is to the grassland border. If Japan can develop steadily, there will naturally be no more Japanese threats to the southeastern coast."

Zhu Ying smiled and looked at Xia Yuanji carefully. After a while, he saw that Xia Yuanji was feeling uncomfortable all over, so he asked, "How many benefits did Zhu Gaochi promise you that made you so willing to follow him to Japan."

What a mess of ambitions, Zhu Ying doesn't believe in this.

It is certain that he has ambitions, but the Ming Dynasty is so prosperous now, and Xia Yuanji is an official himself, so how can he just leave like that?

Besides, this is not just a matter of one person, it also includes the wife and children at home, relatives, friends, and many personal connections.

It's not something that can be given up with just a few words.

Xia Yuanji heard the question from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "The Prince of Yan told me that the maritime ban has been lifted, and maritime trade will flourish in the future. Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have seized three cities from Japan as ports, and they will certainly attach great importance to these three cities in the future."

"In the future, the three cities will prosper rapidly, and I will have many opportunities to realize my ambitions."

"Yancheng is now like a blank sheet of paper waiting to be painted. You can paint whatever scene you want with your own hands."

"If I follow the prince, I promise to serve as the mayor of a city and be responsible for many matters related to people's livelihood and construction. If I can achieve some achievements, I can erect a monument in Yancheng to pass on my name for future generations."

Sure enough, even though Xia Yuanji was not greedy for money, he was very particular about reputation.

Between fame and fortune, you must have one or the other.

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "If I tell you that if you choose to stay in Ming Dynasty, I will also use you in a meaningful way, what will you choose?"

Xia Yuanji immediately said: "I am a minister of the Ming Dynasty. All my arrangements must naturally be in accordance with the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Whether I stay in Ming or go to Japan, I will follow the arrangements of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Even if I go to Japan, I will serve the Ming Dynasty and educate the barbarians."

Zhu Ying smiled.

Xia Yuanji's words are quite telling.

What I mean is that whether I go or not is up to you, the prince, so it’s up to me.

Things have come to this point, so of course there is no need to force him to stay. The Ming Dynasty does not lack a Xia Yuanji, but Yancheng in Japan is very necessary for Xia Yuanji.

Zhu Ying originally needed to have enough talents to develop Japan.

What Zhu Ying actually hoped was that someone like Xia Yuanji could be persuaded by Zhu Gaochi.

Most talented people would not be willing to go to a barren place like Japan. Looking at the current situation in the Ming Dynasty, anyone can see that life will get better and better in the future.

Going to Japan, even with constant publicity in the imperial gazette, was seen by many as not much different from exile.

It is really difficult to persuade some people to go there.

And the reason why Zhu Gaochi was able to accomplish it might be fate, or it might be that Xia Yuanji wanted to better realize his ambitions, or there might be some other reasons. Zhu Ying was too lazy to understand them, as long as the result was good, it was fine.

He believed that if Xia Yuanji went to Japan, Yancheng would definitely become prosperous.

Among the three cities of Yancheng, Jincheng and Qicheng, Zhu Ying was more optimistic about Yancheng, which was run by Zhu Gaochi.

As for Prince of Jin Zhu Gang and Prince of Qi Zhu Gui, Zhu Ying predicted that within a few years, they would try every possible means to provoke trouble and then occupy other Japanese cities.

All of this was within Zhu Ying's foresight.

As for whether Japan is in chaos or not, and how chaotic it is, how much does it have to do with Zhu Ying?

Without the evil of Zhu Gang, Prince of Jin, and Zhu Gui, Prince of Qi, how could the Japanese people understand the goodness of Yancheng.

Good and evil have always had to be compared.

Outside the palace, Zhu Gaochi was waiting.

Seeing Xia Yuanji coming out, he quickly went over to greet him: "Sir, my elder brother has agreed."

Xia Yuanji looked at Zhu Gaochi's slightly childish face and felt a little sad in his heart. How could he be so easily persuaded by him?

After all, it was Xia Yuanji's ambition that made him want to develop his talents. Going to Japan was obviously a challenge but also a better choice.

Xia Yuanji bowed and said, "From now on, Xia Yuanji will rely on His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Hearing this, Zhu Gaochi understood what he said and hurriedly went to help Xia Yuanji and said, "Sir, you are not saying that. Gaochi will rely on you a lot in the future."

"Gao Chi is young, and he has no one to rely on if he goes to Japan. Even his father is at the border of the grassland."

"My two younger brothers also followed our father to the border to build their careers at the suggestion of my eldest brother. I was the only one who had to go to the barren land of Japan to survive."

"Now that we are in Japan, I will have to ask you for help with everything, big or small. I hope you don't find it troublesome."

What Zhu Gaochi meant by this was to tell Xia Yuanji that his father and his brothers had all gone to the grassland, and that he had complete control over Yancheng in Japan.

After Xia Yuanji follows you to Japan, he will listen to your arrangements on all matters, big or small. By then, even if you don't have the title of prime minister, you will be the prime minister in reality.

As the saying goes, it is better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.

This time we go to Japan, the place is a little small, but from now on we will be second only to one person and above ten thousand people.

When Xia Yuanji heard the promise in Zhu Gaochi's words, a hint of excitement appeared in his eyes.

He said: "Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will definitely contribute my Weibo efforts to the future development of Yancheng."

Zhu Gaochi nodded heavily, and then said, "If you don't let me down, I will definitely not let you down."

"It's already spring, and we don't have much time left. I've already told my elder brother about this, so I'd like to trouble you to go a few times and see if there's anyone willing to go with me. If there's anyone with an official title, I'll go and tell my elder brother about this."

Zhu Gaochi was not just targeting Xia Yuanji.

He also planned for Xia Yuanji's friends and students.

As for talents, the more the better.

Xia Yuanji had a good reputation and entered the officialdom through a formal imperial examination.

In the 23rd year of Hongwu, he was recommended by his hometown to enter the Imperial College and was selected to work in the Imperial Secretariat to draft imperial edicts.

Naturally, he had many classmates and friends, and Zhu Gaochi knew that there must be many who were frustrated and unhappy among them.

Now, all Xia Yuanji needs to do is to go and talk to him, and there will definitely be a group of people who will follow him to Yancheng, Japan to develop.

Sure enough, after hearing what Zhu Gaochi said, Xia Yuanji immediately said, "After confirming with His Royal Highness, I have indeed contacted several friends. Although they currently have achievements, they are not in official positions, and their ambitions are nowhere to be realized. They are very interested in going to Japan."

"Now that His Royal Highness is willing to accept it, I will go and tell them the good news."

Xia Yuanji was indeed good at talking. Zhu Gaochi was happy to hear this and said, "Thank you for your help, sir."

Xia Yuanji replied: "This is what I should do."