Since ancient times, the princes of all dynasties have been eager to become emperor.

For example, Zhu Ying now has all the qualifications to force the emperor to abdicate.

Currently, almost all military power in the palace is in the hands of Zhu Ying. Although he cannot completely control it, he can forge an imperial edict, send away the imperial guards, and then send some of his confidants.

It simply shouldn't be too easy.

But Zhu Ying never thought so from the bottom of his heart.

He sincerely hopes that the old man can live as long as possible.

The busy government affairs were put aside. It wasn't that he wanted to be lazy or anything, but after so long, the old man had been so good to him, even if he didn't express it normally.

But people are made of flesh and blood. Although he has memories of the future and does not seem to belong to this era, who would not say he has a heart of stone when the old man treats him like this?

Therefore, on many policy issues, even if the old man disagrees now, or puts it on hold, Zhu Ying will not rush to go against it, but will just take it slow.

Up to now, the Ming Dynasty has undergone earth-shaking changes in the more than two years since Zhu Ying entered the palace.

We are now attacking Japan, a country we once didn't attack.

The once lowly status of merchants is now gradually rising.

Civil servants used to be very poor, but now their salaries have been increased. At least the truly honest officials can live comfortably without engaging in corruption.

There was also the development of firearms, the promotion of high-yield crops, and the equalization of land tax to encourage childbirth.

A series of measures such as education, popularization of law, lifting of maritime ban, etc., are constantly adding foundation to the Ming Dynasty, strengthening national strength and prolonging national prosperity.

Nowadays, no matter whether it is in the palace, in the army, among the ministers, or among the people, whoever mentions His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will say good things.

With his current reputation, Zhu Ying has been very successful. He only needs to proceed step by step, and the Ming Dynasty will become more prosperous, and the territory can be further expanded.

After two years of recuperation, the Ming Dynasty now has sufficient food reserves and wealth.

It's time to truly expand the territory.

Now the first step is not to attack the grasslands, nor to invade Southeast Asia and occupy Japan.

Instead, it turned those lands that were already indirectly controlled by the Ming Dynasty into real territories of the Ming Dynasty.

There are two big chunks here.

One is the Western Regions, and the other is Liaodong.

These two places nominally belonged to the Ming Dynasty, but in reality, the local indigenous people were in charge. Whether in terms of laws or other aspects, there was no requirement to go against the Ming Dynasty.

That is, when the new lord came to power, he wanted to gain a reputation in the Ming Dynasty. That's it.

Between the Western Regions and Liaodong, Zhu Ying still felt that Liaodong was the most important.

There is fertile black soil there, and it can also resist threats from the border. If all of Liaodong is taken into possession first, it means that we can grow crops with peace of mind and accumulate military strength.

Above Liaodong, there are many Jurchen tribes.

The current Jurchens will not be any danger to the Ming Dynasty at all, as the level difference is too huge.

Today, the Jurchens are divided into three tribes: Jianzhou, Haixi, and Yeren.

But its main body is the Jurchens in a broad sense during the Jin and Yuan dynasties, that is, the tribal alliance that surrendered to the Jin Dynasty regime.

It is not a racial distinction, but a geographical one.

Now most of the Jurchens need to rely on Ming Dynasty's supplies of food, ironware, seeds, etc. in order to survive.

For example, most of the tribes that mainly rely on fishing and hunting can only be small tribes. Without farming, they cannot develop into a large group.

A simple food ration problem can stump all the small tribes.

"The grassland is short of soldiers, so why not go directly to the Jurchen tribes to recruit soldiers? As long as the rations and military pay are sufficient, those Jurchen tribes will certainly not refuse."

Zhu Ying thought so in his mind, and simply wrote a letter as an imperial decree.

After the establishment of the grassland military base, we will strengthen the absorption of the Jurchen tribes.

At this point, Zhang Bo was once a wild Jurchen.

Thinking of this, he summoned Zhang Wen to the palace.

"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Zhang Wen bowed respectfully.

Zhu Ying waved his hand and asked him to sit down and talk.

"I heard that you've been living a comfortable life recently. That girl came all the way to see you. Have you already discussed it?"

"If there is no problem, I will help you get married. It is said that you should start a family and build a career. You are not young anymore. People your age already have children running around. It is time to settle down your marriage."

Zhu Ying said with a smile, showing great concern for Zhang Wen.

Zhang Wen was of Jurchen descent and had been illiterate since childhood. Although he went to school later, his literary level was actually limited to the stage of literacy.

But for Zhu Ying, lack of ability doesn’t really matter, because what he wants are his own people.

There is no doubt about Zhang Wen's loyalty.

As a crown prince or as an emperor, if you want to extend your power, do you have to rely on capable ministers?

No, on the contrary, it depends on his loyal ministers.

In history, many emperors liked corrupt officials, villains, and treacherous ministers. Is it because these emperors were stupid?

Not necessarily.

Because these corrupt officials, villains, and treacherous ministers, although they have their own shortcomings to a large extent, will conscientiously help the emperor do things.

The thing people fear most is having no flaws.

If it is too perfect, it will hinder the emperor's power.

After all, the emperor is also a human being and has his own selfish desires. Some things that cannot be put on the table openly always need to be done by people.

This truth is true whether it is in the past, present, or in the distant future.

Talented people often find it difficult to get to the top, while flatterers always rise step by step.

It sounds uncomfortable, but that's the reality and there's nothing we can do about it.

Even Zhu Ying had to have enough confidants who listened to him in order to firmly control the entire Ming Dynasty.

When Zhang Wen heard the Crown Prince's caring words, he felt warm in his heart.

Sure enough, the boss still hasn't forgotten about him.

During this period, ever since Zhang Wen was expelled from the Jinyiwei because of Zhang San, he has been working with Zhang Bo in the Chamber of Commerce just like before.

Most of them deal with intelligence matters, which is also his forte.

But from the feeling, it seems that he is no longer valued by his boss. Even Zhang Bo is quite anxious about this, but there is nothing he can do.

Now the wait has finally come.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Zhang Wen bowed his head.

Although he was not a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was still an official and could be considered a substitute, so he could also call himself a minister.

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "It should have been like this a long time ago."

Then he said with some emotion: "It has been seven years since I brought you out from the grassland."

Zhang Wen replied seriously: "Your Highness, seven years and three months, I will always remember that it was Your Highness who gave our tribe food, saving our people from starvation. It was Your Highness who gave us clothes, allowing us to survive the cold winter."

"Zhang Wen has already sworn to Changshengtian that he will always be loyal to His Highness in this life."

Zhu Ying nodded: "Time flies so fast, it's been so long in a blink of an eye."

"Since you came out of there, you've been following me everywhere. You haven't gone back, have you?"

Hearing this, Zhang Wen also had some memories.

After all, he grew up there, and people always have an inexplicable longing for their hometown.

But then, Zhang Wen replied firmly, "Wherever His Highness is, wherever our people are, that is our hometown."

Zhu Ying laughed and said, "I am not here to test your loyalty today. There is no need to speak like this."

"You should have heard about the recent establishment of a military base on the grassland. The base is not far from your home. The Ming Dynasty is becoming more prosperous and powerful, and the food reserves are relatively sufficient."

"I was thinking that after you get married, you could bring some people with you to gather some Jurchen tribes and have them join our Ming family. This way, they can avoid suffering from hunger and cold in the future."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wen immediately kowtowed and bowed: "On behalf of the Jurchen people, Zhang Wen thanks Your Highness for his mercy."

After all, there are some friendly tribes that are still making a living between the Black Water and the White Mountains.

Zhang Wen could see the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. If nothing else, at least he would have no problem having enough food to eat.

It was just that on this point, it was impossible for Zhang Wen to communicate with Zhu Yinglai. Now that the Ming Dynasty had such a policy, Zhang Wen was really happy for the Jurchen people.

Zhu Ying said: "Since you have no objection, I will send a message to the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to set an auspicious day for you to get married."

"After marriage, you can bring your wife to the Liaodong grassland. I will appoint you as the inspector of the grassland military base. You can then recruit some tribes to join in the name of the Ming Dynasty."

"I will also appoint you as the chief instructor of the grassland military base. All the tribesmen who are summoned here, or the tribes of the grassland who join us, can be trained by you."

"There are not many doctors on the grassland. I will send some imperial physicians to accompany you. Firstly, they can better treat some diseases. Secondly, if your wife is pregnant, they can take better care of her."

Hearing his master taking such careful care of him, Zhang Wen was very excited: "I...I will definitely serve Your Highness with all my heart and soul until my death!"

Zhu Ying waved his hand and smiled, "Well, you are not someone else. We have been supporting each other all the way. I just said that there is no need to say these words of loyalty. Just remember them in your heart."

"I'm afraid we won't be able to meet for more than ten years after this departure. However, young eagles always have to grow up, and you can't stay by Zhang Bo's side forever."

"I'm counting on you to build this grassland military base for me. Do a good job and don't let me down."

"I will be here in the capital, waiting for your good news."

There was a hint of emotion in Zhu Ying's words.

Over the past seven years, Zhang Wen and others have been by his side since he started from humble beginnings. They have traveled to grasslands, deserts, and the Western Regions, and experienced countless dangers, and they have always been by his side to protect him.

Emotionally, Zhu Ying was naturally reluctant to part with Zhang Wen and others.

But the grassland border is a big deal, especially the grassland base.

Lan Yu and Zhu Di were both good at fighting, but they were not his confidants.

Liu Buyi graduated from the Imperial Military Academy and could be considered a member of his own department, but he was definitely a little inferior to Zhang Wen.

Therefore, sending Zhang Wen over is the key.

In Zhu Ying's vision, the grassland military base, with rations and other supplies as its foundation, must recruit at least hundreds of thousands of grassland cavalry, especially the Jurchens, who are the top priority.

In order to conquer the vast grassland, even the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, the Oirat Tribe, the Golden Horde and other places should be brought under the command of the Ming Dynasty.

We can only rely mainly on the cavalry from the grassland.

Once this possibility becomes apparent, the Ming Dynasty will not only completely solve the border problems on the grasslands, but will even emulate Genghis Khan and fight all the way to Obaro, spanning the entire Eurasian plate.

Especially the impact on Timur is not a problem at all.

This was a huge move, and Zhu Ying was worried in his heart whether it would give rise to a new force.

So now at the Beijing Military Academy, Zhu Ying is committed to training a large number of middle-level officers, and then continuously sending them to the grassland military base.

And the training of educational personnel is also a top priority.

We also have a separate staffing program for the study of grassland religious beliefs and worship.

Almost all the people on the grassland are illiterate. For Zhu Ying, except for some inherent customs that are difficult to change, everything else is like a blank sheet of paper.

The first thing Zhu Ying had to do was to connect the beliefs of the grassland with the mythological system of the Central Plains, strengthen the connection between the two sides, and even compile a lot of small stories to fully integrate them together.

For example, Erlang Shen’s Sky-Howling Dog was actually a prairie wolf, and there are some tragic love stories, such as the girl of the prairie and the god of Central Plains.

There is also a series of related things, even if they are a little outrageous, they have to be forced in.

It may sound a bit far-fetched, but Zhu Ying deeply understands that once some things are believed, they will be passed down forever, and the common mythology system is not only the recognition of the Central Plains by the grassland, but also the recognition of the grassland by the Central Plains.

It's mutual.

The good thing is that the grassland’s beliefs are totems, which are disorganized, each with its own legend, and are not specific.

In this regard, Zhu Ying's side is still very easy to operate.

When it comes to so-called education, the first step is naturally faith.

As for whether the people on the grassland would believe this statement, Zhu Ying had no worries at all.

The grassland itself does not have much cultural heritage, we just need to keep spreading it, and there will always be people who believe in it.

Even if it is a lie, if more people tell it, it will gradually become true.

Start by telling them from the time they are babies.

It’s okay if the first generation doesn’t believe it.

The second and third generations will gradually believe the statement compiled by Zhu Ying. When more people believe it, this common mythology system will gradually become popular.

By that time, there will no longer be any distinction between grassland and Central Plains, or between nomadic and farming.

We all have the same ancestors and are all people of the Ming Dynasty.