Ming Dynasty, Kunning Palace.

Zhu Ying was looking at the information sent back by Annan.

"Well, it really lived up to my expectations. After abolishing the Nôm language, Annan is gradually getting back on track."

During that debate, Liu Sheng finally succeeded in making Hu Jima make concessions on the basis of national interests. The imperial edict was successfully issued, and the entire country of Annan abolished the Nom script.

The current results are definitely not very good, but as time goes by, more and more people will naturally learn Chinese characters.

The biggest factor is the imperial examination system in Annan.

When Chinese characters were introduced into the imperial examinations, scholars from all over Annan had to learn Chinese characters before they could take the exam.

Just like in the Ming Dynasty, ninety-nine percent of the thoughts of every scholar were on a career in officialdom. Even for those who were truly knowledgeable in literature, their initial ambition must have been to achieve academic success and enter the officialdom as an official.

Don't be fooled by the exaggeration of Annan. In fact, for the entire Annan, 99% of the people are illiterate. In today's era, it is almost the same everywhere. The abolition of Nom characters, except for the impact on scholars, will not matter to the people.

Anyway, no matter whether it is Nôm characters or Chinese characters, no one can recognize most of them.

Generally speaking, for those who don’t know how to read, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between Chinese characters and Nom characters, after all, they are both stroke structures.

"It is just a small country. The Chinese characters and Nom characters used by them have no meaning to our Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang held his little great-grandson in his arms and asked his eldest grandson casually.

Recently, Zhu Yuanzhang has been spending a lot of time in Kunning Palace playing with his grandson, except after attending court.

Now, more than a month has passed, and after a lively full moon banquet, the little great-grandson Zhu Yuting can already crawl on his own.

The baby's babbling voice and the pair of bright big eyes really made Zhu Yuanzhang feel like his heart melted.

It is said that no matter how old or young they are, Zhu Yuanzhang would not feel tired even if they did it for an hour or two.

Zhu Yuting was particularly attached to Zhu Yuanzhang. Every time Zhu Yuanzhang held her, she would smile, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very happy when he took care of his great-grandson.

Although it was a girl, she was Zhu Yuanzhang's first great-grandson and born to his eldest grandson, so the meaning was naturally different.

Listening to the old man's words, Zhu Ying knew very well that the old man, like emperors of other dynasties, had no idea about these small countries.

Traditional thinking is about control by force.

The main reason is that for the current Ming Dynasty, it can easily conquer it by sending an army of 200,000 or 300,000.

It’s just that in terms of finance, it couldn’t bring any real benefits to the Ming Dynasty, so it was too lazy to even talk about conquering.

If there really was a land that was rich as hell, it would have long been under the rule of the Central Plains.

"Grandpa, if we use force to rule Annan, it will be a losing business. However, if we let Annan gradually prosper and then secretly control it, and have a chance to bring it back to the Ming Dynasty in the future, it will be a profitable business."

"I guess Grandpa has not paid attention to the information about the 50,000 soldiers in Annan who are cultivating the land. According to the latest information about Annan, the food produced by the Ming Dynasty's cultivation in Annan is more than enough to fully cover all the military salaries in Annan."

"There is even a surplus. According to the calculation, even if another 50,000 soldiers go, we can still afford it."

"Since last year's summer grain harvest, my grandson no longer needs to transport military pay. Instead, the bank we opened in cooperation with the Annan royal family has absorbed a large amount of Annan's silver. Now, more than 7 million taels of silver have been deposited into the warehouse."

Zhu Ying explained with a smile.

Even though intelligence on Annan was delivered regularly every month, Zhu Yuanzhang did not pay much attention to such a small country. As the court was busy with government affairs, it was naturally impossible for him to visit often.

Zhu Yuanzhang basically handed over all matters in Annan to his eldest grandson, including the military pay needed for the soldiers stationed in Annan. According to Zhu Ying's original promise, the money would not be paid from the national treasury, but would be borne by Zhu Ying's Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce.

Of course, the output of grain is not only rice, but also some high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes, which is also a major reason.

It is easier to grow because it does not require the same intensive cultivation as rice.

The lands that Ming Dynasty has currently acquired in Annan are all fertile lands near the capital of Annan. The current situation is naturally normal.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who heard this for the first time, couldn't help but be a little surprised.

He really didn't expect that the 50,000 soldiers stationed in Annan not only did not add any extra burden to his grandson, but also made money?

He then asked, "Is Annan really so rich? How come this is completely different from what we heard from the envoy?"

Zhu Yuanzhang had sent envoys to investigate Annan. Although he didn't have a complete understanding of the overall situation in Annan, he had at least about 60% understanding of it.

Generally speaking, Annan was also a poor place, with a large number of people not having enough food to eat and not having enough clothes to wear. But how come when they came to Dasun, they seemed to have become rich?

He also got more than 7 million taels of silver from the money shop.

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally knew that it was exchanged for the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes. He naturally knew about the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes issued to Annan. They were all marked with special marks, which were different from the treasure notes of the Ming Dynasty. Currently, they were not allowed to circulate in the Ming Dynasty, but only in Annan.

Exchanging treasure notes made of silk for real gold and silver was just cooperation with the Annan royal family.

In just one year, and with a territory equivalent to a county in the Ming Dynasty, it sucked more than 7 million taels of silver. This was really unimaginable for Zhu Yuanzhang.

This is completely different from the poor little country in his mind.

Zhu Ying explained, "We can't just look at one side. Annan is poor as a whole, but those nobles have a lot of money. And our Ming soldiers don't need to be responsible for the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the people of Annan. We are going to open up a separate place."

"Under no encumbrances and occupying fertile land, the situation would be different."

After just two sentences of explanation, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately understood the reason.

This is like Jiangnan in the Ming Dynasty, which bore almost half of the taxes of the Ming Dynasty.

The poor people of Annan are the responsibility of the Annan royal family, while the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty only care about themselves, so naturally the situation is completely different.

These words immediately opened Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

According to this situation, other small countries should be similar, after all, there are some rich areas.

So is it possible to copy the current Annan model and send some Ming soldiers to be stationed there? This would not only expand the influence of the Ming Dynasty, but also effectively eliminate hidden dangers on the border.

For example, in Annan today, there are 50,000 Ming soldiers stationed there. Naturally, it is impossible for anything unfavorable to the Ming Dynasty to happen.

If there are any changes, these 50,000 soldiers will be affected first. Even if there is unrest, it will occur in Annan, and it is difficult to say that it will affect the Ming Dynasty.

Keeping the war outside the territory of the Ming Dynasty is a great thing for the development of the Ming Dynasty and the safety of the people.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his eldest grandson with sharp eyes, and Zhu Ying of course understood what he meant.

He then said: "This is a direction that my grandson will pursue in the future. Not only the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, but also the merchants of the Ming Dynasty's maritime trade can actually achieve the same level."

"At the Jiangnan Shipyard, I have asked Uncle Zhang to inform all the families that want to engage in maritime trade that after two years, all families that want to engage in maritime trade must purchase grain from abroad according to certain standards and specifications and bring it back to the country. They must also repurchase it at the market price of the Ming Dynasty."

"And my grandson will lease some old-fashioned firearms that were discarded by the Gunpowder Bureau to these sea merchants, allowing them to bring enough manpower and money to other countries overseas to buy land and slaves, grow food, open factories, and then give back to our Ming Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "We heard from the memorials from Jiangnan that many martial arts schools have been opened recently. I think it was arranged by our eldest grandson."

Regarding this matter, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly thought of some things he had seen in the memorial some time ago.

Not only in the Jiangnan region, but also in Fujian, Guangdong and other coastal areas, there are many martial arts schools.

What this martial arts school teaches are basically some techniques for training soldiers.

It is specifically designed to provide people with personnel training in a short period of time.

This includes some basic applications of firearms.

There are also methods of joint attack by several people.

Zhu Ying did not deny it and replied, "It was arranged by my grandson. Some veterans who retired from the army have nowhere to live, especially the disabled veterans, who can't even farm. It's difficult for them to live on the retirement allowance alone."

"Nowadays, when sea merchants travel to various countries, they are bound to encounter many accidents, so my grandson is thinking of opening a martial arts school so that these retired veterans can also have a place to stay."

"The escorts and guards of the merchants can also receive basic training, so they will have enough force to protect themselves when they encounter danger outside. This is killing two birds with one stone."

These words sound high-sounding, but Zhu Yuanzhang had been through a lifetime of hard work, so how could he not understand the metaphor behind them?

It is true that retired veterans were arranged, but in fact, in terms of purpose, the eldest grandson wanted to train the guards of these sea merchants like soldiers to expand overseas on behalf of the Ming Dynasty.

To a certain extent, Zhu Ying's method is actually similar to the overseas colonization in history.

However, as a Ming Dynasty man, Zhu Ying was relatively gentle and not that barbaric.

At least in terms of business, it is fair. No one can make up any excuse to carry out a massacre or occupy other people's land.

This is also because the Ming Dynasty now has a strong trade surplus in goods and can easily earn enough money, so there is no need to do anything that would leave a bad reputation.

As of now, labor is the cheapest in most places.

If he sold a piece of silk, it would be no problem for him to exchange it for a hundred or eighty slaves, not to mention the rest.

For almost all countries, there is basically no possibility of rejection of merchants' requests to purchase land.

This is not a cession of territory, and the merchants who buy the land can also pay taxes, which can be said to be killing two birds with one stone.

Of course, for the Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants, the tricks in taxation are all very familiar to them. Bribery is a very dangerous thing in the Ming Dynasty today, but overseas, it is of course commonplace.

Although such a situation would easily give rise to some large families, Zhu Ying was not too worried about this.

As long as the Ming Dynasty can remain strong, no matter how big the family is, it will depend on the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty in the future is really going to perish, there is nothing that can be done.

As long as China is strong enough, it will ultimately be the country of the Han people.

It just means changing the person who is in charge.

What about the Zhu family lasting for thousands of years? That’s all nonsense.

If we can pass on more, then we should pass on more.

Even if it really disappears, it doesn’t matter much, and it’s not something Zhu Ying can take care of.

In modern times, the once-mighty empire on which the sun never set only lasted a few hundred years and eventually set.

On this point, Zhu Ying is still very open-minded.

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and said, "On the road of maritime commerce, my grandson has a clearer mind than me, but I still want to give you a few words of advice. You must control it within the scope of control."

"Merchants pursue profits and have no loyalty in their hearts. The foundation of our Ming Dynasty's prosperity must ultimately return to agriculture itself."

"These sea merchants are like a pair of sharp swords. If they can be well controlled, they can naturally contribute to our Ming Dynasty. If they are not well controlled, they will be the source of disaster."

"Merchants are greedy and have dark hearts. As long as there is enough profit, they will not have the slightest psychological burden to betray the Ming Dynasty."

"If the Ming Dynasty goes to war with another country someday, those families that are dependent on the Ming Dynasty may bite back at that time."

"Grandson, you must keep these things in mind."

"You can give them meat, but the chain must not be loosened. It must be held tightly in your hand."

In terms of politics, Zhu Yuanzhang can be said to be far ahead of Zhu Ying.

Especially when it comes to the control of power.

Zhu Ying is good at business. It is not that he is born with this ability, but he has experienced the refinement of later generations. He can predict the changes in the world in advance and seize the initiative at every step.

But in politics, Zhu Yuanzhang, who started from scratch and founded the Ming Dynasty and is now nearly 70 years old, would naturally be more insightful.

This is also the reason why Zhu Ying wanted to become the crown prince.

Zhu Yuanzhang's words gave Zhu Ying a warning.

Governing a country is not just about money, it also has more social and political significance.

Economic prosperity alone cannot ensure the long-term stability of a great country, and maritime trade cannot be left unchecked.

Just like the ten imperial merchants of the Qing Dynasty.

In fact, they initially supported the Qing Dynasty not in order to overthrow the Ming Dynasty, but simply because there was enough wealth to be earned there.

It was just such behavior that accelerated the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

After hearing the old man's words, Zhu Ying suddenly became alert and realized that he was too obsessed with making money and should focus more on developing the domestic industrial base.

He said seriously, "Thank you for your teachings, Grandpa. I almost became addicted to it."

Zhu Yuanzhang said with satisfaction: "It's good that you can think it through, but for now, the arrangement of the eldest grandson is still very good."

"Even if there are disasters in various places, they can be quickly resolved. Although we haven't conducted a headcount statistics yet, we can see that our Ming Dynasty has made great progress in terms of numbers."

"Talent is the foundation. As long as we have enough people, our Ming Dynasty will become stronger and stronger, even surpassing all previous dynasties."