Japan, Palace of Prince Yan.

Zhu Gaochi was lying on the bed, looking somewhat weak.

The imperial physician was feeling his pulse, and after a moment he stopped and said, "Your Highness, the remaining poison has been basically cleared away."

"But this poison is quite strong after all, and it has mostly damaged your vitality. I will arrange some medicinal food to replenish your vitality later, and you will recover after a few days of rest."

Zhu Gaochi nodded and said, "There are not enough people in the city right now, so I'll trouble Doctor Li to make a few more trips."

Doctor Li quickly stood up and bowed, saying: "It is my duty to serve His Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Gaochi nodded again, and then Doctor Li also prepared to go.

He seemed to have a mellow personality, and in dealing with people, he was not as arrogant as his two younger brothers. Even in the current Yancheng, Zhu Gaochi had already grasped the highest power, but he did not have the slightest sense of dominance.

This also made many ministers who followed him feel that they had met a wise ruler.

The development of the entire Yancheng is becoming more and more prosperous.

There is a saying that if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked, and the same is true vice versa.

With Zhu Gaochi setting an example himself, most ministers, including military generals, were relatively gentle and treated the Japanese people in the territory of Yan State relatively peacefully.

Here, the Japanese people are very supportive of the Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi.

There are almost no Han people among the people here, and there are only a few family members who follow them. Except for the army, all the other members are Japanese.

When Zhu Gaochi came, he brought high-yield crops.

The first thing he did when he arrived in Yancheng was to greatly reduce the land tax of the Japanese people and cancel many miscellaneous taxes so that the people could recuperate.

Then arrange the planting of high-yield crops.

Food rations are a bit tight now, but Zhu Gaochi must ensure that the Japanese people in the territory have enough food to eat even if he has to lower his own living standards.

Of course, things like beating the landlords and dividing the land were also necessary.

This meant that to a large extent, the original Japanese people actually lived a better life than before.

People, no matter where they are from, especially those living in today's era.

Talking about patriotic ideas is nonsense. This is not something that the hard-working peasants should think about every day.

And when they were able to have a full meal, these former Japanese people immediately praised Zhu Gaochi's merits.

Even some Japanese who had hatred towards the Ming Dynasty were gradually changed in such an environment.

When Zhu Gaochi was assassinated by Japanese assassins, a large number of Japanese people were filled with indignation.

They had never been to school and could not even speak Chinese, but they still gathered together spontaneously and insisted on guarding outside the Prince of Yan's palace.

One is to pray.

The second is protection.

To have achieved this level, it can be seen how strong the people's hearts are in Yancheng.

Daimyo Kurosawa is not a fool. Being able to become the head of a clan, he must have his own wisdom.

But it’s not what others say that counts.

Before Daimyo Kurosawa took action, he had actually come to Yancheng disguised as a Japanese merchant to inquire about the situation.

Of course, I visited and inspected everywhere in private.

It was this terrifying public sentiment that made Daimyo Kurosawa feel terrified.

In fact, Daimyo Kurosawa himself was not a follower of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, but had secretly pledged allegiance to the emperor very early on.

Those men in black were actually secretly trained with money provided by the Emperor.

It is to serve the Japanese Emperor at the critical moment.

However, under the persuasion of Yao Guangxiao, Daimyo Kurosawa decided to eliminate the prince of the Ming Dynasty.

Because his existence is the biggest threat to Japan's future.

Unfortunately, the effort failed.

However, what he didn't know was that the prince of the Ming Dynasty had already known about the action that night.

"Your Highness, this is too dangerous. I didn't agree to do this in the first place. If it weren't for the low-end poison from Japan, the consequences would be disastrous."

"The safety of Yancheng depends entirely on your Highness. The Japanese civilians outside the palace have gathered and guarded for three days, and they refused to leave even if the soldiers drove them away."

"It can be seen that His Royal Highness is now paying top attention to both the Han officials like us who followed him and the Japanese people."

Xia Yuanji persuaded earnestly.

He also knew a little about the implementation of this plan.

It's just that I don't know who the visitor is.

After all, in the entire Yancheng, Xia Yuanji’s position is equivalent to that of a prime minister.

Of course, since Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister system, it was naturally impossible for the vassal states of Japan to re-establish the position of prime minister.

Therefore, Zhu Gaochi also discussed this matter with Xia Yuanji at that time.

And Xia Yuanji, of course, strongly opposed it.

It is said that a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, let alone a person as valuable as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

In Xia Yuanji's opinion, even without this plan, Yancheng could reach great heights in the future if it were developed step by step.

So how could we let the prince take such a risk?

However, Zhu Gaochi at that time still insisted on implementing this plan.

In fact, as far as Zhu Gaochi was concerned, his father was currently fighting on the frontier, and as the crown prince, he naturally wanted to have more performance.

Although Zhu Gaochi was once disliked by his father, he actually always wanted to be recognized by his father.

This is also the key reason why he insisted on implementing this plan despite all objections.

Obviously, Yao Guangxiao, who had been in the former Beiping Palace for a long time, was very clear about this idea.

"Let those people outside the palace disperse and tell them that I am fine now."

"This incident actually has nothing to do with others. It was my own fault for not being careful enough, which gave the assassins an opportunity to take advantage of me. I won't do that again in the future."

"By the way, where is the eunuch who blocked the poison needle for me?"

"When people encounter danger, they will subconsciously avoid it. This is human nature. But at that critical moment, his first reaction was not to avoid it, but to block the poison needle for me."

"It shows that he is a truly loyal man. When his injuries are healed, he will be transferred to my side to obey my orders."

Even when thinking about it now, Zhu Gaochi still feels somewhat scared.

Although the poison needle is not very toxic, that is because it pierced the arm.

If it penetrates into the internal organs, even if the person survives by chance, his life span will be greatly shortened.

The situation at that time could be said to have been entirely caused by the eunuch's leaping forward and blocking the fatal blow. This was how the problem of the poison needle was completely resolved within just a few days.

After hearing what Zhu Gaochi said, Xia Yuanji nodded and said, "That eunuch is really very loyal. I will go and tell the eunuch to let him serve as a servant to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"His injury is not serious. He was only shot in the back and his internal organs were not affected. I think he should have recovered by now."

At this point, Xia Yuanji naturally can't keep talking about this matter.

But because of this matter, Xia Yuanji has never had a good night's sleep and has been worried and scared.

Such a good monarch is nowhere to be found.

There are so many talented people in the Ming Dynasty, especially His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Although Xia Yuanji was later imprisoned, Zhu Ying forgot about him and kept him in prison for a long time.

When making up for it, he was directly transferred from the Ministry of Revenue in Sichuan to the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing.

However, the closer he got to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the more he felt that he was useless. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's ideas and strategies were far superior to his own.

Xia Yuanji had to admit that he had learned a lot from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, including being able to govern the entire Yancheng in an orderly manner.

What I learned from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were all extremely practical, without any falsehood.

It’s just a pity that since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came to power, he has basically taken control of the general direction, and the pressure has been put on those below.

It is better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.

During his time in Yancheng, Xia Yuanji finally had the opportunity to realize his ambitions, and the prince valued him very much and had no intention of seizing power.

This naturally made him extremely concerned about Zhu Gaochi's safety.

Finally.

Zhu Gaochi said in a low voice: "Those soldiers who died in the line of duty should be buried properly and given more pensions."

"According to His Royal Highness's standards for the imperial guards, those with children will have their fees waived and their meals provided until they reach adulthood."

A kind man cannot command an army.

The guards in the palace were the victims of this incident, but as a prince, there would naturally be sacrifices in order to accomplish certain major tasks.

This is also something that cannot be avoided.

This was all Zhu Gaochi could do.

"As your Highness orders."

Hearing this, Xia Yuanji nodded heavily.

At the same time, he felt closer to Zhu Gaochi.

This is a truly benevolent and righteous king.

…

Goryeo.

Yao Guangxiao was dressed in black and stood in the court.

As the national teacher, he had his own separate seat, which was a gift from the King of Goryeo and a symbol of status.

Lee Seong-gye, who had been secretly in control before, also originally had a seat.

But since the national teacher Yao Guangxiao didn't sit down, Lee Seong-gye naturally felt embarrassed to sit down as well, so he had to remove the seat.

King Gongyang Wang Yao was the King of Goryeo who was supported by Lee Seong-gye and Jeong Mong-ju in the 22nd year of Hongwu.

Originally, Lee Seong-gye had already planned to assassinate Jeong Mong-ju and then establish himself as king.

However, Zhu Ying's arrangement interrupted Liu Chenggui's plan.

The current Goryeo court has been divided into three forces.

The weakest was naturally the Goryeo royal court, which was led by King Wang Yao of Goryeo and assisted by Jeong Mong-ju.

They have the least military power and seem to be in a high position, but in fact they are subject to great restrictions everywhere.

The second force is naturally Lee Seong-gye.

Almost half of the entire Goryeo military force were loyal to him, and he also controlled Goryeo's financial affairs and ministry of revenue.

But in terms of sphere of influence, Lee Seong-gye was the most powerful.

The third group is Yao Guangxiao.

The main component of Yao Guangxiao's forces was the undercover personnel left behind by Zhu Ying.

However, because they followed the expedition to Japan, most of these undercover personnel had already surfaced and were marked with Yao Guangxiao's mark.

Only a very small number are still lurking.

For example, the commander of Lee Seong-gye’s royal guards.

However, Yao Guangxiao was unaware of his existence. Only a very small number of people such as Zhu Ying, who were once core members of the Chamber of Commerce, knew about his existence.

When Yao Guangxiao arrived earlier, it was actually similar to Zhu Ying's guess. In fact, there were already many people loyal to the Qunying Chamber of Commerce, especially the Koreans. Their loyalty to the Qunying Chamber of Commerce had reached a very weak point.

It was Yao Guangxiao who forcibly activated them and forced them to take sides, thus bringing them together again.

In fact, Zhu Ying also knew that if Goryeo was left alone, those people who had already reached high positions through the channels of the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce would eventually reject the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce.

That's why at that time someone like Yao Guangxiao was sent over.

Even if Yao Guangxiao was not there, Zhu Ying would arrange someone else who is trustworthy.

In fact, given the current situation, Zhu Ying is fully capable of overthrowing Lee Seong-gye, and even easily deposes the King of Goryeo and incorporates Goryeo into the territory of Ming Dynasty.

But if we do so, it will add more burden to the Ming Dynasty and will also be a problem in terms of education.

Even if the rebellion could be easily suppressed during Zhu Ying's reign, after Zhu Ying's death, Goryeo would most likely break away from Ming.

This is not what Zhu Ying wants.

What he wanted was to truly and completely incorporate Goryeo into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Not only the Ming Dynasty, but also countries in the Nanyang region such as Annan adopted this strategy.

Like the former Mongol Empire, a short-term rule has no meaning. Only by truly incorporating them and making them people of the Ming Dynasty can there be a long-lasting impact.

The civil and military officials in the Goryeo court were roughly divided into three groups.

When it comes to some of Goryeo's political affairs, there have always been endless debates.

Whatever Lee Seong-gye agreed to, Yao Guangxiao would oppose no matter what.

vice versa.

As for the forces belonging to the King of Goryeo, if they saw that the other side was about to win, they would help the weaker party.

The court was a three-way melee.

However, the King of Goryeo thought this was a good idea.

At least he gained a lot of power from the fight between the two.

Its status is now relatively secure.

Before the two forces have a final say in the fight, his position as King of Goryeo will not be in much risk.

It was at this time that a soldier outside the door, ignoring the disputes and arguments in the court, came straight to Yao Guangxiao.

Yao Guangxiao nodded slightly, and the soldier whispered a few words to Yao Guangxiao.

After listening to this, Yao Guangxiao clasped his hands together and bowed to the King of Goryeo, saying, "I still have some things to do here, so I'll leave first."

After saying this, Yao Guangxiao did not care about the reaction of the King of Goryeo. He calmly glanced at Lee Seong-gye and turned to leave the court.

As soon as Yao Guangxiao left, the entire court, which was in chaos before, immediately turned into silence.

The ministers looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Seeing this, the King of Goryeo could only helplessly say, "Dismiss the court."