Late at night, after a storm.

"I was wondering why you were so proactive today. Turns out you have something to ask of me."

In the bedroom of the main hall, Zhu Ying stood up slightly and half leaned back.

Although he has a very strong foundation, he will not squander his energy recklessly and always exercise restraint.

Ananya clung to Zhu Ying's body. Hearing these words, she couldn't help but think of her own madness just now. Her face turned slightly red and she buried her head in Zhu Ying's chest.

Putting his hand on Ananiya's back, Zhu Ying smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. After all, Champa will be Xiaowen's territory in the future."

When Ananya heard that they were talking about serious matters, she raised her head slightly and put it under Zhu Ying's chin.

"It's just that I'm worried that Champa is too chaotic now. I heard that many Ming people have gone there to form gangs and fight for territory. Even the King of Champa can't control them."

“Father said in his heart that some daring gangs also attacked the nobles of Champa. When the fighting was the most fierce, many nobles were killed at night.”

"How will Xiao Wenzhan be able to control such a chaotic place in the future?"

Zhu Ying thought for a moment and replied, "Actually, there's no need to worry so much. The reason why it's so chaotic now is because many gangs have just been established, and some domestic gangs are just coming over, which is why the chaos is so serious."

"The Ming Navy and my brother Yunwen have been assisting the Champa government in suppressing these gangs and have established many rules."

"Big fish eat small fish. After a while, those gangs without strength will be swallowed up by other gangs, and finally only a few big gangs will be left. By then, Champa will be stable."

"It won't take too long, at most about two years. Xiao Wenzhan is still young."

After listening to Zhu Ying's analysis, Ananiya was somewhat relieved, but she still asked, "What if those big gangs control too much territory and affect Xiao Wenzhan's rule?"

"I don't want Xiao Wenzhan to become a puppet controlled by others."

Zhu Ying nodded, this is indeed true.

In fact, Zhu Ying could also directly send a large army to suppress the rebellion. If Champa was brought under the direct rule of the Ming Dynasty, this problem would only be a small problem.

But if that were the case, it would not be appropriate to make Xiao Wenzhan an overseas vassal state.

Zhu Ying's plan of establishing overseas vassal states was to make the current or future vassal kings a barrier to the Ming Dynasty, rather than to divide up the Ming Dynasty's territory.

If a territory was completely ruled, the people in the territory were completely assimilated into the Han culture, or the Han people became the most populous ethnic group, at least after Zhu Ying came to power, he would take back the vassal state and move it to another place.

Of course, such a situation is generally difficult to achieve in a short period of time. It requires at least several generations of change, or even decades.

Perhaps by that time, Zhu Ying would have already entered his old age.

At that time, if the overseas vassal kings were to be given a new fiefdom, they probably would not dare to have any objections.

Especially his own sons.

In fact, among all his sons, the one Zhu Ying felt most sorry for was Xiao Wencheng.

Because Zhu Ying was very clear that his physical condition was very good.

In all these years, I haven't gotten sick, let alone a minor cold.

Even in winter, you won’t feel cold if you take a cold shower and wear light clothes.

With such physical fitness, there will be absolutely no problem for him to live to at least eighty, let alone a hundred years old.

This meant that not only would little Wencheng have a high probability of being the crown prince for sixty years, but if he didn't take good care of his health after he grew up, he might even die sooner than himself.

What a sad thing.

But there is no way.

You can't just commit suicide and give up your position.

It is impossible for him to abdicate. This would set a bad precedent. His descendants in later generations would most likely follow suit. They would either force their father to abdicate and become the emperor emeritus, or they would not want to be the emperor anymore and just throw the throne away for fun.

There were many weird emperors in the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Ying felt that his descendants might also have such weird emperors.

Zhu Ying was still in a trance.

Guo Zhong's voice came from outside the door.

"Your Highness, the time has come."

Guo Zhong had been waiting outside the door.

There were not only Guo Zhong, but also various palace maids and eunuchs, totaling nearly twenty people.

According to etiquette rules, after serving the emperor, Ananya is not allowed to sleep in the bedroom, but must return to her own room.

It was not directed at her, even though Ye Yueqing was the Crown Prince's Consort, it was still the same.

This rule was not set by Zhu Yuanzhang, but was based on the etiquette regulations of the previous Song Dynasty.

The reason for setting this rule is to prevent the king from being overly obsessed with beauty, to the point where he indulges in revelry every night, neglects his health, and affects state affairs.

At this time, two palace maids came over with the clothes that Ananya had taken off earlier.

Hearing this, Ananya also prepared to stand up.

Zhu Ying put his arm around Ananiya's waist and said to the outside world, "Princess Na will sleep in the palace today."

Outside the door, Guo Zhong said respectfully, "I obey your order."

The two palace maids holding the clothes also bowed and retreated.

In fact, since its establishment, few emperors or princes have followed this rule.

If I'm not having a good time, do you officials dare to stop me and spoil my fun?

Obviously this may not exist.

In fact, under normal circumstances, if you really want to sleep, it is much more comfortable to sleep alone than with two people.

The reason why Zhu Ying asked Ananiya to stay was naturally because Ananiya had been too proactive just now.

What a joke! I am the crown prince, how can I let a concubine ride on me?

This is really beneath my dignity.

Therefore, this time, Ananya must be made aware of her identity.

Let her feel the majesty of the Crown Prince.

At this moment, Ananiya hugged Zhu Ying like an octopus. She knew very well what would happen next.

A blush appeared on the fair face.

The spring night is short and the sun rises high. From now on, the king no longer holds court early in the morning.

…

The next day, the sky was just getting light.

Zhu Ying has woken up from his sleep.

Turning his head to look at the limp Ananya, Zhu Ying said, "Come in."

Outside the door, the palace maids who had been prepared came in carrying all kinds of clothes.

They were waiting at the door before dawn.

At this moment, Guo Zhong and the eunuchs were waiting outside the door and did not come in.

Although eunuchs were no longer considered men, Zhu Ying still felt somewhat strange.

Therefore, a rule was established in Kunning Palace that even eunuchs had to avoid suspicion just like men.

For example, taking a shower, changing clothes, etc.

In fact, this was just Zhu Ying's personal habit, but he didn't expect that it would make the eunuchs in Kunning Palace so moved.

As eunuchs, they care most about what they lack, especially the so-called male dignity.

This rule set by the Crown Prince not only made them not feel disgusted, but instead made them think that the Crown Prince treated them as normal men instead of discriminating against them.

"Na Fei was very tired last night, so there's no need to wake her up. Just wait until she wakes up."

Zhu Ying, who was changing clothes, gave instructions to the female official next to her.

The female official bowed and replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

In fact, even the palace maids who served Zhu Ying were all pretty and pretty.

However, compared with Zhu Ying's concubines, there is a huge gap.

Not to mention that most of the concubines were princesses from other countries, who grew up in luxury and were proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. For example, Ananya, Sultana, and Xiangzi, whose countries were not in the Asian cultural circle, could speak fluent Chinese.

Including Ye Yueqing, who was also carefully selected and initially arranged to go to Goryeo.

Which palace maid doesn't want to climb up the tree and become a phoenix?

If this person were favored by the Crown Prince, then his identity would have been transformed perfectly.

In this regard, it all depends on luck.

The palace has strict rules and regulations, and any violation of them will have serious consequences.

Once the crime of seducing the crown prince is proven, the worst punishment is beating to death.

Zhu Ying put on her clothes and came to the side room.

The palace maids here have already prepared mouthwash, face wash water and towels for wiping.

Zhu Ying likes to wash her face and rinse her mouth by herself.

"Your Highness, Guanglu Temple has prepared breakfast."

At this time, Guo Zhong could enter the side room.

Ananya was still sleeping in the inner room, so he couldn't get in.

"Is Grandpa awake?"

"Your Majesty has woken up and is enjoying breakfast."

"Then let's go to the Qianqing Palace and eat together."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang is enjoying breakfast.

As people get older, they sleep lighter, so Zhu Yuanzhang usually gets up very early.

In front of him was a table full of breakfast.

Bird's nest, white fungus and lotus seed soup, boiled eggs, fried cakes, buns, soy milk, wontons, noodle soup, sesame seed buns with meat, fried noodles, steamed dumplings, rice rolls, steamed dumplings, soup dumplings, lean meat and preserved egg porridge, spicy soup, chicken feet, beef balls, wontons, etc.

Next to the noodles, there are stir-fried meat, beef, and spare ribs.

There are more than three types of buns and dumplings.

There are also fruit snacks.

There are a total of 7749 plates.

The emperor's breakfast is so plain and simple.

Because there were too many of them, it was impossible to pinch them. There were six palace maids and six eunuchs waiting nearby.

Your Majesty, just point the finger and it will be served immediately.

Here, each palace maid and eunuch is responsible for those dishes, and they are all trained, so there will never be a situation where two palace maids serve the same dish at the same time.

Of course it was impossible for Zhu Yuanzhang to eat it all, not even if Zhu Ying was included.

Those that were not eaten would not be wasted, but would be given as rewards to the palace maids and eunuchs.

"Grandson, you must have worked hard last night. Come here. We have sea cucumber buns, ginseng dumplings, and wolfberry bird's nests made by the Guanglu Temple. They are perfect for you to replenish your body."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his eldest grandson coming over and teased with a smile.

Zhu Ying didn't go through any red tape and just sat next to Zhu Yuanzhang.

This was obviously against etiquette, but it was very much in line with Zhu Yuanzhang's wishes.

Although he was an emperor, he preferred the close family feeling of ordinary people.

In the past, when Crown Prince Zhu Biao or other princes dined with him, they all sat upright and did not look to the side.

What's the matter with not talking while eating?

This made Zhu Yuanzhang feel somewhat alienated from his sons.

On the contrary, it was his eldest grandson's behavior that made him feel extremely comfortable.

"We received a letter from Zhenla last night. You were busy with your work, so we didn't disturb you."

"It's about Lan Yu. You asked him to go to Zhenla, and now he's fighting on all sides there."

Zhu Yuanzhang took a sip of soy milk and spoke.

Zhu Yinglian ate a few sea cucumber buns. He had consumed some energy last night, so he had to make up for it. After hearing what the old man said, Zhu Ying asked, "Who is he fighting with? Is it true?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "The princess of Zhenla is your concubine. Even if Lan Yu is spoiled, she will notice the impact."

"It was those people from Siam. They were invading Zhenla when Lan Yu happened to meet them."

"The commander who led the troops was also an idiot. He thought Lan Yu was a reinforcement from Zhenla and started fighting right away."

"Lan Yu also didn't expect Siam to dare to attack him. It is said that he suffered a small loss."

"This guy has a bad temper. He didn't even go to Zhenla. He just started a fight with Siam at the border of Zhenla."

Zhu Ying was somewhat puzzled and asked, "How could Lan Yu and his men encounter the Siamese army when they took the sea route?"

Zhu Yuanzhang explained: "Siam was also unlucky. They specially arranged a cavalry to land in the sea to attack Zhenla, and they happened to run into Lan Yu."

"They had a big plan this time, sending out 100,000 soldiers. Seeing that Lan Yu only had more than 10,000 men, they thought of swallowing him up directly."

Zhu Ying asked, "Didn't he bring 30,000 soldiers? How come there are only more than 10,000?"

Zhu Yuanzhang replied: "Lan Yu thought nothing would happen, so he left half of his men on the ship. If all of them were to go out, Siam would still be in a good situation, and Lan Yu would not suffer any loss."

Many of those who followed Lan Yu were Chang Yuchun's former subordinates, and now they are Lan Yu's direct subordinates. Naturally, they are the most elite group in the Ming army.

Even in the country, ordinary garrisons need at least twice the number before they dare to take action.

If Siam's 100,000 soldiers met Lan Yu's 30,000 elite troops, defeat would be inevitable.

The armaments and weapons are not on the same level.

Zhu Ying thought for a moment and said, "The Ayutthaya Dynasty and Malacca were in collusion and had long controlled the Strait of Malacca and collected money from passing merchant ships."

"Many of the goods from our Great Ming were intercepted here, and then sold to the Central Asian countries at high prices."

"My grandson sent a naval fleet last year to drive them out and control the Strait of Malacca. I think Siam and Malacca must be dissatisfied and are secretly planning a plan."

"Malaka is good at naval warfare, and most of its troops are on the sea. Siam dispatched 100,000 troops to launch a surprise attack by sea, and it would be impossible to hide it from Malacca. The two countries may have secretly joined forces to attack Cambodia."

"Chenla has been around for more than 600 years, and the Wucheng Dynasty is already rotten. Even so, it is not easy for Siam to take over Chenla alone. If it joins forces with Malacca to attack from both sides, Chenla will be in danger of extinction."

"The fact that these two countries chose to join forces to fight against Zhenla at this time is probably closely related to my dispatching a naval fleet to control the Strait of Malacca."

"If they really destroy Zhenla, then the Strait of Malacca will be completely unified, which will be a huge threat to our Ming navy fleet."

Zhu Ying has a very keen political sense.

In fact, when he sent the naval fleet to the Strait of Malacca, he had already anticipated that Siam and Malacca would definitely cause trouble.

Because Malacca represents huge interests.

Especially for Malacca, it can be said that a large amount of the country's wealth comes almost entirely from the sea.

Although Malacca was lost, it did not completely cut off Malacca's maritime financial route. Their territory was connected to the South Sea Peninsula, where they also engaged in maritime trade.

But such a huge loss must have made the King of Malacca and the nobles in the country feel heartbroken.

However, the Ming Dynasty was powerful and its naval fleet was invincible. Naturally, the Malacca Kingdom alone could not resist.

But Malacca would certainly not be willing to accept this, so it was normal for it to ally with Siam.

Zhu Yuanzhang agreed with his eldest grandson's analysis.

"You are right, Grandson. Siam and Malacca seem to be fighting against the opponents of Zhenla, but in fact, the one they want to deal with in the end is our Ming Dynasty."

"There have been constant wars between Cambodia and Siam since ancient times. If Malacca wants to choose an ally to fight against the Ming Dynasty, it will definitely choose Siam."

"Compared to the corruption of Cambodia, Siam has been quite powerful in recent years. According to the information from the Celestial Realm Temple, the Ayutthaya Dynasty in Siam is extremely powerful now. This alliance with Malacca should be the idea of ​​their King Uthong."

"I still remember that in the 13th year of Hongwu, the envoys of the Northern Sukhothai Dynasty of Siam and the newly arrived Ayutthaya Dynasty fought in our Tianjie Temple."

"Sukhothai is similar to Chenla. It is corrupt and has been repeatedly defeated by the Ayutthaya Dynasty. It is estimated that it will be destroyed sooner or later."

"King Wutong is very ambitious, but he is a few years older than me and is probably going to die soon."

Zhu Yuanzhang had some knowledge of the situation in Siam, so he told his eldest grandson about it.

After listening to this, Zhu Ying laughed and said, "The Ayutthaya Dynasty is really bold. They haven't even conquered Siam yet, but they're already thinking about taking over Zhenla, and finally they dare to fight against our Ming Dynasty."

"It is estimated that Malacca gave the Ayutthaya Dynasty a lot of benefits, otherwise it would not have sent 100,000 troops to launch a surprise attack on Zhenla."

"One hundred thousand soldiers, this hardly counts as a sneak attack. They want to take down Zhenla in one fell swoop."

"I have to say, if it weren't for Lan Yu, Zhenla might not have been able to withstand this move."

Angkor Thom, the capital of Zhenla, is not far from Linhai.

These 100,000 surprise attack troops obviously wanted to capture Angkor City in one fell swoop.

Even if the attack failed and the capital was in danger, the Angkor Dynasty would definitely recall the troops from the border to protect Angkor City. The Ayutthaya Dynasty would then be able to easily take the border, and then the two armies would join forces and march straight to the outskirts of Angkor.

At this time, the grandfather and grandson had finished their breakfast.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, and the palace maids and eunuchs beside him immediately came forward to clean up. Another female official brought a towel to wipe the grandfather and grandson.

Zhu Ying didn't like others to touch him, so he just took it, wiped it and gave it back.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said to Zhu Ying: "Let's tell Guanglu Temple to prepare more medicinal herbs for our grandson."

"Yesterday, a letter came from Champa, and my grandson was busy all night. Now there is also a letter from Zhenla. It seems that my grandson will have to work hard again tonight."