Zhu Ying had no intention of letting Zhu Di and his men return to Japan.

The current situation in Japan is actually not friendly to the Ming Dynasty.

Japan had too many mineral deposits, which caused the wealth of several feudal lords to increase rapidly, and also gave rise to their ambitions.

Legally speaking, these mineral deposits did not belong to the princes, but to the Ming Dynasty. The princes only helped in mining.

Because of the long distance, they now secretly intercept a large amount of mineral deposits that should have been transported back to the Ming Dynasty, turning them into their own wealth, and also raising a large number of private soldiers.

At the same time, it is expanding outward in an attempt to gain more wealth.

Although Zhu Ying knew about this matter, he also condoned their actions. After all, to a certain extent, it was also expanding the influence and territory of the Ming Dynasty.

But with the advent of steam engines and trains, and especially the success of the Northern Expedition last year, things changed.

It is obviously not in the interests of the Ming Dynasty for a few feudal lords to stay in Japan to develop.

So Zhu Ying planned to let them serve as commanders to help the Ming Dynasty establish its empire.

It is not to say that the Ming Dynasty now lacks generals. Whether it is the Huaixi Group or the outstanding students trained by military academies in various places, they are all capable enough to take on the role.

But this is an era of hereditary rule, and Zhu Ying also has to consider the issue of being crowned king in the future.

The power of the princes is maintained within the imperial power, but it is different for others. Once they grow up, they become members of aristocratic families.

Of course, Zhu Ying discussed this matter with the old man.

So Zhu Yuanzhang told Zhu Chong directly.

After returning to the palace, Zhu Chong told the third, fourth and seventh sons the news.

Zhu Di's face turned pale.

"I knew he wouldn't let us go back so easily. He doesn't want us to go back to the kingdom at all."

What he worried about finally happened.

Zhu Gang was somewhat helpless: "Then what else can we do now?"

Although Zhu Gang felt that he had a good relationship with his eldest nephew, at this time, it was obvious that any relationship was useless.

Zhu Yu said: "I don't know if the Crown Prince will allow me to bring a few concubines over."

After hearing what the two said, Zhu Di felt a little disappointed. These two people seemed to have no intention of resisting at all and just gave in like that?

Zhu Di turned his gaze to Zhu Chong, but Zhu Chong also seemed to have accepted his fate.

Zhu Chong saw the unwillingness in Zhu Di's eyes, so he said, "What else do you want? Father was the one who spoke about this matter, not just the Crown Prince. Can we still resist Father?"

Even if everyone had some small thoughts, they were kept secret from the Emperor.

Now that my father has made it clear, there is naturally no room for maneuver.

Zhu Di said in a low voice: "If there is unrest in Japan at this time, do you think our father will let us return to Japan?"

Several people looked at Zhu Di with sharp eyes.

Zhu Gang said directly: "You want to unite with the Japanese? They are not fools, how could they agree? Besides, if I can't go back to Japan, wouldn't it be more beneficial for them?"

"I'm afraid if they knew the news, they would be overjoyed and would not help us at all."

What Ashikaga Yoshimitsu feared most were these feudal lords. If only their sons went there, the pressure faced by Japan would definitely be much less.

Unless Ashikaga Yoshiki is completely crazy, he would not agree to unite with several feudal lords.

Zhu Di sneered and said, "It's up to us. We can't tell them the real news. Besides, Japan is not ruled by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. As long as they have enough money and benefits, they can become our pawns."

Zhu Di had already developed a group of spies, including some Japanese daimyo who were not in power.

When Zhu Di felt it was difficult for him to return to his vassal state, he was thinking about countermeasures. The news brought by Zhu Chong was also within his expectations.

No one wants to stay in the capital and be an idle prince, no matter how prosperous and bustling the capital is.

But how can this be compared with our own vassal state?

They were suppressed by the law in the capital and had to worry about the Crown Prince's fear. Most importantly, they had no power at all.

In Japan's own feudal state, they were unscrupulous and were the law and the heaven themselves. They could do whatever they wanted. That was the breath of freedom.

After some discussion, they quickly decided on a plan, with Zhu Di being responsible for its implementation.

Firstly, this was the plan he proposed, and secondly, apart from Zhu Di, no one else had any specific ideas.

Zhu Di also took the opportunity to demand a large amount of money from the three people.

The amount of money was huge, but in order to return to their fiefdom, the three of them had no choice but to pay it with reluctance.

Zhu Ying was unaware of the Four Princes' plan because the Embroidered Uniform Guard could not monitor the princes.

But even if he knew, Zhu Ying didn't care at all.

With the arrival of spring, the war on the grassland started again.

Of course, this was a small-scale war, and this winter made life even more miserable for the grassland tribes, who were already severely weakened.

The first was the starvation of a large number of grassland people. Without sufficient pasture, their war horses were losing weight, and their combat effectiveness dropped significantly.

Many of those who could not survive had already defected to the Ming Dynasty and entered Guihua City in the winter.

As one grew stronger, the other weakened, and Guihua City's strength far surpassed that of the Oirat and Tatar.

It was at this time that another major event happened on the grassland.

Guilichi, who called himself the Khan of Mongolia, was attacked by his subordinates and killed.

This is because many tribes believed that Guilichi was not a descendant of the Heavenly Khan and was not qualified to rule Mongolia. In addition, the previous incident in Hulunbuir caused the majesty of Guilichi as the Khan to be greatly reduced, which gave the lower tribes an opportunity.

Mahamu’s influence was inevitable, but the biggest reason was the return of Bayanchur, the son of Elbek.

He did not come back alone, but brought a large number of troops with him.

After Elbek's death, Bayanchur and his uncle Khartai fled to Central Asia.

Central Asia was Timur's territory.

After Timur received the news, he brought the two men to Samarkand and gave them high status and treatment.

The powerless uncle and nephew Bayanchur were obviously very much in Timur's interest.

When he seized the Western Chagatai Khanate, he used the method of supporting puppets.

This gave Timur hope that he might be able to rule the Mobei Plateau.

That is the birthplace of the Mongols. If Timur wants to become the second Genghis Khan, he must obtain the Mobei Plateau and complete the legal rule of the Mongol Empire.

Of course, due to the long distance, Timur did not know at that time that the Ming Dynasty was already attacking the grassland.

When we got the news, winter was almost here and there was no way to march.

Timur gave Bayanchur 100,000 cavalrymen and asked him to take them back to the northern desert to regain his right to rule.

After Arutai received the 100,000 cavalrymen brought back by Bayanchur, he immediately betrayed Guilichi.

Then he joined forces with the Oirat and instigated a rebellion among the Guilichi tribe, claiming that they were not descendants of the Heavenly Khan.

Aluta had a great influence in Western Mongolia, and under his manipulation, Guilichi was naturally killed.

Bayanshili and Mahamu’s revenge was finally achieved.

In fact, Aluta should be included in this enemy, but now Bayanchur cannot go into the details too much because he needs Aluta now.

At the beginning of spring, Bayanchur proclaimed the restoration of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and Aluta remained as the Grand Tutor.

However, the great general of the Northern Yuan Dynasty is now Cabest from Central Asia.

But Cabest was not in a good mood at this time.

When he arrived at the grassland, he learned that the Ming Dynasty had launched a large-scale attack and built a large city on the other side of the Daqing Mountains.

The most important thing is that the Ming Dynasty has seized a lot of war horses and gathered a large number of tribes. Now even if the Oirat and Tatar are combined, they cannot fight against the Ming Dynasty.

On the contrary, with the arrival of spring, many Ming troops came out of Guihua City and began to sweep the grassland.

Their goal is the pastures with fresh grass.

Cabest wanted to fight the Ming army, but the current Ming army was no longer the same as last year.

During this winter, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered soldiers skilled in riding and shooting to be drawn from garrisons across the Ming Dynasty to go to Guihua City. Together with the lower-class grassland people who had already undergone the education process, the Ming Dynasty had assembled a cavalry army of 300,000.

Now the total number of Mongolian cavalry is roughly this number. Even with Cabest's 100,000 cavalry, they are unable to suppress the Ming army's 300,000 cavalry.

There is an advantage in quantity, but in terms of quality, they are not at the same level at all.

The grassland needs rest in winter, but the Ming Dynasty does not.

Taking advantage of this winter, the Ming Dynasty's factories produced a large number of half-body armor, and at the same time more gunpowder and muskets were sent to Guihua City.

The grassland tribes were in the worst condition at the beginning of spring, and many soldiers were already starving. How could they compare with the Ming Dynasty, which had ample food and fodder?

Cabest did not bring a large amount of logistics when he marched here, and such a long route does not support long-distance logistics transportation.

Therefore, facing the offensive of the Ming army, both the Oirat Tatars and the Cabests could only retreat step by step.

The capital of Ming Dynasty.

While waiting for news, Zhu Di was suddenly summoned by the Crown Prince.

The rear hall of the East Palace.

"Fourth uncle."

"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Looking at Zhu Ying standing in front of him, Zhu Di sighed in his heart, wondering how he could have imagined that this day would come.

"I think my fourth uncle has already heard about what happened on the grassland. Timur is still determined to attack the Ming Dynasty. He has sent 100,000 cavalrymen to unite the Mongolian tribes and try to seize Guihua City."

"During last year's Northern Expedition, only Fourth Uncle achieved outstanding military achievements. He easily captured Wuliangha with just his strategy, and strengthened the prestige of our Ming Dynasty."

"Therefore, I would like to ask Fourth Uncle to take action again and go to the grassland to lead 300,000 cavalrymen of the Ming Dynasty to deal a final blow to the remnant Yuan Dynasty."

Zhu Ying's words were very polite, and he even used the word "please" at the end to express his respect for Zhu Di.

Zhu Di did not expect that Zhu Ying would do this at this time. He was still waiting to contact Japan.

Once I leave the grassland, it will be at least several months, and without me to act as a liaison, how can I return to Japan?

Zhu Di just followed Zhu Ying's gaze and had no chance of refusing.

Moreover, it is reasonable to say that Zhu Di's performance in the Northern Expedition last year was indeed brilliant, so it is normal to send him there now.

On the contrary, not sending him seems to be a bit of suppression.

After agreeing to it, Zhu Di had to put his plan to contact Japan on hold.

Although it takes less than ten days to travel from the capital to Guihua City, the north-south trains are now only used for military purposes and are under the control of the imperial court.

It was obviously impossible for Zhu Di to hand over the person he had developed with great difficulty to the other princes.

He didn't know that Zhu Ying could not monitor him through the Jinyiwei, but Zhu Gaochi had already entered the palace to report him.

Although the specific details were not clear, when Zhu Ying learned that Zhu Di was contacting Japan, he could naturally guess what Zhu Di was planning.

"My good fourth uncle, my great general of the Northern Expedition, don't be anxious. After you conquer the grassland, Timur will be waiting for you."

Looking at Zhu Di's leaving back, Zhu Ying chuckled and said.

…

Tianjie Temple.

A special team of envoys came here today.

The reason why it is special is that these envoys are all Han people.

They came from Brunei and were Huang Senping's clansmen.

The team leader was Huang Qunsheng, Huang Senping’s nephew.

These people were in shock since they entered the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

This is especially true when entering the capital.

"No wonder my uncle has always wanted to return to the Ming Dynasty. It turns out that the capital is so prosperous."

Huang Qunsheng is not very old. Although he was born in the Ming Dynasty, he had already arrived in Brunei when he was old enough to understand things.

In fact, he couldn't understand why his uncle always wanted to return to the Ming Dynasty. Wouldn't he be more comfortable in Brunei?

However, after experiencing the prosperity of the capital, he finally understood his uncle's thoughts.

Compared with the capital, Brunei was just a small village, a wild place.

The crowd at a glance alone was more than the entire Brunei population combined.

Huang Qunsheng, who was in his twenties, had never seen so many people.

Holding the token given to him by his uncle as proof of identity, Huang Qunsheng found the nearest government office.

It is actually a public security station.

Seeing the general's token, the officers of the public security station did not dare to delay and reported it immediately.

Soon someone from the Ministry of War came to contact us.

After understanding the specific situation, Huang Qunsheng was temporarily placed in Tianjie Temple.

Because in addition to the general's token, Huang Qunsheng also had a letter from the Brunei Kingdom.

If it was just a small country, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War would not care much, but it was completely different if it involved Brunei.

The news reached Zhu Yuanzhang the day after Huang Qunsheng arrived in the capital.

This speed was already very fast. After all, it was not military intelligence and there was no special channel. If Huang Senping had not been the general of the Yongchang Tengchong Guard in Yunnan, it might take a month for the news to enter the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to hear the news. He was deeply impressed by Huang Senping.

Because Huang Senping was originally named Huang Yuanshou, and because Huang Yuanshou made outstanding contributions in suppressing bandits and resisting Japanese pirates at Senping Beach in the South China Sea, Zhu Yuanzhang personally gave him the name Senping.

Yunnan was in chaos and there was no news about Huang Senping. Zhu Yuanzhang thought he had died in the war, but he didn't expect he was still alive.

The most crucial thing is that the content of this letter was Huang Senping's request to incorporate the lands in the Brunei and Duanshou River basins into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

"He is a loyal minister of our Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang, looking at the contents of the letter, couldn't help but sigh, and also defined Huang Senping as a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty.

In the letter, Huang Senping described the detailed process of his trip to Brunei and stated that he had already controlled most of Brunei, which was equivalent to expanding the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang knew nothing about such a small place as Brunei, he still asked someone to check it out and found out that it was a small country across the sea from Zhenla.

But this still made Zhu Yuanzhang very happy, so he called his eldest grandson and expressed his intention to station troops in Brunei.