The second floor of the teahouse.

Zhu Ying had just arrived here and was feeling a little depressed.

Yesterday, he went to the Xiaoling Mausoleum and missed the opportunity to see the firearms with Zhu Gaochi, which made him feel very sorry.

However, after returning, Zhu Gaochi sent someone to inform that the gunpowder area needed to be sorted out for safety reasons before entering, so the date was changed to today.

Comparing firearms, Zhu Ying had long forgotten that today was the day to meet the old man.

He went to Prince Yan's Mansion early in the morning, preparing to go to the Gunpowder Department with Zhu Gaochi.

I was sadly told that today's event was cancelled again, as it seemed that the Gunpowder Department had not yet sorted things out.

As for the specific time, it is no longer available.

"Forget it. At most, I'll have to wait a few more days. Even if it's another half a month or even a month, what's the problem?"

Zhu Ying spoke to himself.

At this time, the old man's voice came from the stairs, accompanied by laughter: "Grandson, have you been waiting for a long time?"

Zhu Ying was stunned. He had forgotten that the old man would come over today.

Turning around, the old man came over with a middle-aged man in his thirties wearing official uniform.

"Grandson, let me introduce you. This is the Minister of War, Ru Ru." Zhu Yuanzhang was not vague and introduced him directly.

"My name is Zhu Ying, nice to meet you, Minister Ru." Zhu Ying quickly stood up and bowed.

Wow, this is one of the six ministers of the court, and he was just brought here by the old man.

Zhu Ying was a little surprised.

Shangshu is the highest rank among civil officials at present, and is the second grade.

As for the first-rank officials, except for military generals, they basically had to be related to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who grew up in poverty and whose parents died early, had deep affection and loyalty to his relatives.

"Mr. Zhu, you are too polite." Ru Hong's voice sounded very calm.

He admitted that when he saw her for the first time, he was shocked by the extremely similar face and temperament.

After a brief shock, there was a flash of understanding in his eyes.

No wonder His Majesty is so sure of Zhu Ying. It turns out that all this is based on his face that is extremely similar to that of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

When you get closer and take a closer look, you can still see a big difference.

The main reason is that they look similar in spirit, which is why it is easy to make a mistake.

Zhu Ying asked the old man and Ruheng to take a seat, and told the servant to prepare breakfast.

When Zhu Ying saw the old man sit down first and then Ru Hong sat down, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

This behavior shows that to some extent, the old man's status is higher than Ruheng's.

Thinking about the old man Zhu Guorui's name, and the fact that he also served as a Grand Secretary, I don't think it's a big deal.

In many dynasties, perhaps some people are not recorded much in history, but they have a considerable influence on the emperor of the time.

Before Zhu Ying came to the Ming Dynasty, he had never read "History of Ming Dynasty", especially the early Ming Dynasty. Except for some well-known and familiar ones, he was basically in the dark about the rest.

"We brought Minister Ru here this time because there are indeed scattered Japanese pirates along the coast. The situation is similar to what you said, Grandson."

"So this time I want to ask and see how to manage it."

After some polite greetings, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke directly.

Zhu Ying nodded and said, "This small number of Japanese pirates that have appeared now may not even be considered the vanguard. It won't be long before a large number of losers from Japan will appear in batches."

Hearing this, Ru Hong couldn't help but frown and said, "We are also very clear about the problem that Master Zhu mentioned, but the coast of our Ming Dynasty is wide and it is difficult to fully defend it."

The Ming Dynasty and Japan are separated by the East China Sea.

The weather at sea is complicated, but if you take a boat from Japan, you just need to head towards Ming Dynasty and you can easily drift to Ming Dynasty.

It’s different when the Ming Dynasty goes to Japan. It’s easy to drift away and miss Japan.

So let alone the Ming Dynasty’s inspection, even the ships departing from Japan did not know where specifically they would land on the southeast coast.

"The reason why the Japanese pirates are so difficult to deal with is not because of their strong military force, but because they work together from both inside and outside, making them as hard to catch as rats," Zhu Ying analyzed.

"Then Mr. Zhu, do you have any countermeasures?" Ru Hong asked directly.

Zhu Ying glanced at the old man and saw him nod slightly, then he said: "I have already told you about the countermeasures. The first step is to investigate those who have colluded with the Japanese along the coast."

"Minister Ru, you may not know that I am not very talented, but I have been doing business for a long time and have some understanding of overseas. I am familiar with most of the merchants who engage in smuggling business."

Hearing this, Ru Heng's eyes lit up and he said, "Mr. Zhu may be sure, this is no joke."

"Of course." Zhu Ying said confidently.

"Okay, as long as we get rid of the merchants who have dealings with the Japanese, and no one will respond to the Japanese pirates, we can just catch them in a jar." Ru Heng said directly with a look of delight on her face.

"If we attack Japan, what ideas do you have, Grandson?"

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been listening for a while, suddenly spoke.

He knew that his eldest grandson had always been thinking about attacking Japan, so he thought it was better to encourage him than to block him. Coincidentally, Ru Hong was there too, so he made things clear.

It was not convenient for him to reveal his true identity and explain it directly, so he was also borrowing Ru Hong's strength.

When Ru Hong heard this, Mu Ran was shocked and wanted to object, but after looking at the emperor's expression, she kept silent.

It is obvious that His Majesty and Zhu Ying in front of him have been talking about this topic for a long time.

In Ru Hong's mind, or in the minds of all the civil officials in the court, attacking Japan is a thankless task.

The troubles from the previous dynasty were still before our eyes, and even in the court, the topic of attacking Japan was a taboo.

If anyone brings this up, it will affect Your Majesty's reputation.

Those who are a little older know that the Ming envoy was killed by Japan.

Zhu Ying was not surprised when he heard this. After thinking for a while, he said:

"In fact, it is not difficult to attack Japan. Japan is just a small country. We only need tens of thousands of troops to conquer it."

"The biggest difficulty lies in the risks at sea. The previous Mongol Yuan Dynasty lost twice in its battles against Japan because of the hurricanes at sea."

"The behavior of hurricanes does not actually arise out of thin air. There are certain patterns that can be known, especially for people who have lived on the sea for a long time. Some elderly people can even guess when a hurricane will hit."

Hearing Zhu Ying's words, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly.

All the ministers in the court knew about these things, but if they launched an expedition against Japan, the manpower and material resources involved would be too great.

If it fails, it will definitely be a heavy blow to the current Ming Dynasty.

Seeing that the old man and Minister Ru did not show any sign of approval, Zhu Ying smiled and said, "Don't forget, there is a country near Japan, the Ryukyu Kingdom, but its heart is with the Ming Dynasty."

"The Ryukyu Kingdom is very close to Japan and has been hit by hurricanes for a long time, so it has rich experience in resisting hurricanes."

"To conquer Japan, we don't have to start from the coast. We can use the Ryukyu Kingdom as a springboard and station troops to attack Japan."