India.

After Zhu Yuanzhang's decree came, Lan Yu was straightforward and took off his armor in front of the angel.

"Fight, according to His Majesty's order, military law is ruthless, no one is allowed to show mercy."

"If I sense that anyone held back, they will be punished by military law afterwards."

Everyone present looked at each other, especially Li Jinglong and Xu Huizu, who didn't know how to start.

Perhaps the most embarrassed person was Angel. He didn't expect Lan Yu to do it for real, in front of everyone.

In fact, although Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict to launch thirty military campaigns, there were too many options for operation. It could be a heavy attack or a light attack.

The beatings were not pleasant to bear. Even for a strong man, if he used all his strength, he would lose half his life after ten or twenty blows.

The severity of the beating would depend on the chief officer's opinion.

But now, the executioner is going to beat his own chief officer, which is really uncomfortable.

The key point is that Lan Yu was still shouting that he wanted to be beaten severely.

"Duke Liang, there's no need to be so serious. It's not a good idea to just sit here and watch. Why don't you go inside?"

After hesitating for a moment, Li Jinglong spoke.

He felt that there were too many people outside, and Lan Yu did this out of concern for his own face. If there was no one watching in the room, how many times and how hard to hit him would be a matter of a word.

"No, military law is ruthless. We can't take it lightly. We have to fight here."

"Where is the executioner? Can't he hear what I say?"

Lan Yu, however, was stubborn and insisted on being punished outside.

With such persistence, no one can persuade him.

Only the two executioners, you looked at me, I looked at you, and walked over with military sticks in your hands, trembling with fear.

Seeing their general lying on the bench, the two men looked helpless and started to attack.

"Didn't you eat?"

"The point is..."

"Focus more!"

Under Lan Yu's roar, the two men tried harder, but they actually still had some tricks up their sleeves.

Let alone twenty military battles, even if we really wanted to beat people to death, it would only take a few battles.

After twenty battles, blood could be seen oozing from Lan Yu's buttocks.

Lan Yu wanted to stand up, but he was a little unsteady.

As Lan Yu's good brother, Cao Zhen naturally rushed over to support him at this time.

"Why are you doing this?" Cao Zhen couldn't help but say.

Lan Yu sneered, "You don't understand. His Majesty must have punished me this time because of some villain. I can't think of anyone else except that old man Zhan Hui."

"This time I want to let him know that this old guy is really my enemy. I am now in Tianzhu, so naturally I can't do anything to him."

"Wait until I return to the capital, and see how I deal with him."

After hearing this, Cao Zhen stopped talking.

Lan Yu wanted to go against Zhan Huilai, but Tianzhu was too far away from the capital, so Lan Yu would rather get hurt than not convey his intention.

As for salary deductions or something like that, no one cares.

For people of Lan Yu and Zhan Hui’s level, salary is just a token of their status, especially at the time when the Ming Dynasty was taking off.

But it’s good too, at least the matter of recruiting soldiers from India has been settled.

May, the thirty-sixth year of Hongwu.

The Ming army launched another offensive, marching southward to attack the Vijayanagar Kingdom.

This was the most powerful kingdom in the Tianzhu region, and it could even be said to be a dynasty. It owned the entire southern region of Tianzhu and was surrounded by the sea on three sides.

At present, the Kingdom of Vijayanagar is in the golden age of Indian history. Whether in military, economy, trade, or any other aspect, it is one of the most powerful countries.

The area of ​​his territory is almost equivalent to half of the South Seas region.

The population accounts for half of the current Tianzhu area, about 40 million.

Because of its coastal location, maritime trade is very developed, and major export commodities include Indian fine cotton cloth, fine gauze, printed and dyed textiles, indigo, pepper, and sugar.

The main imports were gold, war horses and silk.

The prosperity of Portugal's maritime trade depended largely on its trade relations with Vijayanagar.

The Vijayanagar Kingdom was founded in 1336 AD, not much earlier than the Ming Dynasty. In fact, in the seventh year of Hongwu, the Vijayanagar Kingdom sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty.

Although the Ming Dynasty was founded thirty years later than the Vijayanagar Kingdom, the Central Plains dynasty was powerful and well-known throughout the Asian circle.

No country would voluntarily ask for tribute, and no founding emperor would voluntarily ask to be a vassal.

Perhaps because it was facing a threat, or perhaps because it wanted to have better trade relations with the Ming Dynasty, the Kingdom of Vijayanagar wanted to become a tributary state of the Ming Dynasty, that is, a vassal state, and seek the Ming Dynasty's protection for the Kingdom of Vijayanagar.

However, the territory of the Vijayanagar Kingdom did not border the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang at that time had no idea of ​​establishing an overseas colonial country, so he rejected the request of the Vijayanagar Kingdom.

Until today.

The present emperor of Vijayanagar Kingdom is Harihara II.

"Twenty-nine years ago, our country faced a powerful enemy threat and the brutal rule of the Delhi Sultanate."

"My father Buka, in order to find a better way out for the country, sent envoys to the distant east, to the newly established Ming Dynasty, hoping to receive their protection, even if our country became a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty."

"But the emperor of the Ming Dynasty rejected our request, as he thought we were too far away from them."

"After constant wars, my father finally won the war that belonged to us by relying on his strong soldiers and firm beliefs."

"But why, after we won the war with so much hardship, did the Ming army come to the territory of Tianzhu?"

"Now, they are asking us to surrender."

King Harihara II felt very aggrieved.

He knew that the Ming Dynasty was powerful, and his father knew it too, so he sought refuge when faced with difficulties.

Well, it would be fine if you, the Ming Dynasty, didn't agree. Now we have won on our own, but the Ming army came and conquered a large area of ​​India, and now they want me to surrender.

"Your Majesty, although the Ming army is very powerful, our soldiers are not to be trifled with. I think we should not surrender directly, but show our strength."

"We have many cities with tall walls, and we also bought a lot of Ming Dynasty matchlock guns from merchants."

"Although the Ming army is powerful, it is impossible for them to attack our capital in one go."

"If we surrender directly, it will not attract the attention of the Ming Emperor. We should let the Ming Emperor know that the Vijayanagar Kingdom in India also has strong military strength."

The minister's words made King Harihara II feel relieved, and he also felt that he should demonstrate his country's military strength.

You used to ignore me, but now... I still can't afford you.

Harihara II was somewhat embarrassed because the current Ming Dynasty was even more powerful than it was twenty-nine years ago.

According to the news brought by merchants at sea, the Mongols had been defeated by the Ming Dynasty. It seemed that Goryeo, Japan, Annan, Zhenla, Champa, and Siam had all been defeated by the Ming Dynasty.

In Orissa on the Indian side, the Bahmani Kingdom, which once posed a strong threat to the Vijayanagar Kingdom, also quickly collapsed under the attack of the Ming Dynasty.

So what could the Vijayanagar Kingdom use to resist the Ming Dynasty?

The minister who had made the suggestion earlier was also very embarrassed. He had thought that his impassioned speech would win praise from the emperor and other ministers, but now, there was a sense of awkwardness in the palace.

"Ahem, why don't we carefully consider the surrender plan proposed by the Ming Dynasty, or see if there is anything we can discuss."

"After all, once a war breaks out, it will cause many casualties among soldiers and civilians, and will also damage our buildings."

There was a long silence, and finally it was Harihara II who spoke.

After these words came out, the palace soon became lively.

The solemnity on the faces of many ministers disappeared, and each of them seemed as happy as if they had won a battle.

They began to praise the emperor's wisdom loudly, except for the minister who had just stood there, feeling extremely lonely in the bustling crowd.

June, the thirty-sixth year of Hongwu.

The Vijayanagar Kingdom surrendered, and the southern part of India was occupied by the Ming Dynasty.

As for Ceylon, the small island country under the Vijayanagar Kingdom, it naturally surrendered.

After all, the Ming navy had long been the invincible overlord on the ocean, and the only thing Ceylon could show off was its navy.

…

The capital of Ming Dynasty.

The fleet that went to Dongsheng Shenzhou has now returned, and they brought news about Dongsheng Shenzhou.

The intelligence was similar to that obtained previously, but this time the fleet recorded a safe sea route.

This also means that the Ming Dynasty can now go to Dongsheng Shenzhou smoothly.

The Ming Palace.

"It seems that our princes can no longer hold back. I heard from the Jinyiwei that the second, third, and fourth princes are already recruiting people everywhere. They want to directly go there and establish a vassal state."

Zhu Yuanzhang said to Zhu Ying with a smile.

Zhu Yuanzhang now looks even thinner and is completely different from what he was two years ago.

The originally fat body has become much thinner.

"Dongsheng Shenzhou is vast, much larger than the Ming Dynasty, and can accommodate many royal descendants."

"Now that a safe route has been found, my grandson is also preparing to organize a fleet so that the uncles can go there and better open up their vassal states."

With regard to the establishment of a vassal state of Dongsheng Shenzhou, there has been basically no major changes now.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and asked, "When is your eldest grandson going to come over?"

Zhu Ying thought for a moment and replied, "Now because of the relationship between India and Majapahit, the fleet is not enough. Previously, it was used to build steam ironclad ships."

"It will take quite some time to build the post station for the steam ironclad ship. The northern regions are too cold, so the construction will take a long time."

"So my grandson is going to rebuild a new fleet to go to Dongsheng Shenzhou. These ships will mainly be used in the ocean, and they will also have better security guarantees."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Among our sons, there are probably more than ten who want to go there. Some of your brothers are also old enough to be crowned kings, and they are all looking forward to this."

"This is not a small number. I'm afraid this fleet must have more."

Zhu Ying replied: "Grandpa is right. This time, I plan to build 300 ships, all of which are ocean-going ships."

"I heard there aren't many good cities there, and most of the people there are indigenous people. So we need craftsmen to build cities, including trains, which should be able to be built there."

"According to this calculation, it will probably take a year."

"My grandson thinks that the cost of this shipbuilding cannot be fully paid by the national treasury. Several uncles have made a lot of money in Japan, and now they have private soldiers digging for gold in Luzon. Therefore, these expenses should also be borne by the uncles."

"Second uncle, third uncle, fourth uncle, and seventh uncle, if they have money, can give more, and the other uncles can give less. As for the younger brothers, it depends on their individual circumstances. There will always be a place for them to go."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "Will our great-grandchildren also be arranged there in the future?"

Zhu Ying said helplessly, "There is nothing we can do about it, but fortunately, after India and the Middle East are conquered, there are still many places to reward the vassal states."

"Except for Southeast Asia, Korea, the grasslands, and Japan, I think the territory of the Ming Dynasty is almost enough. If it is larger, it will be a big hassle to manage. It is better to gradually grant them all."

Zhu Yuanzhang joked: "With such a large place, you should have more children, or there will be no one to inherit it."

"I think if we arrange a talent show for you earlier, it will make the harem more lively."

"In the past few years, you haven't given us many great-grandchildren. This is not good. You should have more."

"In ancient times, King Wen of Zhou had hundreds of sons and thousands of grandsons. I think our eldest grandson still has the qualifications. The territory of our Ming Dynasty is getting bigger and bigger. I don't know how many vassal kings can be enfeoffed in the Dongsheng Shenzhou alone. We can't just give it to others. It should be inherited by our Zhu family."

Zhu Ying smiled bitterly and said, "Grandpa, you know that my grandson's reputation is already ruined. Whenever those countries outside ask about my grandson's news, the first thing that comes to mind is his beauty."

"These are all propaganda made by those good ministers to their grandsons, saying that they will serve as a role model for future emperors. In the future, all future emperors of our Ming Dynasty will learn from them."

Throughout the dynasties in the Central Plains, the crown prince was not allowed to take concubines on a large scale. Such behavior would be impeached by ministers and was against etiquette and law.

Being lustful is not a good reputation, and it is usually associated with tyrants, such as King Daji of Shang and the story of lighting beacons to trick the princes.

Therefore, Zhu Ying basically stopped appointing concubines over the years.

Even so, Zhu Ying still couldn't get rid of the reputation of being addicted to beauty.

Of course, this also has a lot to do with the fact that many princes and nobles, including overseas big merchants and monarchs of small countries, kept trying to find ways to get women for Zhu Ying.

After Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he paused for a moment and said, "Grandson, ascend the throne."