Zhu Yunying was naturally aware that some groups were about to begin certain special operations in Southeast Asia. However, at this stage, he seemed to be turning a blind eye to these matters. He couldn't openly encourage such behavior; he needed to maintain a balance between acknowledging his own actions and refusing to admit his wrongdoing.
At this stage, it's enough to subtly encourage them and provide them with certain conveniences.
"In that sense, I'm no different from those European kings in history." Zhu Yunying found it somewhat amusing and absurd. "There have been many dark things in human history, so what I did is nothing special."
At most, it would just add another stain to the historical record, but Zhu Yunying didn't care about such things. He left the judgment of right and wrong, merit and demerit to future generations; he simply needed to begin the large-scale development of the Liaodong region several centuries earlier.
“If I do this, and Liaodong develops, it will be difficult for the so-called wild boar skin industry in the Changbai Mountains and Heilongjiang River region to take off.” Zhu Yunying laughed, suddenly a little smug. “Those people will either go to more remote places or actively integrate into the Ming Dynasty. This is a good thing.”
That's really true. If Liaodong were to become a major granary in the north, or even a decent grain base, the imperial court's control over Liaodong would increase, and there would be more Ming subjects there.
All of this means that it will definitely not be an easy thing for the Jurchens to rise and develop there.
Perhaps Zhu Yunying could actually eliminate some potential threats in advance; some hidden dangers that no one might have known about could be eliminated by him.
However, this is only the ideal state. Because of the harsh climate in Liaodong and the weak infrastructure there, developing Liaodong will require not only a large population but also a lot of time.
Hopefully, Wuxun Group won't let him down. They hope to bring more people to those places in Liaodong to start reclamation ahead of time and tap into the potential of the black soil.
Zhu Yunying wanted to rest, but seeing that it was still early, he decided to listen to a history lecture. He instructed Wang Chengen to issue an edict to the Hanlin Academy, ordering a lecturer to go to the Qianqing Palace to lecture on tax law and history to the retired emperor, the emperor, and the crown prince.
"Oh my, you've really worn me out!" Old Zhu's happy complaint could be heard from afar. "You little rascal, you've gotten fatter again!"
Zhu Yunying was startled. His precious son was a bit chubby when he was little. But now, while he wouldn't call himself a big fat boy, he was definitely overweight, which was definitely one of Old Zhu's masterpieces.
There was nothing he could do. Although Joo Yoon-young wanted little Joo to get more exercise and was paying attention to his diet, the little guy kept complaining of being hungry. Looking at the pitiful little one, Joo Yoon-young simply couldn't bring himself to be harsh with him.
I used to think that parents should raise their children scientifically, and I could talk about it in great detail. But after having children myself, I realized that some things are not so easy. Many times, even though I know it's not the best approach, I still do things my own way.
What's more, Little Zhu's biggest backer is Old Zhu. Old Zhu always saves the best things for Little Zhu, and Little Zhu never runs out of snacks.
When Xiao Zhu cuts back on Xiao Xiao Zhu's food, Xiao Xiao Zhu immediately runs to the Qianqing Palace and gets double the happiness.
"Great-grandfather, we've gotten fat!" Little Zhu, perched on Old Zhu's back, said proudly, "Great-grandfather, you can still carry us on your back."
Actually, Old Zhu was quite enjoying himself. He was just sitting on the stone bench when Little Zhu suddenly rushed over after playing around for a while. Little Zhu then affectionately climbed onto Old Zhu's back without saying he wanted to climb onto Old Zhu's shoulder or ride Old Zhu around.
Seeing Xiao Zhu approach, the little boy happily called out "Dad!" Old Zhu simply smiled and nodded, quite content with his life of enjoying time with his grandchildren.
“We’ll have the lecturer come over later, and the two of us will keep Yin’er company while he listens to the lecture.” Zhu Yunying said to Old Zhu while holding his chubby son. “Today, he seems to be angry and doesn’t want to listen to the lecture.”
Old Zhu naturally knew what was happening around Little Zhu, and he would hear about it even faster than Little Zhu himself. As for his precious great-grandson causing trouble at school today, Old Zhu was well aware of it.
If it were any of the other princes or grandsons causing trouble with the teachers in the school, Emperor Zhu would certainly be displeased. But with Little Zhu, Emperor Zhu needed to ask him carefully. Although he would usually reason with them, Emperor Zhu simply couldn't bear to punish Little Zhu.
Moreover, this time Old Zhu was extremely proud. He had heard the reason why the Crown Prince had made a fuss, and he directly dismissed a fifth-rank scholar from his post.
The reason was that the Imperial Tutor was trying to smuggle in his own ideas, and he had long since resigned himself to the fact that the Retired Emperor did not value Confucianism. As for Emperor Ying Shi's "legalistic bones but Confucian skin," he tacitly accepted it, mainly because he had no other choice.
Then we can only hope for the future emperor. If the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty can become the kind of crown prince that Confucianism prefers, then there will definitely be an emperor in the future who is full of goodwill towards Confucianism.
"I've heard about what happened to our Yin'er today, and it's good news." Zhu Yunying patted Little Zhu's head and said with great satisfaction, "I've also issued an edict to strip him of his previous titles and honors. Our Great Ming's crown prince doesn't need half of the Analects to govern the country."
Old Zhu nodded, growing angrier the more he thought about it. "We're increasingly convinced that we have to teach Yin'er ourselves. Those pedantic scholars keep telling Yin'er to respect Confucius and Confucianism. They even want to bring up the Zhou rites. We wish we could kill them!"
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