"We'll talk about these things with your grandfather in a while," Da Zhu said with a smile. Then he joked, "You brought back quite a few good things from Southeast Asia from the Maritime Trade Office in Quanzhou. There are plenty of jewels, gold and silver, as well as spices and minerals."
Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and said confidently, "After we finish fighting Japan and Korea, we should also consider the border regions. The Tusi (local chieftains) should be dealt with, and we should also control Jiaozhi (Vietnam). But for now, I should focus on building my capital city and ensuring that Beiping Prefecture is well-prepared."
Da Zhu didn't believe any of this and joked, "This time you went to Beiping, and it seems like you didn't do much. But your imperial grandfather said that you're going to develop the Liaodong region."
Zhu Xiong Ying naturally acknowledged these points, and his reasons were quite valid: "Liaodong is a vast and sparsely populated area, and its land is very fertile. Guanzhong is currently barren. If we don't develop Liaodong now, Beiping's grain supply will have to rely on the southern canal transport, which will put too much pressure on us, not to mention the border troops!"
Da Zhu squinted and then said, "You went to develop Liaodong, so you took some prisoners of war and made them farm instead of raising horses. Since there are no natural defenses there, you sent people to take the initiative to attack. It seems that the remnants of the Yuan dynasty will be constantly driven away by you."
"Your son's little schemes can't be hidden from Father!" Zhu Xiong Ying laughed, without any embarrassment. "Father, if I do this, will there be any problems?"
Da Zhu didn't hide anything and shared his thoughts, "That's a good idea. You can make all the decisions regarding military and political affairs. However, Beiping is a very important place, and you have a lot of troops under your command. Moreover, we are about to launch an attack on Japan and Korea, so Beiping is even more important."
Zhu Xiong Ying understood and said with certainty, "Father, rest assured, I will not start a war lightly. If there is a war, I will definitely inform Grandfather and Father."
Emperor Zhu was very pleased with Zhu Xiong Ying's awareness, and Zhu Xiong Ying's desire to develop Liaodong was in line with the interests of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Xiong Ying's desire to combat the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty was also a long-term strategy of the Ming Dynasty and required support.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang sometimes worried that Zhu Xiong Ying, being young and impetuous, might escalate the war and disrupt the Ming Dynasty's plans. After all, Goryeo and Japan were the Ming Dynasty's main targets for conquest.
"Have your brother-in-law and cousin train more troops. With the Duke of Ying in command, there shouldn't be too much trouble," Da Zhu continued, then said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "The Duke of Ying is probably also one of my ministers, so I need to train some young men for you. More battles will help you develop your skills."
Zhu Xiong Ying nodded affirmatively, saying that real combat is the best way to train people.
Zhu Xiong Ying also wanted to see whether his cousin Li Jinglong was a Zhao Kuo who only knew how to talk about war on paper, or Xu Shu who was in Cao Cao's camp but had his heart in Han!
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