Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 837: Soldiers Return Home
After Chen Zuyi's death, there were no more bandits in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, and the sea and the river were peaceful. After staying for a few more months, until he had dealt with the remnants of Chen Zuyi and the establishment of the Srivijaya Concession, Zhu Su said goodbye to Tang He and Chang Mao first, and went to Yingtian with Li Jinglong to report.

On the other hand, Zhu Di, who had split up with Zhu Su and headed north to investigate the rebellion of Yan'an Marquis and Ji'an Marquis Junu, and was responsible for clearing out the border generals who had opened the door to the two marquises, had already crossed the Yangtze River. This time when he came back, he not only arrested many corrupt and corrupt military scums in the Ming border army, but also joined the main Ming army of the western expedition to the Timurid Empire, including Pingliang Marquis Fei Ju and Yao Guangxiao. The road to the Western Regions was long, and Fei Ju, Yao Guangxiao and others led their troops back along the land route, and they happened to run into Zhu Di.

Until this time, all the meritorious officials and generals of the Ming Dynasty who had led the Western Expedition to the Timurid Empire and recovered the Western Regions could be said to have returned victoriously.

Zhu Di's Ming army had made great achievements in the expedition. First, they led a small army to go out of the border, maneuvered among the various tribes on the grassland, and assisted Xu Da, Duke of Wei, and Xu Yungong, the Crown Prince of Wei, in preserving the northern border market. During this period, they fought to support the war, became stronger and stronger, and conquered two organized Mongolian cavalry for the Ming Dynasty.

Then he moved to Hami, defeated the Oirat Khan Yesudiel, conquered Yilibali, and recovered the Han and Tang territories in the Western Regions. Then he took advantage of the situation to advance into Central Asia, curbing the throat of the Timurid Empire, which was developing strongly and might become a threat to the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Su's troops also did a lot. He took an unconventional approach, raided Central Asia by sea, opened up the Maritime Silk Road, established many concessions and trading ports in Southeast Asia, and defeated the Delhi Sultanate, which did not respect the Ming Dynasty. This made the Chinese military reach the land of Sindhu for the first time, and spread the teachings of the Celestial Empire to the former Buddhist country, "inspiring" countless barbarian small countries in Sindhu to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty and respect the Ming Dynasty as their suzerain.

Moreover, because the influence of the Ming Dynasty spread far and wide, the Tibetan and U-Tsang tribes, which were located on the plateau and difficult to reach by military force, also sent envoys to Yingtian Prefecture to express their willingness to submit to the Ming Dynasty.

Afterwards, Zhu Di and Zhu Su joined forces and were able to defeat the ambitious Cripple Sultan Timur, who was determined to recover Genghis Khan's homeland. They coveted the Ming Dynasty and strangled the rising Timurid Empire at its peak. The influence of the Ming Dynasty reached the European continent, and the Ottoman, Byzantine, Portuguese and other countries all heard of the Ming Dynasty.

Such a great achievement can be said to be unprecedented in history, and it is not an exaggeration. After that, he took advantage of the opportunity to solve the rebellions of the two marquises, Ji'an and Yan'an, the White Lotus Sect and pirates in the south, and the corruption of the border generals in the north... but these achievements are not so dazzling.

The victory of these battles brought real benefits to the Ming Dynasty: the Timurid Empire and Chen Zuyi Group, which straddled the north-south trade route, were destroyed, and the Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road were unimpeded. This alone could bring the Ming Dynasty countless commercial taxes in the future. Not to mention that the Ming Dynasty's influence spread across Europe and Asia, and spices, minerals and other products that were unique to all countries were also owned by the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty's concessions were scattered all over Asia.

These concessions, trade routes and tribute roads under construction will become blood vessels that supply blood to the Ming Empire, making the foundation of the Chinese Empire stronger. An unprecedented China is rising.

At the same time, it also slapped those pedantic scholars who followed the old ways and clung to the old ways: Who says that the strategy of expanding territory is militarism? Arrogance and timidity are the way to downfall!
The Chinese dragon, whose enterprising spirit had been dormant in the pile of old papers, began to fully awaken...

Zhu Su and Zhu Di had previously returned with a small army and a small boat, and the government and the people were caught off guard, and there was not even a proper welcoming ceremony. Later, the incident between Emperor Shengzong of Tang and Lu Zhongheng happened, and the government and the people had no time to prepare any ceremony. However, this time, even the army returned, and if there was no proper welcoming ceremony, not only Zhu, but also the people of the world would not be happy.

The Ministry of Rites had sent people to stop Zhu Su and Zhu Di in Jiangzuo a few days ago, and checked with the two princes and the generals on the full set of etiquette for welcoming the victorious army. Zhu specially asked the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to select an auspicious day. Influenced by the workaholic potential of Zhu and Zhu Biao, the Ming court, which had never had a rest time, took a day off for the first time in history. Zhu Biao led all the civil and military officials to Yanziji outside Yingtian City to welcome the victorious soldiers across the river.

On this day, there were not only civil and military officials in the court, but also retired officials, famous scholars, meritorious officials, and royal relatives who came to Yanziji to welcome the victorious soldiers. Even monks, nuns, and Taoist priests from major temples in the capital, envoys from various countries stationed in the Honglu Temple, heads of major chambers of commerce, and even ordinary people who wanted to join in the fun, and scholars and children who wanted to see the might of the Ming Dynasty soldiers. All kinds of people gathered here, and Yanziji was already packed.

Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty has also seen many major events in recent years, and the Ministry of Rites, which is responsible for this matter, is not the first time to organize such a grand event. And after Zhu's several iron-fisted purges, the officials selected by the Ming Dynasty are no longer the same as in the past, and many of them are unqualified people left over from the Yuan Dynasty. Although Ren Ang, the current Minister of Rites, was a Jinshi in the Zhizheng period of the Yuan Dynasty, he is proficient in the six arts and is by no means a corrupt scholar who sticks to the old ways.

He was brave enough to take on responsibilities and was also quite knowledgeable about new learning. He also highly respected the principle of "seeking truth from facts and applying knowledge to the world" proposed by the leaders of new learning such as Zhu Su and Song Lian. He once petitioned to destroy the lewd temples in the world to stop the evil foreign religions from causing chaos, which made the folk customs clean. He also presided over the tributes from foreign countries, formulated the system of crowns and robes, and the musical instruments, and determined the merits of the various armies in pacifying Yunnan, etc. Everything was in good order. He made great contributions to the stability of the Ming Dynasty and was highly valued by Zhu.

Under the chairmanship of Ren Ang, the Ministry of Rites had divided Yanziji into different areas in advance. The various people who came to welcome the guests waited in different areas according to their identities. Although it was crowded, it was well organized.

At the dock, the Ministry of Rites had erected a colorful tent that was thirty-six feet tall, with red silk hanging high, flags flying, and all kinds of singing, dancing and vocal music. Because of concerns that there might be old and weak people in the welcoming team, there were even many tents set up on both sides of the road, with tea served in the tents for those who could not stand for a long time to sit down and rest.

The warships crossing the river could not be treasure ships, but the three-story ships used by the Yangtze River Navy were enough to enhance the power of the Ming Empire. On the ship, the Ming expeditionary soldiers polished their scarred armor until it was shiny. They held their chests high, representing all the expeditionary comrades, ready to accept the respect and congratulations from the elders of their homeland.

(End of this chapter)