The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 257 The World Is So Big

The vassal kings in the border regions also needed to conduct frequent inspections to prevent them from committing crimes in the localities.

Those who have made contributions should also be commended.

After each generation of feudal lords passed away, the new feudal lords had to return to the capital for evaluation, and only those deemed suitable could succeed to the throne.

Those who lack ability and virtue should be sent to other places for training before being re-evaluated.

Zhu Yuanzhang and his crown prince Zhu Biao both frowned. Zhu Biao was considering the possibility of such a system, while Zhu Yuanzhang felt that such a thing was too troublesome.

If such a system were to be followed, I'm afraid many of my sons would not be able to inherit the title smoothly.

"Xiongying, isn't your method a bit too troublesome? If you really do it this way, some of your uncles might be unhappy, and who knows what might happen then."

I don't see the need for such trouble; we're all family, no need to be so strict!

However, Zhu Xuming was exceptionally firm on this matter: "Other matters can be discussed, but this matter is absolutely not negotiable. It concerns the fate of our Great Ming Dynasty!"

"And that's not all; in the next few generations, we will also need to demote them and consolidate their military power!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned extremely ugly, as did his crown prince, Zhu Biao, who was standing beside him.

Although this coincided with his own thoughts, how could he say these things in front of Zhu Yuanzhang?

Thinking of this, he felt a little flustered. If Zhu Yuanzhang thought Zhu Xiong Ying was heartless, it would not be a good thing for Zhu Xiong Ying.

No one wants a heartless ruler, as that would cause trouble for the Zhu family's own descendants.

Moreover, Zhu Xiong Ying's methods and his attitude towards those captured officials made him somewhat flustered.

Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened, and he looked at Zhu Xiong Ying and said...

"Everything needs a reason. If you don't give a suitable reason, I might consider another candidate for the crown prince!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao was extremely flustered upon hearing this.

"Father, this is unacceptable!"

Zhu Xiong Ying is currently the most suitable and only suitable son among his own. If someone else were to become the crown prince, it would be a catastrophe for the entire Ming Dynasty.

However, Zhu Xiong Ying said with great determination: "In addition, all those except the line that inherits the throne should be demoted. Otherwise, if the throne is hereditary every generation, I don't know how many vassal kings will appear in our Great Ming Dynasty in the end!"

"For example, a prince might have five sons. Apart from the eldest son who is granted the title of prince, the others are dukes. And if the prince has sons, they will be granted the title of dukes, and the sons of dukes will be granted the title of dukes. If this continues, in just a few generations, I don't know how many princes and dukes there will be in my Great Ming!"

"The land of our Great Ming is limited. In the first few generations, there were no such problems. But after a few generations, these problems will become more and more obvious. At that time, the national treasury alone will probably not be enough to support these princes who only receive stipends and do nothing. What will the world of the Great Ming become then!"

Not to mention Zhu Yuanzhang, even the crown prince Zhu Biao was startled.

He did have these concerns before, but he didn't think about them too much.

How many descendants does the Zhu family have? Even if they continue like this for several generations, there won't be many.

But when he heard Zhu Xiong Ying say that, he felt a chill run down his spine. He hurriedly picked up a pen and paper and continued calculating. In the end, he was filled with disbelief.

If such a policy were to be followed, within ten generations, the Ming Dynasty would have countless more kings.

Putting aside everything else, just supporting these foreign kings would consume all of the Ming Dynasty's revenue, which is not a good thing.

Thinking of this, Crown Prince Zhu Biao hurriedly said, "Father, Xiong Ying is right. The system of princes in our Great Ming Dynasty cannot continue like this. This is not for the benefit of the Zhu family. It may even harm the Zhu family in the future. I urge Father to reconsider!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked down at the numbers Zhu Biao had just written on the paper, and was extremely disappointed.

Originally, I thought I had planned everything for the Ming Dynasty so that it could proceed step by step according to my plan. Who would have thought that something like this would happen?

"Perhaps U.A. is right, I did not consider things thoroughly enough!"

"But those people at U.A. are all your uncles and elders. You need to think about their escape route!"

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and nodded, "Grandpa, don't worry, I've already considered these things!"

At this moment, Zhu Xiong Ying pulled out a map from behind his back. This map was drawn by Zhu Xun based on his memories from later generations and with the help of Frankish people and others.

"Grandfather, Father, please take a look at this map!"

When they unfolded the huge map, both of them were filled with disbelief.

What kind of map is this? Is what's written on it real? Impossible, how could my Great Ming Dynasty be so small? Zhu Yuanzhang found it hard to accept.

I have fought in the north and south for so many years.

He thought he had conquered a vast territory, but he never expected that there was so much land outside of the Ming Dynasty, which was hard for him to accept.

Even the Crown Prince Zhu Biao, who was standing to the side, was the same.

Although this map looks unbelievable, upon closer inspection, much of what's on it is indeed true.

I had heard of it before, even from the countries in Southeast Asia and the West. I thought that although Frankish was far from us, it wasn't that far. But I never expected it to be on the other side.

Moreover, it's even possible to reach that place by land.

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded and pointed in one direction, saying, "This is Japan to the east."

Although this place is small, it contains an inexhaustible supply of silver. Taking this place would bring us many benefits.

This is the Annam region, which our ancestors from the Central Plains once occupied.

However, that place was undeveloped at the time, so in the eyes of our ancestors, it was a barren land.

But now this place has abundant rainfall and countless fruits.

Moreover, the rice grown here can be harvested three times a year. To put it bluntly, you can harvest a lot just by scattering a handful of seeds here.

"Once we take this place, our Great Ming will no longer lack food!"

Then Zhu Xiong Ying's hand began to point north again.

"This is the coast of Buyur Lake."

Further north from this place lies an endless expanse of permafrost.

The weather here is cold, there is little vegetation, and it is not suitable for the people of our Great Ming Dynasty to live in, but there are a large number of gold mines here.

Those are all extremely valuable treasures!

(End of this chapter)