Zhu Di: My fourth son is a great emperor of all time?

Chapter 53 Conquering Overseas Regions: The Ming Dynasty Far Surpasses the Han and Tang Dynasties

Zhu Di was dumbfounded, not expecting his fourth son to be so courageous.

In his first year in office, he completely disregarded the opposition of his ministers and immediately launched sweeping reforms.

They abolished all the ancestral precepts of the Ming Taizu Emperor and went directly to fight the Japanese pirates.

Does the fourth brother really hate the Japanese pirates that much?
Although Zhu Di also felt that the Japanese pirates' incursions had caused great suffering to the people along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, it was an order from his father, Zhu Yuanzhang, and he did not dare to abolish it directly.

After all, Zhu Di dreamed that his father would cut off his head.

["Zhu Gaoshuo not only wants to attack the Japanese islands, but also to simultaneously send troops to Goryeo, and even to attack more distant places."]

Tianmu's words immediately made Zhu Di understand Zhu Gaoshuo's intention.

This is a country that is going to conquer overseas!
But why?

It's one thing to attack the Japanese islands, but why attack those places that pose no threat?
It's too far, and it would take so much manpower and financial resources!

He did not doubt Zhu Gaoshuo's abilities.

I just think that the Ming Dynasty at that time must have just experienced a major war and needed to recuperate.

When Tianmu first introduced the fourth brother, wasn't he supposed to be a proponent of civil administration?
Why is the fourth prince so belligerent these days, wanting to fight everywhere?

How could the Ming Dynasty's national treasury possibly have so much money left for the fourth prince to squander?

"Fighting the Japanese pirates is the right thing to do, but if we continue with expeditions, that would be exhausting our resources and engaging in reckless militarism!"

Zhu Di's concerns were not unfounded, even though the rebellion in the northern deserts had been quelled.

But the Ming Dynasty still faced the threat of vassal kings.

Doesn't the fourth prince know how great a threat the vassal kings pose?
Those vassal kings are a great threat if they go to war without regard for the stability of their rear.

Moreover, even if the countries in these regions were conquered, it would be of no use.

Zhu Di once thought that conquering other countries could improve the Ming Dynasty's finances, but he found that he was completely wrong.

Today, Jiaozhi spends 300 million taels of silver on military expenses every year, but only 7 taels of silver in taxes.

"To be honest, Emperor Yongxi, Zhu Gaoshuo, was truly a great emperor of all time. His vision was far ahead of his time. He was able to know in advance what kind of resources were contained in the lands of these countries in the outer seas. In particular, the Japanese islands were like an untapped gold mine, with a large amount of sulfur, which is the raw material for gunpowder. This is why the first place our ancestors wanted to attack was the Japanese islands."

"Goryeo, on the other hand, had very precious royal medicines, which were resources used in war."

"On the other hand, all that the northern desert has are warhorses and livestock. Going to attack the northern desert would be a complete waste of military strength and finances!"

???

Zhu Di felt his face flush red.

He was just questioning the fourth brother.

But I didn't expect to be proven wrong so quickly. It turns out that I was the one who was really brainless and short-sighted?
"But how exactly did the fourth brother find out about things overseas?!"

At this moment, Zhu Di became even more convinced that the so-called global leader when the second son was emperor was actually the fourth son who had never appeared.

He was clearly the one who sent Zheng He on his voyages.

He only had a superficial understanding of matters concerning the outer seas, but Zhu Gaoshuo was exceptionally knowledgeable about them.

Zhu Gaoshuo had not left Nanjing for many years, let alone the world overseas.

"The fourth brother has too many secrets!"

Zhu Di shook his head helplessly, not thinking too much about it, since he had already decided to pass the throne to his fourth son.

But he still didn't understand how the fourth brother planned to fight this overseas battle.

The Ming Dynasty probably doesn't have the capacity to fight so many wars right now.

The reason is simple: they were broke. The Ming Dynasty was truly broke.

This was also a problem that had been troubling Zhu Di for a long time.

"Could it be that the fourth brother has a way to solve the money problem?"

Zhu Di was somewhat hopeful; if his fourth son truly had a way to make money, he was indeed very interested in learning from him.

"In overseas battles, Zhu Gaoshuo did not personally lead the army like his father Zhu Di. Of the hundreds of battles, Zhu Gaoshuo only personally led the campaign against the Japanese islands."

"At that time, it was generally believed in the Ming Dynasty that the Japanese pirates had no combat capability. However, due to the maritime ban policy that prohibited even a single plank from entering the sea, coastal merchants were forced to turn to smuggling and then join forces with the Japanese pirates. Many officials even condoned the Japanese pirates, but all of this was noticed by Emperor Yongxi."

"Zhu Gaoshuo personally led the attack on the Japanese islands from Xinghua Prefecture, using ships to transport cannons to bombard the islands directly. He also dispatched Liu Jiang with 3 naval troops to blockade the sea and cut off the enemy's retreat!"

"In the second year of Yongxi, most of the Japanese islands had been occupied by the Ming army, and a large amount of strategic materials, as well as gold and silver mines, were unearthed, supporting the national economy of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, troops were sent to establish colonial outposts, using Japanese pirates as laborers to continuously develop the gold and silver mines on the Japanese islands."

"Of course, after this incident, Confucian scholars throughout the Ming Dynasty were all cursing Zhu Gaoshuo, believing that since he was the emperor, he should follow the Confucian idea of ​​pacifying distant peoples, rather than resorting to tyranny. Although the Japanese islands were not within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, they were still people, and the country should be governed with benevolence!"

It's Confucianism again!

Zhu Di was so angry that he cursed loudly. The Confucianism of this time was no longer the Confucianism of Confucius.

However, he was not worried about what these Confucian scholars could do to Zhu Gaoshuo.

After all, Zhu Gaoshuo is considered by later generations to be one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history.

That proves that these rumors have no effect on him.

"The rule over the Japanese islands cost 600 million taels of silver, but collected 6000 million taels of silver, a tenfold increase."

How many?

"Sixty million taels of silver! What an enormous fortune that is!"

"If I get this money, why would I care what those Confucian scholars think?"

Zhu Di's eyes widened in disbelief; he simply couldn't believe that the Japanese islands were so wealthy.

If he had known earlier, why would he have bothered fighting in the northern desert?

At this moment, he even considered calling a retreat and attacking the Japanese islands, thus breaking his father Zhu Yuanzhang's maritime ban.

Keep in mind that this is only the Japanese islands.

Zhu Di was overjoyed; he hadn't expected the heavens to reveal so much information.

This shrimp dish seems to be more comprehensive than the video Wang Tianba described.

We must attack the Japanese islands, and we must make him the one to attack them.

How strong could the Japanese pirates be?

If the fourth brother can win, so can he.

Zhu Di was already fantasizing about leading a large army to invade the Japanese islands and then transporting gold and silver back by large ships.

"At this time, everyone knew that the outer seas possessed endless wealth, and the vassal kings in various regions were all envious but powerless to obtain it. Zhu Gaoshuo's existence instilled fear in all the vassal kings, because the Ming Dynasty was too powerful under his leadership!"

“The princes all understand that Zhu Gaoshuo will definitely quell the rebellion, and then they will have no way to escape.”

"But just as the princes were plotting, they received an imperial decree ordering them to go on overseas campaigns. The imperial court would build warships to support the princes' expeditions. Not only the princes, but also merchants who wanted to go to sea could be provided with ships by the imperial court."

"This marked the beginning of the world's largest age of exploration. Unlike the period when Zhu Di's rule was consolidated by the tribute missions of all nations and the restoration of his authority after the Jingnan Rebellion, Zhu Gaoshuo's goal was gold, slaves, and land!"

"The Ming Dynasty's golden age far surpassed that of the Han and Tang Dynasties!"

(End of this chapter)