The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Having known Wang Yangming for so long, Zhou Chu had also done some research on the philosophy of mind, and had even always adhered to its principles. If he were to leave himself a way out, Zhou Chu would be deceiving himself.

As the saying goes, "The public good lasts forever, while private interests last only a moment." Zhou Chu's consistent principle has always been to serve the country and its people. As for making money, that was something he did only when it was convenient. Moreover, while making money, the wages of the workers under Zhou Chu's command kept rising.

Every worker at the Yun Gui Fang cloth shop is filled with gratitude when they mention Zhou Chu.

Therefore, Zhou Chu did not want to leave himself a way out.

"Second Brother, just do whatever you think is right. Didn't Master Yangming say that one should put knowledge into practice when doing things?"

Yun Jin smiled.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu immediately made a decision.

Australia is destined to belong to the Ming Dynasty. It's not that Zhou Chu doesn't want to occupy Australia, but even if he did, how many people could he bring to Australia?

With the railway under construction, the ironclad warships are expected to be launched soon. With ironclad ships, discovering Australia is only a matter of time, and reaching Australia will be a piece of cake.

It is important to understand that technology determines everything. In the past, the Ming Dynasty struggled to rule the grasslands and Southeast Asia because of high transportation costs and even higher military costs.

But with the advent of trains, these were no longer problems. With all other issues resolved, Emperor Jiajing, as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, had ambitions he had never dared to have before, such as advancing westward across the grasslands and now completely recovering the entire Southeast Asia.

When the Ming Dynasty fully discovers Australia, Zhou Chu believes that Jiajing will not hesitate to send troops to Australia, since Zhou Chu has already prepared all the preconditions for the Ming Dynasty.

Even if Zhou Chu retreats to Australia, given the country's cultural and ecological environment, it is unknown how long it would take to rebuild civilization, let alone continue scientific research.

This is not what Zhou Chu wanted.

Having figured all this out, Zhou Chu took out a nautical history book that he had already written. This book was a copy of what he had written, and it was not entirely accurate. As for the pen name, he had just picked one randomly.

Holding the book, Zhou Chu headed straight for the palace.

"Your Majesty, I recently discovered a nautical record that describes an unknown place."

Zhou Chu arrived at the Imperial Study and took out the nautical encyclopedia as he spoke.

"Oh? Is that so?"

When Jiajing heard this, his eyes lit up.

Zhou Chu opened the nautical encyclopedia and turned to the page that recorded the story of Rossus.

"Your Majesty, please look. There is a continent here called Rossos. According to this nautical record, this continent seems to be inhabited only by savages. Most importantly, it is not too far from the Ming Dynasty, much closer than the continent in the previous nautical chart."

Zhou Chu said.

Upon hearing this, Jiajing stared intently at the continent depicted in the book.

"Huang Jin, send a letter to the cabinet and ask them to study it and send someone to sea to investigate this Rhodes."

After saying this, Jiajing looked at Zhou Chu again.

"How's the research from the Southern Garrison Command going? When will the ironclad warship be launched?"

"Your Majesty, the steam engine that is now suitable has been improved. The next step is simply to allocate it. At most, the ironclad warships will be able to be launched in two or three months."

Zhou Chu said.

In the past six months, Baoyuan Bureau has produced a number of ship hulls and is just waiting for the matching steam engine to be developed.

"Okay, great."

Upon hearing this, Jiajing couldn't help but stand up; this was the best news he had heard in a long time.

After the initial excitement subsided, Jiajing sat down, looked at the nautical encyclopedia before him, and fell into deep thought.

"Weighing Instrument, why did you hand this book to me? This is an undiscovered continent, didn't you ever consider...?"

Jiajing only said half of what he meant, but the meaning was already quite clear.

Australia is a very special place. It is not particularly far from the Ming Dynasty, yet it has almost never been discovered. Whoever occupies such a place owns it.

To establish a nation and become its ruler is a natural progression; who could resist such an allure?

"Your Majesty, if I were to do that, how would I be any different from those people in Jiangnan? If everyone is thinking about how to benefit from the Ming Dynasty, then the Ming Dynasty will surely be riddled with holes. I cannot do that."

Zhou Chu bowed respectfully.

"Good, good! Good!"

Looking at Zhou Chu in front of him, Jiajing couldn't help but shout "Good!" three times.

"Zhou Hengqi, heed my decree!"

Jiajing said loudly.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu knelt before Jiajing.

"I hereby order you to personally oversee the progress of the ironclad warships. Once the ironclad warships are completed, I command you to lead the Xuanwu Army to Rossos to expand the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Rossos will become your fiefdom as the Duke of Dingguo."

Jiajing said.

"His Majesty..."

Zhou Chu hesitated before speaking.

"Alright, Hengqi, there's no need to say any more. I know what you're trying to say. You're not leaving yourself a way out, but I'll leave you one. I promised you that as long as you're devoted to the Ming Dynasty and to me, I will never let you down."

Jiajing looked at Zhou Chu and said.

"Your subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude."

Since Jiajing had already said so much, Zhou Chu no longer refused.

Two months later, the ironclad warship, equipped with a steam engine, was officially launched. Zhou Chu led the Xuanwu Army aboard for a trial voyage, which went very smoothly with almost no problems.

Afterwards, Zhou Chu bid farewell to his family and led the Xuanwu Army towards Australia.

After Zhou Chu left, the Ming Dynasty did not change much because of his departure, and the political situation did not become turbulent because of his absence.

In the present Ming Dynasty, officials are working overtime to try and get a place in the Zhenwu Hall.

Even if a few people have different intentions, they cannot cause any trouble.

Before leaving, Zhou Chu handed the letter that Xia Yan had written to Wang Mingyue to Jiajing. Xia Yan was now a frightened bird and had no power whatsoever. It would be effortless for Jiajing to take down Xia Yan.

Ultimately, Xia Yan was exiled to Lingnan.

In the imperial court, only a small number of officials had other ideas, such as Xu Jie, but they were no longer of any use.

About a year later, the Ming Dynasty completely recovered Australia, and the wave of immigration to Australia began at this time.

About five years later, in the fourteenth year of the Jiajing reign, the Americas were completely incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

About six years later, in the twentieth year of the Jiajing reign, the Ming Dynasty's railway reached the vicinity of the Portuguese. The Portuguese were dumbfounded. Looking at the Ming Dynasty's iron cavalry and cannons, they had long lost the will to resist and surrendered directly.

Thus, Europe came under the control of the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, Zhou Chu was already in his thirties and no longer lived in the Ming Dynasty, but in Australia. Fang Hong and Shen Qing's family were also brought over by Zhou Chu. At this time, Australia was developing very rapidly with the strong support of Jiajing.

The Ming Dynasty had already gotten back on track. Whether Zhou Chu was there or not wouldn't make a big difference, since Zhou Chu had already given the Ming Dynasty everything he could.