All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 186 Military Aircraft Department

"father."

In the imperial study, Zhu Biao poured tea for his father. "Why are you so impatient with Zihou? Isn't this hurtful?"

"Confused!"

Zhu Yuanzhang put down his red brush and picked up the tea bowl. "I, your father, treat him badly in order to give you the opportunity to win him over and show him favor!"

"He is a capable man, and his age is just right for assisting you."

"I pressure him, and you help him. He will be grateful to you and work hard for you."

Putting down the tea bowl, Old Zhu said earnestly, "Big Brother, remember this. When you are all old and he is still alive, think about how your father dealt with Li Shanchang."

A thousand years ago, Sima Yi stood on the bank of Luo River and opened his mouth to shoot out a bullet. The bullet grazed Li Jing's scalp, penetrated Li Shanchang, and now headed towards Chen Ran.

Zhu Biao disagreed with this. He thought it was no longer a thousand years ago and it would not be so easy to seize power.

But it’s hard to say this now. “What about going out to sea?”

"The sea is vast and the risks are endless." Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes. "If you want to make trouble, go ahead. I, your father, know nothing."

Zhu Biao understood what his father meant.

"If the Japanese imperial court sends an envoy to protest."

Old Zhu simply closed his eyes. "I don't know what you said. What are you protesting about?"

"Then you take a rest first, Dad. I will get busy right away."

Lao Zhu’s meaning is very clear, you guys go and deal with it yourselves.

It had nothing to do with him if things got messed up, and it wasn't any loss to the Ming Dynasty.

But if he succeeds, he might come to pick the peaches.

With Zhu Yuanzhang's tacit approval, Empress Ma's financial support, and previous successful experience, the following things naturally came to fruition.

The six generals of the Eastern Palace and the guard battalion of the Prince of Yan's Palace reported the loss of a large number of military equipment, and the Ming Navy also reported the loss of several large ships.

Building a new ship takes time. Just drying the huge logs for shipbuilding takes years.

"Your Highness Prince of Yan, your fiefdom is very close to Liaodong."

At the banquet before seeing Zhu Di off to return to Beiping, Chen Ran took the initiative to toast, "There are many huge trees in Liaodong. Your Highness, remember to arrange for people to cut them down and send them to the shipyard to dry and use as shipbuilding materials."

Zhu Di subconsciously refused, "The road is difficult to travel, and there are many barbarian tribes harassing us. It may be difficult to accomplish anything."

"It's not that I'm refusing, it's just that it's really hard to do."

He also took the initiative to explain, "The huge trees that can be used to build ships are often several feet or even dozens of feet long. Even if they can be cut down, how can they be transported thousands of miles to the shipyard?"

"Transporting wood is easy. We tie them into rafts and throw them into the river, then let them flow down the river into the sea. Then they are towed by ships along the coast and straight to the shipyard."

Chen Ran said with a smile, "You don't have to cut the wood yourself. Just give some benefits and hire the local Jianzhou Haixi Jurchens to do the work."

Before Zhu Di could refuse, Chen Ran directly offered a benefit: "Prince of Yan, when maritime trade develops in the future, the demand for seagoing vessels will be huge."

"It's not easy to build a ship that can go out to sea and come back safely. It must be very expensive. By then, this will be a huge income."

At this time, the future King of Liao of the Ming Dynasty was still a little kid, so naturally he did not go to Liao to become a vassal.

The Prince of Yan, who is closest to Liao, is the most suitable and convenient person to get wood.

The emperor was worried about having no money, and so were the princes.

When he heard that he could make money, Zhu Di immediately changed his tone and said, "Since I have invested, I will do something. I will leave the logging to me."

After watching Zhu Di's official ship sail away, Zhu Biao turned around and asked, "Zihou, there are many trees in Yingtian Prefecture. Why do you want to go far away instead of near?"

The Ming Dynasty loved planting trees. Starting from Emperor Zhu, generations have been planting trees, which has the meaning of a green Middle-earth.

Unfortunately, during the pigtail era, trees were cut down on a large scale under cruel exploitation, even to the point where the entire province was bare and no trees could be found.

"First, there are enough giant trees there, and their quality is good enough."

Chen Ran accompanied Zhu Biao along the pier. "Secondly, it is to infiltrate and exert influence, so as to prepare for the court to solve the local troubles in the future."

Before Zhu Biao could ask, Chen Ran spoke first, "Prince, how do you think your abilities compare to Emperor Taizong of Tang?"

Zhu Biao smiled modestly, "I am mediocre, how can I be compared with Emperor Tang."

"Then, Prince, do you know that Emperor Taizong of Tang knew that the whole country was mobilizing all its strength to attack Goguryeo in order to eliminate the threat?"

Hearing this, Zhu Biao simply stopped and said, "Zihou, are you saying that there will be threats from Liaodi?"

"It doesn't matter if you're not as capable as Tang Zong." Chen Ran kindly consoled, "Just follow the footsteps of the strong. The strong know that there's a threat over there, so how can you be so confident that there's no threat?"

"Could it be that we have forgotten where the Khitan people hundreds of years ago, and the Jin people who almost killed the Song Dynasty, came from?"

"Of course I remember this." Zhu Biao frowned, "But the remnants of the Yuan court are still there, and the tribes in Liao are all inferior."

"The remnants of the Yuan court are dead dogs. Just arrange for the General Zhengbei to fight them at will."

Chen Ran stood on the dock, looking at the surging river. "Now those tribes are naturally looked down upon and are not up to par. The locals are even extremely poor."

"But the local military culture has never been cut off. What about a hundred years later? Or two hundred years later?"

He retracted his gaze and looked at Zhu Biao, "As the crown prince and future emperor, you can't just think about the present, you have to plan a century-long plan for the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Biao fell into deep thought and didn't speak a word the whole time.

He went back to the East Palace and then spoke, "Zihou, please write a detailed report on the Liao territory."

"Okay." A few days later, Chen Ran's report was delivered to Zhu Biao.

After he read it, he handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang as expected.

The report was very detailed, first describing the past of Liao, then detailing the local advantages, including the military characteristics of the fishing and hunting tribes.

What follows is a detailed analysis from the aspects of environment, resources, culture, heritage, etc.

The final conclusion is that the threat from Liao is not great now, but if they are allowed to continue to develop, a hundred or even two hundred years later, once a strong man integrates this land, it will immediately pose a huge threat to the Ming Dynasty.

After that, there was the response strategy proposed by Chen Ran.

Infiltration, immigration, cultural integration, sowing discord, bribery, assimilation and utilization until the land is completely under control.

"Chen Zihou said something very right."

Putting down the thick memorial, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao and said, "As an emperor, you must plan a long-term plan for the Ming Dynasty."

"Those that are beneficial should be seized in advance. Those that are threatening should be eliminated in advance." At this point, he narrowed his eyes. "

Zhu Biao stepped forward and said, "Dad, shall we start planning now?"

"You are the regent now." Zhu Yuanzhang leaned back in his chair. "You decide for yourself."

"That's right." Zhu Yuanzhang said casually, as if he remembered something, "Your cabinet is very useful, but you have to be careful not to let them handle everything. Just handle government affairs, and don't interfere in military affairs."

Wars have always been frequent in the Ming Dynasty.

The remnants of the Yuan court who fled back to the grasslands in the north have been constantly harassing the border, killing, looting and committing all kinds of atrocities.

The local chieftains in southern Yunnan surrendered and rebelled from time to time, which took up a lot of the Ming Dynasty's energy.

The Tibetans in the west ignored the majesty of the Ming Dynasty and repeatedly provoked it.

In addition, there was Goryeo, which had a marriage relationship with the Yuan court and was always thinking about attacking the Ming Dynasty.

On the Annan side, people often claim that they are the orthodox ones, causing constant friction.

There are still a large number of bandits in various places, and even the remnants of various rebel forces are hiding in the deep mountains and forests and need to be cleared out.

Once we become enemies with Japan, it will be like opening a new front in the east.

The Ming Dynasty, which had just been established, still had extremely frequent wars.

As a military emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to military power and would not allow civil officials to interfere in military affairs.

Even if these people are just cabinet scholars used for consultation.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had witnessed the cruel oppression of scholars since childhood, never trusted civil servants.

Zhu Biao had different thoughts after returning to the Eastern Palace.

In the past, all the work was put on his shoulders. He worked hard all day and until late at night, and it was extremely tiring.

At that time, I felt that this was the right thing to do, as the Crown Prince Regent should handle these government affairs.

But with the assistance of the cabinet, his work became much easier, and his efficiency not only did not decrease, but increased a lot.

This made him instinctively unwilling to agree with Zhu Yuanzhang's ban on the cabinet's involvement in military affairs.

then
Ask Zihou for help when you are undecided~~~
"How difficult is this?"

As expected, after listening to Zhu Biao's story, Chen Ran immediately gave a solution.

"We can imitate the cabinet and set up an auxiliary agency specifically responsible for military affairs."

Chen Ran sat on the chair and responded casually, "We can set up a military council to assist you in handling military affairs."

"But the emperor said that civil officials are not allowed to participate in military affairs." Zhu Biao sat down on the side. "Wouldn't this be considered as going against the emperor?"

"Who says we have to use civil servants?"

Chen Ran blinked and said with a smile, "There are so many military heroes in the Ming Dynasty, and all of them are experienced veterans and famous generals. You can ask them to be your advisors and assist in military affairs in the Military Affairs Office."

Zhu Biao was greatly moved when he heard this, but his suspicions still remained. "If this is the case, the Five Military Commanders' Office might have some words."

"Five Military Commandery?"

Chen Ran sneered, "Prince, how long do you think His Majesty can tolerate the Five Military Commandery?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, you should know what kind of personality he has." Chen Ran stood up, found a few petitions on the table and handed them over. "These are petitions from several military heroes begging for their retirement."

Zhu Biao took the memorial and looked through it, and was surprised, "Did the emperor approve it?"

"They were all frightened by Li Shanchang's fate." Chen Ran returned to his chair and sat down. "Your Majesty's thoughts have been written down in the memorial."

"The establishment of the Five Military Command Office was a last resort. But military power is what your majesty values ​​most, and you absolutely do not allow anyone to share it." At this point, Chen Ran looked at Zhu Biao jokingly, "The only one who can share it is you, the crown prince."

Zhu Biao smiled bitterly and waved his hand, "Zihou, stop joking."

I'm not joking, but there's no need to continue this topic.

"Your Majesty will definitely take back the military power, and then the Five Military Command will become a mere decoration."

Chen Ran said with a smile, "Prince, you set up the Military Affairs Office and asked the military heroes to assist you in military affairs. This is a good thing. It is helping those military heroes find a way out."

After thinking it over carefully, Zhu Biao nodded and said, "Zihou is right. Then we should imitate the cabinet and set up a military council!"

(End of this chapter)