I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 137 Visitors from the Imperial Court
After making this important decision, Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Houxuan both felt much more relaxed.

Zhu Houxuan knew that although the Royal Group he was about to form was nominally an industry organization, it would be inseparable from politics as it was related to the royal family.

In fact, when it comes to industry, even if steam locomotives are put into large-scale use, the south's water transportation advantage is still too great, and the Yangtze River Basin is still the largest consumer market in the Ming Dynasty. The advantages of developing industry in the south are much greater than in the north.

But the political center of the Ming Dynasty is in the north, in Beijing!

If Zhu Houxuan wanted to continue to promote the Industrial Revolution after achieving this, he could not stay away from politics. Instead, he had to use politics to reduce the resistance to the Industrial Revolution.

So he had to go north to the capital, the political center of the Ming Dynasty. Not only did he have to go north, but he also had to replicate the industrial system he had built in the north, forming a situation of two centers in the north and the south.

Because the industrial system he has now established is his greatest weapon and his political and economic capital.

Moreover, Zhu Houzhao's greatest wish was to conquer Mongolia. The war against Mongolia would become one of the most important things in the future. The war would consume a lot of resources, so the north needed an industrial system to support Zhu Houzhao's war against Mongolia.

Therefore, the subsequent trend is that Zhu Houxuan will invest more resources in the north.

Zhu Houxuan planned to bring most of the backbone personnel from various factories in Qizhou to the north, with a scale of at least 30,000 people, so that a primitive industrial system could be quickly established in the north.

However, it is not an easy task to mobilize these people to the north. Fortunately, many workers in the Qizhou factory are northern refugees who have lived in Qizhou for the past three years. They should not be so resistant to returning to the north.

Zhu Houxuan had already begun to secretly spread the news that he was planning to build a factory in the north, so that the workers could be mentally prepared.

He was not prepared to carry out a full mobilization immediately, because the formal decree could not be issued until Zhu Houzhao returned to Beijing. Besides, it was winter now, and even if he took the workers to Beijing, he would have to wait until spring to start infrastructure construction, so he was not in a hurry.

As for Zhu Houzhao, he put down the heavy stone in his heart and continued to travel around Qizhou leisurely.

However, what he liked most was the telescope on the south gate tower of Prince Jing’s Mansion, which he could never get enough of.

One day, when he was observing the dock, he suddenly found a ship preparing to dock at Qizhou Wharf, and on the ship was a flag with the words "King Xiang" written on it.
Zhu Houzhao's face darkened, and then he figured out what was going on.

Sure enough, not long after, the Prince of Jing's Palace received a notice that an envoy from the Prince of Xiang's Palace requested a meeting.

Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Houxuan summoned the envoy and learned that the current Prince of Xiang, Zhu Youqi, would arrive in Qizhou in two days.

They both understood what was going on, and the imperial court finally caught up with them.
The Xiangfan clan was the most respected branch of the Yan Wang clan. It was because the first Xiang Wang had such a high reputation that the first Xiang Wang Zhu Zhanji was later called the most powerful uncle of the Ming Dynasty, which was well deserved.

Prince Xiang Zhu Zhanji was the third son of Emperor Renzong Zhu Gaochi. He and Emperor Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji were born of the same mother and had a very good relationship with each other.

Because Zhu Gaochi's death was very sudden, Zhu Zhanji, who was the crown prince at the time, was regent in Nanjing, and Zhu Zhanji was appointed prince regent until Zhu Zhanji rushed back to Beijing to ascend the throne.

Then came the rebellion of Prince of Han Zhu Gaoxu. Emperor Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji went south to quell the rebellion and still appointed Zhu Zhanji as the Prince Regent. After the rebellion of Zhu Gaoxu was quelled, Prince of Xiang Zhu Zhanji went to his fiefdom without any complaints.

Later, Emperor Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji also died in his prime. At that time, Crown Prince Zhu Qizhen was only 9 years old. Someone in the court proposed that "the younger brother should succeed the elder brother" and let Prince Xiang Zhu Zhanji ascend the throne. Upon hearing the news, Zhu Zhanji hurriedly reported to the court, stating that he did not dare to covet the throne.

After Zhu Qizhen went to study in Wala, Empress Dowager Sun led the court officials to remotely worship Zhu Qizhen as the Supreme Emperor, and then discussed the candidate for the future new emperor with the ministers.

Since Zhu Zhanji was the oldest among the princes and had a good reputation for virtue, he was highly respected among the Ming royal family. Therefore, Zhu Zhanji was once again recommended as a candidate for the emperor.

The History of Ming Dynasty records that "When Emperor Yingzong went on a northern expedition, among all the princes, Zhanzhu was the oldest and most virtuous, and was highly regarded by the public."

Empress Dowager Sun also followed the advice of court officials and ordered people to fetch Zhu Zhanji's golden token of King Xiang and sent an envoy to quickly summon Zhu Zhanji back to Beijing and enter the palace.

If the last succession to the throne was just a figment of the imagination, then this time it was a real thing. However, Zhu Zhanji directly refused the throne, refused to return to Beijing, and requested that the eldest son Zhu Jianshen be made the new emperor. He suggested that Prince Zhu Qiyu of Qin serve as regent and assist.

The History of Ming Dynasty records that "The Empress Dowager ordered the Golden Token of Xiang State to be brought into the palace, but failed to summon him. Zhan Ji wrote a letter to the emperor, requesting that the eldest son of the emperor be enthroned, that the Prince of Qin be made regent, and that brave and wise men be recruited to welcome the emperor's carriage."

During the Jingtai period, Zhu Zhanji wrote many letters to oppose the dethronement of Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen.

Zhu Qiyu was also helpless against this highly respected uncle.

Therefore, after Zhu Qizhen restored the throne, he was very respectful to this imperial uncle and summoned him to the capital many times.

The later Emperors Chenghua and Hongzhi also treated the lineage of Prince Xiang with great courtesy and gave them constant rewards.

Now the uncle of King Xiang is coming to Qizhou, and his purpose is self-evident.

Zhu Houzhao knew that his days of freedom were coming to an end, but fortunately the purpose of his trip had been achieved.

Two days later, Prince Xiang Zhu Youqi arrived at Qizhou Wharf by boat, and Zhu Houxuan went to greet him in person.

Prince Xiang Zhu Youqi was a fat middle-aged man in his forties. When he met Zhu Houzhao, he only cautiously said some words of advice, which made Zhu Houzhao a little disappointed.

One day later, the eunuch garrisoning Nanjing brought hundreds of Nanjing officials to Qizhou to persuade Zhu Houzhao to return to the palace. This shows that the officials in Nanjing were really idle. It was a relief that so many officials came at once. However, everyone certainly wanted to show up in front of the emperor.

Among these hundreds of officials, the one that caught Zhu Houxuan's attention the most was Wang Shouren, the Minister of the Nanjing Honglu Temple. He was very curious about this celebrity who became a household name in later generations, but despite his curiosity, he would not contact Wang Shouren.

Zhu Houzhao accepted the advice of all officials, but did not say when he would return to Beijing.

Zhu Houxuan naturally entertained the visiting officials well. The officials had long known about Qizhou's wealth, so they took this opportunity to tour Qizhou. Wang Shouren was no exception. He soon discovered that Qizhou's library was a good place, so he stayed there all the time.
With such a big event, the news that Zhu Houzhao was in Qizhou could not be concealed. Soon, the King of Chu on the other side of the river sent an envoy to ask for an audience with Zhu Houzhao.
Five days later, Grand Secretary Liang Chu, eunuch Zhang Yong, seal-holder of the Imperial Stables, and Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo, who had traveled all the way from the capital, arrived in Qizhou.

(End of this chapter)