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

Chapter 464 Becoming an Emperor Like Taizu and Taizong

Zhu Houxuan paced slowly in the hall, quickly thinking about the pros and cons of the matter, while Zhu Houzhao stared at him closely.

He had gradually figured out Zhu Houzhao's needs. Zhu Houzhao just wanted more military merits.
"After we completely defeat the Tatars, do we have to put our weapons into storage and let our horses go to the mountains? Without fighting, the combat effectiveness of the Guards will gradually decrease. I trained the Guards with great effort, and it would be a shame to have such an elite army not fight. I also can't bear to see the combat effectiveness of the Guards gradually decrease because of this," Zhu Houzhao said with some sadness.

Zhu Houxuan really wanted to refute Zhu Houzhao. Even if the Guards had no wars to fight, this professional army that had already been fully operational could maintain its combat effectiveness through a lot of training. But looking at Zhu Houzhao's expression, Zhu Houxuan swallowed his rebuttal.

Zhu Houzhao's current state is like holding a hammer, and everyone looks like a nail. The Guards are that hammer, and he can't wait to use this hammer to hit more nails.

So when he found out that the Tatars could not hold out for long, he began to look around to find new enemies. But after defeating the Tatars, there were no decent enemies around the Ming Dynasty.
The Jurchen tribes in the northeast are still in disarray and cannot withstand a fight. Korea is also very respectful. Japan is still in a state of division, and Japan is still a country that the Ming Dynasty does not conquer. It is estimated that Zhu Houzhao did not even think about conquering Japan. Even if he conquered it, it would be useless. Japan is small and has few resources.
So after counting all the places in the north that could be conquered, I discovered that only the enemies in the Western Regions could be conquered.

There are now four forces in the Western Regions, namely the Oirat tribes, Yibula in Qinghai, Turpan Khanate and Yarkand Khanate, all of which are Mongolian forces. Among them, Yibula in Qinghai is the grandson of Yesen, the Grand Master of Dayan Khan, and later became one of Dayan Khan's enemies. After being defeated by Dayan Khan, he fled to Qinghai and was the weakest force.

Therefore, after Zhu Houzhao conquered the Tatars, he would naturally conquer the Mongolian forces in the Western Regions.
However, Zhu Houxuan had to admit that what Zhu Houzhao said made sense. After many battles, the combat effectiveness of the Guards had indeed reached its peak. It was a pity to leave such an army idle. Although the combat effectiveness could be maintained through a lot of training, it would definitely be discounted compared to now.

Zhu Houxuan was very helpless. Zhu Houzhao had become a warmongerer without him noticing. At this time, he would not understand or listen to anything he said about developing industry and economy.
For a moment, Zhu Houxuan even thought of persuading Zhu Houzhao to attack Vietnam. With sea transportation, the cost of the war could be much lower. However, Zhu Houxuan immediately rejected this idea. First, Vietnam was not so easy to attack. Second, the guards, who were mostly northerners, could not adapt to the tropical climate, especially Zhu Houzhao. If Zhu Houzhao got sick, it would be a disaster.
Thinking of this, Zhu Houxuan took a deep breath and said: "Even if I support my brother to attack the Western Regions, the ministers will oppose it."

"I don't care about the opposition of the ministers. As long as you support me, that's enough!" Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhu Houxuan firmly.

Zhu Houxuan felt even more helpless. Now that things had come to this, what else could he say?
"Since my brother has said this, I support my brother in attacking the Western Regions." Zhu Houxuan said. He decided to agree first. Anyway, if there is a war, it will be two or three years at the earliest. There is no telling what will happen during this period.
"Hahaha! That's great! That's great!" Zhu Houzhao hugged Zhu Houxun, "With my brother's support, I don't have anything to worry about."

"My emperor trusts me so much, so I cannot let him down!" Zhu Houxuan said with a smile.

"Good brother!" Zhu Houzhao hugged Zhu Houxuan tightly.

"After we conquer the Western Regions, I will appoint my brother as King of Wu," Zhu Houzhao let go of Zhu Houxun and continued.

"Ah? This..." Zhu Houxuan was confused by this sentence. He had heard before that Zhu Houzhao wanted to change his title to king, but they had never mentioned this matter privately. Now Zhu Houzhao actually took the initiative to bring it up.
Zhu Houxuan naturally knew what the King of Wu meant.
"I have mentioned this matter to the ministers before, but they all opposed it, and I couldn't suppress their opposition at that time." Zhu Houzhao looked away, as if he was talking to himself.
Zhu Houxuan looked at Zhu Houzhao like this, and suddenly felt his throat dry, and didn't know what to say for a moment.
"So I was thinking about how to suppress the opposition of those ministers and the opposition of the people of the world." Zhu Houzhao's voice was very calm.
"Later I figured it out. If I had many military achievements and became an emperor like Taizu and Taizong, maybe I could make the ministers shut up, and make the people of the world shut up." Zhu Houzhao's tone was still indifferent, as if he was talking about a trivial matter.
Become an emperor like Taizu and Taizong.
Zhu Houxuan felt that the hairs on his body were about to stand up. He naturally understood what it meant to be an emperor like Taizu and Taizong. Emperors like Taizu and Taizong were truly the ones who had the final say. They could do whatever they wanted, and no one in the world dared to oppose them.
"Defeating the Tatars, taming the Tatars, and expanding the territory of the Ming Dynasty by a thousand miles to the north, such military achievements are not enough to make me an emperor like Taizu and Taizong." Zhu Houzhao continued.

Then his voice suddenly became excited, "If I can conquer the Western Regions, recover the Han and Tang territories, and expand the territory of the Ming Dynasty by thousands of miles, I can achieve what Taizu and Taizong could not do..."

"Then can I become an emperor like Taizu and Taizong?" Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhu Houxun meaningfully, and his voice became low.
Zhu Houxuan did not dare to look Zhu Houzhao in the eye. Zhu Houzhao's words were completely beyond his expectations and imagination. His mind was in a mess and he could not tell Zhu Houzhao's intentions for a while.
The two brothers never openly discussed the succession to the throne, and even rarely discussed it in secret.
Although Zhu Houzhao had no children, he was in good health. They were both still young and strong. It was wrong to talk about the succession to the throne at this time. So they both kept this a secret. But today, Zhu Houzhao spoke about it directly and openly.
Zhu Houzhao's words seemed to be a promise, but also a sweet bait.
(End of this chapter)