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

Chapter 492 The storm is coming
In the 17th year of Zhengde, the northern border of the Ming Dynasty entered a state of peace.

Zhu Houzhao did not launch a war against the Western Regions because the northern territory was newly established and needed some time to stabilize. During this time, the Imperial Guards could not move lightly.

At the same time, the issue of the expedition to the Western Regions had become a hot topic in the court.

At first people just thought it was an unfounded rumor, but with a series of news, more and more people realized that the expedition to the Western Regions was not groundless.

First of all, the Royal Group took various actions to build railways in Shaanxi and Gansu. The terrain in Shaanxi and Gansu is not as flat as the North China Plain, and it is not easy to build railways under current technical conditions. However, the Royal Group still spared no effort to build a railway to Xi'an.

If building a railway to Shaanxi was normal, after all, Shaanxi had a large population, and building a railway at a high cost was profitable, but building a railway to Gansu made everyone realize that something was wrong.

After all, Gansu has a small population and a less developed economy, so it is a region with a relatively low priority for building railways, and building railways is more difficult. However, the Royal Group still built a railway to Gansu, and the terminus is still Jiayuguan, which is very abnormal.

In fact, the railway to Gansu was not "built" in a practical sense, because there were several mountains that could not be bypassed. These mountains were not high, but steam locomotives could not climb up them at all. If they wanted to dig tunnels, there was no technology and the cycle would be too long. In the end, they simply built roads through these mountains. Trains from Guanzhong unloaded directly here, and transported materials through these mountains by road, and then reached the Hexi Corridor, which was suitable for building railways. The railway built here went directly to Jiayuguan, and the materials transported were loaded onto trains again for transportation.

In short, although it is more troublesome, the efficiency of material transportation has been greatly improved.

Then there was news that the Royal Group was stockpiling various supplies in Shaanxi.

Finally, the Royal Group began to reorganize several garrisons in Shaanxi. Zhu Houxuan planned to reorganize these garrisons into a road engineering corps. After Zhu Houzhao led his troops out of Jiayuguan, they would repair the road from Jiayuguan to the Western Regions to further improve transportation efficiency.

The ministers in the court naturally noticed the Royal Group's unusual movements in Shaanxi and Gansu. After all, such a large-scale action could not be concealed, and the Royal Group had no intention of concealing it.

The ministers naturally understood what this action of the Royal Group meant.

Not only that, the Propaganda Department of the Royal Group also created public opinion for Zhu Houzhao's expedition to the Western Regions, so people in the capital quickly understood what Zhu Houzhao wanted to do.

This immediately caused an uproar.

According to Zhu Houzhao's style of doing things in recent years, the expedition to the Western Regions must be led by the emperor himself. The Western Regions are thousands of miles away from Beijing. If something happens in the capital, it will take half a month to notify Zhu Houzhao even with an express journey of 800 miles. It will take Zhu Houzhao three months to return after receiving the news.

Therefore, the ministers could not tolerate Zhu Houzhao's personal expedition to such a far distance. And it was not just a matter of distance. If Zhu Houzhao had a car accident in the Western Regions, there would be no way to save him even though they were thousands of miles away.
After all, Zhu Houzhao had no children and no designated heir. Although Zhu Houzhao preferred Zhu Houxun as his heir, Zhu Houxun was an heir that everyone was dissatisfied with in every aspect.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao's expedition to the Western Regions caused a huge debate. People in the entire capital were discussing this matter. The public was in an uproar. Cabinet ministers and officials submitted petitions to persuade him. Officials from all over the country also submitted petitions to persuade Zhu Houzhao after receiving the news. Even people within the royal family began to persuade Zhu Houzhao not to lead the expedition in person.

Zhu Houzhao kept all these memorials in his possession and did not publish them. He hid in the Leopard Room and did not see any outsiders.
The trend in the capital was getting stronger and stronger, and the suggestion that Zhu Houzhao should choose an heir from among the royal family was raised again.
Even Zhu Houchun was implicated, because Zhu Houchun was obviously on the side of supporting Zhu Houzhao in this matter. Some ministers began to impeach Zhu Houchun for his ulterior motives, stealing the sacred artifact, deliberately instigating Zhu Houzhao and putting him in danger in order to achieve his own ulterior motives.
For a time, Zhu Houxuan became a target of public criticism.

Once this argument emerged, Zhu Houxuan had no choice but to stay indoors in the Nan Palace and not see any outside visitors.
In fact, the Royal Group's publicity department has tried very hard to change public opinion, but this incident is so shocking that the publicity department is completely unable to suppress public opinion.
The radical faction in the court actually supported the expedition to the Western Regions, but they could not bear the possibility of Zhu Houzhao being in danger in the Western Regions, so they also submitted a petition to oppose it.
More than a hundred officials have already started to kneel down and submit petitions outside Zuoshun Gate.
Even with Zhu Houzhao's current prestige and title of Heavenly Khan, he could not suppress this wave of public opinion.
Therefore, public opinion inside and outside the capital was one-sided.
Just when public opinion inside and outside the capital was in an uproar, Zhu Houzhao suddenly announced that he would discuss the expedition to the Western Regions at the grand court meeting on the first day of March.

When the ministers heard the news, they were eager to take action and vowed to stop Zhu Houzhao from leading the army in person.

March 1st arrived quickly. It was the day of the grand court meeting. Almost all the officials who were qualified to attend came, even those who were ill dragged their sick bodies to come.
The Fengtian Hall was packed with people, and the square outside was also crowded with people.
It looks like a storm is coming
In the rear hall of the Fengtian Palace, Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Houxun, who had not been seen for a month, were sitting and drinking tea, while Zhang Yongzheng was describing in vivid detail the situation of the court meeting outside.

Zhu Houzhao nodded as he listened, and looked at a booklet in his hand, with no sign of worry on his face.

After Zhang Yong finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao did not express anything, but looked up at Zhu Houxuan.

Zhu Houxuan was blowing the tea leaves in the teacup with a calm face. When he found Zhu Houzhao looking at him, he said: "What is coming will eventually come."

"I know, but after reading the booklet you wrote, I really like what's inside, and it also gives me a lot of confidence." Zhu Houzhao actually smiled.

"I'm glad I can help my brother!" Zhu Houxun said lightly.

"I can definitely help!" Zhu Houzhao said affirmatively.

"All the civil and military officials in the court submitted petitions to oppose my personal expedition to the Western Regions. Only my younger brother supported me and has been helping me with advice. I am very pleased. I will remember this kindness," said Zhu Houzhao, patting Zhu Houxuan on the shoulder.

Zhu Houxuan felt helpless, but he didn't show it on his face. If he could, he would have wanted to oppose Zhu Houzhao's willful behavior, but the reality was that he could only support Zhu Houzhao with all his heart and soul.
(End of this chapter)