The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 20 "A Just Cause"

The emperor's order was issued, and the crown prince, officials, and royal family members received it together. The conditions for Zhu Jianxuan to be crowned king and establish a country were finally settled.

Zhu Jianxuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although I kind of want to change the title of King Wu to King of Ao or King of Nan, which have no special historical significance.

But seeing that the atmosphere at the scene was a bit weird, I finally forced myself to hold it back.

The current conditions can be said to be very good.

This is equivalent to the imperial court giving him almost unlimited support and helping him build his own country in Australia.

In the original history, the British had already discovered Australia at this time, and even claimed that the eastern part of Australia belonged to the British king.

But it will be a few more years before they start throwing immigrants and criminals over there.

But in the eyes of the Ming people, unilaterally claiming ownership of land without actual occupation by immigrants is tantamount to bullshit.

The people of the Ming Dynasty discovered Australia hundreds of years ago, but they did not immigrate or develop it.

It is inconvenient for the Ming Dynasty to go to Australia, and it is even more troublesome for the British to go to Australia.

We can build a base in Australia first, and then we can just fight the British when they come again.

When we develop steam sailing ships, use steam machine tools to mass-produce rifles, and equip them with bottom-expanding bullets, we will kill as many British as possible.

In fact, there was probably no need for a war, as the British did not have the ability to deploy large numbers of troops to Australia.

If his father insisted on participating in the American War, then the ownership of Australia and the surrounding islands would be just a sentence in the post-war agreement.

Zhu Jianxuan was in a very good mood and had already begun to enjoy the future plans for nation building.

However, Emperor Zhu Zhonglin was not very interested because things did not develop according to his plan.

Zhu Zhonglin had some complaints about his youngest son, but he felt more distressed and reluctant.

Zhu Zhonglin really didn't want him to flee overseas.

I hope this child can remain innocent when he grows up, otherwise he may regret it for most of his life.

Zhu Zhonglin sighed in his heart, and asked the cabinet minister to draft the imperial edict on the spot. He signed and sealed it personally, and then gave it to the crown prince Zhu Jiancan to execute.

At the same time, he pulled Zhu Jiancan and Zhu Jianxuan together and told them:
"Boss, you have to take good care of your brother in the future."

The prince glanced at his brother and promised sincerely:
"Your son obeys your command. Your son will never let your sixteenth brother suffer any injustice in the future."

The emperor nodded slightly with satisfaction, then looked at Zhu Jianxuan:
“If you have any ideas or want something in the future, you can tell me directly or tell your eldest brother.

"Please tell us clearly what plans and requirements you have for the development and construction in Australia."

Zhu Jianxuan also agreed honestly:

"I understand that my basic idea now is to explore first and then migrate.

“First, a small-scale exploration fleet was used to sail around Australia to draw a relatively accurate map of the coastline and nearby terrain.

“Then we’ll choose a suitable location to build the city based on the terrain near the coastline.

"Once the steam-powered sailing ships are fully transformed, we will start sending immigrants to Australia and build the future city."

Emperor Zhu Zhonglin nodded again:
“This general direction is good, I will arrange for the navy to explore the Australian coastline.

“As for the sailboat modification experiment, let Longjiang Shipyard handle it.

"Boss, you are mainly responsible for organizing the recruitment of immigrants, and preparing enough craftsmen and supplies."

The prince once again agreed seriously:

"My son, please remember this."

The matter of Zhu Jianxuan's vassal state has been finalized, and today's exhibition activities should also end.

Emperor Zhu Zhonglin first returned to the Qianqing Palace.

Ministers, royal family members, and eunuchs also said goodbye to the crown prince and the Zhu Jianxuan brothers and left, carrying with them a brochure introducing the laboratory's scientific research results.

They will go back and discuss with their family members which achievements and patents are most suitable for investment.

Crown Prince Zhu Jiancan finally said goodbye to his younger brother, got on the carriage exhausted, and returned to Chunhe Hall where he worked.

The officials of the Prince's Mansion, led by Qi Xu, all came out to greet him after receiving the news.

The prince led everyone back to the side hall where he held daily meetings and asked the eunuchs who were serving around to leave first.

Then he gave a brief account of what happened today to his most core subordinates.

The officials headed by Qi Xu were all stunned after hearing this.

"Is His Highness the Sixteenth Prince really a natural born saint?"

The prince said absentmindedly, "Father has already taken control of the situation, and the arrangement of Zhejiang as a vassal state is a foregone conclusion.

“But the sixteenth brother took the initiative to decline the offer and asked to explore overseas.

"I am extremely determined to go to the barren land of Australia and I will never take a cent from the imperial court.

“I also hope that the imperial court can march north to the Central Plains, recover the homeland, and eliminate the feudal lords.

"Now the common people... especially the businessmen, actually support the Northern Expedition and the reduction of feudal lords.

"It's mainly because they hope that the laws of the central government can be implemented on a wider scale to make it easier for them to do business."

After hearing this, Qi Xu said with great emotion:

"Your Highness the Sixteenth Prince took the initiative to go to Australia, saving His Highness the Crown Prince from countless troubles."

The officials around him all echoed him.

At the same time, these officials had something else in their minds that they didn't say out loud.

Zhu Jianxuan's escape overseas not only saved the prince from trouble, but also reduced trouble for the emperor.

At the same time, it avoids conflicts between father and son and conflicts between brothers.

The prince said in a very firm tone:

“According to the instructions of the Emperor, I will do my Sixteenth Brother’s work well.

“How can we maintain our presence and even make a profit when we develop and build in Australia?

"Whatever ideas you have, please share them and discuss them together."

The officials around the prince were also grateful to Zhu Jianxuan, so they were very concerned about this matter and immediately started discussing it.

“Although Australia’s land is barren and not suitable for growing food directly, it has large areas of grassland and can be used for investment in animal husbandry.

"As long as we can prepare a large enough herd of livestock, it shouldn't be difficult to feed 300,000 immigrants."

"The key issue is profitability. We need to make immigrants feel that it is profitable. Otherwise, the people may not be willing to explore in a recognized wilderness..."

"It's not enough to just make a profit. We also need to build cities and palaces, and maintain them. It's impossible for all 300,000 immigrants to become craftsmen."

"So we still need to capture as many local Kunlun slaves as possible to do the work."

"Maybe if we want to attract immigrants, we can just send a few Kunlun slaves to attract them to go voluntarily. Otherwise, we have to pay money to recruit people."

After Emperor Zhu Zhonglin returned to the palace, he also stared at Australia on the map and thought.

How to develop in areas where farming is not possible?

Do we really have to learn from the Mongols and engage in herding?
Herding is very hard work, otherwise those people on the grassland would not be trying so hard to enter the pass.

Although Zhu Zhonglin had already promised Zhu Jianxuan to allow him to go to Australia to open up wasteland, he still hoped that the matter could turn around.

After all, Zhu Jianxuan is only six years old this year, and it will take at least ten years for him to become a vassal, so there is still time to make adjustments.

Zhu Zhonglin looked at the map with melancholy mood, and his eyes couldn't help but focus on America.

He thought of the two "heavenly places" mentioned by Emperor Chongzhen.

“It would be nice if there was a piece of wasteland waiting to be reclaimed in southeastern North America or southeastern South America.

“Spend money to buy it from the British or Spanish? They probably won’t sell it.

"They will also see this as a sign that the Ming Dynasty is preparing to expand into the Americas."

Sometimes the world is full of coincidences.

The Ming Emperor Zhu Zhonglin had been feeling depressed for just a few days when he received news from America.

The Honglu Temple reported that several envoys from the American region traveled across the ocean to the Ming Dynasty and submitted a rather formal diplomatic letter.

They claimed that they came to pay homage to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty on behalf of the people of the thirteen North American colonies.

In the official letter they submitted, they severely accused the British rulers of exploiting and oppressing them.

They could no longer bear it and had to break with the British rulers.

They formed an army to fight the British court, winning two major victories at Lexington and Bunker Hill outside Boston.

They wiped out thousands of rogue British soldiers sent to suppress them.

They hoped to establish good relations with the Ming Dynasty and maintain direct trade between the official and private sectors.

I hope the Ming Dynasty can support their just cause.

(End of this chapter)