Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 387 The Prince's Family Banquet 3
"Your subject will certainly obey your elder brother's instructions!" Upon hearing his elder brother's first request, Zhu Zhanqi naturally had no objections. He knelt on the ground and replied to his elder brother with a firm tone.

Zhu Zhanhe did not react to his brother's declaration of loyalty; instead, he continued to speak on his own.

"Secondly, after you arrive in Japan, your elder brother will continue to expand outwards. After all, your elder brother has other younger brothers to take care of. You will be responsible for stabilizing Japan, organizing production, and providing food, ammunition, ships, and soldiers. In this regard, you can seek the support of your maternal clan or recruit your own forces, which your elder brother will not object to. However, if one day your fiefdom is no longer under the control of the Zhu family, then your elder brother will take it back."

Thirdly, I, your elder brother, allow you to expand outwards on your own. However, there is one condition: you are not permitted to direct your expansion towards the Ming Dynasty! That is an agreement between me and our grandfather, Emperor Taizong. Even if you conquer neighboring Korea, which borders the Ming Dynasty, I, your elder brother, will not object. In fact, I will even withstand the pressure from the imperial court on your behalf. But you and your descendants are absolutely forbidden from attacking the imperial court!
Fourthly, your mother cannot go with you for the time being. Only when you have stabilized the situation in your fiefdom and truly gained power can you bring her over to enjoy a comfortable life. After all, if you are not capable, your elder brother cannot allow the late king's concubine to go on an adventure with such an incompetent fellow.

Fifthly, in the future, the eldest brother will bequeath his younger brothers to various fiefdoms. Even more significantly, all his descendants except for his heir will be bequeathed to fiefdoms! This process will continue, leaving only the heir to guard the family. A hundred years from now, if the eldest brother's descendants are unworthy, you should help them if you can; if you can't, at least don't bring shame upon your elder brother! When the time comes, you must act decisively!

"Big brother~~" Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's words, Zhu Zhanqi was startled, his face filled with terror. In an instant, his straight back bent as he knelt on the ground.

Zhu Zhanhe did not react to his second brother's reaction and continued his narration.

"One last request. From now on, all the goals of my Han Prince's Mansion will be external expansion, not internal strife!"
After the Five Dynasties period, intermarriage and warfare were permitted among various families, and everyone relied on their own methods!
However, I hope you will all remember our ambition to expand outwards. After all, if we don't expand outwards, there will be internal strife if we have too many offspring! Zhu Zhanhe said to his younger brother Zhu Zhanqi with a serious expression.

Seeing the horrified faces of his younger brothers, Zhu Zhanhe sighed with emotion. However, he still earnestly recounted his demands of his brothers one by one. In fact, Zhu Zhanhe wasn't speaking to his second brother, Zhu Zhanqi, but to all his brothers!
After all, when your elder brother conquers lands and grants you fiefdoms, it's only natural for you to pay taxes to him!

"Second brother, have you remembered?" After saying that, Zhu Zhanhe looked down at his younger brother who was kneeling on the ground and asked softly.

"Brother, Zhanqi will remember your teachings," Zhu Zhanqi replied respectfully to Zhu Zhanhe, his head bowed to the ground.

"Did you all remember that?!" Zhu Zhanhe then turned his gaze to his younger brothers who were sitting at the same table, looking completely dazed.

"Your humble servants will respectfully obey your elder brother's teachings!" Faced with their elder brother's question, the younger brothers, led by the third brother Zhu Zhanhe, respectfully knelt down before their elder brother, prostrating themselves at his feet with their heads touching the ground.

"Get up!" Zhu Zhanhe raised his hand and told his younger brothers to stand up as they knelt respectfully on the ground.

"Thank you, Big Brother!" The younger brothers stood up respectfully after hearing their eldest brother's words. Seeing that their eldest brother did not sit down, they stood with their hands clasped, listening to what he would say next.

"Yu Shu~!" Zhu Zhanhe glanced at his restrained younger brothers, then at his stunned mother, aunts, and wives and concubines. Then, unsurprisingly, he called out to his eldest sister, Zhu Yu Shu.

"Yu Shu, greetings to my elder brother!" Princess Yu Shu's heart skipped a beat when her elder brother called her name. Although she didn't know why he had called her, she keenly sensed that something good was about to happen!

"Yu Shu, the Mu family's betrothal process will be completed after the New Year. You will probably get married in the second half of the year."

The eldest brother has always treated his brothers and sisters equally.

"Now that my younger sister is getting married, I do have something to say to you." Zhu Zhanhe looked at his composed and dignified younger sister and said softly.

"Thump!" Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's words, Zhu Yushu knelt down without hesitation.

"I will heed your teachings, elder brother!" Upon hearing her elder brother's words, Zhu Yushu's heart skipped a beat, and she knelt on the ground. She had already guessed that her elder brother probably had an extraordinary gift for her!
“When my younger brothers grow up and get married, I will give them gifts. As you just heard, I will give each of my younger brothers a piece of land.”
The younger sisters have grown up and are getting married, so the eldest brother can't mistreat them.

After you get married, or at the latest at the beginning of the year, your eldest brother will also give you a small island as part of your dowry.

However, since you are daughters who have married out of the country, the island your elder brother gave you will probably not be very big. You should be prepared for that.

Most importantly, the island that your elder brother bestowed upon you can only be passed down to descendants with royal blood, and you cannot expand it outside the kingdom. If you have no offspring, your elder brother will reclaim the fiefdom.

Furthermore, if your mother has no sons, you may take her with you and support her.

However, just as my elder brother told Zhanqi and the others before, if you cannot control the island, I will not allow you to take away the concubines to support you.” Zhu Zhanhe said earnestly to his younger sister Yushu, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Yu Shu, I will obey my elder brother's instructions!" Upon hearing her elder brother's words, Zhu Yu Shu immediately knelt down and respectfully kowtowed to him. Her eager expression and eyes were filled with intense excitement.

After all, even the princesses of the imperial court didn't have any real land grants. Yet these princesses of the Han Prince's mansion were being given islands by their elder brother! Even if they were small islands, it was a sign of their in-laws' support! Moreover, only their children could inherit those islands!
It wasn't just Zhu Yushu; after hearing Zhu Zhanhe's words, his younger sisters, who had been sitting upright in their chairs, all stood up and looked at their eldest brother with eager eyes. Their eyes were practically shining!
The Dowager Consort Wei, seated upright, opened her mouth but then closed it again. Even Princess Xia seemed hesitant to speak. In the end, however, none of them uttered a word. After all, they couldn't very well let the Prince swallow back what he had already said!

"Thank you for your kindness, elder brother!" After Zhu Zhanhe finished speaking, all the younger sisters who had been sitting upright knelt down in front of Zhu Zhanhe and lowered their heads to express their gratitude to their elder brother.

"Get up." Zhu Zhanhe raised his hand slightly, signaling his sisters that they could get up.

"Thank you, big brother!" The younger sisters, after getting up, bowed respectfully to Zhu Zhanhe to express their gratitude.

"Alright, no need to be so polite."

Today is the last gathering of my Prince's Mansion before the New Year. I'm afraid I won't have time for it during the New Year.

"Everyone, please don't be shy today, just enjoy yourselves," Zhu Zhanhe said, raising his wine glass with a smile.

"Respect, Brother!"

"Respect, Brother!"

"."

"Brother, I would like to offer you a toast!" Zhu Zhanhe had just sat down when his second brother, Zhu Zhanqi, raised his wine cup and said to his elder brother with great enthusiasm.

"Second brother, let's go together!"

"Brother, we, your humble servants, offer you a toast!"

"Brother, I will always follow your lead."

The younger brothers surrounded Zhu Zhanhe, repeatedly toasting and thanking him. After all, their eldest brother had given them so much!

"Big brother~, although your sisters aren't good drinkers, they always say that the eldest brother is like a father. So, we sisters will toast you, big brother." Zhu Zhanhe had just finished gathering his younger brothers when he was surrounded by his sisters again.
"Sister~!"

"My younger sister and the others thank you for your kindness, elder sister." Even the concubines of Prince Zhuang of Han at the table of Consort Wei were frequently toasting Consort Wei.

After all, everything the Prince of Han had said and done was most beneficial to them, the concubines of the late Prince who were being cared for, and their children! And as elders, they couldn't very well offer a toast to Zhu Zhanhe, a junior. Therefore, Zhu Zhanhe's concubines could only turn their attention to the Dowager Consort Wei.
Even their gazes towards Princess Xia and the others held a deep, radiant light. That light was hope.
For a time, the Prince of Han's mansion was filled with the sounds of clinking glasses and joyful celebration.

(End of this chapter)