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

Chapter 433 Bad News 2
"Big brother~!" Seeing Zhu Qiyu still looking so kind, the young Zhu Qili almost burst into tears, letting his eldest cousin pull him into the solemn Taihe Hall.

"Father, Brother Li has arrived." After entering the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Zhu Qiyu respectfully cupped his hands and said to Zhu Zhanhe.

"Hmm~!" Zhu Zhanhe nodded softly to his son in agreement, then turned his gaze to Zhu Qili. Zhu Qiyu, ever astute, returned to stand beside his father once more.

"Your subject, Zhu Qili, Crown Prince of Ryukyu, pays respects to Your Majesty!" Despite his deep sorrow, Zhu Qili still respectfully bowed and greeted his uncle, Zhu Zhanhe.

"Li'er, get up quickly and tell your uncle what's going on with your father!"

"I know my second brother has always been in good health, how could he suddenly pass away?" Zhu Zhanhe asked kindly, looking at Zhu Qili, who was kneeling on the ground in mourning clothes. Moreover, facing his young nephew, Zhu Zhanhe acted like a family member, completely lacking the aloofness of an emperor, in order to shorten the distance between him and his nephew.

Uncle~
Ever since my father was enfeoffed in the Ryukyu Islands, there have been small groups of Japanese resistance forces active in the Ryukyu mainland.

Although they have caused disturbances, their strength is not great.

Unexpectedly, those Japanese spies had somehow colluded with the Koreans.

This time, when my father assembled a large army to conquer Korea again, he was ambushed by Koreans and Japanese resistance forces with poisoned arrows!
"My father was caught off guard and died in Korea!" Sure enough, after hearing his uncle's kind and urgent greeting, Zhu Qili relaxed a lot. He called out to his uncle, knelt on the ground, and briefly recounted the process of Zhu Zhanqi's death with a sob in his voice.

King Zhu Qiyu of Ryukyu was poisoned by a conspiracy between the Korean army and Japanese resistance forces!
"How dare you!!!" Zhu Zhanhe was furious after hearing Zhu Qili's words!
In fact, Zhu Zhanhe knew that his second brother, Zhu Zhanqi, had always wanted to expand outwards, so he simply set his sights on attacking Korea. However, his second brother did not do a good job of integrating the internal forces of the Ryukyu Islands, which led to a prolonged siege of Korea and a stalemate between the two sides.

Unexpectedly, during the stalemate, North Korea secretly colluded with the remnants of Japan and dared to use a poisoned dagger to assassinate the Dragon King's prince! How utterly audacious!

After hearing Zhu Qili's description, Xia Yuanji frowned. He knew that dying in battle and being assassinated with poison were two different things! Now, the Japanese resistance forces had actually joined forces with the Korean army to assassinate and poison the Ryukyu king in Korea. It seemed that another major war against Korea was about to break out in China!

As Zhu Zhanhe's anger flared up once again, an overwhelming pressure swept across the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony!
"Father, please calm your anger!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Feeling immense pressure, Zhu Qiyu, Xia Yuanji, and the others knelt down once again!
"Elder, what do you think we should do about this?!" Suddenly, in the midst of the silence, Emperor Longwu Zhu Zhanhe's voice rang out amidst the immense pressure. At this moment, Zhu Zhanhe needed to know his son's stance!

Clearly, Zhu Zhanhe was testing his son! Xia Yuanji was well aware of this. For a moment, Xia Yuanji's gaze secretly drifted to his kneeling grandson beside him!
Upon hearing his father Zhu Zhanhe's words, Zhu Qiyu was initially startled, but then immediately realized that his father was testing him!

"Replying to Father Emperor."

My second uncle is a prince of my Dragon Kingdom. The Korean Kingdom has murdered a prince of my Dragon Kingdom without authorization, a crime that cannot be forgiven! We should issue a decree to the world and raise an army to attack them!
"The Japanese rebels plotted to poison the prince, which is intolerable and should be completely wiped out to set an example!" After pondering for a moment, Zhu Qiyu raised his head and said firmly to his father, Emperor Zhu Zhanhe.

Hmm~!

"Get up, everyone." Hearing his son's words, Zhu Zhanhe silently withdrew his overwhelming pressure and told everyone to stand up.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" He passed the test! Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's words, Xia Yuanji's first thought was that his grandson had passed this test!
"Thank you, Father Emperor!" Upon hearing the Emperor's command to rise, everyone knew that Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu's words had received the Emperor's approval! They were about to launch a military campaign against Korea!
"Lord Xia!" Zhu Zhanhe called out to his father-in-law, Xia Yuanji. "Your subject is here!" Upon hearing the Dragon Emperor's voice, Xia Yuanji stepped forward, bowed, and replied.

Drafting the decree:
The Korean Kingdom colluded with the Ryukyu rebels to murder the Dragon Kingdom's prince! Their crime is unforgivable!
Imperial Edict: A letter to the King of Joseon: My brother is dead, and I have no time to concern myself with right and wrong! Only a decisive battle to destroy the kingdom can quell the wrath of my Dragon Kingdom!

"By order, the First and Second Ocean Fleets shall immediately prepare to set sail and destroy their ancestral temple!" Zhu Zhanhe immediately gave the order to his father-in-law without hesitation.

Furthermore, Zhu Zhanhe's orders were in two parts. The first was to write a letter to the Joseon Kingdom, telling them that no matter the reason, since they had killed his brother, he was now going to annihilate them! They should prepare to die!

Zhu Zhanhe's second imperial edict was for the army, ordering the first and second ocean fleets to prepare immediately, set sail quickly, and destroy the Korean Kingdom!

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Xia Yuanji knew that since the King of Ryukyu was dead, there was absolutely no turning back! Korea could only be destroyed to quell Emperor Longwu's wrath!
Moreover, since the imperial edict had been issued, Emperor Longwu would absolutely not allow it to be refused. Therefore, Xia Yuanji did not offer any further advice or remonstrances, but instead agreed without hesitation.

"Don't worry, Li'er, your uncle will seek justice for your father!"
Since the Koreans dared to murder a prince, my uncle will make them pay a bloody price!
Besides, Li'er, you're already married and not young anymore.

Upon returning, he will begin preparations to inherit the throne and ensure the continuation of his lineage. He will not rush into external expansion but will first thoroughly investigate and resolve any resistance forces within his fiefdom.
"Your uncle's imperial decree will arrive soon, you should go first." Looking at his nephew, who, though married, still seemed somewhat immature, Zhu Zhanhe spoke softly. Yes, Zhu Zhanhe was worried that his young nephew might act impulsively and recklessly launch a military campaign against Korea in retaliation. So he quickly offered this reminder.

"Don't worry, Uncle!"
My nephew will do his utmost to stabilize the situation in Ryukyu and to eliminate the rebellious forces.

Nephew will absolutely not let Father King or my Dragon Kingdom be disgraced!

"Your subject takes his leave!" Looking at his uncle's earnest eyes, Zhu Qili was also moved. He firmly replied to his uncle, who was high and mighty yet kind.

"Go!" Zhu Zhanhe waved his hand, dismissing Zhu Qili.

"Summon the Iron-Faced General!" After Zhu Qili withdrew, Zhu Zhanhe summoned his father, Zhu Gaoxu. After all, no matter what, his son was dead, and as a father, he had the right to know!

"Yes!" Upon hearing this, Xiao Xizi quickly turned around and arranged for someone to go and inform them.

"Your Majesty, I will immediately go and issue the decree, ordering the navy to prepare to depart!" Seeing that Emperor Longwu had summoned the Iron-Faced General, Xia Yuanji shrewdly withdrew. Xia Yuanji knew it wasn't appropriate for him to be present when the three generations of the family were discussing matters.
"Go ahead." Zhu Zhanhe waved his hand, dismissing Xia Yuanji as well.

"Your subject takes his leave!" Xia Yuanji immediately turned and retreated.

"Father~~" After watching his maternal grandfather leave, Zhu Qiyu clearly had something to ask his father. However, he was stopped by Zhu Zhanhe.

"Whatever you have to say, wait until your iron-faced grandfather arrives," Zhu Zhanhe said, raising his hand to stop his son from speaking, his face grim.

"Yes!" Hearing his father's still somber tone, Zhu Qiyu knew his father was in a bad mood. He immediately swallowed his words. He'd wait for Grandpa Iron Face to arrive before making any decisions.
(End of this chapter)