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

Chapter 441, Progress of the Six Parts 2
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works has already dispatched a merchant fleet to transport artisans to Ryukyu. They should have already set off for Ryukyu." Upon hearing about the Ryukyu royal tombs, Minister of Works Zhang Dazhu quickly added.

"Good!" After hearing Zhang Dazhu's words, Zhu Zhanhe looked at Zhang Dazhu's plain face seriously and praised him with heartfelt admiration.

"Your Majesty, our Dragon Kingdom has established a complete system of thirty-six departments and offices of the Ministry of Justice in its thirty-six provinces."

However, according to the data reported by various departments, there are indeed quite a few cases in various places. In just a few months this year, there have already been more than two hundred cases in various places!

"I have truly failed in my duty! I beg Your Majesty to punish me!" Song Zhegui, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was different from the others. While everyone else reported on the highlights of their work, he alone spoke of the Ministry of Justice's poor performance! This struck Zhu Zhanhe as quite novel.

However, upon hearing that at least two hundred cases had been reported in just a few months this year, Zhu Zhanhe frowned. For a moment, the atmosphere in the Hall of Supreme Harmony became somewhat heavy.

"Your Majesty, it will take time for the people in different regions to integrate."

Moreover, the Emperor had previously relocated some people from different regions to other places.

"When customs among the people clash, some conflicts are inevitable!" Xia Yuanji, who had been silent until now, stood up and spoke a fair word for Song Zhegui, the Minister of Justice.

Zhu Zhanhe was naturally aware of the problems his father-in-law had raised. However, despite the numerous cases, Zhu Zhanhe remained dissatisfied.

However, Zhu Zhanhe soon came up with an idea.

"The Ministry of Justice must rigorously review cases across all regions!"

In times of chaos, severe punishments must be used to deter the people. Zhu Zhanhe naturally had no liking for those who were not content to farm peacefully. He immediately instructed Song Zhegui of the Ministry of Justice to use harsh punishments to intimidate the people!

"With the Ministry of Rites in charge and the Ministry of Personnel assisting, I will follow the example of the First Emperor and carry out a comprehensive campaign of burning books and burying scholars alive to eradicate the barbarian cultures of various regions!" Before Song Zhegui, the Minister of Justice, could speak, Zhu Zhanhe uttered a statement that left everyone speechless.

Amidst the stunned gazes of the crowd, Zhu Zhanhe continued to add to the story.

"Collect all the traditional cultures of various ethnic groups. Then, reorganize and analyze them in Chinese! Take the essence and discard the dross!"
Culture must progress, and those backward and outdated cultural practices must be discarded as soon as possible! Colleges and universities everywhere must also completely stop educating students about other cultures!

I want everyone to know that those who do not understand the Chinese language and are unfamiliar with Han etiquette do not even have the right to participate in the imperial examinations!
As for those stubborn elements who cling to barbarian culture, drag them all away to repair the river! Zhu Zhanhe made his suggestion again amidst the stunned gazes of the crowd.

In Zhu Zhanhe's view, you like to cause trouble because of different customs! Very well, I will completely abolish your dross culture, that is, to completely destroy the culture of foreign races and implement full Sinicization!
When everyone shares the same cultural foundation, significant progress will surely be made in many areas! For example, at least criminal cases will no longer arise due to differing beliefs!
"Nation-destroying and racial extermination?!?!?" For a moment, everyone was stunned after hearing Zhu Zhanhe's methods of cultural genocide. The shrewd and experienced Xia Yuanji naturally guessed the terrifying power of his son-in-law's ruthless methods!
In other words, if this method is used, it is believed that after one, two, or at most three generations, all the alien races in the Dragon Kingdom will be completely assimilated!
Those in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, though not particularly astute, were all momentarily stunned by Emperor Longwu's words. However, after their initial shock, they had to admit that this method, derived from the First Emperor of the First Dragon, was indeed extremely useful for the current Dragon Kingdom!

Any rebellions that might occur during the process are no big deal for the current Dragon Kingdom!
"Your Majesty, we obey!" Xia Yuanji and the others naturally had no objection to Emperor Longwu's suggestion and readily agreed. After all, national stability is the foundation of everything!
"In addition, the Ordnance Bureau should continue to optimize firearms."

Don't be afraid to spend money! My request remains the same: all the firearms currently in our Dragon Kingdom can be improved, as long as someone can make improvements. Whether it's improvements in range, power, stability, water resistance, or anything else, as long as they can be tested and approved by the entire army.

"I will absolutely bestow a great reward upon them!" Although Zhu Zhanhe knew that the current level of firearms in the Dragon Kingdom was already among the world's best, he was not satisfied with that. During his last inspection of the Armory, he had encouraged the staff to improve and optimize firearms.

After hearing Emperor Longwu's words, the officials in the Taihe Hall were speechless. They knew that their emperor valued the lives of his soldiers and had always demanded the best armor, swords, firearms, and physicians. Now, seeing that their emperor was going to continue encouraging firearms reform, the officials were filled with helplessness.

However, it's just a military supply bureau, and the national treasury is currently full, so it won't cost much. Let's just consider it a way to make the Emperor happy! Therefore, Xia Yuanji and the others didn't say anything to stop it!

But in reality, what Zhu Zhanhe wanted was not just the improvement of firearms!

Then, Zhu Zhanhe continued speaking to several important officials.

"Never mind, that's not right either!"

Lord Xia, in the name of the imperial court, issued an edict to encourage the people to improve various tools for production and daily life, such as agricultural implements, seeds, armor, swords, and firearms!
For all improvement projects, once the various government offices report them to the imperial court, as long as they are useful to the court, I will reward everyone involved without hesitation!
Of course, anyone who makes false reports for political gain will be imprisoned. The improvements Zhu Zhanhe hoped to see were not limited to firearms; he wanted comprehensive improvements in all aspects, including people's livelihoods and the military!
Therefore, Zhu Zhanhe directly planned to use a method similar to a decree seeking talented individuals, in the name of the imperial court, to recruit and improve the people. Of course, to prevent anyone from spreading rumors, Zhu Zhanhe also wanted to give everyone a heads-up.

"Your Majesty, how can such strange and ingenious crafts be displayed in a refined setting?!" Seeing that the Emperor, not content with his tinkering with the Imperial Guard at home, was now indulging in his capricious and reckless behavior, Xia Yuanji grew somewhat displeased. After all, in the eyes of an old Confucian scholar like Xia Yuanji, these strange and ingenious crafts would only hinder the people's livelihood!
Uh~~
Grand Secretary Xia's words make sense.

How about this, instead of issuing an imperial edict, we'll just issue a notice in the name of the Ministry of Works.

"All the improvement projects reported will be personally inspected by the Ministry of Works, and then reported to me in a unified manner!" Seeing that his words might indeed conflict with the current agricultural economy, Zhu Zhanhe readily accepted his father-in-law's suggestion. He directly changed the imperial edict to a report from the Ministry of Works!

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Zhang Dazhu naturally had no problem with his emperor's words and immediately agreed.

Seeing that although his emperor had heeded his advice, he still issued the order in the name of the Ministry of Works, Xia Yuanji was filled with helplessness. While it was good that his emperor listened to advice, he still managed to achieve his desired goal through other means.

This wasn't the first time Emperor Longwu had acted this way. Xia Yuanji and the others were well aware of this. Therefore, faced with their emperor's shameless behavior, they could only helplessly accept his actions.

Sometimes, Xia Yuanji even suspected that Emperor Longwu was deliberately exaggerating the matter, so that after his ministers offered their advice, the emperor would readily accept it and then take the opportunity to resolve the matter in another way!

Throughout all these discussions, Second Grand Secretary Huang Chung remained completely silent!

A month later, on the Korean Peninsula, Mu Sheng sat upright in his magnificent tent, looking at the huge geographical model of Korea in front of him, his face filled with murderous intent and solemnity.

(End of this chapter)