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

Chapter 478 The Precious Teachings of the Great Ancestor in the Ancestral Temple
"Rise, my beloved subjects!" Xiao Xizi said loudly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The officials respectfully expressed their gratitude before rising.

"Second brother, third brother~!" At this moment, Emperor Longwu suddenly called out to his second brother, the King of Korea, and his third brother, the King of Ning.

"Your subjects are here!" The second and third princes, who had just risen, stepped forward again and bowed to Emperor Longwu on the Sumeru throne.

"Although the territory of Korea has been captured, the large number of people still poses a considerable problem."

You two will be taking up your posts today. After that, you must be diligent in your duties and ensure the continuation of your lineage! Before the vassal territories are fully unified, do not be impatient to expand your territory. Learn from the lessons of your Ryukyu king!
If you encounter any difficulties, send someone to speak with Father Emperor!

"I am the Son of Heaven, and my sons are not to be bullied by anyone!" Emperor Longwu looked at his two sons who were about to leave him to take up their fiefs and earnestly gave them his advice.

To be honest, although Emperor Longwu didn't usually pay much attention to his sons, they were still his sons, and he was genuinely reluctant to see them leave.
"Your Majesty's teachings will be heeded!" The second and third princes said with deep feeling.

Before we knew it, the grand court assembly ended, and it was evening.

At this moment, Emperor Longwu, accompanied by the crown prince and his six sons who had already been enfeoffed as kings and were about to go to their fiefdoms, arrived at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

At night, the stars twinkle in the sky, and the bright moonlight shines on the eaves of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, shimmering softly. But inside the temple, a completely different scene unfolds!
A slightly hunched figure knelt quietly on a prayer mat in the brightly lit Imperial Ancestral Temple. Behind this hunched figure stood the Emperor Longwu, and behind the Emperor Longwu were the seven princes who had already been granted their first titles, with Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu at the center.

At this moment, no one spoke, but listened quietly as the hunched figure kneeling on the prayer mat recited the "Precious Instructions of the Ming Taizu".

None of the princes present were fools. Even if some of them didn't know who the person kneeling was, they knew from their father's respectful attitude and the fact that the person was reciting the Emperor Taizu's instructions that this must be a senior member of the imperial clan of high status!

"If one abandons a person because of a single mistake, then there will be no perfect person in the world. Chang's words are truly correct. Therefore, all officials who have been dismissed or exiled to distant places for minor offenses should, if they are found to possess exceptional talent and virtue, be allowed to be re-employed." After reciting the last sentence of the Taizu Emperor's precepts, the hunched figure kowtowed heavily on the prayer mat. Only after a long while did he slowly rise.
"Father, the children are about to be enfeoffed!"
"I brought them to see you! Who knows when we will meet again after this parting!" After the hunched figure finished kowtowing, Emperor Longwu stepped forward to help him up and said softly.

For a moment, all the princes in the ancestral temple were utterly horrified. They stared in horror at the figure before them, a man with a full white beard, a robust build, and a slightly hunched posture.

The Emperor called him "Dad"!!! That means he must be their grandfather! But didn't their grandfather, Emperor Zhuang, pass away long ago? His portrait is still hanging in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!!! At this moment, the princes stared in horror at the hunched figure, speechless with shock!

"Iron-Faced Grandpa~??!!" Suddenly, the Second Prince Zhu Qihao called out softly, somewhat uncertainly.

"The Iron-Faced General~??!!!" Upon hearing the Second Prince's voice, the princes carefully examined the slightly hunched yet somewhat familiar figure before them. They then realized that this was none other than the former Iron-Faced General of the court! No wonder he seemed familiar!

Looking at the portrait of Emperor Zhuang in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, it was strikingly similar to the hunched figure of the old man in front of him!

"Grandpa~!" Just as the princes were in shock, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu came to Zhu Gaoxu's side, gently supported his other arm, and softly called out "Grandpa".

In an instant, even the most foolish princes standing there knew that this was their grandfather!

"Grandsons, Zhu Qihao, Zhu Qihui, Zhu Qize, Zhu Qixiang, Zhu Qijun, Zhu Qiyuan. Greetings, Grandfather!" In an instant, all the princes knelt respectfully on the ground without hesitation, kowtowing to the hunched old man before them. "Rise, all of you!" Zhu Gaoxu, supported by his son and eldest grandson, sat down on a chair and softly told his grandsons to rise.

“My dear brothers, at that time, our grandfather failed to raise an army in the Ming Dynasty and was trapped in Beijing by the Xuande Emperor.” As the eldest brother, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu briefly recounted how his grandfather, Zhu Gaoxu, managed to escape.

For a moment, the princes stared at their father in astonishment, realizing that their father had been so powerful in his youth!
"You guys are lucky!"
Your father is the true dragon lord! In addition, your father is a magnanimous man.

"That's why you are where you are today." Zhu Gaoxu stared intently at his grandsons standing in a row before him, his eyes filled with pride!

Although Zhu Gaochi failed to ascend the throne of the Ming Dynasty, his sons established the Great Dragon Kingdom, far larger than the Ming Dynasty itself! His sons were all enfeoffed as princes in various regions. Even his daughters, whom he had never paid much attention to, were granted fiefdoms! Now, even the son of his most prized son, his grandson, is about to be sent to his fiefdom!
At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly realized that he had no regrets!

Seeing his father lost in thought, Emperor Longwu did not interrupt him. He simply waited quietly.

After a moment, Zhu Gaoxu, whose thoughts had returned, spoke again.

"Let's get down to business first!"

Your father has summoned you young men who are about to be enfeoffed because he has something for this old man to tell you personally.

Actually, this was a suggestion your father made back in Yunnan!
In recent years, apart from going to war and faking my death again as the Iron-Faced General, I have been working to perfect your father's plan!
I must say, it is my incompetence that has delayed your father's time for so many years.

"Otherwise..." Perhaps it was due to his age, Zhu Gaoxu's face was full of wrinkles, and he became quite talkative, gradually going off-topic as he spoke!
Seeing this, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu silently turned around and went to a secluded corner of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, where he quietly retrieved a thick memorial. When Zhu Qiyu brought the memorial, Zhu Gaoxu was still rambling on and on.

"The things have been brought over?!"
I'm really getting old, I've become so talkative!

"Come on, let me tell you my father's grandson's plan for the ages!" Zhu Gaoxu realized he had been rambling when he saw his grandson carrying the documents. He slowly got up, took the documents from his grandson, and went to the geomantic map hanging on the wall.

“Look carefully, you children. This is a geomantic map, marking most of the landmasses in the world. Of course, there may be some omissions. But overall, it’s accurate!” Zhu Gaoxu said softly to his grandsons, pointing to the geomantic map on the wall.

"This plan is called 'A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire'!"
Hao'er and Hui'er, you have been enfeoffed in Korea. The direction in which your descendants develop is in the direction of the Jurchens. There is not much land in the direction of the Jurchens, so your father only enfeoffed the two of you!

Ze'er, Xiang'er, and the rest of you, your father has enfeoffed you in the Western Rong lands. Don't blame your father for being heartless. You have far more land than your second brothers. That is the land where you, and your descendants, must develop!

The direction towards the Turks is where your father plans to enfeoff his other sons; they too will continue to expand outwards.

Finally, in the land of North America, find a place and see which of your descendants is capable!
Your father's plan to spread like wildfire is based on you, and to continuously expand outwards by sending more and more offspring!
"In the end, the descendants of my Zhu family will rule the world!" Finally, as if he had fallen into madness, the elderly Zhu Gaochi tightly embraced the geomantic map on the wall and roared loudly.

(End of this chapter)