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

Chapter 516 Sun persuades his son
"If you ask me, it's definitely still over there in the Turkic region!"

After all, the Turkic people have been so frightened by Father Emperor and Uncle Long that they're completely out of their depths! They definitely wouldn't dare to cause any more trouble!

"Besides, only about ten brothers have been enfeoffed as princes in that place. I reckon we'll both be enfeoffed there!" The twenty-fourth prince, Zhu Qijing, replied earnestly after hearing his twenty-third brother's question.

"The Turkic lands are nice, but I still want to go to the Western Rong region with my fourth and fifth brothers!"

Jingdi, look, where Fourth Brother and his men live, it's sparsely populated, with cattle and sheep everywhere. They can easily conquer large tracts of territory!

And look at Fourth Brother and the others, they bring so many cattle and sheep to Father Emperor every year, they even bring the mythical beast Suanni, how impressive!

"I still want to go to my fourth brother's place, to conquer territory as soon as possible, establish an ancestral temple, and become king myself!" After listening to his younger brother's analysis, the twenty-third prince, Zhu Qijia, said thoughtfully with a pursed mouth.

"Jia-ge'er~! You? You're going to Xirong?!"
You've got to be kidding me! The Western Rong region is sparsely populated, with fertile land and herds of cattle and sheep, but to build it up properly would require an immense investment of manpower, financial resources, and energy!

Do you have the support of your maternal clan?
You haven't seen it, even with some support from the eldest brother, the combined fiefdoms of the fourth and fifth brothers are only barely equal to the territory of the sixth brother alone!

Everyone knows that having more land is better, but you don't have that many resources. With the basic things your father gave us, and such a large fiefdom, can you really develop it?

"If you're going to be envious, be envious of your second and third brothers!" The twenty-fourth prince muttered irritably after hearing the twenty-third prince's words.

Before the twenty-third prince could speak, the twenty-fourth prince spoke up.

"Jia-ge'er, where did you learn all the things your teachers taught you at the university?"

"Just like Father said, Jia'er, have you forgotten all that knowledge again?!" The Twenty-Fourth Prince continued to mutter to his brother, mimicking the way his father, Emperor Longwu, spoke, which made the Twenty-Third Prince roll his eyes!

At this point, the Twenty-Fourth Prince seemed to have thought of something again and spoke up once more.

"Brother Twenty-Three, if you ask me, you should first think about how to pass the imperial examination at the Grand Hall!"

If you can't get past this hurdle, and your father gets angry, he might just give you any fiefdom he wants!

Hey! Twenty-third brother, you might just be the first prince among all the princes of my Dragon Kingdom to receive an island fiefdom!
"You're going to go down in history at Dragon Scale Pavilion!" The Twenty-Fourth Prince started making personal attacks as he spoke, and every word he said hit the Twenty-Third Prince's weak points!
"Go away, let me tell you, your brother Jia will definitely pass the exam this time! And get a good fiefdom!"

You know, life is so unfair! Look at us, with the resources of our maternal clans, we're not even as good as Consort Lan (Wala Qiqige)! At least she has the support of her Oirat maternal clan to give her younger brother Qixin some assistance!

As for the two of us, well... we can only rely on ourselves!

And another thing, you know, Father Emperor is really something. He just decided to grant us princes the title of kings, but why did he start making us princes take an exam again?!

If you fail the exam, you won't be granted a fiefdom; if you don't do well on the exam, you won't be given a good fiefdom!

"Look at when my second brother and the others were made kings, why wasn't there an assessment?" The 23rd prince complained with a bitter expression, his dejected mood a perfect example of a poor student!

"Brother Twenty-Three, you're kidding me."

You're a prince now, and you're still being picky! You even complain that your father doesn't give you enough!

If you really don't want to take the exam, just ask your father to grant you an island fiefdom!
"An island fiefdom can be passed down to one's descendants, and one can live a carefree life as a prince in peace. What a wonderful thing!" The Twenty-Fourth Prince said with a mocking expression, looking at his Twenty-Third Brother's distressed expression.

"Go away, Jing-ge'er, don't talk nonsense."

Your twenty-third brother is determined to be like our father, expanding our territory, establishing ancestral temples, and creating an everlasting dynasty!

If we really go to the island, wouldn't I and my descendants lose the right to expand our territory? Do you expect me to end up like my aunts, with only an island fief to pass down to my descendants, watching as you brothers build your own ancestral temples, and then having my descendants guard the homes of your brothers' offspring?

I'd be so frustrated!

"I'm not willing to do that!" The 23rd Prince complained with a look of disgust at his 24th brother's unreliable suggestion.

"Jia-ge'er, let me tell you something." Then, Zhu Qijia and Zhu Qijing continued their casual conversation.

The carriage continued to move forward, and inside, Princess Zhu Yuming and Yu Qian's children listened attentively to the conversation between the two princes outside.

Although it was said unintentionally, it was heard with concern!

At this moment, Yu Qian's descendants realized that their mother was not only Princess Yuming of Longwu, but also had a fiefdom that could be passed down to future generations!

Although the two princes outside the carriage spoke of the island as insignificant, those who had grown up in the Ming Dynasty knew just how precious a truly substantial fiefdom was!

In an instant, everyone's gaze towards the mother became fervent!

The carriage was creaking and turning.

Meanwhile, in the Ming Dynasty's imperial palace, Empress Dowager Sun was confronting her son, Emperor Tianshun.
"Yu Qian has already been killed by you, why can't you spare his family?!" Even though Yu Qian's family had been exiled to Lingnan for many days, the matter was still hotly debated throughout the court.

What's even more terrifying is that the public is already discussing Yu Qian's death and the exile of his family even more intensely! This is truly damaging to the reputation of Emperor Tianshun!

Of course, Empress Dowager Sun knew that her son's imperial authority was probably the worst among all emperors in history. But even so, Empress Dowager Sun couldn't bear to see her son make mistake after mistake, so she kept trying to persuade him.

"Why is Mother bringing this up again today?"

"Did you find out about the letter from the Dragon Kingdom?" Emperor Tianshun, Zhu Qizhen, looked at his mother's earnest words and tried to persuade him, but he didn't understand at all. Instead, he was filled with indignation!

"I will not let Yu Qian's family off the hook!"

Yu Qian supported the enthronement of Prince Chengli, making him a traitor, and his family members were also traitors!

Yu Qian's legal wife was actually a spy for the Chinese government!

Under such circumstances, I absolutely cannot let them go! The Emperor Tianshun became even more furious at the Empress Dowager Sun's advice. He loudly proclaimed that Yu Qian's family members were traitors and spies of the Dragon Kingdom!

"She also has the surname Zhu, and she's a princess of the Zhu family!" Empress Dowager Sun exclaimed in astonishment as her son accused Zhu Yuming of being a spy. After all, Zhu Yuming was a descendant of the Zhu family, and now the eldest princess of the Dragon Kingdom. To call her a traitor would be an insult to the imperial family's dignity!

"She is a descendant of the traitor King Zhuang of Han. What else could she be but a traitor?"
"Their whole family has fled their fiefdom without permission; they are traitors to the Ming Dynasty!" Emperor Tianshun was even angrier at his mother, Empress Dowager Sun's explanation, and he roared angrily.

"You resent Emperor Longwu for not saving you back then!" Suddenly, Empress Dowager Sun pointed out the root cause of Emperor Tianshun's anger! For a moment, Emperor Tianshun was speechless.

“Zhen’er, have you ever thought that the reason Yu Qian kept Princess Yuming was to leave a clue for our Ming Dynasty to continue its connection with the Dragon Kingdom?”

As long as Princess Yuming, who is recorded in the Dragon Kingdom's genealogy, and her descendants are still in the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will have a foundation for its connection with the Dragon Kingdom.

"With the edicts left by Emperor Taizong, Emperor Renzong, and your grandfather, the Dragon Kingdom can save the Ming Dynasty once, and it can save it countless times!" Empress Dowager Sun continued to persuade her son with the greater good of the nation.

(End of this chapter)