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

Chapter 519 The Dragon Emperor with a Dyed Beard
At this moment, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu once again marveled at his father, Emperor Longwu's, shrewdness and foresight! This move was simply a multi-pronged strategy! It cleared out the inventory, demonstrated military strength, intimidated the enemy, and laid the foundation for the court to bestow titles of princes in the future—it was truly a stroke of genius!
"Go away, what nonsense are you spouting?"

"I gave them money, people, weapons, and armor, and even granted them the right to establish their own kingdoms. It's only right that those lads show me respect!" Emperor Longwu grumbled with dissatisfaction at his son's blunt summary.

This scene left Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu speechless. However, he couldn't help but admire his father, Emperor Longwu's, shrewdness!

"Boss, starting today, you must protect all our craftsmen, whether they are skilled in firearms, agricultural tools, or any other outstanding talents and craftsmen. They are all treasures of our Dragon Kingdom!"

Our nation's development depends on them! We can't let anyone steal them away from us!

Also, let me make this clear beforehand: not just this time, but in the future, any weapons sold from our Dragon Country must be at least two generations behind the weapons our army is currently equipping! We can't sell anything too advanced. We must learn from the lessons of Emperor Taizong of Tang!

Boss, check the inventory when you have time. If it's not enough, hire some apprentices to make more. That's a lot of money!

"I've been working on the canal for so many years, and I'll continue to do so in the future. That will cost a lot of money!" Emperor Longwu didn't mind his son's teasing. Instead, he grumbled to his son to get to work!

Furthermore, Emperor Longwu had even planned ahead the standards and requirements for selling weapons, as well as how the money would be used after the weapons were sold!

"Father, rest assured. I understand the implications of the military exercises and arms exports. I will come up with a plan after I go down!"

However, Father! The work on Lord Zhang's river repairs is still progressing smoothly!

However, Lord Zhang is getting old, and the physicians say that he has overworked himself and his health may not last more than a few years. But he stubbornly refuses to return to Longdu to recuperate. "Speaking of the completion of the canal, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu truly admires Zhang Dazhu, the former Minister of Works. It's been more than ten years, and he has actually gone to work on the canal."

Furthermore, Zhang Dazhu, this former Minister, not only repaired the waterways himself, but he also led all the men of his family to repair them throughout the country! Such an upright and unyielding minister was deeply admired by Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu, who also paid close attention to his health.

"That stubborn brat!"

Boss, since Lord Zhang is unwilling to come back, send two more imperial physicians over to take care of his health.

"Also, remember to send another court official who is well-versed in waterways over there. I want to write a book about this virtuous minister to pass down through generations!" Emperor Longwu sighed with emotion as he addressed Zhang Dazhu, who had been as stubborn as a mule ever since the waterway construction began, and affectionately called him "Stubborn One."

However, while Emperor Longwu was filled with emotion, he was also very fortunate to have such a capable and pragmatic minister! Therefore, Emperor Longwu not only asked the minister to do the work, but also made plans for his affairs after his death!

Emperor Longwu not only wanted to keep his promise to Zhang Dazhu, but also to write a biography for Zhang Dazhu and prepare to deify him after his death, in order to inspire future generations of his ministers!

"Your subject understands!" Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu solemnly agreed after hearing his father, Emperor Longwu's, words. After all, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu was unwilling to lose Zhang Dazhu, a seemingly stubborn and extravagant minister who was actually a capable and loyal subject!

Zhang Dazhu is really amazing! After his renovations, large tracts of land in the Dragon Kingdom have been transformed into fertile fields!

"Go on!" Immediately after arranging the work, Emperor Longwu waved his hand and sent his son off to continue working like a beast of burden.

And what did Emperor Longwu do? Naturally, he continued to retire! After all, he was almost fifty years old! Retirement in advance was naturally on the agenda! "Your subject takes his leave!" Afterwards, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu helplessly grinned and turned to leave with a bitter face.

"Phew!" After watching his son leave, Emperor Longwu, in a good mood, picked up his teacup and took a sip. He thought to himself: This is life!

"Your Majesty, your beard has faded!" After watching her son leave, Empress Xia looked at her husband who was drinking tea, and thought to herself that the father and son were truly a perfect match, one willing to hit and the other willing to be hit. She raised an eyebrow and whispered to her husband who was drinking tea.

"Ah?!" Upon hearing his wife Xia's words, Emperor Longwu's heart tightened. He immediately put down his teacup, quickly stroked his beard, and then checked his hands for any strange color. Only after realizing there was nothing unusual on his hands did Emperor Longwu realize he had been completely fooled by his wife!

"Ahem, you're just joking, how could this beard fade?" Emperor Longwu, realizing he had been tricked, saw his wife's somewhat disappointed look and quickly coughed twice to cover his embarrassment. He then affectionately took his wife's hand and gently scolded her.

"Your Majesty is still so young!" Seeing her husband's nervous movements, Empress Xia reached out and gently stroked his face.

Empress Xia gazed at her husband's still jet-black hair and his still smooth, taut face. If it weren't for his slightly graying beard, no one would dispute that he was under thirty!

Looking at herself again, Empress Xia noticed that her hair had turned completely white in recent days! Not to mention the glaring wrinkles on her face!

"Ahem, Your Majesty, please don't speak nonsense!"

"I'm already nearly fifty!" After coughing awkwardly twice, Emperor Longwu held his wife's hand and said gently to her.

"Your Majesty need not worry about me. Since Consort Lan entered the palace, Your Majesty has never favored any new concubines," Empress Xia said to her husband with a sorrowful expression.

In Empress Sun's view, her husband's decision not to favor new concubines over the years was because he did not want to upset the older concubines.

"My lord, don't talk nonsense. I am already close to the age of knowing my destiny, so why should I still favor those teenage girls!"
Besides, there are already quite a few concubines in this palace who have been favored by me. If they lined up one by one, it would take three or four months to get to their side.

"I have you all, that's enough for me!" Emperor Longwu said to the Empress with a serious expression.

In reality, what man wouldn't like young and beautiful women? However, Emperor Longwu knew that his grandchildren were all in their teens, some almost twenty! At fifty years old, it would be irresponsible of him to continue to favor those young women!

After all, Emperor Longwu no longer intended to have any more children! And for Emperor Longwu to favor those young women in the imperial harem when he did not want any children was cruel to them!

Emperor Longwu knew that if he were to pass away one day, the young women he had favored would most likely be forced to commit suicide by being buried alive with him! Even though he had abolished the practice of burying women alive with the emperor, Emperor Longwu knew his son's character! Those young women were not willing to be buried alive with him, so the probability of them being forced to do so was still very high!

Of course, Emperor Longwu knew in his heart that he could live to be 120 years old, and he was not even 50 years old yet. He still had several decades left, almost the length of a lifetime for others! What to do in the meantime was something Emperor Longwu had not really thought about!
However, Emperor Longwu has figured out one thing: he already has thirty-six princes, which corresponds to the number of the Heavenly Stems, and he has no intention of having any more children!

With only these thirty-odd children, if Emperor Longwu never abdicates and enfeoffs one prince each year, it will take until the thirty-fourth or thirty-fifth year of Emperor Longwu's reign to enfeoff all the princes!
(End of this chapter)