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

Chapter 530 The prince raises his younger brother
"Seventeenth brother, nineteenth brother, I have left you two behind this time because I have something to tell you." The Crown Prince spoke to his two younger brothers, who looked nervous and were very respectful.

"Your Highness, please give your orders!" The two princes said respectfully to Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu.

"You two!" Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu sighed inwardly at the politeness and distance shown by his two younger brothers. However, he still had to say what needed to be said to them.

"Seventeenth brother, nineteenth brother~!

Big brother knows that you two have been ostracized by your other brothers since childhood because of your appearance, and you are not very favored by Father. So you two have some grievances, and big brother knows all of this!

However, you two should also know that no matter what, whether your father likes you or your brothers neglect you, your father and the court have never mistreated you.

You have received the same treatment as everyone else, without any reduction in the slightest.

When you were enfeoffed as kings and assigned to your fiefdoms, the imperial court provided you with no shortage of people, money, weapons, or anything else. Your father and the court never shortchanged you in the slightest!

"Your fiefdoms will be treated the same as those of your other brothers." Looking at his two younger brothers, who were respectful but whose eyes were full of stubbornness, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu continued to patiently persuade them.

Seeing his younger brother's still reluctant expression, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu continued to speak.

"I know that you also can't get along with your brothers because of your appearance."

However, this is not a reason for you to act recklessly by closing your country off!

Look at our fifteenth brother, he has an even more conspicuous head of blond hair than you all, yet he's managed his fiefdom very well and gets along very well with his brothers!

As princes of a fiefdom, your elder brother doesn't object to your indulgence in pleasure and debauchery; that's your freedom.

"But you must know that you are the legitimate princes of my Dragon Kingdom, and your fiefdoms are to be inherited by your descendants." Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu continued to instruct his two younger brothers.

Seeing his silent younger brothers, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu pretended not to notice their unpleasant expressions and continued speaking.

"Seventeenth brother, you dote on your concubines and let them bear children, and no one cares about this."

However, only a descendant of the Han people can inherit the throne!

At the very least, the descendants who inherit the throne should look like Han Chinese, not like foreigners.

Have you ever thought about how you would conduct yourselves if you actually passed the throne to your blond-haired, green-eyed offspring?

Have you ever thought about this question: a hundred years from now, when your descendants look at your portraits and worship you, and see how different you are from them, will they still recognize you as their ancestor?
"Have you ever considered that our Dragon Kingdom's princes are appointed to guard the borders, not to let you be assimilated by foreign races?!" The Crown Prince looked at the Seventeenth Prince with a serious expression, his words a warning to the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Princes!

"Your Majesty, I have remembered." The Seventeenth Prince was taken aback upon hearing Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu's words. To be honest, the Seventeenth Prince did indeed want to find a non-Han descendant with a similar appearance to inherit the throne because of his own appearance. However, he never expected that his spur-of-the-moment idea would cause so much trouble!
In the future, their descendants will all be a bunch of blond-haired, green-eyed fellows. When they worship their ancestors, will they still recognize themselves when they see their ancestors who look so different from them?! For a moment, the seventeenth prince fell into deep thought.

"And you, Nineteenth Brother, you too."

Why did you take a fancy to those dark-skinned women in the fiefdom?

"What on earth are you thinking?" Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu was speechless at his nineteenth brother. He couldn't understand what was so good about those dark-skinned women that his nineteenth brother had become infatuated with them?
In the eyes of Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu, even his father, the Emperor Longwu, who was known for his benevolence, had never chosen a black woman as a concubine!

"Brother Crown Prince, I..." For a moment, the nineteenth prince, whose problem had been pointed out by his elder brother, was also embarrassed.

"Forget it, forget it. I don't care what you think!"

"Brother, I'll say it again: your heir must be of Han blood!" Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu looked at his embarrassed nineteenth brother. He had no intention of listening to his brother's explanation, so he said to him irritably. "Yes!" The nineteenth prince immediately lowered his head and obediently echoed Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu.

"You two, when you go back, treat your queens well and have many heirs. That's more important than anything else!"

If all else fails, you can select some respectable women from the imperial court, have them have a few children, and then let your princess adopt them!

"Regardless of anything, the heir to your fiefdom must possess pure Han blood!" Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu, still uneasy, offered his two younger brothers some suggestions and sternly emphasized the requirements for their successor.

After all, since ancient times, the legal wife has always been the mother of all the children in the family! There is absolutely no problem with the legal wife adopting any child born to any of the other wives or concubines! It is all reasonable and legal!

Moreover, everything we're doing now is for the legitimate succession to the throne! There can be absolutely no room for error!

"Your Majesty's teachings will be heeded!" The Seventeenth and Nineteenth Princes discerned their elder brother's good intentions and the court's strict attitude from his tone. They then respectfully responded to Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu.

Just remember that!

I know that you two have had a hard time. I don't ask you to expand your territory. You just need to protect your own fiefdom first.

This time, your elder brother has prepared fifty extra muskets and three thousand extra rounds of ammunition for you two. Use them sparingly; it will last you a long time.

Also, keep the firearms blueprints I gave you safe. When you get back, start building them in your fiefdom. That's your foundation for survival.

If you can't understand the blueprints, send someone to the imperial court to learn them.

"You must protect yourselves at all times." Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu looked at his two troublesome younger brothers and earnestly taught them.

"Your subject will respectfully follow your elder brother's teachings!" The seventeenth and nineteenth princes replied respectfully to Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu's instructions.

"Now that you are the rulers of a country, you should be able to understand the hardships your father endured."

"Alright, it's getting late, you should set off soon." After rambling on for a while, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu realized he had been a bit long-winded. He immediately defended his father, Emperor Longwu, and then dismissed his two younger brothers.

"Your subject takes his leave!" Then, the seventeenth prince and the nineteenth prince mounted their horses and quickly left the capital, heading towards their respective fiefdoms.

"Father, uncles, aunts, and brothers have all left Longdu and gone to their fiefdoms." After returning to the Taihe Hall, Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu respectfully reported to Emperor Longwu.

"They've all left!" Looking at the intense sun in space, Emperor Longwu felt a slight sense of loss.

As time slowly passed, everything in the Dragon Kingdom developed in an orderly manner, and time gradually came to the thirtieth year of the Dragon Martial Era!

"Your Majesty, summon the cabinet!" On this day, Emperor Longwu was still working in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. After putting down the swaying memorial in his hand, Emperor Longwu spoke to Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu beside him.

"Yes!" Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu respectfully withdrew.

"It's almost time!" Emperor Longwu said to himself in a barely audible voice, watching the Crown Prince's slightly slow steps as he left.

Before long, four figures followed behind Crown Prince Zhu Qiyu as they stepped into the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"Your subject, Zhang Tingfang..."
Your subject, Wang Lanjiang
Your subject, Fang Xingjian.
Your servant, Xia Xuan.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Upon entering the main hall, the four cabinet members of the Dragon Kingdom respectfully kowtowed to Emperor Longwu on the high platform.

(End of this chapter)