Zhu Di: My fourth son is a great emperor of all time?

Chapter 110 We must be ruthless towards the Japanese pirates.

Zhang Xiuping took a deep breath, trying to calm her turbulent emotions. She looked at Zhu Gaoshuo, the confusion and self-doubt she had previously felt as a woman completely gone, replaced by an unprecedented firmness and sense of responsibility.

"I understand, Your Highness! Don't worry, I know what to do."

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was firm and resonant.

Zhu Gaoshuo's eyes shone with admiration. This woman had indeed not disappointed him. Her vision and understanding far exceeded his expectations. He nodded happily. This was his good wife, a top-notch virtuous helper.

"Exactly! Xiuping, remember this: in Xunzhou, your future achievements will not merely be about designing a few exquisite pieces of jewelry. You will be creating an industry, uniting the hearts of the people, and forging an invisible yet deeply rooted maritime barrier! Tianmu's statement about 'exchanging pearls for military expenses' refers not only to the gold and silver used to purchase weapons, but also to the invincible courage and strength forged by the collective will of the people! This is the true 'national treasure'!"

He stood up, walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, and looked at the crowd of people.

Zhang Xiuping also stood up and walked to Zhu Gaoshuo's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. Her gaze passed through the window lattice, as if she saw the surging sea, the fishermen fighting in the wind and waves and resisting in the blood and fire, and even more so, a prosperous and powerful future for Xunzhou that she had personally helped create.

She said softly but with utmost solemnity, "This humble servant is willing to accompany Your Highness. With this 'woman's possession,' let us forge a golden city on the sea! Let this pearl of Xunzhou illuminate the vast sea frontiers of the Ming Dynasty!"

The Imperial Palace, the Hall of Heavenly Observation.

The devastating impact in the sky made the air inside the hall so heavy it was almost dripping with moisture.

Zhu Di's face was ashen, and the veins on the back of his hand, which was resting on the armrest of the dragon throne, bulged.

He had fought his entire life and witnessed countless horrific scenes, but the image of a group of fishermen navigating their small, dilapidated boats, using seashells, pearls, and their own flesh and blood to ram the large ships of the Japanese pirates, still burned into his heart like a red-hot iron. This was not only anger towards the Japanese pirates, but also an indescribable stinging pain.

The mighty Ming Dynasty has reduced its coastal inhabitants to such a state, forcing them to fight so desperately.

"This is unreasonable!!"

Zhu Di slammed his hand on the armrest, the loud sound echoing throughout the hall.

"How dare these petty Japanese pirates bully the people of the Great Ming Dynasty! What are the coastal garrisons doing?! Are the navy blind?!"

Zhu Gaochi's face was pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

As the person in charge of finance and civil affairs, he was more aware than anyone of the severity of the coastal pirate raids, the decay of the garrisons, and the deterioration of the navy, and he felt powerless. Seeing this tragic scene now, his heart was breaking.

He spoke with difficulty.

"Father, please calm your anger... The Japanese pirate problem has been a long-standing issue, not something that arose overnight. The military garrisons and agricultural settlements are in disrepair, soldiers are deserting, and the navy's warships are old and in disrepair... Your son... Your son is indeed responsible for oversight..."

"Oversight? Hmph!" Zhu Gaochi reacted differently, his eyes burning with fighting spirit, as if he saw an opportunity to make a name for himself. When it came to charging into battle, the Prince of Han was no match for this fat old man. "Father! This just proves that the coastal garrisons are useless! Your son requests permission to lead elite troops to sweep across the coast, wipe out their strongholds, and exterminate these Japanese pirates! Not a single plank should be allowed to go to sea! Let's see if they dare to invade again!" He ignored the fishermen's last tragic counterattack and only saw the incompetence of the imperial navy.

Zhu Di coldly glanced at Zhu Gaoxu: "Kill them? Can you kill them all? The Japanese pirates are like maggots clinging to bones, they keep coming back even after being eradicated! What is the root cause? It lies in those coastal tycoons who collude with them! It lies in those officials who hold their positions without doing their jobs! It lies in those parasites who only know how to exploit and not how to defend the land!" His anger was not only directed at the Japanese pirates, but also at the entire rotten coastal military and political system.

His gaze returned to the sky.

The scene has changed; it's no longer a bloody battle, but a display of the prosperity of the Xunzhou Pearl Farm.

Neatly arranged aquaculture rafts stretch along the coast. Fishermen skillfully inspect the shells of oysters, open the plump pearl mussels, and extract the round pearls. In the workshops, artisans sort, drill, and set the pearls to make exquisite ornaments. At the port, boxes of goods labeled "Xunzhou Pearls" are loaded onto merchant ships and transported to all directions.

The sky clearly narrates the story.

The pearl industry not only brought enormous wealth to Xunzhou, but also attracted a large number of displaced people and fishermen to settle ashore, forming stable coastal settlements. These people, who prospered because of pearls, spontaneously organized themselves to patrol the seas and relay information, becoming the first line of defense against Japanese pirates and a powerful supplement to the imperial navy.

Zhu Di's eyes became extremely complex, beneath which lay deep shock and a hint of indescribable envy.

"Do you see that?" Zhu Di's voice deepened, carrying a penetrating quality, as his sharp gaze swept over his two sons.

"What did the fourth son's wife do in Xunzhou? She didn't take a single tael of silver from the imperial court, nor did she mobilize a single soldier! With that 'woman's thing,' she single-handedly fed tens of thousands of people on the saline-alkali land, right under the noses of the Japanese pirates! She won over the hearts of the people! And... she even raised a 'maritime righteous people' who dared to fight the Japanese pirates to the death and could sink large ships!"

He pointed to the busy fishermen, exquisite pearls, and merchant ships sailing in the sky, his tone filled with an almost gritted-teeth sigh.

"This is true 'military spending'! This is true 'strong army'! Gold and silver cannot buy the hearts of the people, and swords cannot suppress their fighting spirit! She ensures that the people have food to eat, clothes to wear, homes to protect, and profits to make! Naturally, the people are willing to fight to the death to protect all of this! What were those fishermen shouting? 'Guarding the maritime borders for the Emperor'! Listen to that! Listen to that! This is the will of the people! A border more secure than a hundred thousand troops!"

Zhu Gaochi was deeply moved and ashamed upon hearing this. He saw another possibility for governance, a powerful path that was rooted in the people, enriched the people, and gained the trust of the people.

"Your Majesty is wise! Princess Qi... Fourth Brother and Sister-in-law's actions are truly a fundamental solution! Only by enriching the people can we strengthen the army, and only by ensuring the people's safety can we secure the country! Your son... has learned a great deal!" He exclaimed sincerely.

Zhu Gaoxu, however, was somewhat unconvinced, and retorted with a stiff neck, "Father! This is nothing but a small-scale battle! What good is it to rely on women making jewelry and supporting a few fishermen to sink a single Japanese ship? When large groups of Japanese pirates attack, we still need the imperial navy to fight them with real swords and spears! Your son..."

"Shut up!" Zhu Di interrupted him sharply, his eyes filled with disappointment.

"You only saw one ship sinking? Did you see the people's hearts? Did you see the gold and silver flowing into Xunzhou, supporting everything? Did you see the people who spontaneously organized to defend their homes because they had a way to survive and hope? This is the foundation! This is the long-term plan! Only knowing how to fight and kill makes you a reckless fool! It's a bottomless pit that drains the country's strength! Fourth Brother's wife's 'pearls for military expenses' strategy has won the hearts of the people and the army, and ensured long-term stability! This is true wisdom!"

Zhu Gaoxu's face turned red and white as he was scolded, but he dared not argue back.

(End of this chapter)