The Ming Dynasty: A Modern Return, Building an Overseas Empire

Chapter 108 Popular Support and Breach of Defenses: The Eggs Carrying the People of Hanjing

Zhu Gaoxu walked along the wide main road in the capital of Han, looking at the surrounding houses, his heart filled with satisfaction.

In the Ming Dynasty, everything belonged to the emperor; even his royal palace was not something he could control.

Just like when he left, he sold all the items in the palace, but he couldn't take a single thing from the palace itself.

But here, it's completely different.

Everything belongs to him; everything was built after his arrival.

It was he who created Hanjing.

At least from what we see now, as long as people resume normal movement, the city itself is in no way inferior to the capital.

As they ventured deeper into the area, they continued walking for a long time until they finally saw their royal palace.

Zhu Gaoxu stopped in front of the palace, his gaze somewhat surprised.

Good heavens, this really is based on the Ming Dynasty's imperial palace, only built on a smaller scale.

"Zhu Huan, did you really build it exactly as it was, without making any changes?"

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but turn around and look at Zhu Huan, wanting to ask what was going on.

It's not that this palace is built luxuriously, but the problem is that it was built to resemble the Ming Dynasty palace. When this got to Zhu Di's ears, wouldn't he be making trouble for himself when he went back?

There are rules of etiquette associated with this.

The status of a prince was regulated.

Even though he came overseas, this was still a bit too much of a free-spirited thing to do.

Zhu Huan was also completely bewildered after hearing this.

"Your Highness, isn't this what you said you would build according to the style of the imperial palace?"

In order to meet the prince's requirements, I, along with the people from the construction bureau, consulted with the queen before we were able to draw up the blueprints.

But Your Highness, rest assured, the palace is not yet completed, and it can be modified later.

Moreover, the royal palace is only about 30% the size of the imperial palace, so it should be fine.

Seeing Zhu Huan's growing boldness, Zhu Gaoxu's lips twitched.

He used to think that Zhu Huan lacked courage and was too cautious. But after his trip, not only had the capital of Han changed, but Zhu Huan had also changed so much.

Zhu Gaoxu was completely unaware that Zhu Huan's current audacity was entirely due to him.

In Zhu Huan's eyes, Zhu Gaoxu was now almost omnipotent.

It's no wonder Zhu Huan was wrong. Who would have thought of using that temporary system to unite everyone and get them all working together on one thing? Who could have mobilized so many slaves under those conditions?

If not everyone had united, and if there hadn't been so many slaves and laborers, none of these changes would have been possible.

It will be at least five or six years before we see these.

While others were trying to extract taxes from the people, raise money, and expand their armies, Zhu Gaochi was the only one who did so.

Having occupied this place, they didn't bother with any of that. Instead, they proactively distributed money and supplies. To prevent anyone from embezzling, they tried every possible method. Even after they ran out of supplies, they still managed to obtain large quantities of food and supplies themselves.

Zhu Huan had read many historical records, and he certainly hadn't seen anyone like Zhu Gaoxu.

They invested all their money in the Ming Dynasty to buy all sorts of necessities, and were very generous with what they got.

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu didn't feel sorry for him, he felt sorry for Zhu Gaoxu.

This is why he was extremely cautious and attentive to the consumption of money, food, and supplies; he would panic at the slightest problem.

Zhu Huan asked himself honestly, if he were in Zhu Gaoxu's position, he really couldn't do what Zhu Gaoxu did.

Those were actually all Zhu Gaoxu's own. The money, grain, and supplies that Zhu Di promised to give were earned by Zhu Gaoxu himself and belonged exclusively to him.

If those people hadn't followed Zhu Gaoxu here, they might have starved or died of illness without anyone knowing. How could they be like they are now, where Zhu Gaoxu provides food when they are hungry and doctors treat them without costing them money when they are sick?

Even the work done by Han Chinese, to put it bluntly, is done for their own benefit.

Unlike the common people of the Ming Dynasty who had to pay a deposit to the government to cultivate wasteland, the people who reclaimed wasteland did not have to do so as to risk danger by accepting the money.

The same goes for houses. Do you really expect the government to build houses? Such nice houses? What are you thinking?

Here, Zhu Gaoxu covered all the expenses for reclaiming the land without charging a penny.

Furthermore, each household can keep a complete set of farming tools for their own use in cultivation.

When there was a shortage of oxen for plowing, some docile horses or mules for transporting supplies were used instead, and large quantities were purchased from the surrounding areas.

The people don't have to contribute anything; they only need to do physical labor. After the land reclamation is completed, the farmland will be distributed back to the people.

Such a fine house must have cost a fortune. In the Ming Dynasty, it would have been reserved for high-ranking officials or wealthy people, requiring a huge amount of money to purchase.

Even now, the government still distributes the funds directly, without charging a single penny.

Although the land deeds all belonged to the royal palace, the house deeds were directly given to the common people.

They also opened up colleges and allocated certain medical resources to the general public, and so on—there are so many examples.

Instead of amassing wealth or engaging in such activities, he voluntarily gave away all his possessions and devoted all his energy to these things. How could Zhu Huan not admire Zhu Gaoxu?

This is what Zhu Huan later realized, and he understood why the people were able to unite as one.

In this situation, it would be strange if the people didn't follow Zhu Gaochi's lead and weren't loyal.

Of all these figures throughout history, who else has done something like Zhu Gaochi?

Here, both officials and common people privately refer to Zhu Gaochi as the Holy King, not the King of Han.

Here, Zhu Gaoxu is sacred.

Everyone has their own scales in their heart. We all came from the Ming Dynasty and can tell the difference between here and when we were in the Ming Dynasty.

If it weren't for the restraint of Zhu Gaochi and Wei Wanrong, they would have all genuinely wanted to replicate the entire palace exactly as it was in the Ming Dynasty.

Everyone worked the hardest and most diligently, and was the most meticulous in their work, during the construction of the palace.

That's why Zhu Gaoxu sees the palace today as magnificent, vibrant, grand, and exquisite.

It can be said that every inch of the palace was meticulously built by everyone, and no flaws were allowed.

They strive for excellence simply to express their gratitude to Zhu Gaoxu for everything he has done for them.

Zhu Huan did not tell Zhu Gaoxu any of this, believing that Zhu Gaoxu would be able to sense everyone's feelings once he returned.

In Hanjing, Zhu Gaoxu's words carried more weight than Zhu Di's.

Zhu Gaoxu is unaware of these matters at present.

Hearing Zhu Huan's words, they could only accept it helplessly.

change?

It's already mostly built, what's there to change?

Since we'd have to face Zhu Di anyway when we got back, we might as well just continue with the plan.

Upon entering the palace, Zhu Gaoxu's eyes lit up once again.

The arrangement before him was so meticulous that even someone like him, who frequented the palace, couldn't find any fault with it.

Walking a little further in, you see some women with children, planting flowers and beautiful trees with serious and earnest expressions.

When they saw Zhu Gaoxu arrive, everyone greeted him with smiles on their faces.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't go to the palace again. Instead, he came to the group of people and chatted with them.

After chatting for a few minutes, just as he was about to leave, a little girl came up to Zhu Gaoxu.

"Your Majesty, these are the eggs that the Empress gave me today. Your Majesty must have had a long day out. Have an egg to nourish yourself. The Empress said that eggs are very nutritious and can make you strong."

The little girl's face was flushed, and she had clearly mustered a lot of courage to walk over, holding up the egg in her hands, which was obviously the most valuable thing she had on her.

None of the people behind her were worried; they all encouraged the little girl and looked at Zhu Gaoxu with longing.

For a moment, Zhu Gaoxu seemed to freeze, looking at his hands, which were somewhat swollen, with dirt under his fingernails. Through his hands, he could see that the shoes he was wearing were just hemp shoes, but they were obviously too small, and his dark toes were almost completely exposed.

Her clothes were all wrinkled and patched scraps of cloth, her hair was tied in two ponytails with withered leaves and dirt, her face had some razor clams, and her big eyes were so pure.

He knew that the little girl genuinely wanted to give it to him and wasn't doing it on anyone's orders.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't know whether to laugh or feel sad.

In modern times, many people probably wouldn't even feel bad about losing an egg.

Ironically, here, rewards are given, and only those who do the most work and do it well are rewarded.

He told Xu Xiaoyan that eating eggs could make people strong and healthy.

Because Xu Xiaoyan was in charge of women, children, and infants, she mainly gave the eggs to the women and children in need under the guise of rewards, and to every child as many as possible.

This pretext was simply to prevent them from feeling guilty, and also to prevent anyone from gossiping.

Zhu Gaoxu was acutely aware of the preciousness of this egg.

It can be said that even though he has done his best to produce food, at best he can only survive without starving.

As for meat, we usually only get to eat a little bit every ten days or so, and even then, it's only a bite or two mixed with the seafood we catch.

But because they have to work every day, the value of that one egg becomes immeasurable.

Zhu Gaoxu slowly squatted down, took the small hand in his large hand, and stroked the hair covered with mud and weeds with the other hand, smiling warmly.

"Why do you call me Holy King? I told you, you can just call me Uncle, or you can call me Prince."

"Since these eggs are a gift from the Queen, keep them for yourself. I brought back a lot of grain and meat from my trip."

In a couple of days, when we've gathered more meat, we'll share it with you.

Zhu Gaoxu just smiled, not daring to say too much, nor able to say anything else.

He has done his best to ensure that so many people don't starve.

He couldn't bring himself to offer any other guarantees, and he didn't dare to make that promise lightly.

He feared that he had given the little girl hope, only to have it ultimately not come true.

He had experienced that kind of despair when he lived deep in the mountains in modern times.

If he can manage to do it, then it's good that we're not giving him any hope now.

If we really fail to achieve our goals, at least we won't despair because of the disappointment.

Given the current situation, what else can he say?

Even eating a bite or two of meat requires collecting enough before it can be distributed.

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes were slightly moist, and he felt even more grateful for the time he had spent in the modern world.

If it weren't for those unforgettable experiences in modern times, how could he have accomplished these things, let alone seen them?

He clearly lacks nothing; you could say that if he wanted to, his life would be unimaginable to anyone.

But now, an egg that he had casually tossed around has caused Zhu Gaoxu to be unexpectedly blacklisted.

At this moment, the children around also mustered up their courage and came to Zhu Gaoxu's side.

Some people talked about how hard he had worked, while others seemed shy, blushing and saying nothing, but simply giving him their best.