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

Zhu Zhanji looked at Zhu Di, who remained calm, with trembling eyes. Seeing that Zhu Gaochi did not speak up to help him again, he gradually began to calm down.

Now that things have come to this, he has to stay calm. He knows very well that this time he has to rely on himself.

"Grandpa, no matter what, my second uncle will always be my dear second uncle, the Prince of Han of the Ming Dynasty, and that will never change."

My grandson will never shed the blood of his own flesh and blood, and will never do anything that would make his relatives hate him and his enemies rejoice.

"If my grandson breaks his vow, he will die a horrible death!"

Zhu Zhanji spoke with trembling fear, yet his expression remained remarkably firm.

Zhu Zhanji was going all out; no one knew what would happen next, and he certainly wouldn't.

But he was fully aware of the current predicament and could only try to dispel Zhu Di's doubts, or more accurately, his suspicions.

Regardless of what Zhu Gaoxu said to Zhu Di, this is all he can say now.

However, at this moment, Zhu Di suddenly patted his shoulder, causing Zhu Zhanji, who had raised his head, to be caught off guard and fall to the ground in fear.

"Good, that's my grandson. Well said."

"Grandson, remember what you said today: I will never do anything that would please my enemies and be hated by my own flesh and blood, unless I have blood on my hands."

Zhu Di was filled with satisfaction. He had seen Zhu Zhanji's expression earlier and didn't care whether what he said was true or false.

Once it's said, it becomes the truth.

Even if Zhu Zhanji wanted to do something in the future, with this statement in place, it wouldn't be so convenient.

To put it bluntly, what Zhu Di wanted was an attitude.

Does it matter what you're actually thinking?

It may be important, but it's not important either.

Because you can't see into someone's heart, even he can't know what others are thinking.

Judging by actions, not intentions, is the only way to judge a person's character; if we judge by intentions, no one in the world is perfect.

Even when he employs people, he always looks at what a person does and how they do it, not what a person thinks.

After saying this, Zhu Di told Zhu Zhanji to get up, and then looked at Zhu Gaoxu.

"Second brother, you heard it too. The eldest brother and the eldest grandson both accept you. In this vast Ming Dynasty, there is a place for you."

During the Jingnan Rebellion, you were by my side, and you turned the tide many times. I know all of this.

If you wish to take up a fiefdom, I can agree, but you must choose a fiefdom within the Ming Dynasty.

I agree with whichever you choose, okay?

Zhu Di genuinely wanted to keep Zhu Gaoxu this time; to be precise, he didn't want Zhu Gaoxu to go to that so-called overseas region.

In Zhu Di's view, he had already solved the problem that Zhu Gaoxu was most worried about.

Within the Great Ming Dynasty, things were far better than outside; they were incomparable to those barbaric and impoverished lands inhabited by foreign tribes.

This time, Zhu Di was full of confidence; he believed that Zhu Gaoxu would stay.

As for allowing Zhu Gaoxu to choose his own fiefdom, it can be seen as a form of compensation to Zhu Gaoxu.

After all, Zhu Gaoxu had figured things out himself, so he didn't make things difficult for him. In addition, the debts he owed before were now fully made up for.

Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji listened quietly to what Zhu Gaoxu would choose, wondering where he would select as his fiefdom.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhu Di and felt a surge of emotion.

Zhu Gaochi was genuinely moved by Zhu Di. Zhu Di went to such great lengths, even resorting to intimidation to trick Zhu Gaochi, and treated Zhu Zhanji this way, all to get Zhu Zhanji to make a promise and leave him with leverage.

This is genuinely for his benefit.

In particular, they stopped assigning fiefdoms and let him choose them himself.

In Zhu Di's heart, he could sense that they cared about him and liked him.

Even so, Zhu Gaoxu still shook his head.

With Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji's promise, was everything truly alright? Could they really relax?

Zhu Di might have believed it, but he didn't believe it at all, not a single word of it.

Zhu Gaochi did indeed always regard him as the Prince of Han, but he still remembered that during the period when Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne, he had been secretly targeted by Zhu Gaochi.

Zhu Zhanji did not actually have any blood on his hands; he was roasted alive in a bronze vat!

In modern times, he knew that his descendants had even given him many amusing nicknames, such as roast suckling pig, clay pot chicken, and so on.

Zhu Zhanji's untimely death was indeed tragic; he died young, and his death was not unjust.

Now, if he were to believe Zhu Zhanji's words, he would even want to tell Zhu Di that believing Zhu Zhanji would prevent him from being killed and his lineage from being cut off, or that he would believe Zhu Zhanji was Qin Shi Huang.

Zhu Gaochi frowned deeply, his heart heavy with unseen thoughts.

Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaoxu shaking his head and was suddenly stunned, his confidence and pride seemingly frozen.

At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu's voice slowly drifted over.

"Father, I do indeed want to take up my fiefdom, but I will not do so within the Ming Dynasty. I will go overseas and find a small island to serve as my fiefdom."

"Second brother, why do you still insist on going out?"

Zhu Di's expression was solemn. Only now did he realize just how determined Zhu Gaochi was to leave the Ming Dynasty and take up his fief.

Even after he had gone this far, he still did not hesitate for a moment.

But Zhu Di couldn't understand it. He couldn't understand what was so good about those dilapidated islands outside.

They were all barren lands, not even qualified to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

To be precise, Zhu Di genuinely looked down on those overseas regions.

If he wanted, countless small countries in Southeast Asia would be willing to become part of the Ming Dynasty's territory, and their kings would line up to beg him to incorporate them into the Ming Dynasty's domain.

If those places were not bad, and if the court did not need to spend a lot of money and resources to develop and improve people's livelihood after they were incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty, would he have kept those places?

At this point, Zhu Di also became somewhat angry.

He tried everything to persuade him, and he did everything he could. How could this person be so incompetent?

Calling Zhu Gaoxu a mere soldier is, in his opinion, a compliment.

Zhu Gaoxu was unaware of Zhu Di's innermost thoughts, but he could tell that Zhu Di was clearly in a bad mood.

But he didn't want to care about any of that; he just wanted to get out.

"Father, I know your good intentions and I remember them all."

It's rare that my father still remembers those events from the Jingnan Rebellion. I'm very touched, truly touched.

However, there are some things that we simply have to do.

I've already told my father that I want some power, to live a carefree life, and I also want to do something for the Ming Dynasty.

I am brave and skilled in battle; within the Ming Dynasty, no one can rival me. I do not wish to waste my abilities.

Within the Ming Dynasty, I have the guards of the Prince's Palace and the troops of the Three Guards. If I keep training my troops, I will want to go out and fight from time to time.

I don't need to ask my eldest son and nephew anymore. Father, ask yourself honestly, if I were replaced by my seventeenth uncle, Prince Ning, would you really be able to tolerate it?

You said you would share the world with him, but he refused. Now, Father, do you dare to let him return to Da Ning and take control of those military powers again?

Dad, don't be angry. These words are only spoken by the family here today, and they are only my words and not the words of others.

You definitely wouldn't tolerate it. To be precise, it's not just your father who wouldn't tolerate it; any emperor would find it difficult to tolerate it.

Besides, I'm not his brother, I'm his uncle, and I have prestige and support in the army. Dad, do you really think he can tolerate me?

I wasn't targeting him personally. He's still young, and what he said earlier was because he can't think about the future yet.

But I have to think about these things. I don't want to be imprisoned, or even face death.

There is no place for me in this Ming Dynasty.

"Father, let me out."