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

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Yao Guangxiao with great interest. From Yao Guangxiao's words, he could tell that Yao Guangxiao also did not have a good impression of him.

The first thing they ask him is where he's going. Is this because they're sure he'll leave, or are they trying to help him get out?

In this day and age, everyone knows that life is tough overseas.

Yao Guangxiao is trying to please everyone by making him suffer.

Although going out was his own idea, if Yao Guangxiao really thought that way, he should be happy, since it would be a help to him going out.

But why couldn't Zhu Gaoxu be happy?

Now he's just waiting to see how Yao Guangxiao responds to whether these things are true or false.

Upon hearing this, Yao Guangxiao's smile vanished, replaced by a solemn expression.

She looked at Zhu Gaoxu quietly for a moment before slowly speaking.

"I don't know much about overseas lands, but since the King of Han has asked, I do have some suggestions. As for the specific location, it is up to the King of Han to decide."

"Please speak, Junior Tutor. I am all ears."

Zhu Gaoxu's heart sank. In his view, Yao Guangxiao had clearly come prepared.

In that case, Yao Guangxiao's purpose was probably not to ask him where he was going, but rather to suggest where he should go.

He tried to get information out of Yao Guangxiao, but ended up falling into someone else's trap; he had been too hasty.

Upon hearing this, Yao Guangxiao stood up and gazed into the distance.

"The King of Han may first consider Jiaozhi. Although Jiaozhi is the territory of the Ming Dynasty, it is newly established and the people are not yet settled and do not have any sense of recognition of the Ming Dynasty."

Since the imperial court sent troops to conquer Annam and His Majesty established the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Commission, rebellions have occurred in Jiaozhi year after year.

The people there are alienated from my Great Ming Dynasty, but now that my Ming army is suppressing them, those barbarians are unable to succeed.

However, with each year's suppression of rebellions, the casualties of our Ming army continued to rise, and the court's expenditures continued without any reduction.

In this way, over time, the land of Jiaozhi will inevitably become a burden on the imperial court.

The land of Jiaozhi was important for the Ming Dynasty's westward exploration during Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean, and it could also effectively deter the countries of Southeast Asia.

The Strait of Malacca, in particular, ensured passage, allowing the Ming Dynasty to maintain its connections with the outside world.

Besides its important geographical location, Jiaozhi also had a large population and plains, where rice could be harvested twice a year.

If Champa rice or other types of rice are used, some areas can harvest three crops a year.

However, the land of Jiaozhi is rich in yang energy and receives abundant rainfall, making it a land of miasma and malaria, which is extremely difficult for the imperial court to govern.

In addition, the area is mostly mountainous and forested, isolated from the outside world, and the roads are rugged and difficult, making it even more difficult for the imperial court to govern it.

Your Majesty's current focus remains on the Ming Dynasty and the northern expedition. If this continues, some in the court will inevitably consider abandoning Jiaozhi in order to reduce the court's expenditures.

The land of Jiaozhi has become a major concern for the imperial court. If it is abandoned, it will be difficult to deter the Western barbarians (parts of Southeast Asia and South Asia), and the neighboring countries will lose their sense of awe.

Moreover, the imperial court has spent a great deal of money and grain, and our army has suffered many casualties, all of which will be in vain, severely damaging the prestige of the imperial court.

Now that the King of Han wants to go to sea to take up his fief, Jiaozhi, although not a small island, is far away from the court and thousands of miles away, which to some extent meets the King of Han's wishes.

With the King of Han personally overseeing Jiaozhi, and given his military prowess, he will surely be able to quell the rebellion in Jiaozhi, allowing the region to gradually recover.

At that time, it will not only fulfill the Han King's wishes, but also solve a major concern for His Majesty and a major worry for the court. The land of Jiaozhi can then be completely incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and there will be no more worries about the restoration of Annam.

In that case, His Majesty will surely agree to let the Prince of Han go.

What does the King of Han think?

Yao Guangxiao spoke slowly, yet each word was clear.

Zhu Gaoxu listened intently, not missing a single word.

Going to Jiaozhi to assume a fiefdom was indeed a good choice.

Going to Jiaozhi directly solved those problems there, and with Jiaozhi's advantageous location, he was also able to protect himself.

Furthermore, he wants to expand outwards, whether towards South Asia or Southeast Asia, which would be a good option, and he could even control the Strait of Malacca.

In addition, as Yao Guangxiao just mentioned, rice cultivation in Jiaozhi can also increase grain yields as long as one is willing to invest heavily in developing arable land.

Furthermore, the people of Jiaozhi were numerous, meaning the population was quite large.

It sounds great in every way; it really is a good place to go.

But precisely because he is good in every way, he is the one who cannot choose.

He went to Jiaozhi, and the large army there would inevitably be under his control. With such great military power, not to mention the others in the court, even Zhu Di might not be able to rest easy about it.

Other aspects of Jiaozhi would also lead to the fact that as long as the chaos in Jiaozhi is contained, he will inevitably be transferred away, without having to wait until the rebels in Jiaozhi are completely quelled.

When the Ming army conquered Annam, they obtained a total of 3,129,500 households!

That means there are several million people there, and if you add the hidden ones, the population there must be in the tens of millions.

The ancient people were neither foolish nor stupid; they knew that all development required a large population. Otherwise, no dynasty would have encouraged people's livelihood and increased the population at the beginning of its reign.

With this population base, even the Emperor himself wouldn't feel comfortable leaving a mere vassal king here.

If he really goes, all sorts of surveillance and restrictions will follow, and Zhu Di will definitely reap the benefits.

By then, it wouldn't even take Zhu Gaochi or Zhu Zhanji to tolerate him; Zhu Di couldn't tolerate him either.

When that time comes, all the father-son relationship will have to take a back seat for now.

In that situation, would you want to develop your own power? Would you want to establish your own territory?

Want to eat fart!

The reason he didn't take up his fiefdom within the Ming Dynasty was to prevent these things from happening. But he went to Jiaozhi and still had to face these problems. Was he crazy to go to Jiaozhi and seek out suffering?

Nowadays, ordinary people simply cannot stay in Jiaozhi.

Miasma, snakes and insects, malaria, and so on—any of these could be deadly in this era.

Unless, he chooses one place within Jiaozhi as his fiefdom, rather than the entire Jiaozhi.

But then it would be even less meaningful.

He didn't believe Yao Guangxiao was unaware of these things.

The fact that they advised him to go to Jiaozhi while knowing all these circumstances speaks volumes.

This bald guy is up to no good!

Just then, Yao Guangxiao's voice continued to come through.

"At that time, it will be extremely difficult for the King of Han to make the entire Jiaozhi a vassal state."

However, if the King of Han were to establish a vassal state in Jiaozhi, the situation would be perfectly secure.

Listening to Yao Guangxiao's supplement, Zhu Gaoxu was momentarily confused about what this person meant.

If he truly had ill intentions, why would he need to explicitly remind him like this?

But if it wasn't really to harm him, why suggest going to Jiaozhi to assume a fiefdom?

Even after two lifetimes, Zhu Gaoxu still couldn't understand Yao Guangxiao at this point.

Since he couldn't figure it out, Zhu Gaoxu stopped thinking about it.

There's nothing Yao Guangxiao can do about his departure; the choice of which fiefdom to establish is ultimately up to him!

Since that's the case, it's fine to just listen to it.

"Young Master, besides Jiaozhi, are there any other places?"

Zhu Gaochi did not answer. Even if he were to go to Jiaozhi, he would not answer.

Yao Guangxiao was not surprised by what he heard and continued to speak.

"This humble monk does indeed have another place to suggest to the King of Han, and that place is the East."