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

Zhu Gaoxu did not go to see Zhu Huan again. He realized that he needed to pay close attention to what was to come.

In fact, Zhu Gaoxu was somewhat conflicted. He wanted to see that Zhu Huan was truly capable, but he didn't really want to.

After all, if Zhu Huan really possessed great abilities, wouldn't that mean he was incredibly stupid in his previous life? Even more stupid than he appeared?

Right now, he needs to take advantage of the moment when Zhu Huan's words have persuaded Wang Bin and the others to hand over all the details.

Under the watchful eyes of the group, Zhu Gaoxu took out a map from a box.

"This is a map drawn two years ago, showing the countries of Southeast Asia and East Asia. And the place we're going to next is here!"

The group followed the gaze and this time they weren't surprised.

After all, overseas, in their eyes, all places are pretty much the same; they're all just dealing with some barbarians.

After pointing out the location, Zhu Gaoxu immediately took out a pen and marked a spot on the island.

"After we leave, we will go directly here and start development and construction here."

However, we don't know anything about this place right now, so we need someone to go ahead and gather information.

After Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, Luo Li stepped forward.

"Your Highness, I am willing to go ahead first!"

The others didn't argue with Rowley; their purpose in going out first was to gather information, which was what Rowley had done.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said solemnly, "I will allocate some money to you later. You should organize your men and set off as soon as possible."

Not only military matters, but also terrain, topography, population and other conditions need to be thoroughly investigated and presented to me before we set off.

You will inevitably encounter many difficulties on your journey. How to find out this information and how to solve the problems you encounter is up to you.

If you need anything, go to Zhu Huan and he will provide it to you.

"I only care about the result. Can you deliver?"

He could ask about the matter of going out to take up a fief, but now that he was doing a specific task, there was absolutely no room for discussion.

Faced with Zhu Gaoxu's stern tone, Luo Li's expression was solemn yet resolute.

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, if I cannot even find information about these barbarians, I am willing to die for them!"

Hearing Luo Li's somewhat dismissive words, Zhu Gaoxu frowned slightly.

"Although they are barbarians, you have come from afar, so you should not underestimate them."

"I don't want your head, I just want the information, understand?"

Zhu Gaoxu knew very well that too many people had paid the price for underestimating others, and he didn't want to suffer the same fate himself.

Some losses are best experienced only once.

Even in the place we're going, the people there are definitely not comparable to them.

But the information Raleigh gathered concerned their first battle after leaving, and he could not afford to make the slightest mistake.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Raleigh didn't try to explain himself; he knew how heavy the burden was on his shoulders this time.

Anything said now is false; only obtaining intelligence is true.

After agreeing, Raleigh continued, "Your Highness, should we continue to contact those people in the court?"

And those who have already dispersed, should they withdraw?

"Let's all leave. There's no need to keep contacting those people."

He had been secretly trying to win over people in the court, but with little success.

Faced with his temptations, aside from attracting a few people, none of whom were in high positions, there were no other results.

The people below were assigned to spy on important places and the people in the Eastern Palace, as well as to contact some former subordinates.

Now that they're leaving, there's no point in keeping these people around.

After settling Luo Li in, Zhu Gaoxu then looked at Mei Qing.

"All the estates of the Prince of Han's manor have prepared and stored all the money and grain, ready to be loaded onto carts."

Take those tenants with you.

Tell them that whoever follows me to their fiefdom will be allocated land by me, and every household will have its own land!

Once the arrangements are complete, you will need to tally the exact number of people who will be going out with you and submit that to Zhu Huan.

The manor, which is Zhu Gaochi's personal property, all belonged to him.

Going out to assume a fiefdom requires developing strength, which naturally requires people. He couldn't take other things with him without Zhu Di's consent, but these things didn't require Zhu Di's approval.

The number of his own tenants, plus the families of the three guards of the Prince of Han's mansion, and the families of other people he was to bring, was enough for the time being.

If they wanted more people, they would have to negotiate with Zhu Di later.

Mei Qing's heart sank upon hearing this. These things sounded simple, but in reality, they were not so easy to deal with.

"Your Highness, I will begin preparations immediately upon returning, but it will take some time."

And we need several scholars; we need people to keep all sorts of ledgers.

"I can give you some time, but at most I can only give you ten days."

Zhu Huan will prepare the necessary manpower for you later, and you can bring it along with him.

In addition, how many men are currently in the manor guard? What is their armament situation?

The manor guard is actually there to maintain the stability of the manor, but this guard is different from the ordinary guard.

Mei Qing did not hesitate and said, "Your Highness, there are a total of 532 guards in various places, all of whom are young and strong. They have been secretly trained by people sent by Niu Cheng and are already proficient."

In terms of weaponry, there were knives, spears, and crossbows sent by the prince, but most of them were knives, as well as forty-two iron armors and one hundred leather armors.

The blacksmith in the manor has forged two hundred swords, shields, and spears, which can be used to equip most of the guards.

In addition, there were eighty sets of iron armor and one hundred and fifty-three sets of leather armor.

Regarding firearms, forty-five muskets were cast according to the improved muskets after the fourth year of the Yongle reign, with thickened gunpowder walls, added flashgates, loading spoons, and wooden paddles, all of which were stored away.

However, all the muskets they made were handguns, and there were only seven large-bowl muskets.

There are 200 iron bullets and exploding bullets in reserve, 32 gun arrows and 300 gun arrows in reserve.

Due to a lack of materials, the cannon was not made.

In addition, under the guise of guarding and patrolling, while purchasing twenty horses, he secretly acquired thirty fine horses.

Zhu Gaoxu listened quietly to what Mei Qing had to say, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

Doing all this did cost him a lot of money, and he thought it was all worth it. But he never expected that in the end, none of it would be of any use.

What impressed him most was that he thought Zhu Di knew nothing about what he had done, but in fact Zhu Di knew everything, except for the exact quantity.

These were all things he had used in his previous life to enhance his strength, but unfortunately they had no effect whatsoever.

Zhu Di did nothing to him because of these things, which was already quite magnanimous.

Nominally, they were the manor guards, but in reality, they were his private army, the kind that could fight.

Besides his private army, he also manufactured weapons, firearms, and armor. Zhu Di turned a blind eye to it all. What more could he ask for? He was already very lenient with Zhu Di.

Regardless of whether it was because his actions were small or the number of his men didn't cross Zhu Di's line, based on this alone, if it were anyone else, even ten clans wouldn't be enough to warrant execution, but he got away scot-free.

At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu admired his past self for being so bold.

Is it really true that ignorance is bliss?

On second thought, Zhu Gaoxu was grateful to his past self. Although he had prepared much more in his previous life, it still had no effect. But now it was very useful to him.

Not only did they leave behind some existing equipment, though not much, but at least they had some.

Moreover, there are many artisans, and they are already capable of casting these things, which is the most valuable aspect.

With these people, once they go out and acquire resources, those resources can be quickly converted into their own strength.

Zhu Gaochi himself couldn't understand how he had made so many preparations in secret, yet he was captured by Zhu Zhanji so in such a muddled way in history.

Given my own fighting skills and all the preparations I made in secret, what was I thinking back then that led to Zhu Zhanji defeating me so badly?

Even after spending so many years in the modern world, he still didn't know these things.

Because there is no record of it.

Even my past self never imagined this.

He stopped thinking about it, adjusted his mindset, and this time, with these small savings, he felt more confident.