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

Zhu Gaoxu felt a surge of excitement upon hearing Zhu Di's words.

He would be more than willing to go to Japan, because it was a place he had long wanted to visit.

Zhu Gaoxu suppressed his burning passion, revealing nothing of it.

Now that Zhu Di proposed the trip to Japan, he certainly wouldn't let go of this opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

How could we not make Zhu Di bleed a little to repay his many sacrifices?

Zhu Gaoxu pretended to be deep in thought for a long time, his brows furrowed.

"Father, we can only go to Japan, can't we choose anywhere else?"

"No, you still have a choice: you can stay and not go to sea."

Zhu Di kept his gaze fixed on Zhu Gaoxu, feeling a pang of unease in his heart.

He saw Zhu Gaoxu's distress. Originally, Zhu Gaoxu would have had a much easier time in Luzon, a peaceful place, but now he had been forcibly sent to Japan to suffer.

Sending people to their fiefdoms overseas was already too much of a sacrifice, and he added salt to Zhu Gaochi's already sacrifices. How complicated is that?

At that moment, Zhu Di suddenly felt a strong urge to see Zhu Gaoxu refuse and then stay.

But he also wanted to see just how determined Zhu Gaochi was to go overseas and assume his fiefdom.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu no longer hesitated.

Playing hard to get is as bad as doing the opposite.

"Father, then I'll go to Japan!"

Hearing Zhu Gaoxu's firm words, Zhu Di was shocked and felt even more uneasy.

They would rather go to a place like Japan, a broken little island, and even risk a continuous war with Japan, than stay.

How disappointed must one be with him, Zhu Gaochi, and Zhu Zhanji to be so resolute in making such a decision?

Zhu Di couldn't bear to look, so he turned around and faced away from Zhu Gaoxu.

At this moment, his nose felt a little sore, his eyes were slightly red, and the corners of his eyes were a little moist.

"Second brother, what do you want on this trip to Japan?"

Things had progressed to this point, and there was no way to salvage the situation. He could only try his best to make amends to Zhu Gaoxu in other ways.

This can be seen as compensation from him, the father, for pushing his own son into the abyss.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhu Di's retreating figure and his eyes lit up.

What he wanted has finally come.

This is the difference between someone saying they would become a vassal state of Wa (Japan) themselves and someone saying it from Zhu Di's mouth.

If he had suggested it himself, Zhu Di would not only have been ungenerous, but would have also been suspicious of the places he was going to.

Zhu Gaoxu felt a sense of gratitude towards Yao Guangxiao. It was thanks to Yao Guangxiao's suggestion to become a vassal state of Japan that he was able to enjoy all of this.

What you get from Zhu Di is completely different from what Zhu Di himself wants to give.

Zhu Gaoxu no longer hesitated. Since Zhu Di had asked him to bring it up, and Zhu Di was clearly feeling sentimental at the moment, if he didn't bring it up now, he would hardly have another chance like this.

"Father, I don't want anything else, just the three guards coming with me. I want to bring their families with me, that's enough."

In addition, I need a large population.

There are no Han Chinese in Japan. You wouldn't want to see Han Chinese being suppressed by those Eastern barbarians in my domain in Japan, an overseas territory of the Ming Dynasty, would you?

Only by migrating a large number of Han people there, after many years, will my fiefdom become an integral part of the Ming Dynasty's territory and an integral part of the Han people.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't mention anything else, such as money, food, and supplies, which had to be put on hold for the time being.

Population is the foundation of everything, and this is what Zhu Gaochi values ​​most.

He had already given up on taking more people with him, but Zhu Di listened to Yao Guangxiao's advice and arranged for him to go to Japan, giving him this opportunity again.

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly felt fortunate that he had spent enough time negotiating with Zhu Di and dispelling Zhu Di's doubts, which had brought him this opportunity.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di turned around and pondered for a moment.

"How many people do you want to relocate there?"

"It's all up to Dad."

Zhu Gaoxu did not specify the number, leaving the choice to Zhu Di.

He wasn't the emperor, and Zhu Gaoxu knew that his decision on how many people to relocate wasn't up to him; only Zhu Di's decision mattered.

If he said too much, Zhu Di would inevitably become suspicious and think that he was planning something in Japan.

Saying less is unnecessary.

Zhu Di gave Zhu Gaoxu a deep look and then smiled slowly.

"Second brother, you have indeed made visible progress compared to before."

After praising Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Di's smile faded: "If you want to relocate people there, that's fine."

Japan is just a small island; you will have to conquer the Dongyi people there yourself.

Even during the Ming Dynasty, before that, the south was nothing more than the southern barbarians. Through successive dynasties, it has now become part of the Han people.

I can relocate some of the population to you, but not much. If it's more, you won't be able to support it.

"We'll relocate a million people there, all within five years. Are you willing?"

A population of one million—this was something Zhu Di had carefully considered.

In fact, he did not want to relocate so many people there. As he said, Japan itself has a large population, and Zhu Gaoxu could tame these Eastern barbarians if he had the ability.

Even if it were for Zhu Gaochi to relocate and settle down there, it wouldn't require so many people.

But Zhu Gaoxu no longer wanted more military power, and only took his three guards with him. Zhu Gaoxu made a concession in this regard, so he naturally had to make up for it.

Furthermore, he already felt indebted to Zhu Gaochi, and the relocation of a million people was the limit he could agree to.

When Zhu Yuanzhang initially relocated people to the north, the number was only a few million.

Now that he is about to move the capital to Beiping, he is still constantly filling the northern region with population. He has already given more than enough people, one million.

Most importantly, after Zhu Gaochi left, how big could his fiefdom be? In his view, these people were more than enough, even more than enough.

Zhu Gaoxu was shocked upon hearing this.

A million people, though a drop in the ocean compared to the current population of the Ming Dynasty, is no small number in Japan.

Zhu Gaoxu bowed to Zhu Di in gratitude.

He never expected that Zhu Di would be so generous.

"Dad, I can accept the relocation of a million people over five years."

But I have one requirement: those who migrate there must be under forty years old, with the majority being between sixteen and thirty.

"Going to Japan will inevitably require cultivating land and establishing military settlements, as well as fighting against Japan. If I am too old, I would rather not go."

Zhu Gaoxu spoke earnestly, emphasizing that although the population was in the millions, he placed particular importance on this aspect.

Those in this age group are the main force for doing everything after they go out, and they are also the absolute foundation for reproduction.

Zhu Di frowned upon hearing this and looked intently at Zhu Gaoxu.

"Second brother, your request is too much."

I can agree to anything under fifty, and for anything else, I can only try my best to meet your requirements.

If you don't want it, then forget it.

Zhu Di really wanted to crack open Zhu Gaoxu's head to see what he was thinking. It was unbelievable that Zhu Gaoxu could even utter such a request.

Seeing that Zhu Di was starting to get impatient, Zhu Gaoxu immediately agreed.

"Father, it's settled then. You have to move here within five years."

Zhu Gaoxu stopped being greedy and stopped in time. It was most important to secure his gains; after all, something was better than nothing.

Zhu Di shook his head and smiled as he watched Zhu Gaoxu agree so readily.

Zhu Gaoxu is now a constant source of surprise for him; he's become far more astute than before.

Stopping thinking about it, Zhu Di continued.

"If you have any other requests or desires, please let us know."