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

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhu Gaochi in front of him and nodded.

"Boss, thanks for getting everything ready so quickly. I'm almost ready to leave."

"By the way, when will the migration of the people Dad asked you to prepare begin?"

Zhu Gaochi's actions did not move Zhu Gaoxu at all.

If Zhu Di hadn't been watching over him, or if he hadn't threatened him, he wouldn't have believed that this person could be so efficient.

Zhu Gaochi is now only concerned with the population behind him, as this relates to his future development and resettlement.

He needs to know the relocation time; otherwise, even if the relocation is done in batches and at different times, he won't be able to handle it if he doesn't prepare in advance.

Zhu Gaochi's face was filled with complex emotions; this day had finally arrived.

Even though Zhu Gaoxu was about to go to sea and wouldn't be able to return easily, making it impossible for Zhu Gaochi to compete with him, he just couldn't feel happy.

"Don't worry, second son, I'm already preparing for the relocation of the population that your father promised you."

We prepared 500,000 people from the disaster-stricken areas of Henan and Shandong, and 50,000 people have already been selected to go to Dengzhou.

They then selected another 30,000 people from the Jiangnan region and sent them to the corresponding ports.

The first wave will relocate 50,000 people. Once everyone here has moved, the first batch of people will be transported over within three months.

A batch will be shipped every month thereafter, but the quantity will be smaller.

Those ships were requisitioned from all the ships that the Ming Dynasty could mobilize, and they will be replaced later.

However, the relocation will definitely be completed within five years.

Zhu Gaochi's heart was bleeding; he was completely unaware that Zhu Di had agreed to send people to Zhu Gaoxu.

By the time he found out, Zhu Di had already issued an imperial edict, and he had no choice but to reluctantly prepare for Zhu Gaoxu's request.

Zhu Gaochi was extremely resistant to having so many people relocated there.

But the facts were already set in stone and could not be changed. He could only hope that these people would overwhelm Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaochi's thoughts were unknown to Zhu Gaoxu, nor did he want to concern himself with them.

After receiving the answer, he did not chat with Zhu Gaochi for long and immediately began preparations.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye. After Zhu Gaoxu sent people to gather the families of the naval personnel, Zhu Gaoxu also prepared to set off with the rest of the group.

On this day, Zhu Gaoxu led his personal guards out of the capital, leaving behind only an empty Prince Han's Mansion.

Arriving outside the city, gazing at the capital from afar, lingering for a moment, before resolutely departing.

"Giddy up!"

A group of dozens of riders followed.

On the city wall, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui watched Zhu Gaoxu depart.

Only after Zhu Gaoxu's figure had completely disappeared did the two brothers exchange a glance, say nothing, and leave separately.

Zhu Zhanji was still immersed in the joy of Zhu Gaoxu's departure. In his view, with Zhu Gaoxu gone to sea, there were no more changes within the Ming Dynasty.

"Kid, go back."

"Yes, Father."

Zhu Zhanji left reluctantly at Zhu Gaochi's call.

On the walls of the palace, Zhu Di gazed into the distance in the direction Zhu Gaoxu had left, remaining motionless for a long time, staring intently into the distance, at the direction his beloved son had departed.

After a long while, Zhu Di gradually came to his senses and walked into the palace.

His expression, however, kept becoming fierce, as if he had made up his mind about something.

At the manor outside the capital, Wang Bin, Jin Rong, and others had already set off with their teams.

When Zhu Gaoxu arrived, the group had already left the manor.

When he caught up with the massive procession, Zhu Gaoxu was filled with a heavy heart.

Even though Wei Wanrong had already taken a lot of people, money, food and supplies ahead of time, there were still quite a few people here.

As Zhu Gaochi's troops advanced, the three guards, along with their families, were also heading south, as were the families of the navy, all heading towards the same destination.

This is something Zhu Gaochi really wanted to complain about Zhu Di, fearing that his voyage to the sea was just a pretense, and that the Xuanwu Gate Incident was the real deal, so he opened Liujiagang to him.

Other ports simply wouldn't let him use them, forcing him to go there instead.

That wasn't all; all the garrisons around Liujiagang were on high alert.

Nominally, they were keeping an eye on him, but in reality, everyone knew they were protecting themselves from him.

The journey was not far, but it still felt like a long walk. Finally, we arrived at Liujiagang.

After Zhu Gaoxu arrived, he did not have time to look for Wei Wanrong. Seeing that the troops were maintaining order, he immediately summoned the many generals who had followed him.

Inside the tent, Zhu Huan, Wang Bin, Mei Qing, Wei Da, Sheng Jian, Qian Xun, Jin Rong, Chen Da, Li Zhong, Zhou Ping and others stood on both sides.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the wealth of his trusted confidants and felt a surge of pride.

"I called you here to arrange the upcoming sea voyage."

Although my domain is in Japan, Japan has disobeyed my orders and we still need to fight them.

Since war is going to break out, it means that the first group of people to go forward will inevitably face the Japanese army and will need to capture a landing site so that the people who follow can land on the shore.

This time, three thousand naval troops will go ahead first, and I will personally lead the army.

Zhu Huan, Wang Bin, and Mei Qing, the three of you will lead 6,000 troops to stay behind and maintain order here.

The rest of you, lead your troops and accompany me!

"Let me make this clear from the start: this is our first battle at sea, and it concerns the lives of so many of us."

Anyone who dares to be cowardly in battle or fails to perform their duties will be executed!

Zhu Gaoxu looked at everyone with a sharp gaze, offering no words of comfort, and went straight to the point.

All the kind words and reassurances that needed to be said had already been said before.

When it comes to the part about fighting, let's keep it simple and direct.

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Zhu Gaoxu felt gratified seeing his generals' high morale.

After arranging the specific plans, he then dismissed everyone.

However, Wang Bin stayed.

"Your Highness, your men also wish to lead troops into battle and kill the enemy!"

Wang Bin was very reluctant, as Zhu Huan was a scholar and Mei Qing was not a military officer.

Now that everyone else is going to fight, how could he possibly stay here?

Although their first battle at sea was to establish a fiefdom, in their eyes, what difference was there between that and establishing a nation?

The first battle was extremely important, and Wang Bin did not want to miss it.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Wang Bin. He knew what Wang Bin was thinking and understood it. He spoke softly.

"Wang Bin, I know you want to go to the battlefield, but there are already so many people here, and more than three thousand family members of the navy will be arriving later, so there will be even more people."

There must be someone here who can both protect their safety and maintain order.

If something happens here, you know what the consequences will be. Things here are arguably more important than going to the battlefield to kill the enemy.

You are the person who knows these things best, and you are someone I value highly. I can only entrust this important task to you.

Wang Bin, don't let me down. After everything is over, I'll give you the credit!

And there are many more battles to come, I will definitely let you participate and let you lead the army into battle!

After being comforted by Zhu Gaoxu, Wang Bin finally agreed.

In fact, he just wanted to argue his case, but seeing that there was no hope, he didn't even think about pestering him.

Now that the army has set out, as a general, you must strictly follow military orders.

The effort just now went too far, and it would be unseemly to stop now.

After Wang Bin left, Zhu Gaoxu breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Zhu Huan and Mei Qing.

"Zhu Huan, Mei Qing, you two get ready. After the main army has conquered the area ahead and the follow-up ships return, you organize a group of people to go ahead first."

Remember to first organize able-bodied men, along with the tools needed for setting up camp, clearing land, etc., and also transport a portion of the food and supplies.

Zhu Huan, you need to finalize the specific quantities as soon as possible.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Zhu Gaoxu continued to make arrangements, and after these arrangements were made, he began to inspect the preparations of the army.

With everything ready, Zhu Gaoxu is now waiting for Luo Li to send back news and maps of Japan.

After waiting for two days, Raleigh finally returned with what he needed.

Once he got what he wanted, Zhu Gaoxu immediately took action.