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

After arranging things for Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaochi.

"Eldest brother, take your eldest grandson down there and prepare the necessary money, food, supplies, and manpower for the second brother."

Now that the second-in-command has defeated the main force of the Japanese army and established the Handong Prefecture, it is precisely the time when people, food, and supplies are in high demand.

Zhu Di was very happy at this moment. He no longer had to worry about Zhu Gaoxu outside, Zhu Gaochi had also corrected his attitude, and Zhu Zhanji had grown up even more.

With the northern expedition progressing smoothly, even Zhu Di, who was usually not one to show his emotions, couldn't help but feel a little restless at this moment.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaochi breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, he knows that his crisis is finally over.

I haven't seen anyone these past few days, and I haven't dared to get involved in any of those matters. Now I can finally put my mind at ease.

After leaving with Zhu Zhanji and returning to the Eastern Palace, Zhu Gaochi still did not get involved in the uproar of the past few days, but focused his energy on preparing for the transportation needed by Zhu Gaoxu.

Inside the Prince Zhao's residence, Zhu Gaosui locked himself in a room, his expression gloomy, veins bulging on his forehead, eyes wide open, his right fist clenched tightly on the tea table beside him, his teeth clenched, and his breathing heavy.

The already gloomy face appeared even more ferocious and eerie in the dimly lit room.

"Hehe, haha!"

After a long silence, Zhu Gaosui suddenly burst into laughter, his face filled with madness, his laughter tinged with sorrow.

He has one face when you need him, and another face after you've used him and no longer need him.

Zhu Gaosui knew very well who he was referring to.

"Second brother, so this is what you were living before."

I really admire you for being able to endure it for so long.

"I've only experienced it once, and I already feel like I can't hold back anymore."

Zhu Gaosui used to think that Zhu Gaoxu was brainless and that Zhu Di always had him firmly under his control.

Now it suddenly dawned on him that the foolish one was Zhu Di, who was too shrewd.

Even so, why did he feel so unwilling? This feeling made Zhu Gaosui extremely unhappy.

He wasn't Zhu Gaoxu; he didn't want to be tormented like this repeatedly.

"It seems that we can't win through normal struggle, so we have to resort to other methods."

Second brother, you must have felt resentful about going out into the world.

Do your best to succeed out there. As your younger brother, I'll help you out in the Ming Dynasty.

"Once the old man is gone, and the eldest son is gone too, don't let me down then."

As he thought about it, Zhu Gaosui began to go crazy.

Zhu Gaosui realized that continuing to serve as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was pointless.

When Zhu Di was alive, he did not have as much power as one might imagine.

Once Zhu Di was gone, his position as Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard would be nothing but a joke in front of Zhu Gaochi or Zhu Zhanji.

The best option Zhu Gaosui could think of was to go out and take up a fiefdom, just like Zhu Gaoxu.

However, he did not go to take up his post overseas; he wanted to stay in the Ming Dynasty and take up his post there.

While Zhu Gaochi was building up his strength overseas, he was secretly cultivating his own power within the Ming Dynasty.

He didn't believe it, and he bet that Zhu Gaochi wouldn't abandon the Ming Dynasty. He bet that Zhu Gaochi went to sea to develop his own strength overseas and fight back in the future.

Now, Zhu Gaosui knows clearly that he still wants to compete for that position, and he can only wait.

Wait until Zhu Di dies of old age, wait until Zhu Gaochi dies of illness, wait until Zhu Zhanji ascends the throne, wait until the conflict between Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Zhanji erupts, wait until Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Zhanji fight.

At that time, if he were to make a move again, he might still have a chance within the Ming Dynasty.

Having come this far and suffered such a great loss, it's impossible for him to give up.

Everyone felt that Zhu Gaoxu had changed, and everyone thought that Zhu Gaoxu was always the same in public.

But Zhu Gaosui was willing to trust Zhu Gaoxu one more time. He gambled that Zhu Gaoxu couldn't let go of these things and that Zhu Gaoxu could make some progress in Japan.

Because he had no other way to go but this was the only way.

Only when Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji fight each other can he reap the benefits.

"Old man, you like that kid the most, don't you? Now, all the things you've done to me, I'll make that kid pay for them on your behalf!"

After much deliberation, Zhu Gaosui made up his mind.

After leaving the Prince of Zhao's residence, we arrived at the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) headquarters.

Although he decided to resign as commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he still had to find a way to retain some of his men.

East of the Ming Dynasty, on the East China Sea, Ming ships constantly shuttled back and forth.

Countless ships, fully loaded, carrying the money, grain, and supplies needed by Zhu Gaoxu, as well as the first batch of able-bodied men, began to enter Handong Prefecture.

With the numerous newly built large ships mobilized by Zhu Gaochi, the transportation capacity was further enhanced.

Handong Prefecture.

The former Naniwa is now Hankyeong.

At this moment, a large number of slaves are constantly demolishing the original houses while building new ones.

All the houses were rebuilt and replanned.

Zhu Gaochi genuinely disliked these Japanese buildings.

Although doing so would seem redundant and would increase the labor burden, Zhu Gaoxu didn't care about that.

Once you're in your own territory, how can you possibly feel unhappy or uncomfortable?

Moreover, with a large number of slave laborers, they were not slow at all in getting things done.

As for those who refused to cooperate, Zhu Gaoxu sent them to where they belonged and gave them the proper place to go.

Zhu Gaoxu stood on a high place, watching the busy servants and the patrol teams that were maintaining order, but he showed no joy whatsoever.

At this moment, Zhu Huan hurried over.

"Your Highness, the final headcount of our servants has been completed, totaling nearly three million."

Zhu Gaoxu was not surprised at all when he heard the number.

During those modern times, he made a point of paying attention to Japan.

Although there are no explicit records of this period, the guesses in various records are generally over eight million, and this number is considered a conservative estimate.

By the mid-15th century, and into the 16th century, the population had reached over ten million.

In fact, Zhu Gaoxu didn't know the specifics either.

If we work backwards from this conjecture, the Nanboku-chō period in present-day Japan has not been long since it ended, and the population is currently hovering around eight million, or even more.

And these people are basically concentrated in what is now his Handong Prefecture. With these slaves still around, what surprises could Zhu Gaochi possibly have?

Today, Ezo Island, also known as Hokkaido, does not belong to Japan, nor does the area around Guam, which is part of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Zhu Gaoxu found it remarkable that such a small place had such a large population.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty was unaware of this information.

Only he knew.

Now that the number of slaves is approaching three million, Zhu Gaochi is unsure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

After all, so many people need to eat.

Those who were unwilling to work were assigned jobs, and those who remained were all excellent laborers who could later be transformed into middle and upper-class slaves.

If he really doesn't care about anything, what's the point of keeping him around?

Moreover, with such a large workforce, development can proceed much faster.

However, the problem also lies here.

Even if we can't make sure they have enough to eat and wear, at the very least, we must ensure that most of them can survive.

With so many mouths to feed, even eating very little is a huge drain on energy.

Zhu Gaoxu frowned slightly and looked at Zhu Huan.

"The money and grain seized here have all been gathered together, right? According to your estimate, based on the current food and rations, how long could these slaves last?"

Zhu Gaochi is now counting on the money, grain, and supplies he has captured, which is a considerable sum.

When Ashikaga Yoshimochi fled, he took very little with him; he intercepted the vast majority of the goods.

All of them, including those so-called clans and others, were confiscated and gathered together.

If we want to develop, the first step is to concentrate all the limited resources we have and then redistribute them.

He refused to believe that these resources could sustain the population when they were dispersed, and now that there were fewer people and consumption was being controlled, could things really be worse than before?