Chapter 42: Beef Is My Absolute Favorite
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Perhaps sensing Zhu Yunthong’s gaze, Zhu Gui could not help shrinking his neck.
Then, with an aggrieved little mutter, he said, “Why are you being so fierce? If you don’t want to tell me, then forget it. At worst, I’ll just stay in the capital and not go to my fief.”
Pfft—
Zhu Yunthong nearly burst out laughing. He truly had not expected that the usually arrogant and overbearing Zhu Gui was actually all bluster and no courage.
With the pitiful expression he wore just then, anyone who did not know the truth might really have thought Zhu Yunthong had mistreated him.
“Thirteenth Uncle, listen to yourself!”
“Come, come. I’ll tell you what this place is right now.”
Zhu Yunthong grabbed Zhu Zhi and led him straight to the map. Pointing to the region, he said, “We refer to this entire area as the Asan Region. At present, it contains several countries: the Kingdom of Assam, the Kingdom of Arakan, and the Kingdom of Bengal.
“The reason I drew a cow here is that there are simply too many cattle in this place. If Thirteenth Uncle could establish your fief there, you probably could not finish eating beef even if you ate it every day for the rest of your life.”
Zhu Gui’s fondness for beef was something Zhu Yunthong had known for a long time.
In the Great Ming, however, plow cattle were an extremely important agricultural resource. Zhu Yuanzhang had therefore decreed long ago that no one was permitted to slaughter them, much less cook them on a whim.
Sure enough, the moment Zhu Gui heard that there would be more beef than he could eat in a lifetime, his eyes lit up.
A feudal prince who loved plow cattle more than beautiful women—he was likely the first of his kind in history.
After wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth, Zhu Gui regained some of his courage. Staring at the map, he asked, “Yunthong, if I—if I am willing to establish my fief there, when can you have the army conquer it?”
He was already impatient to taste the beef.
The other princes could not help pricking up their ears. By now, they had essentially determined that Zhu Yunthong intended to relocate their fiefs overseas, and they wanted to know what arrangements he had in mind.
Although overseas lands were savage and undeveloped, they still contained people and established kingdoms. It was not as though the princes could simply arrive and become feudal lords.
Zhu Yunthong’s gaze swept over these uncles who were nearly his own age, and he could not help finding the situation amusing.
His expression, however, remained utterly composed as he frowned and said, “Thirteenth Uncle, it is not that I am unwilling to send troops to conquer your territories for you. But you all know that Grandfather has decreed that every feudal prince must have an army of his own.
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“Besides, the main army has only just fought the Northern Yuan. It will probably take ten or even twenty years for it to recover fully, so…”
“What?”
Zhu Quan and the others, who had long since been tempted into drooling by Zhu Yunthong’s descriptions of beautiful women, immediately let their faces fall.
“Yunthong, you aren’t saying that we have to wait ten or twenty years before establishing our fiefs, are you?”
They were all already sixteen or seventeen years old. The eldest would be able to depart for his fief in at most a year, while even the younger ones would have to wait only two or three years.
After Zhu Yunthong had painted such enticing pictures for them, how could they possibly be willing to wait another ten years?
“Haha! I never said you would have to wait ten or twenty years,” Zhu Yunthong said with a hearty laugh.
Inwardly, he looked down on these uncles of his. He had originally prepared many more enticing arguments, yet they had surrendered so quickly.
How boring. Truly boring.
Zhu Zhi glanced at the map again and wiped his drool away. “Then what do you mean, Yunthong?”
“Yes, Yunthong! What exactly do you mean? Stop beating around the bush and just tell us!”
“That’s right, Yunthong. Just say the word and we’ll all do as you say. I’ll go to that Kazakh Khanate.”
“I’ll go to the Grand Duchy of Moscow. I’ve always loved those foreign women with blue eyes and golden hair.”
…
Well, then. Zhu Yunthong had not even needed to continue guiding them, and they had already begun dividing up the territories among themselves.
Suppressing his laughter, Zhu Yunthong tapped the map and sighed in a troubled voice. “Ah, since you are all so eager, I, as your nephew, can only think of a solution for you.”
“How about this? Since you are already feudal princes and each possess the troops of three guards, why not pay to recruit soldiers yourselves first? Then you can lead your armies there and seize the territories on your own.
“That would also count as helping the Great Ming expand its borders. Future historians will certainly devote many pages to recording your accomplishments.”
“What? You want us to lead troops there ourselves?” Among them, the studious Prince Qing, Zhu Zhan, could not help frowning. “But Yunthong, none of us has reached adulthood yet, and we have no authority to recruit soldiers!
“And even if we really managed to recruit them, we would have no idea how to train them properly!”
“Exactly! What are we supposed to do?” The other princes also looked at Zhu Yunthong anxiously.
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Seeing this, Zhu Yunthong finally bared his sinister fangs. Smiling at them, he said, “Have you uncles forgotten my current position? Whether you are allowed to recruit soldiers will be no more than a single word from me after I ascend the throne.
“Once I become emperor of the Great Ming, if I say that you have the authority to recruit soldiers, who would dare oppose me?”
The princes’ eyes immediately lit up, and their gazes toward Zhu Yunthong became utterly flattering.
Zhu Yunthong continued, “As for your inability to train soldiers—do you really think the elders who once followed Grandfather in conquering the realm cannot do it? Now that peace reigns throughout the Great Ming, they are practically bored out of their minds. Besides, many of you are betrothed to their daughters. Could you not ask them to help train your troops?”
The princes’ eyes brightened even further. Had they not been frightened by the way Zhu Yunthong had dealt with Zhu Gui earlier, they probably would have rushed off immediately.
But in the very next moment, they saw the smile on Zhu Yunthong’s face disappear, replaced by an expression of difficulty.
“Yunthong, is there some other obstacle?” Zhu Zhan could not help asking.
The others nodded one after another, looking as though they were saying: If you have any difficulties, just tell us. Your uncles guarantee that we will help solve them.
Zhu Yunthong suppressed his laughter inwardly, while on the surface he sighed once more.
“Ah! It is not really a difficult matter. It is just… you all know that when Grandfather was on the throne, the Great Ming’s treasury was constantly short of funds. So the empire I have inherited is also so poor that it practically rattles when shaken.
“I had originally thought that since my uncles would be recruiting soldiers, I ought to offer some support. After all, you will be helping the Great Ming expand its territory.
“But… ah, never mind. Tomorrow I will have Grandmother Guo inform the imperial harem that expenses and allowances must be reduced. We will try to scrape together some money to help you resolve this difficulty.”
Zhu Yunthong delivered these words with such heartfelt sincerity that there even seemed to be glistening tears in his eyes, as though he truly felt deeply ashamed that he could not provide the money needed to recruit their armies.
Zhu Gui and the others were stunned at first. Then, unable to contain themselves, they burst into uproarious laughter.
…
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