Chapter 44: That Little Rascal Spares No Expense

Capital, the Duke of Xin's Estate.

Clap!

Zhu Yuanzhang, whose expression had been quite calm just a moment ago, suddenly slammed his palm down onto the table, causing the cups, saucers, bowls, and chopsticks to rattle violently for a good while.

Aside, Chen Erniu shrank back in fright, turning his head away to pretend he had seen nothing at all.

Fu Youde and Tang He cast peculiar glances at the Old Emperor. "Your Majesty, what is the matter this time?"

"Hmph! What is the matter? That little rascal is going to drive all his uncles out of the Great Ming! I... I truly have the urge to beat him to death!" Zhu Yuanzhang let out an indignant, cold snort, his entire body trembling slightly.

It was simply because the Old Emperor held family ties far too dearly, a mindset hardly befitting a monarch sitting high upon the throne.

Now, Zhu Yunxiu actually intended to send his own sons off to investitures in frigid, bitter lands. As if that weren't enough, he was even tricking them into coughing up their own money to raise armies...

Those foolish, blockheaded lads actually agreed to it, and the most outrageous part was that they even talked about sneaking back to steal their own mother's private savings.

This was simply beyond endurance!

The Old Emperor was so furious his mustache was practically flying, the veins throbbing fiercely on the back of the hand that gripped the paper.

Fu Youde and Tang He exchanged glances, yet neither knew how to broach the subject. They understood Zhu Yuanzhang's feelings toward his children better than anyone, and furthermore, since this involved the inner affairs of the imperial family, it was even harder for them to speak out carelessly.

However, seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was unable to calm down for a long time, Tang He finally sighed inwardly and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Big Brother, there might be other hidden reasons behind this matter. Do try to calm your anger first."

With that, he glared fiercely at Chen Erniu and barked, "Why aren't you hurrying up and explaining the details?"

Chen Erniu hurriedly withdrew his eyes, which had been searching for cockroaches, and obediently lowered his head to recount everything he knew.

Hiss~

After listening to the account, Tang and Fu could not help but gasp inwardly. This affair was indeed handled rather ungratefully by Zhu Yunxiu, leaving them clueless as to how to smooth things over.

No matter what, Zhu Gui and the others were still Zhu Yunxiu's own uncles. To cast people out of the Great Ming in such a barefaced manner was truly a bit too...

"Go, fetch me a map."

Just as the two men were wondering how to defend Zhu Yunxiu, Zhu Yuanzhang regained his composure, glared at Erniu, and issued his command.

Erniu naturally dared not delay. He acknowledged the order and scurried away in a flash.

Before long, he returned carrying a map, and Tang He hurriedly got up to help hang it up.

Having once been the great commander of the Great Ming, it was hardly strange for him to have military maps in his possession.

Moments later, Zhu Yuanzhang stood before the map, staring fixedly at several locations in silence.

Tang He and Fu Youde stood behind him, also frowning as they studied the map, as if trying to divine some hidden meaning from it.

Yet no matter how hard they looked, all they could see were barren, freezing wastes, with nothing extraordinary to be found.

Clap~

"That little rascal has quite an ambition! It's just that his scheming against his own flesh and blood is so petty; nothing like me."

Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his palm against the leather map, muttering aloud.

Fu Youde stepped forward curiously and asked, "Your Majesty, have you figured out the Third Imperial Grandson's layout?"

Tang He likewise wore a curious expression.

As one of the sole two gods of war in the early Ming Dynasty, his strategic vision was second to none, yet he had stared at the map for quite a while without making head or tail of it.

Thus, relatively speaking, his curiosity burned even more intensely than Fu Youde's.

Zhu Yuanzhang made no attempt to conceal it. He reached out and tapped several directions on the map—the north, the northwest, and the southwest—then suddenly let out a wide grin.

"Look at these places. These are where my good grandson is sending his uncles to establish their fiefs. Although I don't know if the little rascal has any other ideas at the moment, I do know what my good grandson is planning in his heart."

"What is his plan?" Fu Youde once again played his part as the straight man to perfection.

Zhu Yuanzhang was more than happy to cooperate. He used his finger to draw several circles connecting those locations to the heartland of the Great Ming, and then said, "If those scoundrels truly go to their designated fiefs according to my good grandson's arrangements, and manage to secure a firm foothold there, wouldn't you say the regions blocking communication between them and the Great Ming need to be cleared out?"

Fu Youde nodded thoughtfully, while Tang He's eyes lit up instantly. He cupped his fists, bowed deeply, and said, "Your Majesty, if there is an opportunity in the future, this subject is willing to lead an army northward and completely level the various nomadic tribes of the grasslands."

"Hahaha!" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily. Ever since the thirteenth year of the Hongwu era, he had rarely seen this second brother of his so excitedly and voluntarily request to go to the battlefield.

Yet after the laughter subsided, he shook his head and said, "I cannot make the decision on this matter. My good grandson clearly already has a comprehensive plan. If my guess is correct, he intends to wait until his uncles have firmly established themselves before joining forces with the imperial court to completely encircle and annihilate these tribes and states.

I cannot help but admire that my good grandson's vision is truly grand enough. I only wonder if I will still have the opportunity to witness that day."

The Old Emperor felt a deep sense of emotion. He walked back to the table, picked up his wine cup, and was overtaken by a trace of melancholy.

Just like most monarchs, the Old Emperor at this moment wished nothing more than to live another five hundred years, to see with his own eyes the territory of the Great Ming completely spread across the entire world.

Let no one claim the Old Emperor had no idea how vast the world was, and spare us the altered versions of history.

If one truly has the mind to investigate, one can simply flip through the records of *Imperial Envoys to the Western Oceans*, and read the imperial edicts dispatched by Zhu Yuanzhang to the Western barbarians or the decrees issued to France of that era, and everything will become clear.

Some things can be altered, but their traces can never be completely erased.

Now, let us return to the main narrative.

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's emotional sigh, Tang He and Fu Youde also let out deeply contemplative sighs.

They could understand the worries weighing on Zhu Yuanzhang's heart—it was not merely a lament over the limitations of human lifespan, but even more so a deep anxiety regarding the national power of the Great Ming.

A monarch's ambition to expand territory is indeed worthy of praise, but aggressive militarism is utterly unacceptable.

How many years of peace had the Great Ming enjoyed? There were still countless ordinary people across the realm who lacked sufficient food and clothing. Launching so many wars rashly would completely drag the nation down.

As the art of war dictates, troops and horses must move before grain and fodder.

At present, the imperial treasury of the Great Ming was empty, and the common folk were practicing strict austerity. Where could they possibly find the vast amounts of grain and fodder required to support a war of such magnitude?

One must remember that in the minds of Zhu Yuanzhang and his marshals, a conflict of this scale, once initiated, would last at least a decade, or even several decades.

Over such a protracted period, even if Zhu Yunxiu were fortunate enough to succeed, the domestic populace of the Great Ming would likely be reduced to a fraction of its former self. What use would it be then to possess such vast expanses of land?

Retain the land and lose the people, both land and people are lost; retain the people and lose the land, both people and land are preserved.

This was a timeless truth taught by the sages of antiquity to their descendants, applicable in any era and under any dynasty.