My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 498 Zhu Di’s Difficulties

Zhang Zhong was back again, and Zhu Zhanhe specially ran from Beijing to Laizhou, firstly to arrange for the prisoners brought back from the grassland to board the ship, and secondly to have a good get-together with Zhang Zhong.

"Zhanhe, I heard that you and your grandson had a falling out?"

In a courtyard next to Laizhou Port, Zhang Zhong asked Zhu Zhanhe with a smile.

"Did you listen to what Liu Mian said?"

Zhu Zhanhe was stunned for a moment, and then he came to his senses and asked.

Not many people knew about the falling out between him and Zhu Zhanji. Even within the Ming Dynasty, the matter was kept secret. After all, Zhu Di did not want people to know that his two grandsons had conflicts.

However, Liu Mian knew very well, and he was arranged to go to Tianzhu by Zhu Zhanhe some time ago, so Zhang Zhong should have heard about it from Liu Mian.

"Yes, Liu Mian went to Tianzhu, and I learned a lot from him. You and your grandson were so quarrelsome that even the prince knew about it. He even asked me to ask you, do you need the prince's help?"

Zhang Zhong nodded.

"No need, you should already know. My eldest brother has been demoted to Japan and won't be able to come back in a short time. So I don't have to think about him at all now. I followed Grandpa Huang to the grasslands some time ago."

Zhu Zhanhe waved his hand and said with a smile, he didn't need Zhu Gaoxu to take action against Zhu Zhanji.

"I heard about His Majesty's dispatch of troops to the grasslands as soon as I arrived in Guangzhou. I have to say that Your Majesty is really young. This time he is sweeping across the grasslands. The Tatars are only half-defunct. I am afraid that Wala will take the opportunity to expand?"

Zhang Zhong first nodded in admiration, and then expressed his worries.

"Okay, it seems that you have spent the past few years abroad in vain, and your horizons have expanded!"

When Zhu Zhanhe heard this, he couldn't help but praise that Zhang Zhong was able to clearly see the development of the situation on the grassland just by collecting some news. This was not something ordinary people could do.

"That is, there are so many small countries and forces overseas. If I cannot see the development of the situation clearly, how can I direct the fleet to pass smoothly?"

Zhang Zhong raised his head proudly and said.

When he first boarded the ship, he did not have the confidence to command a huge fleet, but now after these years of experience, he has become more and more confident in his abilities. Of course, this was also thanks to Zhu Zhanhe's support for him. encourage.

Zhu Zhanhe also laughed when he saw Zhang Zhong's look, and then explained again: "You don't have to worry about the situation on the grassland. Wala may indeed grow bigger because of this, but Grandpa Huang is planning to control the grassland in the next few years. Continuously use troops and strive to drain the blood from the grassland within a few years."

"Bleed the grassland?"

Zhang Zhong was also surprised when he heard this. He did not expect Zhu Di to have such a plan.

"Yes, this plan is actually not complicated. It is that the imperial court constantly sends troops to the grasslands to harass various tribes for grazing, plunder their populations, bring them back, and send them to Japan and Jiaozhi to reduce the population of the grasslands to the greatest extent. After all, people are everything. Basically, the grassland is already sparsely populated, and as long as there are no more people, the threat to the grassland will also be gone.”

Zhu Zhanhe roughly explained.

"But Your Majesty cannot capture all the people in the grassland. This method can only solve the temporary problem. Will the grassland still become a threat to the Ming Dynasty in the future?"

Zhang Zhong asked in confusion after hearing this.

This method of treating the symptoms but not the root cause is of no use in his opinion. "Grandpa Huang also knows that this method treats the symptoms rather than the root cause, but he also has his own difficulties."

Unexpectedly, Zhu Zhanhe sighed at this time, and then explained Zhu Di's thoughts in detail.

Zhu Di is getting older, especially in the past few years, he feels that his energy is low, and it is difficult to even hold a knife.

As the saying goes, beauties grow old and heroes grow old. This is a law that no one can resist, so Zhu Di wanted to minimize the threat to the northern grasslands while he could still ride a horse and wield a knife.

There is another thing that worries Zhu Di even more, that is, as the prince, Zhu Gaochi did not inherit Zhu Di's enterprising spirit. Like other ministers, he only thought about defense and was unwilling to take the initiative to use troops on the grassland.

This kind of thinking is not wrong, but it is too passive. This is the main reason why Zhu Di has always been dissatisfied with Zhu Gaochi. Unfortunately, he has no other choice.

Since his son could not be counted on, Zhu Di had no choice but to do it himself. This was the main reason why he launched the Northern Expedition again regardless of his age. Even though he knew that the Northern Expedition might be in vain, he could only do this again and again. Send troops in vain.

After listening to Zhu Zhanhe's words, Zhang Zhong couldn't help but sigh and said: "It's not easy for your Majesty. You are so old and still have to work hard on the grassland. It's a pity that the prince and others cannot understand your majesty's painstaking efforts."

"You can't say that. My uncle also knows what Grandpa Huang is thinking. He is also very grateful to Grandpa Huang, but the two of them have different political views, so I am grateful. He will still not choose Grandpa Huang's military strategy in the future."

Zhu Zhanhe sighed again as he spoke.

Zhu Gaochi looks very kind, but he is actually a very stubborn person. It is not easy to persuade him to change his mind. This is also inherited from Zhu Di. Both father and son are equally stubborn, but Zhu Di Zhu Gaochi is round on the outside and square on the inside.

"Zhan He, which one do you think has better political views, His Majesty or the Crown Prince?"

Zhang Zhong suddenly asked Zhu Zhanhe.

"If I'm honest, I don't think either one is good."

Zhu Zhanhe spread his hands and said very calmly, after all, he had nothing to hide from Zhang Zhong.

"So you have a better way?"

Zhang Zhong's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he asked very expectantly. He really wanted to hear Zhu Zhanhe's opinions.

"That's the problem. I don't have a better way, but I feel that Grandpa Huang's method is too hasty and treats the symptoms rather than the root cause. My uncle's ideas are too passive and he will lose the initiative on the grassland in the future, so..."

Zhu Zhanhe also showed a helpless expression at the end.

In fact, he was not completely helpless. For example, the later Manchu and Qing Dynasties used methods to rule the grasslands. The most effective ones were to vigorously promote religion and control the population of the grasslands. However, this method required time, and what Zhu Di lacked most was time.

In addition, there is a more effective way, which is to improve firearms. For example, when he makes the machine gun, those nomadic peoples who are famous for their fierceness will definitely become good at singing and dancing. The Great Wall on the border It will completely become a tourist attraction, and it is basically impossible to have any practical value.

Seeing that Zhu Zhanhe didn't have a good solution to the grassland, Zhang Zhong couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

But at this moment, someone suddenly rushed over and whispered a few words in Zhu Zhanhe's ear, which made his expression change.

(End of this chapter)