Father can be an enemy to the country

The warships of the Chaohu Navy unmoored their moorings, raised their sails and swung their oars one after another, carrying five thousand troops of the King of Chu down the river, preparing to go north to the canal at Guazhou.

On the flagship, Zhu Zhen smiled and helped Yu Tongyuan and the others who were grateful, and then asked leisurely:

"Has the situation of the Chaohu Navy improved over the past year or so?"

"Alas..." The three of them were dejected upon hearing this. If their situation had been better, they wouldn't be so humble.

"Just tell me the truth." Zhu Zhen said sternly: "If I have something to do, I will send you here. I will treat the Chaohu Navy as one of my own."

As he spoke, he smiled and said, "I wonder if you will also regard me as one of your own?"

"Yes, the last general... no, the humble position and others regard His Highness as the savior of our Chaohu Navy!" Yu Tongyuan said emotionally.

"Why are you here again?" Zhu Zhen said angrily: "I have too many words to say thank you."

"We are not only grateful to His Highness for rescuing us last year, but we are also asking for help from His Highness!" Yu Tongyuan and the others kowtowed and said sadly: "I beg Your Highness to save people to the end and take in the Chaohu Navy!"

"Where do you start talking about this?" Zhu Zhen said with a confused look.

"Alas..." Yu Tongyuan sighed again and said: "Since we are willing to ask His Highness to take him in, we have nothing to say about the humble rank. Your Highness may not know the original situation of the Chaohu Navy. To put it simply, we are just a bunch of hardworking people. In front, enjoy the blessings raised by the little servant behind!"

Zhu Zhenxin said, why are you still swearing? On his face, he said calmly: "I have learned about your past, and I know that you fought for my father, made great achievements, exerted great efforts, and also killed many people."

"Yes." Yu Tongyuan nodded and shook his head: "I won't mention the past. Let's just talk about after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Our eldest brother at the time, Marquis Deqing, helped Yang Xian in Kaizhong and solved the problem of transporting grain to the border for the court. , and also gave the brothers a way to make money.”

"Our Chaohu Navy not only has 16,000 officers and soldiers, but also more than 30,000 orphans and family members of the fallen brothers, and more than 10,000 disabled brothers to support." Yu Tongjiang quickly explained: "Only with that little military salary, we can go far. not enough."

"Do you want to make money? Don't complain." Zhu Zhen smiled understandingly, indicating that he didn't need to explain more.

"But then Yang Xian capsized, and the successful business was taken away by those envious Fengyang people without even leaving any soup for me." When Yu Tongyuan said this, he hesitated for a moment, and finally confessed through gritted teeth. : "Then we will sell smuggled salt so that they can't get it either!"

"Yes." Zhu Zhen nodded without changing his expression. He had heard this from his elder brother. But when I heard the person involved say "smuggling salt" from his own words, I still felt that the founding generals were really lawless.

Not only did he dare to do it, but he also dared to say it in front of the prince... He was really off the mark!

This is Yu Tongyuan, who was labeled 'cowardly' by his father. I really don’t know how bold Liao Yongzhong must have been back then?

~~

"Seeing that they could not defeat us, those nobles colluded with Hu Weiyong, fabricated charges, and killed Marquis Deqing." Yu Tongyuan said angrily.

"The king also knows this." Zhu Zhen nodded and asked: "After the death of Marquis Deqing, your life will be very difficult, right?"

"Yes." Yu Tongyuan said with a look of despair:

"I also blame us for being careless, thinking that the emperor will take care of us next. We are in panic all day long, and we are confused for a while. We are not clear about the Mingjiao, and we are also suspected of plotting against the emperor."

"..." Zhu Zhenxin said, it was not just a simple suspicion. At least they are on both sides, hesitant to decide!

In the feudal dynasty and the imperial era, what the emperor wanted was absolute loyalty. Loyalty is not absolute, but it is absolutely disloyal...so it is actually "discussing the heart but not the trace".

Although Boss Zhu believed that Fengyang Xungui could not be the sole leader, he put the overall situation first and temporarily forgave them.

But they can't really feel at ease, because Boss Zhu has nothing to do with magnanimity, but he is full of grudges.

So others treat them as the living dead and don't bully them to their heart's content?

"Although the emperor is magnanimous and forgets the past, he can't stand those Fengyang people's excuses. The military pay is not paid, military supplies are not provided at all, and they have to divert the river to Qiongzhou... Our life is really too difficult!" Yu Tongyuan finally couldn't bear it anymore! Live and shed tears of sadness.

Although Yu Tongjiang and Liao Dingguo did not shed tears, their eyes were red. It seemed that they had been very sad for more than a year.

"Your Highness, our Chaohu Navy is already in danger! Even in this humble position, I know that I have brought it upon myself, but all the mistakes are my fault alone and have nothing to do with the brothers. If I can save the brothers, I am willing to Apologize to death!" Yu Tongyuan swore pointing to the sky.

"We are willing too!" Yu Tongjiang and Liao Dingguo also said in unison.

"How did you think of letting me take you in?" Zhu Zhen asked, pretending to be confused.

Robben, who was standing behind him, couldn't help curling his lips when he heard this. This sixth child is really wearing rouge on his anus - how can he pretend to be innocent!

I don’t know who is on the way here, but he vowed that he must take down the Chaohu Navy this time!

"I heard that His Highness is going to reopen the Shipping Department. We are thinking about it. With the current chaos on the sea, how can we do it without the navy?" Yu Tongyuan hurriedly explained:

"His Highness asked us to be dispatched again this time. We felt that this was a God-given opportunity! So we boldly recommended ourselves to His Highness and begged His Highness to take him in!"

"Please take me in, Your Highness!" Liao Jianguo and Yu Tongjiang also said: "We are willing to follow Your Highness to the death!"

"Don't you think I'm young?" Zhu Zhen asked with a wink.

"The heroic appearance of His Highness when he attended the meeting alone last year is still before our eyes. We have already been convinced and know that His Highness is already an excellent prince!" The three of them said in unison.

"Okay..." Zhu Zhen touched his nose.

In fact, he had already thought about bringing the Chaohu Navy, which was in dire straits, to the Ship Division.

He was never naive enough to think that just because of his status as a prince, reopening the shipping company would be smooth sailing, and everything would be smooth sailing.

And in the past few years, he has also discovered that there is a serious lack of respect for His Highness in the Ming Dynasty. There is no fear of his father or respect and love for his elder brother.

However, it is not difficult to understand. The Ming Dynasty was less than ten years old and the authority of the royal family had not yet been established. People's thinking that "Princes, generals and prime ministers would rather have their own kind" has not completely subsided.

It is because Zhu Yuanzhang is the emperor that the emperor has supreme authority. If you replace the emperor with someone else, your prestige will be lost immediately.

The same is true for the prince.

That's why my father is anxious to let his royal brothers make contributions, so that they can be worthy of their status!

This is especially true for him, the sixth son of Zhu Yuanzhang and His Royal Highness the King of Chu. He had to clear out the enemies in the middle of the court, on the sea and on the shore, so that he could regain the former glory of the Shipping Department.

Therefore, a strong naval force is essential.