Volume 2: The Capital, I’m Back Chapter 60: The Secretary General of Daming takes office
After Yu Qian left, Zhu Qiyu said respectfully: "I will now report to you the emperor on the recent situation of the regent..."
"No need!" Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "I don't want to ask about these trivial matters. Today, the two of us brothers should talk about something serious!"
Zhu Qiyu was stunned. What does serious mean?
Did the various political affairs I handled when I was regent not act properly?
Zhu Qizhen first said: "Jin Banban, go get a map."
Jin Ying nodded and said, "Your Majesty, which map do you want?"
"The bigger the better!"
As a result, Jin Ying searched for a long time and only found a map of the entire territory of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Qizhen was obviously not satisfied and asked, "Is there a bigger one?"
"bigger……"
Jin Ying was in a dilemma. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something and said, "When the eunuch went to the West, he brought back a map of the world."
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "This is it, give it to me!"
"It's just that..." Jin Ying looked embarrassed and said, "This map of the world and the treasure ship information are all stored in the warehouse of the Ministry of Industry. It's been so many years, I'm afraid..."
Zhu Qizhen said impatiently: "What are you talking about? Go find it quickly!"
"I obey your command!"
Jin Ying hurriedly trotted to the Ministry of Works to look for information. Only the brothers Zhu Qizhen and Zhu Qiyu were left in the hall.
"My brother, do you know where I went this time?"
Zhu Qiyu replied: "My brother personally led 3,000 troops deep into the desert and attacked Huanglong. I admire you very much."
"The desert we usually talk about is more than a few thousand miles long. I rushed all the way from the south to the north of the desert, circled around the grassland with the Oirat people, and finally crossed the Onon River to reach Lake Baikal. Oh, it should be called the North Sea. This North Sea is rich in fisheries. It's a good place!"
Zhu Qiyu was a little confused. How could he know that there was a North Sea on the grassland? In his mind, the north was just a grassland covered with wind and sand. It had no other use except for grazing. He had never heard fishing.
Zhu Qizhen continued, "My brother, do you know where is the north of the North Sea?"
"This...I don't know."
"It is a Siberian tundra plain that is larger and more vast than Mobei . Although it is covered with ice and snow all year round, there are rich mineral deposits buried underground, and the reserves are astonishingly large."
Zhu Qiyu thought to himself, there are mineral deposits buried under the frozen soil, how did you know?
Did you go to Mobei for a tour and do some feng shui?
"My brother, have you ever heard of the Rakshasa Kingdom?"
Zhu Qiyu nodded and said, "I have heard a little about Luosha Country. It is said that there is a group of blue-eyed, red-haired ghosts living in the far north..."
"Okay, okay, it's not that exaggerated!" Zhu Qizhen interrupted him and said, "Rakshasa Country is... Hey, why hasn't Jin Banban come back yet?"
"I'm coming!"
Jin Ying ran into the Fengtian Palace with a bundle of scrolls in his arms, panting and saying, "Your Majesty, this map is the map of the world that Eunuch Sanbao brought back that year!"
Zhu Qizhen pulled Zhu Qiyu to the imperial desk, slowly unfolded the picture, and was stunned .
Because this so-called Kunyu World Map is very different from what I remember.
The map of all nations that was circulated in later generations was almost the same as a modern world map, but this map did not include America and Australia, only part of the Asian, African and European continents, and the coastlines and national borders had only a rough outline, making it more like a semi-finished product.
Zhu Qizhen thought for a while and the most reasonable explanation was that the map brought back by Zheng He looked like this, and it must have been supplemented and improved by one or more descendants, and finally became the complete map of the world that was passed down to later generations.
But it’s okay, it’s enough for now.
"My dear brother, please look here. This is the territory of our Ming Dynasty. To the north is the remnant of the Yuan Dynasty. To the west is the Oirat. To the east is the Tatar. Further north..."
Zhu Qizhen found Lake Baikal and said, "This is the North Sea!"
Zhu Qiyu nodded repeatedly when he saw the map and said, "I didn't expect my brother to have traveled so far, at least thousands of miles!"
"it's here……"
Zhu Qizhen's finger continued to move northwest along Lake Baikal. The map was incomplete here, so he just pointed roughly.
"This is the Rakshasa country, thousands of miles away from China. The Rakshasa people have red hair and blue eyes, but they are not ghosts. They are another ethnic group different from us Central Plains people. The place I am pointing at is called Moscow, which is their capital."
At this time, Zhu Qiyu asked doubtfully: "Brother, this North Sea is not within the scope of Luosha Country..."
"My brother is right. The people of Buryatia live here. However, due to the rich fisheries in the North Sea, the Rakshasa Kingdom has long coveted it and has been gradually invading. I think that in a few decades at most, this area will become the territory of the Rakshasa Kingdom."
"The cloth that my brother is talking about, cloth..."
"Buryats!" Zhu Qizhen explained, "Buryats are also a branch of the Mongols. They make a living by fishing and hunting. They are still scattered tribes and have not yet formed a stable regime. Therefore, they are easily defeated by foreign enemies one by one."
Zhu Qiyu frowned and said, "They are also Mongolians..."
Zhu Qizhen smiled and said, "My brother, do you think that the Mongols are only Tatars, Oirat and Uriankhai?"
Zhu Qiyu scratched his head and said a little embarrassedly: "I am ignorant, please give me some advice."
Zhu Qizhen explained: "The Buryat tribe existed long before Genghis Khan. Unlike the remnant Yuan forces, they have no hatred towards the Ming Dynasty. This time when I went to Beihai, I had contact with one of the tribes. Judging from their performance, it is entirely possible that we can develop into allies."
Zhu Qiyu suddenly realized and said, "I understand. Your Majesty is going to make this cloth, cloth..."
"Buryats!"
"Yes, Buryatia!" Zhu Qiyu continued, "Brother, are you planning to form an alliance with the Buryat tribe and attack the remaining Yuan forces from both sides?"
"good!"
Zhu Qizhen smiled faintly and said, "If we send a group of people to help them resist the invasion of the Luosha people, the Ming Dynasty will have an ally and lay the foundation for completely defeating the remnant Yuan in the future."
Zhu Qiyu lowered his head and pondered for a long time. Such a thought had never occurred to him before, because he had no idea that there was a North Sea thousands of miles away, where a Mongolian tribe mainly engaged in fishing and hunting lived.
Unconsciously, he had sensed the gap between himself and the emperor. He was thinking about defending the country, while the emperor had already set his sights thousands of miles away.
"I deeply agree with your words, brother. However, between our Ming territory and the North Sea there are Tatars and Oirat. How to deploy our troops still needs to be carefully considered."
"I've already thought about this."
Zhu Qizhen pointed in the direction of the capital and headed northeast.
"From Shanhaiguan, enter Liaodong, pass through Nurgandusi, and then go west along the north bank of the Onon River to reach the North Sea."
Zhu Qiyu stared at the map and nodded, saying, "Although this route has risks, it can avoid the main forces of the Tatars and the Oirat. I think it is feasible."
"In that case, I'll leave the rest to you to arrange. I have more important things to do."
"ah?"
Zhu Qiyu was suddenly stunned. Why did you just give it to me?
I was regent when you were away. Now that you're back, I'm just an idle prince with no power and unable to mobilize any soldiers. How should I make arrangements?
"Why, you still have questions?"
"Brother Emperor, I have already handed over the power of the regent. This is a major court matter..."
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand disapprovingly and said, "No problem, from tomorrow on, you will continue to supervise the country."
"ah?"
This time, Zhu Qiyu was completely stunned.
Now that you're back, why should I supervise the country?
Zhu Qizhen looked at his younger brother's confused expression, but he had other plans in mind.
Aren't you tired of engaging in intrigues with those cunning and treacherous civil officials every day?
What's more, if I want to implement the new policy, I will inevitably come into conflict with the gentry class. It is better to let me, your younger brother, take the lead first. If anything happens, you will be the first to take action and I will cover you from behind.
"I still have a lot of important things to do, so just focus on supervising the country. Just continue supervising the country as you did before. Don't feel stressed, just do your job well!"
Zhu Qizhen grabbed his hair so hard that he almost pulled it off.
"Brother, this is inappropriate..."
"And!" Zhu Qizhen ignored him and continued, "Remember to put Yu Qian in the cabinet."
"Royal brother..."
Zhu Qiyu could never accept this reality. Should he still be the regent?
"There is no precedent in our dynasty!"
Zhu Qizhen laughed and said, "Today, I will set a precedent!"
