In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.
The first emperor of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, had passed away.
The emperor's grandson Zhu Yunwen succeeded to the throne and was named Jianwen.
In the first few months after Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne.
He began to consider how to increase his own power while weakening the power of the vassal kings, and took drastic action against the smaller and weaker vassal kings with some or no charges.
King Zhu of Zhou, King Zhu Gui of Dai, King Zhu Bai of Xiang, King Zhu of Qi and King Zhu of Min fell one after another.
It caused a huge uproar in the entire Ming Dynasty.
Among them, the one with the greatest influence was Xiang King Zhu Bai.
Zhu Bai, the king of Xiang, was the most staunch.
Not only was he framed by the Imperial Court, but he was also surrounded by the Imperial Court's troops, saying that he was plotting a rebellion and wanted to be brought to the capital for trial.
Zhu Bai was shocked and furious when he heard the news. He looked up at the sky and sighed,
"Sigh! I observed that the ministers of the previous generation often committed suicide when they were imprisoned in a fatuous and violent dynasty.”
"As the son of the great ancestor, my father has passed away. I can't visit his illness, nor can I participate in the funeral. How can I live like this!"
After Zhu Bai finished speaking, he cried bitterly. After drinking and bidding farewell to his family, Zhu Bai immediately set fire to his palace concubines and concubines. He put on the clothes of the prince, held a bow and arrow, rode a white horse, and jumped into the fire to commit suicide. The entire palace died with Zhu Bai.
Zhu Bai had died a heroic death, but its influence shook the entire Great Ming.
All the vassal kings in the world felt a sense of grief.
From there, it also pushed forward the storm that was about to rise in the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yunhao, who was far away in Qiongzhou, fell silent when he received the news.
Zhu Yunyan had a deep impression of Xiang King Zhu Bai.
In Zhu Yunhao's impression, his uncle was a very heroic person. He was very studious and liked to read, especially military books.
Not only that, but his uncle also lived a carefree life. He liked to travel around famous mountains and historical sites, and he would often forget to leave.
At the same time, he was also a loyal Daoist believer and even gave himself the Daoist name 'Zi Xuzi'.
Such a loyal and unrestrained prince had died just like that, and he had been framed by the imperial court. How could the imperial court not be heartbroken by such actions?
Zhu Yunhao sighed slightly. He was mourning for his uncle and also for the world.
Zhu Yunhao knew that with the death of Xiang King Zhu Bai, the world was about to open up.
That was because his brother would be dealing with their fourth uncle, Zhu Di.
The battle that would change the fate of Great Ming, the Battle of Jingnan, would probably start soon.
"Time is getting tighter and tighter. It seems that I have to speed up my pace.”
"Xiao Ding."
In the study, Zhu Yunhao called out.
The door opened and Xiao Ding, who was dressed in green, walked into the study.
"Your Highness!"
Zhu Yunhao looked at Xiao Ding. Compared to three years ago, Xiao Ding was more mature. His small mustache made him look more stable.
"How is the situation in Qiongzhou Prefecture now?”
Xiao Ding respectfully said,
"Currently, there are about 800,000 commoners and 200,000 craftsmen in Qiongzhou Prefecture. Compared to last year, the population and taxes have increased by more than three times, and the business tax has increased by five times. This year, the financial revenue of Qiongzhou Prefecture can reach almost 10 million taels of silver.”
Zhu Yunhao nodded slightly. He was quite satisfied with this number.
Compared to three years ago, the current Qiongzhou Prefecture had undergone earth-shattering changes.
Three years ago, the entire population of Qiongzhou was less than 20,000, and the land was barren. The grand prefecture was not even comparable to a small county in the inland.
Most of the local people made a living by catching fish, and their lives were very difficult.
The government office of Qiongzhou was even poorer. The local officials could not even be greedy, let alone anything else.
When Zhu Yunhao first came here, he didn't even have a decent residence, let alone a mansion.
Everything in Qiongzhou was built up by Zhu Yunhao bit by bit.
To be able to develop to its current scale in three years, Zhu Yunhao felt that his hard work over the past three years was not in vain.
"How's the situation with the army?"
Xiao Ding said in a deep voice,
"Excluding the 20,000 personal guards of Prince Ren's Mansion who went out to hunt, Qiongzhou Prefecture still has 50,000 Qiongzhou Guards. As for the navy, excluding the 15 treasure ships for hunting, there are still 20 treasure ships docked at the port.”
Zhu Yunhao frowned slightly.
The entire Qiongzhou Prefecture had only 70,000 soldiers. Except for his 20,000 private soldiers who had seen blood, the other 50,000 Qiongzhou Guards were all new soldiers who had never seen blood.
Although they had been trained for a year, the new army was still a new army. They could not be compared to the veterans who had been on the battlefield.
Fortunately, the weapons and equipment of the new army were very excellent, which was not comparable to the general army. This was also a bit of confidence for Zhu Yunhao.
"It's still too little. I still have to continue recruiting. Qiongzhou Guards must reach 100,000, and my personal guards must reach 50,000.”
What could 70,000 people do in the face of the incoming trend?
Moreover, there were 50,000 new troops. This small amount of troops was probably enough to protect themselves. It was still too far from his desired goal.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。