"Okay, he's just like my dad. He doesn't discriminate against me, nor does he treat me perfunctorily. He's very good. I only had my dad before, but now I have a friend like Kai Ye."

In Di Baonu's heart, there is no distinction between friends. He doesn't know that in the future, his status will be very different from Zhu Kai's, but now in his heart, Zhu Kai is his best friend.

Looking at Dibaonu, who was well protected by him, Toghon Temur felt bad.

From now on, Di Baonu will need to grow up on his own, and he won't be able to protect him anymore, right?
"Bao Nu, your Master Kai will be busy with many things in the future. He is an adult now. Maybe you will live together and won't see each other often."

Toghon Temur tried to make Dibaonu not be so sad, and tried to use a gentler way to make him accept the gap between him and Zhu Kai: "When you grow up, maybe you can go find Master Kai, and then you can still be good friends, right?"

"is it?"

The servant lay on the bed, tapping the pillow with his chin again and again: "After so much time, can we still be friends?"

Toghon Temur said nothing, and he didn't know either.

"Dad, can we... come back in the future?"

Dibaonu has always wanted to know the answer, but now... no one can answer him.

The surrender ceremony ended hastily. Dibaonu's boasting of "My father dares to eat shit" made Toghon Temur the biggest joke. He was so ashamed and angry that he didn't want to appear in front of everyone.

When leaving the Mongol court, Toghon Temur did not take much with him, only the items in a carriage. The rest became the spoils of the Ming army. After listening to Zhu Kai's plan, Zhu Yuanzhang did not shoot Toghon Temur down from the clouds. He still gave him a carriage and a driver, and asked him to return to Yingtian Prefecture first, and then they would discuss how to resettle him.

Toghon Temur always thought that he would die, but he did not expect that Zhu Yuanzhang gave him a way to survive. From the contact during these days, Toghon Temur discovered that Zhu Yuanzhang did not care about him, and it seemed that whether he lived or died, he would not be affected in any way.

But Toghon Temur was not completely relieved. After all, his life and death depended entirely on Zhu Yuanzhang's decision.

……

When Toghon Temur and Dibaonu left the grassland, Tianbaonu had already caught up with Wang Baobao's large army with the only thirty remaining cavalrymen around him.

Wang Baobao also learned from Tianbaonu the news that Liu Yi had rebelled, the Manzi had rebelled, and Toghon Temur had been captured by the Ming army. In other words: the Yuan Dynasty was destroyed.

Wang Baobao was not surprised by such a result. What surprised him was that Tianbaonu would come to him. However, Wang Baobao did not want to see him, or even anyone who had anything to do with the Mongol royal family. However, the appearance of Tianbaonu forced Wang Baobao to change his original plan.

Wang Baobao led his troops to the Western Regions to avoid the attack of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, this was an act of desertion, but it was the best way of development. Not only the people in the Central Plains had homesickness, but the nomads on the grassland also had it. They wanted to stay in places they were familiar with.

Therefore, in order to bring enough forces to the Western Regions for development, Wang Baobao has been working hard to create his own image and portray himself as a loyal minister who is loyal to the emperor and patriotic. He had to leave Mobei because Toghon Temur trusted treacherous ministers. Wang Baobao had to move westward to protect himself and to maintain the strength of the Mongols.

But now, Tianbaonu is here.

Tianbaonu is the crown prince of the Yuan Dynasty!

Is he going to threaten the prince to control the princes?

No need at all!
Now, all the more than 100,000 soldiers under his command obey him.

killed?
That’s not appropriate either!
Wang Baobao needs to use a safe way to make Tianbao Nu seem less important.

Therefore, when Wang Baobao first met Tianbao Nu, he was very polite and treated him as the crown prince of the Yuan Dynasty.

Who knew that Tianbaonu was even more polite than him.

After seeing Wang Baobao, Tian Baonu put his right hand on his shoulder and knelt on one knee: "Prince Qi, it is my father and the Yuan Dynasty that have let you down. My father listened to the words of treacherous ministers and ended up in a tragic situation. The most hateful one is that barbarian. After being captured by the rebel Ming, he actually betrayed the Yuan Dynasty..."

These words were an apology, and they made people feel very warm inside, as if they had finally been vindicated after being misunderstood for many years.

But after hearing this, Wang Baobao felt a chill down his spine.

Tian Baonu lowered his posture at this time, making it seem that everything was for Wang Baobao's benefit, which made Wang Baobao feel sincerely that this was not a good person and that he came just to cause trouble.

But what can we do even if we know?

For the sake of his own image, Wang Baobao could only pretend to be sympathetic to Tian Baonu: "The prince will not let me down, and I will never let you down!"

Then, the two of them joined hands and walked into the big tent to discuss the westward journey.

The confidants who followed Wang Baobao were already dissatisfied when they saw Wang Baobao was so respectful to Tianbaonu. Tianbaonu's father was a tyrant, so how could he be a good person?
Besides, they followed Wang Baobao. If Wang Baobao ascended to the throne, wouldn’t their status also rise?
What virtue and ability did Tian Baonu have to deserve being supported by Wang Baobao?

Dissatisfied! Very dissatisfied!
After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, the infighting in the court was also very serious. The emperor's career was quite tortuous. This was a common problem among the nomadic peoples of the grasslands. Their wild nature made them difficult to obey.

If you make my life unhappy, then I will rebel against you.

Before Temujin, there were no powerful leaders on the grassland. They attacked each other, and the kings on the grassland changed one after another... At that time, the succession to the Khanship of the grassland was determined by whoever had the bigger fist. If the rebellion was successful, they had to kill the previous king and his opponent. Only in this way could they win respect when they ascended the throne.

However, Wang Baobao over-complicated the matter and forgot the most primitive way of survival on the grassland.

……

In Wang Baobao's tent, he was telling Tian Baonu about his battle plan.

Tian Baonu knew nothing about military affairs, and when it came to marching and fighting, he was no match to Wang Baobao.

Wang Baobao had just finished talking about his strategic plan, but before he could tell the details of the marching route, Tian Baonu was already confused. He said to Wang Baobao: "King Qi, you are the most intelligent general in our Yuan Dynasty when it comes to marching and fighting, so you can make the decision on the military affairs."

Handing over all the power to Wang Baobao, Tian Baonu continued, "When I was a child, I started practicing martial arts at the age of three under the guidance of my grandfather. It has been seventeen years now. Please, Your Highness, Prince Qi, arrange me and my attendants in the army, starting with the youngest soldiers."

"No!"

Wang Baobao immediately retorted.

It's not that he doesn't want Tianbaonu to join the army. The soldiers under his command are his own anyway, and Tianbaonu's soldiers are nothing. But if he starts from the cavalry, he will have to go to the battlefield.

The battlefield is brutal and anyone can die in battle.

Sending the Yuan Dynasty's crown prince and future emperor to the battlefield, isn't this a clear attempt to eliminate dissidents?

Wang Baobao did not want his reputation to be damaged, so he said to Tian Baonu: "Your Highness, you are worth a thousand gold. You must not go to the battlefield." "What do you mean by worth a thousand gold? I am just the prince of a fallen country. Why can't I go to the battlefield?"

Tian Bao Nu still insisted on his point of view and said to Wang Bao Bao: "In the past, our ancestors fought for a place to survive and established the great Yuan Dynasty. Now we can't even go to the battlefield. How can we call ourselves descendants of the Golden Family?"

After that, Tianbaonu came to Wang Baobao and said with deep affection: "If I unfortunately die on the battlefield, I beg you, King Qi, to continue the Yuan Dynasty! The Yuan Dynasty can do without Tianbaonu, but it cannot do without you, King Qi!"

"..."

These words sounded sincere and heartfelt, but why did it feel like Tianbaonu was going to hang himself on the fire?
"it is good."

Wang Baobao finally agreed, but also told Tian Baonu that he would send his trusted followers to follow him and ensure his safety.

The two talked for a long time. Tian Baonu returned to the big tent that Wang Baobao had arranged for him and muttered to himself: "The Yuan Dynasty is over, so let's start over. If I die, it means that I am not capable enough and I am not worthy of being the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. As for Wang Baobao... as long as I don't die, I will definitely conquer him!"

The naive Tian Baonu believed that as long as he worked hard enough, he would be able to impress everyone.

……

Wang Baobao led his troops westward, but they posed no threat to the Ming Dynasty for the time being. After two or three years of rectification, the many tribes on the grassland could be completely incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang also realized that if they wanted to strengthen their rule over the grassland, they had to change their strategy.

For example, the boundary between Yanjing and ancient Youzhou could no longer be divided into Qi and Lu. Youzhou should be separated out to strengthen the control over the grassland.

Especially Liaodong.

That’s the granary outside the Great Wall!
Of course, there is also the issue of how to deal with the northern desert after driving out the Mongols... These are all issues that Zhu Yuanzhang needed to think about. After returning to Yanjing, he pulled Feng Sheng and a group of civil and military officials to discuss how to deal with the management issues after regaining the Yuan Dynasty's territory.

Zhu Kaize had a lot of free time. He had nothing to do, so he took his little follower Di Bao Nu around Yanjing all day long. In ten days or so, Di Bao Nu had shown signs of gaining weight and had become a round little fat boy.

After Toghon Temur taught Dibaonu a lesson several times, he finally chose to lie down and give up... Forget it, let him do whatever he wants, this little bastard's account is ruined.

Thinking of the former Dibaonu, Toghon Temur couldn't help feeling distressed.

The local security guard used to be such a well-behaved child, how did he become like this now?

It only takes half a month to learn bad things!
Zhu Yuanzhang and Toghon Temur had a good relationship, probably because Toghon Temur cooked well and had the potential to be a chef, and also because both families had naughty children, which allowed the two fathers to communicate more.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very experienced in beating children. Looking at Zhu Kai and the naughty land security slave, Zhu Yuanzhang taught them a lot of "child-rearing experience".

During their conversations, Zhu Yuanzhang also discovered that, just as Zhu Kai said, Toghon Temur had no interest in the throne at all. If it were not for his incompetence and his willingness to be manipulated by others, Toghon Temur would have been a handful of dirt on the grassland by now.

After dinner, the two sat together to drink tea. Zhu Yuanzhang asked Toghon Temur, "What are you going to do in the future?"

Do I have a future?

Toghon Temur did not think that he would have a good ending as a king of a fallen country, but he could not say these words in front of Zhu Yuanzhang. He just expressed his prospects: "His Royal Highness the Second Prince is kind and he treats Baonu very well. I will spend the rest of my life raising Baonu to adulthood and seeing him marry and have children. I will be satisfied."

Zhu Kai is indeed very kind.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and then expressed his thoughts: "The king of a fallen country should either die or live a life worse than death, but the Ming Dynasty is a Ming Dynasty that tolerates everything, so I want to treat it in a different way."

"After returning to Yingtian Prefecture, just follow Kai'er and do whatever he tells you to do."

"what?"

Toghon Temur was stunned at first, then overjoyed: "Your Majesty, are you telling the truth?"

"A real man should stick to his words. You are just a king of a fallen country. If I can catch you once, I can catch you a second time!"

However, if you dare to do it a second time, you will not end up like this.

Anyway, Zhu Kai wanted to keep Toghon Temur, so Zhu Yuanzhang followed his wish.

Let's see what kind of results this kid Zhu Kai can achieve.

The conversation with Toghon Temur was not in-depth, and due to the huge gap in their status, the two of them could not find anything meaningful to talk about. Zhu Yuanzhang also did not like to talk nonsense, he wanted to chat with Zhu Kai more, this kid always said something refreshing.

For example, now, Zhu Yuanzhang wants to redivide the scope of the provinces in the northern border, and he would be the right person to find Zhu Kai.

After Zhu Yuanzhang expressed his thoughts, Zhu Kai asked back: "Dad, since you think such a large territory is difficult to manage, why don't you make him a king? Make him an outer king!"

"Become a king? Impossible!"

Zhu Yuanzhang knocked on the table and said, "Little bastard, people with other surnames cannot be crowned kings. This is a rule that has been in place since ancient times!"

"Dad said that I can't be crowned king because a king must have military power, and a military general can't be crowned king, right?"

Zhu Kai laughed, "Then why can't we return the military power to the Ming Dynasty and let the literati be crowned kings?"

In fact, the so-called king was just like the provinces in later generations. He was only responsible for management but could not have military power.

The reason for doing this is that the current transportation and communication methods are too inconvenient. Such remote places require governance based on personal capabilities, nothing more.

Zhu Kai's words seemed to open a new door for Zhu Yuanzhang and also brought him new ideas.

He immediately became interested: "Boy, talk to me, if not about making me king, then about separating the military and politics."

"It's very simple. Liaodong and the Yuan Dynasty are too large and too far away from Yingtian Prefecture. Reporting back and forth is time-consuming and laborious. It's better to give them some autonomy."

Zhu Kai spoke out his thoughts, dipped his finger in water, and drew a simple map on the table: "Look, this is Liaodong, this is the territory of the Mongols. Because the population of the Ming Dynasty is insufficient, we must first build a granary. With food, there will be population, and with population, there will be commercial development. It's a three-pronged approach!"

It’s business again!
Zhu Yuanzhang thought of what Zhu Biao had said to him, that Zhu Kai wanted to use the money he received from the Kong family to build two roads that run north-south and east-west. Now that he heard Zhu Kai mention business in his plan, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately asked, "Before, Biao said that you wanted to build two roads. Are you preparing for business?" (End of this chapter)