Chapter 1586: All Under Heaven One Family — Let's Talk It Over Properly

Zhu Cixuan was indeed a filial son — the posthumous title he prepared for Chongzhen was actually quite fitting.

Zhu Cilang turned back to look at the Third Crown Prince again. "Third Brother, what do you think? This 'Fuzong Xian Emperor' works, doesn't it?"

"Works, works!" Zhu Cijiong nodded. "Just call him 'Inheriting Heaven, Knowing Fate, Abundant and Prosperous, whatever whatever'... Anyway, Imperial Father had a pretty happy life. He may not have done well as emperor, but he had long life and good fortune, and he even gave the three of us over a hundred brothers!"

He looked at Zhu Cilang. "Eldest Brother, you're impressive too — so many brothers, and you've actually arranged things quite well!"

Zhu Cilang smiled and waved a hand. "Whether Our brothers do well or not mainly depends on themselves. As their elder brother, I just create some opportunities for them... Actually, when one king succeeds, ten thousand bones lie bleached!"

Founding a state and building an enterprise is certainly not easy. Over these past decades, the sons of Chongzhen who went out to build enterprises abroad haven't had it easy either... Quite a few have died out there!

And even more are Commandery Princes who lost everything and went bankrupt. Starting a business has risks, and founding a state requires caution... Fortunately, the Great Ming nowadays doesn't pen up its princes. After they lose their family fortunes, they can still go become minor officials or seek positions in big trading houses and great merchant guilds — at least they can earn their own keep.

Zhu Cijiong nodded. "That's right. Anyone who can carve out a place for themselves out there these days has had it hard!"

Indeed, it was not easy!

Although Zhu Cilang's brothers had many advantages, starting a business is simply too difficult. Anyone who could succeed at it absolutely had real ability. Or they were spotted by someone else with real ability. For example, Zhu Cihuan and Zhu Cien, those two kept men — they not only had real ability, they also had real capital!

And in the process of founding enterprises, the Zhu family princes and princelings who died or went bankrupt were truly not few!

Zhu Cilang spoke again: "Building an enterprise and opening new territory is indeed no simple matter! Third Brother, why bring up these words with your foolish elder brother today?"

"Eldest Brother," Zhu Cijiong said with a smile, "since you know how hard it's been for them, have you ever thought about how our Great Ming is going to govern all these hard-won vassal states in the future?"

Zhu Cilang nodded, then called out: "Lucky Boy, did you hear your Third Uncle's question? What do you think?"

"Once We have sent off your grandfather, We will abdicate and become the Retired Emperor. Then you will be the Emperor! How to manage all these hard-won vassal states will be entirely your business."

This question was indeed not easy to answer! Right now, it's hard enough for Great Ming to govern its own provinces and directly-administered garrisons, let alone govern vassal states... And those vassal states were all won by real ability — or slept into existence!

"Imperial Father," Zhu Hexing urged his horse forward, "your son believes vassal states should always observe propriety... hierarchy and precedence must be maintained!"

"Then what do we do about vassal states that don't observe propriety?" Zhu Cilang asked again.

Vassal states that observe propriety are actually of little use — they're all countries that grow less and less capable of fighting... Even the Kingdom of Japan's military preparedness has grown more and more lax in recent years.

The ones truly able to stand against the Western powers on the front lines are the United States, the United Kingdom, the Qing Kingdom, the Western Chu Republic, and the Dzungar Kingdom — these capable fighters, and none of them count as propriety-observing states.

"Well..." Zhu Hexing was a bit stuck — Ding Yuying wasn't around right now! Difficult questions like this should be put to her!

"Imperial Father, these countries are all beyond our reach!"

"Third Brother, do you have some good method to teach the Crown Prince?" Zhu Cilang asked the Third Crown Prince.

"Eldest Brother, what good method could I have?" Zhu Cijiong laughed. "It's nothing more than one trick... whatever comes up, everyone should discuss it together in good faith."

Zhu Cilang nodded. "The Western Chu Republic and the Dzungar Kingdom have been doing well these years... still fairly obedient! That's all thanks to Third Brother's good guidance, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't dare claim such great credit," Zhu Cijiong said with a smile. "Western Chu is, after all, our own people... Dzungar is entirely thanks to Anu. By the way, is Anu coming too?"

"She's coming," Zhu Cilang nodded. "Haven't seen her in many years... I do miss her!"

Zhu Cilang had many children, but none of them had been raised by his side. This Anu, however, had been with him since childhood, so their bond was naturally different.

"Eldest Brother," Zhu Cijiong nodded, "this is a rare opportunity! A whole big family, scattered to the far corners of the earth — getting everyone together is truly not easy! Who knows when the next time will be..."

Next time? Zhu Cilang thought to himself: Next time it'll be my turn, won't it? Better to wait another twenty years. Thirty years would be even better. This matter is truly nothing to rush!

Zhu Cijiong glanced at his deeply frowning elder brother and continued: "Eldest Brother, you must take advantage of our generation still being around to summon everyone for a conference and properly work out a set of laws and institutions that all sides can accept. In particular, there must be a proper system for discussion — where all sides can talk things through and handle affairs by consultation. Only then can our descendants live together in harmony!"

Zhu Cilang nodded, then glanced at Zhu Hexing.

Zhu Hexing said: "What Third Uncle says is most excellent. Right now our family is scattered across the far corners of the earth, and some of the capable ones among them have founded quite a few states — several of them great and powerful nations. While Imperial Father is still here, these great and powerful nations naturally dare not fail to observe the rites of subjects. But what about after Imperial Father's ten thousand autumns? Your son believes we must still discuss things in good faith — after all, we're all one family! If we truly tear each other's faces off, the loss would far outweigh the gain."

Indeed — for a family quarrel to turn into a world war, what kind of conduct would that be!

Moreover, the United States, the Qing Kingdom, the Western Chu Kingdom, the Dzungar Kingdom, and the United Kingdom — these great powers and strong vassals — are too far from the Great Ming homeland. The cost of sending troops to attack them is too high; even if we won, we'd lose our shirts.

Zhu Hexing was already well advanced in years, and he had worked his way up from County Magistrate to Prefect!

Of course he understood the principle that losing money can kill you!

As for sayings like "Whoever dares offend mighty Ming, though far away, will surely be punished" — Zhu Hexing did not believe them. And he also knew that Great Ming and those strong vassals were mutually dependent. Without the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Qing Kingdom openly accepting Great Ming's "reserve Li Zichengs," could the Great Ming's capitalist road have been so stable?

Moreover, because gratifyingly rich gold deposits had been discovered in the lands of the United States, the United Kingdom (South Continent), and the Qing Kingdom, these three countries had very strong purchasing power — they were all nouveau-riche nations! Now roughly half of the handicraft goods produced in southeastern Great Ming were exported to these three nouveau-riche nations. And over eighty percent of the gold and silver those three nouveau-riche nations produced flowed into Great Ming through trade.

Although the Great Ming Empire itself did not participate in sharing the profits of the three countries' gold and silver mines, through trade and trade-related commercial taxes (the current Great Ming court was very serious about collecting commercial taxes), the Great Ming imperial court was still the largest beneficiary of the three countries' gold and silver mining development.

If only for the sake of the gold and silver flowing in endlessly and the "reserve Li Zichengs" flowing out endlessly, Zhu Hexing was unwilling to fall out with them. A man of his age, who had already encountered so many troubles, had long since lost any youthful hot-bloodedness. Steadily muddling through life was what mattered most.

Zhu Cilang smiled and nodded. He too was an old man past seventy, and he also did not wish that after he let go, his descendants would fight a world war — the consequences of losing a world war are very serious! Historically, the Habsburg dynasty, the Hohenzollern dynasty, the Romanov dynasty, and the Ottoman dynasty were all wiped out by the First World War!

That would be even more vexing than a revolution! Revolutions don't spread that fast — countries with more poor people are prone to them, but those nouveau-riche nations dripping with wealth aren't likely to have revolutions. They're too busy digging gold to have time for revolution!

So even if a revolutionary wave without a world war as its fuse did arise, the Zhu family's descendants could still hide elsewhere — at worst, they could take shelter in those nouveau-riche nations.

But if our own family fought a world war, and that in turn produced a world revolution, then there'd be nowhere to hide and nowhere to conceal!

And moreover, the dynasties of Great Ming, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Qing Kingdom, and the Western Chu Kingdom are all descendants of the Exalted Founder Emperor. If a world war wiped them all out, that would be a catastrophic loss.

(End of Chapter)