Mixed with salted fish in Hongwudang

Old Zhu's insinuations not only frightened Zhu Di, but also frightened Zhu Di's younger brothers.

In fact, there is a chain of contempt among the princes of the Ming Dynasty, and the top few are relatively "loved" by Lao Zhu more.

At that time, Lao Zhu thought that there were only a few cubs in his life, so he hired the best teachers for them and devoted a lot of effort to their training.

But when he later found out that his vitality was so strong, the subsequent cubs popped out like dumplings, his "love" was scattered, and he didn't pay so much attention to the subsequent princes.

Even the sons born to the most favored concubine Guo Hui just got a few more faces from Lao Zhu, and they are far from the level of attention of the first batch of princes.

Zhu Di was very lucky, just in time to catch up with the first batch, and received endless paternal love from his father since he was a child.

Seeing that their fourth brother had died, all the trumpet feudal lords immediately panicked.

After all, few feudal lords of Ming Dynasty were involved in personnel affairs. Even if they didn't hold back their energy to rebel, they still bullied men and women in the fief and ignored human lives.

"Father calm down!"

"Fourth brother is the most honest person, how could he do such a rebellious thing?"

"Father, please investigate clearly!"

After Zhu Zhen, the king of Chu, shouted this slogan, other vassal kings followed suit.

"I hope the emperor will investigate clearly!"

Seeing that all the younger brothers were pleading for him, Zhu Di's flustered mood eased a bit.

However, when he saw his father's gloomy face, he still bowed his head guiltyly, and assumed a submissive attitude of letting his father dispose of him.

Lao Zhu looked at his sons kneeling on the ground, and his heart was very complicated.

Although in view of his bad temper, the officials of Daming did not dare to sue the princes.But how could he, the father, not notice it at all?

In fact, he knew a lot of things, but he was too lazy to take care of it, and he didn't have the energy to take care of it.

Because once the scandals of these sons of his own are revealed, there will be ministers who will use the fact that the government and the opposition opposed the enfeoffment back then.

When the time comes, will he withdraw from the domain, or will he commit a crime?

Therefore, he can only pretend to be deaf and dumb, as if he doesn't know anything.

After all, no matter how unworthy these sons are, they are also his seeds, and they are a part of his big game of dividing feudal feudal clans and using princes to guard the border.

But for Zhu Di, his mood is very complicated.

While admiring Zhu Di's ability, he was afraid that Zhu Di would cause trouble after his death.

Lao Zhu was not worried that Zhu Di could snatch Dasun's throne, but he was really afraid that this guy would set himself on fire, provoke Dasun, and be wiped out by Dasun on the grounds of calming down the chaos!

In that case, King Yan's lineage would be extinct!
Therefore, Lao Zhu is being harsh to Zhu Di now, isn't it a kind of protection from a loving father?
"Salt and iron are the lifeblood of the imperial court, no one should get involved!"

Zhu Di secretly heaved a sigh of relief when he heard his father's words.

so close!

I was almost killed by the old man to make an example to others!

"Father calm down!"

"My son was also confused for a while, so I made this ruthless request. My son never dared to have such thoughts..."

Although Lao Zhu's words had the intention of beating Zhu Di, they were more based on reality.

Since the implementation of the monopoly system of salt and iron in the Han Dynasty, the two items of salt and iron have always been an important pillar of finance and taxation for the imperial court.

Iron can be loosened occasionally, allowing private iron smelting and selling.

However, the control over salt has always been very strict in all dynasties, and selling illegal salt is tantamount to rebellion, and if you catch it, you will be beheaded.

The reason why salt was so strictly controlled in ancient times was because it was not only about finances, but also about the rule of the empire.

If people do not eat salt for a long time, they will feel fatigued and even have other diseases.

Therefore, controlling the circulation of salt means controlling the lifeline of the people.

After Lao Zhu finished beating, the atmosphere in the hall was a little tense for a moment.

Every prince is sitting upright, and there is no more chatting and laughing just now.

Just as everyone was thinking about how to break the deadlock, a weak voice sounded.

"Grandfather, my grandson thinks it's not too much for fourth uncle to want to cook sea salt..."

As soon as Zhu Yunxi's words came out, all the feudal lords in the hall were shocked, and even Lao Zhu looked at his rebellious grandson with surprise on his face, full of suspicion in his heart.

Can't this grandson see that he is protecting his rights?

But Zhu Yunxi didn't seem to realize it, and still said to himself.

"Salt and iron have been monopolized for more than 1000 years, and it is time to lift the ban."

"Furthermore, the salt tax is only a few million taels of silver a year, and it is decreasing year by year, which shows the extent of corruption below."

"Rather than guarding against strict defense, our Ming Dynasty should fully liberalize and let the common people live a life of freedom to eat salt."

When Lao Zhu heard this, he immediately felt that Dasun had something to say, so he hurriedly asked in puzzlement.

"What do you mean by what you said just now? What do you mean that the salt tax of Ming Dynasty is decreasing year by year?"

Hearing this, Zhu Yunxi fumbled in his sleeve, took out a memorial and handed it over.

"Grandfather, my grandson happened to be talking about the salt administration with the Secretary of the Household Department today, and found that since the 12th year of Hongwu, the salt tax has been decreasing year by year, and now it is less than 200 million taels of silver every year."

"Furthermore, the opening of Chinese law has gradually become abolished. Now my second uncle's military rations are transported by merchants I hired."

Listening to Dasun's narration, Lao Zhu couldn't help frowning.Opening Chinese and French is a political achievement that he is quite proud of, how come it is a success or failure in the mouth of this grandson?
However, after reading the salt tax records that Zhu Yunxi handed over over the years, Lao Zhu's face suddenly became gloomy.

"how so!"

"Obviously there were still 300 million in the early years of Hongwu. Why has the salt tax dropped by [-]% in just a few years!"

Hearing this, Zhu Yunxi said in his heart that this has already been calculated. After more than ten years, if our Daming can collect 100 million yuan every year, you are considered amazing!
"Grandfather, I have to ask you, have you been slack in fighting corruption in the past few years?"

Old Zhu's face changed drastically when he heard this, and he gave Dasun a displeased look.

"It's not because of you!"

"If we hadn't done it to accumulate virtue for you, we would have dealt with those moths long ago!"

Zhu Yunxi lost his temper immediately after hearing Lao Zhu's words, no matter what he said, this was also from the emperor's grandfather's affectionate love.

"Grandfather, my grandson has discussed this matter with Chen Shangshu, and I think there are several reasons for the reduction in salt tax."

"First, the government's purchase price has been reduced, which has made kitchen households unwilling to sell salt to the government, resulting in a decline in government revenue."

The so-called stove households are those who are responsible for boiling salt. Lao Zhu also unified them as stove households, and they can only boil water and boil salt for Daming from generation to generation.

"Secondly, because of the collusion between government and businessmen, some moths sell salt to merchants at a low price and let them sell it privately."

"Thirdly, opening China and France seems to be convenient. It not only facilitates the transfer of food and grass for the frontier army, but also makes the merchants profitable. However, the loss during the period is not small, and the attraction to merchants is far less than imagined."

"Instead of working hard to transport food, they might as well manage the officials well, and it's more cost-effective to sell salt directly from our Daming's official warehouse."

"What's more, the digging of salt wells without authorization in localities is also prohibited repeatedly."

"So my grandson thinks that instead of wasting manpower to rectify the salt industry, it is better to let it go completely and let the salt farm operate independently. We will set a unified tax amount according to the size and size of the salt farm, and the excess will be considered as a waste of money for them."

"This is..."

Lao Zhu was quite moved after hearing Dasun's words, but this matter was too big for him to make a decision for a while.

"Let's think about it..."

When Zhu Yunxi saw what Lao Zhu said, he immediately rolled his eyes.

"Then you should take your time to think about it. I'll talk to Uncle Wang first!"

After Zhu Yunxi said this, he really didn't talk to Lao Zhu, and started chatting enthusiastically with Zhu Di.

"Fourth Uncle!"

"If you want to sell salt, do it boldly!"

"I fully support this matter!"

Zhu Yunxi's sudden move directly made Zhu Di feel flattered and even secretly ashamed in his heart.

Isn't my eldest nephew very nice, why do I always want to rebel!
After Zhu Yunxi finished speaking to Zhu Di, he turned to look at the other Wang uncles.

"Uncle Seven!"

"Your fief is in Shandong, and you can cook sea salt to subsidize the palace's expenses."

"As long as you don't buy and sell by force, you can force people to sell salt at a low price!"

Zhu Yu was so moved to tears when he heard this, he raised his hand and slapped himself twice.

"Uncle Qi is not a human being!"

"Uncle Qi complained about you before and secretly scolded you several times!"

"Looking at it now, it's not that you don't miss us Uncle Wang, it's because we didn't do well enough, wow..."

Zhu Yunxi simply didn't like the little money for selling salt, so he couldn't imagine that it would be able to elicit such emotion from Zhu Yu.

"Uncle Seven's play is over!"

"If you can't write two Zhu characters with one stroke, how can my eldest nephew have the heart to watch you starve and suffer from cold?"

"It's just that the field is related to the stability of Ming Dynasty, and my nephew has to restrict you. But outside of the field, you can do whatever you like, such as salt and iron!"

"If there is a shortage of people or technology, my nephew can provide it for you!"

"But there is one thing, and that is to keep yourself safe and not use the king's power to bully other businessmen and people!"

Seeing that Zhu Yunxi even opened the salt and iron monopoly, all the vassal kings expressed their hearts with joy.

"Don't worry, nephew!"

"You've said all this, if we don't live up to it, are we still human?"

"Beat it!"

"Salt and iron can make money lying down. If you rely on royal power to bully people, it will be too bullying!"

Zhu Yunxi automatically ignored the language problem of a certain Zhu Zhi who was unwilling to reveal his name and was ignorant. Strictly speaking, this guy's fief is in Liaodong, and it is also a place where he can cook sea and sell salt.

But Zhu Yunxi didn't want him to sell salt, for fear that this silly uncle Wang would lose all his underpants.

"Uncle Fifteen, don't meddle in it, you can just settle down and cultivate wasteland."

Zhu Zhi was very unhappy when he heard the words. He also wanted to make money, and he also wanted to buy pearl necklaces and coral jewelry for his wife!

"What!"

"The others are your Uncle Wang, so I'm not?"

"I'm going to sell salt!"

Seeing his deadly look, Zhu Yunxi was furious. The reason why he opened up salt and iron was because he didn't like the small money on the one hand, and on the other hand, he wanted to industrialize salt production!

Once the salt-making workshop on my side is put into operation, its output will be more than five times that of Daming at the current stage. Isn't their small workshop only left with a way to lose money?

In fact, Zhu Yunxie's ultimate goal is to turn the vassals of the Ming Dynasty into iron smelting. After all, steelmaking is a heavily polluting and labor-intensive business.

Only by drawing in more people can he satisfy his ambition of spreading railways all over the country.

Otherwise, relying on the few factories under his name alone, he would never dream of seeing trains galloping through Daming in his lifetime.

"All right, all you have to do is sell as much as you like!"

Zhu Zhi snorted complacently when he heard the words, and winked at the others, as if to prove that he had a strong relationship with the emperor's grandson and could speak more casually.

Others were really envious of Zhu Zhi's treatment, after all, they grew up with Zhu Yunxi, and they had an advantage over their older Uncle Wang.

Only Zhu Gui's heart moved, feeling that his eldest nephew must be holding something bad in his stomach.But due to the large number of people at the moment, he didn't dare to ask more questions, so he could only bury his thoughts in his stomach.

Zhu Yunxi fooled the uncles for a while, and tried to tell them the benefits of large-scale steel smelting, which made everyone stunned.

In fact, everyone knows that steelmaking makes money, but they dare not make this money, for fear of violating the taboo of the court.

Even if Zhu Yunxi, the grandson of the emperor, personally promised, they would not dare to believe it.

Who knows if the grandson will take this as evidence and accuse them of plotting rebellion after a hundred years?
After all, as long as steel is smelted, no matter whether you make it into a sickle or a hoe, people will criticize it as making weapons privately.

Besides, they will definitely make weapons.

Each of them leads three guards and horses, and also controls a certain number of border soldiers and guard soldiers in the territory.

Since the family has a steelmaking factory, it is impossible to buy weapons from other places, right?
Therefore, even though Zhu Yunxi's words were extravagant, they just giggled and didn't mean to argue at all.

Only Zhu Di's eyes lit up, and his little heart was beating wildly.

If he obtained the license to make steel, wouldn't he be able to wash away the weapons workshop he hid underground?

"Nephew, is it true that you agree with us to make steel?"

"Of course!"

"As long as you don't make weapons privately and intend to fight against the court!"

Zhu Di blushed in embarrassment when he heard this and denied it.

"Eldest nephew's words are too much!"

"I can't write two Zhu characters in one stroke. We are all descendants of the Zhu family, so how can we do such things?"

"If you really agree, then Fourth Uncle Yanyan will ask you for someone. Can you see if there is a good place to build a factory in Fourth Uncle's fief?"

Zhu Yunxi thought about it silently when he heard the words, and he really thought of a good place.He remembered that there was a place called Caofeidian in later generations, which seemed to be within the fiefdom of King Yan.

"There is really one..."

"Come here, bring out the map of Grandpa Huang!"

When Qin Deshun heard that Zhu Yunxi was so careless about ordering the people in Lao Zhu's palace, he looked at Lao Zhu's face anxiously, and seeing that Lao Zhu did not show any hesitation, he ordered the little eunuch to bring out the map.

Normally, the rules of the imperial palace are very strict, even the crown prince dare not dictate in the old Zhu palace.

Four young eunuchs walked in carrying a huge screen, causing all the feudal lords to be shocked.

Because this map is different from the simple maps they have seen in the past, but a very detailed one, not only marking the mountains and rivers, but also showing the cities and military towns clearly.

"This……"

"When did my Ming Dynasty have such an accurate map?"

Zhu Yunxi waved his hands nonchalantly when he heard the words.

"So-so, it's still being perfected, and we'll be able to see a truly detailed map in a few years."

All the vassal kings wanted to strangle this grandson to death when they heard this. Your mother has drawn such a detailed map. Have you been thinking about cutting down the vassal?
Only Zhu Di looked at the map with eyes full of eagerness, and thought with a surge of emotion, this is the country that he has been thinking about alone!
"Farming the Field to Become Immortal: I Create Heaven on Kunpeng":
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