Daming: Old Zhu, we agreed not to rush!

Chapter 231 Riding a tiger is hard to get rid of Zhu Liangzu!
The bright moon hangs high, and the moonlight shines brightly.

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A burst of crackling firecrackers sounded at the gate of the small courtyard, and the New Year's Eve finally arrived.

In this small courtyard of Laizhou Mansion, Su Jing, Zhu Biao and Mu Ying are busy in the kitchen.

Although there are only three people and there is no process of visiting relatives, this meal cannot be casual.

What should be paid attention to should be paid attention to.

"Okay! Go to the table and eat!"

Su Jing, who is the chef, shouted loudly, and Zhu Biao and Mu Ying brought the dishes to the table.

"Come on, let me offer you a toast, this is the last day of this year, eat and drink well!"

Su Jing got up, holding a wine glass and said to Zhu Biao and Mu Ying.

"I would like to follow Master Su's instruction."

"What Mr. Su said is true!"

Zhu Biao and Mu Ying clinked glasses of wine, their faces full of joy.

The New Year here is simple and warm.

And in the Forbidden City at this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang is also feasting his officials.

On such an important festival, it is a routine operation of the royal family to entertain the officials, not only in the Ming Dynasty, but also in previous dynasties, the emperors also had this custom.

Inside the palace, the lights are bright.

Ma Zhiyuan, who is the head of the Department of Household Affairs, also had the honor to come to the palace to attend the banquet.

Of course, the seat he was sitting at was the low-rank table, and his rank could only sit here.

There are four stages in this grand banquet, which are upper table, upper middle table, middle table and lower table.

Depending on the order, the dishes are also different.

Serving on the table is the best, and there are many kinds of side dishes, five kinds of candied melons and fruits, and five kinds of fried snacks. For the big dishes, there are phoenix chicken, double stick bones, etc., five kinds of wine, four kinds of vegetables, and three kinds of soups.

There are also horse, beef and mutton, etc., which are very rich.

As for the upper middle table and the middle table, there is not much difference in the dishes, but the types of wine and the number of dishes are reduced.

Compared with the other three dishes, the dishes on the next table are quite different. There are only fine powder soup, pepper and vinegar pork, buns, pork rice, steamed buns and a few bottles of wine.

But even these few dishes were delicious to Ma Zhiyuan.

The child in the family is recovering from a serious illness, and these foods cannot be eaten. I can only think about whether I can take some home when I go home after eating.

In the main hall, Zhu Yuanzhang is naturally the focus of attention.

Beside him are Li Shanchang, Xu Da and other six princes.

After that, there are a group of princes. Although 28 princes have been conferred, some of them are posthumous, so the number is dissatisfied.

These are Zhu Yuanzhang's heroes who created the Ming Dynasty. At this moment, they are full of vigor and high spirits.

On such an occasion, all the princes are naturally there.

"Brother is not here, I always feel that this banquet is a bit unaccustomed."

Zhu Xun sat on his seat and said to Zhu Xun who was beside him.

As the prince Zhu Biao, everyone can see how hard Zhu Yuanzhang has cultivated him.

As long as it is a grand occasion, Zhu Biao is basically required to appear on the scene.

Of course, Zhu Biao also attracted everyone's attention, whether it was Zhu Yuanzhang or the officials, they would naturally look at Zhu Biao.

This future prince carries all the hopes of Daming.

As Zhu Biao's younger brothers, naturally they will not receive too much attention.

But now, Zhu Biao is not here, and many courtiers have begun to search for Zhu Biao's trace.

Zhu Xi, the second prince, felt quite uncomfortable being suddenly stared at by many eyes.

"Second brother, it's all right, but those ministers don't know where the eldest brother is, and they are looking for the eldest brother, not looking for you."

Zhu Yan explained sincerely.

Zhu Xi looked a little embarrassed, and said: "Of course I know, it doesn't feel a little boring, just find something to talk about."

Zhu Yan said: "I think you, second brother, you have considered your own marriage. Among the daughters of these ministers, do you like it?"

Zhu Xi is only one year younger than Zhu Biao, Zhu Biao's marriage contract has already been set, and next year will be the coming-of-age ceremony.

As a prince, this important matter of marriage must not be decided.

The high probability is to marry a minister's daughter, and in-laws are a powerful tool to maintain the ruling relationship.

However, this does not prevent the princes from having their favorite objects.

"Third brother, you really said it."

Hearing about the important event of marriage, Zhu Xi immediately became interested.

"I think Duke Wei's daughter looks pretty good, I like it."

Zhu Yu looked in the direction of Wei Guogong Deng Yu, and recalled the appearance of Deng Yu's daughter in his mind.

Zhu Wei thought for a while and said: "Second brother, the daughter of Duke Wei, maybe you really have a possibility."

Next year, they will become feudal kings. As feudal lords, they are indeed a good match for the Duke's daughter.

But this is just Zhu Yan's guess, and it can't be true.

"Hey, third brother, second brother loves to hear what you say."

Zhu Xi laughed, very excited.

Indeed, in the future he will marry the daughter of Deng Yu, Duke of Wei, but he will not be a concubine.

His concubine is Wang Baobao's younger sister Guanyinnu.

And now Wang Baobao is still Prime Minister Zhongshu You of the Yuan Dynasty, and he is working hard to restore the Yuan Dynasty and defeat the Ming Dynasty.

"Second, what are you laughing at?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice suddenly sounded, which directly shocked Zhu Xi.

This thought was so beautiful just now that he didn't care about his own image at all.

"Father, my son... My son was talking about Mr. Su with his younger brothers, and he thought it was interesting, so he laughed."

Zhu Xing got stuck, and his mind didn't turn around for a while, and he was directly drawn to Su Jing.

You can't say that you are thinking about women now.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Xi and continued to ask, "What about Su Jing is so interesting?"

This made Zhu Xi confused, he was just making up nonsense, so he didn't know what to say.

At this time Zhu Yan said: "Father, what the ministers said is that the glass made by Mr. Su can be turned into a magnifying glass or a telescope, which is really interesting."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! My brother taught us how to light a fire with a magnifying glass."

Zhu Xing immediately agreed.

"Oh, and this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked curiously: "How does the magnifying glass ignite? I happen to have one in my hand, please show me."

As he spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang took out a magnifying glass from his hand.

Zhu Yuanzhang often uses a magnifying glass to assist in reading and reading booklets on weekdays, and he is used to bringing it with him.

This also shows that Zhu Yuanzhang has a lot of reading frequency and time.

Zhu Xi immediately said: "Father, this must be in the daytime, and it must be a sunny day. Without the sun, it can't be lit."

Now it was Zhu Yuanzhang's turn to be surprised. He saw the double reeds of Zhu Xi and Zhu Yu.

After all, he is his own son, how could he not understand.

But Zhu Yu really knew it, which surprised Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Okay, then I'll see later."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and did not continue to chat.

After all, these sons are not as important as those ministers at present.

"Your Majesty, is this glass made by Mr. Su?"

Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong asked Zhu Yuanzhang.

As Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew, at the age of 19, he began to lead the army as a savior.

Li Wenzhong was a general who was deeply loved by Zhu Yuanzhang, and he gave away a lot of binoculars before.

Among the current hundred officials, most of them know the existence of the telescope, and they also know that the telescope was made by Su Jing.

But they don't know the glass that is the raw material of the telescope.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "Yes, the glass was created by Su Jing. The glass you buy now is actually Su Jing's, and the glass used in the palace is also purchased from him."

The glass market was really popularized by Zhu Yuanzhang abruptly.

In the decoration and repair of the palace, the utilization rate of glass is very high.

Although the price is not cheap, it is not a valuable item for these founding heroes.

Therefore, the mainstream market for the glass made by Su Jing's glass factory is actually these people.

Focus on a top market.

"So that's it. This Mr. Su is really a man of God."

Li Wenzhong sighed sincerely.

As a general, he is very aware of the usefulness of binoculars. He really didn't expect that the glass was also made by Su Jing.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Su Jing is not as powerful as you said, he is just a businessman, he does what he does to make money."

Don't look at Huatou as if he is belittling Su Jing, but Zhu Yuanzhang's expression is clearly a compliment.

"I dare to ask, why is the prince not in the palace today?"

While chatting and laughing, Cui Liang, Minister of Presents, suddenly asked.

Prince Zhu Biao!

When Cui Liang asked these words, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly calmed down a lot.

Everyone knew that the prince Zhu Biao was not there, and they all guessed where the current Zhu Biao should be and who he was with.

But no one was the first to ask.

It was still Cui Liang's iron head, without foreshadowing, and went straight to the theme.

On the one hand, Cui Liang is indeed more stubborn, and on the other hand, Cui Liang already feels that his body is not doing well.

The job of Minister of Rites is really tiring.

Zhu Yuanzhang has very high requirements for officials, and Cui Liang is also a person who will not be sloppy.

Do your best anytime.

Even if I feel unwell, I won't resign or anything, just hold on.

He felt that at the last moment of his life, he had to shoulder the responsibilities he should bear.

Zhu Yuanzhang replied: "The prince is in Laizhou, and he will not be able to come back for the time being."

He is still very satisfied with Cui Liang, Minister of Rites.

The officer is efficient, but also very careful and meticulous.

The enthronement and the rituals of the Great Sacrifice are all planned by him. He quotes allusions and textual research on all etiquette and etiquette, which is even better than the former Minister of Rites, Yongren.

Cui Liang said: "The Spring Festival is a big festival for getting rid of the old and bringing forth the new, worshiping gods and ancestors, praying for blessings and warding off evil spirits. The emperor should offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for blessings. As the future successor of Ming Dynasty, His Royal Highness should also do these things well."

"I think that such a situation should not happen again."

The Minister of Rites always speaks from the etiquette.

The Spring Festival was a very important festival for the ancient feudal society.

The emperor even held a grand ceremony to pray to God and pray for the people.

Such etiquette, how to proceed, and who needs to participate are all stipulated by etiquette.

What Cui Liang said was quite fine.

The ministers looked at Cui Liang with different expressions.

Of course, someone must be happy, because Zhu Yuanzhang was relieved to let Zhu Biao spend the Spring Festival with Su Jing.

This trust will make Su Jing even more difficult to deal with after Su Jing enters the court in the future.

"What Cui Shangshu said is reasonable, I will definitely let the prince pay attention."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said without rebuttal.

This surprised the ministers. Is Zhu Yuanzhang going to speak for Su Jing?
Even Cui Liang found it unimaginably smooth.

"Your Majesty Shengming."

Cui Liang backed away slowly.

But Cui Liang is not a fool, it is enough to do his own thing well.

Zhu Yuanzhang has said so, he will not continue to entangle in Zhu Biao's matter.

However, Cui Liang withdrew, but someone stood up.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness is by that Su Jing's side, so there won't be any security issues."

Zhu Liangzu stood up from his seat and said to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Although he is also surnamed Zhu, he is not related to Zhu Yuanzhang.

On the contrary, he played for the Yuan Dynasty in his early years, fought against Zhu Yuanzhang many times, suffered repeated defeats, and finally was defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang.

He was relatively close to Li Shanchang. Although he was from Huaixi, his roots were not upright and not popular, so he could barely be regarded as a marginal member of the Huaixi Group.

Zhu Liangzu like this is the easiest to become the target of optimization.

He is in a hurry!
"The Marquis of Yongjia is worrying too much. The prince is still with Mu Ying, so there is no big problem."

Zhu Yuanzhang said lightly.

Hearing that Mu Ying followed Zhu Biao, the faces of all the ministers at the banquet changed.

Who doesn't know Zhu Yuanzhang's love for Mu Ying, and Mu Ying has lived up to Zhu Yuanzhang's love, no matter what she does, she is very good.

The reputation in the court is also quite good.

This most favored adoptive son, a crown prince, actually spent the New Year with Su Jing.

Su Jing's status is obviously higher than they imagined.

"So that's the case, I was worrying too much."

Zhu Liangzu said: "However, Your Majesty, as Cui Shangshu said, the prince's absence during the Spring Festival still has some bad influence."

"When Su Jing goes to Shandong, why should His Royal Highness follow him? Although Mu Ying is with him, there are still risks. The plague in Qingzhou Mansion is the best proof."

"His Royal Highness is the foundation of a country, and there must be no accidents. I hope His Majesty will not be bewitched by Su Jing."

In terms of courage, Zhu Liangzu was indeed quite courageous.

Facing Zhu Yuanzhang, he dared to call Mu Ying by his name directly. Although Mu Ying was also his descendant, he was also Zhu Yuanzhang's adopted son.

It can only be said that Zhu Liangzu, who was conferred the title of Marquis of Yongjia, was quite flamboyant, and it has always been his problem to speak freely.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Liangzu, and a strange look flashed across his expression, but he didn't get angry.

"Su Jing can't confuse me. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince went to Shandong with Su Jing, which was ordered by me personally."

Zhu Yuanzhang said seemingly casually.

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of Baiguan changed again.

What do you mean?
Was this arranged by Zhu Yuanzhang?

So what exactly is Su Jing going to Shandong for?

It even made Zhu Yuanzhang take the initiative to send the prince to accompany him.

It's not easy!

However, Zhu Liangzu was the most embarrassing at the moment. He took the initiative to pick on Su Jing's affairs, but Zhu Yuanzhang obviously stood by Su Jing's side very forcefully.

Zhu Liangzu couldn't get off the tiger, and he didn't know what to do for a while.

(End of this chapter)