The days when I fished in Daming

Yes!

There is absolutely no reason why Zheng Xiong's family failed!

Starting from the pharmacy, Zheng Xiong made money and spent it.

The ability to make money is unquestionable, and the money is spent on everything from running schools to paving roads to building bridges. These are all good things and there is nothing to blame.

But what’s new about this time’s spending?

Can you make money?

It can't be!

If he bought cotton for two taels of silver, even if he didn't make any money, with Zheng Xiong's personality, he would definitely not lose money.

Old Zhu would definitely agree with this with both hands and feet.

But no matter how hard Zhu racked his brains, he couldn't figure out how to make money with ten taels of silver, especially since the distance was so long.

It doesn't mean that it is completely useless. There is still one thing worth thinking about, which is the quality mentioned by Zheng Xiong.

But this brings up a new problem.

No matter how good the quality is, doubling the price is the limit. Adding transportation, it’s twice as much. This is the highest price that Lao Zhu can think of.

As for Zheng Xiong, the price has increased fivefold without transportation, and at least sixfold with transportation.

At this price, there will definitely be people who will buy it, and there will be some unscrupulous people who will be cheated, but so what.

This is not a small batch, but a lot of it. Selling a little of it is just a drop in the bucket.

This is not a question of whether you can make money or not, that is a huge loss. You can only dream about making money!
If it doesn’t make money, then the old question remains: what is Zheng Xiong trying to do?
Too much money to spend?

This is not the way to be a spendthrift!

If you really make yourself angry, Zheng Xiong will be skinned alive if he doesn't die. Zheng Xiong should know the seriousness of this!
But I hadn't thought of that!
Ever since Empress Ma took Zhu Biao to dinner, she never asked Zhu Biao again.

Poor old Zhu sat at his desk thinking all night without even eating.

Until the next day.

Old Zhu sat like this until the next day.

His eyes were red and bloodshot, and he kept repeating "cotton."

"Your Majesty, it's time to go to court!"

"Cotton, go to court."

Mao Xiang's call brought Lao Zhu back to his senses a little.

Just as he was about to stand up, he stumbled and nearly fell.

Fortunately, Mao Xiang has always been guarding Lao Zhu.

Seeing that the situation was not right, he hurried forward to help and thus avoided the accident of falling.

I shook my head, feeling dizzy and a little painful.

"What time?"

"It's almost Mao time!"

"this late!"

With an exclamation, Lao Zhu was somewhat incredulous, then spoke slowly.

"Help me up and change my clothes."

Mao Xiang carefully helped Lao Zhu up from his seat.

Old Zhu slowly walked down the steps, came to the side of the maid, and opened his arms.

Soon, the maid took off Lao Zhu's outer clothes and changed him into a dragon robe.

Then he washed himself briefly and put on the crown.

The whole process was done in one go.

Surrounded by a group of people, he walked to the Fengtian Hall.

The emperor wore a leather hat and sat in the Fengtian Hall, while all officials wore court robes on the east and west sides of the Danchi.

Li Shanchang and Xu Da stepped out and bowed with all the officials.

"Hail, Holy Body."

Reposition, bow again, and divide into opposing groups.

Old Zhu looked at His Highness and the officials, and said with all his strength.

"Anyone who has this report will ascend the western steps to the palace."

"Your Majesty, I have this memorial."

"Say it!"

"I would like to ask the Medical Marquis to help build large-scale projects in Yingtian Prefecture, which has caused great waste of money and manpower. This is the first point. As the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, Zheng Xiong recruited a large number of women into the government office for his own selfish desires, making the government office a mess. This is the second point. Your Majesty, please make a wise decision." Old Zhu rubbed his dizzy head, glanced at it casually, and did not respond, but asked instead.

"Where are your shoes?"

"I took a short nap in the classroom, and got up in a hurry. I couldn't find it, so I had to rush to court."

"You are so disheveled, how can you not be in a proper state? Find your shoes first, and get out of here."

The anger filled Lao Zhu's harsh words, which added a bit of anger and made him seem even more overbearing.

The officials were so frightened that they dared not say a word. They bowed tremblingly and walked out limping and skipping.

Not long after walking, a majestic voice sounded behind him.

"From now on, anyone entering the palace must wear shoes. Those who violate this rule will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane."

As soon as these words were spoken, the officials walked faster, fearing that if they were a step slower, they would be beaten by Zhu.

Sure enough, behind every outrageous regulation there is an outrageous story.

Of course, there was also some criticism from Lao Zhu, who showed his attitude of protecting Zheng Xiong.

The effect was obvious, and no one mentioned Zheng Xiong anymore.

At the same time, it is also a bit bland.

This is the result of Zhu Yuanzhang’s insistence on attending court every day.

There are not so many big things in a day, only trivial things.

The boring morning court usually involves making some instructions.

After the report was submitted, Li Shanchang began to summarize the previous day's work.

Old Zhu listened quietly.

After the official in the hall finished speaking, he waved his hand.

"That's all for today! Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen will stay, and the rest of you can leave the court."

I can’t listen to this anymore. I’m going to fall asleep if I listen to it any more.

For the first time in history, Old Zhu left the morning court early.

After everyone left, Old Zhu finally cheered up and spoke to Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen.

"One of you is a capable minister who governs the country, my Xiao He, and the other is a man who makes plans to rule the world, my Zi Fang. There are very few people in the world who are smarter than you two."

"Now, I am stuck in a matter, and you two need to help me solve it."

The praise made the two of them a little excited, but then they were no longer happy.

You'd better not make it difficult.

"Your Majesty, I am truly humbled by your praise. It is our duty to answer your questions. Please speak, Your Majesty."

Old Zhu did not keep the secret and spoke like a machine gun, throwing the questions that had puzzled him all night to the two of them.

At the same time, they looked down expectantly, hoping that the two would give an answer.

Li Shanchang frowned.

When it comes to governing the country and maintaining peace, he will be able to handle both big and small matters in an orderly manner, and he is also Zhu Yuanzhang's strong backing.

But Zheng Xiong didn't play by the rules. This really stumped me and I couldn't understand it.

On the contrary, although Liu Bowen had a frown on his face, the difference was that his brows relaxed after a moment, as if he had an idea.

The two people's completely different reactions were keenly captured by Lao Zhu.

"Bowen, have you thought of it?"

"I did think of one thing."

"Say it."

"Your Majesty, do you know Qi Wan and Lu Gao?"

Speaking of other topics, such as various strategies, Lao Zhu can definitely talk about them in detail, and he can speak very clearly.

But when it comes to economic issues, even though Liu Bowen explained the source and pointed out the key points, Zhu Yuanzhang still didn't understand.

"Have not heard."

"Qi silk and Lu silk originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, when Qi and Lu were neighbors. Prince Xiaobai of Qi came to the throne and appointed Guan Zhong as prime minister. He worked hard to govern the country and showed signs of becoming a hegemon. The neighboring Lu became the first stumbling block on Qi's road to becoming a hegemon."

"In order to solve the problem of Lu, Qi's prime minister Guan Zhong required officials and people across the country to change their clothes from Qi's silk to Lu's gauze, which led to a rise in the price of gauze. At the same time, Qi people were prohibited from weaving gauze, but Lu was allowed to do so. On the surface, Lu made a lot of money from Qi's gauze, so the whole country formed a trend of weaving gauze and giving up agricultural production. A year later, Qi refused to use Lu's gauze, and at this time Lu fell into a food shortage. Food was the most important thing for the people, and in order to survive, Lu had to buy grain from Qi at a high price. As a result, the economy was dragged down, causing the national strength to decline, and finally succumbed to Qi."

"This is Qi silk and Lu silk, and this is not the only example. There are also similar cases such as buying a deer to subdue Chu, buying a fox to conquer Dai, and the Hengshan plot."

"These are all classics of Guan Zhong, the prime minister of Qi, and they are similar to Zheng Xiong's purchase of cotton."

"If it's not for making money, then it's for serving the country."

(End of this chapter)