Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 5

"You are right, this matter is really strange."

Zhu Yuanzhang felt a headache.

"Gao Xu said that this was something he understood from the "Huangji Jingshi Shu" written by Shao Yong in the Song Dynasty."

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the manuscript in Zhu Biao's hand and said: "Look at the back, there are prophecies about the future of the Ming Dynasty that Gao Xu realized."

The more Zhu Biao looked, the more surprised he became. Among the many prophecies, he found the four words "all nations will come to court"!

"Dad, Gao Xu came to the palace to study since he was a child. Like other princes, he has never left the capital, and he is not aware of the sufferings of the people. He lives with the princes on weekdays and has never been in contact with famous people in politics. According to common sense, he It is impossible to write such a policy statement."

Zhu Biao received orthodox Confucian education since he was a child. Although he had heard of strange gods and strange things, this was the first time in his life that he encountered such strange things, and he could not help but feel suspicious.

He seems to be loyal and gentle, but he is as ruthless and decisive as Zhu Yuanzhang in his heart. He will never easily believe in the theories of gods and ghosts. It is reasonable to suspect that Zhu Gaoxu is being instructed by others.

Zhu Biao's character traits of being soft on the outside and strong on the inside, Confucianism on the outside and law on the inside were the consensus of many officials in the early Ming Dynasty.

After all, this does not prevent him from having a reputation of benevolence and filial piety.

Otherwise, a cowardly and incompetent person, relying only on his parents' love and trust, could sit on the crown prince's throne and handle government affairs for the decisive founding emperor for more than 20 years?
Zhu Yuanzhang paced back and forth in front of the table, thinking.

"But the manuscript in your hand was written by his hand when we saw it. The annotations we added next to the text are also the result of our questions and answers."

"Dad has always hated the theory of gods and ghosts, and has strictly prohibited it. However, there are always unexplainable things in the world, and strange people and strangers are not rare. They have existed since ancient times. If Gao Xu really understood it from ancient books, then What should I do?”

Zhu Biao said worriedly.

"If it is true, that would be even better. Our old Zhu family can be favored by God, which shows that it is destiny!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed.

"As long as it is conducive to the stability of the Ming Dynasty and the governance of the world by our old Zhu family, no matter whether it is true or false?"

At this point, he changed the subject, looked at Zhu Biao and said bluntly.

"Of course, we will order Jin Yiwei to investigate this matter secretly. Please ask Yunwen and Yunxi to get closer to Gao Xu in the near future. They are studying together and they are young people. If Gao Xu lies, there will be flaws."

Zhu Biao asked suspiciously: "Since dad planned to abolish the Jin Yiwei, why did he use them again?"

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said: "Although we have decreed to abolish the various torture instruments of the Jinyiwei, we still have to retain the function of the Jinyiwei to monitor officials and monitor officials for the time being, otherwise we will become blind and deaf?"

Zhu Biao knew very well that the biggest concession Zhu Yuanzhang could make was to take back the power of Jin Yiwei to arrest officials. As for Zhu Yuanzhang completely abolishing Jin Yiwei, it was still difficult to achieve for the time being.

Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Zhu Biao still had doubts, so he explained.

"Biao'er, the anonymous whistle-blowing letter you received is the work of Jin Yiwei's secret agent. As the saying goes, listening to both sides will make you bright, and listening to one side will make you dark. If Jin Yiwei didn't act as the emperor's eyes and ears, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to detect Lan Yu's dissatisfaction with us. Heart."

"Dad." Zhu Biao subconsciously stood up and persuaded in a low voice: "Lanyu is Chang's (Zhu Biao's original wife) uncle after all. Unfortunately, Chang died young. Can you spare Lan Yu's life?"

There are some things that others cannot say to Zhu Yuanzhang, but as the prince, Zhu Biao has to say them. Otherwise, how can he maintain his reputation of benevolence and filial piety?

"We didn't say we wanted to kill him, so why are you begging for him?" Zhu Yuanzhang motioned to Zhu Biao to sit down and said with a slight smile.

At first, he realized that Lan Yu was arrogant and domineering and was dissatisfied with the imperial court, so he had relieved him of his military power.

During this period, Lan Yu had been idle at home, and Zhu Yuanzhang had no intention of summoning him to participate in many court meetings, which was a warning to him.

"Besides, isn't he not rebellious yet? Well, let's discuss this later. We want to discuss another matter with you now."

Seeing Zhu Biao sitting down again, Zhu Yuanzhang walked on the sidewalk with his hands behind his hands.

"Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, in order to obtain horses and stabilize the northwest, the tea-horse policy was implemented, that is, tea was exchanged for horses from foreigners in the northwest. Therefore, tea has always been one of the imperial court's financial revenues."

"However, since the 20th year of Hongwu, the imperial court's revenue from tea has declined instead of increasing. We have legislated that smuggling of tea outside the customs is punishable by death. However, there are still a large number of businessmen who are taking risks and defying the law. They are like leeks, which crop up again and again. One wave.”

"Not to mention the truth or falsehood of what Gao Xu said, we were deeply inspired by reading the Six Great Strategies and decided to try one of these strategies to manage the tea-horse policy."

Zhu Biao was smart since he was a child and was liked by Zhu Yuanzhang. He had just seen the six good strategies, and combined with what Zhu Yuanzhang said, he could basically guess Zhu Yuanzhang's plan, so he said: "Dad is planning to establish a royal trading company, led by relatives of the emperor." , organize a group of merchants to be responsible for selling tea horses?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said happily: "The ancients said: 'There is no better son than a father'. We think this should be said the other way around, 'There is no better son than a son'!"

He is not afraid of being accused of competing with the people, because the tea-horse policy is a national policy of the imperial court. The establishment of the Royal Commercial Bank is equivalent to the establishment of a merchant group authorized by the imperial court to be responsible for the tea-horse trade. Who dares to talk too much will probably get an itchy neck. !

"There are many royal relatives in the capital. I wonder if I have a suitable candidate for you?"

Zhu Biao breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was in a good mood, and it seemed that he really didn't intend to deal with Lan Yu for the time being.

"Who do you think can take on this important task?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked without answering.

Zhu Biao said tentatively: "Since I could study state affairs with my father when I was young, why not let Gao Xu, who came up with good ideas, give it a try?!"

"You are the crown prince and he is the grandson of the emperor. How can we compare?"

Zhu Yuanzhang got angry and shouted: "This is nonsense!"

Zhu Biao was not afraid of Zhu Yuanzhang's temper, but responded in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Dad, don't be angry. I think that since the good idea comes from Gao Xu, he should be involved in this matter. Even if he is not the leader, he must be allowed to participate." To be a person who makes strategic suggestions and plans, in order to verify whether he has actual political ability."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang did not object, Zhu Biao continued: "As for the royal relatives on the surface, I would like to take the consort Ouyang Lun as the leader. The fourth sister (Princess Anqing) has been looking for a suitable job for Ouyang Lun recently."

Zhu Yuanzhang said with great interest: "Oh, is this happening?"

"Dad also knows that Ouyang Lun is quite talented and very filial. He has a good reputation among the people. Maybe dad can meet him?" Zhu Biao replied.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do as you want. Let Ouyang Lun come to see us tomorrow."

After a pause, he ordered: "As for the establishment of the Royal Trading Company, we can let Gao Xu be the planner, but you have to participate in it and control the overall situation for us!"

"Yes." Zhu Biao bowed and responded with a deep look on his face.

------

PS: The growth of new book seedlings needs to be protected. I hope everyone can vote and collect to support it!
(End of this chapter)