Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 382: Choose concubine or princess?

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang was smiling, holding the imperial decree he asked the cabinet to draft, and said to Zhu Biao:
"We plan to give this blue jade the title of Liang Guogong, what do you think?"

"It's all up to Father to make the decision." Zhu Biao said respectfully.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him, put away the imperial edict in his hand, and said softly: "Biao'er, I will leave this blue jade to you. You can reuse it in the future."

In addition to being related to Zhu Yuanzhang, Lan Yu was also Chang Yuchun's brother-in-law, and the concubine Zhu Biao died of was Chang Yuchun's daughter. Although she is dead, the relationship is still there, and with this layer Because of their relationship, Lan Yu was naturally closer to him.

Zhu Biao also understood this and nodded in agreement.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, then turned to ask: "How is the contact with Li Wei going?"

Zhu Biao was slightly startled when he heard this, and felt a little hesitant in his heart.

Ever since Li Wei said what he said, he didn't bother anymore. He knew that if he wanted to conquer this great talent, he had to agree with his ideas.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang also made it very clear to him that it would not work at all to govern the country according to Li Wei's ideas. Even if he promised Li Wei's words, he would not be able to do it, or no one could do it.

Zhu Biao opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say much. He just lowered his head and said perfunctorily: "My son is sure to control him, so father, don't worry."

Seeing his appearance, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but frown slightly.

He knows this good old man best. Judging from his current attitude, he may not be sure.

This was not what he was most worried about. What he was more worried about was that Zhu Biao would be bewitched by Li Wei and be led astray by that kid.

"If you really can't do it, don't force it. You can hide it in the snow first and use it when needed."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.

He was not willing to take this talent directly to the ground, and since he had connections with Anqing, he didn't want to touch Li Wei unless he had to.

Zhu Biao nodded: "I understand."

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang hummed slightly and looked at the decree in his hand again.

After some suppression, and now supporting Lan Yu as a check and balance, Li Wei's threat has been greatly reduced, and he feels relieved.

At this time, the young eunuch who was waiting outside suddenly came in, bowed and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Mao Xiang, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, would like to see you."

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised when he heard this, but he didn't think much, so he nodded and said: "Let him come in."

"Yes!"

The little eunuch bowed and exited the hall, and Mao Xiang walked in after a moment.

"See your majesty!" Mao Xiang saluted.

Zhu Yuanzhang hummed slightly and asked directly: "What's the matter?"

"Back to Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from the border. General Lan Yu led his troops back to the army. He arrived at Songting Pass at night. Because he could not wait for the guards to check the runes, he rushed his troops to destroy the pass and beat the guards. This is It’s a memorial sent by the officers guarding the pass.”

Mao Xiang took out a memorial letter.

This time Lan Yu made a great contribution. Although the guarding soldiers did not dare to resist when they were beaten, they were still angry and secretly sent an impeachment memorial to them.

After Mao Xiang finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang's face suddenly turned ugly, and he no longer smiled at all.

"You bastard! You have just accomplished your feat, and you are about to rebel!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and threw the imperial edict to the ground.

Mao Xiang quickly lowered his head.

This Lan Yu is too arrogant. Li Wei was not so arrogant when he returned from destroying the Japanese. Although the destruction of Beiyuan was more important than the destruction of the Japanese, such wanton and reckless behavior was definitely not the way to serve as a minister.

Zhu Biao was also surprised, but after all, Lan Yu had just made a great contribution, and it was not appropriate to impose a heavy punishment at this time. Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's furious look, he couldn't help but worry.

"Father, Lan Yu..."

Zhu Biao was about to say a few words of persuasion, but Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hand to interrupt, calmed down his anger, turned to Mao Xiang and said: "We know about this, you can go down first."

"Yes!"

Mao Xiang didn't say much, bowed and left.

Zhu Biao looked at his father, feeling a little surprised.

Zhu Yuanzhang took two deep breaths, still a little angry, and said bitterly: "This blue jade really disappoints us! It seems that we still have to beat it!"

The last sentence was not only what he wanted to do, but also an instruction to Zhu Biao.

This time the Northern Expedition's military exploits to destroy the Yuan Dynasty were too great. Even if Lan Yu acted daringly, he did not want to deal with it directly, so as not to chill the hearts of these Northern Expedition soldiers.

But there still needs to be some beating!

In the Arms Bureau, Li Wei walked and inspected the various workshops. In addition to Lu Ti and Tao Sheng, Chen Su followed him.

Now the Ordnance Bureau not only produces military firearms, but also has many other activities, such as papermaking, glass, ceramics, furniture, etc. After these things are produced, they will be sold to the private sector or exported to Japan. Gold, the only thing that can compare with it is banks.

Since having these two money-making machines, he has almost never been short of money. Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang is extremely rich.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not want to give up these profits, so he would not easily let people like Li Shu interfere with the affairs of the Chamber of Commerce and the bank. After all, he knew the moral character of those people better than anyone else.

Looking at these workshops embarking on mechanized production, Li Wei nodded with satisfaction.

With steam engines and motors, a lot of labor was saved. While the total number of craftsmen remained the same, the Ordnance Bureau's production capacity was greatly improved. It was far from what it used to be. Now if he is asked to make 100,000 steel knives, it is estimated that 100,000 steel knives will be produced. It won't be used for days, and this is despite a significant reduction in the number of workers. If there are still so many craftsmen working together, it can be completed in a few days.

After taking a brief look at each workshop, Li Wei gave Tao Sheng some instructions on how to make those "special" accessories, and then turned back to his office room.

Both Lu Ti and Tao Sheng had something to do, so they left separately. Only Chen Su followed him into the house.

When Li Wei sat down, Chen Su asked impatiently: "My lord, do you already know about Lan Yu's great victory in the Northern Expedition?"

Li Wei hummed slightly and took a sip of tea leisurely.

Chen Su said anxiously: "I heard that Your Majesty is going to grant a title to the Duke this time!"

"With such great achievements, it is natural for him to be granted the title of Duke." Li Wei said lightly.

Chen Su frowned slightly, hesitated and said: "I also heard that he acted so boldly when he returned to the army that he even set up troops to destroy the country. Do you think we should ask someone to impeach him?"

If Lan Yu becomes a Duke, he will be on an equal footing with Li Wei. In addition, His Majesty obviously intends to support Lan Yu to suppress the Li party. Their lives will not be easy in the future. If possible, he still wants to stop it.

Li Wei glanced at him, shook his head and said, "If you have heard about it, His Majesty will naturally know about it, so there is no need to bother impeaching him anymore."

When Chen Su heard this, he fell silent. Of course he understood this, but he was still a little unwilling to just watch Lan Yu become the Duke.

"Then let's do nothing?" Chen Su asked.

Li Wei put down the tea bowl, pondered for a moment, and said, "I don't need to mention the matter of breaking through the level, but I do know another interesting thing."

"What's going on?" Chen Su asked curiously. "I heard that this Lan Yu had an affair with the Yuan Lord's concubine and forcibly defiled her family. Do you think this is interesting?" Li Wei chuckled.

Chen Su was stunned for a moment and said in surprise: "Is this really happening? How did the Lord know about it?"

However, Li Wei smiled and said nothing.

He saw this from TV, and he didn't know if it was true or not. Anyway, with Ye Xingwei's current intelligence capabilities, he hadn't gotten the slightest news in this regard yet.

But it doesn't matter if it's true or not. Anyway, this kind of thing is the most popular. As long as it gets spread, it will definitely spread quickly. It may happen if it doesn't happen by then.

Lan Yu is not a good thing, even if it is fake, he will not feel guilty.

Chen Su was suddenly enlightened when he saw this, and said with great joy: "My subordinate understands! Then I will do it!"

Li Wei nodded lightly, and Chen Su immediately handed over and left.

……

In the lobby of a restaurant, guests were chatting while eating and drinking, and the scene was a bit noisy.

These people talk about everything from all over the world, but the recent Ming Dynasty's great victory in the Northern Expedition, some well-informed people have already learned the news, and they inevitably want to show it off to their relatives and friends.

"Have you heard that our army in the Northern Expedition wiped out the imperial court of the former Yuan Dynasty? Not only did they gain a lot, but they also captured all their dignitaries, princes, and concubines."

A man in green shirt said to his companion.

The companion also laughed and said: "Of course I heard that Bei Yuan is completely finished this time."

"Yes, Baoyuan has been causing trouble to the Central Plains for so many years, and has finally been completely eliminated. His Majesty's divine power and virtue..."

After all the bragging, everyone did not forget to praise the emperor today.

People at other tables heard their chatter, and some were interested in chatting across the table.

After drinking for three rounds, several people were chatting happily. The man in green shirt said in a low voice, somewhat obscenely: "Do you think the concubines and princesses of the former Yuan Dynasty are beautiful?"

"Then, it must be beautiful!" The man at the table answered affirmatively based on his imagination, regardless of whether he had seen her or not.

In fact, this is correct. After all, when the powerful class is looking for women, they must look for beautiful ones, and the daughters they give birth to will naturally be beautiful.

This is true for ordinary dignitaries, not to mention those who are honored as emperors.

"Hey, it's a pity that we can't see it anymore." A companion sighed.

"Of course we don't have this blessing, but the generals who want to lead the troops will definitely enjoy it..."

"Who is leading the troops this time?"

"I heard he is Marquis Yongchang."

"Do you think he will choose a concubine or a princess?"

"I must choose the princess, she is young and beautiful!"

"I don't think so. If you want me, I'll choose a concubine. The one that's cooked will be more flavorful, hehe..."

"Tch, what should I choose? I must choose them all!"

"Hahaha……"

Due to some drinking and some people's intentional or unintentional guidance, the conversation became more and more unrestrained.

Whether in modern times or ancient times, this kind of romantic affair is the most popular. In just a few days, this kind of true and false gossip has spread throughout the streets and alleys, and has spawned several versions. Some are about the general and the Princesses, some are Yongchang Hou and his concubines, and some are more exciting, which are widely circulated.

These market gossips quickly attracted the attention of Jin Yiwei, and then spread to Zhu Yuanzhang's ears.

"Are these news true or false?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked, staring at Mao Xiang with burning eyes.

"I don't know either." Mao Xiang shook his head.

"If you don't know, go check it out and find out if it's there!" Zhu Yuanzhang said loudly.

Mao Xiang quickly bowed and said, "Yes, I will investigate as soon as possible."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was ugly. Although these market news were unreliable, he knew the virtues of generals like Lan Yu very well. They could definitely do this kind of thing.

In his early years, he had made it clear that prisoners should be treated well, especially members of the royal family, and no bullying was allowed.

However, even if there is an explicit purpose, they cannot control these generals who are on the expedition. If Xu Dadang and those veteran generals are okay, they can still suppress the situation, but this expedition is led by Lan Yu, who is a bastard himself, let alone Go take care of other people.

"Also, find out where this news came from!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice.

"Yes!" Mao Xiang responded.

Although it is difficult to figure out the origin of this kind of thing, Jin Yiwei can still find the root cause if he really wants to investigate, it just takes a lot of effort.

Under Zhu Yuanzhang's order, the Jinyiwei quickly took action. While investigating the source of these gossips in the capital, they also sent people to contact the Jinyiwei in the army to investigate whether there were such bad things in the army.

Although the gossip was made up, some of the versions really did not accuse Lan Yu wrongly. After some investigation, Jin Yiwei quickly found out the truth. Lan Yu did have an affair with a concubine, but it was not as exciting as the outside world reported. , after all, it is the royal family, and there is Zhu Yuanzhang's will, even if you want to play, you can't go too far.

Jinyiwei had his own channels, and he quickly passed the news back to the capital in a few days.

Upon hearing the news, Mao Xiang did not dare to delay and immediately went to the palace again to ask for an audience.

"Your Majesty, according to the investigation by the Jinyi Guards, Marquis Yongchang is indeed having an affair with Concubine Yuan!" Mao Xiang lowered his head and said respectfully.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face twitched, and he wished he could just order this bitch to be chopped off.

"This bastard really thinks that he can be lawless because of his great achievements!"

This Lan Yu, who claimed to have won the battle, first broke into the country, and now has an affair with Concubine Yuan. How audacious!

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and paced back and forth in anger. Mao Xiang lowered his head and did not dare to say anything.

After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang stopped, his expression changed. After a long time, he turned to Mao Xiang and asked: "Have you found out where the news in the market came from?"

Mao Xiang quickly replied: "Your Majesty, these news were mentioned in the chats of some common people. They don't know the truth, they are just making wild speculations."

"Hmph, I think it's not that simple. Go and arrest the people who originally spread these news and examine them carefully!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice.

These things happened so strangely, as well as the northern scholars last time, it seemed like someone was pushing them.

Mao Xiang was slightly shocked and quickly replied: "Yes!"

Even if His Majesty says it's not that simple, then this matter must not be that simple!
In August, the Northern Expedition army returned to Beijing, bringing back countless trophies, including tens of thousands of cattle, sheep, and horses. In addition, there were also the concubines of the Yuan Lord, princes and princesses, and a number of dignitaries. Basically, they brought back what was left of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. The imperial court served a pot.

(End of this chapter)