Daming, originally wanted to destroy it, but the system came

Chapter 183 Yan Shitai, the prefect of Yongchang

Nujiang, after a year, Zhu Zhen came to the edge of Nujiang again, followed by [-] troops.

However, this time they did not intend to cross the river again, but planned to check the flood situation of the Nu River based on Yan Shitai's report.

I have mentioned the source and water source of the Nu River before. It stands to reason that in spring, as the snowy mountains in the upper reaches melt, the floods in the Nu River should be more rapid in spring.

However, the water flow condition of the Nu River at this time has actually decreased a lot.

Not only has the width of the river shrunk, but the water flow has also slowed down a lot, and it also seems a bit muddy and turbid.

"What's going on?" Zhu Ming asked casually.

Yan Shitai stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, although Xiaguan was not born locally, after many inquiries and historical county and government records, we found that the floods in the Nu River are often violent in the summer, especially in June and August. So Xiaguan It is speculated that the main water source of the Nu River is mostly accumulated rainwater."

It's not the rainy season yet, and the snowy mountains above have already been civilized, and those that haven't yet been civilized may not be.

So before the rainy season comes, is it rare for the Nu River to "calm down"?

Zhu Ming nodded and said, "So you plan to dig foundation bridge piles now?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Yan Shitai nodded and said his plan: "As long as the solid bridge piers are laid firmly before the floods come, we can then bake a large amount of cement according to the formula you gave us, Your Highness. In fact, We have also produced enough cement. If we mix it with the fired red bricks, we can build a bridge that spans the Nu River and is several feet wide."

Yan Shitai was very excited.

As the prefect of Yongchang Prefecture, it is his duty and job to govern the place.

But building a bridge over the Nujiang River was the task given to him by Zhu Zhen.

This is also the most important and first task Zhu Chu gave him.

In order to repay Zhu Chu's kindness of using and trusting him, and even his kindness of reinvention, Yan Shitai dared not be careless in the slightest.

In fact, Yan Shitai was a county magistrate before. He had offended the Zhang family of the Jiangnan family, so he was convicted and exiled to Yunnan.

But he didn't expect that it would be a blessing in disguise, and he would transform from a county magistrate to a magistrate.

Therefore, Yan Shitai wanted to work hard to achieve greater glory.

But Zhu Ming frowned and said, "You are a bit eager for quick success."

"Oh?" Yan Shitai was stunned, is there any?

"Although the viscosity of cement is good, its bearing capacity is also insufficient. Red bricks are not as good as blue bricks, and they are even more difficult to use. No matter how solid the piers are, it is not enough to just use cement and red bricks to pave the bridge." Zhu Zhi shook his head.

Yan Shitai thought of things too simply.

Although cement was manufactured a century in advance, it could only serve as a bonding agent.

Even if Zhu Zhen is not a civil engineering major, he clearly knows that the main load-bearing walls of modern high-rise buildings are made of steel bars cast and then poured into concrete, which is cement mixed.

Without strong load-bearing walls, the building may collapse.

Speaking of steel bars, Zhu Chu felt something in his heart.

"Otherwise, let's do this. You first find a way to get some strong boulders. They must be strong enough to be able to be used for hundreds of years. Then knock down the bridge piers first."

"As for the bridge, there is no rush to build it. The wooden bridge can still be used anyway."

"Yan Shitai obeys the order."

Zhu Ming said with a serious face.

Yan Shitai was stunned for a moment, then quickly lifted up his robe and knelt down, shouting: "Your Majesty, Yan Shitai, obey your order."

Zhu Ming nodded and said: "Before, I had to build a cement factory and a brick factory, responsible for firing cement ash and red bricks. Next, I want you to build a steel factory specifically for smelting steel."

"Steel?" Yan Shitai looked up at Zhu Zhen with a puzzled expression.

As mentioned earlier, the Ming Dynasty's iron-making furnaces were as close to modern-day indigenous blast furnaces as they could be to smelt steel as long as there were enough materials for the fire.

Moreover, there have been records of the use of charcoal, coal and even coke in the Ming Dynasty.

So the Ming Dynasty actually already had the ability and technology to smelt steel.

Even Yan Shitai knew what Steel meant. He was mainly surprised by, Your Highness, do you really dare to do this privately?

Are you going to rebel?And you don’t treat us as outsiders at all. Do you really dare to ask me to take responsibility?

You must know that in ancient times, the control of salt and iron was extremely strict. If you were caught selling it privately, it would be a death penalty, or even the whole family would be executed.

Don't underestimate the status of ancient salt. It is a national strategic resource, equivalent to modern oil and other statuses.

Because every household must eat salt, salt can provide a large amount of tax revenue. However, in fact, the cost of salt itself is almost zero. It cannot be said that there is no cost at all, but it is not that big.

But there are too many places where salt is used, and not only the common people cannot live without it, but also in grasslands and other places where sea salt is not produced and where it is difficult to find mineral salt. Salt is an important weapon to suppress them.

There is no sea in the Mongolian grasslands.

Not to mention iron.

In the past dynasties, private mining was not allowed, nor was it allowed to open industrial smelting plants at will.

What do you want to do?Make weapons and want to rebel?Or do you want to provide weapons to those nomads?
After all, the Mongolian grassland people are nomadic and lack minerals. If anyone has an iron pot, it would be a big deal.

But since ancient times, no matter how the various ethnic groups on the grassland changed, they have always been enemies of the Central Plains people.

Otherwise, why did Qin Shihuang build the Great Wall?
But Zhu Chu actually had such an idea at this time, which made Yan Shitai a little confused about what to do.

The more upright he became, the more random his thoughts became.

Is Your Highness planning to rebel?Do you want to report it to Heaven so that His Majesty can beat His Majesty?

Emperor Hongwu is already so old, God knows how many more years he can live.

What if His Majesty dies and the nine vassal kings, no, the ten vassal kings, rebel one after another?
Before Zhu Ming, there were nine border garrison princes in the Ming Dynasty, namely King Qin, King Jin, King Yan, King Dai, King Su, King Liao, King Qing, King Ning and King Gu.

Their vassal territory was encircled in a large circle on the scale of defending the capital Yingtian, and they were all located on the border of the Ming Dynasty.

Some even directly border with foreign ethnic groups.

Guarding the border and defending the country is not just talk. For example, the kings of Qin, Jin and Yan all have records of leading troops to fight, and they all have made meritorious deeds and possess military force.

However, because history was rewritten by Zhu Zhen, the nine vassal kings were actually unrealistic, and there were even two of them who became vassals later than him.

So now it should be called the top ten feudal kings.

Especially Zhu Chu, who alone controls the entire territory of Yunnan, and borders Cochin Annan to the south, as well as the Kingdom of Eight Hundred Daughters, and even Siam and other places.

Even the territory of Yunnan is not peaceful.

It can be said that the task is very heavy.

But now, as he has completely pacified the entire territory of Yunnan, he has transformed into almost the most powerful vassal king.

I'm afraid the other nine vassal kings combined may not be his opponents, right?
No wonder Zhu Yuanzhang was not suspicious of others. When he heard what he had done, he almost lost his temper and vomited blood.

Zhu Yuanzhang even doubted that he was creating a base for rebellion for this bastard?
A bit too far.

Zhu Zhen didn't know that Yan Shitai was thinking about messy things, so he looked at the Nu River in front of him again, and couldn't help but said with high spirits: "First, pave the bridge and road, and one day, I, the Ming Dynasty cavalry, will pass through here and conquer all nations. No problem."

"It means nothing if the chieftain officer announces his condolences to the division. When the Ming Dynasty is strong, they will surrender. If the Ming Dynasty is weak, they will rebel. This will happen over and over again and will never stop."

"In that case, Myanmar Xuanwei Division? Xuan, your sister, I want to completely occupy Myanmar in this life, that is a province."

Zhu Zhen didn't do well in history, so he didn't know that the two brothers Muchun and Mu Sheng were quite like their fathers. They really almost took down all of Myanmar.

It is a pity that the Ming Dynasty only established the Xuanwei Division. In the end, with the rebellion of the Burmese Xuanwei Division, that large area was lost in the blink of an eye.

If Zhu Chu knew this, he would probably curse.

Who would think there is too much territory?Difficult to govern?Wouldn't it be better to kill all those who are difficult to govern?It would be great if only the obedient people were left.

What's more, there were so many princes in the Ming Dynasty, why bother to cut down the vassals?
The world is so big, send them all out.

Even if they support their troops and respect themselves, they are still the kings of the Ming Dynasty. Even if Burma rebels again, it is still the people of the Ming Dynasty’s Lao Zhu family who become the kings of Burma.

How stupid.

Yan Shitai on the side secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that His Highness was not planning to rebel, but was planning to use troops abroad.

He then took the order and stood up, but he had to persuade Zhu Zhen: "Your Highness, although you are a prince, you are only responsible for guarding the border and defending the country. You are not responsible for expanding the territory. If you want to use troops abroad, you must first report to the court. We can't send troops until we get His Majesty's permission."

Zhu Chu glanced sideways at Yan Shitai, almost forgetting that he was a stupid young man, just like the stones in the latrine, smelly and hard.

Waiting for His Majesty's permission?

May I ask how many years your Majesty can live?Zhu Zhen sneered secretly. Although it was already the 26th year of Hongwu, he was still only 14 years old.

Lao Zhu, Lao Zhu, I'm waiting to boil you to death.

"Okay, let's build the steel bars first. Then mix the steel bars with concrete to build a solid bridge," Zhu Zhen said of his plan.

He wants to build a bridge with modern technology, and he believes that it will definitely become a broad and smooth 'road' by then.

By then, the plan to conquer Southeast Asia will be put on the agenda.

As for now, even the logistics supply team may not be able to keep up, so they will go deep alone.

The miasma in Southeast Asia is even worse than that in Yunnan. Zhu Zhen has asked Shen Rong to take the previous prescription for treating cholera and promote medical knowledge throughout Yunnan while doing business.

For example, drink more hot water, pay attention to where there are swamps, and find ways to control them, etc.

Along the way, including Zhu Zhen, he sometimes encountered difficult and miscellaneous diseases such as dysentery among some chieftain tribes.

Although it is not an infectious disease like malaria that can cause plague, due to poor medical standards in ancient times and the environmental impact of Yunnan, dysentery can also kill people.

While Zhu Ming changed his roots and returned to his hometown, he also subtly changed the lives of the people in Yunnan.

Even if Yunnan cannot be completely improved in a short period of time, at least the groundwork has been laid.

When Zhu Chun really wants to build roads and pave bridges throughout Yunnan one day, so that transportation throughout Yunnan can be extended in all directions, he will then tidy up the environment.

I believe that a new face will appear in Yunnan.

Of course that takes time.

But Zhu Xi doesn't have time now.

"Yan Shitai, you did a good job."

In the Yamen of Yongchang Mansion, Zhu Chu had entered the city at this time.

You can't just stay in a daze by the Nu River, right?
Zhu Chu discovered that the people in Yongchang Mansion were completely different from when they were ruled by Hu Yuan.

After more than a year of development and two harvests a year, every household in the city has lived a well-off life.

Although they couldn't afford a big meal of fish and meat, every family still had a surplus of food. Every time Shen Rong's caravan arrived, the people could exchange for many goods.

With the improvement of living standards, the mental outlook of the people has also become better.

When they learned of Zhu Chu's arrival, the people spontaneously lined the streets to welcome him, which was very lively.

It is enough to show that Yan Shitai is indeed a good official. In addition to normal taxes, he will not add miscellaneous taxes to the people.

As a result, Yan Shitai himself has always lived in poverty.

There is a saying that during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, the salaries given to officials were not very large, and many people could only have enough to eat.

But officials sometimes inevitably have some interactions. For example, when a businessman comes, subordinate officials inevitably need to entertain them, but where does the money come from?
Of course, this is what Emperor Hongwu dislikes the most. If you dare to rely on your official position to bully your subordinates, or even offer and accept bribes, it is a death penalty.

At least for Zhu Yuanzhang, these reasons are not excuses. It is enough to give you enough money and food to fill your stomach. If you are not satisfied with this, you are greedy and deserve to be killed.

Fortunately, Yan Shitai is single now, and his parents and family are all in his hometown, so he is not dissatisfied, but rather content with it.

After all, he has such a character, and he really has feelings for the country and the people, and he has always done so.

Such people only take what the country gives them, and they only take what they deserve. They don’t want to be greedy for even a penny more.

This is what is called a gentleman's love for money and the right way to acquire it.

It's just that Yan Shitai also has his weaknesses, and he finally caught Zhu Chu's face. What a good guy, he told everything in detail about everything from Zhu Chu's departure last year to now.

Even the old Zhang family planned to raise a few pigs, the old Li family brought the pigs, the son was going to get a wife when he grew up, and even the conflicts between the old couple and the old Wang family, etc., he wanted to talk about it.

Zhu Zhen sighed.

If he remembered correctly, he actually returned to Dali via Yongchang Mansion at the end of the 24th year of Hongwu. It has already been counted as a year and a half, right?

Does this guy want to tell you everything that happened in the past year and a half?
"Old Yan," Zhu Zhen finally couldn't help calling Yan Shitai: "You see it's getting late, shouldn't it be time to get ready for dinner?"

Good guy, before I knew it, it was already evening.

Yan Shitai was also stunned, and said sarcastically: "Is it so late? It's true, your Majesty. But Your Highness, I don't have big fish and meat prepared here. Why don't I find someone to go to the restaurant to set up a table?"

Zhu Ming smiled: "Do you think I am that pretentious? I have been in the military these past few months, so it is impossible for me to kill cattle and sheep every time, right? Okay, as long as it is your normal meal." There is no need to prepare it for the troops outside the city, they have their own food and grass."

Along the way, Zhu Ming always suffered from the chieftain families after he changed his native land and returned to his hometown.

Zhu Zhen would not only open a warehouse and release grain on the spot to win people's hearts, but he would also replenish the troops.

Otherwise, their army had been out for several months, and they had only replenished supplies once at Kunming Muchun's place. They might have starved to death long ago.

Zhu Chu's backpack actually contained millions of stones of grain and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

But those are all capital that will make a difference in the future, not squandered now.

As for the cost of food and clothing, Zhu Chu really didn't care too much.

It doesn't matter if there's no meaty taste, as long as the food is delicious and not too hard to swallow, that's fine.

In the past two years in Yunnan, Zhu Min was almost never idle. He was either leading the army to fight or on the march to fight.

In this kind of environment, there is no room for happiness.

So for dinner that day, Yan Shitai personally cooked a table of wild vegetables in the government office, but there was also a plate of steamed river fish and a plate of river shrimp.

After all, the Nujiang River is nearby, and the people can also catch some fish and shrimp to improve their food.

"Do you know how to cook?" Zhu Zhen was deeply surprised.

Yan Shitai said with a smile: "After all, it's hard to use the salary from the court to support some servants or cooks."

Zhu Ming raised his eyebrows, although there were no maids or servants in his house, let alone a head eunuch.

But he also hired a group of cooks in his house, all of whom were hired from other restaurants.

Is Yan Shitai acting strangely?
Since there was a prohibition on alcohol during the Hongwu period, although the former chieftains did not care, Yan Shitai, as a Han official, naturally had to abide by it.

So there was no wine on the table.

Of course, Zhu Zhen doesn't care.

Most of what we drink now is rice wine, especially here in Yunnan. If you want to take a sip of rice wine, you can’t even find it, let alone soju.

Zhu Li only drank it as a drink, so it didn't matter if he didn't have it. He was not an alcoholic anyway.

During the meal, there were only four people at the table: Zhu Chu, Mu Qiu, Wang Fu and Yan Shitai.

It is also simple.

A few people were chatting while eating. Yan Shitai talked about the changes in Yongchang Mansion over the past year, and how the people had settled down and settled down, and everyone was finally able to live a real life.

Zhu Ming nodded and couldn't help but feel sad.

These Han people all migrated from the Central Plains. All they want is to live a better life than in their hometown.

As a result, Hu Yuan acted recklessly and oppressed the people because the mountains were high and the emperor was far away.

Fortunately, he came and immediately executed all of Hu Yuan's family. This allowed Yan Shitai to achieve great things and seek livelihood for the people.

"The surrounding counties are also undergoing reforms. I believe that before the end of this year, those chieftain families will be eradicated without any bloodshed," Yan Shitai did not forget Zhu Chu's other mission.

Yongchang Mansion governs a large area. Strictly speaking, even Yingjiang and Tengchong are governed here.

Many of these places are also chieftain tribes, and the chieftains govern themselves independently.

Although Yan Shitai did not have the military power, he did not have the strength to attack the chieftain.

However, it is obvious to all that the lives of the people in Yongchang Mansion are improving.

Of course, those native people were quite envious, and some even wanted to defect to Yongchang Mansion.

As long as Yan Shitai uses some tricks, there is no need to worry about those little toasts not being able to solve it.

Zhu Chu nodded. Since Yan Shitai had a plan, he didn't need to use troops anymore. Those were just small counties and villages, and they were not worthy of such a big war.

"It's almost time to go back to Dali tomorrow. If I don't go back, I'm afraid Magistrate Li will go crazy? Even my father, the emperor, will have to send another imperial edict."

(End of this chapter)