The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 347 Su Wu of the Ming Dynasty

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Zhu Chong glanced at him indifferently, turned his head without saying a word and continued to look at the dock.

Everyone looked at Cen Xintong with contempt. Even if he wanted to change his club, this move was too hasty.

Li Fang came forward to refuse, saying, "The Jinyiwei is the emperor's personal army, and the Qin State is a small temple that cannot accommodate a great Bodhisattva like you. Captain Cen, please do not mention this matter again."

Cen Xintong naturally knew why everyone was like this, and said in a deep voice:
"Because of the Temasek incident, my future is hopeless. There is nothing I can do if I continue to stay in the Royal Guards."

"Your Majesty will surely achieve something on this trip, and I want to give it another try."

Seeing that Li Fang was about to speak, he spoke first: "As for the status of Jinyiwei centurion... After this matter is over, I will go to Luoyang to apologize."

"If I am lucky enough to survive, I will resign from the Jinyiwei and go to Qin to serve alone. Please allow me, Your Majesty."

Hearing this, everyone looked relieved.

The fact that he took the initiative to go to Luoyang to apologize shows that he is not the kind of person who would evade responsibility, and everyone's impression of him has improved a lot.

Li Fang said nothing more and waited for Zhu Chong's decision.

After a long time, Zhu Chong finally said, "You should survive first."

Cen Xintong was delighted and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Xu Chailao looked at his old friend, feeling filled with guilt.

He naturally knew why Cen Xintong did this.

With so many things happening in Temasek, Sham Hsin Tong, as a captain of the Imperial Guard, cannot escape blame.

The possibility of being executed is not high, but there is no future at all.

At least within the Ming Dynasty, it would be impossible for him to be reused.

Then seizing this opportunity to go to Qin State would be a good choice.

But no matter what, this also means that his more than ten years of hard work have basically been wiped out.

As the culprit who caused all this, Xu Chailao naturally felt uncomfortable.

Now he hated his weakness more and more.

It also made him realize that reform and establishing a new order requires courage to forge ahead.

Otherwise, it will only hurt others and yourself in the end.

The massacre finally ended. The ground and sea of ​​the dock were covered with corpses, and the blood plasma was half a foot thick.

More blood flowed into the sea, changing the color of the water. The smell of blood could be smelled for dozens of miles around.

Countless marine creatures gathered and competed for food.

The scene was so shocking that for a long time afterwards, the people of Temasek refused to eat any fish caught around the harbor.

It gradually evolved into a custom that fishing is prohibited around the harbor.

This has actually protected the local ecology to a certain extent, which can be considered an unexpected gain.

Zhu Chong then ordered that all the corpses be piled up in the most conspicuous place in Temasek to form a mausoleum, and a monument be erected to record everything that happened here.

“Everyone passing by Temasek should be able to see it at a glance.”

"From now on, all those who want to serve as officials, do business, or settle here must come here to be baptized."

His orders were strictly carried out.

A huge mound of earth was erected on a vacant lot not far from the pier.

Later officials indeed obeyed his orders, and the first thing all newcomers did when they came here was to visit this Jingguan.

Soon after, many strange rumors began to arise surrounding the Jingguan.

In order to ward off evil, the locals built a huge white marble statue of Mazu next to the Jingguan.

After that, no strange things happened again, and people all believed that it was the spirit of Mazu who suppressed the evil spirits.

Countless people come here to worship, making this place one of the holy places of Mazu belief.

Many wealthy businessmen covered this statue with gold to express their piety...

As for Jingguan, it is not known who initiated the action, but the locals planted flowers, plants and trees on it.

Later it became a local attraction.

Of course, this is all for later, so I won’t mention it for now.

Let’s talk about Luoyang City.

After Zhu Chong set out, Zhu Yuanzhang announced without warning:
I miss Fengyang and Yingtianfu, and want to live there for a while.

No one thinks it is unreasonable. After all, the former is his hometown and the latter is where he has lived for more than 20 years. It would be a problem if he didn't want to go back.

If you think about it, then go for it. Anyway, Zhu Biao has already firmly established himself on the throne, and people all over the world have already adapted to the rule of the new emperor.

The emperor emeritus is dispensable.

Everyone has begun to look forward to the days when the emperor is not around. They can’t even imagine how wonderful it will be.

The veteran nobles showed their reluctance and went to the palace to confirm the truth of the matter.

Old Zhu didn't say much, just said he wanted to walk around and take a look.

After the matter was confirmed, many people expressed their willingness to follow the emperor and protect his majesty's safety.

Old Zhu said, "Okay, it would be boring if I go alone, it would be more lively if we have you all here with us."

"Let's all go, let's go together."

Everyone was choked. We were just being polite, why did Your Majesty take it so seriously?

However, the words have been spoken and it is impossible to regret them.

Zhu Yuanzhang then issued another decree, selecting more than sixty nobles and more than fifty civil servants to accompany the king.

Except for more than 20 people who are unemployed at home, the rest are all senior officials in important positions.

However, there was one person who took the initiative to ask to protect Lao Zhu.

That's Tang He.

Old Zhu didn't really want him to retire: "Biao'er has only been on the throne for a short time, and the court is in constant need of your assistance. How can you just give up?"

"No, no, you just have to work for us honestly and you can't go anywhere."

Tang He sat cross-legged on the ground and said, "Master, you must keep your word."

"We agreed last year that you and the queen would travel around the world, and I, Old Tang, would lead the horses and escort you."

"You are the emperor, your words are as good as gold. How can you go back on your word?"

"I don't care. If you don't let me go, I'll just sit here and not leave."

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at him with a tickler in his hand and said helplessly: "You are so good, Tang He, you have learned to use words to stop me."

"Okay, okay, since you want to leave your high position and generous salary behind and follow this useless old man like me, then let's go together."

Tang He jumped up happily: "It's settled... Ouch, my leg."

It turned out that he was too excited and accidentally sprained his ankle when he landed.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked someone to call the imperial physician while holding him and complaining:
"You deserve it, old man. You don't even realize how old you are, but you're still jumping around like a young man."

"You're twisted now, it hurts so much that it won't hurt you at all."

Once the list of the accompanying persons is announced, even the dumbest person will know that the emperor does not want to revisit his old place.

It is obvious that they are trying to demobilize the meritorious officials in preparation for the new emperor to take power completely.

Some people think more deeply that this is not a simple dismissal of meritorious officials, because many nobles still hold important positions.

For example, Li Shanchang and Xu Da were the people in charge of the cabinet.

So, this is a selective retirement.

Looking at the previous actions of these people who were taken away, they basically expressed different opinions on the new policy.

Well, this is both a way to retire meritorious officials and a way to remove obstacles for reform.

In fact, everyone can accept this method.

Removing meritorious officials is a common practice in every dynasty. Some dynasties used relatively mild means, such as Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu and Emperor Taizu of Song Zhao Kuangyin, while others were more brutal, such as several emperors of the Western Han Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang's method of persuading others to retreat can be said to be quite gentle.

So gentle that no one could believe it.

You know, with Lao Zhu's previous personality, it would have been most normal to just use a knife.

We will drink together from golden bottles, but we will not spare each other with white knives.

The words are still in my ears.

Even among those who were rejected, few were really unwilling to do so, but they were sweating coldly out of fear.

It is said that we should learn from history, but I never expected that I would almost become a historical figure without realizing it.

He dared not say anything more and immediately resigned from his position, packed his luggage, and followed Zhu Yuanzhang on the road to Fengyang.

Zhu Biao didn't act pretentiously or act like he was reluctant to leave.

Old Zhu is stronger than him, and after so many years of recuperation, Empress Ma is still in good health.

When traveling with so many people, there is really nothing to worry about.

After seeing his parents off as usual, he immediately got down to work.

All the vacant positions were filled with his own people, which not only did not affect the operation of the court, but also increased efficiency several times.

Then he discussed the Temasek matter with Chen Jingke.

Xu Chailao will certainly not be able to continue in office, so a new governor needs to be selected.

Chen Jingke said: "Temasek is a city of commerce, and the new governor had better understand economics."

Zhu Xiongying: "It is also responsible for coordinating relations among the Southeast Asian countries. It is best for it to understand diplomacy."

Chen Jingke: "You are also responsible for educating the barbarians and promoting Chinese culture, so it is best to have a certain level of knowledge."

Zhu Xiongying: "We must also have a tough attitude and not be afraid of any threats."

"..."

Zhu Biao was overwhelmed by what he heard: "Do I need to know military affairs?"

They both nodded together: "It's better to understand a little."

Zhu Biao said angrily: "Shut up, do you think people like this are just carrots in the field that you can just pull out at will?"

Chen Jingke naturally knew that there were not many candidates who met the criteria.

Talent has become the biggest shortcoming in the development of the Ming Dynasty.

There are many old-school bureaucrats, but what is lacking is good reformers.

Zhu Biao had trained some talents before, but they were just a drop in the bucket for the entire Ming Dynasty.

"The Ming Dynasty needs a place dedicated to training new officials, otherwise it will always be constrained by a shortage of talent."

Zhu Biao agreed and said, "So the special zone must be established as soon as possible to train new talents there."

Chen Jingke nodded and said, "If Temasek can be built this time, we can also build a talent training base."

Zhu Biao said with a headache: "In the end, it's all about talent. Temasek can't stand the turmoil. We must appoint a suitable governor this time."

"But where can we find such talents?"

Chen Jingke was also helpless. He could think of ways to solve other problems, but he was helpless with this matter.

Zhu Xiongying hesitated for a moment and said, "I do have a talented person, but I don't know if he can handle this position."

Zhu Biao raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh, who is it?"

Chen Jingke was also very curious. He actually knew such a talent? He had never heard of him before.

Could it be that this guy has ulterior motives? He is secretly trying to win over talents behind my back?

Zhu Xiongying said: "Fu An, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, was once sent as an envoy to Goryeo. He was not afraid of the fake king Xin Yu and the general Li Chenggui."

"After the fall of Goryeo, he was promoted to the position of Chief Clerk of the Honglu Temple due to his merits."

"Before I established the diplomatic rules, he also contributed a lot and was promoted to the position of Honglu Temple Secretary."

"In recent years, he has been in charge of foreign affairs and has also performed well in promoting the "A Brief History of China."

"The only thing that is lacking is probably the talent in economics."

After hearing about his resume, Chen Jingke was quite surprised. He is truly a talented person.

Sure enough, there are too many talents buried by history.

What many people lack is just an opportunity.

In fact, he didn't know that in his previous life, Fu An was known as an outstanding diplomat in the early Ming Dynasty.

He was sent as an envoy to the Timurid Khanate and remained steadfast in the face of death threats, and can be regarded as the Su Wu of the Ming Dynasty.

It is highly likely that he will not have to go on a diplomatic mission to the Timurid Empire in this life, but gold will always shine.

On other tracks, he still stands out.

Zhu Biao was also quite satisfied with Fu An, but...

"Temasek is a city of commerce. How can he be competent if he doesn't understand economics?"

Chen Jingke said, "Your Majesty, why not make Temasek a special zone?"

"We have discussed before to set up two more offices in the SAR, and it is just right to implement it in Temasek first."

"It doesn't matter if Fu An doesn't understand economics, as long as he is willing to listen to the advice of professionals."

"When the time comes, commercial matters will be handed over to the people in the Municipal Administration Bureau, and he, as the governor, only needs to take charge of the overall situation."

Zhu Biao really had no better solution, so he said:

"That's all I can do... Let Fu An come to see me tomorrow, and let him take a intensive course on economics."

As for other supporting officials, the requirements were not that high, so Zhu Biao appointed them himself.

For example, the heads of the Comprehensive Reform Bureau and the Municipal Management Bureau were two people selected directly from the cabinet.

After things were discussed, Zhu Xiongying sent someone to notify Fu An to come to the palace for an audience.

Although he didn't directly say what to do, entering the palace to meet the emperor was an opportunity.

For Fu An, this was like a pie in the sky. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night.

The next day, Zhu Biao and Chen Jingke interviewed him and found that he was indeed a rare talent.

The disadvantage is just as previously guessed, he doesn't know much about economics.

However, a solution had been found, so Zhu Biao was not disappointed.

His appointment was announced immediately, and several teachers were found to give him a crash course in economics.

Given the importance of Temasek, he was also told more about the vassal system.

As for the imperial plan, he is not qualified to know for the time being.

Even so, Fu An was still shocked.

I didn't expect that the court would play such a big game around a small issue like Temasek.

And now this heavy burden has fallen on my shoulders.

Instead of feeling stressed, he was very excited.

If you do well, your name will be recorded in history, and you may even have a chance to become a minister or cabinet leader.

At the same time, he secretly criticized Xu Chai Lao in his heart. Such a good opportunity turned out to be like this.

A businessman is just a businessman and he cannot achieve great things.

Time flies by quickly, and before I know it a month has passed.

On this day, news came back that King Qin Zhu Chong had massacred people on Temasek Island, killing more than 90,000 people.

Once the news spread, the whole world was shocked.

(End of this chapter)