Zhu Yuanzhang can see my dreams

Chapter 325: Master of Pretending to be Confused
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Everyone here has read it. Even Zhu Di took time to read it when he was training his troops in Fengyang, and he found it very interesting.

So when Wang Buli said this, everyone knew what it meant.

After Liu Bei captured Chengdu, he ordered his soldiers to empty the treasury as promised, so that he had no money left in the later period.

Now Zhu Biao said that he would reward each soldier with a pound of gold!
If he fails to send it out at that time, his prestige as the crown prince will be greatly reduced.

Even in Zhu Yuanzhang's treasury, there was not much gold reserves.

"My brother-in-law is right." Zhu Biao nodded slightly and looked at Wang Buli: "If we can't find that much gold in Japan, it will be a troublesome matter. To be safe, it is better to have silver in Japan. What do you think?"

The expression on Zhu Di's face looked a little unnatural.

He began to doubt the conspiracy between himself and Wang Buli. Could it be that it was leaked?

It shouldn’t be!

He only told Miaoyun about this matter, and the others certainly didn't know about it.

That must be a coincidence!
"I think?" Compared to Zhu Di's guilty conscience, Wang Buli's expression was the same:
"It's not impossible, but a pound of silver is only sixteen taels, it's hard to inspire the courage of soldiers like gold!"

Zhu Yuanzhang silently observed the expressions of his son and son-in-law, trying to find out whether there was any collusion between them.

Looking at the youngest child’s childish face, I wonder if it was because he was nervous because it was his first time sitting on the Emperor’s bicycle frame.

Or maybe he was like a mouse seeing a cat and couldn't relax in front of his father.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not think that he treated his sons differently. His main purpose was to prevent his other sons from having any inappropriate thoughts.

But he could also feel that, except for Biao'er, his other sons were not very close to him.

Zhu Yuanzhang also knew that these guys all wanted to go out and find their fiefdoms as soon as possible, but he just didn't want to let his sons go so quickly.

Even his younger nephews and grandnephews were sent to Guangxi by him.

There is no way. There is still a big difference between Lao Zhu’s biological son and other people.

Zhu Biao always had a confident smile on his face: "It's nothing more than turning one pound of gold into ten pounds of silver."

Wang Buli made some calculations in his mind.

In the early Ming Dynasty, one tael of gold was equivalent to four taels of silver. In the past two years, due to the issuance of treasure notes, it could be equivalent to five or six taels. Zhu Biao's offer was quite generous.

During the Chongzhen period, one ounce of gold was exchanged for twelve ounces, and the price of gold continued to rise until the Qing Dynasty.

"Brother Prince, you seem to be sure that Japan has a lot of silver?"

Zhu Di's eyes were dazed. He never thought that Wang Buli would ask this question directly.

Facing Wang Buli's slightly curious question, Zhu Biao just smiled and said: "We are so far away from each other across the sea, who knows whether it is true or not? It is a way to motivate my Ming soldiers after all.

If you really can't find any silver, you can still use the King of Japan's treasure to replace it.

Or he could follow Liu Xuande's example and conquer Japan, and take all of Fukuer and other places."

Wang Buli glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang and saw that he had no intention of speaking, so he suppressed his doubts and just nodded without saying anything more.

Zhu Di said nothing, as he always felt like he was cheating and was discovered by his elder brother.

Seeing that Wang Buli did not tell anyone the news about the silver mine in Japan, he felt that he could not tell anyone either.

Otherwise, if we get to the bottom of it, it would be like selling out Wang Buli.

I, Zhu Di, am still loyal.

The four people in the car stopped tacitly and no one spoke.

Zhu Biao was somewhat confused deep down in his heart.

Why would Wang Buli choose the fourth brother instead of him at this time?

I am the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty!

The future emperor!
Moreover, Zhu Biao believed that Wang Buli could also see that his father was training him.

Could it be because the fourth brother’s fiefdom is close to Japan?

Or maybe the emperor is really like what his father said, he can only be a lonely man, and his subjects will never be truly of the same mind as the emperor!

Even Wang Buli was not sure whether Japan had any silver mines.

I just saw this news in the fairyland, but I don’t know the specific location?
If I explained it to myself in this way, Zhu Biao would be able to accept it.

But he still felt extremely confused.

Zhu Di, on the other hand, looked tense and began to think about how to make this matter a reality in the future. He first went to Japan to see if there were any silver mines, as this was related to his plan to destroy the Mongols.

Even his father and brother didn't want to tell it in advance.

Otherwise, it might not be him who leads the army into battle.

When Wang Buli said that if the invaders could go, so could I, it really irritated Zhu Di.

If the Japanese pirates can come to our Ming Dynasty, we can also kill them. Zhu Di is particularly happy to do such a thing.

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a while before speaking: "I was almost deceived by this Huailiang. He has no power at all and is afraid that my Ming Dynasty will recognize the Northern Dynasty to deal with him.

In the letter, he also hoped that we could send troops to assist him. I think his words were not sincere.

The Northern Dynasty was controlled by a powerful official named Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and the Southern Dynasty of King Kai of Japan was defeated by the Northern Dynasty.

Maybe in a few years, he will be finished."

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who unified Japan, sent people to pay tribute during the reign of Emperor Jianwen. The richness of this tribute was the highest diplomatic reward of tomorrow.

As soon as the emperor ascended the throne, foreign countries and small nations came to congratulate him, which naturally received a positive response from Emperor Jianwen, who acknowledged him as the King of Japan in the edict.

However, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's attitude of submitting to the Ming Dynasty was criticized by all walks of life in Japan, who considered it an insulting diplomacy.

Even though Ming is stronger than me, I cannot officially consider him stronger than me.

However, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu felt that establishing diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty had many benefits. When he sent people to prepare for the second visit to the court, he discovered that the Ming Dynasty was in civil strife. So he promptly asked the envoys not to write the emperor's title in the letter to the Ming Dynasty so that they could respond to emergencies.

As a result, when this group of envoys arrived in Ningbo and found that Zhu Di had come to power, the Japanese envoys immediately took advantage of the situation and expressed their congratulations.

Zhu Di was also overjoyed. He showed mercy to the Japanese envoys and allowed them to sell swords.

The following year, he sent envoys to Japan to formally enthrone Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as the King of Japan.

Japan used Chinese copper coins as currency very early on, but the war between the Northern and Southern Dynasties lasted for nearly a century, which interrupted the trade between the two sides.

After unification, Yoshimitsu wanted to stabilize the finances, and trading with the Ming Dynasty naturally solved the problem of copper coins.

In addition, he was extravagant by nature, and only trade with the Ming Dynasty could satisfy his extravagance.

What's more, I am a fan of the Ming Dynasty. I wear Ming clothes, ride in a Ming sedan chair, collect works of Chinese calligraphers and painters, and imitate the life of the upper class of the Ming Dynasty in every way on weekdays, and I am proud of it.

However, many people in Japan do not see it this way, and believe that Yoshimitsu is weak towards Ming.

After he died and his son came to power, he immediately began to cut ties with the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Di sent eunuchs as envoys, but they were refused an audience and were not allowed to enter Beijing.

Japan directly and unilaterally announced the abolition of its policy of paying homage to the Ming Dynasty.

When his younger brother came to power, he found that Japan no longer had Ming Dynasty copper coins in circulation and its economy was about to collapse again. He could only express his intention to restore diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty to the Korean envoys.

He wanted to cut it but couldn't.

Among the small countries in East Asia, all of them have been influenced by China. Whether you like it or not, China's cultural and economic output is so overbearing.

The vassal states can only choose to accept it!

However, the idea of ​​Japan's rebellion has always been circulating, which also prompted Toyotomi Hideyoshi's later strategic plan to annex the Ming Dynasty.

In view of Japan's current situation, Zhu Yuanzhang also thought about establishing alliances on two fronts, with the ultimate goal of controlling the Japanese pirates.

But after learning about the silver mine, he felt that he could not sit idly by and watch the Northern Dynasty annex the Southern Dynasty and Japan become unified.

This was not conducive to his control over Japan.

Only in chaos can we seek more benefits!
“So I think that no matter whether this King Huai is real or not, he is still the ruler of Japan, and I want to help him.

Otherwise, if a powerful official is allowed to take office, wouldn’t everyone in Japan, from top to bottom, develop a mentality of not obeying the Celestial Empire?”

Wang Buli understood what Zhu Yuanzhang meant. As an emperor, he did not want his subjects to rebel and ascend to the throne, even if they were vassal states.

"Dad, do you mean to send troops to Japan?" Zhu Biao quickly picked up the words without letting them fall to the ground.

"Although we know that this King Huai is desperate and wants us to try our luck, I think it's okay to be used by him once. We can send two groups of envoys to have a chat."

If Zhu Yuanzhang had not known about the huge profits of the silver mines in the past, he would not have paid any attention to the Japanese.

After all, the previous times he sent envoys over had not achieved his goals, so Zhu Yuanzhang was no longer so concerned about Japan. He was too lazy to give Japan face again since the envoys were so shameless.

Then, because King Huai could not defeat the Northern Dynasties, he had to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang then took advantage of the situation and established diplomatic relations with Japan.

"Your Majesty, are you sending troops for political purposes?"

Wang Buli thought secretly in his heart, could it be that Old Zhu really knew that Japan has silver mines?
The only possible channel for him to get information was from Zhu Di's secret conversations in her boudoir.

Wang Buli doesn’t think Zhu Yuanzhang is really that perverted?
I like listening to my son and daughter-in-law’s chat!

So apart from the justifiable political purposes, Wang Buli couldn't figure out what other interests could drive Zhu Yuanzhang to send troops to Japan.

"Of course, Bulli, what do you think?"

"I think it's good." Wang Buli nodded in agreement.

"The current territory of the Ming Dynasty is not very large, so it is reasonable to expand a little.

Especially since the Japanese pirates dared to come to the Ming Dynasty to cause chaos, there must be someone supporting them behind the scenes, so it would be a good idea for us to kill them."

Zhu Yuanzhang finally understood, even though the father and son were telling him the truth.

But he refused to reveal a single word, as if he was keeping it a secret.

Now he used the excuse that the Ming Dynasty's territory was not large enough. Before Zhu Yuanzhang could think of anything else to say, he heard Zhu Di yelling, "Father, my brother-in-law is right. In the future, we must continue to expand our territory to the north and completely destroy the Mongols."

"Shut up."

Zhu Biao scolded the fourth brother, saying that this idea of ​​always wanting to go to war was not a good idea.

The Yuan Dynasty is an example. Zhu Biao knew that it was originally a powerful force, but because the territory it conquered was too large, no one was willing to submit to the other, and it was directly divided into four empires.

Because of the position of emperor, there were many internal conflicts among the brothers.

Although the Yuan Dynasty had a short reign, its emperors changed very frequently.

Zhu Di muttered something and felt that he was not wrong.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not stop him, but asked Wang Buli: "Do you know why we let the princes guard the border?"

"Of course." Wang Buli spread his hands and said, "In fact, I agree with the fourth brother's idea. It is impossible to guard against thieves for a thousand days. Moreover, if this continues for a long time, the finances of the Ming Dynasty will be dragged down by the war in the north.

It would be better to take advantage of the Ming Dynasty's strong military to eliminate the enemies in the north, so that there would not be a need for so many people to guard the border.

Compared to cultivating land and supporting millions of soldiers in the north, why not choose the simplest method!
Your Majesty feels that the Mongols are too powerful, so he does not have the confidence to completely wipe them out.

Or has your style of doing things become more conservative since you became the emperor, and you no longer want to take risks?"

Zhu Di's eyes widened and he moved his butt slightly, subconsciously trying to stay away from Wang Buli.

Brother-in-law, if you want to be beaten with a stick, don't take me with you!
Can I question my father with these words?

Zhu Biao always thought that Wang Buli was very conservative in his style of doing things, but why did he suddenly become radical?
"That makes sense."

Zhu Yuanzhang's arrangement of the northern border defense was indeed out of conservative considerations, and he was always pleased with the fact that he could afford to support a million soldiers without spending a penny.

But when the Ming Dynasty came to an end, it was unknown how many of these millions of soldiers joined the rebel army and the Tartar army to counterattack the Ming Dynasty.

Instead of wasting money like this, it would be better to accumulate wealth, like Emperor Wu of Han did, and defeat the Huns in one fell swoop, splitting them up and forcing them to run farther and farther towards the northwest.

If you calculate it this way, the Ming Dynasty would not need to maintain so many soldiers and could completely go the elite route.

It is also difficult for local governments to counterattack the central government.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that his son, who was forced to kill his entire family, could successfully ascend the throne by starting with only 800 people and counterattacking the central court with hundreds of thousands of troops.

On the one hand, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that the fourth son was really good at fighting, but at the same time he had to admit that his eldest grandson Yunwen was so confused as to be the emperor, which led to the loss of such a huge advantage.

Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang also believed that since he had chosen to let Zhu Yunwen take the throne, he must have made countermeasures for the vassal kings far in the north.

It's a pity that he is really not fit to be an emperor, and instead he wasted so many of our best soldiers and generals!

“But it’s not realistic.”

Zhu Yuanzhang then uttered these words and also spread his hands:
"That requires a lot of money to support it, but at present, the Ming Dynasty has too little gold, silver and copper. I had planned to rely on issuing a large number of treasure notes, but you stopped me. How can I get the money in a short time?"

Zhu Di quietly moved his buttocks again, wanting to get closer to Wang Buli to hear whether he had told his father about the silver mine in Japan.

Similarly, Zhu Biao looked at Wang Buli with a serious expression.

Wang Buli shook his head slightly: "Your Majesty, haven't we already started to weaken the Mongols?
Perhaps within two or three years, Mongolia will become increasingly dilapidated, and a large number of Mongols who cannot survive will come to us for refuge.

When the time comes to fight the Northern Yuan, there will be no need to spend so much money."

Zhu Di's eyes suddenly widened. During this period in Fengyang, what methods did the military advisor use to weaken the Mongols' strength?
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't expect Wang Buli to bring up this topic.

He just nodded slightly:
"But the effect is not obvious at the moment. We have received secret reports that the monks like silk very much and want the Emperor to buy more for Buddhist affairs, but the Emperor does not have much silver.

Furthermore, the matter of the Eagle Liuli has not spread across the desert as planned, which is not conducive to our next plan."

How much wealth could an emperor who fled madly with a dozen people have?

What's more, the Yuan emperor ran back to his hometown, which was a loss of face. Many powerful people under his command no longer took the descendants of Genghis Khan seriously.

As the saying goes, a phoenix without its feathers plucked is no better than a chicken!
"As long as there is a demand, our Ming Dynasty can meet their needs." Wang Buli fanned himself and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is a long-term process and cannot be rushed.

We didn’t make much money from the initial shipments, but now that they have a channel to rely on, we should raise prices appropriately.”

Lee Seong-gye once again defeated the Japanese pirates and became famous in Goryeo.

That means normal trade can be carried out in a short period of time, and the Ming Dynasty no longer needs to make concessions to Goryeo, which is a good excuse to control them.

"It's time to close the net."

Zhu Yuanzhang also agreed. He was very dissatisfied with the fact that all the money was earned by Goryeo.

Now that he has found an opportunity to strangle someone, he is naturally extremely happy.

Before they knew it, the conversation was dragged onto the Mongols. When they arrived at the palace gate, Wang Buli took Zhu Di out of the car.

The two of them didn't disturb the emperor from going to work.

When the carriage entered the palace gate, Zhu Biao said in a deep voice: "Dad, he still doesn't want to reveal it, even if he agrees with what I say."

"No need to force it."

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard and thought:
"We guess that the silver mine in Japan must be very large, so large that Wang Buli does not want to reveal it easily, but wants to take it for himself with the fourth brother, and slowly pass it down in his hands."

"what?"

Zhu Biao never expected that his father would think so about Wang Buli, and then speculated from this perspective that Japan's silver mines were huge.

But if the silver mine is really that big, why didn’t Japan discover it for all these years?

They were also constrained by the lack of Song Dynasty copper coins, which led to bartering and they had no money at all.

Of course, this is also the situation in Goryeo now.

The surrounding small countries all use the currency of the Central Plains dynasty.

"Don't always think of people as being so selfless."

"But."

Zhu Biao felt that Wang Buli was extremely selfless, otherwise he would not have cared so much about upholding justice for the people.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Wang Buli is not a real immortal after all. It is normal for him to be greedy, just like us. If we have good things, we should pass them on to our descendants!"

Zhu Biao was speechless. It could be said that his test on Wang Buli today had yielded nothing.

That guy has been pretending to be confused and even advised you to attack Japan immediately.

But this is not realistic at all.

motherfucker.

The military advisor is indeed a master at playing dumb.

(End of this chapter)