King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Chapter 108: Kill by name! Lao Zhu’s explanation to Zhu Tan! Ok.
  Zhu Yuanzhang sneered.

"We never imagined that my Ming Dynasty would have so many things!
  Unexpectedly, it was a little salt that became the focus of attention for all of you! "

talking.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly smiled and said: "But that's right. People need firewood, rice, oil and salt to live their lives! This salt is indeed very important!
  Minister Zhao!
  We are very pleased that you care so much about your own affairs, and you are worthy of being a loyal minister of Ming Dynasty! "

When Zhao Xuanhuai heard this, he should have been happy. After all, he had received praise from his majesty.

But for some reason, he always had a vague premonition in his heart!

Is your Majesty's words really a compliment to yourself?

Why do I always feel vaguely murderous?
  I thought so in my heart.

For a while.

Zhao Xuanhuai was frozen there.

I don't know whether to thank His Majesty for the compliment or not to say anything.
  Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhao Xuanhuai.

Suddenly, he threw the memorial in his hand towards Zhao Xuanhuai!

Guo Huan, who was standing in front of Zhao Xuanhuai, was startled and hurriedly moved away.

Zhao Xuanhuai was hit on the forehead by the memorial and was stunned on the spot.

Not only Zhao Xuanhuai but also all the ministers present were confused!
  Why is Your Majesty suddenly so angry?

Lan Yu, who was still communicating with the people around him and wanted to speak to His Royal Highness Prince Lu in the court hall, now also noticed that something was wrong in the atmosphere and felt completely confused.

The atmosphere this morning was very obvious!

It is to criticize King Lu and at the same time deal with his Lu Shang Salt Company and Changlu Salt Farm!
  Why does it look like now that Zhao Xuanhuai, the first one to jump out, is going to be unlucky?
  Zhao Xuanhuai was just confused for a moment, and immediately knelt on the ground with a "plop".

"Your Majesty, I am aware of my guilt!"

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered: "Knowing the crime? What crime do you know?"

Zhao Xuanhuai was speechless for a moment. What crime could he say he knew?

Is it a crime to collude with salt merchants?
  That means you don’t want the Nine Clans!

But if you say that you are not guilty, your Majesty treats you like this, and you still contradict him, wouldn't it be deceiving you?
  Even if nothing goes wrong today, I am afraid that His Majesty will make a list in the future, and the nine tribes will still be unable to escape by then!
  It is said that accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger!
  When there is no reason to reason at all, I will not give you a chance to reason!

Zhao Xuanhuai hesitated for a moment, and finally said in a trembling voice: "It is a sin for me to make Your Majesty so angry!"

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered.

"According to what your Minister Zhao said, we are unreasonable people? Huh! What an iron mouth!"

talking.

Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the old eunuch Chen who was waiting on the side to say: "Give the prince the recent reports from the Jinyi Guards about Mr. Zhao, the Minister of Zhao!"

soon.

Old eunuch Chen handed a memorial to Prince Zhu Biao.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao and said calmly: "Read it!"

Zhu Biao nodded.

"In May of the 11th year of Hongwu, the salt merchant Cao Wenlong met Zhao Xuanhuai, then a doctor in the Ministry of Household Affairs, through Cheng Lang, then a member of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and gave him 10,000 Ming treasure notes as a gift!

In the twelfth lunar month of the eleventh year of Hongwu, salt merchant Cao Wenlong gave Zhao Xuanhuai a treasure of 20,000 guan!
  From then on, until the 18th year of Hongwu, salt merchant Cao Wenlong sent Zhao Xuanhuai treasures such as banknotes, jade, gold and other items every year!
  This year, Zhao Xuanhuai has been gifted 150,000 guan of treasure banknotes!
  I asked Zhao Xuanhuai for two things one after another!
  The first piece!
  Change the price of salt sold in the 18th year of Hongwu from one cent and two cents of silver to one cent and four cents of silver!
  the second one!
  Please ask Zhao Xuanhuai to come forward and report to the court, demanding the disposal of Lu Shang Salt House and Changlu Salt Farm, and plotting to impeach Lu King Zhu Tan! "

The words fell.

Zhao Xuanhuai's whole body was as limp as mud!
  His face was pale and his lips were trembling.

He murmured: "How... how is it possible! It shouldn't be. I am obviously very careful."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered.

"The Skynet is magnificent, sparse and not missing! Our Jin Yiwei is the Skynet of the Ming Dynasty!

If you dare to take bribes and bend the law, don't you think about this day? "

talking.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhao Xuanhuai.

He cursed angrily:
  "Zhao Xuanhuai! You worm that is harming the country, you damn bastard!

We are so blind!

That’s why you, a bastard, have been in charge of the salt affairs of the Ming Dynasty!
  Since you became a doctor, you have been in charge of salt affairs, and now you are the Minister of Household Affairs!
  Have we ever treated you badly over the years?

Is this how you repay us?
  Take the power in your hands to exchange for the benefits that the salt dealer gives you!

You deserve to die! "

at this time.

Zhao Xuanhuai was so scolded that he could no longer stand up!

Only then did the officials realize that things were completely reversed!
  King Lu, who was originally supposed to be the protagonist of the discussion, is completely outside the scope of today's discussion.

Instead, Zhao Xuanhuai became the most outstanding one!
  But this incident was enough to shock the officials!
  How much money has this guy received from the salt merchant over the years?

Lan Yu was even more confused.

I couldn't help but look at Xin Guogong Tang He.

Suddenly his whole face turned red.

Just now, he had sworn to tell his close associates how King Lu would make the soup so good and how he would do the next thing.
  Who would have thought that in a blink of an eye, things would turn around!

This matter has nothing to do with King Lu at all. Instead, Zhao Xuanhuai, who attacked King Lu, has a problem. So do other officials also have problems?
  I am still giving lessons to others.
  Are you stupid now?
  This is so embarrassing!

At this moment, Lan Yu only felt that every time Zhu Yuanzhang cursed Zhao Xuanhuai, it was as if he was being slapped in the face.
  Believe in the Duke!
  You are too tight-lipped. This edict is definitely not to reprimand His Highness!
  Tang He was smiling all over his face, he had been looking forward to having fun at this moment.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not look at Zhao Xuanhuai.

But he looked at the ministers.

Suddenly he sighed: "A few days ago, when we were very quiet and restless, we happened to take the prince on a private tour in Yingtian Mansion incognito, and we were deeply touched!

Du Fu's poems back then were right.
  While the rich wine and meat smell, the road with frozen bone!
  The prince and I have seen that Yingtian is prosperous and the dignitaries are wearing gold and silver.

I also saw people struggling to make a living and begging on the streets!
  The ones hawking are also worthless things, just for a living!
  What impressed us even more was the price of salt! "

talking.

Zhu Yuanzhang glared at Zhao Xuanhuai fiercely and said angrily: "One penny, four cents of silver per pound!"
  Zhao Xuanhuai!

How dare you set this price?

How dare you not tell me and the prince when you set this price!
  Do you think the people's life is not hard enough, or do you think the salt in Ming Dynasty is really cheap?

You have been in charge of salt affairs for so many years. Don’t you know that if you don’t eat salt for a day, you will have no strength?

If you sell salt at such a high price, what do you want these people to use to buy salt? One person has to eat ten kilograms of salt in a year, and one person can only earn so much three taels or four taels of silver in a year if he is exhausted!

Do you have to spend half of your income to buy salt?

Don’t they need money to feed, clothe and raise their children?

Are you going to let these people eat private salt, or not eat salt?

Our people have to work and farm!

If they don't eat salt for a day, how will they find the strength to work?

Do you want them to starve to death if they can't do any work?

Zhao Xuanhuai!

Fortunately, you are also a scholar, but you have a vicious heart! What a vicious thought! "

talking.

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly: "As for the fact that you raised the price of salt to 4 cents per penny, we also ordered people to investigate!
  Although the price of salt has increased by two points, not a penny of this money has gone to the Ministry of Household Affairs!

Instead, you sympathize with the rising cost of salt dealers obtaining salt and purchasing salt, so you have to increase the price!
  Zhao Xuanhuai, you are really a considerate businessman!

However, your considerate businessman Cao Wenlong is not very loyal to you!
  Under Jin Yiwei's severe punishment, he has made all the affairs between him and you over the years clear and clear! "

At this time, Zhao Xuanhuai no longer had the energy to even cry out for injustice.

Just slumped to the ground.

Trembling all over.

Not a word was spoken.

The evidence is as solid as a mountain, this is the real evidence as solid as a mountain!
  What else can I say?

Be disappointed after hearing this.
  However, how should we punish ourselves for committing such a heinous crime?

In the Ming Dynasty, anyone who embezzled 60 taels of silver had to be peeled off and stripped of their skin!
  How many bribes have you taken?
  10 taels?

20 taels?

Even Ling Chi, I'm afraid it's enough, even the Nine Clans can't escape the disaster!
  Zhu Yuanzhang did not even look at Zhao Xuanhuai.

Instead, he looked at the ministers with bright eyes.

“We passed by these salt merchants’ shops and listened to the people complaining about the high price of salt.

And these salt merchants keep saying that the price they sell is based on the price specified on the salt!
  To put it bluntly, it was all requested by the imperial court. If you want to blame it, it is the imperial court! "

Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth and said bitterly: "These damn profiteers!

They ruined the reputation of the court so much that they put the money they earned into their own pockets!

We hate it!
  Why didn't we discover them earlier!

They have money, they can bribe everyone, they can ask our officials to speak out for them, and even help them make money!

What we are harming is nothing more than the entire Ming Dynasty and our people!

snort!
  We know that many of you are colluding with them! "

talking.

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered.

"The Ministry of Etiquette gave Zhang Huanian the favor!
  Qian Xun, a doctor in the Ministry of Industry!

Zhang Quan, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites!

Inspectorate."

Zhu Yuanzhang read the names one by one. Basically, they were all officials who had recently submitted a memorial requesting that the Lu Shang Salt Company be dealt with.

At this time, they were called one by one, and they all knelt on the ground!

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly: "Drag all these people down and interrogate them severely! Do it quickly and severely! Don't let anyone involved!

All the salt merchants behind them must be uncovered!

We want to see who has the final say in this Ming Dynasty!
  We also want to see who else dares to be blind and dirty because of money! "

The words fell.

soon.

A group of Han generals appeared in the main hall and dragged all these officials away.

"Your Majesty, I am wronged."

"Your Majesty, please spare my life. I am aware of my guilt!"

"Your Majesty, I am innocent. I didn't want to accept it at first. It was they who insisted on giving me a clear warning."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel upset when he heard the noisy cries of grievances made by these officials. He waved his hands and said, "Drag them out quickly! We are sickened by their voices!"

soon.

The court hall was empty.

At least one sixth of the people are missing! Lan Yu couldn't help but sigh.

"Hiss——! After the Kongyin case and the Hu Ni case, there has never been such a large-scale empty incident in the court."

The people around looked at Lan Yu with numb faces.

At this time, the only one who can withstand the pressure and still dare to make fun of him is the Marquis of Yongchang. He has such a big heart.
  Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the ministers and suddenly smiled again.

“These bastards have been attacking Lushang Salt Store and Changlu Saltworks!
  We might as well let them say directly that the person they can't stand is Lu Wang Zhu Tan, the tenth son of our family!

King Lu is in trouble!

Being born in this imperial family, it is inevitable to be wronged!

The last time, he ignored personal gains and losses, regardless of whether he violated court regulations, risked being punished, and personally led an army to surprise the Japanese pirates!

He unexpectedly saved more than 2 people in Rizhao County!
  At the same time, tens of millions of taels of property were seized, and more than 2000 Japanese pirates were killed!

Such achievements against Japanese pirates have never been achieved since the founding of the Ming Dynasty!

Have we given him any reward? Nothing at all!

After all, he now holds the title of prince and has no reward!

We even had to ask for all the money he captured!
  Even though we are his father, we are the emperor, and we want something, how can he not give it to us?
  But we know in our hearts that King Lu has been wronged!
  No reward for merit, this is the greatest grievance in the world!

King Lu is a sensible kid. He only asked me for the Changlu Salt Farm!

At first, we thought that he wanted to have some leftover salt tax every year to earn him some money, which was also a psychological comfort.

But we didn't expect that he would turn our Changlu Salt Farm into a treasure trove of the entire Ming Dynasty within a few months! "

As soon as the words fell, it was like a giant bomb was dropped in the calm pond, and the water splashed everywhere in an instant!

The ministers all opened their eyes wide and were extremely shocked!

Why did Changlu Salt Field become the treasure trove of the Ming Dynasty?
  What on earth did His Highness King Lu do there?

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the ministers quietly.

"Zhu Tan improved the salt production method at Changlu Salt Farm!

Nowadays, the cost of salt produced by Changlu Salt Factory is extremely low!

Even if tens of millions of kilograms of salt are produced in a year, the cost is only a dozen or two hundred thousand taels of silver!

And the quality of this salt is extremely high!

I believe all of you dear friends should have heard about it. If you still don’t know, you can go back to your own kitchen and have a look!
  Now, a rough calculation shows that if salt is sold to the public for four cents of silver per kilogram, the annual salt tax left by the Changlu Saltworks can be as high as 800 or even 9 million taels of silver!

The imperial court can receive four million taels of silver every year!

We have already made the decision to leave the other four million taels of silver for Zhu Tan’s own use!
  He said it is still useful, we believe him!
  There must be a greater role. We hope that he can make contributions to the Ming Dynasty again! "

The words fell.

The ministers were shocked again!
  Guo Huan, the right minister of the Ministry of Finance, even had his eyes widened.

Everyone is about to faint!
  How much? How much?

According to the price of four cents of silver per pound, he can actually earn more than eight million taels of silver every year!

This is too exaggerated!
  The annual taxes of the Ming Dynasty were similar to this amount!
  Lan Yu even took a breath of cold air.

Subsequently.

My face suddenly became hot!
  The words he said seemed to still ring in his ears.

"Zhu Tan must be punished by His Majesty, Lord Xin Guo said. In the imperial edict, Zhu Tan was scolded so much that he even begged me to help him plead for mercy."

this.
  this.
  At this time, Lan Yu was in a daze, almost fainting!
  He even wished he would faint now!

He simply couldn't accept the looks of his cronies around him.
  Even if they weren't looking at her, Lan Yu suspected that they were laughing at her!

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the shocked expressions of the ministers, and felt extremely happy in his heart!
  In this world, what father doesn’t want his son to be successful?

Now, Zhu Tan is his most promising son!

We can praise him here openly and openly!

Show off to the officials here!

Our son is capable and capable!

He can earn 1800 million yuan a year!

Wait until the shock of the ministers is over.

Zhu Yuanzhang still had some unfinished ideas.

"Speaking of which, we have to thank Zhu Tan!
  You people who hold high positions, have fine clothes and fine food, and have no worries about food and clothing every day, have no idea how hard the people are suffering, but our son knows!

In the past, when the price of salt was at its lowest, it was still one cent and two cents of silver per pound!
  Zhu Tan could have set the price of salt at Lushang Salt Store at eight cents of silver per catty, but he was not blinded by money. Instead, he understood that it was not easy for the people to eat salt, and took the initiative to lower the price to four cents of silver per catty!
  He did such a great thing, but he didn't take any credit!

On the contrary, the shopkeepers of salt shops in various places stood up and said that this salt price is set by us, and all the benefits are thanks to Daming! Thanks to the court!
  So loyal, so sincere, so kind!

Our son is worth learning from all of you! "

With the final decision on Zhu Tan.

The morning dynasty is completely over.

Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the Xuanzheng Hall with a smile on his face.

He said to Song Ne, the great scholar next to him: "Send a message to the Jin Yiwei, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Dali Temple! Let them interrogate as soon as possible, close the case as soon as possible, and arrest those who deserve to be arrested, sentence those who deserve to be sentenced, and kill those who deserve to be killed!"

Song Ne bowed and accepted the order.

Zhu Yuanzhang said again: "Copy the incident that happened in the early morning of this morning to your residence and make it known to the whole country!

In particular, I want to give a copy to the Princes’ Pavilion! "

Song Ne nodded.

He knew it.

Today, King Lu Zhutan is still in the Princes’ Hall!

I guess His Majesty showed it to him specially.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly sighed quietly.

Asked: "Is there any news about Wei Guogong from the General Affairs Department? Where is he? Has he not returned to Yingtian yet?"

Song Ne said respectfully: "Your Majesty, there is no news yet! I'm afraid I'm still on the way back to Beijing!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and looked up at the sky.

I sighed in my heart.

"Tiande, you must hold on! You are our Ming Dynasty's Optimus Pillar."

The Palace of the Kings.

at this time.

Zhu Tan was walking in the back garden with Princess Tang.

Today is not the day for the feudal dynasty to pay homage.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not summon other vassal princes to Beijing.

Therefore, in the huge palace of the kings.

There are only two people, Zhu Tan and Tang.

Originally, Zhu Tan was considerate and felt sorry for Tang's separation from her parents, and wanted her to live in Duke Xin's residence.

Of course, another main reason is that Zhu Tan wants to go to the Qinhuai River to experience drinking flower wine, riding a flower boat, and being an oiran.
  Feel the prosperity of Shili and truly experience the peak of the corruption and depravity of feudal society
  Of course, Zhu Tan doesn't really like this, he just wants to establish his character as King Luhuang.
  Zhu Tan swore on the life of seventh brother Zhu Shu that he really thought so. If he lied to others, seventh brother Zhu Shu would not die well.

Unfortunately, the sensible Mr. Tang is not considerate enough.

After reuniting with her parents at home for a while, she decided to come to Zhuwang Pavilion to accompany Zhu Tan.

After all, Tang had already been frightened once because of unruly things.

Although he now knows that there is nothing wrong with doing this, Mr. Tang no longer wants to teach others how to do it.

Zhu Tan suddenly felt extremely regretful!

Although it is not a big problem to go to the Qinhuai River to be an oiran in front of the Tang family, and it can even strengthen his image as King Luhuang.

But Zhu Tan still felt too sorry for Tang and couldn't bear to break her heart. In the end, I didn’t do such a thing
  Zhu Tan took Tang for a stroll in the back garden of the Princes' Pavilion, which was very relaxing and comfortable.

Although the Princes' Pavilion was only a temporary residence for the princes after they came to Beijing, it was not built carelessly or perfunctorily.

The entire back garden is designed to be extremely grand with its carved beams and painted pillars, pools and rockeries, flowers, plants and trees, and the chirping of birds makes the entire back garden appear quiet and full of vitality.

Zhu Tan is different from others, at least he doesn't care about etiquette.

So now he holds Princess Tang's hand so openly in public and walks in the back garden.

Tang originally wanted to struggle, but gave up after trying a few times.

Of course, the main reason is that this feeling of being held is wonderful and sweet!
  Tang enjoyed this feeling very much.

Although it is very important to abide by the court regulations, the court regulations do not say that the prince cannot hold the princess's hand in public.
  The more important reason is that Zhu Tan has emptied the entire back garden and does not allow any guards, eunuchs, palace maids, etc. to approach, so Princess Tang is not so shy
  But when Zhu Tan held Tang's hand and walked in the back garden, she suddenly felt a little regretful.

The image of another woman jumped out of his mind, that beautiful woman who had been "plotting evil" against him.

Wu Waner.

Such a beautiful woman, wouldn't it be beautiful if I could hold her hand on the other side and be escorted by two beauties?
  Ugh.
  It is difficult for me to accept polygamy!
  Otherwise, take Wu Waner as your concubine.
  A concubine is not considered a wife!

Zhu Tan couldn't help but think about it.

suddenly.

A voice sounded in the distance.

"Your Highness! The newspaper issued by the Secretary of General Affairs! It is for Your Highness."

When Mrs. Tang heard the sound, she was so frightened that she hurriedly pulled her little hand out of Zhu Tan's.

His face was also slightly red.

Zhu Tan was a little unhappy.

He frowned and said, "What kind of newspaper?"

soon.

The eunuch ran in and presented the newspaper to Zhu Tan.

Zhu Tan took the newspaper and read it.

After reading.

Zhu Tan smiled.

Is this considered a sign of affection from his father?

If you impeach yourself and investigate and deal with all the officials of Lushang Salt Company and Changlu Salt Field, you will give yourself an explanation.

Zhu Tan was reading the Di newspaper.

suddenly.

The eunuch's voice sounded again.

"Your Highness! His Highness the King of Zhou has also come to the Princes' Pavilion! He invited His Highness to come and talk!"

Zhu Tan was stunned.

King of Zhou?

Zhu Ru?

　5800 words presented! Try to strive for more tomorrow, thank you all for your support!

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)