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

Chapter 109 Lao Zhu’s terrifying imperial tricks!
  Zhou Wang Zhu Ji was the fifth son of Zhu Yuanzhang.

His previous title was King Wu.

Originally, Jiangsu was supposed to be a vassal.

However, because this place was too prosperous, Zhu Yuanzhang finally changed his mind.

Changed his title to King of Zhou.

The vassal territory was also changed to Kaifeng.

in fact.

This is also a good thing for Zhu Ru.

If Jiangsu was really the vassal, which was Nanzhili at that time, it is estimated that each county in the vassal territory would be able to stand on its own.

It's just too much work and effort.

but.

In Zhu Ru's eyes.

Moving his vassal territory from the prosperous Jiangsu to Henan made the gap even bigger.

soon.

then.

After becoming a vassal, Zhu Ting began to act wildly, not sticking to trivial matters, and even got into trouble many times.

In the end, in the 22nd year of Hongwu, Yu Hongwu returned to Fengyang privately and met with his father-in-law Feng Sheng, which aroused Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicion.

In one fell swoop, he was demoted to Yunnan.

And this became the starting point of Zhu Ru's transformation.

Zhu Tong was used to seeing the sufferings of the people in Yunnan, and finally began to devote himself to learning.

He originally loved science and medicine. After that, he wrote classic medical books "Baosheng Yulu", "Pocket Prescriptions" and so on.

He truly became a wise king.

Of course, Zhu Rui's transformation will have to wait until that time of suffering.

Today, Zhu Rui is just a playboy.

There is even some cynicism caused by psychological imbalance.

It has nothing to do with the later wise king.

However, Zhu Tan was still very surprised. This Zhu Tan suddenly came over and wanted to see what he was doing.

Could it be.

Did he just come to the Prince's Pavilion, feel bored, and want to drink flower wine with me?
  Then there is nothing I can do. I am the younger brother. If my elder brother wants to drink flower wine, can I refuse?
  It’s not like I wanted to, it’s all to accompany my brothers!

Even Mr. Tang couldn't say anything!

Instead, she would only understand herself and tell herself to pay attention to her body.

I thought so in my heart.

Zhu Tan was full of expectations for a while.

soon.

Zhu Tan met Zhu Xi.

When Zhu Zhu saw Zhu Tan, he half-sit up and said with a smile on his face: "Tenth brother, are you here?"

Zhu Tan was stunned.

It feels a little strange.

We are all princes. What does it mean when you suddenly make this flattering expression to me?
  If you have nothing to do to show your courtesy, it is either an adulterer or a thief!
  I was thinking in my mind.

Zhu Tan had a smile on his face.

"Fifth brother, do you have anything to do with me?"

Zhu Xi thought for a while, but hesitated to speak.

Then he said politely: "I was summoned by my father and came here from Kaifeng! Unexpectedly, my tenth brother is also here, haha."

Zhu Tan laughed dryly.

Okay, okay, you want to be polite, right?
  Later, Zhu Tan smiled and said: "Yes! What a coincidence! I didn't expect that my father would also summon me. Hahaha."

Zhu Rui: "What a coincidence! Hahaha."

Zhu Tan: "Hehehe"

Zhu Ru coughed lightly.

For a while.

He also felt extremely embarrassed.

at last.

Zhu Tie couldn't help but said: "Tenth brother, I won't make any detours with you! Did you see the Di newspaper this morning?"

Zhu Tan nodded and said, "Look!"

Zhu Xi smiled and said: "My tenth brother is so talented! He is so praised by his father!"

Zhu Tan waved his hands and said, "Father, that's too much."

Zhu Xi smiled and said: "It's not too much, it's not too much. Tenth brother doesn't have to be modest!"

Zhu Tan shook his head and said: "I didn't mean that. I meant that my father went too far. In fact, he should have praised me like that!"

Zhu Ru:.
  For a moment, the room fell into an eerie silence again.

a long time.

Zhu Ru swallowed hard and said: "Tenth brother, you also know that fifth brother, I am not very polite!"

Zhu Tan smiled and said: "Where. Where, fifth brother has been very polite today."

Zhu Ju blushed and said, "I'd better tell the truth! I read the newspaper and I'm very curious about your salt-making technology. I wonder if you can tell me about it?"

The so-called Dibao is an ancient official newspaper.

The production and distribution were strictly controlled by the government, and the content covered major domestic and foreign events, court orders and decrees, emperor's edicts, etc. It was an important channel for understanding national events at that time.

Because of Zhu Yuanzhang's order, the Di newspaper was published very quickly this time, and Zhu Yuanzhang's praise of Zhu Tan in the court was clearly stated.

At the same time, the production cost of table salt was also revealed.

This caught Zhu Xi's attention.

Seeing that Zhu Tan was silent, Zhu Zhu continued: "Tenth brother, you know!
  Your fifth brother has never been interested in wine, sex or wealth in his life. The only thing he likes is these rare things! "

When Zhu Tan heard this, he couldn't help but want to curse!
  If you are not interested in wine, sex and wealth, then what is there to talk about? Let us break all ties between brothers!

He doesn't even take his younger brother with him for some wine, so what kind of good brother is he?

Zhu Rui said excitedly: Brother Wei sometimes feels that many things are really magical!

Gunpowder, papermaking, colored glaze, waterwheels.
  Of course, that includes making salt too!

Brother Wei believes that these things that the adults in the court consider to be fancy tricks are actually the most relevant to the lives of the people of the Ming Dynasty!
  It’s even possible that a small change can lead to earth-shaking changes!
  And now, you have done this. The method of making salt is really magical!
  My brother, who is in Kaifeng, also heard about this. Your Lushang Salt Store there forced all the local salt merchants to close down!

The local people are praising Lu Shang Salt Store for its high quality and low price, and are grateful to the court!

It’s really amazing! "

Zhu Tan didn't feel much when he heard Zhu Xi's praise.

Just kidding, even Lao Zhu praised himself personally as the emperor. Now you, a little prince, praise yourself, how do you feel about it?
  What makes Zhu Tan even more wary is, why does Zhu Tie want his own salt-making technology?

Could it be that he also wanted to have a hand in the salt-making business?

To be honest, he had previously strictly ordered Changlu Saltworks not to leak technology.

The main worry is that these princes and brothers also want to make salt!
  If any other force dares to make salt, as the top feudal landowner in the Ming Dynasty, he will definitely let him taste the iron fist of the intellectual property protection law.

However, if other princes followed suit in making salt, he would have no choice.

If it were only King Zhou, Kaifeng would be better off. After all, except for the saline-alkali land, there is no place where salt can be made. It is extremely difficult to extract salt from those saline-alkali lands. The output is far from comparable to that of the Changlu Saltworks. It can even be ignored.

But what if the king of Zhou knows the salt-making technology and other brothers want to share the pie? For example, the King of Qin, the King of Jin, the King of Yan, and the King of Qi.
  Anyone can open a salt mine to make salt. If everyone has the same quality, their cost of making salt may even be lower than their own!

After all, no one is as kind to the kitchen households as I am, spending so much money to improve their living standards, and even giving these kitchen households full salaries.

By that time, a large amount of salt of the same quality will be on the market, or even at a lower price, and the profit of Changlu Salt Farm will be a joke!
  More importantly, will the father acquiesce in these royal brothers making salt because he wants to check and balance himself?
  I will be passive by then!
  Zhu Tan has always liked to hold his destiny in his own hands. Even in the face of a powerful father like Zhu Yuanzhang, he always insisted on controlling the Changlu Salt Farm. It was up to him how much money he would give him.

Now he is not willing to give away his money-making tool for no reason.

Suddenly, Zhu Tan calmly looked at Zhu Ru
  A terrible thought came to mind.

Just now the eunuch told him that Zhu Xi had also come to the Zhuwang Pavilion, but he did not say whether Zhu Xi had gone to meet Lao Zhu first and came back, or whether he entered the Zhu Wang Pavilion before he could meet Lao Zhu!

If he had met his father, was it possible that his father had instructed him to use his own salt-making technology?

Although Lao Zhu praised himself so much in front of the ministers and gave himself enough rewards.

He also reported this matter to the whole country, making himself a big celebrity. But Zhu Tan has always maintained a vigilant mentality.

The emperor is the emperor, cold-blooded is cold-blooded, and the emperor's mind is the emperor's mind. He has always had a very clear understanding of this, so he never dared to put his trust in Lao Zhu!

He is very good to his children, and even loves them all. He also specifically stated in the ancestral precepts of Emperor Ming that no matter which prince has a problem, he must not be punished easily and severely, but must be treated leniently. There is no saying that princes are guilty of the same crimes as common people.

The biggest punishment is to be demoted to a commoner.

At the same time, it can also be seen from history, is Lao Zhu good enough for Zhu Biao?
  Zhu Biao can be said to be the most stable and trusted prince in history, and he also has the deepest father-son relationship with Lao Zhu!
  Many people even say that for Lao Zhu, there are only two sons, one is the prince and the other is other.

However, in front of the domineering Lao Zhu, Zhu Biao has never had any sense of presence in government affairs.

Basically, he exists as an executor and admonisher.

Even Lao Zhu knew that the prince could not remain incapable of governing, so he once said that he would let the prince handle government affairs, but in the end he was worried.

Therefore, it was stipulated that the ministers should report to the Crown Prince first if they had something to do. However, after reporting to the Crown Prince, Zhu Biao became a little transparent again and could not make the decision in anything. On the contrary, all government orders still came from Lao Zhu's hand.

Therefore, the records about Lao Zhu and the prince in the Ming Dynasty Records have always been about the emperor teaching the prince what to do, the emperor teaching the prince what to do, and the emperor teaching the prince what to do.
  But there is only one missing record of what the prince did.

As for the so-called old Zhu who has been rumored among the people, if he heard the news of Zhu Biao's rebellion, he would happily help Zhu Biao ascend the throne, and even said that he would tie me up and send him to His Highness the Crown Prince. This is purely naive!
  A person like Lao Zhu who dares to erase the position of prime minister is a real power monster.

His power is not allowed to be touched or shared by anyone, even his most beloved son Zhu Biao.

Instead, there was another prince. Although it has always been said in folklore that Zhu Gaochi was not favored, Zhu Di even wanted to depose him many times and then help the second son Zhu Gaoxu to take the throne.

But in fact, Zhu Gaochi is a truly powerful prince. He can decide most of the country's military and government affairs, even the appointment and dismissal of officials, etc.

This point is clearly recorded in the Ming Dynasty records.

At that time, Zhu Di, as an emperor, was more like a dispensable existence, either in the conquest of the north or on the way to the north.

The title of Executive Deputy Emperor Zhu Gaochi is worthy of his name.

In this regard, there is a huge difference between Zhu Di and the power-loving Lao Zhu.

And this is also the reason why Zhu Tan has always been wary of Lao Zhu.

He held on to Changlu Saltworks, even if he distributed 400 million taels of silver to the court.

But he still has four to five million taels of silver in his hands!
  What he wanted to do was not clearly stated to Lao Zhu.

Lao Zhu is afraid that he will send Jin Yiwei to monitor him all the time in the future.

At the same time, what makes Zhu Tan even more uneasy is whether Lao Zhu is really willing to hand over the control of the money into his own hands!
  After all, this is equivalent to nearly half of the fiscal revenue of the Ming Dynasty!

You can do a lot of things with this money, and it also means power! Will Lao Zhu always tolerate himself like this?

Although there has always been a saying that Jun has no joke and Jinkouyuyan.

But Zhu Tan couldn't believe Lao Zhu's character at all!
  He also issued so many iron coupons for alchemy books!

In the end, these alchemy coupons and death-free gold medals became death talismans!
  Of course, this is not a slander against Lao Zhu. It can only be said that he is a mature politician, and going back on his word is just a basic operation.

In short, Zhu Tan is still wary of Lao Zhu.

Now we can only take one step at a time.

However, at this time, Zhu Tan is absolutely unwilling to give up his salt-making technology.

Now that I have traveled through time, I naturally want to establish a career. If I want to live in peace, I might as well do nothing and just become the debauched and immoral Prince Taiping.

How could he hand over his trump card to Lao Zhu!

In that case, the Ming Dynasty will still follow its original path and eventually lead to destruction.

Zhu Tan thought of this, shook his head firmly to Zhu Xi, and said: "Fifth brother, the process of making salt is quite complicated, and I am not very clear about it."

Zhu Ru asked curiously: "How about you send a few kitchen households from Changlu Salt Factory to Kaifeng to teach them as brothers?"

Don’t you even want to lose face?

Zhu Tan couldn't help but complain.

I was about to refuse outright.

Zhu Ru suddenly said: "Brother Shi, please don't misunderstand me. Brother Wei just wants to learn from it. He has no other intentions. He is not going to steal Brother Shi's job. Don't think too much!"

Zhu Tan shook his head and said: "Fifth brother, there is a saying in the Book of Changes: If a king is not secretive, he will lose his ministers; if a minister is not secretive, he will lose himself; if a few things are not secretive, it will cause harm!

Since you have said it directly, I have no choice but to say it directly. I will never tell you this salt-making technology! "

When Zhu Zhu heard this, his face was filled with disappointment.

He sighed and said: "Actually, Brother Wei has several very novel discoveries here. If you are interested, you might as well study them with Brother Wei!
  Maybe you are willing to trade your salt-making skills with me, haha."

When Zhu Tan heard this, he did become interested.

After all, Zhu Ju can be regarded as a rare figure in the history of Ming science and medicine.

The invention that he can appreciate might actually be something interesting!
  When Zhu Tan saw Zhu Tan's interest, he was overjoyed.

He didn't care about Zhu Tan's stinginess, but instead took Zhu Tan to see his little discovery.

Zhu Ju said to Zhu Tan: "Actually, the first discovery is garlic!"

Zhu Tan was stunned and asked, "Do you want to eat?"

Zhu Zhu shook his head and said: "Brother Wei discovered after seeing a lot of medical skills and communicating with doctors that garlic can cure diseases!
  Apply externally to treat sores, pound garlic and apply it, it can eliminate pus and relieve pain, promote muscle growth and expel putrefaction. It can treat sores and swelling!
  Take it orally to treat colds, boil garlic water and drink it, it can induce sweating and relieve external symptoms, treat wind and cold, and clear away heat in the lungs!

Drinking garlic decoction or taking it directly can kill all kinds of internal and external insects!

Especially, it can also clear away plague and avoid poison! "

Zhu Tan was stunned after hearing this.

Isn’t this allicin?

What’s there to say!

I still have penicillin!
  In fact.

This time, Zhu Tan actually brought two bottles of penicillin.

It’s not that I want to show off anything.

Mainly because he was afraid of death.

After all, at this time in ancient times, bacterial infections were still very fatal. Whether it was tetanus, sores, or a small cold and lung infection, it could be fatal.

It's easy to get acclimated when you come to Yingtian. If something goes wrong, you can use penicillin in time. It's safer to carry it with you.

Seeing that Zhu Tan didn't react at all, and even showed a bit of indifference, Zhu Zhu sighed leisurely.

Thinking about it, this tenth brother is not one of his own, so how could he be interested in medical things?
  Think of this.

Zhu Xi added: "Actually, Brother Wei is also quite accomplished in gunpowder. Do you want to see it? Brother Wei's gunpowder is even more powerful than the gunpowder in Shenji Camp!"

Zhu Tan sighed.

Don't pretend to be better than always pretending to be in the field I'm good at!
  But then again.

In fact, as long as you dare to pretend to compete, you have entered the field that I am good at.

Seeing Zhu Tan's lack of interest, Zhu Xi smiled slightly.

Just thinking about it.

This silly boy probably never understood the mystery of these discoveries.

"Let's go for a walk. How about going with Brother Wei? Brother Wei will give you a demonstration. I promise to surprise you!"

Zhu Tan couldn't help but sigh and complained: "Brother Wang, you might as well take me to the Qinhuai River to drink flower wine for a surprise! It's too boring, I won't watch it."

What a joke!
  There is a firearms master Tao Wanhu in his family.

I also know some of the manufacturing principles of gunpowder, whether it is the ratio of charcoal, nitrate and sulfur, the method of gunpowder combustion support or the catalyst?

When it comes to gunpowder, I can play well and crush everyone in this era!

What kind of gunpowder are you showing me?
  When Zhu Tan heard that Zhu Tan didn't want to accompany him, he was anxious!

It is said that a close friend is hard to find, but now he is an unqualified close friend, and he is embarrassed to think about it!
  Seeing that Zhu Tan was about to leave.

Zhu Ru gritted his teeth and said, "Isn't it just to drink flower wine? Fifth brother will take you there! But you have to go with fifth brother to see my research."

When Zhu Tan heard this, he turned around immediately.

"Fifth brother, is it settled?"

Zhu Ting looked at Zhu Tan's eyes shining brightly and was startled.

Then he nodded firmly and said, "It's a deal!"

Zhu Tan added: "You must take me there, not where I want to go!"

Zhu Ru sighed.

"Yes! I forced you to accompany me!"

"Let's go! Go watch your gunpowder research!"

　There will be a chapter later

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)