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

Chapter 166: Lao Shi understands this gift!

soon.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Concubine Guo Ning walked to the door of the hall filled with gifts.

Old eunuch Chen stepped forward and said respectfully: "Your Majesty! The prince is here."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Ask him to come together!"

Not long after.

Zhu Biao walked into the palace and saw Zhu Yuanzhang and Concubine Guo Ning.

Zhu Biao smiled and said: "My son, Zhu Biao, I wish my royal father good health and good fortune on the occasion of the Chinese New Year. May the world be peaceful and blessed in the coming year!"

Then he smiled at Concubine Guo Ning and said, "I wish Concubine Guo a long life, may your stars shine brightly, enjoy peace forever, and share the blessings of heaven with your father!"

After the three people greeted each other.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Come with us to meet the officials later! Now let's see what gifts your brothers gave us!"

Zhu Biao smiled and said: "My son is also very curious!"

soon.

In order of kings.

The first person to offer a congratulatory gift was King Qin Zhu Ping.

Old eunuch Chen looked at the gift list and was slightly startled.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "What's wrong? Read it!"

Old eunuch Chen nodded awkwardly and said tremblingly: "It's your Majesty!"

then.

Old Eunuch Chen read: "His Royal Highness the King of Qin congratulates His Majesty on the health of the dragon and all the blessings on him. He also presents as a special congratulatory gift ten altars of Hundred Flowers Rejuvenation Wine and twenty beauties from Xifan!"

The words fell.

Concubine Guo Ning and Zhu Biao were both shocked.

Old eunuch Chen closed his eyes and dared not speak. Look, our family did not miss it on its own initiative, but you insisted on letting us miss it!

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, and suddenly his whole body trembled with anger.

"Asshole! Asshole! Stupid! Stupid!

Is the second child crazy? What does he think of us? Xia Jie and Shang Zhou? Even these foolish kings have to take care of their decency, right?
How could this bastard give such a thing on a day like this!

We will cut him into pieces! "

Concubine Guo Ning and Zhu Biao heard that Lao Zhu lost his temper and immediately comforted him.

To put it bluntly, considering that today was the Chinese New Year, Zhu Yuanzhang still endured it.

"When this new year is over, we must capture him from the vassal territory! Who else is the King of Qin? He deserves to have the same title as Li Shimin! He is so stupid! Isn't he fooling around with that foxy girl? Just capture that Hu Meizi first and let the two bastards separate!"

Old eunuch Chen looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Your Majesty, I don't know about this gift from His Highness King Qin"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said: "Those Xifan women are all poor people. Ask them about their identities and if they want to go home, send them back and give them severance money!"

Speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang added.

"The money for dismissal will be deducted from the salary of Prince Qin's palace!"

Old eunuch Chen bowed and accepted the order.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "As for this wine, let's take it to the palace first! We won't drink it, but it won't offend the second son's face! Humph! Who am I? It's unreasonable to need something like that!"

Concubine Guo Ning's eyes lit up when she heard this.

There was a smile between his eyebrows.

If this wine really works, Your Majesty will be able to show off his talents.

Zhu Biao smiled.

My father may not be interested in this beautiful woman given by my second brother. After all, there are three thousand beauties in the harem, and there are all kinds of women.

But maybe the wine was really delivered to the right person.

In addition to working diligently on state affairs, my father has always looked forward to having long-lasting descendants.
Zhu Yuanzhang was angry for a while and finally calmed down.

He asked Old Eunuch Chen, "What did the other feudal kings give?"

soon.

Old eunuch Chen continued to look at the gift list in his hand and read: "His Royal Highness, King Jin, presents a congratulatory gift, a wool warm blanket!"

A eunuch had already held a tray and presented a wool warm blanket in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Old Eunuch Chen said: "This warm blanket uses the finest long-haired wool in Shanxi. It goes through dozens of processes and is handmade by the craftsmen who are the best at weaving!"

talking.

Old eunuch Chen smiled and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Jin specifically said that this woolen warm blanket was sewn by expert craftsmen from the Heliantur tribe in Mongolia!"

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he smiled with satisfaction and said to Concubine Guo Ning and Zhu Biao: "Let's just say that this kid Zhu Fan will not just give us gifts in a tacky way! Haha. This Heliantu'er tribe couldn't survive on the grassland in October last year. , I heard that there are thousands of people who have joined King Jin’s tribe! King Jin wants to tell us that this tribe is well settled and ready to obey his orders!”

Next.

Old eunuch Chen continued to read: "His Royal Highness the King of Yan presents a congratulatory gift, a screen embroidered in Beijing! What is embroidered on the screen is the "Auspicious Crane and Auspicious Clouds". The crane represents longevity, and the clouds mean auspiciousness. I wish your majesty a long life!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the screen in front of him and nodded.

"This craftsmanship is very exquisite! It is not inferior to the weavers in the south! Haha! We told the fourth son in the imperial edict! The core of the northern border is Beiping. To be a good vassal king of this place, not only must be able to To win the war, what is more important is to make the north stable and prosperous, and strive to turn Peiping into as prosperous as the city in the south of the Yangtze River! Although the fourth child only gave us a screen, everything is already said."

Zhu Biao also smiled when he heard this.

"Fourth brother knows people well and is good at taking charge. He praised him in a letter to my son a few days ago. Not only are there many talented military officers and officials under him now, but there are also several talented people among the civil servants! For example, the newly appointed Prince's Governor Shi Jinzhong, and... Monk Yao Guangxiao is an outstanding figure among people!”

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

The fourth kid.

Like us!

Sitting on one side and gathering talented people is very similar to us!
soon.

It was Zhou Wang Zhu's turn to give the gift.

When Old Eunuch Chen saw it, he couldn't help but be stunned.

He glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang timidly.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face suddenly sank when he saw old eunuch Chen looking like this.

"Why are you so hesitant? Could it be that the treacherous son of Lao Wu also sent us a group of beauties?"

Old eunuch Chen shook his head quickly and said quickly: "Your Majesty, Zhou. His Royal Highness, King Zhou, presented to Your Majesty a plow. It is called Luo Xiang Plow!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback for a moment.

Rake?
What does Lao Wu mean?
Old eunuch Chen looked at Zhu Yuanzhang timidly.

I was afraid that the emperor would be angry again.

What does His Highness King Zhou think?
This Chinese New Year brings a plow to His Majesty!
Do you want His Majesty to plow the land?
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "Show us this plow!"

soon.

A plow with a novel shape was presented to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Old Eunuch Chen said: "His Royal Highness King Zhou wrote in the gift list that the plowshare of this rake adopts an adjustable design. Different from the traditional fixed plowshare, this adjustable plowshare can be adjusted according to the hardness and humidity of the soil. , adjust the appropriate farming depth and angle to achieve the best farming effect.

Moreover, this rake is also equipped with a simple roller system. When the plow is pulled forward, the rollers can roll smoothly on the land, reducing soil compaction and helping to keep the soil soft, which is important for the growth of crops. Root growth is extremely beneficial. At the same time, this design also greatly reduces the resistance during farming. Even poor or hard soil can be farmed easily! "

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he couldn't help but said with great joy: "Okay! Lao Wu did a good job! Let's see, this year's gift to the vassal king, there is no better gift than Lao Wu! Haha!
Send this rake to the Ministry of Works! Let them verify the effect! If it is really easy to use and the cost is not high, we will promote it nationwide! "

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was happy, Zhu Biao also laughed and said: "Fifth brother usually likes to make these small inventions, but this time he is even more promising!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, nodded and said with a smile: "Lao Wu did a good job this time! Give him three years' salary! Last time, he blew up the Princes' Pavilion and canceled it! He probably spent so much money to repair the Princes' Pavilion. It should be quite stressful now.”

Zhu Biao smiled and said: "It's not that he was too nervous. My son and my fourth brother both lent him a lot of money! Because my fifth brother likes these inventions, he spends a lot of money. The last time my father ordered him to compensate the kings, Due to the loss of the museum, he was reluctant to stop his inventions, so he asked his son and his fourth brother to borrow money. "

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned. Then he shook his head.

"It's worthless! Old Ten also likes to invent new things! Why doesn't he need to borrow money? Instead, he always gives us money! Forget it, let's give him more! We'll get one hundred thousand taels of silver from the internal funds."

After thinking about it, Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated and said: "Let's ask the Ministry of Revenue to print 400,000 Ming Dynasty treasure notes for us and give it to Lao Wu! Let's forget the money. The country has laws and cannot spend money."

soon.

Congratulatory gifts from King Zhu Su of Qi were also sent.

It is a saddle and a curved sword.

Old eunuch Chen said: "His Royal Highness King Qi personally killed Yuanting Pingzhang Wulan in Mobei and dedicated the capture to His Majesty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the saddle and sword and was silent for a moment.

"Sooner or later, these Mongolians will also be our subjects of the Ming Dynasty!

However, Lao Qi is doing well now! This year, it seems that he has made a lot of progress! Give him 40,000 yuan of treasure and keep up the good work! "

soon.

After King Tan's gifts were delivered.

Then it was the turn of Lu Wang Zhu Tan’s gift!
Hearing that it was Zhu Tan's turn, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but rub his hands.

"Old Ten is so rich, and he's celebrating the New Year, he won't be stingy, right? If this gift is less than one million taels of silver, we will all look down on him!"

Hear this.

Zhu Biao smiled slightly.

The father wants to take advantage of the big family to the end.

Concubine Guo Ning glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang with her wonderful eyes.

"Among the kings, Tan'er is the most generous and the one who has given the most money to the court. How can your majesty pay it back? You still want to ask for more?"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted: "Lao Shi gave the court a lot of money, but we have nothing to say about Lao Shi! Who among the vassal kings in the world can match Lao Shi's vassal territory! Those are Qingzhou and Yanzhou! And we After giving him so many privileges, which vassal king in the world can match him? What’s more, he still has a prince’s salary and can freely enter and exit the vassal! Let’s see, we are the best for Lao Shi!”

Zhu Biao couldn't help but his eyelids twitched when he heard this.

Dad, you are the best to your tenth brother, so who am I?

However, he only dared to say this in his heart.

When Concubine Guo Ning heard Zhu Yuanzhang's words, she became more and more cheerful as he spoke.

As a mother, there is no reason to be unhappy when she hears that her son is so outstanding among the many vassal kings.

soon.

Zhu Tan's gift was presented.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at this gift, his eyes suddenly widened.

This gift from Zhu Tan is an extremely exquisite palace lantern!

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but asked: "Is this made of glass or crystal?"

The palace lantern in front of you has been carefully carved, showing auspicious patterns such as dragons and phoenixes, cloud patterns, and landscapes. When the light is projected through these delicate carvings, it is like a dream-like scene, which appears particularly smart and vivid.

The top of the lamp is decorated with a lifelike dragon. The dragon looks down on the world, as if it can fly into the clouds at any time. The lamp base is made of sterling silver, which adds a lot of stability and nobility to this palace lantern. .

The most important thing is that the main materials for making palace lanterns, from the four sides of the carvings to the dragon on the top of the lantern, are all transparent!
Pure, flawless and exquisite!
Although Zhu Yuanzhang has been emperor for more than ten years and has seen countless treasures in the world, he has never heard of what is in front of him!

Old Eunuch Chen said: "Back to Your Majesty, His Royal Highness King Lu said in the gift list that the material of this palace lantern is called glass! It is neither glass nor crystal!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

"Glass? This material is quite special. We have never heard of it! But it looks like it is worth a lot of money, so Lao Shi is serious about it!"

talking.

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little disappointed and said: "This thing must have cost Lao Shi a lot of money to make! It's better to just give us the money!"

Concubine Guo Ning shook her head helplessly.

"Your Majesty, this is also the child's good intention. Don't let him feel cold!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

suddenly.

Old eunuch Chen hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said: "We don't blame you for celebrating the New Year today! But next time you can't speak so hesitantly!"

These sons of ours take turns giving us gifts, let’s see how difficult it is for you!
How many times have you stuttered in this short time?

If you are too old to be used anymore, you should abdicate and make way for someone more worthy! In short, we will not leave you homeless! "

Old eunuch Chen heard this.

Suddenly I felt cold all over my body!

In the Hongwu Dynasty, eunuchs had little status!
It is extremely rare for him to be able to follow the emperor all day long.

Even though His Majesty said nicely that he was going to abdicate in favor of someone more worthy, he could still arrange a place for himself.

But in fact, as a close minister of the Emperor, does His Majesty really feel free to let him retreat and leave it alone?
Over the years, I have heard so many things I shouldn’t have heard, and seen so many things I shouldn’t have seen!
The former commander of the Jinyi Guards, Mao Xiang, was executed by His Majesty. Was it really because of his guilt?

It’s not because he saw too many shady things that your Majesty
I'm afraid I'm even worse than Mao Xiang!

You can never retreat!
To retreat is to die!

Old eunuch Chen was so frightened by Zhu Yuanzhang that he knelt down in a hurry.

"Your Majesty! This servant is guilty! I beg your Majesty to have mercy!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Old Eunuch Chen in front of him, and finally couldn't bear to drive him away.

In fact, it was just as old eunuch Chen thought.

If they were really driven away, in fact, Old Eunuch Chen would have no way to survive.

He has seen and heard too many royal secrets. People like this must either keep using them or they must be killed!
Although in the Hongwu Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang ostensibly strictly prohibited eunuchs from intervening in politics. He also placed an iron sign in the palace and wrote: "Ministers are not allowed to interfere in political affairs, and any offenders will be executed."

however.

in the actual process.

However, eunuchs were repeatedly used by Zhu Yuanzhang.

For example, in the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang sent the eunuch Shangshan Ernie and the eunuch Qingtong Fuchi to order the tribesmen belonging to the guards such as Hezhou, Shaanxi, to transport horses and give them tea.

That is to say, tea leaves are exchanged for war horses.

at this time.

Eunuchs even began to preside over military affairs.

It is also called the beginning of the eunuch army by Tan Qian.

After Zhu Yuanzhang's own rules were broken by himself.

Later generations intensified the problem, which ultimately resulted in the Ming Dynasty's eunuchs repeatedly causing trouble.

anyway.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang always guarded against eunuchs in his heart, the human heart grew from flesh after all.

Old eunuch Chen had been following him for many years, and he had not threatened him, let alone made any mistakes. After all, he couldn't just kick him away and kill him.

"That's it! You old dog! Didn't we tell you? We won't care about you today during the New Year. Why are you still talking nonsense here! Just now you read the memorial given to us by King Lu. What was written in it? Let you do it again? Stuttering?"

Old eunuch Chen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

so close!

Finally, His Majesty did not abandon me!
He read the memorial and read to Zhu Yuanzhang: "His Royal Highness King Lu said that the production cost of this glass is low, but after it is made into finished products, it can be sold at a high price! It is a good thing with huge profits! His Highness King Lu wants to sell this glass Sell ​​nationwide!”

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up!
"One million profits?"

(End of this chapter)