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

Ma Wensheng should have refuted, but he didn't say a word. His colleagues found it strange. Ma Wensheng's life in the Ministry of Personnel was not easy. If he didn't speak, it meant that he was incompetent.

Ma Wensheng wanted to say something, but thinking of his grandson-in-law's advice, the most important thing now was to keep quiet. Since Zhu Tan had a plan, he didn't say anything more.

Just as the court meeting was about to end, Dai Yi, the chief eunuch in charge of the Imperial Ceremonies, got the news and reported it to Zhu Youtang, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Jianchang has arrived outside the palace gate and wants to see his beautiful face."

Zhu Youtang had no choice but to let Zhu Tan in. He knew that almost everyone was blaming his brother-in-law, but as long as he was there, Zhu Tan would not suffer any loss.

However, when he saw Zhu Tan's appearance clearly, he felt his face getting hot. Zhu Tan's current appearance was really unbearable to look at.

Zhu Tan was lying on a simple small bed with a wet cloth on his forehead. His face was pale and sickly, and he would occasionally groan. He looked like he was dying. Anyone could tell from his exaggerated expression that he was acting.

"Marquis Jianchang, you are not feeling well, why are you here?" Zhu Youtang meant to tell him to go back.

Zhu Tan coughed repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for not being able to perform this great ceremony. I am also eager to present you with an auspicious omen."

Zhu Youtang's face darkened. At this critical moment, he actually still wanted to send auspicious signs. Was he worried that he didn't have enough evidence?
Liu Jian and Grand Secretary Li Dongyang were both a little embarrassed, thinking that Marquis Jianchang was really a trouble. It was really stupid to give him a knife so soon.

The other civil officials who were against Zhu Tan were so happy that they could hardly control themselves. They were extremely happy. Of course, this was just what they were thinking and they could not express it.

And those who were on good terms with Zhu Tan frowned. Going to court was never a pleasant word, and it was usually something that only nobles and treacherous ministers would do.

Zhu Youtang saw his brother-in-law's anxious face. Although he knew what tricks Zhu Tan was playing, he did not scold him. Instead, he asked gently: "What is the auspicious sign? Show it to me!"

Zhu Tan's voice rose a little, and he said, "This was written by Tang Juan, a student of the Imperial Academy. I request the emperor's permission to allow him to enter the palace for the emperor to review."

Tang Yin left a deep impression on Zhu Youtang, because the incident in the Imperial Examination Hall reminded him of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars painted by Tang Yin. This painting was indeed extraordinary and had the style of a great master, so Zhu Youtang let Tang Yin into the main hall.

Tang Bohu walked into the hall holding a scroll and bowed to the portrait.

"Your Majesty, this is the auspicious omen presented by the Marquis of Jianchang. The Marquis said it, and I drew it. I hope Your Majesty will take a look at it."

Zhu Tan came in front of Tang Bohu, and the two of them spread the scroll in front of Zhu Youtang.

This is a very small scroll, only about seven meters high, but Tang Bohu's craftsmanship is so high that it can make people feel as if they are in a landscape painting.

All this is thanks to Zhu Tan, who is a surgeon. Although he is not as skilled as the Germans, he is very knowledgeable about painting. He asked Tang Bohu to teach him, and Tang Bohu learned it quickly and drew a picture on paper that was almost real.

Zhu Youtang could tell at a glance that the picture was based on the coast and there were some people working on it, but it was not clear what these people were doing.

"Marquis Jianchang, you are talking about a good omen? How come I don't know?"

Even if Zhu Youtang is partial to his brother-in-law, he has to know his limits. If his brother-in-law cannot give a reasonable explanation, then he will definitely not agree. After all, this is a good sign.

Everyone was waiting. Although the ministers behind him did not recognize the picture, they were also confused. If this was also a good sign, they could also take out one.

Zhu Tan smiled. It was of course that he was favored by an immortal in his dream, who imparted him a great magical power and asked him to pass it on to the emperor.

The reason why immortals did not reside in Zhu Youtang’s dreams was naturally because he had dragon luck, so even immortals could not easily approach him.

Zhu Youtang felt a headache as he watched his brother-in-law become more and more outrageous. Fortunately, before he could say anything, Zhu Tan had already hit the nail on the head.

"Your Majesty, this immortal technique is to turn seawater into salt and then dry it. This can save labor and increase production."

Zhu Youtang and others also lost interest. This method of drying salt also existed in the Song Dynasty, but because the output was far less than that of cooked salt, it was gradually forgotten by people.

The auspicious omen that Zhu Tan mentioned was never used by the ancients and was just a toy.

However, when Zhu Tan talked about areas for improvement, such as canals, beaches, and cement needed to build salt fields, Zhu Youtang and others felt that what Zhu Tan said was indeed very possible.

When Chu Xi had almost finished speaking, Zhu Youtang waved his hand and said, "Come here, I'm all ears.

Zhu Tan wanted to break this situation and came up with a way to resolve the salt kiln rebellion. He was sincere and his method was later proved to be feasible. If you follow his method, you can save more energy and at least you won't cut down trees in the cold winter and cause harm to the surrounding environment.

As for concrete, it was even simpler. He only needed to get a rough formula, and if necessary, he could let his nephew produce it.

"Is it really that amazing?" Zhu Youtang knew very well how hard the workers worked. If the salt field cooks could replace their firewood with firewood from heaven, their suffering would be greatly alleviated, and the labor saved might as well be used to farm!
Zhu Tan's words were exaggerated. He had witnessed it with his own eyes in the days to come. How could he be wrong?

"Very good. I will now appoint you as the salt envoy, responsible for the management of salt production and salt drying. This matter is over."

Zhu Tan was a little overwhelmed. He was just responsible for making plans. How could such a troublesome thing come from? Brother-in-law, how could you do this!
Zhu Youtang also had his own considerations. These days, he had submitted more and more memorials to Marquis Jianchang. There were some things he was unwilling to say. After all, being an emperor was not an easy job, so he asked his brother-in-law to hide for the time being.

Moreover, this method of salt drying was proposed by my brother-in-law, and no one can let him do it for me.

Moreover, his difficult couple often came to the palace to speak ill of his brother-in-law.

With so many reasons, Zhu Youtang thought that sending Zhu Tan away and temporarily away from the capital would be the best solution.

Zhu Tan was in tears. From planning to rushing to the front line, could there be anything more miserable than this?

In an era without airplanes or trains, a trip to the beach could result in loss of life.

"Brother-in-law, can I not leave?" After the court meeting, Zhu Tan ran to Zhu Youtang and told him about this matter.

"Marquis Jianchang, have you ever heard of what royal relatives are?" Zhu Youtang rarely mentioned his relatives in front of Zhu Tan.

"So what if they are members of the royal family? Or is there something else going on?"

"Let's not talk about those early years for now. Huo Guang, Wang Mang, Yang Jian, and Lan Yu of this dynasty are all relatives by marriage."

Zhu Tan was shocked. What the emperor's brother-in-law said sounded like something out of a horror movie. He could swear to heaven that he had no intention of overthrowing the Ming Dynasty. What the terrorists had done before was just venting their anger.

Zhu Youtang looked at Zhu Tan’s pale face, smiled and shook his head.

"Marquis Jianchang, you are still young. If you can make great contributions to the country and the people, I will never treat you unfairly. As for your memorial, I can also ignore it."

Zhu Tan understood, but was still reluctant. The journey was long and the mountains were high. It was painful enough to walk there. This was not a journey, this was called asceticism. Zhu Youtang was also worried about his brother-in-law and pondered for a while.

"You finish your work first, and I will give you a request when I return, but it won't be too excessive."

Zhu Tan was immediately inspired. He thought of going out to sea. This was not too exaggerated!

Moreover, he could also find the descendants of those old craftsmen in the shipyard in Jinling, and maybe find the shipbuilding design drawings!

"Brother-in-law, it's a deal, you can't deny it!"

Zhu Youtang laughed, "When that time comes, Marquis Jianchang can rest in peace. I'll remember that!"

Chu Pipa almost fainted on the spot. Was he trying to chase her away?
"But don't tell your sister. I'm afraid she will be worried about you."

Zhu Tan felt that he should at least go to the southern part of the East China Sea, where there was plenty of sunshine and beaches. Jinling was in the south of the Yangtze River, so there shouldn't be any problems.

While thinking, he walked towards Wang Yan's palace. He knew that he would be away for a long time, otherwise, after not seeing her for such a long time, who knows what kind of weird thoughts she would have!
When Wang Yan saw Zhu Tan coming to her palace in broad daylight, she became wary of Zhu Tan.

"Look at your lack of ability. Am I here for fun? I need to go out for at least two months."

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"So long? Where are we going?" Wang Yan asked in surprise.

"Your Majesty, if you let me do a good job as a salt envoy, our clan will be able to monopolize salt in the future. Buying salt will be as easy as eating."

Wang Yan said, "You bitch, you never say a word of kindness. You eat salt as rice. Isn't this disgusting?"

"It's just a joke. By the way, I want to know one thing. How far is Wang Yuan from Jinling when he was canonized as the Marquis of Rui'an?"

"It's quite far. What's the matter?"

"My group of people are all from the capital. There is no one from the south. If we want to go to the south, we must have someone to lead the way!"

"Call Wang Qiao to me! His father-in-law was a corps commander in Jiangyin and has a wide network of contacts. Plus, you've helped him a lot, so he will definitely do his best."

Zhu Tan had forgotten about this matter. Finally, someone knew this place better. "Isn't Wang Qiao in the capital? I'll go back and ask him if he's willing to go with me."

"Nonsense! He's just sitting around doing nothing in Beijing, and his wife misses her parents and has wanted to go home for a long time. It's better to go via the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which is both quick and safe."

The canal is indeed a good idea. When he arrives in Jinling, he can find a shipyard and then use Jinling as a base to upgrade the salt.

While the two were talking, Zhu Tan saw Concubine Shao come in and couldn't help but become suspicious. Why was this young lady here?

When Concubine Shao saw Zhu Tan, her smiling face instantly fell.

But she had important things to do, so she didn't notice Zhu Tan's presence and continued talking.

Concubine Shao's eldest son, Jiang, who was also the wife of Prince Xing Zhu Youlang, was preparing to enter the capital from Anlu as Prince Xing, so she asked Wang Yan a question.

Wang Yan smiled and said, "Anlu is located in the middle of the Yangtze River. If we follow this river all the way down and to the north, we will find a canal!"

"It is said that Wang Qiao's father-in-law is in Jinling. When he gets there, do you think you can take care of him?"

Wang Yan nodded. This was not a difficult thing for her. She just needed to write a letter.

Seeing that Concubine Shao had no intention of leaving immediately, Zhu Tan winked at Wang Yan and said some polite words before leaving.

Concubine Shao waited until Chu Qianqian left before asking, "Why did this thief come here?"

Although Wang Yan didn't like this title, she still held back because she couldn't say that Tang Xi was her lover!

"It's okay. The emperor asked him to go to Jiangnan to do something. We also said the same thing. We both need someone we know to help us."

Concubine Shao no longer mentioned the matter, but expressed her goodwill to Wang Yan.

However, when she walked out of Wang Yan's palace, she felt something was wrong. She thought hard, but stopped.

She finally realized what the problem was. The queen mother was so radiant and radiant. She didn't look like an old woman living in a palace at all. Instead, she looked younger!
He must have been nourished! Or a eunuch?

I heard people say that Marquis Jianchang came here several times. Is that true?
Thinking of this, Concubine Shao shook her head. She knew whether her speculation was true or not, but she also knew that she would pay more attention to the Queen Mother.

"Second Uncle, how did you recover so quickly?"

Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhu Tan with some surprise.

"It's just a flesh wound, not a broken bone. Just hold on! I'm going to tell you something. Can you do it?"

Zhu Tan explained to him the general process and key points of how to burn cement.

Zhu Houzhao asked curiously, "Uncle, are these things the same as what we used before, such as wood ash, hemp, rice, etc.?"

"This is totally different. If you can create a kind of concrete, then the entire Ming Dynasty will change because of you."

In order to deceive Zhu Houzhao, Chu Xian did not hesitate to use child labor to harm the flowers and young people of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Houzhao felt excited when he heard what Zhu Tan said. The improved explosives he had previously made made him feel particularly accomplished, and he enjoyed this feeling very much.

"Uncle, just wait! Such a small matter won't take more than a month."

"That won't work either. I can think about it. Within two months, we will be able to make concrete. Then, my second uncle will give you a big lion."

Zhu Houzhao smiled and vowed that he would do it. He just wanted to see the big lion, and he would do it even if he couldn't do it! (End of this chapter)