Ming Dynasty: A hundred-year-old immortal cultivator, Zhu Yuanzhang’s biological father

Jiaozhi is the support point of the Ming Dynasty’s military strategy in the South China Sea, because its existence can ensure that pirates outside the South China Sea cannot invade the Ming Dynasty’s inland.

Why is Jiaozhi said to have great strategic value?
For example, in the East China Sea of ​​the Ming Dynasty, only the guards in eastern Zhejiang could defend the country. If the strategic location of the Ming Dynasty was pushed beyond the Daqu, Chenqian and other islands, the first line of invasion of the Japanese pirates inland would not be cities in eastern Zhejiang such as Ningbo and Jiaxing. It is a pity that the Daqu and Chenqian islands were occupied by pirate groups.

Zhu Xiongying once again turned his thoughts to Jiaozhi.

While taking into account the development of agriculture and commerce, the coastal defense force must not be weakened. However, as Wu Zhen said, if we want to establish a navy in the South China Sea, we need ships and money.

Almost everyone in the court was not optimistic about Jiaozhi. Even with the old man's mediation, the Ministry of Revenue could not allocate money to southern Xinjiang.

Then you need to make money yourself.

Zhu Xiongying thought about it and realized that his mansion now had a net inflow of about 300,000 silver coins every year. Although this amount of money was not much, it could solve Jiaozhi’s urgent needs.

National debt!
The funds flowing in from anthracite and salt are now enough to support the expenses of the Zhu family. This money will get moldy if kept in his hands. Instead of doing that, why not invest it in southern Xinjiang, put it in the form of government bonds, and earn interest.

Zhu Xiongying is confident that Jiaozhi will grow stronger, so the money will definitely be paid back!
Also, I have to go find Tie Xuan early tomorrow morning and ask him to transfer Wu Zhen to southern Xinjiang.

After Zhu Xiongying sorted out his thoughts about Nanjiang, he went to bed early.

The next morning, the sun was still shining brightly.

Zhu Xiongying ran along the Qinhuai River early in the morning. When he returned to the mansion, he saw the old man lying in a rocking chair, holding a teapot, drinking tea leisurely.

Zhu Xiongying was accustomed to Zhu Yuanzhang's mysterious appearances.

"I've poured you some tea."

The old man pointed casually at the tea on the stone table in the courtyard.

"Thank you, old man. Have you eaten?"

"I've eaten." Zhu Yuanzhang squinted his eyes, changed his lying position, and continued to bask in the sun comfortably.

Zhu Xiongying sipped his tea.

The old man continued calmly: "Wu Zhen has come to Yingtian, right?"

Zhu Xiongying nodded.

The old man smiled and said, "We have seen his resume. He is a good candidate, but he alone is not enough to rule Southern Xinjiang."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it, stood up and said: "Come on, accompany me to the Lan Mansion."

"what?"

Zhu Xiongying was a little puzzled: "What are you going to do?"

The old man chuckled and said, "We also sent a few people to you."

"You trust Wu Zhen, that's good, but silly boy, you have to understand that power is nurtured. Honest and decent people, when they have power, can also stir up trouble."

"Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang were both from the countryside of Haozhou. Before they rose to power, they were honest and decent people."

"After becoming prime ministers, they also swore to the emperor that they would devote their entire lives to serving the country and would not disrupt the government for their own selfish interests."

"When you have great power, you should do some small things for your subordinates and show favors to them. Isn't that right? We are all from the same hometown and village. When you become an official, of course you have to do some favors. There is nothing wrong with that."

“First, I did small things, then I did things for money, and then I did big things.”

"Power is nurtured little by little."

Zhu Xiongying nodded: "That's the truth."

Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "As a leader, you must pay attention to the word balance. Power needs to be supervised. You can't let one family dominate. Even if you trust them, people's hearts will gradually change."

"Wu Zhen is a good talent, but if you let him develop in southern Xinjiang without any restraint, what will you do if one day you can no longer control him?"

"You should put more people there and let them fight. This way, you can control them and let them know that their positions are not irreplaceable. Their life, death and authority all depend on your words. If you want them to live, they will live. If you want them to die, they will die!"

"Except for those in power, no one in the world is indispensable. What we in the Ming Dynasty lack the least is capable people!"

The old man said it lightly, but Zhu Huai seemed to be thinking about it.

The old man always considers things more comprehensively than himself, or to put it bluntly, the old man never trusts anyone.

Due to his position, Zhu Yuanzhang had his eyes on the whole world, not just individual households. He could not manage every detail of personnel promotions, so he could only take precautions in this way.

Zhu Xiongying nodded and said to the old man: "Grandpa, you taught me another lesson, I understand."

Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile: "Yes! I understand! Then let's go! To the Lan Mansion!"

"it is good!"

People are hurrying on the street. When they meet acquaintances, they will greet the old man casually. If they meet someone older than the old man, the old man will not put on airs but will lower his posture and greet the octogenarian.

Along the way, they soon arrived at Lan Yu's residence.

No one in the mansion tried to stop the grandfather and grandson.

Lan Yu had given instructions, so no servant dared to be disrespectful to Zhu Xiongying in the slightest, and everyone treated Zhu Xiongying as a member of the place.

At this time, Lan Yu was holding a big knife, facing the morning light, and dancing with the knife shirtless in the yard, and the knife flowers were so fierce that they made a lot of noise.

As I was getting into it, I saw Zhu Yuanzhang standing not far away with a smile on his face, supported by Zhu Xiongying.

Lan Yu was so frightened that he almost dropped the knife!

Drawing a knife in front of the emperor is extremely disrespectful!

Lan Yu subconsciously wanted to apologize, but was stopped by Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

He could only smile awkwardly, then licked his face and walked over warmly.

"Your Majesty, it's so early. Have you had breakfast? Isn't the palace busy today?"

Ah!
I am such a smart person!
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a fake smile: "No hurry, I have something to talk to you about. Put on your clothes and come to the central hall."

Lan Yu said, "Okay, fine. Go have some tea first, and I'll be right back."

Not long.

Lan Yu was dressed neatly and appeared in the central hall in a hurry.

After sitting down, he glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang who was drinking tea with an expressionless face. He felt a little nervous and did not dare to talk to the old man.

So he could only ask Zhu Xiongying: "What's the matter with you coming here suddenly?"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyes and glanced at Lan Yu: "Let me give you a task. It's not a big deal that your brother Lan Polu has been hiding in Yingtian Prefecture. The navy in Southern Xinjiang is short of people, so my grandson picked Wu Zhen."

"Let Lan Polu follow."

Lan Yu was delighted: "Ah, this... this, thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang held his hands and said: "One of him is not enough. Select a capable general from the Longxiang Guard and transfer someone from the Five Military Command Office."

Lan Yu was a little suspicious.

The Longxiang Guards are from the Xu family. Wu Zhen must have been picked by Zhu Xiongying himself. Po Lu and Li Jinglong are both considered nobles from Huaixi.

The old man has selected three forces to go to southern Xinjiang for Zhu Xiongying to use.

It looks like it's about to be balanced.

"Okay! Let's send someone to do the job."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him indifferently: "We'll let you go in person."

"Oh, okay, yes!" Lan Yu replied.

Zhu Yuanzhang hummed and said, "Okay, let's do this. Now that we have chosen the right person, let this guy make his own decision. Whether it will succeed or not, let him decide for himself."

Lan Yu hummed: "Yes, yes!"

After the story was said, Lan Yu flattered Zhu Xiongying and said, "My nephew, you two can have a meal here at noon. I will go and call my sister. She has been nagging about me day and night." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a somewhat unhappy look on his face, "Get out of the way. We have things to do when we go back. Why is she nagging about our grandson?"

"gone!"

Zhu Yuanzhang grabbed Zhu Xiongying, as if he was afraid that his precious grandson would be snatched away by the Chang family, and he got up and left.

Lan Yu had a resentful look on his face. Why can’t I talk about my sister’s grandson?
Zhu Huai shrugged helplessly, made an apologetic gesture to Lan Yu, and followed his lovely old man away.

Near noon, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Xiongying were walking on Yingtian Street.

Smoke and fire are rising above the kitchens of every household.

Zhu Yuanzhang sniffed and pointed to a small restaurant not far away, saying: "Let's have a bite today."

After returning home, he had to prepare the food, which took quite some time. Zhu Yuanzhang liked to eat hot food, especially the kind of rice and vegetables that had just come out of the pot. It would take a lot of time to prepare it when he got home.

Zhu Xiongying looked at the crowded restaurant in front of him and frowned, "There are too many people here. We don't know how long we'll have to wait. How about we go to another restaurant?"

Zhu Yuanzhang groaned, looking at the restaurant not far away and said: "There are relatively few of them, but I can tell you that the less crowded a place is, the worse the food tastes."

Zhu Xiongying said with a smile: "It's just a bite anyway, so order two less dishes and fill your stomach."

"to make!"

Zhu Yuanzhang walked into the restaurant, found a seat near the door, and stared nonchalantly at the mansion in front of him.

There was a large gold-plated inscription "Zheng Mansion" hanging on the other party's mansion.

Zhu Xiongying went to the restaurant owner to order two dishes first. When he came back, he found that Zhu Yuanzhang was still staring at the Zheng Mansion. He asked puzzledly: "Grandpa, whose mansion is this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Luzhou Hou, Zheng Yong is from the family of Zheng Houye."

Zhu Xiongying uttered an "oh" and seemed to remember something, and said, "I think I've heard of this name before."

Zhu Yuanzhang said lightly: "He was the brave general who accompanied our emperor in conquering the country, and Xu Da's vanguard officer."

Zhu Xiongying nodded: "It turned out to be him."

As they were talking, the food was brought over by the shop owner and Zhu Xiongying served the old man.

I have to say, there is a reason why this small restaurant has poor business, the food is really bad.

But the old man seemed to be not focused on the meal, and his eyes kept looking at the Zheng Mansion.

Zhu Xiongying was a little curious, so he followed the direction of his gaze and saw a doorman from the Zheng residence walking towards them.

The doorman went straight to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Is it Master Huang?"

Zhu Yuanzhang hummed: "Yes."

Zhu Xiongying looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in astonishment, and then remained silent.

It turned out that the old man wanted to go to this restaurant on purpose. The restaurant just now was just a cover, and he was tricked by the old man without any warning.

The old man was acting mysterious, but no one knew what he was doing.

"Master Huang, can I really say that?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Go ahead, I will ensure that you will not die."

The doorman looked around and whispered, "Your Excellency, when our Lord was the commander of Haozhou a few years ago, he colluded with the grain merchants of Haozhou and resold 20,000 dan of official grain. Now he has hidden 4,326 acres of land in Changzhou, secretly hiding more than 1,200 tenants, and transported 10,000 kilograms of private salt from Yingtian to sell in Yunguang and other places..."

Zhu Xiongying was stunned and was frightened by what he heard. He raised his head to glance at the old man who was eating with hearty appetite. Seeing that he was still eating with a blank expression on his face, he couldn't help but admire him!

This is what it means to remain calm even when Mount Tai collapses in front of you!

The greed of these dignitaries has always been a chronic disease of the dynasty, and even a common problem for thousands of years and even thousands of years to come. Power can make people lose their minds. Money can blind people's eyes.

The warriors who followed Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the world were all simple-minded, and few of them knew how to protect themselves.

Even fewer people knew how to advance or retreat. They all felt that they had followed the emperor to conquer the world, and even if they had no credit, they had worked hard, so it didn't matter if they were a little greedy.

If the current emperor does not pursue the matter, then everything will be fine.

Or maybe when the emperor of the time saw this, he would think of their old friendship and make a small matter out of a big one and just give a slight reminder.

The legal system of the feudal dynasty always serves the imperial power, and the imperial power can suppress the law! This is the iron law of every dynasty!
Whether the other party dies or lives depends on a word from the emperor.

After listening to this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and asked, "Where is the petition?"

The doorman carefully took it out, looked around, and handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang carefully: "I drew my handprint on it."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand: "Okay, you can go back."

Menzi packed up his food at the restaurant and went back as if nothing had happened.

Zhu Xiongying kept a lot of words to himself.

Zhu Yuanzhang said casually: "Eat first, don't waste. Every grain of rice should be appreciated as it is not easy to come by, and every piece of silk should be cherished as it is not easy to produce."

"Eat up all the food even if it tastes bad. Don't waste any of it."

"There are still many people in our Ming Dynasty who don't have enough food to eat."

Zhu Xiongying's cheek twitched. The old man's words now were the biggest irony to the Zheng Mansion across the street!

The old man was reluctant to waste even a grain of rice, but the other party's greed was unsatisfied.

Zhu Xiongying suppressed his thoughts and continued to accompany the old man for dinner. At this time, he didn't think the food was bad, and soon the grandfather and grandson finished the meal.

"How much?"

The old man asked the restaurant owner to pay the bill.

"Sir, just give me ten coins."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "It's not expensive. Fortunately, you have a clear conscience and know that your cooking is not good. You should learn more cooking skills!"

The shop owner nodded quickly and said, "I'm listening to the old man and learning these days."

Zhu Yuanzhang ignored him and prepared to leave with his hands behind his back.

Zhu Xiongying said: "Old man, please wait a moment."

He took the old man's cup and said to the shopkeeper, "Go pour some water to make tea."

The shopkeeper was a little curious when he saw the strange cup, but he nodded and said, "Please wait a moment."

Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little warm in his heart. He stood outside the door with his hands behind his back, watching everything and smiling towards the sunshine.

"You little brat, you are always so attentive! I don't love you enough!"

After a while, Zhu Xiongying came out holding a cup and said to the old man: "Let's go."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and with the help of Zhu Xiongying, he walked to the Qinhuai River.

Zhu Xiongying helped Zhu Yuanzhang sit down under the green willows of the Qinhuai River.

It was the end of the month. The ancients said that the spring breeze in February was like a pair of scissors, cutting the green willows into graceful and elegant shapes.

A breeze blew by, removing some of the heat from the flames.

The old man unscrewed the lid of the teapot, took a sip of tea and spit out the tea leaves.

"Are you curious?" The old man said slowly while drinking tea with his head down.

Zhu Xiongying nodded: "A little bit."

(End of this chapter)