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

King Ning was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Nothing."

"By the way, I came here today to say goodbye to you."

King Ning took the vegetable buns and started eating them with the dried radish porridge.

"I will go to Daning to take up my post tomorrow and leave early in the morning."

Zhu Xiongying said, "Oh," looking at Prince Ning, "The area of ​​Daningdusi is sensitive, with important military towns on both sides, and close to Peking."

After thinking for a while, Zhu Xiongying looked a little serious: "King Ning, do you believe me?"

King Ning placed the porridge on the table and replied solemnly: "Let me know!"

Zhu Xiongying said: "Guard your Daning peacefully, and don't have too much contact with any vassal kings. I know you have many brothers in the Northern Frontier, so it's inevitable to have interpersonal exchanges."

"But I still say that you should remain neutral, so that your lineage as Prince Ning can enjoy eternal peace."

Prince Ning was a little stunned.

He looked at Zhu Xiongying infatuatedly and said sincerely: "You were really taught by the old man. You even speak in the same way!"

Last night, the old man said the same thing to me in Jinshen Hall!

Zhu Xiongying was stunned for a moment and asked, "What do you mean? What did grandpa say to you?"

Prince Ning was a little embarrassed and said quickly: "Oh, I happened to meet him when I came here this morning... Yeah."

Zhu Xiongying nodded: "I see."

Prince Ning looked at Zhu Xiongying, stood up, clasped his fists and said: "I have something to ask of you, you must promise me."

Zhu Xiongying looked at the humble King Ning and said hurriedly: "Sit down first and tell me what's going on."

Prince Ning said: "My mother passed away a long time ago. My current mother is Concubine Zhang. She raised me up single-handedly."

"Mother is a miserable person. These years have not been easy for her, and she has not been favored by our father. If she gets into trouble in the future, you must speak up for her."

Zhu Xiongying looked at him and said solemnly: "Okay, I promise you."

With Zhu Xiongying's words, King Ning was completely relieved.

Prince Ning left feeling relieved.

Zhu Xiongying watched him leave, then went to make a pot of tea and placed it on the stone table.

While waiting for the tea to cool, he went to the greenhouse with his hands behind his back. It was already spring, and the greenhouse needed to be dismantled, so Zhu Xiongying ordered his servants to dismantle the frame of the greenhouse.

The cinchona tree next to the greenhouse has grown into a towering tree.

This is the potted plant that the eldest princess of Champa gave to Master Zhu Changye last year. Master then gave it to him to take care of, and in half a year it has grown to this size.

Cinchona is the best traditional Chinese medicine for treating malaria.

For more than two thousand years, smallpox and malaria have always been the existence that the Chinese people are terrified of. In feudal society, these two plagues are the natural enemies of rulers of all generations.

However, malaria mostly occurs in southern Xinjiang, and there are few historical records of malaria epidemics in the Central Plains and northern Xinjiang.

When Zhu Xiongying was sorting out his thoughts, Tie Xuan came over dejectedly.

"Too deceiving!"

Tie Xuan talked as he walked, looking very annoyed.

Zhu Xiongying seemed to understand what was going on, and looked at Tie Xuan and asked: "Didn't you borrow the money?"

Motioning for Tiexuan to sit down, Zhu Xiongying brought the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Tiexuan.

Tie Xuan was flattered and hurriedly took the teapot from Zhu Xiongying and poured a cup for Zhu Xiongying as well.

He took a sip of tea and said angrily: "Not only did I fail to borrow the money, I tried to borrow it at an interest rate of 90% out and 13% back, but the Ministry of Revenue refused."

"They also said that the Ministry of Revenue's budget for this year is full, including shipbuilding along the southeast coast, firearms manufacturing by the Ministry of Works, border military expenses, and official expenses... That's nonsense!"

Tie Xuan became angrier as he spoke: "To be honest, I laughed when I heard all this."

Zhu Xiongying looked at him curiously: "What the Ministry of Revenue said makes sense."

Tie Xuan said angrily: "What's the logic? Southeast can allocate funds, the Ministry of Industry can allocate funds, and the local provincial governments can allocate funds, but only Southern Xinjiang cannot allocate funds!"

"Isn't Jiaozhi a territory of our Ming Dynasty?"

"His Ministry of Revenue is very smart. They know that the local provincial governments can use the summer and autumn taxes to make up for the allocations. In other words, his Ministry of Revenue knows that if they allocate funds to other places, the money can return to his pocket."

"In their eyes, Jiaozhi is just a barren land with no one living there. They don't have any hope for Jiaozhi at all. In their eyes, allocating funds to Jiaozhi is like throwing money away with water."

"So despite the fiscal tightening, his Ministry of Revenue will still closely follow other provincial secretaries to give money first. If his Ministry of Revenue is not really rich, I estimate that they will not allocate any money to Jiaozhi by the end of the year!"

"Hmph! The funding from other provincial governments is from the fiscal budget, but we in Jiaozhi are borrowing it at a high interest rate from the imperial court. Even so, they are unwilling to allocate the money to us. It really makes me mad!" Tie Xuan kept cursing the Ministry of Revenue, his face looking extremely ferocious, and he wished he could scold all the ancestors of the Ministry of Revenue.

Zhu Xiongying also understood the Ministry of Revenue.

The situation is far more than just the Ministry of Revenue. The old man told me that no one in the court thinks Jiaozhi is worth building.

When the Ming Dynasty conquered Jiaozhi, it was only because of its military and geographical value.

As long as Jiaozhi is in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, there will be time to mobilize troops from the inland areas.

As for the construction of Jiaozhi...Annan has been developing for a hundred years, but it is still extremely poor. How can that place develop? Any further development would just be a waste of time!

Zhu Xiongying comforted Tie Xuan: "It's done. It's useless to scold them now."

"Since the court won't lend us money, then we'll find a way to borrow from somewhere else."

"It's borrowed everywhere."

Tie Xuan said righteously: "How can that be possible?!"

"Jiaozhi is the governor of the Ming Dynasty. It is outrageous for a governor to ask private individuals for loans! Wouldn't this just cause more gossip?"

Zhu Xiongying said: "If we only care about what others say, how can we move forward? The gentry is in urgent need of money, we have to give it to him."

Tie Xuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly looked at Zhu Xiongying: "Mr. Zhu, you have a lot of money in your treasury, right?"

This guy finally realized it, right?

Being a whore and trying to be a virtuous woman, Zhu Huai felt a little embarrassed about the money she earned.

"Ah."

Zhu Xiongying nodded: "Three hundred thousand taels of silver can still be taken out."

Tie Xuan was delighted: "Then it makes sense to ask Zhu Lang to borrow everything."

Zhu Xiongying: ??? ?
"What do you mean it's reasonable to ask me for a loan? Do you mean I don't have to pay interest?"

Tie Xuan waved his hands hastily: "My dear, you misunderstood. The interest must be paid. Nine out of 13 return. Whatever the Ministry of Revenue pays, I will naturally give you."

"What I mean is that you are the future Ming Dynasty... um, you are in control of Jiaozhi, so it is not shameful for us, the Jiaozhi Governor, to ask Mr. Zhu for a loan! It's our due!"

Tie Xuan blamed himself again: "I was too impatient. I shouldn't have gone to the Ministry of Revenue to suffer this humiliation. Why didn't I think of Mr. Zhu at the beginning?"

Zhu Xiongying waved his hand and said, "Okay, you can coordinate this matter with the Liao brothers. The sooner the better. Hand the silver to Xie Jin as soon as possible. We can be a little more difficult on our side, but we can't make it difficult for Xie Jin."

"Tell Xie Jin that he should also be in charge of the organization and training of the South China Sea Coastal Defense Navy. Nothing can go wrong."

"Okay! I'll do it right away!"

Tie Xuan drank another sip of tea, then anxiously lifted his robe and left. Fu Youwen came to the Ministry of Revenue to report early in the morning.

As he would have to attend a small court meeting later, he first organized a small meeting of officials above the rank of doctor in the ministry to understand the financial situation of the Ministry of Revenue in case Zhu Yuanzhang asked any questions later.

In the hall of the Ministry of Revenue's duty station sat two doctors on the left and right, as well as the four assistant doctors of the Ministry of Revenue's Qinglisi.

After Fu Youwen learned about the fiscal revenue and expenditure situation for the past two months, he casually asked if anything had happened in the Ministry of Revenue today.

Wang Wen, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, said: "Master Fu, Tie Xuan did come today."

Fu Youwen was stunned.

Tie Xuan is Zhu Xiongying's man, and he also knows clearly that he is Zhu Xiongying's future right-hand man.

Hearing this, he hurriedly asked: "What are you doing here?"

Wang Yuanwai replied, "I came to ask the Jiaozhi Chengxuanzhengsi for the financial budget."

"It requires three hundred thousand taels of silver."

"Haha." Wang Yuanwai smiled, "But I have given you an excuse."

Fu Youwen was stunned and asked anxiously: "Can't your Ministry of Revenue allocate 300,000 taels?"

Wang Yuanwai said calmly, "It's OK if we squeeze in."

Officials in the early Ming Dynasty were relatively upright and performed their duties well. Most of them were not flattering. Even though Wang Wen's official position was much lower than Fu Youwen's, he also acted according to the rules and was wholeheartedly considering the Ministry of Revenue.

"Although Tie Xuan said he would pay the interest of 90% of the money he paid, I still refused."

"Anyone with a discerning eye knows that the Jiaozhi Provincial Government is not doing well. Although this money is not much, it can be used in other places or to prepare for possible natural disasters or man-made disasters. It will be of great use to the Ministry of Revenue."

"Wouldn't it be a waste of money to give it to Jiaozhi?"

Fu Youwen saw that Wang Wen's words were well-reasoned and was at a loss for words for a moment.

You can't say that he is the Ministry of Revenue and wants to give face to the future crown prince, right?
Fu Youwen said weakly: "Mr. Wang, if Jiaozhi really develops, won't our Ministry of Revenue lose a lot of income?"

Wang Wen smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. Even if Jiaozhi develops, the tax revenue still needs to be sent to our Ministry of Revenue."

Fu Youwen was speechless for a moment. You not only don't give people food, but also want them to lay eggs. After they lay eggs, they want them to give them to you. What you did as a member of the Ministry of Revenue is really mean!
But by that time, it probably won't be that easy to get money if you want it.

You say Zhu Xiongying is a guy with a broad vision, but sometimes he is really jealous of evil and really protective of his own children over small matters!
……

This day.

Zhu Yuanzhang was in a very good mood today, as bright as the spring sunshine.

Even after hearing Fu Youwen say that no funds were allocated to Jiaozhi, the old man was not very angry.

As for the attitude towards Jiaozhi, the old man completely let Zhu Xiongying deal with it on his own.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't really care what the final outcome would be. A hundred Jiaozhi governors were not as important as one Zhu Huai.

He just wanted to see how Zhu Huai would break out of the dilemma of governing the country.

At the small court meeting in Wuying Hall, only a few people stood in the hall.

They were all important ministers of the country and the backbone of Zhu Yuanzhang in governing the country.

"Today I want to tell you something happy."

"Well, Minister Li, come out and speak."

The Minister of Rites Li Yuan stepped out, because it was a small court meeting and there was no need for civil and military officials to hold wooden boards to take notes.

He looked around at his colleagues who were talking to each other with curiosity, and said with a smile: "The Timurid Khanate to the west of the Ming Dynasty has sent an envoy with 300 war horses to come from afar to pay tribute to our emperor!"

After hearing this, everyone's faces gradually became filled with joy.

Regardless of whether they were civil or military, they all had a proud smile on their faces.

The Timurid Khanate was a descendant of Genghis Khan. It was these generals and civil servants of the Ming Dynasty who came from humble beginnings who drove them to the European continent, west of the Western Chagatai Khanate, thousands of miles away from the Hami Guard of the Ming Dynasty.

The Battle of Buir Lake organized by Lan Yu a few years ago completely broke the Northern Yuan Mongols into pieces, and the Khans of the Northern Yuan were no longer taken seriously by the Ming court.

Now this group of Mongolian nobles no longer pose any threat to the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming court now focused on the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty standing in the northern border: the two powerful tribes of Tatar Grand Tutor Arutai and Oirat Grand Tutor Mahamu.

Because of their special geographical location, close to the northern border of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming court has been stepping up strategic defense against these two tribes.

To be honest, the Timurid Khanate was too far away from the northwest of the Ming Dynasty or from the Tatars and Oirat, and had no strategic value at all.

However, the political significance of the Timurid Khanate's tribute to the Ming Dynasty was extraordinary, because it was equivalent to the Timurid Khanate on the European continent recognizing the Ming government and not accepting the Tatar and Oirat governments.

"Hahaha!"

Lan Yu laughed and said, "Have these Mongols finally recognized the reality? Do they know that there is only the Ming Dynasty in the East, and no Oirat or Tatar?"

Lan Yu was very proud because he was the one who defeated the Mongols with his own hands!

After the Battle of Buir Lake, in the eyes of the Mongols, Lan Yu was the god of war and was invincible!
Now that he heard that his defeated subordinates would come to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute and pledge allegiance, Lan Yu was naturally happy.

However, he still had some sense of propriety, and he clasped his fists and said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Our Ming Dynasty is now having a growing influence in the Western Continent, and the reputation of our Emperor is known far and wide! Long live the Emperor!"

The Wuying Palace was immediately filled with thunderous shouts: "Long live the emperor! Long, long live the emperor!"

The old man was beaming with joy.

Emperors always care about two things: civil governance and military achievements.

Now that Zhu Yuanzhang has managed these two matters in an orderly manner, how can the old man not be happy?

"Ah!"

Zhu Yuanzhang accepted the flattery of his ministers with a smile, and then said to Li Yuan: "Your Ministry of Rites must not neglect the Timurid state, and must demonstrate the etiquette of our great Ming."

Minister Li nodded hurriedly: "I obey your order!"

……

Harem.

Prince Ning Zhu Quan was combing Concubine Zhang's hair.

Lady Zhang is forty years old this year, but she still has her charm. Her hair is wet, obviously just washed.

Prince Ning stood behind Concubine Zhang, looking at his mother in the bronze mirror, combing her hair bit by bit.

"Mother, I will leave tomorrow morning."

Concubine Zhang also felt a little reluctant.

She personally raised Zhu Quan over the years, and both mother and son were actually not very favored in the harem.

The reason why Zhu Quan was chosen by Zhu Yuanzhang to guard the Daning Regional Military Region.

It’s not that Zhu Yuanzhang likes Concubine Zhang very much, nor is it that he admires Prince Ning very much.

The old man was completely considering Zhu Huai, so Zhu Quan got this advantage.

"My child, the hardships in the northern border are severe. In the days ahead, I am afraid that we will have few opportunities to meet each other. When you go there, take good care of yourself."

(End of this chapter)