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

Prince Ning nodded: "Mother, I went to see that person early this morning. You have been blessed by our father during your youth. Although the harem is peaceful, there will always be some servants who look down on their master."

"I have begged that person. If I really encounter any difficulties in the future, I can ask someone to go out of the palace to beg him. He will definitely not let me go."

Lady Zhang nodded: "Yes, mother knows."

"The imperial family is the most ruthless. My child, I can't help you with anything. You have to walk your own path and make your own judgment in the future."

Zhu Quan nodded: "I understand."

Lady Zhang hummed, "Go and rest early."

King Ning nodded.

Concubine Zhang looked at Prince Ning's departing back, sighing a little, with red eyes.

……

The next morning, the spring weather was still bright and beautiful.

The ancients said that "Picking Willows at Ba Bridge" means that there was a custom of picking willow branches to say goodbye in the Tang Dynasty. Ba Bridge is located on the ancient road outside the Tang Dynasty city. Over time, the meaning of "Picking Willows at Ba Bridge" has been extended to mean farewell.

There was no Baqiao in the Ming Dynasty.

In the pavilion on the ancient road of Tonghuai Gate, the Liao brothers stood behind Zhu Xiongying.

There was a pot of wine on the stone table in the pavilion.

Inside the city gate, officials from the Ministry of Rites escorted Prince Ning's carriage to the outside of Tonghuai Gate.

Prince Ning had noticed Zhu Xiongying on the official road early on. He signaled the convoy to wait on the road, and he lifted his robe to go find Zhu Huai.

"I advise you to drink another glass of wine. There will be no old friends when you leave Yangguan in the west."

Zhu Xiongying smiled and said, "These two lines of poetry sound a bit sad about parting. It feels different when I say them."

Prince Ning also laughed: "No need to persuade me to drink, I'll drink!"

As he spoke, Prince Ning held up the wine glass, tilted his head back and took a sip.

Zhu Xiongying watched Prince Ning get on the sedan chair, and watched the motorcade and entourage move away slowly and far away.

Until he could no longer watch, Zhu Xiongying was about to go back, but his eyes suddenly narrowed.

On the official road ahead, groups of carriages and groups of horses were coming towards Tonghuai Gate with great momentum!

The way these people are dressed...mostly look like Mongolian nobles!
……

at the same time.

The Mongolian envoys looked at this Han land with their eyes wide open, looking at the crowds on the bustling streets of Yingtian City, such as foreign merchants, Buddhist and Taoist monks and nuns, foreign envoys, literati, young ladies, etc., who were as bustling and prosperous as a swarm of fish crossing the river.

In addition, the rows of Jiangnan buildings with extremely high craftsmanship and densely packed buildings made them overwhelmed and stunned!
Everything about Yingtian City left these Mongolian envoys with a lasting shock.

Everyone can’t help but say “Changshengtian”!
Changshengtian is their belief, and this is their highest respect for the Heavenly City at this moment!
……

Imperial Palace, inside Wuying Hall.

The small assembly is still going on.

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished giving instructions on how to receive the envoys from the Timurid Khanate, he called out Fu Youwen.

"You are in charge of the silver of our Ming Dynasty."

"Tell me, how is the tax collection from last year's autumn harvest going now?"

Fu Youwen felt a little uneasy. These days, the old man would take Zhu Xiongying out from time to time. Who knew what would happen that would displease the old man?

He said carefully: "Most of the taxes in the capital have been collected, and the taxes from other provinces are also being transported to Yingtian as soon as possible."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded in a deep voice, looked at Fu Youwen and said, "Does the Fu family know anything about the Linshang kicking incident?"

Fu Youwen was shocked and had a bad feeling in his heart.

This was a way for local officials to make money, and it was something everyone knew. As the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Fu Youwen was of course well aware of it.

Not only Fu Youwen knew it, but all the officials standing in Wuying Palace also knew it.
These people have amassed a lot of wealth. They know better than Fu Youwen how the government secretly amassed wealth.

When the ministers heard the old man say this, they all trembled. Fu Youwen hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I know."

Zhu Yuanzhang said expressionlessly: "Oh, tell me, are the local officials eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the people for these grains?"

Fu Youwen gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, yes, but..."

"But local governments also have their own difficulties. Many non-official officials are not registered in the Ministry of Personnel. The government needs people to manage towns and villages. Local governments have to hire some non-official officials. This requires the government to be self-sufficient, but the budget allocated is not enough to cover the government's expenses, so..."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him and said, "So we have to get some money from the people to support the local government expenses?"

Fu Youwen hurriedly said: "I know my crime!"

Minister of Personnel Zhan Hui also hurriedly said: "I know my crime!"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said: "We don't want you to know your guilt. Once we find a problem, we will solve it. Tell me, do you have any solution?"

The pressure from Zhu Yuanzhang was too great. When it came to controlling his subordinates, Zhu Yuanzhang was a very qualified politician.

The ministers bowed their heads and remained silent.

If the Ming Dynasty-style money-making methods of "Huo Hao Gui Gong" and "Lin Shang Ki Jian" could be solved, they would have come up with reasonable countermeasures long ago.

The problem is that local governments also need money, and over time everyone has come to understand this.

Unless the country has enough money to include the salaries of officials outside the country in the supply.

But the imperial court does not have enough money to support such a large number of foreign officials.

"Your subjects, we acknowledge our guilt!"

The ministers kept silent and bowed their heads.

The atmosphere in Wuying Hall was a bit weird. Zhu Yuanzhang handed the title to Zheng He, who immediately understood and gave the title to Fu Youwen.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Please circulate this letter among you all."

Fu Youwen took it. There were not many words on the question book, and there was not much nonsense.

After quickly reading it, he passed it to Zhan Hui, then to Li Yuan, and so on.

After reading it, the ministers all looked a little strange and looked at each other calmly.

Fu Youwen stepped forward and said, "I dare to ask Your Majesty, who originally proposed this question?"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not answer: "Let me tell you my opinion first."

Fu Youwen was silent for a moment, and then said, "When the post office receives letters and goods sent by the people, it needs to collect a sum of money according to regulations, and this money is divided into two."

"Although it is not much, the amount is huge, and the profits are considerable, as we all know."

"As the postal service grew, simple post stations could no longer meet the needs of the people. We then used private merchants and porters as capital to mobilize civilian forces for transportation."

“So the money is divided into two parts, which increases both efficiency and income.”

"Merchants are making a lot of money from this. If we impose a river boat tax and a city gate tax, and have them pay it in the tax collection area, wouldn't that mean we are collecting more taxes from merchants?"

"How can the imperial court profit from merchants? Isn't this going to disrupt the foundation of the country?"

After Fu Youwen finished speaking, Zhan Hui stepped out and said, "Master Fu, what you said is not right. In all political affairs, we should look at the starting point. If we only look at one part, isn't it like a blind man touching an elephant and only finding one part?"

"The ultimate purpose of this petition is to increase the revenue of local government, so as to eliminate the problems of attributing merit to the fire consumption and the practice of drinking and kicking the cup."

"This is doing practical things for the people, how can it be said to disrupt the foundation of the country? I think this is consolidating the foundation of the country. Not only will the people not oppose it, they will also strongly support it."

"Merchants are cunning and they collect more taxes to use for farmers. I think there is nothing wrong with this." Fu Youwen nodded and said, "What I am worried about is that in this way, will more people focus on commercial profits and not be pragmatic in farming?"

Zhan Hui shook his head: "No, this move is obviously aggravating the exploitation of businessmen. The people have sharp eyes and they see it clearly!"

Fu Youwen nodded, clasped his fists and said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "In that case, I have nothing to say."

"This works!"

Zhan Hui nodded: "I second the motion."

The ministers also clasped their fists and said, "We second this motion!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "The starting point is good, and it is also a benevolent policy that benefits the people. Everything should be planned before action. This move is a policy that benefits the people and officials."

"In any case, for local officials and ordinary people, it will be mutually beneficial if it is done well."

As for sacrificing the profits of merchants, Zhu Yuanzhang did not consider it.

He continued: "But decades of fatigue with the practice of drinking and kicking and taking credit for the losses have already penetrated into the hearts of local officials."

"Since we are going to do it, we must do it with all our heart and publicize the policy so that every citizen can understand it clearly!"

"Tell them word by word that the grain that leaks out does not belong to the government but to the people themselves."

"In short, these two problems need to be corrected. We should stop giving money to the government so that they can continue to exploit the people and let the people poke our backs for nothing!"

Zhu Yuanzhang paused and continued, "There are also city gate taxes and river taxes. This income is not collected by the taxation department, but by local officials themselves. Will there be any deductions from merchants, will there be connections, etc.? We need to consider these carefully, and we cannot neglect one while focusing on the other and let the merchants down."

"You should discuss this matter with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel. We hope that during the autumn harvest, we will no longer see the incident of drinking wine and kicking the tip of the cup."

Fu Youwen and Zhan Hui hurriedly clasped their fists and said, "Your humble servants! As ordered by your majesty!"

The small court meeting has almost finished discussing this.

Fu Youwen smiled and licked his face and said: "My emperor is wise! This policy benefits the people and the government. I dare to ask the emperor, who is it..."

Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes at him: "Yeah."

Ok?
Ah!
Fu Youwen realized it later and shuddered all over. It suddenly dawned on him. It turned out to be him? It's okay then!

Lan Yu looked at him strangely and asked secretly: "Old Master, what do you mean?"

Fu Youwen whispered, "Your eldest nephew did it."

When these words reached the ears of Lan Yu and everyone else, the generals in the hall immediately widened their eyes, because they were not rough men.

After hearing this, their eyes were all sparkling with deep surprise.

Zhu Xiongying's influence in the court is growing, and their position is becoming more and more stable!

Just then.

An official from the Ministry of Rites came quietly and whispered something in the ear of Li Yuan, the Vice Minister of Rites.

Li Yuan waved his hand to let him go, and then said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Your Majesty, the envoy of Timurid Khanate has arrived at the Ministry of Rites."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Okay! You go and receive them in person, discuss when the Timurid envoy will come to see us, and then give us a reply."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "It's done, let's leave now."

……

In mid-February, after half a year, the Timurid Khanate finally arrived at Yingtian, the capital of the Ming Empire.

The Ming Dynasty's population, palaces, wealth, silk, porcelain, etc. all shocked the envoys who came from afar.

Even the gilded nails on the vermilion lacquered palace gate outside the Yingtian Palace opened their eyes and shocked them.

A light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

It was almost noon when Zhu Huai returned to the mansion.

The old man was pulling weeds in the greenhouse with his butt sticking out.

After a hibernation in the cold winter, the grass sprouts out in spring and grows taller than fruits and vegetables.

"Old man, why did you go down to the fields in person?"

Zhu Xiongying glanced at the trembling servant beside him.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Don't blame them, we have to go to the fields ourselves."

"This weed is the impurity in the ground. It will lie dormant for a while, but it will eventually pop up. Planting crops is a battle of wits and courage with weeds. If there are too many weeds, the nutrients of the crops will be absorbed, so we have to get rid of them."

"The same principle applies to governing a country. When a country is prosperous, there will always be corrupt officials who come to siphon off the country's wealth, and they need to be removed."

These are the principles the old man summed up from farming.

There are truths everywhere in life, and different people have different views on things.

Zhu Xiongying walked over with a smile: "I understand the truth, but you are old, your health is the first priority, come over and rest for a while."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and patted his muddy hands.

Zhu Xiongying fetched a basin of water for Zhu Yuanzhang, asked the old man to wash his hands, and brought him a pair of brand new cloth slippers for him to wear.

"This thing is for you."

The old man casually pointed at the brocade box on the stone table, looking nonchalant.

Zhu Xiongying was puzzled: "What is it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Open it and take a look yourself."

Zhu Xiongying opened the brocade box suspiciously, and found a precious rhino horn dagger.

Zhu Xiongying was stunned.

He knew the rhino horn dagger. Only the princes and nobles in the Middle East were qualified to own it. It was extremely precious even in Europe.

"Where did it come from?"

Zhu Xiongying asked Zhu Yuanzhang curiously, then picked up the rhino horn dagger, unsheathe the dagger sheath, and then shot out a little cold light.

The rhino horn dagger was very sharp. The raindrops fell on both sides of the blade and were separated neatly as if they were cut.

Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly: "The Timurids came to our Ming Dynasty to pay tribute, so we got one of these."

"This thing is easy to carry. We just tried it and it's very sharp. You can play with it."

Although the old man spoke calmly, the corners of his mouth were curled up to the sky, making him look very inflated.

Zhu Xiongying was silent for a moment, then squinted his eyes and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked, "Timur Khanate?"

The old man smiled and said, "Isn't it? They have traveled thousands of miles from the West and experienced thousands of dangers to come to our Ming Dynasty to pay tribute. Our emperor cannot offend the face of the Yi country, so he reluctantly received them."

"What do you think? Countries thousands of miles away come to our Ming Dynasty to pay tribute. This shows how powerful our Ming Dynasty is, right?"

These are all Zhu Yuanzhang’s real military and political achievements!
But strangely, the old man did not expect Zhu Xiongying's flattery.

He couldn't help but look up at Zhu Xiongying curiously, but saw that Zhu Xiongying was standing there in a daze, not saying a word for a long time, with a somewhat gloomy expression on his face.

"What's going on?"

He looked at Zhu Xiongying's expression, which was very solemn.

No, what happened to our eldest grandson?
Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely puzzled. (End of this chapter)