Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 129 Xu Miaojin's Treasure Banknotes
Zhu Yunhuan was in a good mood. He was naturally happy that he had found a potential official.

Although he has come into contact with many people who have left their names and deeds in history, people like Xia Yuanji are different.

This can definitely play an extremely important role in Zhu Yunhuan's plan, and if he is trained well, he may be able to bring more help.

This was naturally something worth being happy about. After Zhu Yunhuan had enough sleep, he washed up and prepared to go out.

Princess Anqing glanced at her nephew and said, "The ladies of honor are entering the palace today, so you should come back early."

Zhu Yunhuan was a little puzzled, "Why should I come back? Aren't there many unmarried women here? It's not good for me to come back."

"What's wrong with that?" Princess Anqing said directly, "Do you really think they came into the palace on their own? You don't want fame, but they do! They all have someone following them at home, either their grandmother, mother, or sister-in-law."

That's true. Although it's in the Eastern Palace, there are some rules that need to be followed. Not only for the noble ladies, but also to protect Zhu Yunhuan's reputation. Otherwise, some people might make up stories about him.

"Grandma is coming here today too." Zhu Yourong said happily, "My aunt is coming too."

Zhu Yunhuan said, "Then I'll come back earlier. It's a headache just thinking about this situation. If it's my family, it's fine, but there are still outsiders. They are all women. Why do I have to come back?"

Princess Anqing said more logically, "You are the crown prince, and you haven't even been crowned yet, nor have you arranged a marriage. Why can't you come? In a few years, it won't be possible, and we will have to avoid suspicion by then. You have met many ministers, and you should meet the women as well."

Zhu Yourong helped to drum up support and said, "This is what's going on. In two years, they won't be able to see you even if they want to."

Zhu Yunhuan had nothing to say, but he also felt that what he said made sense.

This time, the people who could enter the palace were all noble women, all of whom were of status. Since Zhu Yunhuan, the crown prince, had strong ties with the noble class, it naturally meant that he would have to take on many things.

Since he was not yet an adult and the harem had no master, it would not be easy for the emperor to step in directly. Some things could only be handled by the underage Zhu Yunhuan.

When he arrived at the Wenhua Hall, he saw a pile of memorials on the table, which made Zhu Yunhuan a little dazed. He was the crown prince, so why did officials from the six ministries and other government offices like to send memorials to him!

The year before last, it was only Old Zhu who selected some of the more special memorials and sent them to him. These were more targeted cases that allowed Zhu Yunhuan to practice and become familiar with them.

Last year, there were some simple things that Zhu Yunhuan was asked to take a look at first, and then give a draft opinion.

But since the imperial examination was over, Zhu Yunhuan suddenly found that his workload had increased, and he had to do a lot of things.

Zhang Fusheng said, "Your Highness, this memorial is ordered by His Majesty and must be delivered within three days."

"Got it." Zhu Yunhuan sat down and picked up a memorial, "Call the Duke of Ying, the Duke of Wei, and the Duke of Kaiguo."

Li Jinglong is still in Liaodong and has not returned yet. Lan Yu is also training troops outside and has not returned yet. Feng Sheng is also training troops outside and has not returned yet. Now there are only three dukes in the capital.

Chang Sheng, who was in the Five Military Commandery, rushed to the Wenhua Palace immediately after receiving the summons. When he met Fu Youde, he became enthusiastic.

I didn't like Fu Youde before. Like Lan Yu, I thought Fu Youde was not worthy of the title of the second bravest man in the world. But it's different now. I heard a few days ago that Princess Shouchun had done a favor to Zhu Yunhuan in the early years.

As for Chang Sheng, the most "villain" among the nobles, Fu Youde could only keep his distance. They were of different generations, so it would be fine as long as they did not become enemies.

"Duke Wei, why don't you say hello when you meet?" Chang Sheng, who didn't think he was asking for trouble, took the initiative to say hello when he saw Xu Huizu, "Do you know what happened today?"

Xu Huizu quickly said, "Duke Kaiguo, His Highness has summoned us, so we should go. How can I guess what His Highness wants?"

Fu Youde also reminded, "Duke of the Founding Kingdom, be careful."

When they arrived at Wenhua Hall, Zhu Yunhuan said straight to the point, "I asked the prince of Wuding to go to the coastal areas of Zhejiang to investigate the illegal voyages. He has heard that many merchants have illegally gone to sea."

Zhu Yunhuan became serious and said, "If they have any dealings with the Japanese pirates, they will be executed without mercy. In addition, some wealthy landlords may also be involved. The Five Military Commandery is preparing for this."

This is not about quelling a riot, but about suppressing any disturbance.

Now they are not real aristocratic families, and they do not have thousands of servants and private soldiers. Even if they are some local prominent families, it is enough to dispatch a thousand households nearby.

Xu Huizu and others immediately became serious. If something really happened, it would be the responsibility of the Five Military Commandery.

If it was just some ordinary merchants, it would be fine, but what we are afraid of is some big merchants colluding with each other, or colluding with local officials. If that were the case, the court would still have to dispatch troops.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "Duke Song is going to Fujian to investigate the coastal areas. You should also prepare. Although the Japanese pirates have restrained themselves in recent years, the trend of going out to sea cannot be suppressed."

This is naturally a serious matter, and Xu Huizu and others certainly need to treat it well, and they dare not be careless about these things.

Chang Sheng said, "Your Highness, please don't be a minister."

Xu Huizu tugged at Chang Sheng's sleeve and was speechless about this 'brother'. Like the Duke of Liang, he spoke without thinking.

Fu Youde couldn't help coughing and winked at Chang Sheng. Everyone knew what this nephew was thinking. As long as it was arranged by the Crown Prince, the Duke of Kaiguo would want to be the vanguard immediately.

Chang Sheng reacted and lowered his head and smiled awkwardly. He didn't like Feng Sheng and felt that Feng Sheng could not be relied upon to handle important matters.

But forget it, now he has come to his senses. Even if there is something big going on, he can't leave the capital.

Seeing that Chang Sheng did not continue to speak, Zhu Yunhuan also laughed. His second uncle was not a bad person sometimes, but he just spoke without thinking. But this was only Zhu Yunhuan. If it was someone else, Chang Sheng's problem would be a big deal or a small one.

After discussing some things with the three dukes, Zhu Yunhuan naturally felt more at ease. He didn't need to think too much about many things, as his subordinates would take care of them.

Chang Sheng might not be very clear about how to cooperate with Guo Zhen and Feng Sheng, but Xu Huizu and Fu Youde definitely knew what to do.

Naturally, they knew which officers should be arranged to prepare and whether they should prepare some ships and weapons for the navy.

While Zhu Yunhuan was still busy with other things, the Eastern Palace became lively.

Xu Huizu's wife Xu Li brought her sister-in-law Xu Miaojin into the palace. Xu Miaojin was only fifteen years old, a little younger than Zhu Yunhuan.

Princess Anqing's eyes lit up and she said, "Madam Wei, come over and talk."

Xu Li and Xu Miaojin hurriedly paid their respects to the princess and the county lord, and of course they also had to pay their respects to Chang Lan.

"Go over and help embroider a blessing." Princess Anqing looked at Xu Miaojin and said with a smile, "Add some blessings."

Xu Miaojin said crisply, "I obey your order."

"Yourong, Youling, you two should follow me." Princess Ningguo said, "You two are not good at needlework, so follow me and learn."

Xu Miaojin was a little surprised, but then she said, "Your Highness, I am not good at needlework either."

Princess Anqing asked, "If you are not good at needlework, what do you usually do?"

Xu Miaojin replied, "Reading and painting."

Princess Anqing frowned slightly. This girl shouldn’t be like her two nieces.

Thinking of this, Princess Anqing asked hurriedly, "Reading? What books to read? "Nujie", "Lienu Zhuan", or something else?"

Xu Miaojin didn't think much about it and replied, "I have read a few of those, but I didn't like them very much. I read a lot of books, but I especially like reading history."

Chang Lan, who was sitting next to them, felt something was wrong. She had met some daughters of noble families before, and the two princesses only asked one or two questions at most. But the girl from the Xu family asked a lot of questions and they were very detailed.

Princess Anqing and Princess Ningguo looked at each other and couldn't help but nodded slightly.

The girl from the Xu family is pretty and has a good temper. She is not at all shy in such occasions and is generous, decent and polite.

"You go first." Princess Ningguo said, "Go and embroider the words first. You don't have to be restrained in the East Palace. You can talk and walk around with people you know."

After Xu Miaojin left, Princess Anqing immediately looked at Xu Lishi and asked, "When was this girl born?"

Xu Li immediately replied, "On the seventh day of the first lunar month in the thirteenth year of Hongwu, at 3:30 pm."

"Go get some gold threads." Princess Anqing looked at a maid behind her and said, "And bring some preserved fruits."

The maid immediately obeyed the order, but instead of going to get something, she went straight to Wuying Palace.

Zhu Yunhuan was summoned again without knowing what was going on. He was still listening to Xia Yuanji's report on taxes, land and other matters throughout the country when the emperor summoned him.

Old Zhu got straight to the point and said, "We are planning to ban the use of money and banknotes. What do you think?"

The so-called ban on the use of banknotes means prohibiting the use of copper coins and requiring the use of Ming treasure notes.

Zhu Yunhuan became anxious when he heard this, "No! Absolutely not!"

Old Zhu narrowed his eyes and said, "Why not?"

Zhu Yunhuan said quickly, "Grandfather is not unaware that Baochao is no longer widely used among the people. Many people are unwilling to accept or use it, and some even use it at a discount."

Zhu became serious and said, "The people are cunning and use money at will, which makes the currency law ineffective. If I ban the use of money and currency, the problem will be solved."

"That's not the case!" Zhu Yunhuan directly refuted, saying, "It's the court's fault that the people don't use the treasure notes. How can you blame the people?"

Old Zhu stood up slowly, "You mean I am incompetent and exploiting the people?"

Zhu Yunhuan felt something was wrong, but he couldn't put it into words.

While Zhu Yunhuan was still wondering, Old Zhu simply reached out and pulled out the sword hanging on the wall.

It was Zhu Yunhuan's turn to be startled. He carefully moved towards the palace entrance and said, "Grandfather, there is no need to do this, right?"

"How dare you!" Old Zhu raised his sword, "How dare you call me stupid!"

Zhu Yunhuan ran away, Old Zhu was really angry!

(End of this chapter)