Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 150 Good Minister and Good Farm
Wenhua Hall and Wuying Hall are opposite each other from east to west, and are where the crown prince or the crown prince holds office.

Xia Yuanji, the fifth-rank official of Wenhua Palace, had a strange expression on his face, because he worked in Wenhua Palace most of the time and could barely be considered as the Crown Prince's staff. But now he had a new colleague, who was nominally the Right Vice Minister of the Zhanshi Mansion, a sixth-rank official, and could also be considered as an assistant minister of the Eastern Palace.

However, the man in the official uniform is a bald old man who is almost sixty years old. To be precise, sixty is nothing in the officialdom, but this bald old man is still a serious monk. He wears court robes when he is working, and goes back to the temple when he is not in the government office.

Zhu Yunhuan didn't care about so many things and issued transfer orders continuously.

Daoyan looked at the transfer order and asked with some doubt, "Is it His Highness the Prince of Yan that you are worried about?"

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Daoyan and asked with a smile, "Let's just chat casually. Do you think my fourth uncle can be a threat to me?"

Daoyan shook his head and said, "Your Highness is the one who has been chosen by heaven. You have the right and proper status. You have been appointed by His Majesty and the people are loyal to you. Your Highness the Prince of Yan is far inferior to him."

"That's it." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "If that's the case, why bother asking even though you already know the answer? Fourth uncle is still very useful in guarding Beiping. The north has seemed relatively peaceful in recent years, but there will be a war sooner or later. When that happens, Fourth uncle will have to contribute."

Daoyan smiled and said, "With His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin and His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin in charge, His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan can only send out a small force at most. If there is a real war, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin or the Prince of Jin should be in charge."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Daoyan and asked, "Do you think I will have to use military force sooner or later?"

Daoyan was also unequivocal, saying, "I have also been secretly observing for the past two years. Your Highness cares about the people and has implemented many good policies to reduce the burden on the people. The suspension of the army in the past few years seems to be a rest and recuperation, but the court has been training troops all the time, and Your Highness has sent many trusted generals to train troops. This peace is probably only in the past few years."

Zhu Yunhuan frowned and said, "You are wrong, Master. Peace must continue. Even if there is a war, it must be fought outside the borders of the Ming Dynasty. Do you understand?"

Zhu Yunhuan's words left Daoyan speechless, but he could guess that this crown prince did have the potential to become a "heroic ruler".

If it were any other crown prince, let's not talk about whether he would directly handle the affairs of state. In terms of governance philosophy, the crown prince would most likely choose strategies such as recuperation and protecting the country and the people. Even if they didn't think so in their hearts, they would not say it out loud.

But the Ming Crown Prince was different. He not only proposed to go to war directly, but also proposed to fight outside the Ming Dynasty.

When the civil servants heard about this, they were furious. This was simply an unjust war.

But if you think about it, there is nothing strange about it. You can just find any excuse when the time comes, and then you will be the king's teacher who follows the will of heaven.

Looking at Daoyan, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Let Zhu Zhong and Jiang Lin teach you a lesson. Broaden your horizons and don't always think about the things in the Ming Dynasty. There is also a vast world outside the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "Let's not talk about the Mongols. After the victory at Buir Lake, the Golden Family of the Mongols was gone, and now they are fighting for the Khanship. Lee Seong-gye has usurped the throne in Goryeo, and there seem to be some signs of usurpation in Annan as well. Let's go and listen, see, and think of some ways to benefit our Ming Dynasty."

Daoyan was sent away on his first day at work. His positioning was somewhat different from Xia Yuanji's.

When Jiang Li came to pick up Daoyan, he also said, "Your Highness, Xu Guan has arrived in Xi'an to take up his post."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded and said, "Where is my second uncle?"

Jiang Li immediately replied, "Half a month ago, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin led his army to Gansu and suppressed the Qiang rebellion with Ning Zheng, the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Right Military Command."

Ning Zheng was also a brave general. Although he had no title, he had made many contributions. When he was young, he followed Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Mu Ying and others to fight everywhere. After making great contributions in the northwest, he followed Mu Ying to guard Yunnan, and now he has been transferred back to the northwest.

It’s not that Ning Zheng is not powerful enough, but that there are too many powerful nobles in the Ming Dynasty, and his military achievements are not enough to be awarded a title of nobility.

Zhu Yunhuan thought for a moment and said, "Second Uncle has made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion this time. Let's call Shang Bing back. It's time for him to choose a concubine. This matter cannot be delayed."

Xia Yuanji immediately took note. Someone would definitely be in charge of drafting the imperial edict, and the crown prince would only need to use the seal.

As for why it was not the emperor who used the seal, it was because the emperor was now in the Qianqing Palace. He claimed that he was ill and could not manage affairs. The Wuying Hall was now empty, and all civil and military officials came to the Wenhua Hall to report on matters.

After a busy day, seeing the sun was about to set, Zhu Yunhuan prepared to go to the Qianqing Palace.

Zhang Fusheng quickly said, "Your Highness, His Majesty is in Yutian."

"Oden?" Zhu Yunxun gnashed his teeth and said, "Aren't you afraid that the wind will blow your tongue away? How could it be Oden?"

Zhang Fusheng knelt down quickly and explained, "Your Highness, His Majesty has cultivated the land himself and called it the Imperial Field."

That's not right. Although I didn't do it myself, it was my idea and I cultivated the field according to my plan. How come it's fine now and the fruits are picked directly?

I have been composting and fermenting manure there these days. I guess many people curse me in private because of the stench of manure there. But now, the property of the field has changed. Is it cultivated by the emperor himself?

Zhu Yunhuan walked in a hurry, not because he was worried about others picking the fruit, but because he was worried that Old Zhu would disrupt the progress of the experiment.

From a distance, Zhu Yunhuan saw a burly old man carrying a hoe and walking in the fields. Zhu Yunhuan was angry and amused. He looked at the umbrellas and other things on the shore and felt relieved.

When Concubine Guo Ning saw Zhu Yunhuan coming over, she smiled and said, "Your Highness is here, have a cup of tea."

"I hope your Highness is doing well." Zhu Yunxun greeted her with a smile. "It was my fault for not only sending the Prince Consort to Ningbo to do his work, but also letting the Marquis of Wuding go there."

Concubine Guo Ning smiled and said, "It is their blessing to be able to work for the court. It would not be good for them to live in the capital."

Concubine Guo Ning introduced it, "This is Maojian tea. Your Majesty said that Xinyang tea is the best. You have tasted it in your early years."

"Him?" Zhu Yunhuan glanced at Old Zhu who was weeding and said with disdain, "Didn't he travel to Xinyang in his early years? At that time, it was good enough to ask for a cup of cold water. It was strange to get tea!"

Maojian is still very famous. The tea saint Lu Yu once classified Xinyang as the Huainan tea area, and Su Dongpo believed that Xinyang tea was the best among Huainan teas.

However, there is no such thing as Maojian tea now, there is only Xinyang tea, and it is not even a tribute tea, let alone the king of green tea.

Concubine Ning could only smile and not respond. There were some things that the emperor could say himself, and he didn't mind the crown prince saying them. But if someone else brought it up, the emperor would not only be unhappy.

Barefoot Old Zhu walked onto the ridge of the field, and when he saw Zhu Yunhuan, he looked down on him, "You don't even look at the fields you cultivated yourself, and you still need our help!"

"It's all Imperial Field, what does it have to do with the Crown Prince?" Zhu Yunhuan said sarcastically, "Now, if there is any benefit, it will all be the Emperor's credit and have nothing to do with me."

Old Zhu laughed heartily, and then said seriously, "Yun Huan, I've thought about it too. You've been blessed since childhood, with fine clothes and delicious food. It doesn't matter if you focus on farming, but no one will believe you if you can farm. Fertilizer fermentation involves dealing with feces and urine, which is not good for you."

Zhu Yunhuan immediately looked at Lao Zhu suspiciously, "Is my fertilizer effective?"

Seeing that Old Zhu was silent, Zhu Yunhuan jumped up, "That must be the case, right? I thought so, you got sick just two days after I went to court, maybe my fertilizer took effect, and now you are eyeing these two acres of land!"

Old Zhu immediately tried to comfort him, "How can it be that fast? How can you tell when there are no ears of rice and no flowers of rice? The growth of the rice seedlings is not bad, and it is similar to other people's crops. In my opinion, it is at most in the field."

Concubine Ning lowered her head, not daring to reveal the slightest flaw, as she listened to the Emperor fooling the Crown Prince.

What Lao Zhu said makes sense. There are no rice flowers and ears of rice now, but experienced farmers can already tell the growth of these crops from the seedlings.

Moreover, this was newly reclaimed land, which was not good farmland at all. But now it was barely good farmland, which meant that the fertilizers used before had some effect, and it was a good effect.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Lao Zhu with some suspicion, "Is this really the case?"

Old Zhu nodded affirmatively, "That's it! I'm willing to give you the throne, so why can't I give you two acres of land?"

Zhu Yunhuan nodded, agreeing with what Old Zhu said. But he felt something was wrong, and felt that he had been cheated.

Suddenly Zhu Yunhuan remembered, "No, the seedlings in these four fields are almost grown! No, Grandfather, if I were to do an experiment on these acres of land to observe the growth of the seedlings, I would have to use different amounts of fertilizer!"

"I know. It's just a matter of spreading more or less!" Old Zhu said confidently, "I've also asked people to remember your manure and compost. They look different, but they look the same. I also remember what you said before. How could I not remember such a big thing?"

Zhu Yunxun was relieved, and then he said, "Yunxun, this kind of field not only needs fertilizer, but also needs to be based on the weather. Look, the weather has changed, and it is expected to rain in the next two days."

Experienced farmers do have this ability, judging short-term weather changes by observing sunset glow and so on.

Old Zhu took a sip of the tea and asked, "I heard you found a monk to stay with you?"

Zhu Yunhuan said quickly, "I didn't ask him to teach me Buddhist scriptures. I don't need such a person. This person has some skills. He is called a monk, but he is thinking about the world situation in his heart. He is a demon monk."

Old Zhu immediately became interested, "Then we should meet him. Would he be like us back then?"

"This man is at most a strategist, but he doesn't have the ability of my grandfather." Zhu Yunhuan said, "He is the monk who used to chant sutras with my fourth uncle. Didn't I ask him to come back to pray for my parents two years ago?"

Old Zhu became even more interested when he heard this, "Then we must meet him. If we give the fourth brother a good chance, the second and third brothers will probably be worried."

Zhu Yunhuan said jokingly, "Well, not only that, Fourth Uncle probably thinks that Grandfather favors him and intends to entrust the country to him!"

Looking at this mischievous grandson, Old Zhu was very angry, "Nonsense! No matter who I give the country to, your fourth uncle can never give it to you!"

(End of this chapter)