Daming: I am the Crown Prince

If we talk about being short of money, Zhu Yunhuan was definitely short of money. No matter how much money he had, he would not feel it was too much.

But if we really need the royal family and relatives to share the cost, that is definitely not the case. If we really want to do something big, the money shared by these royal family and nobles can only be regarded as a drop in the bucket.

The Ming Dynasty is now sending troops, building cities, dredging canals, etc., all of which require huge expenses, and it is obviously not enough to just scrape together a little bit of money.

This time, when going out to sea, Zhu Yunhuan was actually willing to "help" some of his own family members.

The ships belonged to the imperial court, as did the soldiers and so on. The so-called costs of going to sea were basically borne by the imperial court.

Now all they need is some goods and to pay the salaries of some hired sailors or merchants. If Zhu Yunhuan really wants to scrape together some money, he will definitely be able to get it together.

But Zhu Yunhuan was not a greedy person and did not intend to eat alone. He also did not think that it was best to hold all the money in his hands. In his plan, after this matter was accomplished, he would consider slowly fading his presence.

In the future, voyages to sea must be handed over to the Maritime Customs and the imperial court so that this business can last long and bring more financial resources and taxes to the Ming Dynasty, rather than just going into the treasury and adding more silver to the emperor's piggy bank.

In particular, the court’s troops and money cannot be used as the cost of going to sea, allowing the emperor to take most of the benefits.

The national treasury has an additional source of income, and the royal family and nobles who have tasted the sweetness will continue to yearn to go to sea. Some workshops and merchants can also benefit from these large "export orders".

Obviously, this has formed the so-called industrial chain. Even if it looks a little simple, it has been formed anyway. The export-oriented economy can indeed bring more benefits to the Ming Dynasty.

Things were proceeding in an orderly manner. Especially when they knew that the two armies led by the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan had successfully reached Mobei again, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunhuan were very satisfied.

It seems that there are not many gains and not many prisoners, but some things cannot be simply judged by the results of the battle.

The appearance of tens of thousands of Ming troops in the northern desert created tremendous psychological pressure on the Mongols, and the memory of the fall of the Northern Yuan Dynasty more than a decade ago became clear again.

Previously, they wanted to try to go south, but now they immediately encountered the strongest reaction from the Ming Dynasty. For the Mongolian tribes who were still in civil strife, this was simply adding insult to injury.

As a result, some other tribes fled northward, or some near Liaodong hid in the dense forests.

There is no way. The Ming army is too powerful. If you don't want to become a military hero of the Ming army, you have to start hiding and never have any ill intentions towards Mo Nan, Liaodong and other places.

This is the significance of sending troops. From the very beginning, Zhu Yuanzhang never thought about how great the results would be. He just wanted to emphasize the Ming Dynasty's control over the south of the desert and make the northern defense line more stable.

This was also to ensure that the several princes who had previously been enfeoffed by the Ming Dynasty could have a stable space for development so that they would not have to worry about foreign invasions.

These are the significance of sending troops. Now it seems that this small goal has basically been achieved, and we can return to the capital.

When a large army is outside, there will still be considerable consumption. Even if there is not much achievement, it is natural to return when the time comes.

Xu Miaojing's belly was getting bigger and bigger. Looking at her round belly, Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but feel happy and expectant. His goal of having a son was about to be achieved.

When Zhu Yunhuan arrived at the Qianqing Palace with Xu Miaojin, who was pregnant, he began to shout, "Grandfather, Miaojin and I are here. Hurry up and have someone prepare some fruits."

Old Zhu hurried out of the bedroom and started to curse, "You bastard, is Miao Jin able to move around now? Ah? You, you must be very unreasonable to do such a ridiculous thing!"

Xu Miaojin quickly helped persuade him, "Grandfather, I have been idle for a long time and want to walk around. I thought that since I haven't come to see you for a long time, I should come and ask how you are."

"Oh!" Old Zhu was distressed and worried. "Miao Jin, you don't have to worry about those empty formalities, just take care of yourself! If you can give us a great-grandson, we will be satisfied. This is filial piety!"

As soon as Xu Miaojin sat down, Lao Zhu urged the maid to fan Xu Miaojin. Although there would be ice cubes and so on, it would be better for Xu Miaojin not to drink too much cold water and so on.

"My second uncle and fourth uncle went to fight in the spring and they fought until the summer was almost over before they returned." Zhu Yunhuan said with a sly smile, "I am very brave and ordered my second uncle and his men to return to the court."

Old Zhu didn't care and said, "The Tartars had a hard time this autumn and winter. The weather in the northern desert was bitterly cold. Now our pastures have been destroyed and they dare not go south to graze. This autumn and winter will be even harder to endure."

Zhu Yunhuan naturally agreed with this view as well. In most cases, war depends more on the war potential of a regime.

The current Ming Dynasty has enough potential to fight a tug-of-war and a war of attrition with the Mongols, but the Mongols do not have enough resources to fight hard.

After retreating to the northern desert, they could no longer make ironware for daily use, and their productivity level rapidly deteriorated. In addition, the Ming Dynasty strictly prohibited tea and ironware from entering the grassland, which made it even more difficult for the Mongols.

The lush and rich southern part of the desert was firmly controlled by the Ming Dynasty. The Mongolian tribes who tried to move south were inevitably blocked and could only endure the bitter cold in the northern part of the desert.

"After returning from this trip, the veteran asked them to go back to retire." Old Zhu said, "It was all in vain. This trip is a good opportunity to let them go far away. You can build a house for them in your hometown."

Zhu Yunhuan thought about it carefully and said, "Let the people from our hometown go back to their hometown, and let those from other places go back to their hometowns. They shouldn't all be in our hometown, right?"

Old Zhu did not object. The nobles in the court were not necessarily all from Huaixi or Fengyang.

Seeing that Old Zhu had no objection, Zhu Yunhuan continued, "After all, we are the emperor and his subjects. They have also made many contributions to our Ming Dynasty. Not only should we build a house for them, but we should also give them enough space."

After a moment of silence, Lao Zhu said, "That's fine. We've dealt with those who didn't follow the law a long time ago. The ones who are left now have all done their duty and have made contributions. They should be treated with some respect."

To bring honor to one's family and return home in glory is the dream of countless people. Even though the achievements of these nobles have long been known in their hometowns and many relatives and children have benefited from them, these nobles rarely return to their hometowns after achieving success.

Now that they have retired, let them return to their hometown in glory and let everyone know about their achievements.

Moreover, returning to one's roots is a deep-rooted dream of countless people, and it is a gene engraved in their bones. Zhu Yunhuan also continued, "Then I will ask the people of the Ministry of Rites to handle these matters. It is not appropriate to build a memorial archway to honor and commend a scholar who has passed the imperial examination, and a warrior who has made great contributions should also be praised."

Zhu Yuanzhang had no objection to this, nor did he think that it was too much of a burden to do so. After all, praising these things is sometimes a benefit without cost, and in fact will not put too much burden on the court.

"In that case, then do more." Old Zhu smiled and said, "We have also conferred titles on the parents of some nobles before. See if there are any that have been missed. If there are, confer titles on them as well."

Posthumous titles seem to be a good thing without any cost, and will not add any burden to the court. But for many people, it is the ultimate dream.

While benefiting his descendants, his wife could also receive an imperial decree, which was also a treatment that many important officials could receive. This could be considered a great honor.

However, if one can also posthumously confer honors on one's parents, then that would naturally be a great achievement recognized by the court. That would truly bring honor to the family and allow those nobles to be truly glorious.

Xu Miaojin just sat quietly and listened. She had no intention of getting involved in these matters. Even if she had some ideas or suggestions in her mind, she would not bring them up at this time.

Although she is pregnant now and has a good relationship with Zhu Yunhuan, her position as the Crown Prince's Consort is very stable.

But this definitely does not mean that one will become arrogant and feel that he or she will have the opportunity to participate in court affairs, etc. These things must absolutely be avoided.

It was a taboo for the emperor to have the harem interfere in government affairs, and Xu Miaojin was naturally aware of this. At most, she had some thoughts in her mind and discussed them with Zhu Yunhuan in private, and that was all.

Now the emperor and the crown prince did not let her leave when they were discussing state affairs. This was actually the greatest recognition for Xu Miaojin. She had never received such treatment before.

Even in the past, when encountering similar situations, Xu Miaojin would actively avoid them. But now, she can sit aside and listen peacefully.

"You should hurry up with the autumn tax." Old Zhu mentioned something again, "You were cheated by the treasure notes earlier, otherwise you wouldn't have been so shameless as to ask the royal family and relatives for a share of the responsibility."

Zhu Yunxun chuckled and said, "It's not a distribution at all. I'm just thinking about my family when I get the benefits. Even though each family pays 5,000 or 3,000 now, I will definitely pay them back 10,000 or 20,000 in the future."

Old Zhu rolled his eyes at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "As long as it's not from the state treasury, and we don't have to pay it out of the inner treasury, then you can give as much as you want. Tell me, how are you going to pay back these tens of thousands of taels?"

In Lao Zhu's eyes, he doesn't think that business can be so profitable. He should be thankful if he can get his investment back. How can he expect to double it?

Zhu Yunhuan asked his relatives and maternal relatives for money, which meant that they had to pay for the money to solve some problems. It is estimated that in the eyes of those people, this money was also invested in Zhu Yunhuan without asking for returns.

If the money is gone, it's gone. As long as it can help the prince in times of trouble, it's worth it. These people don't think about making money, this is just an investment of favors.

"I think the treasure notes will be fine in two years." Zhu Yunhuan also said to Old Zhu, "Now it is pretty good. The treasure notes are no longer only worth 60% or 70% as before."

Old Zhu nodded with satisfaction. He had printed money "generously" in the past, as if he thought that as long as the court was short of money, it could just print treasure notes and that would solve the financial problems.

Looking back now, the large amount of printing of treasure notes in the past few days actually overdrew the credit of the court. If Zhu Yunhuan had not stopped it in time, the treasure notes would have been very likely to fall into the direction of waste paper.

We have taken advantage in the past, but now we have to pay the debt back. We can only try our best to prevent the treasure notes from becoming waste paper, and try every means to make the people more accepting of the treasure notes and promote their circulation.

There was no immediate effect, but fortunately, the efforts made in the past few years have basically stopped the depreciation of Baochao, and it is constantly appreciating and being recognized.

These are all great things. As long as you keep working hard, you don't have to worry too much about some things.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Zhu Yunhuan also said, "Grandfather, please have someone serve the meal. It's already this late."

Old Zhu didn't say much. He could go hungry, but his grandson couldn't. It didn't matter if his grandson really went hungry, but now his grandson's wife couldn't go hungry.

It is so real and so direct. Sometimes, in Mr. Zhu's eyes, the youngest one in the family is the most valued one, and everyone else can take a back seat.

Seeing Xu Miaojin's good appetite, Old Zhu was also very happy. It was good if his granddaughter-in-law could eat. Now she looked a little fatter, which was naturally better. But she must not be hungry.

"Grandfather, please advise His Highness. I met a few young ladies a few days ago and I think they are pretty good." After eating and drinking, Xu Miaojin said, "It's time for His Highness to get a few concubines these days."

Old Zhu was relieved that his granddaughter-in-law was really sensible and that the child was good. She was not spoiled and arrogant, which was the mindset that a daughter-in-law should have.

"Let's talk about it later. I'm too lazy to take a concubine now." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "Let's talk about it after Wen Yao is born, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble in the future."

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan, then said to Xu Miaojin, "Yunhuan has a point, we'll talk about it later, we'll talk about it later. You don't have to think too much, no one says you're jealous."

"Grandfather, Miao Jin should think twice about what you said." Zhu Yunhuan joked, "I will definitely take a concubine in two years. I just haven't found a suitable one yet. In the future, there might be a commotion in the palace."

Old Zhu glared and cursed, "Making trouble? You unruly thing, Miao Jin is our granddaughter-in-law, she has worshipped our ancestors! Those little ones dare to make trouble? I will deal with you first today, you have no manners. You have no manners at all!"

Zhu Yunhuan immediately jumped up and ran away, "I didn't mean that, I said the wrong thing!"

Seeing Zhu Yunhuan running away in a panic, Xu Miaojin slowly stood up and saluted.

Old Zhu stopped chasing Zhu Yunxun and advised, "Miao Jin, walk slower."

Then Old Zhu yelled at Zhu Yunhuan who was standing a few meters away, "Your wife is inconvenient, and you don't support her? When has there ever been someone in our family who is so inconsiderate to his own wife? You bastard!" (End of this chapter)