I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 120: Fortune Telling for Daming
Just as the father and his two sons were silent, a person suddenly came in quietly from outside.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him and saw that he was a familiar face from the Yiluansi. He relaxed his expression and said:

"Why, what's the matter?"

The person in charge of running errands would naturally not be a high-ranking official in the Yiluansi, but just a centurion. However, the Yiluansi was directly responsible to the emperor all year round, and even the lowest-level minions had seen the emperor.

So the centurion was not afraid of the stage. He stepped forward, raised his hands above his head, and presented a rolled-up note:
"Your Majesty, this is a secret letter from Captain Jiang. I came here from the Song family and never opened it on the way."

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

The news from Song Shen... was passed on by Jiang Li?
Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been with Jiang Lin before and knew him relatively well, knew that Jiang Lin was a man who looked rough but was actually careful. If he had not heard any important news at Song Shen's house, he would not have sent a message back so late at night.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say anything more. He just took the note and unfolded it to read it carefully.

After taking a few glances, his eyes suddenly widened.

Just as he was about to say something, he realized that there was a captain from the Yiluansi here. Although he was a trustworthy person, after all, this matter was too important, and it would be better not to let too many people know about it for the sake of caution.

So Zhu Yuanzhang first asked the centurion to wait for instructions outside. When only the father and son were in the Wuying Hall, he took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"Do you know what is said here?"

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at his two sons, but he didn't expect them to guess the content.

After all, even he was stunned when he saw the few words in the secret letter. If these two guys could guess it, then he would have to consider whether Song Shen’s family had their spies.

Zhu Di's heart was slightly moved.

He had some idea in his mind about who he trusted more, Yiluansi or himself. Yiluansi was trained by his father himself, and was only responsible to the emperor and obeyed his orders. He was just a prince who could successfully rebel in history. If it was not necessary, why would his father drive away the Yiluansi people and let himself stay?

Then you have to consider your own remaining value.

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Di asked cautiously:
"Father, does this matter have anything to do with the military or Peking?"

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't expect that he could really guess everything, and glanced at him in surprise:
"How did you come up with this?"

Zhu Di bowed respectfully:

"I am not talented. The only thing I am interested in in my life is the military. To be honest, no matter what happens in the future, as long as you are here, I am willing to be his vanguard and lead the army to attack and pacify the barbarians at the border."

"Now that you are willing to let me stay here, other than the military or my fiefdom of Beiping, I can't think of any other reason."

This kid is getting better and better!
Zhu Yuanzhang gave him an appreciative look:

"Yes, that's right!"

"This evening, Xu Yungong went to Song Shen's house. It seems that he listened to Zhang Wei's advice and wanted to get along better with Song Shen. If he can do well in pursuing his career, we, as elders, will not stop him."

"During this period, Xu Yungong almost let slip the news that the prince had returned to Beijing. Fortunately, Jiang Li warned him from the top of the beam, and he shut up and covered it up."

"Fortunately, Song Shen didn't care about it. He told Xu Yungong something. He said he had seen a blueprint in a book before. It was a kind of fire gun called a flintlock rifle, but it was small and exquisite. It didn't need a fire bolt. You just needed to press your finger on the gun body to ignite and fire. He also asked Xu Yungong if he wanted to help him make it."

"Tell me, do you want to get this good stuff?"

Zhu Biao fell into deep thought.

And Zhu Di...

Zhu Di's breathing became rapid.

He had loved marching and deploying troops since he was a child. In his eyes, the year of military training in Fengyang was even more comfortable than his previous days of luxury in Yingtian Prefecture and the imperial palace.

If it weren't for his father's urgent recall this time, Zhu Di always felt that he would be his elder brother's general in the north. He would guard the northern fortress in Yandi, govern the local area in peacetime, and lead the army to provide assistance in wartime. He didn't want to think about anything else.

Fighting wars and beating the barbarians is what he wants in his life!
Zhu Di certainly knew that when dealing with horses, the role of firearms was more to scare them and to allow them to defend and counterattack when the city was attacked, but when it came to flexible use on the battlefield, there were many shortcomings.

A bowl-sized fire gun needed to be pulled by a two-wheeled cart, and two or three soldiers were needed for each gun. Larger guns were rarely used on the battlefield because transportation was too troublesome. The small fire guns that could be used on the battlefield were actually quite mediocre in effect, and they required orders from superiors to ignite the guns before they could fire in formation. Otherwise, if the ignition time was not sufficient, there would be accidents.

Such accidents are actually not uncommon. There have been many cases where the car's barrel exploded and half of the face was blown off.

Nowadays, there are more powerful muskets that are small and portable and have a short firing time. Soldiers can fire directly after training, catching the enemy off guard... If you think further, it is not impossible for a fierce general to break into the enemy's center and then use this musket to directly shoot the enemy leader.

Good stuff, absolutely good stuff!

"Father, can you let me handle this matter?"

Zhu Di knelt down and kowtowed without any hesitation to ask for orders, all in one go:
"I have some knowledge of firearms before. Although Xu Yungong was born in the Duke of Wei's mansion and is a descendant of a general, he has never lived in a military camp and practiced like me, let alone been on the battlefield. Even though I have never fought in the battlefield myself, I think I am better than him!"

"Please ask your Majesty to set up a separate office for firearms out of the Baoyuan Bureau. If you are worried, your eldest brother can take the lead in this matter, and I and Xu Yungong will be responsible. If there is any mistake, your Majesty will handle it!"

In fact, apart from the fact that this kind of musket really sounds very tempting, Zhu Di's main purpose in seeking this job was for his own benefit.

Now the other princes are either still in Fengyang and have not received the news, or are too young and still living in the palace. He is the only one who is old enough, has a title, and has a good relationship with his eldest brother. It is a foregone conclusion that the vassal king will only be given a title but not a land. If he wants to gain a foothold in the capital in the future, he must consider and plan for himself and have something serious to do, otherwise he will also become a useless thing like the ones who were kept in captivity at the end of the dynasty and only ate but did nothing.

If he really waited until all the princes returned to Beijing and then competed with them, he would still have his second and third brothers above him. Now no one has shown their abilities yet, and good jobs are always ranked according to age, so he won't be able to snatch them.

What’s more, there is the mess of future “self” rebelling.

If he doesn't fight for it early, he can only be a free and easy prince in the palace who does nothing in the future - of course, this is much more comfortable than being a commoner or being kept in captivity, but he is still young and naturally has to fight for it when he has the chance. Otherwise, would he let his promising child become a useless prince like himself?
Seeing Zhu Di lying on the ground for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao again.

There was nothing unusual on Zhu Biao's face, he was just thinking, but no one knew what he was thinking about.

half an hour.

Zhu Yuanzhang hummed and said:
"The details of this matter are not clear yet. When Xu Yungong comes out from Song Shen, let him come to the palace for an audience. If the matter is true, it will be more convenient for you to do it together." "After all, the kid from the Xu family is about the same age as you, but he is still a commoner. Tiande is a cautious person. It seems that he does not want him to enter the government or join the army too early. With the crown prince Biaoer taking the lead and you, the prince, assisting, things will be much easier."

"But you must not kick him out after taking over, or we'll break Old Four's legs!"

Zhu Di:......

It clearly said "you guys" at the beginning, so why is it me when it comes to breaking legs?
My legs are worthless?
However, Zhu Di now understood why his father did so.

Firstly, the Xu family has always been upright. Although Xu Da, like Hu Weiyong, is a noble from Huaixi, he is away from home and has little contact with his old friends. Even when he occasionally returns to Beijing to report on his work, he does not have close contact with other people. He is a serious and clear-headed duke. Zhu Di himself married Xu Miaoyun and learned a lot from his wife. He was also sure that his father-in-law would not get involved in Hu Weiyong's mess.

Secondly, to put it bluntly, the fact that we can hear about the flintlock rifle now is all thanks to Xu Yungong. If he couldn't gain Song Shen's trust, would such a thing be spoken so casually?

Even though Chen Guorui had already started a series of capital crimes against Song Shen, such as violating the maritime ban and manufacturing alcohol, but in the final analysis, the Chen family was just a businessman in front of Song Shen, and of course it was impossible for them to participate in arms-related business.

The same goes for Zhang Wei, a former censor who has already resigned and is at home. If Song Shen lets him get involved in this, then he really doesn't treat his friend as a human being. He is forcing his friend to die.

Of course, Song Shen would not go to the Song family. Song Lian had just retired from the mess of government affairs and returned home. As a grandson, Song Shen would never cause trouble for him again. Whether Song Lian was willing or not, he could not speak up.

In addition to amnesia, blindness, and moving away from the Song family, Song Shen's interpersonal relationships are extremely simple now, almost only these people, who else can he find if not Xu Yungong? Not only is he a professional counterpart, but he is also an old acquaintance and trustworthy. Song Shen should have also considered that if there is a mistake later, his and Xu Yungong's combined identities are enough to make up for the crime.

Taking all these reasons into consideration, the candidate would be Xu Yungong.

If Xu Yungong hadn't appeared, perhaps Song Shen would rather keep it hidden than take it out!

"I know the pros and cons. Apart from anything else, Xu Yungong is my brother-in-law. If I do something treacherous like this, I'm afraid this marriage won't work."

Zhu Di agreed.

Then Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao and asked:

"Biao'er, what about you? Are you willing to participate in this?"

Zhu Biao pondered for a long time before asking a question:
"It's OK that we don't know how effective the flintlock rifle will be. Of course, I don't disbelieve Song Shen's words, but he is well versed in 2,000 years of history and has a different perspective from us. For example, the steam engine we saw in class a while ago, the blueprints made us dizzy. If the blueprints of this flintlock rifle are the same as that one, Dad, even if you chop off the heads of all the people in the Ministry of Industry, you still won't be able to build it."

"So, let's wait and see. We can put the matter of setting up a government office just for firearms on the agenda. After Xu Yungong gets all the drawings, we can find a few more craftsmen to study them separately. After they have read them, we can decide whether this is feasible or not."

"what do you think?"

Zhu Yuanzhang recalled the moment he saw the steam engine drawings and principle analysis on the projection screen, and thought that this thing could really be made by humans, and he felt like he could die right now. Later, they tried to ask top craftsmen, but even though they were extremely afraid of the emperor, they could only bow their heads and say, "I can't do it."

Biao is better off being more rational!
If the flintlock rifle is as complicated and difficult to make as the steam engine, then the firearms office specially established will be useless.

"That makes sense, that makes sense!"

Zhu Yuanzhang took a breath, called the Yiluansi officer in, and ordered:
"Go tell Jiang Lin that once Xu Yungong leaves Song Shen's house, bring him here to see the emperor. Don't make any mistakes during this process. If there are any blueprints, keep them safe. Do you understand?"

The captain seemed to sense how much importance His Majesty attached to him, and he responded very solemnly and left after receiving the order.

Just when the silence in Wuying Palace was becoming a little awkward.

A prompt tone rang in the ears of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao at the same time.

[Ding! Dear students, please note that tomorrow and the day after tomorrow are weekend breaks. You have plenty of time to take the exam. Please don’t let the teacher down and hand in your best answer sheet! ]

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned.

Zhu Biao was also stunned.

The father and son spoke together:
"Dad/Biao'er, did you hear that?!"

Then, the two of them said in unison:
"I heard!"

Zhu Di:? ? ?
What do you mean, you are father and son, and I am an outsider?

Then I go?
He looked around a little confused.

But Zhu Biao heaved a long sigh of relief:

"Fortunately, fortunately, we have two days - no, it's two and a half days, and there's still a morning left on the day of the class!"

"We should have no problem getting points on our exam papers!"

He breathed a sigh of relief, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned for a long time, and suddenly said:

"Biao'er, tell me, if we summon the people from the Secretariat tomorrow and ask about national policy, can they give an appropriate answer?"

Zhu Biao paused for a moment before slowly shaking his head:

"I don't think it's possible."

"For example, the national policy of maritime ban was originally intended to deal with Japanese pirates to prevent coastal residents from being harassed by them. But according to Mr. Song Shensong, both we and the Qing Dynasty lost a good opportunity to expand overseas because of this national policy."

"When you set the maritime ban, most people in the court agreed with it, but in reality it was not very useful."

There was silence for a long time.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said:

"In that case, how about having your mother invite Song Shen to the palace again and have him pretend to tell Daming's fortune?"

(End of this chapter)