I want to be a grandson

Chapter 507 Unexpected surprise
In the hall, Tie Xuan is reporting.

Said: "Your Majesty, before the other party sent someone to follow the minister to the capital, and the minister arrived at Cao Guogong's mansion before he got rid of the other party. It can be seen that the other party is also a very cautious person...

"Wang Yi sent the news that Mr. Gao, who traded with him, went to Ningbo Mansion with the goods, and has been standing still since then, without any action...

Your Majesty, I am planning to go to Ningbo Mansion recently to find out. "

Zhu Yunxi sat on the chair and shook his head, "You told the other party to be cautious, so what are you going to do?
Since the other party suppressed the goods for the time being, they just wanted to wait for the news to pass before making plans. How long would they have to wait?Can you still wait for them in Ningbo Mansion? "

"But, Your Majesty, since the other party has already taken the bait, if you can't figure out their details, bring them to justice..."

Zhu Yunxi thought for a while and said: "Now that the other party knows the relationship between you and Wang Yi, if they notice you going forward, they will show their feet.
Besides, the Commerce Department still has a lot to do this year, and you can't do without people.
How about this, Ma He is busy with the affairs of the Shibo Department, and now he is idle, so leave this matter to him, and let him and Wang Yi figure it out. "

"Yes, Wei Chen obeys."

Tie Xuan took the order, but he didn't insist on it, because he knew his duty, and there must be a lot of money for the succession of His Majesty's new king.
If the Ministry of Accounts is Daming's purse, then the Department of Commerce and Trade is His Majesty's inner treasury!

If His Majesty has no money to use, then his sin will be great!
Tie Xuan opened a small box, put it on the table in front of Zhu Yunxi, and reported: "Your Majesty, this is the counterfeit money Wang Yi paid him when he was trading with the other party..."

Fearing that Zhu Yunxi would misunderstand, he explained: "These counterfeit coins are only [-] to [-] guan, and the quality is not bad. Wang Yi wanted to show His Majesty to have a look, so he didn't pursue too much."

Zhu Yunxi frowned, picked up the money on the table and looked it over, the money in it was almost all big money, most of which were [-]% off or [-]% off.

Compared with the copper coins that Daming lived in, the copper content of these coins is obviously insufficient, and there are more impurities.

Seeing this, Wang Zhong, who was on the side with Feng, felt his heart ache again.

This younger brother of mine is really...

"Tie Xuan, you are in the Department of Commerce and Trade, and you have a lot of dealings with merchants, and you have a lot of money passing through your hands. Have you ever received these privately minted coins?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the humble ministers still have officials, and they haven't had the courage to openly pay the imperial court with counterfeit money. Isn't this hitting the head of the gun?
However, among the people, it is not uncommon to privately mint fake money. When the relatives of Weichen's family bought things, they received..."

As he spoke, he took out two copper coins from his body, got up and handed them to Wang Zhong who was at the side, and Wang Zhong handed them over.

Zhu Yunxi glanced at it. One was a penny copper coin, and the other was a two-cent copper coin. The face value was not high, but these two coins were too fake.

The top of the copper coins is pitted, obviously very rough, and the color is not right, instead of the copper coins being earthy yellow, it is rather gray.

Tie Xuan explained: "Your Majesty, the copper content of these two copper coins is not high, and it is not bad to have five achievements. In addition, lead and some tin are added.

In addition, the casting process is not good, and the texture is relatively brittle. If it falls on the ground, it will probably break in two, so this is a fake..."

Zhu Yunxi held the two copper coins in his hands, "Since you can tell they are fake at a glance, why do you accept them?"

If it is said that Wang Yi received fake money to investigate the case, then it is understandable.But when Tie Xuan was living a normal life, why did he still accept this fake money?

Tie Xuan was a little embarrassed, he hesitated to answer.

Zhu Yunxi did not force him either. This involved Ming's currency system and Zhu Yuanzhang's policy on currency. It is understandable that he dared not speak lightly.

"Do you still have these privately minted copper coins? Find a hundred and ten coins for me. I will be useful."

"Yes, yes, I will send it later..."

"Well, from now on, the profits of the Commerce and Trade Department will be connected with our internal transportation warehouse. Except for the money to be used, the rest will be sent to the warehouse. Wang Zhong, you are responsible for docking with Tie Xuan."

"Yes, my servant (servant) obeys!"

Tie Xuan resigned and left, Wang Zhong took the counterfeit coins aside with a wink, so that Zhu Yunxi could continue to deal with government affairs.

Zhu Yunxi really had a feeling that the memorials would never be finished!
Dealt played one stack, and another stack.

Li Fu brought a cup of tea, handed it to Zhu Yunxie, and said with concern, "Your Majesty, take a rest, you have been working hard for a long time..."

Zhu Yunxi was opening a memorial, "Well, let's put it away for now, I'll drink it later..."

All of a sudden, the eyes staring at the memorial were fixed, and the whole person's attention was focused on it, and even the exhaustion he felt just now was swept away!

Zhu Yunxi took the memorial a little closer, looked it over and over carefully, and finally made sure that he read it correctly!
Because there are not only explanatory texts on the memorial, but also pictures, on which is a tree,

"Li Fu, Chen Cheng, who is being reviewed by the Xuan Hanlin Academy, has an audience!"

Zhu Yunxi suddenly ordered, apparently in a very happy mood!
Li Fu didn't dare to be negligent, so he quickly asked the little eunuch to call for someone, lest His Majesty be anxious to blame him.

Zhang Fu, who was standing by the side, really wanted to take a sneak peek to see what was written in the memorial that made His Majesty so happy, but he didn't dare to do anything wrong because of the serious Qu Tao standing beside him.

Peeking at the memorial is a serious crime!
This is to be punished, even if it is His Majesty's cronies.

Even if His Majesty doesn't care about him, rules are rules, and Qu Tao will not allow anyone to trample on him!

Zhang Fu couldn't help asking: "Your Majesty, what was written in the memorial that made His Majesty so happy?"

Realizing that his question was inappropriate, he forcefully found a reason for himself, "Your Majesty is very happy, and this humble minister also wants to be blessed, and congratulate His Majesty!"

Zhu Yunxi stood up, still holding the memorial in his hand, and said happily: "If this is true, it is indeed a blessing! It doesn't matter if I let you take a dip!"

The little eunuch who announced the decree went straight to the Hanlin Academy, found Chen Cheng, and after explaining his purpose, he dragged him to Jinshen Hall,

It is obvious that Chen Cheng has already walked very fast, and he will lose his appearance soon!
But the little eunuch was still on the road and urged him in every possible way, for fear of being a little slower, which made him very depressed. If it wasn't for the fact that he was an eunuch delivering orders, he would have said a few words!
"Weichen Hanlin Academy is reviewing Chen Cheng, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty, Your Majesty Wanan!"

Hurriedly came to the hall and paid homage to His Majesty.

After Zhu Yunxi made him flat, looking at the dark-faced civil servant, he couldn't help laughing: "Chen Jianxian, I remember that you also came from a wealthy family, you have always read poetry and books, and your face is handsome and fair, why do you look like this now?

Could it be that Annan's sun was so poisonous that it made our Mr. Zilu tanned! "

Chen Cheng was in his thirties, his face was dull, with a dark luster, but he was also very healthy, not a sick and lifeless kind.

He seemed to have a healthy complexion on his face, and he looked very energetic, with piercing eyes. In addition to his tall and burly figure, he had the majestic appearance of a military general.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I was ordered to send an envoy to Annan to resolve the disputes over the territorial disputes between Qiu and Wen, and now I have completed my mission. I will come back and see you."

Chen Cheng cannot be underestimated. Historically, in the eyes of some historians, he is almost as famous as Zheng He.

In this time and space, he is still Hongwu Juren in 26 years and Gongshi in 27 years. He was born as a Jinshi with the top three in the palace examination.

However, he was appreciated by Zhu Yunxi in advance. In September of the 27th year of Hongwu, he was ordered to send an envoy to the Uighurs in the Western Regions (now the northwest of the Qaidam Basin) to build Andingwei, Quxianwei, and Aduanwei to defend the frontier.

In November of the 28th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yunxi promoted him to be a reviewer of the Imperial Academy, and he was appointed as the seventh rank. He was also ordered to go to Annan to resolve the border dispute between Qiu and Wen.

Zhu Yunxi said approvingly: "Well, I've lost weight, and I've become more energetic. That's right, Aiqing is flat, and I'll give you a seat!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Chen Cheng sat on the stool respectfully, and first reported his mission to Zhu Yunxi, how he was sent to Annan to resolve the border dispute.

Although Annan is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, it is not honest. It has clashed with Ming Dynasty on the border issue many times, and sometimes even bloodshed.

However, they were all small-scale conflicts, at most a few people were killed or injured. Here, Daming's attitude became tough, and they retreated again.

Afterwards, he punished a few people, which was regarded as an explanation to Daming.

Even though he didn't dare to openly become an enemy of Daming, it would still make people feel annoyed if troubles happened several times like this!

Chen Cheng was talking about the process of his mission, and now Zhu Yunxi was listening to him quietly without any anxiety or urging, as if he had completely come out of the joy just now.

After Chen Cheng finished his official business, he said again: "Your Majesty, when I was sent to Annan as an envoy, Your Majesty once told me to look for a tree that will leave white juice.
Weichen visited many places in Annan, and asked many people, and finally found it according to his mission, but I am not sure whether it is as His Majesty said..."

Zhu Yunxi sat on the chair and raised the memorial in his hand, saying: "Is this what you are talking about?"

The memorial just shows the picture drawn by Chen Cheng.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is this tree, I don't know..."

Zhu Yunxi asked if the location was available, and asked, "How did you find it locally? How many trees like this are there?"

Chen Cheng replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, this tree was found by Wei Chen in the coastal area of ​​Qinghua in the south of Annan..."

Chen Chengwei, as an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, was sent to An Nanguo, so he was naturally treated as a guest of honor, and no one made things difficult for him openly.

Therefore, Chen Cheng can use the excuse to know the customs of Annan, and he can walk around in Annan, and Chen Cheng also secretly sent people to inquire among the people.

Zhu Yunxi actually didn't know how to describe that kind of tree. He had only seen it in pictures on the Internet before, and because the shooting distance was far away, it was also a tree, so the details were definitely not very clear.

Besides, there are partial high-definition big pictures on the Internet, but who has nothing to pay attention to?

So at that time, Zhu Yunxi told Chen Cheng that this tree has two characteristics. First, cut a hole in the bark with a knife, and white juice will flow out.

Second, these juices will coagulate and have a certain elasticity.

As for the flexibility, Zhu Yunxi didn't say anything, because he really didn't know!

Because it was entrusted by His Majesty, Chen Cheng attached great importance to it and offered a high reward just to live up to His Majesty's entrustment.

Although he finally got the news by chance, Chen Cheng was afraid of being known by the monarch and ministers of Annan Kingdom, so he quietly sent his followers to verify it.

"Your Majesty, according to my inspection, there are fifty or sixty trees of this kind, about twenty trees that are more than two feet tall, and more than ten trees that are less than one foot..."

"In addition, according to His Majesty's instructions, I specially cut some branches and secretly hid them among the goods. As soon as I entered Guangdong, I ordered someone to find a good land and plant them quickly. can't survive...

"Also, I ordered someone to dig the bark off the tree. The tree does ooze out white sap, which will solidify later. I brought some back. I wonder if His Majesty..."

"Submit it and let me see it!"

When several milky white clots were revealed in front of him, Zhu Yunxie finally showed a relieved smile!
This time I laughed more happily than before.

"Chen Aiqing, you have made a great contribution! Pass on my decree, the Imperial Academy will review Chen Cheng, go to Annan, resolve border disputes, make meritorious deeds, and be promoted to two ranks!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty Long En!"

Zhu Yunxi said: "I named this tree a rubber tree, rewarded the person who planted this tree, and ordered him to do his best and not make any mistakes!"

The reason why Zhu Yunxi values ​​it so much is because the rubber tree is so important!

And it is also a very pleasant surprise to find rubber trees in An Nanguo!
It is recorded in the literature of later generations that rubber trees originated in the Amazon region of South America. In prehistoric times, rubber was only mined and used simply by Indians in South America.

Originally, rubber was probably used as a wealth or extremely valuable item.

Around 500 BC, a country of rubber—the Kingdom of Olmac—was formed in Tehuacán, Mexico, due to the production of rubber.

A sixth-century fresco shows Aztecs paying tribute to tribal leaders of raw rubber.

South American indigenous people call the rubber tree "the tree that can weep". As long as the bark is carefully cut, the milky white glue will flow out slowly, so it is also called the "tree that weeps". This is very similar to their later experience ...

It stands to reason that the rubber tree was brought to Europe after the great voyage, and then to Southeast Asia.
But the historical records are not absolute. Sometimes because of the small number, remote location, and little use value, they are not noticed by people.

This kind of thing is very common.

Take hybrid rice as an example. Everyone's first impression is that it is advanced, possibly very advanced technology and equipment that can only be developed after years of research.

But in fact, hybrid rice has long existed!
By chance, Mr. Yuan discovered a natural hybrid rice with extremely high yields, which opened up the achievement of feeding all mankind.

But there is no natural hybrid rice in other places, but it has not been noticed by people.

In fact, when Zhu Yunxi sent envoys to Western countries, he also asked them to look for rubber trees, but they found nothing.

Unexpectedly, Chen Cheng gave himself a pleasant surprise!
(End of this chapter)