Hongwu Survival Guide

Chapter 280 Three Things

It took two to three quarters of an hour, and Zhu Yuan personally explained to Lao Zhu about "sublimation" and "condensation" and various other related knowledge in Dai Sanchun's notes.

After his ancestors sighed repeatedly about the magic of good fortune and let go of this matter for the time being, Zhu Yuan talked about something else: "Ancestor, someone came to my house yesterday to give a New Year's gift, and by the way, I had some thoughts. "

Old Zhu heard the words, but he grasped one of them playfully with a smile: "Annual gift?"

"Yeah," Zhu Yuan was not guilty at all: "It will be the end of the new year soon, I, Zhongshu Pingzhang... I should be able to do well, and I am the favorite of my ancestors, of course someone wants to curry favor with me."

Lao Zhu asked: "What did you give?"

"Calligraphy, paintings, rare silks and satins are not cheap. In addition, he even gave me a daughter of his own," Zhu Yuan said. Well, gold and silver, etc., I will not accept. Calligraphy and painting treasures, in the future, they will either be donated to museums or sent to libraries. Others, including Meiji, if there are... Well, my ancestors, if you disagree , I will not accept it in the future.”

Lao Zhu waved his hand slightly: "Take it, you just have to make up your mind."

Zhu Yuan smiled and nodded.

This is also to be expected.

It is true that Lao Zhu in history peeled day lilies, but it is also true that he indulged the people around him.In the final analysis, it is still someone's split-like duality.

just saying.

According to historical records, Tang He had more than 200 concubines, and they died well in the end. After thinking about it...not to mention, it is a lot of money to support these more than 1500 concubines, and Tang He's annual salary, In the third year of Hongwu's Great Conferment of Meritorious Officials, as the Marquis of Zhongshan, he actually only had 1500 shi, which is roughly equivalent to [-] taels of silver.

Is it possible to raise more than 1500 concubines with 200 taels of silver?
Let's talk about Ouyang Lun, the son-in-law who was killed in Hongwu 30 years ago.

Ouyang Lun was married to Princess Anqing in the 14th year of Hongwu. This is the daughter of Lao Zhu and the Ma family. In the 30th year of Hongwu, she was suddenly accused of smuggling tea and conniving at home slaves to beat tax collectors.

The tax collector couldn't take it anymore, and went to Beijing to sue the imperial court, resulting in Ouyang Lun's death.

This incident later became a classic joke in TV dramas in the early Ming Dynasty.

But the problem is that Princess Anqing and his wife have been married for more than ten years, and the incident didn't happen until Hongwu 30 years ago. Is it the first time that tea smugglers indulged domestic slaves? Didn't Lao Zhu know anything about it before?
Then, think about it again, with the well-known character of Lao Zhu who seems to be strict but conniving towards his children, if there is no external influence at all, would he really kill his son-in-law and make himself and Ma's direct daughter a widow?

You know, in the previous case of Li Shanchang, Li Qi and his wife were just exiled.

Looking at the details again, a certain tax collector went to Beijing to sue the imperial court...

Gee.

If no one is behind this matter, can a tax collector sue the court consort?

Therefore, things can become classic jokes in TV dramas, because they are too dreamy.

What's more, from the 13th year of Hongwu to the 26th year of Hongwu, after every turmoil, noble ministers fell, and the results of house raids were often rare treasures, but the reasons for these people's downfalls were rarely related to one' Greedy' word.

Seeing that Zhu Yuan suddenly stopped talking and was lost in thought, Lao Zhu asked, "What's the matter, I've already spoken, are you still not satisfied?"

Zhu Yuan came back to his senses and shook his head: "I just thought that our ancestors were too kind to us, but this...instead, it's not so good."

"You, you just think too much. It's nothing to do with it. Don't overthink it. It hurts your nerves," Lao Zhu persuaded with a smile, and added: "I also know the truth of 'when the water is clear, there will be no fish' , besides... You have told me so many things in the past year, and I know it in my heart. You have a sense of proportion, I don't care about it, but in the future, if you go too far... Oh, I'm afraid it's a mistake No, but if there is, I will not spare you."

Zhu Yuan smiled: "My ancestor said so, and Yuan'er is relieved."

"You..." Lao Zhu couldn't think of a suitable word for a while, and simply skipped over: "Or tell me... what you thought just now?"

"Oh, that's right," Zhu Yuan said, "The idea...is the farmer of Fengxiang, Shaanxi. The head of their generation, Zhuang Murui, became the magistrate of Fengxiang after Shaanxi was annexed. Well, my ancestors, I want to declare that this matter has nothing to do with it. I have nothing to do with it, I only got connected later."

"Why do you need to explain so clearly," Lao Zhu read a sentence, and thought for a while: "Zhuang Murui... I remember, every time Yuchun handed over the list, he was originally some kind of magistrate, I was thinking Shaanxi has to stabilize quickly, so it was approved. Now that you have contact, what do you think?"

"Zhuang Murui did not. The person who came to present the New Year's gift was Zhuang Muxu, Zhuang Murui's second brother. According to Yuan'er's impression, he has read books, is cautious, and hopes to make a difference in the new dynasty. I also told him that next year the dealer can recommend a few more A son came to take the imperial examination," Zhu Yuan said, and added: "By the way, Zhuang Murui has a son, what's his name... I forgot, anyway, he followed General Chang to enter Shu, and I don't know what his achievements are. My ancestors are interested. You can ask."

Lao Zhu nodded to mark it down.

Zhu Yuandao: "I can have contact with the Zhuang family because my ancestors rewarded me with beauties... It is the sinful relatives from Shanxi. One of them is related to the Zhuang family. It is the daughter of Zhuang Murui who married to Shanxi. The Zhuang family followed. Nursing, but also cautious, did not dare to take the initiative to save people... or before it was too late, anyway, it came to my house."

Old Zhu hummed, and suddenly laughed again: "You...you have to change your temperament. My good daughter doesn't like it, but...you have to change it, change it..."

"Grandpa, let's skip this."

Old Zhu: "..."

Forget it, let's wait until we return to the palace, there is a fourth child.

Zhu Yuan also quickly took the initiative to continue: "My ancestor, you know me. I have always been interested in business, so I asked the dealer if he was in business, and then we talked about the business route to the west, so I know, about 20 years ago. , the Chagatai Khanate in the Western Regions was divided into two due to civil strife, and the chaos has continued until now."

Lao Zhu felt that he understood a little bit: "You want to...take advantage of the situation and make progress?"

"No, my ancestor," Zhu Yuan said, "We can't afford it now. Economic development is the number one priority."

Lao Zhu nodded: "I think you are going to rush in too."

"Of course not," Zhu Yuan emphasized, and continued: "My idea is that we first enter the Western Regions through commercial means, and spy on the situation there in detail. Regarding this matter, I have also discussed with my ancestors before. As I said, our current agricultural age has great limitations, but in the industrial age, any piece of land will become a precious resource, and there is nothing to waste. Therefore, the bigger the better, not to mention the old Han and Tang dynasties over there. Soil, we Chinese descendants also have the obligation to take it back early."

Old Zhu laughed again: "I remember, Song Lian told me, you said... what... don't talk about 'since ancient times', just say 'from now on'?"

"This is the most fundamental truth at the bottom. It means that I don't want us, and our descendants, to be bound by the superficial rules." Zhu Yuan didn't mean to deny it at all. Of course, Yuan'er also knows that some "since ancient times" practices are very useful, just like what I said when we discussed and compiled "Yuan Shi", which confirmed the orthodox status of the Yuan Dynasty in China, so, for the Yuan Dynasty In the former territory of the extreme west and the extreme north, our Ming Dynasty also has the orthodox inheritance right, which can reduce a lot of resistance in our future expansion. In terms of people's hearts, people will lie to themselves. In the future, the west Some people, such as those in Europe farther west, faced with the pressure of the army, perhaps resisting to the end in one breath, we will waste time and energy, lose our troops, but if we give them a reason: this land is legally my Ming Dynasty, You are also the people of Ming Dynasty, so people don’t want to die, they think about it, it makes sense, then they put down their weapons and become citizens obediently.”

Lao Zhu nodded and praised: "You are quite thorough."

"But it's off topic again," Zhu Yuan laughed: "I also said that trade, the purpose of trade is to make money on the one hand, my ancestors, I want to emphasize this again, we can't do trade that doesn't make money, as a state of etiquette Well, of course we have to do a good job of superficial etiquette, but we can't lose the fundamental benefits."

"You can't lose face for the sake of face," Lao Zhu echoed: "I know that too."

Zhu Yuan said: "Anyway, it's just such a thing. The dealer has a caravan... It's not just a matter of gathering a few people at random, otherwise anyone can do business. As for me, I'm thinking about investing some money in it. If I can If you want to make money, you can earn some. If you can’t, you should share the risk. The key is that your ancestors can send some spies to go to the Western Regions with them, and explore the military, geography, etc. of the countries in the Western Regions in advance. Speaking of it, Information science is also a specialized subject, I think that the next military university should offer a similar major, um, it is called intelligence major.”

Old Zhu thought for a while, and said: "It's a trivial matter to send spies to the Western Regions. You just look at the arrangement, but... you say 'informatics', it seems to be a bit of a joke?"

"Of course," Zhu Yuan said: "In the future... I believe that the countries of future generations will set up special intelligence agencies to carry out various public or secret intelligence spying at home and abroad for the benefit of the country. Speaking of this, the ancestors , Gongwei Division... I think this name is quite common, and I have always wanted to mention it. It is absolutely good to change it to 'Jinyiwei'. It may not be the first official intelligence organization in the world, but it must be the most famous in our Chinese history. one of."

"Jinyiwei..."

Lao Zhu muttered something, and understood what his precious 23rd grandson said just now. He was still concerned about the guards at the gate, so he changed his tone a little bit. However, the most famous official intelligence agency in Chinese history, it seems, is confirmed.

After thinking about it, he couldn't help asking: "Is this... I'm afraid it doesn't have a good reputation?"

This is of course also a question later.

Lao Zhu can fully imagine this. After all, such things as surveillance and spying have never been considered aboveboard, otherwise, he would not have become the most famous person in Chinese history.

"It's definitely not good if it's only for internal affairs," Zhu Yuan said without concealing it, "but, if we use Jinyiwei to expand our borders, then they will be the heroes of our Ming Dynasty, and even in the future. national hero."

"This name is also interesting," Lao Zhu said, "Since you said so, let's change it to 'Jinyiwei'. Well, after changing it, you... know something about 'Information Science', but you are interested in it." Take care of it?"

Zhu Yuan shook his head: "I will definitely help out with suggestions, my ancestors, I dare not manage this kind of organization, my ancestors must choose those who are most loyal to me, and, moreover, only people who are loyal to my ancestors can only manage it. .”

Old Zhu laughed: "You child, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Zhu Yuan realized that he had put himself in a trap, nodded quickly to express his affirmation, and said with a smile: "But... my ancestors, I am a royal family, so I still have to avoid suspicion. To be straightforward, my ancestors, I This kind should be managed by Jin Yiwei, not for me to manage Jin Yiwei."

Old Zhu suddenly didn't like it: "What stupid things did you say again?"

"It doesn't sound good, and it may hurt feelings, but it's all the truth," Zhu Yuan said, "My ancestor, Yuan'er is also loyal, so I dare to say that. If it is really selfish, I shouldn't say many things, or , I should speak in the direction that is most beneficial to me, but I can't do this. Because, um, it can be regarded as a kind of "good medicine tastes bitter", and things that seem to be unpleasant or ugly are actually harmful to us. It is beneficial to inherit the family for a long time."

When Zhu Yuan said this, Lao Zhu also became serious: "You are right, in the future...you should talk more, talk more, don't have any scruples."

Zhu Yuan pulled the matter back again: "Then, ancestor, the matter of the caravan is settled."

"It's settled," Old Zhu said, "I will instruct Chen Credit to pick someone for you. You can discuss how to do it yourself."

Zhu Yuan nodded.

Thinking about it again, during the conversation, three things were actually decided.

Commercial espionage, intelligence professional, and... Jin Yiwei.

I wanted to mention Jin Yiwei for a long time, but this time I finally remembered it and finally brought it up.

However, this time, the first Jinyiwei Commander will definitely not be Mao Xiang again. The former Mao Xiang can be described as a typical cunning rabbit and dead dog. This time, it is good to change it.

(End of this chapter)