Hongwu Survival Guide

Chapter 37 Retreat
After a long talk with Zhu Yuan, Zhu Yuanzhang's knot was untied, and his state returned to the past.

This morning, he ordered matters related to Zhu Yuan, and he also dealt with some recent affairs accumulation, such as the construction of a nationwide post station system.

Zhu Yuanzhang also thought about it.

Just because a postman rebelled hundreds of years later, we should not give up food because of choking, and we don't want to deal with it now.Just like Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen were both salt dealers, so he can't just abolish the salt government, can he?

One thing, however, is about the transportation of food in the Northern Expedition, which has been put aside for the time being.

I had planned to order Tang He, the general of Zhengnan, to go to Mingzhou to preside over the shipping affairs. Remembering that Zhu Yuan talked about the control of the Yellow River in Xu Da's handwriting, Lao Zhu felt that he might have a better way.

It can be transported by river, or it can be transported by river.

Lao Zhu has also learned these days that sea transportation is too dangerous. He said that Chen Youding, who was loyal to the Yuan court, insisted on transporting grain from Fujian to Dadu a few years ago. The sea journey is said to be [-] miles. Up to [-]% to [-]% of those who drift away can reach Dadu only [-]% to [-]%.

Even if he started from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, according to his inquiry with Fang Guozhen's old department, the journey would be shortened by half, but it is often a fluke to reach [-]%.

Moreover, this shipping is also heavily dependent on wind direction.

It happens to be winter when the north wind is the most, and it is even more difficult to go against the wind.

If Zhu Yuan could have a better way, he would not take the risk.

Inside the East Pavilion on the left of Fengtian Gate.

Near noon, Zhu Yuanzhang was discussing with Cui Liang, Minister of Rites, the establishment of Shanshiyuan and Xuanjiaoyuan to manage Buddhism and Taoism, when he saw Empress Ma walked in, followed by two maids carrying food boxes.

Only then did I realize that it was lunch time.

After sending Cui Liang away, the couple came to a small dining hall next to them, and set up the meals. Just as the two court ladies were leaving, Ma took out a pen studded with fine gemstones from his sleeve and threw it on the table, solemnly saying: "Your Majesty has always advocated frugality, why did you send such a gorgeous thing to my concubine?"

Only when Lao Zhu sat down did he see the pen before he realized that his wife had come to inquire about the crime while delivering the meal.

Even the title has been changed.

Smiling and beckoning Mrs. Ma to sit down with him, Old Zhu said: "This is not something else, it is for writing, and it is the filial piety of the younger generations. It has nothing to do with those strange and useless things."

Although Mrs. Ma sat down, she didn't move the bowl and chopsticks, and accurately grasped a certain key word: "Your Majesty... your majesty, but what about Zhu Yuan?"

If you ask the crime, you will ask the crime, and you won't even serve the rice.

Then I will do it myself!
After digging out a bowl of rice, Lao Zhu put another bowl of rice in front of his wife with a smile, and said with great interest, "It's Zhu Yuan, lady, I went to Houhu again yesterday, After a long talk, I learned more, you... take chopsticks and eat, what are you doing like this?"

Mrs. Ma still didn't move her chopsticks, staring at Lao Zhu and said: "I heard that His Majesty has been promoted to the official of Zhu Yuan today, and there is something to say about being a third-rank Hanlin Bachelor. Your Majesty, I want to know why the deputy envoy of the Grand Hospital ?”

Lao Zhu and his wife looked at each other for a moment, and finally came to his senses, and said with a smile, "You're thinking about it again, aren't you?"

Mrs. Ma shook her head: "I don't realize that I am thinking about it. Life and death are destiny. If your majesty wants to live a long life... How is this different from Qin Huang's wish for longevity?"

Seeing his wife pressing forward every step of the way, Lao Zhu felt a little wronged.

Am I asking for this for myself?
It's not all for you and Biao'er!

So he also put down his chopsticks and put away his expressions. The husband and wife stared for a moment. Lao Zhu wanted to explain, but found that he didn't know how to explain!
How to say?
Could it be possible to take out the "Book from Heaven"?

There was a brief stalemate, recently there was no one to share a big secret in my heart, and Lao Zhu was also a little frustrated, after a little deliberation, he finally said: "Lady, I have something to say to you, this...you don't want to reveal it to Biao'er and the others for a while. "

Ma Shi didn't know what the turning point was, so he just nodded slightly.

Old Zhu hesitated briefly again, and said: "Then Zhu Yuan... is actually our own family," he said, emphasizing: "The family with the surname 'Zhu'."

As expected, Mrs. Ma's thoughts were changed, and she was surprised: "My family?"

Lao Zhu nodded: "The content of the "Book of Heaven", which my wife is curious about, is actually all about his life experience. I have repeatedly verified it over the past few days, and it should be not bad."

Mashi slightly widened his eyes, remembering the pale little face he had quietly looked at before, and suddenly wondered: "Could it be... the child of my husband who lives outside?"

Ma Shi has a good background and has read books, so he has naturally come into contact with some similar legendary stories.

When Lao Zhu heard this, he grinned and said with a smile: "There are such things, and there are many generations behind."

Ma thought so too.

That Zhu Yuan came from Shandong, and her husband had never been to Shandong.

Sensitively capturing a certain word in Lao Zhu's words, Mashi put away his expression again, and asked tentatively: "Sir, could it be our ancestor Zhu who lived hundreds of years ago?"

Contacted her husband and began to ask for longevity, and then thought about some legends he had heard, and Ma's thinking was wrong again.

Lao Zhu was also led astray, what was a mess, he figured it out after thinking about it, waved his hands and said, "What kind of ancestors are there, we just..." He almost said 'We are his ancestors', stopped the conversation in time, just said "Lady, Yuan'er is our close relative of the Zhu family. There is roughly no difference in this matter, but which branch and which room he is in. In the future... when the time is right, I will talk to you."

However, Ma Shi asked: "Since we are the clan, why didn't my husband recognize each other, or...he is still young, why don't we come to the palace?"

After being disturbed by her husband, Ma Shi did not forget her purpose for today.

No matter who Zhu Yuan was, if she tried to mess with the wind and rain and try to lead her husband astray, she would not let it go.Since the husband said he was a relative, it would be easier for her to take a close look at her.

When necessary...and convenient.

Old Zhu shook his head again, and said, "I'm afraid it's inappropriate."

She looks like a baby on the outside, but inside is a 36-year-old soul. How can she get into the palace?

As Lao Zhu spoke, he revealed some inner thoughts: "Besides, this matter is of great importance. I... want to look again, look again."

After saying this, Lao Zhu picked up the bowl and chopsticks again, and said with a smile, "I've told you about this confidential matter, let's eat."

Ma Shi still didn't move the bowl and chopsticks, and turned his head slightly so as not to meet Lao Zhu's eyes, as if mourning.

Old Zhu had no choice, thought for a while, and said, "I'm going to Houhu later, and I have something to ask him. Let's have dinner, after dinner, you go there with me, and see for yourself what kind of person he is, how about it?"

Ma thought for a while, finally nodded, and silently picked up the bowls and chopsticks.

back lake.

After talking all morning, they invited everyone to have lunch, and then discussed with Shan Anren about repairing the garden.

Shan Anren is also a veteran who has followed Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time, and is a fellow of Lao Zhu's Haozhou. secretary.

At present, the six volumes are not complete, and Zuo Siqing is actually equivalent to the Minister of the Ministry of Industry.

After being sent by Zhu Yuanzhang early in the court to discuss the construction of the mansion with a certain "outsider expert" who has been making a lot of noise recently, Shan Anren was a little awkward at first, but he had to be convinced by this young man's insight after listening to him all morning.

After lunch, after careful discussion and planning, Shan Anren happily accepted a pen from Zhu Yuan as a thank you gift, and left satisfied.

After being plundered by Lao Zhu yesterday, Zhu Yuan took out the pen he had used in the study in his inner house and gave it away. Fortunately, it has not been used for a long time and it is still brand new.

After sending Shan Anren away, he finally calmed down.

Zhu Yuan returned to the inner house, just about to take a good nap, and didn't plan to get up until dark.However, not long after she lay down, Xie Yi came in a hurry, saying that His Majesty the Emperor had arrived, bringing the Empress with her.

Zhu Yuan: "..."

How does the donkey bray? !
Thinking in his heart, Zhu Yuan still put on his clothes quickly and came back to the living room.

When I entered the door, I saw Lao Zhu and his wife standing in front of the desk by the window in the Westinghouse tea room, looking through the notes and drawings left during the morning discussion with everyone, including the trivial regulations for the establishment of the medical school, the refraction diagram of the concave-convex lens, or Zhu Yuan casually drawn cell structure diagrams and so on.

Without a three-year contract, there is no such thing as a butterfly effect, and Zhu Yuan doesn't mind being seen.When the husband and wife turned around together, he took a few steps forward to see Yili.

He also quietly looked at Ma Shi.

This empress, who had seen him before when he was in Prince Wu's mansion, was ordinary in appearance, with a round face and a medium height, and her hairpin and ring clothes were as simple as recorded in history.However, compared to Lao Zhu's kindness, Zhu Yuan found that Ma Shi seemed to look at him unkindly, with scrutiny and guard.

What's happening?
When Zhu Yuan got up, Lao Zhu took his wife to the round table next to him and sat down. He was not in a hurry to ask what he had just read, but said with a wink, "Yuaner, I have already told my wife that you are from our family." For relatives, she came to see you."

Zhu Yuan accurately grasped Lao Zhu's hint.

He said something, but he definitely didn't reveal anything about "Book from Heaven".

Turning to Mrs. Ma again, Zhu Yuan prostrated again meticulously, as a formal visit in another capacity: "Yuan'er has met your empress."

Madam Ma looked at the young man kneeling on the ground, paused, and said softly, "Get up."

Zhu Yuan stood up and saw the empress sitting side by side at the round table like two statues, waiting to speak.After such a short moment, before Lao Zhu could speak, he could only take the initiative to find a topic again: "My ancestor, Yuan'er has something to report."

In fact, Lao Zhu had a lot to say, but his wife was sitting next to him, worried that he would accidentally say something, so he hesitated for a while.

Seeing that Zhu Yuan spoke first, he followed suit and said, "What's the matter?"

Zhu Yuan walked to the desk by the window, found out the reward list in the morning, and bowed to Lao Zhu: "My ancestor, Yuan'er, please take back the fertile land and servants that were rewarded to me."

Old Zhu: "..."

Ma Shi: "..."

The following people have always only asked for rewards, and I haven't seen many returned.

Unprepared, Lao Zhu reacted quickly, turned his head and looked at his wife pointedly, with a smile on his face, as if to say: This is not what I arranged in advance!
Turning to Zhu Yuan again, Old Zhu said, "What do you think?"

Zhu Yuandao: "The money and silk that my ancestors gave me and helped me build a mansion. These are daily necessities. Yuan'er has the courage to accept them. But for the matter of fertile land...My ancestors, I presented the 'learning of economics', in which 'distribution' On the one hand, it is necessary to mention the restraint of land annexation, if I myself have tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and cannot set an example, how can I restrain others in the future? As for servants and maidservants, I only have one person, and I don’t need so many people to serve.”

Lao Zhu brought his wife here to show how good Zhu Yuan is.However, the previous idea still focused on Zhu Yuan's knowledge.

now...

My baby's 23rd grandson came up and took the initiative to give a big "yes" far beyond his expectations. He understands current affairs so well and understands the general situation, which made him unknowingly embarrassing his wife. How could he be unhappy? They all have to open their mouths.

Reluctantly keeping his expression down, Old Zhu said: "Take it all, it's not much worse than your few acres of land. There are also servants and maidservants. They thought I didn't know about it. Don't say that this Jinling City is even those rich gentry and rich families in the south of the Yangtze River. There are hundreds or thousands of servants and servant girls, how many are you?"

Hearing what Old Zhu said, Zhu Yuan persisted, and simply knelt down again and said, "May the ancestors please help me."

Regarding this matter, it was not Zhu Yuan's whim.

When he was recovering from illness, Zhu Yuan considered returning the 1000 mu of land.

After all, based on the annual rent of 1 stone per mu, the current grain price is calculated, which is equivalent to 1000 copper coins a year, which is not as much as Lao Zhu's one-time reward.

Zhu Yuan really didn't like it.

Moreover, apart from what he said just now that leading by example is true, Zhu Yuan also wanted to exchange things and take the opportunity to do something else.

As for the deepest considerations, Zhu Yuan certainly knew that doing so would definitely improve his image in Lao Zhu's mind.However, this is not just fishing for fame, he is indeed sincere.Chinese farmers have been squeezed for thousands of years, and they should be relieved of their burden. This is a good thing for everyone in this country.

It's just a small step right now.

Unexpectedly, before he had time to speak, Lao Zhu suddenly rewarded another 1 mu today.

Then you have to go back.

In this day and age, as long as things are related to land, there are many things. Zhu Yuan doesn't want to care about all kinds of right and wrong for that little rent.

Seeing that Zhu Yuan was kneeling on the ground without any gesture of politeness, Lao Zhu thought for a while and finally said: "Get up, I promise you."

Only then did Zhu Yuan get up.

Lao Zhu followed and said: "I took the field back, and those servants are still here for you. You are not allowed to refuse. I have seen that your yard is deserted a few times. You should add some popularity and don't make people laugh."

Zhu Yuan thought about it and agreed.

Hearing this, Mrs. Ma finally opened her mouth and asked a certain vital point, "How do you live without land?"

When his wife said this, Lao Zhu also realized that he was about to help, when Zhu Yuan said: "Mother, these rewards from our ancestors are enough for Yuan'er to last for a few years. In addition..." As he spoke, he walked to the side desk to take He came over with a pen and held it forward: "...I want to open a stationery store, specializing in this kind of pens."

As soon as Ma raised his hand to take the pen, Lao Zhu objected: "Nonsense. Yuan'er, with your status, how can you do such things as a merchant!"

In this era, the emphasis on agriculture and suppression of business has been deeply rooted.

Even though Zhu Yuanzhang had a lot of cooperation with businessmen in the process of conquering the world in history, there were many discriminatory laws against businessmen that should have been promulgated.

Zhu Yuan quickly turned to Lao Zhu who was blowing his beard again: "My lord, I won't come out in person, and I will be managed by the people below. Besides, it's just a pen tool, not any other business. , it will only be an elegant and interesting talk."

Lao Zhu's expression eased a little, but he still said: "Even if I agree, how much can this pen sell for? Listen to me, don't do it, I will give you a high salary later, enough for your daily use .”

Zhu Yuan did not give up, and pointed to the pen in Ma's hand: "My ancestors, recently I have given away a lot of fountain pens, and my ancestors used them personally. I think this reputation has already been established. In my opinion, the lowest price of this fountain pen is also planned to be consistent, high. Or... I want to launch some of the most exquisite styles, just like the ones inlaid with gems that my ancestor... saw yesterday. The price is 1000 taels of silver, and there are only ten pieces per year. I probably did the math, but these ten pieces are limited The style, the profit is close to the output of those fertile fields rewarded by the ancestors."

After Zhu Yuan finished speaking, the husband and wife sitting side by side were a little stunned.

This……

Can the business still do this?
Ma even thought of the pen that he left behind in the East Pavilion and didn't pick it up again... No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out, how could it be worth 1000 taels of silver?

After a while, Lao Zhu finally said slowly: "This is a good stationery, you sell it at such a high price... Anyone buy it?"

Zhu Yuan said: "My ancestor, Yuan'er knows what you think. Now that the fountain pen has already flowed out, someone will imitate it, and I can't stop it. What I want to do is to sell a nameplate. The ancestor also said just now that the wealthy gentry and wealthy households in the south of the Yangtze River often There are hundreds of servants in the house, which shows that there is no shortage of rich people in this world. What I want to earn is the money of the rich, and I will not dig into the pockets of the poor. As for those who have no money, my lord, even if I take the pen They still can't afford it when the price is reduced to one hundred pennies. The charcoal pencil I presented before is the cheap pen tool that can popularize all scholars. If it can be widely produced, one penny may buy several in the future. I still have some thoughts on this, and I will submit it to my ancestors in writing when I have time."

Lao Zhu felt that he had gained knowledge again, and he glanced at his wife, and Ma Shi also looked thoughtful.

Nodding slightly, Lao Zhu thought for a while, and said: "You made this fountain pen, how could it be made by others indiscriminately, if it happens in the future, just tell me, I will stand up for you."

Ma Shi: "..."

Xianggong is reserved, we are not in Chuzhou now!
Zhu Yuan suppressed a smile, cupped his hands and said: "My ancestor, there is no need to be like this. The news of this fountain pen is a good thing for scholars after all. But my ancestor's idea is actually very good, and Yuan'er will have something to say about it in the future. At present, if My ancestors take pity on me, so let me write a calligraphy painting for Yuan'er as a plaque. I have already thought of the name of this shop, 'Zhiyongzhai', which means "to apply what you have learned, to unite knowledge and action". If the ancestors agree, I will This pen is also engraved with the calligraphy of the ancestors, no one would dare to imitate it."

Old Zhu heard that Zhu Yuan said that he didn't mind the pen coming out, etc., the pattern, and he was even more happy. Hearing those eight characters, for a super pragmatist, it was just right to his heart. He immediately agreed, and asked: " Where does the horoscope of 'applying what you learn, combining knowledge and action' come from?"

Zhu Yuan was stunned.

like……

The unity of knowledge and action is Wang Yangming's theory, to apply what you have learned... I don't know.

I can only shake my head: "I forgot where I read it, I think it's good, so I will remember it."

Seeing that he didn't ask, Lao Zhu thought about where Zhu Yuan came from, and stopped pursuing it. He turned to his wife, as if explaining or boasting: "Listen, this child reads a lot."

Ma Shi: "..."

Zhu Yuan: "..."

Ancestor, please be more reserved, don't misunderstand me!
Think about it, praising another child who is not clear to him in front of his own child's mother... Zhu Yuan didn't know what happened in the palace before, after some brainstorming, he seemed to understand Ma Shi's previous precautions.

I really want to explain to Ma Shi.

Ancestor, it's not what you think, it's many generations behind!
Eh……

This time, when I think about Jiamu again, I am right.

(End of this chapter)