Daming: Old Zhu, we agreed not to rush!

Unknowingly, Zhu Yuanzhang had been staying in Uncle Renyuan's mansion for a long time.

It was getting late, and Butler Li outside was a little worried.

How should we arrange this dinner?

According to Su Jing's standards, it is very simple. Three dishes and one soup are enough, a total of one meat and two vegetables, usually with a vegetarian soup.

Because Su Jing ate this alone, if Liu Banxian was here before, he would have added an extra meat dish.

Such a simple diet was quite simple among the masters Butler Li had served.

It is not an exaggeration to think that Su Jing is so respected that he should be well-dressed and well-fed every day.

But Su Jing just wants a simple diet, and she won't deliberately ask the kitchen to make dishes that require a lot of ingredients.

It's a pity that there is another Zhu Yuanzhang now.

The emperor is here, and it would be rude to serve him with such a simple dish.

However, Butler Li had no idea whether Zhu Yuanzhang was eating at Uncle Renyuan's house or not.

So he was in a hurry. Although it wasn't time for dinner yet, if the emperor was really going to eat here, he would have to start preparations.

No matter if you prepare it first or not, then talk about it?

No, what Su Jing hates most is extravagance and waste. If he prepares a bunch of dishes and ends up not being able to finish them, he will definitely be scolded by Su Jing.

Butler Li is really anxious.

In the inner courtyard, Su Jing also took a look at the sky and said, "Your Majesty, it's getting late today. Do you want to eat here tonight?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Why, don't you want us to eat at your place?"

"That's not true."

Su Jing immediately said: "But if His Majesty eats here, I have to ask the kitchen to add more dishes."

"Additional dishes?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little curious. Su Jing was in Uncle Renyuan's mansion. Can he still cook enough?

"Are there any novel dishes?"

Lao Zhu asked.

Su Jing shook her head: "No, it's just that I usually eat very little. If His Majesty is here, I'm afraid it won't be enough if I don't add another dish. Frugality is a virtue and must be observed."

"Hahaha!"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Then we will eat at your place and see your virtue of thrift."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Su Jing nodded, then turned and left the inner courtyard.

It was not the first time to have dinner with Lao Zhu, so Su Jing had nothing to be nervous about.

Outside, Butler Li heard Su Jing's instructions and immediately said, "Master, how should I prepare this dish?"

Su Jing said lightly: "As usual, add one more meat dish, no, add two meat dishes."

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang is middle-aged now, and Liu Banxian's appetite is naturally incomparable.

"Yes, sir."

Despite some doubts in his heart, Butler Li resolutely carried out Su Jing's instructions.

Returning to the inner courtyard, Su Jing said with a smile: "It's been arranged, Your Majesty, please eat more at night."

"Okay, eat more, but you can't rest before eating."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled as if he had never been angry before.

As an emperor, this ability to control emotions is only the most basic.

Ming Dynasty is such a big country, and there are many things to worry about every day. If you keep worrying about everything, it will only make you crazy and internally consumed.

Su Jing immediately begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, let's forget it. I've been chatting with you all afternoon, and I'm more tired than climbing a mountain."

"Are you tired now?"

Lao Zhu glanced at Su Jing: "Then we will be exhausted from dealing with so many government affairs every day. Don't pretend to be like this!"

Lao Zhu knew Su Jing's abilities, and when Su Jing was in Lishui County, he was in charge of so many shops, so he must have the energy to do so.

Su Jing said helplessly: "Okay, but please give me your Majesty's orders."

Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly: "Su Jing, have you recently met a Yi woman named Zhiyi?"

Zhiyi?

Su Jing's expression changed immediately, she didn't expect Lao Zhu to ask him such a thing.

Su Jing nodded and said: "It is indeed true. I wonder if Your Majesty has any instructions when he mentions it."

Although Su Jing acted calmly, he was still very nervous.

If Lao Zhu fell in love with Zhiyi, or wanted to do something else, it would be really difficult for him to handle it.

"Don't worry, we have no plans to interfere."

Lao Zhu said with a smile: "It's just that the queen told us not to hide things about you. We just came today, otherwise why do you think we have nothing to do and come to your place."

Queen Ma?

Su Jing was a little surprised. Why did Lao Zhu get involved with Queen Ma again when he came to her place?

"Your Majesty, please speak clearly."

Su Jing cupped her hands towards Lao Zhu and said.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not answer immediately, but smiled and said: "Su Jing, you might as well guess why we came to you."

How do you guess this? Lao Zhu, do you regard me as a fortune teller?

Su Jing cursed in her heart, but her face echoed: "Your Majesty, I really can't guess."

"Hahahaha!"

Lao Zhu laughed, obviously very happy to see Su Jing like this.

"Okay, then I'll talk to you."

Lao Zhu smiled and said: "This Zhiyi is a princess of the Yi ethnic group. Her tribe is Waxi. She was originally on a mission, but due to some reasons, she temporarily stayed in the capital."

Zhiyi is a Yi princess? On a mission to the Ming Dynasty?

Su Jing was really shocked by the information in Lao Zhu's words. He had never expected that Zhiyi would have such an identity.

Although Su Jing had already noticed that Zhiyi was extraordinary, a woman who had to find her own livelihood was really not worthy of a tribal princess.

"From the look of you, she's never told you these things."

Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly: "But we can understand it. After all, her tribe has been wiped out. She naturally has to be careful when living in this capital."

The tribe was destroyed!

Su Jing was even more surprised, and then many things became clear in an instant.

Why does Zhiyi have servants like Tashi? Why does she need to make some Yi-specific clothing for sale even though she looks very delicate and extraordinary?

All the things that made Su Jing feel disharmonious before are now clear.

"Why did your Majesty tell Su Jing this?"

Su Jing asked.

Compared with Zhiyi's miserable situation, Su Jing was more concerned about Lao Zhu's purpose at the moment.

As the most busy person in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely not be aimless.

Since Zhiyi was mentioned in front of him, it naturally had a purpose. Lao Zhu said calmly: "Su Jing, tell me what you think of the Xifan tribe."

Xifan? Southwest provinces?

Lao Zhu's change of thinking really caught Su Jing off guard.

But in a second thought, Su Jing had realized a little bit of Lao Zhu's purpose.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Su Jing nodded and began to speak very cheerfully: "Currently, the various tribes in Xifan are in chaos, and the destruction of the previous dynasty has also caused the original chieftain system to collapse."

"I think that the Ming Dynasty will send troops to Xifan soon, and these areas will definitely fall back under the rule of the Ming Dynasty."

Su Jing still has a good memory of the Ming Dynasty sending troops to pacify the southwest.

The story of Prince Mu's Mansion in Yunnan, that is, Mu Ying's garrison in the southwest, is clearly recorded in the history books.

However, the Ming Dynasty's pacification of the southwest was at least ten years ago in Hongwu.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang listened to Su Jing's story, nodded slightly and said: "Yes, Xifan must be pacified. Many remnants of the Yuan Dynasty are still living in Yunnan. If it is not pacified, we will always feel uneasy."

At this stage, nothing worries Lao Zhu more than the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty.

After all, although the Yuan Dynasty was destroyed, the remaining forces were still a very huge force.

As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Lao Zhu did not want the Ming Dynasty he had worked so hard to build to be taken back by the Yuan people.

"It seems that His Majesty has already made a plan and this matter can be accomplished."

Su Jing said lightly.

Lao Zhu said with a smile: "We haven't said how to send troops, when to send troops, how to send troops, and it will be done in your mouth. This is not like what you said just now when you talked about the southern Japanese and northern captives."

Although Lao Zhu was asking, he was obviously happy.

What Su Jing said can be done, there has been no exception so far.

"Your Majesty, I'm not saying this just to make you happy. I'm just telling a fact."

Su Jing said lightly, after all, it was something that had already happened in history, and what Su Jing said was still very certain.

"Then tell me, how can it be done?"

Lao Zhu asked curiously.

Su Jing paused and said: "Okay, I will tell your Majesty why the Ming Dynasty was able to conquer Xifan."

"First of all, Xifan includes Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, Huguang and Sichuan. In addition to the Han, there are also ethnic minorities such as the Miao, Yi, Dai and Yao."

"At first glance, it seems that they are a foreign race like the Yuan people in the north, but in fact, Guyuan has been ruling and managing these areas before. In order to manage the various tribes of Xifan, Guyuan established a chieftain management system."

"Under the chieftain system, there are official positions such as Xuanwei envoy, Xuanfu envoy, appeasement envoy, Tuzhifu, Tuzhi prefecture, Tuzhi county and other official positions. Most of these official positions are hereditary by the leaders of various ministries. This is the basis of rule."

"After the Ming Dynasty pacifies Xifan, there is no need to work hard on other enlightenment. It only needs to follow the Yuan system and retain the chieftain system. For those tribal leaders, it is nothing more than a change of masters, nothing else has changed, and the psychological resistance is natural It will be much smaller. Politically it will be very simple."

"Secondly, Xifan is home to many ethnic groups and has never been unified. Therefore, although the overall strength of Xifan seems to be very strong, the Ming Dynasty can defeat them one by one, which makes it much easier militarily."

"Then, due to different geographical conditions, the development of various regions in Xifan is extremely uneven, and the military level is far different from that of the Ming Dynasty. The generals of the Ming Dynasty are all warriors who have experienced hundreds of battles, and the Xifan tribe cannot compare with them."

"Finally, Xifan borders the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty army goes on an expedition, it will be easy to transport food and grass, and the climate can adapt to it."

"With these points in mind, I really can't think of any reason why Ming could not pacify Xifan."

Once you have the answer, it is quite simple to work backwards to solve the problem.

Su Jing said these few points, and the comparison between Ming Dynasty and Xifan was already clear at a glance.

"Good good!"

Lao Zhu was really happy and said: "Su Jing, what you said is basically the same as what we think. It only takes a few years for the Ming Dynasty to accumulate national power before it can use troops against the Western Fan."

Lao Zhu had already thought about the problem of Southwest.

What Su Jing said made Zhu Yuanzhang more determined about his policy.

"So, when Your Majesty mentions Zhiyi, does he want me to marry Zhiyi so that if we use troops against Xifan in the future, we will be famous?"

When Su Jing analyzed it, she also figured out what happened to Zhiyi.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "Yes, this is exactly what we think. After all, the situation in Xifan is complicated. If we can have local people like Zhiyi as the vanguard, it will be much easier to capture the southwest."

Lao Zhu didn't hide it, he directly stated his thoughts.

Su Jing smiled helplessly and said: "Your Majesty, Zhiyi and I haven't gotten along yet. Isn't it too early to think about this now? Or does it mean that Your Majesty wants to force a marriage?"

Su Jing didn't use the gift of marriage, but forced it.

Because the marriage Su Jing didn't want was a forced marriage, even if it was a gift from the emperor.

"Su Jing, you have wronged us."

Lao Zhu immediately said: "We are here today to explain these things to you, not to force you into marriage, but to prepare you mentally."

"Even if it doesn't work out in the end, we will never force it. After all, you just made it so clear that pacifying the southwest is bound to succeed."

Ok?

Su Jing was a little confused by Lao Zhu's words.

What does it mean to be mentally prepared?

"Your Majesty, you really don't know how to force a marriage?"

Su Jing said in disbelief. After all, if she married Zhiyi, it would definitely be beneficial to conquering the southwest without any harm.

Zhu Yuanzhang glared at Su Jing and said: "Su Jing, we are the emperor, do you understand Jun Wuxiyan? What I say will never be changed."

Lao Zhu was really annoyed with Su Jing's attitude.

Su Jing didn't seem to care that such a dignified emperor was here.

"That's right. Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, so you have no words to joke about."

Su Jing finally realized that Lao Zhu was not only an executioner, but also the emperor.

"We have told you the truth, Su Jing, you should also tell me, can you and Na Zhiyi make it work?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Tell Su Jing all this, this is Queen Ma's request.

Now that Lao Zhu had finished informing him, he curiously inquired about the progress between Su Jing and Zhiyi.

Su Jing shook her head and said: "Before today, I think I have a good chance, but after hearing what Your Majesty said today, I think it will be difficult."

"what?"

Lao Zhu exclaimed: "Why? Does it still bother you that Zhiyi is the princess of Waxi?"

On Zhiyi's side, Lao Zhu never thought there was any problem, only Su Jing, it depends on whether he likes it or not.

Lao Zhu's idea that men are superior to women is still very profound.

Su Jing said: "Your Majesty, I, Su Jing, never look at these things. I just know that Zhiyi has the important task of reviving the tribe, and understand that she should not touch the feelings of men and women without permission, so I think this matter is difficult to achieve."

"Ok?"

Lao Zhu heard this and said doubtfully: "Su Jing, you are Uncle Renyuan of the Ming Dynasty. If Zhiyi wants to revive the tribe, wouldn't it be a good choice to marry you? With your help, we can use the power of Uncle Renyuan to revive the tribe." , it’s not difficult.”

Zhu Yuanzhang's idea was that he had conquered this huge world by himself.

Borrowing strength is a very wise and normal choice.

Su Jing shook her head and said: "Your Majesty, you don't understand Zhiyi. She knows that this matter is possible, but she won't do it."

"And this is why I have a good impression of Zhiyi. I have a bottom line in my heart." (End of Chapter)