The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youtang is going to attack Zhang Mao.

If you didn't take action before, it was because the time had not come, and Zhang Zhou was what Zhu Youtang thought was the time. Without Zhang Zhou's appearance, Zhu Youtang would not be able to rely on others. Then Zhang Mao and Zhu Hui are the Ming Dynasty's Femoral and humerus, no one can touch them.

Now that the emperor wants to make a difference, Zhang Mao and Zhu Hui will become a stumbling block.

After lunch.

Zhu Youtang took Zhang Zhou to the warehouse of the inner palace, where he was carrying money and other items.

Li Zhang arrived earlier and saw the two big guys Zhu Youtang and Zhang Zhou. He hurried over to greet him and said with a look of joy: "Your Majesty, the silver shipped from the south this time is enough. 1.2 million taels, this warehouse can hardly hold it!"

"Haha, really?" Zhu Youtang had a relieved smile on his face.

Zhang Zhou sent a ship out to sea and finally got something, that is, he got silver with very high purity.

Silver was originally used for mining and smelting among the primitive tribes of the American continent, and the Native Americans only used it as decoration, not as hard currency, so that after the Ming Dynasty's fleet passed by, it could be easily seized. Many came back.

This is also due to the fact that the Ming Dynasty's fleet landed from the west coast of America. At this time, the American continent had been discovered by Europeans, and Europeans had begun to penetrate deeper into the interior from the east coast of America.

Li Zhang smiled and said: "In addition to silver, there are many unnamed goods. The slaves have been sorted out, just waiting for His Majesty... and Duke Cai to come."

"It's no use that I'm here. I want Bingkuan to go over and have a look."

Zhu Youtang looked at Zhang Zhou with extremely trusting eyes.

Then the two of them, surrounded by a kind of eunuchs and palace guards, came to the yard where large and small boxes of items were placed. On a wooden shelf, the items seized from this trip were specially displayed. They can all put it up, but even so, they can’t fit on a few shelves.

Zhang Zhou saw the corn cob from afar.

This thing...

It does not exist in the Ming Dynasty now, but in the next few hundred years, it will become the main ration for the Chinese people and livestock, and lead to the rapid expansion of the Chinese people.

"Your Majesty, this is it."

Zhang Zhou first took out a stick of corn.

Next to it are sweet potato leaves, as well as some sweet potatoes, potatoes and other crops, as well as some unnamed crop samples. Because of the long journey on the sea, there are no good preservation measures these days, and these crops cannot be grown on the ship, so Many crops that came here only had seeds and dry branches and leaves.

But only the sweet potato leaves were still fresh.

This is mainly because sweet potatoes are extremely tenacious and can take root and sprout with just a little bit of soil and water.

"Bingkuan, what is this?" Zhu Youtang looked at the corn curiously.

A general next to him who was responsible for escorting the goods and had also gone to sea said: "Your Majesty, when I went to sea to a foreign land, I saw people from the foreign country grinding this material into powder, mixing it with water, steaming it, eating it, and eating it with water." This is used as rations. All the soldiers who went to sea have also eaten it, and there are no signs of poisoning."

Zhu Youtang said: "Bingkuan, is this what you call the unique overseas food crops?"

"Yes." Zhang Zhou nodded, then looked at the general and said, "Tell me in detail what you have seen and heard about this thing."

The general said: "The soldiers who went to sea happened to be in summer when they arrived in Fandi. They had seen the harvest of this crop. One acre of land can produce more than a thousand kilograms of grain. This is just a conservative estimate. Based on the opinions of the Fandi people, It describes that if the year is good, one acre of land can produce nearly two thousand kilograms of grain, and the soldiers will not feel hungry after eating it. If the soldiers eat it for a long time, it can be as good as ordinary corn."

Li Zhang smiled and said: "Your Majesty, listen, one acre of land is worth two thousand kilograms, which is much more than corn."

"Are there so many?"

Zhu Youtang couldn't help but frown.

The grain output of the Ming Dynasty was actually calculated according to dendrobium, but it was also calculated according to the weight when collecting taxes.

As a diligent emperor, Zhu Youtang was not the kind of aloof king. At least he knew that the rice produced in the Ming Dynasty would never reach 500 kilograms per acre, because there was no chemical fertilizer on the land these days. Even a little farmyard manure cannot make the land fertile and productive.

But this kind of crop can almost directly increase land output by two or three times.

This made Zhu Youtang sound a little unreliable.

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, true knowledge comes from practice. Now that we have got the seeds back, we can sow them after spring next year. In the south and other places, we can also experiment with sowing after autumn this year. I think that in a few years, the rations in various places will increase, and It can be used as daily rations for northern soldiers.”

Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Bingkuan, you are a little too hasty. I don't think you are in such a hurry. How much do you bring back?"

The general replied: "Bring back half a boat, and there are also other crops, which are hard to describe. Because there is a decree to bring back crops that have never appeared in the Ming Dynasty, so I will bring back everything I can." ”

"Ah."

Zhu Youtang nodded and said, "Very good, very good."

As he spoke, Zhu Youtang was still looking at the crop samples on the shelf.

Obviously Zhu Youtang wanted to ask Zhang Zhou if there was any immortal grass among them.

For a person who is rich all over the world, only immortality is their highest pursuit. Other than that, everything seems to be pursued only spiritually. They can only pursue it when they have life, so life is the most important thing for them. Inseparable.

The higher you are in a high position, the more you fear death.

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, I think you can try sowing these kinds of crops. In addition to food crops, there are also many economic crops. In layman's terms, they can be used to make items. I also want to take some back. Study it carefully.”

"Okay, you got these back." Zhu Youtang smiled, "You can take whatever you want with you. I'm still thinking about whether to send the second fleet out to sea immediately..."

Whether there is ambrosia or not,

Just being able to bring back 1.2 million taels of silver from one voyage made the emperor feel that the value of this voyage was simply too high.

In fact, the silver brought back this time was not just that, it was just that there was so much shipped to the capital.

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, if you send ships to sea again, you will need to send a larger fleet and bring more soldiers and horses. If you want to manage overseas lands, you need soldiers who can conquer and garrison them. I think this matter should be considered again. "

"Yes, yes, yes, this is not a one-shot deal. I never expected that this is not Penglai Wonderland, it is simply a mountain of gold and silver. Someone, come and compile the details of this trip to sea into a book. I will take a good look at it tonight. Look...what the hell is this place? Is it filled with gold and silver?"

……

……

Zhu Youtang was puzzled. This time I went to sea, I haven't found the fairy grass yet, but I have already made a fortune.

I thought that the shipbuilding and going to sea thing was just to accompany Zhang Zhou and gain an opportunity with trust... Who knew that the opportunity came and he brought back money, and the money did not need to go into the treasury of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Privately owned by the emperor.

The emperor only thought that silver was good, and he never thought about whether the inflow of silver would cause inflation...

Even if Zhu Youtang had some knowledge, he would not be so comprehensive in thinking about issues. The main reason is that people these days only read the Four Books and Five Classics and have no concept of economics.

Those things all need to undergo hundreds of years of precipitation to form theories.

Perhaps in later generations, an ordinary primary school student will know something, but in this era, it is unfathomable and profound knowledge, because no one has discovered it, or there is no need to discover it... Primitive farming society only knows the amount of food output and taxes. Just a few points, and then use it to feed the people and achieve sustainable development.

"Bingkuan, you must come tomorrow morning and have a good talk with them."

Before Zhu Youtang said goodbye to Zhang Zhou, he gave special instructions.

Obviously, the emperor also knew that he was a layman on many things, and he needed Zhang Zhou, a "knowledgeable man", to come out and explain it to the ministers.

Then Zhang Zhoucai walked out of the palace accompanied by Li Zhang.

"Mr. Cai Guo, Your Majesty also asked our family to tell you about the British Duke."

Li Zhang had a ruthless style in front of outsiders, but in front of Zhang Zhou, he seemed very humble and cautious.

Zhang Zhou said: "I also find it strange that the reputation of the British Duke suddenly fell to the ground overnight. Rumors are spreading in the market place. It seems that he is not afraid of any trouble caused by criticizing the minister of the DPRK."

Li Zhang said: "This is because Dongchang sent people to spread the word and allowed people to discuss it. Otherwise, the leader would have been captured long ago and even questioned."

"I see." Zhang Zhou said, "Then I wonder what outrageous things the British Lord has done?"

Li Zhang smiled, of course he knew that Zhang Zhou was pretending to be confused.

"My lord, you should know this too. Who doesn't know about it in the Governor's Mansion? In the first few years, before you entered the court, what officials did you do in the Governor's Mansion, how were you promoted, how did you lead troops abroad, and served as the commander-in-chief everywhere? The price is clearly marked, and it is not a public or private exchange in the UK, but this is the whole culture."

"Really?" Zhang Zhou pretended to be surprised, "Doesn't your Majesty know about it?"

"Of course His Majesty knows about it, but so what? It has been like this for the past few decades. The officialdom is full of chaos. As long as there is no big mistake, people with a clear eye will turn a blind eye."

"Haha. If you turn a blind eye and close one eye, how can you be called a discerning person? You are either discerning or you are blind. You can't say half-blind, right?"

"My lord, you are joking. The situation was like this at that time. It was only after you became Minister of the Ministry of War in the past two years that the situation improved greatly. It was also related to the emergence of Yanwu Hall, which provided a channel for the promotion of middle and lower-level generals. , but there was no such channel before. Whoever wants to be promoted depends entirely on the wishes of the superiors, and His Majesty has never interfered in such matters. It is all decided by the British public."

When Li Zhang said this, he looked very sad and said: "The two Baoguo Dukes before and after were all like this. Perhaps because of this, there were some generals who did not do anything. Your Majesty will also hate them deeply."

Zhang Zhou said: "Is this the British father's sin?"

Li Zhang shook his head and said: "The crime of the British Duke is far more than that. In other words, this is the practice of the officialdom and cannot be regarded as the bad deeds of the British Duke. On the contrary, the British Duke used the military power in his hands to do some illegal things. , in addition to promoting his henchmen, taking the opportunity to enrich his own pockets, and also being obedient to His Majesty... these things are the reasons why Your Majesty wants to touch him."

Zhang Zhou asked curiously: "The British Lord still has the courage to disobey His Majesty's will?"

"Ugh!"

Li Zhang sighed, "It's not that he doesn't comply, but that he doesn't need to comply at all. There are many matters in the Governor's Mansion that His Majesty does not need to interfere with. For example, some matters involving procurement and other matters, even the Ministry of Revenue cannot intervene. His Majesty also sent Dong I went to the factory to check the accounts, but obviously they were just running accounts and there was no way to check them.”

"Oh." Zhang Zhou nodded.

Li Zhang continued: "And the British Duke is not that ambitious. He had a good reputation because of his close relationship with civil servants. But everyone knows that he has never been involved in leading troops on the battlefield. What is he doing?" No one knows how capable he is in running an army, or he can only talk about it on paper. If a foreign barbarian comes near the capital, can he be expected to resist the invading enemy?"

Zhang Zhou chose to remain silent this time.

Listening to Li Zhang talk about old man Zhang's rights and wrongs like he was pouring out his bitterness, it felt like he was being pushed down by others.

But the problem is that the wall of Old Man Zhang seems to have not fallen down yet.

Is it too early to push?

"Gong Cheng and Duke Wei were mostly involved in Nanjing's military affairs, while Duke Bao and Duke Ying were closely connected with the Beijing camp. Previously, there were many disputes between Duke Bao and Duke Ying about matters related to the Beijing camp. There are also factional conflicts among each other, but the British Duke has the upper hand. Now that Baoguo Duke has fallen, the British Duke has no rivals, but His Majesty will not sit back and let his family dominate."

Li Zhang smiled and said, "Your Majesty, most of the affairs of the capital camp from now on will be handed over to Duke Cai Guo."

Zhang Zhou waved his hand and said: "I am the Minister of the Ministry of War. Military affairs in the capital camp should still be left to the people in the Governor's Mansion."

"My lord, why do you have to be so self-effacing? Besides, after Jingtai, it is not unprecedented for the Minister of War to supervise the capital camp, and you are also a distinguished minister of the Dudu Mansion. With your prestige, who in the army would not look up to him? ? You do things fairly, and everyone in the army hopes that you can take power as soon as possible. The soldiers also want a fair person in charge."

Li Zhang complimented Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou said: "But now, after all, military affairs are still in charge of the British public."

"It's almost time!" Li Zhang said, "Now the matter is still fermenting, and the rumors outside will become more intense. After all, the British Duke is old, and he should give way to others. Our family will fully assist you, Cai Guogong."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "It's too early to say this. I think outsiders still respect the British Duke. Even if there are some rumors, it still can't affect his current status."

Li Zhang responded with a smile: "Then we'll see."

……

……

When Zhang Mao was sitting at home, disaster came from heaven.

A bunch of rumors were circulating outside, and he also heard some rumors here.

"... My lord, there are rumors circulating outside that you are thinking about Duke Bao's family members, who are not dead yet, and that you are adding insult to injury... Those words are so ugly that I don't even know how to say them. …”

An aide named Zhong went to the British Palace in the city that day and shared his knowledge with Zhang Mao in the study.

Zhang Mao paced back and forth and said angrily: "A group of young people, I have experienced big winds and waves, how can I care about this little setback? They don't even weigh their own weight! What other rumors are there?"

"Some people say that you are corrupt and perverting the law, and some officials even want to impeach you based on what they have heard. It's hard to say who is specific at the moment, but I went to greet a few people in science and technology before, and they didn't even meet. I'm willing to see you, probably because... I'm afraid of being involved. My lord, you must be careful these days and don't get involved in anything again!" (End of Chapter)