Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 103 The God of War’s hobbies, Lao Zhu’s feelings and secret orders!

Duke Cao's Mansion.

Huang Zicheng handed over his business card and then waited quietly at the gatehouse.

The status of civil servants at this time was far lower than that in later generations.

As a meritorious official and a member of the royal family, Li Jinglong naturally had a very high opinion of himself.

At this moment, he was dressing up.

Li Jinglong was born with a good appearance, tall stature, delicate features, and a majestic look.

He stands out among all the military generals and nobles.

It was precisely because of this appearance that Li Jinglong was noticed by Zhu Yuanzhang at first sight when he attended court.

Ask him questions and he answers them very well.

Old Zhu liked it even more.

Only then did he betroth his daughter, Princess Yangcheng, to him.

From this we can also see that appearance is very useful at any time.

Li Jinglong also cared a lot about his appearance.

I have to spend one or two hours every day to dress up so that I can look my best when meeting people.

Huang Zicheng handed him the post and threw it aside.

How can a mere civil servant asking for an audience be as important as my own makeup and dressing?
"Is there anything going on in the capital today?"

Li Jinglong asked casually while looking at himself carefully in the huge mirror and accepting the careful service of the palace maids.

The eunuch next to him bowed and said, "According to the news published in the Ming Daily, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu, in the name of regent, officially issued an edict to open the Ming Military Academy, recruiting meritorious officials and generals as students."

"His Royal Highness Prince Yan has made a public request to the world to study at the Daming Military Academy and to take his nephew Prince Wu as his teacher."

To this day, the "Da Ming Daily" has become a daily must-have for all the nobles and meritorious officials in the capital, as well as the families of officials of all ranks.

When they first saw that the King of Wu was no longer giving it away for free, they were still angry and didn't want to spend money to subscribe.

But soon, everyone became obedient and bought it consciously.

The reason is simple: they really cannot miss the content and news in the "Da Ming Daily".

Not to mention those official announcements, folk anecdotes, and even the above records about the Emperor's past, which also need to be known at the first time and kept in mind.

Although many officials were worried after seeing Zhu's legendary past.

Was the Majesty of the past really so wise and powerful?

Is it really that he is invincible, with gods and ghosts kneeling down to him, the people following him, and everyone praising him?
You know, many of those who fought with Zhu to conquer the world are still alive!
Others may not know what happened back then, but how could they not know?
But the story in the Ming Daily was so detailed and detailed, with all the people, places and events included, that they had no choice but to believe it!
Everyone knows that the "Da Ming Daily" is delivered to the palace every day for His Majesty the Emperor to read.

Your Majesty did not question that it was fake, so who would dare to stand up and say that the Ming Daily was making up stories? Your Majesty was not so powerful back then, and in the most difficult times, he was even as panic-stricken as a dog that had lost its home!

If we really want to say it, we are not questioning the Ming Daily, but questioning His Majesty the Emperor.

Even if there were a hundred heads on his neck, they would not be enough for Lao Zhu to chop off.

On the contrary, you must learn about these glorious deeds of His Majesty the Emperor, which you didn't know before, at the first time, and remember them firmly, clearly, and clearly.

Maybe it can be useful when talking with His Majesty.

I can flatter His Majesty without leaving any trace.

Li Jinglong didn't care much about other things, except for two things.

One is one’s appearance and grooming.

The second is about how to flatter those in higher positions and how to present oneself in front of His Majesty.

Hearing the eunuch's words, he couldn't help but frown.

He grabbed the newspaper and read it quickly, saying, "The King of Yan is really..."

He originally wanted to say that the Prince of Yan was really shameless, but he quickly realized that he could not say such things in front of the palace maids and eunuchs, so he stopped quickly.

On second thought, Li Jinglong suddenly thought of another thing.

King Wu's Daming Military Academy is willing to accept military generals and nobles as students.

The Prince of Yan has gone, so as the son of Duke Cao, should I go too?
"No!" He shook his head quickly.

What is the ability of the King of Wu?
A young boy.

In terms of age, he is nine years younger than me.

Has he ever been to the battlefield, led troops, and fought in wars?

Does he know how to fight?
Why should I be the teacher of a group of military generals and nobles?

At this time, Li Jinglong completely forgot that he had never been on the battlefield and had no experience in fighting in battle.

But... even the King of Yan took the initiative to become his disciple, what can I do?

He felt a little upset.

After finally finishing his make-up and dressing, he glanced at Huang Zicheng's post again, and suddenly an idea came to his mind. He said, "Let Huang Zicheng come in."

The servants immediately went to pass on the order.

At this time, Huang Zicheng had been waiting in the gatehouse of Duke Cao's mansion for a long time.

He remained calm on the surface and sat there with a calm and composed expression.

I had already cursed the other person countless times in my heart.

These military generals and nobles are all very arrogant.

He doesn't take the civil servants seriously at all.

Little did he know that he was just relying on the protection of his parents.

If he didn't need a favor from Li Jinglong right now, he would have turned around and left long ago. How could he endure such humiliation!

If one day I could help His Royal Highness Prince Xian ascend the throne, I would definitely teach these military generals and nobles a lesson.

You can use them to build an empire.

But now that the world is settled, it’s time to “when the birds are all gone, put away the good bows.”

In the future, the governance of the world will still depend on us civil servants.

As for military generals and nobles, all of them should be stripped of their military power and sent back home to retire.

If anyone is dissatisfied or even rebels because of this, they will all be killed.

While I was thinking about it, a servant came over.

"Sir Huang, Duke Cao wants to see you."

Huang Zicheng quickly stood up, put away his dissatisfaction, and said respectfully: "Please lead the way."

……

royal palace.

Old Zhu opened the "Da Ming Daily" as usual.

“Well, well written!”

“That’s how it was when we were young.”

Looking at the biography in the daily newspaper, Lao Zhu clapped his hands in admiration.

"Back then, we went around the country begging for alms, saving heroes and killing tyrants, and our reputation spread across the world."

"I don't know how many great things he has done that shocked the world and made the gods weep."

"It's ridiculous that today's recorder only knows how to record some of our trivial matters now, but completely forgets our heroic deeds in the past."

"The Ming Daily is still the best!"

"We've made up for it all, hahahaha!"

Old Zhu laughed heartily.

Immediately, his eyes turned to the content below.

There were announcements about the official establishment of the Ming Military Academy, the start of enrollment, and Zhu Di's public apprenticeship.

"Hey, this method is quite clever."

Old Zhu nodded repeatedly.

"I never thought that Hu'er could make his fourth uncle do this."

He had always been worried that although Zhu Yunhuan's proposal was good, the military generals and nobles were proud of their status and were unwilling to study at the military academy.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yunhuan would actually use such a method.

With Prince Yan taking the lead, those people will no longer be able to put on airs.

Zhu Di was very clear about Zhu Di's character and knew that he must have been manipulated by Zhu Yunhuan to do this. But Zhu Yunhuan was able to tame the Prince of Yan so quickly, which really made Zhu Di happy.

This also means that when he takes charge of the Ming Dynasty in the future, he will be able to easily control other ministers, nobles, and royal relatives.

Old Zhu read the newspapers one by one and was in a good mood.

At this time, Yoshigaki came in from outside and handed over the information that the Jinyiwei spies and inspectors had found out.

Zhu did not open it immediately, but asked Ji Yuan: "After sending someone to warn the King of Wu that day, did the King of Wu say anything?"

Ji Yuan bowed and said, "The King of Wu only said that he knew about it, and did not express anything else. He did not seem to be shocked or surprised at all."

The smile on Old Zhu's face disappeared, and his expression became a little solemn, mixed with a little bit of desolation and fatigue.

He looked up at the sky and sighed softly.

"King Wu has known this for a long time."

"He just doesn't want to tell us, so as not to hurt family ties. What a good boy!"

After some emotion, Old Zhu opened the secret report that had just been presented to him.

"When Zhao Mian, the Minister of Finance, and his father-in-law, Liu Sanwu, a scholar from the Imperial Academy, were drinking, they said that the regent, the King of Wu, had no knowledge of finance and taxation, and that his reckless actions would lead to chaos."

"Zhao Mian said that if the commercial tax rate is reduced from 30% to 15%, it will definitely not be implemented."

"Zhao Mian also said that now that the King of Wu asked him to hand over the treasury of the Ministry of Revenue, he would return it sooner or later."

"Hmph!" When Old Zhu saw this, he snorted angrily, with murderous intent flashing in his dragon eyes.

"This Zhao Mian is so bold that he dares to criticize the King of Wu."

After Lao Zhu had finished his temper, he said to himself, "However, the business tax has been changed from 30% to 15%. Isn't this a bit too heavy?"

"Although we emphasize agriculture over commerce, goods from all directions are sold and transported by merchants."

"If we increase taxes on them, prices will rise as well, causing inconvenience and hardship to people's lives."

"Besides, commercial taxes account for a very low proportion. Even if the tax is doubled, the impact on the country's finances will be minimal. Hu'er must be aware of this. Why would he act this way?"

Old Zhu's mind raced, and he soon felt that Zhu Yunhuan must have his reasons for doing this, so he decided to wait and see.

He then thought of another thing and asked, "I remember that it was reported before that the person sent by Hu'er to seal up the Ministry of Revenue's account books and the national treasury was an old monk?"

"That's right!" Ji Yuan said hurriedly, "This man's Dharma name is Daoyan, and his lay name is Yao Guangxiao. He used to serve the Prince of Yan in the Prince of Yan's mansion. He has just come to the side of the Prince of Wu during this period."

Old Zhu remembered immediately.

Yao Guangxiao?
Isn’t this the person that Hu’er complained to me about before, saying that he was the one who instigated the Prince of Yan to do bad things and who should be severely punished?

Why is Hu'er entrusting him with such an important position now?
Could it be that this person really has some great talent?
While thinking, Yoshigaki took out a notebook from his bosom and said, "After Yao Guangxiao sealed the account books of the Ministry of Revenue, he is organizing people to check the numbers and rebuild the account books."

"However, the accounting method he used is quite different from the previous ones. I heard it is called double-entry bookkeeping."

"Yao Guangxiao retrained a group of accountants and asked them to keep accounts using the double-entry bookkeeping method."

"The people who are gathering information below have already written down this method and copied the new account book created using the double-entry accounting method."

"I don't understand these things either."

"Your Majesty can only accept it."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu took the account book from him and looked at it carefully again and again.

When I first saw it, I was still confused, but the more I read on, the more fascinated I became. The shock in the dragon's eyes was visible and did not fade for a long time.

Old Zhu came from a poor family, so after he became rich, he paid special attention to money and grain matters.

In the past, he had to calculate every account of the Ministry of Revenue himself.

In recent years, I have grown older and my energy has declined, so I gradually gave up.

But Lao Zhu has extremely rich and sophisticated knowledge about how to keep accounts, how to calculate accounts, and how to manage.

In this regard, he can be considered an expert.

Lao Zhu quickly saw the secret of double-entry bookkeeping.

"What a great idea! What a great double-entry bookkeeping method!"

Old Zhu praised loudly: "This method is really indescribable, indescribable!"

"The Ministry of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty will use double-entry bookkeeping in the future, and the accounts will be much clearer."

"Yao Guangxiao, you have great talent!"

He didn't know at that time that the double-entry bookkeeping method was invented by his grandson.

When they heard that Yao Guangxiao was promoting this method, they naturally assumed that it was invented by him.

The view of Yao Guangxiao immediately changed drastically.

"We have to meet this person."

Lao Zhu ordered.

"Yes!" Ji Yuan responded quickly, "I will go and summon Yao Guangxiao to see you."

After he finished speaking, he was about to turn around, but was stopped by Lao Zhu again.

"Let's wait a little longer." Old Zhu stood up, paced back and forth, and said, "There's no need to rush."

"Huan'er has good vision. He first used Yang Shiqi, and now he has Yao Guangxiao. They are both talented."

"Let's wait and see what the results of Hu'er's commercial tax reform, the establishment of the Ming Bank, and the issuance of new banknotes will be. By then, it won't be too late to see Yao Guangxiao again."

Yoshigaki bowed with his hands down and said, "As you wish!"

Old Zhu sat down again and opened a new secret report.

"Huang Zicheng and Fang Xiaoru were extremely dissatisfied with the fact that the King of Wu had opened the Ming Military Academy. They sent more people to spread rumors that the King of Wu was the emperor, hoping to anger Your Majesty."

"Two idiots!" Old Zhu sneered and said, "Thank goodness our family used to think highly of them, but now it seems that these two are both stupid and evil."

In the past, Zhu Yuanzhang had great trust in the people around Zhu Yunwen. Although he kept them under surveillance, he did not take them very seriously.

The intelligence information collected is not much.

Didn't find any major problems between the two.

What's more, at that time, Zhu Yuanzhang had a different view of Zhu Yunwen, and his tolerance towards him and the things around him was also very different.

It was known before that the two men were secretly spreading rumors that Zhu Yunwen should be made the crown prince and ascend the throne to become emperor. In Zhu's view, this was also a sign that the two men were loyal and wanted to lend a helping hand to Zhu Yunwen.

It is not too much to be loyal to your master.

But now that I have made it clear that I want to let King Wu take charge of the Ming Dynasty and let him serve as regent, if they still don't stop, then they must have ulterior motives.

However, by doing so, they would only benefit Zhu Yunhuan in enhancing his prestige among the people, and Zhu was actually happy to see it succeed.

This shows how stupid the two people were, and they were so self-righteous that they thought they could harm others by doing this.

But he didn't know he was helping the other person.

Since he began to suspect Lu and Zhu Yunwen, Zhu immediately ordered the Jinyiwei spies and inspectors to strengthen surveillance of them and the people around them, and discovered more and more problems.

He suddenly remembered the day when he asked Zhu Yunhuan to become Fang Xiaoru's disciple.

Fang Xiaoru arrogantly refused, and Zhu Yunhuan didn't want to be his disciple at all.

"Hu'er is really smart. He has seen through Fang Xiaoru long ago!" Old Zhu sighed softly.

The more he looked at his grandson Zhu Yunhuan, the more he liked him.

After expressing his feelings for a while, Lao Zhu continued reading.

"Huang Zicheng went to visit Li Jinglong, Duke of Cao, today. He waited for a long time at the gatehouse before he was able to meet him. His intention is unknown."

Old Zhu's expression immediately became solemn again.

"What does Huang Zicheng want to do?"

"Li Jinglong is a handsome man with a majestic appearance. He is well-known among the nobles and is also very proud."

Old Zhu's eyes suddenly lit up.

"The fourth one took the lead in becoming a disciple, and the other meritorious officials, nobles, and royal relatives had no choice but to follow."

"Given Li Jinglong's character, he will definitely be dissatisfied with this matter... Huang Zicheng's visit at this time must be an attempt to instigate him to do something bad."

His gaze suddenly became sharp.

After a while, Lao Zhu ordered: "When the newspaper delivery man comes tomorrow, find a chance to secretly tell him and ask him to pass the message to the King of Wu."

"Just say what we said, and let King Wu do what he wants."

"Anyone who dares to obstruct the work will be severely punished according to the law, regardless of whether he is a royal relative or the son of a meritorious official."

"Let him make his own decision on what to do. There's no need to ask us first."

……

(End of this chapter)