Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 92: A truly top-notch counselor! Storm in the court!

Prince Wu's Mansion.

As the mansion given to Zhu Yunhuan by Emperor Zhu, it covers a very large area.

Zhu Yunhuan separated out a part of it and used it as the office location of the Ming Daily.

The place where Yao Guangxiao lived was also in a corner here.

Since agreeing to join Zhu Yunhuan's sect, Monk Daoyan has been very responsible in his work.

The number of printing presses at the Ming Daily is increasing every day, and its scale is expanding step by step.

As the number of people increases and the scale grows, management becomes more and more complicated.

This is when the old monk's management ability is reflected.

The entire newspaper was managed by him in an orderly manner, without any signs of chaos.

In addition to the reporters proposed by Zhu Yunhuan, the old monk also set up an intelligence department, which was specifically responsible for finding out all kinds of new things in Jinling City and even the nearby suburbs.

Unlike journalists, they do not need to write articles for publication, they just need to collect intelligence.

Then select some of them and publish them in newspapers.

The others were reported briefly to Zhu Yunhuan as materials on public trends.

With the presence of this group of people, Zhu Yunhuan had a very clear understanding of many situations in Jinling City.

Of course, they are still no match for Zhu Yuanzhang's Jinyiwei spies and inspectors.

After all, they have just started, and they are just civilians with no authority. They cannot reveal their identities and ask for official assistance at critical moments, so they have no way of knowing many confidential matters.

What happened in the Gaomen compound could only be learned through leaked rumors.

Zhu Yunhuan was also very satisfied with this.

At least it would allow him to understand many things happening on the streets of Jinling instead of turning a blind eye.

Given his status as regent, it is naturally inconvenient for him to go out on the streets at will.

Not to mention, an assassination attempt happened not long ago.

When Zhu Yunhuan came over, Monk Daoyan was counting money on the abacus very quickly.

He couldn't help but laugh and said, "I didn't expect that you, a vegetarian monk, are actually an expert in accounting."

Yao Guangxiao looked up and saw that it was the King of Wu. He immediately stood up and saluted, saying, "Your Highness the King of Wu is coming. Why didn't you let us know?"

"I was forced to do this. The sales of Ming Daily are increasing every day. The income is huge, but the expenses are also huge. There are so many accounts, so it's easy to make mistakes."

He was a little emotional.

I have lived for more than fifty years, but I have never counted my accounts so carefully and seriously.

The reason why he can use an abacus is that the old monk has no prejudice against all schools of thought and has learned a wide range of subjects.

Zhu Yunxun laughed and said, "Shouldn't the accountant be responsible for this kind of thing? Why are you doing it yourself?"

Yao Guangxiao smiled bitterly and said, "The records in the account office are complicated and messy. I need to clean and check them every few days."

Zhu Yunhuan picked up the account book and flipped through a few pages. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind.

Double-entry bookkeeping!
If double-entry bookkeeping is used, records are kept according to the principle of "every debit must have a credit, and the debits and credits must be equal", and they are recorded separately in the relevant ledgers, which will make the account book records more accurate and more reliable.

It can also prevent errors such as omissions and duplications in single-item accounting.

Furthermore, a trial balance can be used later to check whether the bookkeeping records are correct and ensure the consistency of the books.

In this way, even though there are many accounts, they will not be messy or wrong.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunhuan immediately talked to Yao Guangxiao about the double-entry bookkeeping method and asked him to rebuild the account book according to the principles of double-entry bookkeeping.

When Yao Guangxiao first heard what he said, he was somewhat skeptical.

After all, Zhu Yunhuan was just a teenager. Even if he had talent, it was impossible for him to learn extensively. He needed time to accumulate knowledge.

But as Zhu Yunhuan's explanation unfolded, Yao Guangxiao became more and more surprised, and his Buddha eyes continued to shine.

With his intelligence, he naturally understood the benefits of double-entry bookkeeping quickly.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! This method is really wonderful!" Yao Guangxiao clapped his hands and exclaimed: "Using this method to calculate accounts, after repeated comparisons, confusion in accounts, omissions, and mistakes will no longer exist!"

"Your Highness the King of Wu is so young, yet he can come up with such an incredible accounting method. He is truly a genius."

"I admire you very much!"

The old monk was filled with emotion and said, "This method is a bit of a waste of talent to be used in this small newspaper."

"If it is used in the Ministry of Revenue to help settle the accounts of the Ming Dynasty, that is where its real use will be."

"Your Highness the King of Wu will be remembered in history for this method alone."

Zhu Yunhuan laughed and said, "Okay, old monk, there's no need for you to praise me."

Yao Guangxiao said seriously: "This is not a compliment, but a frank statement."

"Plotting and scheming, calculating people's hearts, may seem powerful, but in the end, they are just small tricks. What benefit can they bring to the world?"

"But the double-entry bookkeeping method invented by His Royal Highness the King of Wu can benefit future generations. This is the true path."

Zhu Yunhuan's face flushed slightly, but soon became natural, and said: "Let's not talk about this for now. I came to see you because my second brother, King Xian, came just now."

Yao Guangxiao's eyes sparkled with brilliance, and he said, "I was wondering why Your Highness didn't stay in bed to rest, but came to me instead. So that's why."

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "I have been lying in bed for a long time. My injury should be healed now. I have to get up and take care of things."

As he spoke, he moved his body again.

I have to say, pretending to be sick is a hard job.

If you stay in bed for a long time, you will feel uncomfortable all over.

"For some things, we still need Master Daoyan's help." Zhu Yunxun said with a smile.

Yao Guangxiao nodded slightly.

The two left the room and walked outside.

Unless it is a specially built secret room, or someone is sent to clean it in advance and guard it strictly, the room is actually the most unsuitable place to discuss confidential matters.

Because the room is surrounded by walls, if you are not careful, it may appear that the walls have ears.

On the contrary, it is an open area outside where you can see everything at a glance, with nowhere to hide and no need to worry about a third party eavesdropping.

The battle for the throne was extremely dangerous, and Zhu Yunhuan had to be careful at all times. "The case of Wang Bi and others' rebellion has been handed over to Huang Zicheng for more than ten days, but there has been no progress report. What do you think of this, Master?"

Walking in the palace garden, Zhu Yunhuan asked.

Yao Guangxiao said: "After all, Huang Zicheng was a Jinshi from two lists, and he was the first in the imperial examination and then the third in the imperial examination."

"A scholar may be pedantic and unskilled in strategy, but he is never stupid."

This is true.

It is impossible for a stupid person to achieve such good results in study.

In later generations, there is a saying that people with high scores but low intelligence have high scores, but on the one hand, people with high scores but low intelligence are not common, and on the other hand, people with high scores but low intelligence just lack practical ability, not being really stupid.

"In my opinion, he should have seen the intentions of His Majesty and His Highness, and knew that no matter how he tried the case of Wang Bi and others, he would fall into His Highness's calculations."

"So, he adopted the strategy of delaying."

"They are delaying the trial of this case on the grounds that it is of great impact and the case is complicated."

At this point, Yao Guangxiao smiled a meaningful smile and asked leisurely, "Isn't this exactly what Your Highness expects to see?"

"Now that the other party has taken the initiative, Your Highness must be wishing for it!"

Zhu Yunhuan laughed loudly and said, "Master, your knowledge of Buddhism is profound. You can see through all this. I admire you so much!"

Fortunately, Yao Guangxiao was Zhu Di's man before, and Zhu Di's position was inherently unfavorable for the fight for the throne.

Even if Yao Guangxiao had extraordinary abilities, he couldn't find a good solution.

If Yao Guangxiao was Zhu Yunwen's man, with his intelligence and talent, Zhu Yunwen would probably have been defeated by now.

But then again.

Judging from Zhu Yunwen's personality, even if Yao Guangxiao went to him, Zhu Yunwen would probably not use Yao Guangxiao and would not listen to his advice.

In Zhu Yunwen's eyes, only Confucian and Taoist masters who were well-read in poetry and books were qualified to be his military advisor and give him advice.

How can a mere monk be accepted into such a prestigious hall?

Yao Guangxiao said it well.

Huang Zicheng's delay in trying Wang Bi's case was exactly what Zhu Yunhuan was very happy to see.

He wanted to save Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles, and show them kindness in order to gain their loyalty. Before that, he had to make Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles suffer enough.

We can't let the siege on us go so easily.

It won't work unless we make them suffer a little.

Otherwise, even if he saved Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles, they would think that His Royal Highness the King of Wu had a request to them and hoped that they would support him to secure his position as crown prince, which was why he rescued him.

In this way, the gratitude towards Zhu Yunhuan would be greatly reduced.

Instead, they will think that they and others are very important, and that Your Majesty and the King of Wu dare not do anything to them, thus becoming even more unruly.

That is not what Zhu Yunhuan wants to see.

Lock them up in jail now and let them suffer a little, then they will reflect, become afraid, and realize they were wrong.

Only when you rescue them at that time will they be truly grateful.

At the same time, they also need to polish their unruly hearts.

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't do this kind of thing himself, he could only play the role of a savior.

Huang Zicheng is his rival, so it is most appropriate for Huang Zicheng to do it.

As for the public unrest and military instability caused by the imprisonment of military generals and nobles such as Wang Bi, that is not a problem at all.

Is Lao Zhu still here?
Don’t be afraid of anyone having ulterior motives!
What's more, Lan Yu is also outside.

His military academy has been almost completed and will soon officially begin recruiting students.

Let Wang Bi and others reflect in prison. When they are completely desperate and realize that they are not as important as they imagined, then it will be the best time to rescue them.

This is just like training an eagle to train up Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles!

What Huang Zicheng did at this moment was exactly what Zhu Yunhuan wanted.

It's a pity that Huang Zicheng inadvertently worked for his opponent and still thought he was smart.

Yao Guangxiao, however, could see through it at a glance.

This is the difference between top strategists and ordinary strategists.

Compared with ordinary people, Huang Zicheng was still very smart, otherwise he would not have been able to escape the doubts in the imperial examination, let alone be valued by Zhu Yuanzhang, admired by Zhu Yunwen, and leave his name in history books!
Although it is the name of the losing side, not just anyone can use it.

But when compared with top strategists like Yao Guangxiao, the difference between Huang Zicheng and others is obvious.

It's not about seeing through just one or two layers, but about seeing through all the fog, unraveling the mystery, and peeling off all the shells, only then can you see the true face.

If you only peel off one or two layers, or three or four layers, and think you have seen the essence, you will be misled by your self-righteous cleverness.

A slight difference is a thousand miles away.

Huang Zicheng is just like this.

It’s not that he is not smart. Huang Zicheng is much smarter than ordinary people.

But he is not smart enough.

If you see through a few layers but not all of them, you will end up hurting yourself.

The two continued walking.

Zhu Yunhuan then told him in detail about Zhu Yunwen's visit today, and asked: "In your opinion, Master, in the current situation, what should I do next?"

Yao Guangxiao looked at him deeply, took two steps forward, and said sideways: "You asked Yang Shiqi to go to the Tongzhengsi to kill people, which is indeed a brilliant move, but!"

He suddenly leaned over, picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it into the pool by the roadside.

In an instant, ripples appeared on the water.

"One stone stirs up a thousand waves!" Monk Daoyan made a Buddhist gesture with one hand and said, "Your Highness, it's not about how to do it, but what has been done."

"Your Highness will face a huge court storm next!"

……

(End of this chapter)