Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 186 Confession of Little Ice River

He originally wanted to use the fact that Teng Yi, as the Minister of Personnel, had exceeded his authority to manage the Ministry of Revenue to spit at the other party to death, but he didn't expect that someone from the Ministry of Revenue would stand up and speak for him, and he was a minister at that.

This moment made many gentry from Jiangnan feel somewhat unbelievable, as if the only life-saving straw they could grasp had been broken.

The reason why this group of people were so harsh on Teng Yi was mainly because Zhu Yuanzhang had recently ordered Lan Yu to go to Jiangnan to clean up the mess.

With the authorization from Zhu Yuanzhang, Lan Yu quickly took over all their land in the Jiangnan region, resulting in a huge loss of wealth.

Now, 'Teng Yi' proposed that the court take out some of their monthly salaries to purchase Ming Dynasty war bonds. This already poor family was even worse off. How could anyone tolerate this?

So if they couldn't deal with Zhu Yuanzhang, they can't deal with you, the Minister of Personnel Teng Yi?
But at this moment, the Minister of Revenue Yang Siyi also seemed to be speaking up for the other party, which surprised many people who wanted to stir up trouble.

They wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say.

The parties involved have no objections, so what can these people who do not belong to the six ministries say?
To go further, they need to prove themselves for overstepping their authority.

They will then be the ones in an awkward situation.

After Yang Siyi stood up and said a few words, the entire square fell silent.

As for the civil servants, everyone tried their best to whisper to the people around them in a voice that no one else could hear. Some even wanted to find Hu Weiyong, after all, Hu Weiyong was the head of the civil servants.

When faced with people who came to him for help, Hu Weiyong immediately put on a sour face, with only one emotion on his face.

When I encountered difficulties before, you all just watched the show. Now you are in trouble and want me to help you. This is simply wishful thinking.

Not to mention that the person who was causing trouble for them was Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

They all knew very well what kind of temper Zhu Yuanzhang had, who rose from a peasant. He would lift anyone up and chop them to death if he was not pleased with them.

A real example is happening right now in Jiangnan. On one side is life, and on the other side is money. Unless you are a fool, you can understand what you should choose.

As for the lineage of military generals.

Except for a few people, most of the other important officials such as Xu Da and Tang He had no objection.

Especially Xu Da, he knew very well that since some time, his elder brother had gradually become a different person and was no longer as pedantic as before.

This pedantry does not mean that Zhu Yuanzhang knew nothing, but that Zhu Yuanzhang always looked backward.

You must know that Zhu Yuanzhang's idol is Liu Bang. He especially likes to look for some of the problems he is facing now and how Liu Bang solved them in the "Book of Han".

But now, this big brother no longer learns from Liu Bang, but from Yang Chen.

There are many examples before us, and facts have proved that Yang Chen's decision was correct.

If it were someone else, Xu Da would have gone to the other party and asked him what he meant. Could it be that he wanted to usurp the position of emperor of the Ming Dynasty?
But Xu Da had used the weapons developed by Yang Chen in Zhenjiang Prefecture, and he was surprised to find that this young man from later generations did have some skills.

No matter how smart a soldier is or how noble his status is, as a soldier there should be only one thing in his mind.

That is to try every possible means to understand how to defeat the enemy, reduce your own losses, and kill more enemies.

Since the explosives developed by Yang Chen, the losses in the northern border defense have been greatly reduced. The enemy can be discovered in advance when they are still two kilometers away from the city, and they can be annihilated with cannons.

In the past, Xu Xu would never have dared to even think about such a thing.

If Yang Chen's only ability was to research weapons, Xu Da would only think that the young man's skills were okay, but far from the point where he really needed to learn on his own initiative.

Until one day, Zhu Di mentioned to him Yang Chen's views on the class structure in the Central Plains over the past thousand years.

At that moment, Xu Da was completely convinced by this young man Yang Chen.

If Xu Da was not busy, he would have taken the initiative to go to Zhenjiang Prefecture to inquire about this knowledge.

Seeing that public opinion was out of control and Teng Yi and his people were about to be drowned in spit, Zhu Biao quickly stood up and shouted:

"That's enough! Shut up, everyone!"

On the steps, Zhu Biao's aura at this moment seemed to surpass that of his father.

Sitting on the dragon throne at the back, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the majestic and cold look coming from his son, and was suddenly surprised and horrified.

Everyone in the audience was suddenly silent, not daring to say a word. They could only lower their heads and keep the jade plates in their hands, behaving very well.

Below the stage, Teng Yi, Yang Siyi and others mustered up their courage to look up.

Standing in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, who was wearing the golden yellow robe of the Crown Prince Regent, placed his hands naturally vertically on both sides of his thighs, staring at everyone below with a heavy, sharp and focused gaze.

At this moment, Zhu Biao no longer looked like the usual amiable and wealthy prince. Instead, he vaguely resembled the bloodiness of Zhu Yuanzhang when he was young, riding a horse and shouting as he charged. Even the corners of his eyes had some wrinkles of old age.

These symptoms not only did not reduce his temperament, but instead increased his majesty.

Several officials who had followed Zhu Yuanzhang when they were young could feel it clearly.

The current Zhu Biao has all the qualities, even surpassing the former Zhu Yuanzhang.

You know, Zhu Yuanzhang was just a general in the past, and he didn't have any royal temperament at all. On the contrary, the current main standard not only has the royal temperament of making plans, but also has the ability of a general who holds the power of life and death.

The guys below who had been disobedient and the loudest had already hidden themselves in the crowd, fearing that they would be brought out by Zhu Biao and reprimanded.

None of them dared to anger Zhu Biao in his current state.

Because everyone knew that even if Zhu Biao killed them in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang would not have any objection.

Not only that, the Hongwu Emperor would be extremely happy because of his son's performance.

The current Zhu Biao is the one that Zhu Yuanzhang is most satisfied with.

After a moment, Zhu Biao did not show the expected anger, but instead said calmly:

"Gentlemen! I know you must have some opinions about Minister Teng, and you are even more confused as to why Minister Yang agreed with Minister Teng's method.

But have you ever thought about why my father approved Minister Teng’s method? Is it that you are the only ones who can see the problem, but my father can’t?
Do you think my father's eyesight is not good?"

"Prince! We dare not!"

"Yes, Prince! I have no such idea. I am just not discouraged by Minister Teng's method. I think that the Ming Dynasty has not completely solved its internal and external troubles. It is too sudden to suddenly invade Japan." "In addition, the Ming Dynasty's national debt does not have to be issued. I think the Ming Dynasty's treasury can afford the money."

"Extremely yes! Absolutely yes!"

There are still people who speak out despite the idle talk.

Zhu Biao looked gloomy. He took a step forward, looked down at everyone, and finally set his gaze on the people who had just spoken.

Then he stared at them and said:

"Why do you think the Ming Dynasty wanted to distribute these national debts? Why did it choose to start with the officials?

In the past few years, my father has exempted the people from many taxes, but why do tax revenues never increase?

In this process, how many hands took away so much that belonged to the people? Don't you have any idea in your hearts?
Today I am only cutting some salaries to purchase national debts, which is like asking for your lives. If Ming Dynasty faces the crisis of national destruction in the future, will you abandon Ming Dynasty?

Turn around and join the enemy's camp?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone felt cold sweat on their foreheads and even felt chills down their spines, vaguely sensing that something bad was about to happen.

The prince in front of them was going to cause trouble for them.

No one dared to stand up and confront it.

Every one of them lowered their heads.

After a while, Zhu Biao relaxed his tone and found an excuse to explain:
"I know what your doubts are, so I will tell you the truth about this matter.

Some time ago, my father had a dream in which an immortal appeared and told him that the Ming Dynasty would encounter severe cold weather in the near future.

This disaster will not be short-lived, but will continue for hundreds of years before it slowly ends for our descendants.

My father discussed with me and started to think of a way to deal with this disaster.

Some time ago, I sent a fleet to Southeast Asia to look for another kind of food that the Ming Dynasty did not have.

This kind of grain is completely different from the native grain of the Ming Dynasty. It is not only more drought-resistant but also cold-resistant. It can grow even in extremely cold climates under complex and changeable weather.

Previously, I have been able to assure you that these grains have been found and are currently being sown in Zhenjiang Prefecture. Once it is confirmed that the production quantity is several times that of ordinary rice, these grains will be distributed throughout the Ming Dynasty in the future.

Before this, the Ming Dynasty discovered a lot of items that could increase grain production, and these precious things were fertilizers!

If you don’t believe it, you can ask the Minister of Finance Yang Siyi.”

With so much explosive information coming out all at once, everyone felt like their brains were not enough in such a short period of time and were a little slow.

In the end, someone actually had the courage to walk up to Yang Siyi and ask him questions.

"Minister Yang, is what the prince said true?"

Yang Siyi was quite generous and said frankly:

"I am willing to swear as the Minister of Revenue that what the prince said is indeed true. The Ming Dynasty has discovered a lot of grain seeds in the ocean. These crops are all varieties that the Ming Dynasty does not have.

Not only is the yield abundant, the taste is something we have never eaten before, and what is even more surprising is that after these grains are grown, there are many ways to store them, which is beneficial for us to go out and conquer and enrich the food for our soldiers. "

Upon hearing the news, most of the officials gasped and were very surprised.

It turned out that the prince was doing something big behind their backs while they were not paying attention, and this was great news.

The food problem has troubled the Central Plains for a long time. Now Zhu Biao has solved most of the problems with just one word. How could they not be surprised?
After getting confirmation, the ministers looked at Zhu Biao again.

Zhu Biao pointed to the east and said:

“In addition, the fertilizers produced by Zhenjiang Prefecture are definitely far from enough for the people of Ming Dynasty. Even if they are enough, the price will soar.

For this purpose, I sent my third brother, Prince Jin, to the South Seas to look for guano islands. I know that a few days ago many people made fun of my third brother in private, saying that a prince of the Ming Dynasty did not maintain law and order in his own fiefdom, but instead spent time going to the South Seas to look for some guano islands. Let me tell you the truth.

After thousands of years of accumulation, these guano islands have become the best substitute for chemical fertilizers. With these nutritious products of grain crops, the Ming Dynasty's harvest will surely be even better next year.

Do you want to see the common people complaining to the court because they have no food to eat?

Would you male protagonists like to see a large number of refugees and disaster victims appear in the areas under your jurisdiction?
As a minister of the imperial court, you should not think about the world, but seek the interests of the world for your own selfishness. I, Zhu Biao, will kill such a person if I find one, and I will never let anyone go!"

No one in the group of people below dared to stand up and refute, they could only lower their heads.

After half a day, Zhu Biao realized that his words were too radical and scared many people.

So he relaxed his tone and said softly:
“I know that there must be many people who think that the immortal’s dream that my father encountered is nonsense.

But this is not the case. On the contrary, there are clues to follow.

As I said before, if we don’t solve the problem in time, do we have to wait until the future to remedy the situation?

It is a fact that the Ming treasury is empty. In addition, a considerable amount of money is needed in all aspects, so the invasion of Japan is imperative.

Firstly, there are many gold and silver ores above Japan. Japan has poor technology, a dull population, and is in the midst of strife and civil war. If we don’t take them for ourselves as quickly as possible before they discover the gold and silver mines, are we going to leave them to others?
Didn't all the money extracted from the gold and silver ores owned by the Ming Dynasty end up in your hands?

With this money, the Ming Dynasty could become prosperous and the people could buy cheap fertilizers. With fertilizers, grain could be produced in abundance and there would be no people starving to death or having to sell their children in exchange for a bite to eat.

Such a prosperous era will be recorded in the lives of all of you. Isn’t this a win-win situation?
If you are unwilling to use part of your salary to purchase national debt today, the Ming Dynasty will not be able to conquer Japan and obtain gold and silver mines. Even if you have fertilizers by then, what use will they be?

If people cannot afford it, food cannot be produced. Without food, we will lose the support of the people!

Plus the weather is getting colder.

According to the immortal, a hundred years later in the Ming Dynasty, the city of Nanjing will be covered with three feet of ice and snow, and even sporadic snowflakes will appear at the ends of the earth.

Don't you have any idea of ​​what will happen in the areas south of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers?"

Looking at all the silent people, Zhu Biao's loud voice sounded again:
"It's a disaster! All kinds of disasters! Refugees everywhere! Rebels everywhere! Cannibalism! Starving people everywhere!
What is this! This is the tragic situation at the end of the Yuan Dynasty!
How many of us have lived through such tragic times? Have we forgotten what life was like before?"

Zhu Biao's words were like a bolt from the blue, making everyone's head buzz and at the same time recalling how they had survived the late Yuan Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)