Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 80 Going to Daming for the New Year

After returning to the modern era, Zhu Yunfeng suddenly had nothing to do.

The novel has been abandoned.

The company is on holiday near the end of the year.

Zou Ting has already made all the arrangements for the beginning of next year.

I feel like I am of no use as a boss.

Even now, except Zou Ting, other employees in the company have never seen him, but the company is still operating as usual.

Ji He told Zou Ting that Zhu Yunfeng went to his father's place in Guangzhou for some business.

But the boss has disappeared for more than a month, and the company is growing bigger and bigger, and will be back on track next year.

Kind of embarrassing.

In the next few days, I first went to the county to pick up Pippi dog and Dandan cat, and then bought some New Year's goods in the town.

The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. After lunch, Ji He said, "Fengzi, Lao Si, I want to go back."

"Well, let's go."

"Will your parents come back this year?"

"not coming back."

"You're not coming back. It's been a few years."

"Yeah, three years."

"Then come with me. It's not like you haven't slept at my house before when you were a kid."

"Never mind. I'm used to it."

Zhu Yunfeng waved his hand.

He was sent to the county town to study in elementary school, and before that he lived with his relative's teacher.

However, due to my good relationship with Ji He, it is common for me to say hello to my relatives occasionally and sleep at Ji He's house.

But children are children, and at this age you have to know etiquette. During the New Year, families gather together, and it is inappropriate for an outsider to go to someone else's home.

"Okay, I'll leave first."

Ji He opened the door of the main hall. It was snowing heavily outside and the entire Shangfeng Mountain was buried in snow.

That's the high altitude.

There is often some snow and sand falling in Lansha Town at the foot of the mountain, but the mountain is covered with flying snow.

Fortunately, the road leading to Jixiang Town is a newly built road, there are not many cars, and there are anti-skid chains, so there is no need to worry about safety.

"Drive slowly."

Zhu Yunfeng shouted.

"Well, let's go."

Ji He waved his hand, got in the car and left.

"Let's go to Daming to celebrate the New Year."

Zhu Di watched Ji He's car disappear at the end of the road and said lazily, "It's easy to get there anyway."

"Well, we'll talk about it when the time comes. I'm mainly worried that if my parents come back suddenly, I'll go to Daming if they don't call me tomorrow."

Zhu Yunfeng looked at the WeChat messages on his phone.

His sixth uncle and seventh uncle next door, as well as his fifth uncle and second uncle behind the house all sent messages asking him if he wanted to go to their homes to celebrate the New Year.

Since Zhu Yunfeng's family has been a single-line family for three generations, these relatives are actually quite distant.

However, as the saying goes, a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. These families live near Zhu Yunfeng's home, so every New Year's Day they would ask Zhu Yunfeng for his opinion.

However, Zhu Yunfeng was not used to spending such a lively time with people he was not familiar with, so he declined.

This year is no different.

Zhu Yunfeng found a reason to refuse, went back to the second floor, and looked at the hill opposite his home.

I remember the last time our family reunited for the Chinese New Year was four years ago.

My grandfather was still alive at that time, but his health was very poor. I spent the last year with him, and he passed away not long after.

My dad spent more than 200,000 yuan and hired someone to raze the old house.

It took almost a year to complete the two-story building, which was built on and off. But my parents never came back to live with us after that.

"I'm afraid they must be having a hard time out there."

Zhu Yunfeng thought to himself.

"Wang Wang Wang."

At this moment, the little dog suddenly started barking wildly.

Then it "whoosh" and rushed downstairs.

Before Zhu Yunfeng and Zhu Di went downstairs, a happy voice came from downstairs: "Hahahaha, it's my national guardian dog, the general!"

"Father."

"Ancestor."

Zhu Yunfeng and Zhu Di went downstairs and saw Zhu Yuanzhang coming over wearing the black winter uniform for the elderly that Zhu Yunfeng had given him.

Zhu Yuanzhang was stroking Pippi's dog head. Pippi's eyes were bright, his mouth was grinning, and his tail was wagging like an electric fan. He was trying his best to please and fawn on Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up and saw the two of them, and nodded slightly.

Zhu Yunfeng smiled and said, "The old ancestor hasn't been here for a few days, and the great uncle hasn't been here for a few days either."

After the Ming Dynasty and the modern world were reconnected, the two sides did not visit each other for several days.

不过这也是意料之中的事情。

Zhu Yuanzhang had been away from Ming Dynasty for more than a month and knew nothing about the current situation of Ming Dynasty. Naturally, he needed a few days to digest it.

As the successor to the empire, Zhu Biao was in the limelight during this period. He dealt with Hu Weiyong and his party with thundering means in a very short period of time using reasonable and legal means. Naturally, he also had to strike while the iron was hot and work hard to consolidate his momentum.

If it were another emperor, seeing the prince being so outstanding, he might feel threatened. However, Zhu Yuanzhang was very pleased. He had to support Zhu Biao for the next few days, so it was normal that he could not get away.

"Well, I spent a few days understanding the current situation in the court. I also have to attend the morning court, issue an imperial edict, and announce to the world that the crimes of Hu Weiyong and his followers are public. It does take some time."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled, then looked Zhu Yunfeng up and down and said, "I heard that you are having a lot of fun in Daming. You are not seen every day, playing outside. Even my son was beaten up by you. Now it is said inside and outside the palace that you are highly valued by the prince."

"You said that. Don't you also want to beat your beastly son to death? Please go up and sit down. I'll make you some tea."

Zhu Yunfeng said this as he went to the kitchen to boil water.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di went up to the second floor.

After a while, Zhu Yunfeng came up with a kettle, and brought them teacups and tea leaves, and made three cups of tea.

He didn't drink tea before, but since Lao Zhu and his friends did, he bought some high-end tea.

"Grandfather, it's almost New Year's Day. Are you here today to call your beastly son to account?"

Zhu Yunfeng poured tea for Zhu Yuanzhang.

As he spoke, he closely observed Lao Zhu's expression.

If Mr. Zhu doesn't know what's good for him, the tea will be splashed on his face.

After all, Zhu Chong is really a beast worse than animals. What if Old Zhu takes it out on himself because of him?

Isn't that equivalent to the protagonist in a novel beating up the villain, and the villain calling for his father?

What are you waiting for if you don’t turn against each other?
Fortunately, Old Zhu still had some humanity. He said with a smile, "That beast had the nerve to come to me. It's only because I wasn't here, otherwise I would have whipped him ten times."

Seeing this, Zhu Yunfeng put down the teapot and said, "Our ancestors are still very clear about justice. It is not too much to confine Zhu Chong to Fengyang and treat him like Tang Wang Zhu Youjian. He should be tortured by the Dunzhu method. It can be regarded as saving thousands of people."

"Okay, let's not talk about these disappointing things."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said in a soft tone: "There is nothing to do here today. It is the end of the year. Your great-grandmother asked me to come and ask you to go to Daming to celebrate the New Year together." "Oh."

Zhu Yunfeng responded.

Zhu Yuanzhang saw that his attitude was rather calm, and he blew his beard and glared at him, saying, "What? Are you not happy when I personally come to call you?"

"No, ask Lao Si. If you don't come to call me, I will shamelessly go there tomorrow."

Zhu Yunfeng shook his head and said, "It's just that I haven't celebrated the New Year with my parents for quite a while. Last year and the year before, it was just me and Pipi and Dandan, the cat and the dog, who celebrated the New Year together, like orphans. This year they are not coming back either, and I feel a little upset."

Everything is fine normally, I still live the same way as before.

But the Chinese New Year has a different meaning.

Other families are reunited, and while it looks so lively outside, my own home is so cold and deserted.

Some people say that hometown is the real home.

In fact, wherever there are family members, whether in hometown or other places, even if it is just in a rental house far away from hometown, as long as the family is reunited, that is the feeling of home.

Zhu Yunfeng hasn't experienced this feeling for a long time.

"What's the big deal? I'm a real man. My parents and brothers all died. My eldest sister-in-law, second brother, and nephew and I all fled for our lives. I was wandering outside alone, helpless and alone. I have long forgotten what it feels like to reunite with my family during the Chinese New Year."

Zhu Yuanzhang patted him on the shoulder and said, "At least your parents are still here. Unlike me, when I become successful, I will only have that useless nephew left. I also know the situation of your parents. They are not having a good life now, so there is nothing to complain about. When you pay off their debts in the future, we will be reunited."

"Is Zhu Wenzheng also useless?"

Zhu Yunfeng opened his mouth, but was speechless.

This guy fought against Chen Youliang's 2 troops with only 60 soldiers and defended Hongdu for 85 days.

"Humph, he conquered Jiqing Road that year and made great contributions. I wanted to reward him, but he said that I should give official titles and rewards to my relatives first. How can I convince the people? I am very happy and like him."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, "He did make great contributions in the Battle of Hongdu, but it was also because of this that I was worried that he would become arrogant and unruly, so I deliberately suppressed him. I thought that he would understand me and I would reward him lavishly later, but he turned out to be so unbearable. I am disappointed."

"That's true. He has made great contributions, but his character has changed so quickly. It means that he was just pretending before and his true nature showed up later."

Zhu Yunfeng agreed.

There is nothing much to say about this. Zhu Yuanzhang just didn't give any reward yet. Given his personality, it is impossible for him not to love the only son left by his eldest brother.

After all, Mu Ying's contributions were far less than Zhu Wenzhen's, but his title remained the same as the country's.

If Zhu Wenzhen had been as humble as Mu Ying, the title bestowed upon his lineage would not have been just a prince.

But even so, when Zhu Wenzhen made such a big mistake, the Jingjiang Prince's lineage was initially treated as a prince, which shows that Zhu still remembered his nephew's contribution.

"Let's not talk about him anymore. Biaoer told me these days that he plans to formulate some policies next year. Can you help me take a look and see what you think?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said again.

really.

There must be something else besides coming to invite him to celebrate the New Year.

“What policies did he set?”

Zhu Yunfeng asked.

"Abolish the Secretariat and establish a cabinet."

"No problem, that's what you did historically."

"Reduce corvée labor and taxes, especially taxes in the south of the Yangtze River, which have been greatly reduced."

"Well"

Zhu Yunfeng hesitated for a moment and said, "That's right. After all, the retaliatory taxes you imposed on Jiangnan were too heavy. Zhang Shicheng is a good man, and it's no problem for the people to remember his kindness."

"You guy!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that his teeth itched.

From his perspective, how could he not be angry when the people remembered the good things about his enemies?

But from Zhu Yunfeng's objective point of view, it is a very normal thing.

The people are the ones who hold them in their hearts, and the people hold them above their heads.

Zhang Shicheng is good to the people, you can't change the people's thoughts about who is good for them.

Seeing that he was angry, Zhu Yunfeng rolled his eyes and said, "You are too narrow-minded, old man. Your narrow-mindedness is not the way to solve the problem."

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he laughed and said, "The people only remember you as their enemy, but they don't remember who saved them from the tyranny of the Yuan Dynasty. Tell me how to solve the problem?"

"Retaliatory taxation is never a good thing. It will only backfire and make the people of Jiangnan more disgusted with the Ming regime."

Zhu Yunfeng waved his index finger and said, "If it were me, I would be more generous and confer titles on Zhang Shicheng's descendants, have people offer sacrifices to him, and then post notices to appease the people. The people will then think you are magnanimous and more willing to submit to you. After all, you and Zhang Shicheng just have different positions, and there is no personal hatred. It's just like Liu Bei and Cao Cao have different positions, but they once called each other heroes. Sometimes being more open-minded may lead to different results."

After all, the people in the south of the Yangtze River are already commemorating Zhang Shicheng, so how bad can things get?

Continuing to impose higher taxes will only force rebellion.

So being magnanimous is a good idea.

"Humph."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly. It was really an unpleasant thing to be accused of being narrow-minded by future generations.

"What other policies does Grandpa Tai have?"

Zhu Yunfeng asked again.

"He said he wanted to disband the national garrisons, saying that the garrisons would become corrupt anyway, so it would be better to let them go back to open up wasteland and cultivate the land."

"That's right. The Ming Dynasty is not the Song Dynasty. We recruit all kinds of people into the army. Although our ancestors said that they could support a million-strong army without spending a penny, to be honest, the taxes paid by the soldiers on the land they cultivate cannot be paid to the treasury. All taxes are taken away by their superior officers. It would be better to let them go back to cultivate the land themselves. At least they can pay taxes to the treasury."

"What about the war?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily: "There is unrest everywhere in the Ming Dynasty now. Without these troops, war will break out again."

"Of course it's not a one-time decision. Eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time."

Zhu Yunfeng smiled and said, "The Weisuo system will be abolished, but the army will not be disbanded. Instead, the soldiers will be discharged from the army. After serving for a few years, they will be given land and means of production to grow crops and have enough food and clothing. In the past, the Ming Dynasty certainly did not have so much money to operate, but later I will give you tens of millions of taels of silver. This is a small matter. When the time comes, the new rice will be promoted to the two lakes and the basin, and another agricultural revolution will be carried out to ensure sufficient food."

The Wei Suo system was indeed quite deceptive, and the Song Dynasty actually only half implemented the Wei Suo system. But the good thing about the Song Dynasty was that the central government actually allocated funds to support them. Although those soldiers were also being exploited and given empty salaries, there was always some profit to be made.

But the Ming Dynasty did not provide any financial support at all, so the soldiers in the garrisons could only farm the fields themselves. Most of the income from farming was taken away by their superiors, so they lived in poverty, even worse than ordinary civilians.

Therefore, this policy was already very rotten by the time of Zhu Di, and there were countless deserters from garrisons across the country. By the time of Ming Renzong and Ming Xuanzong, it had basically become rotten to the core and had become a tool for exploiting soldiers.

So it’s better to cancel early.

However, the Ming Dynasty is now at war everywhere and needs manpower, so it is not possible to cancel it all at once.

Zhu Yunfeng believes that we can take it step by step, for example, cancel some of the taxes in the next two years and let some soldiers in the garrisons become self-cultivating farmers. In this way, they can also pay taxes to the national treasury and increase grain production.

In the future, when the Ming Dynasty becomes stronger and stronger and its national strength becomes more and more developed, it will be completely abolished and a new conscription system and military system will be planned.

"Forget it. It's really annoying to ask you to help me. Let's go. Just go by yourself."

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Zhu Yunfeng supported Zhu Biao's reforms and denied many of his own policies, he became angry and stood up and left angrily.

no way.

He now also realizes how harmful these policies were in later history.

It's just that I can't save face, so naturally I don't want to stay for long.

"Fourth."

Seeing Old Zhu leaving, Zhu Yunfeng smiled and said to Zhu Di: "Then let's move our things."

"What to move?"

Zhu Di finally waited for his father to pass away. He originally wanted to play on the computer, but when he saw that his father asked him to do something, he felt a little reluctant.

"Move the fireworks. It's New Year, how can we not set off fireworks?"

Zhu Yunfeng waved with a smile.

Although he didn't have family to reunite for the New Year, the sense of ceremony was still important. He went to town these few days and bought more than 5,000 yuan worth of fireworks, which was enough for him to have a good time.

(End of this chapter)