The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 573 Shangshu was almost beaten to death
The Minister of Rites, Lü Kun, led the Embroidered Uniform Guard and naval officers to quell the rebellion of the Chu vassal state.

The weather is slowly turning colder.

A cold wind blew in the capital, and the grain harvest in Nurgandusi began to come.

It is no exaggeration to say that Xu Guangqi and Wang Xiangjin, the top two candidates in the imperial examination, farmed.

The yields of the crops they grow are astonishingly high.

At least for most fields these days, their yield per acre is truly amazing.

The yield of rice and wheat they planted reached about 600 kilograms per mu, which was just short of 4 shi per mu.

The corn yield per mu reached 1,200 kilograms, which is just short of 8 shi per mu.

Potatoes and sweet potatoes are amazing, with an output of more than 2,000 kilograms per mu. If this output is also calculated in stones, it would be about 15 stones per mu!
The grain output from the more than 60 million mu of farmland there exceeded 200 million shi.

Although each household only planted about one acre of potatoes and sweet potatoes, the yield was very high, with hundreds of millions of kilograms of each.

When the Northern King Zhu Changxu heard that the price of Ming Dynasty vermicelli could reach about ten cents per catty, he even submitted a special memorial. He also thought about planting more sweet potatoes and potatoes next year to make vermicelli and sell them.

This business is indeed worth doing. Although it takes about five pounds of sweet potatoes to produce one pound of vermicelli, and six or seven pounds of potatoes to produce one pound of vermicelli, but again, the yield is high. If one acre of sweet potatoes is made into vermicelli, it can be sold for at least four taels of silver, and if one acre of potatoes is made into vermicelli, it can be sold for at least three taels of silver.

If converted into grain, based on the grain prices and output in Liaodong, the money earned from selling one acre of sweet potato flour is equivalent to the grain of five or six acres of land, and one acre of potato flour is equivalent to the grain of about four acres of land.

Wanli was even considering whether to order people to develop a water wheel specifically for making vermicelli so as to mass-produce it.

Although the vermicelli business relies on large quantities to make money, vermicelli has a long storage time, is not easy to spoil, and is easy to transport. It can be sold everywhere in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, and it is not a problem to sell it overseas.

If this business can be made, it will be huge. Planting one million acres will cost three or four million taels of silver, and planting ten million acres will cost thirty or forty million taels of silver. If the sales are good, planting one hundred million acres will be no problem!

He was dreaming of getting rich when bad news came from Huguang.

Near noon that day, he was about to carry little Zhu Changxun back to Kunning Palace for dinner when the chief minister of the cabinet, Shen Li, suddenly ran over with a panicked look on his face.

After the emperor and his subjects exchanged greetings, the man held up an urgent report and trembled, "Your Majesty, this is bad! Xinwu has suffered a severe head injury and is in imminent danger!"

what?
Upon hearing this, Wanli quickly took the urgent report and read it carefully.

When he saw this, his face turned dark.

The Chu clan was really upset. They even dared to hit the Minister of Rites!

These guys didn't lose their minds because of rage, but it was premeditated.

When Lu Kun was interrogating the leaders of the Chu-vassal rebellion, Generals Zhu Yunqin and Zhu Yunhong, the two men actually said that some things should not be said loudly and asked Lu Kun to lean over and listen in detail.

As a result, as soon as Lu Kun walked up to the two guys and lowered his head, the two guys broke free from the shackles and hit Lu Kun on the head with the wooden shackles.

If the Jinyiwei had not reacted quickly and immediately pinned the two guys down, Lu Kun would probably have been crushed to death on the spot.

This was obviously premeditated. Although the shackles were made of wood, they were reinforced with iron sheets, and ordinary people could not break free.

If ordinary people can break free, then using shackles to imprison prisoners is a joke.

It was obvious that these two guys were wearing problematic shackles.

They had planned it long ago and wanted to take advantage of the interrogation to kill the Minister of Rites Lu Kun!

He read the urgent report with a dark face and immediately said in a loud voice: "Send it to Li Rusong and Li Jianzhong."

Li Jianzhong arrived quickly from the duty room in the Qianqing Palace.

He walked in quickly and took a look, then couldn't help but feel a little confused.

None of these three people look sick.

Wanli directly handed over the urgent report and asked, "Do you think he can be saved?"

When Li Jianzhong took the urgent report and read it, his face became solemn.

Minister of Rites Lu Kun suffered a serious head injury!
He thought about it carefully, then said carefully: "Your Majesty, I haven't seen Lord Lu's injuries, so I can't guarantee it."

If the head was smashed open, there would be no way to save him, so he naturally didn't dare to guarantee it.

His words scared Shen Li.

If even the miracle doctor doesn’t dare to guarantee it, how can it be saved?
Upon hearing this, Shen Li choked up and said, "Xinwu, Xinwu, you can't let me, a white-haired person, send you, a black-haired person, off."

Oh, you really care about this little fellow.

Wanli could only sigh and then comforted him: "Zhonghua, good fortune will come to those who are lucky. Don't worry."

Oops, I forgot this is the imperial study.

Shen Li quickly calmed himself down, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I lost my composure."

It is rare in life to have a close friend.

You two have a really good relationship.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then instructed: "Jianzhong, go and get ready quickly, and set off with Rusong soon."

Upon hearing this, Li Jianzhong hurriedly bowed and took his leave.

Li Rusong was on guard duty on the walls of the Imperial City at the moment, so he arrived quite quickly. As soon as Li Jianzhong left, he came rushing over.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli said coldly, "Choose a hundred of your personal guards and take Jianzhong with you on a fast navy ship to Huguang to quell the Chu vassal rebellion.

"All members of the Chu clan who participated in the rebellion will be brought to the capital. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"

what?
Kill without mercy!

He is a member of the royal family.

Even if royal family members rebel, they can't be killed at will, right?
You told me to kill without mercy!

Li Rusong was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then he quickly bowed and said, "I obey your order."

Wanli nodded slightly, then waved his hand and said, "Go ahead. See if Jianzhong is ready. You should set off immediately. Order the navy officers and soldiers to row day and night in shifts to reach Huguang as quickly as possible."

Upon hearing this, Li Rusong hurriedly bowed and took his leave.

This Chu vassal rebellion really pissed off Wanli.

The Minister of Rites was almost beaten to death. These princes and royal family members are really lawless.

Shen Yikuan's chain of tricks is really amazing.

When this guy helped King Zhu Huakui of Chu to suppress the Chu royal family, he probably had already calculated that the situation today would occur.

The Chu clan members were like fools without brains, and they would explode at the slightest provocation.

These guys have no regard for the law.

Perhaps, it is time to consider reducing the power of the princes, otherwise it will not be enough to intimidate other princes and royal families.

He was sitting there frowning in deep thought, but little Zhu Changxun couldn't help but touch his stomach and said, "Father, I'm so hungry."

Oh, it’s time for dinner.

Do you want to invite Shen Li to join us?

This guy looks like he has no appetite at all.

Wanli thought about it and simply waved his hand and said, "Zhonghua, go back and eat."

Shen Li quickly bowed and took his leave.

He also stood up and walked towards Kunning Palace, holding little Zhu Changxun.

All the way he was thinking about how to reduce the power of the feudal lords.

The Chu vassal wanted to take this opportunity to weaken his power in order to intimidate other vassal kings, but he also had to find an excuse.

After all, the princes and royal family members are royal relatives, and this time King Chu Zhu Huakui did not participate in the rebellion. He even paid tribute, but the tribute silver was robbed.

If he inexplicably weakened the Chu vassal state, the other vassal kings would probably take the opportunity to cause trouble.

How can we reduce the power of Chu?

He pondered for a while, and then the kitchen staff of Kunning Palace arrived.

Queen Wang, concubines, princes and princesses were all waiting for them to have dinner.

He directly stuffed little Zhu Changxun into Queen Wang's arms, called out again, indicating that everyone should eat first, and then sat in the main seat without moving.

Seeing that he didn't even move his chopsticks, Queen Wang couldn't help but ask with concern, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? Do you want to call in the God of Medicine to come and see you?"

I feel uncomfortable.

Wanli shook his head slightly and sighed, "The Chu clan was too outrageous this time. Minister of Rites Lü Kun was almost beaten to death by them. We don't know if he can be saved.

If I don't abolish the Chu vassal state, those princes and royal family members will become lawless."

what?
Cut off the vassal!

The harem cannot interfere in politics.

Queen Wang nodded when she heard this, and then asked, "Xun'er, what do you want to eat? Mother will pick it up for you."

Upon hearing this, Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan and Imperial Noble Consort Zhang couldn't help but look at their precious sons in their arms with worry on their faces.

Their sons will become princes in the future. If their princedom is reduced, how will they live?

Seeing this, Wanli said solemnly: "Zhi'er, Hao'er, you must not learn from these princes to be lawless and extravagant.

You must focus your energy on the people under your rule, and do your best to ensure they live and work in peace and contentment, with ample food and clothing. Only in this way can we achieve long-term stability and everlasting peace."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changzhi and Xiao Zhu Changhao nodded repeatedly and said, "Your sons will remember this."

The atmosphere seemed a little wrong at this moment. He wanted to reduce the power of the princes and teach his son, which made the concubines and princes and princesses dare not laugh or play anymore.

Seeing this, Wanli quickly picked up his chopsticks and said, "Eat, eat, I'm hungry."

(End of this chapter)