Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 114 Then Go to hell!
Inside the Wuying Hall, as soon as Zhu Yuanzhang uttered those words, the ease and joy in the hearts of the Wu brothers, Wu Liang and Wu Zhen, vanished without a trace.

I felt my soul tremble!

Zhu Yuanzhang's completely unexpected words left them utterly stunned.

Wait... we were talking about something perfectly fine, how did it suddenly turn into a discussion about the maritime ban and the Maritime Trade Office?

This happened so long ago, why would the emperor, with nothing better to do, bring this up again?
This time, wasn't the emperor so furious because of the Japanese pirates' invasion of Laizhou and the discovery of the secret sale of ships?

Why is this bringing up the maritime ban and the Maritime Trade Office again?
Were they all wrong before this?

They believed that the discovery of the smuggled ships they had uncovered was the true purpose of the emperor's actions.

Only now do we realize that this was just a ruse by the emperor!
It's still meant to mislead them!
The emperor's real purpose was not the major issue of stealing and selling ships, but rather the maritime ban and the Maritime Trade Office!

insidious!

It’s so insidious!
For a moment, both of their heads were buzzing, and Wu Liang even experienced a sharp tinnitus.

No... this just doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it!
Has the Emperor discovered the secrets of the maritime ban and the Maritime Trade Office?

How could he have discovered the secrets of the maritime ban and the Maritime Trade Office?

The emperor was always busy. The maritime ban and the Maritime Trade Office were proposed by two of his trusted confidants, and Prime Minister Hu Weiyong also contributed to the effort.

The emperor agreed at the time, so why did he suddenly turn his attention to the maritime ban and the Maritime Trade Office?
Should not!
That really shouldn't have happened!
Over the years, the emperor has been quite satisfied with the effects of the maritime ban.

They also held the Maritime Trade Office in particularly low regard.

The maritime ban and the Maritime Trade Office were secrets that many people carefully and worked together to protect.

The most important thing is to guard against the emperor.

Now, why does the emperor suddenly seem to know so much?
Looking at the Wu brothers, Wu Zhen and Wu Liang, whose expressions changed uncontrollably and whose mental state instantly transformed.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao's expression also turned cold.

These two aren't exactly happy, are they?
After doing such a thing, how could they possibly think they could get away with it?

The Ming Dynasty was facing severe financial difficulties, with money scarce everywhere.

His own father was forced into this situation; he had even considered issuing paper money, a desperate measure that was like drinking poison to quench his thirst!

A few months ago, for a mere 250,000 strings of cash, he even issued national bonds in the name of the emperor and the court.

As a result, Wu Zhen and Wu Liang, who were trusted confidants of the emperor and entrusted with important responsibilities by him, secretly accepted benefits.

He actually wrote a memorial to the emperor urging him to abolish the Maritime Trade Office and lift the ban on sea trade.

Such a large profit was distributed as a share!
Damn it!

"As for the matter, it was already decided beforehand that the Maritime Trade Office is indeed not profitable."

After struggling to suppress the chaotic thoughts in his mind and organizing his thoughts for a while, Wu Zhen finally spoke.

"Really not making money?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him and asked a question in return, showing no sign of letting up.

"Getting a position doesn't really make money."

At that time, he earned a maximum of 12,000 guan a year, and sometimes he didn't even earn 10,000 guan.

These are all documented.

Wu Zhen replied again, citing the previous revenue of the Maritime Trade Office as an example.

"What about you? Do you say the same thing?"

Zhu Yuanzhang then turned his attention to Wu Liang.

Wu Liang said, "Your Majesty, this matter was settled at the time. It was only after extensive investigation and confirmation that the Maritime Trade Office really didn't make much money that it was abolished..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's last shred of leniency vanished completely.

The girl spoke up for them in the morning, and he refused her offer immediately.

But after thinking about it, I decided to do as the girl said.

If these two behave well, then it's not impossible for me to spare their lives.

Asking them questions just now was giving them a chance.

But the two of them didn't appreciate it at all!
Even now, having come to this point and directly asked them this question, they still choose not to be of one mind with him.

They even tried to hide this matter, attempting to deceive themselves.

Since that's the case, don't blame yourself!

Then go to hell!
"But I've heard that the Maritime Trade Office used to be very profitable."

Zhu Yuanzhang paused for a moment, looked at the two men, and spoke in a neutral tone.

"When you took office, the Maritime Trade Office didn't make money either, did it?"

I remember that at that time, they dug out all the archives of the Yuan Dynasty's Maritime Trade Office from the past twenty or thirty years.

At most, it was only a few hundred thousand strings of cash; later on, it was reduced to only a few thousand strings.

Later, with the country descending into chaos, the revenue of the Yuan Dynasty's Maritime Trade Office simply disappeared.

Wu Zhen has calmed down considerably.

The matter concerning the Maritime Trade Office has long been settled.

It won't be easy for the emperor to overturn the verdict at this time.

If this matter were only between the two brothers, they would likely speak if the emperor asked.

But this matter involves far too many people.

From sea pirates to merchants in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong, as well as the gentry and officials who had intricate connections with them.

And the many ordinary people who worked for those merchants...

They really can't do something like that.

Once they actually do it, the two brothers will inevitably fall into the center of the vortex.

It became a battlefield where all sides fought each other.

Of course, besides this consideration, there is another reason why they made this choice.

That is because this matter involves too many people and too much money.

Both of them had always been the emperor's confidants.

The emperor was a man who could not tolerate injustice, hated evil as if it were his enemy, and loathed betrayal the most.

If they were to admit to such a thing, given the emperor's temperament, it would be strange if either of them came out unscathed!

Therefore, it would be better to remain stubborn and refuse to admit anything.

If we don't admit it, there's still a good chance things will turn around.

Even if the emperor has a lot of opinions about the two of them, it doesn't matter.

It's better than saying everything, which would not only make the emperor hate them, but also make many people involved in maritime trade resent them to the core, leaving them with no good outcome from either side.

That is the true path to death.

Having gotten involved in these things, it's impossible for them to escape unscathed this time.

The current concern is not about escaping unscathed, but about minimizing the cost while preserving oneself.

This is the most important thing.

While feeling distressed, Wu Liang also fully realized what was happening.

Zhu Yuanzhang let me pass so easily yesterday, it wasn't because he truly forgave me.

Instead, he did it on purpose to lure his younger brother to the capital as well.

It's good that the two brothers worked together!
That's so insidious and cunning!

That's absolutely inhuman!

They were his two trusted confidants, how could he treat them like this?

While I was annoyed by it, I couldn't help but feel terrified.

With the emperor so meticulously planning this, it won't be easy for the two brothers to get through this ordeal.

However, it wouldn't be as easy for him to do that. In the already established system of abolishing the Maritime Trade Office and establishing a maritime ban, which had been in place for several years, it would be equally difficult to create a huge loophole.

If the emperor could easily find concrete evidence, he would not have agreed to abolish the Maritime Trade Office and establish a maritime ban a few years ago.

"You have a good memory; you still remember the Yuan Dynasty's Maritime Trade Office account books."

"Bring over all the account books from the Yuan Dynasty's Maritime Trade Office!"

"Let's have a good chat today, with my two trusted generals, and see what's recorded in the Yuan Dynasty's Maritime Trade Office's ledgers!"

After entering Xianyang, Liu Bang went straight to the Xianyang Palace and talked with the beautiful palace women about life and ideals, putting into practice what he had said when he met the First Emperor on his tour: "A true man should be like this."

Many of his subordinate generals and officials were also blinded by the wealth of Xianyang and took advantage of it in various ways.

Only Xiao He volunteered to protect the various books, ledgers, and other documents of the Qin Dynasty.

He made things much easier for Liu Bang in governing the country later on.

When Zhu Yuanzhang first heard about this, he remembered it.

That's how it all came about.

The fact that the archives of the Yuan Dynasty's Maritime Trade Office have been preserved so completely is thanks to this.

Liu Ying, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, personally led a group of people to move the files.

The brothers Wu Liang and Wu Zhen were filled with apprehension.

They exchanged a quick, unconscious glance before swiftly looking away.

They could all see the worry and bewilderment in each other's hearts.

Why would the emperor want to go through the files of the Yuan Dynasty?

It is said that the records of the Yuan Dynasty's Maritime Trade Office were found by Hu Weiyong and shown to the emperor; they were unaware of much of the inside story.

Hu Weiyong didn't reveal much to them either.

However, as they came into more and more contact with maritime merchants and pirates, they became increasingly distrustful of the Yuan Dynasty's maritime trade records.

After all, the two brothers alone secretly received over a million strings of cash in benefits from the maritime merchants every year.

In addition to the profits that the merchants shared with others, the profits from maritime trade were truly astonishing.

How could the Maritime Trade Office only receive such a small amount of money?
The Yuan Dynasty's Maritime Trade Office archives that Hu Weiyong showed to the emperor showed such low incomes that, in retrospect, there are only two possibilities.

One was Hu Weiyong, who was incredibly audacious and dared to falsify the accounts of the Maritime Trade Office to deceive the emperor.

Another point is that the Yuan Dynasty's Maritime Trade Office had long since ceased to exist and had been emptied out.

However, the fact that the emperor immediately ordered the account books to be brought out at the slightest disagreement reveals that there are clearly other details involved in this matter.

Otherwise, the emperor would never have acted in this way.

"By the way, what were your reasons for abolishing the Maritime Trade Office and establishing a maritime ban back then?"

After Liu Ying left, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Wu Zhen and Wu Liang and asked them questions.

"The upper level is the Maritime Trade Office, which is not conducive to preventing pirates. It is feared that people along the coast and pirates will collude with each other."

The meager profits earned by the Maritime Trade Office were far less than the resulting military expenditures and numerous troubles.

When asked about coastal defense, Wu Zhen began to answer.

"Well said, that's really well said!"

Then tell me, did the number of pirates decrease as a result?
Was it really a major blow because of this?

Wu Zhen said, “Your Majesty, since the implementation of the maritime ban, the number of pirate raids on the coast has indeed decreased by more than 50% compared to the past.”

The maritime ban was extremely effective in preventing pirates, achieving remarkable results.

The emperor brought up the revenue of the Maritime Trade Office, so he dared not speak too loudly.

But if you want to find fault with the pirate invasion, he really won't admit it.

After the maritime ban was implemented, the number of pirate raids along the coast decreased significantly.

In this matter, he can stand up straight.

"Let's go to hell!"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately cursed loudly.

"You have the nerve to talk to us about this, and you say it so matter-of-factly, with such a righteous look on your face?"
How did the coastal raids by pirates decrease? Was it because of the implementation of the maritime ban?

It's because you damned people colluded with the pirates!

You made an agreement with the pirates to keep them from causing trouble, so you could report back to your superiors.

In return, they turned a blind eye to the transactions between the pirates and the numerous smuggling merchants.

Intentionally condoning it!

Or they could simply act as protectors for pirates and large-scale smuggling merchants!

Zhu Yuanzhang stared intently at Wu Zhen, walking towards him step by step, his eyes practically blazing with fury.

Wu Zhen was greatly alarmed and horrified.

How did the emperor find out about these things?
How did the emperor find out?
How long has the Embroidered Uniform Guard been established?
In less than a year, they were able to uncover the fact that local officials had embezzled funds from printing accounting books, thus triggering a major case.

And now they even know the secrets between him and the pirates and smugglers? How is that possible? How can he possibly keep up?

Or is it that Liu Ying, that scoundrel, was born in the Year of the Dog and has a dog's nose?

Wu Liang was also taken aback, and sweat broke out uncontrollably on his forehead.

I was almost startled by the emperor's words and jumped up from the ground.

"Your Majesty, this is the work of a disgraced official..."

Wu Zhen felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly tried to explain.

But Zhu Yuanzhang was too lazy to listen to him and interrupted him.

"Also, there's the matter of this ship being stolen and sold to pirates."

Was it really your men who did it?

Are you two really completely unaware?
Let's go to hell!
Are we idiots, or have you been kicked in the head by a donkey?

Are you trying to fool people with this?

Do you even believe that yourself?
We know how capable the Wu brothers, Wu Liang and Wu Zhen, are.

When did you two become such idiots who can be so easily deceived by your subordinates?
We've entrusted you, our trusted confidant, with the responsibility of defending the rivers and the sea.

What a great trust this is, and this is how you two brothers repay our trust?
The cat that catches mice ended up getting involved with the mice themselves.

Two thousand liang of ocean-going ships, all sold to pirates.

You still dare to tell us with such confidence that the maritime ban effectively reduced the invasion of coastal areas by pirates?!
How could you, Wu Er, a donkey-like wretch, utter such words!

Zhu Yuanzhang grew angrier as he spoke, and at the end, he suddenly kicked out, knocking Wu Zhen to the ground.

One kick after another, showing no mercy.

His pent-up anger finally found an outlet.

Wu Zhen was not much smaller than Zhu Yuanzhang, and he was also a fierce general who had fought his way up in the army.

They are willing to risk their lives in battle.

But at this moment, he dared not move in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Like a rolling gourd, it passively endured being kicked hard by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Wu Liang, a fierce general who used to decide life and death with a single word, dared not make any move when he saw his younger brother being beaten.

He just knelt there obediently, trembling.

At this point, he no longer felt that he and his brother were being treated differently by the emperor, and that the emperor had previously thrown an inkstone at him but not at his brother.

The beating his younger brother received was far worse than the inkstone the emperor threw at him.

The usually kind-hearted Crown Prince Zhu Biao, upon seeing this scene, not only felt no pity, but even wanted to go up and kick him a few times.

The towering Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, stared intently at the Wu brothers, Wu Zhen and Wu Liang, his eyes slightly red, ready to tear them apart at the slightest sign of trouble.

The eight Imperial Guards standing to the side, each gripping the hilt of a sword, were glaring menacingly, their bodies tense.

Clearly, they were prepared to immediately chop the two men to pieces should they make any unusual moves.

Zhu Yuanzhang kicked it more than twenty times before stopping.

By this time, Wu Zhen had already been kicked so hard that his face was bruised and swollen, and his nose was bleeding profusely.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang had beaten his younger brother and turned to walk towards the imperial desk, ignoring his intentions, Wu Liang, who was trembling with fear, felt a sense of relief.

As a result, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had gone halfway, suddenly turned back.

"You, Wu Da, are no better!"
We can turn a blind eye to your little tricks in the meantime, considering your past contributions.

But you yourself say that what you did was a small matter? A trivial act?

"Damn it, they're practically hollowing out our Great Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang angrily cursed as he walked up to Wu Liang.

With a powerful kick, filled with rage, he slammed his foot into Wu Liang's face.

With just one kick, Wu Liang was knocked to the ground.

Zhu Yuanzhang rushed forward and kicked him repeatedly.

These imposing generals couldn't possibly be intimidated by him.

This is the Emperor. Even if I, the highly respected Crown Prince, were to ascend the throne in the future, I would never treat these founding generals and commanders in this way.

It's not that I don't want to, it's that I simply can't.

If we actually do that, these people won't accept it.

Zhu Biao watched from the sidelines, feeling both relieved and inwardly impressed.

I'm increasingly realizing the true value of being a founding emperor...

When Liu Ying and his men brought over the preserved Yuan Dynasty Maritime Trade Office archives one by one.

The Wuying Hall was very quiet.

Seeing the two brothers, Wu Liang and Wu Zhen, kneeling on the ground with bruised and swollen faces, looking extremely disheveled, Liu Ying was not surprised at all.

Given the things Wu Zhen and Wu Liang have done, it would be strange if the higher-ups didn't give them a good beating, considering their tempers.

"Whether the Maritime Trade Office made money during the Yuan Dynasty or not, let's take a look and we'll know!"

As Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, he stood up and walked towards the account books.

Zhu Biao and Zhu Shuang followed.

The number of boxes brought this time was far greater than the number brought a few years ago when they tried to convince the emperor that even the Maritime Trade Office didn't make money during the Yuan Dynasty.

As the boxes were opened, neatly arranged ledgers were revealed.

It began in the first year of Kublai Khan's reign (1362) and continued until the fifteenth year of Emperor Shun of Yuan's reign (1364).

As for why there were no more rebellions during the remaining ten years of Emperor Yuan Shundi's reign, it was because the rebel forces were growing stronger and stronger, and various rebel armies rose up together.

Many places were no longer under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty.

Moreover, what you need most in doing business is a stable environment.

When the world is in chaos, business becomes difficult.

Yuan Ting was already preoccupied with his own problems, so how could he have the mind to manage and record the archives of the Maritime Trade Office?

Zhu Yuanzhang, accompanied by Zhu Biao and Zhu Shuang, began to examine the account books from the time of Kublai Khan.

These ledgers, in addition to detailed accounts, also include a summary of the general ledger.

Zhu Yuanzhang had seen a portion of the Maritime Trade Office's account books that Hu Weiyong had retrieved a few years ago, so he seemed quite familiar with them when he looked at them again.

Skip the numerous detailed accounts and go directly to the overall accounts for each year.

The brothers Wu Zhen and Wu Liang, enduring the pain on their faces and the anxiety in their hearts, eagerly awaited the emperor's announcement of the results.

"In the first year of the Zhiyuan era, the Maritime Trade Office made a profit of 23,210,000 strings of cash and 3,403 cash."

"In the second year of the Zhizheng era, the Maritime Trade Office made a profit of 22.56 million strings of cash and 7,824 cash."

"In the third year of the Zhizheng era, the profit was 2,400..."

Zhu Biao took the account book from Zhu Yuanzhang and unconsciously read out the total profit.

The voice sounded heavy, carrying an indescribable emotion.

My hands were trembling as I held the ledgers.

At this moment, Zhu Biao was truly shocked, angry, and furious!
When his father told him how much profit the Yuan Dynasty's Maritime Trade Office made, he already believed his father's words to be true.

But seeing these real ledgers in person now, I was still very emotionally affected.

The brothers Wu Liang and Wu Zhen were also stunned when they heard Zhu Biao read out the amount.

The profit of over 20 million strings of cash is far greater than the approximately 10,000 strings of cash made during the Hongwu reign!
Even though they had already gleaned from their interactions with maritime merchants and pirates how profitable maritime transport could be.

But when they heard about the specific profits made during the Yuan Dynasty, they were even more astonished.

Only after Zhu Biao read out the profit of over 33 million strings of cash did the two men finally stop themselves and begin to move closer.

I want to see the ledgers.

Zhu Yuanzhang took the account book from Zhu Biao's hand and threw it hard at the faces of Wu Liang and Wu Zhen.

"Give us a good look! Give us a good look!"

Ignoring their pain, the two quickly picked it up and examined it.

Upon seeing the meticulously recorded amount, he was stunned for a moment.

"Sir, this... I never imagined that the Maritime Trade Office of the Yuan Dynasty could be so profitable."

But... the accounts I saw a few years ago are different from the current ones.

The accounts I saw back then showed a pitifully small profit.

Wu Zhen's voice sounded dry as he spoke.

"The profits are naturally pitifully small. Those are the ones you specifically selected. Let us see the accounts with low profits later."

Otherwise, how could we have fallen into your trap and abolished the Maritime Trade Office?

Zhu Yuanzhang said with resentment.

"Your Excellency, this... the account books were taken by Prime Minister Hu Weiyong."

The two disgraced brothers were unaware of the situation.

The two of us were both roughnecks; how could we possibly know the intricacies of the situation?
Seeing that the Maritime Trade Office of the Great Ming Dynasty was not making much profit, he raised this issue with his superiors.

"If we had known the Maritime Trade Office could be so profitable, my brother and I would never have done it!"

Wu Liang knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, still refusing to give up.

And in doing so, they dragged Prime Minister Hu Weiyong into the matter.

"Are you still trying to fool me?"
You don't know? Do you think we'd believe that?
We believe you two are unclear about the specific accounts.

However, to say that one doesn't know how profitable the Maritime Trade Office is, and where the profits that should belong to the Maritime Trade Office have gone, and who has them in their hands, would be quite unprofessional.

You two were so brazen when you teamed up to deceive us before.

"They colluded with pirates and merchants, embezzling and accepting bribes, appropriating so much of the nation's property—they were so audacious! How come they dare to do it but dare not admit it now?"

Zhu Yuanzhang placed his hands on the jade belt at his waist, took a step forward, looked down at the two kneeling men, and his gaze was icy.

He was clearly furious.

"You think you can get away with this just because you don't admit it? Dream on!"
If we really let you off the hook, we'd be letting down the good deeds you've done!

I'm sorry for all that money that should have been collected by the imperial court and used for national welfare and people's livelihood!
"You two should both die!"

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang said this, Wu Zhen and Wu Liang were both startled.

His face showed fear and terror!
Extremely unbelievable.

The emperor is actually going to kill them?
They're not even going to spare their lives?

In their minds, even though things had come to this point, no matter how angry the emperor was, the worst he could do was to strip them of everything, but they could still save their lives.

But who could have imagined that the emperor would actually kill them?
This is not right!

"Your Highness, Your Highness the Crown Prince, please persuade him to ascend the throne, please persuade him to ascend the throne."

The two disgraced brothers made a grave mistake in a moment of confusion, which was indeed excessive.

But no matter what, it doesn't warrant death...

Wu Liang kowtowed forcefully to Zhu Biao, pleading with him.

Wu Zhen also spoke up and asked Zhu Biao for help.

They knew that it was no use asking Zhu Yuanzhang for help at this point.

The emperor is heartless; once he makes up his mind, there's no way they can change it.

No matter how much they prayed, it was no use.

The best course of action now is to ask the Crown Prince to plead with the Emperor on their behalf.

By this time, the two had realized that the emperor had summoned them today to threaten them with death.

In the past, the emperor would not have allowed the crown prince to participate in such occasions, but today the emperor had invited the crown prince.

Isn't this all so that the Crown Prince will speak up at the crucial moment and plead for the two of them?
In this way, the emperor had a way out, could also give his two brothers a proper reprimand, and could also get the crown prince to do favors for his two brothers.

I knew it! The emperor certainly wouldn't, and wouldn't dare, really kill the two of them!
The reason I made such a big fuss today is actually to give my brothers a good talking-to!

Besides, Crown Prince Zhu Biao has always been kind and benevolent, and has done such things more than once in the past.

This time, there will be absolutely no exceptions.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao came before Zhu Yuanzhang and bowed.

This action delighted Wu Liang and Wu Zhen.

The crown prince was still benevolent, and the emperor still couldn't do without them.

"Father, these two men, relying on their high merits, act recklessly, colluding with pirates to steal and sell ships."

"Your Majesty, I request that these two scoundrels be executed!"

Wu Liang, Wu Zhen: ? ? ? ! ! !
(End of this chapter)