Daming: I, Yang Xian, really govern Yang!

The military ration problem that had troubled Zhu Di for a long time was easily solved by Yang Xian.

The next thing to do is to standardize the production process of compressed biscuits, then recruit employees for training and put them into food processing plants for mass production.

After the compressed biscuits were made, they were not only used for Zhu Di's western expedition.

Yang Xian wrote a note to Zhu Biao, identifying compressed biscuits and various canned foods as the standard military rations for the Ming army in the future. In this way, not only in terms of weapons, but also in terms of military and food reserves, Ming Dynasty will also crush other countries around the world during this period.

Therefore, the production capacity of the few food processing plants in the Mongolian fiefdom alone is far from enough.

Just in line with the development and revitalization of the central and western parts of the Ming Dynasty, Mingji is preparing to directly invest in the construction of ten food processing plants in the western part of the country.

The imperial court provided cheap land and made clear investments to build factories and produce.

At the same time, a military ration supply contract for the next fifty years was signed with the imperial court, which was mutually beneficial.

The same is true for Zhu Di. The food processing factories in Mongolia are originally joint ventures between Mingji and the fiefdom Wang Ting. There is no problem if Zhu Di can't get the money at once. Mingji can advance the full amount first.

After the problem was solved, Zhu Di returned to his fiefdom with satisfaction.

For the Western Expedition in the coming spring, as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, Zhu Di still has many things to prepare.

Years are like a shuttle.

In the blink of an eye, the eleventh year of Hongwu has come to an end.

The industrial reform of the Ming Dynasty officially kicked off, and at this time, many problems that had never appeared before often appeared.

Zhu Biao couldn't always run to Yangzhou, so he simply called Yang Xian to the capital.

Nowadays, Li Jin is here in Yangzhou anyway, and Yang Xian's presence or absence will not affect its operation. In fact, since Li Jin was transferred to Yangzhou Tongzhi, Yang Xian began to work as a hands-off shopkeeper.

Those who study Confucianism do not necessarily become corrupt Confucians.

For example, Zhang Juzheng more than a hundred years later, or Li Jin now.

Li Jin was proficient in Confucianism and arithmetic, and was also somewhat proficient in the art of archery. He was knowledgeable in all six arts of a gentleman. He could be said to be a standard Confucian gentleman in this era.

He treats people well and responds appropriately to advances and retreats. He also hates rotten Confucianism and likes people who are practical but do not deviate from the Tao.

Often such people have big desires in their hearts.

I want to establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the living people, carry on the unique knowledge for the saints, and create peace for all generations.

Especially after Li Jin experienced the tax reform of Fengyang Mansion that year, although he suffered enough, it also allowed him to truly see the shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty, allowing him to truly think seriously about the Ming Dynasty and the road ahead.

Plus the reshaping of new learning.

In Yang Xian's eyes, Li Jin is considered a grown-up person.

What is lacking is nothing more than some time to settle.

Now he is still young and has plenty of time.

Therefore, Yang Xian was relieved to hand Yangzhou into his hands.

When winter first entered, Yang Xian took Wang Yuemin to the capital.

The minister of military aircraft, who had been idle for so long, finally came to work.

As for the court, Yang Xian should try not to go if he can. After all, Yang Xian's current job is still the magistrate of Yangzhou, not a capital official.

The most important thing is to get up early in the morning, which is too much trouble for Yang Xian.

This winter, when Yang Xian came to the capital, he simply regarded it as a vacation, and he had nothing to do.

Wang Yuemin came with her, not only to see Queen Ma whom she hadn't seen for a long time, but also to complete the task of making a villain.

Therefore, Wang Yuemin simply put aside Mingji's work for the time being.

On this day, Yang Xian and Wang Yuemin entered the palace together.

Yang Xian went to the East Palace to see Zhu Biao, while Wang Yuemin went to Kunning Palace to see Queen Ma.

When Wang Yuemin came to Kunning Palace, he didn't expect that besides him, there would also be a guest, the princess Xu Miaoyun.

The two of them greeted each other, said hello, and then sat down separately.

The two girls chatted enthusiastically with Queen Ma.

However, in the eyes of the female officer Yu'er who was standing aside, she felt something was wrong and couldn't help but blink her eyes.

Because Yu'er always felt that the scene in front of her was indescribably awkward. It was clear that both Xu Miaoyun and Wang Yuemin were very polite, there was no silence, and they communicated with each other.

But the woman's sixth sense still smelled something unusual.

You're welcome, yes.

Yu'er's eyes lit up. It was precisely because the two of them were so polite that the atmosphere at the scene was so weird.

Yu'er can feel it.

As the parties involved, Wang Yuemin and Xu Miaoyun naturally knew about it.

This feeling is very subtle.

In order to break the deadlock, Wang Yuemin suddenly opened his mouth and said with a smile: "My husband designed a toy and asked me to bring it into the palace for the queen to use to relieve her boredom. The princess happens to be here now, why don't we take it out and give it a try."

Hearing that it was designed by Yang Xian himself, Xu Miaoyun's eyes flashed, but he hid it well.

Xu Miaoyun naturally had no objection.

For Empress Ma, she watched Xu Miaoyun grow up, and Wang Yuemin was always with her when she was a hostage in the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that she treats both women as daughters.

Queen Ma would certainly not miss the opportunity to enhance the relationship between the two women.

"Then take it out and let everyone see the ingenuity of Duke Yang." Queen Ma said with a chuckle.

After getting Queen Ma's permission, Wang Yuemin brought a brocade box to the tea table and opened it.

I saw signs lying quietly inside, with various patterns carved on them.

Empress Ma reached out and took out a piece and put it in her hand. She felt warm and cool, and it felt great.

She looked carefully and recognized that the back of the sign in her hand was made of bamboo. As for the material on the front, Queen Ma frowned.

"The white inside is yellowish, and the front should be made of cow bones." Xu Miaoyun on the side said after carefully inspecting it.

Wang Yuemin chuckled and said: "As expected of Princess Miaoyun, she is indeed knowledgeable and knowledgeable, and she does use ox bones."

"The Queen and the Princess, what you are holding in your hands is the bamboo bone mahjong carved by my husband's hands."

Queen Ma asked, "What is mahjong?"

Xu Miaoyun asked: "It looks a bit like Ye Zixi?"

The leaf opera mentioned by Xu Miaoyun was the most popular entertainment activity for dignitaries, especially women, before the Ming Dynasty.

It first appeared in the Han Dynasty and is considered the originator of poker, tiles and mahjong in later generations.

Many people think that playing cards were invented by Westerners, but in fact they also come from my country. French scholar Lemesa has studied that the shape, pattern, size and number of the cards originally played by Europeans were all the same as those used by the Chinese, or they may have been imported to Europe from Mongolia.

In fact, it was Marco Polo who brought this card game from China to Europe, and leaf play soon aroused great interest among Europeans. In the beginning, it was only a luxury item for the nobles, but because it was cheap, had various ways of playing, and was easy to learn, it quickly became popular among the people. Finally, through continuous innovation, it went through several stages such as Valvoline, Whist, and Bridge, and finally evolved into today's playing cards.

Talking back to Ye Zi Opera, it reached its peak in the Tang and Song Dynasties in my country.

It was even more popular in the harem.

Empress Li's queen, the Queen of the Zhou Dynasty, even compiled "Golden Leaf Ge" based on the leaf opera of the Tang Dynasty, creating a new way of playing the game.

It's just that in the early Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang advocated simplicity and restricted entertainment, so the spread of Ye Zi Opera was not as popular as in the Song Dynasty.

Xu Miaoyun said this because there are also ten thousand characters, ropes, and copper coins (tubes) in the leaf opera.

Wang Yuemin smiled and said: "My husband said that the mahjong gameplay he designed was derived from the Ye Zi Opera."

"In addition to the number of cards changing from the original forty to the current one hundred and eight, the rules of the game are also completely different."

As he spoke, Wang Yuemin began to explain the rules of the mahjong game in detail. Unlike Ye Zixi, which is played with big hits and small ones, mahjong is a tile game, which means that you can win by making up a specific tile type.

Because the word style and flower cards are missing.

What Yang Xian taught Wang Yuemin was the most basic mahjong rules. Even the tile patterns of the tiles were only the most basic tiles.

So it is not difficult to learn.

The few people present were all smart people. After listening to it once, they almost knew the rules by heart.

After hearing this, Queen Ma smiled and said, "It's so hard for Duke Yang to have such ingenuity. With this gift, we won't be lonely in the palace."

Now that I understand everything.

Then naturally the next step is actual combat.

Since mahjong requires four people to participate, Yu'er who was standing aside was also pulled over to improvise.

Playing this kind of game naturally requires a little bit of luck to enjoy it. Even though the palace's finances are tight now, this little private money can still be obtained.

It's just a small amount of money, just for fun.

On weekdays, Wang Yuemin was at home, and occasionally had sex with the maids, but she was not very proficient.

Besides, she didn't come here to win money, but planned to lose as much as possible, whether it was to Queen Ma or Xu Miaoyun.

Playing mahjong is more of a continuation of social interaction for her.

Shangguan Yu'er was unwilling to play at first, especially after hearing that he was still playing with money, she shook her little head like a drum.

Her hard-earned salary was used to buy all kinds of delicious pastries and snacks.

It wasn't until Wang Yuemin said with a smile that if Shangguan Yu'er loses, it's hers, and if she wins, it's hers, Yu'er immediately sat down with a smile.

Who would have thought that after a few rounds of playing this card, Yu'er discovered, Hey, why do you play so randomly?
Could it be that this year's luck is so strong that I can't even think of losing?
Yu'er's heart swelled slightly, and she had the idea that she was the reincarnation of the God of Gamblers.

As everyone knows, there are three other people present.

Needless to say, Wang Yuemin was the one who brought mahjong, which is equivalent to the host at the mahjong table. She offered mahjong to ease the atmosphere. In addition, in her opinion, everyone else was a novice, so she was naturally even less likely to go. Winning cards.

Xu Miaoyun knew the rules of mahjong immediately, and because she was proficient in arithmetic, she knew it without a teacher. After two rounds, she had already mastered the art of counting cards. From her perspective, not to mention the two novices, Queen Ma and Shangguan Yu'er, even Wang Yuemin, a mahjong veteran, was very poor. Except for the first two games, she did not count the games she was experimenting with. She also deliberately lost every subsequent game.

This is even more true for Queen Ma. The purpose of her agreeing to play mahjong was to enhance the relationship between Wang Yuemin and Xu Miaoyun, so she kept giving them peace.

On a mahjong table, three people don’t want to play. It’s hard for Shangguan Yu’er to lose even if he wants to.
So after a few rounds, the copper coins on Shangguan Yu'er's table piled up into a small mountain.

How much food can be exchanged for so much money? Shangguan Yuer's eyes lit up.

The four girls chatted for a long time and didn't stop until it was time for dinner.

Empress Ma left Xu Miaoyun and Wang Yuemin in the palace and had lunch together.

Since both women knew that Queen Ma had the habit of taking a rest in the afternoon, they consciously stood up and left.

Empress Ma asked Shangguan Yu'er to escort the two daughters out of the palace on her behalf.

At the same time, Yang Xian had just come out of the East Palace.

When he was about to leave the palace.

Yang Xian suddenly felt something, stretched out his hand, and took a piece of snowflake falling from the sky.

The originally blue sky suddenly turned black, and countless white snowflakes fell quietly.

Falling into the eaves of the palace, falling into the trees and lakes in the palace, falling into Yang Xian's hands, and then melting.

It snowed again in the south.

This also means that the Little Ice Age of the Ming Dynasty is approaching.

The corridors of the palace were filled with silence.

Yang Xian raised his head and glanced at the white snow in the sky. While he felt relaxed, he suddenly felt an inexplicable loneliness deep in his heart.

This is already his eighth year in Daming.

Yang Xian tried his best to integrate into this era, but there was a voice deep in his heart telling him that he was not from this era after all.

Just like a lonely traveler in the ice and snow.

Until now, there are still many things that I cannot say to others. Especially as the merit points continue to increase and the body continues to transform, this feeling of loneliness becomes deeper.

"Master!"

At this moment, a shout came from behind, bringing Yang Xian back to reality.

Yang Xian looked back and saw three women with different styles and unique beauty standing in the snow not far away.

Yang Xian was stunned for a moment, then raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a smile.

These three women were none other than Wang Yuemin and Xu Miaoyun who were planning to leave the palace, and Shangguan Yu'er who came to see them off.

At this moment, for Yang Xian, it was like a warm hut appeared in the wind and snow, and it seemed that he finally found a reason to stop.

Seeing Wang Yuemin and Xu Miaoyun getting closer and closer, Yang Xian felt that he was not so lonely.

"Yue Ming."

Yang Xian first stepped forward and tightened Wang Yuemin's clothes, then turned to look at Xu Miaoyun and Shangguan Yu'er, and said with a smile: "Miss Miaoyun and Miss Yu'er are here too."

Xu Miaoyun replied: "Today, just like Princess Shaomin, we entered the palace to pay our respects to the Queen, so we left the palace together at this time."

Regarding Wang Yuemin's title, Xu Miaoyun used her previous title of Princess Shaomin instead of the Duke's wife.

Compared with Xu Miaoyun's casualness.

Shangguan Yu'er bowed to Yang Xian very formally and said, "Yu'er has met Yang Guogong." (End of this chapter)