Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

The fierce competition between Zhuji Clothing Shop and Nike was like a fire that ignited a wave of innovation in the Ming Dynasty's clothing industry.

In just a few months, many new clothing brands emerged in Yingtianfu, Suzhou, Hangzhou and other places: "Yunshang Pavilion", famous for its Jiangnan embroidery, launched detachable sleeves for scholars to write at banquets; "Yuluo Clothing Store", which takes the civilian route, uses scraps of cloth to make "Hundred Family Clothes", and the price is only 60% of Zhuji's; "Huayilou", which specializes in Hufeng clothing, introduced Persian belts and Turkic short boots, which attracted rich children to follow suit. In the streets and alleys, people shuttled around in short clothes with narrow sleeves, and the efficiency of field work increased by 30%. Even the prostitutes changed their short clothes into off-shoulder skirts, jokingly saying that "it does not hinder singing and playing, and it is convenient for running away."

On this day, under the grape trellis in the clan residence, Ouyang Lun was peeling Hami melon with a bamboo knife when he suddenly heard Lu Chang asking to see him.

As soon as the old minister stepped into the moon-shaped door, he bowed deeply, and the hook of the jade belt on his waist almost hooked the stone table: "My Lord, this is a great merit!" Hami melon juice dripped onto the bluestone slab along the bamboo knife. Ouyang Lun raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile: "What do you mean, Lord Lu?"

Lu Chang's beard trembled with excitement. He pulled out a stack of documents from his sleeve. "Since the promotion of the new short coat, the Ministry of Rites has received reports from various places - the efficiency of weaving by peasant women has increased by 40%, the rate of work-related injuries by craftsmen has decreased by 60%, and even the students of the Imperial College have less stuttering when reciting because of the neat hems of their clothes!" He suddenly lowered his voice, "Even more interesting is that the border guards reported that after the soldiers wore narrow-sleeved armor, their riding and shooting speed was half a breath faster than that of the Mongolian cavalry!"

Ouyang Lun flicked the melon rind off with his fingertips and said calmly, "It's just a piece of clothing." Lu Chang said anxiously, "No! The change in clothing is actually the beginning of changing customs! Look at this..." He unfolded a painting of "Yingtian People Working", in which the woodcutter, boat girl, and accountant all wore narrow sleeves, and their movements were as smooth as bamboo in the wind. Ouyang Lun suddenly pointed to the leather waist bag on the waist of the porter in the painting and said, "This design is good, and the Ministry of Industry can promote it."

Lu Chang tapped the painting "Yingtian People Working" with his finger, his eyes full of admiration: "Your Highness, this is a great idea! I was just thinking of slightly improving the Ming Dynasty clothing to make people's work easier, but I never thought it would set off such a trend."

Ouyang Lun cut the peeled cantaloupe into thin slices and tapped his fingertips on the bluestone table. "Master Lu, do you know why the short-sleeved jackets existed in the early Song Dynasty but were never popularized?"

Lu Chang shook his head blankly. Ouyang Lun picked up a piece of melon with a bamboo knife, and it shone brightly in the sun: "Because the scholar-official class regards it as 'market vulgarity', in the court, etiquette is as important as the sky. But what if this reform is promoted by the emperor himself?"

The old minister suddenly realized: "You mean to use the power of the emperor to break the shackles of etiquette?"

"It's more than just breaking the shackles." Ouyang Lun chuckled and threw a melon slice into his mouth. "When the retired emperor wore a short shirt with narrow sleeves and plowed the field himself, when he argued with me over a business war, this clothing reform was no longer a piece of paper from the Ministry of Rites, but a 'family affair' of the imperial family. When the common people saw it, they would only think that the clothes worn by the emperor must be good."

Lu Chang slapped his knees and sighed: "Brilliant! You asked the eunuch to change his clothes to attract the attention of the retired emperor, and deliberately let me propose it in front of the emperor. It turns out that you have been planning this in advance!"

Ouyang Lun flicked the peel with his fingers and said, "The best is yet to come. When Zhuji and Nike were fighting fiercely, the civil and military officials in the court only focused on the account books of the two businesses, but forgot..." He suddenly lowered his voice, "The real reform has already penetrated into the texture of the Ming Dynasty with the discussions on the streets and the jokes in the wine shops and teahouses. Now even if Li Shanchang and his ilk want to oppose it, they have to ask first - can these narrow-sleeved shorts on the streets agree?"

Lu Chang's beard trembled with excitement, and suddenly he remembered something: "But you openly compete with the emperor, aren't you afraid of the emperor's wrath?"

"Angry?" Ouyang Lun raised his eyebrows. "The emperor hates stability the most in his life. Look at his expression when he heard about Nike. He was obviously excited. Rather than saying that I am competing with him, it's better to say" he raised a sly smile, "I am playing a long-lost 'market game' with an old emperor."

Zhu Yuanzhang crouched down and crawled out of the secret passage, with grape leaves rustling against his head.

He wanted to eavesdrop on his son-in-law's evaluation of him, but he didn't want to hear Ouyang Lun's words "playing street games with the old emperor", and suddenly felt his back teeth ache. The sunlight leaking in through the cracks in the secret passage cut across his face obliquely, making his stubble clearly visible, like an old cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Good Ouyang Lun!" He muttered and kicked away the gravel at his feet. The jade belt buckle on his waist scraped against the stone wall of the secret passage, making a harsh sound. Lu Chang's exclamation came from behind, but was drowned out by the sound of the old emperor's sleeves.

The glazed tiles of Taile Palace glowed with warm light in the twilight, but Zhu Yuanzhang felt that the light was particularly dazzling, very much like the lazy smile of Ouyang Lun when he was peeling Hami melon.

Empress Ma was mending the dragon robe under the lamp. When the needle tip lifted the candle flame, she saw her husband rushing in with a dark face. The corner of his robe was stained with half a yellow grape leaf. "Are you eavesdropping on Lun'er's conversation again?" She put down the embroidery frame and handed over a cup of warm rice wine. Zhu Yuanzhang took a big gulp, and the wine flowed down his beard: "That kid is using me as a chess piece! What's this 'taking advantage of the situation to break the shackles'? Is it true that all the hard work we did was set up by him?"

The queen wiped his face with a handkerchief, her fingertips brushing across his furrowed brows: "Chongba, when you fought Chen Youliang, didn't you also use Kang Maocai to pretend to surrender and lure the enemy? Now Lun'er is using some tricks, but the court is just like a chess game, why do you have to be so angry?" Zhu Yuanzhang snorted: "If he really treats us as chess pieces, why would he set up the 'Nike' company? It's obvious that he is deliberately provoking us!"

"But didn't you have fun?" Empress Ma chuckled. "In the past two months, you have been running to the trading company every day and were too lazy to even attend the morning court. Yesterday, you secretly asked the kitchen to make steamed sugar-coated cheese, saying that you wanted to give it to the shopkeepers of Zhuji Clothing Shop to try." The old emperor's ears felt hot, and he stiffened his neck and said, "That's for... to investigate the people's sentiments!"

The queen shook her head and unfolded the half-embroidered dragon robe: "Look at these dragon scales. If you only use gold thread to embroider them flat, they are luxurious but rigid. But the 'mixed needle' method taught by Lun'er makes the scales have light and dark changes, which makes them look alive." She raised her eyes to her husband, "Sometimes, the cleverness of young people is more effective than our brute force."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the dancing gold lines on his dragon robe, and suddenly remembered the "market games" mentioned by Ouyang Lun. That day at the Royal Farm, the straight ridges he plowed were even more regular than those of the old masters; the light in the eyes of the people watching was warmer than the cheers of "Long live the emperor" in the court. He suddenly reached out and held the Queen's hand, and the calluses on his palm rubbed against the needle marks on her fingertips: "Sister, are we really old?"

Empress Ma held his rough hand with her backhand and kissed it on her lips: "Are you old? You can still compete with Lun'er to see whose shop will sell out first." Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly laughed, shaking the flame on the candlestick: "That's right! Tomorrow we will let Zhuji Clothing Shop launch the 'Grandfather and Grandson Style'. The child will wear a tiger-head bellyband and the father will wear a double-breasted short jacket. It will definitely sell better than that kid's 'limited edition'!"

The next day, in the backyard of Zhuji Clothing Store.

Zhu Yuanzhang was trying on the newly designed "grandfather-grandson style" short jacket in front of a bronze mirror. The buttons embroidered with gold thread shone in the morning light.

He was spinning around triumphantly when Wang Hongru stumbled in, and the corner of his robe knocked over the rouge box on his dressing table.

"Boss Zhu! Something terrible is happening!" Wang Hongru's hat was tilted on the back of his head, and the hem of his clothes was still stained with mud. "Songjiang cloth merchants have collectively raised prices. The price of linen has quadrupled in three days. Now even dye shops are starting to stock up!" Zhu Yuanzhang's smile froze in the bronze mirror. He tore off the belt around his waist, and his brocade robe fell to the ground. "Bullshit! Didn't you say you signed a long-term contract the day before yesterday? How dare those cloth merchants breach the contract?"

"Hui Hui boss," Wang Hongru unfolded a document with shaking hands. The red seal with wet ink hurt his eyes. "They said that the newly emerged 'Yunjinzhuang' is willing to pay double the price for cotton. There are also rumors that Nike has ordered a large number of Nanyang kapok overseas."

Zhu Yuanzhang grabbed his dressing case and smashed it on the ground. Rouge mixed with broken porcelain splashed onto the Panlong Pillar: "Ouyang Lun, that bastard! He really is tripping me up from behind!" He suddenly remembered what Ouyang Lun said at the cocktail party half a month ago: "Business war is like playing chess. You need to look three steps ahead before making a move." His back teeth were clattering.

When Li Wancai rushed in with the account book, Zhu Yuanzhang was tearing up the poster of Zhuji Clothing Shop. The poster of him wearing a short coat and holding a plow was torn into pieces, falling on the blue brick ground like snowflakes.

"Boss Zhu, if you lower the price again and have a promotion we will..." Li Wancai's voice stopped abruptly. Zhu Yuanzhang in front of him had red eyes and his beard was messy like a ball of dead grass. There was no trace of the majesty of the emperor.

"Calculate!" Zhu Yuanzhang kicked over the embroidered cushion, "Calculate this month's turnover, costs, and wages for me!"

The beads on the abacus clattered, and Wang Hongru's voice became increasingly quiet. "The proportion of fabric costs increased from 30% to 70%, and the labor cost increased by 20% due to rush work. After deducting the compensation for returned goods and unsalable inventory, the net loss this month is 120,000 taels of silver." He swallowed, "120,000 taels."

"How much?" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice seemed to come out of an ice cellar.

"One hundred and twenty thousand taels!" Li Wancai almost shouted, "And at this rate, we'll need at least another two hundred thousand taels next month! Our working capital is only enough to hold on."

"That's enough!" Zhu Yuanzhang picked up the paperweight on the table and smashed it against the palace pillar. The crisp sound of the jade breaking startled the white pigeons under the eaves. "Go and call the Minister of Works! Just tell him that the emperor wants to check their cotton cloth quota!"

That night, the Taile Palace was brightly lit. Zhu Yuanzhang walked barefoot on the golden brick floor, looking at the account books that covered the floor. The soup brought by Empress Ma had already gone cold, but he was unaware of it. The candlelight cast his shadow on the wall, sometimes long and sometimes short, like a trapped animal pacing in a cage.

"Nike has taken over 70% of the cotton fields in Songjiang," he suddenly said, his voice terribly hoarse, "all the dyeing factories in Hangzhou are supplying Yunshang Pavilion, and even the cloth shops in Yingtian Prefecture have begun to privately resell our inventory of cloth."

Queen Ma put her cloak on his shoulders, and it felt cold to the touch: "Zhongba, how about we talk to Lun'er?"

"Discuss?" Zhu Yuanzhang turned around abruptly, his eyes bloodshot. "He must be seeing Zhu Ji's joke right now! He pretended to send me a loom from the Western Regions a few days ago, but it turns out he wanted to see me sell everything I had!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Fugui came in with a torch in hand, the collar of his coarse cloth shirt still stained with dew: "Boss Zhu! It's bad! Yu Luo Clothing Store has launched the 'Patchwork Improved Style', which is made of all the leftovers we bought at a high price, and is sold at a price lower than our cost price!"

Zhu Yuanzhang staggered and held onto the table, his knuckles white from clenching. The candlelight suddenly flickered, distorting the words "Zhu's Clothing Shop, Royal Quality" on the wall. He thought of the boasts he made when he started his business, the big promises he made to his partners, and the bold words he patted his chest in the court, saying "Zhu's Clothing Shop will be the best in the Ming Dynasty."

When Zhu Biao hurriedly stepped into the Taile Palace, he saw Zhu Yuanzhang throwing his abacus to the ground, with the bamboo beads rolling all over the floor. The corners of the emperor's robe were still stained with candle wax, and a few strands of white hair on his forehead were stuck to his sweaty temples. There was no trace of the majesty of a founding emperor.

"Father!" Zhu Biao hurriedly supported his shaking father. He glanced at the messy account books on the ground and his throat tightened. "Your son brought one million taels of silver from the treasury to help Zhu's urgent needs first!"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his son's hand away, staggered and knocked over the screen. "What about a few months later?! Use the people's taxes to fill the hole? Or wait for Ouyang Lun to gnaw all our bones?" He suddenly grabbed Zhu Biao's collar, his cloudy eyes full of bloodshot. "Look at these figures! The price of cloth in Songjiang has increased eightfold, and Yu Luo Clothing Store uses our scraps to sell for less than straw sandals. This is forcing Zhu's family to a dead end!"

Zhu Biao was strangled to the point of being unable to breathe, but he still managed to persuade her, "You and your husband agreed to cooperate..." "Cooperation?!" Zhu Yuanzhang was like a lion whose tail was stepped on. He grabbed the jade pen wash on the table and smashed it against the Panlong Pillar. "The loom he sent is basically scrap iron! Each piece of cloth requires 30% more cotton thread! It's obvious that he wants to see me, Zhu Yuanzhang, go bankrupt!"

Queen Ma suddenly started coughing violently and covered the blood flowing from her lips with an embroidered handkerchief.

She struggled to get up, but Zhu Yuanzhang held her back: "You are so sick, yet you still meddle in other people's affairs!" "Chongba," the queen breathed weakly, but her fingertips tightly grasped her husband's sleeve, "In the Battle of Poyang Lake, you were not afraid of Chen Youliang's fireboats, but now you are frightened by the tricks of merchants?"

The hall fell into dead silence. Zhu Yuanzhang stared at his wife's pale face, and suddenly remembered how she carried dry food and walked a hundred miles to deliver military rations to him when she was young. The candlelight flickered in his eyes, making the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes look as hideous as if they were cut by a knife.

"Biao'er, go tell Ouyang Lun." He suddenly slumped down on the dragon chair, revealing his patched undershirt under his brocade robe - it was an old shirt he wore when he went on a secret visit. "But if he sees even a little bit..." Before he finished speaking, Wang Hongru stumbled in, his official hat missing, his hair in disarray: "Boss Zhu! There's news from the dock that three ships from Nike Trading Company are loaded with Nanyang kapok entering the port, at least 5,000 dan per ship!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up suddenly, and the jade belt around his waist broke into two pieces with a "snap".

When Ouyang Lun stepped into the Taile Palace, he saw his father-in-law standing barefoot on the gold bricks, holding a half-broken jade belt in his hand, like an angry lion with its hair standing on end. (End of this chapter)