Ming Dynasty: A hundred-year-old immortal cultivator, Zhu Yuanzhang’s biological father

Zhu Xiongying was speechless and said to Lan Yu: "Aunt grandma hasn't finished her meal yet!"

Lan Yu waved her hands loudly: "Eat whatever you want. You won't die of hunger if you don't eat. Go!"

Wu was not angry at all when Lan Yu scolded her. She seemed to think it was natural and said hurriedly, "Oh, OK!"

She pulled Tan'er and said with a smile, "Girl, let's go! Auntie will take you to the backyard!"

"This will be your home from now on. Come and chat with me whenever you want. Come, come, come!"

Tan'er looked at Zhu Xiongying nervously.

Zhu Xiongying couldn't resist Wu's enthusiasm, and said to Tan'er: "Then go, show more respect to your aunt, she won't treat you unfairly."

Tan Er nodded: "Then I'll go."

"Hey!" Mrs. Wu was delighted and smiled brightly, "What a sensible girl."

She pulled Zhao Tan'er towards the backyard.

Lan Yu looked at Lan's departing back with a smile, and Zhu Xiongying also looked at Tan'er's departing back.

Lan Yu smiled and said to the steward standing beside him, "Are you blind? Go and look at the tea! Bring the good tea from the mansion over! Didn't the Duke of Ying send a few ounces of Mingqian Longjing last time? Go and make some!"

Zhu Xiongying was somewhat touched.

Lan Yu seemed to always treat him the best. For some reason, Zhu Xiongying always felt that he was close to Lan Yu from the bottom of his heart.

It's just like the feeling of getting along with the old man, a feeling that blood is thicker than water.

Lan Yu pointed at the stool at the stone table and said to Zhu Xiongying: "What are you standing there for? Sit down!"

Zhu Xiongying sat down, and soon the steward of the mansion came over with tea. After making tea for Zhu Xiongying, he left on his own.

Only Zhu Xiongying and Lan Yu were left in the courtyard.

Lan Yu was still eating the buns with great enthusiasm. The heroic look he showed while eating a bun in one bite was exactly like that of his grandfather.

"Grandpa."

Lan Yu hummed nonchalantly and continued to put the buns into his mouth. At the end he picked up the rice porridge and slurped it.

This means that Zhu Xiongying is not treated as an outsider at all.

Zhu Xiongying smiled and said, "I just heard from Tan'er that our Ming emperor's eldest grandson has been resurrected. Has your uncle heard about it?"

Lan Yu was stunned for a moment, then continued to eat breakfast attentively.

"I heard about it, but it's just a rumor. Anyway, the rumors in the court are very fierce. But until our emperor gives an explanation, we will just turn a blind eye."

Zhu Xiongying looked a little serious and asked Lan Yu, "Uncle, how credible do you think this rumor is?"

Lan Yu paused, glanced at Zhu Xiongying, and said, "I think it is very credible. The old man has finally come to this point. Hey! Good news!"

Zhu Xiongying asked again: "If I come out now, will it have an impact on the current situation? What do we need to do?"

Lan Yu smiled casually: "It's good to come out! I wish the old man would tell all the officials in the grand court tomorrow, and it would be best if he could be pushed in front of all the officials!"

Zhu Xiongying was a little speechless, and said: "That's not what I meant. What I meant was, could it be that someone spread rumors to shake Grandpa's heart? Or, is there any conspiracy behind my regent? Or is there someone else involved behind this?"

Lan Yu was somewhat surprised. She looked up at Zhu Xiongying blankly and said teasingly, "You think too much!"

"Ah?" Zhu Xiongying scratched his head.

Lan Yu said, "How can there be so many conspiracies? The person sitting in the Forbidden City is your grandfather! Who is so tired of living that he dares to plot against him? Why don't you think it was the old man who spread the rumor himself?"

Zhu Xiongying was stunned. "Ah, this... Grandpa just spread the rumor himself? Why?"

Lan Yu took a deep look at the silly boy in front of him and said with a smile: "I don't know, you will know in a short time. Anyway, it is a great thing for us!"

He waved his hand impatiently and said, "Okay, let this wind blow for a while. The emperor must want more people to know about this matter, and he is just waiting for the right time!"

Lan Yu sighed: "It's not easy! I finally waited for it!"

Zhu Xiongying looked at Lan Yu suspiciously: "Uncle...what are you talking about?"

Lan Yu shook his head and said in a very secretive way, "Nothing. By the way, you don't come to me for no reason. You must have something to ask me today. Tell me, what is it?"

Zhu Xiongying said awkwardly: "Can't I come and show my respect to you? What are you talking about!"

Lan Yu glanced at Zhu Xiongying and said, "You come here empty-handed to honor me? Do you think I'm a fool?"

"Forehead!"

Zhu Xiongying said: "Well, I'll bring you some gifts next time."

Lan Yu waved her hand and said, "Forget it! Stop being polite. We don't lack anything. Your aunt has prepared a lot of game for you. Take it back with you when you leave."

Zhu Xiongying was a little embarrassed: "Thank you very much."

"Tsk! Brat!" Lan Yu smiled.

Zhu Xiongying looked at Lan Yu and said slowly: "Uncle, I really have something to discuss with you."

"Slippery! Come on, stop being polite."

Zhu Xiongying hummed, "I saw the memorial my father brought to me from the palace a few days ago. The treasure ship on the southeast coast has been built. It's time to go out for a walk."

Lan Yu frowned.

Seeing Lan Yu's troubled expression, Zhu Xiongying asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Lan Yu sighed and said, "The Southeast Navy just suffered a loss at sea. If they go to sea now, it will probably be full of difficulties."

Zhu Xiongying shook his head: "I don't think so. It is precisely because we suffered a loss in the southeast sea that we have to go out to sea for trial sailing in order to prevent more people from coveting our Ming maritime territory!"

"Besides, this is just a test voyage, not a real voyage to the West."

Lan Yu was silent for a while, thought about it, and said, "That's true."

"but……"

Lan Yu changed the subject and said, "Are you sure that this trial voyage will fail? If it succeeds, the young eunuch you recommended may not be able to sail to the West."

Zhu Xiongying was somewhat confident, "Don't worry, uncle. Most people can't adapt to it. Anyway, this test voyage will not be successful. Uncle, just do this..."

Zhu Xiongying put his mouth close to Lan Yu's ear and spoke slowly. Lan Yu nodded frequently and finally looked up at Zhu Xiongying: "You are so sinister! You have plotted against the Ministry of War!"

Zhu Xiongying laughed and said, "For the great voyage, someone has to sacrifice!"

Lan Yu nodded, and suddenly asked, "Are there really so many good things on the sea?"

Zhu Xiongying said confidently: "Yes! The future of Ming Dynasty and even China will definitely be on the sea, and our power on the sea cannot lag behind others!"
To be honest, Lan Yu had some respect for Zhu Xiongying.

In the past, he always treated Zhu Xiongying as a junior and loved her like a child.

Until now, Lan Yu still regards Zhu Xiongying as his closest relative.

Lan Yu had no sons, and his only daughter married to Sichuan. Although Zhu Xiongying was his own nephew, Lan Yu actually treated Zhu Xiongying as his own blood and nurtured and cared for him.

But that is doting, it comes from the instinct that blood is thicker than water.

But I don’t know since when, that touch of doting gradually turned into admiration.

This guy never shows off, nor does he have a boastful personality. He always does things quietly.

But when you look at him again, he has quietly changed a lot for this country.

Sometimes he has selfish motives, but more often he is determined to be patriotic and make the country strong.

There is no doubt that the essence of sailing to the West is to strengthen the country.

Lan Yu did not think that Zhu Xiongying was acting out of personal interests in this matter, and that going to the West would be opposed by countless conservative civil servants.

But he still resolutely planned, promoted and studied.

Zhu Xiongying never gave up his determination to go to the West.

Lan Yu did not have Zhu Xiongying's long-term strategic vision, nor did he believe that the country's future battlefield would be at sea.

But Zhu Xiongying was worried about the future of the Ming Dynasty. Although he could not see any results in the short term, he was still quietly promoting navigation.

A sentence suddenly came to Lan Yu’s mind: As a warrior, no matter how difficult it is, I will go forward!
Anyway, since this kid wants to go to sea, let’s support him to do it!
Aren't we Chinese men getting to know the world better through countless explorations?

We Han people have never lacked the spirit of pioneering and enterprising, from Xu Fu's voyage to the east, to the Eastern Han Dynasty sending envoys to the Western Regions, to the prosperous Tang Dynasty summoning all nations to pay tribute.

Our ancestors showed the future generations that there are various populations and countries in every corner of this world.

In the Ming Dynasty, as a man, what qualifications did Lan Yu have to not open up a new world for his ancestors?
In the front courtyard, two ambitious iron-blooded men, one old and one young, are setting their sights on the future of the Han people.

In the backyard room, two women were chatting animatedly.

Mrs. Wu likes Zhao Tan'er from the bottom of her heart.

This girl is simple, kind, able to manage the household, give birth to children, and is pretty. She has everything she should have and is grown up.

"Uncle, please don't give it to me. I really can't take it!"

Zhao Tan'er didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She didn't know how many flower hairpins Wu had put in her hair.

There are Hetian jade, mutton-fat jade, pure gold butterfly hairpins, as well as silver bracelets, jadeite bracelets, red jadeite bracelets, and many more!

Many of these things were paid by Lan Yu when he conquered enemy countries.

Mrs. Wu smiled kindly: "You kid! When I was your age, I loved beauty all the time!"

“Bring more to enhance your temperament!”

"Men like to conquer women with temperament. You should be sometimes elegant and dignified, and sometimes charming like a fox."

"How else can we capture his soul?"

What Wu said was all based on her experience, and she taught Tan'er by words and deeds how to conquer Zhu Xiongying.

"Well, girl, when are you going to get married?"

"How long have you been together? This can't go on. We have to hurry up and get married."

"Uh, I forgot. That's right. Zhu Huai can't get married yet. Well, no matter what, girl, our kid won't treat you badly."

Tan Er blinked, looked at Wu in confusion, and said, "Uncle, you...what do you mean by this?"

Mrs. Wu smiled and said, "It's nothing interesting. Just wait a little longer and you will know it soon. You will be so happy to marry our junior. How happy you are!"

Tan'er was a little confused and didn't know what Wu meant.

For a long time afterwards, Mrs. Wu began to change the subject and talked about many things between men and women. Although her little face was flushed when she listened, she was paying close attention, as if a strange door had been opened!

When leaving Lan Yu’s mansion.

Zhu Xiongying always felt that Tan'er was weird.

She was carrying a lot of jewelry, and Zhu Xiongying was also carrying a lot of game.

Finally, Zhu Xiongying couldn't help asking Tan'er, "What's wrong with you? Why is your face so red?"

Tan Er quickly shook her head: "No, nothing."

She glanced at Zhu Xiongying, then quickly lowered her head, her heart pounding.

When they reached the middle of Yingtian Street, Zhu Xiongying and Tan'er parted ways.

When Zhu Xiongying returned home, Tie Xuan had already quietly placed a letter from Jiaozhi on the stone table.

Zhu Xiongying gave the game to the Liao brothers, gave them some as a reward to take home as a snack, and then he opened the letter sent by Tie Xuan.

Xie Jin said a lot in the letter, and sincerely acknowledged his mistakes.

Zhu Xiongying smiled. He knew that Xie Jin would not be angry with him over such a small matter.

Next, Xie Jin talked about the naval construction in the southern Xinjiang waters.

A group of 10,000 troops has been trained, but their equipment is a bit outdated, and they need the Ministry of Industry's Firearms Supervisor to issue them some muskets and tiger squat cannons.

In addition, the ships of Jiaozhi are still under construction, and a three-masted treasure ship that is fifty years long and thirty years wide has been built.

The cost of building a treasure ship is very high, and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver are not money at all.

The financial pressure in Jiaozhi remains great.

Zhu Xiongying felt a little distressed. Every day when the silver in the mansion was deposited into the warehouse, tens of thousands of taels of silver would be sent out every half a month.

Even though Zhu Xiongying's sales of salt and anthracite were huge, they could not withstand the expenses of Jiaozhi.

Only when you manage household expenses do you know how expensive firewood and rice are. Now Zhu Xiongying truly felt how tight the Ming Dynasty's finances were.

In the early Ming Dynasty, there was a shortage of money and precious metals. Zhu Yuanzhang did not like to collect taxes. Later, Yongle went north to fight. Although he was very successful, people's livelihood was in dire straits. The finances of the Ming Dynasty were almost never abundant.

There was not a single emperor of the Sixteen Dynasties who did not worry about money.

It became more prominent in the late Ming Dynasty. Emperor Tianqi had no choice but to use Wei Zhongxian to corrupt officials. Wei Zhongxian was so corrupt that he was criticized by later generations. Why didn't Chongzhen seize any silver after he raided Wei Zhongxian's house?
Because all the money Wei Zhongxian embezzled was used by Emperor Tianqi!

The wealthy gentry and the hypocrites headed by Donglin were extremely rich, but the country could not afford to pay any money to support military expenses. In the end, Chongzhen had no choice but to increase agricultural taxes. The contradictions in the late Ming Dynasty broke out completely. Li Zicheng's rebellion and the peasant uprising were the last straw that broke the camel's back for the Ming Dynasty!
Lack of money was the main theme of the Ming Dynasty, and there were countless cases of emperors worrying about hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

In desperation, Zhu Xiongying could only grit his teeth and continue to transfer his business income to Jiaozhi!
If this continues, it won’t be long before I’m left with nothing but my underwear.

Sighing slightly, Zhu Xiongying rubbed his swollen head and continued to look at the letter.

Lian Zining had already arrived in Jiaozhi, and Xie Jin also told Lian Zining about Zhu Xiongying's idea of ​​a tea-horse exchange zone.

Lian Zining was astounded after hearing this, and has now started to build the Southwest Tea-Horse Exchange Zone, which is expected to open in half a month.

(End of this chapter)