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

Wang Wen was stunned for a long time before he stammered, "Congratulations... Congratulations to Mr. Huang... But, what's going on?"

Huang Qian looked around and lowered his voice and said, "He is still in the imperial city. It won't be long before Lord Wang knows."

Having said that, he laughed and left.

Leaving behind Wang Wen with a confused look on his face.

What does that mean? Who is still in the Imperial City... Ugh!!!

Wang Wen looked at Huang Qian's back and suddenly shuddered.

This guy, will he meet the emperor's eldest grandson?
and many more!

Isn't his promotion also because of the emperor's eldest grandson?
……

Zhu Mansion.

A light rain fell in the courtyard.

Everything returned to normal.

On the branches of the old locust tree, a few sparrows were squatting leisurely, shaking their heads vigilantly from time to time.

On the ground, a few big roosters with sharp eyes were jumping back and forth in the mud cracks of the bluestone slabs, pecking out an earthworm from the rain and mud from time to time.

Zhu Xiongying said to Zhu Yuanzhang who was lying in front of the door: "Old man, when I went out on the street yesterday, I saw someone pretending to be me, pretending to be the eldest grandson of the emperor."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him indifferently, not knowing what he was thinking, and said "oh".

Zhu Xiongying suddenly asked, "Why can he say that? Can't he remember anything before he was eight years old?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment, and instead of answering, he asked, looking at Zhu Xiongying and said, "You will have your coming-of-age ceremony in half a month. What do you want? Grandpa will give it to you!"

Zhu Xiongying shook his head: "I don't know. To be honest, I don't feel much about this ceremony. Please don't bother with it, old man."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "How can that be possible? You are my eldest grandson."

After a pause, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Xiongying and said, "On the day of your crowning ceremony, let's take you to a good place and have many people crown you together."

Zhu Xiongying smiled and said, "What? Are you going to ascend to heaven? What good place is there?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled without commenting: "Anyway, I won't treat you unfairly. I will definitely let you celebrate the coming-of-age ceremony in style."

"You're eighteen now! Good boy, you've grown up! You will have to shoulder more responsibilities in the future." The old man said earnestly.

Zhu Xiongying looked at the old man's face full of sighs and anticipation, and then he realized that the old man had a sharp light in his eyes. He patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, old man, I will definitely hold on!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "I like your willingness to take on responsibilities. Well done!"

In the past few days, Yingtian City has gradually returned to peace.

As June was approaching, few people in Yingtian City dared to pretend to be the emperor's eldest grandson.

However, matters concerning the emperor's eldest grandson are still a topic of conversation among the people and officials.

Since some time ago, Yingtian City seemed to have fallen into another strange kind of calm.

Everyone seemed to have a premonition that something big was about to happen.

End of May.

Outside the Tonghuai Gate, two fast horses galloped towards the imperial city.

After the two fierce horses crossed the Tianjin Bridge and entered the imperial city, the riders dismounted one after another.

The two men rushed to the imperial city, one went to the Ministry of Revenue and the other went to the Ministry of War.

It seems like something big happened.

It was a bit hot in the early morning of late May.

It is a hot summer in the south of the Yangtze River, and people in the duty rooms of various departments are already using the stored ice to cool off.

By late May, it had started to rain less frequently in Yingtian City.

The sky is very hot.

Early in the morning, Zhong Xu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, came to the duty room and sat down.

He was sweating profusely at this time, and after sitting down, he crunched some ice cubes to cool off.

Minister Zhong has been living quite well these days. Half a month ago, the first batch of ships of the Ming Dynasty set out from the southeast coast and began to sail on the sea on a trial voyage to the Western Ocean.

Such a great achievement was made possible by the Ministry of Works. In the future, when people mention the voyages to the West, they will think of the Ministry of War and themselves.

These are all real political achievements and will leave a mark in history books.

Just thinking about it, Minister Zhong felt a little excited.

In any case, once voyages to the West became an important national policy, the status of the Ministry of War among the six ministries would naturally rise. Going to the West would require a large amount of money and grain, which would naturally be controlled by the Ministry of War. It would also require the recruitment of a large number of manpower and skilled craftsmen. All of these... meant that the power of the Ministry of War would soon be expanded.

Minister Zhong smiled and casually opened the question book on the desk.

These are the documents submitted by local governments for applications for military funds and expansion of military forces.

He needs to review it.

He was on duty as usual, with nothing to do, but when a clerk hurriedly brought a report from Quanzhou to his desk...

His brows were deeply furrowed!
Minister Zhong flipped through the letter with some confusion, and saw that it said: "Quanzhou Prefect Wang Qing reports: Recently, a sea route inspector sent an urgent report in the open sea that Fang Qi, a deputy minister of the Ministry of War, died of depression. The fleet begs to return, and requests the Ministry of War to approve it..."

Fonzie... is dead?!

After Zhong Xu finished reading the report in detail, he shuddered.

How could this person... die of depression?
What the hell is this!
At this time, Minister Zhong's forehead was already covered with sweat!
I still remember that half a month ago, he made a solemn promise in the Fengtian Hall, saying that if his Ministry of War couldn't do such a small thing well, he would shut up about navigation in the future!

At that time, Lan Yu openly said in Fengtian Hall that his military personnel were not good enough and could not sail, and that people would die...

This crow's mouth!
Minister Zhong shuddered. After reading it, he felt complicated and couldn't calm down for a long time!
".Asshole! Absolutely asshole!"

"Idiot! Fang Qi is such an idiot! He patted his chest before the voyage and said that he would not make any mistakes! He also said that he grew up on the water! But he can't stand it after only half a month!"

"I can die in any way I want! I'm so depressed! This is really... a slap in the face of the Ministry of War!"

After careful selection, we finally found this destined child, but he died in just half a month!

Where can he put his reputation as the Minister of War?
If Lan Yu heard about this, he would laugh his head off!

Then, he picked up the report again and looked at it intently, as if he was thinking about something, but it was obvious that his face was miserable for a long time and his eyes were dark and unclear.

After a long while, he suddenly said, "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go find Minister Ru! Quick, quick!"

To be honest, he no longer had the face to look for Ru Taisu. He really couldn't afford to lose face like this!

I don’t know if Lord Ru, who is already old, can withstand this kind of stimulation!

Seeing the Ministry of War's power rising, such a huge joke has been made. Lord Ru's reputation has been ruined in his later years!
Not long after, Minister Zhong ran to Ru Taisu's guardhouse, his face pale, and he cried out, "Minister Ru, Minister Ru, something terrible has happened!"

Ru Taisu was drinking tea at this time. He had just gotten rid of the summer heat and felt relaxed all over.

Seeing Zhong Xu coming, he just raised his face lazily, looking impatient, and took a sip of tea. He was about to retire, but he was still a very Buddhist person.

He said calmly, "What's the matter?"

Zhong Xu panted and said, "Something happened. Something serious happened."

Young people just can't keep their cool. Although Minister Zhong is already forty-three years old, in Ru Taisu's eyes... he is still too young.

He smiled and said, "Don't worry, take your time, the sky won't fall."
Ru Taisu is a Buddhist person. He is one year younger than Zhu Yuanzhang this year. Logically speaking, at the age of 65, he is already old enough to become a scholar.

However, the Emperor has not yet chosen a successor to the position of Minister of War, so Ru Taisu is still on duty in the Ministry of War this year.

However, at the age of 65, he had already adapted to the rules of survival in officialdom, and nothing could cause him any trouble anymore.

Ru Taisu shook his head, glanced at Zhong Xu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and sighed inwardly, he is still young!

Still can't keep calm.

"Take your time, Master Zhong. Have some tea first."

Zhong Xu was too embarrassed to drink tea anymore. He said with trembling voice: "Master Ru, I told you to calm down!"

Ru Taisu smiled, stroked his gray beard, and said calmly: "What are you talking about? I have been an official since I was 26 years old, and now it has been 39 years. I have experienced all kinds of storms. When the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty attacked Shaanxi, such a big event, I was as calm as an old dog... Oh, I am still as calm as a mountain, you tell me more."

Seeing Ru Taisu so calm, Zhong Xu also felt relieved. He said calmly, like a scholar, "Fang Qi is dead."

Ru Taisu was stunned.

Fang Qi, this name seems familiar.

Zhong Xu knew that Ru Taisu might not remember Fang Qi. After all, Fang Qi was only a sixth-rank official. In the eyes of a high-ranking official like Ru Shangshu, it was normal that he could not remember such a small fry.

He reminded, "The one that went on a trial voyage to the Western Ocean."

Ru Taisu held the teacup calmly, shook her head slightly, blew a breath, and said, "So it was him!"

puff!
Ru Taisu suddenly spat out the scalding hot tea, looked at Zhong Xu in shock, and asked, "What did you just say?"

Zhong Xu said: "Fang Qi is dead."

Ru Taisu's eyes suddenly widened: "How is it possible?!"

"How could a perfectly healthy person die after only being out for half a month?"

In silence, I felt the teacup in my hand shaking. My mouth was dry and I wanted to lower my head to drink tea, but I found that my hand was a little unsteady.

When a person dies, he is dead. He is just a sixth-rank official. There are people below him to fill his vacancy. It is not a big deal.

But he had made a firm promise to Lan Yu, all the officials, and the emperor in the Fengtian Hall.

It is said that there will be no mistakes in his military voyage!

At that time, Lan Yu even cursed that people would die in the Ministry of War. To be honest, Ru Taisu scolded Lan Yu severely at that time!
This group of Huaixi warriors are really outspoken and extremely vulgar.

It’s fine if they bully other government offices, but he would be the first one to object if they bully the Ministry of War!

But now...it's so embarrassing!

Only half a month had passed since the expedition when the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of War died and the fleet was stranded, wasting time and money.

I wonder if the emperor would be furious if he knew this.

Ru Taisu finally couldn't sit still anymore, staring blankly at the morning light outside, and said hoarsely: "Today...is the court going to be held?"

The corner of Zhong Xu's mouth twitched: "Yes! Master Ru."

Ru Taisu: “.”

He wanted to stand up, but found that his legs and feet were trembling. If he concealed such a big thing, it would be deceiving his superiors and subordinates, which is a capital crime!
This... there is no way to cover it up.

Damn Fang Qi’s mother!

"Let's go, let's go and apologize. The Ministry of War... has lost face!"

Ru Taisu seemed to have aged a lot, and Zhong Xu's face looked a little ugly. He supported Ru Taisu and said, "Old Minister, please slow down."

At the same time, Ministry of Households.

Of the two fast horses, one went to the Ministry of Works, and the other came from Jiaozhi and was now in the Ministry of Revenue.

When Fu Youwen, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, heard that Jiaozhi's first-half financial statistics had come out, he did not pay much attention to it. After receiving the memorial, he had no time to read it and directly ordered someone to send the memorial to the Ministry of Revenue.

After finishing everything, he put his hands behind his back, straightened his clothes, and prepared to attend the court meeting.

In the Jinshen Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang was changing into his casual clothes.

Because it was not a grand court meeting on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, generally speaking, the emperor would just wear casual clothes when he went to court.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zheng He who was standing silently beside him and said, "Your master will have his coming-of-age ceremony on the sixth day of next month."

Zheng He was stunned, but he didn't know what the emperor meant.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "Go find the twelve prisons, four departments, and eight bureaus, and prepare before the banquet in Wuying Hall."

After thinking for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang said casually: "Your master will come over by then."

Zheng He's body stiffened, and his heart suddenly felt like thunder!
The Emperor wants to bring me to the palace on the sixth day of next month!!!

Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "Go to the East Palace again, inform them of the banquet time in advance, and ask the third brother to vacate the main palace of the East Palace..."

After a moment of silence, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at me with a sharp gaze and shouted, "Prepare to welcome our eldest grandson... home!"

Zheng He's heart trembled, "Your servant... Your servant obeys your order!"

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him, and then, accompanied by the strong men of the Embroidered Guards in scarlet dragon robes, went straight to the Fengtian Hall.

The atmosphere in Fengtian Hall was a little weird.

When Zhu Yuanzhang arrived, cheers of "Long live the emperor" rang out.

Before the eunuchs could start singing the ceremony.

Ru Taisu walked straight out and knelt down.

All the officials, both civil and military, looked at Ru Taisu in shock, confusion written all over their eyes.

Minister Ru is already old, why did he come up to show such great respect? Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and asked in a deep voice: "What are you doing?"

Ru Taisu looked miserable and said, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. I have been the Minister of War since I took office. I have been doing nothing but living a life of idleness, like an old dog. Not only have I failed to repay the favor of the emperor, but... I have caused a huge disaster. This is my negligence..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's heart skipped a beat: "Don't talk nonsense!"

The old man has always disliked Ru Taisu's nonsense personality. She can talk a lot about anything but never gets to the point.

Ru Taisu's cheeks turned pale, and he said miserably:

"The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of War...the Ming Dynasty's military officer who went out to sea...died of depression at sea." As soon as these words were spoken, there was silence!
The Fengtian Hall is so quiet that you can hear a pin drop!

Everyone stared at Ru Taisu!

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment, staring at Ru Taisu who was kneeling on the ground with his tiger-like eyes.

The intimidating gaze hovered over Ru Taisu's head, frightening him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat and didn't even have the courage to raise his head.

Geek!

As if he remembered something, the old man's heart trembled again.

The fact that a person died of depression was shocking enough to Zhu Yuanzhang.

At the beginning, everyone thought it was just going out to sea, what was the big deal?
(End of this chapter)