Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 142: Prince of Yan, Zhu Gaochi! (First update)
The next day.

It was just getting light.

Xia Zhibai had already gotten up.

After a simple breakfast, he walked towards Prince Yan's Mansion.

As the old capital of the Yuan Dynasty, the scale of Beiping city is relatively spectacular.

However, after experiencing the wars between the Ming and Yuan dynasties, the city's population declined drastically, and such a large city seemed a little sparsely populated. On the streets there were Mongols, Jurchens, and Semites wearing all kinds of costumes, but of course the majority were Han people.

It was still early and the people in the city had already started their busy daily lives.

Work at sunrise, and rest at sunset.

This has been true throughout history.

All knowledge in the world is knowledge.

Walking in the city and seeing the vivid aspects of people's lives with your own eyes can help you understand the people's sentiments of this era better than reading the cold and cautious words in memorials.

Hei Wa followed for a while and asked curiously, "Brother Xia, if we go to ask for the iron ore this way, will King Yan really agree?"

"He is the prince."

"All of Beijing is his."

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "You underestimate the King of Yan. The King of Yan does have a violent personality, but he is always reasonable, especially when it comes to military affairs. His obsession and enthusiasm for military affairs will calm him down."

"Besides, this iron mine is only located in Shuntian Prefecture."

"It is not the private property of King Yan."

"Even if he tries to stop us, he won't do it too blatantly. As a vassal king, it's okay for him to do things behind the scenes. But if he still questions and obstructs the decision made by His Majesty, then His Majesty may not be easy to talk to."

"These vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty are all afraid of His Majesty."

Heiwa seemed to be thinking about something.

He felt that this matter was quite risky.

As a prince, he has a violent personality and is difficult to talk to at first glance.

Big Brother Xia still wants to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, but it doesn't seem to be possible no matter how you look at it. However, he still has confidence in Big Brother Xia. After all, he has followed Big Brother Xia for a while, and nothing Big Brother Xia wanted to do was left unaccomplished, and this time should be no exception.

Heiwa will not follow him to Prince Yan's Mansion.

When Xia Zhibai was approaching Prince Yan's Mansion, he asked Heiwa to leave and find out the people's sentiments in Peking.

Prince Yan's Mansion.

Zhu Di was sleepy at this moment.

He slept very late last night. It felt like he had only slept for half an hour when he heard a maid say that Xia Zhibai had arrived. He didn't bother to sleep any more and got up quickly. He also asked someone to call Yao Guangxiao, Zhang Yu, Qiu Fu and others.

Lobby.

Xia Zhibai stood among them.

Looking at the exquisitely decorated hall, Xia Zhibai frowned slightly.

The simplicity and frugality of the current emperor Zhu Yuanzhang are well-known throughout the dynasties.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang's frugality was only in form, not in substance.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very generous in building palaces. The Zhongdu in Fengyang, the ten royal palaces in Yingtianfu, and the palaces of the major vassal kings were all more magnificent and larger than the other.

Even the palaces built by the princes of the Ming Dynasty had to be grand and majestic, more majestic than the palaces of all previous dynasties.

This gives people a very strange feeling.

It seemed as if all the copper coins Zhu Yuanzhang saved through his frugal life were spent on building the palace.

Just as Xia Zhibai was looking around the palace, a little head popped out. The boy looked only seven or eight years old, with a very round head. He leaned against the door, looking at Xia Zhibai, the 'uninvited guest', curiously.

Sudden.

He felt a pair of eyes looking at him.

He quickly put his head back.

Afterwards, he walked in in a methodical manner, carrying a pair of loose clothes and walking in square steps.

It does have a luxurious feel.

Xia Zhibai looked at the young man for a few times, and seemed to have guessed who he was. He bowed slightly and said, "Meet the prince."

Zhu Gaochi's eyes rolled around, revealing a hint of surprise. He asked in a soft voice, with a hint of surprise: "Do you know me?"

Xia Zhibai shook his head and said, "This is in the Prince of Yan's Mansion. The person who could come to the lobby so quietly must be someone close to the Prince of Yan. Although I don't know much about the situation in the Prince of Yan's Mansion, I have heard that there is a young prince in the Prince of Yan's Mansion."

Zhu Gaochi nodded happily and said, "I know you too."

"Summer White."

"This year's top scholar in the imperial examination."

"I presented high-yield grain seeds to Grandpa Emperor."

"Still determined to do business."

"Am I right?"

There was a hint of arrogance on Zhu Gaochi's face.

Xia Zhibai laughed and said, "The prince did ask a lot about me, but he didn't know everything."

"What I presented to your grandfather is not only high-yield grains, but also a kind of firearm. The normal scientific name of this firearm should be 'cluster rocket', but I did not make it into a firearm, but a firework, which can be fired dozens of times in a row, and its power is much greater than that of ordinary firearms."

"besides."

"I also introduced a new trend of thought to your grandfather." "It is science and technology!"

"It's just that these things are unknown to outsiders, and even the grain seeds have not been circulated outside."

"As for doing business, it's both right and wrong."

"I am currently in business, but I am only doing business to make money. When I make enough money, I will focus all my attention on politics. Then it will be time to spend money. I make money quickly and I will spend it like water."

"But I have an agreement with your royal grandfather that the profits from the enterprises I founded in the past few years will not go to the court, but will be disposed of by me."

Xia Zhibai did not look down on Zhu Gaochi, but instead explained it patiently.

Zhu Gaochi seemed to be thinking about something.

He walked up to Xia Zhibai, looked at him curiously, and asked, "Is there really a grain yield of 1,000 kilograms per mu in the world?"

Xia Zhibai nodded and said, "Yes."

“There are still quite a few categories, but they are not in the Central Plains.”

"If it really exists, why doesn't the court promote it?" Zhu Gaochi was a little puzzled.

Xia Zhibai hesitated for a moment, then said in a serious tone, "On the one hand, I don't want to, and on the other hand, it's inconvenient. I don't want to because your grandfather doesn't want to, and as for the inconvenience, it's not that easy to promote, and there are many limitations."

"Let King Zhou answer all the specific related questions."

“He’s more proficient at this.”

"Fifth Uncle?" Zhu Gaochi was stunned for a moment, and then he nodded as if he had thought of something. He stroked his chin, walked around Xia Zhibai, and said, "What do you want the iron ore for? Aren't you in the salt business?"

Xia Zhibai said: "If you want iron ore, then you naturally need iron."

"Beiping is still some distance away from Yingtian Prefecture. There are some things that may not be understood in Beiping."

"But once the iron mine is established, the prince should understand."

Zhu Gaochi frowned.

He pondered for a moment and suddenly asked, "Can business really benefit the people?"

Xia Zhibai was silent for a while, nodded, and then shook his head: "It depends on the purpose of doing business. If the goal is to make a profit, then it is impossible to benefit the people. It can only keep testing the people's survival line. But if the purpose is to benefit the people, then it will benefit the people."

"But nowadays, there are too few officials in the world who truly care about the people."

“So sometimes you just have to do it yourself.”

“But this is not the solution.”

“Human energy is limited, and what we can ultimately rely on is the system.”

“And that’s my goal as well.”

"Reform!"

"Reform?" Zhu Gaochi showed a hint of surprise on his face.

He was intelligent and had started studying classics and literature at an early age. He naturally knew the resistance to reform. Moreover, the Ming system had only been established for a few years, and Xia Zhibai dared to talk about reform. This was undoubtedly a violation of the law.

His royal grandfather is not easy to get along with.

Xia Zhibai smiled, stood with his hands behind his back and said, "The survival of a person depends on a single moment; the safety of a country depends on a single night. Only the wise can see the big picture from the small details and make decisions at the right moment. They act according to the situation and wait for the opportunity to change. The opportunity is not up to me, but the change is up to me."

“Therefore, wisdom has no permanent boundaries, it is only in the mind.”

"Your Highness, at your age, I think you have read a lot of books."

"But just like your grandfather, he read too many books and forgot their original purpose. Many books are only for reading and cannot be used directly. The world's situation is constantly changing, and all systems must change accordingly. Otherwise, corruption will arise and slander will arise."

Zhu Gaochi’s face turned pale.

The eyes he looked at Xia Zhibai were filled with panic.

He really didn't expect that Xia Zhibai would dare to speak ill of the Emperor in this way.

This is a capital crime.

"Aren't you afraid of death?" Zhu Gaochi said with a pale face.

"Afraid." Xia Zhibai said, "But everyone will die in this life. If you become cowardly and retreat because of fear of death, then what is the difference between living and dying? And if I am really afraid, then I am not far from real death."

Zhu Gaochi seemed to be thinking about something.

Just when Zhu Gaochi was about to speak, he suddenly heard several footsteps outside the door. He didn't dare to ask any more questions. He bowed to Xia Zhibai and ran out of the door as if escaping. Of course, he was caught by Zhu Di as soon as he walked out of the door.

Zhu Di didn't tolerate it either.

He just gave me a cold face and scolded me a few words.

Zhu Di actually didn't like this boss very much.

Because the eldest brother likes literature and not martial arts.

In Zhu Di's view, this is a case of a son being unlike his father.

Zhu Di was obsessed with conquering the battlefield and making great achievements, but he ended up having a son who didn't even dare to hold a weapon and just wanted to read some books of sages. When the son was the same age as Zhu Gaochi, he had already learned to wield swords and sticks, and Zhu Gaochi never changed his ways despite repeated warnings.

This made Zhu Di very unhappy.

After kicking Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Di finally calmed down, calmed down, and stepped into the hall.

Seeing Xia Zhibai, Zhu Di snorted coldly and did not look very happy.

He said in a cold voice: "Xia Zhuangyuan is really anxious. He came to my door so early in the morning. If you don't know, you would think that I, Zhu Di, am holding on to the iron mine. I, Zhu Di, don't want to give it away, but I won't make you so anxious, right?"

Zhu Di walked up to Xia Zhibai with square steps.

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "Your Highness, you have wronged me. If it was just the iron mine, I would not be so concerned. I came so early because I wanted to discuss more important matters with Your Highness, and the matters to be discussed are related to the future stability and peace of the Northern Frontier."

(End of this chapter)