Yongle Emperor's grandson: Zhu Yuanzhang with cheats, Zhu Di went crazy

Chapter 104: Fighting against Heaven, Earth and the Emperor (Please subscribe)

The Shenjiying's military performance and display of new weapons were a perfect success.

The old man and most of the generals and officials were very satisfied, but of course there were some who were not satisfied.

For example, our Old Xia’s face is as long as a donkey’s.

After entering the space, he pledged allegiance to Zhu Zhanjun, but loyalty does not mean blind obedience. Old Xia has the same temper as always, but when he considers the issue from the starting point, he always considers Zhu Zhanjun first.

He also admitted that today's equipment display was very exciting and the new weapons were very powerful.

But the problem is that the Ministry of Revenue really has no money.

The satisfied old man gave rewards and granted large amounts of wine and meat. After the soldiers of the Shenji Camp expressed their gratitude, the old man took the civil and military officials to the imperial farm.

As soon as they entered the imperial farm, the officials were stunned.

Even if they had never been here before, they had passed by here.

Previously, buildings were sparse, with little else except some warehouses and the main accommodation rooms.

Looking around now, one can see groups of houses connected together. Thick smoke is still coming out of the chimneys of some houses, and the sound of iron hammering can be faintly heard in some areas.

Hearing the sound of iron hammering, some censors' eyes flashed with excitement.

The salt and iron industry was under the control of the imperial court, and private sale and production was strictly prohibited.

The grandson of the emperor in front of him was actually doing it without any hesitation under the nose of the emperor.

Officials of the Ming Dynasty, especially the censors, were famous for their fighting spirit.

It is said that he defies the heaven above, the earth below, and the emperor in between.

As long as they think something is illegal, they will criticize not only the emperor's grandson but also the emperor.

The old man had been scolded by these imperial censors more than once, and even if he ordered them to be beaten with sticks, he could not suppress their fighting spirit.

"Your Majesty, the imperial court has issued a clear order to prohibit private salt and iron business. I just heard the sound of fine iron nearby. Could it be that the second emperor's grandson is forging weapons here?"

A censor stood up with a righteous look on his face, pointing at the house in the distance where the sound of iron hammering came from, trying to take the first step towards impeachment.

The old man glanced at him and said calmly, "That is the workshop attached to the Shenji Battalion. Its main responsibility is to repair the damaged weapons and equipment of the Shenji Battalion and to develop new weapons. The Shenji Battalion has reports to both the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry."

The censor was stunned for a moment and looked at the Minister of War Jin Zhong.

Jin Zhong nodded: "It is true. It was reported two months ago and the Ministry of War has it on file."

The censor retreated angrily.

The old man did not blame them. It was the power of these imperial censors to report matters to the emperor. Unless something was particularly excessive, the emperor would simply ignore some minor mistakes.

After all, once they are in control, the censors will be afraid and will not dare to impeach easily in the future.

In the emperor's mind, the Censors of the Censorate were a tight ring around the officials, telling all officials to be careful.

It doesn’t matter if these censors are wrong a hundred times, but if they are right just once, a large number of officials will be in trouble.

Perhaps it is for this reason that civil and military officials have a love-hate relationship with the Censors of the Censorate.

I love these people because they really dare to criticize the emperor. I hate these guys because they are born in the year of the dog and they bite whoever they catch.

Arriving at the newly built Imperial Manor Hall, the old man sat down on the main seat. Civil and military officials also sat in their respective seats under the arrangement of the Imperial Manor staff.

Everyone was called here early in the morning, and they hadn't had breakfast yet. There were some things to discuss later, and the old man would not be stingy and let these officials go hungry.

When he came in the morning, the old man even brought the chefs from the Shangshan Bureau. While everyone was watching the military performance, the chefs were preparing breakfast.

Everyone took their seats and the accompanying guards brought in the food.

The breakfast was simple, with four big buns for each person, a bowl of millet porridge, and a few plates of pickles in front of each person.

"You must be hungry, let's eat first."

The old man greeted him, picked up a bun and took a bite, then suddenly thought of something and nodded at Zhu Zhanjun who was also about to eat a bun next to him.

"You can eat later. First, let's talk about the price of these weapons and what the court needs to provide if we want to expand production."

Zhu Zhanjun, who was about to take a bite of the bun, reluctantly put it on the plate, stood up and answered yes, and took the data sheet that Xiaohu had brought.

During the Yongle period, the old man had a very good relationship with the officials except for occasional quarrels.

Perhaps this is the old man's generosity as a soldier, and he is not particular about some things. This kind of meeting while eating is not the first time.

Some time ago, when a large group of generals and officials were discussing the Northern Expedition, Zhu Zhanjun heard that Lao Xia was arguing with the general of the Five Military Commandery while eating noodles.

Zhu Zhanjun walked to the middle, listened to the sounds of people slurping porridge and eating buns around him, swallowed, unfolded the data in his hand and spoke.

"Let's talk about the cost of that big killer first, shall we?"

"Wait a minute." Xia Yuanji, who had finished a big meat bun in a few bites, quickly reached out his hand.

Zhu Zhanjun looked at him, and Xia Yuanji said quickly: "Let's talk about the new musket first. Such a big and powerful thing must be expensive. Let's talk about the cheap one first. Let me finish my meal first. Otherwise, after listening to you, I don't think I will be able to eat for a few days."

"Hahaha……"

Seeing Xia Yuanji's frightened look, everyone present burst into laughter.

But when I thought about how stingy Old Xia usually is, I thought it would be better to talk about the cheap ones first, otherwise this stingy old man would probably not be able to eat for a few days.

Zhu Zhanjun said helplessly: "Okay, okay, you eat first, I'll talk about the cheap ones first."

After flipping through the data sheet in his hand, Zhu Zhanjun began to explain: "The new musket, except for some delicate parts, is not expensive."

Xia Yuanji let out a breath, picked up the millet porridge and prepared to eat the bun he had just eaten.

"Since we are in the process of experimental manufacturing, the overall price is around 16 taels of silver."

"puff!"

Xia Yuanji, who had just taken a mouthful of millet porridge, spit out his anger when he heard the price.

Yang Shiqi, who was sitting opposite him, was speechless.

"Master Yang, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Old Xia quickly stood up to help the other person wipe his face.

"Forget it, I'll do it myself."

Knowing that the other party was shocked by the price, Yang Shiqi also understood that the other party was not doing it on purpose, so he waved his hand and wiped his face casually, picked up the buns and porridge and changed seats.

Xia Yuanji smiled apologetically, then turned his head and glared at Zhu Zhanjun, "Your Highness, are you sure the price is correct?"

Zhu Zhanjun knew this would happen, and said helplessly: "Minister Xia, this is only the price of small-scale production in the early stage. The price will be lowered when mass production is carried out in the later stage."

"How many?"

Xia Yuanji is not someone who can be easily fooled.

Zhu Zhanjun took a look at the estimated price and said, "According to estimates, once manpower and production equipment are available in the future, the price will be reduced to around 12 taels."

Old Xia looked at Zhu Zhanjun, opened his mouth, and finally uttered two words.

"Too expensive."

Zhu Zhanjun looked at him and said leisurely: "Listen to the following first, and you will feel it is a bargain after you hear it."

Old Xia shook his head: "I know, but the Ministry of Revenue has no money. Unless you give it away for free, there is no room for negotiation."

Zhu Zhanjun slammed the notebook shut, turned around and walked towards his dining table.

"You little bastard, you were talking so well, why don't you say anything?"

The old man, who was eating a bun and watching the excitement, saw that Zhu Zhanjun was about to give up, and shouted quickly.

Then he said to Xia Yuanji earnestly: "Lord Xia, we are discussing this, whether we have money or not, we will discuss it after this brat has finished speaking."

Xia Yuanji shook his head directly: "No money."

The old man's face darkened: "Listen first and then talk about it later."

"It's no use listening any more. There's no money."

Xia Yuanji replied, then sat back in his seat, picked up the bun and started to eat it, muttering as he ate.

“I really don’t have any money.”

Everyone: ('-'*)
(End of this chapter)