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

Chapter 151 The Call of the Grandson

"This brat said he would welcome his grandfather today, but why is he gone again?"

Today is the day when the old man returns from the battle. Dad Zhu Pangpang, along with all the civil and military officials, prepared the welcoming ceremony early in the morning.

The messengers reported continuously that the old man's team was less than ten miles away from the imperial city.

Zhu Pangpang was extremely anxious and kept looking back and around, looking for Zhu Zhanjun who had been informed long ago.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince may have something urgent to do, otherwise he would not have missed coming."

Seeing that the prince was anxious, Xia Yuanji explained.

"No matter how urgent the matter is, is it more urgent than welcoming the emperor?"

Fat Zhu was a little angry. He was worried that what Zhu Zhanjun had done would make the old man unhappy.

In order to make the old man happier, I specifically told Zhu Zhanjun not to be absent. But what happened is that despite all the warnings, that brat still didn't take it seriously.

Soon, a team came over in a mighty manner. It was the team that was escorting the old man back.

"May the prince be blessed with good health!"

Liu Sheng, the team leader, bowed to Zhu Pangpang, who was pretending to be calm and was already thinking about explaining to the old man.

"Thank you for your hard work, Earl Anyuan."

Fat Zhu helped him up with a smile, looked at the carriage and waited for the old man to get off.

Before Liu Sheng had time to remind him, the officials from the Ministry of Rites ordered music to be played, and all civil and military officials stood in line, waiting for the old man.

"Your Highness, there is no need to wait. His Majesty has gone to the Imperial Manor."

Fatty Zhu looked at Liu Sheng.

Liu Sheng gave a helpless look in return.

The old man left ten miles away and asked him to bring the team back. He tried to persuade him several times but it was useless as the old man simply ignored him.

Huangzhuang, in the sweet potato field.

The old man, dressed in military uniform, fiddled with the dense sweet potato leaves and said with emotion: "I have been away for more than half a year, and I have been thinking about these things in my heart, always worried about accidents."

"Fortunately, these little guys have grown up."

"They are growing well. People are waiting for them."

Zhu Zhanjun, who was standing by, handed over a washed sweet potato.

"It's not appropriate for you to stand up my father and the ministers."

The old man took it casually and took a bite.

While chewing, he said, "Your father likes to do this kind of thing. It's just going out to fight a war. It's not a big deal. Is it necessary to mobilize a large army?"

"Besides, I get annoyed just looking at them. I still feel happy seeing these little guys."

Zhu Zhanjun smiled. Even after being away for half a year, this old man was still as cute as ever.

The two of them strolled in the sweet potato field, not paying any attention to the sweet potato vines that could trip them.

"The Shenji Battalion fought well this time. The new weapons also performed very well on the battlefield."

Handing the remaining half of the sweet potato to Zhu Zhanjun, the old man asked, "Just tell me, I want to refit all the equipment in the Shenji Battalion, how much money do you want for supplies?"

Zhu Zhanjun did not despise the old man. He put half a sweet potato in his mouth, took out a memorial from his arms and handed it to the old man.

The old man looked at Zhu Zhanjun in surprise.

He took it casually, and while flipping it open he muttered, "It seems like you little brat have been prepared for a long time. Let me see how much money you plan to cheat me out of."

Zhu Zhanjun rolled his eyes and munched on a sweet potato while muttering, "If you don't buy it, no one will cheat you."

The old man snorted, glanced over, and instantly took a breath of cold air.

"The new flintlock rifles are priced at 4300 taels each. The Shenji Battalion needs to be equipped with 47300 rifles, which costs taels."

"Light and heavy artillery, as well as various matching projectiles, various new gunpowders, etc., etc...."

The old man gritted his teeth and looked at the final statistics, and was silenced at that moment.

All added together, Zhu Zhanjun's offer was 43 taels.

Looking at the final price, the old man was silent for a long time before he said in a muffled voice: "So many guns are less than 5 taels, why are the ammunition and other supporting facilities so expensive."

After stuffing the last bit of sweet potato into his mouth, Zhu Zhanjun said as a matter of course: "The gun is worth only a few bucks. It's the ammunition that takes time and effort. The granulated gunpowder is added with egg white. Don't you know how expensive eggs are? And the sugar, those are ridiculously expensive ingredients."

"This is just the rifles issued to the infantry. There are also hand-held flintlock rifles used by cavalry, which cost more than 5 taels."

"Two for each person. 1000 cavalrymen will need 2000. In addition to your escort cavalry, the total number will be at least 6000."

"Of course, if you, old man, are only assigned to the Shenji Camp, the price will be cheaper."

Listening to Zhu Zhanjun's complaints and looking at the final price, the old man was silent for a while and then said, "No money."

Zhu Zhanjun directly took the memorial from the old man and said, "No money. If you don't have money, there's nothing for us to talk about."

Ignoring the old man's glare, Zhu Zhanjun took out a stack of IOUs from his arms and waved them in front of the old man.

"This is the grain that Xia Yuanji borrowed from me, a total of 165,300 dan."

"Since we are grandfather and grandson, I won't ask you for more interest. Just make it an even number, 170,000 shi will do."

The old man's eyes almost popped out of his head, and he said angrily: "No, not a single cent."

Zhu Zhanjun stared at the old man closely: "Old man, you don't want to default on your debt, do you?"

The old man sneered and said disdainfully: "I didn't borrow it, why do you ask me for it? Go ask Xia Yuanji yourself."

Zhu Zhanjun stared at the old man, but the old man looked away.

Realizing that the old man was determined to default on his debt, Zhu Zhanjun simply put the IOU in his arms and walked away.

"Hey, kid, where are you going?"

The old man shouted at Zhu Zhanjun's back.

Zhu Zhanjun didn't even turn his head, but stretched out his finger and made an international gesture behind him.

"Don't go, can I exchange something with you?"

Zhu Zhanjun stopped and looked back at the old man: "What is it? I've made it clear, I don't like ordinary things."

The old man smiled, walked slowly to Zhu Zhanjun, and said, "During this period of time, someone has been petitioning me to appoint a grandson as the crown prince to stabilize the country."

"But I'm thinking, I have so many grandchildren, who should I make the crown prince? Who do you think it should be, little fellow?"

The old man spoke leisurely, his eyes still glancing at Zhu Zhanjun.

Zhu Zhanjun's heart started pounding instantly.

He understood what the old man said.

This old man wants to exchange these things for the position of Crown Prince.

In fact, he just wants to get an empty title for free.

Although I understand all this, why is my heart still beating so fast?

How strange!

But you can't say this directly.

Would it be too ugly to say it directly? "Grandson..."

Just as Zhu Zhanjun was about to speak, the old man raised his hand and pointed.

"You must think it over carefully. I will only give you one chance."

Wow, this is such a good thing, even I use it.

Zhu Zhanjun looked at the old man.

The old man looked serious and responded to Zhu Zhanjun with a straight gaze.

"I."

Zhu Zhanjun said one word with absolute certainty.

"Hahaha……"

Hearing this answer, the old man laughed out loud and patted Zhu Zhanjun on the shoulder while laughing.

Zhu Zhanjun also laughed along.

After laughing for a while, the old man took a breath, reached out and flicked Zhu Zhanjun on the head.

"What a courageous guy."

He turned around and left laughing.

Looking at the old man's free and easy back, Zhu Zhanjun rubbed his forehead that was hit and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"You're such a daredevil, you little bastard, but I like it."

Old Zhu in the space also laughed out loud.

Zhu Biao frowned and said, "Wouldn't it seem too urgent?"

Hearing this, Old Zhu patted Zhu Biao on the shoulder and said, "Biao'er, the reason you think this way is because you have only been a prince."

"If you were sitting in the emperor's position, you wouldn't feel that way."

Zhu Biao was thoughtful.

Kangxi, who had just been urgently summoned to the space, also nodded in agreement.

"The emperor asked this question for only two purposes."

"The first is a test, and the second is a test of your courage and determination."

"It is obvious that Emperor Yongle values ​​his master very much."

"Compared with Zhu Zhanji, the master has a lot of advantages."

"The bumper wheat harvest some time ago, the corn and sweet potatoes that are about to be harvested, and the bumper harvest in Fengyang some time ago have demonstrated to Emperor Yongle the master's advantages and abilities."

"As for Zhu Zhanji, apart from being a little smart, I can't see any ability at the moment."

"One can clearly see that it has brought an infinite future to the Ming Dynasty, while the other is still in the unknown. The advantages of the two are simply worlds apart."

"In this question-and-answer session, Emperor Yongle wants to see if the master has enough courage and determination after possessing absolute power."

"It's obvious that the master thought of this and made the decision without hesitation."

Old Zhu nodded repeatedly, expressing his agreement with Kangxi's words for the first time.

"But when Zhan Jun came back last year, he expressed his disinterest in that position and proposed to give it up. Now that he has suddenly changed his tune, will Fourth Brother think that Zhan Jun was just pretending?"

Zhu Biao raised his concerns again.

Old Zhu and Kangxi looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time.

Sure enough, before reaching a certain status, people’s thoughts will never reach that perspective.

This is his son, so Old Zhu naturally wouldn't let others point it out, and said, "Biao'er, as an emperor, you don't judge people by their character and morality, but by their ability."

"No matter how good his character is, his ability is extremely poor. If such a person is placed in an important position, not only will he not be able to play a role, but he will also bring endless troubles."

"Of course, we are just using an analogy. If it is really possible, everyone wants someone with good character and ability."

"But there is no such perfect person in the world. Even Confucius was looked down upon by countless people in his time."

"Why did Zhan Jun choose to give in some time ago? Was it because he didn't want to?"

Before Zhu Biao could answer, Old Zhu gave the answer himself: "Because he does not have enough ability and interests to make everyone stand up and support him."

"Since he can't get people to support him, why bother asking for trouble and being ridiculed?"

"People's ambitions are linked to their strength. Without sufficient strength, ambitions are just wishful thinking and daydreams in the eyes of others."

"And when you have enough ability and show your ambition, others will think you are courageous and responsible."

Listening to the conversation in the space, Zhu Zhanjun returned to the imperial farm.

The old man has passed away, and before leaving he broke off a basket of corn cobs and some fresh vegetables.

When the emperor returned, the atmosphere in the court suddenly became tense.

There are still a large number of people imprisoned in the Jinyiwei Prison.

Given the current emperor's hatred of corruption, what will follow will definitely be a storm.

Everyone was worried, concerned that those people in the cells might say names that shouldn't be mentioned or confess things that shouldn't be confessed.

"Crashing... crashing..."

Memorials were thrown on the ground one after another. Crown Prince Zhu Pangpang did not dare to dodge and let the memorials he had revised fall in front of and around him.

The old man had a cold expression on his face. He snorted every time he looked at one and threw it directly to the ground.

After flipping through a long pile of documents, the old man finally stopped and said coldly, "This is how you handle state affairs. How do you act as a prince?"

"I am aware of my guilt."

Zhu Pangpang immediately crawled on the ground.

The old man did not give up and said angrily: "I handed this court to you, and this is how you manage it for me."

He picked one up and threw it in front of Fatty Zhu: "Corruption."

He grabbed another one, took a look at it and threw it again.

"Bullying Ding Batian."

"Japanese pirates along the coast."

"The Qiang people are in rebellion."

Every time one was thrown out, the old man's expression became uglier.

Finally, he became so angry that he pushed all the memorials in front of him to the ground.

"Go back and reflect on yourself. If you can't figure it out, you can accompany the second brother to guard the imperial mausoleum. Come back when you figure it out."

Zhu Pangpang's face was filled with fear. He fled in panic, holding his head while the old man was chasing him with memorials.

When Zhu Pangpang's back disappeared, the anger on the old man's face slowly dissipated.

"I'm not dead yet, there's no need for you, a jerk, to stand up to me."

He squatted on the ground, picked up a memorial, and looked at the contents on it, his eyes gradually becoming cold.

(End of this chapter)