Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 121 Brother, you are not dead.

"Okay, okay, got it."

The next morning, Zhu Biao received a call from Zhu Yuanzhang in Changsha.

Through the shortwave radio, Zhu Yuanzhang instructed him to go to the Yongle Dynasty and let Zhu Biao inform the great Zhu Di there to summon all the princes to Beijing, and that he wanted to meet his future sons in the New Year.

When Zhu Biao learned what his father meant, he was very surprised, but he did not ask the reason. Instead, he agreed directly and went to Xiandai to find Zhu Yunfeng at noon.

At this time, young Zhu Di was still on his way back to Nanjing with Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He went to the company in the morning, leaving Zou Ting to deal with some matters related to the establishment of the steel plant, and went home to cook for themselves at noon.

Although Zhu Yunfeng is already worth 700 million yuan including various assets, every day countless bosses, suppliers, county and township leaders invite him to dinner, discuss cooperation or investment matters.

But he often pushed these things to Zou Ting to handle, and at most Ji He would go there. Unless the other party was of a very high status, such as a leader above, these dinners would be postponed.

There's nothing I can do. I really can't stand this.

Even though he is now a big boss and the richest man in his county, he is still socially anxious and is not used to this kind of life of drinking and chatting with a bunch of middle-aged people.

Fortunately, Zou Ting handled things very appropriately and was very tactful, so she never offended anyone.

After all, at their size, their social connections and personal connections are often not something that a local tyrant in a county can bully at will. Being able to influence the GDP of an entire county means that they have at least received attention from the city and the province.

Therefore, some despicable means are basically ineffective against them. Even if the boss does not come forward to make friends with others and deal with these interpersonal relationships, no one in the county dares to take advantage of them.

When Zhu Biao came over, Ji He was cooking in the kitchen, while Zhu Yunfeng was watching videos on his phone in the living room, waiting for Ji He to bring the food.

When he noticed someone, he thought it was Ji He, but when he looked up, he saw it was Zhu Biao.

"Grandpa Tai, how come you have time to come here today?"

Zhu Yunfeng was puzzled.

Zhu Biao said: "My father asked me to go to the Yongle Dynasty. You should accompany me."

"have you eaten?"

"No."

"Then wait a minute, go after dinner."

Zhu Yunfeng waved his hand.

"Row."

Zhu Biao came over and sat on the sofa.

"Why go to Yongle Dynasty?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask. Think about it."

"Well"

Zhu Yunfeng pondered for a while and said, "I think I understand."

"Oh? Why?"

Zhu Biao asked curiously.

He had never been to the Yongle Dynasty and didn't care much about it.

After all, that was the dynasty that the fourth son obtained by seizing the throne from his son Zhu Yunwen.

Although Zhu Biao understood that his father hated his son so much that he forced his son to death.

But from the perspective of a father, Zhu Biao could not forgive the fourth son of the Yongle Dynasty for seizing the throne from his son.

This has nothing to do with whether or not he can understand his father's feelings; it is simply a difference in stance.

After all, the fourth son not only seized the throne from Zhu Yunwen, but also deprived him of his title of emperor, imprisoned him, demoted him to a commoner, and even forced his other sons to death.

“I think there are three reasons.”

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Yunfeng, waiting patiently for his next words.

Zhu Yunfeng continued, "First, the Yongle Dynasty was a place for experimentation in terms of politics and economics. The system established there could also provide feedback to the Hongwu Dynasty."

"Well"

Zhu Biao nodded. He knew about this. The political and economic system there was planned by Zhu Yunfeng. If the Yongle Dynasty did well, it would be natural to transplant it to the Hongwu Dynasty.

"Second, the Yongle Dynasty could provide resources back to the Hongwu Dynasty. For example, I used 30,000 mu of rice seeds, pesticides and fertilizers to exchange for 300 kilograms of gold."

Zhu Yunfeng added: "And this gold was converted into money and fed back to the Hongwu Dynasty, such as hydroelectric power stations, workshops, chemical workshops, etc., all of which brought benefits to our ancestors."

"Ah."

Zhu Biao agreed.

This is true.

In the resource exchange between Lao Zhu and Zhu Yunfeng, he only received 12.5 kilograms of gold every month, plus the initial 70 kilograms of gold, and some miscellaneous gold from Zhu Biao.

From the end of last year to the end of this year, about one year and two months, Lao Zhu only gave Zhu Yunfeng about 300 kilograms in total.

On the other hand, during the Yongle Dynasty, 300 kilograms were obtained at first, and some other materials were sent later. Zhu Di also paid a lot, which added up to about 500-600 kilograms.

In this way, Zhu Yunfeng got nearly one ton of gold, and more than 6 million in cash alone.

With this money, he opened factories, mined mines, and rented farmland. Although he suffered some losses on paper, he actually made a lot of profit every year after running the business.

Including fixed assets and cash flow, Zhu Yunfeng's total assets are almost 7 million yuan.

Therefore, it can be said that most of Zhu Yunfeng's money was invested by the elder Zhu Di, while the old Zhu had the intention of making something for nothing.

“The third one is also the most important one.”

Zhu Yunfeng changed the subject and said, "Old Four is the ancestor's child after all."

"Is the current Fourth Elder the same person as the Fourth Elder during the Yongle Dynasty?"

Zhu Biao couldn't help but ask a soul-searching question.

Zhu Yunfeng thought for a moment and said, "It depends on how you define it. Theoretically, they are two different individuals and certainly cannot be considered one person. But they have the same memories, experiences, blood type, DNA, everything is exactly the same, even more like twins, so they can be considered one person. And for our ancestors who value family affection, they are definitely one person. So it has nothing to do with what you think, but whether our ancestors admit it, and whether Zhu Di over there admits it."

The string theory model has confirmed the existence of parallel universes, at least for Zhu Yunfeng. So in Zhu Yuanzhang's own view, no matter it is a parallel universe or time travel, the Zhu family over there is still his Zhu family.

It's just a matter of closeness. The emotional foundation between him and the Zhu family over there is based on the emotional foundation between him and the Zhu family here, but they are just older sons over there.

So Zhu Yuanzhang himself acknowledged that those were his sons, and the people over there also acknowledged that he was Zhu Yuanzhang, and that was enough.

Although the fourth prince usurped the throne to become emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang still felt a little uncomfortable.

But after seeing Zhu Yunwen's outrageous actions and his cruel behavior of forcing his son to death, Zhu Yunwen was very disappointed with him, so he gave Zhu Di a righteous cause.

With his endorsement, Zhu Di could legitimately inherit the throne.

The resentment in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart about the usurpation of the throne naturally dissipated a little, and what remained was naturally a touch of warmth towards family affection.

So in summary.

Whether out of considerations of interests or his own ideas of valuing family affection, Zhu Yuanzhang would not give up the Yongle Dynasty. It was inevitable that he would show his presence from time to time and maintain his authority.

"oh, I understand now."

After listening to Zhu Yunfeng's explanation, Zhu Biao understood it.

"Here comes the chicken soup."

At this moment, Ji He came over with chicken soup and asked in surprise, "Grandpa Tai, why are you here?"

"Come and have a meal."

Zhu Biao smiled and said.

"That's great. I just bought a free-range chicken this morning. Come and try it."

Ji He brought the chicken stewed with mushrooms to the table.

"I'll get the dishes."

Zhu Yunfeng got up and went to the kitchen.

Ji Hyuk followed and brought the remaining dishes.

Soon four dishes, one soup, three sets of bowls and chopsticks, and a large pot of rice were served on the table.

"You guys always make a sumptuous meal, no wonder the fourth child is fat."

Seeing that the dishes included beef and chicken, and the cheapest dish was just a bowl of stir-fried cabbage, Zhu Biao could not help but feel envious. The main reason was that Zhu himself was too frugal and ate simple food, often making do with just tofu for a meal, which made Zhu Biao feel embarrassed to be extravagant and he had to be frugal as well.

Zhu Yunfeng smiled and said, "It would be great if every common people could afford to eat these."

"That's right. These dishes are not abalone or lobster. They are just ordinary home-cooked dishes. If they are sold in a restaurant, they would only cost two or three hundred yuan."

Ji He said as he served the rice: "Da Ming also needs to work hard to reach this level soon."

"Well, let's work on productivity."

Zhu Biao picked up the bowl and chopsticks and started eating with relish.

Without productivity improvement, everything is just empty talk. Now we are only solving the basic food problem.

If we want to ensure that every household can afford oil and meat, we have a long way to go.

After finishing his meal, Ji He cleared the dishes and happily ran to the kitchen to cook some hot pot.

It’s not that he was being a slave to Zhu Yunfeng, doing chores every day, but he really liked cooking.

Otherwise, how could he grow nearly 300 pounds of flesh?
Zhu Yunfeng, holding his almost full stomach, took Zhu Biao to Yongle Dynasty.

It was noon.

Compared to the light snow during the Hongwu Dynasty this winter, it is raining heavily during the Yongle Dynasty today.

After coming out of the underground palace, Zhu Yunfeng took a look at the situation outside, then hurried back to the modern era to get two umbrellas. The two of them walked out of the Yongle Dynasty Underground Palace holding umbrellas.

The sky outside was gloomy, dark clouds rolled in the sky, thick ink surged, and countless raindrops fell, gathering on the ground into a small river.

Fortunately, the underground palace had measures to shield it from rain, otherwise the entire palace would have been flooded by now.

"who?"

Because it was dark and raining heavily, and because it was unlikely that anyone would come out of the Qianqing Palace for a month during the Yongle reign, the guards at the Yuehua Gate relaxed their vigilance.

It was not until Zhu Yunfeng and Zhu Biao walked up to them holding umbrellas that the four guards wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats on their left and right sides noticed them.

There was no way. They were actually outside the Yuehua Gate, which was outside the Qianqing Palace. They were not allowed to enter the Qianqing Palace.

Therefore, if you want to find someone there, unless you stand at the door and stare at the underground palace, there will always be times when you are careless.

"It's me!"

Before Zhu Yunfeng could speak, Zhu Biao said calmly.

"Who are you?"

The guard at the door was very surprised.

Because he saw that the other person was wearing a dragon robe, which was not something that ordinary people could wear.

The most important thing is that the other party came out of the Qianqing Palace, so they did not dare to neglect him.

"I am Zhu Biao, where is Zhu Di?"

Zhu Biao asked.

'Zhu Zhubiao?'

The guards at the door looked at each other.

After hesitating for a moment, they quickly knelt on one knee and said, "Your Majesty."

'His Majesty? '

Zhu Biao was confused at first, then he suddenly realized.

His son gave him a posthumous title.

Emperor Xiaokang.

And it is impossible for the current Zhu Di to deprive him of his throne.

So even though he never served as emperor for a single day, he could actually be considered an emperor during the Yongle Dynasty.

"Take me to see the fourth brother."

Zhu Biao felt curious for a moment. Would he be able to call himself "I" one day?

"Forehead"

The guards were confused and puzzled.

Zhu Yunfeng stood up and said, "His Majesty Xiaokang asked you to go, but you didn't go."

"Yes, Your Highness King Wu."

This time they saw the person clearly, and they knew Zhu Yunfeng.

Zhu Di had talked with Zhu Yunfeng several times before, and when he learned that Zhu Yuanzhang had conferred the title of King of Wu on him, he also conferred one on him during the Yongle Dynasty.

Therefore, he was a person with some connections in the Yongle Dynasty, otherwise Zhu Biao would not have come to him to lead the way.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, this way please!"

The guards looked at each other, and one of the leaders winked at someone, who immediately understood and ran to the West Palace to report to Zhu Di first. He then took Zhu Biao and Zhu Yunfeng to the West Palace.

At this time, Zhu Di was reviewing memorials in the West Palace, accompanied by Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, Prince of Han Zhu Gaoxu, Prince of Zhao Zhu Gaosui and Yao Guangxiao.

Now, half a year has passed since Zhu Yuanzhang ordered him to inherit the throne, and his position has become increasingly stable.

Therefore, we are working on people’s livelihood governance.

Zhu Yunfeng had previously given him 30 acres of rice seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, which grew by the autumn and allowed him to successfully harvest shi of grain.

This made Zhu Di very happy. According to Zhu Di's deployment, he built Diannongwei, started to produce farmyard manure, and promoted new seeds and related technologies in the Taihu Lake Basin to prepare for the Yongle Dynasty next year.

Just as they were talking about state affairs, a guard came in hurriedly, knelt on one knee and said, "Report!"

"What's the matter?"

Big Zhu Di asked.

"Your Majesty, the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Heavenly Purity"

The guard pointed nervously in the direction of the Qianqing Palace.

"Oh?"

Zhu Di was overjoyed and asked, "Is it father who is here?"

If this New Year, Zhu Yuanzhang comes to support him and shows up in front of the civil and military officials, then his position will be more than stable.
I'm afraid I'll have to reach Lao Zhu's level.

After all, apart from deifying himself, Zhu Di did not interfere much in other matters of the Yongle Dynasty. Zhu Di was very welcome to have a father who did not interfere in his internal affairs and even supported him.

"No it's not."

The guard hesitated and said, "Yes, yes."

"who is it?"

Zhu Di frowned, realizing that things were not simple.

"it's me."

At this moment, Zhu Biao stepped into the hall, closed his umbrella, revealing his young and handsome face.

"Bold."

Zhu Gaoxu looked over and frowned. He didn't know him at all, but he was wearing a dragon robe. He was immediately furious and asked, "Who are you? How dare you wear a dragon robe?"

"Oh?"

Zhu Biao was startled, first looked down at his own dragon robe, then looked at Zhu Di, and asked with a half-smile, "Why, Fourth Brother, I can't wear this dress?"

"Asshole, you can't call me the fourth brother. Where are the guards?"

Zhu Gaoxu shouted.

Seeing that the guards didn't dare to move, he rolled up his sleeves and prepared to go forward himself.

"Shut up!"

Zhu Di shouted angrily, then stood up tremblingly. In the astonished eyes of Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaosui and Yao Guangxiao, he knelt in front of Zhu Biao and said in a trembling voice: "Brother, you are not dead, you are still alive."

(End of this chapter)