Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 22 Mutual Benefit and Win-Win Cooperation

While Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He were cooking and preparing to eat, Zhu Yuanzhang also returned to the Ming Dynasty.

Although the mist and rain covering Jinling had not yet dissipated, it had become much smaller.

When Zhu Yuanzhang returned from the 21st century, the water in the pit had already reached his calves, and every step he took in the mud left a deep pit.

This was because Empress Ma and Zhu Biao had been using brooms to sweep away the water around to prevent a large amount of water from flowing in, otherwise the water under the pit would have definitely been deeper.

There were several buckets placed on the pit, and an unpleasant smell came out of them. In addition to a broom, Zhu Biao also had a torch in his hand.

If it is not Zhu Yuanzhang who comes out, but a modern army with weapons, Zhu Biao will set fire without hesitation.

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang coming out, Empress Ma dragged her tired body and leaned on the broom and said, "Chongba, you are finally back."

"It's hard work, sister."

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw Empress Ma standing haggardly on the pit, a trace of heartache appeared in his eyes.

He knew that since he had instructed that the matter concerning the stone tablet must not be spread, they had no way of sending anyone to clean up the water in the pit.

After all, no one knows when Zhu Yuanzhang will come back.

If Empress Ma and others called for help, and a living person as big as Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly appeared when many eunuchs and palace maids were working, many people in the palace would have to be silenced.

But they couldn't just watch the water in the pit accumulate. If the water was too deep, it would be troublesome if Zhu Yuanzhang happened to come back.

So they can only choose to work on their own.

Empress Ma and Zhu Biao didn't sleep much last night.

Zhu Biao was fine, as he was a young man, and he still had more than ten years to live before his death.

Empress Ma is fifty years old this year. She hasn't had a rest for a night. She is worried and frightened, and still has to work. How can her body bear it?

"fine."

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang coming back, Ma Xiuying finally put her worries aside.

It was Zhu Di who came to pick up Ji He before. He said that Zhu Yuanzhang did not encounter any danger there, but he also said that the government officials there took them away.

Although they had been clearly told that Zhu Yuanzhang would be fine, Ma Xiuying and Zhu Biao still spent the whole night in fear.

Now that I finally saw him coming back, I felt relieved, but then I felt dizzy.

"mother!"

When Zhu Biao saw Ma Xiuying was about to fall, he hurried over to support her.

"Sister."

Zhu Yuanzhang was climbing the ladder. Seeing this, he was horrified. He quickly climbed up in two steps. He anxiously approached Empress Ma and hugged her, saying, "Sister, what's wrong with you?"

"It's okay, I'm just a little tired. I didn't get any rest last night."

Queen Ma shook her head.

Zhu Yuanzhang shouted, "Where are Wang Dong, Wu Ji, and Mao Xiang?"

The shout seemed to cause a sensation.

A large number of eunuchs, palace maids and guards immediately poured out from both sides of the Qianqing Palace and swarmed over.

The Chief Inspector of the Imperial Household Wang Dong, the Chief Inspector of the Imperial Horses Wu Ji, and the Assistant Governor of the Imperial Ceremonial Department Mao Xiang came running in hastily, followed by a group of eunuchs.

They were not far away, waiting to be called at any time on both sides of the Qianqing Palace and outside the back door.

After all, Empress Ma asked them to leave because there was a secret that they could not let see, but they had to ensure that there was someone there at all times when the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince called for them. They could only hide behind the building and not look in the direction of the pit, while not getting too far away.

When everyone came closer, Empress Ma's personal maid Jin'er saw that Empress Ma was being supported and her face was not looking good, so she rushed over and said, "Your Majesty."

Wang Dong, Wu Ji, Mao Xiang and others felt a chill on their backs.

What's going on?

From their perspective, the situation has become increasingly strange since the pit appeared outside the Qianqing Palace today.

First, His Majesty disappeared for a long time without reason, and it took nearly an hour to find him.

Then he asked them to move a stone tablet into the Qianqing Palace, and then dismissed all the attendants, eunuchs and palace maids in the Qianqing Palace, not allowing anyone to approach.

After that, His Majesty stayed in the Qianqing Palace, and the Crown Prince and the Empress stood in a pit outside the palace and asked them to leave.

Moreover, His Majesty appeared once during this period. When he called them over, they only saw two corpses with strange clothes and short hair on the ground. His Majesty asked them to chop them into pieces and feed them to the dogs.

Then let them leave.

The whole thing was full of strange things, and seemed to revolve around this pit.

Is there something strange about this pit?
They just thought so, but they didn't dare to ask. Wang Dong and others came closer and said, "Your Majesty, Queen, and Prince."

"Your Majesty is tired. Send her to Kunning Palace quickly and let her rest. Then call the imperial physician to come and see her."

Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"Yes."

Many palace maids came over to support the queen.

The phoenix chariot drove over immediately, and the palace maids helped Ma Xiuying onto the carriage and headed towards Kunning Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the phoenix chariot leave.

He naturally understood that it was probably because Queen Ma had stayed up all night last night and was not feeling well. She should be fine after a little rest.

But I'm still a little worried.

However, this worry was soon replaced by other thoughts, because he knew very well that he was not a doctor and there was no point in worrying, so he decided to wait until the imperial physician examined him.

If it really doesn't work, then he can kill all nine clans of the imperial physician and send the queen to a modern hospital for a check-up. This is much better than him worrying about it here.

Here, the eunuchs and maids of honor from Kunning Palace escorted the queen away.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Biao and said, "Biao'er, come in with me."

"Yes."

Zhu Biao knew that he had something to say to him, so he followed Zhu Yuanzhang to the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang then ordered his men to stay outside the hall, close the door and not allow anyone to come in.

Soon, the father and son were the only ones left in the room.

Zhu Yuanzhang took Zhu Biao to the study in the side hall of the Qianqing Palace.

The Qianqing Palace was not only Zhu Yuanzhang's bedroom, but also the place where he handled government affairs.

When watching Ming and Qing dynasty dramas, you can often see emperors summoning ministers to discuss matters in the Qianqing Palace, such as Kangxi's angry rebuke of his ministers.

Therefore, holding morning court sessions outside Fengtian Gate (now Taihe Gate) was basically just for fun; the real power center of the Ming and Qing empires was still in the Qianqing Palace.

However, since this was a conversation between father and son, it would definitely not be appropriate to do it outside, so the two of them went to the study.

The two men sat down. Zhu Biao had great power, equivalent to the executive vice emperor. He could argue with Zhu Yuanzhang on many state affairs, and his relationship with Zhu Yuanzhang was not as restrained as that of his younger brothers.

As soon as he sat down, he asked Zhu Yuanzhang: "Father, over there..."

"As I said before, it is indeed several hundred years later. To be exact, it should be six hundred and forty-five years later."

Zhu Yuanzhang leaned back in his chair, took a long breath and said, "Let your fourth brother stay there now. I will come back to take care of some things and discuss this with you by the way."

"Six hundred and forty-five years later?"

Zhu Biao opened his mouth wide. He originally thought it would take three or four hundred years at most, but he didn't expect it would be six hundred years later.

This is such a distant era. You have to know that 645 years before the 12th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, it was the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, so you can imagine how far the time span between the Ming Dynasty and the future is.

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded after thinking for a moment and said, "What I am going to tell you now is very important. Please listen carefully and talk to me about it later. But remember not to spread it out."

"Yes."

Zhu Biao realized the seriousness of the matter and nodded seriously.

Zhu Yuanzhang then told the whole story, without hiding anything, including that Zhu Biao would die in the future and the question he had discussed with Zhu Yunfeng about who was more suitable to be the successor to the Ming Dynasty.

When Zhu Biao heard that he had died young in his thirties, his face changed slightly.

After all, no one wants to die early, not to mention that he later heard that Zhu Di had usurped the throne of his son.

However, when he heard that the medical skills in later generations were very advanced and that he would be able to be cured of his future illnesses in later generations, he felt much more relaxed.

As for Zhu Di's usurpation of the throne.

Ha ha.

As long as he was alive, the fourth brother would still be the fourth brother, just a younger brother.

In the middle, he also heard the question about the successor to the Ming Dynasty, but his expression did not change at all.

Although he was not yet the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty who served as regent for more than ten years, he was the Prince of Wu when Zhu Yuanzhang was the Prince of Wu. Now that he has been the Crown Prince for more than ten years, his character has already become very mature.

Therefore, he knew very well that unless his becoming the crown prince would lead to the demise of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang would not replace him even if the sky fell, and his position was as solid as a mountain.

In fact it is.

When he heard the analysis from the descendant of the fourth family, he also heard the same thing, which was not surprising to him. Therefore, Zhu Biao remained very calm and listened to Zhu Yuanzhang's narration.

"That's just the way it is."

After telling Zhu Biao all the situations, Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes and said, "What should I do next? I want to hear your thoughts now."

Zhu Biao pondered for a while and said, "Father just said that when talking about the root of the disaster that the fourth son had planted for the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yunfeng dared not continue to talk about it. Moreover, he was quite respectful to father before, but his attitude became more and more disrespectful later?"

"Well, this little bastard has turned the tables."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and the image of the boy who dared to interrupt him and even beat him appeared in his mind.

If it were in the Ming Dynasty, no matter how many clans this guy had, they would all be slaughtered.

What Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know was that Zhu Yunfeng was still respectful from the beginning to the end, at least in the eyes of modern people, just not as respectful as at the beginning.

But in ancient society, if you dared to interrupt the emperor, dared not answer the emperor's questions, or dared to speak in a tone that whetted the emperor's appetite, then the nine clans would be punished wholesale.

So Zhu Yuanzhang was very keenly aware of Zhu Yunfeng's change in attitude at that time and quickly grasped the meaning behind it.

However, he did not lose his temper at that time, but chose to endure it temporarily.

After all, he knew nothing about future generations, so he couldn't act rashly or do what he wanted.

Otherwise, if someone in the Ming Dynasty dared to speak to him like this, even if he was a descendant of the Zhu family, he would at least end up being imprisoned until death.

Zhu Biao also realized this now. He thought, "According to Zhu Yunfeng, in their modern times, there is no emperor anymore. The people are the masters of the country. The people no longer need to kowtow to the officials. Everyone is equal. He hopes to get along with us in a modern way."

"good."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction and said, "I gave that kid a difficult problem, and after he solved it, he gave me another one. So I didn't continue to ask, but came back immediately. First, I came to deal with the pit and have someone repair it and make a cellar for easy access in the future. Second, I came to ask for your opinion on how we should deal with that kid in the future."

Zhu Biao said without hesitation: "Let's follow his way. We should treat each other equally and mutually beneficially. We should not make enemies with him."

"Why?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"Because it is we who need him, not him who needs us. Or even if, as father said, he needs us, he only wants wealth and honor, while we want the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Biao shook his head and said, "The difference between us is not measured by money, so we cannot talk to him in a condescending manner. Even if he is a descendant of the Zhu family, we should treat him as an equal. Otherwise, if we make enemies with him, the only one who will suffer is our Ming Dynasty."

"it is good!"

Zhu Yuanzhang clapped his hands and laughed, "Biaoer is indeed my good eldest son. Although his ideas are somewhat different from mine, he has not made any mistakes on this important matter."

This is actually a question of taking the initiative.

Zhu Yunfeng was indeed shocked when he first met Zhu Yuanzhang and his companions.

Because they were descendants of the Zhu family and had a suppressed bloodline, they were extremely respectful to Zhu Yuanzhang at that time. They listened to whatever he said and were honest and did not dare to show any disrespectful attitude.

But when Zhu Yuanzhang went to the police station, whether on the way there or on the way back, it gave Zhu Yunfeng plenty of time to think about the problem.

The problem lies in how to get along with Zhu Yuanzhang and others in the future.

The opening of the time channel is an established fact.

Zhu Yunfeng can choose to call the police and hand it over to the state.

But the appearance of the dog thief made him very embarrassed.

If we report it, the problem of dog thieves will be a little bit unclear.

Two lives are not something that can be easily glossed over.

What's more, Zhu Yunfeng also has some little thoughts.

As a long-time expert in politics, he also wanted to see whether the Ming Dynasty, with his help, could comprehensively lead the West and allow the Ming Dynasty to develop rapidly from the original West in history to become the leader of the East in the next few hundred years.

Therefore, this matter should be kept secret for the time being, and the best option is to cooperate with the Ming world for a win-win situation.

That brings us back to the original question - how to get along with Zhu Yuanzhang.

It's to be a grandson.

Or an equal relationship?

Given Zhu Yunfeng's status, there's nothing wrong with being a grandson.

Chinese people have always respected their ancestors. When they hear others scolding them with words like "Grass Mud Horse" or "Fuck you", they will blush on the spot.

Unlike the Japanese who have forgotten their ancestors, when they hear "Alpaca" and "Fuck you" they don't know why the other party wanted to kill my ancestors. They only get angry when others say that he is a trash that has no value to society.

Therefore, Zhu Yunfeng could act as a grandson in front of Zhu Yuanzhang and others.

But there is a prerequisite here, which is that you must ensure your own interests.

After all, we are so many generations apart, there is some affection, but not much.

What's the point if they ask Zhu Yunfeng to help them unconditionally?

It’s bad enough to be treated like a slave in modern times, but would you still be treated like a slave in the Ming Dynasty?
What's more, Zhu Yunfeng doesn't think that he will come to Ming Dynasty often. Aren't living conditions in modern times better than in ancient times?
After much consideration, Zhu Yunfeng felt that he must make three rules with Zhu Yuanzhang and others.

Right now.

I help you, and you have to help me.

This is what we call mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.

Otherwise, if you keep asking him to help them unconditionally, I'm sorry, even if you are my direct ancestor for more than 20 generations, I will not agree.

It’s just that Zhu Yunfeng didn’t say it explicitly at the time, but expressed that meaning with that attitude.

Zhu Di did not realize that he was only nineteen years old and still a young and inexperienced person.

Zhu Yuanzhang understood.

So he found an excuse to come back and think about this matter.

(End of this chapter)