Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 23: Lao Zhu's Frustration

"What Zhu Yunfeng meant by this is actually asking for money. Asking for money is easy, as we can just give him what he wants."

In the study of the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Biao heard Zhu Yuanzhang's approval, but he did not show much joy. He just analyzed seriously: "But there is a problem here."

"what is the problem?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"Spend."

"Spend?"

"good."

Zhu Biao pondered, "How should we strike the right balance? If he wants money, we give him money, but if we give him too much at once, his appetite will expand. If we give him money every time he helps us, the Ming Dynasty will be ruined sooner or later."

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded in agreement.

He also understands this truth.

When you ask someone for something, their appetite may not be satisfied.

What's more, this is not a one-time transaction, but a long-term cooperation, so the other party's appetite is likely to grow.

In addition, people are lazy, and after getting a huge fortune all of a sudden, Zhu Yunfeng might not care so much about the affairs of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, how to strike the right balance in giving benefits to the other party is a real test of their wisdom.

But this kind of thing is confidential and cannot be made public, otherwise there will be fears that there will be disloyalty among the people below.

What’s more, if Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong, Lan Yu and others knew that they would be killed by him in the future, what would happen?
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang could not ask Li Shanchang and others to come and help him with advice, so he could only discuss the balance of the matter with Zhu Biao.

Now it seems that the crown prince is indeed his most suitable successor. Although he tends to be benevolent, he can quickly understand what he means. Compared with the crown prince, the fourth brother is still too young.

"Then according to the standard, how should we grasp the degree?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Zhu Biao was in deep thought for a very long time this time, until he was awakened by the rumbling sound of his stomach.

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Forget it for now, let's eat something first."

"It's not that I haven't thought about it, but I'm wondering if this method can work."

Zhu Biao said.

"Oh?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked hurriedly: "What method?"

“Let’s not talk about state affairs, let’s talk about understanding first.”

Zhu Biao said.

"Tell me more about it."

Zhu Yuanzhang became energetic.

Zhu Biao said: "What lies before us now is that Zhu Yunfeng knows us very well, but we know nothing about him or future generations."

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and agreed with it.

He went to Lansha Town once, and everything there was unfamiliar to him.

Cars, tall buildings, motorcycles, electric cars, the way people interact, the ability to communicate remotely.

What is most unbelievable is that the local yamen runners actually handled the case impartially.

First, do not beat them with sticks to intimidate them; second, do not ask for money from the victims and criminals; third, do not detain them arbitrarily, but reason with them with good intentions.

All the behaviors and life principles made Zhu Yuanzhang feel extremely surprised.

You have to know that he was not born an emperor, but was born a commoner. When he was in the worst time, he even started with nothing and wandered around Henan, Anhui and other places. He was a beggar for three years and saw too many customs and practices.

In the chaotic times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the people in the local areas were living in poverty. Uprisings broke out everywhere, and the people lived in hardship. The government levied heavy taxes, and everything required money and materials.

If they were not careful, the yamen runners, Yuan soldiers and even the rebels would kill people at will, and the common people were really in dire straits.

Zhu Yuanzhang himself was just a floating duckweed in the chaotic times. When he first joined the Red Turban Army, he never thought of doing anything big. It was Tang He who tricked him and wrote to him to invite him to rebel together.

Zhu Yuanzhang was hesitating at the time, but someone heard about this and wanted to report him, so he was forced to flee Huangjue Temple and embark on the path of the rebel army.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well what the chaotic world was like at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

Even in the present Ming Dynasty, he does not think that everything is peaceful and prosperous. He is well aware of the brutality of his subordinates. He has killed many people for this and will kill more in the future.

Now, he suddenly traveled to the future and saw the prosperity of a small town at the foot of a mountain. The well-organized living atmosphere and the people-friendly style of the local government all made him feel incredible.

Although Xie Minghui scolded Zhu Yuanzhang, he did not hit anyone.

This is simply unimaginable in the ancient yamen environment at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, where no matter who was the plaintiff or defendant, as long as they came to the yamen, if they did not use money, they would be beaten up first before discussing the litigation claims.

Is there any yamen runner in this world who is not rude?
What government office doesn’t charge money?

How could an official be so polite to you?
The huge difference made Zhu Yuanzhang feel that his cognition was overturned.

So he was also aware of this problem.

That's the information gap!

Zhu Yunfeng is a modern man, he knows ancient history and everything about them.

In contrast, Zhu Yuanzhang and his people knew nothing about the modern times.

This is Zhu Yunfeng's advantage.

He can now use this advantage to raise the price and negotiate a good bargain.

Zhu Yuanzhang and his men didn't even know the value of the chips they gave.

For example, what is the price of one tael of silver in the future, and what is the price of one tael of gold? They know nothing. In this case, they have no initiative at all. They have to listen to whatever Zhu Yunfeng says. They are at a great disadvantage.

Therefore, the top priority now is not to rush to deal with national affairs, but to understand the situation in future generations.

At least we should have a clear idea of ​​the prices in future generations.

Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty would have to be sold.

"Can we bypass Zhu Yunfeng?"

Zhu Biao pondered and said, "Or is there any other choice besides Zhu Yunfeng?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.

The stone tablet is fixed in Zhu Yunfeng's house.

If the stone tablet moves, the function of traveling between the two worlds will become invalid, which is something he has verified.

So they had no way to bypass Zhu Yunfeng.

The most important thing is that they don’t have ID cards when they go to the afterlife, which means they are illegal residents.

He knows very well what an illegal resident is.

He couldn't get out of the house or communicate with others, and once he was caught by the government, the truth would soon be exposed.

Therefore, they must rely on Zhu Yunfeng, and can only rely on Zhu Yunfeng, they have no choice.

Zhu Yuanzhang had also thought about the most extreme idea.

For example, he could kill Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He, occupy their house, let Zhu Di or other sons of the same age impersonate them, and then slowly explore the world of later generations.

But this idea only came to mind and was quickly dismissed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

First of all, Zhu Yunfeng lived in the village, surrounded by the descendants of the Zhu family. How could they not notice that he had disappeared? How could they not notice that he was actually there? If they called the police, they would be finished.

Secondly, it is said that later generations will be an era of highly developed Internet, with cameras, monitors, and mobile phones able to monitor everywhere. Zhu Yuanzhang also witnessed the power of computers and mobile phones with his own eyes.

If we rashly take such extreme measures and are discovered by some surveillance network, the consequences will be disastrous.

When the time comes and future countries send out their armies, won’t his Ming Dynasty be easily destroyed?

Even if he moved the stone tablet on the Ming side to prevent people from coming over, his idea of ​​using the knowledge, materials and technology of future generations would be ruined.

What's more, he had no way of bringing the stone tablet back to the Ming Dynasty. With the level of technological development in later generations, who knows whether they would be able to solve the problem that the stone tablet could not be transmitted after being moved.

Therefore, although Zhu Yuanzhang had the urge to kill Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He several times during his contacts with them, he gave up these thoughts after careful consideration.

This was something that had already been considered when Zhu Yuanzhang was tied up.

But this left Zhu Yuanzhang with no other choice.

The only choice is to cooperate with Zhu Yunfeng.

There is no other way.

He shook his head and said, "I thought I was wise all my life, but I didn't expect that in my later years, my lifeline would be controlled by my descendants. It's really unbearable."

"There is nothing we can do about it. The reason why the future is the future is that it will naturally be stronger than the present."

Zhu Biao also said: "Just as my father said, they can destroy a city with millions of people with just one atomic bomb. We in the Ming Dynasty have no ability to resist and can only rely on him."

"That's it. When we get there, we won't talk about those messy state affairs first. Instead, we can talk to that guy indirectly about prices."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "But this kind of thing cannot be figured out in a day or two. If I don't ask that kid directly, it will probably take a long time, maybe several years to plow it all out."

"Well"

Zhu Biao also felt the difficulty of the problem.

If they don't want to be easily controlled by Zhu Yunfeng, they must have a certain understanding of future generations.

If you want to have a certain understanding of future generations, it will take a long time just by relying on indirect hints, and you can't avoid Zhu Yunfeng.

Zhu Yunfeng is not a fool, it is impossible for him not to know what they are thinking, so he will be easily controlled by the other party at that time.

The result is a paradox.

It’s really a headache.

"Then be frank!"

Zhu Biao gritted his teeth and said, "He's asking for an exorbitant price, so we still have to pay him back on the spot. If we talk about both sides' concerns and have a good talk, things will probably be much better. I believe he understands what we mean."

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "This little rascal is not simple. I'm afraid he won't agree so easily."

"There is no way."

Zhu Biao also said with a sad face: "If there is a way, why should we be controlled by others? But even if my father is the emperor and my son is the prince, what can I do to him? This is the only way. Maybe it is not a bad thing to be sincere."

"Well, that's it."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, "What a pity! I heard that guy say that there is a time travel, and that modern people may travel to ancient times and cannot go back. If that is true, it would be the best. When he comes to our Ming Dynasty, no matter what, he must confess it to me. The Yiluansi has many ways and means, but he can still go back. Isn't that holding our lifeline?"

If you can't go back, that means there is no way out. When you come to the Ming Dynasty, you are a dog of the Ming Dynasty. You have to do whatever Zhu Yuanzhang tells you to do. If you don't obey, you will be imprisoned in the Yiluansi Prison. There will always be a time to pry your mouth open with all kinds of torture.

But being able to go back means having a way out, and Zhu Yuanzhang also needs advanced technological products from later generations to rapidly expand his Ming Dynasty. Let alone other things, just the sound of guns, cannons, airplanes, tanks, and atomic bombs makes people greedy.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang had no way to demonstrate his imperial majesty in this matter, nor could he use force against Zhu Yunfeng. Even when he was kicked in the lower body, slapped in the face, and punched his son so that his face was covered in blood, he still had to keep Zhu Di calm, and he did not dare to take revenge at all.

This feeling of being controlled made Zhu Yuanzhang feel that he had worked hard for most of his life. He started as a wandering beggar and a miserable monk in Huangjue Temple, and finally climbed to the position of the emperor today, the pinnacle of power in the world.

Look up again, okay.

Someone came from heaven.

I have become the bottom of society again.

This sense of disparity made Zhu Yuanzhang feel like he wanted to be angry, but he couldn't.

Suffocated!
(End of this chapter)