Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 64: Factional Struggles in the Early Ming Dynasty

Zhu Yunfeng was busy the whole morning.

Under the guidance of the deputy mayor in charge of agriculture and the director of the town agricultural office, he visited the town seed station, inspected some abandoned land in the town, and learned about the current situation of the town's agricultural population.

He sorted out all the information. Since the company had not yet been established, he had to do these things himself, which were originally things that his subordinates should have done.

At noon, he called Ji He to ask about the progress of the establishment of the county's personnel department.

After asking, I found out that Zou Ting is really awesome.

In less than two days, she actually found three highly educated relevant talents in the county, one from a 985 university, one from a 211 university, both with bachelor's degrees, and the last one was a 985 master's degree holder who she recruited with a high salary.

However, as the saying goes, there is always a brave man under a big reward. There are indeed fewer talented people in small counties, but the wages are also very low. As long as you dare to offer high salaries, you will naturally be able to attract talented people to join.

It is just difficult to recruit people from big cities. What big cities compare with small towns is not the salary, but the related supporting facilities.

Outstanding education and medical resources, more convenient transportation, and a wider world.

According to the salary specifications made by Zou Ting.

Zhu Yunfeng's company's salary is definitely much higher than that of similar companies in the county, but compared with big cities, it basically has no significant advantage.

In addition, the relevant supporting facilities are not as good as those in big cities, so it is not easy to quickly gather talents.

But even so it's not bad.

With the help of these three people, Zou Ting first set up a human resources department. In addition, the county promised to help recruit technical talents. Once the relevant company rules and regulations were established, they could officially start operations.

Zhu Yunfeng immediately created a small work group of three people on WeChat and asked about the progress.

Zou Ting talked about the current situation in the group. She is currently planning to formulate some company systems and consult the company's financial management.

An accountant and a cashier must be recruited, and these two people are often the confidants of the company boss. Therefore, Zou Ting did not make a decision on her own and waited for Zhu Yunfeng to make the decision.

Zhu Yunfeng knew that these two positions were very important, so he informed Zou Ting and Ji He and he would recruit them personally.

He had no intention of appointing people based on personal connections. The Zhu family had relatives. His grandfather had only one son, his father, but his mother had six sisters and many cousins, but none of them were suitable for the accounting job.

Moreover, if the company has too many relatives, it will be detrimental to the company's development. Therefore, after communicating with Zou Ting, he went to websites such as Zhipin and Tongcheng to post recruitment information and search for talents in this area.

At present, the human resources department has been initially established, and the next step is to start renting a venue.

After that, we will set up the technical department and the production department, and then hire an accountant and a cashier, and the company will basically have a prototype.

As for the establishment of breeding department, logistics department, feed processing department, market research department and relevant rules and regulations management department, the order can be delayed a little.

According to Zou Ting's estimation, she will be able to set up the county office within half a month and build the entire organizational framework. Once the county office is able to operate normally, she will immediately come to the town to assist Zhu Yunfeng.

Zhu Yunfeng didn't say anything about this, but told her that he hoped to speed up the progress. Before next spring, they must rent 5,000 acres of land and start the first batch of farming operations.

By the second half of next year, the breeding farm will be established. Only by raising livestock such as pigs, sheep, cattle, chickens, ducks, and geese will their company have income.

Zou Ting knew the seriousness of the situation, so she said she would do her best.

then.

In the next few days, the county office was back on track, and Ji He came back to help Zhu Yunfeng. The two of them collected information together and traveled all over the town.

Ji He made great efforts in this regard.

Because he had worked in the Poverty Alleviation Office before, he was familiar with the conditions in each village and quickly helped Zhu Yunfeng understand the situation in the entire town.

After careful calculation, if nothing unexpected happens, the investment in the first quarter of this year will reach about 30 million, including land renting, hiring farmers, company employee salaries, fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, building farms and factories, etc.

Zhu Yunfeng has less than 50 million in total, and the investment in the first quarter is so huge, and the output is nowhere in sight. It can only be said that agriculture is indeed an industry with high investment, slow returns and small profits.

No wonder my country's agricultural development has shifted from the south in ancient times to the north in modern times. The lack of vast plains is indeed not conducive to the development of this industry.

In mid-December, only one and a half months away from the New Year of 2025, it started snowing lightly in Zhujiaping.

The rustling snowflakes dyed the mountains and forests white.

The village is still lonely. Sometimes, when you stand outside the house, you may not see anyone for several hours.

A brand new Maybach sedan drove up from a distant village road, slowly drove to the outside of Zhu Yunfeng's house amidst the dense forests and bamboo groves on both sides, turned left and went uphill, and stopped in Zhu Yunfeng's yard.

Zhu Yunfeng got out of the car. It turned out that the Maybach was returned. This car was the one he drove back from the city today. There were also various gifts in the car.

Today is Zhu Biao's day to study at Modern. When he heard the sound of a car, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di looked down and saw Zhu Yunfeng coming back, so they opened the door for him.

Zhu Di saw that Ji He was not there, so he asked, "Where is Chi Chi?"

"I'm busy down there."

Zhu Yunfeng shook his head and said, "It's going to snow during this period. I'm afraid that the mountain will be closed due to heavy snow at the end of the year, so I'm going to stock up on some supplies first."

Their Shangfeng Mountain is not just a mountain, but a group of hills. The highest point, Guangming Mountain, has an altitude of 659 meters. Shangfeng Mountain is located 6 kilometers north of Guangming Mountain and has an altitude of more than 400 meters.

Therefore, at the end of each year, there is often no snow in Lansha Town at the foot of the mountain, but the top of the mountain is covered with white. Even the mountain roads are covered with snow. In addition, the roads are dangerous and there are slopes of more than 70 degrees. Ordinary vehicles cannot get up at all, so the mountain is often closed for a period of time.

“If the mountain is closed, what will happen to that thing?”

Zhu Biao frowned.

"It's already been done. A truck will deliver goods to the mountain this afternoon. I bought 5,000 kilograms of seeds, 5,000 kilograms of fertilizers, 1,000 kilograms of pesticides, and 100 pesticide sprayers."

Zhu Yunfeng took out the large and small bags of things from the car and threw them to Zhu Di, saying as he took them: "Although it's not a lot, it will definitely be enough for the initial test field. It's more than enough for you to plant 5,000 to 6,000 acres."

"That's good."

Zhu Biao nodded.

"Don't be too happy too soon. Help me move things in the evening."

Zhu Yunfeng closed the car door and said with difficulty: "More than 10 tons of stuff, enough for us to drink a pot."

Previously, it was estimated that 5,000 kilograms would be enough.

But later it was discovered that because the seedling cultivation and transplanting techniques in the Ming Dynasty were immature, and there was no scientific agricultural management like in modern times, the means of production required were much more than in modern times.

You can use less fertilizer, but you cannot use less seeds. Basically, in modern times, there may be 5 kilograms of seeds per acre of land, but in ancient times, 8-10 kilograms would be needed.

So with this calculation, they would have to move more than 10 tons of things.

Assuming they carry 50 kilograms each time, they have to make more than 400 trips back and forth. If Ji He is included, each of the four people has to carry more than 5000 kilograms, and they have to run back and forth more than 100 times from the yard outside the house to the cellar.

The automatic conveyor belt will require the surrounding land to be leveled and a large warehouse to be built, so currently transportation can only be done by manual labor.

It can be said that I smile now and cry at night.

However, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di looked normal. Compared with modern people who are accustomed to a more convenient life, the ancients worked more than ten times harder than modern people.

Although they are from aristocratic families, they have received military education since childhood. They often wear dozens of kilograms of armor and several kilograms of weapons for a whole day, so moving some things is no big deal for them.

After taking the things they bought back, the three of them returned to the second floor. Zhu Biao suddenly said to Zhu Yunfeng, "In two months, Tu Jie will file a lawsuit." "Oh?"

Zhu Yunfeng came to his senses, looked Zhu Biao up and down, and said, "Are you ready to officially intervene?"

"Yes."

Zhu Biao nodded and said, "I checked online. In the beginning, only Hu Weiyong, Chen Ning, and Tu Jie were executed, and their three clans were exterminated. But in the following years, my father used the Hu Weiyong case as an excuse to set up a large-scale murder case, killing tens of thousands of officials, civilians, and nobles. Even the neighbors who had been arrested and lived near his home were not spared. However, the history books only have a few words, and there is no record of which officials, nobles, and civilians were implicated. I don't know how to start the investigation."

What Zhu Yuanzhang wanted was to strengthen the imperial power. If he could strengthen the imperial power by simply ordering the death of Hu Weiyong and other three people, it would be too simple. There must be other hidden stories behind this.

But Zhu Biao was now completely in the dark, so he chose to ask Zhu Yunfeng for advice.

"Then you've asked the right person."

Zhu Yunfeng smiled. Old Zhu had told him about this.

"Say it quickly."

Zhu Biao quickly sat on the sofa and waited.

Zhu Yunfeng thought for a moment, took out a pen and paper from the computer desk, and walked over, saying, "After my recent research, I found a problem."

"what is the problem?"

"That means Grandpa Taibo died in the 25th year of Hongwu. Why did the ancestor use the Hu Weiyong case as an excuse to kill seven nobles and implicate tens of thousands of people in the 23rd year of Hongwu?"

"."

Zhu Biao always felt weird when people talked about his own death date in front of him.

"I looked up a lot of information online and studied it for a long time. Combining the Lan Yu case and the incident of Fu Youde being sentenced to death, I came to a conclusion."

"What conclusion?"

“The older our ancestors get, the less secure they feel.”

Zhu Yunfeng said firmly.

"sense of security?"

Zhu Biao and Zhu Di looked at each other.

"Yes, it's a sense of security. He cares too much about the Ming Dynasty, so he must kill any potential threats."

Zhu Yunfeng took a water-based pen and wrote the word "security" on a piece of white paper. He drew a circle, pointed at the words and said, "Why do our ancestors lack a sense of security?"

"Because Hu Weiyong controls the government, your father feels that his power is being taken away?"

Zhu Biao is naturally no longer a person who knows nothing.

If it were in the Ming Dynasty before, he would have felt shrouded in a fog. He didn't know why the situation in the court was so gloomy, nor did he know why his father frowned all day long.

What the riddle men do and say are always hard to understand and comprehend.

But things are different now.

Qingshi had already recorded everything that could be recorded, and allowed Zhu Biao to see the changes in the future. As he was deeply involved in it, he naturally came to understand the mysteries slowly.

The only difference is that although the future situation is clear, we don’t know much about the specific details.

For example, historical books only record that the Hu Weiyong case occurred from the beginning of the 13th year of Hongwu to the 23rd year of Hongwu ten years later, and that 30,000 to 40,000 people were killed in those ten years.

However, except for a few key personnel, such as Hu Weiyong, Li Shanchang, Lu Zhongheng, Tang Shengzong, Fei Ju, Zhao Yong, Zheng Yuchun, Huang Bin, Lu Ju, and Ye Sheng, the rest of the people who were killed did not even have names.

Basically, there is only a record in the history books that "the emperor was angry and purged the rebels, and more than 30,000 people were implicated in the incident and executed" and "the Lan thief caused chaos and leaked the plot, and 15,000 people were executed along with their entire family."

Therefore, Zhu Biao had a general understanding of the four major cases, but he had no idea who was involved and why these people were involved.

“That’s just one aspect of it.”

Zhu Yunfeng said: "On the other hand, with the death of Empress Ma, he himself suffered a blow. He also fell seriously ill in the 18th year of Hongwu, which gave him a strong sense of crisis."

"Once people have a sense of crisis, they will be afraid. Our ancestors were first afraid that you, Master Taibo, would not be able to maintain your throne, so they launched a great purge in the 23rd year of Hongwu."

"After you passed away in the 25th year of Hongwu, our ancestors became worried that your son Zhu Yunwen would not be able to maintain his throne, so the Lan Yu case, the execution of Fu Youde, and other events occurred."

"certainly."

He added: "These are all speculations of our ancestors' behavior logic based on historical records by later historians and myself. We still have to ask our ancestors what they thought."

This is just like what Lu Xun said, there are two trees in front of my house, one tree is a jujube tree, and the other tree is also a jujube tree.

Lu Xun might have meant that there are two jujube trees in front of my house.

But Chinese teachers don’t think so. They think the author must be expressing his concern for the country and the people, or reflecting the darkness of the feudal and corrupt old society.

Only Zhu Yuanzhang himself knows what he is thinking. Even his current self does not know what his future self will think.

Including modern historians and Zhu Yunfeng can only judge his behavior based on the records in history books.

Therefore, Zhu Yunfeng could only make his own analysis based on the opinions of professors from major history schools and information he found online.

What if everything is wrong and Lao Zhu just had a seizure and wanted to kill someone? There would be no place for justice.

"Ah."

Zhu Biao tapped his chin and said, "I think this is also a generally accepted view, and it should be correct. I understand father, maybe this is the case."

Zhu Di couldn't help but ask: "You seem to have mentioned these things before. Is it related to the Hu Weiyong case?"

"Have."

Zhu Yunfeng said in a deep voice: "And it is very important. It can help us figure out the source of our ancestors' lack of security at different time periods. This way we can look at the problem more thoroughly and analyze the answers we want!"

He drew four lines on a piece of white paper from the word "security" outwards, and wrote down the Hu Weiyong case, the empty seal case, the Guo Heng case, and the Lan Yu case. He drew a circle for each case and continued, "What did you see?"

Zhu Biao and Zhu Di both frowned and pondered for a long time. Zhu Biao pointed to the Hu Weiyong case and said, "The Hu Weiyong case was because the prime minister's power threatened the imperial power. The empty seal case was because the imperial power was offended by officials. The Guo Heng case was to investigate corruption, and the Lan Yu case was to stabilize my useless son's country!"

"Yes, but this is only the most superficial analysis. If we add the Huaixi Civil Service Group, the Zhejiang East Civil Service Group, the Yuan Dynasty Civil Service Group, and the Huaixi Military Merit Group to the list, the number of people who have participated in the analysis will also increase."

Zhu Yunfeng wrote the names of these groups in the middle of the four major cases, and finally threw down the pen and asked: "Then is the matter clearer?"

There was a big question mark on Zhu Di’s little head, and he didn’t understand what it meant.

Only Zhu Biao fell into deep thought.

After a long while, he slowly said, "So that's it, so that's it, I understand!"

"This is the result of factional strife and the emperor's suspicion in the early Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yunfeng said softly: "I have read a lot of information recently and realized that the Ming Dynasty's party struggles had already laid the seeds of disaster in the early Ming Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)