Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 133 Request! Times have changed!
Jinling City.

Ever since His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu took over as regent, the people of Jinling City have clearly had a better life.

The most significant change was the widespread use of the new version of Ming Dynasty treasure notes.

Buying and selling transactions become very convenient.

You no longer have to go through the trouble of cutting silver, weighing it, identifying its purity... and then bargaining or even quarreling and conflicting over it.

There are more transactions in the market and merchants feel that their business has become better.

At first, some people suspected that the imperial court was secretly printing money again?

However, the Ming Bank could still exchange silver at will, and the official granaries still sold grain at the prescribed price, with nothing unusual.

This calmed the hearts of merchants and people.

I heard that the Ming Bank is now opening branches in various places and bringing new banknotes with them.

This is undoubtedly good news for businessmen.

In the future, when you travel far away for business, you no longer have to carry heavy silver and copper coins.

The large-scale circulation of "Da Ming Daily" gave people more topics to talk about after dinner.

From the emperor's legendary stories to court affairs, to various rumors in the market.

Many of these topics were even taboo in the past.

However, since the publication of the Da Ming Daily, the imperial court has relaxed its control in this regard.

In addition, another extremely influential event was the establishment of the Ming Manufacturing Bureau.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court has drawn a large number of craftsmen from all over the country to work in Jinling City every year.

There are craftsmen from all walks of life who engage in handicraft production to prosper the market and provide products for military and civilian use.

In the past, craftsmen took turns serving.

The craftsmen who came to serve had to rush to Jinling City from all over the country, and then rush back after serving for a period of time.

During the journey, one has to prepare all the expenses, money and food by oneself, and there is no remuneration for the service.

This placed an extremely heavy burden on the craftsmen.

In order to change this situation, in the 24th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the mobilization of 45,000 handicraftsmen from all over the country, together with their families, a total of about 200,000 people, all to move to Nanjing City.

The place where they lived became the famous Eighteen Lanes of Jinling in later generations.

After the craftsmen came to Jinling City, their life was not good.

Zhu Yuanzhang's harshness was not only directed at officials, but also at the craftsmen who worked for the court.

The wages paid to the craftsmen were very low.

In addition, they were often issued with banknotes which were like waste paper, which made them miserable.

After Zhu Yunhuan issued the new version of the Ming Dynasty treasure notes, although the craftsmen's salaries did not increase on paper, because the value of the new version of the treasure notes was far greater than that of the old notes, the craftsmen's treatment was actually greatly improved.

Of course, in reality, not only craftsmen but also officials benefited from this reform.

At least their salaries are no longer in name only.

After the establishment of the Daming Manufacturing Bureau, it began to select a large number of capable people from among the craftsmen.

The salary offered by the Manufacturing Bureau was much higher than that originally offered by the imperial court.

After all, the Manufacturing Bureau is wealthy.

The treatment is so good that many officials are envious.

The craftsmen all rushed to sign up, and once they were successfully accepted, they would celebrate with great fanfare.

Because the Ming Manufacturing Bureau recruited a large number of people, a whirlwind was created in the city of Jinling.

Many people who used to look down on craftsmen now only regret that they are not craftsmen.

But in this era, not everyone can be a craftsman if they want to.

According to the laws made by Zhu Yuanzhang, craftsmen could only inherit the same skills.

In contrast, although the establishment of the Ming Military Academy attracted the attention of officials in the court, it did not have much impact on the common people.

The court is still too far away from the daily lives of ordinary people.

Even if some people who care about the affairs of the court occasionally talk about it, they just treat it as a pastime and idle chat when they have nothing to do.

After listening to Yao Guangxiao's report, Zhu Yunhuan left the Prince of Wu's Mansion and went to the Ming Military Academy.

If Zhu really wanted to kill Concubine Lu as the old monk said, he would leave now to avoid being accidentally summoned to the East Palace.

Whatever Lao Zhu wants to do is Lao Zhu’s business.

What he needs to do is stay away from trouble.

Although Zhu Yunhuan was nominally the president of the Ming Military Academy, he never went to the academy since the opening ceremony that day.

On the one hand, he had a lot of things to do, including the Ming Bank, the Manufacturing Bureau, writing books, drawing pictures, and writing down and organizing his previous knowledge bit by bit.

On the other hand, Zhu Yunhuan has always paid great attention to the combination of work and rest.

It is obviously impossible to work 996, 007 every day like Lao Zhu, even if it means exhausting himself.

A normal person should work one day and rest one day, working four hours a day.

Of course, this can only be thought about in your mind and done quietly, and you must never tell Lao Zhu.

Otherwise, Lao Zhu, the workaholic, would never give him a good look.

In addition, Zhu Yunhuan had another plan, which was to take this opportunity to secretly observe the relationship between the military generals and nobles.

To make it easier for him to control and check and balance each other in the future.

On a daily basis, it is not easy to tell whether their relationship is good or bad.

Especially those who deliberately hide something.

However, students live together in the academy every day and the college is a closed system, so it is difficult to hide the good or bad relationships between students.

As soon as I entered the academy, I saw Chang Sheng running towards me quickly.

He happened to be near the school gate, so he was the first to spot Zhu Yunhuan.

As soon as he saw Zhu Yunhuan, Chang Sheng burst into tears.

"Your Highness, Prince Wu, I am finally expecting Your Highness to come. If Your Highness doesn't come, I am afraid I will die in this academy."

Zhu Yunxun was startled by his miserable appearance and asked hurriedly, "Uncle, what happened?"

Chang Sheng kept crying, looking aggrieved.

"Our Daming Military Academy is in the capital, why are we not allowed to go back home to rest every day after entering the academy?"

"Uncle, I miss the concubines in the mansion so much that I am now seriously ill. If you don't let me go back to the mansion to see them and be intimate with them, then I will be hopeless!"

Zhu Yunxun's face was full of black lines.

"The academy is a military camp. Enrolling is like facing an enemy. How can you enter and leave the campus as you please every day? Uncle, please don't say too much, otherwise, don't blame me for enforcing military law."

Chang Sheng’s crying stopped abruptly, and he looked at his nephew in shock.

Zhu Yunhuan was somewhat helpless, so he leaned close to his ear and said, "Uncle, just hold on for another month or two, and think of it as fighting at the front and making meritorious contributions."

"When this semester is over, I will pick a few beautiful girls from the Jiaofangsi and give them to my uncle."

"Uncle no longer has to come to this military academy to suffer. Just sing and dance at home and enjoy your life."

For a playboy like Chang Sheng, the best arrangement is to let him eat, drink, sing and dance at home every day.

The Duke's salary is enough to support such a waste.

If the Ming Military Academy had not been established for the first time, Zhu Yunhuan had no prestige in the army, and Chang Sheng's status as the son of a military general and nobleman could still serve as a role model, he would not have allowed Chang Sheng to enroll.

However, Chang Sheng is not completely useless. As an outstanding second-generation, Chang Sheng's ability to make friends is unique.

More than half of the noble generals and second-generation disciples in Jinling City were his friends.

Among them, there are also many energetic and capable generals.

Chang Sheng could gather a lot of nobles just by shouting a few times.

Speaking of which, human society is just so strange.

If you want to make friends, the necessary skill is not how hard you work or how hard you fight, but how good you are at eating, drinking and having fun!

Friends are made through playing, this has been the case since ancient times.

The same is true of various clubs in later societies.

You have to be able to play golf, ride a horse, shoot arrows, play cards, drink and sing... before you can be at ease in social situations.

Most business deals are done over drinks.

If you don't know how to play, you can't do many business deals.

Of course, this is for the upper class.

The lower class people have neither money nor time and energy to do these things. The only thing they can do is study hard and work hard...

But the logic of the upper class is completely different.

Being able to play golf may be far more useful than studying hard.

Being able to drink and sing may be far more useful than working hard.

This is the same both in ancient and modern times.

From this perspective, Chang Sheng, who is extremely good at various enjoyment and play activities, is actually a very qualified second generation, or even an excellent second generation.

Because he is so good at playing, he gives people a very approachable feeling when interacting with others.

On the contrary, he enjoys a very high prestige in the second generation circle of Jinling City.

It is no exaggeration to say that one call can lead to a hundred responses.

When necessary, Changsheng's interpersonal relationships can come in handy.

For example, when the Ming Military Academy was recruiting students, he encouraged the children of nobles to sign up enthusiastically, which played a significant role.

"Is this true?"

Chang Sheng was overjoyed when he heard this.

The "illness" just now seemed to disappear without a trace in an instant.

"After I finish this semester, I don't have to come here anymore?"

This is what he cares about most.

The college implements a military-style management, and Chang Sheng really can't stand it.

From the time he was born to the time he grew up to his current age, he has never suffered so much in his life.

In fact, the treatment at the Ming Military Academy is extremely good.

After all, students’ status is there.

It goes without saying that the food is excellent, and even the students' daily lives are taken care of by dedicated staff.

For ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty, studying here is like being in heaven.

But for the pampered founding duke Chang Sheng, it was a huge sin not to have a dozen maids to serve him at meals and a beautiful concubine to warm his bed at night!
"How could I lie to my uncle?" Zhu Yunhuan sighed, "After all, our relationship is special."

"You have to lead by example."

"This matter has been accomplished, and I will remember your great achievement."

He started to paint a big picture.

Chang Sheng immediately patted his chest and assured: "Don't worry, my uncle has performed very well in the academy and will never embarrass Your Highness."

Then he smiled and said, "Don't forget the beautiful girl from the Jiaofangsi when you go out."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Leave it to me. I will not let my uncle down."

"Tell me about the situation in the academy."

Although he arranged staff in the college, how could the teachers' observation of students compare to the students' own observation?

If you look at it from a different angle, the results will be very different.

Chang Sheng immediately told everything he knew like pouring beans.

For example, Lan Yu and Zhu Di never got along.

As a result, many military generals and nobles also took sides.

There were constant conflicts between the two groups.

Since Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles were pardoned and released and entered the Ming Military Academy, they have become much more cautious in their actions.

No longer as arrogant as before.

……

Chang Sheng described everything in detail, from the relationships among everyone to the interactions during breaks.

In this regard, he is a jack of all trades.

After a while, Zhu Yunhuan had a very detailed understanding of the internal situation of the Ming Military Academy, as well as the closeness and distance of the relationships between military generals, nobles, and generals.

Soon, it was time for class.

Zhu Yunhuan walked into the lecture hall where the students were with steady steps.

The originally noisy lecture hall suddenly became quiet.

"Meet the teacher!"

Led by Prince of Yan Zhu Di and Duke of Liang Lan Yu, a group of military generals and nobles performed the collective salute.

Many people became curious.

The King of Wu came suddenly. Could it be that he really wanted to give them a lecture?

This is a bit ridiculous.

Although it is true that the King of Wu is talented, he is only a teenager after all, and has never been on the battlefield.

Among them, there are second-generation people who inherited the titles from their fathers, and there are also many people who are already experienced in the battlefield and have made great military achievements.

Does the King of Wu really want to teach them how to fight?
Or will he be like the previous teachers, preaching some Confucian doctrines that make people sleepy?
When he was puzzled, he saw Zhu Yunhuan had someone bring something that looked like a musket but was not a musket, and it looked a bit strange.

Then a target was erected behind the lecture hall and a fist-sized teapot was hung on it.

"Today I come to give you the first lesson in military warfare."

Zhu Yunhuan raised the gun in his hand, aimed at the target, and pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

The sound of gunfire was deafening.

The bullet hit the target accurately.

The teapot suddenly broke into pieces.

In the stunned eyes of everyone, Zhu Yunhuan said calmly: "Times have changed!"

……

(End of this chapter)