Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 259 Zhu Yunhuan’s deception! The nobles go out to sea!
There was silence in the field.

The dancers who were still dancing also retreated quietly and hurriedly.

Everyone looked at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with expectant and nervous expressions.

If just now people were just casually agreeing with the team to conquer the world, now everyone is very serious.

Without him.

Zhu Yunhuan is drunk now, and when he talks about ways to make money, it must be something extraordinary.

This is also how they teach others how to make money in business.

Talk about friendship after drinking, and speak the truth after drinking.

With a preconceived idea, I naturally believe it to some extent.

"Is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince planning to contract the imperial court's projects to our noble families?"

Finally, someone couldn't help but shout loudly.

At present, the imperial court can be said to be extremely rich, with countless large projects and various construction projects emerging one after another.

In the past, although such projects were undertaken by the Ministry of Industry, in reality, they were basically subcontracted layer by layer to various companies.

Most of them will fall into the hands of these nobles.

Such as the royal family building gardens, palaces, and even roads and dams.

These projects are extremely profitable.

For example, when building a palace, the court spent three million taels of silver, but actually used one million taels, which was considered quite good.

The remaining two million taels, of course, went into the hands of the sons of nobles or royal relatives who contracted the engineering projects.

For this reason, Zhu Yuanzhang had lost his temper and even killed the sons of nobles who were in charge of the construction, as well as his own relatives and friends.

But this kind of thing has never stopped despite repeated bans.

Zhu Yuanzhang only got furious when the other party went too far. Not only did they make a lot of money, but the palace was also built in a shoddy way.

In normal construction, if two out of three costs are used and only one cost is left, the quality of the project will not be too bad and will not be unsatisfactory.

The most important thing is to estimate higher when you start estimating the cost.

The project originally only required 10,000 taels of silver, but the quotation was 100,000 taels.

So, even if he pocketed 90,000 taels of silver, as long as he really spent 10,000 taels, the quality of the project would be excellent and could withstand inspection.

It is also impossible for the emperor to blame the nobles or royal relatives for this.

However, since Zhu Yunhuan came to power, although the court had many engineering projects, most of them were directly undertaken by the engineering construction teams under the Ming Manufacturing Bureau.

The cost assessment adopts a very scientific method and will not be overestimated at all.

Although the final construction was contracted out to some small contractors, they were already small projects after the big project was subdivided.

How could these nobles look down on such small-scale businesses?

Besides, the funding for those projects was very tight at the Ming Manufacturing Bureau. The project funds were not overestimated much, the profits were low, and the quality requirements for the projects were high. The children of nobles were even less willing to worry about it.

On the contrary, some craftsmen who were willing to work hard and were eager to earn a little money became small contractors by contracting projects from the imperial court and made a lot of money.

Of course, this is also relative to the bottom level.

For the children of nobles, that little bit of money is still not worth their while.

Today, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince got drunk and said that the sons of nobles were all his brothers and that he wanted to show them a way to make money and fortune. Of course, everyone thought of the court's construction projects first.

If the court were to contract and construct so many projects every year, all the noble children present would definitely make a fortune.

However, just as everyone was having a sweet dream, a basin of cold water was poured on their heads.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhu Yunhuan's body was shaking, but his mind was as clear as a mirror.

If he really gave in, he would let these sons of noble families contract the infrastructure projects of the Ming Dynasty.

Then the entire Ming Dynasty’s infrastructure would either become shoddy or the project cost would have to increase several times.

A matter worth one tael of silver cannot be accomplished without ten taels of silver.

These people must not be allowed to interfere.

"Those projects must be built according to scientific methods. You don't understand science, so why are you meddling in it?"

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "The way to make money that I am going to show you today will make you much more money than undertaking those construction projects."

Everyone's originally depressed mood suddenly perked up again.

"Not only can you make a lot of money, but you can also make contributions to the court, be awarded a noble title, bring honor to your family, and make your parents look at you with new eyes."

Zhu Yunhuan continued to make promises.

There was a slight commotion among the sons of nobles.

Don’t underestimate these people, as they are all lazy and good-for-nothing sons of noble families who spend their days singing, dancing, drinking and having fun. However, this does not prevent them from having a “positive heart”!

As the saying goes, "If it is beneficial to the country, we are willing to sacrifice our lives for it, and it is our responsibility to carry on the family tradition." As the son of a noble family, how could it be possible that he did not even have such ambition?
However, the world has already been unified, and the era of conquering nations has long passed.

There is really no other way, so I have to be idle all day long, be lazy, do nothing, eat and be lazy, in order to live up to the "blessing" that my parents worked hard for and finally got!
If they have the chance to prove their abilities to their parents, to prove that although they are lazy, spendthrift, and not working properly, they can still accomplish something and make that old man who always finds fault with them look at them with new eyes, then these playboys will still be willing to work hard.

Of course, the effort should not exceed three days.

It’s too difficult, so forget it!
Compared to making money for the family, it is of course more important to prove to the old man that I am not a waste.

After all, they are a noble family, and no matter how poor they are, they would never let their direct descendants starve.

But the opportunity to achieve success and bring honor to the family is different.

No wonder their breathing became heavy as soon as Zhu Yunhuan spoke.

Everyone is looking forward to it.

Zhu Yunhuan did not keep them waiting for long. Under the influence of alcohol, he shouted:
"I tell you, if you want to achieve success, be awarded a title, and bring honor to your family, you have to look overseas."

"If you want to make money, opportunities are also overseas!"

All the sons of nobles were stunned.

overseas?

What a dangerous place it is!

Only desperate people would run to such a dangerous place.

The lives of these noble children are precious, how could they possibly take such a big risk?
Your Highness, this joke is too big, isn't it?
With a puzzled look in his eyes, Zhu Yunhuan leaped up and jumped onto the table.

He picked up the jug and poured the wine into his mouth through the spout. Of course, it all flowed out and not a drop went into his stomach.

But to outsiders, he looked like a drunkard.

Outsiders cannot tell how much you drink.

Then, Zhu Yunhuan threw the wine pot and shouted, "You all must know that the current rich financial situation of the imperial court is largely due to the expedition to Japan, right?"

The sons of noble families cheered loudly.

"Your Highness is so majestic!"

"Yes, if it weren't for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince leading the army to pacify Japan, I'm afraid the situation of the Ming Dynasty would be completely different now."

"I heard that most of the rice we eat in Jinling City now comes from Japan."

"The Ming Dynasty made a lot of money from the war against Japan, and the treasury is now full!" "Your Highness the Crown Prince is mighty!"

……

The tribute that Japan pays to the Ming Dynasty every year alone is a huge income.

What's more, there were war reparations, and the Ming Bank later opened a branch in Japan, as well as the profits and benefits brought by various trade exchanges between China and Japan.

Although the children of nobles are uneducated, they still understand these principles.

When Zhu Yunhuan mentioned it, he immediately started to play it.

"That's right!" Zhu Yunhuan shouted drunkenly, "There is not only one Wa country overseas, but also a hundred or a thousand such regions, many of which are more backward than Wa country, but also richer."

"But because the rulers there are too barbaric and backward, and have not been taught by saints, the people there are living in dire straits."

"Our Ming Dynasty is an ancient and civilized country, and we have been educated by saints. Our people are prosperous and healthy. We are incomparable with them."

"But, as the saying goes, 'All under heaven belongs to the king,' the emperor is appointed by heaven to rule over all people."

"Wherever the sun and moon shine, wherever the rivers flow, they are under the rule of the emperor."

"The suffering of all the people is the fault of the emperor."

"Grandpa Emperor raised an army of righteousness to fight against the evil Yuan Dynasty and saved millions of people living in Middle-earth. What about the people overseas? Should we save them?"

Zhu Yunhuan asked loudly, and then answered himself: "Of course!"

"Otherwise, how can you be worthy of the title of Son of Heaven?"

"So, the imperial court has invested a lot of money to build the navy. You should all know this."

"Why?"

"The court has too much silver. Should we burn it?"

"The Japanese have been defeated, and the Japanese pirates are gone. Why do we still need to invest so much money in building a navy?"

"I am telling you that it is because the Ming Dynasty wants to march overseas, conquer more places, and save all the suffering people in the world."

"This is an unprecedented feat. Whoever can help the Ming Dynasty conquer more territory will not only gain countless wealth, but the court will also reward him with honors and titles."

"Many people are privately saying that I sent the King of Jin to sea to punish him, but I only pretended to be going to war on the surface."

"I tell you, it's not true."

"The land that the King of Jin is heading to is a place that is a hundred times richer than Japan."

"Prince Jin is going on this expedition to explore the way for my Ming Dynasty."

"Why only bring such a small number of troops? Because the military forces in those places are very weak, and it is easy to win. Just like the Ming navy's attack on Japan, it was effortless at all."

"It's just a long way away."

"In the future, not only the King of Jin, but all the princes and royal relatives of the Ming Dynasty will go overseas."

"We must expand the territory for the Ming Dynasty and make achievements for the imperial court."

"I am asking you now, are you willing to march overseas wherever my sword points?"

"Are you willing to be like your grandfather and your father, to fight for the Ming Dynasty and win supreme glory for your family?"

These words made the noble sons present both surprised and excited.

There were different opinions within the court regarding the Prince of Jin's overseas expedition.

Some people believed that the overseas expedition was fake because the Prince of Jin had made a mistake and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was just looking for a reason to send him overseas.

I'm afraid that Prince Jin will be in great danger this time and will most likely never come back.

Some people also believe that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince led hundreds of civil and military officials to personally see Prince Jin and Fu Youde off, and also equipped the army they led with extremely advanced warships and elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. If it was really just an exile, there would be no need to do so, and there must be another deeper meaning.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's actions are unfathomable and are definitely not as simple as they appear.

Maybe there really is a rich land overseas.

At this moment, when they heard the drunk Zhu Yunhuan say that all the princes and all the royal relatives had to go to sea, these noble sons suddenly felt that they had heard some extraordinary inside information.

Yes.

The imperial court invested a lot of money in building the navy and sent Zheng He to sea. Now it has appointed the King of Jin to go overseas... Isn't this series of actions obvious?
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is ambitious and wants to march overseas!
Then, isn't this the opportunity for people like us?

Even though they just do nothing and indulge in pleasure all day long, these playboys are all very ruthless.

To put it bluntly, it's just a gangster attitude.

It’s just that they have high status and identity, which certainly makes them different from the low-level thugs.

But there is actually no difference in the characteristics of the two.

In short, you can call me lazy, call me lustful, call me bad... I can admit all of these and even be proud of them.

But if you say that I am a coward, that I dare not go through fire and water like our fathers, and dare not charge into the front lines, then I can fight you to the death right away!

How can I, the son of a distinguished official of the imperial court, be a coward?

It’s just that now the world is unified and at peace, so there is no chance to go to the front line and make military achievements!

Otherwise, I promise to be much braver than our father and grandfather!
Of course, this is what they believe in their own hearts.

This is certainly not the case.

But at this time, I was so excited that I didn’t care about so many things.

Besides, who can show in front of others that he is cowardly and afraid of death and dare not go out to the sea on a boat?

After that, I would be so disgraced that I wouldn't be able to face anyone and would feel ashamed of myself. I would be so ashamed of my ancestors!
As a result, this group of playboys immediately rushed to express their opinions.

"I am willing to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and go on overseas expeditions."

"Your Highness, let me lead the troops. I promise to defeat those overseas barbarians until they are convinced."

"I am willing to lead the troops, and go through fire and water without hesitation."

"Okay, I have been familiar with the art of war since I was a child, and I have never lost a fight. If I go to war, I will definitely win."

"Hahaha, my father always scolds me for not being able to fight on the front lines. I'll show him how I lead the army to conquer the wild lands overseas."

"What dangerous places overseas? His Royal Highness dared to sail out to sea and conquer Japan. Are we afraid of that?"

……

The sons of noble families were all excited and eager to take action, clamoring to lead their troops out to sea.

These people may be gangsters, but they hang out in the imperial city all day long and are the people closest to the center of power, so their political sensitivity is still very high.

After hearing Zhu Yunhuan's words, they immediately analyzed in their hearts that this was an opportunity. Perhaps they could be awarded a title by the court and lead troops to fight. That would definitely make the old man at home look at them with new eyes!

In order to show off in front of their family and friends and prove to them that they are not useless "dandy boys", they automatically ignore the risks of going to sea.

The corner of Zhu Yunhuan's mouth curled up slightly.

Of course, he would not hand over the Ming Navy to these people to command.

However, the use of these people is far more important than that of regular troops.

……

(End of this chapter)