Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 270: Lao Zhu's competitive spirit! The hidden secret!
Outside Jinling City.

In the restaurant that hosted Lao Zhu, Zhao Rui arrived at the door early in the morning.

Last night, after he reported the news that Old Zhu was visiting the Ming Manufacturing Bureau, he soon received an order from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

We must take His Majesty the Emperor to learn more about the achievements of the Ming Manufacturing Bureau. More importantly, we must find a way to make His Majesty the Emperor stay outside the city for three days before entering the city.

For this reason, Zhao Rui, who received the order, stayed awake all night.

How could he decide whether His Majesty the Emperor should leave or stay?

Even if Zhao Rui had ten thousand heads, he would not dare to stop His Majesty the Emperor.

However, Zhao Rui dared not disobey the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

How to do?
But he was very worried.

Therefore, Zhao Rui came to the restaurant early in the morning.

Lao Zhu doesn’t have the habit of sleeping in, so he also gets up very early.

After he came out, Zhao Rui immediately stepped forward and said, "Mr. Zhu, the place we visited yesterday was just the tip of the iceberg of the Manufacturing Bureau."

"If Mr. Zhu is interested, you may stay here for a few more days and let us take Mr. Zhu on a tour."

Old Zhu pondered for a moment.

Zhu Sun's abilities and capabilities were beyond his initial expectations.

I lack understanding of the Ming Manufacturing Bureau, and in this respect I am far behind Zhu and Sun.

The principles of economic operation are indeed more complicated than I thought.

But as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, how could he show weakness to others?

Old Zhu began to feel competitive.

Anyway, we are already near Jinling City, so there is no need to rush back in a day or two. It would be a good thing to know more about the situation of the Ming Manufacturing Bureau.

Today's Daming Manufacturing Bureau is so huge that it covers an even larger area than the original Jinling City.

The places he can visit in one day are really limited.

To gain a deeper understanding, you need to talk to craftsmen and technicians.

I'm afraid it won't work without a few days.

After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "Okay, we are also quite curious about the Manufacturing Bureau, so let's visit here for three days and then go into Jinling City."

As soon as these words came out, Zhao Rui was overjoyed.

I had thought that the task of keeping the Emperor outside the city for three days would be extremely difficult, but unexpectedly, things went so smoothly.

He was overjoyed and immediately took out the map of the Manufacturing Bureau and introduced the arrangements for the next three days to Lao Zhu.

……

Inside Jinling City.

Zhu Yunhuan looked in the direction Yang Rong pointed.

There was a commotion among the crowd.

The originally flowing crowds of people stopped one after another.

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but feel a little strange and asked, "What happened there?"

Yang Rong stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is well-read and has a poetic talent that no one in the Ming Dynasty can match. I believe you have read the Yuefu poem "Mulberry on the Road" before, right?"

Zhu Yunhuan's expression paused slightly.

The contents of the textbooks in my previous life immediately emerged in my mind.

"The sun rises in the southeast, shining on my Qin family tower... Travelers see Luofu, put down their loads and stroke their beards. Young men see Luofu, take off their hats and put on their caps. Farmers forget their plows, and hoeers forget their hoes. When they return home, they complain and get angry with each other, but just sit and watch Luofu."

……

There are countless famous poems, essays and quotes used by ancient literati and poets to describe stunningly beautiful women.

Such as "One smile makes her look charming, and all the beauties in the palace pale in comparison."

Such as idioms such as "so beautiful as to make fishes sink and geese fall" and "so beautiful as to shame the

Or there are gorgeous poems describing goddesses such as "her figure is as light as a startled swan, as graceful as a swimming dragon...her hair is like a light cloud covering the moon, and she flutters like snowflakes blown by the wind."

But in comparison, none of them seem to be as impressive as the Luofu chapter.

Before Zhu Yunhuan could ask, Yang Rong continued, "Recently, in our Ming Dynasty, there has also appeared a stunning 'Luofu' who 'can captivate the whole city with one glance and the whole country with another smile.'"

"She would come to the market every day to sell jewelry. Although she was born in poverty and dressed simply, she was naturally beautiful and attracted the attention of countless people, and even caused quite a sensation."

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but look at Yang Rong deeply.

"So, you brought me to this West Market just for her?"

He was weird before.

The city of Jinling is so large that there are as many as 120 tall towers for observing what is happening in the city.

Why did Yang Rong choose this one?

Only then did I understand.

Yang Rong laughed and said, "Most women in the world are mediocre. If you wait aimlessly to find one, Your Highness the Crown Prince may not be able to pick one you like even if you spend ten or a hundred days here, let alone one day."

"Unless His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has someone hold a beauty pageant, perhaps someone can be chosen."

"However, I guess His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would not want to disturb the people, mobilize a large number of troops, and invite criticism."

"Rumors spread very quickly in this market."

"But since it is so famous, it must be extraordinary."

"However, whether it is good or not, we still have to wait for His Royal Highness to go and see it first to know."

Zhu Yunhuan looked down, then leaned over to look through the telescope.

Unfortunately, the woman's location was blocked by the house and could not be seen at all.

I could only see the eyes of passers-by nearby, vaguely looking there.

Although Yang Rong knew that the other party would come to this area to sell jewelry, she did not have a store and the location was not fixed, so she naturally could not predict the exact location.

He originally hoped that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could see it himself from the high tower.

But things are never as perfect as we wish.

Zhu Yunxun asked with a smile: "From what you said, this matter caused quite a stir in Jinling City? How come I haven't heard of it before?"

Yang Rong laughed and said, "The people of Jinling City love to gossip about family matters when they have nothing to do. Such things spread very quickly."

“But it’s all just a gust of wind.”

"This woman is not from an official family and has no connection with the court."

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince is worth a fortune. How noble is your status?"

"How could the people below report such boring rumors to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

Zhu Yunhuan was slightly stunned.

I have to say, this is indeed true.

Although the Intelligence Bureau reports in detail every day all the major and minor events that occur in Jinling City and across the country.

But the matters reported, no matter how small, were carefully selected and had some connection with the officials in the court or the country's policies.

For example, Zhu Yunhuan wanted to stabilize grain prices at a low level.

The Investigation Department would report the conditions of each granary, sales, people's feelings and evaluations on grain prices, etc.

Perhaps he would also tell a small incident that happened in the home of ordinary people, such as Zhang San or Li Si.

But this matter must be related to food prices.

On the surface, it seems that the Investigation Department reports everything, no matter how big or small.

In fact, it is nothing more than seeing the big picture from the small, reflecting the impact of the court's national policies on the national economy and people's livelihood through the daily lives of the people and officials, or the dynamics of important officials.

Completely unrelated matters will not be reported.

Of course, it cannot be said that the Investigation Bureau was wrong to do this.

After all, the purpose of gathering intelligence from the public is to help him grasp public trends, understand the impact of national policies on people's lives after they are implemented, discover the difficulties of the people, the trends of officials, and so on.

After all, it is a matter of state affairs, not helping him to find out gossip among the people.

It just so happened that the beautiful girl caused rumors in the capital, which had nothing to do with the country's major policies, whether the people lived well, whether the officials were diligent in their work... and so on.

The Intelligence Department would of course exclude such boring rumors and gossip from the intelligence reported to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

As for the memorials from court officials, that was even more impossible.

If any court official said in a memorial that a beautiful woman came to the West Market in Jinling City to sell jewelry and that she had attracted the attention of the people, wouldn't it be known what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince thought of the memorial? If the court officials knew about it, they would probably scold the person who submitted the memorial as a "treacherous" official who did such a ridiculous thing instead of doing his job.

Anyone who submits a memorial will be scolded to death by the literati!
If Zhu Yunhuan ordered a large-scale beauty pageant, perhaps some ministers would submit such memorials in order to please him.

But Zhu Yunhuan never mentioned it, and certainly no minister would take the initiative to seek scolding and ruin his future without the emperor's permission.

As soon as the memorial is submitted, the superior may directly order the official who submitted the memorial to be beaten to death for the sake of his own reputation.

Compared with the overall situation of the court and the reputation that will last for thousands of years, a mere woman, no matter how beautiful she is, is nothing at all.

Loving the country more than loving the beauty is just a romantic description by literati and poets, and the fantasy of a love-brained person.

If one really had to choose between the kingdom and the beauty, even the lustful Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, chose to kill Yang Yuhuan without hesitation.

Zhu Yunhuan and Yang Rong went down the tower together.

Zhu Yunxun asked curiously, "Since this woman is so beautiful and has caused such a sensation, isn't there any wealthy man who wants to marry her?"

"Of course there are." Yang Rong said, "I heard that in the past few days, the number of people who went to her house to propose marriage has almost broken down the threshold of the girl's house."

"However, Jinling City is under the feet of the emperor after all. In addition, since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came to power, the government has been in good order and the people have been harmonious. The government orders are passed down from top to bottom. There is also the Ministry of Posts and Communications to report illegal activities and the Censorate to inspect and supervise. Even the most powerful person dare not act recklessly."

"That's why she was kept safe for a while."

“But this is not a long-term solution.”

"She is of ordinary birth, not the daughter of a rich family, yet she is so stunningly beautiful, just like a three-year-old child parading through the streets with a golden basin."

"No matter how strict the court's laws are, they can't stop those who covet her."

"No action has been taken yet, it's just that everyone is still a little cautious."

"As time goes by, someone brave enough will naturally take action."

"If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince hadn't protected her, I'm afraid she wouldn't have had a good ending."

"Since ancient times, beautiful women have suffered from short lives, that's how it has been."

Zhu Yunhuan frowned slightly.

He used to not understand this kind of fighting for a woman.

After all, women are not worth much to wealthy families.

What kind of woman do you want?
Why bother to fight over it and even bring yourself into trouble?

Now I finally understand.

It’s really because there is nothing, because it is scarce.

Due to the limited living standards and the hardships of life, the vast majority of people in this world are not well taken care of.

To put it bluntly, even if a woman is born with a good foundation, most of it will be ruined in the process of growing up.

For example, if the teeth are not growing evenly and cannot be straightened, the originally beautiful face may become crooked due to the influence of the teeth.

For example, they have to do farm work and are exposed to the wind and sun, which makes their skin dark and rough at a young age. Beautiful women with good facial features will become ugly with such bad skin.

The only ones who survived the disaster were the very few ladies from well-off families.

But what percentage of people are like this?

The birth of stunning beauties also requires a certain population base.

What's more, she is a lady from a noble family, protected by her family, and it is not the turn of the disciples of wealthy families to use the means of lowering the three barriers to snatch her away.

The rest, who come from ordinary families but can withstand the ravages of life, are truly naturally beautiful and gifted.

Such people are destined to be a very small minority among the very small minority.

In later generations, because people have a good living standard, their natural beauty will not be destroyed. In addition, there are also beauty care products, cosmetics, and various technological advancements.

As long as she is a young woman who is not lazy and is willing to put on makeup and dress up, she will not be ugly at least and will look acceptable.

If you have a good foundation and dress up a little, you can become a beauty.

Therefore, beauties in later generations are not uncommon, let alone scarce.

Moreover, the appearance between people, at least on the surface, is not that different.

In this life in the Ming Dynasty, there are no messy things to add color to your appearance.

If it’s purely a matter of talent, the difference in appearance is huge.

Beauty also became a much scarcer resource than in later generations.

This is the key reason why the second generation of wealthy families do not hesitate to use all kinds of illegal means to compete for beautiful women.

If there are enough beautiful women available and they can be easily obtained, who would be willing to resort to illegal means?

The second generation are not fools and will not deliberately cause trouble for themselves and their families.

Of course, when Yang Rong said that it was difficult for the girl to protect herself and that she might not end up well, he actually meant something else.

That is the mismatch between power and age.

It takes great luck to be noticed by the young and right-minded second generation.

I’m afraid that the person who falls in love with her is not a young man, but an old and powerful person.

Since beauty is a rare resource, it is not just young people who compete for it.

The methods they use may not be so direct, but they are definitely more effective and irresistible.

Or a second-generation rogue like Xue Fan.

Zhu Yunhuan asked again: "Why was this woman not well-known before? Why has she suddenly attracted so much attention now?"

He thought to himself, could it be that people of this era also know how to "hype"?
Is this woman using the means of "hype" to become famous in order to marry into a good family?

That's not really a mistake.

After all, people go to higher places.

Doesn’t a woman want to marry into a good family?
But this kind of behavior made Zhu Yunhuan a little unhappy.

However, this is just his guess and may not be true.

Yang Rong smiled and said, "She used to live in the countryside, and only the villagers had seen her, so naturally she wasn't well-known."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has expanded the factory of the Daming Manufacturing Bureau and has requisitioned a large amount of land. The former villagers have also become citizens."

"I heard that her family was relatively well-off. Although not wealthy, she was doted on by her parents since she was young, so she rarely went out."

"It was only a few months ago that her parents passed away, and she was left with only her brother, sister-in-law, and herself at home, that she came out to show her face."

"Now I make a living by buying some women's accessories from the Daming Manufacturing Bureau's factory and selling them."

"These are just rumors in the market. It is hard to tell whether they are true or false."

"Your Highness will meet him later and we'll know the answer after checking."

As they were talking, the two of them had already arrived at the bottom of the tower.

He immediately got on the carriage and headed straight to where the girl was.

……

(End of this chapter)