Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 80 You are wrong, I have never been a decent person!
“Sir, this…why don’t you think of another way?

Twenty-five thousand strings of cash is not too little, but it is not too much either. There are always ways to solve the problem.

It really shouldn’t have come to this.”

Inside the Wuying Palace, Right Prime Minister Hu Weiyong seemed hesitant and spoke anxiously.

"Your Majesty, this is certainly a good idea.

But...but it's somewhat inappropriate and it greatly damages your Majesty's reputation."

After experiencing initial confusion, the Minister of Revenue Liu Xin couldn't help but speak up and try to persuade them.

The reason is simple: the solution given by the emperor is too bizarre and too unexpected.

The emperor actually planned to use his name, or the name of the Ming Dynasty court, to make a four-month loan!

The interest rate is 2%, which will be repaid after the summer tax revenue is collected.

This situation has never been heard of or seen before.

Before this, they had already prepared for the emperor to cause trouble.

But even so, he was still shocked by the emperor's actions at this time.

This incident was really too big and too unexpected.

That's too inappropriate!
How could a monarch of a country borrow money from others?

The emperor really had no money, so what if he extorted money from some wealthy families, confiscated their property and exterminated their entire families, or even scraped off the gold from the bodies of the Buddha and the Taoist priests?
Although the means may be despicable or violent, they can all understand it.

It's not like other emperors have done this before.

But the emperor's actions at this time were really too embarrassing.

Not only did it bring shame to the emperor, but it also brought shame to the entire imperial court.

They knew that the emperor had to eat in the past and was thick-skinned, but he still had to maintain his dignity in his previous actions.

But now, why do you suddenly not care about your dignity anymore?
It's just a mere 250,000 strings of cash, but it really forces people to this point?
There are obviously many other ways to use, why do you have to take the most disgraceful one?

"What else can we do? Money has its uses in different places.

Can the money for relocating the people be embezzled, or can the money for the army be delayed?
Or can the court officials temporarily stop receiving their salaries?

It’s not good to stop anywhere, as it will affect your work.

After much thought, this method is the best.

As for damaging our reputation...

What is our reputation?
When I was a kid, I herded cattle for others. My family was so poor that we couldn't even afford to eat. My parents starved to death. I became a monk and begged for food everywhere with a broken bowl. Who doesn't know about this past?

Are these prestigious?

We struggled out of the swamp of hell where we couldn't open our eyes, step by step, defeated the Yuan army, attacked Jiqing, destroyed Chen Youliang, defeated Zhang Shicheng, swept through Chen Youding and Fang Guozhen, made He Zhen surrender, drove out the Tartars, restored China, and rebuilt our Han people's territory. Was it because of our reputation?
We have achieved this step by step, steadily and steadily!
It is because we are willing to do practical things, willing to restrain the army, enforce strict military discipline, reward those who have made contributions and punish those who have made mistakes, and not let them treat the people as grass like the soldiers under the command of other people, and give the people some breathing space!
I have never been a prestigious person, let alone a respectable person.

We are the cowherd boy whose parents starved to death!
The person who has lost his home and is begging for food everywhere with a broken bowl, trying to survive in troubled times.

We have no reputation, nor do we want it.

We just want to do more practical things and make the world more stable.

Let more people in the world not go hungry, or at least reduce the number of people who starve to death.

If this so-called prestige you see can bring even a little bit of practical use, and make the world a little bit better, I will use it without hesitation!"

The series of words that suddenly came out of Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth left Hu Weiyong and Liu Xin stunned.

No one expected that the emperor would not only lend money but also say such vicious words!

"My Lord, I understand. I was confused.

Your Majesty has always been that Your Majesty, always thinking about the people and doing practical things.

Compared with making the people and the world a better place, nothing else is worth mentioning.

I will certainly do a better job in the future and keep up with the pace of my superiors.

I will never think that now that the world is at peace, I should do this and that.

There are still many people in this world who cannot get enough food to eat, and many people die of starvation every year.

We still need to keep working hard, it’s not time to relax! "

While the Minister of Revenue Liu Xin was still confused, Hu Weiyong had already made a solemn statement to the emperor in a passionate voice with a solemn expression.

Liu Xin was even more confused, but was also awakened. He hurriedly followed Hu Weiyong's example and expressed his views to the emperor on some matters.

I couldn't think of anything else to dissuade the emperor from doing so.

If the emperor is willing to live with the mentality of a beggar, then so be it. After all, the shame is only brought to Zhu Yuanzhang.

But it is really unfortunate for the world that such a beggar became the emperor, and I also suffered such injustice.

As expected, a beggar is a beggar, and he cannot be noble even if he becomes an emperor.

Even if he was sitting on the dragon throne and wearing a dragon robe, it was still difficult to hide the aura of poverty and desolation emanating from his bones!

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Hu Weiyong and thought that it would be easier to use a treacherous minister, especially one who was so treacherous that he appeared loyal.

If Hu Weiyong could do half of what he said, no, even just a small part, he would never have done anything to him in his previous life, let alone depose him as prime minister.

The Secretariat and the Ministry of Revenue had no objections, and this matter was quickly implemented.

A total of one hundred bonds with a face value of 2,500 guan appeared, printed with the words "Ming Dynasty National Debt" and stamped with the emperor's seal, as well as the seals of the Secretariat and the Ministry of Revenue.

The term is four months, the interest rate is two percent, and it is repaid with summer taxes.

As soon as these 100 bonds were printed and put on sale, they were sold out in less than half a day.

There are even many people who are slow to realize the situation and secretly use their connections to buy from those who already hold the shares and pay extra money.

But all such thoughts were in vain.

It’s not that their connections aren’t strong enough, or that they don’t have enough money.

But it was clearly written on the Ming Dynasty’s national debt that it must not be circulated, otherwise it would be invalid.

This makes many people feel lost and regretful.

It's like missing out on a huge benefit.

In addition to being heartbroken, they began to ask when the emperor would issue such bonds again.

Many of those who wanted to buy government bonds were not actually really interested in the 2% interest rate given by the emperor.

But it is this thing, the extraordinary significance.

The current emperor is notoriously intolerant of any grain of sand in his eyes. He especially hates corrupt officials and those who take bribes.

Moreover, the emperor has always been a god-like figure who is high above everyone else. How could ordinary people reach him?
Not to mention being able to have a relationship with the emperor.

Now, the opportunity is so obvious.

The country was short of money, so the emperor personally borrowed money.

How is this borrowing money?

This is clearly a perfect opportunity to advance yourself!

Not to mention that the emperor only borrowed it for three months and had to pay interest.

Even if the emperor didn't even give them the principal, they would still be willing to do so.

All I can say is that there is never a shortage of people who really want to improve...

Luo Guanzhong, the newly appointed Propaganda Commissioner of the Ministry of Propaganda, encountered this incident on his sixth day in office. He immediately began to write an article based on the news from the emperor.

The top novelists are different. They not only explain the reasons why the emperor issued national debt, but also the results.
It also adds a bit of storytelling.

In accordance with the emperor's special requirements, we are not allowed to be too picky about words and should write as simply as possible.

It is highly readable and interesting.

In cooperation with the emperor, the government bonds have already been issued, and a lot of news has been circulating.

Therefore, this article, which occupied the front page of the Daming Daily, sold more than 3,000 copies as soon as it went on sale the next day.

This was because the Ming Daily had just been established and was not very famous. In addition, the Propaganda Department did not have enough staff and experience, so the number of newspapers printed was limited.

Otherwise, more newspaper shares would be sold.

Luo Guanzhong paced back and forth excitedly, and urgently arranged personnel to increase circulation.

This issue of the Daming Daily will be sold for the next seven days.

It will not only be sold in the capital, but also shipped to Suzhou, Jiangbei and other places for sale.

Although the Daming Daily is called a daily newspaper, it is actually a newly established newspaper and is published only once every six to seven days.

The reason why Luo Guanzhong was so excited was not only because the article he wrote was recognized by many people, but more importantly, there was a special page at the back of the newspaper to print his teacher's Water Margin!

Now, how many people will be able to see my teacher's Water Margin!

I have exceeded the expectations of my teacher!

This publicity is really worth it!
This position is really suitable for me.

The Daming Daily became an instant hit.

Not to mention anything else, just looking at the sales volume of this newspaper will tell you how big a sensation Zhu Yuanzhang's move this time caused in the Ming Dynasty.

Many scholars and even many officials were discussing this matter.

Some people frowned, thinking that the emperor was too disrespectful to openly borrow money for such a small amount of money.

Some people were moved by the emperor's deep love for the people, and in order not to affect their business, they disregarded their reputation and borrowed money using their imperial dignity.

Some officials also secretly became alert. It seemed that the emperor was serious about putting the people first. They needed to be more careful in doing things in the future and work harder in this direction.

Many people also felt that the emperor's move was a bit of a fame-seeking move.

He deliberately took advantage of the opportunity to do this and let people publicize it so that he could gain fame...

……

"Father, is this... a little inappropriate?
If such things were published in newspapers and made widely known, they would inevitably cause a lot of discussion.

There will definitely be some people who say bad things..."

In the Wuying Palace, Crown Prince Zhu Biao carefully considered his words and expressed his opinion on the matter.

"Biao'er, there's nothing wrong with this."

Zhu Yuanzhang reached out and pulled a chair for Zhu Biao, motioning Zhu Biao to sit down and talk.

“I am not afraid to talk about such good policies.

Now we understand that it is not enough to just do good things and implement good governance, we also have to be able to publicize it.

We must publicize the good policies implemented by the country so that more people can know about them.

In this way, the voices of those who are accustomed to speaking strange words, distorting the imperial decrees, and thereby misleading the public will be much smaller, and their influence will decline accordingly.

There is no need to hide our determination to put the people first. We must make it clear and put it into action.

In this way, more people will be influenced and move towards this matter.

We should also try our best to let the people know that the government, at least our emperor, really wants them to live a good life and will work hard to make their lives good.

Don't be afraid of what others say.

Let those bastards say that we are not good at this and that!

We, along with the many philanthropists and people of the Ming Dynasty, will steadily achieve our goals through our unyielding efforts!"

Zhu Biao looked at his father, seeming a little dazed.

An indescribable feeling suddenly surged from his heart and rushed to every part of his body.

All the anxiety, uneasiness, worries and other emotions in my heart disappeared in an instant!
My father is always like this. Once he sets his mind to something, he will move forward courageously. Compared to him, I am far behind him.

I still have a lot to learn from my father!
At the same time, I also feel that the current father is quite different from the father before this year.

My father was always admired in the past, and he is even more admirable now, or even respected.

It always shows inadvertently the heart-breaking and extremely inspiring things, which makes people firm in their confidence and move forward indomitable faith!
……

In Tianjie Temple, Daoyan, who had locked himself in his meditation room since meeting the emperor, stood there in a daze for a long time after reading the Daming Daily.

Then he sighed deeply, came out of seclusion and asked to see the emperor.

Twenty-one days earlier than the one-month deadline!
He had already made up his mind about where to go...

……

"You really want to do this?"

Inside the Wuying Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Daoyan and asked, full of surprise.

According to his previous thoughts, he had already broken Daoyan's heart and eliminated his obsessions by explaining the feudal system and the dragon-slaying technique.

That day Daoyan said that he wanted to go back and think about it carefully, and gave a deadline of one month.

In fact, he had already made up his mind that it would be useless for Daoyan to think about it when he returned. He would definitely start working as an official and work for the Ming Dynasty as he wished.

But who could have imagined that such a huge accident would happen.

This guy Daoyan actually made a choice that Zhu Yuanzhang had never thought of before!

He was going to South Vietnam to work for the rulers there.

"Your Majesty, what I said is true. This is the decision I made after careful consideration.

I am grateful for the favor shown by Your Majesty. You look up to me and want me to serve as an official to contribute to the Ming Dynasty. I also respect Your Majesty's great talent and strategy, and your people-oriented approach.

I also want to contribute to my Ming Dynasty.

But my abilities are limited after all.

Your Majesty has a strong army, brave generals like clouds, and counselors like rain. The general and several dukes, as well as many marquises, are all extremely capable fighters.

Among the civil officials, the Marquis of Chengyi and the current prime minister are all capable of getting things done.

Furthermore, Your Majesty is wise and brave, and you are in control of the overall situation. The Ming Dynasty will surely prosper in the future.

I can certainly do some things if I stay by Your Majesty's side, but to be honest, these things can be done just as well without me.

The role I can play is limited.

In this case, I might as well leave the Ming Dynasty and go to Nanyue to conquer Nanyue for the Ming Dynasty, and strive to hand Nanyue over to Your Majesty in the future.

In this way, I will not let down Your Majesty's kindness, what I have learned, and the dragon-slaying technique that Your Majesty has taught me."

At this time, Daoyan was still dressed as a monk and had regained his kind and benevolent look.

But what was said had nothing to do with Buddhism.

The heart has the Tigers, fine sniffing the rose.

These two sentences popped up in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind.

"How do you know we're going to take South Vietnam?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Daoyan and asked, with a half-smile on his face.

Daoyan said calmly, “Although the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty still exist, whether it is the Liang Wang who lives in a remote corner of the southwest, Nahachu who occupies the northeast, or the Northern Yuan Dynasty court that is hiding in the depths of the grassland and struggling to survive, they are all just broken-back dogs and can hardly achieve anything.

It is inevitable that they will be wiped out by Your Majesty in the future.

Your Majesty is no ordinary man. You have the potential to encompass the universe. Although your achievements are already astonishing, you will not become complacent or stop moving forward.

Nanyue has been part of China since ancient times, but the Song Dynasty was too weak to leave behind its ancestral legacy.

Your Majesty has recovered the Central Plains and taken back Youyun. How can you ignore Nanyue in the south?
In South Vietnam, the mountains are high, the roads are long, the forests are dense, there is smoke and miasma, the roads are rugged, and it is humid and hot. If our Ming soldiers attack in the future, these will be our biggest enemies.

I'm not particularly good at anything, so I thought of trying it out there.

If successful, it can also reduce casualties among soldiers, which can be considered as accumulating some merit, and after all, it won't be a waste of what I have learned."

"Hahaha……"

After hearing what Daoyan said, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily, stood up, walked to Daoyan, and held Daoyan's hands.

He stopped laughing and said solemnly, "Ming Dynasty is so lucky to have a figure like the master!
The affairs of South Vietnam are now in the hands of the Master. Let us see what the Master will do!"

Daoyan bowed solemnly to Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "The Ming Dynasty is truly blessed to have Your Majesty.

I am in Nanyue, watching how Your Majesty handles world affairs!"

After saying this, Zhu Yuanzhang and Daoyan looked at each other, and after a moment they both burst into laughter.

For a moment, the wind was rising and the clouds were surging, and there seemed to be the sound of dragons roaring and tigers roaring!

……

When the peach blossoms in Tianjie Temple were in full bloom, Daoyan went south alone, listening to the melodious birdsong.

All he brought with him were a bowl, a Zen staff, a monk's robe, and a pair of monk's shoes.

Walk leisurely.

It seems that this trip is not to serve the country alone and accomplish something earth-shaking, but just like traveling around in the past.

……

Inside the Wuying Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang was smiling broadly and in a very good mood.

Although the choice Daoyan made was different from what he had originally imagined, it was better.

Daoyan was ultimately unable to give up his ideals and his persistence.

But because of his own intervention, his ideals and his persistence took a turn.

It will blossom and bear fruit in a direction that is more beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.

According to Daoyan's abilities and aspirations, it would be more appropriate for him to go to Nanyue than to stay in the Ming Dynasty.

After the fourth brother successfully pacified the South Vietnam, he took it down.

At that time, someone over there was provoking them, thinking that they were too far away from the Ming Dynasty, and that the fourth brother had just experienced a great battle and was about to recuperate, so there was no problem in jumping.

As a result, the fourth brother did not follow the usual practice and directly sent a large army to push forward. They were unstoppable and beat the enemy to death.

But unfortunately, despite a great start, they were unable to gain a firm foothold in South Vietnam due to improper subsequent handling and the shift of their focus to the north.

When the virtuous grandson Zhu Zhanji came to power, he officially withdrew his troops and completely abandoned Nanyue.

Since that abandonment, South Vietnam has never returned to the embrace of China.

In modern times, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the globe and thought more than once, how great it would be if the Fourth Brothers could gain a firm foothold in South Vietnam and make it an integral part of China.

Apart from anything else, the extremely long coastline alone is enough to make people jealous and can play a huge role.

Now that he has returned to the eighth year of Hongwu, how could he miss it?

Even if Daoyan doesn't leave, he will take it in the future!
……

"Your Highness, as the saying goes, a country cannot be secured by the dangers of mountains and streams, nor can the world be overwhelmed by the power of arms. Only virtue and righteousness can win the hearts of the people.

Only when people's hearts are with you can you be invincible and achieve twice the result with half the effort.

If you do the opposite, even if you rely on power, fear will make people obey.

But most of them are just outwardly respectful but not truly convinced, and when they do things, they get half the result with twice the effort..."

In the Wenhua Hall, after telling Zhu Biao some articles, when today's lessons were about to end, Song Lian said the following to Zhu Biao based on today's lessons.

Song Lian was a famous scholar of his time, and he was also a scholar who had long since defected to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Recommended by Li Shanchang, he entered Yingtian together with Liu Ji, Zhang Yi and Ye Chen.

Song Lian was appointed as the director of Confucianism in Jiangnan and was asked to teach Zhu Biao Confucian classics.

From then until now, more than ten years have passed, and Song Lian is still teaching Zhu Biao.

It can be said that Zhu Yuanzhang put a lot of thought into Zhu Biao's education.

The teacher lineup is even more outrageous.

At that time, the left prime minister Li Shanchang also served as the Prince's Junior Tutor, the right prime minister Xu Da also served as the Prince's Junior Preceptor, and Chang Yuchun served as the Prince's Junior Protector.

Right Governor Feng Sheng was appointed Right Chancellor, while Hu Mei, Liao Yongzhong, and Li Bosheng served as co-directors of the Chancellery...

A large number of founding civil and military officials were fully equipped.

Among them, Song Lian taught Zhu Biao the most and for the longest time.

Zhu Biao was also very respectful to Song Lian.

Hearing Song Lian's words, he immediately performed the disciple's etiquette, expressing that he would remember his teacher's teachings.

When Song Lian saw Zhu Biao's reaction, he nodded slightly, obviously very satisfied.

"Teacher, you... want to talk about the Jinyiwei, right?"

Zhu Biao hesitated for a moment, then asked directly.

Song Lian was even more satisfied after hearing this. His student was not only very respectful, but also followed the Confucian way in everything.

And he is very smart.

There are many things that you don't need to explain explicitly; he will understand with just a little hint.

It is a great honor to meet such a student, and I am here to repay him.

If you teach someone like Qin Wang Zhu Chong, you will be in dire straits for the rest of your life!
Then he is definitely here to take revenge!

"Your Highness, it is precisely about the Imperial Guards. I have recently heard some rumors that the Imperial Guards seem to have the same responsibilities as the original inspectors.

I personally think that this move is extremely inappropriate.

When the Inspector was in office, he caused panic among the officials in the court and the generals in the border areas, making it impossible for them to work with peace of mind.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Your Majesty abolished the censorship system, and the national strength flourished, and all things were revived.

These government orders have never been delayed.

It can be seen that proofreading is not necessary.

Today, our Ming Dynasty is getting better day by day. All the ministers and officials are working hard for the country. It can be said that the court is full of righteous people.

If the inspection is restarted at this time, it will inevitably cause chaos and destroy the good situation.

Therefore, I have the courage to tell Your Highness this matter..."

Song Lian showed a serious expression on his face and made some suggestions to Zhu Biao.

Zhu Biao also responded with a restrained expression: "Teacher, the story of the Jinyiwei is a little different from what is said outside... I already know what you mean.

I will tell my father about this later.

If your Majesty truly has this intention, I will do my best to persuade you."

After hearing Zhu Biao's statement on this matter, Song Lian felt relieved.

Given the status of his student in the emperor's heart, if he was willing to speak up on this matter, it would be fine if the emperor did not intend to restart the inspection with the help of the Jinyiwei. But if he did, he would most likely persuade the emperor to stop.

Let the emperor give up this unreliable idea.

It took a lot of effort to persuade the emperor to abolish the Censorship Office. It has only been a few years. Who would have thought that something similar to the Censorship Office would emerge again?

Once that happens, I won't even be able to sleep well...

……

"Biao'er, what else?"

In the Wuying Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang gave Zhu Biao some instructions on the government affairs he was handling, and then looked at Zhu Biao and asked questions.

Zhu Biao really wanted to ask his father about the Jinyiwei, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he swallowed them back for some unknown reason.

"It's alright, Father."

He shook his head and said.

Jinyiwei, please wait a moment and see what happens before speaking to the emperor...

……

On the third day of June in the eighth year of Hongwu, Xu Da received accurate news in Peking that Wang Baobao had died.

After hearing the news, Xu Da not only did not feel any joy, but when no one was around, he broke three bows in a row!

Even before he came to power, he had already come up with a good solution to deal with the Northern Yuan Dynasty royal court.

However, facing such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, due to the poor supply of food and grass everywhere, Xu Da did not have the supplies to support the army for a long time and long-distance combat. He could only watch this opportunity slip away, and he was still furious.

This incident, in particular, could have been avoided.

It was not that the Ming Dynasty had no food, but that Li Shanchang deliberately delayed things in order to force his superiors to surrender.

This made Xu Da even more angry, and he just hoped that the higher-ups would act quickly to get rid of people like Li Shanchang who were pursuing their own selfish interests and completely disregarding military and national affairs!
But at the same time, he was worried about getting promoted.

Now the situation has become so bad that it is unimaginable that Li Shanchang is personally leading officials from all over the world to confront the superiors.

How difficult is it to win the battle under such circumstances?

Even he found it unsolvable.

If his superiors had not already instructed him to just stabilize the army and not worry about anything else, Xu Da would have rushed his horse to the capital to ask his superiors what to do...

……

When Xu Da was furious and his hatred towards Li Shanchang and others had reached a new level.

Inside the Wuying Palace, Right Prime Minister Hu Weiyong also appeared flustered as he came to see the emperor, his face heavy as he spoke...

(End of this chapter)