My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 90 Old Zhu Lost His Mind

"I don't care whether you are Fang Xiaoru or Yuan Xiaoru, I have something urgent to do!" Zhu Di was about to get on his horse, but was shocked by Fang Xiaoru's actions.

"My name was given by my parents. How can I allow you to humiliate it?"

Fang Xiaoru was seen speaking righteously to a door god next to Zhu Di.

"You are the current Fourth Prince, you should set an example, cultivate the righteous spirit, and establish the majesty of heaven and earth!"

Fang Xiaoru was muttering something to the door god, which even stunned Zhu Di.

"Master Wu, what is he doing?"

Wu Chen rubbed his forehead helplessly, "It is said that his eyes were blinded because he studied too hard, and his eyesight has always been not very good."

He quickly turned Fang Xiaoru's head around and said, "Wrong, wrong, the Fourth Prince is over here!"

"It's right there, Mr. Wu, don't worry, I have a pair of eyes that can tell right from wrong, good from evil!"

"Okay, forget about your eyes!"

Wu Chen was helpless and ignored Fang Xiaoru. He said to Zhu Di, "Fourth Prince, if you have urgent matters, go and do them first. I'm fine."

Zhu Di nodded and said, "Grand Scholar Wu, you must hurry to the palace. The group of Confucian scholars from the Imperial College are now causing trouble at the Craftsman Academy. I must hurry and report to my father!"

Wu Chen was shocked when he heard this. "Now the Craftsman Academy is the treasure of His Majesty. How can we allow those students to cause trouble? Your Highness, let's go to the palace together to see the emperor!"

He turned around and said to Fang Xiaoru: "Xizhi, please go to my residence and settle down first. After this matter is settled, I will bring you to the palace to meet His Majesty!"

After thinking about it, he felt a little worried, "Just look at your eyes, do you know the way to my house?"

Fang Xiaoru bowed and said, "Since you have something urgent to do, don't worry about Xizhi. Xizhi has bright eyes and will definitely know the way to your house."

"That's good. Xizhi, be careful on the road. I'll go into the palace first."

After Wu Chen finished speaking, he hurried to the palace.

Inside the palace, Zhu Yuanzhang was standing in front of a map, thinking, with Xu Da, Li Min and others beside him.

"After Emperor Zhaozong of Yuan died, Toghon Temur succeeded to the throne, but his court officials were still Emperor Zhaozong's old officials, and Toghon Temur did not actually control the court.

Moreover, the Oirat Khan Yesudiel is also eyeing the Yuan court covetously. The two sides have fought each other and suffered losses. At this moment, the Yuan court is unstable internally and harassed by the Oirat outside. Once the Yuan court is controlled by the Oirat, the consequences will be disastrous. "

Li Wenzhong explained the situation in Mobei in detail.

"Therefore, when the Yuan court's political situation is not stable and the Wala is not yet fully developed, it is the perfect time to launch a northern expedition!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "I think so too, Lord Li, how are the guns prepared now?"

Li Min said: "Your Majesty, since the Arms Bureau started production, more than 6,000 needle-fired guns have been produced.

As for ammunition, we use paper-wrapped bullets with new explosives. We currently have 300,000 rounds of ammunition in reserve, plus the ones we produced in the past, a total of about 500,000 rounds."

"This speed is still too slow. We want to see at least 10,000 guns after the Autumn Examination!"

"But Your Majesty..."

Li Min said with some embarrassment: "There are still too few experienced workers. Although the Artisan Academy has started classes, it will take at least two to three months to train a qualified worker."

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a long while. What Li Min said was true. It had been less than half a year since the Industrial Bureau was established, and there were only so many workers.

In addition to making guns, these precious workers are also used to smelt steel and build ships... Every industry needs workers!

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang came up with an idea.

"Minister Li, let the shipyard slow down for now and transfer some of the skilled workers to the Military Equipment Bureau to fully guarantee the production of guns and ammunition!" Li Min pondered for a moment and said happily, "Your Majesty is wise and powerful. Most of the skilled workers at the shipyard are from the Industrial Department and have been trained in needle-fired guns. Letting them make guns will greatly increase the speed!"

After temporarily solving the problem of making guns, Zhu Yuanzhang turned to ask Yang Siyi.

"Lord Yang, how about the food and grass?"

"Your Majesty, we have already prepared about 700,000 shi of grain and fodder."

Seven hundred thousand dan of grain and fodder are enough to feed 200,000 soldiers for about three months, not counting the consumption of horses pulling the baggage.

Still not enough!
"Lord Yang, we need to prepare at least one million dan of food and fodder, which will at least cover four months of consumption!"

"Wei Chen understands!"

"My dear ministers, the Northern Expedition is a matter of great importance. It concerns the great Ming Dynasty's hundred-year plan. This time, I want to destroy the Yuan court, subdue the Wala, control the entire northern desert, and lay a solid foundation for the next step of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty, rest assured. We will do our best!"

Everyone said in unison.

"Dad, Dad, something big happened!"

Zhu Di rushed in and said breathlessly: "The Confucian scholars of the Imperial College have all gone to the Beijing Craftsmen Academy to cause trouble!"

"what?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's face changed, "Old Four, what did you say? Say it again!"

Everyone was also stunned. At this critical moment, there couldn’t be any mistakes at the Craftsman Academy!

"Dad, I, I mean, all the Confucian scholars in the Imperial College have gone to the Artisan Academy."

Zhu Di finally caught his breath and finally spoke clearly.

"They said they wanted to show those craftsmen what the way of a saint is. They said they were not worthy of attending the government school and wanted them to go back home!"

"That's unreasonable!"

Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the table, furious!
The craftsmen in the Craftsmen Academy are all his treasures!
It is easy to find a scholar who is well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics and can compose a poem in seven steps and speak eloquently, but it is really hard to find a skilled craftsman!
Let those people who write poems and couplets try to rub a bullet with their hands. If they don’t blow their hands off, it will be considered the good deeds of their ancestors!

He is considered smart if he can figure out what a primer is and what propellant is.

We finally opened the Craftsmen Academy, and the goal is to train more workers as quickly as possible.

In the subsequent industrial revolution, products were used to control foreign countries and pave the way for Baochao to become an international currency. The craftsmen of the Jiangzao Academy were the spark.

How could he let those sour Confucian scholars mess up his grand plan?
"Xu Da, I order you to lead 300 Jinwu vanguards to the Beijing Artisan Academy to drive out the students. If you encounter any stubborn ones, shoot them on the spot!"

Xu Da was immediately shocked. Those were students from the Imperial Academy. It seemed that His Majesty had lost his mind to issue such an order.

"Your Majesty, this is not possible. This is absolutely not possible. Not to mention that many of the students in the Imperial College are young talents selected from all over the country, and there are also many candidates among them. There are quite a few official students and tribute students alone!"

Xu Da hurriedly tried to dissuade Zhu Yuanzhang, saying that these official students and tribute supervisors were both sons of officials appointed by the imperial court, and their ranks were not low. If they were really shot to death, wouldn't the entire court be in chaos?
Li Min and Yang Siyi also tried their best to persuade them.

"Your Majesty, please stay calm. Duke Wei is right. The status of a student at the Imperial College is too sensitive. You must not act rashly. You must make decisions after careful consideration!"

After much persuasion, everyone finally managed to convince Zhu Yuanzhang to calm down. However, Zhu Yuanzhang's words made them anxious again.

"I will go to the Imperial Academy to meet those students and see who is trying to shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty's century-long plan!"

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(End of this chapter)