Father can be an enemy to the country

After the abdication ceremony, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang returned to his hometown in Fengyang, accompanied by Concubine Hu and several sons who had not yet joined the feudal clan.

In Fengyang, he paid homage to his parents' imperial mausoleums and the ancestral mausoleums of his ancestors, and then lived in Zhongdu for two months, recalling the past and present with his parents and fellow villagers, talking about mulberry and hemp over wine to relieve his homesickness.

But he did not stay in his hometown for long. He left Fengyang in early March and went north along the Grand Canal, visiting various prefectures in Nanzhi and Shandong along the way.

This was the real purpose of Zhu Yuanzhang's tour - he wanted to see with his own eyes what the country he had conquered had become like after thirty years of governance, and whether it was like what was said in the memorial to local officials. When the people live and work in peace and contentment, will they know that there is happiness for the people?'?

Although officials would definitely whitewash wherever they went, a commoner emperor like Zhu Yuanzhang could still see the real living conditions of the people from the prosperity of the city, the clothing and posture of the farmers, and even the fatness and weight of wild dogs and cats.

When he was in Shandong, he ordered the Chief Secretary to invite all the elderly people over seventy years old in Jinan Prefecture to Daming Lake and host a banquet in person.

Boss Zhu has a yellow book in his hand, so he knows exactly how many elderly people of working age there are in Jinan Mansion. The provincial officials also knew this, so they invited everyone who could come. In the end, a total of 2,700 elderly people were invited to the banquet.

The old people kowtowed to the Supreme Emperor excitedly. Zhu Yuanzhang happily let them lie flat. Looking at these old people wearing new clothes, he asked with a smile: "Are you wearing all the New Year clothes?"

"Hehe, that's right. We don't even dare to dream of meeting Lord Hongwu, so why don't we wrap ourselves up?" the old men from Shandong laughed.

"Haha, we are just like you now, we are all old people taking care of ourselves." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said: "Don't take us seriously, just treat us like an old brother chatting with you."

Zhu Yuanzhang said, his eyes slowly swept over the elderly people, nodded with satisfaction and said: "Well, they all look good. It seems that they can at least have enough food and clothing."

"It's all thanks to Lord Hongwu!" The elderly people were grateful: "If it weren't for Lord Hongwu's great kindness, how could we have lived to this age?"

This is definitely not flattery. During Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, he issued a special decree requiring the country to treat the elderly kindly, and the county also sent rice, flour and clothing to express condolences to the elderly during holidays.

In order to enable the people to take care of themselves when they grow old, he stipulated in the sixth year of Hongwu that "those who are over seventy years of age are allowed to have one son to support them, and they are exempted from official service." ’ As long as there is an elderly person over seventy years old in the family, one of the sons can be exempted from hard labor.

In the 20th year of Hongwu's reign, as the country stopped using troops in Mobei and began to have a fiscal surplus, Zhu Yuanzhang issued a lifelong pension order, stipulating that for those over seventy years old, the state would confer honorary titles such as "social scholar" and "country scholar"; 8 Elderly people over ten years old are given five dou of rice, three catties of wine and five catties of meat every month; elderly people over ninety years old are given one bolt of silk and ten catties of catkins on top of this. Let the people truly realize that "having an elder in the family is like having a treasure." ’

Therefore, the common people will do their best to support the elderly, so just looking at the condition of the elderly, you can know the living standard here. If the elderly are all weak and weak, then the life of the common people will definitely not be good!

What pleased Zhu Yuanzhang was that these Shandong old people were generally strong and strong, many of them had rosy complexions, and none of them suffered from long-term hunger.

"Okay, it shows that the officials did not turn a deaf ear to my words, and your descendants can also abide by their filial piety." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled with satisfaction.

"It's all thanks to Lord Hong Wu's great kindness!" the old men said with tears of gratitude: "We can't forget the troubled times thirty years ago when human life was like nothing. At that time, there was no hope at all. How could we dare to expect to live such a long life? How old are you? Are you still well fed and clothed?”

"We kowtow to Lord Hongwu! Thank you Lord Hongwu for giving us such a happy second half of our lives!" The elders were so content that they didn't know how to thank Zhu Yuanzhang, so they could only kowtow to him again.

"Okay, okay, don't kowtow." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and motioned for them to get up and said: "Come on, everyone, take a seat, let us old people have a drink together, I wish you a long life of a hundred years, and your life will get better every year! "

"I wish Lord Hongwu a long life!" The old men stood up and raised their glasses, tremblingly offering their most sincere blessings.

~~

After leaving Shandong, Zhu Yuanzhang continued northward. What he is most worried about is whether the Beibei will resurrect and come back again in a few decades?

In order to find the answer, he insisted on crossing the Yanshan Mountains and came to Daning regardless of his old age.

The seventeenth old King Ning Quan, Prince Fu of Ning, and Governor of Daning, Duke Ying Fu Youde, have been waiting at the border for a long time.

The two led Zhu Yuanzhang to first inspect the situation of military camps in Xincheng, Fuyu, Huizhou and other places. These guard posts are located in the south of Daning, adjacent to the Yanshan Mountains. The land is suitable for farming, so they are mainly Han people. Seven points are military garrison and three are civilian garrison, with nearly 100,000 hectares of land reclaimed. The grain produced is enough to supply the entire Daning garrison, which greatly reduces the logistical burden in the interior and is the cornerstone of the stability of the entire Daning Guard.

Going further north, in the Daning area, there is almost no cultivated land. As far as the eye can see, they are all Mongolian pastures.

Entering Daning City, it was a different scene. The city has a large population, of which 70% are Han and 30% are Hu. In addition to the necessary barracks, grain depots and horse racing grounds in the city, there is also a very lively market.

In the market, there are many foreigners and Han people, and trade is flourishing. Everywhere you can see Mongolians speaking in a blunt Chinese language haggling with Han traders. There were also Mongolians who didn’t buy anything and were just chatting with the Han stallholders. Both parties looked relaxed, spoke warmly, joked loudly, and burst into hearty laughter from time to time.

The day Boss Zhu came here happened to catch up with the big market held every five and ten days. Mongolians from all over Daningwei came to the market. They used the horses, cattle and sheep they raised, as well as the herbs collected on the grassland and the food they got from hunting. Animal skins were exchanged with Han traders for iron pots, salt, tea, cloth, kitchen knives, washbasins...as well as needles, thread, and other daily necessities.

There are also officials in the market who specialize in maintaining transaction order. If buyers and sellers have objections to the transaction, they can be asked to arbitrate. There are even big signs in the market that post the market prices of major trading items to prevent anyone from making shady money.

Buyers and sellers only need to pay a slight price of thirty taxes to get all this.

"You are very good at running this market." After Boss Zhu inspected incognito, he praised Fu Youde full of praise: "Not only is he good at fighting, he is also good at doing business."

"These are all the teachings of the Sixth Prince." Fu Youde is already old, but his body is still strong. He smiled modestly: "He said that if we want to permanently eliminate border troubles, trade is the best weapon. We must make the Mongolians accustomed to passing through Trade gets everything they need, and over time, they will consciously maintain the trading environment. "

"Ten years have passed. As the Sixth Prince said, the Mongolians are now very dependent on the mutual market. At their strong request, from twice a month at the beginning, to now twice every ten days. They can easily buy With everything they need, ordinary herdsmen are about to become as poor as the original princes. If anyone starts a rebellion and ruins their good life, they will attack them without us taking action. "

"Well, it's Lao Liu's way." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile: "That boy...haha, he's not young anymore...always puts trade first."

"The Sixth Prince not only taught me the art of trade." Fu Youde smiled again: "He also taught me a few tricks. For example, it is strictly stipulated that each tribe can only be nomadic in their own guards and must not invade other guards. territory."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice and said: "At the beginning, the veteran didn't know what the use of this was, but ten years later, the Mongols in each guard station have become distinct and very wary of each other. No one has the ability to order all the ministries to act together. ”

"Yes. Lao Liu's ideas are always reliable." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled with satisfaction: "Of course, thanks to Lao Fu, you executed it well."

"Nowadays, intermarriage between the two ethnic groups has become the norm. A large number of young Mongolians have enlisted in the army and went to Nanyang to open up territory for the Ming Dynasty. The ministers can definitely express their congratulations to the emperor. The ministries of the Ming Dynasty have been successfully naturalized. The Chief Envoy Department has been established in Daning. The time has come!" Fu Youde said with excitement.

"That is a matter for the emperor to consider, and it is not for us, a retired old man, to interrupt." Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "I just came to see you and see the country I have built."

"Yes." Fu Youde asked in response, "Is the Supreme Emperor still satisfied?"

"Yes." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "With your old master here, of course we are satisfied."

As he said this, he asked with concern: "But you are three years older than us. It's time for you to retire and enjoy peace and quiet like us."

"I started begging for bones when I was seventy years old, but I was comforted by the Supreme Emperor." Fu Youde said with a wry smile.

"Oh, really?" Zhu Yuanzhang smiled sheepishly and said, "If you give me another excuse and say that we agree, the emperor will probably allow you to become an official."

"Yes, I would like to thank the Emperor for his kindness." Fu Youde clasped his fists and smiled.

"Old Seventeen, don't just think about vassaling overseas all day long." Zhu Yuanzhang said to Ning Wang Zhu Quan: "You should hurry up and learn from your Wang Fu. When he becomes an official, Da Ning cannot be in chaos, otherwise your elder brother will not be able to spare you. "

"Yes, I have remembered it." Although Zhu Quan is not old, he is tall, has a long beard, and has an excellent appearance. He looks like he is worthy of a heavy responsibility.

~~

After leaving Daning, Zhu Yuanzhang inspected western and eastern Liaoning, and was escorted by King Liao and King Shen.

King Zhu Zhi of Liao is his fifteenth son. He is twenty-one this year and has been in power for three years. King Shen Zhu Mo is his twenty-first son. He is only eighteen this year and he just became a vassal last year.

Zhu Yuanzhang left his two young sons in the bitter cold of Northeast China, which was indeed a bit unkind. But it is true that the more difficult the environment is, the more it can temper a person. Zhu Zhi, who was originally a high-spirited person, has now become very calm.

On behalf of King Shen, he introduced the situation of Liaodong Dusi to his father. After more than 20 years of hard development, the number of military households in Liaodong has exceeded 100,000, and the number of civilian households has reached 300,000!

"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked strangely: "Why don't we see 300,000 households in the Yellow Book?"

"Back to my father, the Yellow Register only counts households. The Liaodong Dusi only counts guard posts and no prefectures and counties. Naturally, the Yellow Register is not compiled." Zhu Zhi replied respectfully: "The household registration of these people is not in Liaodong, but from Shandong across the bay. . Liaodong is under the jurisdiction of the Shandong Chief Envoy Department, so the people of Shandong can travel freely to Liaodong."

"This loophole was taken advantage of..." Zhu Yuanzhang curled his lips when he thought of his current identity and said nothing. Then he asked: "Didn't you say that the bitter cold land of Liaodong is not suitable for long-term living? Why do people from Shandong come here?"

"Back to my father, they are here to cut trees." Zhu Zhi replied: "The shipbuilding industry has become more and more prosperous in recent years. Building big ships requires big wood. Not only is there a serious shortage of big wood in the inland provinces, but the transportation cost is also high. The old forests in the Northeast It is full of towering trees, and there is the Liao River. It is very convenient to transport. In summer, it can be thrown directly into the water and dragged to the seaside by boat. This is an advantage that no one can compare with. "

"Later I discovered that picking ginseng in the old forests was also very profitable, and more and more Shandong fellow villagers came to Guandong." Zhu Zhi added: "And logging is accompanied by burning charcoal, so there is no shortage of fuel for overwintering. More and more people are settling in Liaodong.”

He pointed at King Shen and said: "Old Twenty-One's Shenyang City is now more prosperous than Liaoyang because of these reasons."

"Yes." King Shen nodded with some embarrassment: "My son kept crying secretly on the way to the vassal, thinking that he was going to be sent to some cold and barren land. But when he arrived, he saw that it was no different from the cities in the mainland. , it’s still cool in summer.”

"There is still a difference." Zhu Zhi said with a smile: "That's because you returned to Nanjing in September last year and spent the winter in Shenyang this year. You will know how cold this place is."

"If others can stay, I can stay." Zhu Mo naturally couldn't let down his momentum at this time.

"Haha, okay." Zhu Yuanzhang happily patted his two sons on the shoulders and said, "You are all good. You must protect Liaodong for the Ming Dynasty. Only when Daning and Liaodong are stable can the Ming Dynasty last long!"

"Yes." The two princes hurriedly agreed, but Zhu Zhi smiled bitterly and said: "But I really want to go with Sixth Brother and the others..."

The reason is very simple. In Liaodong, you work for your elder brother, but when you go overseas, you start your own business. As long as you have some ambition, who doesn't want to be the boss?

"Damn it, Old Fifteen is like this too," Zhu Yuanzhang blew his beard and glared, "Everyone wants to run out!"

"Father, father, I am the same." Shen Wang Zhu Mo said timidly.

"We told Lao Fifteen that only after he has done well in Daning can your eldest brother let him go to sea. The same applies to you, do you understand?" Zhu Yuanzhang said solemnly.

"I understand, father." The two brothers shrank their necks and said.

"Sit down and work hard, don't want to run away before you learn to walk." Zhu Yuanzhang taught his two younger sons earnestly and sincerely: "At the beginning, your second and third brothers were almost thirty before they moved overseas. One is To fulfill one's historical mission, one must also develop one's internal strength in order to cope with complex and dangerous situations overseas."

"Yes, I will remember my father's teachings." The two brothers responded seriously.