The resetting of the pastoral superintendent did not cause much repercussions, after all, it was only a petty official of the fifth grade, and the Hetao needed to be garrisoned by the army. After consultation with the military department and the household department, soldiers were transferred from Suidewei and Yulinwei to garrison Hetao and rotated regularly, and in addition, additional tuntian envoys were set up in Suide and Yulin to be responsible for tuntian affairs, and the Wei commander was only responsible for the training of soldiers.

Hu Yan, Zhou De, Gao Wei and others went to Zhan Shifu to meet Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yunwen chatted with them carefully about their purpose, and told them not to be afraid of making mistakes, and he would deal with things if something happened. Horses are a major military matter, so they must pay attention to it. The three of them received the order and went to get busy.

Xu Huizu, Qu Neng and others watched the test firing of the Tiger Squat Cannon, if they got the treasure, they all understood that this was a sharp weapon against the infantry and cavalry, so they were very active, and kept putting forward suggestions for improvement, and finally at the end of August, the Firearms Bureau finalized the Tiger Squat Cannon, because of the use of hydraulic processing, the quality of both gunpowder and gun barrel is very stable, and the power of the Tiger Squat Cannon is also very strong. At Wang Du's suggestion, gunpowder, buckshot, and stones were all standardized and packed with special tools to prevent more or less loading during stressful times to avoid accidents.

Yan Zhenzhi, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, wrote a letter requesting the establishment of a hydraulic workshop in Ningxia to process gunpowder and tiger squat artillery.

Zhan Shi Mansion.

Zhu Yunwen summoned the founding prince Chang Sheng, Zhuo Jing in the household department, Zhu Xin, the secretary of the Chinese military governor's office, the former military governor's office Xuanxin, the military department Shangshu Ru Chang and the household department Shangshu Yu Xin, waiting for everyone to sit down, Zhu Yunwen signaled to Zhuo Jing, Zhuo Jing picked up the whip and walked to the map, and said: "Your Highness summoned you this time to establish a guard in Zhigu. ”

"General Xuan and General Zhu should be familiar with this place." Xuanxin and Zhu Xin nodded.

"Zhigu to the north is the North Canal of Yuan, to the south is the South Canal, and it is also the throat of shipping to Beiping. Zhigu will become more and more important with the development of the north, and the establishment of a guard here has two purposes, one is to prevent the invasion of the Japanese invaders, and the other is to set up a card here and charge for the ships that pass. Today, Your Highness has asked everyone to discuss this matter. ”

Ru Chang said first: "Your Highness, it seems that it is not very necessary to set up a guard in this place, and now the North Canal has not been dredged, and my dynasty pursues a sea ban, so there are not many people here." ”

Zhu Yunwen said: "What about Yu Shangshu? ”

"Your Highness," Yu Xin bowed and saluted, "The minister thinks that it is very inappropriate to set up a card here to charge fees, and this is a move to compete with the people. ”

"Well, what about the three generals?"

Chang Sheng already knew about the establishment of a guard in Zhigu in advance, and Shi Li said: "Your Highness, the last general agrees to establish a guard in this place, because this place is the throat route for transporting grain to Beiping, whether it is sea or water transportation, this place is very important. If the city is built here, it can be used as a temporary storage of grain and materials transported by sea and water to facilitate transshipment; In addition, it can also prevent the sneak attack of the Japanese bandits. ”

Xuanxin hesitated for a moment and said, "The last general agrees with the views of the founding father. ”

Zhu Xin said: "The last general is too." ”

Zhu Yunwen stood up and said: "There are two reasons why Gu intends to set up a guard in this place: one is that our dynasty has more than 300,000 troops stationed in northern Xinjiang, although it is tuntian, but it needs to be supplied by sea every year. The second is Yu Shangshu's so-called problem of competing with the people for profit, Lone believes that the imperial court needs to spend the people's fat and ointment to open the canal, and its source is mainly farmers, and most of the people who use the canal are merchants, why use the farmers' taxes to subsidize the merchants? Therefore, it is reasonable to set up a card fee. ”

Ru Chang said: "Your Highness's opinion, the minister can't agree, what His Highness said is something that didn't happen, and it seems unnecessary to build a city for this reason." ”

"Well, where is Yu Shangshu?"

"His Royal Highness's statement also has some truth, and the minister only hopes that the fee will not be too high and affect the transportation of goods to the north."

"It doesn't matter, how much is charged, it is necessary to refer to the annual maintenance cost of the canal, and the maintenance costs required by the prefectures and counties along the coast in the future, as far as possible from the canal's card fees. If the cost is not enough to offset the cost of repairs, then there is no need to repair the canal, right, Yu Shangshu? ”

Yu Xin pondered for a while and said, "What His Highness said is extremely true. ”

Zhu Yunwen turned his head to look at Ru Chang and said: "The problem that Ru Shangshu is worried about is that Gu knows that Gu plans to move some military households from the Liaodong Metropolitan Division and the Beiping Metropolitan Division to build Zhigu, which will not have much impact on people's livelihood and military households. ”

Ru Chang paused and said, "The minister still thinks it's inappropriate, but if His Highness insists on doing so, the minister has no choice but to accept the order." ”

When it was almost time to discuss, Zhu Yunwen ended the meeting, leaving only Chang Sheng and Zhuo Jing, and said, "Founding Prince, Gu plans to send you to Zhigu to build a city, are you willing?" ”

"The last general is willing."

"Okay, the orphan will play the emperor, and send military households from Beiping and Liaodong to build a city in Zhigu, and the required materials will be transported through the canal as much as possible, and by the way, take a look at the navigation of the canal. Then there is the official of the Ministry of Dispatch of the Orphan Association to inspect the situation of the North Canal and see the siltation situation so that it can be dredged. Founding Father, what conditions do you need, just say. ”

Chang Sheng thought for a while and said, "Your Highness, the last general hopes to transfer Guo Yue over, and also hopes to call some guards as the backbone." ”

"There is no problem, Lone will let Guo Yue report to you, in addition, this time Zhigu will build a city, you can use the cement newly developed by the Institute of Engineering, and it will also be equipped with a hundred arquebuses, and the guards are also training, you can transfer these soldiers away."

"Your Highness, what is this arquebus?"

"Hehe, you can go to the guards to take a look at it when the time comes, today is the fifth day of the seventh month, the Emperor will give you ten days to prepare, and set off for Zhigu on July 15."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The next day, Zhu Yunwen presented Zhu Yuanzhang with a recital for the construction of the Zhigu Guard. Zhu Yuanzhang looked at it, glanced back at Zhu Yunwen, then pondered for a while, looked up and said, "Yunwen, are you so worried about your Uncle Yan Wang?" ”

Zhu Yunwen pondered for a moment and said, "Grandpa Huang, this is not a matter of worrying about it, my grandson plans to move the capital to Beiping in the future, so we must ensure the safety of Beiping." ”

Zhu Yuanzhang threw down the piece and pointed at it: "Are you trying to ensure the safety of Beiping?" Are you clamping down on Beiping, do you think I can't see it? ”

Zhu Yunwen knelt on the ground and said, "Grandpa Huang, my grandson has to do this." ”

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, his body couldn't help shaking, Zhu Yunwen quickly stood up, helped Zhu Yuanzhang to his seat, turned around and poured a glass of water, and handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a sip of water, stabilized his emotions, looked at Zhu Yunwen, and said, "Yunwen, you sit down." ”

"Okay, Grandpa."

"Yun Wei, you told the imperial grandfather, why did you want to build a guard in Zhigu so suddenly? Could it be that Xu Huizu found something during his inspection in the north this time? He didn't dare to say it to me, but he said it to you? ”

Zhu Yunwen looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and decided not to answer this question, and said: "Grandpa Huang, Wei Guogong inspected the north and didn't make any big discoveries. ”

The old emperor looked at his grandson, sighed, and said, "Yun Wei, help me to lie down on the couch, I am a little tired." ”

Zhu Yunwen looked at the appearance of the imperial grandfather, a little distressed, but knew that this matter could not be compromised, just helped the old emperor to lie down on the couch, feeling that the imperial grandfather's body had lost a lot of weight, and there was no flesh on his body, he couldn't help but feel sad, tears flowed down from the corners of his eyes, afraid that the imperial grandfather would see it, so he quickly turned around and wiped it off.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw his grandson's appearance, he couldn't help but feel a little warm in his heart, and said: "Yunwen, you are filial, so why can't you tolerate your uncle?" ”

"Grandpa Huang, don't worry, as long as these uncles are safe and keep to themselves, Yun Wei will treat them well, but Yun Wei can't be unwary of them at all, Yun Wei is a junior, it is normal for them to despise Yun Wei, but it is not good to have more thoughts. Yun Wei built the Zhigu Wei this time in the hope that King Yan could obey the dispatch of the imperial court, and also to let him enjoy wealth and prosperity for a long time. ”

The old emperor stopped talking, and after a long time, he said faintly: "Yun Wei, you have grown up, the imperial grandfather can't control you anymore, even if the imperial grandfather stops you today, but you still have to do it in the future." The imperial grandfather asked you, what are you going to do with your Uncle Yan Wang. ”

Zhu Yunwen knelt on the ground and said: "Grandpa Huang, Yun Wei is sincere in moving the capital to Beiping, if Uncle Yan Wang wants to continue to lead troops, Yun Wei will move him to the northwest, if he doesn't want to continue to lead troops, Yun Wei will move him to Nanchang." ”

After hearing this, the old emperor thought for a while and said, "I know, you can go back first." ”

Zhu Yunwen withdrew after giving the salute.

The old emperor lay on the bed and muttered: "Northwest, Nanchang, alas, ......."