In the palace, Zhu Di looked at Yao Guangxiao, who seemed to have regained his youthful vitality in front of him, and couldn't help but smile with relief.

What happened half an hour ago, Zhu Di already understood it clearly. Seeing Yao Guangxiao like this, he couldn't help but smile and said, "The young master now believes that there are people who are born to know!" ”

Yao Guangxiao sighed: "The talent of the grandson is really something that my generation can speculate. Those who are born to know are also, Confucius is honest and does not deceive me. ”

Zhu Di said with a smile: "Since last year, the grandson has shown unparalleled talent when he entered school. At first, I thought that someone was teaching him behind his back, but there are some things that others teach and some things that others can't. ”

He beckoned, and Wang Yan immediately took a stack of white paper full of words and put it on the low table.

Zhu Di spread it out and said: "Taisun is a beginner in learning words, although the strokes are a little rusty, but he has a sense of interstructure that is difficult for ordinary people to reach. Now he is less than two years old, and his handwriting is already in the style of everyone. Who can teach? Although Xie Jin is talented, he has repeatedly instilled Confucianism in his grandson, but he was refuted by his grandson on the grounds that he has the world in mind and Confucianism is not enough to rely on his words, who can teach? The prince gave birth to a concubine, Princess Zhang was unhappy, but the grandson coaxed the princess to be relieved, and now she is pregnant, who can teach? Lonely in the queen's palace, he is young, colorful clothes entertain relatives, coax the queen to be reluctant, who can teach? ”

Yao Guangxiao sighed: "Congratulations to Your Majesty, there is someone to inherit the country." ”

Zhu Di laughed and said: "It's my blessing, and it's also the blessing of Daming." Since the young master is willing to join him for thousands of miles, of course I will not stop him. However, after all, the grandson is young, and he is still unfamiliar with the world, so he still asks the young master for more guidance. ”

"It's a courtier's honor."

Zhu Di turned his head and asked, "What has Taisun been busy with lately?" ”

Of course, Wang Yan knew that he was asking about activities outside of normal study, so he leaned over and said, "Back to the emperor (1), the grandson is the same as always, just let Yu Xian and them keep an eye on Ma He's whereabouts, presumably curious about Ma He's going to the West." ”

Zhu Di said with a smile: "I have given Ma and Zheng the surnames, as Chinese descendants, and Ma He should not be called this name in the future." Spread the word and ordered Zheng He to meet his grandson tomorrow afternoon. ”

In the afternoon of the second day, Zhu Zhanji went back to the harem to accompany Empress Xu for lunch, and slept beside her for about half an hour before getting up and going to Wenyuan Pavilion.

He is still young, and although he exercises every day to strengthen his body, sleep is essential.

He is not a child anymore, he will not have a child's playfulness, he will eat when he should eat, sleep when he should sleep, only in this way can he have a strong physique.

As soon as he entered the side hall of Wenyuan Pavilion, he saw Zheng He, who he hadn't seen for a long time, and a group of his subordinates waiting under the corridor, and when he saw Zhu Zhanji, everyone got up and saluted.

"No courtesy." Zhu Zhanji stepped forward to hold Zheng He's arm and said, "I heard that Eunuch Zheng wants to promote the prestige of Western countries, and I am very curious, so I sent someone to inquire about the whereabouts of the eunuch, and I don't want to see it today." ”

Zheng He took advantage of the situation to straighten up and said with a smile: "Your Majesty knows that His Highness wants to find peace, so let He personally come to solve the doubts of the grandson." ”

Zhu Zhanji looked at the two personal eunuchs beside him, who were about the same age as Zheng He and wore young prison uniforms. This is a position only one level lower than that of the eunuch, two levels higher than Jin Kuo and Yu Xian around him, and he is obviously Zheng He's right-hand man.

His heart moved, and he asked, "Who are these two young eunuchs who are heroic?" ”

The two immediately bowed and said, "Minister Houxian, Wang Jinghong pays a visit to His Royal Highness the Taisun." ”

The little eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty called themselves slaves, slaves and maids, but those with higher official positions could also call themselves ministers.

Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "I guess I often run around, so I haven't seen it." Today, when I see it, I appreciate ......"

After becoming the grandson, Zhu Zhanji also occasionally contacted some foreign ministers and had some entertainment. Therefore, there are also regulations in the palace to facilitate the grandson to reward his subordinates and foreign ministers.

Zhu Zhanji used the money to make people build twenty horizontal knives and give them to others as gifts.

However, he is more picky, and so far, only nine of the twenty horizontal knives have been given. Zheng He got a handful in the spring, so he didn't envy Hou Xian and Wang Jinghong for being rewarded.

He was able to bring them here, and he also had the intention of promoting them, and now he can make the grandson like it, and naturally everyone will be happy.

The two of them took the horizontal knife handed over by Yu Xian, and they couldn't help but take it out and take a look.

"Bold ......" Yu Xian and Jin Kuo hurriedly blocked in front of Zhu Zhanji, and even Yiqingzi and Xuanzhen, who were watching from the side, jumped over in a panic and blocked Zhu Zhanji.

Only then did the two realize that they had exceeded the rules, and how could the palace let the sword out of its sheath. They hurriedly knelt on the ground and bowed their heads and said, "Please atone for your sins, Your Highness!" ”

Zhu Zhanji waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's okay, it's okay, the treasure knife is given to the hero, and I am happy to see the hunt, this is my true temperament." You are not guilty. Get up, and go into the temple to reply. ”

Hou Xian and Wang Jinghong are both Zheng He's right-hand men in the West, and they are also heroes and heroes who have left their names in history, Zhu Zhanji will certainly not be stingy with rewards, let alone blame them for this.

The two thanked them again, hurriedly handed the horizontal knife to the little eunuch who followed behind, and followed Zhu Zhanji into the main hall.

It was a cold winter, this kind of progress was deep, and the hall with high beams was cooler in summer and cooler in winter, and you could feel the cool air of your bones when you entered the hall.

There is a rule in the palace that two pots of charcoal can be lit in a large hall like this. However, Zhu Zhanji doesn't like to waste, and he also wants to exercise his ability to resist cold and enhance his physique. Therefore, only one pot of charcoal is allowed to be lit in the morning every day, and most of the time in the afternoon is active, and no charcoal is allowed.

Zhu Zhanji stood next to his seat and invited Zheng He to take the seat in the first position on his left hand, and then he climbed a special step of the chair and sat down.

There is no way, he is young, and the chair in the palace is relatively tall in order to set off his status as the imperial grandson, so he must make a step.

Everyone didn't laugh at him, but when they saw him treating Zheng He so politely, they all thought about it.

Just sat down, but there was a eunuch report: "The young master has arrived ......"

Everyone got up again, and before they could go out, Yao Guangxiao had already crossed the threshold and walked in, and when he saw everyone saluting, he also smiled and said: "I am the Taisun teacher, not a guest, you don't have to be polite." ”

gave Zhu Zhanji another bow, and everyone fought again for the seat.

This time, Zheng He didn't dare to sit in the first position on his left hand. He is the chief eunuch of the inner palace, but he is only a fourth grade, and the position of Yao Guangxiao is a second grade, with a gap of four levels.

What's more, Yao Guangxiao is still the teacher of Zheng He's eight classics, how dare students sit on the teacher's head.

Let Yao Guangxiao sit on the top of the left side, Zheng He will accompany him, and the others will be lined up in turn. On the right side, Ichikiyoko and Hyun Zhen also knew the height and level, vacated the first place, and sat on the lower side.

As for Jin Kuo and Yu Xian, they were responsible for serving Zhu Zhanji and had no seats.

After serving the hot tea, Zhu Zhanji took a sip of boiled and sweetened milk, and then said: "Some time ago, I also learned some geographical knowledge with the army in Beiping, and I learned that in addition to my Ming Dynasty, there is also a small state of Yuer. After returning to Beijing, I heard that Eunuch Zheng was going to go to the West to promote my country's prestige in the spring of next year, so I wanted to chat with Eunuch Zheng on a whim. ”

General Zheng He clenched his fists and said: "Your Majesty will hand over such a heavy task to He, and he is terrified. Over the years, I have also made a detailed investigation of Western countries, and His Royal Highness has a desire to learn and try his best to solve his doubts. ”

Zhu Zhanji nodded and asked: "I don't know how much I will go to sea this time, the geometry of the ship, the geometry of the people and horses, and the cost of about how much?" ”

"Back to Your Highness, there are five ships that go to sea this time, thirty-seven ships of two thousand stones, and twenty warships of less than one thousand stones. The coastal guard station was dispatched to organize five guards, with a total of 25,000 people. Together with the internal prison attachés, Jinyi guards, and Honglu Temple attachés, there are about 27,000 people in total. There is still half a year to go, but the number of people is about the same. The cost of shipbuilding is not counted, only the preparation of Lulu and barter, which is expected to cost one million taels of silver. ”

Zhu Zhanji nodded and asked, "Then how can the eunuch earn back this expense?" ”

Zheng Heleng paused for a moment, not knowing how to answer. Yao Guangxiao said with a smile: "Your Highness doesn't know, this time I went to the West to promote the prestige of our country, and the court is not a trader, how can it be for the purpose of making money?" ”

Zhu Zhanji knew that people nowadays did not have any economic consciousness at all, Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, this was the first large-scale voyage in human history, but he only wanted to make a name for himself, and he didn't care about the cost at all, so it was no wonder that he stopped later.

Not counting the cost of shipbuilding, a voyage costs a million taels of silver.

The current early Ming Dynasty is not as good as the end of the Ming Dynasty, the silver of the West has not been circulated, and the Ming Dynasty is not only short of gold, silver, and copper, but also lacks everything.

Officials pay their salaries in kind, and they have no money to pay at all, so they don't want to develop trade, and they just play some virtual things.

He pointed to a pot of coral on the mahogany table in front of him on his left and said: "This thing grows in the sea in the South Seas, and it is worthless, but it is worth a hundred taels of silver in the Ming Dynasty, and a silk silk of the Ming Dynasty is worth three taels of silver, and the brocade is only about five taels, but it can be exchanged for gold of the same weight in the South Seas." Why not barter the goods, wouldn't it be easy to recover the cost of overhead? ”

Everyone was dumbfounded, but Yao Guangxiao said: "I am a big country, how can I act as a trader, not to mention that I can exchange the same weight of gold is just a rumor, not enough to believe." In Siam, Nanzhang and other countries, the value of silk is only five or six times, how can it be as heavy as gold? ”

Zhu Zhanji doesn't argue, he is originally talking nonsense, and if he says too much, he will be exposed. So let Yu Xian take the map of most of Asia that is out of proportion, point in the direction of India and say: "Can there be Tianzhu in the West this time?" ”

Zheng He nodded and said, "I want to go to this country." ”

Zhu Zhanji pretended to be curious and said: "I listened to the story told by the imperial grandmother, this is the hometown of Buddhism, and it is still the country of gold. ”

"Yes!"

Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "Eunuch Zheng, Lone has given you a task. ”

Hearing Zhu Zhanji call himself lonely, Zheng He immediately knelt down and responded, "Your Highness, please speak." ”

"I want to know the countries around the Ming Dynasty, what each country produces, what is more, what is less, which I have in the Ming Dynasty, which I have in the Ming Dynasty, and I have to inquire more about the minerals in various countries, those who are unable to excavate, we can assist in excavation. Also, in addition to special products, countries will definitely lack a lot of products, this time to go to sea, take more of my rich Ming products, in exchange for my Ming scarce things. Remember, don't ...... useless things"

(1) The eunuch of the Ming Dynasty said that the emperor was actually the emperor's grandfather, but this title sounds too awkward now, so he is directly addressed to the emperor and His Majesty.

(2nd Ticket Request)