Zhu Zhanji and his entourage hurried up, and when they arrived at the courtyard, it was not yet Shen time.

In the courtyard, up to Yang Shiqi, Yang Pu, and down to the small yellow gate guarding the door, all of them looked serious and did not dare to make the slightest noise.

The prince was not in good health, but they did not dare to dissuade him, and let his temperament wander.

Now that something has happened, these people are all responsible.

Even the avant-garde commander of the government army who was responsible for guarding here, Li Bin, Marquis of Fengcheng, did not dare to swagger in front of Zhu Zhanji at this time, and took Zhu Zhanji in, and only when he entered the apse where Zhu Gaochi slept peacefully, did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhu Zhanji is not a person who likes to be angry, everyone is responsible for their own actions, Zhu Gaochi is not in good health, and he likes women.

In order to pursue excitement, he also braved the rain to fight fiercely in the wild, which is purely looking for death.

This time he did not vomit blood, but his face was sallow, and he lay on the bed with his eyes closed. If it weren't for the slight breathing and the slight heaving of his chest, people would still think that he was no longer good.

The four imperial doctors were waiting by the bedside at this time, and at the back door, there were still several furnaces of herbs boiling, so that the hall was full of medicinal taste.

Zhu Zhanji stared at Zhu Gaochi's face for a long time, exerting enough pressure on everyone, before he asked in a deep voice, "How is my father's situation?" ”

The four imperial doctors all knelt down, and Yuan Changtian, the judge of the Imperial Hospital, bowed his head and said: "Your Highness, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is indulgent in lust, and he has entered the body, and he is still in danger. ”

Zhu Zhanji turned to face them and said, "Manpower is sometimes poor, as long as you do your best, Lone will not be angry with you." But if you let Lone know that you refuse to use medicine in order to protect your own body, Lone will punish you and the other three tribes. ”

Yuan Changtian's body trembled slightly, and he hurriedly said: "If you don't dare, you must go all out." ”

Zhu Zhanji asked about the condition again in a pretentious manner, instructed them to treat them attentively, and then asked He Chun: "Who did my father let accompany him yesterday?" ”

"It's two Dongying girls sent by Hu Kang, the town guard of Osaka, a year ago......"

Zhu Zhanji breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Lock them up and pray for their father." ......Zhu Zhanji turned around and said to Wang Yan behind him: "Send someone to take over Hu Kang's post and send this minister to me in Zhongdu." ”

Wang Yan immediately said: "The ministers take the order. ”

Zhu Gaochi did not get sick himself, but it was an accident, so someone must take responsibility. If he is happy with the concubine who has cards in the palace, he still has some concerns about dealing with it, but since he is a beauty with no status, he can be punished casually.

As for that Hu Kang, knowing that Zhu Gaochi was not in good health, he still had to send a woman to him, and this time he was unlucky.

After arranging these trivial matters, Zhu Zhanji looked at Zhu Gaochi who was lying on the bed again, although he wished that he would die sooner, but on the surface, he still had to pretend to be worried.

At this time, Liu Wan called Zhu Zhanji softly. He turned his head and saw that it was a group of concubines and concubines led by Zhu Gaochi at the gate of the hall, led by Liangyuan Zhang.

Seeing Li's expression, Zhu Zhanji knew that she had something to say, and he turned around and walked out of the main hall.

Zhang is Zhang Fu's daughter, she has a high status, although she entered the palace late, she is quite respected among the concubines who have no children.

The concubines who live here in the annex are childless, and the Li family, Guo family, Zhao family, etc., who have children, all stay in the Wenhua Hall in the name of taking care of the children.

Zhu Zhanji said to her in a harmonious voice: "I've seen Liangyuan." ”

Zhang didn't dare to accept his salute, and a group of women hurriedly turned their bodies to the side and saluted him in return. "I've seen Your Highness."

Zhu Zhanji glanced back and said, "Don't make a noise with my father, let's go to the main hall to talk." ”

Zhu Zhanji took the lead and walked to the main hall, and a group of women, led by Zhang, followed him.

They didn't say it, and Zhu Zhanji also knew what they were worried about - afraid of being buried.

Speaking of which, most of them are young women, the youngest is only in his teens, and the oldest is no more than thirty years old.

In later generations, they may still be at the age of marriage, but now, they have to worry about the end of their lives.

Sitting down in the main hall, Zhang asked timidly: "Your Highness, at the Sixth Dynasty of the First Lunar New Year, His Royal Highness promulgated the "Abolition of the Funeral Order", may it be true?" ”

The Zhang family has Zhang Fu behind them, so naturally they will not let her be buried, but the others are worried. I'm afraid she didn't want to ask, but for other women.

Zhu Zhanji showed a smile and said: "Your Majesty is in charge of the country, this "Abolition of the Funeral Order" has used the seal, and Liangyuan doesn't have to worry about changing the decree. ”

All the women breathed a sigh of relief and knelt down in unison to bow. "Your Highness is merciful, and the concubine has thanked Your Highness."

Zhu Zhanji said: "You just have to live here with peace of mind and serve your father carefully." But from now on, no one can wait at night, otherwise they will be guilty of the same crime as the two beauties. ”

Zhu Gaochi's critical illness for three days made a group of women frightened, and where they dared to seduce Zhu Gaochi, they all hurriedly said: "The concubine doesn't dare." ”

"You all go." Zhu Zhanji waved his hand, and said to Liu Wan: "Chuan Feng Chenghou, Yang Shiqi, Yang Pu see the driver." ”

Li Bin, Yang Shiqi, Yang Pu and a few of them were waiting outside, and when they heard the summons, they hurriedly entered the hall.

Yang Shiqi and Yang Pu looked discouraged, as if they were mourning. As close ministers of the crown prince, they were unable to advise the prince to let the prince do whatever he wanted, resulting in illness.

Even if Zhu Zhanji didn't think it was their fault, those officials would not let them go.

In this era, their responsibilities are not small, and they will not have the opportunity to develop in the future.

As close ministers of Zhu Gaochi, they were marginalized. But in order to take care of the relationship between father and son, Zhu Zhanji will still arrange a noble position for them if Zhu Gaochi is gone, so that they can retire.

Now that Zhu Gaochi is like this, if he is cured, they will still have good results.

If Zhu Gaochi ascends to heaven like this, it would be good for them not to go to prison, let alone an official and a half-job.

Er Yang has nothing to say, they are like being in prison here, and after a long time, they will naturally be a little more casual.

Yesterday, the hall test passed the roll call, and the two of them got the transcription of the new Jinshi exam papers, and they have been reading them. For them, reading a good article is more enjoyable than eating a good meal.

And it rained again yesterday, who would have thought that Zhu Gaochi would go to the mountains in the afternoon to fight in the field!

Now they can only hope that Zhu Gaochi will get better as soon as possible as before.

Zhu Zhanji could only comfort them at this time, when Zhu Gaochi's life and death were uncertain, no matter what he reacted, it was wrong.

When he saw Yang Shiqi, he remembered Yang Dao who was far away in the Americas. "A few days ago, four ships came back from the Americas and brought back news of the expedition."

Yang Shiqi looked at Zhu Zhanji in surprise, but did not speak, waiting for Zhu Zhanji to continue.

"Now the task of the fleet has been mostly completed, but it is necessary to stay in the area for a year to study the habits of the rubber trees and cinchona trees that need to be transplanted, so that they can be transplanted back. Those corn and potatoes, sweet potatoes, have now been shipped back some. I have had people cultivate in my imperial estate. ”

At the mention of these, Zhu Zhanji seemed to be in high spirits, with these, he would no longer worry about the Ming Dynasty encountering natural disasters, and the people would be hungry. And next year, the first batch of rubber will be shipped back.

As long as rubber is planted in Luzon, Hainan, and Borneo, after a few years, it will be harvest season.

With rubber, Daming's current wheels can be equipped with tires, and the future transportation capacity will be greatly improved.

The constraints of wooden wheels on transportation are too great, and a sturdy board car in later generations can pull two thousand catties just by pulling people. When I use cattle and horses to pull, I don't have a problem loading thousands of catties.

But today's wooden wheels are already the limit of 1,000 catties. Even so, the damage rate of the wheels is staggeringly high.

Nowadays, almost all the post stations in Daming have become car repair shops, and those post guards have basically become car repairers.

Some people have also tried iron wheels, iron wheels are very good to use at first, in addition to hurting the road, a little more laborious, can carry a lot of goods.

However, after only three days of use, the wheel began to deform after being crushed, and as soon as there was one deformation, the wheel would collapse at a very fast speed and turn into scrap metal.

Although the price of steel has fallen by half due to large-scale production, it is still about the same as the price of copper.

One tael of silver can be exchanged for two catties of copper, but only four catties of iron.

And to make a wheel, it will cost more than a dozen catties, or even dozens of catties of iron, if it takes less than three days, no one can afford to use it.

Now ordinary people only earn a dozen taels of silver a year, and the two wheels are gone all of a sudden, who can afford to use them?

Therefore, iron wheels are simply not realistic, and only with rubber can durable wheels be made.

In addition to these crops, the fleet also brought back a large amount of gold and silver, which was only traded by the fleet with some small tribes.

The Inca Empire, the Aztec Empire, that's the bulk of the deal.

Daming is all metals are lacking, although Zhu Zhanji has earned back tens of millions of taels of silver, but these are still not enough for the entire Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the world's gold and silver were shipped to Daming, and they could not be circulated, because the amount of gold was limited.

But at the very least, with these gold and silver, the imperial court can vigorously develop infrastructure construction and let the people get benefits.

And the grain brought back from Nanyang is enough for Zhu Zhanji not to worry too much about agriculture now.

Agricultural problems are always difficult, this is not an industry, you can develop if you know the idea.

Soil improvement, seed improvement, that takes generations, even hundreds of years, to improve.

Without hybrid rice, grain production cannot be increased, and the demand can only be met in terms of scale.

As for grain prices that are too low and harm the real interests of the peasants, they can use hard labor to increase their incomes.

Because roads are being built everywhere, cars are being built everywhere, cars are being repaired, and industry and commerce are being developed, in fact, the lives of ordinary people now are much better than in previous years.

Because it is now all extensive cultivation, the peasants actually only need to be busy for half a year, and the rest of the time, there was nothing to do except serve one to two months of labor every year.

Now, for one month of service, and for the remaining five months, at least two taels of silver per month, or tax reductions and exemptions, in fact, the income of the common people has increased a lot.

Because the price of grain is to increase by two or three percent, in addition to eating and paying taxes and grain, the rest of the grain sold will earn an extra two or three taels of silver every year.

However, the court arranged to work, and after five months of work, there was an income of ten taels of silver.

This is still the imperial cement factory, the wages for road construction, if those skilled workers, like those who go to work in the factory, there are more workers who pay three taels of silver a month.

Some silk reeling workers in Suzhou and Hangzhou, they can even get six or seven taels of wages every month, and one person's income is higher than that of the prefect.

Of course, in terms of implicit welfare, social status, the two are not comparable at all.

As for inflation, there is no need to worry about this at all, because the currency is far from keeping up with the needs of the population.

Now is not the time to print paper money, there is no need to worry about inflation, currency depreciation, and skyrocketing prices.

Although Yang Shiqi was curious about exploring Dongzhou, he wanted to know more about Yang Dao's news.

Yang Dao has been going to sea for a whole year, and at the beginning of February, Xie Zhenfang gave birth to a son to him, and he was afraid that he didn't know that he had become a father!

Zhu Zhanji also finally mentioned Yang Dao. "Yang Dao and they have left the base camp in a steam sailing ship to explore Dongzhou along the east coast of Dongzhou, and at this time, they should have returned to the Aztecs and joined Yixin."

Yang Shiqi didn't know where Yixin was, nor did he know where the Aztecs were, and he only had a cursory look at the map of Dongzhou, but he didn't know the specific territory.

He bowed his head and asked, "Your Highness, when will the second fleet to Dongzhou depart?" ”

"Let's wait for about a month, this time the fleet will take more goods to set off, there are a lot of people over there, it is a big dumping market."

Yang Shiqi and they have long been accustomed to some new terms in Zhu Zhanji's mouth, many words feel vulgar when they don't understand their meaning, but after understanding their meaning, they will feel very appropriate.

From this alone, you can also see that His Royal Highness is talented.

Fortunately, Zhu Zhanji didn't know what he thought, if he knew, he would be afraid that he would laugh off if he didn't have big teeth.

At this time, the guard of the government army on duty outside the door, a thousand generals, and two chamberlains stood at the door and reported loudly: "Your Highness, the crown princess has arrived." ”

A long convoy entered the courtyard, and in addition to the Zhang family, several other concubines, including more than a dozen younger brothers and sisters of Zhu Zhanji, came.

Zhu Zhanji got the news and hurried over, and when they got the news, they had to pack up their things, and they took a carriage again, so they naturally came slowly.

Zhu Zhanqi, the seventh brother who is only 12 years old this year, has a kind personality, and can even be said to be a little cowardly.

Zhu Zhanji met Zhang, turned his head and said, "What are you crying about, quickly put away the golden beans for me." ”

His mother, Li, hurriedly stepped forward and wiped away his tears. "Your father is fine, don't cry." While talking about him, he smiled flatteringly at Zhu Zhanji.

Although she is an elder, Zhu Zhanji is now the grandson of Jianguo, and her status is higher than that of her own father.

In front of him, the Li family naturally didn't dare to put on the shelf of the elders.

Zhu Zhanji is always gentle with his sisters, these younger brothers are afraid of him on weekdays, and when he said this, even several younger sisters quickly wiped away their tears.

Zhang took Jiaxing's hand and asked, "Is your father okay?" ”

Her tone was calm, and it was clear that whatever the outcome, she could accept it.

Zhu Zhanji shook his head and said, "It's not good...... The concubine took them in to have a look, and came out after a look, so as not to disturb him. ”

Waiting for Zhang to enter the apse with more than a dozen children, Zhu Zhanji stood in the warm sunlight and didn't want to enter the hall again, and nodded at Li Bin.

Li Bin hurriedly took a few steps forward, clasped his fists and said, "What does Your Highness command?" ”

Zhu Zhanji raised his right hand, swung it left and right a few times, and the attendants who followed him, as well as Yang Shiqi, all retreated, and the nearest Liu Wan was also ten meters away from him.

Only then did Zhu Zhanji speak: "My father is seriously ill, and there is no one in charge in this courtyard. Strengthen the guards on your side. Don't make a fuss because your father is seriously ill. ”

Li Bin hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Highness, there is a difference between inside and outside, and the ministers can't interfere in the affairs of the courtyard!" ”

"It's good that you strengthen the protection on the perimeter, and from today onwards, the entry and exit of people in this courtyard must be carefully checked. No one is allowed to enter or leave the courtyard without a token, and anyone who leaves this courtyard must check their belongings three times separately. ”

"Yes!"

His son Li Xian is now serving as a commander in Zhu Zhanji's young army, so Zhu Zhanji is not afraid of Li Bin's second heart at all.

He is 61 years old this year, and he takes personal honor and disgrace very lightly, but of course he attaches more importance to his family and future generations.

With Zhu Zhanji, the sure heir to the throne, who else can he stammer?

Zhu Zhanji is not afraid that there will be people competing for the throne with him at this time, he is mainly afraid of causing some scandal and letting those unworthy ministers who follow Zhu Gaochi record it.

If it was true, it would be nothing, he didn't do anything anyway. I'm afraid that some Wenchen, who invites names and has no scruples, will make up some stories about fathers and sons competing for the throne, sons imprisoning Lao Tzu, and even sons playing with old women and poisoning Lao Tzu.

Once someone writes like this, he can't tell it with ten mouths.

He never underestimated the bottom line of those who were not willing to write -

Zhang walked out of the courtyard, came to Zhu Zhanji's side, and asked softly, "Why is Zhanji standing here?" ”

Facing this mother, Zhu Zhanji didn't want to hide anything, sighed and said: "I don't dare to get too close to my father and let people write some stories." Therefore, it is necessary to act in a dignified manner and be visible to all. ”

Zhang frowned and said, "This matter must be guarded against, why don't you go back to the palace, we will take care of it here." ”

Zhu Zhanji smiled: "It's not that serious, as long as I stay away from my father's side." If I go back to the palace at this time, wouldn't it prove that my son is not filial! ”

Zhang sighed, wiped the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief and said, "Born in the royal family, it hurts my son." ”

Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "The child is not bitter, on the contrary, it is very happy!" ”

As the sun went down, a dark cloud drifted over, and the sky soon darkened. Because there are more people like Zhu Zhanji in the annex, it seems to be a lot more lively.

However, everyone tried not to make a sound, and the whole courtyard was silent.

The others had no appetite, and Zhu Zhanji couldn't show that he was eating and drinking.

The messenger who had returned from the Americas had brought back half a boatload of sweet potatoes, and some had been sent from the courtyard. Zhu Zhanji asked people to cook sweet potato porridge, and everyone ate it for the first time, and they all ate it with relish.

Compared with the blandness of the other courtyard, in the Hanlin Courtyard of the capital, tonight is brightly lit and full of delicacies.

Although the news of the prince's critical illness has reached the capital, the prince has been critically ill three times in the past year or so, and most people have not taken it to heart.

Headed by Lu Zhen, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Officials, Honglu Temple, Hanlin Academy, and Guozijian, most of them sent deputies to attend the banquet.

Including the minister who reads the papers, the Luan Yi Guard, as well as the officials who receive the papers, seal them, collect the palms, supervise the examination, protect the army to participate, fill in the list, print the papers, supply, praise and other officials, and go to the banquet together with the new science and technology jinshi.

The minister of the interior is one minister, and the minister is the main **** minister, and each member is seated, and the following officials are two members.

On the Jinshi side, there is one champion, one seat for Bangyan and Tanhua, and one seat for the rest of the four Jinshi.

Bangyan sits on the left seat of the champion, while Tanhua sits on the right.

Yu Qian's list has received no less attention than the champion Xie Zhen period, he was originally selected as tenth by the eight chief examiners, and it was Zhu Zhanji who promoted him to the position of Tanhua.

Moreover, his strategy has also been read by everyone. More than half of these Jinshi are stronger than him, but his strategy is broad-minded, macroscopic and elegant, and his words are still very admirable.

In addition, among the Jinshi, he is also the youngest, and he is not yet twenty-four years old this year.

Xie Zhen was also paying attention to this Tanhua, who was a year younger than himself, he had already learned everything that happened that day from Xie Jin, if it wasn't for the ministers' insistence, His Royal Highness would almost list him as the champion.

Xie Zhenqi also looked at his strategy, in terms of literary style, Xie Zhenqi disdained, but he, a young man who had never been to sea, was able to talk about various governance policies, which is rare.

Even if Xie Zhen is arrogant, he thinks that some of Yu Qian's views are more thoughtful than he thinks.

So he was very interested in this Yu Qian, and after everyone sat down, he took the initiative to talk. "Brother Yu."

Yu Qian had heard of the name for a long time during the Xie Zhen period, and originally thought that this famous genius of the Ming Dynasty would be very arrogant, but he didn't expect it to be polite and courteous. He hurriedly replied: "Brother Zhongping, you and I are in the same department, just call me Tingyi." ”

Both of them had the heart to interact with each other, and after a few intimate chats, Xie Zhenqi asked: "Brother Tingyi, Brother Foolish has something to understand, Brother Xian has never been in politics, nor has he ever been to sea, why can he have such an opinion on current affairs?" ”

Yu Qian also said without reservation: "This is mainly due to my great-grandfather." He used to be the general manager of Hangzhou Road, and I was once honored in my ancestors. Although I have never seen him in the old man's house, the wealth he left behind is far more than those books. ”

Xie Zhen knew that the governor of Hangzhou Road in the Mengyuan period was even more powerful than the current political envoy. In addition to leaving a lot of family foundation, what is more important is those social relationships. With these personal contacts alone, it is not a problem to ensure the glory of their family for three generations.

Yu Qian said again: "When it comes to my grandfather's generation, he is just a director of the Ministry of Works, and my father's generation is just a talent, and it can be said that one generation is not as good as the next."

However, the middle of the family road has given me the habit of being good at thinking and analyzing, and no matter what I do, I am used to thinking in many ways. My ancestors didn't like business, but my father made a living from business, and their disputes also made me think about problems from the opposite side.

And my father's friends are extensive, and he naturally knows a little more than others. In addition, the imperial court published a lot of books last year, and the knowledge in the books was corroborated with the understanding below, so it was natural that they were familiar with the overseas situation. ”

Yu Qian's openness and honesty surprised Xie Zhenqi, and at the same time, he was also moved by Yu Qian's uprightness. He clenched his fists and said: "Brother Tingyi's analysis method makes Brother Fool like an initiation, it is inconvenient today, and I look forward to talking to Brother Xian another day." ”

Yu Qian was overjoyed by the attitude of the champion he admired, and said with a smile: "I also have this intention below, it is better to do it tomorrow evening." ”