After the first day of the seventh month, neither Zhu Di nor Zhu Zhanji refused to go to court, nor did they refuse to come out to take charge.

But on the 22nd of July, the grandfather and grandson left the palace together and came to the Yuejianglou Wharf to welcome the returning Dongzhou fleet.

Zhu Zhanji greeted them because they were sent out by themselves, and their harvest in Dongzhou exceeded their expectations, and they must be given this glory.

And Zhu Di came purely for this more than 100 tons of gold and silver.

In the feudal era, especially before the Age of Discovery, when gold and silver in the Americas had not yet been developed, so much gold and silver was definitely a large amount.

From ancient times, to the Qin and Han dynasties, and even to the Tang and Song dynasties, the amount of gold and silver in the whole world was very scarce.

In the Song Dynasty, for example, there was a shortage of not only gold and silver, but also copper. The copper used for coinage is insufficient, so that the bronze ware of the people is very valuable.

Coins could not keep up with the needs of circulation, not only gold, silver, copper, silk, cloth, but even iron coins were also in circulation.

At that time, the iron coins cast in Sichuan always weighed 25 catties and 8 taels. To buy a horse Luo in Sichuan, you have to pay 130 catties of iron. Iron money is so cumbersome and inconvenient, the paper money "Jiaozi" created and printed in the Northern Song Dynasty came into being in Sichuan.

The emergence of "Jiaozi" is an important evolution from metal money to paper money in the history of Oriental currency. "Jiaozi" is not only the earliest banknote in the East, but also the earliest banknote in the world.

Since the Yuan Dynasty, a large number of folk gold and silver have been lost, and more have been plundered by the Mengyuan people, who built temples and cast bronze ware.

The extreme lack of private currency and the lack of recognition of paper money have brought private trade back to the era of barter.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the shortage of currency was very serious, not to mention private trade, and even the officials were all sending rice.

In recent years, the development of the Beimingshan copper mine and the frequent overseas trade have brought back a large amount of gold and silver, which has alleviated some of the gold and silver shortages.

Of course, the biggest advantage of this is to eliminate the private gold and silver transfer and trading, and all the banks can be used to regulate, so as to truly alleviate the shortage of gold and silver.

Because the common people in the East are really poor and afraid, they like to save money too much.

Not only the common people, but also the merchants, liked to hoard large quantities of gold and silver at home, resulting in most of the gold and silver being buried in the ground.

With bank regulation, gold and silver must be circulated through banks, which really alleviates the problem of currency shortage.

However, the bank's money, although abundant, is dispersed. Nearly two million taels of gold were placed together like this, and there was twice as much silver, even Zhu Di had never seen it with his own eyes.

The grand occasion of Yuejianglou Wharf has been much lower than when Zhu Di came back more than half a month ago. But the emperor and the grandson greeted them in person, and the security here was still very strict.

Although Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji personally went to the dock to greet them, they did not come at the beginning, but waited until all the fleet came off the ship and set up a phalanx on the dock.

Representatives of the navy, the army, all the chamberlains, and officials add up to nearly 10,000 people. In addition to the necessary personnel left behind on the ship, they were divided into different phalanxes according to different identities.

Behind them were 10,000 representatives of various tribes from the land of Dongzhou.

Although Daming can often see foreign races, 10,000 people come at once like this, which still shocks many people who watch the excitement.

And even more shocking are these Indians, their most prosperous city, Tenochtitlan, Cusco, is only the size of the Ming Palace.

How could they not be shocked when they saw this huge city that was boundless, and saw this dense crowd of people, everyone wearing exquisite clothes.

When they stepped on the flat concrete floor on the pier, many people couldn't help but feel how the ground was built.

When Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji came to the dock on the dragon chariot, they didn't need to be introduced by the Ming Dynasty to know that the king of their people had arrived.

Compared to the eight pure white horses with high heads, pulling the golden and resplendent of a palace, the original king of Cusco, Viraco Chaden, felt that his shoulder chariot, which required eighty people to lift, was as ugly as a child's toy.

The two kingdoms of the Americas, the Aztec Kingdom and the Cusco Kingdom, were the highest status of all the guests.

Because the other indigenous people of the Americas can only be regarded as tribes, only their two countries have the rudimentary form of a state.

The Aztecs were killed by Yixin because they began to oppose the Ming Dynasty, especially the plague caused by the dead corpses, which reduced their population by more than half.

Now they must rely on Da Ming in order to consolidate their position. The Aztecs were originally an alliance of three tribes, and for decades, they fought in the north and south, suppressing many ethnic groups, and expanding their territory to the area around Mexico City.

After other small tribes took refuge in the Ming Dynasty, if they did not take refuge, they would have the possibility of losing the country.

And the Kingdom of Cusco was the predecessor of the Inca Empire, and their leader, Villacocha, was also a virtuous monarch.

And the Inca Empire, unlike the Aztecs, has been strong for more than a hundred years. There is no country without private wealth, and all people, including property, belong to the king.

In other words, a king can take and take away from the commoners, including the nobles, under his jurisdiction.

It is also for this reason that when Villakocha submits, their civilians will voluntarily hand over all the gold and silver accumulated in the country.

Of course, Hou Xian did not exhaust himself to fish, he designated Zhu Zhanji to develop the Dongzhou Continent, so what he plundered was some floating wealth, and did not touch their foundation.

And for more than a year in Dongzhou, in addition to concentrating on cultivating rubber trees, cinchona trees are to teach the locals more skills.

This also made Hou Xian a god in the minds of South American Indians.

Verakocha regarded Hou Xian as a god, but now the god in their hearts fell down before others.

The salute sounded, and the seven-gun salute was the highest etiquette for the king to greet the heroes.

In the two years that the Indians came into contact with the Ming people, they also learned some of the strength of the Ming Dynasty to a greater or lesser extent.

They no longer thought of the sound of muskets and cannons as the wrath of the gods, but at such a solemn moment, they suddenly heard the sound of cannons, and they were still terrified.

Then, on the pier, hundreds of drummers, gong players, and suona players began to play, and the majestic music sounded, and many Indians were fascinated.

Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji got out of the car, and everyone knelt down in front of Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji, including those Indians who were still in a dizzying state.

After three bows and nine bows, Zhu Di personally stepped forward to help Hou Xian, and Zhu Zhanji stepped forward to help Yixin.

The two of them have been gone for three years, and they have successfully completed the tasks assigned by Zhu Zhanji, and they have exceeded the quota. Now they have brought back 10,000 Indians, and they have wiped out almost all the indigenous tribes of the Americas.

These people came to Daming and came into contact with the advanced civilization of Daming, and after they went back, they would naturally learn from Daming.

At that time, send officials to teach them, and get twice the result with half the effort.

Hou Xian is a minister, and after seeing the ceremony, he followed Zhu Di's side, while Yi Xin is a military general, and he can only stay with his subordinates at this time.

Zhu Di put down the emperor's shelf today, like an ordinary old man, greeted a group of generals one by one, and slapped the soldiers' arms with a smile from time to time, and said a few words of encouragement.

Yesterday evening, the fleet had already arrived at the Xinjiang Estuary Water Village, and only entered the city this morning.

When they arrived at Xinjiangkou Shuizhai, they got the news that the emperor had issued an edict of Zen concessions, and the speaker Jianyi had also received it.

It's just that His Royal Highness Taisun has resigned the edict, and now he has not agreed.

But everyone breathed a sigh of relief, because this already represented a smooth transition of power.

No matter what the era, Zen will not be smooth sailing.

The transfer of the throne means a change of power. It is not only the change of the throne, but also the change of old and new forces.

This kind of collision between the old and new forces is the most dangerous.

However, between Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji, there is an advantage that has not been seen in previous dynasties, that is, Zhu Di's westward expedition.

Zhu Di's westward expedition was not only a military operation, but the three-year westward expedition gave Zhu Zhanji enough time to firmly control the Daming Sheji.

Zhu Zhanji has controlled the imperial court, and the army is now listening to him, and Zhu Di can't find his place after he comes back, which is the main reason for Chan Rang.

In such an environment, there will be no change of old and new forces, and there will be less internal friction.

Therefore, they have always been very concerned about Zhu Di's emotions today, and they don't know if this powerful emperor is really abdicating.

Now that they see that Zhu Di is in a good mood, their hearts are all relaxed.

Although His Royal Highness Taisun resigned from the throne, it was only three things, and when it came to the third time, His Royal Highness would definitely be on the throne.

Yixin, as Zhu Zhanji's descendant, is naturally very happy at this time.

At the back of the crowd, Yang Dao's mood was also much calmer.

As soon as he arrived in Xinjiangkou yesterday, his father Yang Shiqi sent someone to contact him.

Regarding the situation of the imperial court and the personalities of Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Di, he naturally knows much more than Yang Dao.

Although Zhu Di wanted to Zen after he came back, he was shocked at first, but he quickly figured out the links.

Zhu Di asked Zhu Zhanji to supervise the country, Zhu Zhanji did a good job and took everyone for his own use.

After Zhu Di came back, in response to the great changes in Tianfu and the centrifugation of officials, he felt that he was almost out of knowing this country on the one hand, and on the other hand, he couldn't find his own position.

If he is ten years younger, he will definitely not accept that he is being set aside, he will win over the middle forces, suppress the forces belonging to the Taisun, and seize power.

But he was old, he had no ambition, and he didn't want to be estranged between his grandparents and grandchildren, so he accepted all this and took the initiative to make Zen concessions.

He also knew what Yang Dao had done, although there was a basket when he was on a mission, but that kind of natural disaster was uncontrollable.

On the contrary, his son was able to be promoted to the position of captain by a group of colleagues when he was just starting out, which fully proved his son's ability.

Sailing tens of thousands of miles along the east-west route of Dongzhou, he not only drew a map of the continent, but also drew a nautical chart, and found out the environment of the coastal zone, which was a great achievement.

If his analysis is correct, his son will be rated as a merit more than a demerit this time, and perhaps, the position of this temporary fleet commander will become a real difference.

Of course, there are also his reasons. He always believed that he was unlucky, and if the crown prince could succeed to the throne, he would not be able to run for the position of a cabinet scholar.

With the position of a cabinet scholar, it is easy to find a position as a chief official in the future.

But the prince died early, and everything was empty. Although he is now awarded the official prince to supervise the sacrificial wine, he has been excluded from the center of power by the grandson.

Progressed the Cabinet, everything is empty. What's more, today's Guozijian doesn't seem to be important in the heart of the grandson.

In order to compensate for his father and son, since he was excluded, his son must be reused.

The commander of a fleet of steam sailing ships that is not yet twenty-five years old, this is a position that many marquis want to fight for!

Moreover, now there are no major battles to be fought around the Ming Dynasty, but to develop Dongzhou and Nanzhou, the position of a fleet commander is far more important than the position of an army commander, and it is easier to make meritorious contributions.

Thinking of the dispute between Yang Dao and himself at the beginning, he had to admit that although this son lacked some spirituality, he was steady, broad-minded, lucky, and his vision stronger than himself.

After receiving his father's meticulous explanation, Yang Dao's heart relaxed, but thinking of the more than 1,000 soldiers who died at the bottom of the sea, he couldn't be happy even if he knew that he was promoted.

When Zhu Di passed in front of Yang Dao, he didn't care about the young man in Qianzong costume who was standing behind, but Zhu Zhanji saw it.

Although he lost 1,100 people, Zhu Zhanji didn't care. He knows very well that the Atlantic Ocean today is still a forbidden area for mankind.

The fleet was able to successfully complete its tasks, the losses did not exceed a tenth, and he could not ask too much.

Moreover, Yang Dao has an innocent background, married the daughter of the family, and is now one of the people in Daming who knows the Atlantic water situation best. In the future, if Da Ming wants to open up the Atlantic waterway, he can't do without them, so he will only be reused.

Facing Yang Dao, he said approvingly from the commander of a Shenji battalion: "I already know about you, and you have not ruined the reputation of my Yulin Weixue." ”

Hearing Zhu Zhanji's words, Yang Dao, who thought that his heart was not shocked, twitched, and before he knelt down, he was already in tears.

He knelt down on one knee and bowed his head and said: "The minister has the trust of His Highness, and he only wishes to be able to wear the guilt and make meritorious service." ”

The person in front of him gave way to the position, and Zhu Zhanji personally helped him up and said: "The world is so big, no one knows better than you." The Atlantic Ocean was stormy and high, and it was originally difficult to conquer, but now the loss is less than one in ten, and you have no merit. After a few days of repairing at home, you will personally transfer the bereavement benefits to those who have been injured and lost to you to the homes of every soldier. ”

Although it was a chore, as the main general, he would suffer a series of accusations, verbal abuse, and even beatings from the family of the deceased. However, this is the one thing Yang Dao wants to do the most, so that his conscience can forgive his sins.

Hearing Zhu Zhanji's arrangement, Yang Dao couldn't control his emotions a little, and tears flowed down his face. "The minister will live up to the trust, if there is a mistake, he should die and apologize."

This is just an episode in the process of meeting with the soldiers, Zhu Zhanji has been relatively low-key today, allowing Zhu Di to be in the limelight.

After meeting with the heroes and representatives of the envoys, Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji were led by Hou Xian to the cargo ship carrying gold and silver. While the others, blaming Honglu Temple, arranged to go to the arena and waited for Zhu Di's reward.

Since he came back last time, Zhu Di has been very fond of that arena. Not only can you meet 100,000 people at once, but you can also let everyone hear their own words.

Moreover, the grandeur of the arena can shock everyone who comes to Daming.

In fact, there is no need to go to the arena, most of the Yiren who came to Daming for the first time have been shocked.

Like those Indians, when they saw the train coming with thick smoke, many people knelt down and kowtowed in fright, which really aroused the laughter of many Ming soldiers.

With the experience of the last time, there are fewer people today. Honglu Temple methodically arranged for everyone to go to the arena by train, boat, or carriage, and on the other side of the arena, enough food had been prepared for these people to eat.

Zhu Di boarded a cargo ship, and the cabins here were all sealed, and each cabin was locked by the internal supervisor and the navy with an iron chain, and only the two sides could enter when they were opened at the same time.

Moreover, the people on the ships carrying gold and silver were composed of several people, and no one could get on or off the ship, which eliminated the possibility of theft.

only looked at one ship, and the gold and silver only made Zhu Di happy for a while, and then he became silent again.

Emerging from the cabin, he stepped onto the deck, stood still in the shadow of a sail, and waved his hand.

Everyone understood his movements and left quickly, leaving only Zhu Zhanji by his side.

At this time, he sighed, looked at Zhu Zhanji and said, "This Dongzhou is so rich, people's hearts are unsettled!" ”

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said: "So Sun Er is not going to send any nobles, the clan will go to Dongzhou, and Dongzhou will not be divided into anyone." ”

"Isn't that making everyone unhappy?"

Zhu Zhanji pointed to the natives on the dock who had not yet left and said: "They are just an excuse, these natives have more than 500 tribes, and sending anyone to conquer will only cause contradictions, so it is better to only send troops and officials." The army is responsible for deterrence, the officials are responsible for indoctrination, and then the people are encouraged to go to the migrants, and all immigrant families must have at least one scholar......"

Zhu Di, the emperor, suddenly understood, and said, "Do you want to slowly figure it out? ”

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said: "Dongzhou is vast and has many personnel, and my grandson is going to leave it to my direct descendants in the future." ”

"What if the people are dissatisfied?"

"As long as the development of Dongzhou is not put before Nanzhou...... Whether it is a clan or a noble, they will always think that what they get in their hands is the real wealth. ”

Dongzhou's current situation can't be hidden, and Zhu Zhanji doesn't want to hide it, but don't expect him to include Dongzhou in the territory of the sub-feudal now.

The islands of Nanzhou and Nanyang were divided because they were sparsely populated and needed to be developed by the Ming people.

However, there are tens of millions of people in Dongzhou now, so the important thing is not to conquer after dividing the feuds, but to use Huairou means to make those tribes recognize the rule of the Ming Dynasty.

It's easy to find excuses, how many people can you send before you bring those natives to their hearts? Hundreds of thousands at most, but there are tens of millions of people there!

On one side is the unreachable Dongzhou, and on the other side is the Nanzhou at his fingertips, Zhu Zhanji doesn't believe that those clans and nobles will bite Dongzhou.

Zhu Di saw that Zhu Zhanji was confident, so he no longer mentioned this topic, but said again: "The Bao'en Temple that I repaired was robbed by you, and the gold and silver on this ship today will be given to me, so that I can build another Bao'en Temple." ”

Zhu Zhanji hesitated for a moment and said: "Don't talk about a boat, even if all the gold and silver emperor grandfathers take it to squander their grandson, they won't say a word." It's just that the grandson would rather the imperial grandfather rebuild the imperial palace, or even build an annex comparable to the imperial palace, but not build another temple. ”

"Why?"

"Although Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are now united in three religions, there is also more competition between the three religions. If Sun Er wants to guide the people of the world to be united, the problems of these three religions must be solved. Now that Buddhism has declined under the suppression of Taizu and your old man, building temples with such fanfare will only make the situation more and more complicated. ”

Zhu Di was a little unhappy, but Zhu Zhanji's reasons were reasonable. He also knew that the common people believed everything, and it was difficult to guide them, and in the court, this kind of dispute was even more intense.

The thought of not being able to cause trouble to his grandson, but the rejection of his request made him very unhappy.

was thinking about how to beat him, but heard Zhu Zhanji say: "Grandpa Huang, grandson is building a 50,000-material ship in Xinjiangkou Shipyard, and the hull has been completed. ”

Zhu Di couldn't believe it, looked at Zhu Zhanji suspiciously, and asked, "How can there be such a huge ship, don't talk nonsense." ”

Before the advent of tonnage, ships carried were sized in quantities. The early meaning of the material is not the ship's carrying unit, but the amount of timber used in shipbuilding.

Under normal circumstances, the length of an ordinary piece of wood for a boat is about five or six meters, and the diameter is about twenty or thirty centimeters. Due to the buoyancy of such a piece of wood in the water, it can basically carry the weight of three adults, which is about three hundred and sixty catties.

And because of the limited volume of wood, especially the keel of ships, particularly strong timber is required. Therefore, even the treasure ship of the Ming Dynasty adopts the splicing method, and the current 10,000 materials have reached the limit. No matter how big it is, the hull will not be strong.

Zhu Di is not an emperor who doesn't know anything, so he immediately thought that Zhu Zhanji was lying.

Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "My grandson has made a lot of hard work to cast a 100-meter pure steel keel, and with this steel keel spliced wood, the treasure ship built now is not only stronger, wider and larger than the existing treasure ships, but also has a larger volume, and it will be very stable on the sea." ”

Zhu Di believed it a little in his heart, but after thinking about it, he asked again: "You don't treat me like an old man like this, and you want to send me to sea?" ”

Zhu Zhanji knelt down with a plop and swore to the sky: "My grandson just wants the emperor to enjoy more joy in the world in his old age, and he never thinks of exceeding the rules, if he has a heart, heaven and earth ......."

The ancients believed in this very much, and Zhu Di covered his mouth without waiting for him to finish speaking. "Okay, my good grandson, grandpa just said it casually, don't swear."

(Thank you Zixuan Yuchen for becoming the fifth alliance leader, the old demon is grateful!) Today's heart is not enough, tomorrow will be more and more. ）