"Zhu Youzhen, this kid is calm, and the vassal kings who want to visit him have all been rejected by him......"

When Zhu Youzhen and Bi Ziyan, Lu Wenzhao, and Wang Chengen discussed, the gate of Fuwangfu on the street of Baiwangfu.

Zhu Changxun, the king of Fu, watched the county kings go to the palace of Qi and were rejected one by one, and there was a trace of perverted happiness in his heart.

Compared with the five years of the Apocalypse, Zhu Changxun, who went back to Luoyang, has lost some weight, although he is still in the fat range, but he is not so annoying.

However, when Mohu looked at it, he didn't know and thought that Emperor Wanli had been resurrected.

In terms of appearance, he really looks very similar to Wanli, and it's no wonder that Wanli likes him so much, but doesn't like the emaciated Zhu Changluo.

However, Zhu Changxun, who bullied Zhu Changluo all his life, was finally stabbed in the back by Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youzhen, the two eldest nephews.

Last year, when the imperial court issued an order to convene the feudal domains, the feudal kings and county kings in various places began to sell some of their family property.

Not only were things such as mansions, villas, and courtyards sold, but many vassal kings even went north to the capital with a large amount of cash from their families.

Zhu Changxun was still wary of Zhu Youzhen, so he kept his youngest son Zhu Youhua to take care of the house, and he only took 200,000 taels north to the capital.

As far as he knew, in the north of the capital this time, the one who brought the most silver was Zhu Cunshu, the king of Qin, of the Qin Domain.

He entered Beijing with more than 200 carts of gold and silver, at least 500,000 taels of silver, and along the way the soldiers and horses had to protect his convoy.

However, after all, Zhu Cunshu is the top of the side domain, and the silver in his house should not be as much as that of the other powerful domains.

Among the many powerful domains, Zhu Changxun is most concerned about the Zhou Domain, the Chu Domain, the Zhao Domain, the Jin Domain, and the Shu Domain.

Among them, the Zhou and Shu domains made him the most jealous, after all, they were the oldest and had accumulated the most silver.

At that time, it will really be a vassal overseas, and the number of arch guard battalions they want to hire is probably the largest among all the vassals.

Although Zhu Changxun felt that he was worthy of them, he still wanted to avoid these two guys in the domain.

"Father, Zhu Youzhen, this guy is going to transfer the children of the vassal to Annan, listen to the dispatch of Hong Yanyan, you and I are going, if Zhu Youzhen uses some means, won't I be able to come back?"

Just as Zhu Changxun was mocking the feudal clans, a well-proportioned young man next to him suddenly spoke, and his opening also attracted Zhu Changxun's attention.

The person who opened his mouth was Zhu Youxiang, who was sent to the Military Academy by Zhu Changxun, and at this moment, he was in his early twenties, and his appearance could still be vaguely seen from before, and he had a little more energy.

However, it can be seen from his tone that he didn't learn much in the Military Academy, and when he saw Zhu Youxiang, Zhu Changxun remembered a blank piece of paper sent by the Yanshan Military Academy when he arrived in the capital twelve days ago......

[Student Zhu Youxiang, Strategy, C, Short Soldier, C, ......]

[Six subject rankings, 697th]

[Final Exam Evaluation: Grade C (Garrison Talent, Guerrilla Insufficient)]

A simple evaluation of the military academy almost missed Zhu Changxun's cerebral hemorrhage.

He can count on Zhu Youxiang to shine in the military academy, and then command tens of thousands of troops from overseas Fu Clans and sweep Tianzhu.

As a result, a "garrison talent, not enough generals" in the military academy directly blackened Zhu Changxun's eyes.

Fortunately, this time he brought Zhu Youyu here, and the tuba practice was abolished, and he could continue to practice the trumpet.

If Zhu Youyu can't do it, he will pull Zhu Youhua to the military academy, in short, he has to make a general for Fu Fan.

Of course, in addition to feeling heartache that the future soldiers and horses of the Fu Domain did not have a general to command, Zhu Changxun was also uncomfortable because he saw the achievements of the children of the other domains.

Among the children of the feudal clans, the results from top to bottom are Zhu Youdong, the king of Ji, the ninety-sixth, who was evaluated as "the talent of the general army and can lead three battalions alone".

followed by Zhu Yujian of the Tang Domain, followed by Zhu Changqing of the Huai Domain, and Zhu Yibian, a disciple of the Xiang Domain, who took the initiative to give up his clan identity during the Wanli period, they were all ranked around 100 to 200.

As for the Zhou Dynasty's Zhou Dynasty, the prince of Zhou, Zhu Gongqi and his grandson Zhu Shaoyan, they were in the two hundred and seven and two hundred and thirty-seven.

Basically, for the 100 students who are outside the school, the military academy gives them the talents of the generals, while the 300 students who are outside the school are the talents of guerrillas.

Those who are outside the five hundred are the talents of the garrison, and those who are outside the seven hundred are the talents of the hundred households.

It is not difficult to understand why Zhu Changxun was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

Zhu Youxiang is completely the tail of the crane among the two hundred garrison talents, and he is only three positions away from the ability of 100 households.

100 households......

That kind of existence, Zhu Youzhen grabbed a lot of hands, and what Zhu Changxun wanted was a son like Zhu Youzhen.

In his opinion, Zhu Youxiao has no commendable means, that is, he can play a little carefully, and his biggest advantage is to listen to his younger brother.

As long as Zhu Youzhen does not rebel and puts a pig on the throne, Zhu Youzhen can be lifted to the historical status of Ming Jun.

Zhu Changxun watched Zhu Changluo's wasted son continue to make meritorious contributions, and at the same time looked at the six hundred and ninety-seven of his own sons, it was okay if he didn't die of anger on the spot.

Therefore, for Zhu Youxiang's words, Zhu Changxun also said viciously:

"To go to Annan is to go to experience, Zhu Youzhen dares to wear heavy armor and gallop Mobei with a strong bow, what are you afraid of fighting an Annan barbarian?!"

He ...... How can I compare ...... with him" Zhu Youxiang was scolded by his father, and could only respond aggrievedly.

"How can it not be compared? I pressed his father for a lifetime, why can't you suppress him for a lifetime?! ”

Zhu Changxun was so angry that even Zhu Youxiang, who had lost weight, was a little unhappy.

"In a few days, you will go south with the army, and Lone will stay in the capital to wait for your good news."

"When the Annan matter is over, the Lone Society will ask the navy to defeat the vassal country, and then the people of the Gong Guard Battalion will be stationed in the vassal country, and you will train your troops well and expand your territory."

Zhu Changxun had already figured out the matter of overseas vassals, and asked the soldiers of the 12 guards of the navy, each of whom was five taels of silver per month, and sixty taels a year.

Please defend the camp, one person is three taels, and a year is thirty-six taels of silver.

The combat effectiveness of the Gongwei Battalion is not weak, but the Gongwei Battalion is only responsible for protecting the domain, and the 12 Naval Guards are responsible for defeating the feudal kingdom at the beginning.

Fu Fan has nothing, but the most silver.

Zhu Changxun had already inquired clearly, the number of naval guards was 5,600, and if the vassal king leased them, he would need to pay nearly 340,000 taels of silver a year.

In addition to themselves, they also had to pay 160,000 taels of gunpowder and ordnance every year, and those who died in battle needed a pension of 200 taels of silver from the vassal king.

The high value of the twelve guards of the navy doomed few vassal kings to be able to invite them.

On this point, Zhu Youzhen will definitely make adjustments, otherwise some county kings may only be able to mobilize a thousand households to empty their family property, and they can't even afford to hire the Gongwei camp after they conquer the land of a mansion.

However, no matter how Zhu Youzhen adjusts, anyway, the Fu Fan can take out millions of taels of silver, and Zhu Changxun is also inspired to be the top five strong feudal clans in the Ming Dynasty.

When he lays down a province, he will relocate tens of thousands of Ming people and train tens of thousands of soldiers, and then he will be his soil emperor.

What Zhu Youxiao, Zhu Youjian, when the time comes, his eyes are not clean and his heart is not upset.

Thinking of this, Zhu Changxun looked at Zhu Youxiang, and a trace of depression flashed in his eyes, and he immediately turned around and walked into the mansion.

At the same time as he walked into the mansion, the Jinyi Guard, who Lu Wenzhao had sent to inquire about the price of gunpowder in various parts of Europe, also returned.

The price of gunpowder did not disappoint Zhu Youzhen, and the current price of a pound of gunpowder in Europe is twenty pence, which is equivalent to three coins of silver and three hundred wen.

In an island country like Britain, the price of a pound of gunpowder has reached thirty pence, four hundred and fifty cents.

The reason why it is so expensive is because of one ingredient in gunpowder.

The composition of gunpowder is very simple, nothing more than charcoal, nitrate, and sulfur.

Charcoal is easy to say, and sulfur is also abundant in Europe and Italy, but saltpeter is very rare in Europe and North America, and it is very expensive.

As a military material, saltpeter has always been strictly controlled by the state, and Daming is undoubtedly the world's leader in saltpeter production.

Since the Hongwu period in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang has formulated the rules for exporting saltpeter.

The rules can be broadly divided into two categories, one is that foreign countries are qualified to purchase saltpeter through the Ming Dynasty.

The second category is saltpeter smuggling through informal channels, often hidden from historical records.

Due to the shortage of saltpeter, during the Ming Dynasty, the Korean kingdom, which was still Goryeo, sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty many times to ask for gunpowder weapons such as saltpeter for the army.

For example, in the seventh year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, waved his hand and gave 500,000 catties of nitrate and 100,000 catties of sulfur to Goryeo, which was enough for European countries to fight for decades.

When the Korean War broke out during the Wanli period, Mingshenzong also gave military funds such as bow horns and flame nitrate to aid the imperial widows, and North Korea also obtained the right to buy 3,000 catties of flame nitrate in Daming every year, and in case of special circumstances, you can request additional purchases.

However, at the government level, the saltpeter trade between China and foreign countries has always been strictly regulated, and the quantity is extremely limited.

Even Zhu Youzhen's good imperial brother, Zhu Youxiao, who does carpentry every day, once said in history: "The long skills of nitrate yellow China, the ancestral system is strictly prohibited, and it is not allowed to go out." ”

Therefore, the proportion of Daming saltpeter circulating abroad in the form of official permission is small, and more is sold abroad in the form of smuggling.

North Korea, Japan and other countries are mainly smuggling saltpeter, and the Spanish government in Luzon encourages merchants to smuggle saltpeter to Luzon, and clearly stipulates that pig iron, saltpeter, copper cannons and other military supplies imported into Manila by the Ming Dynasty are imported duty-free.

Since 1609, when Silva became governor of the Philippines, successive Spanish colonial governments forced Ming maritime merchants to carry gunpowder and other military supplies to Manila every year, and imposed fines if they found that such goods were not available on merchant ships.

As for the smuggled saltpeter, it was all sent back to Spain by the Spaniards in Manila.

However, in this plane, due to the change of flintlock pistols in the Ming army and the reform of Zhu Youzhen, the smugglers were vigorously attacked.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty was very strict in controlling saltpeter, but anyone who smuggled saltpeter was executed, and the price of saltpeter also became cheaper with the decrease in demand......

"What is the price of saltpeter in my court?"

Looking at the documents collected by Jinyiwei, Zhu Youzhen frowned and asked, and Lu Wenzhao just wanted to answer, but Bi Ziyan subconsciously replied:

"The price of the Ministry of Industry is 20 wen per catty per month......"

"Twenty Wen?" Hearing that it was so cheap, Zhu Youzhen looked at the booklet, and thought about the weighing units of the East and the West and later generations in this era, and then said:

"In other words, I sell a pound of saltpeter to Europa at a sea for twenty to thirty times the profit?"

"Probably like this......" Bi Ziyan also gasped, and Zhu Youzhen said even more when he heard this:

"Since this is the case, let's let Sun Liang stop getting the gunpowder branch first, and the Ministry of Industry mines ...... every year."

Zhu Youzhen pondered for a while, thought about how much it would not disrupt the European market, and then suddenly thought about it, whether Europe is chaotic or not is none of his business.

It is better to hit the European saltpeter market directly with saltpeter, and then they do not mine saltpeter themselves.

Anyway, the world's largest saltpeter production area will be under the iron hooves of the Ming army in the future, so simply get as many as you want.

"Let the Ministry of Industry mine an additional five million catties of saltpeter every year and go south!"

"Five million catties? Could it be too much? Lu Wenzhao was stunned, after all, the amount of five million catties of saltpeter is not low, and all of them are made into gunpowder, which is enough for Europe to fight at the current war intensity for more than ten years.

However, Zhu Youzhen didn't care about the life or death of Europe, and he didn't care about how many people he killed, he waved his hand:

"Exchanging five million catties of saltpeter for more than two million taels of silver, this transaction is very cost-effective."

"The Ming Dynasty needs silver and grain right now, and with silver, it can buy grain from Siam and Gan Xiaozhi."

Zhu Youzhen's words were not complete, in fact, he wanted so much silver, or for the sake of currency reform.

The people of the Ming Dynasty will not believe in paper money, so they can only start with the denomination of coins.

When the people have trust in the imperial court, it is okay to slowly issue paper money.

"I need to change the affairs of the overseas vassals, and I can't come forward, so I'm going to arrange for you to come forward to preside over the affairs of the overseas vassals."

Zhu Youzhen's words changed suddenly, but Bi Ziyan could understand.

Saltpeter is profitable, but after all, it is the silver of ocean trade, and it cannot be reached.

What I can get now is the silver in the hands of the vassal king in front of me.

"In the second year of the Apocalypse, I set up an overseas domain, and the price of renting soldiers and horses should change."

Zhu Youzhen was thinking the same as Zhu Changxun, and was thinking about how to solve the matter of the clan's lease and transfer of soldiers and horses.

Bi Ziyan became serious when he heard this, and Zhu Youzhen also said calmly:

"At the beginning, the number of Gongwei battalions was small, and they were not soldiers, so they were originally prepared to be transferred to fight overseas."

"However, at present, the Governor's Office of the Five Armies has been reorganized, and the two hundred and nine Gongwei battalions of the Ming Dynasty have gathered in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the high salary of raising soldiers has made the burden on the imperial court greater."

"Therefore, I am going to cancel the transfer of the twelve guards of the navy, and instead ask the feudal king to ask the governors of the southern, western, and eastern armies to fight for him."

Zhu Youzhen did not mention the Northern Army Governor's Office, first, because the Northern Army Governor's Office currently has only 50 battalions after the end of the Hetao Battle.

The second reason is that the Northern Military Governor's Mansion is inaccessible, and it is too far to go south or by boat.

In comparison, it is much more convenient for the Western Army Governor's Mansion and the Southern Army Governor's Mansion, and even the Eastern Army Governor's Mansion that needs to be defended and captured.

After taking Annam, the Western Military Governor's Office could directly take the Red River to the South China Sea, while the Southern Military Governor's Office and the Eastern Military Governor's Office had a long coastline.

Hundreds of princes and county kings, if they want to take root overseas, they need to borrow more soldiers and horses.

In addition, if the Southern Military Governor's Office solves the problem of Annam, Nanzhang and Cham, it will directly border Siam, Kampoo and Donghu.

At that time, except for Donghu, which borders less than 500 miles, which needs to be defended by the Southern Military Governor's Palace, the number of more than 50 Gongwei battalions that are not needed in the rest of the places is very much.

At this time, it is enough to send 30 Gong Guard Battalions to guard the Old Port, Jiaozhi and Nanzhang, and the remaining 20 or so Gong Guard Battalions can be transferred.

Zhu Youzhen does not plan to calculate according to the head, but is ready to give a fixed price.

"Please have a battalion to guard the battalion, 200,000 taels of silver a year, 40,000 taels for a sentry, and a vassal king who died in battle will receive a pension of 200 taels of silver."

Zhu Youzhen spoke to Bi Ziyan, and Bi Ziyan calculated, so the price was a little too high.

Not to mention anything else, the pension of 200 taels for one person killed in battle alone does not seem to be much, but for some county kings, if hundreds of soldiers are killed in battle, they need to pay 20,000 taels of silver.

It was an unbearable pain for them, and they couldn't get it out of it.

"Pension ...... Some are too much. Bi Ziyan stiffened his head and said:

"If the pension money is formulated like this, I am afraid that many county kings will not be able to take out this silver."

"The king of the county really can't take it out, the few in their hands are only tens of thousands of taels, and the most are only three or four hundred thousand taels of silver." Zhu Youzhen talked eloquently:

"However, they don't have enough money, and the local natives have a lot of it."

"There is always silver and gold waiting for them as long as they want."

Zhu Youzhen's words are very straightforward, that is, to encourage the weak county kings to rush to Miao and expand their careers.

For people like Bi Ziyan, he doesn't agree with Zhu Youzhen's view, but he also knows that his disapproval can't make any changes.

"This point, the lower officials will make it clear to the vassals......" Bi Ziyan responded, while Zhu Youzhen continued:

"The silver of the people is still according to the standard of ten taels of silver."

"Xia Guan knows." Bi Ziyan didn't want to talk about this matter, and Zhu Youzhen could see it.

He is not surprised by Bi Ziyan's resistance, some of the officials of the Ming Dynasty are extreme, some are gentle, some are enterprising, and some are peaceful.

There are thousands of kinds of people, all kinds of differences, he can't ask Bi Ziyan to be the same as he thinks, he just needs Bi Ziyan to do things well.

Therefore, he no longer forced Bi to be strict, but said to him:

"That's the thing, and you need to be careful about the cultivation of sweet potatoes and potatoes in the north."

"If there is a locust plague, sweet potatoes and potatoes will be life-savers......

"Your Majesty knows, Your Highness Xie for your advice."

Bi Ziyan got up slowly, and after bowing to Zhu Youzhen, he slowly withdrew from the study under Zhu Youzhen's gaze.

After he withdrew from a cup of tea, Wang Chengen said unfairly: "This Bi Ziyan is also the same as the stinky temper of civil officials." ”

"It's normal, after all, it's a sage book to read......" Zhu Youzhen picked up the paperwork and replied subconsciously.

However, before he could answer, he paused suddenly, and then said with a strange expression: "Sage Book ......"

He suddenly remembered some people, especially the group of people in Qufu, Shandong.

"Among the merchants who smuggled North Korean saltpeter in Shandong, didn't they deal with the Confucian government?"

Zhu Youzhen raised his head and asked Lu Wenzhao, but Lu Wenzhao shook his head and said:

"That's not true, the Confucian Mansion is mainly involved in the encroachment of the people's fields, which has a lot of criminal evidence, and smuggling is usually an official of the Qi Party."

"That's a bit of a pity......" A trace of loss flashed in Zhu Youzhen's eyes, but in the next second, he said in a stupid tone:

"The evidence of the crime of encroaching on the people's fields is not small, so take the opportunity to arrest a group of people."

"Uh...... It's "Lu Wenzhao was speechless, but he didn't expect his Royal Highness to even dare to catch the side of the Holy Prince.

However, when he thought about it, he seemed to feel that it was not so surprising, after all, his Royal Highness was even calculating so many of his relatives who had not made five suits.

"How is Hong Chengchou preparing? Did Yidong River City find that there was something wrong with Jianyu? ”

While dealing with the military report, Zhu Youzhen asked about Lu Wenzhao, and Lu Wenzhao also said:

"Hong Jingluo has already transferred different numbers of Gongwei battalions from Sichuan, Guangdong, and Guizhou."

"On the tenth day of the first month of May, all battalions of soldiers and horses must arrive at Guangnan Mansion and Lin'an Mansion in Yunnan, Siming Mansion and Nanning Mansion in Guangxi, and Taiping Mansion in Guangxi."

"At present, Hong Jingluo has only mobilized forty battalions of soldiers and horses for the time being, about 121,000 people."

"However, the Hepu Port in Lianzhou Prefecture, Guangxi, temporarily gathered seven battalions of soldiers and horses, about 21,000 people."

"In Yunnan, Yuanjiang Mansion, Cheli Mansion, and Menggen Mansion were stationed in two battalions of soldiers and horses, with a total of six battalions and about 18,000 people."

"In addition, the six guards and horses of the Navy Governor's Office are also stationed in the waters of Wanzhou (Xisha Islands) and Wanli Shitang (Nansha Islands)."

"The 12th Battalion Gongwei Battalion of the Southern Military Governor's Mansion has taken over the old port provinces and is suppressing the local natives who are plotting to rebel."

"At present, the number of soldiers and horses involved is 190,000, and Yunnan, Guangxi and Sichuan have each recruited a different number of people."

Lu Wenzhao finished reporting, but Zhu Youzhen raised his head when he heard the words and said:

"How many people are there in Annam?"

"About, more than 30,000 people ......," Lu Wenzhao was silent for a moment and then gave a number.

When Zhu Youzhen heard this, he frowned slightly before he said:

"Let Hong Chengchou make a quick decision after the preparation of grain and grass, a little Annan, I need to hear his good news before the autumn harvest next year."

"The day before the start of the war, I notified the local people to withdraw to the coast, and told Hong Chengchou that the six guards and horses of the navy should first protect the people evacuated to the coast by the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Youzhen knew very well that if war broke out among the more than 30,000 people, many of them would surely become victims of the war.

At present, he is no longer a simple poverty alleviation cadre, but the king of Qi and the governor of the five armies of the Ming Dynasty.

It stands to reason that he should not have informed these 30,000 people, because it would be easy to expose the military situation.

But if he doesn't inform him, then what is the difference between him and the officials of the five parties of Qichu, Zhejiang, Xuankun, and Kunming? And how is it different from a pure politician?

He doesn't want to be a person who treats people's lives as mustard, he didn't have the ability when Huaibei was hungry, but now he has the ability, so he won't ignore it......

"Your Highness......" Lu Wenzhao wanted to speak and stopped.

"Let's go down......" Zhu Youzhen interrupted him.

Obviously, Lu Wenzhao also knows that this is not good, but he also knows that this is also the difference between Zhu Youzhen and the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

He is a humane person, which is also the reason why Man Gui, Sun Yingyuan, and Lu Wenzhao want to support Zhu Youzhen.

There were too many impersonal officials and emperors in the Ming Dynasty, and only this kind of humane people could give them a sense of security for a group of martial artists with low status since the Song Dynasty......