Zhu Yuan brought things into the palace today, mainly a super-large globe with a diameter of two feet and a height of one meter on the base.

This was recently completed yesterday by Zhu Yuan with the help of a group of craftsmen and four women in the family.

The body of the sphere is carved from a thick piece of paulownia wood, painted in pure white, first with a pencil to draw the outline of the seven continents and four oceans, and then little by little according to the map drawing method of later generations, painted in other colors, the sea and lakes are blue, and the land is green, yellow or gray according to different conditions.

Referring to some maps of this era, the locations of some important cities of the present day are also marked. Finally, it is painted with a transparent varnish that looks no different from the globe in memory.

Of course, there must be a lot of mistakes and omissions, but this era is enough.

In addition to the globe, there are two world maps and Daming maps given to Lao Zhu, which are very large, pasted with several large pieces of paper, and the length and width are more than two meters. It was also drawn using the cartographic methods of later generations during the making of the globe. Because of the current map reference, the map of the Ming Dynasty is relatively accurate, while the map of the world tends to be rough.

Seeing the things sent by Zhu Yuan, Lao Zhu left the East Pavilion directly, and took the twenty-third grandson of the baby family to the big hall behind the East Pavilion outside Zuoshun Gate, and there was also a study room dedicated to him reading on weekdays.

Asked the attendant to frame the two maps on the spot and hang them on the wall, and Lao Zhu and Zhu Yuan came to another quiet compartment, looked at the oversized globe that was carried in, and turned it carefully, while asking, "You did it yourself?" ”

Zhu Yuan shook his head: "Ancestor, Yuan'er's painting skills are average, and if you do it yourself, you can't paint so well." However, several maids around me can read and draw, and their skills are exquisite, and I provide ideas and guidance, and they will complete it. ”

Lao Zhu didn't praise him, but frowned: "How can a woman know such a secret?" ”

Zhu Yuan smiled: "Relatively speaking, they are the ones I can trust the most. Yuan'er is weak and lacks energy, so many things happen to be done for them. My ancestors should have seen yesterday's "Sketching Techniques", in which the drawings were all drawn by them, I don't have that much time, and I don't have them to draw well. ”

Lao Zhu thought for a while, and his expression softened.

And that's true.

Zhu Yuan saw that Lao Zhu was touching the globe and liked it more and more, so he had to speak first: "Ancestor, the two maps are for you, this globe ...... Just bring it over to show you, Yuan'er goes to Mingzhou, and you need ......"

Lao Zhu looked at him with a strange expression.

What a rarity!

They all sent things to their hands, and they just showed him a look, and they even had to take them?

Zhu Yuan was stared at by Lao Zhu and his scalp was a little numb, so he could only change the topic and get down to business: "Ancestor, Yuan'er came today to tell you that I want to leave for Mingzhou tomorrow." ”

Lao Zhu retracted his gaze, landed on the globe in front of him again, and asked, "Why are you suddenly anxious, weren't you like this before?" ”

Zhu Yuan explained: "Ancestor, yesterday the relatives of the maid around me came to Jinling from Shandong, saying that the situation in Shandong was very bad, and many people died of hunger. Yuan'er has some self-reflection, so he wants to go to Mingzhou as soon as possible, and transport grain to Shandong a day earlier, or he can reduce the number of deaths. ”

Lao Zhu's movement of turning the globe finally stopped.

So much has happened over the years.

At the beginning, he led the troops to relieve the siege of Anfeng and entered the city, because there was no food in the city before, Lao Zhu saw with his own eyes what it was called 'cannibalism', even if the corpses that had been buried in the ground for many days were dug up again...... Therefore, even if the people below will not report the truth, he can imagine the situation in Shandong.

The cold winter adds to the chaos, can there still be a forest as a result?

Sighing slightly, Lao Zhu's eyes quickly returned to resoluteness, and nodded: "Go, it just so happens that the giant boat you asked for should also arrive today, and Ming'er just set off." ”

Zhu Yuan just bowed.

Lao Zhu quickly said: "If you are anxious, you can't act in a hurry, the more I know about the things at sea recently, the more I only feel that there are four words, 'the storm is sinister', you have to be cautious." ”

Zhu Yuan assured: "Ancestor, rest assured, Yuan'er will not mess around." ”

Lao Zhu began to slowly rotate the globe in front of him again, and said: "In addition to the previous decision, there are other things, I will order them after noon?" ”

Zhu Yuan arched his hand and said: "Ancestor, Yuan'er has to confess first." ”

"Huh?"

"Before I came today, someone came to give gifts to Yuan'er, but there were fifty ingots of gold alone, and I didn't accept it."

Lao Zhu's eyes narrowed slightly, and when he heard the end, he smiled and said, "It's that Fang family, it's like a monkey recently, scurrying around?"

Zhu Yuan didn't affirm, nor did he say good things for the Fang family, but said: "Ancestor, what Yuan'er wants to say is that I was a pretty good businessman in my previous life, although I am far from the top, but my family assets are calculated until now, and there are still hundreds of thousands of taels of silver." Therefore, Yuan'er has seen everything that should be seen, and everything that should be experienced has been experienced, and he will not be greedy for money. Even if you want to, Yuan'er relies on her own ability, and there are a hundred ways to 'get it'. Yuan'er and Zushang said this, just to show an attitude, Yuan'er won't do what shouldn't be done, and Yuan'er doesn't want to get entangled in an inexplicable battle. Now that I've come here, I just want to do something with peace of mind, so that we will never repeat the mistakes of the past. ”

Lao Zhu's movements paused again, and when he looked at it, his heart was full of relief, and he nodded: "You do things seriously, and I will help you block the rest." ”

Zhu Yuan mentioned another matter: "Also, the maid next to Yuan'er, there is an elder brother, who just came from Shandong yesterday, a very strong man, who used to be Wang Xuan's account under a hundred households, this time you want to follow me to join the army to earn some fame?" ”

Lao Zhu waved his hand: "This is a trivial matter, since I gave you that Pu knife, you can cut it first and then play, and when you see the available people, you can also promote it first." Not...... I'll have someone prepare some blanks for you later, and when I get to Mingzhou, I'll do it cheaply. ”

Zhu Yuan gave up his hand again.

However, he didn't take Lao Zhu's words too seriously in his heart.

You must know that one of Lan Yu's main crimes was 'unauthorized promotion and promotion'. The key is not 'promotion and promotion of generals', which is the authority of a great general, but the word 'without authorization'.

Therefore, even if Zhu Yuan is considered his own family, whether he will employ or punish people in the future, he will still report to Lao Zhu as soon as possible.

After all, when it's good for you, it's not a thing, and when it's bad for you, it's all a sin.

Why was Xu Da able to die well?

In addition to the earlier time of death, there is another one, that is, Xu Da is cautious enough in Lao Zhu. Therefore, even if Xu Da died, all kinds of cases that should have happened happened, and the sons who were raised by Xu Da were still highly valued by Lao Zhu, and even in the Yongle Dynasty, there were few other founding heroes left, but the Xu family went one step further, realized one family and two dukes, and retired with the country. This may be inseparable from Queen Xu's reasons, but it is definitely closely related to the style of the Xu family.

continued to talk about some trivial matters, and helped Lao Zhu explain the globe related, and Zhu Yuan finally said goodbye.

Since we leave tomorrow, there are many things to prepare.

As for the globe......

In the end, he couldn't take it, Lao Zhu said that he would let someone copy one and return it to Zhu Yuan tomorrow.

Zhu Yuan has been doing it here for many days, and Lao Zhu plans to copy it in one day...... Well, that's no problem, after all, His Majesty the Emperor has much more resources at his disposal than him.

Waiting for Zhu Yuan to leave, Lao Zhu sent his attendants to gather people to copy the globe, and on the other hand, he asked people to summon Hua Gao into the palace, and on the other hand, he called Chen Cheng, the captain of the Gongwei Division, who was the leader of the secret spy of the Gongwei Division.

Chen Cheng is about forty years old, with a medium build, ordinary appearance, and belongs to the kind of person who is difficult to be noticed when he wears civilian clothes and blends into the crowd.

When he came to Lao Zhu's study in the main hall, he just glanced at it without a trace, and Chen Cheng noticed a lot of details.

For example, the two color maps that were not available before, the content of which shocked him, the spy leader of the Gong Wei Division, who was also well-informed. However, there is also an ordinary small map, which is also a comparison between Lao Zhu and the colored Ming map next to him, for some reason, in the northeast direction of the map, a very eye-catching red circle has been drawn.

Obviously, the person who drew the circle could not be anything else.

Thinking about some recent things, Chen Cheng couldn't help but think about it, could it be that the ancestor planned to send troops to the northeast from the sea first?

In such a cold place, the location doesn't matter much, what do you do with it?

Lao Zhu still compared the two pictures, and when Chen got up after giving a salute, he didn't turn his head, but just asked: "Recently, around Mingzhou, is there any trend?" ”

Chen Cheng reined in his thoughts and arched his hand: "Back to the Lord, the commander of Mingzhou Wei has a son, Chang Ying, who only turned twenty last year, and is a talented person who has studied well. Chang Duan gave a gift to Zuo Xiang's house a year ago, and wanted to find a civil errand for Chang Ying, Zuo Xiang has been dragging it, and recently relented, Chang Duan replied that his son was in poor health, and politely refused, but still gave Zuo Xiang another gift. ”

Lao Zhu smiled: "But he is a smart person." ”

Chen Cheng then took out a letter from his arms: "Zuo Xiang wrote a letter to Tao Qian, the prefect of Mingzhou, five days ago, and sent someone to intercept and copy a copy, and there was no mention of Mingzhou, just some greetings. ”

Handing the letter to Lao Zhu, Chen Cheng continued: "Lord Hua Gaohua was invited to a banquet by Zuo Xiang last night, and he got drunk after a few drinks, and Zuo Xiang could only send someone to send him back in advance. In addition, a guest of Huada is a salt merchant surnamed Fu, who helped Zhu Hanlin pick up the servants and relatives from Shandong before, and set off for Mingzhou this morning. ”

Seeing that Lao Zhu did not respond, Chen Cheng continued: "General Tang and Tang have recently sent their relatives back to Jinling, paid homage to Zuo Xiang, gave gifts, and wanted Zuo Xiang to help talk about the item, General Tang didn't want to be sent by the lord to Mingzhou to transport grain." ”

Hearing this, Lao Zhu, who had already thrown the copy of the letter aside and turned back to the map on the wall, finally sneered.

It's another rammer.

Tang He just wants this errand at the moment, and he won't give it.

Chen Cheng reported some more things, and finally paused and said, "This morning, Fang Li went to Houhu to give Zhu Hanlin a gift, but he didn't send it out. When Fang Li left, the little subordinates found that there were still people staring at Fang Li, and they divided their hands to go over, but they didn't catch up, I don't know which one it was. ”

"Waste," Lao Zhu scolded, thought about it and said: "In the future, if someone peeps at Houhu, it will still be the same way I used to be, and I will directly cut it and ......throw it away" Thinking about not being able to throw my baby twenty-third grandson into his own lake, he changed his words: "Throw it in the river." ”

It's so spoiled.

Chen Cheng read a sentence in his heart, and hurriedly surrendered his hand.

Lao Zhu thought about it again, and said to Chen Cheng: "There are still fewer people on your side, give you another 500 places, and pick some people out." ”

Waiting for Chen Cheng to leave again, Lao Zhu looked at the map for a while, and returned to the East Pavilion to start working.

Hua Gao also arrived.

Lao Zhu was reviewing a recital, and after Hua Gao's salute, he temporarily put down his work and looked at the veteran who had been following him for a long time: "Yuan'er just came, saying that he wants to leave tomorrow, you are also ready to prepare, Ming'er together." ”

Hua Gao came to see Lao Zhu yesterday, and he had already heard a certain title, so he was no longer surprised at the moment, but just clenched his fists: "Obey the lord's order." ”

Lao Zhu still looked at Hua Gao: "Call you here, there is something to explain to you, Yuan'er is going to Mingzhou this time, I don't want to, but he wants to go through experience, then try." It's just that...... I made it clear to you, you should treat Yuan'er as my own son, whether this grain transportation can succeed or not, whether the navy can succeed or not, it is secondary, and Yuan'er's talent is not here. When you arrive in Mingzhou, you will press him there, not allow him to go to the sea, not allow him to lead the troops, and let the people below do everything, do you understand? ”

For shipping, the more I know about shipping recently, the more Lao Zhu doesn't dare to have too much extravagant hopes, so this is also true.

Kiss son?!

Hua Gao's heart was a different scene, he felt that he was shocked enough yesterday, and today he was shocked...... It's even bigger.

Saying......

I don't know what I shouldn't know, right?

After Lao Zhu finished speaking, seeing that Hua Gao was stunned and did not react, he snorted.

Hua Gao woke up and knelt down directly: "Lord, the minister remembers, the minister will be beautiful even if he dies...... Cinnabar...... Adults are considerate. ”

Lao Zhu hummed at this time, and said: "If the grain transportation by sea is not successful, in a few months, it will be transferred to Zhenjiang and continue to be transported by canal." Only this navy, but I am serious, you have to make an appearance in the next three years. Tell me, do you have an idea? ”

Hua Gao did not hesitate, obviously pondering, and said coldly with something that he had never shown in front of Zhu Yuan: "When the minister goes to Mingzhou, he will first suppress those remnants of Zhang Shicheng on the sea, and it should be a military training." ”

Hua Gao didn't say much, but just this sentence, Lao Zhu was very satisfied.

It's good to have an idea.

So he explained a few more words, and then sent Hua Gao away.