"Bell... Clang... Bell ......"

In the early morning, with the ebb and flow of the Yangtze River, July 16 arrived as scheduled.

As usual, the people go to work after the morning bell rings, but today there are many more early risers on the streets.

In the past, it was difficult to see a few Gongsheng in the inner city, but now they went to the outer city in groups, and their goal was the large sect located in the south of the city.

It took two hours for many tributes to arrive, and in front of them were the emperor, the grandson, and a young man they were not familiar with.

"That's a lot......"

On the high platform, Zhu Gaoxu, who was dressed in a crimson round-necked robe, looked down at the tens of thousands of tributes under the stage, and couldn't help but feel a little eager in his heart.

In the Hongwu Dynasty after the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the literacy rate of the people can be said to be extremely low, and what the tens of thousands of literate tribute students represent, Zhu Gaoxu understands better than anyone else.

These tens of thousands of tribute students, no matter which dynasty or generation they are thrown into, or even to future generations, they are also extremely talented people.

If they can be used in a province, I am afraid that it will greatly promote local humanities education.

"Boom-"

When Zhu Gaoxu was in reverie, the drums of the big church pulled him back to reality, and Zhu Yuanzhang also stood up.

He walked to the high platform, stood and said word by word to tens of thousands of tribute students: "Farming, the source of food and clothing, and the resources of people's livelihood." ”

"If there are droughts and floods in various places today, we must be prepared for ......"

Zhu Yuanzhang said on the other hand, more than 100 wrestlers under the high platform spoke in unison, this group of people are all trained people, can read lip language, and can convey Zhu Yuanzhang's original words to the ears of all the tribute students in the big teaching field.

Because of such a person, Zhu Yuanzhang can continue to speak with confidence:

"Every time I order a division to repair the water conservancy, but a division does not carry it out in a timely manner, causing the people to suffer from it."

"Today, send you and others to the counties and counties, and gather officials and people to take advantage of the gap between the peasants."

"All Pitang Lake Weir that can be saved for drought catharsis and in case of flooding should be repaired because of its topography, and do not build labor to conquer our people."

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, these words were conveyed by the wrestlers, and then many bows on the field of the Great Church bowed down one after another and shouted: "Long live." ”

Behind Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth slightly at this moment, and his face was a little stunned.

He never thought that Zhu Yuanzhang would actually send tens of thousands of tribute students to the local area, just to let them help the local people build water conservancy projects such as Pitang Lake Weir.

Such an approach is a great waste in the eyes of many people, but Zhu Gaoxu knows very well that if Zhu Yuanzhang does not do this again, the north and the south will only become more and more separated.

He could see the situation in the north from the memories of his predecessors, because the areas where the Red Turban Army and the Yuan Army fought were mainly in the north, so the infrastructure of the provinces except Shandong and Shanxi was almost zero.

Even for the wealthy, the gap between the North and the South is huge.

There is one thing in the memory of the predecessor, and Zhu Gaoxu remembers it very clearly.

At that time, the Beiping Hejian Mansion wanted to build a twelve-mile water canal, and logically speaking, it only needed the rich families to pay for the grain, and the government sent officials to send officials and civilians to serve in the army.

If such a canal is built, more than 40,000 acres of cultivated land in Hejian Province will benefit.

However, it was such a sum of money and grain, and the rich families in the entire Hejian Mansion couldn't make it up, so the yamen could only go to Yanwang's Mansion to find his cheap father to get the money.

In contrast, if a canal of more than ten miles is built in the south of the Yangtze River, there is no need to bother the rich households in the county at all, and only the rich households in the townships and towns can raise funds to build it, and the poor farmers in the fields will also benefit from this, calling these rich households "good people".

Such a comparison is enough to see the gap between the north and the south, and this gap will only grow with time.

If Zhu Yuanzhang sent these tens of thousands of tributes to the north and then sent money and grain to build water canals, then tens of millions of people in the north would be able to benefit, and the gap between the north and the south would be narrowed.

Similarly, if these tens of thousands of tribute students stay in the south to build, then the overall strength of the south will also be on a higher level.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but look left and right, looking at the group of civil officials he didn't know, he was quite emotional:

"This kind of benefit, no one dares to stand up for Jiangnan to get a piece of the pie, it seems that my grandfather is really afraid of killing them......"

Zhu Gaoxu sighed with emotion, and couldn't help but look at Zhu Yuanzhang in front of him, and Zhu Yuanzhang also opened his mouth to "flatten down" after saying everything, and then turned around and walked back to his position and sat down.

"Wang Gong Ministry, Yu Hu Ministry!"

"The Ministers Are in ......"

After Zhu Yuanzhang sat down, he summoned the two of them, and Zhu Gaoxu also took the opportunity to look at the two.

He has been accompanying the government of Wuyingdian for a long time, so he naturally knows the two civil officials who came forward.

Wang Jun, the secretary of the Ministry of Works, and Yu Xin, the secretary of the Ministry of Households, these two people are important principals of the decentralization of Gongsheng.

Among them, Wang Jun is just going through the motions, because he is now fifty-five years old, and he wants to come to Zhishi for these two years.

On the contrary, it was Yu Xin, who was in his forties on the side, who made Zhu Gaoxu quite concerned.

Yu Xin is now forty-eight, and he is the secretary of the household department who took office last year, and he is also a political talent who was responsible for the royal management in the household department in the early years.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, household officials had been the hardest hit by corruption, but if Zhu Gaoxu remembered correctly, this phenomenon would have ended since Yu Xin took office.

During Yu Xin's tenure, he sorted out and improved the finances of the later Hongwu period, and served for 13 consecutive years, and managed the household department in an orderly manner, so that the three emperors who had ascended the throne during this period of time did not worry about the problem of money and food.

Because of his talents, when he died, Zhu Di even felt that no one could replace him and wept bitterly.

If it weren't for Yu Xin to bring out Xia Yuanji, I'm afraid it would be difficult for Zhu Di to achieve the feat of fighting in the south and the north and going to the West in the future.

"It's a pity I can't use ......"

Looking at Yu Xin, Zhu Gaoxu was a little envious of Lao Zhu.

Although he is good at mathematics and good at managing money, he can never fight with his left hand and govern with his right hand, and still step on finances with both feet.

Therefore, he had to find someone who could help him stabilize his rear and be good at managing his money.

It's a pity that the three capable ministers he fancy have all been awarded high positions by Lao Zhu, and now he can only sigh with admiration.

"There must be no mistake in allocating money and grain and sending conscripts from various prefectures and counties to build the Pitang Lake Weir with Gongsheng."

Sitting on the seat, Zhu Yuanzhang made a decree to Yu Xin and the others, and the two of them bowed five times and knocked three times without thinking, in order to express their acceptance.

Looking at them, Zhu Gaoxu was very curious about how many Pitang Lake Weirs these tens of thousands of tributes could bring to the Ming Dynasty.

"Boom... Boom... Knock ......"

Time flies, and an hour has passed in the blink of an eye.

The tribute students in the big sect field, each led two soldiers to act as guards, and took away the seal letter package prepared by the household.

In addition to the letters, there was also a ten-way trip fee for Gongsheng to travel all over the country.

With this package and two guards, tens of thousands of tribute students began to go to the world, and their departure also means that Zhu Gaoxu's affairs in the palace today are over.

"Swing!"

The accompanying eunuch sang loudly, and Zhu Yuanzhang also got up and walked off the high platform, but this time Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Gaoxu did not follow, but played against each other:

"Did you ever receive a gift?"

Zhu Yunwei smiled sincerely, and Zhu Gaoxu hurriedly bowed in return.

Yesterday, after he returned home after solving Zhu Gaosui's affairs, he found a team of people waiting at the door of his house, carrying five boxes of things on his shoulders.

To be honest, when Zhu Gaoxu learned that these things were sent by Zhu Yunwen, his first reaction was "Zhu Yunwen, this guy shouldn't have crossed over."

This suspicion reached its apex after he took back the five boxes of things in his home and opened them one by one.

In the five boxes, there were twenty pieces of satin, including but not limited to expensive plain satin, dark satin, woven gold satin, two-color satin, woven gold satin, and cloud satin.

Secondly, there are silks, such as cloud silk, cloud ripe silk, makeup silk, weaving gold silk, weaving gold makeup silk, and gold skirt silk everywhere.

After that, there are 80 horses such as Luo, silk, velvet, brocade, etc., a total of 120 high-grade materials.

Compared with these materials, the last box of 200 yuan is insignificant.

If these sixty horses are all sold out, the money that can reach Zhu Gaoxu is probably not less than a thousand.

When this is combined, that's 1,200 yuan.

Even if Zhu Gaoxu and the crown become the king of the county in the future, he will need to live without eating or drinking for two and a half years to save so much money.

Zhu Yunwen suddenly gave such a generous gift to himself, and it was not surprising that Zhu Gaoxu would suspect that he had crossed over.

It's just that from today's point of view, this Zhu Yunwen doesn't seem to have changed, obviously he has thought too much.

However, when he thought of the pile of things at home, Zhu Gaoxu still shirked with palpitations:

"The things given by the eldest brother are too luxurious, how can the kid afford it......"

"Hehe, it's not in the way to keep it." Zhu Yunwen heard Zhu Gaoxu's thoughts, and hurriedly helped him up, not giving him a chance to speak again, and said with a smile:

"There is still government affairs in the Wuying Palace, so I will follow the imperial grandfather to manage the government first."

"My younger brother is good to go to the Guogong Mansion to learn skills, so that he can fight for me in the future."

After that, Zhu Yunwen let go of Zhu Gaoxu's hand, and followed Zhu Yuanzhang, who had already gone away, without looking back, leaving Zhu Gaoxu alone.

Seeing him leave, Zhu Gaoxu turned to look at his back with a puzzled expression.

The six words "nothing to be courteous, either a traitor or a thief" appeared in his mind, but when he thought of his identity, he was also calm.

"Right now, even if he wants to use me, he can't use anything, and I can scare myself into doing anything."

Pulling his sleeves, Zhu Gaoxu calmed down, to be honest, he was reluctant to return the pile of things.

If those piles of things are sold to raise the army in the future, they can buy 4,000 stone of grain, or more than 200 sets of Ming Jia, which will be of much use.

If Lao Zhu asks, then he will return it himself.

But thinking about it, with Lao Zhu's information, I'm afraid that as soon as these things came out of the East Palace, he knew where to go, and since he didn't remind himself today, he didn't take it to heart.

After calming down, Zhu Gaoxu stepped off the high platform and rode to the Yingguo Mansion.

He wanted to see Yang Zhan and Wang Xuan again, but when he thought that he had already met yesterday, he didn't leave a greeting.

"Drive!"

The young man rode north, but in just half an hour, he went back to the inner city by Zhengyang Gate, and hurried towards the Yingguo Mansion.

It was only two quarters of an hour before he came to the Ying Guo Mansion, but at this time, the atmosphere in the Ying Guo Mansion seemed to be a little wrong.

When he came to the mansion and unsaddled the red horse with the groom, the groom also looked around carefully, and then reminded Zhu Gaoxu: "Your Highness, the prince is not in a good mood today. ”

"Huh?" Hearing Ma Fu's words, Zhu Gaoxu was stunned, and subconsciously looked in the direction of the martial arts arena.

After a while, when he had added fodder and water to the red horse, he went to the room where he was reading.

Along the way, all the guards of the Guogong Mansion lowered their heads and acted cautiously, for fear of provoking the unhappy Fu Youde.

Zhu Gaoxu was very puzzled by this, and he was also a little apprehensive in his heart, and couldn't help but want to ask Fu Zhong what happened.

It's a pity that he walked into the inverted room, but he still didn't see Fu Zhong's figure.

Helpless, he could only try his best to calm down, picked up Fu Youde's collection of books and continued to read them.

It's just that no matter how he looks, there is always a sense of uneasiness in his heart, as if something is going to happen.

"I told my little sister not to help pass the word, but she just wants to help!"

"Don't say it, do you want others to hear it? Think about what to do! ”

In the backyard of the Ying Guo Mansion, an angry voice sounded, and Fu Zhong's voice followed closely.

The voice came from Fu Youde's study, and in the study at this moment, Fu Youde was frowning and not saying a word, in front of him, Fu Zhong could still sit on the left chair, but his youngest son Fu Rang was walking back and forth, obviously angry because of something.

The reason why the three of them are like this is because the people from the Jin Palace's Mansion came to the door again, but this time they learned the lesson of the last time and did not send someone directly, but sent Fu Youde's youngest daughter, the personal maid of the Jin princess Fu, to spread the word.

There is not much content in the rumor, it is nothing more than that Zhu Li, the king of Jin, wants to know whether Fu Youde can support him.

The matter of King Jin's struggle for succession has long been rumored, and the reason why he dared to do this is because in the "Blue Jade Case", Zhu Li personally solved the Blue Jade Party nobles and military attaches entrenched in Shanxi.

Afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang handed over all these people's soldiers and horses to Zhu Li's control, resulting in Zhu Li's military power being far greater than that of Zhu Di and Zhu Quan, who checked and balanced him.

After having military power, Zhu Li let Zhu Jixi, the adult son of the Jin dynasty, stay in Nanjing City, constantly increasing his presence by Zhu Yuanzhang's side, obviously not taking Zhu Yunwen in his eyes.

It is precisely because of his various practices that Zhu Yunwen will be hostile to him, and it is particularly difficult for Lao Zhu to be sandwiched in the middle.

It is impossible for him to kill Zhu Li, because it is his son and grandson, but it is even more impossible for him to let Zhu Li go.

The reason why Zhu Li thinks that he can control the soldiers and horses in Shanxi is also due to his in-law Fu Youdejiu Town, Shanxi, and more than 200,000 soldiers and horses along the border of Shanxi know Fu Youde.

If Fu Youde nods his head to support Zhu Li now, then Zhu Li will be able to grasp the shortcoming that Zhu Yuanzhang will not kill him, and at the same time wave the flag in Shanxi and Jiangnan to compete for the throne.

Zhu Yuanzhang is alive, he doesn't dare to do anything else, but if Zhu Yuanzhang dies, then he will have to talk to his good nephew in Nanjing about the throne.

Zhu Yuanzhang understands, Zhu Yunwen understands, and Fu Youde understands even more.

It is precisely because of Zhu Li's actions to compete for the crown that Fu Youde is in a dilemma.

Faced with such a situation, what can Fu Youde do?

Zhu Yuanzhang will not kill his son, but he can kill the person his son relies on.

Fu Youde is the person Zhu Li relies on.

"I still have to tell Your Majesty about this matter, if we don't say it, then we really ......"

Fu Zhong sat in his seat and said his opinion in a heavy tone, but he didn't dare to say it completely, because it would be a bit unlucky.

"I'll go to Your Majesty now!"

Fu Rang on the side heard this, and immediately prepared to go to the palace to find Zhu Yuanzhang, but before he could walk out of the study, he heard a voice from behind him.

"Slow!" Fu Youde interrupted Fu Rang's move, and Fu Rang turned back in confusion:

"Dad, this matter is too late, our family can ......"

"I know!" Fu Youde interrupted Fu Rang again, and closed his eyes in pain:

"If you say this, your little sister's life will be difficult to protect......"

"......" Hearing Fu Youde's words, Fu Rang and Fu Zhong's faces immediately became ugly.

Yes, the emperor will not kill his children and grandchildren, but what about his own little sister who has no blood and no heirs?

She knows everything, and she is also a mouthpiece, she will not die, who dares to guarantee that she will not continue to pass the word next time?

"Then what should I do...... Fu Rang felt as if his strength had been drained, and after taking a few steps, he sat down beside Fu Zhong limply.

Looking at his appearance, Fu Youde pondered for a few seconds, and then looked up at the window: "Let the kid in the front yard speak, but I need him to change his words......"

"Let Gao Xue speak?" Fu Zhong clenched his fists, and his face showed worry:

"Although Gao Xu has been close to us recently, Yan Jin has been out of harmony for a long time, and it is difficult to guarantee that he will not add fuel to this matter in order to attack the Jin Mansion."

"That kid isn't like that." Fu Youde gave a firm answer, and beckoned Fu Rang: "Calculating the time, he should also arrive, you go to the front yard and call him over." ”

"Me?" Fu Rang's face was ugly, but he still got up and walked out of the study after sighing.

Fu Youde's arrangement made Fu Zhong very worried, although he got along with Zhu Gaoxu very well during this time, he still didn't dare to hand over this kind of life-related matter to him.

It's just that compared to him, Fu Youde is much more confident.

"Father......" Fu Zhong calmed down for a long time, and then couldn't help but speak:

"We can all be contacted by the little sister, the Marquis of Yongping and the Marquis of Dingyuan......"

"......" Hearing his son's words, Fu Youde didn't have much expression on his face, maybe he had already thought of his two friends.

Yongping Marquis Xie Cheng, his eldest daughter is the concubine of Zhu Li, the king of Jin, if the king of Jin succeeds in the crown prince, he can obtain greater benefits than his current status, and it is not necessary to further obtain the title of the prince.

As for Wang Bi, the Marquis of Dingyuan, the founding general who cleared the Lake, Hunan, Fujian and Zhejiang, leveled the Youyan Pass, first entered southern Sichuan and western Yunnan, and swept away the sea of fish, he also has an inextricable relationship with the old Zhu family.

Zhu Zhen, the king of Chu, was his son-in-law, and the soldiers and horses in Yunnan, Shanxi and other places knew and intersected with him.

If the two of them and Fu Youde responded to Zhu Li, even Zhu Yuanzhang would feel a headache, but it was just a headache.

Zhu Yuanzhang can deal with them, but it doesn't mean that Zhu Yunwen can deal with them.

"Let's wait for the Third Highness to come down, I'm still here, and Your Majesty will definitely not attack them."

Fu Youde knew very well in his heart that if Zhu Yuanzhang really wanted him to die, he would definitely suddenly give him an order to die, or imply that he would never kill Wang Bi and Xie Cheng first to startle the snake.

"Father......" Looking at Fu Youde's old face, Fu Zhong couldn't help but say:

"You have laid such a big foundation for Your Majesty, and besides, you are nearly seventy years old, why did Your Majesty ......?"

Fu Zhong's words couldn't continue, because Fu Youde raised his hand to interrupt him.

Although he was old, Fu Youde's thoughts were still very clear, and he sighed:

"There are things, it's not that he wants to do it, but he has to do it, if he changes anyone, I'm afraid he will do such a thing, if you want to blame me, I coveted the royal in-laws back then, thinking that this would make my children and grandchildren happy, who would have thought that ......"

After this period of reflection when teaching Zhu Gaoxu, Fu Youde has gone from blindly blaming Zhu Yuanzhang at the beginning to gradually understanding him.

Now he doesn't blame Zhu Yuanzhang, it's just that the current situation is here, the age of their group of old ministers is not much different from Zhu Yuanzhang, and their bodies are healthier than Zhu Yuanzhang himself.

Even if the person on the dragon chair is not Zhu Yuanzhang, if he changes others, I am afraid that he will not allow the founding ministers below to hook up with the vassal king, not to mention that this vassal king has been like a peacock with an open screen all the time, showing his heart to the Quartet that wants to compete for the throne.

"If the first prince is not a prince, alas, ......"

Fu Zhong let out a long sigh, as if he felt that it was useless to say this now, Zhu Biao had been working for two years, and everything was a foregone conclusion.

Maybe from the time Zhu Li sent them the news, their fate had already been decided.

Thinking of this, Fu Zhong's nose was sour, and he knelt in front of Fu Youde, bowing five times and knocking three times.

He knelt down, touched the ground with his head, his eyes were full of tears, and he said hoarsely: "If Your Majesty really wants you to die, the kid will never live!" ”

"Ridiculous!" Fu Youde was angry when he heard this, got up and kicked Fu Zhong.

Fu Zhong didn't expect his father to kick him, so he was stunned for a while, just raised his head and looked at the tall Fu Youde.

Fu Youde's eyes were glaring, and with that big beard, he was like a mountain tiger, which brought Fu Zhong a great sense of oppression.

"I don't have that kind of unsuccessful son, the children of the Fu family, either die in the dead or die on horseback!"

Fu Youde's words are very far-fetched, because at the moment, he can't guarantee that he will die.

As if thinking of this, Fu Youde was deflated all of a sudden, and after sitting back in his position, his face was a little embarrassed.

Fu Zhong also came back to his senses after a while, slowly got up and sorted out his clothes, and then raised his hand and bowed deeply to his father.

Looking at him like this, Fu Youde was also relieved, his eyes looked at the door of the study, as if he was waiting for Zhu Gaoxu's arrival, and at the same time, he also explained to Fu Zhong as if he was dying:

"If Your Majesty really wants to take that step, you don't have to worry about your own safety."

"Your identity and that kid from Yanfu, no matter what you say, you can save the life of the mansion, and you will be fine."

"Gao Xu?" Fu Zhong was stunned, he thought that his identity as a colt could save his life, but he never expected that Zhu Gaoxu would be the savior of their whole house.

He couldn't help but turn around and look towards the door of the study.

It just so happened that at this time, Zhu Gaoxu was led into the courtyard of the study by Fu Rang in a daze, and looked at Fu Youde and Fu Zhong......