Father can be an enemy to the country

The Spring Festival of the 16th year of Hongwu was the second year that the Ming army and people celebrated in Yunnan.

However, the war was in full swing during the New Year last year. The army had just invaded Kunming and most of Yunnan was still under enemy control. The officers and soldiers could not celebrate the New Year with peace of mind.

So this year Zhu Zhen gave a fatal order to the Chief Secretary to let the soldiers have a comfortable New Year.

In order to prepare New Year's goods for the soldiers, Pan Yuanming and Mei Sizu racked their brains and bought almost all the livestock in Kunming Bazi. Fortunately, when the chieftain came to see him in the twelfth lunar month, he prepared a lot of wild goods in large and small cars. A lot of pigs, cattle and sheep were also presented as tribute, and this was enough to make everything possible.

Since the day of the Chinese New Year, the city of Kunming has been crackling with firecrackers.

Soldiers and civilians everywhere began to boil maltose seriously, mix it with yellow rice to make sugar melon, so as to offer sacrifices to the stove and send the Stove Lord to heaven.

The reason why sugar melon is used as a tribute is because it is also called "glue tooth paste" and has a very high viscosity. The Kitchen God will be stuck in his mouth after eating it, so that he will not tell the Jade Emperor when he meets him...

In fact, when we were in the mainland, this was a matter for the elderly and women at home, especially the big soldiers who were in the military camp and didn't bother to bother at all. But after arriving in Yunnan, everyone became extremely serious about the various New Year rituals.

On the twenty-three, the Kitchen God was given away, on the twenty-four, he started cleaning the house, on the twenty-five, he made tofu, on the twenty-six, he stewed the pork, on the twenty-seven, he slaughtered the New Year chicken, on the twenty-eight, he made the dough, and on the twenty-nine, he posted Spring Festival couplets. , Fireworks are set off on New Year's Eve... There are different programs every day, and these rough guys all follow them meticulously and take the trouble.

Zhu Zhen also joined in the fun and ordered the officials at all levels to spare no effort to cooperate with the army and the people in the city to make this year a prosperous and lively year.

Because this can not only greatly soothe the homesickness of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, but also be the best baptism of Chinese culture for the indigenous residents of Kunming.

The culture of the common people lies in these food, clothing, housing, transportation, and festival customs. If you have better food, clothing, and housing than me, you are more refined than me, and you are more lively and ritualistic than me during festivals, I will imitate you. As time goes by and gradually, Chineseization is completed.

He asked his eunuch: "Sambo, do you think it's more interesting for the Han people to celebrate the New Year, or do you think it's more interesting for you to celebrate the New Year?"

The handsome little eunuch then smiled and said: "Of course the Chinese New Year is interesting, the Han people are so good at living. There are many things that the little eunuch has never seen or eaten before."

"Oh?" Zhu Zhen asked with interest, "For example?"

"For example..." The little eunuch tilted his head and started thinking. He was only twelve or thirteen years old, and was born and raised in Kunming. His family was originally an official of the Yuan Dynasty, but his father died in battle last year, and he became a prisoner of the Ming army. Along with all the captured boys, he was castrated and sent to serve in the palace.

Therefore, he still had some knowledge of things outside the palace. After thinking for a while, he said: "For example, Yunnan people don't know how to make tofu made on the 25th. They grind the soy milk without filtering it, put the pulp and residue on it and boil it with vegetables. It’s called Bean Flowers and Lianzhaohua.”

"I never dreamed that the Han people could make white, tender and delicious tofu from beans, as well as soy milk, tofu brain, tofu skin, dried tofu, and bean curd..." Ma Sanbao said with bright eyes. : "My little one loves tofu the most. I never get tired of it no matter how much I eat."

"Alas." Zhu Zhen sighed slightly apologetically after hearing this: "You can only eat tofu in this life."

"If you can eat tofu for the rest of your life, you will be very satisfied if you are young." Ma Sanbao said happily: "The lucky star is shining brightly for me. I will be happy even if I can't eat tofu with the prince."

"Hey, why do you have a surname of Ma instead of Zheng..." Zhu Zhen sighed again depressedly.

"Your Majesty gave me the surname Zheng, so from now on I will have the surname Zheng." Ma Sanbao said hurriedly and obediently.

"Alas, it's too late..." Zhu Zhensan sighed. Ma Sanbao was confused. He didn't know why his surname was Zheng Wan now.

Because if his surname had been Zheng, he wouldn't be talking nonsense here.

In fact, when Zhu Zhen was waiting to attack Yunnan at Shengjing Pass, he really thought that Zheng He, the famous eunuch of the Three Treasures, should be in Kunming at this time, still a child with sound limbs.

Zhu Zhen sincerely wanted to help him retain his roots, and then train him well so that he would become the navy commander of the Ming Dynasty in the future and lead the invincible fleet to show off his power everywhere.

So he ordered Mu Ying to look for a child named Zheng He after entering Kunming. But he didn't know any more information. He didn't even know whether Zheng He was seven or eight years old or fifteen or sixteen. He could only let Mu Ying look for the needle in the haystack.

As a result, nothing was caught...

When Zhu Zhen came to Kunming, Mu Ying reported back that he had not found the person he was looking for. This was perfectly normal, so Zhu Zhen asked him to continue searching without taking it too seriously.

Later, when Fu Youde was preparing to return to Beijing and presented the list of prisoners to be sacrificed, Zhu Zhen overheard him mention that in addition to the former Yuan princes on the list, there were also 500 castrated children who he asked the prince to send to the palace.

Previously, the sources of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty were mainly eunuchs from the Yuan Dynasty who were re-employed, such as Eunuch Wu, Wang Defa, and Hou Lixie... Boss Zhu only used few people, so it was always enough.

But as the princes grew up and established vassals, the demand for eunuchs increased sharply. At this time, it was necessary to develop new sources of eunuchs - castrating young captives was an important one.

"Bring the list of eunuchs quickly!" Zhu Zhen's reaction after hearing the report shocked Fu Youde.

Fu Youde quickly asked someone to get the list. Zhu Zhen looked through it carefully from beginning to end. He did not find Zheng He's name, but he saw someone named Ma Sanbao...

Then he called the little eunuch and asked him. The child's surname was Ma He, and his nickname was Sanbao... He was both "He" and "Sanbao". Zhu Zhen was basically sure that he was the person he was looking for.

"Then why didn't you tell them that your name is Ma He?" Zhu Zhen asked helplessly.

The little eunuch thought that he was about to cut off his own head, so he was so frightened that he peed. He knelt on the ground and said with two fists fighting: "Because, because I felt it was embarrassing to be a eunuch, I hid it."

"If you don't feel embarrassed, maybe you won't have to take this stab." Zhu Zhen sighed, but he couldn't be sure. After all, the person he was looking for was 'Zheng He'. What does it have to do with 'Ma He'? No matter how careful Mu Ying is, it would be difficult to connect these two names.

"Well, maybe this is fate. Some people are born to be generals, some are born criminals, and you, my child, are born to be eunuchs." He touched Ma He's head and comforted him: "But it doesn't matter, I will make you the greatest in history..."

"What?" Ma Sanbao looked at Lao Liu eagerly.

"Eunuch." Zhu Zhen said.

So after that day, Zhu Zhen took him with him and made him his personal eunuch.