Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

As March gets closer, there is not much time left for the court to promote cotton cultivation.

Not all areas are suitable for planting cotton. According to the distribution of cotton-producing areas in later generations, they are Xinjiang, Yellow River Basin Cotton Area and Yangtze River Basin Cotton Area.

The capital is located in the cotton area of ​​the Yellow River Basin, and the Gyeonggi area can encourage cotton planting, which led Zhu Youtang to decide to start with the Wuxun Group.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, although their military capabilities have been inferior to those of the Wuxun Group, they have attached great importance to their family business and have already evolved into large landowners.

These martial artists are born to be superior. No matter how poor their military talents are, once they can enter the military and political system, they will be directly awarded high positions, and they can also directly participate in the country's major military decisions.

For example, in the enthronement congratulatory form sent by the little prince last year, he claimed to be the "Great Khan of the Great Yuan Dynasty". The British Duke Zhang Mao took the initiative to suggest that he did not need to care. As long as their envoys were not very rude, the court would still reward them as usual. .

This is a peculiar phenomenon of the Ming Dynasty. Wu Xun, who had never led an army in a war, relied solely on blood, and ended up controlling tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops, but he was far from even the standard of a "civil war expert" arrive.

However, when it comes to annexing land, they are not inferior to others.

They have received the salary stipulated by the court for generations. Although these salaries do not seem too outrageous now, they were undoubtedly the richest group of people in the early Ming Dynasty.

Just like the traditional concept of Chinese people, they like to buy large amounts of land when they have accumulated savings, so many Wuxun families have a large amount of land.

For example, Xu Yongning, the Duke of Ding, has 500 hectares under his name, and Zhu Yi, the Duke of Chengguo, has 1,000 hectares under his name, and most of them are fertile fields.

After being notified in advance by the eunuch, at the exact moment today, a group of nobles entered the palace to meet the saint.

Due to some special circumstances in the Wuxun Group, for example, Xu Yongning, the Duke of Ding, has gone crazy, Zhu Yi, the Duke of Cheng, is serving as the garrison in Nanjing, and now the British Duke Zhang Mao is ordered to sit at home and wait.

The princes or talkers from various princely houses of Hongzhi Te'en entered the palace and followed the young eunuch in through the Xiyuan Gate to the newly built Heart Cultivation Hall next to it.

Under the shining of the morning sun, the newly built Yangxin Hall looks golden.

It was the first time for Funing Marquis Zhu Yong and other nobles to see this new palace. Looking at this Yangxin Palace, which seemed to be in a painting of lakes and mountains, they felt envious and jealous.

Liu Jin personally brought the people in from the Yangxin Gate, but instead of taking them to the Yangxin Main Hall, he led them to the Imperial Study Room located to the east.

The front hall of the imperial study is very spacious. According to Zhu Youtang's design intention, a mezzanine was built in the inner area, and the mezzanine above is the important place for collecting books.

"I wish you all the best!" Zhu Yong, Marquis of Funing, and other nobles saw Zhu Youtang in the attic and immediately knelt down respectfully.

Zhu Youtang was selecting books in the attic, but he didn't intend to take the initiative.

There has been no new progress in the last assassination incident, but judging from various signs, the biggest suspect is still the Wuxun Group.

Guo Yong stood beside the dragon chair below and responded on his behalf: "Good morning, my ministers!"

"Your Majesty, is this military book suitable?" Tan Conggui also came here to help find books, but he respectfully presented an ancient book.

Zhu Youtang saw that it was a book about military training and started to read it carefully.

If we want to strengthen our army now, we need not only armaments and food and grass, but also scientific military training methods. We also need to cultivate more military talents through Jingwei martial arts.

It's just that most of the current military books are expansions or annotations of Sun Tzu's art of war, and many of the military books are written on paper at a specific time and place, but they give him a feeling of being very ambitious.

No matter how fanciful these military books are, if you want to use infantry to defeat more with less, and to annihilate others with just one strategy, it is not credible even in calculations.

Zhu Youtang is not a person who likes fantasy. When he saw this kind of book about martial arts training, which systematically wrote about physical training, courage training, and camp training, he immediately felt that he had found the right book.

Facing dozens of Wu Xun and several important relatives who came, Guo Yong conveyed his holy message and said: "This is the five-year cotton industry revitalization plan just sent by the Ministry of Household Affairs. The Zajia family has asked the clerk's office to copy it separately. , please your lords and princes for details!”

The Marquis of Funing, Zhu Yong, and the Prince of Chengguo, Zhu Fu, exchanged silent glances and received the plan sent by the eunuch. Some people also took the opportunity to observe Zhu Youtang who was standing on the attic, flipping through a book.

Zhu Youtang is only eighteen years old. No one dares to treat him as a young man anymore. He has grown into an emperor who makes them fear.

Everyone had a copy, but just looking at the contents of the plan, many people couldn't understand it at all, and even a few idiot Wu Xun couldn't even recognize the words.

They may be able to understand military literature, and they can also talk about the sage's way of governing the country, but they have no clue at all about economics. They don't even understand what the five-year plan is about?

Guo Yong has been standing in front of them. Due to his higher position, he can clearly see their reactions from his condescending position.

Some people are taking a closer look, some people have obviously got it wrong, but many people just take a few glances and ignore it.

Wu Xun did not pay attention to the rules like Wen Chen. Several Wu Xun felt that this plan was boring, but they started discussing it loudly here.

Zhu Youtang was looking at the military training book, but he saw that the method was still too general. It would be more practical to write one himself. When he heard the voice below slowly getting louder, his face sank slightly.

cough!

Guo Yong always remembered that the emperor was standing above him. He originally wanted to speak later, but when he saw the unruly appearance of these Wu Xuns, he couldn't help but cough heavily.

"Eunuch Guo, what does your majesty mean by calling us here? Just tell me!" Zhu Yong asked directly, confident that he had achieved military exploits.

All the martial artists were closely related by marriage. Seeing Zhu Yong's first statement, they quickly formed an alliance and looked at Guo Yong and Zhu Youtang above.

Seeing that these relatives were unwilling to take a closer look, Guo Yong simply summed it up: "His Majesty decided to vigorously develop the cotton industry in the Ming Dynasty. The Ministry of Industry will next improve the production efficiency of spinning machines and looms, and the Ministry of Household Affairs will also The private sector will be encouraged to build weaving and dyeing workshops, which will surely usher in the golden development period of the cotton industry. I have called you here this time to invite all the princes to participate. This spring is about to be plowed, and all princes are invited to grow a variety of cotton. , so that the cotton production in the Gyeonggi region can increase this summer, and then each princely house can build its own weaving and dyeing mills to respond to the imperial court's plan to develop the cotton industry!"

"This is not nonsense..."

"Ahem..."

"So that's the case, but...Lord Zu Zhi is not allowed to do business!"

The Marquis of Fuyong, Zhu Yong, almost said something that he shouldn't have said. Fortunately, the Marquis of Taining, Chen Huan, reminded him in time, and Zhu Fu, the eldest son of Cheng Guo, went straight to the core.

Although the imperial court's restrictions on nobles and officials doing business have long been a dead letter, it has always been a clear regulation after all.

Now Zhu Fu is unwilling to pay attention to Zhu Youtang's call. This thing that was originally reduced to a piece of paper is actually a weapon used by the prince to block the emperor.

"Lord Ancestor is not allowed to do business?"

Although Zhu Youtang was flipping through the book, his ears could naturally hear the reaction below.

In fact, he didn't have any ill intentions towards this group of warriors. After all, he was a lord canonized by the Ming Dynasty, and the court should be kind to him. Just letting nobles who are "less civilized than civilian officials and less powerful than military generals" to command the army is seriously inconsistent with their own concept of strengthening the army.

If Zhu Yong's eccentricity was somewhat emboldened by his military exploits, the prince Chengguo was actually smart enough to use his ancestral system to challenge him.

If I remember correctly, this lineage of Duke Cheng finally not only opened the city gate to welcome Li Zicheng, but also appealed to Li Zicheng to persuade him to enter, which was simply a shame for China.

Liu Jin and Tan Conggui both heard the disrespect from Wu Xun below, and couldn't help turning their heads silently to look at these honorable men, while Tan Conggui cast a stern look at Zhu Fu with his eyes.

"Yes, the young master is right, we cannot violate the ancestral system!"

"A few acres of cotton is okay, but building a weaving and dyeing workshop is not!"

"If His Majesty insists on doing this, then he must declare it to the world so that we can follow it!"

…

The British Duke Zhang Mao did not come, but the young and energetic Zhang Lun came, and he was also resentful of Zhu Youtang, and immediately supported Zhu Fudao, the eldest son of Duke Cheng.

Although Wuxun Group is afraid of Zhu Youtang, it is already dissatisfied.

Jingying has always been the private territory of their Wuxun Group, and they have always divided up this sweet piece of cake, but now almost all of them have been dismissed.

Not only has their income been greatly reduced, but their influence in the Beijing camp has also declined significantly.

Originally, they could still rely on the influence passed down from generation to generation to control many senior generals in the Beijing camp. They always had a decisive influence in the Beijing camp, so they were able to instigate various camps to raise their wages last time.

However, after the assassination incident, the 12th Battalion once again faced a major purge. The generals they had promoted earlier were either demoted or had rebelled.

Especially after the emperor introduced the competition mechanism, the 12th Battalion was no longer the army they were familiar with in the background of competition. Instead, they dared to fight bravely and fiercely, and the thorns they had always attacked came to power one after another.

Not to mention obeying their orders, the Twelve Army Camps were like this. Even if they approached now, they would be greeted by a pair of indifferent eyes. Now they were all serving the orders of the eunuch and the emperor in front of him.

Now Zhu Youtang wants to use their financial resources to develop the cotton industry. Not to mention that they will not try such an unstable business at all, and they are also opposed to everything the emperor does.

Exactly like this, what they most wanted to see was that the emperor was beaten to a bloody head, until they finally realized that it was a wise move to hand over the capital camp to their martial arts.

Zhu Youtang felt the hostility of this group of martial artists and noticed that Tan Conggui's eyes were not friendly, so he pointedly asked: "Have you written down everything they said today?"

"This slave has already taken note of it!" Tan Conggui was slightly startled at first, and then he finally came to his senses.

Zhu Youtang didn't understand why history books always liked to praise these unproven feats, but after having been in contact with these martial artists for a long time, he found that these people were really not smart or could only play a little clever.

Not to mention that many Wu Xun's body shape was not up to standard, but he couldn't even read Chinese characters, and this prince of Chengguo Palace, who thought he was smart, simply gave himself a stick.

Guo Yong did not expect these Wu Xuns to make a fuss about their ancestors, so he expressed his position calmly: "We can discuss the weaving and dyeing workshops later, but spring plowing is around the corner, which is a good time to plant cotton. The Ministry of Industry has prepared improved cotton seeds. If you can't buy it in the capital, you can buy it from the Ministry of Industry. Your Majesty means that planting cotton is not only a loyalty to the country, but also beneficial to the income of each noble house, so I hope you can plant more!"

"The capital is short of food, so if you grow it, you won't have to worry about selling it, but this may not be the case with cotton!"

"Even if our Marquis Mansion doesn't eat rice, the tenants below still have to eat rice!"

"Since His Majesty has spoken, Duke Chengguo's office should have obtained fifty acres to grow cotton!"

"Well, then I have to support your majesty's decision, but I don't have the family fortune of Duke Chengguo, thirty acres!"

…

At first, all the ministers and officials resisted, but when they saw that Zhu Fu, the eldest son of Cheng Guo Gong, only offered fifty acres to cope with the situation, they immediately followed suit as if they were following the wind.

In fact, every family will grow some. After all, the economic benefits of cotton are indeed good, but they don't care about these things. Now suddenly agreeing to plant dozens of acres is actually to cope with and run against Hongzhi.

Although Guo Yong was not optimistic about today's events, his whole face could not help but darken when he saw the perfunctory attitude of these nobles, who even devoted dozens of acres to deal with His Majesty.

"His Majesty's decree! What happened today is a secret and cannot be disclosed for the time being. It is up to each family to plant as much as they want. Please step back!" Liu Jin came to the guardrail of the attic and preached to the nobles below.

"Your Majesty, please retire!" All the nobles couldn't help but look at each other, but they still politely bowed out.

It is indeed much more convenient here. We have just left the Yangxin Gate, and we are already in front of the Xiyuan Gate. If you are still in the Qianqing Palace, you don't know how long it will take to reach the Meridian Gate.

"Obviously you want to ask for help, but you end up being arrogant!"

"He is so mean and ungrateful, and wants us to use our wealth to express our loyalty. It is really outrageous!"

"Be careful, now that His Majesty is targeting us, it is known to everyone in the city, we can't let this slip any further!"

…

Zhu Fu, the eldest son of Cheng Guo Gong, and others walked out of Xiyuan Gate. After they had just distanced themselves from the guards, they started talking about what had just happened.

Although it is still difficult for them to regain control of the Beijing camp, Zhu Youtang's sudden summons today, and Zhu Youtang's obvious request for the development of the cotton industry, also gave them some confidence.

There was one martial arts disciple who remained silent throughout the entire process, and that person was Xu Shiying, the eldest son of Duke Dingguo.

Among the three princes in the capital, the lineage of Duke Ding was the most frustrated.

Xu Shiying's grandfather Xu Xianzhong died without being awarded a military title, and his father Xu Yongning went crazy, so he was not awarded a military title.

Xu Shiying, who is now in her thirties, although she is the eldest son of Duke Dingguo, has never had any sense of presence in the entire Wuxun Group.

Xu Shiying always had an uneasy feeling in his heart, but he still didn't know what the problem was. Especially the emperor who was not liked by their martial arts always seemed very calm.

There's a lot to do, I'll pay you back tomorrow morning!