Chapter 485 A Different Emperor

Chapter 485 A Different Emperor

Chapter 485 A Different Emperor
The breeze swayed through the imperial city of Yingtian.
The coolness brought by the wind was completely absorbed by the glazed tiles, leaving only the stuffiness.

Inside the Wuying Hall, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang looked up and down in front of him, looking at his adopted son whom he had not seen for a long time. His lips moved with mixed feelings in his heart, and even his nose was slightly red.

He stood up from behind the desk tremblingly, his steps much slower than usual, and slowly walked to Mu Ying.
When I saw the gray hair on Mu Ying's temples and wrinkles on his face.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly laughed, his voice not as powerful as before, but more hoarse and vicissitudes of life:
"Wenying, how come you are getting old?"

Mu Yingding stood there, tears streaming down her face, unable to speak.
"Dad, why are you so thin?"

Hearing the call, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head slightly, as if trying to prevent the tears from falling.

He raised his hand and gently patted Mu Ying's shoulder.

Although my palms are no longer as strong as before, they are still full of warmth.

"Time is unforgiving."

"Dad still remembers when I first met you, you were just a lonely little kid, skinny as a bag of bones.

Dad remembers it clearly.
You were only eight years old at that time, and Dad was only twenty-four years old.

In the blink of an eye, almost forty years have passed.

You and I are both old, and your mother has been dead for a long time."

The desolate voice echoed throughout the Wuying Hall.

All the eunuchs and palace maids present fell to their knees with a thud, their heads pressed against the ground, their bodies trembling slightly.

This is especially true for the eunuch.

He clearly remembered the ferocious look on His Majesty's face when the Queen passed away.

An atmosphere of sadness began to spread, and the father and son hugged each other and cried bitterly.

Mu Ying choked up and said:

“If it weren’t for my father taking me in, I would have died long ago and wouldn’t be where I am today.

These years, the child missed him day and night and wanted to come back, but the war on the border was so intense that it was extremely difficult.

This time I came back, I wanted to see my father and mother carefully. "

Zhu Yuanzhang's nose turned red, he wiped his tears with his dry hands, and said with a smile:
"Look at us two, we are both old and still crying. If outsiders saw us, wouldn't they laugh at us?"

He took Mu Ying's hand and walked towards the chair in the hall, and they sat down side by side.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao was also wiping his tears and sat down beside him, his face showing concern:

"Brother, you are finally back.

Your father has been thinking about you day and night and hasn't even been able to sleep well these days, just waiting for you to come back.

Do you still remember that when we were little, our favorite food was fermented black beans. Dad made a lot of them himself. You should bring them all with you when you go back this time."

Mu Ying also thought of his childhood, when he and his brothers often fought over food. He couldn't help but laugh and nodded repeatedly.

Zhu Yuanzhang gently grasped Mu Ying's hand, his voice was filled with relief, but there was a hint of loneliness in his eyes:
"Dad knows that you have defended our country on the frontier and have made great achievements. You are Dad's pride and a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty."

“It’s just that although there are thousands of people accompanying me in this palace,

But when the night is quiet, I still think of you kids."

Mu Ying looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, his eyes full of concern:

"I am an unfilial child who has not always been with my father.

Now that the situation on the border has stabilized, I beg you, father, to let me stay in the capital and spend more time with you."

The breeze blew through Wuying Hall again. The palace lanterns hanging between the carved beams and painted buildings swayed gently, and the light and shadows they cast danced on the two people.

Outside the hall, a few birds occasionally flew by, making a few crisp chirping sounds, which made the atmosphere inside the hall even more solemn.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flashed with deep desire, but in the end he still struggled and shook his head, looking at him firmly:
“Although the border is stable, we still cannot let our guard down.

Yunnan is the most important place in the southwest. I am worried about other people going there, so only you can go.

You guard the most important Yunnan, the prince sits in the central government, and your brothers are in important cities in the north.

As long as you are here, even if Dad is gone, the Ming Dynasty will not fall."

"Father, don't say that.

Although you have lost some weight, you will definitely live a long life, so don't worry about whether you are alive or not.

I have heard you repeat this a thousand times.

You have been talking about this since you were in your forties or fifties, and you are not done yet."

Mu Ying's face flashed with deep helplessness and a hint of impatience, and he waved his hands repeatedly.

"Hahahahahaha."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly laughed, and laughed very happily.

He looked at Zhu Biao and pointed at Mu Ying: "See, among you brothers, he is the most courageous one. He actually dares to despise me.

When I came back from the war, I wanted to sleep with him.
He actually despised my smelly feet and shrank aside. It really pissed me off."

"Hahahahaha."

Crown Prince Zhu Biao also laughed heartily.

Zhu Yuanzhang slowly stood up, walked quickly to the desk, took a brocade box and two documents from the desk, and handed them to Mu Ying:

"I prepared this especially for you."

Mu Ying looked at the brocade box with some surprise, feeling its heavy weight.

Without any hesitation, he opened it immediately, but he was soon stunned.

All I saw was a thick layer of loess in different sizes, mixed with some stones.

"Father, this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said softly:
"This is soil from Dingyuan, Haozhou. It is also soil from your hometown. I specially ordered someone to fetch it from the ancestral home a few days ago."

For a moment, Mu Ying felt that the brocade box in his hand was extremely heavy, as if it weighed a thousand pounds.

“In the eyes of others, my father and I are both outstanding people, but only we ourselves know that we are both unfortunate people who left our hometown.

I am better off with the prince, as we are closer to home.
You are too far away.

I have read the memorial you sent me. Yunnan has beautiful mountains and beautiful waters.
But no matter how good it is, it can't compare to the mountains and rivers of my hometown.

I don't know what I can give you, I can only give you some soil.

When you are in Yunnan and feel homesick, just take it out and read it.

Never forget your roots. No matter how far you go, your hometown and loved ones will always be your concern.

If you have any problems in Yunnan, please tell me. If anyone bullies our Wenying, I will kill them!"

"Dad, don't keep fighting and killing. Killing can only solve temporary problems, but it can't solve the fundamental problem."

"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Mu Ying with interest:

"In the past, you were always yelling for death, and I advised you to be quiet. Why is it the other way around today?"

The prince standing by hurriedly lowered his head to suppress his laughter and remained silent.

Mu Ying scratched his head a little embarrassedly: "Luchuan was not stable at that time, and there were always some people in Yunnan who were trying to make trouble for me. I had to kill them at that time.

Now that Luchuan has been resolved, it will be difficult to find a reason to kill people on a large scale again."

At this point, Mu Ying waved his hands irritably and moved closer:
"Dad, you know about the Fishing Department, right?"

"I know. I have read your memorial and also heard about it from Jiujiang." Zhu Yuanzhang's face was solemn.

“Those people have not been punished yet.”

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised: "Isn't it over yet? The heavenly punishment, the Yiliang County incident, and the Azi rebellion, you can just add them all in."

“We added them. We added all the children we could, but there have been too many bad things going on these days.

Those who have dealings with Luchuan will be punished, those who obstruct the yellow book of fish scales will be punished, those who prevent the land survey will be punished, and those who are corrupt and obstructive during the war will be punished.
You don’t know, when the child left Kunming.

Ning Zheng held the child tightly and refused to let me go. "

Zhu Yuanzhang curled his lips and said, "This Ning Zheng, he often submitted memorials to me before, always threatening to kill people, but now that the situation has really come to a head, he has backed down instead."

Mu Ying felt mixed emotions, and a complex expression flashed across his face:
“Father, it’s not his fault, there are just too many people.

If the Luchuan battle had not achieved an unprecedented victory, we would not have dared to cause trouble in Yunnan."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "You have done a good job in Yunnan. Not only did you defeat the main elite forces of Luchuan, but you also captured Silunfa.

You don’t know that after the news reached the capital, the whole of Yingtian was in an uproar, and everyone praised you for your ability to fight.”

Mu Ying shook his head repeatedly: "Father, several key battles were fought by Lu Yunyi, and I just got the upper hand in the end."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him with a half-smile and curled his hands slightly:
"Come on, stop pushing the credit onto that kid. He won't acknowledge it even if you do."

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the two documents in Mu Ying's hand:
"Look, he has too many achievements now, and some people in the court have already set their sights on him.

But this kid is careful with his words and actions, and has not been caught by anyone yet."

Mu Ying lowered his head to check the documents and began to flip through them.

Slowly, his expression became strange and his brows furrowed.

What is a bicycle? Why open a business?
Mu Ying continued to read and soon saw the Ministry of Industry's analysis and future prospects of bicycles and tricycles, as well as the business plan made by Lu Yunyi.

His expression soon became solemn again. The two seemed unrelated, yet closely connected.

Especially in the plan, the move of using the trading company to connect the entire Yingtian village,

Mu Ying's expression changed back and forth, his eye sockets became deep, and he couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.

In less than three breaths, Yunnan's mountains and rivers made him feel daunting. Building a road in such a place would be extremely difficult.

However, from his point of view, this kind of connectivity plan is not only feasible, but also has a very high probability of success.

Just suppress the opposition in the court!

Mu Ying thought about the current situation in the court and the upcoming Northern Expedition, and his eyes became brighter!
This timing was so good! He couldn't help but applaud!

There are several influential forces in the court now.
Now they are all busy with their own things.

Or they were defeated in the previous storm of heavenly punishment and temporarily hid from the storm.

Or they are planning a northern expedition and preparing to seek benefits from it.

Or maybe some of the senior officials in the six ministries had just completed an official position exchange and their foundation was unstable.

Looking around the court, there are only one or two forces that can suppress this matter, and they are all standing behind him.

After figuring this out, Mu Ying could almost conclude that the matter was a success.

He looked up at his father and asked without hesitation:

"Father, I think this can be accomplished. What do you think?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was slightly solemn, and he nodded slightly:

"If it's faster, there's a chance of success. If it takes a year or two, it's difficult."

Seeing their serious expressions, Zhu Biao smiled and said comfortingly:
"Father, big brother, Lu Yunyi is very down-to-earth and quick in his work. He just made a decision yesterday evening and he made a plan overnight.

Just after the triumphal ceremony, the Governor's Office and the Ministry of Works had already started to get busy.

Qin Kui planned to stop the Fujian Dusi's military equipment workshop and make tricycles and bicycles.

The Yuheng Qinglisi has also gone to survey and measure the several shops mentioned by Lu Yunyi and prepare a construction plan.

Even Lu Yunyi has begun to spread the word in the army, looking for those disabled soldiers to join the workshops and businesses, which has caused other guards in the Beijing Army to ask each other about it. Everything is progressing very quickly."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded thoughtfully: "The Beijing army suffered heavy losses on this trip. If there are disabled soldiers who want to stay in Yingtian to settle down, going to the workshop or the business is a good choice.

These soldiers sacrificed their lives for the Ming Dynasty, and the imperial court cannot treat them unfairly.
Even if they do not stay in Yingtian, they must be given adequate compensation, and the Governor's Office is strictly ordered to execute anyone who is found to have withheld compensation."

"Please rest assured, Father. I have already informed the Governor's Office."

"Hmm," Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and asked:
"When will the third and fourth children enter the palace? The eldest brother came all the way here, but he didn't even come to the palace to see these two children."

Zhu Biao laughed and said earnestly:

"Father, my third and fourth brothers were probably provoked by Lu Yunyi.

He has been dealing with military affairs in the Governor's Office, asking questions here and there, and annoying the adults."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, but a slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:
"Humph, when they were young, they were asked to learn, but they didn't. Now it's too late to make up for it when they are older."

"Father, my fourth brother is quite talented in military affairs. Several people in the Governor's Office praised him for his sophistication and decisiveness."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Biao:
"You don't have to speak for them. They are almost thirty years old and have just found a job. Look at Wenying, she followed me into battle at the age of twelve.

Some wars cannot be fully understood just from reading the written military newspapers.

Only by putting yourself in the battlefield, looking at the soldiers behind you and the enemies in front of you, can you make the best judgment.

This kind of judgment is often flawed in the documents and does not seem to be a good choice.

But at that time, it was already a rare and excellent choice. ”

Mu Ying nodded in agreement, but Zhu Biao had a strange expression:
"Father, you and my elder brother are both famous generals, so you will understand what I am saying.

But I don't understand war, so it's useless for you to tell me this."

Huh? Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and cursed:
"You little bastard, your big brother is here, and someone is backing you up, right? You dare to talk back."

"I dare not, I dare not." Zhu Biao said he dared not, but there was an unstoppable smile on his face.

"You kid." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded at him, then looked at Mu Ying:
"Come on, Dad will take you to ride a bicycle. It's great. It's convenient and saves effort.

What Lu Yunyi said is right.

If the price of this thing were to be reduced further, every citizen in the Ming Dynasty would own one.
I don’t know what the world will become.”

Mu Ying had wanted to try it for a long time, so he stood up and urged:

"Father, hurry up. When you taught me to ride a horse, you scared me to death. Now that I am older, I won't be scared anymore."

"Hahaha, let's go, we have nothing to do today, let's take our sons for a bike ride!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly, waved his hand, and walked ahead on his horse!

Nearing evening, Lu Yunyi, with a limp body and dark circles under his eyes, rode a fast horse to the Governor's Mansion, ready to attack with many generals and attend a celebration banquet.

But as soon as he entered the Central Military Office, he heard a loud shout.

"General Lu!"

He looked back.

Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, came out hurriedly from the side hall with a document in his hand, waving at him, and rushed to him in two steps at a time.

A sudden breeze caused Lu Yunyi to lean back, and then he bowed his hands:

"Greetings to His Royal Highness Prince Yan."

"Why are you being so polite? Where is General Lu going?"

"Go to the Governor's Mansion to meet up with the others and prepare to go to the palace for the banquet."

Zhu Di looked him up and down, and a smile appeared on his stiff face:
"It's still early, and we'll have to wait a while to get to the palace. Why don't we attend a military meeting first?
After the Beijing troops returned, some officials in the Governor's Office witnessed the power of firearms and were ready to make some decisions.

General Lu is an expert in firearms, so I would like to invite you to come and think about it together."

Lu Yunyi was stunned, then nodded without refusing:
"It is better to obey than to be respectful. Please, King Yan."

Zhu Di breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on his tough face.

The two walked towards the side hall, and Zhu Di said as he walked:

"I heard that General Lu is planning to run a business? I wonder if I can get involved?"

(End of this chapter)