Ten thousand animals garden.
There was a lot of laughter.
The emperor and the kings came here in person to watch the majestic and huge war elephant.
Especially the acting king Zhu Gui, his face was full of pride and pride at this moment, and he was talking about the various benefits of this war elephant.
After all, human power is indeed too small in front of such a giant beast that destroys the world.
But even if such a terrifying giant beast has now entered the Ten Thousand Animals Garden and has become one of the pets raised by the royal family, doesn't this further confirm that he, Zhu Di, is the son of the divine right of kings and destiny?
So Zhu Di was very happy, and he did not hesitate to reward him. He gave a large amount of gold and silver to the kings, which made all the vassal kings extremely happy.
Zhu Gaoxu looked at it and couldn't laugh or cry.
As the name suggests, this "Ten Thousand Animals Garden" was a place specially used by the Ming Dynasty to raise rare and rare animals.
In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, the number of rare and exotic animals kept in the palace was very small.
After Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang gained the empire, he ordered all the animals raised in the palace to be taken care of and released.
After all, he wholeheartedly wants to feed the people. He himself is a person who works hard to conquer the world, so he has always maintained a hard and simple life style and has no interest in these rare and exotic animals.
Therefore, during the Hongwu period, the palace kept relatively few species and quantities. At this time, the task of raising animals was only to be cared for by someone, and a complete breeding system had not yet been formed.
Until Zhu Laosi ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, the Royal Ten Thousand Animals Garden began to take shape. Emperor Yongle wanted to make all nations surrender, so he sent Zheng He to the West many times and adopted an active expansion policy. Overseas tributes increased, and various rare and exotic animals came from there. Tributes came from all over the world, and the number and variety expanded rapidly. All kinds of animals filled the palace.
So much so that the palace had to set up institutions dedicated to breeding these animals, such as the Royal Horse Prison, which had stables, elephant rooms, lion rooms, bird rooms, etc., and the current Jinyiwei, in addition to guarding the palace and standing guard. , there is also an additional task of raising elephants.
In fact, in Zhu Gaoxu's eyes, these rare and exotic beasts are just ordinary animals.
But in this era, these rare and exotic beasts have a completely different status and meaning. They symbolize destiny!
In order to promote the divine right of kings and whitewash peace, rare birds and animals as auspicious signs have become the main symbols of this idea.
Under the influence of the concept of telepathy between heaven and man, these rare and exotic animals symbolized the majesty of the emperor. At the same time, under the background of the strong national power of the Ming Dynasty and frequent overseas trade, a large number of rare birds and exotic animals were sent to the court of the Ming Dynasty as tribute, such as There are countless "Pegasus", "Sacred Deer", "Qilin" and the like.
Of course, in addition to providing entertainment for the emperor, rare birds and animals also had more important etiquette needs.
During the Hongwu period, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang formulated a series of etiquette systems for taming animals. With the participation of these rare birds and animals, these etiquette systems showed the majesty of the royal family.
Anyway, in one sentence, rare and exotic animals can make the emperor more majestic and unpredictable, so the emperor is willing to spend manpower and material resources to raise them. In a sense, this is a mutually beneficial good thing.
Therefore, even Zhu Gaoxu, a "understanding person", would not be able to say much about this matter.
Because in every era, there are rules and order.
It was at this time that King Zhu Gui noticed the mythical beast "Qilin" in Wansheng Garden.
"Fourth brother, is that your mythical beast Qilin?"
"Well, that's right!" Zhu Di nodded proudly, "That was presented by Banggela's special envoy in the twelfth year of Yongle. It is really a rare auspicious beast!"
Zhu Gaoxu glanced over, and the next moment his head was covered with black lines.
If he saw it correctly, the thing with a long neck in front of him would be called a "giraffe" in later generations!
Hiss...it's terrible to be uneducated!
What a special "Qilin"!
Zhu Gui pointedly mentioned Qilin, and then changed the subject.
"Fourth brother, speaking of which, Zheng He didn't go to the West again for several years, right?"
Hearing this, Zhu Di looked at the thirteenth brother in surprise, and in a blink of an eye he understood what this guy was planning.
After going around in circles for so long, you want to participate in the ocean trade that is about to begin!
King Zhu Zhu of Zhou also spoke at the side: "Yes, fourth brother, according to the news I got from Nanyang, now is a great opportunity to launch sea trade!"
"The caravans in the West are very fond of our Ming Dynasty's domestic products. As long as they send silk, tea, porcelain and other domestic products to the West for sale, the price will increase more than a hundred times. Rather than letting these humble merchants make huge profits from it, it is better for us to directly sell this business Give monopoly..."
Zhu Xi spoke with great interest and did not notice Zhu Di's darkened face at all.
The other kings were also very moved and looked at Zhu Di with hopeful eyes.
They had no choice but to make a lot of money and pay back the debt owed to the court.
After this fucking trip to Beijing, although the main purpose was achieved, he was saddled with a huge debt.
If they no longer think of ways to make money, in the future they, the descendants of overseas lords, will have no choice but to work for the central court to pay off their debts!
It's just that they don't know that ocean trade is the business of the royal family and no one is allowed to interfere.
There were some desperate gentry and merchants who wanted to get a share of the pie, but now they have all been wiped out!
Now that these clan kings wanted to interfere again, Zhu Di was naturally not happy.
After all, the royal family controls the profits from voyage trade not to make money, but to bear military expenses.
Therefore, Zhu Di's face looked a little unhappy. After glancing at the kings, he spoke calmly.
"I'm a little tired today, so let's stay here for now!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Di got up and went back to the palace, leaving the kings looking at each other.
Seeing this situation, all the kings were dumbfounded and froze on the spot.
They still don't understand that this has offended His Majesty the Emperor!
For a moment, all the kings were a little uneasy and subconsciously looked at Prince Zhu Gaoxu.
Zhu Gaoxu was also a little puzzled, why did he go to the West so quietly?
Besides, you vassal kings are still greedy for that little money?
It's fine now. Is it a waste of time?
"Your Highness, this..."
The acting king Zhu Gui asked bravely, looking slightly uneasy.
Zhu Gaoxu smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Everyone, the royal family is now responsible for the voyage trade, and the profits earned will also be used to support the army and bear military expenses."
"So now you want to step in and get a piece of the pie, but I'm afraid something is not very good!"
As soon as these words came out, all the kings realized it, and their expressions turned extremely ugly.
In other words, they just wanted to steal business from His Majesty the Emperor!
This incident is so embarrassing!
"However, if you really want to participate, it's not impossible!"
Zhu Gaoxu said with a smile: "We are all Taizu Xueyin. I can help you make some money."
"Let's go back and prepare the fleet and goods, and prepare the special products from your country. When Zheng He goes to the West, I will ask him to take you with him!"
Hearing this, the kings were overjoyed.
The prince is indeed a prince, he is open and bright.
Zhu Gaoxu was also filled with emotion.
The wind direction has changed!
Now everyone wants to go to the West!
