With this idea in mind, Chen Jingke began to quietly observe Zhu Biao's recent movements.
It was found that he spent most of the day patrolling these warehouses and personally checking the incoming materials.
Sometimes I'm so busy that I don't even go back to the palace, and eat and live outside.
It seems normal. After all, these warehouses are related to currency reform and cannot cause any problems.
But when I thought about it carefully, I knew something was wrong.
The majestic deputy emperor of the Ming Dynasty actually did everything himself, which is very abnormal in itself.
Those who didn’t know better thought he was a warehouse officer.
Also, the property of corrupt officials was searched, but none of it was put into the warehouse of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
With a wave of Zhu Yuanzhang's hand, they were stored in these newly built warehouses.
Zhu Biao didn't feel that these supplies were stained with blood at all, so he accepted them calmly.
He even told Chen Jingke privately that with this batch of materials in his account, the pressure on the court was greatly reduced, and the Baochao reform was more certain.
What could Chen Jingke say, he could only pretend that he didn't understand anything, and then cursed a few times that corrupt officials deserved it.
He also learned about the Zhao Mao case in private. More and more officials were implicated, and nearly 7,000 people were arrested.
Jin Yiwei has already started to take action against big local families, and the first batch of people to be arrested are those who were directly involved in the Zhao Mao case.
A large amount of grain was confiscated and sent to the treasury, and a large amount of land was confiscated.
Hundreds of thousands of tenant slaves were rescued and released.
In the process, the wealth of Mao Xiang and his confidants also increased countless times.
Many people took this opportunity to attack them, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not attack them all.
This further increased Mao Xiang's arrogance, and he seemed to be carrying wind when he walked.
Wild dogs passing by would be slapped twice if they dared to look at him.
It explains with practical actions what it means to be arrogant.
Chen Jingke's evaluation of this is that the desire for power makes people dizzy.
If you want to destroy it, you must first make it crazy.
Now they have reached out to large families who are not directly involved in the case, but are related to the criminal.
This time the impact is too broad.
Since ancient times, marriage has focused on being from the same household, and large families often have marriage relationships.
According to his approach, big local households will basically be wiped out.
In the past, Chen Jingke would feel cruel... No, he feels cruel now too.
But he will no longer oppose such things as before.
Maybe it's because my location is different and my thoughts have changed.
Now I think these big families are innocent, but if they are not curbed, the court will lose control of the local area in a few years.
When the imperial court is strong, it will use various methods to weaken local forces.
In the Han Dynasty, wealthy households moved to build Huangling, and in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, large households from all over the world moved to settle around Chang'an.
Zhu Yuanzhang's method was more direct, kill.
And it happened that Zhao Mao's case gave him another excuse to take action.
When the imperial court is weak, local large households will in turn control the imperial court, eventually leading to the country's demise.
The situation in the middle and late Ming Dynasty is the best example.
It can only be said that this was the norm in ancient dynasties.
Chen Jingke didn't know how to solve it. The only way he could think of was to develop productivity.
Use development to solve all problems.
Problems encountered in development must be solved through development.
Therefore, instead of sympathizing with these large households and risking their lives to plead for them, it is better to find ways to improve productivity.
With this idea in mind, he personally participated and led the remaining members of the compilation team of "Arithmetic Classic" to compile a "Basic Arithmetic".
The above focuses on the introduction of new arithmetic symbols, and then starts with the simplest addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and finally ends with quadratic equations of one variable.
Although this book is called Basic Arithmetic, it is not prepared for people with no basic knowledge.
You must have a certain foundation in arithmetic to understand it.
Its purpose is to help those who study arithmetic understand these new symbols.
The following quadratic equation is honey to induce them to accept new symbols.
After all, it is too troublesome to write more complex equations in Chinese characters.
Anyone who has used the new symbols should accept it.
There is no need to pay any attention to the few people who insist on tradition.
After "Basic Arithmetic" was compiled, he went to Zhu Biao and asked for his opinions.
Zhu Biao had already begun to adopt the new symbol in private, and he understood its convenience better, so naturally he readily agreed.
"Okay, but this matter should not be handled by the imperial court. I will approve some money and you can use it to privately engrave and print five thousand copies for promotion purposes."
Chen Jingke said happily: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Printing was the most troublesome thing, and Chen Jingke didn't have much money.
Even those in the academic class are not wealthy.
Now Zhu Biao solved this problem with just one sentence.
Zhu Biao went on to say: "It is not appropriate for the imperial court to interfere in promotion matters, otherwise it will arouse opposition from scholars."
"First spread it in private. After it spreads, the court will take advantage of the situation and propose the adoption of new symbols."
"For the same reason, I don't want to sign this book with your name for the time being, just use a pseudonym."
"When the "Hongwu Suanjing" is completed, the imperial court will rectify your names."
Chen Jingke naturally understands this truth.
Due to the urinary nature of these Confucian scholars in the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court directly promoted the new symbols, which were still written horizontally.
They will definitely jump out and object.
What is written horizontally is unprecedented and deviant.
Not to mention new symbols. How can the words left by the sages be tampered with?
What, you said the new symbols are better to use?
If you use the word "good" or "bad" to evaluate a text, you are disrespecting the sages and forgetting your ancestors.
Then you will be nailed to the pillar of shame.
But if it is only spread privately, they will only despise it and leave it alone.
When the new symbols are accepted by everyone, they will also use them in a daze.
Eventually the new symbols will also become part of the tradition.
Similar things have happened countless times.
But Chen Jingke immediately thought of a problem, so he said:
"But, if we don't use the court's channels, how can we send this book to all parts of the country?"
It's easy to talk to someone who has money, but the problem is that he has neither money nor anyone.
Zhu Biao shook his head and said, "Why are you so confused? Find a businessman."
"Seven out of ten people who learn arithmetic among the people are merchants."
"And those people who see profit and forget justice, don't care about the legal system, and will definitely rush to use new numbers when they see them."
"Just tell them that if they want to learn new symbols, they should help promote this book."
“If arithmetic books aren’t enough to impress them, give them double-entry bookkeeping.”
"If you contact dozens more companies, someone will definitely agree."
"It's best to find one or two businessmen in each place and let them promote it in their hometowns."
"In this way, it will take less than a year for the new symbol to spread across the country."
Chen Jingke was completely convinced: "Your Highness is wise, I know what to do."
He didn't come forward to do this on his own, for no other reason than that he was too young.
And once exposed, it is easy to attract criticism.
So he found Qiu Guang'an, the left servant of the Ministry of Finance.
Qiu Guangan himself is the deputy editor-in-chief of "Hongwu Suanjing", so he will naturally not object to this matter.
What's more, the prince has sponsored money and given ideas, so he will not object.
However, he did not come forward himself, but asked a distant nephew of his to do it.
Chen Jingke went to see that person in person, a middle-aged man in his thirties named Qiu Yixin.
He looked very calm, and the glint in his eyes from time to time showed that he had a lot of calculations in his heart.
The printing of the book went very smoothly.
In ancient China, the control over private engravings was very loose, and private presses were everywhere.
Find a company with a good reputation, give it enough money, and have 5,000 copies of "Basic Arithmetic" printed in less than half a month.
The next step was to find a cooperative merchant, and I ran into a little trouble.
It's not that merchants are not interested in the new symbols, but they don't know whether promoting this book will cause trouble.
They are not willing to take the risk.
But as Zhu Biao said, if you look for a few more companies, someone will always agree.
Once the first one sets an example by letting go, there will be second and third companies.
As the capital of the Ming Dynasty, Yingtian Mansion was home to big businessmen from all over the country, and it was easy to find more than 40 businessmen to cooperate with.
Each family has 100 copies of "Basic Arithmetic" and just promote it.
Afraid that these businessmen would not be careful or simply not abide by the agreement, Qiu Yixin revealed his identity a little bit.
The Ministry of Household Affairs is in charge of money, grain and taxation.
Although commercial taxes were not levied in the early Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Household Affairs still controlled their lifeblood.
Knowing that behind him was the left minister of household affairs, those businessmen immediately put their thoughts aside.
As for whether someone would use this to complain, and then Zhu Yuanzhang would cause trouble for Qiu Guangan.
There’s no need to worry, after all, Lao Zhu himself also knew about Zhu Biao’s personal endorsement.
There were still a few hundred copies left, so Chen Jingke did not take the merchant route, but gave some of them as gifts to candidates taking the arithmetic exam.
At first, these candidates were very disapproving, thinking that it was an arithmetic book written by a wealthy person and promoted through this method.
This kind of thing was very common in ancient times. Books were printed at one's own expense and given to others for promotion.
Many people lose their works because they cannot afford the high printing fees.
For example, "Xu Xiake's Travels" was almost lost.
But when they opened the book and saw the contents, they were completely shocked.
What happened next was a matter of course, and these people accepted the new symbols without any obstacles.
Chen Jingke, who was quietly paying attention to all this, also breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as these people are willing to accept it, things will be easier to handle later on.
He also gave part of it to the bookstore in Yingtian Mansion for free, on the condition that the book be placed in a conspicuous place.
It's so cheap that the bookstore owner won't refuse.
At the time of the imperial examination, tens of thousands of scholars from all over the world gathered in Yingtian Mansion, and the bookstore's business was booming.
Many readers come here every day looking for books.
Chen Jingke didn't expect them to buy the new arithmetic book. The real purpose was to let them see it.
Create the illusion that new arithmetic symbols are very popular in Yingtian Mansion.
When they return to their hometown and see the new mathematical symbols, they will become accustomed to it.
They will even proudly tell people around them that this new symbol is very common in the capital, and you are making too much of a fuss.
This is the natural effect brought by Yingtian Mansion as the capital.
After doing all this, Chen Jingke stopped again, and what was left was that the new symbol was gradually promoted and widely used.
This process won't be quick, and there's no point in rushing.
Besides, he is still young and has enough time to wait.
What he didn't know was that Zhu Yuanzhang had been paying attention to him.
During this period, she did not express any opinions on his approach. It was not until he finished all the arrangements and chose to wait quietly that he showed his approval.
He also said to Zhu Biao: "Patience is a must-have quality for those who achieve great things. In the past, we were worried that he was too young and too eager to achieve success, but it seems that is not the case today."
"This son will be of great use in the future, you should make good use of him."
Zhu Biao also agreed with this point, but then he asked doubtfully: "Don't you want to leave him to Ying'er?"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "Blinally suppressing is not a good strategy. Being depressed and frustrated is likely to change his temperament."
"Besides, talent is important, but experience is also indispensable, and experience needs to be done to gain it."
"By the time you succeed to the throne, he should have passed his crowning years, and it's time to give him a chance to practice."
Zhu Biao nodded, and immediately realized something was wrong, and said quickly:
"What are you talking about? You and your mother will definitely live a long life."
Zhu Yuanzhang said disdainfully: "Fart, seventy years of life are rare in ancient times. We will be satisfied if we can live seventy years. You really dare to think of living a hundred years."
Then he said sternly: "Remember, you must not pursue that illusory immortality, otherwise we will not recognize you as our son."
Zhu Biao also said seriously: "Don't worry, dad, I will never have such ridiculous thoughts."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and continued the topic just now: "We have always felt that running a country is just like this. We can do better than anyone else."
Zhu Biao couldn't help but said: "You have done well enough, no less than the wise kings of the past dynasties."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and sighed: "We thought so too before, but after being in contact with Chen Jingke for a long time, we realized that running a country really requires talent."
Zhu Biao also fell silent.
In the past, he felt that as the crown prince, he had received the best education, stood high enough, and could certainly see further than others.
But after getting acquainted with Chen Jingke, I realized what it means to have a commanding position.
On this point, Ming Dynasty has no equal.
Although Chen Jingke did not directly say what problems existed in the Ming Dynasty's system.
But through intermittent 'history telling', they saw many shortcomings.
Some of these flaws have already exposed problems.
Some things may seem good now, but they will inevitably have consequences that are difficult to deal with in the future.
Zhu Yuanzhang's emotion went away as quickly as it came, and he immediately said seriously:
"Look at him carefully. If he has no second thoughts, give him glory and wealth."
"If you feel you can't control him, get rid of him immediately."
Zhu Biao nodded solemnly, then hesitated and said:
"He hasn't married yet, how about making him a consort?"
Marriage is the most commonly used method to strengthen relationships.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him and asked: "Are there not many princes rebelling? Besides, have you forgotten Li Wenzhong's old story?"
"Ah this..." Zhu Biao was suddenly speechless.
This is also an important reason why people began to be wary of princes consort after the Song Dynasty.
Of course, it also has something to do with the expansion of civil servants.
It is too easy for relatives to threaten the leadership status of civilian officials and must be suppressed.
As for Li Wenzhong, he is Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew and the biological father of 'God of War' Li Jinglong.
Lao Zhu treated him like his own son and had great power at a young age.
However, when he was stationed in Yanzhou to guard against Zhang Shicheng, he had an affair with a prostitute.
This is a serious violation of military discipline and should be punished by death.
Zhu Yuanzhang killed the prostitute and reprimanded Li Wenzhong.
Then Li Wenzhong was afraid of being punished, so he wanted to seek refuge with Zhang Shicheng.
Although he did not do so in the end, as Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew, it is unforgivable to have such thoughts.
Although Lao Zhu still forgave him, he no longer had the same trust in people with foreign surnames such as Prince Consort.
The difficulty of being the emperor's consort in the Ming Dynasty is probably related to this matter.
Although the situation was not that serious during the Hongwu Dynasty, people who really aspired to the court were not willing to be princes-in-law.
Zhu Biao sighed and was about to give up the idea.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang changed the subject and said: "Marriage is indeed a good idea, but don't rush it in advance. Let's observe it for a few years before making any decisions."
"If his performance satisfies us, it's not like we can't make a special case for him."
