Hongwu thirty-one years, June.
New textbooks on the imperial examination have been compiled.
and has been published.
The next step is to send them to schools in various provinces, states, and counties.
Lao Zhu attaches great importance to education. He saw from the demise of the Yuan Dynasty that in addition to the quality of the rulers themselves, the lack of education in the entire society was also a reason.
Therefore, after he ascended the throne, he took measures to build schools, select academic officials, and insisted on using education as an important indicator to measure the performance of local officials.
Therefore, there are official schools all over the country.
This is why later there was a saying that "the Ming Dynasty maintained scholars for two hundred years".
At the same time, Lao Zhu's health was getting worse and worse.
Although he has not abdicated yet, all government affairs have been handed over to Zhu Yunwen.
Under Yang Xuan's guidance over the years, Zhu Yunwen's progress is also gratifying. Although he cannot compare with the previous Zhu Biao, he is still young and has enough time.
Yang Xuan will continue to assist him.
Of course, the premise is that he will be a good emperor.
…
On this day, after Yang Xuan finished his work, he went to visit Lao Zhu.
But found that his mental state was surprisingly good.
Yang Xuan was not happy, he was silent.
He knew that this should be Lao Zhu's comeback.
"Yang Xuan, come with us for a walk?"
"My lord, take the order!"
"Don't always be my minister, my minister. I've been calling you this for decades. Now we allow you to call yourself my son."
"Also, don't call us Your Majesty, call me Father!"
Lao Zhu looked at Yang Xuan and smiled.
"...Yes." Yang Xuan was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
The father-in-law and his son-in-law left the palace and went directly to the racecourse on the outskirts of Beijing.
"Since the racecourse was established, we have only been here a handful of times."
"It's such a pity for these wonderful horses!"
Lao Zhu looked at the sweaty horses at the racecourse and sighed with emotion.
He talked a lot, from the bloody horse to the war horse, and from the war horse to the battlefield.
Finally, he talked about how difficult it was when he started his business.
The whole is his personal memoir.
However, Yang Xuan was not impatient at all. He listened patiently and admired Lao Zhu even more.
Let me ask, who can start a powerful empire from just one bowl?
Apart from Zhu Yuanzhang, there was no one around him.
"It's a pity that we are old now and can't even pick up a knife!" Lao Zhu said sadly.
"Everyone has their peak moment, but you, my father, will be famous throughout the ages."
"In the eyes of my son, my father is comparable to Emperor Qin, Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Taizong of Tang."
"Be the emperor for eternity!"
Yang Xuan said seriously.
"Haha!" Lao Zhu couldn't help laughing when he heard this.
"Do you really think we are the emperor for eternity?"
he asked rhetorically.
"Yes, he will be the emperor for eternity!"
Yang Xuan spoke firmly.
Seeing this, Lao Zhu laughed, his eyes full of relief.
The two walked for a while, and Lao Zhu suddenly asked: "By the way, Yang Xuan, do you still remember the prosperous age you described to Biao'er before?"
Hearing this, Yang Xuan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "My son will never forget it."
"Can you say it again?"
"good."
"It was a prosperous age when everyone had enough to eat, every child could afford to go to school, and no foreign race dared to bully us."
"so good!"
"We really want to take a look."
Lao Zhu looked up at the sky, his eyes full of yearning.
"There will be a day." Yang Xuan said seriously.
"Haha~" Lao Zhu glanced at Yang Xuan, laughed, and then looked lonely: "It's a pity that we can't see it."
"Yang Xuan!"
"My son is here."
"You have met the old immortal Zhang Sanfeng before. Do you know that there is a way to live forever in this world?"
"No, the old god Zhang Sanfeng once said personally that one day he will die too."
"So there is no way to live forever in this world."
Yang Xuan shook his head.
"Really?" Lao Zhu turned his head and looked into Yang Xuan's eyes.
"No." Yang Xuan still answered, but he was a little confused.
Lao Zhu shouldn't be an emperor who believes in immortality?
"You lied!" Lao Zhu suddenly changed his face and caught Yang Xuan off guard.
His face was full of astonishment, and he couldn't help but start to guess, could his secret be discovered by Lao Zhu?
When did this happen?
However, he quickly calmed down and shook his head firmly: "Father, I did not lie!"
"Then what's going on with you?" Lao Zhu grabbed Yang Xuan's arm and lifted up his sleeves, revealing the skin as smooth as a baby underneath.
"My son, I just took good care of myself." Yang Xuan replied.
"You can't deceive us with your words." Lao Zhu stared into Yang Xuan's eyes and applied pressure.
"My son did not lie to my father. This is just a little trick I learned from the old god Zhang Sanfeng." Yang Xuan's eyes did not change and he still did not admit it.
"good."
"Remember, if anyone asks you about it in the future, you will give this answer. Do not admit anything else under any circumstances."
Lao Zhu put down Yang Xuan's arm and his tone turned into exhortation.
The latter was stunned and looked at Lao Zhu in confusion.
"We already know your secret."
"Since Dabiao'er left, we have tried to kill you more than once."
Lao Zhu put his hands behind his back and spoke slowly.
"Because you do not respect the imperial power and do not have a monarch in your heart."
"But then I thought about it. After all, we watched you grow up. We know who you are."
"You like yellow and white things, and we know you are doing it to show us."
You misunderstood, I really like this... Yang Xuan thought to himself.
Lao Zhu didn't know what Yang Xuan was thinking, so he continued:
"When we are no longer here, you don't have to do this anymore."
"Contribute well to the Ming Dynasty."
"Da Ming needs you!"
Having said this, Lao Zhu put his hand on Yang Xuan's shoulder.
Yang Xuan, Yang Xuan, we know that your loyalty is never to the Zhu family, but to the world... Lao Zhu said in his heart, this is why he has not killed Yang Xuan until now.
If Yang Xuan knew what Lao Zhu was thinking at this moment, he would definitely give it a like.
As a good young man who grew up under the red flag, he has a sense of national responsibility and mission. Even in this era, he will still shoulder it.
Seeing Lao Zhu with a sincere expression and a serious tone, as if he was explaining the funeral affairs, Yang Xuan suddenly felt unspeakably uncomfortable in his heart.
"I will!" He nodded heavily, his voice choked up.
He couldn't say no to Lao Zhu like this.
"Haha, okay!" Lao Zhu breathed a long sigh of relief.
Then he took out a black token from his arms and handed it to Yang Xuan.
The latter took it, full of confusion.
"After the Jinyi Guards were abolished by us, we kept the elite ones and formed the secret guards, hiding in the dark."
"This token can command all the secret guards."
"Today, we give it to you."
"I hope you can use it to protect the Ming Dynasty."
"If you still have any questions, go back and show this token to Erhu, and he will answer your questions."
Hearing this, Yang Xuan was stunned for a moment. He originally thought that Erhu was just sent by Lao Zhu to monitor him, but he did not expect that Erhu would have such an identity.
"Yes." He came back to his senses, raised his hands and said seriously.
At this moment, the sun was about to set. Lao Zhu glanced at the sunset that was dyed red on the horizon and said to Yang Xuan: "Go and bring us a horse!"
"yes."
Soon, Yang Xuan brought the most docile horse in the horse farm.
Lao Zhu took the reins, gently stroked the horse's head, and then got on the horse.
Yang Xuan was startled: "Father!"
"Where are you standing?" Lao Zhu glared at Yang Xuan.
He's just old, but it's not like he can't ride a horse.
"Let's ride one last time!"
After speaking, Lao Zhu waved his riding whip.
The horse moved forward.
Instantly, a familiar feeling emerged.
He seemed to have gone back in time, and worked hard with a group of brothers to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty.
He galloped, the rivers and the earth were trampled under his feet, and the beautiful mountains and rivers were reflected behind him.
Scenes he had experienced appeared before his eyes:
The green lanterns and bright moon of Huangjue Temple;
The caution in Haozhou City;
Fires rising into the sky in Poyang Lake.
There are also familiar people: Guo Zixing, Miss Ma, Xu Da, Tang He, Chang Yuchun, Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong, Liu Bowen.
And, his mark...
Not far behind, Yang Xuan looked at the lonely figure in the sunset, and at some point, his face burst into tears.
He shouted to the figure and bowed down:
"Congratulations to Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty!"
The figure in front reined in the horse, facing the last ray of sunlight on the horizon, and looked back.
It seemed that he was looking at Yang Xuan, and he seemed to be looking at the beautiful mountains and rivers he had conquered with his own hands.
He looked up to the sky and laughed, as if he was responding to Yang Xuan, and also seemed to be talking about his life:
"I am a commoner in Huaiyou, how can the world compare to me?"
…
In the 31st year of Hongwu, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang died in Yingtian at the age of 71. He was buried with Queen Ma in the Xiaoling Mausoleum on Zijin Mountain. His posthumous title was: Emperor Qinming Qiyun Junde succeeded in unifying the world, Da Xiaogao.
…
(Volume 1, end)
Sprinkle flowers! ! !
I'm mentally exhausted. I'll take a day off tomorrow and then think about how to write the next volume.
