Chapter 21 Ordered
With Zhu Yuanzhang's temperament, he was determined not to accept Tai'a Daoxuan. Even if he trusts the frontline generals. Nor would he entrust the whole nation's troops to his command.
Nanjing Jingying is an important chess piece to check and balance all the princes in the world.
The Nanjing camp is composed of elites from the Ming Dynasty, numbering more than a hundred thousand. Although it is not as good as the 500,000 troops in Beijing Camp during Yongle period. But the elites are better than him. Generally speaking, wherever there is a war, Zhu Yuanzhang will send the first unit of the Beijing Camp to participate in the war. The combat effectiveness of the Beijing camp is higher than that of the local ministries.
Moreover, Nanjing is Zhu Yuanzhang's old base. Even taxes from Nanjing and surrounding prefectures and counties have not been collected for many years. It can be said that once there is a need. Zhu Yuanzhang could immediately recruit tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops.
This is Zhu Yuanzhang's check and balance on the powerful troops on the front line.
With the Beijing camp as the backbone and the people from Nanjing and nearby areas recruited as soldiers, a powerful army can be formed immediately. However, one of the key points is ordnance. There must be ordnance capable of arming an army.
Therefore, Nanjing has always kept a large amount of ordnance in its arsenal. It's not impossible to call Fu Youde. But Zhu Yuanzhang was a little worried.
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly thought of something. Said: "This matter is of great importance, Fu Aiqing, after you go back, think about it carefully. It will not be too late to discuss it tomorrow."
As soon as these words came out, all the generals knew what to do and stood up to leave.
After the generals left, the night was already deep. He Xi was about to resign, but was left behind by Zhu Yuanzhang and the prince.
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Prince, how big do you think the ordnance gap mentioned by Fu Youde is?"
The prince pondered for a moment and then said: "It's not like the guards in the southwest don't have any ordnance at all. According to the rules of the army, there is still a certain amount of inventory. It will take some time for me to check. I don't know the consumption of the southern expedition to Yunnan. But I want to come. It is enough to prepare ordnance for an army of 300,000 people. Now it is in the Nanjing treasury."
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said: "The ordnance in Nanjing's treasury cannot be used unless it is absolutely necessary. At least it must be reserved to arm an army of 300,000 people."
The prince frowned and said: "In this case, there will be a gap, at least one or two hundred thousand pieces. Or even more."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "What evening?"
He Xi said: "I am here."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "I asked you to supervise the construction of this batch of ordnance. When can you make it?"
The prince and He Xi were both stunned. The prince immediately begged He Xi and said, "Father, Brother He is young and has never done anything like this. This batch of ordnance is time-sensitive and the task is heavy. It is not difficult for him to leave it to Brother He."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "You don't understand your brother. What He Xi has learned is to be proficient in this aspect, right? He Xi, show me your scientific methods."
He Xi boasted the so-called scientific method to the point of miraculousness. Zhu Yuanzhang still believes what he sees. This incident just made He Xi, a mule or a horse, pull out and run around.
He Xi knew she couldn't refuse as soon as she heard it, and said: "Your Majesty, I know nothing about this matter now. The raw materials----"
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Prince, how much iron does the Ministry of Industry have in stock?"
The prince coughed. Although he wanted to explain it to He Xi, he couldn't explain it to He Xi. He said, "I haven't counted it. Anyway, there are many." The prince thoughtfully told He Xi why there was so much iron and said: "My father doesn't like official salt and iron, so iron ore will be mined only when the court is short of iron. Generally speaking, a lot will be mined in one or two years. The mountain will be closed again when the court's inventory is no longer able to hold it. When was the last time it was mined? It seems to be the thirteenth year of Hongwu, so the iron stocked by the Ministry of Industry can no longer be loaded."
He Xi stayed for a while. He said subconsciously: "Artisan?"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the prince.
Although the prince was unwilling to cheat this young brother, Zhu Yuanzhang still accumulated wealth. After more than ten years, the Ming Dynasty's family wealth was too strong. The prince looked at the beam above his head and said: "After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, my father moved skilled craftsmen from all over the country to Nanjing. Today, Nanjing has a population of one million, half of which are craftsmen. They serve the government. There are as many as you want."
He Xi was silent, he didn't want to talk anymore. Said: "What time?"
"The time is at most three months, and it is now September." Zhu Yuanzhang said: "If we go by what Fu Youde said, then within a few days, he will leave for the southwest and mobilize the army. The ordnance of the capital must be sent to the southwest as soon as possible. And what you need to do is make up for the gap in the capital’s arsenal as soon as possible.”
When He Xi saw this, he knew this and couldn't let himself shirk it. Now that things are like this, we have no choice but to bite the bullet. Said: "I obey the order. I just said it first. I can only do my best."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly and said, "Okay, I'm waiting for your good news."
He Xi felt pressure in her heart. If calculated in terms of time, there can be no delay at all. After all, according to Fu Youde's idea, the army will go out for the battle in just a few days. This gap must be filled before the end of today, although there are sufficient raw materials and the number of craftsmen. But he is not too clear about the craftsmanship and technical aspects.
And he didn't ask what Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao meant.
Because he knew that even if he asked them such a question, they might not know.
Therefore, time is so tight that we can’t delay even a moment.
He Xi said: "Your Majesty, please authorize me to read all the documents from the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War on weapons manufacturing tonight."
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly, feeling a little embarrassed for a moment.
He Xi only has one secretary now, and he has not even decided what rank the secretary will be. Let him do this. It's not easy to decide what official position to hold. It was also night now, and it was difficult to find the staff on duty at the Hanlin Academy for a while.
There was no Imperial Academy to write imperial edicts. There is no legal benefit.
It's not that Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't do it. But the edict was drafted late at night. Some movements are too loud. Originally, everything would be easy to do early tomorrow morning. It’s just that He Xi insists on wanting it now. Zhu Yuanzhang also knew that the task given was too heavy, and it was difficult to refuse this small request.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while. Take off a jade pendant from your body. Let Xu Zheng give it to He Xi. Said: "With this jade pendant, the imperial court will have unobstructed access. The Ministry of War, Ministry of Industry, and even the Imperial Household will cooperate."
He Xi didn't think much and took the jade pendant with both hands. But I found that the texture of this jade pendant was ordinary. There are no too complicated patterns on it, only the word "Zhu" is carved in the middle. Also filled with cinnabar red. It looks very eye-catching.
He Xi immediately said: "I thank your Majesty. I will go and prepare now. I will retire."
The prince looked dumbfounded.
Without him, the prince knew what this jade pendant was.
At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang got involved in Haozhou City and married Queen Ma. He is also considered the number one figure among the rebels. It became a bit arty for a while. This jade pendant was sold at that time. After all, Haozhou City was in the middle of a war and there were no good jade workers.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang soon woke up. But this jade pendant stayed.
Zhu Yuanzhang always carried it with him as a warning.
It's been decades.
Everyone knows this jade pendant from top to bottom.
Even before the founding of the country. Zhu Yuanzhang once used jade pendants as tokens to convey orders. But after the founding of the People's Republic of China, this was no longer the case. Therefore, although there is nothing written on this jade pendant, it is like I am here in person. But the effect is almost the same.
Because of this, the prince was surprised that Zhu Yuanzhang valued and trusted He Xi. For a moment, the prince only had one thought in his heart, secretly saying: "This must be my brother."
He Xi did not see the change in the prince's expression. He left here in a hurry.
After He Xi left, Xu Zheng, who had been waiting for a long time, asked to see him.
After Zhu Yuanzhang asked Xu Zheng to come in. Xu Zheng immediately told what King Lu had done.
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly after hearing this.
When the prince saw this, he immediately said: "Father, my tenth brother is young and ignorant. Please give me a gentle punishment."
Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said, "Are you really young and ignorant?"
He Xi understood Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts very well. In the pamphlet to Zhu Yuanzhang, he explained everything he could to Zhu Yuanzhang's sons. Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang had too many sons, and many of them did not leave much trace in history. I don’t know what time it is.
But he committed suicide and set himself on fire. King Lu is so ridiculous. Prince Ning is such an unjust person, He Xi is written on it.
This made Zhu Yuanzhang full of emotions. I can't even believe it.
Especially King Lu, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't believe that his son could be so ridiculous and cruel. This has caught up with those ridiculous emperors and princes during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Now King Lu has committed another crime. Zhu Yuanzhang immediately thought of what was on the booklet.
He suddenly became furious and decided to discipline Yi Er. He didn't listen to the prince's advice at all. He said sternly: "Prince, you go over now. Responsible for the twenty bosses. Tell Lao Shi, isn't he interested in monks? If there is another time, I will let him go to Dalongxing Temple to become a monk."
The so-called Dalongxing Temple is actually Huangjue Temple. It was after Zhu Yuanzhang became prosperous that he rebuilt the damaged Huangjue Temple.
Just, not at the original location.
As soon as the prince heard this, he knew that there was no room for relaxation. I also know that now that he is responsible for this matter, he can still leave some room and some sense of propriety. If Zhu Yuanzhang sends others, Lao Shi will be in misery.
The prince secretly complained that his younger brother was really ignorant. At the same time, I was worried that these twenty big boards would go down. Can Lao Shi bear it? He immediately accepted the order and said: "Father, I accept the order. Please don't get angry because of my tenth brother."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "I am not so easily angered to death. Just go quickly."
The prince went immediately.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Xu Zheng had not left yet and said, "Hello, what can I do?"
Xu Zheng said: "Your Majesty, the young men below have reported something. Do you know whether I should talk about it or not?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Don't be careless. You really shouldn't say it. You wouldn't say it like this."
