Chapter 35 Zhu Yuanzhang’s Thoughts
He Xi said: "I understand."
He Xi couldn't help but marvel at the fact that the prince was the heir that Zhu Yuanzhang had placed great hope on. It's really not simple. Determination is not a person who talks about kindness. People who can control a situation have some skills.
He Xi didn't know, so he asked Fu Youde to come and see the production of new weapons before going on an expedition. Was it Zhu Yuanzhang's intention or the prince's suggestion. However, what made He Xi sigh was that from his current point of view, Zhu Yuanzhang had no intention of killing the hero, at least not yet. The evolution in history can be regarded as a trick of fate.
The prince said: "Brother He, it's good if you understand. You can do this well. My father has high hopes for you. From now on, you will be the minister of the Great Mingzhu Shi."
He Xi said: "I understand."
The prince said: "It's getting late. It will take some time to return to the city. The secretary supervisor still has some affairs, so I won't stay. However, brother He, don't forget to study when you are outside the city. I will bring you a volume. It's a good time to read .”
He Xi said: "Yes."
The prince said: "In five days, all the generals from Yingchuan's expedition will come. You have to hurry up."
He Xi said: "Yes."
After He Xi watched the prince leave, he also got a book left by the prince. He Xi opened it and saw that it was a volume of "Three Kingdoms". It seems that someone used to read one of these volumes before. It comes naturally as soon as you open it. He Xi opened it and saw that it was the biography of Cao Zhen.
After He Xi read it, he realized what the prince meant?
In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Cao Zhen is also considered an important figure in the Cao Wei Group. Led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. But He Xi didn't know that Cao Zhen was Cao Cao's adopted son. They also didn't notice that Cao Shuang, who was killed by the Sima family, was Cao Zhen's heir.
The meaning of the book left by the prince is quite normal.
He Xi suddenly appeared in the palace and asked the prince to treat him as his younger brother. His status is actually equivalent to that of an adopted son.
Cao Zhen's prominent status symbolizes He Xi's future, and Cao Shuang's fate seems to hint at this. That is, He Xi and the Zhu family royal family have both prospered and suffered losses.
He Xi pondered for a moment and thought to himself: "It's really difficult for His Royal Highness."
Cao Zhen was chosen with both wooing and warning.
"Yes. And where can I go today?" He Xi thought to herself.
He Xi knew how important the knowledge he brought was, and he was determined not to pass it on to anyone outside China. Science has no national boundaries, but scientists do have national boundaries. So within China, does He Xi have any other options?
Of course there is none.
At this moment, He Xi gave up all other thoughts and stayed with Zhu Yuanzhang. He Xi secretly thought: "It's just that Zhu Yuanzhang is not a good boss."
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In the palace.
The lanterns are on.
The prince came here to report the results of his trip out of the city.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't even raise his head and asked, "Can you see clearly? What is He Xi's ability?"
The prince said: "My father has seen thousands of miles, and my brother's ability is beyond my imagination. I secretly estimated that if this kind of steel-making furnace is promoted, I am afraid it can produce more than a thousand stones of steel every day. By then, the Ming Dynasty will The iron will be inexhaustible."
Zhu Yuanzhang was noncommittal and said, "You just thought of this?"
The prince immediately started to use his brain, and his heart kept spinning. My father is so great. My son is under great pressure. Especially this sudden teaching test.
"Father, I think it is a good thing to have more steel production. But the Ming Dynasty used iron and steel in certain quantities, otherwise the court would not have hoarded so much pig iron. Therefore, He Di's magical skills are unparalleled in the world. It's just that Unless it's a big battle, maybe it's the art of slaying a dragon." The prince racked his brains to guess Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts and spoke slowly.
If the prince had said these words a month ago, Zhu Yuanzhang might have agreed. But things are different now.
Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly: "Is it just that?"
The prince said: "My child is stupid."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "The price of iron is high. The quantity of a hundred catties, or even dozens of taels, is uncertain. And if steelmaking becomes cheaper, what will it look like if it can be made to one or two taels per thousand catties?"
For a while, the prince could not judge what impact this change would have on the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang then raised his head and said, "It's getting late today. You should go back and think about it."
The prince said, "Yes." Then he retreated.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw his son going out and sighed inwardly: "Yes. If the price of iron is lower than the price of wood, what will happen? What impact will it have on the Ming Dynasty?"
This is a question that Zhu Yuanzhang has been thinking about recently.
This issue was too important, and the more Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it, the more important it became. But how big is the impact? Zhu Yuanzhang has always been unsure.
However, this issue is not temporary.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked up. Revealing the file he had been reading. It's Jin Yiwei's file. Everything He Xi did outside and every word he said was recorded. No matter how late every day, Zhu Yuanzhang would look at them one by one. What Zhu Yuanzhang has been pondering today is the last conversation between He Xi and Mr. Ge.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself: "I've almost figured out He Xi. He can be considered a useful person."
How to look at a person. Naturally engaged in looking.
What a person says may be false. What a person does is unlikely to be fake.
Among all the things He Xi did, what Zhu Yuanzhang valued most was the fact that He Xi accepted Ge Tiangong as his disciple.
After all, in Zhu Yuanzhang's opinion, He Xi's work was too rough. No matter when, before doing anything, you must first win people's hearts. Only after sorting out personnel matters can we do anything. And He Xi had never been able to do it well before. Isn't it just because the superiors and subordinates are suspicious of each other? It was also through the generous reward to the Ge family that he gained the heart of a craftsman.
Things go smoothly.
This proves what He Xi said before. He Xi has just graduated and is looking for a job. Only newcomers can be so careless.
He Xi accepted Ge Tiangong as his disciple, and he was the most valued by Zhu Yuanzhang.
This is how to observe He Xi’s values.
From this incident, Zhu Yuanzhang determined one thing: He Xi was definitely not a scholar-official.
The reason is simple. Most scholar-bureaucrats would not accept the sons of craftsmen as their apprentices.
Confucius taught without distinction, but this is not the case for most of Confucius' followers.
Most scholar-bureaucrats would not accept disciples from poor families as disciples. The difficulty of studying for poor disciples can be seen from Song Lian's "Preface to Ma Sheng in Dongyang". Song Lian is not completely without wealth. The son of a craftsman, on the other hand, has no interaction with the circle of scholars at all. If you want to be a scholar, you have to be extremely talented. Otherwise it's almost impossible.
And the information about Ge Tiangong is now in Zhu Yuanzhang's hands.
Although I can't say he is a fool. But it's just the appearance of a middle-aged person. At best, it's average. Such a person could easily enter He Xi's family. It can be seen that He Xi has no respect for craftsmen. Zhu Yuanzhang naturally knew what He Xi said to the craftsmen.
But Zhu Yuanzhang heard too many people's lies.
Observe his words, but also his actions.
Judging from this incident, He Xi and the scholar-bureaucrats cannot get along. What Zhu Yuanzhang valued even more was He Xi's kindness towards ordinary craftsmen.
This kind of benevolence is extremely rare among the Ming Dynasty scholar-bureaucrats.
Don't think that you are a great scholar-bureaucrat who has read the books of sages. It's really kind and benevolent. In fact, many scholar-bureaucrats have never had much benevolence towards the common people. Those who sacrificed countless common people for their own merits would not even blink an eye.
Let alone just one person.
Zhu Yuanzhang climbed up from the lowest level, and he understood that the Ming Dynasty paid more than 30 million shi in taxes every year, and that was done with blood. Almost every stone of food is included. Not to mention that every stone of grain was taken from the mouths of the people. Just the porters who transported the grain died every year. There were even heavy rains and flash floods on land, and the entire team died. There are also some.
But did the officials of the Ming Dynasty not mess with money and food?
This is also the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang acted harshly.
They felt that what they were greedy for was money, but in Zhu Yuanzhang's case, what they were greedy for was life.
But He Xi's thoughts were exactly what Zhu Yuanzhang had in mind.
"However, just a trace of benevolence can't accomplish anything." Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself: "We have to try other things."
Zhu Yuanzhang learned from other files. Take a portion and it belongs to Jin Yiwei. It was Jin Yiwei who reported from Zhejiang. All files about Guo Huan.
The Jin Yiwei of the Hongwu Dynasty were definitely not a loser. Over the past month, it was enough to find out Guo Huan's background clearly. This was not the first time Zhu Yuanzhang saw it. Looking back now, I still see Wuming getting angry and furious.
"Those who can achieve great things must not only have a benevolent heart, but also have thunderous means. Dare to kill is the first one."
"He Xi, you are beyond use. I want to see again."
Zhu Yuanzhang put Guo Huan's files together with He Xi's files.
Zhu Yuanzhang has been thinking about how to use He Xi. Just keep it by your side as a counselor. It's a pity. But where to place He Xi depends on what kind of person He Xi is.
Let He Xi do the work.
Not only do I want to see He Xi’s so-called technology, but more importantly, I want to test He Xi’s character.
To be honest, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care much about He Xi's abilities. Without him, in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, youth means ability.
After Zhu Yuanzhang raised his army, his nephew Zhu Wenzheng, his nephew Li Wenzhong, his adopted son Mu Ying, and his younger brother Xu Da all became talented. Although they were talented, it would not have been possible without Zhu Yuanzhang's cultivation.
On the one hand, Zhu Yuanzhang tried to find a way to regain He Xi's heart. The other aspect is to weigh He Xi’s character. To be more precise, He Xi’s stance and values.
Now He Xi's thoughts are not in the same league as Zhu Yuanzhang's biggest enemies, the Ming Dynasty scholar-bureaucrats. Now what Zhu Yuanzhang is testing is He Xi's other character, his decisive character. Decide whether He Xi is qualified to be entrusted with important tasks.
Ability can be taught and trained, but if the character and attitude are insufficient, it cannot be used.
As for what He Xi is facing now, in the eyes of others, it has not yet begun. But in Zhu Yuanzhang's case, it was already over.
