As the largest city in the world today, the capital of the Ming Dynasty is located, which was once Jinling and is now Nanjing.
The already bustling streets looked extremely bloated.
On weekdays, it's mostly the smell of the sweat of horse dealers, but today, a faint fragrance can be smelled everywhere on the streets.
There were even more sounds of warblers and swallows.
Women's chatter and laughter, men's showoff, and servants' compliments all filled my ears.
This is a different capital.
A graceful lady, a gentleman is a good man.
It’s not just women who dress up in costumes, men even more so.
Even a poor scholar will at least wear clean and decent clothes so that he can hold his head high.
The academy is also on holiday on this day.
Even if you are a teacher, you must not miss this kind of festival...
Zhu Gaochi had already started walking towards the palace before dawn.
In the palace, Zhu Ying had already rinsed her mouth and face, and began to read the memorial.
It has to be said that what Zhu Ying uses to rinse her mouth now can be regarded as a homemade toothbrush.
This toothbrush was originally going to be invented by Zhu Youtang, Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, a hundred years later, but now it has been used by Zhu Ying.
A toothbrush is not difficult to make, it is naturally much easier.
Including Zhu Yuanzhang rinsing his mouth in the morning, he had already started using a toothbrush.
Zhu Yuanzhang has already gone to prepare for the morning court. Zhu Ying does not need to go to the morning court yet, but when the time comes, he will be called out by the eunuch Guo Zhong.
"Your Highness, these are early rice tax notices sent from various places. Your Majesty said that your Highness should go through them first."
Guo Zhong respectfully handed over more than ten memorials.
There was also early rice in the Ming Dynasty.
Generally, sowing is done in mid-to-late March, and harvesting can begin at the end of June or early July.
After harvesting in July, late rice transplanting immediately follows and must be completed before the beginning of autumn, commonly known as double-grabbing.
Early rice is mainly produced in the south, concentrated in the four provinces of Hunan, Guangxi, Jiangxi and Guangdong.
Zhu Ying nodded and took the memorial. What was written in it was the approximate valuation of Zaodao.
Although the entire Ming Dynasty suffered a lot of disasters, the situation in the early Ming Dynasty was much better than that in the late Ming Dynasty.
This wave of early rice harvest is very important. If a batch comes, the Ming Dynasty's treasury will suddenly become much richer.
The salaries of most officials can also begin to be paid on time.
Although the Henan region was severely affected, the southern region is still doing well. After food comes, the situation in the entire Ming Dynasty will become very good.
And a wave of late rice can be harvested in November.
Just when Zhu Ying was checking the memorial, the eunuch Guo Zhong came in again and reported:
"Your Highness, the envoy from Song Town wishes to see you."
Zhu Ying paused, something strange flashed in his eyes, and said: "Let him come in quickly."
Soon, Song Zhong appeared in front of Zhu Ying again after half a month.
"What, I found out the news." Zhu Ying, who had always been steady, actually seemed a little anxious at this moment.
"Reporting to Your Highness, I have lived up to my great trust and have finally found out the information about Mr. Li." Song Zhong's expression at this time looked haggard and tired.
Obviously, Song Zhong did not seem to be in the capital during this period, but went out to perform a secret mission arranged by Zhu Ying.
This is normal.
Jiang Yu is the commander of the Jinyi Guards, equivalent to Zhu Yuanzhang's personal bodyguard.
Zhu Yuanzhang would naturally arrange one for his eldest grandson Zhu Ying, and this person would be Song Zhong.
Song Zhong and Guo Zhong, like Jiang Yu and Liu He, were Zhu Ying's right-hand men in the future.
Of course, in addition to this, Zhu Ying also has forces under his command, but for now, the more significance lies in the hidden line, rather than Song Zhong and Guo Zhong.
Song Zhong was originally a personal bodyguard. When the identities of Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang first became clearer, Zhu Ying arranged a task for him.
This mission is about Mr. Li.
Mr. Li, whose full name is Li Xing, is also an ordinary businessman.
When Zhu Ying was living in the Western Regions and was in poverty, it was because of Li Xing's help that he was able to survive.
returning a Favour many times more.
But when Zhu Ying gradually became more active, Li Xingren was suddenly nowhere to be found.
Apart from knowing that Li Xing was from the Ming Dynasty and had a slight northern accent, he knew nothing else.
In recent years, especially after Zhu Ying's Qunying Chamber of Commerce began to gradually expand, Zhu Ying never gave up the opportunity to find Li Xing.
It's just that these days, the frontiers are in chaos, and the internal situation of Ming Dynasty is not necessarily stable. Even the household registration is not known. How can it be found just by a name.
Even if it is the Heavenly Eye of later generations, it does not mean that you can find whoever you want, let alone in today's Ming Dynasty.
But Zhu Ying never gave up searching.
After Song Zhong followed Zhu Ying, the first thing Zhu Ying gave Song Zhong was to dig three feet into the ground to find this person. Zhu Ying made it clear to Song Zhong that it was a test.
.
If something can be gained, even if it is just a clue, Song Zhong will be considered to have passed the test.
From that day on, Song Zhong left the capital directly and embarked on a journey to find the person.
It has to be said that Jin Yiwei has the household registration after all, especially when he knows that Zhu Ying has met Li Xing.
Although it is the Western Region, if you want to go to the Western Region, you cannot avoid several border cities.
Nowadays, merchants need to issue road signs no matter where they go, and these are all recorded in the city.
Li Xing's household registration was quickly found by Song Zhong.
"Where is Mr. Li now?" Zhu Ying asked directly.
If the adoptive father was Zhu Ying's first noble person when he came to Ming Dynasty, then Li Xing was Zhu Ying's second noble person.
Zhu Ying, who was competing with wild dogs for food, would really have no way to survive without Li Xing's help.
This is a life-saving grace.
And at that time, Li Xing was actually a clay Bodhisattva crossing the river.
In the end, Zhu Ying had no choice but to separate from Li Xing, but Zhu Ying never thought of blaming Mr. Li in her heart and could let him cultivate for a period of time.
Heal your injuries.
It was already a great kindness. At that time, Li Xing himself could not even afford a few mouthfuls of food.
But when Zhu Ying asked for Mr. Li's future contact information, Li Xing shook his head, gave Zhu Ying half of the dry food left in his arms, and then left.
Zhu Ying never dared to forget that scene.
"Your Highness, Mr. Li's place, or..." Song Zhong seemed a little hesitant after hearing this.
"Say!" Zhu Ying shouted with a frown.
Song Zhong's performance made Zhu Ying feel a bad feeling in his heart.
Song Zhong did not dare to hesitate too much and quickly told the information he found in detail.
It turned out that Li Xing was from a small village in the northwest region. He was homeless due to famine and could only be regarded as a half-way businessman. He had also attended private school for two years.
Zhu Ying nodded when she heard this, knowing that Song Zhong had checked correctly.
Mr. Li can be called Mr. Li because he knows many words.
But the next news made Zhu Ying frown.
The village where Mr. Li lived was attacked by bandits in the second year after Mr. Li returned. There were not many people left alive in the whole village, and almost all of them died.
From this time on, there was no news about Li Xing, and there was no trace of Li Xing in the nearest county seat.
Obviously, this means that Li Xing has inevitably passed away.
"Have you found out where the banditry is?" Zhu Ying asked in a deep voice, her teeth grinding together.
"Reporting to your highness, after my investigation, there are basically no bandits gathering within a hundred miles of Mr. Li. And such a massacre of a village is most likely not caused by bandits, but by soldiers.
"
Song Zhong replied and directly expressed his guess.
These days, those who are capable of massacring villages are either bandits or soldiers. Only these two types of people are most likely.
Apart from grabbing some food, ordinary bandits would not do such unscrupulous things.
The reason why you Song Zhong directly said that he was a soldier and ruled out the possibility of a bandit is because bandits are generally very famous.
The areas where famous bandits passed through usually have records that can be checked, and even some crimes they committed will be reported immediately.
But Song Zhong found no relevant information near Li Xing's village.
Then the most likely ones are soldiers and bandits.
Soldiers and bandits do not refer to bandits in the true sense, but to serious soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.
The march of the ancient army did not have strict discipline like that of later generations. Soldiers passed by like combs, bandits passed by like grates, and they robbed like robbers.
This is normal behavior for most armies.
The harm caused by officers and soldiers to the people is actually more serious than that of bandits.
This is why they are called soldiers and bandits.
Moreover, officers and soldiers have strong combat capabilities, so it is extremely normal for them to directly demand it. Sometimes conflicts and disputes occur, and it is not uncommon for them to directly massacre villages.
How can ordinary villagers have the ability to fight against officers and soldiers?
"Since you can confirm that it is a soldier and bandit, you have found out the relevant information, specifically which army is responsible for it. Don't tell me. You will come back directly after you find out here."
Zhu Ying asked directly. If Song Zhong backed down after investigating this point, he would be very disappointed.
Song Zhong immediately replied: "Of course I know the importance of this matter. After realizing that it might be a bandit, I immediately went to a nearby city to investigate the records of the army's passage that year."
"After detailed investigation, I did find out the passing troops and even the generals, but this is the only thing."
At the end, Song Zhong's tone was a little hesitant.
"Just what." Zhu Ying asked directly.
Song Zhong gritted his teeth gently and said, "It's just that this general has a close relationship with Duke Liang."
Zhu Ying asked, "Could he be the adopted son of Duke Liang?"
Song Zhong shook his head slightly, took out a booklet, handed it over respectfully, and said, "Your Highness, please read it."
Zhu Ying saw it and read the contents of the brochure carefully.
This book contains the life of that general.
The official position is not big, just a Qianhu, but the relationship between Qianhu and Lan Yu is indeed extraordinary.
Lanyu has three wives, Mu, Kong and Hu. In addition to Chukai's eldest son Lan Naoer and second son Lan Taiping, there are also two younger sons. Mrs. Mu gave birth to a son Lan Chun, and Mrs. Kong gave birth to a son Lan Bin.
And this Qianhu is Mrs. Kong’s younger brother.
Kong's background is not small. His surname comes from the long-established Kong family.
The Kong family, which has lasted for thousands of years, may be the first family in the Ming Dynasty today, although now, the reputation of the Kong family is not very good.
Being able to survive during the Yuan Dynasty, the Kong family obviously took refuge with the Mongols.
In the eyes of many Han people, this is naturally very disgraceful.
Moreover, the Kong family itself was also said to be falling apart at that time.
After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, out of respect for the sage Kong, he did not care about the Kong family. After canonizing Yanshenggong, he also gave the Kong family eight generation characters: Gong, Yan, Cheng, Hong, Wen, Zhen, and Shang.
, Yin, for naming purposes.
Later, Kong Xixue, the fifty-sixth generation in the first year of Hongwu, and Kong Na, the fifty-seventh generation in the seventeenth year of Hongwu, successively attacked Yanshenggong. In this way, "Xi" and "Yan" were added next to each other to form ten characters.
Although the current Kong family is not as good as before, it is still pretty good. After all, it is a family of saints, and its reputation in Xinglin is still very high.
No matter how you mix it up, it won't be bad.
After Zhu Ying read it, he coldly said to Song Zhong: "No matter what his relationship is, go out and escort this person to the capital immediately. I want to interrogate him personally."
Hearing the suppressed anger in Zhu Yingying's breath, Song Zhong did not dare to hesitate and immediately bowed and said: "I obey the order."
Zhu Ying's eyes showed evil intent.
The reason why even Song Zhong, the imperial envoy of Jin Yiwei, hesitated and conducted a detailed identity investigation was not only because of Liang Guogong, but also because of his own relationship with the Kong family.
After all, the reputation of the Kong family cannot be ignored in the entire literary circle.
During Song Zhong's investigation, it was discovered that the reason why this Kong Xing general was able to manage thousands of households was not due to his relationship with Duke Liang.