When Zhu Yunwen got the news, he immediately became extremely excited.
In fact, he had already made plans to follow the army to attack Champa City. During the recent period, Zhu Yunwen carefully studied military books in order to make a difference.
As far as Champa is concerned, Zhu Yunwen really doesn't think he would give up a city for no reason.
But with the publication in the Beijing News, it can be said that it is absolutely conclusive.
Overjoyed, Zhu Yunwen ran to Lu.
Lu was obviously in a good mood and said with a smile, "I already know it, but it's not as simple as you think. There must be many unknown processes."
"These don't have much to do with us. Now that it's a foregone conclusion, the next step is to prepare for the vassal issue."
"We basically don't have to worry about civil servants and generals. The next step is to find ways to make some money."
Zhu Yunwen didn't understand, so he asked: "What kind of money do you want to make?"
Lu didn't mean to blame either.
She knew that her son was indifferent to grains and grains. Previously he only read books from sages and had no big idea about money itself.
Too.
Since childhood, the eldest grandson Zhu Xiongying died young, and the Lu family was restored to power, so Zhu Yunwen's status was equivalent to that of the eldest grandson.
Coupled with the favor Lu received, it is basically certain that he will be the future prince.
As for government affairs, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were busy, and there was nothing for him to worry about, so his awareness of money was extremely weak.
At that moment, Mrs. Lu enlightened and said: "When you go to Champa, it's not like here in the Ming Dynasty. No matter what you do, you need money."
"The salaries of officials and the pay of the army are all indispensable."
"If the treasury is empty, then the civil servants will not return to their duties, and the soldiers will not work hard, then the vassal state will naturally not be under control."
Zhu Yunwen asked with some confusion: "Aren't there still taxes?"
Lu shook his head and said: "Places like Champa City are just barren lands where the people are in poverty."
"When we first arrived, if we wanted to win over the people, we had to do light corvee service and low taxes. And since the king of Champa agreed so readily, there will naturally be secret hands when we look back. You should be our Ming side."
"Maybe he will move most of the people away before we arrive. Don't hold out any hope for the money in the city's treasury."
Lu is a smart person, and he has already thought about these possible bad results in his mind.
Zhu Yunwen heard this and said angrily: "Wouldn't that leave me a wasteland and an empty city?"
Lu said: "The Champa side still has to give some face. Naturally, I won't say that it has gone too far, but it is naturally impossible to give it up intact."
"Even your elder brother can't stop this. Others have already given up a city. It can be said to be the biggest concession. We have to prepare for the next thing."
At this moment, Zhu Yunwen completely understood that he still had so many things to do in his future.
Originally, in his heart, he had a very good idea about the future vassal state.
Just because he had been in the palace and heard about the matter of the vassalage. After the vassalage, those uncles all took charge of one party and did whatever they wanted, which made Grandpa Huang very angry.
Because of this, Zhu Yunwen thought that he would be in a similar situation overseas.
But what Lu said today had completely awakened him.
Strictly speaking, the situation in his current domain may be even worse than that of Japan.
The Japanese country was conquered, and everything could be obtained through plunder, while he had to develop it alone.
Seeing that her son's will was somewhat depressed, Ms. Lu comforted her and said, "There is no need to be so pessimistic. Although there may be many shortcomings there, it is a place where we can truly be the masters of our own affairs."
"Even if you are a little worse now, you can gradually gain wealth through sea trade in the future. After all, you are my grandson's younger brother. The Qunying Chamber of Commerce will definitely give you preferential treatment in this area."
"With the sea trade business under control, as long as we attract enough merchants, the nobles who left the city will gradually come back."
"It's just an extra two years of effort to recover. It shouldn't be a big deal."
After hearing this, Zhu Yunwen's mood improved slightly.
After all, he was only a teenager, and even though he was well-informed, his temperament fluctuated greatly.
Fortunately, with Lu's help, the direction is relatively clear.
But what Lu said next made Zhu Yunwen very uncomfortable.
"While you are still in the capital during this period, Wen'er, you should contact Taisun's Qunying Chamber of Commerce more. Regarding our vassal kingdom and sea trade routes, you can communicate with your elder brother's Chamber of Commerce to see if there is any solution.
What a place to help.”
"If there is a vassal state in the future, many things will not be as convenient as they are now."
There is nothing wrong with Lu's idea.
At this time, Zhu Yunwen went to visit in the name of the emperor's grandson, especially the younger brother of His Royal Highness the Grandson of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce.
So no matter what the request is, it needs to be carefully considered.
As long as Zhu Yunwen lowers his attitude a little, then in the future, in the vassal state that captures the city, the Qunying Chamber of Commerce on the sea trade will not be able to avoid it.
Some of these things, not all big or small, will be reported to Zhu Ying.
Even if Zhu Ying knew about it, he would naturally not say that he would deliberately target Zhu Yunwen.
But the people below won’t think so.
A word of caution, the interests involved here are an unimaginable amount of wealth.
It's just that Lu may have forgotten.
Zhu Yunwen studied Confucianism since he was a child.
There is no problem in literature, but today's Confucianism is the most contemptuous of businessmen, and Zhu Yunwen has been influenced by Confucianism for a long time and has also been greatly influenced.
She immediately refused and said, "Mom, if I have anything to say to those businessmen, I might as well go and tell my eldest brother and ask him to pass on the message and help take care of them."
"I think they won't dare to slack off on my brother's words."
Lu frowned, paused and said, "Your eldest brother is busy with government affairs, and now he has just helped you determine the place for the vassal. This is already a great kindness."
"Do you know how many princes and grandsons are extremely envious of you? As far as the current prince and vassal system is concerned, it is like your eldest brother making an exception for you alone."
"At this juncture, if you ask your great-grandson to help you talk about sea trade, you are really betraying your feelings."
"That's not the case. You may not be able to stay in this place for a lifetime. Your elder brother has great ambitions in culture and military affairs. If chaos breaks out in the Nanyang region, you may have to rely on your elder brother for relief."
"Using the little affection I have left on this matter is really killing a chicken with a knife, and the gain outweighs the loss."
"Forget it, I'll just go and do this myself for my mother."
In her last words, Lu undoubtedly showed a hint of helplessness.
Zhu Yunwen also felt it.
But when he thought about having to talk to those businessmen and maybe say a few flattery words, Zhu Yunwen felt uncomfortable all over.
There was just silence at the moment.
I hope my mother can help me.
This is also because there is no one available for him.
The only one I was familiar with was Huang Zicheng, who was also a first-rate scholar. Lu knew this very well, and if she left it to him, it would be easy to cause trouble.
The next day.
Lu asked the maids to prepare some gifts and went to the Ping'an Tea House in the capital.
Ping'an Teahouse, Zhu Ying's initial stop, is no longer open to the public and is basically the headquarters of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce.
Several shops in the surrounding area were also purchased and integrated together.
Even the walls have been filled with cement and painted with white plaster.
Lu's driving sticker was delivered in the morning.
When Uncle Zhang saw Lu's driving sticker, he immediately became cautious.
No matter what the situation is in the palace now, Mrs. Lu is now the Crown Princess. On this point, no one can gossip.
Even Zhu Ying did not explicitly express her disapproval of this stepmother.
This leaves a lot of room, at least to preserve Lu's dignity.
Therefore, Uncle Zhang had to show enough courtesy to Lu's arrival.
After noon.
An exquisite carriage, accompanied by more than a dozen horsemen, appeared in front of the Ping An Tea House.
These Tiqi are all royal guards. As the Crown Princess, Lu's safety is naturally guaranteed when she leaves the palace.
Unlike other concubines, Lu had received permission from Zhu Yuanzhang a long time ago and could freely enter and leave the palace, but of course it was limited to the capital city.
If you want to leave the city, you need to ask for Zhu Yuanzhang's approval separately.
"I haven't welcomed you from far away, so please forgive me for any inconvenience."
Uncle Zhang led a group of people and bowed respectfully when Mrs. Lu stepped out of the sedan.
Ms. Lu said softly: "I came rather abruptly. Please don't cause any discomfort to Mr. Zhang."
Uncle Zhang quickly said: "I don't dare, old slave."
Then he invited Mr. Lu to go upstairs.
This was also the first time for Mrs. Lu to come to this Ping An Teahouse, and she looked around curiously.
She also knew that it was in this teahouse that the grandson and his majesty met each other, which led to the current situation.
It can be said that it was also in this teahouse that my son lost his position as grandson.
But these are already in the past.
After going upstairs, Mrs. Lu praised: "This teahouse is really good. No wonder His Highness Taisun was very fond of this place."
"I think that from the very beginning, His Highness Taisun must have taken this place as his foundation."
Uncle Zhang replied: "At first, His Highness King Yan temporarily borrowed this shop from His Highness Taisun to establish a foothold. Later, His Highness King Yan specially gave it to His Highness Taisun."
"His Royal Highness Taisun used to come here to have breakfast every morning. Later, His Majesty came here and liked it very much."
While talking, Uncle Zhang pointed to a separate private room and told Mrs. Lu that this was where Zhu Ying and his grandson often sat.
Now that Zhu Ying has entered the palace, there is rarely a chance to come back, but that seat has always been reserved, and no one is allowed to go there and sit.
As long as the Qunying Chamber of Commerce exists, this position will exist.
Of course, it was impossible for Mrs. Lu to say that she wanted to sit in that seat, so she sat in the private room next door under Uncle Zhang's arrangement.
"I don't know if the Crown Princess came here specially this time, but she has something to entrust me with."
After serving tea and snacks, Uncle Zhang asked.
According to his estimation, if he hadn't asked directly, he would have gone through a big circle here.
Seeing that Uncle Zhang was so straight to the point, Mrs. Lu took a sip of tea and said, "I came here this time just to have a look at the situation of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce, which is so famous in the capital."
"Sure enough, it has such a good reputation. Since I came in, I can see that this place is well organized. Each person performs his or her duties without interfering with each other and works together. No wonder it has such a reputation."
When Uncle Zhang saw that Lu did not give a direct answer, but instead praised the coming of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce, he immediately understood Lu's thoughts.
Then he also said: "This is all arranged by His Highness Taisun. Although His Highness rarely comes here, the arrangements here are always made by His Highness himself. We are just acting in accordance with the regulations."
Uncle Zhang mentioned Zhu Ying many times, so naturally he secretly told Mrs. Lu that this was His Highness the Grand Sun's territory, so if there were some embarrassing things, he shouldn't say anything.
Lu's heart was like a mirror, and she couldn't understand anything.
However, her purpose had nothing to do with the grandson, and she said calmly: "Although I have lived in the palace for a long time, I know a lot about the Qunying Chamber of Commerce."
"It can be said that the Qunying Chamber of Commerce should take the lion's share of the credit for the Ming Dynasty's capital city to be in its current situation."
"Of course this is due to His Highness the Grand Sun's control, but it is also inseparable from your sincerity that this achievement can be achieved."
Zhang Bo bowed and said, "Your Majesty, you are so complimentary."
Mr. Lu shook his head and said: "I am speaking from my heart, and everyone can see this. Mr. Zhang must not be humble."
As the saying goes, don't hit someone with a smiling face.
Lu's attitude could be said to be very low-key, and her words were full of praise for Uncle Zhang and others.
In this case, the number of lives will definitely be greatly reduced.
As the chat continued, within less than two sticks of incense, we had become quite familiar with each other.
When he felt that the time was almost here, Lu started to bring up the topic.
"I heard a few days ago that the Qunying Chamber of Commerce is vigorously supporting maritime trade, and Mr. Zhang even made a special trip to Jiangnan to arrange matters." Lu said slowly.
In fact, at this point, Uncle Zhang already understood Lu's thoughts very well and said, "It is indeed true. I wonder if your Majesty has any suggestions."
Lu smiled and said: "I have lived in the deep palace for a long time, so I don't have any suggestions. But recently, Yun Wen wanted to take over the city of the vassal, so I came to ask Mr. Zhang specifically."
"Nowadays, maritime trade in the Ming Dynasty is gradually becoming more and more popular, and Champa on the other side of Yunwen is the beginning of the Maritime Silk Road, so I came here to ask for some advice on this maritime trade."
After a slight pause, Uncle Zhang said: "His Royal Highness Yunwen is the grandson of our Ming Dynasty. Please rest assured, Madam, if there is anything that can be used by the Chamber of Commerce in this foreign country, I will naturally not refuse."
Mrs. Lu said with a satisfied smile: "Yunwen is young and in a foreign country. If there is anything I can do to help, Mr. Zhang, please don't refuse."
When the words came to this, Uncle Zhang immediately said: "Your Majesty's words are serious, these are our duties."