Chapter 793 The Kirin auspicious beast brought back by Li Jinglong
On the eighth day of February in the thirty-fourth year of Hongwu, Li Jinglong finally returned to the capital after having been away for several years.
Along with it, there was also a large amount of goods.
Pepper, ivory, gems, and spices, which were expensive items in the Ming Dynasty, were measured in kilograms on the Western fleet.
In addition, there are animals such as lions, leopards, thousand-mile camels, and llamas.
Especially giraffes.
The most important thing is that it is said that Li Jinglong brought back the auspicious beast "Qilin".
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't have much feeling about goods, because the Ming Dynasty was too rich now. After the opening of sea routes, goods from all over the world were being dumped into the Ming Dynasty.
Porcelain, tea, and silk are luxury products outside of China, and modular production has been completed long ago in the Ming Dynasty. The annual output of the Royal Factory of the Ming Dynasty alone is an astonishing amount.
But for 'Qilin', the feeling is completely different.
This is a mythical creature.
"Dasun, let's go and see the Qilin auspicious beast together. What a great Li Jinglong. He has made a great contribution this time."
Zhu Yuanzhang was beaming. In order to honor Qilin, he specially held a grand ceremony.
Zhu Ying smiled and went with the old man.
Of course he knew that there was no such thing as unicorn, but he was still a little curious about the animal called unicorn.
When he arrived at the outskirts and saw this so-called 'Kilin', Zhu Ying was immediately speechless.
Is this obviously a giraffe?
Not only the grandfather and grandson, but also other vassal princes, such as Zhu Yunzhen, Zhu Yunxi, Zhu Di, Zhu Fan, etc. were watching.
No one had ever seen a giraffe in the Ming Dynasty. Everyone was amazed when they saw this auspicious "Qilin" beast.
Huang Guan, who was following Zhu Ying, exclaimed: "With the body of an elk and the hooves of a horse, the head of a lion and antlers, and the eyes of a tiger and the tail of an ox, it really is an auspicious beast like a unicorn."
Sure enough, vision and knowledge are always the biggest limitations for people. Even a talented person like Huang Guan is still shocked because he has never seen it before.
Facing hundreds of people watching, the giraffe was at ease and showed no fear.
Even though Zhu Fan had the courage to step forward and touch her, he didn't move at all, and his temperament was gentle and peaceful.
Zhu Yuanzhang praised: "It is really an auspicious beast."
Zhu Di stood up at this time and said: "Father, this kind of auspicious and auspicious beast should be seen by all the subjects of our Ming Dynasty. I suggest that we take it to Zhengyang Square so that the people can also know that our Ming Dynasty has a unicorn auspicious beast.
See the auspicious Kirin."
Zhu Ying thought for a while and decided to stop it.
After all, as the Ming Dynasty expands the world, and the areas it comes into contact with become wider and wider in the future, it will know more.
You will know from now on that what you did today will be a joke for future generations.
"Grandpa, although this beast is auspicious, it is not a unicorn. It cannot be announced to the people as a unicorn."
In such an atmosphere, such a sentence that ruined the atmosphere suddenly came out, and everyone's eyes turned to see who was so ignorant.
Oh, it's my grandson, that's okay.
"Why did the eldest grandson say this? Could it be that Li Jinglong dared to deceive us?" Zhu Yuanzhang saw what the eldest grandson was saying, and his temper dropped, and he asked doubtfully.
Li Jinglong quickly stood up and said: "Great Sun, this beast is called Qilin in Bangladesh. I will never dare to deceive you."
He felt extremely aggrieved. For Taisun to talk about such a good thing, not only was it useless, but it was wrong.
If anyone dares to question, they will have to be reprimanded, but this is my grandson.
Zhu Ying said: "Although this beast is somewhat similar to Qilin, it is indeed not Qilin. When did Qilin have such a long neck? If it is Qilin, where did its dragon scales go?"
"If I guess correctly, the name 'Kilin' is the name of Bangladesh, right?"
Li Jinglong nodded and said: "When Bangladesh pays tribute, it is indeed called Qilin."
Zhu Ying said again: "It's not Qilin, but Kilin. Bengali is very different from our Ming Dynasty. There is no name for Qilin. It just sounds similar. This Kilin beast is not a rare thing in Bangladesh.
They are gentle by nature and live on vegetation.”
Zhu Yuanzhang asked Li Jinglong: "Is this right?"
Li Jinglong nodded hesitantly: "Your Majesty, it is indeed as the grandson said."
Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Ying: "Does the great grandson know this beast?"
Zhu Ying explained: "This is the first time I have seen this beast in my life. But when I was in the Western Regions, I heard merchants talk about this beast. I clearly remember that they called it Jilin. I also thought it was Qilin. Later, after listening to the explanation, I realized that it was Qilin."
Kilimmon."
"This Kilin beast is a type of deer. Let's take a closer look. Putting aside the long neck, whether it is a deer."
Hearing what Taisun said, everyone looked at it carefully and imagined that without the long neck, it was really just a deer.
Zhu Ying said again: "There is no grassland where this Kilim beast lives. Kilim beasts that live on vegetation can only live on leaves. Perhaps a long time ago, their necks were not so long, but their necks were short.
The Kilin beasts would starve to death if they couldn't eat the leaves, so they could only survive by growing longer."
"As the generations passed, the necks of these kilim beasts became longer and longer, and they grew into what they are now."
After listening to Taisun's words, everyone suddenly understood. Looking at this 'Qilin' now, it was clearly a deer.
Li Jinglong also confirmed that there is indeed no pasture in Bangladesh, where the Kilin beast lives.
When you say this, it is naturally correct.
It almost made a joke. Zhu Yuanzhang was obviously unhappy. Li Jinglong quickly apologized: "It was my negligence that almost caused a joke. Fortunately, my grandson gave me some advice."
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand: "No wonder you, no one has ever seen this Kirin beast. At first glance, it does look a bit like a unicorn. The name Bangladesh also calls it cleverly, Kirin Kirin, no one will be confused after hearing it.
"
"In order to prevent another joke, this Kirin beast should have changed its name when it arrived in Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Ying said: "Since it is a deer and its neck is so long, why not call it a giraffe."
The grandson spoke, and of course the ministers could not have any objections. Moreover, the name Giraffe was vivid and appropriate.
Zhu Yuanzhang decided: "Let's call it a giraffe. The fourth child's previous suggestion was also good. Let's bring the giraffe to Zhengyang Square for the people to see."
Zhu Yuanzhang still affirmed Li Jinglong's credit for his several years of traveling and bringing back a large amount of goods, and he would not blame Jilin Qilin too much.
In addition to giraffes, other lions, ostriches, and maharajas were also pulled over.
This naturally set off a great craze in the capital.
A large number of people came to watch the excitement.
But compared with the happiness of the people, Zhu Xi, Zhu Fan, Zhu Di, and Zhu Shu were not in a good mood.
It was a rare occasion for the four vassal kings to gather together at the Prince of Qin's Mansion in Zhu Cang.
"The Northern Expedition is over and the war is over, but recently my father has shown no intention of letting us return to Japan."
"When I paid my respects to my father a few days ago, I vaguely mentioned the matter about Japan. However, my father seemed to have no intention of letting us return to Japan."
Zhu Di said in a deep voice.
Zhu Di's current base is basically all in Yancheng. It stands to reason that after the Northern Expedition, he should return, but now there is no movement at all.
The Ming Dynasty will soon enter farming, and the Japanese country will be similar.
Even if they set out now, they could only catch up with the planting time, but there was no news from the palace.
Listening to Zhu Di's words, the other three were somewhat silent.
Zhu Shu said: "Father will not say that we will not be allowed to return to the vassal state. Maybe he wants us to stay in the capital to accompany him."
As soon as these words came out, they were immediately greeted with disdainful looks from Zhu Xi, Zhu Fan, and Zhu Di.
Are you kidding me? After returning to the capital for so many years, including last year's Northern Expedition, there is no deep affection between father and son.
Even on the grassland, the person that the father talked about the most was not his grandson.
Under the gazes of the three brothers, Zhu Shu said awkwardly: "We should be allowed to return to the feudal kingdom."
Zhu Di sighed: "If it were just the father, he would naturally let us return to the Japanese country, but what about the grandson?"
Zhu Fanchi asked: "Fourth brother, what do you mean, my eldest nephew won't let us go? But why did he leave us in the capital? It was he who asked us to go to Japan in the first place."
Zhu Di said: "At this time, at that time, Taisun was well versed in business and was even more skilled in detecting intelligence. Even if we could hide the things we did in Japan from my father, how could we hide them from Taisun?"
"When we returned to the capital earlier, Taisun summoned us to the capital with an edict. Didn't he have a deep intention for it? Now I'm afraid he doesn't want us to return to Japan again."
Zhu Ming was puzzled and said: "We will vassal Japan as a barrier to the Ming Dynasty. Why doesn't Grandson let me go back?"
Zhu Di was speechless about his younger brother and had no sense of politics at all, but he could only say patiently: "We got too much money from the Japanese country, and the private soldiers made Taisun a little afraid, so Taisun restricted us from staying in Japan."
The capital is either beating or restricting."
"This is an excellent opportunity for Taisun right now. As long as he doesn't let us return to Japan, he can easily completely invalidate our deployment in Japan and even occupy our mineral deposits in Japan."
Zhu Di's words obviously made several people frown deeply.
The reason why he said this was that he wanted to tie a few people with him to fight against his grandson together.
With the achievements made in last year's Northern Expedition, Zhu Di felt that he had achieved some great achievements at this time. Even if he was rewarded by his father, his grandson would be even more afraid.
At this time, Zhu Xi said: "Tomorrow I will go to pay my respects to my father, and by the way, I will find out what my father says. As long as my father agrees, my grandson will not be able to do anything to us."
When his second brother opened his mouth, Zhu Di naturally stopped talking.
Among the vassal kings, the one who can speak the most is Zhu Feng. After all, he is now the leader of the clan and is truly the leader of the kings.
——
East Palace.
This rebuilt palace has now become Zhu Ying's office.
The curved hall in the front is mainly used for conferences, and most people work in the back hall.
Most of the officials from Taisun's line are gathered here now.
In fact, Zhu Ying does not have many confidants now, mainly a few people headed by Huang Guan.
Today he specially summoned Zhu Gaochi.
"Over the years you have been in Annan, you have made great contributions to our Ming Dynasty. It is said that those who are good at fighting have no great achievements. Others have not noticed it, but I have always kept it in my heart."
"You are the number one contributor to Annan's current situation. Tell me, I can grant you whatever you want."
Zhu Ying said with a smile.
Zhu Gaochi sighed and said: "If my eldest brother allows me, I hope to go back to Japan."
Zhu Ying felt a little strange when he heard this and asked, "What's going on with you?"
It was Zhu Gaochi himself who did not go to the Japanese country and found another way out for himself.
But after the words came out, Zhu Ying pondered and understood what Zhu Gaochi was thinking.
He himself may not care about the position of King Yan, but he is the prince and his son needs it.
At this time, Zhu Zhanji had been born. For the sake of his son, it was obviously the best choice for Zhu Gaochi to go to Japan.
Of course, Zhu Gaochi couldn't say this, so he only said: "Brother, please make it happen."
Zhu Yingdao: "You are the Crown Prince of Yan, so it is natural for you to go to Japan. I will help you remember the merits of Annan. If you need anything, just tell me."
Zhu Ying didn't talk about the reward, because now the wealth of Yancheng, the Japanese country, is already very amazing. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is as rich as the enemy.
Of course, this country does not refer to the Ming Dynasty.
"Thank you, brother." Zhu Gaochi stood up and bowed. He understood what the brother meant. This was a favor to himself.
The grandson's favor is not simple. Strictly speaking, it is more effective than the iron coupon of the emperor's alchemy book.
This is also because the iron certificates of elixirs issued by Zhu Yuanzhang to the founding heroes actually did not have much effect. Those who deserved to be killed were killed anyway.
With his eldest brother's promise, Zhu Gaochi felt relieved.
Even if my father is a little unhappy, there is no other way.
After all, Zhu Gaochi is no longer alone. He already has a son and is making plans for his son.
If you stay in Annan all the time, even if you carry the name of Prince Yan, I am afraid that it will be difficult to obtain Yancheng in the end.
Next, Zhu Ying and Zhu Gaochi talked about some things about Annan.
Under Zhu Gaochi's governance, Annan is now considered peaceful, especially in terms of education.
The abolition of the word "Nam" was completely implemented, and Chinese schools were basically opened in cities and towns to spread the culture of the Central Plains.
Reclamation of rice fields and construction of water conservancy facilities are also proceeding steadily.
At this time, it no longer meant much for Zhu Gaochi to stay in Annan.
The next day.
Zhu Ping entered the palace and went to Qianqing Palace to pay his respects.
"Tell me, what's going on? We know what kind of character you are."
Zhu Yuanzhang's tone was not good. He loved and hated his second son, and he did some ridiculous things in his life.
Regarding the Northern Expedition in the grasslands, Zhu Yuanzhang did not mean to blame him too much.
Zhu Fang smiled and said: "Sure enough, I can't hide anything from my father. This time I want to ask, the Northern Expedition has ended here. I wonder when I will return to the vassal country."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he sneered and said: "Why, you are reluctant to part with the money you have in the Japanese country, and you still feel that you are not in the Japanese country, and you are afraid that you will be less greedy and get more money?"
Zhu Ping didn't dare to answer this question.
Zhu Yuanzhang was more direct: "Whether you go back to the vassal state or not, it doesn't matter what we say, it depends on the arrangements of the great grandson."
Zhu Xi was shocked.
He remembered what the fourth child said yesterday. It was true that his eldest nephew refused to let them go back and wanted to keep them trapped in the capital.
"Father, what arrangements can we have for our grandson? Are we supposed to be idle princes in the capital, fighting cocks and walking dogs all day long with nothing to do?"
Zhu Xi also became more energetic, with strong displeasure in his tone.
Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said: "Why, you are not happy to be an idle prince. Isn't this capital richer and more prosperous than your Qin city?"
"If you really want to return to Japan, do you want to support yourself with troops, or do you want to join forces with the third, fourth, and seventh brothers to fight against the imperial court?"
"You did that shit in the Japanese country. Do you really think that we don't know anything? There are tens of thousands of private soldiers in Luzon. How many private soldiers do you support? It's not a joke to take the explanation we gave you.
!”
Zhu Feng was frightened and kowtowed quickly: "I don't dare."
He didn't expect that his father would actually know about Luzon, including how many people had gone there.
This would be a serious crime if pursued.
According to the vassal system established by my father, the number of soldiers cannot exceed 30,000, but now it is obviously overstepped.
And the grandson must also know about this.
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly: "Originally, we wanted to capture all of you, remove the vassal state, and imprison the capital. It was the great grandson who asked for your favor."
"The end of the Northern Expedition does not mean that there will be no more wars in the Ming Dynasty. Opening up other lands can also be regarded as opening up and expanding the territory of the Ming Dynasty."
"Timur's side is very ambitious. We, the Ming Dynasty, must definitely give them a try. You uncles, of course, must put in some effort."
"The vassal state over there in the Japanese country has promised you, and there is no reason to take it back. But you don't have to go back. Let the princes go. Anyway, you are very capable, and you can do something for our Ming Dynasty.