Yunhe sighed for a while, and silently made up his mind to vindicate Fu Youde and Wang Bi in the future. He put this envelope away and continued to read the following ones. Not long after, he found another noteworthy envelope, and it was another one. Facts involving diplomacy.
This letter was sent by the Chief Envoy of Guangdong, and the content was that the Annan Kingdom requested tribute; but Lao Zhu rejected their request for tribute because Annan Minister deposed the king without authorization.
Yunxi was delighted. Annan was the place he had to capture in his plan. Now the Annan territory was the northern part of Vietnam for later generations, which was very important in Yunxi's plan. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the French would rather build the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway than build it. The Yunnan-Guangxi Railway shows that it is much easier to get from Yunnan to North Vietnam than to Guangxi. There is also a large river that leads from Yunnan to North Vietnam. To strengthen control over Yunnan, Annan is indispensable.
Now Lao Zhu refuses to pay tribute on the grounds that they have abolished the monarch without authorization. He can use this as an excuse to do other things after he ascends the throne.
After Yunxi read yesterday's report, he expected that Lao Zhu would definitely send someone to look for him. Sure enough, when lunch was about to take place, the young eunuch came to tell Yunxi that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to have lunch with him.
Yunxi followed the young eunuch to Qianqing Palace. Lao Zhu was already waiting in the dining hall, but the food had not been served yet. When he saw Yunxi walking in, he smiled and said: "Yunxi came so early, the chef of the imperial dining room The dishes haven’t been cooked yet.”
Yunxi also smiled and said: "I woke up earlier today and finished reading the book earlier. When grandpa sent someone to call me, I had already finished reading the book, so I came earlier."
Lao Zhu laughed. At this time, the food had been prepared in the imperial kitchen. Li Jinzhong walked in and asked, "Your Majesty, can you start serving the food?"
Lao Zhu said: "Serve."
The grandfather and grandson chatted while eating. Old Zhu first talked about less important things: "Yunxi, how did you drive back the two eunuchs that grandpa sent you to repair the house?"
Yunxi replied: "Grandpa, they didn't abide by the rules of our Wenhua Palace, so I kicked them out. Why, there are still people coming to grandpa to complain?"
Lao Zhu said: "How could it be possible? Those two eunuchs have been killed with rods, and no one dares to come to grandpa to talk."
"Your rules are very strict and enforced very well. This is very good. You should be so strict with your subordinates. But you cannot be so strict with your officials. Except for corrupt officials, you should not be so strict with your subordinates. A well-behaved minister should still give him a chance to change his ways."
Yunxi responded.
The two chatted for a while, and Lao Zhu said: "Yunxi, you should have seen the memorial from the commander of the Jin Yiwei."
Yunxi replied: "Yes, Grandpa, I have seen the memorial."
Lao Zhu waved all the servants down and said to Yunxi: "Yunxi, you must have seen it. Yes, it was grandpa who ordered the Jin Yiwei to arrest Wang Bi and Fu Youde."
"Wang Bi and Fu Youde are both capable people. They have gone out to fight Beiyuan many times and have a very high reputation. Although you are smart, courageous, and able to see the world, these two people are too famous after all, and you are too young, grandpa I thought you couldn't control them, so I ordered them to be removed. Unlike Biao'er, you should be able to understand grandpa's painstaking efforts."
Yunxi said: "My grandson understands what grandpa means. But must we get rid of them? Isn't it okay to be demoted, exiled, or even put under house arrest?" Yunxi was reluctant to execute them because they were considered heroes of the Chinese nation.
Lao Zhu said: "Being demoted to another place or exiled cannot ensure that there will be no problems. Although house arrest is possible, it cannot be done once and for all. People have to be used to monitor them all the time. It is better to execute them once."
Yunxi understood this truth, but felt it was a pity emotionally. But the butt determines the head, so he accepted Lao Zhu's approach.
Lao Zhu was very pleased. Then Lao Zhu said: "Grandpa discussed with the officials of the Ministry of Etiquette this morning. The wedding ceremony cannot be too simple. When your father got married, the Ming Dynasty was just established, and the capital was conquered internally and externally, so it was simple.
Some; but now that there is nothing going on inside or outside the Ming Dynasty, your wedding must be a big one."
Yunxi didn't know what to answer, so he just said: "It's all up to grandpa." Then he remembered that he hoped to go to the north for inspection in the spring, and said: "It would be better if it could be faster. My grandson wants to go to the north for inspection in the spring."
Lao Zhu said: "Then don't think about it. It will take at least half a year to complete the six rites. Grandpa has asked officials from the Ministry of Rites to do it, and it will take at least April. We also have to choose a good day, and it will have to be early May anyway.
"
"And you can't go out just after your wedding. You have to stay in Beijing for another month, until both the main concubine and the concubine are pregnant. Grandpa plans to let you go out in June and come back before the twelfth lunar month."
Yunxi didn't know that he hadn't gotten married yet, so the topic suddenly jumped to the matter of his concubine's pregnancy. Yunxi didn't know what to say anymore, so he could only lower his head and remain silent.
Lao Zhu thought it was Yun He who was embarrassed and said with a smile: "It's really strange to see you like this, hahaha."
Lao Zhu hadn't laughed like this for a long time. After smiling for a long time, Yunxi stood up and gave him a pat on the back. After a while.
After the meal was finished, Lao Zhu had nothing more important to say, so he asked Yunxi to go back.
Yunxi returned to Wenhua Hall and just sat down when Wang Jin came up and said, "Your Highness, the eunuch guarding the East Point Gate just now came over and said: 'The guard Chen Xing said that just now the head of Heyan Village sent someone to tell him that His Highness was looking for a craftsman.
As for the 'glass' they made, they have almost finished it. I would like to ask His Highness if he would like to go and have a look."
Yunxi stood up immediately. After Yunxi acquired Heyan Village from the Chang family two years ago, he asked his men to recruit craftsmen to study glass and cement. Because Yunxi still knew a little about this, he put forward the knowledge he knew.
I told them all. But there has been no progress in the past two years, so Yunxi will inevitably feel uncomfortable when he thinks about it.
Now that he knew there was progress, Yunxi said happily: "Then I'm going to have a look. Quick, change my clothes."
Wang Jin said: "It's noon now. It's not too late for Your Highness to take a rest before going." Seeing that Yunxi's face was not good, he said: "The craftsmen also have to rest. Your Highness, let them rest, and I will give it to Your Highness in the afternoon."
Wouldn’t it be better to say that?”
Yunxi thought so, so he took off his coat and went back to the dormitory to rest.
But he couldn't sleep even if he rested. After half an hour, he got up and called Wang Xi and went out.
Chen Xing and others are waiting at Chengtianmen. They have been waiting here since they finished delivering the message in the morning. Although they think it is unlikely that Yunxi will go out at noon, what if he does? So they have to wait here.
; And when noon passes, Yunxi will definitely go to see it in the afternoon, but he can’t tell when, so everyone still has to wait here.
When Yunxi arrived at Chengtian Gate, he didn't say much. He took the horse from the Royal Horse Prison and went straight to Heyanzhuang.
At Heyan Village, Lu Chengfeng said to Feng Mo, the second owner of the village: "It seems that the master is not coming back today. Such a big man has so many things to do every day. Even if he pays attention to the arrangements and work done by the craftsmen here, how can he do it?
The time will come soon."
Feng Mo said: "This is all arranged by me. I remember that the master really attaches great importance to it. He has come to visit us several times. And how many things can a young master do?"
Looking at Feng Mo's confused face, Lu Chengfeng said in his heart: 'That's because you don't know his identity. How come you, the current prince, always have time to come to Zhuangzi?'
Just as he was talking, he felt the ground shaking. Both of them were experienced and knew that it was the sound of at least dozens of horses running. They both stood up, especially Lu Chengfeng who was very surprised: Your Highness
It actually came!
The two hurriedly welcomed them out. Yunxi had already driven the horse into the village and went straight to the place where the craftsmen were. The craftsmen had also gotten up to work. When they saw a large number of horses coming, they knew that they were the masters who hired them to study glass and cement.
Arrived. Because the master was the young cousin of the Chang family, the craftsmen knelt down one after another.
Yunxi dismounted and said, "Everyone, please get up without courtesy."
When the craftsmen stood up, Lu Chengfeng and Feng Mo also came over and said, "Meet the young master."
Yunxi did not greet them, but directly said to the leading craftsman responsible for researching glass: "Have you made glass?"
The leading craftsman had served in the north and had met many important figures, so he was not panicked and said, "I told you that the young master has made the same 'glass' as what the young master said." As he said that, he took out a small piece.
Something comes.
Yunxi asked Wang Xi to come forward and take it, then come back and hand it to him. He looked at the thing in his hand. It felt similar to glass. It was very translucent, but it still had a little color. But it was already very good, very close to the 1990s.
those glasses.
Yunxi raised his head and said: "How many pieces of glass have been made? How big can it be made?"
The leading craftsman said: "Looking back to the young master, we have made a total of more than a dozen pieces of glass the size of a palm. As for how big it can be, I haven't made a big one yet, so I don't know."
Yunxi suppressed his excitement and said: "Grind five or six glasses into 'biconvex lenses' for me."
The leading craftsman asked doubtfully: "What is a 'biconvex lens'?"
Yunxi patted his head and realized that he had made an omission, so he immediately said: "Both sides are convex in the middle and concave on the surrounding sides. They need to be polished smoother." He gestured as he spoke.
After his talk and gestures, the leader of the craftsmen finally understood and said: "The common people immediately asked the old masters who are good at grinding to grind it. However, grinding this is very time-consuming. I'm afraid it won't be done today. It will have to be tomorrow."
Yunxi also knew this and said: "Then I will send someone to pick it up tomorrow morning. You must hurry up. I allow you to light the lamp and do work tonight."
Upon hearing this, the head craftsman knew that he took this matter very seriously. Although he was puzzled, he still said: "The common people will grind it tomorrow morning."
Yunxi calmed down and said, "Thank you for your hard work, craftsmen. All glass craftsmen will be rewarded ten guans each." Then he said to the leader, "You will be rewarded 20 guans."
The craftsmen immediately knelt down to thank him. Ten guan of money was enough to cover their family's expenses for a year. How could they be unhappy?
Yunxi then explained: "In addition to grinding, you also want to see if you can make larger glass. By the way, who is the person who made the most effort in making glass this time?"
The leader of the craftsmen pointed to a craftsman kneeling on the ground and said: "This is this man, his name is Lu Yuan, and he claims to be a descendant of Lu Ban. I don't know if he is a descendant of Lu Ban, but his craftsmanship is indeed very good."
Yunxi called the man: "Lu Yuan, raise your head."
Lu Yuan raised his head and looked at Yun Xi.
Yunxi said: "You also reward twenty guan. No, you add ten more guan and reward thirty guan."
Lu Yuan kowtowed happily and said nothing.
Seeing that he was so silent, Yunxi couldn't talk to him anymore. He raised his head and said, "You all have done a good job, and I will never begrudge you the reward." All the craftsmen kowtowed and thanked him.
Yunxi then told Lu Chengfeng and Feng Mo to try their best to meet the craftsmen's requirements, and then went back.