Outside the city of Palembang, dozens of people in colorful clothes, led by a young man about twenty years old, stood on the pier, as if waiting for someone. A young eunuch nervously talked to the leader
He said something, but the leader just waved his hand.
After a long time, a huge fleet appeared on the distant horizon. After a while, the ship arrived at the port.
A man of about forty years old stepped off the boat first. The young man immediately greeted him, saluted and said, "I've seen Fourth Brother."
Zhu Di helped him up with a smile and said, "We brothers, why are we so polite? Besides, you are also the king of a country."
Zhu Mo smiled and said: "No matter what, the fourth brother is still the fourth brother."
At this time, two people who seemed to be about the same age as Zhu Mo came over and said respectively: "I have met Uncle Twenty-one."
Zhu Mo smiled and said: "Gao Xu, Xian Yao, you are here too."
Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said: "Uncle Twenty-one, if we don't come here, where will we go?"
A few people exchanged greetings for a while, then saluted the other people who came to greet them, and the group headed to Su Wang's palace.
After chatting with these people for a while, Zhu Di asked them to leave on the pretext of being tired from the journey. However, he did not go to rest afterwards, but came to the meeting hall to discuss with Zhu Mo and others.
"The one wearing military uniform and standing in the first place today is Hua Ying?" Zhu Di asked.
"Yes." Zhu Mo replied.
"The first man on the right, who is wearing a monk's robe, is the local right minister?" Zhu Di asked again.
"Yes. This man's name is Sukodali, and he took the Chinese name Sudafang." Zhu Mo replied.
"What is this person's background? It seems that he is not difficult to deal with." Zhu Di asked.
"Fourth brother, don't think that he is weak and easy to bully because of his fat body and kind face. This man is actually quite ruthless and never shows mercy to his enemies," Zhu Mo said.
"Their family was one of the four major families in the original Srivijaya Kingdom. Generations of family members have served as generals in the army. They also took over the tea business from India to the Ming Dynasty. The family is extremely wealthy."
When he said this, he saw a trace of sarcasm on Zhu Di's lips, and hurriedly said: "Fourth brother, don't think that Nanyang is a poor place. It's very rich here!"
"In the land of Nanyang, the climate is hot and there are no four seasons in a year. Of course people are very uncomfortable, but this also makes the crops here grow very fast. Rice can be harvested three times a year."
"What! Rice is harvested three times a year?" Zhu Gaoxu said in surprise. He was not a person who did not eat grains. He knew that even in Guangdong, there were only two crops a year.
"It's true. Not only rice grows fast here, but also all crops grow fast, and it doesn't need to be taken care of. The only problem is that the rice here is not very tasty and is not as good as the rice near the capital. But for ordinary people,
I don’t care if it tastes good or not,” Zhu Mo said.
Zhu Di was also shocked at this time. Food could be harvested three times a year, which was something that could not be achieved in the Ming Dynasty. At this time, he understood why Yunxi sent people to occupy Nanyang. Nanyang was definitely not the poor and poor place he thought before.
place.
"It's just that maybe it's too easy for them to feed themselves. If you sow the seeds, you can grow food without taking care of them. Even if the food harvest fails, it's enough to pick some wild fruits in the woods to satisfy your hunger. So the locals are very lazy and don't want to do anything.
Yes. When Fourth Brother came over just now, he should have seen a lot of people wandering around the city or lying in the corner? Ten percent of the natives here live like this."
"The Su family is one of the few hard-working people in the local area. Coupled with the rich products here and being located in the middle from India to the Ming Dynasty, they have accumulated a lot of wealth. According to my estimate, it is at least equivalent to millions of dollars. Before
After a while, Majapahit's army came over, and although their family lost some property, they were still very rich."
When Zhu Di walked from the pier just now, he saw many local people wandering around or lying in the corner. He thought they were just a few people, but after hearing what Zhu Mo said, it turned out that most local people lived like this.
Zhu Di thought to himself: 'It is really a waste that such a rich place should be occupied by such a group of lazy people.'
After that, he said: "So what if their family is rich? Aren't all the troops here now from our Ming Dynasty? Just find an excuse to plunder his Su family."
"Absolutely not! Fourth brother, the local people believe in Buddhism and are extremely devout. Many of the ancestors of the Su family went to temples to become monks when they got old. Because their families are extremely wealthy and finance the temples, the management of the local temples is not the best.
Everyone has their family.”
"I finally managed to appease the local Buddhists. If their homes were ransacked, I'm afraid the monks would get into trouble. It would be a big mess," Zhu Mo said.
Zhu Di also had some knowledge of the local situation before coming here. He knew that religion in Nanyang had a great impact. Although he didn't understand it, he would not act rashly.
"However, I always feel unwilling to leave such a wealthy person alone." Zhu Di said.
"Fourth brother, if you want to touch the Su family, it's not impossible. Slowly eliminate their family's influence in the temple, and then find an excuse to raid their home. It's just that the Ming Dynasty has not yet established a stable foothold here. Shi Jinqing and others moved here in the early years.
It’s hard to say whether the Han people can trust this, as there are not many new immigrants from Guangdong and Guangxi, so we still need to rely on big local families like the Su family,” Zhu Mo said.
Zhu Di naturally understood this truth and said: "I know it too. Gao Xu and I will not act rashly. But according to what you said, the temple cannot be moved even more?"
"Fourth brother, the local big families can move after they have established a stable foothold, but the temple must not be moved! Fourth brother can punish a disobedient monk or temple, but he must not confiscate the temple's property openly. The local people will rally.
They are opposed to some of the teachings of Ming Buddhism. If it were not for the large army guarding me, I am afraid that I, the King of Su, would have been overthrown by them." Zhu Mo said.
"Is it so serious? Aren't the local people afraid of death?" Zhu Di wondered.
"Hey, Fourth Brother, Gao Xu, you won't believe me if I tell you. You will know after a few days when they make trouble again." Zhu Mo said helplessly.
Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu were even more confused, but since Zhu Mo said this, they believed it for the time being. But this strengthened their determination to deal with Buddhism. It would be fine if the influence of Buddhism here is the same as that in the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, even if it is throughout the country
It's okay for believers; but the prestige of Buddhism is so high, they will definitely deal with it resolutely. 'Disobedient temples cannot be allowed to exist.' The father and son thought at the same time.
