Chapter 14 (Part 2) China

"Your Majesty can you know why the prince chose students from Peking Academy as customs ambassadors."

"The prince believes that the candidates recommended by the ministers do not understand arithmetic, and there will be mistakes in dealing with maritime merchants. But I think these people are all local heroes, and they know more about governance than the children of Yixue. Let them learn arithmetic and come back to govern the customs. There should be no problem with the talented men of Yixue." Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Wu Anguo asked abruptly and thought that he was not satisfied with the appointment of the customs ambassador and explained with kind words. As the emperor, he had to consider the balance of forces in all aspects and would not act as straightforward as the prince.

"If you don't understand arithmetic, you need to learn. Your Majesty thinks that if you govern the government of a county and a government, you don't know how many people you rule, and you can't calculate how much food, rice, oil and salt the people need, is it okay?"

"this……."

"Long live, whether it is customs taxes or military supply coordination, there will be mistakes without accurate calculations. The same is true for governance. In a good year, we need to hoard disaster prevention, and in a famine, we need to open warehouses for relief. How much accumulation and how much we put in need of coordination depends on the needs of the people, otherwise it is inevitable that we will not eat the food of the Yin and Mao. Moreover, when governing, we emphasize the doctrine of the mean, and if it is too much or not, we will harm the people. This grasp of the standard also needs to be calculated and cannot be based on personal likes and dislikes. For example, when selling goods to a place, the freight is too high, and there is no profit, and if there is too much, the more part is not paid attention to, which is also a waste of effort." Wu'anguo used the most simple truth to tell Zhu Yuanzhang about basic economic and mathematical ideas.

It was the conclusion he and Guo Pu, Li Shanping and others who chatted in Huairou during their chat. Based on the experience of Wu'anguo in recent years, he believed that the country currently only had vague moral concepts, no complete statistics, and never had a reasonable budget. Many policies, from the point of view, have good intentions. In actual implementation, due to the inaccurate mathematics, no precise economic calculation ability, but also meticulous calculations, after the distortion of the currency system and tax accounting methods, it often brings disaster. Therefore, he wanted to take advantage of the initial establishment of the customs and suggest that Zhu Yuanzhang asks officials to learn some mathematics, so that they can consider problems with quantitative concepts, rather than relying on subjective judgments to determine them.

"In your opinion, may all civil and military officials need to learn how to calculate the numbers?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked suspiciously. When he was young, he worked as a hawker and sold fruits. The question of how much goods he sold was naturally very clear. But it was impossible for him to break the Confucian basic view of "half-book Analects of Confucius to rule the world". Wu Anguo himself also understood that except for Huairou's brothers, no one in the court could understand his overall concept. The only thing that might have some concepts about this is Li Shanchang, the old fox who can't wake up, but it is probably more difficult to let him speak than climbing to the sky.

"That is, you don't have to learn it specifically, but you need to know a little bit, so that you can be more in order to serve Your Majesty. This is not the innovation of the ministers, but the initiative of the saints. The ancient scholars and officials, rituals, music, shooting, imperial, calligraphy, and counting were all learned. Today's scholars and officials only know how to read poetry, books, gain fame, and dictation, and know nothing about the skills of two. They have no strength to tie up their hands and lack the ability to plan. They can neither defend the enemy outside the gates of the country nor share the worries of your Majesty in the court. I think that since Your Majesty opened a military law academy and cultivated military generals, they should also add imperial and two subjects to let literati learn some martial arts and strengthen their bodies. Learn some arithmetic and know how to make careful calculations in life. In this way, after the territory is expanded in the future, local officials will not be available. They will not be plotted against others when dealing with overseas countries and lose their face."

These few sentences put the proposition of how to deal with the entire world outside after the expansion of the territory, which made him fall into deep thought. No one told him before that there were so many countries overseas, and he could not consider these. Now, the map is placed in front of him, and the idea of ​​being an eternal emperor who has been the might of the world is burning in his heart. Therefore, he can ignore the various "uspionage" behaviors accused by civil officials, because Wu'anguo is his guide and pioneer to the world. As long as Wu'anguo does not threaten his rule, he can let Wu'anguo do it. And through his own observation, he believes that Wu'anguo is not an ambitious and scheming person.

He would not have left so many handles. With the current empty treasury, Zhu Yuanzhang would never do it if he was plotted against him. Besides, this would make him look disgusted. For him, it was even more uncomfortable than defeat. After pondering for a while, he accepted the proposal of Wu'anguo in a compromise. In the future, the new people recommended by the court officials, no matter what position they hold, must go to the Chinese studies to study imperial and two skills before taking office. For a deeper reason, he borrowed from the method of opening martial arts, instilling loyalty in the military generals to the country, and eliminating the faction of military generals. He believed that through the study of Chinese studies, the relationship between the recommended officials and the original recommended ones can be cut off to a certain extent and strengthen his control over the officials.

"Today you gave me three good ideas. I can't think of how to reward you for a moment. I won't care about these things. I will count on you. You will have to pay off your merits and demerits," Zhu Yuanzhang said, pointing to the memorial on the corner of the table. Seeing the sky getting darker outside, he knew that today was as usual, and he had forgotten the time when chatting with this wild boy. The eunuchs were still on the side, waiting carefully for him to order lunch. This wild boy, who was neither humble nor arrogant, did make him feel good.

Wu Anguo smiled and thanked him. By the way, he argued for himself. If he did not innovate in everything, he would not be able to create firearms that restrain the Mongolian cavalry. The strange skills were just slandering words from boring literati. If you don’t believe it, go to these people’s homes to check. No one of them used these strange skills and tricks. If you say that you are competing for profit with the people, the soft people can be said to be the richest people in the country. Will the more you compete for profit, the richer you become... Zhu Yuanzhang just listened quietly. Wu Anguo was eager to confess his love to himself, which was the result he wanted to see. As for whether it was slander, it was not his own words. When he heard Wu Anguo say that the humble words of the White Tiger and the Qinglong were just killing by accident, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly interrupted and said, "That white Tiger is a rare thing. If you don’t have some skills, you can’t surrender him. Wu Qingqing doesn’t have to be too humble."

"Your Majesty, the White Tiger Chen often saw it in the zoo back then, and it was nothing rare. It was actually because it climbed too high and fell to death that day. My self-defense crossbow arrows only shot its eyes blinded."

What is the zoo? Zhu Yuanzhang's curiosity was hooked again. Wu Anguo realized that he had left his mouth again. He had to explain that it was a garden where overseas nobles collected rare birds and animals from all over the country, and they were only for cashiers to see it. He could make a lot of money every year. Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slowly and said, "In the future, I will build such a garden, which will be placed in the suburbs, and open it to the people every day to enjoy it. Those barbarians who have become foreigners are just stingy. Wu Qing, where did you receive the tiger skin later? Can you use it for me to see it?"

Tiger skin, Wu Anguo was stunned. The people of the Ming Dynasty were all interested in this thing. They smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I was poor and sold the tiger skin to live."

"Oh, the legendary Wu Da God of Wealth who turns stones into gold also has times when he gets poor," Zhu Yuanzhang joked.

"When I first arrived at Huairou, I was penniless. In addition, I had a big appetite and was not happy without meat. I didn't have a bad heart to make money by slaughtering the land. How much money did I get from killing tigers and killing dragons? Fortunately, the tigers sold at a good price and had the capital to do business later." Wu Anguo said with a big truth.

"Scraping the ground is interesting. If officials across the country have the ability to do business, they will probably harm the people less. But I guess that if I give them the capital to do business, in the words of the prince, they will still lose their pants. It is better to take the salary and eat a stable meal with me. It is really too deep to scrape the ground, and I will inevitably be able to scrape their skin and peel off their black hearts."

The king and his subjects laughed loudly, and a storm disappeared invisibly.

After leaving the palace gate, he saw Zhang Zhengxin looking anxiously at the corner of the street from afar. Seeing Wu Anguo's figure, the little guy rushed over happily. He had eaten well in the past two years, and he learned a lot of kung fu with Wu Anguo every day. Zhang Zhengxin developed as a big guy among his peers. Wu Anguo was almost rushed to the corner of the street. The two of them talked and laughed and walked back, and saw Cao Zhen and Guo Pu turn out of the corner of the street. It turned out that everyone thought that this was wrong today. In the afternoon, Zhu Di had already entered the palace to inquire about the news and found nothing abnormal, so he calmed down. Wu Anguo touched Zhang Zhengxin's waist, and the three-eyed short guns filled with bullets were bulging inside. Looking at Cao Zhen and Guo Pu, the same situation was similar. He was moved in his heart. It was probably a problem that something really happened today. These people would go to the palace to rescue people at the risk of raiding their families and exterminate their clans.

Several people looked at each other and nodded, everything was silent. They walked to the Qinhuai River, booked a pleasure boat, and ordered the boatman to swing into the river. While eating, they listened to Wu Anguo's introduction to the situation today.

"Your disciple is too brave. If Brother Wu doesn't come back, he will probably ask his brother to pull the artillery out and rebel." Shisanlang joked, making Zhang Zhengxin blush and buried his head in the bowl in front of him.

"I think Long Live will not do anything to you. Now it is the season for people to use, so he will not break his arm. The ancients said: A king threatens a person, relying on the power of a country, and within seven steps, he cannot rely on the power of a country. He summons you to the imperial study room and has no intention of killing you. He just wants to scare you and make you obedient. This is just a basic imperial technique." Guo Pu smiled and comforted, forgetting who was anxious in the afternoon like an ant on a hot pan.

"Yes, he wants to kill you, and he pushed you out in the court and chopped him up. In the imperial study, you are so close to him. I am afraid that you will be strangled to death by you before the warriors arrest you. There is no reason, I scare myself." Shisanlang smiled and said, "But you offended all the civil servants this time. All of these guys are above the top. You suggest that the emperor order them to learn arithmetic. Didn't you say that you are so cold? Brother Guo, I'm not talking about you."

"It's okay, I also think that some people don't follow the words, they speak very well all day long, and they are all fake Taoism. They do nothing, and they are not as good as street gangsters. Alas, this literati is much more shameless than those who have never read books. No matter how shameless things are, they can find a reason to be open and upright. But we must be careful in the future. They can no longer catch the handle of what they do in Peking. Go back and get some crystal glass and block their mouths. What is this called? Those who do serious things will have to flatter you if you don't do serious things." Guo Pu was also a little dissatisfied with many civil servants of the dynasty and shook his head and said.

"Today the emperor asked about the white tiger again. I told him that the tiger skin was sold by me. Brother Guo, I remember that you asked people to promote the sale of tiger skin everywhere, why is it?"

"Why, Brother Wu is really a pure and honest person. It is estimated that Long Live will not be difficult for you to see this. Only two people have had that white tiger skin from ancient times to the present. One is Liu Bang, the Emperor of Han, and the other is our current emperor. General Chang gave it to him after he was defeated. Brother Yu saw that you did not have the ambition to compete for the world, so he quickly helped you to avoid disaster."

"Ah", Wu Anguo then realized that Guo Puliang had worked hard at the beginning. He felt a burst of warmth in his heart. He never thought about the idea of ​​overthrowing Zhu Yuanzhang as the emperor. It was not that he had no courage, but that he saw from history that every time the dynasty changed, China had to pay the price of reducing the population by more than half. "Is it really that interesting to be an emperor?" Wu Anguo smiled bitterly and said, "You just finished singing and waiting for you. In the end, it was just ordinary people. No matter how noble the reasons raised were, it was not that blood was still flowing into a river. For thousands of years, we were killing each other, and we were not just a joke for outsiders. So what if you become an emperor, beware of this and that all day long, and even a good sleep was a luxury. What's the point! A real man can stand in time and be able to look up without any worries and be ashamed."

"Brother Wu has such a mind, which really makes those who suspect you so embarrassed. When civil strife comes, they are all pillars of the country. Those who stay only have luck and escape quickly. The person who spent a thousand gold to buy tiger skin will sooner or later have a disaster. I wonder how many people die in a bad life. Let's be careful and wait and see! Alas, if you have the strength to resist the enemy, you will be so full of life that you can kill each other." Shisanlang sighed. The three of them were speechless, silent for a while, and then turned to Zhu Yuanzhang's question.

"Brother Wu, what kind of rebellious words did you say to your uncle on the lake that day, which made him want to resign from his post or not. Otherwise, with his uncle's caution, he would not have done anything that would implicate you in doubt." Shisanlang asked.

Wu'anguo looked at Guo Pu, and there were Zhang Zhengxin who looked down at Cao Zhen and listened to them. He thought, when the matter was over, the brothers would go their separate ways. One was at sea and the other was Liaodong. It took a long time to seize Liaodong and defeat the Japanese pirates. There were probably not many opportunities to meet in the future. It would be better to make clear the words. Regardless of whether the opinions were different, the brothers would not be separated in the future.

"General Xu asked my brother about his ambition, and I told him that I hope that everyone in the world can live in the same sunshine, no matter how poor, rich, born, or region, can pat each other's shoulders and call each other, brothers, there is no distinction between high and low, no so-called elites, who can put others at their feet." Wu Anguo looked at the dark river outside the window and said loudly. When he first arrived in the Ming Dynasty, he saved the village by chance. At that time, he was like getting off from an unknown train and walked out of a strange station. He was confused and did not know where to go, and could only follow the crowd. Later, he felt the simplicity of the people here and decided to protect them from other people. At that time, he was like getting off from an unknown train and walked out of a strange station. He was confused and did not know where to go, and could only follow the crowd. Later, he felt the simplicity of the people here and decided to protect them from other people.

People bully. From protecting a village to protecting the people of a county, to finally being forced to fight against the enemy due to the Mongolian military force, it can be said that it has always been a passive thing. Some people always ask him what he wants, and he always asks himself in this way. In this other time and space, he is indeed a omniscient person. Whether he lives a wonderful or a dull life, he will never have that pair of attention again. However, these days, he felt the ubiquitous level and ubiquitous threats and suppression, which is something that people from the 21st century cannot tolerate. When Xu Da asked about himself, he decided that since he had changed the trajectory of history, he would simply change it more thoroughly.

"But what you are doing now is the way to enrich the country and strengthen the army. The imperial power will become stronger and stronger, rather than weaker. Will it go against what you want?" Guo Pu pondered for a while and asked quietly.

"A strong country does not necessarily have a strong government. The state and the government are different. Li Ling said that day, it is not about whether the country is strong, but about whether the power is balanced. If the people have enough power to compete with the government, the emperor will not dare to do whatever he wants. Therefore, we must first let the people have their own important power. This is not about rebellion, but about letting the officials take some care of it. Only when the power is equal will they be equal. And the so-called emperor, in my eyes, is just the representative of the people, and the blood in his bones is not nobler than ordinary people." Wu Anguo explained. He did not expect his words to be able to understand much, but just wanted to tell them their ambitions.

Guo Pu looked at Wu'anguo. In the past few days, his brother who was loyal to each other was like a different person. He slowly showed his aura. This may be the aura that was so arrogant that the ancients said. He thought silently. Government, country, emperor, and equality were completely different from what he learned. But he knew that what Wu'anguo said was right. If he continued on this road, the land of China would never have a smug shame. One day, he would not hear the cry of the people again. The people are the most important, the country is the second, and the king is the least. Isn't this what the ancient saints pursued? He reached out and held Wu'anguo's big hand with Cao Zhen's hand.

"I don't understand what you said very much, but I support you, because according to this principle, the country will be truly strong. I have always believed that a country's strength lies not only in military affairs, but more importantly in politics. What we want is not conflicting!" Shisanlang said sincerely. The three big hands were tightly held together, and Zhang Zhengxin's small hand was placed on it.

"Only when I, the people of the Ming Dynasty, do not bully themselves first, will they not be bullied by outsiders again. But what Master said is that everyone is equal, isn't they denying themselves either? My father often said that you three are all heroes among people." Xiao Zhang said in confusion.

"What the master denies is the privilege of heroes, not the hero itself. A country always has a group of people who are brave enough to shoulder heavy responsibilities so that the country can move forward. These people are the essence of the country, but they are not nobler than others, cannot have more privileges than others, and cannot trample on other people's power." Wu Anguo knew that at this point, Guo Pu and Cao Zhen might not understand it, and explained carefully. "Just like your father and I, I have strength and greater authority than him, does not mean that I can bully him, but nobler than him."

Everyone laughed together, and for a while, Cao Zhen asked again, "You say this, my uncle definitely doesn't understand. In his heart, he has a strong sense of monarch and ministers. If the monarch asks the minister to die, the ministers have to die. He will never think that he and Zhu Yuanzhang are equal, and do not want to make you embarrassed in the future, so he chose to avoid it, right?"

"It should be true. General Xu is loyal to the country. As long as it is beneficial to the country, he will never object. His loyalty to the king is like the bright moon." Wu Anguo said with emotion. He advised me with the righteousness of the king and his subjects. I told him: "What is the king and his subjects, father and son, the three pillars and five constants, the three obediences and four virtues, are all fucking nonsense. Everyone is born with their own sky above their heads. They are originally equal. They all have their own right to survive and the freedom to speak and do things. No one has the right to deprive them. The sky above their heads are as tall and short as we are"!

"Who" Shisanlang alertly pulled out the musket and jumped outside the cabin. Although his heart was surging, his ears still felt a keen sound outside the window. Wu Anguo and Guo Pu were shocked and hurriedly chased after him, and saw a ripple on the water slowly dissipating.

"It's a woman in terms of figure." Shisanlang glanced with a musket and could not judge the whereabouts of the man underwater, so he had to give up. Wu Anguo smiled and said calmly: "If this person were the Jinyiwei, I would have been beheaded long ago, let her go!" He also felt a little confused in his heart, "Who is she?"

In the spring of March of the 12th year of Hongwu, the Crown Prince Zhu Biao, the Duke of Xinguo Tang He, the Marquis of Jinghai Cao Zhen, and the Marquis of Dinghai Fang Mingqian led the navy to leave the court and go to sea. On the same day, the King of Yan Zhu Di and the Marquis of Pingliao Wu'anguo also bid farewell to Zhu Yuanzhang and led the elite and strong to the north. The sons of the ministers, led by Chang Mao and Xu Huizu, asked for orders to follow the army. Zhu Yuanzhang agreed and transferred a group of young military officials into the army to listen to it. Select an auspicious day, Zhu Yuanzhang led civil and military ministers to deliver water, and the land and horses on the shore of Xuanwu Lake, personally gave the cup to all the generals, saying, "I am entrusting you with the future of the country, and I hope you will do it with all your strength." He raised his glass and drank it all.

The soldiers drank and raised their swords. The sword light reflected the cold sun, and shouted in unison: "Expel the bandits and restore China, the sun and the moon will never die, and will shine on the bright light forever." At this moment, the heaven and earth moved.
Chapter completed!