Chapter 193 Chen Di Returns from the East Continent
Zhu Biao knew his brothers had personality issues. Even Zhu Su, the seemingly quietest brother, showed more and more of a sinister and eccentric personality as he grew older.
Zhu Biao always believed that there was something wrong with his father's genes.
When Zhu Biao learned that his biological father was Zhu Yuanzhang, he suddenly realized that there was indeed something wrong with his father's genes.
It's normal for the old crazy Hongwu Emperor to give birth to a few little crazy children, right? Only he inherited the genes of truth, kindness and beauty from Empress Ma. It's really difficult for him and his mother in this family.
After knowing this, Zhu Biao continued to treat his brother the same way he had treated him before.
What else could he do? He couldn't abandon his brother, the one he had raised.
What's more, his younger brothers were all good brothers in front of Zhu Biao. When they were in a bad mood occasionally, they would find legitimate ways to vent.
For example, to suppress bandits or something.
Seeing that his younger brothers all loved to seek excitement and couldn't stay idle in one place, Zhu Biao thought that although the sea was dangerous, it must be the most suitable place for them to live.
Moreover, now that we have steamships, we can just follow the coast, prepare enough lifeboats, and sail as a whole fleet. The danger is actually very small, and even if we run aground, we can be easily rescued.
As for the biggest problem, the cost of sailing... Zhu Biao smiled softly and weakly. "My elder brother is like a father. I will find a way. I will definitely find a solution."
Zhu Chong was only one year younger than Zhu Biao and was a bit stronger than Zhu Biao. He had once killed a wild boar that was destroying his fields with one punch and carried it back to show off to his elder brother.
In response, Zhu Biao just smiled gently and said, "Zhongze, don't fight a wild boar with your bare hands."
Zhu Biao had just finished persuading him when his third brother Zhu Gang came back carrying a wild dog and said he wanted to eat dog meat, which he had also beaten with his bare hands.
Zhu Biao: "...and don't fight a wild dog with your bare hands."
At such a young age, Zhu Di already possessed the aspirations of the future Yongle Emperor (although not only would he never become the Yongle Emperor in his lifetime, but even his title as Prince of Yan had been snatched away by someone else). He shouted, "Brother! I'll kill a bear for you!"
Zhu Biao: "...You are not allowed to go!"
Zhu Su: "What about the tiger?"
Zhu Biao pressed Zhu Su, who was deliberately making trouble, into his arms and rubbed Zhu Su's little face hard.
Zhu Su smiled with his eyes narrowed, promising that he would never go looking for a fight with the big tiger.
Seeing that his younger brothers were restless, Zhu Biao finally decided to let them go out to sea to fish and enforce the law as pirates. It was better than fighting wild boars, wild dogs, black bears and tigers when they were old.
Zhu Chong happily took a boat to Jeonra Island to help Liao Yongzhong.
In the past, Zhu Biao had always left his younger brothers on long journeys, and now his younger brothers were leaving him, their eldest brother, on a long journey. Zhu Biao couldn't sleep all night.
However, the reason why Zhu Biao couldn't fall asleep was not only because he was worried about his younger brother, but also because his third younger brother had been making trouble all night.
Zhu Gang is two years younger than Zhu Chong. He is fourteen years old this year, but only thirteen years old in actual age.
If Zhu Biao hadn't seen his second brother grow strong enough to kill a wild boar with one punch, he wouldn't have let his fifteen-year-old second brother go to Jeonra Island. At only thirteen, Zhu Gang was too young, and Zhu Biao wouldn't agree to let his third brother go out.
So the naughty kid Zhu Gang made a fuss every few days until he saw Zhu Biao had dark circles under his eyes, and then he behaved himself.
No matter how much trouble he makes, if his elder brother gets sick, Zhu Gang will hang himself up and beat himself.
Although Zhu Chong went to Jeonra Island, with the help of steamships, it was easy to travel back and forth, and he could return home once a month.
When Zhu Chong left home, Zhu Biao would set the reading list and homework, and when Zhu Chong returned home, Zhu Biao would check the homework.
Zhu Chong was only fifteen years old, and it was time for him to study. Even after going to the military camp, he could not slack off in his studies.
Although Zhu Chong was a bad boy who would cause trouble in his elder brother's study room when he was young, his elder brother taught him good study habits from childhood. He is now very motivated and always completes his homework in excess.
Perhaps he inherited Zhu Biao's wealthy merchant genes (can this be inherited?), Zhu Chong also had a knack for business. He made many aristocratic friends in Goryeo and war-torn Japan, and used cheap goods to exchange for numerous ancient books and paintings, which he gifted to his eldest brother.
Goryeo and Japan had been the younger brothers of an ancient civilization for more than a thousand years, and their nobles had many books that their ancestors brought back from China.
Zhu Chong believed that his elder brother would definitely like this gift.
Of course Zhu Biao liked it.
As soon as the rare copy came into his hands, it was sent to the printing factory.
Some rare copies actually exist in China, but they are stored in the library of some wealthy and powerful family.
Zhu Biao printed the rare copy into a book and sold it at a very low price, which made many wealthy and powerful families feel heartbroken.
They didn't dare to say publicly that Zhu Biao was not right.
Since ancient times, the Chinese have held the term "cherishing one's own treasures" as a derogatory term. Sharing knowledge is a virtue of scholars. While the rich and powerful enjoy monopolizing rare books to show off, when someone brings a rare copy out for everyone to copy, they can only bow their heads and humbly praise the scholar's virtue.
However, even if books were copied, few could reach the public. Zhu Biao simply ran the printing press without regard for cost, selling rare copies at the price of a storybook. Regardless of whether the people could understand them or not, they were willing to buy these profound books to show off. This made it increasingly difficult for the aristocratic families to maintain their monopoly on knowledge.
After Zhu Biao occupied Dadu and directly cleared out all the libraries in Dadu, those wealthy and powerful families had already suffered once.
Whose collection of books can compare with that of the emperor?
Emperors of all dynasties liked to compile book collections to allow rare copies to be circulated, which was part of cultural governance.
Before Emperor Hongwu began compiling a complete book collection, Zhu Biao had already used a printing press to make the rare books no longer "rare", and claimed that this was Emperor Hongwu's order so that more people could read the rare books.
Isn’t this “civil governance” worthy of being recorded in history books?
After Ye Chen was tied up by Hu Dahai, Wang Xi, the successor historian, said that he had already written about him in great detail in the "Veritable Records of Ming Taizu".
"Taizu is the temple name, Your Majesty is still alive." Zhu Biao said as he poured wine for Wang Xi.
Wang Xi said drunkenly, "What else could your Majesty's temple name be besides 'Taizu'? Your Majesty sometimes refers to himself as 'I, the Ming Taizu' when speaking to us."
Zhu Biao frowned. "Oh, that's something my idiot dad would do."
The image of the wise and brave Emperor Hongwu had gradually turned into the image of the comedian Zhu Guorui in Zhu Biao's mind, and there was no going back.
Zhu Biao got Wang Xi drunk and took advantage of Wang Xi's drunkenness to ask, "Mr. Zi Chong, I heard that you can write with both hands?"
Wang Xi opened his shirt and laughed: "Hahaha, that's right! My brother's left hand writing is not as good as mine!"
Zhu Biao immediately brought out pen, ink, paper and inkstone: "Come, write one, I will use it to mock Mr. Jing Lian."
Wang Xi immediately splashed ink, opened his hands left and right, and showed Zhu Biao his two-handed writing skills.
After finishing writing, he was still not satisfied, so he tied his hair into a high ponytail, dipped the brush in ink and wrote another piece of calligraphy.
"good!"
After Wang Xi finished writing, he shouted and jumped, took off his shoes, and used his toes to hold the brush to draw a picture of mountains and rocks.
Zhu Biao covered his nose.
What a charming and beautiful painting of mountains and rocks! It is so charming and beautiful.
After Wang Xi finished his drunken rage, he fell into a deep sleep.
Zhu Biao asked his servants to carry Wang Xi to the guest room to sleep. He looked at the calligraphy written by Wang Xi's left hand and smiled coldly, then put the calligraphy into the box where he kept his family letters.
You stinky dad, you are so concerned about your reputation that you let Uncle Wang, a great calligrapher, write for you, and you shamelessly claim that it was written by you. That's awesome.
However, my dad, who had such poor handwriting, is now trying to imitate Uncle Wang's left-hand writing, and has imitated 70% to 80% of the charm. It's really amazing.
Zhu Biao looked at Wang Xi's handwriting, then at the handwriting imitated by his father, and couldn't help but smile.
For the sake of face, his father worked really hard and was really amazing. When the father and son could talk frankly, he would definitely praise his father.
After Wang Xi sobered up, he completely forgot what happened while he was drunk.
Zhu Biao knew Wang Xi's weakness, so he deliberately got Wang Xi drunk.
Wang Xi touched his head and asked, "Was I drunk last night?"
Zhu Biao took out the words written on Wang Xi's hair and the painting on his feet and asked, "You said you wanted to give them to Mr. Jing Lian."
Wang Xi made an expression as if he'd remembered something (though he hadn't) and said, "Give it to him! Don't forget to tell him I drew this with my hair and feet!"
Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Okay, I'll send someone back right away."
Wang Xi was brimming with pride. As expected of a drunken me, this calligraphy and painting are truly full of verve. I'll definitely be able to show off to my senior.
After showing off, Wang Xi went to settle down in the official school in Beijing.
He went to Yunnan and enjoyed the beautiful scenery, but he was in poor health and fell ill, so he couldn't do any hard work.
The climate in Beijing is worse than that in Nanjing, but these people always feel that life will be better as long as Zhu Biao is there. So Zhu Yuanzhang asked Wang Xi to go to Beijing to recuperate and return to Nanjing after he recovered.
Wang Xi couldn't sit still, so he became a teacher in the official school as soon as he arrived in Beijing.
He prided himself on being both civil and military, and had made a military achievement of destroying a country with three men (Wang Xi: Yan Yun, Kang Maocai and I worked together to kill people!). The students all liked this powerful teacher very much.
Zhu Biao also handed his younger brothers over to Wang Xi for instruction.
Although he could teach, each era had its own wisdom, and the great scholars who left their names in history had their own merits. As long as conditions allowed, the more teachers the better, which also embodies the principle of "listening to both sides leads to enlightenment."
Under Zhu Biao's instructions, his younger brothers were all very honest and obedient. Wang Xi praised Zhu Biao's younger brothers as good students.
When Zhu Yuanzhang received Wang Xi's letter, he almost vomited out the meat porridge he had for breakfast.
Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked: "Those little brats of mine, are they good?!"
As we all know, the "stinky boy in my family" mentioned by Zhu Yuanzhang does not include Biaoer.
Ma Xiuying laughed and said, "If they dare not behave well in school, Biao'er will definitely scold them."
Zhu Yuanzhang wiped his mouth and said, "That's right. Since they are learning well, why not let Song Lian and the others take turns teaching them to reduce Biao'er's burden."
Ma Xiuying agreed, "Now that they've grown up, they should learn some science so they can communicate with people who study science. Even if they don't like it, they still have to pretend."
"Neo-Confucianism." Zhu Yuanzhang looked strange. "Ji Renshou and Zhu Sheng are old, and they are still running around. I think they should stop running and go to Beijing and let Biaoer take care of them in their old age."
Ma Xiuying was at a loss for words: "Beijing's climate isn't a good place to retire."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Beijing is more suitable for retirement than other places, as long as Biao'er is here."
Ma Xiuying was helpless: "Okay, okay, you have the final say. But you also need the consent of the old gentlemen. You can't do anything reckless. Perhaps the old gentlemen want to return home?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "I think they don't want to go back home at all, they just want to run around everywhere."
Now Ji Renshou has left the official schools to others and plunged himself into military camps in various places.
He and Zhu Sheng now both believed that if these soldiers who only knew how to follow orders and kill understood why they were fighting, they would not become a burden to society after they were "retired", and might even become the cornerstone of the Ming Dynasty.
They all knew that scholars would not support what they were teaching, so the soldiers in the barracks who had never read or had read very little, but were very loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang, became their best "disciples".
Now, the earliest batch of students they taught have taken off their armor and gone to various places to serve as officials.
They were both excited and hoped that the facts would prove them right.
Zhu Yuanzhang originally wanted to continue using the Yuan Dynasty's "household registration system" and strictly institutionalize it.
But when his son Biaoer scolded the "Hongwu Emperor for being stupid," he immediately abandoned the "soldiers' household system" and replaced it with a combination of militia and military service. Once the Ming Dynasty became wealthy, he would strive for what Biaoer called the "professionalization of the military."
It is said that only a strong country can afford a professional army, and the combat effectiveness of a professional army is unmatched by an ordinary army. Zhu Yuanzhang patted his chest and believed that the Ming Dynasty must be a strong country.
Now that the Ming Dynasty has entered a period of recuperation, it can gradually reform its army.
"In a month or two, we'll be able to go home." Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help missing Biao'er when he mentioned her. "Has Biao'er grown taller again?"
Ma Xiuying also showed a look of longing: "Biao'er is growing taller now. I heard that his clothes become a little shorter every month. He has made preparations early, making the clothes bigger, and then sewing the extra cuffs and trouser legs, and adding a little height as he grows."
Zhu Yuanzhang thought of his illegitimate sons and daughters in the palace, and his face turned unhappy.
He stayed in Nanjing for a long time this year, and several of his concubines became pregnant one after another.
Concubine Guo Ning had a son who died young, and then she had another son. Now she treasures him very much and wants the best of everything.
Although Ma Xiuying was frugal herself, she also felt pity for Concubine Guo Ning and her children, so she let Concubine Guo Ning do as she pleased.
Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly, "Biao'er once said that children should be taught from a young age. A child's development can be seen from his age. If he is not properly nurtured by the age of three, he will become crooked."
Ma Xiuying knew what Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to say and said with a smile, "Children don't remember things until they can talk or walk. Concubine Guo Ning's son has just been born. Now take good care of him. When he is two or three years old, Biao'er will be the crown prince."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "We can't let Biaoer teach us everything."
When Zhu Yuanzhang got angry, even Ma Xiuying couldn't persuade him, and the person who could persuade him was far away in Beijing.
So not long after Concubine Guo Ning was happy, Zhu Yuanzhang gave her son to Concubine Sun to raise.
Concubine Sun: “…” Actually, she didn’t want to raise this child, but she still did so with tears in her eyes.
She could only go to Ma Xiuying every day to ask for advice on how to raise a child. Although she had a well-educated daughter, a daughter was different from a son, not to mention someone else's son.
Concubine Guo Ning didn't even dare to get sick, and she worked hard to take care of her health. She became more frugal and obedient than before.
Both Concubine Hu Shun, who had children, and Concubine Hu Guifei, who did not, were frightened by Zhu Yuanzhang's move, and each of them became more low-key than before.
Ma Xiuying sighed inwardly, feeling a little sorry for her younger sisters.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't think he was wrong at all. He had little affection for the women who had always been with him, and was a typical feudal chauvinist.
When Zhu Yuanzhang gave Concubine Guo Ning's son to Concubine Sun to raise, he also checked the expenses in the palace. The more he checked, the angrier he became.
Zhu Yuanzhang released some palace maids and stopped sending eunuchs into the palace on the grounds that there were not many concubines in the harem and so so many servants were not needed.
Finally, he ordered people to open up the land in the harem and plant mulberry trees and cotton, and asked the concubines to farm and weave in the palace when they had nothing to do except go to school.
The old people who had been following him were fine, but the new concubines and tribute girls were complaining bitterly.
Zhu Yuanzhang was justified and said, "My queen likes farming and weaving. Are you more pampered than my queen?"
Ma Xiuying didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She did like farming and weaving; it was her hobby. But not everyone was like her.
But Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that she could only teach the women in the palace how to farm and weave.
With such busyness, the atmosphere in the harem, which had been a little tense due to the entry of many new people, became peaceful again.
Originally, although those concubines knew that they could not become high-ranking concubines during their lifetime, they also competed for favor in order to give birth to the prince of the Ming Dynasty.
Now they have no energy to fight.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw that the women in the harem were unhappy, he felt happy and reviewed memorials ordering beheadings even faster.
After a few months, the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom was replaced, and the opera troupes that Zhu Biao sent to tour various places all went to Guangdong to perform.
People all over the country know what the unwritten rules of officialdom are.
The common people were rarely informed of the situation in officialdom by the emperor, so they all trusted the information they received.
So this group of common people flocked to watch the execution. No matter how many poems of regret the literati wrote, they could not drown out the voices of the common people cursing the corrupt officials.
This incident was described in articles at the time as the ignorance of the common people.
And no one knows what the future holds.
People today only know that even though the Ming Dynasty killed so many officials, the transition was smooth and there were not many ripples.
This is probably related to the fact that Zhu Yuanzhang had trained many reserve talents in previous years, who were now ready to be used; it is also related to the fact that Zhu Yuanzhang firmly controlled the military power.
After this great turmoil in the officialdom, Zhu Yuanzhang finally had some peace of mind.
When he said he wanted to reform the official system, the officials almost unanimously agreed and no one disagreed with him.
Zhu Yuanzhang said that it was really cool to be a tyrant.
Li Shanchang, who was about to retire, said that his fists were itching.
By autumn, Zhu Yuanzhang was finally able to take Ma Xiuying to Beijing to celebrate the New Year, and he also took a group of old ministers with him.
Xu Da, who fell ill and missed the chance to watch the show in the court, and has been beating his chest and stamping his feet ever since, was also taken away by Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Why did your health suddenly deteriorate? Hurry up and find Biaoer to treat you." Zhu Yuanzhang was very concerned about Xu Da's health.
Xu Da laughed and said, "I just caught a cold suddenly. Why would I need Biao'er to treat me?"
Li Wenzhong hesitated to speak.
Xu Da caught a cold. Shouldn't he have celebrated the New Year in the warmer south? Uncle, did you invite Xu Da to Beijing to celebrate the New Year because you wanted him to catch a cold again?
But both Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da thought there was no problem, and Li Wenzhong was in a dilemma.
He is now having a headache about how to tell Zhu Biao that he has a new half-brother.
I hope Biaoer won’t be angry.
Shouldn't it?
Zhu Biao had no time to be angry. He was ecstatic now.
Chen Di, who had been out at sea for a long time, finally returned. He actually brought back a ship full of people from the "Eastern Continent"!
This Eastern Continent is, of course, the "American Continent" that Zhu Biao has been thinking about!
Previously, Chen Di had taken several steamships out to sea, claiming he was going to a distant land. Zhu Biao had assumed Chen Di was planning to open a shipping route to Western Europe. Unexpectedly, Chen Di was actually heading further east.
Chen Di always believed in the existence of the "Eastern Continent" mentioned by Zhu Biao. He kept moving towards the east, experienced many dangers, and finally arrived at the Eastern Continent.
When Chen Di arrived at the East Continent, the entire ship was warmly received by the tribesmen of the East Continent, who helped them build homes and gave them food.
When Chen Di gestured to tell them that he was looking for new food, the locals generously shared seeds and cultivation methods with them.
Of course, Chen Di reciprocated and gave them Ming Dynasty crop seeds, silk and ceramics.
The locals were very happy. The tribal chief who received Chen Di immediately became brothers with Chen Di in a ceremony presided over by the tribal wizard in the presence of the tribal gods.
Because the people of Daming looked similar to the locals, and the shamans knew from tribal mythology that the locals might have "come from the West," they speculated that Daming might be the "holy land" in tribal mythology.
So when Chen Di came back, the tribal chief asked his son and the heir of the tribal wizard to come back with a group of people, wanting to see the "Ming Dynasty" that his brother mentioned.
This group of people are the best at farming in the tribe.
Zhu Biao was so surprised that his jaw dropped.
When arriving in the New World, we encountered extreme weather and were rescued and warmly received by the locals. This story sounds so familiar.
Isn’t this the origin of Thanksgiving?
But Thanksgiving left behind a hypocritical holiday, while the captain of the Ming Dynasty became brothers with the local chief and brought a ship full of people to the Ming Dynasty?
As expected of our great China, the sun and the moon are bright. This sense of morality is different.
Zhu Biao was surprised by the high similarity between this incident and the origin of Thanksgiving Day. Except for him, no one else was surprised by what Chen Di did.
Isn't what Chen Di did natural? People are kind to you, saving your life, and selflessly teaching you how to grow new crops. Naturally, Chen Di should also be kind to them.
Although everyone did not speak the same language, the Ming Dynasty was vast and there were many illiterate people with different accents, so everyone was used to using gestures.
By means of gestures, the people from the Ming Dynasty quickly started chatting with these dozens of people from the East Continent.
The people of the East Continent quickly changed into the clothing of the Ming Dynasty and got used to the life in the Ming Dynasty.
They have no written language, but tribal wizards will pass down a special symbol similar to writing to record the stories they want to pass on.
The young wizard was very clever and quickly learned how to use a brush and paper. He kept a pen in his hand and wrote down a lot of things every day.
Zhu Biao liked this studious young man very much, so he gave him some enlightenment books and asked Zhu Di and Zhu Su to teach him the Ming Dynasty's writing and official language.
I don’t know if the wizard’s heir really has some special talent, but in just one month, this young man could speak the Ming language haltingly and even gave himself the name “Chen Dong”.
"Chen" follows Chen Di's surname, and "Dong" indicates that he came from the east of the Ming Dynasty. This name may seem simple, but it is very meaningful to Chen Dong.
"I want to learn how to make paper and ink," Chen Dong asked. "Okay, what can I have in exchange?"
He took out all the treasures he had brought with him.
Zhu Biao smiled and said, "The food you brought is more than enough for exchange."
Corn! Sweet potatoes! Potatoes! Peppers! Tomatoes!
Aa ...
