Chapter 198 Graduation Robes and Gold Deposits
Officials in Nanjing were still busy dealing with the aftermath of the empty seal case, while the whole country was in mourning and blood was flowing like a river.
Zhu Yuanzhang had killed so many people that both officials and common people thought that he must be sitting on the high dragon throne, acting like a tyrant.
At least, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't be in a very bad mood, right?
However, the officials were trembling with fear, and Zhu Yuanzhang himself had already come to Beijing and became Zhu Guorui, where he lived a leisurely life of a wealthy businessman, enjoying himself with food, drink and entertainment.
Of course, in reality, Zhu Yuanzhang had a lot of government affairs to do every day, so he could definitely not be called leisurely - Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Biao were both big file kings, and if they were asked to rest, they would feel uncomfortable all over.
But Zhu Yuanzhang's mentality was already very relaxed and leisurely.
The atmosphere in Nanjing was too depressing, and soon Zhu Yuanzhang's old subordinates came to Beijing one after another to spend the winter.
Going to the north to spend the winter had become a strange lifestyle for many senior officials in the early days of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Biao took this opportunity to hold a long-delayed parents' meeting. Except for a very few, all of his first batch of students were about to graduate.
Before graduation, Zhu Biao hopes to hold a tripartite meeting with parents and students to help students plan their future.
Even if the children of nobles did not inherit the title in the future, it would be easy for them to get an official position. However, there were so many official positions in the world, and Zhu Biao hoped that his students could choose the direction they were good at and liked.
After several days of talks, during which they discussed countless tragic incidents of "fathers and sons killing each other", Zhu Biao finally forced the students and parents to reach a consensus.
Zhu Biao asked the embroidery workshop to make a set of "graduation uniforms".
The graduation uniform was a robe depicting the sun and moon transformed into golden-red flames, a privilege reserved only for the first graduating class.
Afterwards, students who pass the graduation exam and internship will also have their own graduation robes, with different patterns and colors for each class.
If students committed a crime, Zhu Biao would take back their outer robes as part of the punishment.
Zhu Biao did this not only to use his graduation gown to remind them not to forget their ideals in their youth, but also out of a sense of humor to leave behind some precious artifacts with stories to tell for future museums.
If these robes could survive for hundreds of years.
When Zhu Biao was making outer robes for them, the students petitioned together to prepare one for Chang Wei, who graduated early.
Since Chen Li and Mingsheng would both receive graduation robes from the first class of students upon graduation, Chang Wei should be even more deserving of one. They had already recognized Chang Wei as their classmate.
When Zhu Biao wrote to Chang Wei, he also gave him his graduation gown.
Like other students who have been doing internships in other places, Chang Wei would write letters to Zhu Biao to report on his work and study progress, sometimes for a month or sometimes for several months, and would also ask about any confusions and receive guidance.
When Zhu Biao received letters from other students, he always had the mentality of a kind (strict) teacher. Only when facing letters from Chang Wei did he need to prepare himself mentally for a long time.
To make an inappropriate analogy, Chang Wei's letters always have an embarrassing feeling of forcing him to face his dark history.
However awkward it was, he read the letter carefully and answered Chang Wei's questions. Occasionally, he would use his own difficulties to encourage Chang Wei. Everyone encounters difficulties, and if you can't avoid them, you just have to push through them.
When Zhu Biao sent out his graduation gown, he stood at the door with his hands behind his back and watched the birds flying in the sky for a while.
His students all left home one after another and went to various parts of the Ming Dynasty to gain experience and realize their ambitions.
Even if the Ming Dynasty still had some minor frictions with its neighbors, and some students would go to the battlefield, as generals going to war, their army's weapons would crush the enemy, and the dangers they encountered would definitely be far less than Chang Wei's at home.
Although Chang Wei only reported good news and not bad news, he could tell from Chang Wei's confusion that Chang Wei had probably encountered many assassination attempts and ambushes disguised as bandits.
When Chang Yuchun was farming, every time he moved from one city to the next, he would be the first to fight his way out.
Even after the Ming Dynasty was established, Chang Wei still encountered "mountain bandits".
The emperor is far away, and even modern society needs to crack down on crime, let alone ancient times. The more stable the Ming Dynasty's rule, the more intense its internal conflicts. It is very likely that Chang Wei died on the way to the military farm.
Zhu Biao shook his head and turned back to the study.
Not to mention Chang Wei, he himself had also been assassinated many times. In this era, even if there was peace, it was still very dangerous to do something for the people.
........
After Zhu Yuanzhang pacified Zhang Shicheng, he changed Pingjiang back to Suzhou City.
The Ming Dynasty conquered Jiangsu and Zhejiang relatively late, and the large landowners and powerful people retained their land relatively intact. After the Ming Dynasty conquered Yunnan and repeatedly relocated the powerful people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to Yunnan to fill the border areas, land distribution officially began.
Chang Wei was in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, cultivating and dividing the land on his own.
She wanted to become Chang Yuchun's successor, so Chang Yuchun was very strict with her. He only took her with him for a short time and then let Chang Wei face the danger alone.
Chang Wei had just arrived in Jiangsu and Zhejiang when she was poisoned. Fortunately, she was not acclimatized to the local climate and felt unwell, so she did not eat much. Therefore, the poisoning attempt failed.
But some people at the party fell ill, and some were almost poisoned to death.
The drinks for everyone at the banquet were poisoned, and the person who provided them burned himself to death, leaving behind only a suicide note expressing his hatred for the Ming Dynasty for robbing them of their ancestral land. It all seemed like an ordinary person's revenge, and nothing was ever found out.
But Chang Wei knew that this was just a warning.
If her father had come to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he probably wouldn't have encountered this because those people knew this little trick and couldn't scare Marshal Chang Yuchun.
Chang Wei was looked down upon.
Afterwards, Chang Wei suffered many assassination attempts and was ambushed by bandits.
The boats were leaking, the living quarters were on fire, and there were even old firearms... In this richest place in the Ming Dynasty, Chang Wei encountered enormous resistance in his land distribution.
The powerful had almost all been relocated, and Chang Wei searched everywhere but could not find out who was "warning" her. Everyone was wearing a mask of friendliness.
When Chang Wei was in a state of anxiety, Zhu Biao's letter pointed her in the right direction.
Why bother looking for the thread? As long as she knew that these people were preventing her from dividing the land, she only needed to do a good job of dividing the land, which would cut off their roots.
As long as she finds the main contradiction and resolves it, she will win.
When Chang Wei got the outer robe, he was applying medicine on his arm.
She was assassinated again today, this time by a child.
The child couldn't find anything. He might have done it just for a meal.
Chang Wei tried her best to distribute land to the people, but the people would become her accomplices just for a meal of meat.
Chang Wei suffered for this. But her father told her that farming was for the common people, not for any particular people. So as long as she firmly believed that what she was doing was right, she would persist in doing it, even if she died.
After peace came to the Ming Dynasty, the resistance to military farming and land distribution would become increasingly greater.
The "Marshal of Military Farms" not only had to divide the land, but also had to inspect various places to check the situation of the land after it was divided, to see if anyone occupied it or if anyone had forcibly seized it.
"Marshal of Military Farms" is equivalent to an imperial envoy.
Such an imperial envoy is not only unwelcome wherever he goes, but is also particularly prone to being "corrupted".
Chang Yuchun was able to persevere because he had high aspirations and made great contributions. Apart from leaving his name in history, nothing else could attract him.
Chang Wei was still very young, and Chang Yuchun wasn't sure if his daughter could reach the same level of hardness and clarity as he did. He could only put Chang Wei under high pressure to hone her and let her persevere.
Chang Wei cried secretly many times, but she persevered when she thought of the suffering of the hungry people without land.
Now, after reading the letter written by Zhu Biao, she quickly washed her hands, carefully opened the box, and took out the fiery robe.
The pattern of her robe also has a hidden pattern of her name.
Each graduate robe is unique.
Chang Wei wiped his face and arms with a wet towel, then carefully put on his outer robe, and then looked at himself in the bronze mirror for a long time.
Unsatisfied with looking at her own reflection in the small bronze mirror, she walked to the pond outside the house and kept smiling foolishly at her own reflection in the water.
"It's so beautiful!" the servants and bodyguards exclaimed.
Chang Wei's expression of pain from being stabbed by the child had completely disappeared. She smiled and said, "This is the graduation robe for the first batch of students. I've graduated!"
Everyone around is envious.
Chang Wei walked around the pond a few times like a child showing off new clothes, then carefully put the clothes away and devoted himself to farming and dividing the land again with full energy.
"Select a hundred men and follow me," Chang Wei said. "Since we don't know who did it, we'll arrest them all."
The personal guards received the order.
Chang Wei put on armor, rode a tall horse, and headed towards the outskirts of the city.
If the other party took advantage of her kindness and offered small favors to the people to prevent the land distribution, then she would have to harden her heart, kill those who should be killed, arrest those who should be arrested, and let those ignorant fools weigh the pros and cons of whether meat and silver were more important or the lives of her entire family.
Chang Yuchun's reputation as the Marshal of Military Farms was earned through his fighting spirit. One cannot become the Marshal of Military Farms if one is soft-hearted.
…
When Chang Wei received his graduation gown, Zhu Chong also received one.
He seemed to have returned to his childhood, dancing like a monkey for a long time in his graduation gown.
Liao Yongzhong was envious. His children were admitted later. Although his children also received graduation robes after graduation, this was the first batch.
"It looks really good." Liao Yongzhong rubbed his hands eagerly, "Nephew, can you let me wear it?"
Zhu Chong immediately refused: "No!"
Liao Yongzhong said pitifully: "I'll only wear it once."
Zhu Chong gathered his robe tightly around himself and said, "No! Ask your son for it!"
Liao Yongzhong was dejected. He knew Zhu Chong would never give it to him. But he still wanted to give it a try. What if?
He looked again.
Really beautiful!
After showing off for a while, Zhu Chong put his robe away.
He only had one graduation gown, so he couldn't wear it normally. When he got home, he would wear it to show his brother.
Seeing Zhu Chong put away his graduation robe, Liao Yongzhong got to the point. "Your father hasn't left Beijing yet, so why are you here on Jeonra Island? Why don't you come back after the New Year?"
Zhu Chong said, "When he comes home, he comes to me and my brothers every few days to show off his authority as a father. Every day he lectures me. I'm too lazy to listen to his boasting."
Seeing Zhu Chong's disdainful expression, Liao Yongzhong kindly advised, "Actually, it's good to listen. You still have to maintain a good relationship with your father."
Zhu Chong waved his hand: "With Big Brother here, his relationship with us won't be bad. Besides, although I'm impatient to see him, I actually have a good relationship with him."
Liao Yongzhong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He really couldn't see what was good about it.
Zhu Chong explained: "If our relationship is not good, will I spar with him as soon as I get home?"
Liao Yongzhong thought about it and realized that it was true.
After returning home, the emperor loved to find his sons other than Biaoer to show off and lecture, and he would also test his sons on their homework and discuss with them. Although it was a bit annoying, this annoyance was also a proof of their good relationship.
When he returned home, he treated his sons in the same way. This was what a normal father should be like.
As for the emperor’s benchmark, that’s different. The emperor is the one being talked about.
Zhu Chong added, "Besides, there's a war going on right now. If I don't take this opportunity to make some merit, why would I go back and argue with this old man?"
Zhu Chong was eager to try.
If Japan does not have the strength to control the Japanese pirates, the Ming Dynasty will request to station troops in Kyushu and clear out the Japanese pirates' lairs on its own.
The Northern and Southern Emperors had already agreed, and the Ming Dynasty was already building barracks. But they changed their minds again.
However, this change of mind was not made by the emperor, but by several feudal lords who united under their own banners to attack the Ming army on Kyushu Island.
The emperors of the north and south and the generals hypocritically said that this was a time of chaos and they could not control the feudal lords.
Seeing that this group of people were trying to test him, Daming was not afraid at all and prepared to fight.
They had long known that the other party would not cooperate without a fight.
Zhu Chong hurried back just to participate in the war and make meritorious service.
The battle started soon.
The Ming army removed the cannons from the ships and fired with flintlock rifles. They did not even engage in hand-to-hand combat on horseback and quickly repelled the enemy's offensive.
The combined forces of the feudal lords were originally just a mob, without a unified leadership.
The armies they led were their own private armies, representing the power of their respective vassal states. If too many of their private troops died, their own territories could be annexed by others. Therefore, even though the Ming army was small, as soon as they saw casualties on their side, they would immediately order a retreat before they even saw the Ming army's positions.
They came in large numbers and left in large numbers, retreating faster than they had arrived.
After this chaotic test, the generals of the north and south asked the puppet emperors they supported to submit their surrender again, and asked their respective forces to withdraw from Kyushu Island, so that the Ming army could build the camp with confidence.
They would have to gather their forces and completely defeat the other emperor before they would consider the affairs of the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty said that as long as they unified and wiped out the Japanese pirates, they would leave Kyushu Island.
Everyone in Japan knew that the Chinese dynasty was very trustworthy and kept their word, especially because they cared about the face of being a "great power." So they were not worried at all.
As for why he was not worried but still tried to test it, it was naturally because he was impatient.
After all, it wasn't their own army that was contributing, so they would be happy if they could weaken the feudal lords.
After this clownish attempt, the Ming army could finally focus on construction.
The Japanese pirates were driven out of Kyushu. Some of them sailed to Ryukyu and other places, looking for small islands to settle on, and continued to struggle as pirates; some returned to Japan and took refuge with the Northern and Southern Dynasties, making the situation in Japan even more chaotic.
"Can we mine now?" Zhu Chong said happily, "Big Brother said that we can start mining after we drive all the Japanese out of Kyushu Island. I wonder if there really is the mine that Big Brother wants."
Liao Yongzhong was also very excited: "Biaoer said there is, it must be there."
He and Zhu Chong, one old and one young, looked at each other and laughed.
Mining, mining, what kind of mine? Gold, of course!
Gold mine!
Before leaving, Zhu Biao told Liao Yongzhong that stationing in Kyushu Island under the pretext of suppressing Japanese pirates would only alleviate Japan's suspicion.
Japan would certainly be tempted to make a move, even if it had signed a letter of submission. The Ming army could take advantage of Japan's impatience and expel all the Japanese from Kyushu Island, leaving only a few to migrate to unimportant places to farm.
If the Ming Dynasty did not harass them or even ask them for offerings, they might have lived better there.
Zhu Biao left a map with several important locations marked on it, and told Liao Yongzhong that after the Japanese pirates on the island were almost cleared out, they should build walls around these places and only allow the army to enter.
Zhu Biao said calmly: "There is a gold mine there."
When Liao Yongzhong heard this, he almost fainted, and scared Zhu Biao so much that he shouted "Military doctor".
Gold mine!
After being awakened by the military doctor's silver needle, Liao Yongzhong still couldn't believe it and pulled Zhu Biao to question him for a long time.
Zhu Biao confirmed again and again that it was indeed a gold mine.
The Hishikari gold deposit on Kyushu Island is one of the famous high-quality gold mines in later generations.
