As the younger brother of the Ming emperor, Zhu Yunwen's reputation for being a playboy was not only known within the imperial family, but also throughout the court and the public. Everyone knew that this Prince of Wu of the Ming Dynasty was an expert in eating, drinking, and having fun, and was extremely good at accumulating wealth.

Putting aside the emperor's occasional rewards, or his attempts to freeload off other members of the imperial clan, Prince Wu still managed to make money.

For example, the output of the estate, while not particularly abundant, is still some. Coupled with the imperial patronage, His Highness Prince Wu basically doesn't need to worry about his livelihood; living in luxury is simply a given.

But that wasn't enough. His Highness Prince Wu was among the first members of the Ming Dynasty's imperial family to "go to Southeast Asia." Although at that time Prince Wu was only a Prince of the Second Rank and had not yet fully established his own residence, he had a powerful older brother who organized a fleet in the name of Zhu Yunwen.

The Maritime Trade Office was making a fortune every day, and many merchants were eager to get direct trade opportunities. Unfortunately, the imperial court had strict control over these trades, which was controlled by the court and some members of the imperial family and nobles. Merchants could only collect and distribute goods.

If you're planning to smuggle, that's fine too. Every era has its share of daring people, especially when they see huge profits, they're willing to take on certain risks.

That's fine. If someone is willing to take the risk, that's their own choice.

As long as one can evade the patrols of the Ming Dynasty's navy and the supervision of officials at all levels of the Ming government, then there will naturally be no problem. To actually do that is, in fact, a skill in itself.

As for the consequences of being caught, those people are surely aware of them. Although the Ming Dynasty seemed to somewhat encourage trade, this was true, especially in the area of ​​maritime trade.

However, the Ming Dynasty was essentially still somewhat focused on agriculture and suppressed commerce, which is indeed a fundamental characteristic of most feudal dynasties.

Zhu Wengeng was very well-behaved, reporting to his father about some things that happened during the outing.

Despite Zhu Yunwen's usual dissolute demeanor, and indeed he has always been, a master of pleasure and entertainment, this Prince Anle is not entirely without sense; he is aware of many things.

"I've told you before, even though your imperial uncle has always doted on you, it's just a case of loving the house because of the person who loves you!" Zhu Yunwen said somewhat displeasedly, criticizing, "You're just being arrogant because of his favor! I've said before that the Crown Prince is your cousin, and he has his own younger brothers and sisters. He just needs to take care of them. How could he possibly favor you, his cousin!"

Zhu Wengen seemed somewhat unconvinced, muttering under his breath, "But my imperial uncle loves my father the most, and he likes us too. Today, my imperial brother even rewarded us with bows and horses!"

Zhu Yunwen looked at his eldest son with a sense of disappointment and frustration. "That's because the Crown Prince thinks you're not skilled in archery and horsemanship! I also received many rewards from your imperial uncle in my early years. It was your imperial uncle who spurred me on to improve."

Zhu Wengeng decided to follow suit and said, "Then let's keep the bows and arrows and practice in our spare time. We just won't sell them."

This is just a perfect example of what Zhu Yunwen did back then. They acted with complete confidence and seemed to be planning to give up and lie low.

Zhu Yunwen was too lazy to say anything, because even if he said something at this point, it wouldn't make much difference. He knew to some extent what kind of son he had raised; his precious son was a spitting image of him when he was a child.

In truth, Zhu Yunwen also felt that this wasn't a bad thing, setting aside his own pleasure-seeking nature. It was also because, as a member of the imperial clan, even as the emperor's younger brother, he needed to maintain a certain level of propriety.

Especially since Zhu Yunwen was also the eldest son of the emperor, he sometimes felt that it was probably because he liked to eat, drink and have fun that his elder brother liked him so much.

Just as Zhu Wengeng was being sent away, Madam Sang walked over with a beaming smile. "Your Highness, the fleet has docked today. They brought back some fine things from the South Seas, even better than vegetable oil."

Zhu Wengeng lazily took a sip of tea before asking, "Vegetable oil? What in Southeast Asia can compare to our vegetable oil?"

Sang quickly replied, "I also smelled it and they said there are many tall oil palm trees over there, and the fruit can be pressed for oil."

Zhu Yunwen stroked his chin and said with a smile, "Our imperial brother is truly farsighted. Everyone else said that the South Seas were desolate, but our imperial brother brought back a lot of jewels and corals from there, as well as a lot of grain. Now, we even have a lot of vegetable oil."

In the Ming Dynasty, apart from some animal oils, rapeseed oil was the main type of cooking oil, while soybean oil was relatively less common.

However, rapeseed oil in the Ming Dynasty was mainly made from rapeseed and Chinese cabbage, which had a relatively low oil content.

The rapeseed fields that people talk about in later generations are mainly rapeseed of the mustard type, which originated in North Africa and has a high oil content. The cabbage type rapeseed, which originated in Europe, has an even higher oil content, but the Ming Dynasty currently has no way to bring it back.

The same applies to grains. If rice yields were only 400-500 kilograms per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres) 600 years from now, many people wouldn't think much of it. That's because some hybrid rice varieties can now yield over 1,000 kilograms per mu.

Although farming techniques have improved and yields per mu have increased compared to the past, the actual grain yield per mu in the Ming Dynasty was not particularly high.

In the north, the average yield is around 300 jin per mu, while in the south, the average yield of rice is around 500 jin per mu.

From yields of tens of kilograms per mu during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, to hundreds of kilograms per mu during the Tang Dynasty, and then to two or three hundred kilograms per mu during the Ming Dynasty, it shows that rice yields have been increasing, and that the Chinese people have been doing a better job in domesticating rice and that planting techniques have become more and more mature.

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