Whether they were civil or military officials or nobles, these people probably shared some common understanding.

They were all well aware of the current situation, knowing that the current emperor favored the crown prince and his grandson and was willing to relinquish power. The kind of father-son distrust that was common in many dynasties was absent in Zhu Yuanzhang's reign; he was afraid that his sons and grandsons wouldn't have a solid enough power base.

However, it wasn't easy for these clever people to gain favor with the Crown Prince or his grandson. The Crown Prince and his grandson weren't indiscriminate in their acceptance of talent; they didn't need much cultivation of reputation or courteous treatment of scholars, mainly because the emperor showed them excessive favor.

Such favoritism was known to all the civil and military officials and nobles, let alone Zhu Xiong Ying, the person directly involved. This can be seen from the fact that he could intervene in the navy at such a young age, and from the fact that he could sit in Beiping and command a large army.

Needless to say, Crown Prince Zhu the Elder has been working with the same staff as the founding emperor since he became crown prince. Moreover, he now participates in all matters of state, big and small; his role as crown prince overseeing the country is not merely a formality, but a genuine one.

Old Zhu was in a good mood and kept asking Zhu Xiong Ying about various things. Even the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) or some ministers around Zhu Xiong Ying, including Zhu Xiong Ying himself, would often bring up things, talking about work and life. But Old Zhu cared more than just about his grandson's political and military affairs; he enjoyed spending time with his eldest grandson even more.

"I reckon our army can take Busan before winter, and we can also take Iwami in Japan." Old Zhu was very confident, but he was still worried. "I'm thinking that winter will be tough. I know that Goryeo is a bitterly cold place, and our Marquis Guide is there."

Marquis Guide, Chen Li, was the second son of Emperor Chen Youliang of the Han Dynasty and had once been an emperor himself. However, in the fifth year of the Hongwu reign, he was exiled to Goryeo (Korea), where he lived a life of hardship. At that time, the King of Goryeo was still Wang Zhuan, and Chen Li's identity was not only taboo for Emperor Hongwu, but also for the King of Goryeo, so he certainly did not enjoy a life of luxury.

Zhu Xiong Ying did not say anything about treating the deposed monarch kindly; there was no need to show his 'benevolence' at this time.

Such was the common fate of emperors of fallen kingdoms. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the young emperor Zhao Bing, a member of the imperial clan, was carried into the sea by the Left Chancellor Lu Xiufu. Members of the imperial clan either died or were killed; few escaped. The Jingkang Incident in the Northern Song Dynasty is even more humiliating, where the entire imperial family was almost wiped out and subjected to all sorts of humiliation.

This wasn't unique to the Song Dynasty; in the Tang and Sui Dynasties, and others, the imperial family generally didn't fare well after the fall of their kingdoms. If the Ming Dynasty were to fall one day, its imperial family wouldn't fare any better—a fact many people were aware of.

Looking at Zhu Xiong Ying, Zhu Xiong Ying said, "Grandfather, I think that now that our Great Ming is vast and sparsely populated, we should not only grow grain. We should also grow cotton. The northern army needs cotton, and ordinary people should also have cotton."

Old Zhu sighed and said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "We want to too, but these are people who have experienced hunger. They have some land at home and grow grain. We know that old farmers just want to have enough grain in their hands."

This is true; only by filling one's stomach can one survive, and cotton and the like are luxuries for many people.

Zhu Xiong Ying continued, "In recent years, our Great Ming has also been recuperating and developing, and the population and food supply have increased. More land has been reclaimed, and it seems that we don't need to worry about food supplies these days. Your Majesty, cotton should also be included in the tax revenue, and some subsidies or exemptions should be given, otherwise everyone will be growing grain."

The Ming Dynasty is currently implementing policies of rest and recuperation, reducing taxes and corvée labor, and encouraging the reclamation of wasteland and the establishment of military farms. It is also relatively open to commercial development, thus boosting the recovery of the social economy.

The main source of revenue for the Ming Dynasty today is land tax. Land tax is levied per mu (a Chinese unit of land area, approximately 0.165 acres), and the method varies between the north and south. It is usually collected twice a year, in summer and autumn. The tax is levied in two installments per mu: grain in autumn and cotton, cloth, silk, and other goods in summer.

Of course, there are also municipal taxes, customs duties, and ship taxes.

Old Zhu frowned, then said, "If the tax is reduced or exempted, those gentry and landlords will try to find loopholes."

“Grandfather, we can’t expect everything to go smoothly and peacefully. Some people will always benefit.” Zhu Xiong Ying was also somewhat helpless. His grandfather was somewhat resentful of the rich. “Those wealthy households may be benefiting now, but in the end, it is our Great Ming Dynasty that benefits.”

Zhu Xiong Ying continued to persuade, "Wealthy households and poor people are all subjects of our Great Ming. We will have plenty of money to grow cotton in the future, and the imperial court can buy it. Moreover, when there is more cloth, we can sell it to ordinary people."

Zhu Xiong Ying began earnestly explaining the concepts of "ecological chain" and "industrial chain" to Old Zhu, emphasizing that the cotton "industry" could benefit many people. The main issue was that the Ming Dynasty currently lacked cotton, but it certainly didn't lack land.

In fact, the population of the Ming Dynasty was not small at all; it was currently close to ten million households. This does not include military households, etc., so the population of the Ming Dynasty exceeded fifty million, which is a certainty.

Old Zhu remained unmoved; he was still a stubborn man, and nothing Zhu Xiong Ying said could sway him.

This matter cannot be resolved overnight, and Zhu Xiong Ying was aware of this. From the beginning, she did not intend to make Lao Zhu accept these things. She would take it slowly, appealing to his emotions and reasoning with him, and then have her subordinates conduct some investigations and statistics before making a decision.

However, there are some things that must be said, and these are things that Zhu Xiong Ying cared about from the very beginning.

“Grandfather, our Great Ming now has copper coins and paper money, but many people don’t recognize paper money these days,” Zhu Xiong Ying said. “Many people see paper money as just a piece of paper, which won’t do.”

Old Zhu snorted coldly and said irritably, "Our precious paper money is indeed useful!"

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