Yingtian Prefecture, the Imperial Palace, in the imperial study.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the letter on the dragon table. His hands sometimes turned into eagle claws, and sometimes turned into indescribable shapes, showing his inner unrest at the moment.
It took a full cup of tea before Zhu Yuanzhang looked up at Mao Xiang in the shadows.
"If it wasn't your son, we would all think that Mao Xu had been bribed by that brat Zhu Chong!"
"What a mess! That bastard Zhu Chong went to Yunnan and became a colluder with Fei Ju. He even played matchmaker for the army we sent to Yunnan, arranging thousands of marriages!"
Mao Xiang knelt in the shadows, bowing his head, and humbly stated, "Your Majesty, when I saw this report, I also thought Mao Xu was corrupt. However, this matter is of great importance, and I am presumptuous. I have come before the Empress Dowager and asked her to send the Luanwei..."
"The Queen agreed?" Zhu Yuanzhang's tone became even more shocked when he heard this. "So the contents of this letter are all true? The Queen also knows about it?"
The Luanwei under Empress Ma was a special spy agency approved by Zhu Yuanzhang and personally headed by the Empress. Their main duty was to assist the Empress in managing the secrets of the harem, but they would also be sent out to investigate matters in special circumstances. However, this was the first time something like what happened to Mao Xiang had happened.
"I am willing to die a thousand times. I beg Your Majesty to punish me for this matter..." Mao Xiang thought that he was asking the Queen to investigate his son and Zhu's son, which made Zhu furious, and he quickly kowtowed and apologized.
Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted rudely with a wave of his hand. "We'll settle the matter of the Empress with you later. If this letter is genuine, how on earth did that bastard Zhu Chong get so many women?"
"Dozens, hundreds of cases every day, this has been going on for nearly a month. How come we only found out about this now?"
"There are still tens of thousands of refugees seeking refuge with that stinky brat Zhu Chong. How did those people know that stinky brat Zhu Chong was in Yunnan?"
"The most crucial point is that tens of thousands of refugees have crossed the border into Yunnan from all over the country. The local officials are blind, and the people in the Jinyiwei garrisons in various places are also blind? Is this how you, Mao Xiang, lead the Jinyiwei for us?"
"I deserve death!" Mao Xiang was panicked and kowtowed repeatedly. "This matter was due to my negligence, but please understand, Your Majesty, the local garrisons were indeed unaware of the large number of refugees crossing the border."
"This old servant has also sent people to conduct a secret investigation, and the Queen's Luanwei has also conducted a special investigation, but the Luanwei's results are exactly the same as the results of the garrison. Those refugees who took refuge with His Majesty the Prince of Qin seemed to have appeared out of nowhere..."
"Mao Xiang!" Zhu Yuanzhang finally grew angry, slamming the table and interrupting again, "I trust you, and this is how you respond to my trust?"
"I would rather die than be punished, Your Majesty!" Mao Xiang's head was bleeding from knocking his head against the wall.
As the earliest spy chief following Zhu Yuanzhang and the first commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Mao Xiang knew his master too well.
In this situation, no matter how much you explain, it will be useless. Instead, it will make Old Zhu more angry and have the opposite effect. It is better to apologize directly. The decision-making power is in Old Zhu's hands anyway, so there is no point in saying more!
Zhu Yuanzhang noticed the shocking red pool on the ground where Mao Xiang was kowtowed, and his eyes drooped slightly.
"You go there yourself, replace the Luanwei, and find out for us where those refugees came from and whether they are actually refugees!"
"Yes, I will do my best to investigate thoroughly and give an explanation to Your Majesty!" Mao Xiang heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, but he kowtowed even harder than before. Every time he knocked his head down, a ball of blood splashed.
"Okay, get up, wipe the blood off, and stop giving us these empty tricks!" Zhu Yuanzhang scolded, "I'm not old and confused yet!"
"I dare not. I thank Your Majesty for your grace!" Mao Xiang then dared to stand up and stood obediently in the shadow.
Returning to the dragon case, Old Zhu threw away the letter in front of him and casually picked up another one, opening it. A strange glint flashed in his eyes, "How's your investigation into Hu Weiyong going? And that Fei Ju!"
"I am still investigating carefully and have already got some clues. As for the Pingliang Marquis, I haven't found any solid evidence yet."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked up at Mao Xiang calmly before saying, "Hurry up, there have been too many troubles lately!"
"Yes, I will definitely live up to your Majesty's trust!"
Another week passed. In front of the terraced fields in Jianshanao, Zhu Chong looked down from a high vantage point, gazing at the thousands of hectares of grown fields, feeling extremely happy.
Everything was just like Zhu Chong's previous experimental fields. The potatoes and grains grown through the catalytic growth of systematic fertilizers all had a bumper harvest.
The food crisis has been temporarily resolved, but the number of ordinary people Zhu Chong receives from the system every day has now reached 3,200!
Zhu Chong calculated that after this week, all the houses in Jianshanao would probably be full.
By next week, the number of people receiving rewards every day will reach 6,400, and the number of people in Jianshanao will soon exceed 50,000!
At this time, the system gave Zhu Chong half men and half women as people. This was the result of Zhu Chong's unremitting efforts in recent times.
In addition to the young and strong men he provided to Fei Ju, he had already provided nearly 10,000 virgin girls as wives to the bachelors of the Yunnan-Yunnan border army.
Otherwise, he would have been broken down by so many mouths.
"What on earth did you do?" Suddenly, Guanyinnu's voice sounded behind Zhu Chong.
Zhu Chong turned around and saw that Guanyinnu's pretty face was full of anger, but there was more resentment in her eyes.
"What did you say? What did I do?" Zhu Chong was a little surprised. What happened to Guanyin Nu?
"Why are so many people here coming to Jianshanwo? And why do things like you mature so quickly..."
Guanyinnu now transformed into a man with ten thousand questions. She had followed Zhu Chong to Jianshanao to cultivate the land for almost a month.
Originally, she had prepared herself to endure hardships here for a while, but she didn't expect that after arriving in Jianshanao, earth-shaking changes would soon take place here!
Every day, there are civilians who come to seek refuge for unknown reasons, soldiers who come to ask for wives for unknown reasons but are inexplicably working the land in Jianshanao, and the strange supervision team that comes to Jianshanao to enforce the law, as well as bachelors from all over the country who come here because of its reputation...
As the Princess of Qin, Guanyinnu attended weddings every day until her legs were weak. Fortunately, she didn't have to put on makeup for the newlyweds. Otherwise, with so many brides, even a mountain of gold wouldn't be enough to cover the expenses.
Of course, what Guanyinnu found most strange was what Zhu Chong arranged for his subordinates to plant in the fields.
Even though Guanyinnu was knowledgeable, he had never seen the food that Zhu Chong called potatoes, which matured in just a few days after being planted in the ground.
Guanyinnu was shocked when she saw the plain-looking potatoes dug out of the soil, and then peeled and cooked to make various foods or dishes. She had no idea that there were such delicious foods in the world.
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