Hybrid rice is neither difficult nor easy.

It mainly depends on how high you can reach.

It is naturally impossible to dream of reaching the same heights as later generations, but to a certain extent, it is still possible to improve rice.

It is very possible to improve rice with increased disease resistance and higher yield.

Zhu Ying did not explain the concept of hybrid rice to Zhu Su right away.

Because if we really want to start research, it is a long process, and it is not possible to achieve good results within a few years.

Even though later generations have so many advanced technologies, it still took decades to research hybrid rice.

Of course, research on hybrid rice is an endless task, but as the research continues to deepen, better rice breeding will gradually be promoted.

Such a big thing could not be handled by Zhu Su alone.

Zhu Ying was not impatient. He was only eighteen years old and still had decades to live. He would eventually achieve success.

However, Zhu Su still gave him an unexpected surprise, which was basically the characteristic of a scholar.

After all, in today's world where Confucian culture is dominant, most people are studying poetry and songs. Other basic subjects are only minor subjects compared to poetry and songs.

Seeing that it was getting late, Feng Sheng and Zhu Su also said goodbye and left.

Midnight, Ming Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had just finished reviewing memorials in his study, was preparing to take a rest.

"Your Majesty, the Jinyiwei sent a message that the Prince of Jin personally invited His Royal Highness Changsun to the Prince of Qin's residence for dinner today. He must have drunk a lot of wine."

"Duke Song and King Zhou waited in Changsun Duanxia's residence for an hour, and then chatted with His Royal Highness Changsun until midnight before leaving."

It is now a little after eleven o'clock in the evening, which means that half an hour ago, Feng Sheng and Zhu Su left Zhu Ying's courtyard, and the Jinyiwei quickly reported the news to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly after hearing this and said, "It seems that the second and third brothers should have accepted the eldest grandson. This is very good."

The Jinyiwei monitored Zhu Ying only from the outside, and provided more protection for some daily activities.

As for the specific content of the conversation, I won't eavesdrop.

"By the way, what is Old Seventeen doing recently?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

The Seventeenth King mentioned by Zhu Yuanzhang was the Prince of Ning, Zhu Quan, who would later become one of the Nine Great Kings of the Frontier.

Last year, in April of the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, Zhu Quan had been named Prince of Ning. However, the current Prince of Ning was only fourteen years old, so it was not appropriate for him to be enfeoffed, so he still stayed in the imperial palace.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Ning has been studying military books recently." Liu He replied immediately. It was Liu He's basic duty to understand the movements of the princes and grandchildren.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Tell Yunhuan and Mingyue that they are of similar age, so if you go out to play with their elder brother, take Quan'er with you."

"I obey your order." Liu He replied respectfully.

Prince Ning Zhu Quan was born to Concubine Yang and was just one of Zhu Yuanzhang's many sons.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang paid so much attention to her was mainly because of her appearance.

When Zhu Quan was in his teens, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned all the princes and grandchildren to have a meal.

When I saw Zhu Quan at first sight, I was struck by his beauty.

Among the many princes and grandchildren of the emperor, Zhu Quan really stood out. Not only was he handsome, but he also had an indescribable royal nobility.

With such appearance, only Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew Li Jinglong could be compared with him.

At the banquet at that time, Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately asked Zhu Quan to sit next to him and chat with him.

Zhu Quan, who was only ten years old, was well-spoken and well-mannered, and what was even more rare was that he had acquired a wealth of knowledge.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang like him even more.

The 23rd year of Hongwu was the year when Zhu Di defeated the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that Zhu Quan was too bookish. As his son, how could he not be good at leading troops in battle?

So he asked Zhu Quan and several other brothers to go to Linqing to train troops.

During the military training, although Zhu Quan was not brave enough and did not personally go into battle to kill the enemy, he was good at deploying troops and was calm and collected. He did not show any fear even when faced with danger.

The demeanor of him planning and strategizing is quite similar to that of Han Xin commanding his troops.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang even happier. You must know that those who just kill people indiscriminately are at most generals. The one who can sit in the center of the army and command the entire army is the commander-in-chief.

That's how it was. In the second year after Zhu Quan returned, Zhu Yuanzhang directly named Zhu Quan the King of Ning, and his fiefdom was named Daning.

Daning is a frontier fortress of the Ming Dynasty. It is located outside Xifengkou and borders the Northern Yuan Dynasty. It is a military stronghold that is fought over by military strategists.

Choosing this place as Zhu Quan's fiefdom shows that Zhu Yuanzhang had high expectations for him, even though Zhu Quan was only fourteen years old.

The reason why he was able to use Zhu Quan so confidently was, on the one hand, because he loved him, and on the other hand, because Zhu Quan was not a legitimate son and had no qualifications to inherit the throne.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, Prince Ning Zhu Quan should spend his entire life resisting foreign invasions of the Ming Dynasty and guarding the border.

And their descendants will also multiply and thrive in Daning, guarding the border for the Ming Dynasty from generation to generation.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, Zhu Quan would be the leader of the nine great kings of the frontier.

This is also true.

Two years later, when Zhu Quan was enfeoffed, Zhu Yuanzhang gave him 80,000 armored soldiers and 6,000 chariots. The three brave and combat-skilled cavalrymen of Doyan Guards were made directly under Zhu Quan.

This configuration is simply the best among the nine great kings.

So Zhu Yuanzhang wanted Zhu Quan to be on good terms with his eldest grandson.

After all, one is the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the other is the most powerful vassal king in the future, so naturally they should have a harmonious relationship.

Of course, if there is no harmony, then there might be some minor changes on Zhu Quan's side.

…

The next morning.

Zhu Ying seldom went to the teahouse anymore, so they arranged for several of the teahouse's chefs to live in the yard and only prepare meals for Zhu Ying.

Every day before dawn, the eunuch Guo Zhong would come to remind Zhu Ying that it was time to get up and review memorials.

Fortunately, Zhu Ying was not in a bad mood when waking up, otherwise Guo Zhong would be in trouble.

However, because he got up too early, Zhu Ying now has developed the habit of taking a nap.

After all, staying in bed too long ruins the morning, while getting up early makes you stupid for the whole day.

If Zhu Ying hadn't been in good health and able to bear it, she would have collapsed mentally after these few days.

The memorials he has reviewed will be taken to the palace by Guo Zhong.

However, it is obvious that as his review speed increases, the number of memorials is also increasing rapidly.

From the time I finished breakfast until almost two o'clock in the afternoon.

A total of three hundred memorials have been reviewed and reviewed.

Most of the contents of these memorials are related to people's livelihood, and their main source is submissions from the Ministry of Revenue.

Zhu Ying handled the matter quite well.

If you encounter an impeachment memorial, there is nothing you can do.

Not long after the eunuch Guo Zhong, who was in charge of writing the memorial, left with it, Zhu Gaochi came to visit.

"Why didn't you bring your aunt this time?" Zhu Ying asked with a smile. He still had a deep impression of Xu Miaojin who came with him last time.

Such a simple sentence caused Zhu Gaochi to misunderstand a little, and he hurriedly said: "Don't worry, brother, I will definitely bring my aunt here next time."

The matter of the tomb of Prince Yu in Xiaoling Mausoleum has begun to ferment among the royal family members. Now Zhu Gaochi certainly cannot pretend to be ignorant while knowing the truth.

Zhu Ying was not surprised to hear this familiar address of "big brother". Instead, he asked with a smile, "Did His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan come here this time to give you some instructions?"

"Brother, you are indeed a wise man. This time, my father asked me to come here to invite you to a dinner at his mansion. I wonder if you would be so honored to go." Zhu Gaochi said directly.

Zhu Ying narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this.

I think there might be something interesting about this dinner hosted by Prince of Yan Zhu Di.

Zhu Ying knew that this was probably related to the fact that he had dinner with Zhu Chong, the Prince of Qin, and Zhu Gang, the Prince of Jin, yesterday.

I think this matter was decided yesterday.

But it's already two o'clock in the afternoon, and normally it's time for dinner around three o'clock.

Normally, Zhu Di should have sent the invitation in the morning, and then Zhu Gaochi would come to greet him.

However, Zhu Ying did not receive the invitation, so Zhu Gaochi came directly.

This shows that Zhu Di was determined to get him to attend the banquet this time. Zhu Ying also knew the key point, which was that he was afraid that he would not be able to refuse.

"Okay, since His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan has invited me, I certainly cannot refuse. Let me pack up and then go over." Zhu Ying said readily.

"Then I will wait here for you, big brother." Zhu Gaochi said.

Zhu Ying nodded, then went straight back to her room and started changing.

When he came out again, Zhu Ying, who was originally wearing linen clothes, had changed into new clothes made of silk.

Neicun wore a black brocade robe and a scarlet robe outside.

As the saying goes, Buddha relies on gold ornaments, and people rely on clothes. Zhu Ying dressed like this is a first-class nobleman with a strong aura.

After a cup of tea, Zhu Ying finally came out.

When Zhu Gaochi saw this, his heart trembled and he subconsciously bowed slightly.

At this moment, Zhu Ying completely fits the image of the elder brother in his mind.

"Let's go."

Zhu Ying said softly, then led the way towards the gate, and Zhu Gaochi quickly followed behind.

The formal meeting with Zhu Di was also very important to Zhu Ying.

Although he didn't know what Zhu Di was up to at the moment, Zhu Ying knew in his heart that his aura could not be overwhelmed.

Zhu Ying, dressed in formal attire, looked completely different from before.

…

"Why haven't you come yet?"

Zhu Di looked at the sky. It would only take at most an incense stick of time to get from Zhu Ying's courtyard to Prince Yan's Mansion.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. No matter what else, even if it's because of the relationship between the eldest prince and Zhu Ying, Zhu Ying will definitely not refuse." Yao Guangxiao stood aside and said softly.

In front of them, there were more than a dozen servants busying around, preparing everything.

Zhu Di attached great importance to this dinner. He knew clearly that if he could defeat the Japanese pirates, all subsequent possibilities would be hopeful.

Not long after, Zhu Ying appeared in front of Zhu Di in a scarlet silk robe.

"Meet Fourth Uncle."