Late at night, both children went to bed.

Zhu Ying was still checking the memorials.

I happened to see the part related to the Ming Dynasty Salt Officials.

"Good fellows, if it weren't for this memorial, I would have almost forgotten about you these days."

"You've gotten fat after all these years, right? Whatever you took from me, you have to spit it out."

Zhu Ying paused for a moment, and suddenly his mind emerged the scene of himself dealing with the salt officials for the sales of snowflake salt a few years ago.

There is also the idea of ​​trying every possible way to give gifts using all kinds of means.

"It's not a one-size-fits-all approach. There are still some salt officials who can be considered to be doing serious work."

Zhu Ying thought about it carefully. Although there were many cases of corruption among the salt officials, a small number of them, although they also accepted gifts, still had their own principles.

As for those who accepted gifts but did not do their job, Zhu Ying wanted to go straight to the top and overthrow all these salt officials.

I was so angry at that time, and I spent a lot of money, but there was no movement at all.

Zhu Ying had to strike hard at this type of official, first to vent his anger.

Just as he was thinking about it, there was a noise outside the door and familiar footsteps, which immediately made Zhu Ying realize that it was the old man coming.

Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang soon appeared at the door.

When Zhu Yuanzhang entered the room, he saw his eldest grandson lighting a candle and reviewing memorials. A hint of relief flashed in his eyes.

It has to be said that Zhu Yuanzhang's burden has been significantly reduced in recent times.

Before Zhu Ying reviewed the memorials, Zhu Yuanzhang would check them over once more to prevent any problems from occurring.

Then after checking it many times, Zhu Yuanzhang discovered something.

When the eldest grandson handled memorials from various parties, he did not adopt a condescending attitude like other princes and grandchildren.

Instead, it truly emerged from the people's livelihood, including some memorials from the Ministry of Justice, and the word "benevolence" was reflected in the handling of various cases.

If there are doubts or unclear points in a case, we will never close the case casually just because of its complexity.

Instead, he demanded that the lower levels must get to the bottom of the matter.

There was one case that left a particularly deep impression on Zhu Yuanzhang.

Just by comparing the testimonies, the case that seemed to have been settled was insisted upon by Da Sun that it should not be closed and a thorough re-investigation should be conducted.

Soon, the plaintiff who was about to serve his sentence was framed.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw this, he did not think of this. He recalled that he had sentenced the magistrate of Panyu to death just because he listened to one side of the story.

Although Zhu Liangzu and his son Zhu Xian were later whipped to death, Zhu Yuanzhang always felt extremely sorry for Daotong's death.

Daotong is an official who truly serves the people. He is fair and just, enforces the law strictly, and is not afraid of the powerful or difficulties.

This made Panyu County, which was known as a "troublesome place", safe and stable, and the people could live and work in peace. Facing Zhu Liangzu's power, he was not afraid and enforced the law impartially.

Daotong's death is also known as the first unjust case in the Ming Dynasty.

So seeing his eldest grandson trying so hard, Zhu Yuanzhang was deeply moved. If he had thought more about it at that time, Daotong would not have been executed before the imperial edict arrived.

"Grandpa, it's so late, why don't you go to rest?"

Zhu Ying looked at the old man in thin clothes and asked with concern.

Ever since Zhu Ying moved into Kunning Palace, he noticed that the candles in the Qianqing Palace in front of it were always extinguished very late.

So Zhu Ying suggested to Zhu Yuanzhang that he must rest before midnight in order to better protect his health.

Zhu Yuanzhang also disagreed at the time, but it was Zhu Ying who finally persuaded the old man by using the future great-grandson as an excuse.

"We are thinking about our grandson. To be honest, you have been very hard-working these days."

Zhu Yuanzhang was laughing at first, but as he spoke later, his tone became a little sad.

At this moment, in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, the figure of his eldest grandson and the figure of Zhu Biao in the past overlapped somewhat.

Zhu Biao, under the training of Zhu Yuanzhang, also reviewed memorials day and night, and was overworked, which led to his physical breakdown.

It was just a cold that led to his death.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang said in a low voice: "You are my only grandson, and you always ask me to have a good rest. Your father also told me so."

"We were resting, but he fell down."

"Grandson, you should rest earlier in the future. There's no need to stay up so late."

Seeing that the old man was quite sad, Zhu Ying wanted to argue.

For example, you are in good health and exercise regularly.

But when the words came to my lips, I saw the old man's gaze and my heart trembled slightly.

Finally, he whispered, "Okay, listen to Grandpa."

"I'm a little hungry. Why don't we ask the chefs to prepare some side dishes so that we can have a drink?"

Zhu Yuanzhang suggested.

Zhu Ying hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement.

The old man's mood is not very stable now. If he goes back to sleep like this, he will become even more sad.

Then he added: "A small Gu?"

"Okay, listen to our eldest grandson, a little Gu."

In the courtyard of Kunning Palace, Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang sat opposite each other.

Empress Ma was very fond of flowers and plants. The courtyard of Kunning Palace was also filled with various trees, flowers and plants, which were arranged in an orderly manner.

A gentle breeze blew, and I could smell the faint fragrance of flowers.

"I still remember clearly that your grandmother's favorite thing was the purple flowers over there."

"I found it in the home of a high-ranking Mongolian official when we were at war. When I married your grandmother, I didn't have anything to give her, so I used this flower as a gift."

"Your grandmother particularly likes these purple flowers and often says that bright red and purple are auspicious."

From Zhu Yuanzhang's angle, he could just see a small patch of blooming purple flowers on Zhu Ying's side.

Zhu Ying subconsciously turned his head and recognized it at a glance. It was the extremely famous violet in later generations.

Violets are native to the Mediterranean coast and are a famous flower in Europe. In the Ming Dynasty, they are as popular as peonies and plum blossoms.

Although Zhu Ying had lived in Kunning Palace for some time, he had never paid attention to these flowers.

If you look closely, you can see other kinds of flowers near the violets.

The fact that Violet was able to arrive in the capital of the Ming Dynasty at this time was obviously inseparable from the Yuan Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the violets infatuatedly. Apparently, this was Empress Ma's favorite flower during her lifetime.

Queen Ma must have put a lot of thought into preserving Violet here.

Looking at the old man's eyes, Zhu Ying knew that the old man was reminded of someone by the sight of the object.

As he watched, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly laughed, turned around and said to Zhu Ying with a smile:

"Grandson, maybe you don't remember, but when you were five years old, you were very naughty and almost ruined these pots of purple flowers."

"I still remember how the eldest sister looked at that time. She was obviously very angry, but when she saw you, my grandson, she had to play with you. Haha, I almost laughed my ass off."

"This is your grandmother's treasure, and you won't even let us touch it. But compared to your sweetheart, any treasure, no matter how good it is, will have to stand aside."

Looking at the old man, who was almost immersed in his past memories, Zhu Ying smiled and did not disturb him.

Perhaps this is the most beautiful memory for the old man.

When the wine and food came, Zhu Yuanzhang slowly recovered.

"Oh, by the way, Grandpa, I have also taken Yunxun and Mingyue to Kunning Palace. They are now sleeping in the bedroom at the back hall."

Zhu Ying said. Although it didn't seem like a big deal, it was better to tell the old man.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded gently and said, "Grandson, you are the master of this Kunning Palace. Yunhuan and Mingyue are both good children. It would be good for them to live here and take care of them."

Zhu Yuanzhang had no objection to this. Of course, according to etiquette, Zhu Yunhuan and Zhu Mingyue were not qualified to live in Kunning Palace.

Including Zhu Ying, they all had to live in the Eastern Palace, which was in line with the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty royal family.

But from Zhu Yuanzhang's point of view, who cares what palace it is? It's just a place for people to live. Naturally, his eldest grandson can live wherever he wants.

After a round of drinking, Zhu Ying thought of the previous incident with the salt official and wanted to explain the matter to the old man.

After all, there will be a big commotion in Yanguan, and this matter can only be handled by the old man.

In many aspects, as long as the old man shows up, everything becomes a simple process and there is no need to worry about any future problems.

Bang!

"Humph, these corrupt officials are so greedy and so bold that they even dare to cheat our grandson of his money."

"What we hate most are these corrupt officials, who enrich themselves and oppress the people. Grandson, please make a list of all of them and don't let any of them go."

After listening to Zhu Ying's brief narration, Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the wine glass on the table and spoke sternly.

Zhu Yuanzhang never spared any effort in cracking down on corrupt officials and killed them all.

"Don't worry, Grandpa. I have already prepared the list of these people and will send it to you tomorrow."

In this matter, Zhu Ying and the old man shared the same hatred and enemy.

It won’t be long before the Ming Dynasty’s treasury will have an additional substantial amount of income.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and then said:

"Your eldest grandson will take some of the money that the salt officials have confiscated. I'm sure the Chamber of Commerce under your command didn't have an easy time during the disaster relief in Henan."

Zhu Yuanzhang heard clearly about the arrangements made by his eldest grandson in the courtyard on the Qinhuai River. After all, it was the chamber of commerce established by his eldest grandson with great effort.

If he really died all of a sudden, Zhu Yuanzhang would feel ashamed.

Hearing this, Zhu Ying replied: "Grandpa, there is no need to do this. I have other income from this business. The trade of snowflake salt on the coast can basically fill this gap."

Zhu Ying, this is the truth.

Snowflake salt has always been the biggest source of income for Zhu Ying.

On the coastal side, when the channels were replaced by the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce, the profits originally to be distributed increased greatly.

However, Zhu Ying was well versed in business. After seizing the sales channels along the coast, he not only did not raise the price due to the monopoly, but instead lowered the price by half a percent compared to the previous price.

Don't underestimate this half-finished price. The huge trade volume makes the profit extremely exaggerated.

Not only that, in order to stimulate consumption to a certain extent, the output of trade has also increased.

This is to quickly stabilize the market and allow other overseas merchants to purchase in large quantities.

Although the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce is currently suffering from a serious deficit, there are not many waves on the Chamber of Commerce's side. Relying on its good reputation, there is no pressure at all until the Snowflake Salt recovers.

After all, those other chambers of commerce that are currently preparing to put pressure on us will probably not be able to do so for a while.

Zhu Yuanzhang had a keen sense of smell, and when he heard his eldest grandson being so relaxed, he immediately realized the huge amount of gold and silver transactions involved.

"It seems that it is time for our grandson's snowflake salt to be introduced into the Ming treasury. Let's take this opportunity to properly manage the salt officials."

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke several times, and his meaning was very clear.

Of course there was no way Zhu Ying would refuse. This was something that was bound to happen sooner or later. For Zhu Ying, this was no different from transferring money from one hand to the other.

"Grandson, go back and think about it carefully. According to the current system of the salt officials, it may not be able to generate such profits as it is now. Lingxing needs to come up with a solution."

If the recipe of snowflake salt is directly handed over to the salt official, it is basically equivalent to dividing up all the profits of the snowflake salt.

The revenue of the national treasury was not as much as it is now.

"As for the business, we know you are familiar with it, so we will let you arrange it."

Zhu Yuanzhang said that he had experienced a lot, but he knew nothing about the business of buying and selling.

However, commerce is one of the foundations of a country, and Zhu Yuanzhang was very clear about this.

The policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce does not target small traders or those doing legitimate business.

Rather, it is those unscrupulous businessmen who engage in speculation, hoarding goods, and profiting from the national crisis.

These people are the biggest worries in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind.

On the contrary, Zhu Yuanzhang actually had a strong policy bias towards business.

At the beginning of the founding of the country, an imperial decree was issued: "In the past, treacherous officials amassed wealth and taxed everything, which I am very ashamed of. From now on, military and civilian wedding and funeral items, boats, carriages, silk and cloth, etc., will not be taxed."

All commercial taxes are collected at one out of thirty, and those who exceed the limit will be treated as violating the order.

This is enough to show that Zhu Yuanzhang supported the development of commerce in response to the predatory destruction caused by the late Yuan Dynasty.

This is why businessmen have a low status but make money quickly.

It is only because of lack of understanding that hidden dangers are laid.

"Regarding the matter of commercial tax, I am currently working out a detailed situation. When it is completed, please help me check for any deficiencies and fill in the gaps."

Zhu Ying spoke up.

There are indeed too many hidden dangers in the business of the Ming Dynasty now, which makes it difficult for the Ming Dynasty to collect commercial taxes, and it can only rely mainly on agricultural taxes.

This situation certainly could not continue, so Zhu Ying had been thinking about how to improve the collection of commercial taxes very early on.

There had been some preparations originally, but they were aimed at Annan.

The current situation in the Ming Dynasty is completely different, so it cannot be applied mechanically.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, but did not take it too seriously. In his eyes, commercial taxes would not fluctuate much.

"By the way, grandson has something else that grandpa wants to explain to you."

"What is it?"

"My grandson chatted with Yunxun today and found that he really likes carpentry, so I want to arrange for him to work in the Gunpowder Department, so that he can get involved in the production of matchlock guns."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his eldest grandson with a deep look in his eyes.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not raise any objections.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, this was a preparation for his eldest grandson and a preparation for the vassal kings.

Once, Zhu Yuanzhang also asked Zhu Yunwen about the issue of vassal kings.

Although Zhu Yunwen's answer was not satisfactory, it was still good.

Regarding this arrangement for his eldest grandson, Zhu Yuanzhang obviously believed that his eldest grandson had already begun to prepare to deal with matters related to the future vassal kings.

However, there is no major problem with the emperor's grandsons such as Yunhu; the main problem lies with the King of Sai who commands troops on the border.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang asked:

"What does your eldest grandson think of the uncles who guard the border?"