On the day when the Overseas Talent Recruitment Hall was established, the princes had already begun to operate actively.

As for industries, there are plenty of them ready-made.

Several princes thought about it privately and decided not to wait any longer.

See which family’s industry is the most prosperous in the capital, and directly change it to a talent recruitment hall.

After checking, several princes found that there were quite a few shops under their names that met the requirements, so they simply gave the one with the largest area to the treasury.

Then they made a plaque overnight, and estimated that they would be able to open the door the next day.

The earlier this recruitment center starts, the earlier it can attract talents.

For the princes who wanted to establish a country overseas, this was of course what they wanted.

After the morning court session, Qi Tai also came to Zhu Ying to report on his work.

"I've been gone for more than a month, but I've gotten to know the situation."

In the main hall of Kunning Palace, Zhu Ying spoke first.

Qi Tai must be a capable minister. Zhu Ying was completely certain of this. Such a minister was very loyal, talented, and even had abilities similar to a photographic memory, which was quite useful.

When Qi Tai heard this, his face turned bitter.

"Reporting to Your Highness, this trip to Henan is exactly what Your Highness described. I disguised myself and investigated secretly. As expected, many of the people's private lands have been sold to local gentry."

"Some gentry are blatant and have no scruples, while others are more shrewd and do not let outsiders know. If I had not been deeply involved in the work, I might not have known it."

Qi Tai's tone was somewhat sad. In order to get the real information, Qi Tai was willing to take risks.

He simply disguised himself as a vagrant and went undercover to do odd jobs among the local gentry.

Qi Tai was not from a wealthy family, so he was not unfamiliar with these things. After some investigation, he found that the situation was almost the same as what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had guessed.

These gentry, fearing taxes or the problem of being too powerful, did not report to the government after collecting the land deeds from the people, but simply kept their land in hiding.

If someone from the government came to investigate, it would be these ordinary people who would come forward.

At that time, Qi Tai was actually a little confused as to why the common people did not expose the matter, but instead tried their best to help the gentry conceal the facts.

After some inquiries, I found out that in the eyes of the people, the help from the gentry was a favor.

The gentry and the common people were mostly from the same village and hometown. They were all given relief food and survived the most difficult times. In the future, they worked as long-term laborers for the gentry and did not have to worry too much about the harvest. Even if there was another famine, the landlords would protect them, so at least they would not starve to death.

In this way, helping the gentry to conceal the truth seemed to be a natural thing to do.

From a moral point of view, there seems to be no problem at all, because these land deeds were not forced upon the people by the gentry, but were instead accepted by the people after they begged for land.

Qi Tai has investigated many places and found that such things as the seizure of land are not common. Most of the people involved are good people.

This made Qi Tai feel very uncomfortable.

Qi Tai slowly expressed these thoughts to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, I am a little confused. I was investigating as an imperial censor, but I found that I had no way to punish those gentry. Instead, I felt that what they did was very reasonable under such circumstances."

After hearing Qi Tai's story and the expression on his face, Zhu Ying nodded slightly and said, "You are right. In this matter, if we punish the gentry too much, it will cause complaints from the people."

"And your feeling is correct. These gentry are indeed good people, not bad people."

Qi Tai replied: "But their private sale of land is against the laws of the Ming Dynasty."

According to the Ming Dynasty laws, land deeds can be traded, but they must be registered with the government and the corresponding taxes must be borne.

The more land one has, the higher the tax will naturally be. Although Juren has privileges, they are only exempt from paying taxes on land above a certain amount.

This does not mean that all properties under your name are exempt from tax.

Since he is just a juren, the county magistrate will usually treat him with more respect and will not easily conduct a thorough investigation.

It is possible that a certain scholar may be appointed as an official.

Zhu Ying sighed and said, "It's similar to what I thought. In fact, things like this are very common in every dynasty, but no one really cares about it."

"When the accumulation reaches a certain level, any fluctuations will cause great distress to the entire country."

"Sometimes the choices made are not there at the beginning. For example, in the case of land annexation, the current gentry is kind, but as more and more land is annexed, the situation will slowly change."

"Besides, even if he doesn't have it now, what about in the future? What about his descendants?"

"When all the surrounding fields within a hundred miles are in the hands of one person, what do you think would happen if he had any bad ideas at this time?"

"At least, even if you are the county magistrate, you should give me some face."

"Have you ever heard of a saying? Before the Yuan Dynasty, the noble families were permanent, but the emperors came and went."

"What you are seeing now is this rumored thousand-year-old family. They were not bad at first, but as time went by, they became completely different."

"Our Ming Dynasty is different. Before the founding of the country, almost all the noble families in the Central Plains were wiped out by the Mongols. It was really clean."

"So, do you think that such aristocratic families, like the ones that existed hundreds or even thousands of years ago, should continue to exist?"

Zhu Ying briefly introduced the formation of the family, and then asked Qi Tai.

Upon hearing this, Qi Tai said firmly: "The aristocratic families should be clear that this is harmful to the country and has no benefit. It seems to be a small profit for the people, but it actually keeps everyone in their hands."

"But I don't understand how to punish them under the current circumstances."

Qi Tai finally said with some distress that in fact, as an imperial censor, he had great power to investigate Henan. However, even after he came back, he did not submit the memorial in the end, but chose to report to the Crown Prince.

"Why should they be punished? Not only are they innocent, but they have saved countless lives, which can be considered a meritorious service."

Zhu Ying asked back.

"This..." Qi Tai was a little confused.

Zhu Ying replied: "This is not the fundamental problem. What you are seeing now is only in Henan Province, and it happened after the plague, so this is the case."

"The entire Ming Dynasty is so large, do you think you can manage it? Even if you kill dozens or hundreds of people, it won't solve the problem at all, but will cause public resentment."

"The most fundamental reason for this is the private trading of land and the people's food and clothing problems."

"You've come back just in time. I'll talk to Grandpa soon and ask you to be in charge of the promotion of sweet potatoes."

"These high-yield crops are very important to the Ming Dynasty. I need someone who can do practical work and put the seeds of these sweet potato crops into the hands of the people."

"Only in this way can we quickly break away from the relationship between them and the gentry. If the people of the world depend on the gentry for their livelihood, do you think our Ming Dynasty is still the Ming Dynasty?"

Hearing this, Qi Tai immediately realized that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was going to use him.

The matter of sweet potatoes is no longer a secret in the court, but it is still in the expansion stage.

He didn't expect that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would actually entrust him with the responsibility of such an important matter.

This also explains why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had asked me to secretly investigate the situation of land annexation in Henan and other places.

Only by understanding these situations can we better understand how these sweet potato crops can truly reach the hands of the people.

And just as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, if the people are controlled by the gentry, the orders of the court will never reach the people.

"Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will do my best and will not let Your Highness down."

Qi Tai said in a deep voice.

In Qi Tai's opinion, being able to gain the favor of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a rare opportunity.

It is also the first step for me to realize my ambitions.

Zhu Ying nodded slightly to show his approval.

Zhu Ying still highly recognized scholars like Qi Tai.

The fact that he has never made any mistakes in his nine years as an official is more than just rigorous.

This represents the principle of high self-discipline.

According to Qi Tai himself, in order to find out the truth, he was able to humble himself and disguise himself to work in the house of a local gentry.

Such behavior was rare even in previous lives.

Such officials should naturally be used more and more frequently.

Not long after Qi Tai left, Ye Yueqing came over.

Ye Yueqing is not based in the palace permanently, because of the Chamber of Commerce's intelligence, she often needs to run back and forth.

"Your Highness." Ye Yueqing bowed.

But this time, the look he gave Zhu Ying was slightly evasive.

Just now on the way to Kunning Palace, I happened to meet Concubine Ning.

When Concubine Ning saw Ye Yueqing, she started chatting with her.

Obviously, the topic they were talking about was still a little embarrassing for Ye Yueqing.

So much so that when I see Zhu Ying now, her face still has a hint of redness.

Zhu Ying didn't think much about it. It was still a bit hot, and Ye Yueqing was fair, so it was normal for her cheeks to be red.

"Guo Zhong, bring the frozen watermelon from the ice cellar."

"I obey your order."

After receiving the order, Guo Zhong went downstairs quickly, leaving only Ye Yueqing and Zhu Ying in the room.

There was a homemade ice cellar in the palace. The art of making ice with saltpeter had been popular for a long time, and now every family with slightly better conditions would build an ice cellar.

The purpose is to cool down in this hot summer.

If the weather was too cold at night, eunuchs would drag large blocks of ice from the ice cellar and place them in the room to eliminate the heat.

There is also artificial fan.

The feeling is similar to that of air conditioning, but most people can't afford it.

Zhu Ying, who was the first to come into contact with it, was also a little surprised.

However, this kind of enjoyment has been very popular, at least in the Song Dynasty.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Ye Yueqing replied quickly after hearing this.

Zhu Ying waved his hand and said, "No need to be so polite."

Ye Yueqing lowered her head slightly to hide the shyness in her eyes, and said "hmm" softly.

Zhu Ying didn't pay much attention to it and asked directly: "I heard that my uncles are very interested in the Overseas Talent Recruitment Hall."

"What happened in the morning court, it's not even time for dinner yet, it seems like everything is almost ready."

Hearing that they were talking about serious matters, Ye Yueqing's mind returned and he replied, "Your Highness, at present, on the bank of the Qinhuai River, diagonally opposite our teahouse, the larger shop has now hung a sign for the Talent Recruitment Hall."

"That is the property of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, but I heard that someone has sent the deed to the treasury."

Zhu Ying nodded.

He knew that shop. It was originally a pawn shop and was of good quality.

Most importantly, the backyard is very large.

That was his second uncle's property. When Zhu Ying first arrived in the capital and didn't know his own identity, he thought about taking over this shop.

After I found out about it, I no longer paid too much attention to the development of the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce in the capital.

Of course, this does not mean that it does not matter to the Chamber of Commerce, but with one's own status, one can provide the Chamber of Commerce with too many conveniences.

If the Chamber of Commerce cannot make money despite having such a big advantage, then it should consider replacing its people.

"How many of our people are currently prepared and can be transferred to the capital within the next month?"

Zhu Ying suddenly asked, seeming a little confused.

Ye Yueqing understood what he meant and replied, "At present, we have decided on 32 people. We are still unsure about the loyalty of some of them. After all, we are overseas. If there is any accident, it will be a problem for others."

Zhu Ying heard this and nodded slightly, then said: "Thirty-two people are too few. Let's lower our requirements. Once you leave the Ming Dynasty and go overseas, some things are hard to be sure of, but in terms of interests, we have a lot of control."

"Besides, even if they seem loyal now, they may make mistakes after a long time there. No one can guarantee these things."

"What we need to do is to arrange as many of our people as possible to go in, that's all."

Hearing Zhu Ying's words, Ye Yueqing nodded slightly.

"Your Highness means how many people should be arranged to go in."

Zhu Ying thought for a moment and said, "At least a thousand people, both civil and military. As for the military officers, I will make other arrangements when the time comes, so don't worry."

Ye Yueqing replied: "Yes, Your Highness."

As for the Overseas Talent Recruitment Hall, given Zhu Ying's personality, he would naturally arrange more of his own people.

As early as when this plan was being prepared, Zhu Ying had already instructed Ye Yueqing to prepare all those who could be used and were willing to go.

Anyway, Zhu Ying will definitely be in charge of the Recruitment Hall, so of course he has to be careful with his own people.

The officials who will go overseas with the princes in the Zhaoxian Hall are not something that the princes can decide on their own.