People are very complicated, even Zhu Yuanzhang is no exception.

The most ruthless are the imperial family.

He wanted his eldest grandson to be decisive in killing, but he also wanted him to be loving and tolerant.

If the eldest grandson chooses to implicate the fourth son, Yunwen, in addition to being relieved, he will inevitably feel a little regretful.

With this choice now, it seems that the emperor's position is less unscrupulous and more humane.

"We all know your fourth uncle's ability, and it is quite sufficient. Now Li Jinglong is determined to help him. The overseas Japanese country may seem barren and desolate, but it has inherent advantages and is easy to defend but difficult to attack."

"Plus, the Japanese can use their troops at will, so there is no need to worry too much. Grandson, don't be afraid. In the years to come, your fourth uncle will raise an army of hundreds of thousands or even millions to counterattack the Ming Dynasty and seize the throne."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

This time the question was very direct.

Some of the things Zhu Di did in the past were only known to everyone but had never been made public.

Zhu Ying smiled upon hearing this and said, "The Ming Dynasty has a territory of tens of millions of miles and a population of more than 60 million. On the other hand, Japan is just a tiny country and has the constraints of the Second Uncle and the Seventh Uncle."

"If Fourth Uncle can also raise an army and accomplish his goal, then what does it matter if the Ming Dynasty is ceded to Fourth Uncle?"

There was unstoppable confidence in Zhu Ying's words.

Zhu Yuanzhang also laughed when he heard this. The fourth brother really had this ability, so there was nothing more to say.

I don’t know about the future. My eldest grandson is only eighteen years old now, so there will be at least several decades left.

The fourth child is already old, so it is impossible for him to outlive the eldest grandson.

When it comes to governing the world, the eldest grandson is much more organized than the fourth son. Not to mention his military talent, he is unparalleled in training troops. With the return of a group of veteran generals, Zhu Yuanzhang really could not imagine how it is possible for the fourth son to counterattack the Ming Dynasty from Japan.

If it can really be accomplished, then just as the eldest grandson said, there is no harm in giving it to the fourth brother.

All in all, the meat is rotten in the pot.

The controversy surrounding the plot to assassinate the Crown Prince seemed to have dissipated in a very short time.

The next day many people thought that it all happened too quickly and ended too quickly.

Under the scorching sun, even the smell of blood quickly dissipated.

In the past, most major cases lasted for months or even a year, but after only three days, no one talked about it anymore.

However, what followed was a discussion about the mysterious Crown Prince.

The teahouse was bustling with activity. Many storytellers who had smelled business opportunities had already made up versions of the story about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince overnight to grab the attention and start spreading the story.

Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Yuan opera and Ming novels.

This period in the early Ming Dynasty was when novels were most popular.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang in the palace would occasionally read the famous "Water Margin".

Perhaps in a sense, the emergence and popularity of "Water Margin" laid the foundation for the popularity of novels in the early Ming Dynasty, which was also largely related to Zhu Yuanzhang's love for it.

Shi Nai'an is known as the father of the novel and is almost a pioneer in the novel world.

Whenever Zhu Yuanzhang thought of Shi Naian, he felt extremely sorry for him.

Shi Naian is not a simple person.

He became a scholar at the age of nineteen, a juren at the age of twenty-eight, and a jinshi at the age of thirty-six together with Liu Bowen.

He had served as an official in Qiantang River for three years and had gained a distinguished reputation. However, he resigned and returned home because he was dissatisfied with the darkness of the Yuan Dynasty officialdom and unwilling to curry favor with the powerful.

When Zhang Shicheng launched an uprising against the Yuan Dynasty, Shi Naian participated in his planning and had a close relationship with his general Bian Yuanheng.

Later, Zhang Shicheng became greedy for pleasure and had no ambition. After he surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty, Shi Nai'an finally could not stand it anymore and left in anger.

Zhu Yuanzhang knew his reputation. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, he issued imperial edicts to recruit him many times. However, Shi Naian had no intention of being an official anymore, so he never appeared in official circles again.

From then on, I stayed at home and wrote books with peace of mind.

A few years after writing "Water Margin", he died of illness.

However, the circulation of "Water Margin" was extremely popular throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Any scholar who says that he has not read Water Margin will naturally be despised.

It was also for this reason that the novel culture of the Ming Dynasty truly began to flourish.

In the third year of Hongwu, after Shi Naian died in Xinghua, his apprentice Luo Guanzhong continued his legacy and published another book, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", which is the later "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Luo Guanzhong is naturally not a simple character. Although he never passed the imperial examination because his father was a businessman, his literary accomplishment was extremely high.

While serving as Zhang Shicheng's aide, he devised a plan to defeat the attack of Kang Maocai, a subordinate of Zhu Yuanzhang, which led to his enmity with Zhu Yuanzhang.

So much so that after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, he gave up his status as a scholar and dared not enter the officialdom for fear of retaliation.

However, Luo Guanzhong did not know.

Whether it is "Water Margin" or "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", they are so famous in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang was also a scholar, so how could he not know what he was doing.

But Zhu Yuanzhang also liked reading. Apart from these two books, there are also "The Meeting of the Dragon and the Tiger of Zhao Taizu", "The Series of Admonitions from the Loyal and Filial Son", "The Death and Crying of the Three Pingzhang Feihuzi", "The Chronicles of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", "The History of the Late Tang and Five Dynasties", "The Story of the Three Sui Emperors Suppressing the Demons", and "The Powdered Makeup Tower".

So many works are all in Zhu Yuanzhang's collection of books.

The Ming Dynasty never lacked officials, but it lacked novelists like Luo Guanzhong.

Rather than appointing him as an official, it would be better to let him concentrate on writing books.

Whenever Luo Guanzhong published a new book, it would be delivered through the post station and would be on Zhu Yuanzhang's desk within three days for him to appreciate.

To a certain extent, storytellers in the capital can almost influence public opinion.

These storytellers stayed in various teahouses and restaurants for a long time, telling various novels.

After all, no matter how good a novel is, one needs to be literate to read it. Ordinary people don’t have the spare money to buy books, let alone read novels.

Listening to books has become the main popular way of life in Ming Dynasty.

With a few copper coins and a bowl of tea, you can listen to music for half an hour in a teahouse. Isn't it pleasant?

As for listening to music in brothels, naturally only the rich and powerful could afford it.

However, based on the current trend, listening to books can be appreciated by both the elite and the masses.

About 70% of the storytellers in the capital are members of the Imperial Guard's secret service.

As the main channel for disseminating public opinion, Zhu Yuanzhang had a clear grasp on this aspect. Almost all storytelling catalogues had to be reported, and you couldn't just say whatever you wanted.

Once it came to relatively sensitive issues involving the monarchy and regime, he would be invited to have tea by the Imperial Guards before he even stepped down.

At present, the contents of the novels about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the capital have all been reviewed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and even Zhu Yuanzhang has read them through to confirm that they are correct before he can tell the story.

To the vast majority of ordinary people, the royal family is extremely mysterious, noble, and supreme.

Novels related to the royal family were popular among all the people, even grassroots officials.

Teahouses and restaurants, as long as there are storytellers telling stories related to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, will always be packed.

Among them, Ping'an Teahouse under the Qunying Chamber of Commerce is the most important.

How could Zhu Ying not pay attention to the influence of public opinion? Even during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, not many people cared about the wishes of the people, so the impact would not be great.

But the control of public opinion must naturally be firmly in our own hands.

"Your Highness, now everyone in the capital is thinking of your kindness, saying that your Highness is a deity who has come down to earth to protect the Ming Dynasty."

Ye Yueqing said with a smile.

The situation of the Chamber of Commerce in Beijing is very good now. The Chamber of Commerce in other places, especially the wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan, suffered a huge blow in this assassination attempt.

The influence of the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce in the capital was already extremely strong, and it quickly began to swallow up assets. This kind of no-cost business caused the Chamber of Commerce's assets to skyrocket several times, and it was a little short of manpower.

The prestige of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the biggest gain from this event. When the people mention His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they are so pious, as if they are worshipping a god or Buddha.

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "It's because the old man ordered the Jinyiwei to go to the teahouses and have the storytellers come up with different ways to praise the story. But speaking of it, the Chamber of Commerce has made rapid progress during this period of time, so we can start preparing for the official report in advance."

The Ming Dynasty Gazette is similar in concept to newspapers of later generations, but it was only circulated within government offices. Nowadays, it is more like a form of communication and announcement.

It is still very different from the court reports in the late Ming Dynasty. The six departments of the Imperial Secretariat recorded it, and then the Ministry of Public Security summarized it and published it.

For example, the contents of memorials approved by Zhu Ying, the appointments and dismissals of officials decided by Zhu Yuanzhang, and some important memorials from the six ministries would all be printed in the court bulletin and distributed.

It is government affairs that are open to officials and are not kept secret from the public. It is the only channel for the public to obtain government information except for officials.

The official reports of the capital were naturally mainly printed, and after being delivered through the post stations, most local officials copied and borrowed them for reading.

Later, some wealthy businessmen and local gentry also invested in purchasing it.

"The personnel responsible for compiling the contents of the court bulletin have been prepared. There are currently 36 people in total. The Chamber of Commerce currently has 12 paper mills and 3 printing houses."

Zhu Ying nodded and asked, "What is the current cost of white paper?"

Ye Yueqing replied skillfully: "At present, the cost of a piece of white paper one foot long and wide is about one and a half cents."

Zhu Ying thought for a while and said, "This price is still a bit high. We need to merge the paper mills. Too much dispersion will increase the cost. The same should be done for the printing mill. In the future, all the factories should be built together."

"How long will it take for those craftsmen from Obaro to arrive? If we calculate the time, it should be about time."

Ye Yueqing said: "Reporting to Your Highness, the first batch of Obarro craftsmen, totaling 327 people, have already arrived at the outskirts of the capital. They will arrive in the capital no later than the day after tomorrow."

Zhu Ying said: "These people have come across the ocean and are still healthy. Don't send a bunch of sick people who can't do anything."

Ye Yueqing replied: "Don't worry, Your Highness. After arriving in Daming, doctors from the Chamber of Commerce will come to diagnose each of you. Although you are tired from the journey, you are physically fit and can start treatment immediately."

After hearing this, Zhu Ying was relieved. He didn't want to have to work so hard to purchase a group of Obaro craftsmen, only to see more than half of them die on the way and many of them were sick.

In fact, the stone construction technology of the Ming Dynasty is not inferior to that of other European countries in terms of top level. In terms of sophistication, it can even be called the top level in the world today.

From this perspective, it seems that Zhu Ying is taking the long way around, but in fact, this is not the case.

First of all, the achievements of Ming Dynasty stone construction mainly lie in stone carving, not architecture.

Although there are building materials such as mortar for the outer city buildings, and high-grade formulas are also available in the royal court, the cost is too high and the production cycle is relatively long.

Zhu Ying needed a cheaper and faster material for construction.

Compared with China's wooden structure, the stone construction technology of the European and American countries is relatively more advantageous in the low-end market versions.

This material, translated into Chinese, is "Roman mortar".

Roman mortar is very similar to later cement mortar, and with thousands of years of development by the European and American nations, the formula is also better.

The high-end version made of volcanic ash is naturally not possible, but the low-end version made of clay is very suitable according to the conditions of the Ming Dynasty.

This kind of material can be used not only to build factories, but also to build straight roads in various provinces of the Ming Dynasty, and it can also fill the gaps in construction.

Outside Nanjing, Yangtze River Wharf.

A line of freight river ships docked here shows the prosperity of the capital.

Among them, three ships slowly came and docked at the pier.

As the ship sailed in, officials immediately came to meet it, and the many workers on the dock also turned their attention to the people getting off the ship.

These people have different hair and eye colors, and most of them are from other ethnic groups.

In the Ming Dynasty today, there are actually quite a lot of foreigners, and they are not unfamiliar. During the Yuan Dynasty, there were a large number of foreign populations including the Semites.

However, the actions of these Semitic people made the workers at the dock feel a little strange.

After getting off the boat, these Semites began to worship towards the east on the dock, mumbling incomprehensible words.

However, from the general tone, one can guess that he is expressing gratitude.

"My Lords, you have had a hard journey. I have prepared some wine and drinks. Please do me a favor."

The official in charge of the dock spoke respectfully to the captain of the Imperial Guard who got off the ship, with a smile on his face.

The captain was wearing a black and red robe with cloud embroidery, which was particularly luxurious. However, he turned his head and looked at the subordinates who were ready to make a move. He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head firmly and said:

"These Semites all came from the distant countries of Obaro, crossing the ocean. Under the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they should be sent to the capital as soon as possible."

"I won't go on any more. I'll come back to thank you again when I have some free time."

After hearing this, the officials were not disappointed, but rather felt relieved.

These are just official words. Which government office would want to bring in the Jinyiwei? If something really happens, who can afford it?

But if you don’t say it like this, it will be even more terrible.

The captain ordered the captain next to him: "Tell those Semites to set out immediately and head for the capital."

After hearing this, the captain shouted loudly at the Semites in the Obaro language.

Afterwards, the joyful voices of hundreds of Semu people were heard.