Zhu Yuanzhang said that this was his own idea and he did not want to make Zhu Ying's identity public for the time being.

And several ministers, after listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's strategy for dealing with famine.

Yang Jing, the Minister of Justice, slapped his thigh and said loudly: "Your Majesty's talent is beyond the reach of our ministers. I am ignorant of such wonderful ideas. I feel that I have read the books of sages for many years in vain."

The remaining ministers were even more flattering.

"Exchanging treasure notes for grain not only benefits the local area, but also solves the problem of the national treasury. Most importantly, it solves the problem of dividing and absorbing the victims."

"Not only that, official roads, bridges and many other places have been repaired. Your Majesty is truly a man of talent. This is a brilliant plan that kills three birds with one stone."

"You only see the current profits, but you don't understand your majesty's good intentions. In this way, the local gentry will provide food, and no matter how severe the famine is, it will not damage the foundation of our Ming Dynasty."

"Yes, I think this method should be popularized immediately and promoted locally."

“I second the motion!” “I second the motion!” “I second the motion!” “I second the motion!”

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was full of smiles and he looked very happy.

Although these ministers and important officials were all flattering him, he knew that this idea was proposed by his eldest grandson.

So in Zhu Yuanzhang's ears, he was constantly told that his eldest grandson was indeed talented.

"If you are in such a hurry, let's try it out near the capital first. If the effect is good, we can implement it on a full scale immediately." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Minister of Works Shen Xi bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, I think this matter may seem simple, but it actually has far-reaching implications and can even change the original structure of our Ming Dynasty."

"Especially how much money and food are involved, which concerns the people of the world."

"And once the Ming Dynasty implements this nationwide, the amount of manpower and material resources involved will be enormous."

"Therefore, I suggest that a separate government office be set up to directly manage this matter, including the amount of guaranteed grain and the completion deadline that Your Majesty mentioned earlier. This government office will be responsible for all of this."

The contracting system that Zhu Yuanzhang mentioned, which was similar to work-for-relief, actually fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works.

As the Minister of Works, Shen Xi was in charge of the development of water conservancy, civil engineering, mining, metallurgy, textiles and other state-run industries.

His keen sense of smell immediately made him realize that this seemingly simple project, once promoted, would involve an astronomical number of people.

And the most crucial thing is that this already involves changes in corvee labor.

Basically, all kinds of water projects under the Ministry of Works directly recruited local young and strong people to serve.

But now the situation has been reversed, which is equivalent to treating corvée labor as short-term work, in order to attract gentry to make profits from it.

The gentry were first required to pay sufficient grain as a guarantee, and the government was responsible for the food of the laborers. This avoided the possibility of the gentry exploiting the refugees.

After the famine, the refugees would have enough food to eat and return to their registered places of residence, and they could continue to provide taxes to the Ming treasury.

Forming a virtuous cycle.

"I think Shen Xi's idea is very good."

"When the time comes, you will write a memorial to us with the specific strategy."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"I obey your order." Shen Xi bowed.

"Since everyone thinks our method is fine, let's discuss it during the morning court tomorrow. You can also go to the capital to check out the situation."

"Complete this task as soon as possible, don't delay." Zhu Yuanzhang ordered.

"I obey your order!" said all the ministers in unison.

…

Zhu Gang (gang) was the third son of Zhu Yuanzhang.

The first King of Jin in the Ming Dynasty, one of the nine kings of the frontier war against the barbarians. He was named King of Jin in April of the third year of Hongwu and became a vassal in Taiyuan in the eleventh year of Hongwu.

He had long eyes and a beautiful beard, a dignified look, and was wise but cruel.

At the same time, he is also a serious foodie.

In the eleventh year of Hongwu, when Zhu Gang was 21 years old and was enfeoffed in Taiyuan, he whipped the cook because the food he cooked was unpalatable.

When Zhu Yuanzhang learned about this, he reprimanded Zhu Gang, saying that during his conquest of the world, he punished everyone who made a mistake, but for the past 23 years he had not dared to blame the chef "Xu Xingzu".

Xu Xingzu was Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial chef. Zhu Yuanzhang believed that chefs were in charge of food, and if chefs were punished arbitrarily and caused hatred among the chefs, Zhu Yuanzhang would easily tamper with the food.

However, after being scolded, Zhu Gang said that he understood, and then he had the cook he had whipped before torn to pieces.

I can only say that there is indeed nothing wrong with Zhu Gang’s reading comprehension.

According to Zhu Gang's idea, the cook might hate me in the future because I whipped him, and even tamper with the food to harm me.

It would be better to strike first and kill him first. The food he cooks tastes terrible anyway.

When Zhu Yuanzhang learned about this, he was furious. He thought Zhu Gang was going against him.

Disobeying one's father's order, and the emperor's order at that, is a serious crime.

His status as a king should be abolished and the fiefdom he was granted should be taken back.

In the end, he was saved thanks to the mediation of Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

At this moment, in the residence of Prince Jin in the capital.

Zhu Gang ate all the buns and steamed buns on the table in one go.

He was good at martial arts and had a huge appetite. After he finished eating seven or eight big white steamed buns and some meat-filled dumplings, he still felt unsatisfied.

"I have never tasted such delicious food in my life. It is simply unbelievable."

Zhu Gang couldn't help but say.

"Dad, I told you that you would like it. I saved this especially for you."

Next to him, Zhu Jihui, the prince of Zhu Gang, spoke.

Zhu Jihui, who was born in the eighth year of Hongwu, is now seventeen years old. He is also a handsome man.

When he was young, he studied in the palace with Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Shangbing (the eldest son of Zhu Chong), Zhu Gaochi, and Zhu Youdun (the eldest son of Zhu Su), and they had a very good relationship.

When Crown Prince Zhu Biao passed away, many princes came with their eldest sons to pay their respects, so Zhu Jihui also came along.

Zhu Jihui had a relatively gentle and elegant personality, which was why these princes were kept in the palace by Zhu Yuanzhang for teaching since childhood.

Not long ago, I unexpectedly received breakfast offered by the housekeeper, and I was hooked on it after just one bite.

But after my father left court, he often went out drinking and having fun, and only returned home after dark.

It was not until today that I had the opportunity to offer it.

"It's really good. Which chef in the palace of the capital made this? I'll ask my father to see if he can give this chef to me as a reward."

"If Father doesn't want to, a disciple will do."

Zhu Gang thought that this was something his eldest son had taken out of the palace and presented to him, asking him to ask his father for the cook.

"Father, you are wrong. I bought this from a teahouse in Qinhuai. The breakfast there is very famous."

"If ordinary people go late, the breakfast will be sold out. However, for nobles and princes, the teahouse has servants delivering tea in the morning, which is convenient."

"This teahouse does have business, but the breakfast it delivers is much more expensive. Father doesn't know that all the nobles place orders with him."

"It would be embarrassing to send someone to buy it myself."

Crown Prince Zhu Jihui said with a smile, and he was obviously very fond of the breakfast in this teahouse.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gang was surprised and said, "A common chef actually has such skills. I thought he was a royal chef."

After he finished speaking, he pondered for a while and asked, "Do you know the background behind this teahouse?"

Crown Prince Zhu Jihui thought for a while and said, "I heard from Zhu Gaochi last time that it seemed to have some relationship with his family, but I didn't pay much attention to it."

When Zhu Gang heard the name Zhu Gaochi, he immediately felt unhappy.

It’s not because of this nephew, but because of Zhu Di.

Everything was fine earlier, but the biggest conflict occurred the year before last, which was the 23rd year of Hongwu.

At that time, he and Zhu Di each commanded a large army to fight against the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Zhu Di ignored the wind and sand and rushed in directly.

Zhu Gang on the west road did not advance rashly, but waited patiently for the wind and sand to stop.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhu Gang to return to the vassal state to welcome the Crown Prince Zhu Biao for inspection. Zhu Gang went back directly without encountering the Northern Yuan army.

But later Zhu Di won a great victory and subdued the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty without sacrificing a single soldier or clan, thus making a great contribution.

There were also rumors that said that King Jin Zhu Gang was as cowardly as a mouse and did not even dare to enter the heartland of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, so he ran away in disgrace.

This made Zhu Gang extremely furious. He had a mediocre relationship with Zhu Di to begin with, so he could not stand it even more.

In particular, he felt that Zhu Di always relied on his military achievements to suppress him, which made him more depressed.

He had a bad temper.

He's a serious, grumpy old man.

During this period, every time Zhu Gang saw Zhu Di's face at the morning court, he felt unwell.

Therefore, after each court session, he would find someone to drink and have fun with.

Theoretically speaking, Zhu Gang's behavior at this time was not in compliance with etiquette.

After all, the eldest brother is like a father. You are still drinking after your eldest brother dies.

But fortunately, the brothel is not open now.

Zhu Gang's behavior can also be understood as drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

Besides, he was the third prince, and many people knew that he had a bad temper, but no one went to Zhu Yuanzhang to complain that he was violating etiquette.

"Hei'er, go and bring a few guards to summon the owner of the teahouse. I want to see what kind of relationship he has with Zhu Di."

Thinking of this, Zhu Gang snorted coldly and gave instructions directly to the Crown Prince Zhu Jihui.

In Zhu Gang's eyes, being a businessman means almost nothing.

It just so happens that the food is very good. After interrogating him, we can take him back to the fiefdom directly.

"This... your son obeys your command." Crown Prince Zhu Jihui said helplessly.

Although he did not like his father's behavior very much, he had to obey his father's orders.