On the bustling streets of Yingtianfu, an elderly man with gray hair walked slowly with his hands behind his back. His gaze remained fixed on the mischievous child running around.
Taking his great-grandson to experience life among the common people was something Emperor Zhu greatly approved of; he didn't want his beloved great-grandson to be raised in the inner palace. It was one thing for other princes and grandsons not to understand the hardships of ordinary people, and it was another for them to think that life was peaceful and prosperous, and therefore, they were simply ignorant of the realities of life.
However, as the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, he should be knowledgeable about the people's livelihood, so that he would not be easily deceived by some people.
"I'm hungry!" Little Zhu ran over happily, tilting her chubby face up and saying, "Can we go eat duck blood?"
Old Zhu looked around and saw a Jinyiwei guard secretly nodding. He said happily, "If our Yin'er wants to eat, of course he'll have some!"
Everything happened naturally. For example, Old Zhu held Little Zhu's hand and they walked into a restaurant that looked quite nice. Others might not have noticed, but some observant people could see that some of the diners in the restaurant didn't seem to be really interested in eating.
The shopkeeper was also on tenterhooks. Regardless of whether the business would survive, he had to be careful now. He didn't know what kind of influential person had started monitoring his restaurant a couple of days ago, forbidding him from stocking any ingredients in the kitchen. Even the cooks were all from outside.
Old Zhu was in a good mood. He used a handkerchief to wipe Little Zhu's sweat. "Yin'er, looking out here today, are you preoccupied with anything?"
“Our father said there are many people outside, not to mention the red-haired barbarians, there are also many Kunlun slaves!” Little Zhu said with beaming eyes, “Today we saw the Kunlun slaves, and the only ones with white teeth were.”
In fact, the Kunlun slaves weren't entirely 'black people'; many were Negritos from Southeast Asia. Besides these so-called 'little black people,' only a very small minority were 'true black people,' who came with the Arabs.
Old Zhu said somewhat irritably, "During the Tang Dynasty, everyone said that Kunlun slaves and Silla maids were highly sought after by wealthy and powerful families. Now look at us, we don't know what these people are thinking. Our Great Ming Dynasty has also received so many barbarians."
Little Zhu grinned and said proudly, "That's all thanks to our father! Those barbarians all admire China! We've seen our father's treasure, so we know where those barbarians came from!"
Old Zhu teased, "Oh? Then tell me, where did those barbarians come from?"
Little Zhu immediately started showing off, as he only had a superficial understanding of the 'world map'. He had heard quite a bit about Southeast Asia, thanks, of course, to Zhu Yunying.
Although the map may not be the most accurate, it was based on Zhu Yunying's memories, including the secret drawing and investigation by the Embroidered Uniform Guard over the years, and the 'public intellectuals' cultivated by the Four Barbarian Institute. Zhu Yunying's map was constantly being improved.
Leaving aside how accurate world maps are, maps in Southeast Asia are generally quite accurate.
Old Zhu listened with a smile, thinking that putting aside his precious grandson's other talents, his vision was truly broad.
"Yin'er, if we can get things from outside, we should. We have to take care of the Ming Dynasty." Old Zhu said with a smile to Little Zhu, "Don't be like your father, always keeping an eye on the outside world. Just govern our own country well, and that's enough."
Little Zhu immediately became proud and said, "We know more about the Ming Dynasty's territory. We know about the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, and we know that there is a Huai River near our hometown. We also know that the Yellow River changed its course. Our father took us to read many books."
Old Zhu nodded with a smile and said, "Your father is meticulous. We didn't know those things before. Your father insisted on being serious with us and had someone find maps from the Yuan and Song dynasties. We looked at them, and the Yellow River really did change its course. Furthermore, the banks of the Yellow River used to be granaries. It hasn't been that long, and now it's difficult to grow crops."
"Our dad knows everything!" Little Zhu said with even more pride, "Our dad is the best!"
Seeing his beloved great-grandson's proud expression, Old Zhu smiled. He was very happy; his children and grandchildren were both so successful.
Little Zhu suddenly looked around and whispered, "Our dad is a star descended to earth!"
Old Zhu appeared to be smiling, but his heart tightened. "Oh? Who told you that?"
"Second Uncle!" Little Zhu said, not caring at all about betraying his teammates, "My eldest aunt and youngest aunt said the same thing, and my eldest great-aunt even scolded my youngest great-aunt. My youngest great-aunt said that our father is a star reincarnation, so he knows astronomy and geography from a very young age!"
Old Zhu was both angry and amused. The people who were "talking about" his precious grandson were actually some of his closest relatives.
Old Zhu thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. Your father was precocious. When he was your age, he knew everything, more than we did. He could understand things just by reading books. I don't know how he came up with so many strange ideas."
Little Zhu became even more smug and said, "We asked him, and Dad said he's not a star! He said he's just intelligent, just like Dad!"
Old Zhu didn't know what to say about his precious great-grandson, but with such a darling around to amuse him, Old Zhu obviously didn't feel lonely at all.
While Little Zhu ate duck blood soup with him, Old Zhu was in a good mood. "Yin'er, look at these people outside. They are all citizens of our Great Ming. These people come from all walks of life and have different personalities, but since they are citizens of our Great Ming, we have to manage them and protect them."
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