He Xi couldn't help but marvel that the prince was the heir to whom Zhu Yuanzhang had placed great hope. It was indeed not simple. He was determined not to be a man of empty talk and benevolence. Someone who could control the situation had some skills.
He Xi didn't know whether it was Zhu Yuanzhang's idea or the prince's suggestion to ask Fu Youde to come and see the production of new weapons before going on an expedition. However, what made He Xi sigh was that from what he could see now, Zhu Yuanzhang had no intention of killing the hero, at least for now.
No, the evolution in history can be regarded as a trick of fate.
The prince said: "Brother He, it's good if you understand. You can do this well. My father has high hopes for you. From now on, you will be the minister of Mingzhushi."
He Xi said: "I understand."
The prince said: "It's getting late. It will take some time to return to the city. The secretary still has some affairs, so I won't stay. However, brother He, don't forget to study when you are outside the city. I will bring you a volume. Haosheng reads
."
He Xi said: "Yes."
The prince said: "In five days, all the generals from Yingchuan's expedition will come over. You have to hurry up."
He Xi said: "Yes."
After He Xi watched the prince leave, he also got a book left by the prince. He Xi opened it and saw that it was a volume of "Three Kingdoms". It seemed that someone had often read one of the volumes before. As soon as he opened it, it came naturally. He Xi
When I opened it, I saw the biography of Cao Zhen.
After He Xi read it, he realized what the prince meant?
In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Cao Zhen is also an important figure in the Cao Wei Group, leading the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. But He Xi didn't know that Cao Zhen was Cao Cao's adopted son. He didn't even notice that Cao Shuang, who was killed by the Sima family, was Cao Zhen.
Heir.
The meaning of the book left by the prince is quite normal.
He Xi suddenly appeared in the palace and asked the prince to treat him as his younger brother. His status was actually equivalent to that of an adopted son.
Cao Zhen's prominent position symbolizes He Xi's future, and Cao Shuang's fate seems to imply that He Xi and the Zhu family have both prospered and suffered losses.
He Xi pondered for a moment and thought to himself: "It's really difficult for His Royal Highness."
Cao Zhen was chosen with both win-win and warning.
"Yes. And where can I go today?" He Xi thought to herself.
He Xi knows how important the knowledge he brings is, and he is determined not to pass it on to anyone outside China. Science has no borders, but scientists do have national boundaries. So within China, He Xi has other
Choose?
Of course there is none.
At this moment, He Xi gave up all other thoughts and focused on staying with Zhu Yuanzhang. He Xi secretly thought: "It's just that Zhu Yuanzhang is not a good boss."
------
In the palace.
The lanterns come on.
The prince came here to report the results of his trip out of the city.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't even raise his head and asked: "Can you see clearly? What is He Xi's ability?"
The prince said: "My father has seen thousands of miles, and my brother's ability is beyond my imagination. I secretly estimated that if this kind of steel-making furnace is promoted, I am afraid it can produce more than a thousand stones of steel every day. By then, the Ming Dynasty will
The iron will be inexhaustible."
Zhu Yuanzhang was noncommittal and said, "You just thought of this?"
The prince immediately started to use his brain, and his heart kept spinning. His father was too outstanding. His son was under a lot of pressure, especially this sudden test.
"Father, I think it is a good thing that there is more steel production. However, the Ming Dynasty used iron and steel in certain quantities, otherwise the court would not have stocked up so much pig iron. Therefore, He Di's magical skills are unparalleled in the world. It's just that
Unless it's a big battle, maybe it's the art of slaying a dragon." The prince racked his brains to guess Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts and spoke slowly.
If the prince had said these words a month ago, Zhu Yuanzhang might have agreed. But now it is different.
Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly: "Is it just that?"
The prince said: "My child is stupid."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "The price of iron is high. The quantity of a hundred jins, or even dozens of taels, is uncertain. And if steelmaking becomes cheaper, what will it be like if it can be made to one or two taels per thousand jins?"
For a while, the prince could not judge what impact this change would have on the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang then raised his head and said: "It's getting late today. You should go back and think about it carefully."
The prince said, "Yes." Then he stepped back.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw his son going out, he sighed inwardly: "Yes. If the price of iron is lower than the price of wood, what will happen? What impact will it have on the Ming Dynasty?"
This is a question that Zhu Yuanzhang has been thinking about recently.
This issue was too important. The more Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it, the more important it became. But how big the impact was? Zhu Yuanzhang was never sure.
However, this problem is not temporary.
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head and revealed the file he had been looking at. It was the file of Jinyiwei. Everything He Xi did outside and every word he said was recorded. Zhu Yuanzhang would read them one by one every night. Today, Zhu Yuanzhang has been trying to figure it out.
The place is the last conversation between He Xi and Mr. Ge.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself: "I have almost figured out He Xi. He is considered a useful person."
How to look at a person. Look naturally.
What a person says may be false. What a person does is unlikely to be false.
Among all the things He Xi did, what Zhu Yuanzhang valued most was the fact that He Xi accepted Ge Tiangong as his disciple.
After all, in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, He Xi's work was too rough. No matter what time, before doing something, you must first win people's hearts. Only after you have straightened out your personnel affairs can you do anything. But He Xi had never been able to do it well before. Isn't it because of the suspicion between the superiors and the subordinates?
It was only through the generous reward to the Ge family that he gained the heart of a craftsman.
Only when things go smoothly.
This proves what He Xi said before. He Xi has just graduated and is looking for a job. Only a fledgling person can be so careless.
Before and after He Xi accepted Ge Tiangong as his disciple, he was the most valued by Zhu Yuanzhang.
This is how to observe He Xi’s values.
From this incident, Zhu Yuanzhang determined one thing: He Xi was definitely not a scholar-official.
The reason is simple: most scholar-bureaucrats would not accept the sons of craftsmen as their apprentices.
Confucius taught without distinction, but most of Confucius' followers are not like that.
Most scholar-bureaucrats would not accept disciples from poor families as their apprentices. The difficulty for disciples from poor families to study can be seen from Song Lian's "Preface to Ma Sheng in Dongyang". Song Lian was not completely without wealth. The son of a craftsman was not in the same circle as a scholar.
There is no social interaction. If you want to become a scholar, it is almost impossible unless you are extremely talented.
And the information about Ge Tiangong is now in Zhu Yuanzhang's hands.
Although he cannot be said to be a fool, he is just a middle-class person. At best, he is above average. Such a person can easily enter He Xi's family. It can be seen that He Xi has no respect for craftsmen. He Xi said to the craftsmen
Zhu Yuanzhang naturally knew those words.
But Zhu Yuanzhang heard too much of people's lies.
Observe his words, but also his actions.
Judging from this incident, He Xi and the scholar-bureaucrats could not get along. What Zhu Yuanzhang valued even more was He Xi's benevolence towards ordinary craftsmen.
This kind of benevolence is extremely rare among the literati and officials of the Ming Dynasty.
Don't think that the Ming Dynasty scholar-officials are really benevolent and benevolent after reading the books of sages. In fact, many scholar-officials have never had much benevolence towards the people. Those who have killed countless people for their own merits will not even blink an eye.
Not to mention just one person.
Zhu Yuanzhang climbed up from the lowest level. He understood that the Ming Dynasty paid more than 30 million shi in taxes every year, and that was done with blood. Almost every shi of grain contained human lives, not to mention that every shi of grain was taken from the mouths of the people. , just for the porters transporting grain, a few die every year. There are even cases of heavy rains and flash floods on land, and entire teams die.
But did the officials of the Ming Dynasty not mess with money and food?
This is also the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang resorted to ruthless tactics.
They felt that what they were greedy for was money, but in Zhu Yuanzhang's case, what they were greedy for was life.
But He Xi's thoughts were exactly what Zhu Yuanzhang had in mind.
"However, just a trace of benevolence can't accomplish anything." Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself: "We have to try other things."
Zhu Yuanzhang extracted a copy from some other files, which also belonged to Jin Yiwei. Jin Yiwei came from the Zhejiang newspaper. All the files about Guo Huan.
The royal guards of the Hongwu Dynasty were definitely not drunkards. Over the past month or so, it was enough to find out Guo Huan's background clearly. This was not the first time Zhu Yuanzhang saw this. Looking back now, he still gets angry and furious.
"Those who can achieve great things must not only have a benevolent heart, but also have powerful means. Dare to kill is the first one."
"He Xi, you are beyond use. I want to see you again."
Zhu Yuanzhang put Guo Huan's files together with He Xi's files.
Zhu Yuanzhang has been thinking about how to use He Xi. It is a pity to just keep him by his side as a staff officer. But where to put He Xi, it depends on what kind of person He Xi is.
Let He Xi do the work.
Not only do I want to see He Xi’s so-called technology, but more importantly, I want to test He Xi’s character.
To be honest, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care much about He Xi's ability. Otherwise, in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, youth means ability.
After Zhu Yuanzhang raised his army, his nephew Zhu Wenzheng, his nephew Li Wenzhong, his adopted son Mu Ying, and his younger brother Xu Da all became talented. Although they were talented, it would not have been possible without Zhu Yuanzhang's cultivation.
On the one hand, Zhu Yuanzhang tried to find a way to regain He Xi's heart. On the other hand, he tried to weigh He Xi's character. To be more precise, He Xi's stance and values.
Now He Xi's thoughts are not in the same league as Zhu Yuanzhang's biggest enemies, the Ming Dynasty scholar-bureaucrats. Now what Zhu Yuanzhang is testing is He Xi's other character, his decision-making character, to determine whether He Xi is qualified to entrust him with important tasks.
Ability can be taught and trained, but if the character is insufficient and the attitude is insufficient, it cannot be used.
As for what He Xi is facing now, in the eyes of others, it has not yet begun. But in Zhu Yuanzhang's case, it has already ended. This chapter has been completed!