For a long time, there was still silence in the palace.
But at this time, the eunuch who was singing became even more at a loss. He did not dare to continue singing, but looked at Zhu Di in panic.
Zhu Di said with a cold face: "This is a generous gift..."
As he spoke, he paused. In fact, at this time, Zhu Di didn't know what to say.
But he is an emperor after all, and he quickly calmed down his emotions, especially in a scene like today.
So he turned his eyes, fell on a person, and said: "The King of Yue..."
"Sun Chen is here."
King Zhu Zhanyong of Yue stood up obediently.
Everyone looked at Zhu Zhanyong, who still had a childish look on his face.
Almost everyone here, except Zhu Zhanzhen and Zhu Zhanyin, treated him as a child.
But just such a child has become the most beautiful boy at this time.
Zhu Di said slowly: "This gift...isn't child's play."
After all, he is a child, so he still needs to make sure at this time.
Zhu Zhanyong blinked his eyes and said: "Grandpa Huang thinks the gift is too little? If it is less, Sun Chen... I can give you another one, as long as Grandpa Huang is happy."
Zhu Di: "..."
Zhu Di felt like he couldn't find the words for a while.
Everyone looked at each other in shock.
Because the tone of this boy's words was very entertaining.
It's like eating the heart of a bear and the courage of a leopard, and it's just to entertain His Majesty?
So Zhu Di calmed down and said with a deep eyebrow: "Where did you get so much money?"
Zhu Zhanyong was waiting for this sentence, and he smiled.
I don’t know if it’s because of the money, or because money can bring people strong self-confidence.
So at this time, Zhu Zhanyong was very energetic. He said: "The emperor is so kind and kind, and gave Sunchen the vassal land. This promise is as big as a vassal land, and there are millions of taels of silver. Isn't it easy to capture it?"
As soon as these words came out, the princes blushed subconsciously.
You have millions of taels of silver at your fingertips, but you are not a rich man and don't know how expensive firewood and rice are.
Is this money so easy to earn?
At present, the largest overseas vassal king, Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Han who was the first to go to sea and occupied the most prosperous land in Annan, has an annual income of only a few million taels of silver. After a year, the military, cultural and other expenses will be
At the end of the day, a surplus of several hundred thousand taels of silver a year would be considered good.
As for many other vassals, some are still struggling. It is even said that there are many vassals who rely entirely on loans from banks.
After hearing this, Zhu Di's expression softened, but he became more and more curious, so he said: "How many millions of taels of silver can you get at your fingertips?"
Zhu Zhanyong said: "After Sun Chen arrived in the domain, in addition to building Edo Castle, my uncle assisted Sun Chen in sending people to dig for minerals. In less than two months, several large silver mountains were discovered! In addition,
In addition, there was a gold mine, so Sun Chen ordered people to carry out large-scale mining. Now the annual net profit of the silver mine alone is seven million taels of silver."
"Of course, this is nothing. The main reason is that in less than a year, the machinery and equipment have not caught up. A lot of time has been wasted on building basic facilities! In addition, there are not enough personnel.
It is difficult to recruit skilled craftsmen, and there are many coolies, but there is still a serious shortage of experienced craftsmen. If not, it would not be a problem to increase the output several times."
"..."
Silver mine...
It's only been a year, and I've gone straight to the silver mine.
The vassal kings felt dizzy and couldn't tell the truth from the false for a while, but at this time they all showed a look of shame.
Everyone is still digging wood, setting up plantations, and getting some iron and coal.
To be honest, the income is not very high, and the available manpower is also very large. In addition, it needs to be transported to Daming and other places for sale by sea ship. With this manpower and transportation expenses, everyone just earns a little hard money and barely makes ends meet.
But Zhu Zhanyong is a very good boy, he can dig gold and silver directly.
Zhu Di couldn't help being surprised, and then said: "Is there so much gold and silver?"
Zhu Zhanyong smiled cheerfully and said: "In my vassal territory, there is a mountain called Shijian. The Shijian mountain here is rich in silver. The craftsmen who have explored it have made predictions. Now this Shijian mountain is very rich."
Silver... How should I put it? Let's put it this way. The total explorable reserves of all silver mines in the world are now only equivalent to Iwami Mountain. So... I can dig this Iwami Mountain for a hundred or two hundred years without any problem.
,As for the income..."
"..."
You know, in the Ming Dynasty, silver itself was currency.
Although banks are now issuing more and more banknotes, even banks that issue banknotes must use real gold and silver for their reserves! This banknote is based on real gold and silver.
Therefore, silver is the basis of all currencies.
Because of this, the exploration and mining of gold and silver itself was a top priority for the Ming Dynasty and the various vassals.
There are not even a hundred silver mines in the world, but there are as many as seventy or eighty.
However, the vast majority of silver mines have low silver content, some have low reserves, and some are difficult to extract. The cost of excavation is high, and the cost of refining is also high.
Who would have thought that a mere vassal of Fuso, in a mountain, could have silver mines that could rival those in the world today?
At this moment, everyone was startled. Just now they saw that Zhu Zhanyong still looked like a kid with a yellow mouth, but now, they were all in awe.
If it can be mined for a hundred or two hundred years, how much profit will be made every year?
Zhu Di also took a breath of cold air.
He asked incredulously: "How much did you earn last year?"
Zhu Zhanyong said: "Last year's income was small, only 5.6 million taels of silver a year. This year, Sun Chen plans to increase investment and keep up his efforts. This vein is huge and more mines can be opened..."
Zhu Di was silent. He pursed his lips and looked at his grandson in a daze.
For the first time, he was rendered speechless by one of his grandchildren.
But Zhu Zhanyong seemed to think that the current atmosphere was not enough. At this time, he said proudly: "It's not just that..."
Zhu Di: "..."
Zhu Zhanyong: "Sun Chen's current royal capital is Edo. Here Sun Chen discovered that this is a natural harbor. Nowadays, many Fuso sea trade can pass through this place. This place can accommodate
The throughput is huge. Although the revenue from the port this year is not much, in a few years it will be a big deal again. Sun Chen is now expanding the port."
"Besides that, we need to build warehouses. Sun Chen has just taken over the vassal, so many places need money, and the current annual income is still not high. When you, Grandpa Huang, celebrate your eightieth birthday in the future, Sun Chen will definitely not
I will give you a mere 1.8 million taels of silver to celebrate your birthday."
Zhu Di: "..."
When it came to this, almost all the feudal kings subconsciously decided to show a deaf ear.
The value of this gift was more than ten times that of theirs, yet Zhu Zhanyong actually said it was only a mere 1.8 million taels of silver.
Does this teach others how to live?
The sign of maturity is that people are no longer keen on comparing themselves to others.
The reason why people lose their sense of comparison with others is that as people grow older, they are slowly tempered by reality. Through repeated tempering, they gradually realize that they are not the one in a million.
people, and accept the reality that they are mediocre and inferior to others.
Now, the feudal kings have finally seen what reality is.
At this time, the only thing that can make me feel at ease is, look at this boy Zhu Zhanyong, how naive he is, doesn't he just have a lot of bad money? He just shows off like this.
If it is me... But when I think about it, I can't help but feel sad. In such a situation, why can't I mine gold and silver?
When Zhu Di heard Zhu Zhanyong's words, he was finally overjoyed.
In any case, this grandson has a filial heart. The most important thing is that he can live such a good life, and as the emperor's grandfather, he can feel at ease.
Zhu Di showed a sincere smile and said: "My grandson is blessed."
After he finished speaking, his eyes were filled with hope, and he looked at his brothers and descendants who had no shame in their appearance.
After Zhu Zhanyong heard this, he glanced at Zhang Anshi secretly. As their eyes met quickly, something seemed to flash across his eyes, and then he said with a smile: "Grandpa Huang... Actually, this is not the blessing of my grandson."
Zhu Di couldn't understand the meaning of these words for a while, so he looked at him in surprise and said, "Huh?"
Zhu Zhanyong smiled and said: "Grandpa Huang, have you forgotten? My uncle originally planned to give this piece of vassal land to the second brother, but the second brother insisted on refusing, so the grandson's original vassal land was replaced with his.
So to be more serious...this should have been the second brother's blessing! My grandson is very ashamed, he has received so much favor from the second brother."
As soon as he said this, it was like a bomb dropped...
The hall suddenly fell silent again.
Everyone suddenly realized that this matter was really...
Speaking of the matter of changing the vassal territory, everyone has already known about it.
But who doesn’t know about the clan members?
Zhu Zhanyong, who was sitting in the corner, was originally so proud of Zhu Zhanyong that he gave him a gift of eight million taels of silver.
Hearing what he said about good harbors and silver mines, his eyes were already straight.
If you don't truly manage a vassal, you really don't know how painful it is.
The vassal land where he is now relies entirely on the head tax on the Japanese, while in Fusang, the land is barren, the grain yield is astonishingly low, and there are emaciated and starving people everywhere. Even the nobles of Fusang are living a miserable life.
Damn it, the difficulty of this tax is really unbelievable.
If he hadn't relied on the large amount of money and food given by the emperor and his father to support him, how could he have sustained it? Throughout the year, he could have an income of more than 100,000 taels of silver. To the local Japanese, this was regarded as a massive expropriation by Prince Zheng's palace.
The most heinous and cruel rule was carried out.
But now...
And that wasn't scary. What really made his heart tremble was that... Zhu Zhanyong's vassal land should have belonged to him, and all the benefits there belonged to him.
But now, all of this has nothing to do with him. He gave it to others with his own hands.
At this time, many people looked at him.
Zhu Zhanjun felt extremely ashamed. For a moment, he just wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
In addition to the huge loss, I am afraid that this matter will be laughed at for a hundred years.
When Zhu Di heard these words, he immediately showed an interesting look. He looked at Zhu Zhanquan and then at Zhang Anshi who was not far away.
Zhang Anshi's face was calm.
However, Zhu Zhanjun was Zhu Di's grandson anyway. Even if he was just a commoner, Zhu Di had already noticed the embarrassment on Zhu Zhanjun's face at this moment.
So he subconsciously changed his mind and said, "This... well... after all, it's Zhan Yong's luck. Who would have thought that this vassal land is a treasure land of Feng Shui?"
What this means is that at the beginning no one knew about Edo and the Ishikawa domain was so rich, so it could only be regarded as Zhu Zhancheng's bad luck.
In fact, it was just to comfort Zhu Zhanjun.
But Zhu Zhanyong didn't like to hear these words. Now that he had money, he naturally became more courageous. He immediately said: "Grandpa Huang, this is not luck, but at the beginning, this piece of vassal land.
In fact...my uncle has known for a long time..."
Zhu Di subconsciously said: "What do you know?"
"I know this is a geomantic treasure land..."
Zhu Di: "..."
Zhu Di immediately looked at him with a complicated expression, and then at Zhang Anshi.
At this time, Zhang Anshi finally felt that he could no longer hide it. He immediately stood up and saluted Zhu Di in full view of everyone, saying: "Your Majesty... this... this... I did know it at the beginning. On the one hand, it was already known.
Tiqi is operating in Fuso, so he has some knowledge of Fuso. On the other hand, I... also judged based on the topography of Fuso that it is located in the Iwami area and is very likely to have large-scale mineral deposits."
Zhu Di stared at Zhang Anshi.
And Zhu Zhanchuan finally couldn't help it. If he had admitted that Zhang Anshi had known that the place was a geomantic treasure land and wanted to give the vassal land to him, but he actually refused, wouldn't he have become a fool?
Zhu Zhanquan stood up subconsciously and said: "Can we know the mineral deposits through the terrain?"
Zhang Anshi said: "If you didn't know it in advance, then I would like to ask your majesty and the kings, this silver mine is hidden in Fusang. For thousands of years, the Japanese have not noticed it. On the contrary, the King of Yue just took over Qixia Trading Company, and they brought it here immediately."
Several geological teams went to explore and prepared a large amount of mining equipment in advance. If they didn't know in advance, why prepare in advance?"
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Zhanqun was suddenly speechless.
Zhang Anshi continued: "That's not all. The King of Yue has only been a vassal for one year. Everyone is well aware of mining. I think all kings' vassals have mineral deposits. I think everyone knows that this mineral vein.
From exploration, to road construction, to mining, then refining, and then selling, how much effort does it take? If there is no preparation in advance, let alone one year, two or three years, there will be no output.
.”
The kings nodded subconsciously, no one knew more about mining than them.
Zhu Zhanju's face turned pale for a moment. Having said this, he actually knew in his heart that all this... was true.
Zhang Anshi sighed, looked at Zhu Zhanqi and said: "Prince Zheng, Prince Zheng, you are my nephew. Although you and I are not close relatives, your father raised me. In my heart, I also regard you as a relative."
My nephew treats us as our closest relatives. Your Majesty wanted to distribute fusang to the emperors and their grandsons. Although Zhan Yong and Zhan Yong are related to me by blood, how could I, Zhang Anshi, blindly favor them?"
"Among the four grandsons of the Four Emperors, you are the oldest, so I thought that your vassal land should be the most generous. Therefore, the vassal land arranged for you should not only have a good natural harbor, but also have rich mineral veins...
…”
When Zhu Zhanquan heard this, his face suddenly turned red again. The fact was irrefutable. Zhang Anshi was willing to give him such a treasured geomantic land, but it was his own villain's heart that influenced the heart of a gentleman.
Zhang Anshi continued: "But the result... what did I get? What I got was that King Zheng had doubts about this, and I don't know who instigated him to actually refuse such a good intention. Not only that, he also taught me
It’s okay for you to have suffered an unjust injustice and know who I am, Zhang Anshi, but some people who don’t know who I am, actually think that I, Zhang Anshi, favors your own nephew and deliberately makes things difficult for you.”
Speaking of this, he said quietly: "To this day, some people still use this to ridicule me, leaving me with nowhere to redress my grievances and no way to express my sufferings."
Zhang Anshi said these words sincerely.
Zhu Zhanju was speechless for a moment. This not only proved that he was a fool, but what made him even more ashamed was that Zhang Anshi's accusation made him not know how to defend himself.
Now, in front of Grandpa Huang and his uncles, Zhu Zhanquan had no choice but to burst into tears, salute subconsciously, choked with sobs and unable to speak.
Zhang Anshi waved his hands magnanimously and said: "People's hearts are separated from each other, and it is understandable for a person to be careful. This matter will be left alone. I am an elder, so naturally I will not take this to heart. This matter will be over. At least
Now, I have finally been vindicated... no one will continue to stab me in the back."
As soon as the latter words came out, Zhu Zhanjuan's face turned red with embarrassment. At this time, he could not say anything, he was just obedient.
On the contrary, Zhu Zhanyong was very proud.
Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi with a smile. In fact, by now, everything has come to light.
In fact, it doesn't matter to Zhu Di which grandson gets such a feng shui treasure land. The palms and backs of the hands are all flesh, as long as the person's surname is Zhu.
But now that I think about it carefully, Zhang Anshi is really generous. He is not Zhu Zhanchun's biological uncle, but at the beginning, he still planned to give the vassal land to Zhu Zhanchun. There is no one in the world who can do this justice.
How many are there?
People all over the world, many of whom were even close to Zhu Di, couldn't help but feel that Zhang Anshi was partial when talking about the affairs of the vassal.
Occasionally, even Zhu Di himself had doubts, but if you think about it carefully, it is understandable that his own nephew is partial.
But now... when the truth came to light, I discovered that Zhang Anshi's character was much higher than he had imagined.
Immediately, Zhu Di said: "The Zhang Qing family is so selfless and truly a model for the clan. Having such a person handle clan affairs is enough to make people feel at ease...you think...right?"