Chapter 112 Imperial Edict of Commendation
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Xu Da. He attached great importance to Xu Da's opinions, especially Xu Da's experience and what he had seen and heard, which, to a certain extent, were extremely credible.

Xu Da said: "After arriving in Jiangning, I found that Jiangning has changed drastically. Along the way, the people not only have no vegetables, but also fewer people in ragged clothes. Not only that, there are many boats on the river. Compared with Zhenjiang, it is really a different scene."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned after hearing this and said, "Really? I have also seen him. A few months ago, he went to Jiangning County in disguise. But is what Mr. Xu said exaggerated?"

Xu Da said, "This is also what I have been puzzled about. Although Jiangning County is the best place under the feet of the emperor, it was not that beautiful when I was ordered to go to war. At that time, I was quite worried. But when I came back this time, I felt that it was really different. That's why I made this report. I asked some people along the way, and they all said that Chunhe Palace..."

"Chunhe Palace..." Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and said, "Chunhe Palace Hundred Households Office?"

"Yes, it's just a hundred households, how can it have such power? Could it be the work of Chunhe Palace?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stood with his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth for a few steps. He could not tell the expression on his face, but only asked, "What else have you seen?"

Xu Da thought about it seriously and said, "I can't say what it is specifically, but I just feel that it is really different. When I followed Your Majesty to fight and drive out the Tartars, I thought that when the world is settled and the swords are put into storage, Your Majesty will rule the world and restore the world to the style of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and even realize the era of Yao and Shun that scholars often talk about. I think... this so-called era of Yao and Shun should be like Jiangning County."

After these words were spoken, everyone in the hall fell silent.

Many people had meaningful expressions on their faces.

Zhu Yuanzhang was quite shocked. He was really surprised to hear these words coming from Xu Da.

Because he knew that Xu Da was a steady man and definitely not the kind of person who talked nonsense.

The peaceful and prosperous world he claimed to have envisioned actually came true in Jiangning County?
This is certainly possible, because people who were born in troubled times have never truly seen the truly prosperous scenes in history, and their imaginations are beyond the scope of their own cognition.

But even so, this statement is greatly exaggerated.

Zhu Yuanzhang murmured subconsciously: "Jiangning County...Deng Jian...Deng Qianqiu..."

"What does Your Majesty mean?" Xu Da was puzzled.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

He perked up and said, "This is very rare. You all say so, which shows that Jiangning County is indeed well governed." Then he turned around to look at Li Shanchang, Wang Guangyang, and Hu Weiyong, and then asked, "Why didn't the Secretariat report such achievements?"

Li Shanchang started coughing.

Wang Guangyang thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the Secretariat will definitely investigate the right and wrong and report to Your Majesty. But... I have heard some other rumors."

Zhu Yuanzhang sat down and looked at Wang Guangyang: "Hmm? What's the rumor?"

Wang Guangyang said: "I heard that Chunhe Palace Hundred Households Office and Jiangning County have been dredging rivers and building docks, roads, bridges, and schools."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled: "The father and son of the Deng family are indeed worthy of my selection. They have such a heart of love for the people. If officials all over the world follow this example, why should we worry about the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty? Good, very good, this is how an official should be. Otherwise, what use would I have for this county magistrate and centurion?"

Zhu Yuanzhang then smiled and looked at Xu Da: "Mr. Xu's family, the father and son of the Deng family are in Jiangning County."

Wang Guangyang looked at Zhu Yuanzhang deeply, and then said: "But Your Majesty, they did not use corvée labor..."

Zhu Yuanzhang still had a smile on his face, but the smile had faded a little.

"How can such a large-scale construction project be carried out without conscripting corvée labor? It involves roads, docks, dredging rivers, and building schools."

Wang Guangyang said: "They hired workers... not only hired workers, but also bought a lot of wood and stone..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's smile gradually disappeared. "Really? That must have cost a lot of money. Wouldn't it cost 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver this month? Oh... this is not appropriate. To govern a place, one must increase income and reduce expenditure. If everyone is like them... that's unacceptable! But... their original intention must be good."

Wang Guangyang looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's expression and continued, "Your Majesty, the river they dredged is forty miles long, they built more than a dozen docks, and they built bridges..."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt his head buzzing, and the more he listened, the more he began to feel something was not right: "Wait, they started working at the same time? How many workers did they hire?"

"There are thousands of craftsmen, tens of thousands of laborers, and in addition... there are..."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

Everyone in the hall noticed the change on Zhu Yuanzhang's face.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly shouted: "You should go first, you should go first."

This loud shout scared everyone.

He should have hurriedly asked, "What do you want, Your Majesty?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said firmly: "Go quickly, go to the Hundred Households Office quickly, and pass on my oral order: from now on, seal up the Hundred Households Office's silver vault, and send all the commercial tax silver in the silver vault to the palace! Deng Jian and Deng Qianqiu... are worthy of praise for their love for the people, but from today on, all construction projects in the county should be suspended... Go quickly, bring more people, bring more carriages and horses, and immediately bring the tax back to the palace for me."

Zhu Yuanzhang must have been worried about this. He knew that if he didn't move the tax silver, he might not get a single cent left.

Not only was it such a huge project, but it also involved almost no corvée labor. It was simply throwing money around.

How much does it cost?
Because of this, he did not dare to delay and was about to rush out like a fly.

Zhu Yuanzhang shouted again: "Come back, that clerk, this bastard... dismiss him from his post. Others may not know what's going on, but how could he not know what's going on? He knew about it but didn't report it. He must have colluded with others. He is not a good person. Dismiss him immediately, send him back to his hometown, and never employ him again."

"I obey your order." She said this first, and ran away. Everyone in the hall stared at Zhu Yuanzhang in amazement.

Xu Da felt even more embarrassed. Why did he feel like he was getting anxious while talking?
Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed quite anxious at this time. He lowered his head, paced a few steps irritably, and suddenly said, "How much will it cost this month?"

Wang Guangyang said, "I know a little bit, I'm afraid that this month, it's no less than 200,000 taels, this number is exactly what the secretary Wen Yuanji reported. He came to my house and seemed to want to negotiate a transfer to another place, but I thought that his secretary was ordered by Your Majesty, so although I pity his talent, I dare not agree. As for Wen Yuanji, I think..."

Wang Guangyang originally wanted to say a few words for Wen Yuanji. After all, he was a well-read scholar, and Wang Guangyang always loved talents.

Unexpectedly, when Zhu Yuanzhang heard that the monthly salary was no less than 200,000 taels, his face suddenly changed and he became furious: "Wen Yuanji, you damned thief, stop talking to me."

Wang Guangyang: “…”

Zhu Yuanzhang began to become a little absent-minded, with a look of terrible written on his face.

Xu Da was quite worried: "Your Majesty, I wonder what happened?"

Zhu Yuanzhang came back to his senses and just said: "Well, well, you can come back, good, very good..."

His eyes kept drifting outside the hall, as if... if he was even a stick of incense late, a piece of his flesh would fall off.

…………

"Your Majesty has ordered that the silver from the treasury be brought to the palace immediately. Captain Deng Qianqiu has a heart that loves the people, and Your Majesty greatly commends him... Come, come, quickly mobilize all the carriages and horses, and surround the silver treasury. Captain Deng, do as you please, I will obey your order and do my duty."

He should have first led a team of guards and rushed into the Hundred Households Office like crazy, panting, and read out the oral order in front of Deng Qianqiu. Then, he became impatient and waved his hand, and the guards and eunuchs behind him swarmed in.

Deng Qianqiu was stunned, his mouth open, unable to speak for a moment.

"Where is the silver vault?"

Deng Qianqiu calmed down and coughed, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

He should have stamped his feet anxiously: "Stop talking nonsense, where is the treasury, take us there."

Deng Qianqiu had no choice but to take them there.

He must have been very disappointed, fearing that he would lose time. He asked along the way: "Tell me the truth, how much did the hundred households spend on the commercial tax?"

"Several hundred thousand or so..."

Should also first: "..."

Deng Qianqiu looked at him innocently and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Captain Deng, I admire you, you are brave, you are a man, you are awesome."

When he arrived at the vault, he gave a look to the guard behind him without waiting for someone to open the lock. The guard started banging on the door without saying a word.

dong dong dong...

The door burst open.

Raising a cloud of dust.

He should almost rush in first: "Move the silver immediately, don't leave a single ounce or a penny behind, hurry up, don't you have the strength?"

Deng Qianqiu frowned and said, "You've taken all the money away, and I still have a lot of debts to settle."

You should also say first: "This is the will, the imperial decree."

Deng Qianqiu sighed: "Okay, okay, then you guys move, but you may not have enough manpower."

He should have gritted his teeth and said, "It's not enough, but the remaining hundreds of thousands of taels must not be left here."

"Who said it was hundreds of thousands of taels?" Deng Qianqiu looked at Ye Gaixian with a strange look.

He was so scared that he peed himself. He opened his eyes wide, his eyes flickered, and he seemed to be about to cry. He said in a trembling voice, "No way, Captain Deng, tell me the truth. Don't tell me that the remaining hundreds of thousands of taels are gone."

Deng Qianqiu said: "It's two million taels!"

You should listen to it first, and you will feel your blood boiling.

He was anxious.

He stepped forward and grabbed Deng Qianqiu's collar: "What did you say? What did you say? Are you kidding me? Two million... How did you get two million... Deng Qianqiu, let me tell you the truth, His Majesty is so anxious that he wants to hang himself... Bah... His Majesty is worried about the people's money now, and he is already worried, don't joke with me."

Seeing that he was extremely anxious, Deng Qianqiu said solemnly: "More than 2.6 million taels, if my calculation is correct, this is the surplus..."

(End of this chapter)