Chapter 130 Grace
Deng Qianqiu was shocked when he heard what Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Damn, you really dare to think about it.

Zhu Yuanzhang saw Deng Qianqiu's puzzled expression and smiled. He tried to speak in a relaxed tone: "Of course, you do your best. I won't put too much pressure on you."

After a pause, Zhu Yuanzhang began to give sweet dates.

He sighed and said, "You have made great contributions in teaching the princes. The quality of these princes is related to the future generations of our Ming Dynasty, which is the most important thing in the world. Moreover, besides teaching the princes, you can also open up a source of income, which is even more surprising to me. This time, I will definitely reward you well so that you will have no worries."

"From now on, you should share my worries. Don't worry about other things. I will take care of everything."

Deng Qianqiu sometimes had to admire Zhu Yuanzhang, who was good at making big plans.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not mention the issue of recruiting students again, every word he said seemed to be about recruiting students. Although he said there would be rewards and not to worry, it was actually just encouragement.

Deng Qianqiu frowned and said nothing.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Why, do you still have any concerns?"

Deng Qianqiu said truthfully: "I am thinking about thousands of things."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "How difficult is that? You don't have to be afraid of the rumors of the censors. I will make the decision for you."

Deng Qianqiu shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, it is not difficult to have seven or eight, but it is quite difficult to have thousands or hundreds."

Zhu Yuanzhang was very interested: "Oh? What's the difficulty?"

Deng Qianqiu said, "To be frank, the reason why Mr. Shen was willing to pay this money was for the sake of face and because he hoped his grandson would have a good future. They rely on the prince, and even if they can't really get in touch with the prince, at least... being able to study with the prince is a great honor. But if they recruit too many people, this honor will be diluted."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help showing disappointment: "In that case, I really thought too much."

Deng Qianqiu said: "But even so, if the enrollment is really expanded, it will still be a face, just not as big as before. If you want them to feel that it is worthwhile to enroll, I am afraid you have to add a little more weight."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he realized that Deng Qianqiu had another idea.

So he stared at Deng Qianqiu and said, "What else is there that is worth these merchants willing to spend so much money on?"

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "Future."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he angrily said, "Isn't this selling power? Who do you think I am?"

Deng Qianqiu knew that Zhu Yuanzhang had misunderstood, and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. What I meant was... to let them learn something. Isn't it for a better future that people study? It's pitiful to see the love of parents in the world... Your Majesty... parents' money is the easiest to earn."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he suddenly felt that it made sense, because he was a parent himself and this feeling was so real.

So he couldn't help but become interested again, so he said, "Tell me more details."

Deng Qianqiu curled his lips and smiled, and said with some confidence: "My fourth disciple will be the most important one next. He is now my role model..."

Zhu Yuanzhang was very smart and had roughly understood Deng Qianqiu's thoughts. He raised his eyebrows and said, "You want to let the world know that this kid... has a bright future if he studies with you?"

"Yes!" Deng Qianqiu said, "If you have a promising future, you won't have to worry about people scrambling to get in. You can accompany the princes to study and learn something. This is killing two birds with one stone. Where else in the world can you find such a good thing?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was excited, his face flushed with excitement as he said, "I never thought that I could make money this way. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Ahem..." Deng Qianqiu said, "It's mainly because Your Majesty is busy with state affairs every day, and the people of the world are worried about them every day, so it's natural..."

"Bullshit." Zhu Yuanzhang glared at him and said, "I only think about money and food every day."

Deng Qianqiu said awkwardly, "Yes, yes, yes... Your Majesty is so outspoken, there has never been such a person in all dynasties."

Seeing that the topic had deviated again, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly pulled it back to the main topic and asked, "How can one achieve success in learning?"

"I will work out a talent development plan and give him devilish training." Deng Qianqiu vowed.

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned: "Devil?"

Deng Qianqiu hurriedly explained: "Well, it means strict teaching."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Now that you put it that way, this kid surnamed Shen is simply made of gold. He is indeed very valuable."

Deng Qianqiu said seriously: "Your Majesty, even if it is made of real gold, it is not as valuable as this. Your Majesty, think about it, if you can really succeed, God knows how much money you can earn in this year. If it takes ten or twenty years..."

Zhu Yuanzhang listened to Deng Qianqiu's words, his eyes unconsciously shone with a strange light, and his throat rolled involuntarily, as if he was swallowing something, and said: "Deng Qianqiu, you are now ordered to supervise this boy. I don't want the process, I only want the result!"

Deng Qianqiu looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's excitement and said with a smile, "I obey your order."

Zhu Yuanzhang said generously: "If this can be accomplished, I will ensure that your Deng family will be rich and prosperous for ten generations."

Now it was Deng Qianqiu's turn to get excited. He said, "Ah... that's what His Majesty said."

It is always a good feeling to have expectations for the future. Zhu Yuanzhang was obviously in a good mood at this time, so he said with great joy: "I will grant you another ten red letters and iron certificates from the Deng family!"

Deng Qianqiu: “…”

The corners of his smiling lips froze.

This... feels a bit weird.

"Why?" Zhu Yuanzhang saw Deng Qianqiu's hesitation and couldn't help asking, "Are you lacking confidence?"

Deng Qianqiu suddenly came back to his senses and gritted his teeth and said, "I will succeed even if it means risking my life. If I fail, I will... drink three glasses of wine as punishment."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless. He almost rolled his eyes at him and waved his hand, saying, "Go, go."

……

Deng Qianqiu left.

Zhu Yuanzhang paced a few steps and called out, "It's time to go first." "I'm here."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face showed that he couldn't suppress his excitement.

A kid named Shen... 20,000 taels, these damn merchants are so rich. I won't be able to sleep or eat well unless I take all your silver!

But... I'm also worried that the kid named Shen... won't be able to succeed.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little conflicted.

After thinking for a while, he finally put aside his distracting thoughts and said slowly: "Send an edict to the Secretariat, asking them to reward Deng Qianqiu. These words must be included in the edict. Please write them down..."

…………

Deng Qianqiu left the main hall, but the three princes were already waiting outside.

Zhu Gang looked at Deng Qianqiu curiously and said, "Master, did the emperor ask us to come in and see him?"

Deng Qianqiu shook his head: "No."

"Oh." There was a hint of disappointment in Zhu Gang's voice, but he couldn't help but feel relieved.

Then, he lowered his voice and said, "Have we been exposed? The matter of the money..."

Zhu Di and Zhu Su also leaned forward, their eyes lighting up when they heard the word silver. Just now in the main hall, when that damn Liu Zhi mentioned twenty thousand taels, they felt something was wrong.

No wonder that guy named Shen came here to study with everyone.

They found it hard to understand at the time: this guy was lazy, greedy, and not very smart, so why would his mentor take a liking to him?

And now, the truth has surfaced.

"About the silver..." Deng Qianqiu paused and said, "Your Majesty didn't say how to divide it, but... that's a story for later, it's only 20,000 taels. Ahem... Zhu Gang, when I lied to you and said it was 10,000 taels, I actually had good intentions. I was worried that if I reported too high a number, you would lose interest in your studies, and this was also for your own good, do you understand?"

Zhu Gang said dryly: "I don't understand."

Deng Qianqiu sighed and said, "When you have a disciple in the future, you will understand."

Zhu Gang said: "I want to ask now, what should the emperor do now that he knows about this money?"

Deng Qianqiu said, "Look, you are anxious again. Are we talking about 20,000 taels of silver now? What I am talking about now is 2 million or 20 million taels of silver. If there is a hundred years, it will be a deal worth tens of millions of taels of silver."

As he spoke, he said quietly, "Zhu Gang, your teacher should be disappointed. You have followed me for so long, yet you are still so useless and only care about small profits."

Deng Qianqiu's words made the three of them tremble in their hearts.

This is an astronomical figure that is unimaginable!
"Master, are you saying that we should recruit more people like Shen?" Zhu Gang's eyes lit up and he looked straight at Deng Qianqiu.

Deng Qianqiu said, "If you want to recruit people and cultivate talents, you have to cultivate this disciple into a great talent, so that it will be attractive. Otherwise, those merchants are not fools."

Zhu Gang hurriedly asked: "That makes sense, but how can one become a talent?"

Deng Qianqiu's lips curled up into a smile, with an evil look on his face, and he said, "There's nothing I can do. I'll have to give him a little more strength. My father...also went through this. But...I'm afraid I can't discipline him alone. You three brothers, please help him."

Zhu Fan: "..."

Zhu Di folded his hands and said, "How can I help? We can't just stare at him every day. Father asked us to come and study with our teacher, not to help him do odd jobs."

Deng Qianqiu smiled, cleared his throat and said, "From today on, Zhu Di and Zhu Su, I will help you repay the loan with interest."

Zhu Di and Zhu Su's eyes widened immediately.

Deng Qianqiu continued, "If your junior fellow apprentice becomes a talent, I will give you dividends."

"Divide...how much..." Zhu Di stuttered.

He loved swords and horses, but Zhu Yuanzhang was strict with his sons. He always felt that they were still young and was reluctant to give them money. Therefore, although they had no worries about food and clothing, many of their hobbies could not be satisfied.

Deng Qianqiu said with a smile: "In the future, for every student we recruit, I will give you a bonus of 100 taels. Although this is a deal between your majesty and me, I will make the decision on the bonus. The silver must be handed over to you."

Zhu Di suddenly looked fierce, "Master...don't worry, if that junior fellow disciple is not talented, I will strangle him to death."

Zhu Su licked his lips, as if it was the New Year. "It's a pity to strangle its neck. You can use it to test the medicine for me."

……

A hundred households.

His mentor and fellow apprentices had all entered the palace, and Shen Zhiye lay down under the long corridor, feeling bored.

When the four teachers and students came back, Shen Zhiye hurried forward to greet them.

But Deng Qianqiu smiled at him, as if he was a hostage kidnapped by bandits and taken up the mountain, and looked at Shen Zhiye with an evil look.

Zhu Gang, Zhu Di, and Zhu Su also grinned, showing their teeth, and laughed strangely together.

Shen Zhiye couldn't help but tighten his legs and felt a sudden pang in his heart.

But at this moment, someone outside hurriedly came and said, "Captain Deng, there is an imperial decree, there is an imperial decree... accept it quickly."

…………

I recommend the new book by platinum writer Zhai Zhu, "Above the Avenue", a fantasy folk work. The protagonist Chen Shi takes a fantasy adventure journey across the Yin and Yang worlds. The story begins with the protagonist's grandfather standing in front of his own memorial tablet and eating candles...

The next chapter will be delivered soon.

(End of this chapter)