Chapter 60 The Queen's Intimate Little Cotton-padded Jacket
As for the vacancy of Jing County, Hu Weiyong actually had other plans. This key position was originally reserved for his own people, and everything had been arranged. Who would have thought...

Hu Weiyong said, "Your Majesty, Jiangning is a county in Jing. It is different from other county magistrates of the seventh rank. The county magistrate of Jing is of the sixth rank. Deng Jian is a juren. If he is directly appointed as the sixth rank county magistrate of Jing, it may go against your majesty's original intention of selecting officials. I think it is better..."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Hu Weiyong coldly.

This suddenly made Hu Weiyong feel a chill down his spine.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Since when did my words cease to count?"

"I am guilty of a crime punishable by death." Hu Weiyong said hurriedly, with fear flashing in his eyes.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and said: "This is the first imperial examination. It is a precedent. Let's leave it at that."

Li Shanchang trembled slightly and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Hu Weiyong seemed unwilling in his heart, but he still bowed his head and followed suit in saluting.

……

The officials of the Secretariat took their leave.

Li Shanchang took the lead, and Hu Weiyong supported Li Shanchang diligently.

As for Wang Guangyang, he fell behind.

Hu Weiyong sighed, "Mr. Li, why didn't you say a few words just now? This matter... once a precedent is set..."

Li Shanchang said, "Your Majesty has his own holy judgment. We, as your subjects, ahem... just need to follow your orders. Your Majesty is such a wise man, how could he allow you and I to have other opinions?"

Hu Weiyong frowned and couldn't help muttering, "Who is this Deng Jian? His Majesty seems to be dissatisfied with him, but this time he is being appointed..."

Li Shanchang raised his head and looked at the sky. His face was almost unmoved. He just walked tremblingly and said, "Zi Zhong, listen to what I say and do your part well."

Hu Weiyong said, "Mr. Li, if I, Hu Weiyong, were alone, it would be fine, but I have so many old brothers under me. At the beginning... everyone was counting on you and me. Since the vacancy of the magistrate of Jiangning County, the county magistrate Liu Ji has been determined to get it. He was my disciple and was in charge of military supplies. Even if he had no merits, he had worked hard. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, he has served as the county magistrate of Jiangning for more than three years. He was looking forward to succeeding the county magistrate one day, but who would have thought that a mere scholar would take his place..."

After a pause, Hu Weiyong continued, "Mr. Li, how can he accept this? Moreover, if this matter gets out, how will others view Mr. Li and Mr. Hu? Can't you handle such a small matter properly? You can't even take care of your own trusted followers, Mr. Li..."

When he said this, Hu Weiyong lowered his voice and said, "What's more, Jiangning is under the emperor's feet. Although the magistrate of Jiangning is of low rank, he is the most important place. This magistrate is not one of us... It always makes people feel uneasy."

Li Shanchang remained silent, not paying attention to Hu Weiyong's endless chatter. A trace of sadness flashed in his eyes.

"Mr. Li, I think Liu Ji will definitely not accept this and will definitely make a scene..."

"Go ahead and make a fuss, go ahead and make a fuss. One day, you will make a fuss so much that your family will be torn apart and your body will be destroyed, and you will die without a burial place!"

After saying this, Li Shanchang seemed to have run out of patience. He turned away, shook off Hu Weiyong's hand that was supporting him, and left in a huff.

For several days in a row, the express delivery service from Juyongguan to Nanjing City continued to deliver letters.

Zhu Yuanzhang expressed his method of changing the supply of food and fodder to Xu Da who was far away at the front line.

Xu Da was a man of steady temperament and had always been respectful to Zhu Yuanzhang, but when it came to military and national affairs, especially the life and death of hundreds of thousands of troops, he was not so polite.

Xu Da, who was far away in Juyongguan, sent eleven letters in three days. In addition to asking for food, he also expressed his concerns about the salt permit policy.

After all, this is not a joke. The army's food supply is already difficult. If the food supply method is changed without authorization, even the slightest mistake will lead to a catastrophic disaster.

Xu Da, who was anxious and angry, did not dare to be negligent in the slightest. If it were not for the relationship between the emperor and his subject, Xu Da would have almost pointed at Zhu Yuanzhang's nose and cursed him.

Zhu Yuanzhang expressed his understanding of Xu Da's emotions. He hated two types of people: those who pretended to obey but actually disobeyed, and those who tried to be cunning.

The former is about eating my Zhu family's food and smashing my Zhu family's pot. I don't kill your whole family because Zhu Yuanzhang is in a good mood.

The latter is even more hateful. What kind of person is Zhu Yuanzhang? What kind of little tricks can't he see through? Playing tricks in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, who do you think you are?
Xu Da was different. He was sincere and abided by the etiquette of a subject in normal times. However, when something happened, he dared to confront the king. He would not obey the orders of the king when he was away from home, especially when it involved the life and death of an army of hundreds of thousands. Even if the king was the emperor, he would confront him.

Zhu Yuanzhang patiently explained his thoughts and ideas to Xu Da, but Xu Da did not accept them.

Because Xu Da could see that His Majesty wanted to save money and food. He naturally knew that Zhu Yuanzhang had a frugal side, but you are using my army to save money. Aren't you kidding me?

So, Zhu Yuanzhang tried his best to persuade Xu Da, while Xu Da started to play the victim.

Food on the front line is running out, and rumors are spreading in the army that the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty are sweeping in, and a decisive battle is imminent.

My brothers have already started tightening their belts. They can't survive. Starting from me, we have to save on military rations. Your Majesty, I only eat two meals a day now.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked upset. In fact, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War still allocated grain, but after using the salt voucher strategy, they adopted a two-pronged approach. If the salt voucher failed, the grain allocated by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War could cope with it for a while and would not cause a big mess. However, because of the salt voucher, the amount of supply had been greatly reduced, and the military rations available to the army began to shrink.

In fact, he had an idea about the method of salt inducement, and the probability of success was not small. He was not a person who would blindly follow Deng Qianqiu's words.

But in my own understanding, I want to try it just because this method may be effective.

The imperial court is now deploying troops everywhere, from Sichuan to Juyongguan and then to Lanzhou. Moreover, the world is still unsettled and devastated, and the imperial court is already stretched thin.

This is also a helpless method.

In this state of frustration, Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the back garden. Many times, when Zhu Yuanzhang was nervous or irritable, he would always go to sit with Queen Ma.

Just reached the bedroom.

But Zhu Jingjing was in the bedroom again, sitting upright with a pen in her hand.

Then Queen Ma said, "Deng Qianqiu, please read my letter. I am in good health. Thank you for your concern..."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, walked into the hall with his hands behind his back, and coughed.

When Empress Ma saw Zhu Yuanzhang coming, she smiled and said, "Your Majesty..."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, signaling the eunuchs to leave, and then said: "This is a book revision, who is it for?"

Zhu Jingjing, who was sitting beside him and writing, said, "Father, I am writing a reply to Deng Qianqiu."

"Deng Qianqiu?" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but ask, "What book should I reply to him? It's really ridiculous."

Empress Ma said in a gentle voice: "Last time, didn't I go to Xianliang Temple to consult him? This child is really pitiful and smart, but his father treats him badly..."

Zhu Yuanzhang listened indifferently with a gloomy face, and picked up a letter on the desk. He saw that it was written: "Your Majesty, the Queen, respectfully read it." Below it was written: "Your humble servant Deng Qianqiu respectfully reports this, and I hope you will cherish it..." and so on.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but curl his lips.

Empress Ma continued, "I pity him for not having a mother. What's precious is that he is so sensible, so I told him that if he has time, he can write to the palace and ask the Prince of Jin to bring him in. If he has any difficulties, he should report to me. I can't bear to see him suffer in the outside world."

Zhu Yuanzhang probably knew the whole story. He couldn't help but jump up and raised his voice: "No, he really wrote a letter?"

Empress Ma smiled. She had always been considerate and her views were naturally different from Zhu Yuanzhang's.

Zhu Jing sat quietly to the side, his head hanging, and complained: "Father, it's not just a real letter, but it's every two or three days, never stopping. Today he asks about my well-being, tomorrow he talks about his own concerns..."

After saying this, he revealed a pitiful look: "Mother always teaches me to reply to the book. I...I...my arm hurts these days."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

Empress Ma smiled and said, "Okay, okay, don't complain. Look at how pitiful Deng Qianqiu is. Think about yourself. Everyone around you obeys you and has a good life every day. Yet you still complain."

Zhu Jingjing bent over the desk, holding his chin in his hands, and remained silent.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked like he found life boring and simply kept silent.

…………

Deng Jian is now looking for a house everywhere. He wants the father and son to settle down in the capital.

Living in Nanjing is not easy, and it is not easy to find a house that suits your taste.

To Deng Qianqiu's surprise, his father was actually appointed as the magistrate of Jiangning County.

This is a genuine sixth-rank official. If it were a few decades later, the value of Deng Jian as a juren would be greatly diluted. It would be good enough for him to be a county magistrate. Of course, since he is at the top of the list and has good luck, it is possible that he could be elected as a county magistrate.

But it is different for the county magistrate of Jing County, because this is the place under the feet of the emperor and the best place.

This made Deng Qianqiu both happy and worried.

What makes me happy is that my father has become successful.

What is worrying is that the county magistrate is different from the county assistant secretary. If one serves as the county assistant secretary, the county magistrate above him will be there to support him if the sky falls. In many major cases in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang killed the county magistrates, and he was always so accurate that the death rate of county magistrates was off the charts.

(End of this chapter)