Chapter 8 Reward
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hands and said, "Love leisure and hate work...Love leisure and hate work, I understand what this kid, the Prince of Jin, means! He means that if we want to solve this major problem, we must strictly prevent our descendants from loving leisure and hate work. We must never indulge them, and we must not let them think that they are born rich and noble, so they can be arrogant."

Tang He: "..."

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, his eyes were full of complex emotions, tenderness for his son, but also coldness and cruelty: "I am a man after all, a father after all. I suffered so much in the past, how can a father not love his children? I always hope that my sons will not be like me. But the memorial from the Prince of Jin has finally made me realize that if I continue to indulge them, it will be my children and grandchildren who will bring harm to the world in the future."

Tang He gave a thumbs up in his heart. The Prince of Jin was a truly noble man.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Decree, last time, the King of Qin and the King of Jin made mistakes, I only gave them a little punishment, but now I think I was too lenient. Tell someone to take my horse whip and go to Fengyang again, and teach them to take twenty whips each. This is to serve as a warning to others and let them set an example for their brothers, and also to teach them to reflect deeply. In addition, the monthly salary of the kings in Beijing and Fengyang will be reduced by half, and all the offerings will be reduced by one level..."

The eunuchs who were standing by were so frightened that their faces turned pale. They dared not breathe, but they quickly responded, "As you wish."

Zhu Yuanzhang's gloomy face gradually eased, and he said, "This kid, the Prince of Jin, has helped me share my worries. This memorial is deeply appreciated by me, and I will commend him and issue an imperial decree to commend him. When he is whipped, I will summon him back to the capital. And... also, the people around him will be rewarded! This naughty boy suddenly came to his senses, there must be a wise man around him."

"Here."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and the eunuchs hurriedly left.

Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his head to glance at the memorial again and couldn't help laughing: "Hahahaha... No matter what, my third child has finally grown up! Wonderful, indescribable! This kid is Wuxia A'mon, and I look at him with new eyes after three days of absence."

Tang He smiled and said, "Yes, Your Highness the Prince of Jin is truly open-minded and upright. Even I am moved by his selfless spirit for the country."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "His progress is rapid. By the way, I want the princes to copy this sentence carefully and send it to their respective bedrooms. I want them to read it at all times. I hope they can understand my painstaking efforts."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy at this time, Tang He became worried. He opened his mouth to say something while Zhu Yuanzhang was happy, but when the words came to his lips, he felt a little worried.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Tang He, who was worried, and his expression became serious again: "Anything to say?"

Tang He said hesitantly: "Your Majesty...Your Majesty dare not..."

Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly: "I don't know you yet? Tell me."

Tang He paused for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, I sent people to Fengyang a few days ago to... look for..."

Zhu Yuanzhang showed an impatient look: "Well, he must be regretting it now, right? Humph!"

Tang He carefully observed Zhu Yuanzhang, and after a while of consideration, he mustered up the courage to say, "It's a pity that he is visiting his relatives, so he is not at home."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment.

Tang He said: "I think he probably had a premonition that I would come to him, so he used the excuse of visiting a friend to avoid me."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said, "It seems that over the years, he has become more and more sensible."

Tang He's eyes showed a complex expression, and he said sincerely: "After so many years, Your Majesty still only remembers his mistakes?"

This sentence made Zhu Yuanzhang angry, but then the anger flashed away. Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes became even darker and darker. He said in a deep voice: "Since we haven't found him, what did you find out?"

Tang He said: "I heard that he only depends on his son for survival. Your Majesty is kind and gave his son a salary as a personal guard some time ago. Although life is still hard, it is enough to support the family."

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression eased a lot, but he lowered his eyes slightly, pursed his lips, and said nothing.

Tang He frowned and said worriedly: "But I heard that his son doesn't seem to have a very good reputation..."

"Haha..." Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly laughed out loud, looking very happy: "This is something I didn't expect. I didn't expect him to be just like this. It turns out that he can't teach his son. I think he has brought this upon himself!" Tang He smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty..."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hands, and the smile on his face seemed to become boring. He sighed, "Okay, okay, I know what you want to say. Hey, Dingchen, you are too nostalgic and too lenient. His son is his flesh and blood. How can I vent my anger on his offspring for the mistakes made by his father? In any case..."

Zhu Yuanzhang stopped talking abruptly. After a while, he said thoughtfully, "Tell Fengyang to investigate his son's faults. If he is honest, it's fine. If he is really naughty, tell them to punish him severely. Remember, don't use too much force... Don't kill him. No matter what, leave him a successor."

Tang He finally showed a little smile on his lips and said, "I obey your order!"

On the other side, Deng Qianqiu ran to all the bookstores in Fengyang City and finally found the relevant books.

It is not easy to buy books in this era. Even the ordinary Four Books and Five Classics have different versions due to repeated copying and evolution of various versions.

Scholars in ancient times had a bad habit, which was that in the process of editing a book, they always wanted to mix in some of their own personal opinions. You have to know that these are all classical Chinese, and the difference of one word in classical Chinese can make a huge difference in meaning.

In addition to the Four Books and Five Classics, the most helpful for the imperial examination is Zhu Xi's annotations. This is very important, as it concerns every word Confucius said and how to interpret it, which is equivalent to the official answer.

In fact, there are countless versions of Zhu Xi's annotations. After all, Zhu Xi is dead. After his death, scholars of later generations could not help but add their own understanding of Confucianism in the name of Zhu Xi.

This is like Lu Xun and Bai Yansong in later generations. Who cares whether you said this or not? Anyway, they say you said it, so you said it.

I bought these dozen books and brought them home, then begged my father to read them.

Deng Jian loves books like his life, and he doesn't mind reading any book, so he agreed.

But after two days, Deng Qianqiu became dissatisfied.

He looked at Deng Jian with resentment and asked a soul-searching question: "My son has been scrimping and saving to buy these books, but you don't study hard and don't even get up at 3:45 a.m. to read. Dad, are you worthy of me?"

As he spoke, a look of disappointment appeared on his face, and he continued, "I heard that there is a Confucian scholar in Fengyang City who always holds a book when walking on the street. Dad, look at him!"

The corners of Deng Jian's mouth twitched slightly: "..."

Deng Jian felt that his son had grown up, but just looked a little crooked.

But as a father, he finally softened his heart and agreed with his son: "I know, I know, it's my fault, I will read it carefully next time."

Deng Qianqiu nodded and said, "Dad, I am very pleased to see that you are working hard! It is not easy for my son to be on duty outside, and I cannot watch you all the time. You have to read this book, but it is not as simple as just reading it well. Dad must memorize the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as the Cheng Zhu Collection, otherwise how can you be worthy of the pain you have raised your son for all these years."

Deng Jian: “…”

"Dad, don't blame me. It's not that I don't care about the father-son relationship. It's just that a father doesn't teach... uh... uh... Dad, you work hard and I will do my duty well."

After saying that, Deng Qianqiu ran away.

After just a few steps, I felt a little uncomfortable in my stomach. I had eaten white porridge in the morning. In fact, white porridge was considered a food for the upper class in that era. This white porridge was made from white rice, and people who could eat white rice in that era were one in a hundred.

But Deng Qianqiu still felt uncomfortable. His only consolation was that his father was already working hard and that he would always have a chance to become a superior person in the future.

…………

Thanks to the leader of the alliance for the reward from classmate Jipin*Liumangu. I have taken a year off, so I am in a hurry to publish the book this time. I just signed the contract last night. I won’t say anything else, just work hard on writing. Thank you!
(End of this chapter)