Chapter 93 Indispensable contribution
The Taoist bowed his head and did not refute.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was gloomy, and he shouted: "Someone come here."

The guards did not hesitate and pinned the man down.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked coldly: "What's your name?"

The Taoist didn't struggle at all, he just sighed and said, "Puda, the great-grandson of Boyan, the King of Huai of the Yuan Dynasty, is unreasonable."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered at him and said, "I never thought that there would be someone who escaped in Nanjing. Why did you hide in Nanjing instead of going into the desert with the others?"

Pu Dashili seemed very calm. He said sadly, "Since my great-grandfather destroyed the Song Dynasty and was named King of Huai, my family has lived here for generations. This Jiangnan is where my ancestors have lived for generations. Where can I run to?"

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang became furious. Zhu Yuanzhang always claimed that he was the descendant of the Tang and Song dynasties and that he wanted to restore the Tang and Song dynasties. It was for this reason that the Pu family in Quanzhou colluded with Mongolia in the Mongolian war to destroy the Song Dynasty and massacred a large number of Song Dynasty royal family members. When Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, the first thing he did was to kill the Pu family.

Now the descendants of Bayan, the Mongolian general who destroyed the Song Dynasty, were right before his eyes. Zhu Yuanzhang was both angry and overjoyed, as if the law of nature was reborn.

He sneered and said, "You're occupying the magpie's nest, but you're still so self-righteous?"

Pu Da said unreasonably: "Winners are kings and losers are bandits, there is nothing to say."

Zhu Yuanzhang was murderous and snorted coldly: "Since you are unwilling to leave, why did you collude with Jin Si and try to murder the prince? What is your plan?"

Pu Da said calmly, "People whose country is destroyed must take it as their responsibility to restore it. I, the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, could not win and had to retreat into the desert. But I am different. Since I cannot kill them in the battle array, I might as well... give them drugs."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "Since you are giving me medicine, why not use a highly toxic one?"

Pu Dashi's calm face finally showed a change. He looked straight at Zhu Yuanzhang, a trace of contempt flashed across his eyes, and he sneered, "It seems that you, a commoner, are not familiar with pharmacology. There is no way for any highly toxic drug to be colorless and tasteless. The so-called colorless and tasteless highly toxic drugs only appear in operas. Only this kind of lead poison can be barely called colorless and tasteless, but it's a pity that the effect is very slow."

Zhu Yuanzhang was not annoyed, he just asked: "Really? Why did you have to touch the prince?"

Pu Da said unreasonably: "Do you know why our Yuan Dynasty was defeated?"

As he spoke, he sighed again, with a hint of sadness in his words: "While you common people are fighting, my Yuan Dynasty is still fighting for power. The royal family is killing each other, and many powerful ministers are killing each other. In just a few decades, the emperor has rotated, and the powerful ministers have changed hands countless times. My Yuan Dynasty did not just perish at the hands of you common people, but also perished within the walls. How is this so-called Ming Dynasty different? As long as the prince dies, the princes will surely be ready to move, and the civil and military officials in the court will surely have their own preferences. By then... I'm afraid this world... will be no different from my Yuan Dynasty in the past."

Zhu Yuanzhang actually laughed: "Okay, okay, that's great, but it's a pity that you miscalculated, and you..."

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Deng Qianqiu and asked, "How many people were arrested in the Taoist temple?"

"I'm afraid there are seven or eight of them, but I don't know about the others." Deng Qianqiu said, "But we can quickly follow the map and catch them all in one fell swoop."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were full of admiration, and he said, "Very good. You don't have to deal with the next matter. Let someone like Zhou Hong from the Yiluansi handle it. Zhou Hong is incompetent, and the only thing he can do is to make people wish they could neither live nor die."

Zhou Hong, who was listening, turned pale. He bowed down and said, "I am guilty of a thousand crimes, I am... incompetent..."

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't even look at him.

This made Zhou Hong feel as if a heavy stone weighed down his shoulders. He swayed like a sieve and stammered, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will definitely deal with these rebels and make sure they die without a burial place. I will never dare to disappoint Your Majesty again."

Zhu Yuanzhang just waved his hand and said, "Go down."

He then looked at the man who had lost his temper, his eyes were sharp, and he said in a cold voice, "You are very good and courageous, but before today, you will regret saying such things to me. I will go to see you in three days. I hope you can still be like today."

Pudashili took a deep breath, as if he had expected something, but at this time, the guards had already dragged him away.

In the hall, you should also quietly retreat first.

In addition to Deng Qianqiu, Zhu Yuanzhang stood with his hands behind his back. He looked up at the plaque hanging high in the hall. On the plaque were large gold-painted characters: "Respect Heaven and Follow Ancestors."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was silent and seemed to be thinking about something, Deng Qianqiu just stood there obediently. However, he thought with regret in his heart that it was a good opportunity for Zhou Hong as he actually let him jump over.

But... Gao Youcai will definitely not let him go.

Just when Deng Qianqiu was daydreaming.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly said: "Tomorrow, I will issue an order to remove you from the Yiluansi."

Deng Qianqiu was stunned and said in surprise: "Your Majesty... I am..." Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head: "You are soft-hearted, the Yiluansi is not suitable for you, it is only suitable for people like Zhou Hong."

Deng Qianqiu seemed to understand something. The essence of the Yiluansi was to do dirty work, as dirty as it could be. This was why Zhu Yuanzhang could tolerate Zhou Hong even though he made many mistakes.

After all, even if the gloves are dirty, they can be thrown away like trash if they get a little dirtier. What's wrong with making the best use of them?
Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed a frugal person. He was so frugal even in employing people.

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally didn't know what Deng Qianqiu was thinking, so he still had his back to him and asked, "What are your plans?"

Deng Qianqiu scratched his head, thought for a while in annoyance and said, "Actually... I can't really explain it, but... those young men who were transferred to the Yiluansi have been very hard-working these past two days. This time, thanks to them, they have both made contributions and worked hard..."

Zhu Yuanzhang finally turned around and glared at him, saying, "You kid, just wait for me to judge your merits now."

Deng Qianqiu was busy trying to explain something.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "The prince needs someone by his side. I have always thought that Chunhe Palace also needs special guards to take care of his safety and guard against scoundrels. What do you think about this?"

"I think it's fine to go anywhere." Deng Qianqiu didn't dare to have any opinions, so he said obediently: "Everything is subject to your majesty's will."

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered seriously and said, "I plan to set up a thousand households to take charge of palace affairs. It has the duties of the Yiluansi, but it is different from the Yiluansi. All money and food will be the same as the imperial guards. Well... the captain will be given five stone of rice per month, the small flag will be given seven stone, and as for you..."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Deng Qianqiu with a half-smile: "How about giving me 100 dan of rice?"

Deng Qianqiu: “…”

When Zhu Yuanzhang said these words, he was actually very generous. He was even very confident, as if to say, look at how I treat you.

But Deng Qianqiu couldn't help but complain in his heart, damn, a captain only makes 500 to 600 kilograms of rice a month, right? Who is he going to send him to?
Of course, according to the living standards of that era, this was already a very high salary. You have to know that the vast majority of people couldn’t even afford rice, and having two meals a day was already good enough.

Zhu Yuanzhang saw Deng Qianqiu's embarrassed expression and asked in confusion: "Why, did I give you too little? You should be content. This is already the highest among the imperial guards. If I had such a salary, I would have been content to be a submissive citizen who rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty."

Deng Qianqiu certainly didn't dare to say that. He had now roughly understood Zhu Yuanzhang's character, so he was no longer so afraid. So he said, "Your Majesty is so generous. I am already grateful to you. It's too much. You have given me too much."

Zhu Yuanzhang finally nodded with satisfaction.

"but……"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared.

Deng Qianqiu said timidly, "I was thinking that since we are planning to build a new imperial guard, everything is difficult at the beginning. For example, the Thousand Households Office, in my opinion, is short of manpower now, so it is better to build a Hundred Households Office first. However... the salary of 30 dan of rice wine per month for the Hundred Households Office is enough. If it is more, it is not appropriate."

"Thirty shi, a centurion?" Zhu Yuanzhang didn't expect that Deng Qianqiu would be so humble.

Deng Qianqiu said: "However, there is one thing. The best way to use performance in this Hundred Households Office is to give commissions..."

"Commission?" Zhu Yuanzhang muttered to himself, and then waited for Deng Qianqiu's next words.

"For example..." Deng Qianqiu coughed and said, "For example, this damn Puda is unreasonable. What I am thinking is that he is active in the capital and has contacted Jin Si, but there is still a problem that has not been solved, that is... How did Jin Si get from the Divine Palace to serve the prince?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, and seemed to be more interested. He nodded and said, "Yes, I remember you said that Jin Si gave gifts everywhere."

Deng Qianqiu said, "That's right. Where did the gift from Jin Si come from? It was planned by Pu Dashili and prepared for him. Pu Dashili has lived in Jiangnan for generations and has a large fiefdom. Over the past few decades, I don't know how much of the people's blood and fat he has squeezed. Your Majesty, do you think people like this are worse than pigs and dogs?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Deng Qianqiu meaningfully, then angrily asked, "You mean... he must have hidden a fortune?"

Deng Qianqiu had to admit that it was really easy to talk to the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Although he was born in a commoner family, he could become an emperor, so how could it be simple? You only mentioned one point and he already knew what you meant.

So he said, "That's right. Your Majesty, let me lead people to look for this wealth. Once we find it, in addition to filling the treasury, we can keep 20% to 30% as the expenses of the Hundred Households Office. We will pay according to the commission. The more we work, the more we earn. The more we work, the more we earn. How do you think?"

………………

I will send both chapters together to save you from waiting.

(End of this chapter)