Chapter Nineteen: The Old Minister Shaved His Own Beard
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After Zhu Xiongying laid out his arguments, Li Shanchang was left speechless. To save his decades-old beard, he furrowed his brows and pondered for a long moment before finally coming up with an excuse. “Even if the throne rightfully belongs to the Crown Prince, that is a matter for the future! Right now, the Crown Prince is still young and should remain in the Eastern Palace for his education. The court is a place to discuss state affairs, not for the Crown Prince to attend!”
“Discuss state affairs? What is there to discuss today?” Zhu Xiongying asked.
“Flooding in Henan Prefecture, rising grain prices—of course, the discussion must focus on how to soothe the disaster-stricken people and how to control grain prices!” Li Shanchang answered without hesitation.
Until these issues were resolved, nearly every morning court session involved debating the details.
“Hahaha! Duke of Han, your information is far too outdated!” Before Zhu Xiongying could speak again, Lan Yu burst into hearty laughter from the side.
“What do you mean?” Li Shanchang asked, puzzled.
“At midnight today, vast quantities of grain were already being transported from all over the country to Henan Prefecture, delivered directly into the hands of the disaster-stricken people! By then, not only will the lost grain be replenished, but we might even profit a bit!” Lan Yu, who commanded the military, explained.
Transporting such a large volume of grain certainly required military involvement. Therefore, he was among the first to know the full story aside from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
“What? Grain from all over the country is being sent to Henan Prefecture?” Li Shanchang instinctively looked to the Minister of Revenue, Yang Siyi.
However, Yang Siyi shook his head repeatedly, signaling ignorance.
That was strange indeed!
With so many people affected in Henan Prefecture, the grain required was no small amount.
How could the Ministry of Revenue be unaware of such a massive grain mobilization?
Suspicious, Li Shanchang turned his gaze to the towering Zhu Yuanzhang and respectfully inquired, “Your Majesty, what is going on? Where exactly is this grain coming from?”
It was clear the grain did not come from the Ministry of Revenue’s granaries.
Otherwise, Yang Siyi would not be clueless!
“Hahaha! This all depends on our seven-year-old Crown Prince!” Zhu Yuanzhang said with a look of indulgence when mentioning the little boy.
“Rely on the Crown Prince?”
This time, the entire court was stunned.
A mere seven-year-old child—what could he possibly do?
“Let me show you something!”
With a grand gesture, Zhu Yuanzhang beckoned Yun Qi, who pulled a small paper packet from his bosom and walked around the hall, displaying it to the assembled ministers.
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“This… this is salt?”
“My heavens! It is of the same quality as the salt brought by merchants from the Western Regions just a few days ago!”
“Could those Western merchants also be paying tribute to our great Ming with salt…?”
The officials stretched their imaginations and speculated wildly.
Only the Minister of Works knew about the salt purification process.
But Zhu Yuanzhang had already warned him: no loose talk about refined salt before its mass production!
Who would dare defy the old emperor’s orders?
Even upon seeing it today in court, the minister didn’t dare speak.
Yun Qi circled among the ministers before returning to Zhu Yuanzhang’s side.
The emperor spoke, “You all see it clearly, right? This fine salt was refined from coarse salt by the seven-year-old Crown Prince before you, and it has already been handed over to the Ministry of Works in large quantities for further purification!”
As soon as he finished, the hall erupted in astonishment again.
“What? Such fine salt was refined by the Crown Prince from coarse salt?”
“Truly unexpected! The Crown Prince is so clever!”
“Indeed! Who would have thought our coarse salt could be transformed into refined salt of this quality? Then what was the ten taels of silver I paid per pound for?”
“I bought two pounds…”
Learning that this refined salt was produced by the little prince before them, the ministers looked at the boy with new eyes.
At the same time, they silently mourned the silver they had lost on salt purchases!
“The Crown Prince’s purification method can not only refine coarse salt but also mineral salt, turning it into this non-toxic fine salt you see here!” Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed loudly.
“What? Mineral salt can also be refined?”
“Isn’t mineral salt poisonous?”
“Does refining really make it non-toxic?”
“How did the Crown Prince think of this…?”
The ministers were once again stunned.
Li Shanchang furrowed his brows, pondering the whole series of events—refined salt, grain, Western Regions…
Suddenly, a thought exploded in his mind.
He looked at the little boy before him in disbelief and exclaimed, “Could it be… could it be…?”
“Yes! It’s me!” Zhu Xiongying blinked and gave him a confident smile.
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But to Li Shanchang, that smile was utterly terrifying!
A seven-year-old child could conceive of using refined salt to lure grain merchants into the scheme?
Thus resolving the grain shortage in Henan Prefecture and preventing a nationwide price surge?
“Crown Prince, you need not trouble yourself over this old minister’s beard! After court today, I shall shave it all off!”
Li Shanchang was genuinely impressed.
This Crown Prince was certainly no ordinary child!
“Your Majesty, I recall that the flood in Henan Prefecture was predicted by the Crown Prince, who urged us to prepare in advance, correct?”
Duke of Wei, Xu Da, cupped his hands and spoke.
“Yes! Xiongying is a disciple of an immortal, not only foreseeing the flood in Henan Prefecture but also bestowing us with magical seeds for planting!”
Zhu Yuanzhang then ordered that sweet potatoes and potatoes be brought into the hall.
The night before, after handing the Crown Prince a tenth of the salt profits, the boy entrusted him with over ninety pounds each of sweet potatoes and potatoes.
With these, Ming’s goal of every household having surplus grain drew even closer.
“Magical seeds? For planting grain…?”
None of the civil or military officials had ever seen these two crops before.
Looking at their dark exterior, they hardly resembled anything magical.
“That’s right! These two can yield a thousand jin per mu! They can be used as staple food or vegetables, and taste quite delicious!” Zhu Yuanzhang gave a brief introduction.
“A thousand jin per mu?”
The officials nearly dropped their jaws.
They had never heard of any crop yielding five hundred jin per mu, let alone a thousand!
“Indeed! The old immortal said that with proper care and favorable weather, yields of three to five thousand jin per mu are possible!”
These words were ones the little boy had told Zhu Yuanzhang.
Now he only needed to parrot them back.
“Heaven bless our great Ming, heaven bless our great Ming!”
“Yes! If true yields reach a thousand jin per mu, our people will never worry about food shortages again!”
The civil and military officials were all deeply moved.
For only when the people are prosperous can the nation be stable, and their positions remain secure and enduring.