My father, Zhu Di, was granted a second life by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Chapter 104 Mu Ang Goes to the Wu Prince's Mansion to Take Duty

Zhu Yunwen turned his head coldly, his aura radiating chill. "If you're worried about the lack of guards at the Prince's residence, why don't you send Tan Quan over to help keep watch?"

Tan Quan was a deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Song Zhong's follower.

Before Zhu Gaoxi could respond, the old emperor coughed twice, sighed, and said, "Lin De, go to the Right Guard of the Imperial Guard and transfer Guan Tong to the Henan Military Command. He must set off immediately without delay."

Linde acknowledged the order and went out to deliver it.

Zhu Yunwen was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, but did not utter a word in rebuttal.

Huang Liang then entered the palace to serve.

After pondering for a long time, the old emperor turned to Huang Liang and instructed him: "Have Mu Ang take a hundred elite troops to the Prince of Wu's residence to be on duty. You go with them and tell Zhu Gaoxu that all the guards in the Prince's residence are under Mu Ang's command."

After Huang Liang left, the old emperor pondered for a moment, then looked up at Zhu Yunwen and said, "Go to the Office of Transmission in person, and from now on, all memorials will be sent directly to the Hall of Literary Glory."

Zhu Yunwen was so moved that he almost burst into tears on the spot, saying, "Grandson thanks you, Grandfather."

The old emperor lowered his eyes and stroked the rim of his teacup. Just as Zhu Yunwen was about to step out the door, he suddenly spoke up: "Have Fang Xiaoru draft an imperial edict ordering Duke Xu Huizu of Wei to go to Wu County, Suzhou Prefecture, to begin construction of the Wu Prince's Palace."

Zhu Yunwen was momentarily dazed and almost tripped.

When Suzhou and Huzhou are prosperous, the whole country is well-fed. Suzhou Prefecture is famous for its rice production and developed economy, and has always been known as the "land of fish and rice".

Suzhou Prefecture is directly under the jurisdiction of the capital, and its seat of government is located in Wu County. What is Grandfather doing here?

Zhu Yunwen walked out of the hall with a worried expression, without turning back to ask his grandfather.

If my grandfather didn't want to talk about it, asking wouldn't help.

Zhu Gaoxi remained silent throughout, quietly following the old emperor's arrangements.

He could sense that the old emperor was extremely tired at that moment.

He is still young and there is no rush for him to be enfeoffed. There is no need to start building a royal palace now, but the old emperor must have a deeper meaning in doing so.

Mu Ang was one year older than Zhu Gaoxu and had only been in the capital for less than two months. He had previously been on duty at the Wuying Hall.

His birth mother was Fang, and Mu Xue's birth mother was Yan. They were half-siblings. Zhu Gaoxi was unsure about the closeness of their relationship and couldn't decide how to deal with them.

When soldiers come, we will block them; when water comes, we will dam it. We can only take it one step at a time and adapt to the changing circumstances.

Mu Ying's four sons, who grew up, all had different mothers. The eldest son, Mu Chun, was born to Feng Guoyong's daughter, while the second son, Mu Sheng, was born to Geng Bingwen's sister.

Zhu Gaoxu said that his adoptive father and Mu Chun had a very close relationship, which Zhu Gaoxi remembered.

Although Mu Chun was Zhu Di's nephew in terms of seniority, he was actually only three years younger than Zhu Di and grew up in the capital.

The feelings of youth are pure and sincere, untainted by worldly gains and losses, and are the most unforgettable.

Would it be easier to build a closer relationship if I talked to Mu Ang about his older brother, Mu Chun?

Zhu Gaoxi was deep in thought when he suddenly heard the old emperor say, "Mu Ang's abilities are no less than your second brother's. Don't worry, Xi'er."

"Grandpa, I'm thinking about something else," Zhu Gaoxi said, approaching the old emperor. "Grandpa, if we could create a charcoal pencil that's cheaper than wool or feather pens, wouldn't that be a great thing for all the scholars in the land?"

The old emperor was already used to his beloved grandson's whimsical ideas. "Of course," he said, "if writing materials don't cost much, we could learn more characters when we were young."

"The cheapest feather brush is three coins, the wool brush is five coins, and if charcoal pencils are sold for one coin each, there will definitely be a lot of people buying them," Zhu Gaoxi said enthusiastically as he planned his business. "Most importantly, charcoal pencils can be used to write directly without having to buy ink and inkstones, which can save a lot of money."

Even the most ordinary inkstone costs around 100 coins, while the cheapest Rongzhou pine soot ink, of average quality, costs 200 coins per pound.

Using charcoal pencils not only saves money, but also saves the time of grinding ink. It's a win-win situation, so why not?

"Then you should open a charcoal pencil shop and save up more money to get married," the old emperor said with a sly smile.

Zhu Gaoxi didn't dare hide the matter of opening a bookstore from the old emperor.

Since the blunder caused by the eunuch last time, they dared not engage in any underhanded tactics again, and all their schemes were now open and aboveboard.

Even if Xia Niangzi's affair is exposed in the future, he has already prepared a set of excuses, and he will definitely not leave anyone speechless.

"Grandpa, there's no rush to get married. Let's get engaged first," Zhu Gaoxi said shamelessly, bringing up his childhood betrothal.

"You're engaged in April, and we're getting married in May. We've already made all the arrangements, what's the rush?" the old emperor teased with a smile.

It seems that Zhu Gaoxi's eagerness to get married is an image that he can't shake off even if he jumps into the Yellow River.

Taking advantage of the old emperor's good mood, Zhu Gaoxi boldly tried to solicit some sponsorship, saying, "Grandpa, I have another idea."

"Stop beating around the bush, just say it," the old emperor urged gently.

"My grandson wants to open a cotton cloth shop, hire female workers to spin and weave cloth, and provide a livelihood for the students of the school."

Eight or nine out of ten students in the school were girls.

Male infants are rarely abandoned unless they are physically weak or born with a disability.

Seeing that the old emperor was listening intently, Zhu Gaoxi continued, "Your grandson has a way to improve the spinning machine, increase efficiency, increase output, and weave more cloth every day."

For ordinary people living at home, the two most important things are having enough to eat and wear.

My precious grandson first grew drought-resistant and high-yield sweet potatoes, and now he wants to weave cloth. If he can succeed, it will be another great achievement.

The more capable the children of our Zhu family are, the better; the old emperor is happy to see it happen.

"Tell me, what do you need Grandpa's help with?" the old emperor asked with great magnanimity.

"Grandpa, we need to buy a house first, then purchase spinning machines and looms, and also hire skilled craftsmen," Zhu Gaoxi stopped there, not continuing.

The old emperor was so clever that he didn't need to be too blunt; he knew perfectly well that opening a cloth shop would definitely require a lot of money.

"We'll give you two hundred taels of silver. If that's not enough, you can make up the difference yourself," the old emperor said.

Only two hundred taels? The old emperor is really stingy. Zhu Gaoxi was greatly disappointed.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxi pouting and looking dissatisfied, the old emperor put on a stern face and pretended to be unhappy, letting out a soft hum.

We haven't even seen a hair of it, and you just pulled out two hundred taels of silver based on a few sweet words from us? What? You still dare to complain it's not enough?!

Seeing the old emperor's face darken, Zhu Gaoxi immediately put on a grateful expression, threw himself into his grandfather's arms and acted coquettishly, "Grandpa is the best, grandson loves grandpa the most."

The old emperor pouted and said with a slight reproach, "You're just trying to coax us into paying for you."

With the old emperor's approval and investment, the cotton cloth shop could start operating in full swing, and the grand vision of building a cotton empire had finally taken a crucial first step. Zhu Gaoxi was overjoyed and greatly encouraged.

A flower is a world, a tree is a Bodhi tree.

To build a world-leading cotton textile industry, using cotton as a medium to allow Ming Dynasty capital to gradually expand overseas, construct an economic circle centered on Ming Dynasty, and achieve long-term, sustainable, and stable economic development, national prosperity, and a peaceful and happy life for the people.

Zhu Gaoxi was willing to persevere and make unremitting efforts towards this goal.