Early the next morning, Zhu Zhanji was woken up again by someone arranged by Zhu Gaochi!

After washing and changing into court clothes, Zhu Zhanji put away a stack of papers filled with handwriting and drawings on the makeshift desk in front of the bed.

As soon as I went out, I saw Hu Shanxiang coming out of the next room holding a quilt.

"Great grandson!"

When Hu Shanxiang saw Zhu Zhanji, his face turned red and he immediately bowed obediently!

Looking at her small appearance, Zhu Zhanji probably just moved here, so he nodded and said:

"Now that you have moved in, you should live well. If there is anything you can't solve by yourself, you can tell me when I come back. When you have nothing to do on weekdays, just go to the Crown Princess's place more often. The Crown Princess usually She is often alone, so you should spend more time with her."

Hu Shanxiang's face showed joy when he heard this. He knew that Zhu Zhanji was teaching him how to coax the princess, so he nodded quickly and said: "I obey the order!"

"Well, I'll see you tonight!"

Seeing her cute little appearance, Zhu Zhanji was very satisfied and walked towards Qianqing Palace without saying anything more.

He felt that he looked very much like those social beasts of later generations, who got up before dawn every day to clock in, and then stayed busy until dusk.

But the key point is that the social animals still have wages after all. What about himself? Zhu Zhanji estimated that when he asked Zhu Di for wages, Zhu Di's expression must have been wonderful.

When we arrived at the Qianqing Palace, as expected, the royal desk was filled with all kinds of information.

At this time, the palace gate had just opened and Sanyang hadn't arrived yet. Zhu Zhanji casually flipped through a few books and found that there was nothing important here.

Most of them are about the mobilization of supplies for the Northern Expedition and changes in officials in various places.

Seeing this, Zhu Zhanji divided all the folds into three parts, and then asked the little nose on the side to place them on Sanyang's table.

Zhu Zhanji has decided that he will keep Sanyang's small table in Qianqing Palace until the end of Zhu Di's Northern Expedition.

Or if you find good talents later, you can add a few more tables at that time!

After he had almost arranged everything, officials from various ministries who came to the Qianqing Palace began to arrive one after another.

Some people handed over new information, and some people asked Zhu Zhanji to report some things. After Zhu Zhanji had dealt with them one by one, he saw that Sanyang had entered the Qianqing Palace.

Seeing the discounts already placed on his table, Sanyang looked at each other with a wry smile in his eyes.

After receiving the gift from Zhu Zhanji, he sat back down very consciously and began to deal with the matter.

Zhu Zhanji was very satisfied with Sanyang's attitude. If everyone in the Ming Dynasty was so self-conscious, Zhu Zhanji guessed that it would be okay if he didn't have to work in the Qing palace every day.

After all, the fish in the pond will one day swim out of the pond and into the sea!

While drinking tea, Zhu Zhanji was thinking about whether he would have to learn from the emperors behind him in the future and find some hobbies for himself.

Xia Yuanji walked in with a green-robed official about thirty years old.

"Your Majesty Xia Yuanji meets His Highness the Grand Sun!"

"Your Majesty, Zhou Chen, is here to see His Highness the Grand Sun!"

The two of them saluted, and Zhu Zhanji took one more look at Zhou Chen.

Yesterday, Xia Yuanji said that he would recommend a talent to himself, and now it seems that if he guessed correctly, it should be Zhou Chen.

Judging from the white pheasant on the blue official robe, he should still be a fifth-grade official.

Zhu Zhanji had not paid much attention to the first- and second-rank officials in the imperial court before, so naturally he had no impression of this fifth-rank official.

While the two were saluting, Zhu Zhanji glanced at Little Sniffle beside him and winked at him. Little Sniffle understood.

Soon, Little Nose took a foldout and placed it in front of Zhu Zhanji. He opened the first page of the foldout and saw Zhou Chen's name.

Later, various information about Zhou Chen was also clearly recorded on it, and even the ancestors three generations up could be clearly found.

Zhu Zhanji glanced at Zhou Chen's message, and after he had a rough understanding of Zhou Chen's situation, he said to Little Nose: "Give the two adults a seat!"

Little Sniffle nodded in agreement upon hearing this. When stools were brought to the two of them, Zhu Zhanji smiled and said, "Sit down, everyone!"

Xia Yuanji was not polite when he heard this, thanked him and sat down.

He is senior and more casual, but Zhou Chen beside him is well-behaved.

After the two sat down, Zhu Zhanji looked at Zhou Chen and said with a smile: "Are you Zhou Chen? I heard Mr. Xia say yesterday that you are a rare talent. I originally planned to show you off in person.

, but yesterday the Minister of Finance, Jin Shangshu, was seriously ill, so there was a delay, so I asked Mr. Xia to bring you here."

The corner of Xia Yuanji's mouth twitched when he heard this. Why didn't he remember what His Highness the Grand Sun in front of him said yesterday about placing it himself?

Seeing Zhu Zhanji talking nonsense seriously, if he hadn't experienced it personally, he would have almost thought that his memory was confused.

Zhou Chen was originally quite nervous when Xia Yuanji brought him into the Qianqing Palace. His official position was not high, and now he was still a member of the Ministry of Punishment.

According to the usual rules, he only had the opportunity to go to court during the monthly court meeting.

However, in the past, the prince basically supervised the country, and court meetings were rarely held. Basically, major national affairs were settled in the Qianqing Palace. Speaking of which, this was his first time entering the Qianqing Palace.

At first, he still didn't understand why Xia Yuanji, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, went to the Qianqing Palace to bring him, a member of the Communist Party of China who was considered a sesame mung bean in Yingtian.

Now when I heard Zhu Zhanji's words, I suddenly came to my senses, and then I couldn't help but get excited.

The person in front of me is the great grandson of Ming Dynasty. In other words, as long as nothing unexpected happens in the future, he will be the future emperor of Ming Dynasty.

An official the size of a sesame seed and a mung bean can actually win the favor of the future emperor. Are you planning to visit him?

Regardless of whether this is true or not, these words came from the mouth of an imperial grandson, which is an attitude towards the country's scholars.

Zhou Chen was a little flattered when he heard this, and immediately stood up, bowed respectfully again, and said without being humble or arrogant:

"It is already an honor for me to be promoted by His Highness. How dare I trouble my grandson to visit me in person? My grandson has an order, so I just give him an order!"

"Um!"

Seeing Zhou Chen's attitude, Zhu Zhanji felt very satisfied. He didn't say much, but just saying "just follow your orders" was enough to express his attitude.

This guy knows his stuff!

Zhu Zhanji silently gave Zhou Chen a label in his heart, and then said with a smile: "Okay, sit down quickly, let's not be polite, I asked you to come this time, actually there is one thing, I want to see you

My idea is that if there is no problem on your side, this matter will be left to you!"

Zhou Chen nodded when he heard this and said, "Grandson, please tell me!"

Zhu Zhanji glanced at Xia Yuanji who was standing aside. He originally wanted the old man to say something, but Xia Yuanji acted like it had nothing to do with him, so Zhu Zhanji could only give up and paused before saying:

"A few days ago, I proposed to the emperor the idea of ​​purchasing grassland wool to stimulate grassland herdsmen to raise sheep, thereby reducing the number of horses on the grassland. This matter has been approved by the emperor and has been handed over to me and the Ministry of Household Affairs. However, this matter

There are a lot of things involved, not only do you have to arrange for people to go to the grasslands to purchase wool, but you also need someone to process the purchased wool and spin it into wool blankets, woolen sweaters, etc.!"

Zhu Zhanji briefly explained the ins and outs of the matter, then looked at Zhou Chen and said: "So, I asked Mr. Xia to call you over. I heard that you have unique knowledge in finance and taxation, and I wanted to see what you think."

The last sentence was a comment Zhu Zhanji had just seen about Zhou Chen in the information.

Zhou Chen was a Jinshi in the second year of Yongle. Although he is now serving in the Ministry of Punishment, his articles that passed the Jinshi examination back then have very unique insights into finance and taxation.

Zhu Zhanji estimated that this was also the reason why Xia Yuanji recommended Zhou Chen to him.

After all, finance and taxation are directly linked to the Ministry of Household Affairs. With such a talented person, Xia Yuanji will naturally not let him be buried in the Ministry of Punishment.

Purchasing wool?

Zhou Chen frowned when he heard this, then thought for a moment, then looked at Zhu Zhanji and said:

"Is Taisun trying to buy wool so that grassland herders can increase the number of sheep they feed and reduce the number of horses?"

"Um!"

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said:

"That's what I think. The pasture on the grassland is limited. As long as we are willing to purchase wool, the herdsmen will see the benefits, and they will naturally increase the number of sheep. If there are more sheep, but not much pasture, they will naturally reduce the number of other sheep.

The number of livestock!”

Zhou Chen thought for a while and asked: "I have seen some barbarians selling blankets in the market in Yingtian before. However, the smell of this product is very strong, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the price is very high, so no one buys it."

, I guess Your Highness should have a way to get rid of the smell of wool, right?"

"Um!"

Zhu Zhanji nodded when he heard this. It was no surprise that Zhou Chen would guess this. Xia Yuanji could also guess that he had a way. If Xia Yuanji recommended someone to him, if he didn't think of this, Xia Yuanji probably wouldn't recommend it to him.

.

"In this case, this matter can kill two birds with one stone. Not only can it stimulate grassland herdsmen to raise horses, but it can also make a lot of money!"

After Zhou Zhen gave his own evaluation, he then said:

"It's just that there are a few things that are troublesome about this matter. Firstly, the Northern Expedition to Oara is about to take place, and the grasslands must be on high alert for us Ming people. Secondly, it is extremely difficult to ensure the safety of the caravans going to the grasslands to purchase wool. Thirdly, if there are suddenly a large number of

Purchasing wool will inevitably arouse the vigilance of grassland people."

After hearing Zhou Chen's words, Zhu Zhanji not only valued him a little more.

As the saying goes, one person can calculate shortcomings, two people can calculate long-term consequences, and it is easy to discuss things with three people!

After Zhou Chen mentioned it, Zhu Zhanji also discovered that there were indeed quite a few problems here.

But fortunately, these are just minor problems. After thinking about it, I said:

"This matter is easy to solve. After all, the people in the Northern Expedition are only the Oara people. We can do business with other tribes. As for the safety issue, it is dangerous for us to go to the grassland, so just let the herdsmen transport the wool to the border!"
To be continued...