Chapter 353

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was just about to open his mouth and scold Zhu Di, was reminded and thus remembered Zhu Youjian.

Poor Zhu Youjian had been standing aside as a mere invisible figure, daring not to interrupt or speak casually.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked without any courtesy, "Did Zhenghe over there set sail? Do you have sea charts and blueprints for sea ships?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di nodded and said, "We do have those. Does Father intend to set sail now?"

"I can make use of them, and Zhu Youjian can make even greater use of them. Su Qiao is at Zhu Youjian's place, currently tinkering with new-style sea ships; it is estimated that they will set sail soon. These materials will be useful to Zhu Youjian and his group. Fetch a copy and send it over."

"Alright, Father!"

Upon hearing that he was to go on another mission again.

Moreover, he was to go to Zhu Youjian's place to meet Su Qiao, he agreed just as quickly.

This caused Zhu Yuanzhang to feel somewhat worried that Su Qiao might be led astray.

Zhu Youjian could not interject; in fact, he very much wanted to object.

Who would have thought that an ancestor atop his head would suddenly appear? He had already been Emperor for several years.

Having grown accustomed to being the Son of Heaven, having to be a grandson again, he truly wanted to object.

But he also knew clearly that his opinion was useless.

No one would pay attention to him.

Since he could not resist, he might as well silently enjoy it!

Zhu Di immediately called for people within the great hall and issued an imperial decree to copy the data on the treasure ships and the navigation charts.

Many hands make light work, especially since Zhu Di was the Emperor.

So, although the materials filled such a large room, they were all copied within a day or two.

Fast and steady!

"Very well, send a copy of the items to me, and afterwards you will go to Zhu Youjian's place and stay there for a few days."

Zhu Yuanzhang used a teleportation talisman to first bring those materials over, and then directly sent Zhu Di to Zhu Youjian's place.

207, the first encounter between Zhu Di and Su Qiao!

A flash of white light!

Seeing Zhu Di suddenly appear beside him, Zhu Youjian's eye twitched.

He quickly rose and performed a bow: "Your subject Sun Chen greets Great-Grandfather!"

"You young man are not bad. I previously thought you were like mud that could not be plastered onto a wall, but I did not expect you to possess some of the temperament of our old Zhu family!"

Shaking his head, Zhu Di looked at Zhu Youjian and said.

This was not the first time Zhu Di had been teleported by Zhu Yuanzhang.

The first teleportation caused some dizziness, but now he could adapt very quickly.

"Your subject is guilty!"

"Enough, stop talking nonsense there. Where is Su Qiao? Hurry and summon him; I have long wanted to meet him!"

Zhu Di said impatiently to Zhu Youjian.

Accompanying Zhu Di was also a huge pile of materials.

All of them were brought over by Zhu Di at Zhu Yuanzhang's order.

"Su Qing should be in the Ministry of Works right now; for this period, Su Qing has been busy building new-style sea ships."

Zhu Youjian dared not be negligent and quickly said.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di nodded, "Very well, since that is the case, take the items directly; let us go and take a look!"

When Zhu Di arrived at the Ministry of Works.

Su Qiao was discussing matters with the craftsmen.

Unknowingly, the craftsmen who had just been debating something with Su Qiao eloquently gradually fell silent.

Everyone became utterly quiet.

Su Qiao sensed that the atmosphere was wrong; turning his head, he saw that Zhu Youjian had arrived.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty!"

Huh?

Looking at the person standing in front of Zhu Youjian, why did he look more and more like Zhu Di the longer he looked?

However, he appeared older than the Zhu Di Su Qiao had seen before.

Su Qiao suspiciously tested, "You are... Zhu..."

"Correct, it is I!"

Zhu Di stood before Su Qiao with a tone of certainty; his burly figure was like an iron tower, giving off a powerful sense of pressure.

Su Qiao was stunned, suddenly realizing that since Zhu Yuanzhang could send him here,

it seemed sending Zhu Di here was no problem either.

However, judging by the age of the Zhu Di before him, he was over forty.

He should not be the Zhu Di from Zhu Yuanzhang's era.

In the blink of an eye, Su Qiao's mind whirled through a hundred turns and he figured out the whole matter.

Zhu Di deliberately stared at Su Qiao in a teasing manner and asked, "Judging by your reaction, you must have seen me before. Does your heart not feel a bit curious now?"

"Your subject greets Emperor Taizong!"

Su Qiao first bowed deeply to Zhu Di, then rose and spoke: "At the beginning, Your subject indeed had doubts, but now, in this short while, Your subject has already guessed what is happening; it must have been done by Emperor Taizu."

Zhu Di chuckled, "Good, Su Qiao, you are indeed smart. No wonder my father values you so highly. Now guess again what I have come here to do?"

Is this elderly Zhu Di's brain broken?

Coming here just to play riddles with him?

"Your Majesty, I believe you've come to deliver something."

As he spoke, Su Qiao extended a finger toward the group following behind, carrying items into the Ministry of Works.

Zhu Di and Zhu Youjian turned around—and indeed, it was true.

The items were already being moved!

"Then tell me, what exactly have I brought?"

Zhu Di sounded reluctant, as if eager to see Su Qiao embarrassed.

But Su Qiao calmly analyzed: "At that time, what you valued most, what was most advanced, were the treasure ship blueprints and navigation records."

"Hmm... enough, I won't argue—you win!"

Zhu Di raised a hand to cut off Su Qiao's next words.

He turned his back, hands clasped behind him, studying the model of the sea vessel designed by Su Qiao and the craftsmen, examining it closely as he said: "I'm simply curious about you. Since I was already delivering these items, I came to take a look. Do you think the Great Ming is ready to sail and explore?"

"It's ready. In fact, we're already far behind. The Franks, the Spaniards, the Dutch—they've already begun exploring new territories, while we remain isolated. The gap will only widen."

Su Qiao nodded without hesitation.

At that moment, Wang Chengen, sensing the moment, waved his hand and dismissed all the craftsmen and eunuchs from the courtyard.

The courtyard grew empty.

Only Wang Chengen, Su Qiao, Zhu Youjian, and Zhu Di remained.

Zhu Di paused at Su Qiao's words. "Then do you believe the Great Ming can win?"

"We will win, certainly—but only after several major battles, gradually gaining the upper hand. To achieve victory, we must build advanced sea vessels and cannons that are more precise, more powerful, and with greater range!"

"But I've heard you've only been working on sea vessels in the Ministry of Works. Oh no—wait, you also worked on gunpowder. What about cannons?"

Zhu Di turned to face Su Qiao and asked.

"The cannons are still in testing—they're nearly ready. The main problem is lack of copper."

"Copper? Even the Great Ming lacks copper. Are we going to melt down all our copper?"

"But I believe we can fully replace copper coins with treasure notes. That way, copper can be conserved for more vital uses, and merchants' transactions will become easier and safer."

Su Qiao had long held this idea.

Ever since using treasure notes to squeeze the Jianzhou Jurchens in Liaodong, he had envisioned the next step.

That was: replacing copper coins with paper currency!

"But will the common people accept it?"

Zhu Di asked, still uneasy.

Zhu Youjian, unusually, spoke up: "Grandfather, today the Great Ming's treasure notes are more accepted by the people than copper coins—or rather, many in the Great Ming have already accepted them. Even some tributary states that trade with us favor treasure notes."

"Oh?" Zhu Di fell into a moment of quiet thought.