Chapter 65: Causing trouble is fine, but asking for money is not

Right now, Zhu Gaoxu was like someone with a bowl of porridge—he had no choice but to drink it.

It would be useless for anyone to try to persuade him otherwise.

He took the large bowl handed over by the cook, glanced at it with his peripheral vision, and felt relieved that there wasn't much—not even half a bowl.

He thought to himself, "This cook has a good eye for things."

Then, he closed his eyes and downed the black, murky concoction in one gulp.

After finishing, he slammed the large bowl onto the ground, and the crowd on the field finally fell completely silent.

There was nothing left to say; Zhu Gaoxu, noble as an Imperial Grandson, had taken the lead in drinking it, so the other soldiers had absolutely no complaints left.

Jumping down from the table, Zhu Gaoxu ignored the others and walked out of the crowd to the outside of the Military Camp.

"Go quickly and find a few physicians in the city, and bring some herbs for diarrhea," Zhu Gaoxu whispered, giving instructions to the Embroidered Uniform Guard beside him.

To say he wasn't afraid after drinking that bowl of black sludge would be a lie.

One had to know that this was ancient times; a simple case of diarrhea or a cold could potentially kill a person.

The key was that his body was currently only four years old, and his immunity was certainly not as good as an adult's.

If he were to kick the bucket just because of this bowl of black sludge, wouldn't he be dying in vain?

Furthermore, Zhu Gaoxu was also afraid that if these soldiers had any mishaps after eating it, and over two thousand people ended up with diarrhea, wouldn't that be a pure joke?

Therefore, he planned to get some anti-diarrheal herbs and secretly add them in when preparing dinner as a precaution.

Standing at the gate of the Military Camp, after Zhu Gaoxu had finished giving all his orders, a long time passed before he saw over a dozen grain-transporting carts approaching from afar.

It was fortunate that Zhu Gaoxu had drunk that bowl of black sludge, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to wait for this grain to arrive.

Inside the Military Camp, things had already returned to normal; it was time for training.

Zhu Gaoxu, accompanied by the newly returned Mao Xiang, began to inspect the Military Camp.

The first step was to check the living conditions; Zhu Gaoxu's previous promise to the New Army that he would eat and live with them was no joke.

Regardless of his status or age, in this Military Camp, he was first and foremost a commander.

The most important thing for a commander is to win the trust of the soldiers, so he must practice what he preaches.

After a round of inspection, Zhu Gaoxu was generally satisfied.

The Military Camp was still under construction and expansion, but the previously occupied quarters had already been renovated.

All of this was thanks to Lao Zhu having tipped off the people below in advance.

Zhu Gaoxu also knew that leading soldiers didn't just rely on empty promises.

Any army must have an economic foundation behind it.

One cannot rely solely on shouting slogans about protecting the country or expanding territory.

Most soldiers were just ordinary commoners; they cared more about what they ate, what they drank, and how they lived.

If they joined the army only to find that the food was worse than what they grew themselves, the housing was worse than their own leaking thatched huts, and they still had to risk their lives every day—

what was the point?

Zhu Gaoxu was very clear about this point in his heart.

Today at noon was a forced measure; he could guarantee that if they had to eat that black sludge for two consecutive meals, these soldiers would definitely start a riot.

Relatively speaking, Lao Zhu couldn't help him to the end; he was the Emperor, and it would be abnormal if he focused all his attention on this group of one thousand men.

Many things still required Zhu Gaoxu to handle them personally.

Although it was only a group of one thousand, the rules and regulations, as well as the many details involved, were numerous enough to give Zhu Gaoxu a headache just thinking about them.

When it all boiled down to it, it was actually very simple: he had no money!

Just as Zhu Gaoxu was worrying, someone came from the palace again.

It was the same young eunuch as before, and the message was the same: summoning Zhu Gaoxu to the palace.

He looked up at the sky; the sun was already tending toward setting.

Zhu Gaoxu thought to himself, "I probably won't be able to return today."

The reality was just as Zhu Gaoxu had thought; when he arrived at the palace and saw Zhu Yuanzhang in the Study, it was already dark.

The palace night watch had already announced the hour of the Dog.

Inside the Study, several lamps were lit, the candlelight illuminating the entire room, and Zhu Yuanzhang sat at the head, his expression somewhat gloomy.

"How are things over at the New Army?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked first, and Zhu Gaoxu looked up and swept a glance at Lao Zhu.

He didn't believe Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know what had happened today, but since Lao Zhu was playing dumb, he could only play along.

He summarized the events of the day in a few simple sentences, and after listening, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and then said, "I know you have grievances, but although I am the ruler of this country, the affairs of the imperial court are not something I can decide on my own."

"However, rest assured, go ahead and act boldly; if anything happens, I will back you up. Don't be afraid of causing trouble, and don't be afraid of losing face."

"You are my Imperial Grandson; even if you start a mutiny, no one would dare to laugh at you!"

If anyone else heard these words from Lao Zhu, they would surely be moved to tears and call him a dear grandfather.

But Zhu Gaoxu was no ordinary person, and Lao Zhu was even less so.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't believe Lao Zhu didn't understand what he was currently lacking the most.

What he lacked most was money!

Only with money would he have confidence, and only then would he have an attraction for the soldiers below.

At the very least, he could improve the food if nothing else.

But Lao Zhu kept saying "I've got your back" without ever mentioning a single word about money.

It was clearly telling him:

Causing trouble is fine, but asking for money is not.

Zhu Gaoxu even suspected that if he led these soldiers to rebel, Lao Zhu wouldn't even panic, but if he tried to get a single tael of silver out of Lao Zhu, Lao Zhu would probably hang himself.

He nodded hypocritically, considering it a perfunctory gesture toward Lao Zhu, then waited for Lao Zhu to continue his lecture.