Chapter 106: The Future Will Be Hard, but He Is Zhu Yuanzhang

"How so?"

Empress Ma had a gentle disposition and always maintained a mild, amiable demeanor. Although this was his first time meeting her, Zhang Yi inexplicably felt that this newly met aunt was a wonderful person.

He grinned, "Is it because Uncle Huang is always busy traveling, and wants to keep a portrait of you for comfort?"

Empress Ma was both annoyed and amused, a hint of shyness coloring her face. She feigned a gesture of reprimand: "Your Uncle Huang was right, you truly have a silver tongue..."

"Auntie, please don't hit me! I'll draw it, won't I? Just find a place to sit, and I'll paint you!"

Zhang Yi had recently had a simple drawing board made and was quite skilled at sketching. Before long, he had finished the portrait of Empress Ma. Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang stood behind him, watching as Zhang Yi seemed to cast a spell, outlining the contours with strokes and then using different pencil techniques to bring the Empress's image to life on the paper through light and shadow.

"It's exactly like her!"

Even though it wasn't their first time seeing a sketch, Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang still felt that the process of Zhang Yi's drawing was like a magic trick. Every wrinkle and every nuance of expression on Empress Ma's face had been captured by Zhang Yi.

"Auntie, come and take a look!"

After finishing, Zhang Yi called Empress Ma over. Seeing her own portrait, she was stunned. She picked up the sketch, unable to put it down.

"My husband was right; this drawing technique of yours is truly a divine skill from Guigu!"

"Draw one for me too!"

Old Zhu, who had been itching to try, spoke up. Zhang Yi nodded in agreement and drew one for him as well. Upon receiving the portrait, Old Zhu was even happier than the Empress.

"I'll have someone frame this later!"

He handed the portrait to Zhu Biao, determined to display it prominently. He wanted to see who would dare spread rumors about him having a "shoe-shaped" face again.

After all, Zhang Yi was only seven years old, and drawing two portraits had exhausted most of his energy. Just then, Deng Zhongxiu brought out snacks and tea, and the group sat together to chat.

"It's a pity your father has already returned to Longhu Mountain and is about to embark on a long journey. Who knows when you'll meet again!" Zhu Yuanzhang seized the opportunity to open the conversation, looking at Zhang Yi with profound meaning. "He actually went to the Emperor to beg for a chance for you to study at the Imperial Academy. You should cherish it. But you rascal, did you go there specifically to torment people? You made the teacher furious the moment you arrived!"

The people present stared at Zhang Yi with knowing smiles. For once, Zhang Yi felt his face flush.

"What else could I do?"

Old Zhu assumed the stance of an elder, saying earnestly, "Zhang Yi, let me give you a piece of advice. The Imperial Academy is a rare path to success. Unless you truly seek the Dao of Immortality, you should cherish this opportunity! The Libationer of the Imperial Academy, Xu Cunren, is a profound Confucian scholar and the Crown Prince's teacher. His learning is more than enough to teach you; you should take the chance to become his student!"

Zhang Yi smiled lightly upon hearing this. To become Xu Cunren's student—wasn't that like a birthday god hanging himself, just asking for death?

"Are you going to say that 'the officials of the Zhu family aren't worth serving even by dogs' again?" Before Zhang Yi could speak, Old Zhu already knew what kind of nonsense he was about to spout! Seeing Old Zhu's fierce expression, he dared not say more. He had almost forgotten that Uncle Huang was a royalist and a die-hard fan of Old Zhu! Yet he found it strange: a merchant and a royalist? Did Uncle Huang have a masochistic streak?

"Of all pursuits, only studying is noble! Look at us, father and son, running around the world for a bit of wealth, only to be despised and exploited in the end. Even with the family fortune I have now, I could offend some official one day, and my entire family could be wiped out in an instant! Who understands the bitterness in that?"

Empress Ma and Zhu Biao listened quietly to Old Zhu, the mother and son exchanging a look. While exploitation was the main factor in Zhu Yuanzhang's approach to Zhang Yi, they could also hear a trace of sincerity in his earnest advice. Empress Ma smiled; it had been a long time since she had seen Old Zhu be so earnest with an outsider.

"Uncle, I understand. When the Emperor exploited the wealthy households in Jiangnan, you didn't escape unscathed, did you?"

Zhang Yi's single sentence made Old Zhu's face turn bright red, leaving him speechless for a long time. Old Zhu had indeed exploited the wealthy households of Jiangnan, but he had forgotten that detail himself. Being exposed by Zhang Yi made him feel like his carefully constructed persona had been reduced to that of a fool. Zhu Biao lowered his head, suppressing a laugh; his Imperial Father had been "honed" by Zhang Yi again.

"Actually, I've known you for so long, Uncle, but I don't know what kind of business you do?" Zhang Yi did not want to dwell on the Imperial Academy, nor did he want to say more about the fate of Xu Cunren or the future of the Emperor.

Zhu Yuanzhang was caught off guard by the question. When he established the persona of "Huang He," he hadn't thought it through that deeply. However, his mind turned quickly, and he immediately replied: "I have some business at sea and run a cloth shop in my hometown. But coming to Yingtian this time, I was looking for other avenues..."

A cloth shop was a lucrative business in ancient times, and combined with maritime trade... Zhang Yi immediately thought of a familiar name: Shen Wansan. Thinking of Shen Wansan, Zhang Yi remembered something else.

"Running a cloth shop is a legitimate business, Uncle, but you'd be better off withdrawing from the maritime business sooner rather than later!"

"Why?" Old Zhu's heart skipped a beat; he faintly sensed that this boy was about to drop another bombshell.

"Within three years, the Great Ming will not allow a single plank of wood to enter the sea!"

"Why?"

"Because the Emperor will inevitably impose a maritime ban within three years. If you are still operating maritime businesses then, you will likely suffer heavy losses!"

"The world is not yet settled, and the Great Ming hasn't found its footing. Once the Emperor captures Dadu and pacifies the North, he will face a practical problem: how to govern this battered and fragmented world? Recuperation and rest are national policies that every dynasty must implement. Given the current situation, the intensity with which the Emperor will implement this will likely be even stricter than in the future! Even if the Great Ming drives the Mongols out of the Central Plains, the surrounding situation is not optimistic. Yunnan, Tibet, the Western Regions, and the Northern Yuan—these places will likely require the use of force in the future!

"As for the sea, forgive my bluntness, Uncle, but the business you do likely intersects with those Japanese pirates, sea bandits, and the remnants of Zhang Shicheng's forces. The profits from maritime trade are high, but there are two drawbacks! First, the Japanese pirates and the remnants of Fang Guozhen and Zhang Shicheng possess enough power on the sea to shake the foundations of the Great Ming. They might not have much influence in normal times, but when the Great Ming is forced to fight on all fronts, maritime defense could become the key link that causes the national strength to collapse! The Southeast is the granary of the world and a gathering place for wealth. With the Great Ming unable to venture out to sea while facing threats on three sides, this is a choice the Emperor will have to make, no matter how frustrated he feels!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's chest rose and fell; the future Zhang Yi described felt all too real. He could already imagine himself in that helpless, frustrated state. Old Zhu was naturally narrow-minded; while he didn't lack the foresight to assess the situation, his extreme personality meant that the humiliation he felt when making such choices would be even deeper.

"Secondly, the profits of private trade are simply too great. Which of the wealthy households in Jiangnan doesn't participate? The profits from this trade won't bring tax revenue to the Great Ming. If everyone is engaged in trade, who will focus on agriculture and recuperation? The second reason for the maritime ban is to cut off the aspirations of the wealthy households in Jiangnan and lock the common people onto the land of the Great Ming, making them produce honestly! This is, in fact, a helpless choice: sacrificing future possibilities in exchange for the peace of the Great Ming! This is an inevitable choice for the Great Ming, though the Emperor cannot attend to it just yet. So, Uncle, I advise you: if you've made enough, quit while you're ahead... Although the Emperor values agriculture and suppresses commerce, making life difficult for merchants, the commercial tax in the Great Ming is low, so there's still a way to survive!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was lost in thought, looking at Zhang Yi with profound meaning. This so-called maritime ban policy once again reinforced the image of Zhang Yi as a divine being. Although he had never thought of a maritime ban policy, after Zhang Yi's analysis, it seemed like an inevitable choice. How much of the Great Ming's future had this boy seen?

"Wait..."

As Old Zhu pondered, Empress Ma seemed to have noticed something different. She asked with some concern: "Although it is not my place as a woman to interrupt, you said that our Great Ming will face war on all sides in the future. Is this true?"

"Oh my!" Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, who had been immersed in Zhang Yi's analysis of the maritime ban policy, now realized the gravity of the question Empress Ma had asked. What did it mean that the Great Ming would face war on all sides? Was the future really that miserable? The Great Ming had just started, and Old Zhu was still struggling to push the "crystal tower" that was Dadu. The tower hadn't even been pushed yet, and you're telling me there are many more towers waiting?

Zhang Yi found their bewildered expressions amusing. Perhaps every citizen of the Great Ming would feel despair upon hearing this. War meant military expenditure, and military expenditure meant taxes... which meant the common people's suffering hadn't ended! The mess the Yuan Dynasty left for the Great Ming was so barren that it could barely be scraped for oil; the military funds for Zhu Yuanzhang to attack Dadu were borrowed, extorted... If he hadn't been that poor, he wouldn't have defaulted on the debts later.

But Old Zhu and Zhu Biao's hope was that once Dadu was taken and the Mongols were driven away, they could live a comfortable life with their wives and children. But now they had to both recuperate and engage in aggressive warfare. Old Zhu thought about his future days and felt a tightness in his chest and weakness in his legs. Damn it, is there no end to this future? It's so despairing!

Zhang Yi understood Old Zhu and his son's confusion quite well. In his previous life, he had seen a statistic: in the thirty-one years of the Hongwu era, a war was launched on average every two years. If it came to the frequency of war, compared to the Great Ming, other dynasties would likely be too embarrassed to call themselves militaristic. Yet, it was such a militaristic dynasty, and such a militaristic emperor, who, while fighting wars, took the Great Ming from the ruins of the first year of Hongwu—where local taxes were unpaid for years—to the prosperous scene of the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu, where "the four classes of people had stable occupations and the people were content with farming." Even the local finances changed from having no grain to having millions of piculs of rice and millet stored in state granaries!

Fighting wars while recuperating, and leaving a wealthy foundation for future generations—Zhu Yuanzhang was likely the only emperor in history to have achieved this! This was why, even though Zhang Yi didn't like Old Zhu's personality, he truly admired the emperor in the palace. If such a heroic figure could not be called an emperor for the ages, who could?

"Don't panic, Uncle. Although the future will be a bit hard and the Great Ming may have more wars, we have the Emperor. He is Zhu Yuanzhang... he is an emperor for the ages!"

Zhang Yi began to comfort Old Zhu. Zhu Yuanzhang looked up, staring at Zhang Yi. Zhang Yi, who was usually frivolous and unserious, was uncharacteristically earnest when saying these words. He felt lost. When this boy criticized him, he truly held nothing back, but the sincerity of his trust was unlike anyone else's. It was because he criticized so vigorously that when Zhang Yi finally acknowledged him, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a touch of emotion.

However, once he thought of the future Zhang Yi had painted, Old Zhu's head felt as big as a bushel. Being an emperor for the ages was too difficult. It was useless for Zhang Yi to trust him; he didn't even trust himself anymore!