Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 1073 It still has to be me, another way to make money!

Emperor Zhu rubbed his face again and sighed, "I'm just a little angry, but it's not that I want to argue with them."

"Besides, we're not angry because of those two."

"With their scoundrel-like behavior, if we really argued with them and got angry, we'd probably be driven to death by them by now."

"We're angry at those officials and gentry."

Emperor Zhu pulled Empress Ma to sit down and sighed heavily again.

"We just feel that those officials and gentry are really despicable. Not only do they try every means to exploit the people, but they also fool the people and coerce them into fighting for them."

"Take today's incident for example. If it weren't for our Biao'er and that scoundrel's decisive action in ordering the Imperial Son-in-Law's guards to arrest people, it might have turned into a turmoil, and people from several villages would have been dragged into a treason case."

At this point, Emperor Zhu pulled out two more confessions from the table and handed them to Empress Ma: "Sister, take a look at these two confessions."

"Magistrate of Jiangning County, Prefect of Yingtian County."

"Even they got caught up in it."

“The magistrate of Jiangning County was a follower of the White Lotus sect, while the prefect of Yingtian was a follower of Manichaeism.”

"The key is that they can also get involved together, colluding with those officials and gentry, and advocating for those officials and gentry in Jiangnan who are preparing to 'purge the emperor's inner circle'."

"I'm fucking impressed!"

Empress Ma hummed in agreement, then patted Emperor Zhu's large hand and said, "You don't need to take on all these things yourself. When you're tired, let's take a good rest and catch our breath."

"Mr. Shanchang and Mr. Qingtian are in the imperial court."

"Tiande and Boren are in the Grand General's Mansion."

"In addition, people from Ningyang and Fengyang have been rising in officialdom in recent years, so you will have more and more reliable people at your disposal in the future."

"Let's take things slowly."

At this point, Empress Ma chuckled again and said, "As long as we remain calm, those officials and gentry with ulterior motives will not be able to sit still."

"Otherwise, they wouldn't have shouted the slogan 'Purge the court of corrupt officials.'"

"Unfortunately, the more anxious they are, the more likely they are to make mistakes."

"Therefore, the closer we get to this point, the more you, as the emperor, need to remain calm and composed."

……

Just as Empress Ma was comforting Emperor Zhu in the palace, Zhu Biao caught up with Yang Shaofeng, who had fled the palace ahead of time.

"That scared me to death."

"If my little brother hadn't run fast, I'm afraid my father would have given him a good beating again."

Zhu Biao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, then glanced at Yang Shaofeng and said sarcastically, "But if we're talking about who can start faster, then it has to be you, brother-in-law."

Yang Shaofeng snorted and immediately changed the subject, saying, "Your Highness, your father-in-law's birthday is in two days. Have you decided what gift to give him?"

Zhu Biao's train of thought was diverted, and he immediately looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "Brother-in-law, have you thought it through?"

Yang Shaofeng smiled smugly and said, "I plan to send my father-in-law a birthday cake—it's a genuine specialty of Ningyang County, and you won't find another one like it in the entire Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Biao looked at Yang Shaofeng with curiosity and asked, "Cake? Is it a pastry made with eggs?"

Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "A cake is a pastry made by baking eggs, flour, sugar, and milk together. It is sweet, soft, and glutinous. When decorated with longevity peaches, it is beautiful, delicious, and has a good meaning."

Giving gifts to Old Deng is a very important skill.

If Liu Luoguo were to send Chen Hongli a "bucket of ginger," that might make Chen Hongli laugh, but the old man would definitely not look down on such nonsense as a "bucket of ginger."

The same principle applies to giving other inkstones and jade; these miscellaneous items are of no use to Lao Deng.

The only thing that could attract Lao Deng, the Imperial Seal of the State, is now buried somewhere unknown.

So, it would be better to take advantage of Old Deng's birthday and just make the birthday cake.

Cream is easy to obtain; the capital city has no shortage of milk, eggs, or sugar.

Baking is even easier; the cooks in the Prince Consort's mansion can handle it.

Then we'll say that the flour in the cake was made from a single grain of wheat from each of the thousands of households in Ningyang County.

Anyway, flour is sold on the streets of Nanjing.

Perhaps we can also find some fresh fruit on the streets of Nanjing, and then say it's canned fruit from Dengzhou Prefecture.

The cake base should be made softer, which saves flour and makes it more delicious.

You can add more sugar, just say it's white sugar, a specialty of Dengzhou.

After all, Old Deng had a tough childhood and never had any real good food. A cake should be enough to appease him.

If handled properly, this cake will quickly become a sensation in the capital, and then spread throughout the Jiangnan region.

Therefore, we need to send people back to Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture in advance to teach the people of Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture how to make cakes, and then have them send a few people to the capital to open a few pastry shops.

Thinking of this, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but nod again.

It has to be me, the official, who found a way to make money in just a short time.

Zhu Biao glanced at Yang Shaofeng, who was beaming with pride, and asked, "So, brother-in-law, are you planning to create another local specialty product for Ningyang County?"

Yang Shaofeng chuckled twice and said, "After all, it's a token of the people's goodwill from Ningyang County, and it's also a new idea that Ningyang has created for the first time. If it doesn't have the reputation of being a local specialty, wouldn't it be a disservice to the people of Ningyang?"

So, you're plotting against my father, aren't you?

Zhu Biao was inwardly complaining when an official from the Court of State Ceremonies approached him. After bowing to Zhu Biao, the official bowed to Yang Shaofeng and said, "Your Highness, a group of barbarians have recently arrived at the Huitong Hall. They say they are from the Timurid Khanate in the Western Regions."

Yang Shaofeng was stunned for a moment.

Timur Khanate?

It was the Timurid Khanate that had once detained Ming Dynasty envoys. The leader was Timur, a famous lame man in the martial arts world. It is said that in his Khan's tent, the Ming Dynasty envoys accused him of not paying tribute for a long time and demanded tribute from him in front of a group of European envoys. Later, he was preparing to conquer the Ming Dynasty in the east but died on the way. After that, his successor officially became a vassal of the Ming Dynasty and paid tribute to the Timurid Khanate.

If it's the Timurid Khanate, then there's going to be some fun to watch.

After the fourth prince went to Nanjing to find his nephew, a famous scene of an uncle beating his nephew also occurred in the Timurid Khanate. The fourth prince even sent an envoy to advise him, saying that "fratricide is not good for the country and the people." However, he was retorted that "Your Majesty has taken the throne from your nephew, so what right do you have to criticize him?"

Tsk tsk.

It's unclear what state Timur has reached now, and whether he's come to the Ming Dynasty to submit or to cause trouble.

While pondering this haphazardly, Yang Shaofeng said to the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial, "Have them settled in first, and I will go to see them when I have time."