amaotonovel Chapter 727 The Princess of the Ming Dynasty (10)
Chapter 727 The Princess of the Ming Dynasty (10)
Knowing Wangyou well, he knew that Wangyou was often much more tolerant of women than men. Fortunately, he was still a child, otherwise he would have been very difficult to approach.
"It's delicious, thank you!" Wangyou didn't mind and took a piece to eat.
Qinglan sighed helplessly, "Your Highness, your medical skills are superb, but you can't be so careless about details!"
Wangyou quite liked the child in front of her. With that look, he would definitely be very handsome in the future. She just didn't know who would end up with him.
Of course, Wangyou wasn't really feeding fish all the time; she was always keeping up with the latest news and had a good understanding of the current court situation.
Wangyou could only say that it was fortunate that the old man was preparing to abdicate, otherwise most people in the court would probably be in danger of losing their lives. Zhu Biao is now handling things more and more skillfully, and if nothing unexpected happens in the future, he should be a qualified emperor.
Zhu Di is now thinking about going overseas to carve out a territory for himself and experience being an emperor. To be honest, Wangyou supports his idea, but since the information was obtained by her people, it's not appropriate to just go up and ask.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang recognized the problem of the vassal kings in advance, the power of the Ming Dynasty is still very centralized. The vassal kings only have the income and tax revenue from their fiefdoms, and military power is completely outside their control.
It was fortunate that Zhu Yuanzhang took a tour of Wangyou's fiefdom, but it was impossible for him to take back Qingzhou from Wangyou unless he wanted to break off relations, but the truth was that he couldn't beat him.
Because Qingzhou now has nearly a million soldiers, and every soldier is equipped with elite cold weapons. Not to mention, she also has an artillery regiment, an elite force that doesn't use cold weapons but the latest firearms, which can wipe out large areas with a single sweep.
Zhu Yuanzhang had experienced it himself, so he knew the power of that weapon. Although he was very unhappy, he could not act rashly.
Moreover, during his trip to Qingzhou, Zhu Yuanzhang's ideas changed a lot. He used to think that women only needed to stay at home to be good wives and mothers and manage the household. But he saw another possibility in Wangyou, but he was unwilling to think about it deeply.
As she pondered, her thoughts drifted. There were still too few teachers at Qingzhou Academy. While it was easy to find teachers of the Four Books and Five Classics, it was difficult to find teachers of mathematics, physics, and chemistry. She had to take it one step at a time.
Leaving aside other places, all school-age children in Qingzhou, regardless of gender, are attending school, although classes are held separately. After all, the Ming Dynasty has not completely changed yet, and we still need to be more careful about what needs to be done.
"Hey little Qilin, why don't you come back to Qingzhou with me?" Wangyou suddenly had a whimsical idea as she looked at Tang Qilin.
"Okay, okay, I'll go tell my brother right away." Tang Qilin's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he quickly ran out of the pavilion, as if afraid that Wangyou would change her mind at any moment.
Tang Ding never expected that simply sending his only son out to a banquet would result in the child being abducted upon his return.
Tang Qilin, as the only son of the Duke of Ding and the undisputed heir of the Duke of Xin, was abducted so young and beautiful, and it was even his own only son who was eager to take him away. How could one word describe his sorrow?
Another week passed, and it was time for the transition between the old and new dynasties in the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang issued an imperial edict to abdicate, and Zhu Biao succeeded him. It was a grand enthronement ceremony, but the number of rituals was excessive and tiring to watch.
After attending all of this, Wangyou prepared to return to Qingzhou the next day. Staying in the capital, she received all sorts of invitations every day, which she found quite annoying even though she didn't go to them.
As for the old man, he simply followed Wangyou and left.
Upon arriving in Qingzhou, Zhu Yuanzhang officially began his leisurely retirement life.
Today I go fishing with my neighbor, tomorrow I go fishing with my friends, or I go to the square to exercise. Every day is fulfilling.
Although he couldn't help but worry about it at first, he stopped worrying after a while because he couldn't get involved in the affairs of Qingzhou, and the capital was too far away, so he might as well take care of himself.
Children and grandchildren have their own blessings; if he has no children and grandchildren, he will enjoy his own happiness.
When Tang Qilin was seven years old, he still couldn't leave the capital smoothly. He could only write letters with tears in his eyes, one a day, more punctual than the early-rising sparrows in the book.
Although Wangyou finds it a bit troublesome, she will read the letter carefully, and whether she replies depends on her mood.
In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed.
At the age of seventeen, Tang Qilin passed the imperial examination and became a third-ranked scholar. He immediately rushed to Qingzhou.
"Sister, I passed the imperial examination and became a third-ranked scholar!" The handsome young man stood in front of Wangyou and said with great seriousness.
"Congratulations!"
"Sister, can I marry you now? I'm all grown up." Tang Qilin asked impatiently. He had asked this countless times over the years, but the result always seemed to be the same.
"Okay, but I won't marry you if the dowry isn't enough."
"Sister, you didn't agree... What, sister, you agreed!" Tang Qilin was about to ask again next time, but she didn't expect her to agree so easily.
"Then how about I change my mind?" Wangyou smiled, wanting to tease him.
"No, I can't go back on my word! I'll go get the betrothal gifts right now!" Tang Qilin excitedly mounted his horse and rode off again.
Zhu Yuanzhang never expected that his daughter would be getting married, and to the only son of the Tang family. If he remembered correctly, the boy was seven years younger than Wangyou, but it didn't seem to be a problem.
When Zhu Biao, who was handling state affairs in the palace, heard the news that Wangyou was getting married, his hand slipped, and a large red scratch appeared on the memorial.
"I'll go talk to the Empress. This dowry can't be reduced." Zhu Biao threw down his pen and headed to the inner palace.
Zhu Di, who was leading his men to conquer the world, was stunned for a long time. He never expected that his younger sister, who seemed to be so pure and abstinent that she was almost a nun, was going to get married. It turned out that she was not unwilling to marry, but was going to marry a younger man!
Zhu Di decided to temporarily halt expansion, return to the capital, attend the wedding, and at least give a monetary gift, while also seeing what kind of young man he was.
The happiest people were Zhu Ying and Zhu Ran. Zhu Ran had divorced her husband from the Ouyang family five years ago, and had been preoccupied with the girls' school for the past few years. She didn't want to remarry, but they were still very happy to see their younger sister getting married.
The changes in the Ming Dynasty over the years have been enormous. The imperial examinations are no longer limited to the eight-legged essay, but encompass astronomy, geography, and all sorts of subjects, with the main goal of achieving a comprehensive and well-rounded examination.
In addition, with military generals like Zhu Di and Lan Yu expanding the territory and engaging in plundering, the country's strength increased rather than decreased.
In the past, wars made people poorer; now, wars make people richer.
Moreover, during the campaign, they discovered a piece of land where black oil oozed out with a single shovelful, and promptly dispatched a large force to garrison it. These were all necessities for technological development.
Naturally, this incredibly rich land became part of the Ming Dynasty's territory.
As for the Jurchens and nomadic tribes surrounding the Ming Dynasty, they had long been terrified of being defeated. In reality, they were powerless against firearms when using cold weapons.