Chapter 42 You old bastard, look at you now!

Sunlight poured down onto the stone pathways of the imperial palace, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow.

Old Zhu strode purposefully, his figure quickly darting through the corridors, the hems of his imperial robes rustling loudly with his every movement.

At this moment, his mind was completely filled with anticipation for Zhu Gaozhi, as the boy’s quirky and mischievous image continuously surfaced in his thoughts: his chubby little face, his bright eyes always flashing with sly cleverness, and his milk-toothed yet remarkably coherent way of speaking. Thinking of all this, the corners of Old Zhu’s mouth curled upward involuntarily.

Before long, Old Zhu arrived outside the hall. Even before stepping inside, a piercing scream pierced straight into his ears.

"Ah, ah, ah..."

"I was wrong, I was wrong! Grand Empress, have mercy!"

Zhu Gaozhi let out a shrill shriek.

Old Zhu happened to reach the doorway, a playful smile hanging on his face. Lifting his foot to step into the room, he said, "Well, playing around, are we? That posture doesn't look very graceful!"

Inside the room, Zhu Gaozhi was sprawled across the bed in a rather disheveled posture, while Empress Ma stood nearby, her raised hand not yet fully lowered.

Seeing Old Zhu enter, Empress Ma halted her movements, shot him a reproachful glare, and chided, "It's all because you spoil him so much. Such a well-behaved child, and now he goes around saying 'old geezer' at every turn..."

The smile on Old Zhu’s face froze instantly, as if he had been petrified. The next second, his face flushed bright red, filled with sudden irritation. He quickly reached down, pulled off his boot, and lashed out toward Zhu Gaozhi, shouting angrily, "You damn little rascal, I'll thrash the life out of you!"

"Help! Murder!" Zhu Gaozhi screamed at the top of his lungs, struggling frantically with all four limbs. "I have bled for the Ming! I have rendered meritorious service for the Ming! You old geezer are persecuting a loyal subject..."

The motion of Old Zhu’s arm paused momentarily, and he had even intended to stop, but upon hearing those words, his fury flared up anew, and he put even more force into his blows.

Fortunately, Empress Ma took pity on her grandson and barked an order to stop him.

"That's enough, that's enough! All you know how to do is hit!"

As the sole scabbard capable of reining in the Emperor's Sword, Zhu Chongba could never hold his head high in front of Empress Ma.

Glaring fiercely at Zhu Gaozhi, Old Zhu finally scolded, "You little brat, let's see if you ever dare to sit on the dragon chariot again!"

"In just this short while, I've received a mountain of memorial impeachments, all accusing you of overstepping ritual laws and disregarding the boundaries of superior and inferior..."

"Heh," Zhu Gaozhi sneered. "Then I suppose I must thank you, you old... Grandfather!"

Before he could finish, as if suddenly realizing something, he hurriedly corrected himself. Had he been even a second later, today's beating probably would have grown much heavier.

"Ahem, Zhier, about that road construction you mentioned earlier..." Old Zhu swept away his prior anger, his face instantly plastered with smiles as he gazed eagerly at Zhu Gaozhi.

Seeing this, even Empress Ma felt quite astonished.

The dignified Emperor of the Great Ming was actually asking a five- or six-year-old toddler for advice!

Was this reasonable?

Zhu Gaozhi gave Old Zhu a disdainful sideways glance, curled his little mouth, and simply refused to entertain him. In a huff, he snapped, "I don't know. Don't ask."

Yet, in Old Zhu's eyes, this very attitude only reinforced his conviction that this little rascal was definitely holding back a brilliant idea.

Straightening his back, Old Zhu put on a generous and magnanimous expression and offered, "As long as you come up with a good strategy, I'll give you five thousand taels right away!"

Hearing this, Empress Ma could not help gently shaking her head, her face full of a wry, helpless expression.

What kind of emperor buys ideas by paying out of his own pocket?

"I don't know." Zhu Gaozhi did not even lift his eyelids, simply closing his eyes and adopting a posture of total unwillingness to communicate.

At this sight, the frustration that was already simmering in Old Zhu's heart was instantly ignited, sending a surge of anger straight to his head. He snatched up his boot and—*smack*—landed a strike right on Zhu Gaozhi’s bottom, eliciting a sharp, piercing wail from the boy.

"You little brat, are you refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit?" Old Zhu was so furious his mustache twitched. "If you don't speak up right now, I'll thrash you to death today!"

"I just won't say it!" Zhu Gaozhi stiffened his neck, his little face flushed red as he shouted defiantly, "You old geezer, I try to offer you strategies and you resort to beating people—who would ever dare speak up then?"

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang knew he was in the wrong, so he could only chuckle ingratiatingly. "Aiya, Zhier, didn't you sit on the dragon chariot? I did it to protect you, too; otherwise, if those civil officials and Confucian scholars kicked up a fuss, who knows what kind of mess it would turn into!"

Empress Ma chimed in as well, "Zhier, your Grandfather is indeed right about this. If he hadn't given you a beating, the court and the common folk would surely be in an uproar. Your Grandfather is only looking out for you!"

Zhu Gaozhi let out a disdainful scoff, squirmed his sore backside, and turned his head away in a huff, refusing to look at Old Zhu at all.

Of course he understood the reasoning, but Old Zhu's act of "killing the donkey the moment it leaves the millstone" left him holding a head of steam, feeling thoroughly disgruntled.

Hmph, old geezer, your day has come too!

Watching Zhu Gaozhi's posture, Old Zhu smiled bitterly and shook his head helplessly, casting a pleading look toward Empress Ma.

Having been husband and wife for many years, Empress Ma understood his intent instantly. She reached out to stroke Zhu Gaozhi's head gently, her voice soft as she coaxed, "Zhier, do you perhaps have a good method? Those lands of Yunnan and Guizhou concern the grand affairs of state. Even if you aren't doing it for your Grandfather, you must do it for the sake of the Great Ming, right? Your Grand Empress will back you up—how about we price this idea at ten thousand taels?"

Hearing the price suddenly double, Zhu Gaozhi's eyes lit up and he snapped his head back. However, after letting his pupils dart around craftily, he sneered again and said, "This old geezer still owes me another ten thousand taels!"

Upon hearing this, Empress Ma arched her delicate brows in anger. She shot a reproachful glare at Old Zhu and complained, "You even owe money to a child? I truly don't know what to say about you!"

Zhu Yuanzhang felt his old face flush as red as a boiled shrimp. He widened his eyes and roared at the top of his lungs, "You little rascal, did I say I wouldn't give it to you? I was simply too busy with state affairs and forgot..."

"Then pay up right now!" Zhu Gaozhi extended his chubby little hand, looking utterly resolute and determined to claw the money back.

Old Zhu wore a look of utter dilemma, as if being roasted over a fire, and could only look pitifully at Empress Ma for rescue.

Seeing this scene, Ma Xiuying could not help laughing as she said, "Fine, with me backing you up, this silver will not be short a single coin."

Having secured Empress Ma's promise, Zhu Gaozhi finally relented.

"Building roads actually isn't that troublesome..."

"Still not troublesome?" Old Zhu frowned. "At every turn, it consumes countless amounts of manpower, material resources, and financial wealth!"

"Those lands of Yunnan and Guizhou are already plagued by miasma and infested with hundreds of thousands of troops. Even if the imperial court has the heart to build roads, road construction requires corvée laborers and able-bodied men, doesn't it? Furthermore, it requires funds and grain!"

"Given the current condition of the Great Ming, this is simply impossible to achieve. Just building a single road would probably take several decades, and the manpower and resources invested would be an astronomical figure!"

Zhu Gaozhi immediately retorted: "The cost of road construction is indeed great, but once these roads are built, they represent a benevolent governance and virtuous deed that benefits the common people of the world, as well as a state policy that strengthens the country and helps the populace. In the words of the Confucian sages, this is known as 'establishing destiny for the living masses'!"

Establishing destiny for the living masses!

Old Zhu and Empress Ma exchanged blank stares.

Hearing these words spoken by a half-grown toddler felt indescribably bizarre.

"Let's take a simple example. After the founding of the Great Ming, Grandfather ordered frontline troops everywhere to fully repair local roads. Once the realm was unified, maintaining and repairing post roads became a supreme national policy of the Great Ming, and it even became a hard benchmark indicator in local official evaluations."

Zhu Gaozhi shifted his position and continued in a serious tone: "Precisely because Grandfather attached such great importance to roads, the results achieved have been gratifying. After our Ming post road network system was established, every prefecture and county across the country set up a courier station every thirty or forty kilometers, equipped with horses, donkeys, and other transport tools. In addition, there are water courier stations providing vehicles and boats... A transportation network extending in all directions has formed nationwide, with a total length exceeding seventy thousand kilometers."

"This unprecedentedly powerful post road transportation system has become the throbbing blood vessel of our Great Ming's development, acting just like the blood vessels that circulate blood through the human body, endlessly transporting immigrants, workers, materials, commodities... and even seeds and rice to every corner of the realm, making everything far more convenient and rapid!"

"Yet our Great Ming was established upon ruins. The chaos at the end of the Yuan dynasty saw rival heroes contending for the Central Plains, shattering the entire fabric of the state. The Great Ming was built upon those very ruins! And yet, merely fifteen years have passed, and the Great Ming has already presented the spectacle of a golden age. This post-road system has made indelible and immense contributions!"

Hearing his grandson praise him—a rare occurrence indeed—Zhu Yuanzhang could not help breaking into a smile.

This little rascal is actually quite lovable after all!