My uncle is Zhu Di

Chapter 49 I am wronged!
Zhu Gaosui and Zhu Gaochi didn't know what was going on. When they arrived at the Qianqing Palace at the same time, Zhu Gaosui immediately stopped Zhu Gaochi.

"Brother, do you know what happened? The person who came to inform us said that Dad was furious. What happened?"

"Dad is furious? I don't know. I was called here by someone. I still have a lot of things to deal with!" Zhu Gaochi was also surprised when he heard the news.

When Zhu Gaosui heard what Zhu Gaochi said, he frowned, touched the back of his head, and said puzzledly: "I've been thinking all the way, I haven't done anything out of the ordinary recently!"

"Oh, you'll know when you go in. I don't have that much time to think about these problems. If I make a mistake, I'll be scolded. What's there to think about!" Zhu Gaochi went in with a smile.

When they arrived at the imperial study, Zhu Di was sitting there with a gloomy face, and the two brothers knelt down immediately!
Zhu Di sat there, looking at the two of them, and was so angry that he didn't want to talk.

The two men knelt there, not daring to breathe heavily.

After a while, Zhu Di finally asked, "Third Brother, has Sakyabao made any moves recently?"

"Shakabao?" Zhu Gaosui looked at Zhu Di in confusion, then thought of the news this morning. He suddenly had an idea and immediately bowed to Zhu Di and said, "I heard that many cloth merchants went to Shakabao's mansion this morning. It seems that they wanted to sell some machines. That's all. There seems to be nothing else!"

"What? Third brother, what did you say?" Zhu Gaochi looked at Zhu Gaosui in shock when he heard the news.

"Brother, what's wrong with you? My uncle's family sells machines, what's the big deal?" Zhu Gaosui looked at Zhu Gaochi in confusion.

Zhu Gaochi bowed to Zhu Di and said, "Dad, is the news true?"

Zhu Di nodded!

"Then, then, then why was there no news before?" Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but ask.

"Ask him, ask him why he has no information at all. He doesn't even know how Sakyabao was sold. He didn't even come to report this news!" Zhu Di suddenly got angry and shouted, pointing at Zhu Gaosui.

Zhu Gaosui was so frightened that his head dropped to the ground. He had no idea what was going on. He thought to himself, how big a deal was this?
His family used to sell cloth, and now they sell machines. Is there anything wrong with that? Didn't you write an imperial edict to Shakyabao, asking him to do business?

Why are you still angry at me now?

"Well, Dad, do you know how much it sold for?" Zhu Gaochi asked again.

"Two thousand each!" Zhu Di said unhappily.

"Ah, all of this has been sold? Half a month?" Zhu Gaochi was very surprised. He was not aware of this news.

"Hey, you two go kneel outside. Officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works will be here soon. I don't want to see you now!" Zhu Di waved his hands at the two of them. He was getting angry when he saw them.

Zhu Gaochi felt very wronged. He had reminded Zhu Di before. Now that something had gone wrong, he was still blaming himself?
But what can I do? He is the father, the emperor. If he asks me to kneel outside, how dare I not go?
This is even more true for Zhu Gaosui. What is this? It's so incomprehensible!
Soon, the Minister of Revenue Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Works Wu Zhong, and several people from the cabinet all arrived at the Imperial Study.

Zhu Di said that Xu Qin had sold so many machines now, and once those machines started production, many weavers in Nanjing City would have no way to make a living, because the new machines were highly efficient and would not require so many weavers.

Those ministers knew some of these things before. It was previously rumored that the Weaving Bureau was going to take over the Xu family's workshop and send Xu Qin to the Weaving Bureau. Many ministers opposed this and mentioned this matter.

"Your Majesty, why don't you order Xu Qin to stop producing so many machines?" Xia Yuanji looked at Zhu Di in confusion.

Even though Zhu Di had issued an imperial decree before, allowing Xu Qin to do business, the Xu family's profits were already huge enough and there was no need to produce so much.

"Well, he originally wanted to sell them to me before. One loom was six hundred taels, and another was eight hundred taels. I thought they were too expensive, but I didn't expect that Xu Qin actually sold them to those merchants. Once those machines start production, I'm afraid the lives of those weavers will immediately be in trouble!" Zhu Di sat there, talking about this matter. Of course, he didn't say the details.

"What should we do?" Xia Yuanji said anxiously.

Zhu Di did not look at Xia Yuanji, but looked at Wu Zhong and asked, "Can the Ministry of Industry copy these machines?"

"Well, if we have a prototype, it shouldn't be a big problem. It's just a matter of time!" Wu Zhong responded with a bow!

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely not possible. This is absolutely not possible. The Ministry of Works cannot imitate it, and even the public is not allowed to imitate it. Your Majesty, if a large number of machines appear, what will the weavers do? We cannot continue to produce these machines until we think of solving the livelihood problems of those weavers!" Xia Yuanji anxiously bowed to Zhu Di and made a suggestion.

"I know. I just asked the Ministry of Works whether it can be imitated. If it can be imitated, and the livelihood problem of the weavers is solved, then the Ministry of Works will imitate it. I will not buy it from Sakya Bao. The machines sold by this guy are too expensive!" Zhu Di sat there and said very unwillingly.

"Your Majesty, this, this, I'm afraid it's not appropriate?" Xia Yuanji heard this and thought that this would not work. It would be a mess. When everyone imitated it, and others also imitated it, it would be troublesome. "Your Majesty, if you think like this, our Ministry of Industry will not imitate it! If our Ministry of Industry imitates it, and the people know about it, it is estimated that many things in our court will also be imitated by the people, including our porcelain, our gold and silver wares, and our various textiles. Your Majesty, this is not possible. Our court cannot set this precedent. Once this precedent is set, there will be endless troubles!" Wu Zhong also immediately bowed to Zhu Di and said that this must not be done!
"Then let the Xu family earn the money?" Zhu Di said to Wu Zhong angrily.

Wu Zhong immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this thing was first made by the Xu family, so the money should belong to the Xu family. If Your Majesty does not want to spend so much money, you can let the Xu family make it cheaper instead of us copying it. If it is something from an enemy country, we can copy it, but this matter involves all aspects of our Ming Dynasty. Once this precedent is set, it will be difficult to ban it!"

"Your Majesty, I agree!" At this time, Xie Jin from the cabinet also stood up and bowed.

Then several other cabinet members stood up and bowed, saying that they agreed that the court could not imitate it.

"Well, okay, okay, let's not talk about this for now. The Ministry of Revenue must think about solving the livelihood problems of those weavers. Otherwise, who knows how many people in Nanjing City will have difficulty surviving this winter!" Zhu Di sat there, waving his hands and speaking impatiently.

There is no point in saying anything else now, it is a matter of the weavers’ livelihood!
Zhu Di hated this kid Xu Qin to death. Although he asked him to sell the machines, he didn't expect that the machines would be so easy to sell.

"We will find a way to solve this problem, but it is only a temporary solution. We still need to let those weavers find a way to make a living!" Xia Yuanji stood there, looking at Zhu Di in embarrassment.

"Well, you guys should come up with a plan as soon as possible in the next few days!" When Zhu Di heard what Xia Yuanji said, he knew that they had no good solution for the time being.

If we count the machines of the Xu family, there are now about 4,000 spinning machines and more than 3,000 looms, which can affect the livelihoods of nearly 100,000 people.

Seeing that they had nothing to say, Zhu Di could only wave at them, indicating that they could leave.

After the ministers left, Zhu Di sat in the imperial study, while Liu Yongcheng and other eunuchs were still waiting there.

Zhu Di thought about it and called Liu Yongcheng, who immediately came over and stood beside Zhu Di.

Zhu Di whispered to Liu Yongcheng: "Send someone to Kunning Palace and tell the queen that the eldest and third brothers have been severely punished by me. They will probably have to kneel until dark!"

"Yes!" Liu Yongcheng understood what was going on immediately after hearing it. He guessed that he wanted to ask the Queen for advice!

Back in the harem, Empress Xu was counting the accounts. She knew that the previous dynasty needed money, and wanted to see if the harem could save some silver and give it to the previous dynasty.

When Empress Xu learned that Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui were kneeling outside the Qianqing Palace, she was stunned for a moment and asked casually, "What happened?"

"I don't know, but I heard that His Majesty was furious and wanted to make them kneel until dark!" the eunuch said to Empress Xu.

"Eh!" Empress Xu sighed, put down the account book, and walked towards the Qianqing Palace with her eunuchs and palace maids.

When they arrived at the Qianqing Palace, they saw Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui kneeling there.

Just now, Zhu Gaosui complained to Zhu Gaochi, saying that the boss had betrayed him and he didn't know so many things. If he knew, he would definitely keep an eye on him. How could he let such a thing happen!

Zhu Gaochi felt even more wronged. Who had he offended? He had advised the old man, but the old man didn't listen!

When they saw Empress Xu coming, they kowtowed and shouted, "Greetings, Mother!"

"What have you done to make your father angry?" Queen Xu stood there, looking at them and asked helplessly.

"I'm innocent!" they both shouted in unison.

When Empress Xu heard the Crown Prince say that it was injustice, she was stunned for a moment. She basically ignored Zhu Gaosui's accusation of injustice. She knew the character of her sons best, but since the eldest son said it was injustice, then it was really injustice.

"Boss, tell me!" Empress Xu stood there and spoke to Zhu Gaochi.

Zhu Gaochi also told Empress Xu the whole story about Xu Qin talking about selling the machine. He also said that he had advised his father and was worried about what would happen if it was sold, but his father did not listen. Now that there was a problem, he was punished to kneel here, as the East Palace still had a large number of memorials to be processed!

When Empress Xu heard that the Xu family was involved, her brows furrowed. She was worried, but she was still a little happy inside, after all, her nephew was so capable.

You, Zhu Di, don't believe that your nephew's machine can be sold at such a high price. Now, your nephew will prove it to you. Empress Xu couldn't help but think in her heart that Sakya Bao is worthy of being a descendant of the Xu family, he is so tough!

(End of this chapter)