Chapter 10: The Grain Production in Western Zhejiang is Terrible
While Chen Biao was serving his mother and taking care of his younger brother, and packing things for his brother Ying who was about to go on his first military expedition, he heard that Marshal Zhu had another brain seizure .
Marshal Zhu's previous order to allow women to unbind their feet seemed to have been resisted by many people, and even his own subordinates were secretly disobeying it.
So he became furious and asked his own scholars to draw pictures of washing the feet of the women with bound feet in his family, and forced them to write poems to curse the ancient sages who praised women with bound feet?
How disgraceful!
Feet are so filthy and dirty that they simply sully the eyes of a group of moral role models! This is Zhu Yuanzhang humiliating the literati!
How can you draw a picture of your own woman's feet and show it to other men? This is Zhu Yuanzhang trying to force the women in his backyard to death!
It's disgraceful!
Moral corruption!
Zhu Yuanzhang is simply a ruffian among the ruffians. I don't want to associate with him. I don't want to associate with him!
After Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Yingtian, many scholars felt that Zhu Yuanzhang was a potential stock and were eager to join him.
Zhu Yuanzhang intended to establish a lineage with Zhu Xi's family, a fact the scholars all regarded as a joke, and the Zhu family didn't take Zhu Yuanzhang seriously. However, Zhu Yuanzhang's endorsement of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism led the scholars to believe that Zhu Yuanzhang was barely a worthless piece of wood.
Compared with other common people, Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude towards scholars was the best. Therefore, scholars also thought they could return the favor and chose to assist Zhu Yuanzhang first.
Zhu Yuanzhang's bold move not only angered the literati who were originally watching, but also angered his own civil officials and staff, who wrote letters of resignation in protest and threatened to resign.
You bastard! I don't even want to be associated with you!
Li Shanchang's head was about to explode with pain.
Military generals are responsible for marching and fighting, while scholars are responsible for logistics and governing the conquered territories.
Li Shanchang had finally managed to help Zhu Yuanzhang gain some fame among the literati, and even the "Four Masters of Eastern Zhejiang" showed some interest. But this bright prospect was completely ruined by Zhu Yuanzhang's sudden change of mind!
Now all the literati believed that Zhu Yuanzhang could not accomplish anything. Many famous people ran to the side of Xu Shouhui and Zhang Shicheng, and some were determined to become loyal ministers of the Yuan Dynasty.
The Yuan emperors after Kublai Khan all respected scholars and vigorously promoted Neo-Confucianism. Zhu Yuanzhang was not even worthy of carrying the shoes of a Yuan emperor.
He must never become emperor, otherwise rituals and music will surely collapse, people's hearts will become corrupt, and the people will suffer!
Zhu Yuanzhang did not try to retain the literati who resigned.
He dismissed everyone and sat alone in the meeting hall on a high tiger-skin chair that looked like the one used by bandit kings. He rested his elbows on his crossed legs and looked quietly at the empty hall.
When Zhu Yuanzhang dismissed everyone, there were a few exceptions who were allowed to disturb him.
For example, Li Shanchang, the first civil official under Zhu Yuanzhang.
Li Shanchang walked into the conference room and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's lonely expression. He had a lot of words stuck in his throat and couldn't say a word.
"Mr. Li, I did nothing wrong." Zhu Yuanzhang supported his chin with his hand and said before Li Shanchang could speak, "I did nothing wrong."
Li Shanchang looked up at the grassroots hero who had only studied sage books for a few years. He was silent for a while and said, "General, I'm going home to wash my mother's feet."
Zhu Yuanzhang put down his hand that was supporting his chin and his crossed legs, and looked at Li Shanchang quietly.
Li Shanchang said, "Actually, my daughter cried out in pain when she had her feet bound. I knew it, but I didn't pay attention."
Zhu Yuanzhang's expression was as confused as a child who had just started school: "How could you not care?"
Li Shanchang said, "Ever since the Southern Song Dynasty, it's been difficult for women who don't bind their feet to marry well. This has been the case for a hundred years. To me, a daughter's wailing is like a man being spanked while studying—it's necessary pain."
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Who decides whether something is necessary or not?"
Li Shanchang replied: "It was decided by the ancient sages."
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Foot binding only started in the late Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty. It didn't happen at the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, during the heyday of the Han and Tang Dynasties. And the Zhou Dynasty, the ritual music of the literati, didn't have foot binding either. Why could the sages of the Southern Song Dynasty do things that their predecessors hadn't done?"
Li Shanchang remained silent for a long moment, not answering Zhu Yuanzhang's question. Instead, he changed the subject: "General, I understand that you're banning foot binding and forcing women into labor outside the home. But your sudden, radical actions, even affecting the homes of literati and gentry who don't need to produce children, are definitely not sudden impulses. What happened to you? Or did someone tell you something?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent.
Li Shanchang said, "Even if you think what you're doing is right, please be clear about what you should be doing right now. Is it really okay to alienate yourself from the scholars because of a woman's feet, leaving no one available and delaying your grand ambition to conquer the Central Plains?"
Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent.
Li Shanchang raised his voice: "Marshal!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Let's put this matter aside for now. Let's move our camp to Yangzhou first. I want to lead the army myself."
Li Shanchang was helpless: "Now that half of the civil officials have left, who will take care of the logistics?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly: "Chen Guorui will do it."
Li Shanchang: "..."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Put together the things that no one has done and give them to me, and I will do them."
Now it was Li Shanchang's turn to remain silent.
After a while, he said, "Okay, I'll go and sort it out. Marshal, you...ah."
Li Shanchang knew that once his commander-in-chief got into such a stubborn temper, he would probably not be able to persuade him in a short period of time.
The only person who could persuade the Marshal to calm down his stubborn temper was Mrs. Ma, but Li Shanchang intuitively felt that Mrs. Ma would definitely stand on Zhu Yuanzhang's side in this matter.
There weren't many things going on right now, and his boss was full of energy. He felt he could handle it, so he let him handle it. When he couldn't handle it anymore, he would try to persuade him.
When Li Shanchang left, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Do you still let your daughter bind her feet?"
Li Shanchang said angrily, "What the hell! Let him go immediately! I've consulted a doctor. The eldest girl's foot is not good for recovery, but the second girl's foot can still be saved."
After saying this, Li Shanchang's eyes turned red. He wiped the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand, turned around and ran away angrily.
Zhu Yuanzhang stood there in a daze, his expression blank for a long time before he covered his face with one hand and laughed out loud, his laughter extremely relaxed.
…
"Biao'er! The Marshal is feeling so miserable!" Zhu Yuanzhang howled at Chen Biao.
Chen Biao, sitting cross-legged on a chair, covered his ears with his hands, looking hopeless.
He moved his butt around, turned around and faced Zhu Yuanzhang with his bald head.
After Zhu Yuanzhang finished howling, he picked up Chen Biao, who had his back to him, and turned him around, looking at him pitifully.
A rough middle-aged man in his thirties was holding his heart like Xi Shi, which almost made Chen Biao vomit out of disgust.
Chen Biao said weakly, "Dad, I know you mean well, but you really shouldn't have encouraged the Marshal. Can't these things be done after the Marshal becomes emperor? By then, the matter will be settled. Can those scholars still rebel against the Marshal just because of a foot-binding issue? Do you know anything about the Ruguan School?"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head vigorously.
Chen Biao said, "After I enter the Pass, there will be great scholars from Jiangnan who will debate for me."
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered, "Biao'er, are you saying that as long as the Marshal focuses on conquering the world, once he becomes emperor, those scholars will shamelessly come back and cheer for him?"
Chen Biao was choked by his father's overly blunt words: "Dad, don't say these things outside, or you will be scolded to death by the scholars."
Zhu Yuanzhang patted his chest and said, "Don't worry!"
Chen Biao complained in his heart. I don’t feel at ease at all!
He never expected that after he said some bad things about Zhu Yuanzhang to his father, his father would be so honest as to go directly to Zhu Yuanzhang to complain.
What he didn't expect was that Zhu Yuanzhang actually listened to him.
How come this Zhu Yuanzhang is completely different from the impression he had of him?
Could it be that Zhu Yuanzhang later humbly tried to please Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism because he suffered a great loss in this matter and wanted to regain the favor of the literati?
Chen Biao looked at his overly kind father and felt both bitter and warm in his heart.
He was distressed because such a father might bring disaster to his family. But Chen Biao also admired his father's naivety.
Chen Biao changed his mind and realized that as long as a fool like his father was not affected by the madness of the old Emperor Hongwu, the emperor actually trusted such people the most.
This is because it is difficult for people with this kind of personality to "collaborate between civil and military officials" or "have too much power."
After realizing this, the little bitterness left in Chen Biao's heart disappeared.
After Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Biao had a talk, he felt much better.
No matter how angry or anxious he was outside, he had to keep his composure, even in front of his wife.
Only in front of Chen Biao could Zhu Yuanzhang become a "silly dad" and pour out his inner fears and anxieties to his divine boy son.
He hugged his fat son and kissed him twice: "I will definitely help the Marshal conquer the world and let those Jiangnan scholars debate for him!"
Chen Biao wiped the saliva marks on his face from Zhu Yuanzhang's kiss and rolled his eyes: "All the civil officials have run away because of you, the commander-in-chief. Without a stable rear, what's the point of fighting for the world!"
Zhu Yuanzhang showed his signature simple smile: "Don't worry, Biao'er, Mr. Li will find a way to fill the shortage of manpower!"
Chen Biao: "...I feel a little sympathetic towards Mr. Li. Why don't you persuade the Marshal to train his own people?"
Although Zhu Yuanzhang's move was stupid, so stupid that Chen Biao couldn't bear to look at it, Chen Biao's impression of Zhu Yuanzhang improved a little. For the first time, he took the initiative to offer advice to the hated Marshal Zhu.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled bitterly: "How can it be so easy to cultivate a scholar?"
Chen Biao said, "You're not training scholars for the imperial examinations. Knowing to read, count, and understand principles is enough. There are only a few hundred commonly used characters. As for numbers, have the commander-in-chief promote the simple counting symbols commonly used by our Chen family in the army, and then translate the obscure classics into plain language. Teach them first in the army, and then select the best students from among them... Dad! Don't abandon me!"
Chen Biao's shout was completely hindsight. His father had already thrown him to the highest point of the parabola before he shouted.
Zhu Yuanzhang caught Chen Biao steadily, stood up, hugged his son, and spun around like a fool: "Hahahaha, my son actually took the initiative to help the Marshal! My son finally admits that the Marshal is good!"
Chen Biao was furious: "I admit nothing! I'm just afraid that you, my father, who gave the Marshal such bad advice, will be beheaded!"
Zhu Yuanzhang patted Chen Biao's little butt: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Biaoer admitted it, hahahaha."
Chen Biao waved his little fist and punched Zhu Yuanzhang in the face.
Zhu Yuanzhang enjoyed Chen Biao's small fist massage on his face: "Biao'er, this is a great idea. Can those textbooks you gave to Chen's guys be used directly?"
Chen Biao rubbed his hands breathlessly.
Dad was too thick-skinned and hit Chen Biao's poor and tender little fist hard.
"Well." Chen Biao said awkwardly, "I'll help you pick some and you can bring them to the Marshal. But Dad, it's not good for you to be too prominent."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "I understand, I understand. This is the way of a minister. I will find a way to dispel the Marshal's fear of me."
Chen Biao looked up to the sky and sighed. "Dad, you know nothing!"
Forget it, just take it one step at a time. At worst, after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, he will immediately transfer his assets overseas, and once Hu Weiyong gains power, he will persuade his father to resign and retire.
Chen Biao scratched his head. He could not remember many figures from the early Ming Dynasty. Hu Weiyong should be someone who was the leader of the civil officials in the early Ming Dynasty, but why had he never heard his father mention him?
Dad always talks about Li Shanchang, Mr. Li. Where is Hu Weiyong?
Liu Bowen is nowhere to be seen either. Didn't they say that Liu Bowen and Hu Weiyong would fight to the death in the early Ming Dynasty?
Chen Biao scratched his head again and again.
Zhu Yuanzhang held Chen Biao in his arms and scratched his head again and again.
"Son, why do you always scratch your head? You only have a small tuft of hair on your head. Do you think you can have fleas?"
Chen Biao hit Zhu Yuanzhang's nose with a straight punch, finally hurting him.
…
All the literati were waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang to surrender.
But Zhu Yuanzhang not only refused to surrender, he also moved his camp and personally led an expedition to Yangzhou.
The scholars were greatly disappointed and flocked to Zhang Shicheng and Xu Shouhui. Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation plummeted, and even a terrible rumor spread that Zhu Yuanzhang had killed the scholars and eaten them with wine.
Xu Shouhui was fighting fiercely with his subordinate Chen Youliang, who had already shown signs of rebellion, and had no time to pay attention to the literati; Zhang Shicheng laughed like a dog barking.
Zhang Shicheng was entrenched in western Zhejiang and had already surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty and was granted the title of Taiwei.
In recent years, droughts, locust plagues, and floods have plagued Yuan Dadu year after year, leading to widespread food shortages. Having lost its grain-producing areas in the south, Yuan Dadu was struggling financially. Starting in 1357, Zhang Shicheng sent 110,000 dan of grain to Yuan Dadu annually.
But this natural and man-made disaster affected not only the people in Yuan Dadu, but also the people in western Zhejiang, who also had to worship Zhang Shicheng.
The grain grown by the people in western Zhejiang, minus the consumption caused by natural disasters and man-made disasters, minus the exploitation by the gentry and powerful, minus the taxes and fees paid to Zhang Shicheng's troops, and minus the 110,000 shi of grain they transported to Yuan Dadu, is their food ration.
A simple arithmetic problem can tell you how ordinary people in western Zhejiang lived under Zhang Shicheng's rule.
This year was the 19th year of Zhizheng (1359), and a great famine struck the world again, with countless people starving to death.
However, as described by scholars, Zhang Shicheng's rule in western Zhejiang was followed by a period of peace and prosperity, with the people living and working in peace and contentment. The impoverished and homeless, oppressed by Zhu Yuanzhang's brutal forces who occupied eastern Zhejiang, flocked to Zhang Shicheng, leading to a rapid population growth. Western Zhejiang flourished, as if in a golden age.
Zhang Shicheng treated talented people with respect and treated them with courtesy. He gave away countless gold, silver, jewelry, luxury cars, fertile fields, beautiful houses, singing girls and dancing girls to talented scholars, and welcomed talented people with open arms.
Scholars praised Zhang Shicheng, saying he had the potential to be a wise leader. He believed that Zhang Shicheng would be the one to restore order in this troubled land.
After Chen Guorui followed Zhu Yuanzhang into battle, this street, which was listed as a military stronghold, became quiet again.
It was extremely hot today, so Chen Biao took his noisy younger brother Chen Chong, and his cousins Chen Wenzheng (Zhu Wenzheng) and Li Baoer (Zhu Wenzhong), who were both left behind, for a boat ride on the lake.
The large boat sat quietly in the middle of the lake. Chen Wenzheng took Chen Chong to the stern to fish. Li Baoer was reading quietly with a frown on her face when Chen Wenzheng yelled at her that it was too noisy and had driven the fish away.
Chen Biao sat on the side of the boat, paddling the lake water with his bare feet, and listened to Chen Di's report on the new poems and essays he had collected from literati and poets from all over the country.
The intelligence gathered may have been disguised, but when writers wrote poems and songs, they would only exaggerate and would not deliberately lie.
During the Song Dynasty, Liao, Jin, Western Xia and other countries had special people who collected poems and essays by Song Dynasty literati, and used them to analyze the Song Dynasty's national policies, struggles within the court, and conditions in various places.
Chen Biao was still a child and could not travel far, so he followed the example of his predecessors and collected poems and songs from scholars all over the country to verify the information he had gathered.
Chen Biao listened to those ballads of prosperity, his little feet lifting, sending up a trail of water. "Despite successive years of disasters, Zhang Shicheng still supplied 110,000 dan of grain to Yuan Dadu every year, ensuring that the people of western Zhejiang had enough food and clothing. Uncle Di, the land in eastern Zhejiang is no good; it produces far less grain than the land in western Zhejiang."
Nowadays, due to natural disasters and man-made disasters, one mu of fertile land in eastern Zhejiang can produce less .
Based on the per-acre yield in eastern Zhejiang, 110,000 dan of grain would require 10,000 acres of land, or 6,600 square kilometers, even if all of it was good farmland.
The territory occupied by Zhang Shicheng was only a little over 100,000 square kilometers. If you remove the mountains, rivers, tidal flats, and cities, how much fertile land would be left?
The grain yield per mu in western Zhejiang is really high.
Chen Di smiled and said, "Perhaps the ink dripping from the pen of a scholar is more effective in fertilizing the soil than the sweat of a farmer's hard work."
Chen Biao looked at the ripples in the lake, his cheeks puffed up.
He disliked Zhu Yuanzhang.
But the chaotic times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty were worse than ever...
While Chen Biao was "envying" the grain yield per mu in western Zhejiang, a group of literati in Wenzhou, eastern Zhejiang were also discussing this issue.
Unlike the mainstream group of literati who avoided Zhu Yuanzhang like the plague, this group of literati had already packed their luggage and were preparing to set off for Yingtian.
