Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 270: To keep the tillers well-fed and the weavers warm
The emperor had already heard a hint of the meaning, and so did Chu Kuan. One of them was a king, but he was very studious... or curious, always keeping his energy and awareness of the world; while the other one, because he often had to deal with the best talents in the world, coupled with his delicate and awkward identity, he was constantly working hard to enrich himself.
Therefore, Chu Kuan couldn't help but mutter to himself: "These people with spare money will buy the meat and eggs that they are reluctant to buy, so the prices of meat, eggs and poultry in the market may increase... and people who raise pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks will find that these are valuable, so they will naturally raise more..."
He rubbed his temples vigorously and continued, "If there are more of these things, the prices may fall, but it is also possible that they will make more money. Then for those who raise pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks, they may be able to buy white rice and flour that they couldn't afford before, all kinds of beautiful clothes, and even more expensive jewelry!"
The emperor immediately clapped his hands and praised: "Yes, that's the principle. Also, if people eat more meat and vegetables, they will eat less rice and flour as staple foods. As long as more and more people have enough money, then even if the production of rice and wheat flour decreases, it can still feed the people of the world!"
Zhang Shou smiled and nodded, "Your Majesty and Eunuch Chu are indeed far-sighted. However, this is only an ideal situation. The increase in production of a single thing may not necessarily drive all aspects of life, such as food, clothing, housing and transportation. It may even make the price of cotton cloth and even clothes as cheap as grass because the market is flooded with finished products. But at least, this path is not wrong."
"I once said in the Imperial College that modern people are better than ancient people. Why? Today's agricultural tools are better than those of the Qin and Han dynasties, the Tang and Song dynasties, and of course, better than the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the prosperous era of Yao and Shun, and the Western Zhou Dynasty, which was remembered by countless scholars and was full of Zhou rituals.
With good farm tools, the yield of the fields will naturally be much better than before. So, just like improving spinning and looms, if we continue to improve farming tools, improve farming techniques, and cultivate high-quality and high-yield seeds, won’t the yield per acre be higher? "
The emperor's last trace of carelessness disappeared, replaced by an incomparable solemnity. He still remembered the records when he read the Records of Taizu. Taizu did many things, many of which many people at that time could not understand, but many of which were widely praised, including farming by himself, and even in the north city of the former Outer Imperial City, there were many rice fields.
Some people now think that Emperor Taizu wanted to show his emphasis on agriculture, but he learned from the stories passed down by word of mouth in the Imperial Household Department that Emperor Taizu wanted to cultivate high-quality rice varieties. However, since there were many things to be done after the founding of the country, Emperor Taizu later devoted himself to cultivating Emperor Taizong, and finally sailed to sea to avoid the struggle for succession and suspicion between father and son, but the rice fields failed to cultivate high-quality varieties, and eventually they were lost in history.
He nodded gently and said approvingly: "You are worthy of being the one who worked tirelessly in the fields at such a young age to persuade the villagers to switch to growing rice and raising tussah silkworms. You have such a profound understanding of these things where men farm and women weave."
"I just feel that the lives of the villagers are too hard."
Zhang Shou spoke with all his heart when he said this: "I have seen villagers mix a lot of wild vegetables into flour during the spring planting season when there was a shortage of food. They were reluctant to add oil and salt, and then baked them into burnt, dry and bitter wild vegetable cakes to fill their stomachs. I have also seen young children struggling in bed with a fever because they had no money to see a doctor, and their parents could only pray to God for blessings."
"I have seen farmers who work hard and only eat two meals a day, sweating under the soil but not daring to rest for a moment. I have seen children who raise chickens and ducks drooling over the eggs laid by the chickens and ducks, but they would be beaten to death by their parents if they stole one, just because the eggs have to be sold for money. Although my family, or the Duke of Zhao's mansion, collects very low rent, and my mother has helped them, it is still not enough to quench the thirst of the people."
"So, I heard that the capital city needs a lot of grain to be transported north every year through the canal and sea, and that rice is expensive and flour is cheap, so I tried to get the villagers to convert wheat fields into rice fields, and bought silkworm seeds to raise tussah silkworms on a large scale, and encouraged women to weave silk. So, when Zhu Gongquan, who followed Yingying to the village, spread words in the fields to despise the farmers, I thought of those poems."
"In spring, plant a grain of millet, and in autumn, harvest ten thousand grains. Even though there is no idle land in the world, farmers still starve to death."
"I went to the city yesterday, and when I came back my handkerchief was soaked with tears. Those who are dressed in silk and satin are not silkworm breeders."
"To keep farmers full and weavers warm is what an official should do. I am a commoner who has never passed the imperial examination , but I have been favored by the emperor to serve as a doctor of the Imperial College. I only hope that in addition to educating a group of talents, I can do something for farmers and weavers within my ability. In addition, I also want to collect cotton seeds and other kinds of overseas seeds from all over the world."
Zhang Shou paused, and said word by word: "You should know that the cotton used for textiles today was not originally produced in the Central Plains, but came from the west. And the watermelons and grapes we eat today are also not produced in the Central Plains. I think that outside the territory of my Ming Dynasty, these seeds that can keep people warm and full are more valuable than spices, gemstones, jade and other goods."
"Good, very good, very good! Zhang Qing, I was right about you!"
The emperor was not stingy in expressing his admiration for Zhang Shou, using the word "good" three times in a row. Chu Kuan, who was standing by, seemed to have just woken up from a dream, and when he looked at Zhang Shou again, his eyes were also filled with disbelief.
As for Zhang Chen's attempt to trick the second prince, if it happened to anyone else, he would have been badly wounded if not dead. However, not only did Zhang Shou easily jump over this chasm, he even won the emperor's admiration with such a reasoning!
Although he could not be said to be relieved, the emperor had completely forgotten about the fact that the second prince was tricked by Zhang Chen. He waved to Zhang Shou to come forward, asked Zhang Shou a few more questions, and after listening to Zhang Shou's arrangement for Zhang Chen, he gradually relaxed.
"If those guys who are holding back their energy to fight Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu knew that you set such a trap for them, I wonder how frustrated they would be?"
Zhang Shou smiled and said calmly, "If you are kind and generous, your family will be blessed. If you are rich but unkind, you will be punished by heaven and earth!"
The emperor was immediately amused by what he heard. He pointed at Zhang Shou and cursed him, "People always say that if a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth. But you have turned it into a case of being rich and unkind, and being punished by heaven and earth? If your words were to spread, I don't know how many wealthy families would gnash their teeth at you! Even those mountain kings who claim to rob the rich and help the poor and act on behalf of heaven can't do it like you!"
"Everyone has selfish desires, and so do I. If you are poor, you should take care of yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world. If you can provide more people with food and clothing while you are well-fed, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
Zhang Shou paused, then said nonchalantly, "Also, I just asked the emperor to allow us to collect seeds from all over the world, not because I wanted the court to issue an edict. Because when a decree is passed down and passes through government offices at all levels, it will often be distorted. When it finally reaches the ears of the people, perhaps the request for good seeds will become a request for auspiciousness, which will misinterpret the emperor's good intentions, and the censors will also attack us."
The emperor let out a sigh and then said approvingly: "That's right. In all dynasties, when all the good decrees were passed on to the people, they were already in a mess. This is probably the same. If so, how do you plan to collect it? In your name?"
With a smile, Zhang Shou said slowly, "The world is so big that there are all kinds of things. Some people like thin waists, some like plump bodies, some like literature, and some like martial arts. In this case, it is normal for someone to suddenly have a whim and be a farmer. For example, my future second brother-in-law is neither good at literature nor martial arts, so he wants to find another way to be a farmer and gain fame. This should be normal, right?"
Zhang Shou actually set his sights on Zhu Er!
Chu Kuan, who realized this, took a deep breath and could not help but mourn for Zhu Er. But then he heard the emperor burst into laughter: "Zhu Erlang was jumping around while his father and brother were away. He was beaten up when his elder brother came back. Now that Zhu Jing is back, I'm afraid he will be beaten up again!"
"Don't even mention that you're asking him to farm now. Even if you ask him to go to the fields himself, he'll be willing to do it!"
Zhang Shou was having a long conversation with the Emperor in the Qianqing Palace, and then the Emperor asked Chu Kuan to go to the Imperial Kitchen to serve some snacks, as if to say, "Keep talking. If you don't have enough time, stay and have dinner with me." At this time, the Zhaoguo Mansion was in a state of chaos because of the return of Zhaoguogong Zhu Jing. Among them, the most desperate one was undoubtedly Zhu Er.
Although he had been calculating the date of his father's return, he never expected that his elder brother would suddenly come back, and his father, who was clearly accompanied by hundreds of personal soldiers, would also suddenly come back! Even though his father did not enter the house and went directly to the palace to meet the emperor, he did not even have time to ask for help - and when he thought of asking Zhang Shou for help, he learned bad news.
Zhang Shou was also dragged into the palace by Zhu Ying!
What shocked him the most was that when Zhu Jing and Zhu Ying returned home, he learned that Zhang Shou had something important to say to the emperor, so he stayed in the Qianqing Palace, while his father and sister returned first. Realizing that the last savior was completely useless, the frustrated Zhu Er simply stopped going to Qing'an Hall and stayed in his Ziyan Pavilion, waiting for the final verdict like a trapped beast.
Sure enough, not long after, he heard the familiar voice of Mother Li coming from outside the door: "Second Young Master, the master is at the Madam's place at Qing'an Hall and wants you to come over."
"oh."
Originally, when his father came back, as a son, he should have gone there immediately, but Zhu Er was really afraid of his father's wrath, so he just wanted to delay for a moment. At this time, he agreed and went forward listlessly to open the door. Seeing Mother Li standing outside the door, he wanted to ask about his father's mood, but changed his mind and gave up the idea.
No matter how good my father's mood is, he will definitely feel bad when he sees him!
Zhu Er came to the outside of Qing'an Hall with one foot high and one foot low. He saw servants lined up in front of the hall door, but there was no sound. When he passed the hall and came to the courtyard in front of the main hall, he heard Zhu Ying's crisp laughter in the house, and occasionally the voice of his eldest brother Zhu Tingfang. Thinking of his eldest brother's excellence, his younger sister's beauty, and he, the middle child, who was incompetent, he became more and more depressed.
When he came to the door with his head down, he heard Mother Li say, "Madam, Master, Madam, the Second Young Master is here."
"I thought he didn't care about me as a father, and he didn't know how to come to see me without sending someone to invite him!"
Zhu Er's heart skipped a beat. When Mother Li next to him lifted the door curtain, he gritted his teeth and stepped over the threshold with stiff legs, but before his other foot came in, he heard the voice that he hadn't heard for a long time, which seemed to be more majestic and made his scalp tingle.
"Why, you don't dare to come in and see me? So you, Zhu Tingjie, still have the word fear in your heart?"
Zhu Er, whose knees were weakened by fear, dared not argue. He fell to his knees and said with a sad face, "Dad, I know I was wrong."
"Admit your mistakes? You've caused such a big incident and almost brought shame to my Zhu family, and now you actually say the word 'admit your mistakes'?" When Zhu Jing first heard about all the things happening at home, he was so angry that he wanted to fly back to the capital and kill this rebellious son with a knife. Now when he saw the man, he finally couldn't help but get furious.
"Your eldest brother risked his life to wipe out the firearms camp that the northern barbarians regarded as their life. Your father and I risked our reputation for the rest of our lives to clean up the mess in Datong. Your grandmother is old, but she still has to support this family in the midst of a storm. Your mother was able to put aside her past affairs and come home to help. Even your sister is more sensible than you!"
Hearing his father talking about other people's good points, Zhu Er didn't even dare to raise his head. It was not the first time that he felt as if he was not his parents' biological child, as if he was not a member of the Zhu family - not only because of his status in the family, but also because he felt that he had not inherited any of the good qualities of his parents or grandmother.
Even Zhu Ying...she was not as stupid as he had thought before. She fell in love at first sight and chose a man like Zhang Shou who was both talented and handsome!
Seeing that Zhu Jing was already shaking with anger, Zhu Ying looked at her father's hair, which had already turned half white, and her heart softened unconsciously. She had only wanted her father to give her second brother a few words of advice - after all, her grandmother had beaten her second brother with family rules, and her eldest brother had beaten her second brother again when he came back. If her father got angry and used family rules again, she really suspected that her second brother would be beaten to death!
Therefore, Zhu Ying quickly hugged Zhu Jing's arm and said coquettishly: "Dad, what do you mean that even I am more sensible than my second brother? As if I was not sensible before! Grandmother and eldest brother have beaten and scolded him, and my second brother has changed now, so please forgive him this time!"
Zhu Jing looked at his daughter in astonishment. At this moment, he heard a familiar yet strange voice: "If a child is not taught well, it is the fault of the father. If you want to blame Erlang, you should also reflect on yourself. Even I failed in my duty as a mother, but I am not without responsibility. What happened in the past is in the past. It is good that Erlang can correct his mistakes and make progress."
