Chapter 289: Crazy Student
Fight together?
A smile flashed across the queen's eyes, but she still had to ask, "On the surface, it's possible. We have revolver muskets, but the top-quality iron and copper materials for making revolver muskets are running out."
This is why the emperor feels guilty.
The iron and copper materials currently used to manufacture revolver muskets can be said to be the accumulation of half a lifetime of the retired emperor.
Now the couple wants to save money again... but they don’t know when that will take.
"Emergency?"
Shen Ning frowned, "Doesn't Japan have a lot of copper and iron?"
"But..., they have limited the sale of Dazhao."
"Your Majesty, do you still remember the strategy for conquering Japan?"
Chen Ning's eyes flashed with murderous intent, "Take advantage of now to put pressure on Japan. Either they open up the supply, or... we attack them and take it ourselves."
Queen: “…”
emperor:"……"
At this moment, the emperor in the room regretted his decision. Why did he hide there? He should go out and have a chance encounter! In fact, he also intended to put pressure on Japan, but there was still a lot of resistance in the court.
Many ministers felt that the current Japanese rebellion was mainly caused by some big merchants and common people along the coast. Although there were some Japanese people among them, the main cause was still their own.
"It's really not that easy to fight Japan... especially now."
The queen sighed, "Don't say that we are at war in both the north and the south. Just say that we are separated from Japan by mountains and seas, and they are not a threat to us. If this matter is brought to the court, the ministers will not agree."
If one is not careful, people will say that the emperor is a warmongering tyrant.
"Japan has a lot of copper, iron, and silver."
Chen Ning said: "I didn't say we must fight Japan. We can use both kindness and force, advance on both fronts, and force them to open up their supply to us. As for how to implement it, isn't that what you should think about?
Japan has what Dazhao urgently needs, but they are unwilling to give it to it. What does this mean? It means that others can't stand us doing well.
Those ministers did not think of ways to deal with it, but made all kinds of excuses. Who do they think they are? How can they have the face to stand in the court? ”
Everyone just wants to be a peace officer. Now everything is peaceful, but what about the future?
"…The Emperor often complains to me."
A smile flashed in the queen's eyes, "I will definitely pass on your words, sister."
Pass it on?
Shen Ning paused for a moment and said with a smile: "The emperor has the final say on matters in the court. Today... I actually overstepped the boundaries."
"Hahaha, we are sisters talking, what's wrong with that?"
The queen smiled and said, "Sister, you are here with me, just speak freely."
“Then I…” Shen Ning blinked, “Just be a crazy student for once?”
"when!"
The queen wanted her to be a crazy student.
"My Lady, during the reign of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, all nations came to pay tribute to him. Tell me, how big is this world?"
Queen: “…”
emperor:"……"
Both of them were stumped by the question.
As emperors and empresses, don’t they want Da Zhao to be feared by the world?
I want it so much, even in my dreams.
However, Taizu died too early, and the retired emperor had been in poor health since childhood, so he had to handle state affairs makeshiftly, so that the crown prince began to participate in politics when he was in his teens.
But participating in politics and governing are completely different things.
Especially since there were so many princes and there was suspicion between fathers and sons, Dazhao was always in internal strife.
The emperor himself had been on the throne for several years, but he was still in a state of panic and suffered from many problems last year.
This year……
"Why did the Russians not fear the bitter cold and surround us from the north? And the English, Portuguese, and others who came over from the sea several times, were their ships powerful? Were their cannons powerful? Were their muskets powerful? Were they so powerful from the beginning?"
Shen Ning said: "They are conquering the world, crossing mountains and seas to conquer the world, what are we doing?"
Queen: “…”
She was stunned.
"If we were a little weaker, what would the result be? Like the Qing Dynasty, or like the lingering Tatars?"
Chen Ning said: "The world is changing. If we were to cross mountains and seas to fight others, would we be able to achieve the current record of the Luosha people? And England and Portugal, they have come all the way from the sea, how many countries have they fought, do we know?
What can Russia, England, Portugal and others do if there is no benefit? ”
What good can come of just staring at the three acres of land at home and being complacent all day long?
"My lady, if you fall behind, you will be beaten."
Chen Ning sighed, "I remember reading in a book that Bi Maokang, a weapons expert in the late Ming Dynasty, created a self-generating musket, which is a percussion flintlock that uses flint friction to generate fire to complete the musket shooting.
It was not opened back then because Bi Maokang had experienced many ups and downs in his official career, and was buried due to various ills in the late Ming Dynasty.
His master in the flintlock ordnance bureau might have some idea. If it could be improved upon into today's revolver musket..., Madam, what do you think it would be like? ”
Queen: “…”
Her heart beat faster.
The emperor inside wished he could retrieve all of Bi Maokang's information immediately.
"The people were living in poverty at the end of the Ming Dynasty, but the main reason why the Qing Dynasty stole the world was that when Kong Youde surrendered, he took away the arsenal set up by Xu Guangqi in Dengzhouwei. At that time, his red cannon alone had a range of 4,000 steps.
The number of craftsmen in its arsenal was more than 1,300.
That is why when he surrendered, Huang Taiji personally led a group of beiles ten miles out of the city to welcome him.
Treat them with their most formal greeting.
They massacred Han people on a large scale, but often showed leniency to craftsmen with various skills.
My lady, they all know that craftsmen cannot be killed, but what about us? How much do we value them?
Even today, we still talk about scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans. To put it bluntly, we still overemphasize scholars. ”
"Wait~"
The queen made a gesture to stop him. "Sister, you are also a scholar. You are like this..."
"My lady, I am a scholar, but looking back at the past and present, are scholars who do not serve in the army or pay taxes really that good?"
“…”
The queen was silent.
Land annexation has always been the most troublesome issue in all dynasties.
In the early Ming Dynasty, scholars were exempt from taxes on 80 acres of land.
Since he did not have that much land, relatives, etc., he registered his own land in his name to evade taxes.
The higher you go, the more there are.
Juren had 400 mu of land, Jinshi had 2,000 mu of land, so that by the end of the Ming Dynasty...
The Queen sighed, "Sister, do you think scholars should also pay taxes?"
When the country was founded, Taizu had already cut the preferential treatment for scholars by half, and then further reduced it...
"More than that!" Chen Ning said, "I want to say that officials and gentry pay taxes together!"
Boom~ The emperor in the room stood up suddenly.
"...Sister, do you think the Ningguo Mansion should also pay taxes like ordinary people?"
The queen couldn't help but hold on to the handrail.
"Shouldn't I?"
Chen Ning asked back, "Compared to ordinary people, the more land the scholar families have, the more land they own. When all the taxes of a country are placed on ordinary people, it means that the officials are forcing the people to rebel."
Queen: “…”
"My lady, do you want to hear what comes next?"
"think!"
The queen nodded vigorously.
"The tax is distributed according to the land, and the fire consumption is returned to the public."
Shen Ning smiled at her, "Increase the revenue of the treasury, value innovative craftsmen, move Han people to the Outer Northeast, provide subsidies, and give them land."
"Wait, wait, sister, let me ask someone to remember it."
The Queen was afraid that she and the Emperor had missed something, so she quickly gave the head maid a look.
Soon, the pen, ink, paper and inkstone were ready.
The head maid is here. Of course, she is the one who can serve the queen and is excellent in all aspects.
Shen Ning wrote down almost every word he said.
The queen was relieved when she confirmed that there was no problem. "Sister, you have a lot of ideas, but to implement them..."
"My queen, as long as the North and the South win a few more battles, everything else... will fall into place naturally."
Whether facing the outside world or the inside world, fists are the most important.
The emperor understood what she had not yet said.
After conquering Annan, rice can be harvested at least twice a year, which can solve most of the army’s food rations.
Take the North...
The emperor's blood boiled.
He was given a very large pie.
Although he can only see but not touch it for now, as long as he works hard, one day he will be able to touch it.
The emperor really wants to make an exception and allow Madam Shen to attend court as well! pity……
Seeing that it was getting dark, he knew that the queen was going to send someone away.
Alas, we can’t have a long chat! He listened to the noise outside and heard the Queen personally escorting people out of Kunning Palace. Then he came out from the inner room, holding the paper written by the head palace maid.
"What happened today must not be spread outside!"
Although the people who were with him today were all the queen's confidants, the emperor still gave instructions, "Queen, I'll take this thing. I have something to do today, so I'll come again tomorrow."
He was too excited.
Since I can't have a long chat with Mrs. Shen, I can only find Mr. Liu.
"...Please slow down."
As soon as the Queen saw his look, she knew that he was going to harass Mr. Liu.
Forget it, he is excited now, she won't bother with him.
The queen watched the emperor stride away, then turned and ordered the head maid, "Just wrote it down, bring another one."
She can talk to her child about it later.
When Chen Ning returned to Ningguo Mansion, there were three carriages with nearly a hundred jars of various imperial wines behind her.
If the wound on her hand hadn't healed yet, she really wanted to open a jar right away.
Finally, without taking any risks, I said everything that needed to be said.
You can enjoy a wonderful life in the future.
When she got home, the first thing she did was to see her daughter, but to her surprise, the little girl had not come back yet and was still following Mr. Zhan in Ningcuixuan.
"Qingzhu, bring two jars of wine and accompany me to Ningcuixuan."
"yes!"
Qingzhu smiled and asked a few maids to carry two jars of wine and follow.
Zhan Xue was still very fond of the little disciple who grew up around her. When Shen Ning arrived, she was drawing the little girl riding on the puppy Pangpang, and the two of them looked so cute.
Of course, Jia Yue, who was held by the maid, was also looking at herself and Pang Pang in the painting in surprise.
Her baby talk was in a milky voice, and she spoke less to her husband and more to the puppy.
Pangpang was also very considerate and would say "wang wang" to her from time to time.
The little tail was wagging happily.
"Good painting, I want this one."
Shen Ning fell in love with her at first sight.
"No, this is for my students."
“Ahh~~”
Jia Yue happily reached out to her mother for a hug.
The little guy wants to find his mother at night.
Although they could usually be with their brother, nephew or Qin Keqing, but these days, as the younger generation, they had to accompany Jia Zheng and Wang Shi to mourn.
"Your student? Is it her?"
"nature!"
Zhan Xue wrote the words and pressed her own seal, "As long as Yue'er doesn't ask you for it, I have no objection."
"Yuer, did you hear that?" Shen Ning, who had held the little girl, smiled and demonstrated to her daughter, "Mom needs you to nod your head. Look, it's like this."
“Ahhh~~”
The little girl waved her hands and nodded happily.
"That's right, that's it. You are such a good baby."
Shen Ning kissed him.
The little guy immediately started to giggle.
Zhan Xue simply couldn't bear to watch it.
"Sir, I got some jars of good imperial wine today."
The wine has been brought in.
"I'll give you two jars. We'll have a chance to drink together in the future."
Um? Zhan Xue blinked and said, "Okay."
The death of the second master and the second mistress of the West Mansion was actually a happy event for the East Mansion and even the entire Jia family.
It’s just that no one is too embarrassed to show this kind of joy outwardly.
But today, Mrs. Shen seemed to be very happy.
Zhan Xue felt that she must have encountered a happy event in the palace. "Although I can't drink and chat with you today, I can drink first for Madam to see."
“Hahaha~”
Shen Ning laughed, "That's fine."
She has always been eaten free by others, so today she also gets to eat free, which is quite meaningful.
They were eating happily here, but they didn't know that over at Rongguo Mansion, Jia Zhu had been waiting in Lady Jia's courtyard for most of the day because of various problems.
My grandmother rarely goes out since my grandfather passed away.
He felt much better yesterday and came to pay his respects, but he didn't see his grandmother. The same thing happened today.
And Baoyu, it’s so late and he hasn’t come back yet.
His maid Xiren was also not at home.
This is wrong. It's absolutely wrong.
Jia Zhu felt a little panicked.
"Master, are you going back to Lixiangyuan?"
Amber saw him stand up and asked him hurriedly.
"No, go to Rongxitang."
Jia Zhu glanced at her and turned away.
But it was obvious that my uncle and aunt were not at Rong Xi Tang either.
The maids and servants, like those in my grandmother's courtyard, were all very cautious with him.
What kind of thing made them like this?
"Uncle, grandma is feeling a little unwell, so I want you to go back."
When Suyun came over, she was panting.
"What's the matter? Have you called the court doctor?"
"I've called the court doctor, you should go back as soon as possible!"
“…Let’s go!”
Jia Zhu paused for a moment, and then expressed his concern, "Suyun, please invite the fourth aunt and her husband as well. With the elders here, we will feel more at ease."
"yes!"
Suyun went to Jia Min again without hesitation.
Jia Zhu glanced at her back as she left, knowing what was going on in the mansion, and now she might be hiding it from them in Lixiangyuan.
At least Suyun doesn't know anything.
Jia Zhu walked back slowly, accompanying the court physician to write a pregnancy-preserving prescription for his wife. When all the medicines were prepared, as expected, only Suyun came back.
"Is Fourth Aunt not at home?"
"yes!"
Su Yun was also quite puzzled. "She said she went to look at houses with Third Aunt and Madam, and she might be back very late."
"Uncle~"
Unlike Suyun, who is still silly.
Li Wan had already noticed something was wrong, "My stomach feels uncomfortable, hurry up and make the medicine for me."
"……good!"
Jia Zhu walked out and said, "Just lie down. I'll have someone bring the medicine over in a while."
He asked the maid to prepare medicine, but he went back to the East Palace.
Recommend my friend Miss Apple’s new book, "When the Superpowers Awaken, People Go Crazy and Kill, Everyone Starts the Shura Field". Relatives who eat my food, live in my house, and spend my money, now want to be the master of my house and bully me?
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