Chapter 2538 Reminder
Bai Shan and the other three did not participate in their conversation. They stood aside and talked while looking at the shops on the street.
Wei Yu shook his head, "It's too extravagant."
No wonder his father has been speaking in a bad tone about the emperor recently. He is worried that Jian'an has become extravagant over time.
Many officials in the court were as worried as Wei Zhi, especially the Minister of Revenue, so he had submitted many memorials complaining about his poverty recently, with only one purpose.
Emperor, don't be fooled by the fact that the country is peaceful and prosperous and seems to be very rich. In fact, the country still cannot withstand the turmoil. We are still very poor. You have been the emperor for more than 20 years, but the treasury is still out of money after spring.
It takes money to support agriculture and sericulture, to build water conservancy projects, to provide disaster relief in some places, the Ministry of War, and the construction of the imperial mausoleum. We also have to save a little to prevent emergencies. In case we need to conquer the west again like we did two years ago, won’t the national treasury allocate money for military use?
So, Emperor, we are still poor. Please don't think about building civil engineering projects, lavishing rewards, or accepting luxurious tributes...
Some officials even wrote to the emperor to express their disapproval of the dowry given to the two princesses, stating that it greatly exceeded the etiquette. Even if it was not paid for by the national treasury, it was still not allowed, and therefore the excess should be recovered.
The emperor would humbly accept all advice, but he would pretend not to hear anything about taking back the excess dowry.
Even the Crown Prince was dissatisfied, and he privately said to the Imperial Household, "These censors are bullies who only fear the strong. When the Emperor gave the Third Prince so many things, didn't he already exceed the etiquette? Why haven't they petitioned to get them back?"
"Mingda and Changyu are princesses, so they're bullying them. Humph, they really pick on the weak."
Guo Zhanshi couldn't help but say, "Your Highness is clearly doing this for the Princess's benefit, so why bring up Prince Gong? If it gets out, His Majesty will think you're unkind to your brother. Never say such things again."
The prince remained silent.
Wei Yu is now working in the Censorate, doing the work of a censor. However, because the matter involves Princess Changyu, and Wei Zhi also told him privately that the past is over and the impeachment has already been made, it is meaningless to pursue the matter again, which will only anger His Majesty. It is better to look forward and only advise His Majesty on his current and future behavior so that he does not forget to be frugal.
But when Wei Yu actually saw the shop that the emperor had given to Princess Mingda, she couldn't help but exclaim, "It's truly too extravagant."
Bai Shan, curious, called the manager and the village head of the imperial manor to ask, "Where is the end of the shop?"
"That's outside the new city," the village head said with a smile, "that's the imperial estate that His Majesty gave to the princess."
Bai Shan narrowed his eyes. It was the imperial farm with its back to the new city.
He asked, "How far is this place from the ancient city of Liyang?"
The manager of the imperial manor was stunned for a moment before saying, "It's not very far, but there's no road. We need to go around and it will take about an hour by car."
Bai Shan asked, "What if we can get through here from the Imperial Farm?"
The manager of the imperial farm laughed and said, "That's much closer. We can get there in less than three quarters of an hour."
Bai Shan smiled and nodded, then turned around and talked to Manbao about it.
Manbao's eyes lit up, and he suggested that when they go back, they should go through Huangzhuang, pass through Liyang County, and go to Wannian County, and then return to the capital from the East Gate.
In the past, when they left the capital for Yongzhou, they had to go to the South City Gate, take a detour and then head north to Yongzhou.
The imperial farm steward couldn't help but whispered a reminder: "Princess, the roads connecting Liyang County to Wannian County are mostly small roads, not as wide and flat as the official roads, so I'm afraid they will be bumpy.
Mingda's interest perked up when he heard this, and he immediately said, "Then let's go back from Wannian County and visit the farm while we're there."
Manbao nodded in agreement and said to her, "My fiefdom is on the other side. I also want to go and see my fiefdom. Do you want to go and see my workshop?"
Now it was Changyu's turn to nod. She wanted to go and take a look.
So after visiting the shops in the new city, they went directly to Huangzhuang.
Changyu was riding on a horse. Mingda saw that the horse was not going fast, so he also got on the horse. He felt very comfortable and happy with the spring breeze on his face.
It was the end of February, the time of spring, and many green grass sprouts appeared on the ground. Mingda and Changyu had both followed the emperor to plow the land and tried farming, so they were not ignorant of crops.
But now the weeds and the green wheat seedlings really look alike.
Mingda looked at it for a long time but couldn't tell the difference. He had no choice but to turn around and ask Bai Erlang quietly, "Is this piece of land just weeds?"
Bai Erlang took one look and shook his head, "No, it's wheat seedlings."
Mingda pointed to a patch of land across the way and asked, "So this is also wheat seedlings?"
Bai Erlang glanced at it and was silent for a moment, "No, this is a weed."
Mingda: ...
She frowned. "How come the weeds are growing better than the wheat seedlings? And it's all land, why aren't they planting wheat seedlings here?"
Bai Erlang only took a quick glance and said, "That side is closer to the water, so they should be reserved for planting rice in the spring. This side is farther from the water, so they're planting wheat."
The steward of the imperial farm, who was walking briskly behind, had cold sweat on his forehead. He nodded repeatedly and trotted forward, saying, "That's exactly what the prince consort said. These years, the imperial farm has reserved the side closest to the water for spring rice planting, while the other side is for wheat. After the harvest, we'll plant either rice or beans depending on the situation."
As for why the weeds were growing better than the wheat seedlings, Bai Erlang glanced at the steward and said, "Last winter was quite cold, and the Central Plains were hit by a snowstorm. We probably weren't able to cope with the disaster well, and many of the wheat seedlings were frozen to death."
Manbao nodded in agreement and complained to Mingda, "Last year, all three of my family's farmlands were damaged by disasters. We spread the rice and wheat straw we had left on the fields to keep them warm, but even then, many of the crops froze to death. This summer's harvest will definitely not be as good as next year's. We have to reduce the rent."
Mingda was stunned and asked, "Should I reduce the rent for my tenants?"
Manbao smiled and said, "If you have such a kind heart, then reduce it."
The steward behind him said quickly: "Your Highness, we don't have many tenants in this imperial farm. Most of them are palace slaves working here."
In other words, they were farmhands, the kind that didn't get paid. The imperial farm provided them with food and lodging, and they were responsible for farming.
Manbao glanced at the fields on both sides of the road and nodded slightly. It was indeed a job done by people who were not paid. If it were her father, he could make the weeds in the fields grow taller than people, instead of just taller than wheat seedlings.
After leaving the imperial farm, Manbaocai said to Mingda, "If you want to manage this farm well, you can't just leave it alone like this. Who would be willing to work hard for you if there's no profit?"
She said, "Even if a talented person wants to be sold to an emperor, he must be able to afford the corresponding price. Otherwise, the talented person would rather retire to the mountains and forests than be willing to kowtow and serve the emperor."
Mingda immediately understood the metaphor and nodded thoughtfully, "You're absolutely right. It's time to take action."
After leaving Huangzhuang and walking down the road, you will reach a fork in the road. One road leads to Liyang County, and the other leads to Wannian County. The border between the two counties is Zhou Man's fiefdom.
Let’s go and take a look together.
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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