109 Chapter 109
Five-Year Plan
Snow fell all over the sky, silently covering the imperial city. The red walls and silver roofs looked like red plum blossoms reflected in the snow, which was a beautiful sight.
Snow flakes pattered against the windows, the glass windows keeping out the westerly wind, the indoor heating pipes emitting steam, and the windows were filled with mist.
"Princess, may I ask what the Five-Year Plan is?"
Cabinet ministers were summoned to the Wenhua Hall for their last meeting before New Year's Eve.
The person asking the questions was Yuan Guande, the Minister of Revenue. The national treasury was so abundant this year that he walked with a flourish. In the past, he was always stingy with the allocation of funds, and other ministries secretly called him a "stingy person". But now, who wouldn't flatter and coax him?
Oh, except the princess.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the credit for this year's tax increase does not lie with the Ministry of Revenue, but rather with the princess.
Yuan Guande dared to show off in front of others, but he didn't dare to show any pride in front of the princess.
Xie Mingzhuo picked up a book and handed it to Feng Caiyu, who passed it on to the ministers for circulation.
"Within five years, all sectors—agriculture, industry, commerce, the military, and civil service—must achieve their stated goals. As officials from the six ministries, you must strive for excellence and work together to create a prosperous era for us."
Everyone was moved when they heard this, but when they opened the booklet, they were stunned.
The princess is so ambitious!
In agriculture, we need to improve farm tools, cultivate good varieties, and develop fertilizers, so that the average yield per mu can be doubled in five years.
In terms of industry and commerce, we must leverage the power of machinery to successfully build the first heavy industrial factory, vigorously develop light industry, open border trade, and add offshore ports.
Military construction is of paramount importance, including improving the overall quality of soldiers, developing sophisticated weapons, and improving soldiers' treatment.
The rectification of officialdom has been an eternal topic. The key is to fight corruption, cleanse the ranks of officials from corruption, and advocate clean and efficient administration.
The above are just summaries. For specific matters, each department still needs to carefully divide and consider them.
Some people may resort to extreme measures for political achievements, but for such a large country, the dark side is inevitable. As long as the general direction is correct and the overall situation is prosperous, it is a success.
This is not unrealistic.
The five-year plan is just the beginning. It lays the foundation for future development. Even if it can only be completed halfway, it will still be a profit for the country.
But to achieve this, in addition to scientific and technological progress, the cooperation of national policies is also needed.
Xie Mingzhuo couldn't help but feel a headache when he thought about the resistance after proposing the policy.
After the meeting, she went to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Before reaching the Ganqing Gate, I saw a man standing in the wind and snow. The top of his umbrella was covered with thick silver clouds, and his indigo crane cloak hung down to the snow, with his tall body standing tall like a crane.
When he saw her, his eyes lit up instantly, and he hurried forward to greet her, saying, "The imperial kitchen has prepared Laba porridge. The emperor and the empress wanted to send someone to call you, but they were worried that it would interfere with state affairs."
"Why are you standing here?" Xie Mingzhuo handed the umbrella in his hand to Jiang Qing and shared it with him.
Lin Fan smiled and said, "It's a bit stuffy in the room, let's go out for some fresh air."
Xie Mingzhuo did not expose him, but asked about his experiences while on business trips. Lin Fan enthusiastically told her about the interesting things that happened along the way, and was also willing to share with her the scenes of ordinary people's life.
"The last time I went to Suzhou, the new textile workshops used steam engines and produced as much in one day as they did in five days before. The scale was so huge that it was astonishing."
Xie Mingzhuo frowned. The widespread use of steam engines was a historical necessity. She was not worried that it would squeeze the living space of textile workers. On the contrary, the number of textile workers would only increase greatly.
Today's mechanical power can only be used for power-type operations and cannot perform fine operations. The more cloth woven, the more weavers, embroiderers and tailors are needed.
Mine operations are even more critical. Originally, mine pumping required manpower, which was laborious and dangerous. After the addition of machinery, new vitality was injected into the mine.
It is said that Lu Fei, a wealthy businessman from Shanxi, ordered hundreds of them at one time. Now more than ten of them have been put into production, and the daily output far exceeds that before.
Scarcity makes things valuable. When raw materials such as coal and stone are no longer difficult to obtain, prices will naturally drop, and ordinary people will have more choices.
"I also heard that the Tiangong Institute recently launched a new type of coal briquettes called 'honeycomb coal'. It's not only cheap but also durable. Many people in Beijing have already purchased them and say they work well."
Lin Fan felt proud of it. Behind these things that benefited the people was the figure of the most noble person in the world.
How lucky he was to be a part of it.
In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve.
Every household replaces the peach charms with new ones, and the sound of firecrackers can be heard everywhere.
Mi Daguang strolled back home carrying a large piece of pork, smiling happily, "Yingniang, come and take a look!"
"Have you bought meat? How much is such a big piece?" Meng Yingniang felt sad, but she didn't blame him. It only happened once a year, so it would be nice to have a snack.
Mi Daguang chuckled, "I didn't buy it, it was a reward from the Machinery Department! The meat was shipped from a government-run pig farm. They say it's a new breed of pig, very tender and full of fat."
"A reward for you?" Meng Yingniang looked surprised. "Why should I reward you?"
"We won first place in the selection of various cooperatives this year. As the president, I got this piece of meat, but this piece of meat also belongs to my wife. If it weren't for your assistance, how could I have won first place?"
Meng Yingniang said with a smile: "Assistant, after learning Chinese characters for three months, you can even speak in a flowery way."
"That's not as good as my wife. If my wife were to take the imperial examination, she would definitely get first place."
"Just keep complaining." Meng Yingniang rolled her eyes at him and went to the kitchen. "Come and light the fire."
"Here I come."
This year's New Year's Eve dinner was exceptionally sumptuous. The Mi family ate without even raising their heads. How long had it been since they had such a relaxing New Year?
"Yingniang, you are the greatest contributor to our family," Mi Daguang said, picking up the fattest piece of meat and putting it in her bowl. "If you hadn't decided to join the cooperative, how could our family be so well off?"
Meng Yingniang thought about the hardship and poverty she had faced in the past, and tears welled up in her eyes: "Everyone has contributed, and everyone should eat."
Mi Erlang raised his head and said, "The Tiangong Institute, the Machinery Department, and the cooperative were all proposed by the princess. Didn't the princess tour Shu before? I heard from merchants in Shu that the life of those cooks is much better now than before."
"The princess is so kind." Mi Daguang said again in a literary tone, puffing out his chest, looking very proud.
He will no longer be an illiterate old man.
"I also heard that before the New Year, Goryeo sent a large amount of New Year gifts and redeemed Prince Li Si."
Meng Yingniang was surprised: "Prince Li Si has been in prison for so long? It's been over a year, right?"
"Yes, during the Wanshou Festival this year, the Korean envoys wanted to take him away, but the princess said they were not sincere enough. It was not before the New Year that they sent a lot of gold and silver, and the princess finally relented."
Mi Sanlang also said, "The nobles at the restaurant said that Prince Li Si had been eating prison food for over a year and had gained fifty pounds! When the envoys took him away, he was reluctant, saying that prison food tasted better than the royal meals at home."
Everyone almost burst out laughing and quickly covered their mouths to prevent the meat scraps from flying out.
It’s so hard to eat meat, so we can’t waste it.
The Mi family was in great joy, but the Lu family, a wealthy merchant family from Shanxi outside the capital, welcomed an uninvited guest.
Lu Fei was the only daughter in the family. When her parents were still alive, they arranged for her to marry into a family. When she was pregnant, she discovered that her husband was having an affair with a maid, and she decisively kicked him out of the house.
Later, her parents died unexpectedly, and she raised her daughter alone and supported the Lu family business. The hardships involved are self-evident.
Lu's father had three brothers. After he became rich, he did not forget to take care of his relatives. However, human greed is insatiable. After his death, the elders of the clan intended to swallow up her family's wealth on the grounds that both she and her daughter were women.
Lu Fei resorted to some tricks and cut off the tail to keep the majority of the family property. Over the years, the family wealth increased several times compared to when her father was alive. Those people became more and more jealous, but she was no longer the daughter of the Lu family in the past. She was the real head of the Lu family. It was not so easy to get a share from her.
After many confrontations, no one gained the upper hand.
Lu Fei had to work hard in the business world and also had to stay alert to compete with them in wits and courage, and he was already exhausted.
Today is New Year's Eve. These leeches showed no mercy and came to our door with a group of elders.
Lu Fei was checking his daughter's homework when he heard the servant's report. He was furious and told his daughter to study hard. He turned to leave, but a small hand grabbed his fingertips.
"Mother, I'm going too."
Lu Ling is nine years old this year. She has always been smart and clever. She has seen all the disputes between her mother and the clan members.
She has grown up and wants to help her mother. Even if she can't help, she can't let her face it alone.
Lu Fei didn't want to let these dirty things pollute his daughter, but then he thought that the family business would be handed over to his daughter in the future, so it would not be a bad thing to let her get in touch with these dirty things early.
"Okay, Auntie will take you there."
When they arrived at the main hall, the elders of the clan were already sitting in the main seats, and the other uncles and aunts were sitting on both sides without any courtesy. She, the host, didn't even have a seat.
Having been through the business world for a long time, she remained calm. She squeezed her daughter's hand and said, "Lingniang, these are all your elders. You don't usually see them, but they're visiting today on New Year's Eve, perhaps to give them lucky money. Go and see how much your great-uncle and uncles have given away."
Lu Ling obeyed and rushed to the old man's knees, raised her eyebrows and said in a crisp voice: "Granduncle, New Year's money."
She stretched out a pair of small hands. The old man blushed and searched left and right, but couldn't find his wallet. He took off his beloved jade ring and placed it in Lu Ling's hand. He closed his eyes and waved his sleeves: "This is for you."
Lu Ling thanked him happily, and did the same thing again. After turning around, he had a lot of purses and valuable jewelry in his hands.
Everyone looked pale.
At this time, the servants had brought a new chair and placed it below the elder, directly pressing down the rest of the uncles.
Great Uncle is the elder of the clan, highly respected and virtuous, so she can give him this face, but if the others want to suppress her, it is impossible.
"Girl Lu, these years..."
"Uncle," Lü Fei interrupted him, "I'm not young anymore, just call me by my name."
Great Uncle: “…”
"Girl, how do you talk to your uncle like that?" The eldest uncle spoke first. "You've been out and about in public for so long that you've become more and more ignorant of the rules. I don't know how the second brother taught you."
Lu Fei sneered, "Granduncle hasn't even spoken yet, and you, a junior, are already speaking up regardless of the situation. I'm sure you've picked up some bad habits from being in the spotlight."
"you--"
"If you're here to argue, then go away." Lu Fei didn't give him a chance to fight back. "Great uncle, you brought so many people home. No matter what you plan to do, please consider my father's kindness in building roads and bridges, schools, and ancestral halls for our clan and don't disturb us on New Year's Eve."
Old Master Lu clasped his hands on the top of his cane, his cloudy eyes gleaming with deep dignity. "Fei Niang, I came to see you for the sake of our clan's great plan. I'll leave now."
"Please go ahead."
"You still have one imperial examination quota left. Since Lingniang can't pass the exam anyway, it's useless to keep it. Why not give it to the clan? When a young man from the clan becomes a useful person in the future, he can help you and your mother, right?"
The Lu family is a big family in the local area and has connections in all walks of life. Lu Fei's lineage is a merchant family. Merchants cannot take the imperial examinations. They finally got three medals from disaster relief, two of which they gave to the family. She was reluctant to give away the last one.
Not kidding, just a hunch.
"Help me?" Lu Fei said mercilessly, "After I took over the family business, no one helped me. Instead, there were a lot of people who wanted to steal my money. I don't even know how to spell the word 'help me' anymore."
"Uncle, stop wasting time with this girl," Third Uncle tapped his pipe. "She has no son, so the family property should be returned to the clan and distributed by the clan elders. The quota she bought with 90,000 dan of grain should also be given to the clan."
"That's right. There are also those mines. I heard that now that they have machines, one day's work is equivalent to five days before. How can she, a woman, manage it all? Why not ask the boys in the tribe to patrol the mountains and tighten the skin of those lazy guys. Don't think that you can stop working just because of the machines." Fourth Uncle also agreed.
In the final analysis, they were just trying to seize all the money and resources in her hands, and their ugly faces were becoming increasingly difficult to conceal.
Lu Ling opened her eyes wide and asked innocently, "If the uncles and brothers in the clan are really capable, why don't they go into business on their own instead of stealing Mother's things?"
"What do you know, little girl?!" The uncle was furious and shouted, "Lü Fei, how do you teach your children?"
Lu Ling blinked her eyes, dived into her mother's arms, and started crying. Her howling was so loud that the neighbors could hear her, and she was gasping for breath.
Lu Fei's heart ached, and he no longer maintained a friendly appearance. He hugged his daughter tightly, his face as gloomy as water: "Uncle, please forgive me for not being able to entertain guests today. Please go back!"
It was New Year's Day, and it would be bad if word got out that a few elders bullied an orphan and a widow, so in order to avoid gossip, they had to leave in a hurry.
After the gate was closed, Lu Ling raised her head and asked with a smile, "Mother, did I act like the real one?"
"So clever!" Lu Fei tapped her forehead with a smile on her face, but her heart couldn't help but sink.
I've used the crying trick to get rid of them today, but what about tomorrow? What about the day after? These people are insatiable and won't stop until they achieve their goals.
Her premonition turned out to be correct.
A few days after the beginning of the new year, the mine manager came running in with bruises all over his face.
"Boss, it's bad. Several mines have been broken into. They claim to be from your clan. From now on, the mines will be handed over to them."
Another shopkeeper came to report: "Boss, there are people claiming to be from your clan blocking the door of the shop with a ferocious look. Customers are afraid to come in."
"Boss..."
None of Lu Fei's properties were spared.
She was so angry that she laughed at herself. She hired the most famous lawyer in the city at a high price and sued the government, but someone else sued her first, accusing her of illegally occupying the family property and demanding that the government force her to return it.
Lü Fei: “…”
It's so shameless!
She was a well-known wealthy businessman in the city. Because she was featured in the first issue of the newspaper, it was no exaggeration to say that she was a household name in the local area. The amount of taxes she paid every year was an astonishing figure, and she had many connections with local officials.
I thought I would win the lawsuit without a doubt, but unexpectedly I ended up losing miserably.
Most of her properties were awarded to her clan, leaving only a few shops that were running at a loss, which were euphemistically used to provide for her and her daughter.
Why? On what basis!
Lu Fei was so angry that she felt dizzy. She wanted to find someone to ask for clarification, but those who had accepted her filial piety in the past avoided her one by one.
The clerk who had helped her once took the risk of telling her that it was impossible to get those properties back, and advised her not to dwell on it anymore, lest she lose her life.
After receiving his advice, Lu Fei quickly calmed down, packed up his bags, took his daughter, and while those people were immersed in the joy of success, he left Shanxi overnight and headed straight for the capital.
As a merchant, she could not influence the government. Even if she had a few connections in the capital, they could not overturn her case.
There is only one chance left.
She was holding a newspaper tightly in her hand. This was the issue that had just been published before the New Year. "The Heavenly Book: The Road to Success in the Imperial Examination" had been serialized to the point where Wu Chuanyue passed the examination and became a scholar.
The heavenly book rewarded him and brought his soul into the fantasy world again.
In the illusion, he saw a strange place where women and men went to school together, entered officialdom together, and women could be seen in every walk of life.
The most important thing is that women and men have equal inheritance rights and can even set up their own households. Each person is like a household registration book.
Most people have come to accept that the capital's newspapers must have the support of the royal family.
The fact that such articles can be published in newspapers, does this explain the profound meaning behind them?
Lu Fei has always been sharp-eyed and naturally would not miss this opportunity.
During the Lantern Festival, the capital city is decorated with lights and is extremely lively.
Xie Mingzhuo had some free time, so he disguised himself and took Lin Fan on a trip, and his second brother called him "dog abuser".
"What does 'dog abuse' mean?" Lin Fan was confused.
Xie Mingzhuo: "Don't worry about him, he's obsessed with writing storybooks."
Since the weekly newspaper was changed to a daily newspaper, Xie Mingshuo's workload has increased greatly. The reporters under him can run other news, but no one else can write the storybook "The Book from the Sky", so he has to do it himself.
He was still working day and night at the newspaper office during the Lantern Festival.
There was a mailbox at the entrance of the newspaper office for people to submit their articles. Every day, many people submitted articles to the newspaper office. He had handed over the review of the articles to his subordinates, and they would only be reviewed before they were published.
It’s the Lantern Festival tonight, and the area around the newspaper office is deserted.
He was writing at his desk when he heard a noise outside the door. The person came in and stepped lightly, but he had the golden finger of "enhanced five senses" and he detected it without any surprise.
He's acting so sneaky in the middle of the night, could he be a bad guy?
He suddenly stood up and walked behind the courtyard wall, climbed up the ladder and looked out. A woman in low-key clothes quietly delivered the envelope and turned away.
Why submit an article so late at night? Is it because being a woman makes it difficult for others to look down on you?
But having the courage to submit an article shows that you have courage.
Xie Mingshuo climbed down the courtyard wall, opened the door, and took out the key to open the mailbox. The newspaper's staff had cleaned it out before dusk, and since no one had sent mail after nightfall, there was only a single envelope in the mailbox.
He picked up the letter, went back to his room and opened it. If it was really well written, he would definitely publish it for her.
But after opening it, I started laughing out of anger after reading only two pages.
At midnight, Xie Mingzhuo returned to the palace accompanied by Lin Fan. As soon as she arrived at the prince's residence, her second brother hurried over, grabbed her sleeve, and said angrily, "Tiezhu, look at this!"
Xie Mingzhuo unfolded it and read two pages without changing his expression. After finishing it, he even smiled.
"Tiezhu, are you mad?" Xie Mingshuo was worried.
"What's there to be angry about?" Xie Mingzhuo shook his head and smiled. "This letter came at the perfect time. I should thank those people for handing over the evidence."
Xie Mingshuo also came to his senses and couldn't help but give a thumbs up.
Why are there always people who are not afraid of death and insist on crashing into their sister's hands?
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