Chapter 2319 Ask her to come over and ask
He said softly, "Father, I, your son, have an idea."
"Ideas? What ideas?"
"These past few days, I have been thinking about how to solve the problem of mulberry farmers."
Zhu Feng raised his eyebrows slightly.
Nan Yan was also a little confused. They were talking about the special envoy's visit to the Parthian Empire and the fact that the gifts prepared might not be enough. Why did the King of Wei suddenly start talking about Sang Nong?
But she didn't interrupt.
Instead, he reached out to stop Xinping, who had been making noises nearby, and whispered, "Keep your voice down. Brother and father are discussing something important."
Upon hearing this, Xinping immediately shut her mouth with a pouty face.
He opened his eyes wide and looked at his father and brother who had serious expressions.
Zhu Feng said in a deep voice: "You, tell me first."
Zhu Chengxuan said seriously, "Nowadays, the imperial court purchases large quantities of raw silk produced by the mulberry farmers of Yue State. This raw silk has already met more than 60% of the silk needs of our country. Therefore, the raw silk produced by those mulberry farmers is in surplus."
"Um."
"However, the treasury currently only has 200,000 pieces of silk left, and after the New Year's expenses and the rewards given by the Emperor after the New Year, it is actually not enough."
“…”
"In other words, there is an excess of raw silk, but not enough silk."
“…”
"Of course, to weave silk, we need weavers and looms. The south has no shortage of weavers, but they lack looms. As far as I know, Feng'an County is a major silk producer, but it has less than two thousand looms."
“…”
Nan Yan listened from the side and blinked.
Zhu Feng's eyes were deep. He twirled the wine glass in his hand but didn't bring it to his mouth. He just said, "Go on."
Zhu Chengxuan said, "So, I have been thinking about whether we can provide them with looms. With looms, we can let them produce silk themselves. Based on the current production, we can produce at least 300,000 more pieces of silk each year."
“…”
"However, the imperial court may not be able to digest the extra silk."
"but--"
Zhu Feng said slowly, "But if we send these silks as gifts to Parthia, that will solve this problem."
"yes."
Zhu Chengxuan continued, "Furthermore, along the way, we can also sell silk to the countries along the way in the Western Regions. I've heard that a piece of silk can only be sold for two taels of silver in China, but if it is sold to the countries in the Western Regions, the price can be at least ten times higher."
“…”
"If it is sold further, the price can even increase dozens of times."
Zhu Chengxuan glanced at Zhu Feng again and said cautiously, "If it weren't for such huge profits, those merchants wouldn't have sneaked out of the country when the emperor was still alive and had issued a clear ban on leaving the country."
Zhu Feng nodded.
He did not agree with all the actions taken by Emperor Gao during his lifetime, which is why he carried out drastic reforms after ascending the throne. Therefore, although the words of the King of Wei seemed to criticize his elders, he did not care too much.
He only said: "No one gets up early without profit. That's what I mean."
“…”
"Such huge profits are profitable for merchants, so why can't the imperial court profit from them?"
Zhu Chengxuan nodded hurriedly and said, "Besides, the court must make this huge profit now. Because this way, it can also solve the problem of mulberry farmers causing unrest."
Zhu Feng nodded again.
When he turned to look at Zhu Chengxuan again, a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes. Although it was fleeting, Nan Yan still caught it.
This was a rare expression of his admiration for the King of Wei.
However, Zhu Feng was always very reluctant to express such praise. Firstly, Zhu Chengxuan had never been favored by him since he was a child; secondly, he was accustomed to the strict requirements of King Wei, so even if he had feelings of praise, he was unwilling to express it too much.
So, Nan Yan smiled and said, "That's great, this problem is solved."
As he spoke, he picked up some food and placed it in the King of Wei's bowl, saying with a smile, "The King of Wei has truly grown up and is now able to help the Emperor with his worries and difficulties. This is something that even many ministers in the court cannot resolve."
When Zhu Chengxuan heard her say that, his face turned red.
Zhu Feng's expression softened a bit, but he immediately continued, "Don't praise him blindly. This is just a chance for the ministers to give him experience. Are so many people not as good as him?"
Zhu Chengxuan immediately lowered his head.
Nan Yan said softly to Zhu Feng: "Your Majesty..."
Seeing her like this, Zhu Feng looked at Zhu Chengxuan again, coughed lightly, and said, "But this time, you solved this problem for me."
“…”
"well done."
As he said this, he patted his shoulder gently.
This pat seemed to inject strength into the King of Wei. He raised his head and looked at the Emperor and the Concubine, his ears red with excitement. He whispered, "Your son, I will continue to work hard."
And then he added, “It’s just that now, it’s a matter of the loom.”
"Um?"
"To produce more silk, we need looms. But right now, the silk merchants in the south don't have enough looms because of the production cuts in the past few years."
When this was mentioned, Nan Yan said softly, "Your Majesty."
"Um?"
Zhu Feng turned to look at her: "What's the matter?"
Nan Yan said softly, "When Ruoshui was serving me, she seemed to have mentioned the matter of the looms in Feng'an County. Should I ask her to come over and ask her about it?"
"Oh? She knows?"
"When she and her master passed through Feng'an County, they learned about the situation there."
Zhu Feng said, "That's perfect. In fact, I was just thinking of finding a local to ask about this. Since she's been there before, let her come over."
"yes."
Nan Yan immediately looked up and said to Ran Xiaoyu, who was standing by and serving, "Go, call Ruoshui over and tell her that the emperor and I have something to ask her."
"yes."
Ran Xiaoyu hurriedly put the tray in her hand on the cabinet beside her, turned around and walked out.
As soon as I went out, I saw Nian Qiu standing outside.
She said, "Why are you here?"
Nian Qiu was startled, then immediately whispered, "Didn't the Emperor instruct me not to go in and serve? I, I can only watch from here."
Ran Xiaoyu thought for a moment and said, "It's just right. The Queen wants Ruoshui to come and serve her. Go and call her."
"well."
Nian Qiu turned around and ran out.
After a while, she brought Ruoshui over. Ran Xiaoyu was standing under the eaves. When she saw Ruoshui coming, she immediately took her hand and said, "The Emperor and the Empress have something to ask you. Come in quickly."
Ruoshui was startled: "I, I didn't do anything wrong."
"Who said you did something wrong? Hurry up and go in. Maybe there's a reward for you."
"real?"
Upon hearing this, Ruoshui bravely walked in, and Ran Xiaoyu looked back at Nianqiu and said, "The emperor is here, so you don't have to serve here anymore. Go down and rest."
Nian Qiu said, "Yes."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Chapter 2320 is so good!
Ran Xiaoyu stood at the door and watched her back disappear outside the gate before turning around and walking in.
In the main hall, Ruoshui stood there in a proper manner.
She told the emperor, the imperial concubine, the Prince of Wei, and the princess everything she had seen and heard on her way to the capital with Xu Miaoming.
Zhu Feng listened quietly, as if thinking about something.
After Ruoshui finished speaking, he thought for a moment and then said, "So, looms are sold very cheaply near Feng'an County."
"yes,"
Ruoshui said seriously, "Actually, the mulberry farmers over there also want to buy looms to weave their own silk, but they can't sell their raw silk, so they don't have the money to buy looms."
"Well, what about the silk merchants? They have money to buy looms."
"Those silk merchants, although they have money, are also afraid that their silk production will not be marketable, and in the end, their efforts will be in vain."
Zhu Chengxuan listened from the side and nodded slightly.
He murmured, "That's true."
“…”
"What merchants care about is sales. Only products that can be sold can be profitable. If they can't be sold, they are naturally unwilling to invest the money upfront."
Zhu Feng said, "Looms... Since we're going to do this business, the court can provide looms. Or, the court can purchase looms and sell them to mulberry farmers and silk merchants at low prices."
“…”
"In this way, when purchasing silk, the price can be lowered further."
Nan Yan asked in confusion: "Is this okay?"
Zhu Feng said, "Originally, to quell the unrest among these mulberry farmers, the imperial court would have had to pay money. Either by spending money to appease them, or by sending troops to suppress them."
“…”
"However, appeasement is only temporary; after a while, the situation will re-emerge. Furthermore, sending troops requires daily provisions, which cost money. Furthermore, this is not a long-term solution."
“…”
"If we can produce silk and stop the mulberry farmers from making trouble with the same amount of money, then we can revitalize the whole thing, which would actually be beneficial to the court. The Ministry of Revenue is willing to pay for it."
"That's great!"
Nan Yan laughed, looked at the two of them, and said in disbelief, "Is this matter really resolved?"
Seeing her happy expression, Zhu Feng smiled.
He said, "Now, things can be explained, but whether it can be implemented still requires me to discuss it with the ministers in the court. We even need to find one or two places to test it for a period of time."
“…”
"If the problem can really be solved, then the imperial court can start doing business with the countries in the Western Regions, while also appeasing these mulberry farmers and even increasing a significant amount of revenue."
“…”
"This kills three birds with one stone."
Nan Yan listened, still a little bit incredulous, and murmured, "I never thought that such a troublesome matter could be solved by the emperor in the time it takes to eat a meal."
Zhu Feng looked at her, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and said with a smile, "I'll have dinner at your place, and it's settled."
“…”
"If it were somewhere else, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to finish this meal."
Nan Yan felt sweet again when she heard this, but she felt shy in front of the child. She just glared at him and said, "Your Majesty is talking nonsense again."
Zhu Chengxuan was standing aside, just laughing.
At this moment, a voice as thin and tender as a cat's was heard from the side.
"Can I speak now?"
Everyone looked down and saw that it was Xinping. Nan Yan had asked her not to speak before, and she had kept her mouth shut. Her cheeks were puffed up as if a big walnut was stuffed in one side, and her two little hands were clinging to the edge of the table, looking at them.
Zhu Feng laughed: "Okay, talk. Of course I'll let you talk."
"hey-hey."
"What are you going to say?"
Xinping shifted, sat up straight in his chair, and clapped his hands vigorously: "Great!"
Seeing her like this, everyone burst into laughter.
This big trouble has been solved. If it were under normal circumstances, Zhu Feng would have left immediately and summoned the ministers to discuss how to implement this matter.
But today, it is rare for the "family" to get together and the atmosphere is so good.
He was somewhat reluctant to leave.
Moreover, seeing that the problem could be solved and even had better prospects for development, his tense spirit, which had been in place for recent days, relaxed a little.
So, I gave myself a rare half-day off.
She stayed in the palace, chatting with Nan Yan and taking their two children with them, and playing in the snow.
Soon, an afternoon passed.
He simply stayed here for dinner.
However, when they were halfway through the meal, Eunuch Yu, who was serving on the side, noticed a young eunuch running in from outside. He seemed to have something to say, so he hurried out.
After a while, he came back.
Zhu Feng held the bowl and chopsticks in his hands and asked while eating, "What's the matter?"
Eunuch Yu had originally planned to wait until he had finished dinner before speaking, but since the emperor had already asked, he said, "There are two things. One is that Master Gu has entered the palace."
Nan Yan listened from the side and glanced sideways.
He murmured, "Uncle? What is he doing here?"
Zhu Feng said, "This morning, the cabinet discussed sending a special envoy to Parthia. I asked him to go back and draft a memorial estimating the number of troops needed. I'm afraid he didn't rest after returning and has been busy with this matter. Now he has drafted it."
As he spoke, he glanced at Nan Yan and said with a smile, "Your uncle may look calm and composed, but he's actually quite impatient."
Nan Yan laughed and said, "My uncle works hard, but the emperor still ridicules him."
Eunuch Yu smiled and said, "Your Majesty is right. Lord Gu is here to present a memorial."
Zhu Feng smiled and said, "See, I was right."
After saying that, he finished the remaining half bowl of rice in two bites and put down his bowl and chopsticks.
Nan Yan said, "The Emperor is gone already? He hasn't eaten much yet."
"That's fine. We can have them send some more tea and snacks to the Imperial Study later. This matter is important after all. Your uncle is so attentive, I can't keep him waiting."
Hearing him say this, Nan Yan nodded.
She remembered something and turned to look at Eunuch Yu and asked, "What is the second thing?"
Eunuch Yu glanced at Zhu Feng cautiously.
Then he said, "Commander Fang is back."
“…”
Upon hearing this, Nan Yan opened her eyes wide, and Zhu Feng's expression also froze slightly.
Fang Buyuan, one of the four commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Previously, they were in Shazhouwei and wiped out the sand bandits in Reyuewan, but the "military advisor" Long Tingyun who controlled that group of bandits escaped. So, Zhu Feng sent Fang Buyuan to track down this group of people.
After that, there was no news of Fang Buyuan.
Now, he is back.
If the action of tracking the other party had not failed, then there might be some clues.
Zhu Feng asked, "Where is he?"
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