410, The Country is Stable [End of Text]
410, The Country is Stable [End of Text]
Winter of the sixth year of Ding'an
Kyoto Prefecture
That winter, there was a heavy snowfall in Kyoto Prefecture, and the snow was even heavier further north.
However, every year before winter comes, the imperial court issues wintering notices to local governments, and local governments organize the people to make preparations for winter. These preparations can, to a large extent, prevent heavy snow from causing too many casualties and disasters to the people.
In recent years, with the continuous improvement of textile technology, the price of cloth has dropped significantly, and ordinary people can afford to buy cloth to make new clothes. This has largely solved the problem of people's difficulty in dressing.
In addition, with the cooperation between the Hu and Han peoples in recent years, the Hu people outside the Great Wall have raised a large number of sheep, and the supply of wool is large. This wool is used for weaving and making clothes, which greatly improves the warmth-keeping performance of the clothes.
A few years ago, the Ministry of Revenue also discovered a crop that could be used to make clothes and keep warm: cotton. As the area of cotton cultivation continued to expand and its yield increased, it also provided people with materials that could be used to make clothes and keep warm.
People now have winter clothes that they can wear outside. Many people no longer have to stay indoors during the winter. Instead, they can go out and find a job in a workshop. At the very least, they can go to the city and set up a small stall to do some small business.
In recent years, the imperial court has opened free training classes, mainly to teach people skills such as weaving and embroidery, as well as making various snacks, etc.
Initially, the imperial court only held this type of training class in Kyoto Prefecture, but it was later expanded to all prefectures and provinces, with local governments organizing such training classes. As long as the people wanted to learn, they could go to the government office to sign up and participate at any time.
After the people learned these skills, they were able to make a living.
Furthermore, the continuous improvement of agricultural technology, the continuous enrichment of food varieties, and the continuous increase in grain production meant that people began to have surplus food in their homes. People were able to eat their fill, and the number of people dying of starvation decreased significantly.
Therefore, now that the people have enough food and thick clothes to last through the winter, winter is no longer a difficult thing for them. Many people can even find work in workshops during their free time in winter to earn some extra money to supplement their family income.
With extra money in hand, people's lives improved at a visibly fast pace.
After six years of continuous development, the country is now stable both internally and externally, the treasury is full, and Dayan has entered a period of stable development.
The fact that Dayan was able to escape poverty and weakness in such a short period of time was largely due to several decisions made by the Minister of Revenue a few years ago.
Maritime trade and the Silk Road brought enormous benefits to the imperial court and private merchants. Only after the treasury was full did the imperial court have money to invest in the development of people's livelihood and the military.
The increase in grain production allowed soldiers and civilians to have enough food to eat.
The continuous development and improvement of the military and the continuous strengthening of national strength have made foreign enemies dare not invade.
In March of this year, Zhou Chunshan, the Minister of Punishment, requested to retire from the imperial court due to illness and resigned from the post of Prime Minister. Lu Mingfei, the Minister of Revenue, succeeded Zhou Chunshan as the second Prime Minister of Dayan.
At the court meeting that day, no one among the officials raised any objection.
It took Lu Mingfei more than ten years to rise from a minor sixth-rank official in the Hanlin Academy to a first-rank position as a chancellor. However, this time, no one dared to question his ability to take this position simply because of his young age and lack of experience.
Just based on the huge wealth he brought to the entire country during the years he sat in the position of Minister of Revenue, and the funds he allocated to the six ministries over the years, the ministers of various ministries did not dare to question his ability.
After becoming the Prime Minister, Lu Mingfei's work became even busier.
However, fortunately, thanks to his continuous promotion of new people in recent years, he has a lot of available manpower around him. These subordinates have shared a lot of work with him, so he doesn't have to be busy from morning to night every day.
It was a rare day off, so he put down his work and asked His Majesty the Emperor to come out to understand the people's sentiments and... enjoy the snow.
Of course, understanding the people's sentiments is the key point, and enjoying the snow is just a by-product.
Two people stood on the city wall, looking at the white snow in front of them.
At first glance, all you see is white, as if there is no other color in the world except white.
However, when they looked down, they could see many caravans and civilians queuing outside the city gate, waiting to enter the city.
Lu Mingfei looked into the distance and said to the Emperor standing beside him, "I've discovered that after getting promoted, apart from being busier, I don't seem to have any benefits."
"Of course you have, your monthly salary has increased." Zhao Lang reminded Prime Minister Lu.
"Do I need your monthly salary? Huh?" Lu Mingfei turned to look at Zhao Lang and asked.
Zhao Lang chuckled softly and coaxed his own Prime Minister Lu, "Then I'll give you more, and increase it a little more?"
"I'm not interested in money right now." Lu Mingfei wasn't short of money. His expenses weren't much to begin with, and with his current salary, bonuses, and various dividends, he had more than he could spend.
Their private property is not separated. In the early years, he used Zhao Lang's private property to make a lot of investments, and the returns were huge.
Although Zhao Lang became the emperor and the entire country belonged to him, in order to prevent their private property from being mixed with the state's money and becoming inseparable and unclear in the future, he had long ago separated Zhao Lang's private property from the state's money.
In addition, the royal family also has its own independent industries and income, which will be left to the royal family members in the future.
However, this part of the industry was not mixed with Zhao Lang's personal property. However, the royal industry contained Zhao Lang's personal investment and dividends.
Lu Mingfei had been managing the Ministry of Revenue's finances for the past few years, but he had also devoted some of his attention to managing Zhao Lang's private property. So now, the two of them really had no shortage of money.
Zhao Lang also understood this, so he simply asked his Prime Minister Lu: "Just tell me, what do you want?"
"Why don't we go to Li County when we have time next year?" Looking into the distance, Lu Mingfei's heart was even more eager to leave the city and go somewhere farther.
He has been imprisoned in Kyoto Prefecture for the past few years. The farthest he has gone is to the suburbs outside the city to take a walk, see the crops in the fields and the lives of the people, and visit the workshops outside the city. The rest of the time he basically stays in the city.
My life was basically the same, with no major changes, except going to the government office to work and then going home, and then going to the palace to attend the morning court and teach the crown prince.
"Okay, after the New Year, let the crown prince govern the country, and we will go to Li County and visit Pingzhou by the way." Zhao Lang was not worried at all that his younger brother would usurp his throne while he was away in Kyoto.
Thinking of how his mother had never been able to accept the fact that he liked men, let alone the young man around him, Zhao Lang quickly changed his tone and said, "If you don't want to go to Pingzhou, then we won't go."
"It's okay. You haven't seen your father and mother for a long time. If we go to Li County, we can go visit them together." Lu Mingfei didn't think it was a big deal. Even if the Queen Mother made things difficult for him, she didn't have many opportunities to do so.
In the past few years, the retired emperor and the empress dowager have not come to Kyoto Prefecture. They have been in Pingzhou City.
So Zhao Lang hasn't seen his parents for many years.
His own family is in Kyoto Prefecture. In his free time these years, Lu Mingfei would go back to visit and spend time with his family. During the Chinese New Year and other holidays, he would also bring Zhao Lang home with him.
Except for the fact that his family members were a little reserved at the beginning, they later seemed to gradually get used to and accept the relationship between him and the emperor, as well as Zhao Lang as a person.
Thinking of going home, Lu Mingfei remembered what his mother had asked him last time. "The last time I went home, my mother asked me if I would come to our house for dinner during the Chinese New Year. If you go, she will cook a few more of your favorite dishes."
"Then Prime Minister Lu, are you going to take me back?" Zhao Lang asked.
"Of course." Lu Mingfei nodded with certainty.
The two looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky. Lu Mingfei reached out and caught a falling snowflake, then said to the man in front of him, "It's snowing. Let's go down."
"good."
Zhao Lang reached out to help the young man put his hat on his head straight, then he took an oil-paper umbrella from the guard behind him, opened it and held it above their heads.
The two walked side by side, step by step down from the bottom of the city wall.
Below the city wall was a carriage waiting for them.
The two of them went down the steps and got into the carriage.
Today, neither of them was in a hurry to go home. After getting on the carriage, Lu Mingfei asked the person next to him, "Shall we go to Xianglai Pavilion for tea?"
"Okay." Zhao Lang responded and said to the driver outside, "Go to Xianglai Pavilion."
"Yes, master." The coachman outside responded, holding the reins with both hands to control the horse forward.
Behind the carriage were the guards on horseback.
The convoy moved forward, leaving several deep marks on the road.
Inside the carriage, Lu Mingfei leaned on Zhao Lang, lifted a corner of the curtain with one hand, and looked at the bustling street outside.
"Alang."
"Um?"
Lu Mingfei turned his head and met a pair of eyes fixed on him. He lowered his hand from the curtain and grasped the Emperor's arm, calling out again, "My Majesty."
"Yes, my Lord Prime Minister."
Zhao Lang smiled, lowered his head, and rubbed his nose against the nose of his Prime Minister with his nose.
The two people looked at each other, with smiles on their lips and tenderness in their eyes.
Time seemed to stop at this moment.
Outside the car window, there was the clatter of horse hooves, the creaking of wheels, the cries of vendors, and the haggling of the people...
——End of Text——Author’s Talk:
Closing remarks:
The main text ends here, and there will be some extra chapters later. Thank you to all the readers who like and support this book, thank you!
Finally, I wish everyone’s sincerity will not be let down, and everyone can get what they want and achieve their dreams!
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