Chapter 1477: The Right Time, Right Place, and Right People

Chang Yi listened again and confirmed that he had heard correctly. He looked at the prince of Oge and said, "I am not from an imperial examination family. I have to learn with an open mind. It is better for the prince to find someone else to be his teacher."

The son of the Marquis of Oger, "I am already twenty years old, and now I am starting to learn literature from scratch. I don't know how many years it will take. I have heard about Mr. Zhou's deeds and I admire him. I think I have a good talent for languages, so I came to become his disciple."

He was already twenty years old, and there was no chance for him to take the imperial examination. He could not pursue a career in martial arts, so he could only think of other ways. Marrying into the Zhou family was impossible, and he did not think that he could hide his intentions from the Zhou family.

Now that the Oge tribe only has the title of Marquis, it would be easy for the Zhou family to make things difficult for them. He was originally expecting a younger sister, but yesterday his mother came back from the palace and he burst into tears. He couldn't help but face the reality.

Chang Yi looked at the prince with deep eyes. This prince was unwilling to be a prince with a title but still wanted power. "I am unable to teach my disciple. Please seek help from someone better."

Prince Oger knew that he would not succeed at once, so he smiled and said, "I am sincere and will let you see my sincerity."

Lord Liu waited for the prince to leave, then walked over slowly and asked, "Why did the prince come to the Ministry of Rites to look for you?"

Changyi: "I have a big heart."

Lord Liu nodded, "Eyes can't deceive people, he is indeed very ambitious. If the imperial court hadn't swallowed up the grassland, he would have been a nuisance in many years."

Chang Yi agreed, "This man is ruthless and cruel. He knows best how his brothers died."

Lord Liu, "Then you should be careful. This guy is a man who will not stop until he achieves his goal."

"Um."

Zhou Shuren did not have many tasks to do in the Ministry of Revenue. During his recuperation, the Ministry of Revenue had to run everything on its own except for important matters that required his attention. In his free time, he thought about the orphans.

Zhang Jinghong came in, and Zhou Shuren came back to his senses, "The account book is on the table."

Zhang Jinghong put down the account book, "Sir, this is the expenditure of the children in Dongcheng this month."

Zhou Shuren picked up the account book, "There are more than 150 children?"

Zhang Jinghong nodded, "Yes, this is still sending some children back."

Although the imperial court did not publicize it, the people of the capital were very gossipy, and many of those who were well-informed found out where the child was lost.

Zhou Shuren continued to look through it. The older children ate coarse grains and fish cakes twice a day, while the younger ones could drink finely ground corn porridge. Even with the daily ration, the daily consumption of more than 150 children was not small, not to mention the food for the mother-in-law and others.

Zhou Shuren closed the account book, "Tomorrow there will be some food and old clothes delivered to the Ministry of Revenue. You will be responsible for receiving and delivering them. Wait, if there are too many old clothes, keep some of them. I will need them."

Zhang Jinghong said, "I've made a note of this. Speaking of old clothes, I have a lot of old clothes from my servants in my house, which can also be sent to the Ministry of Revenue."

"Okay, I thank you on behalf of the children."

Zhang Jinghong felt embarrassed, "I don't deserve the children's thanks. I will leave first."

After Zhang Jinghong left, Zhou Shuren opened the account book again, took out a blank folder, wrote down the expenditure data, and then expressed his suggestions one by one. Finally, he wrote about the benefits to the court. He finished the folder in one go, checked carefully to make sure nothing was missed, and put the folder away.

After leaving the government office in the afternoon, Zhou Shuren saw his second son and asked, "Why weren't you waiting for me in the carriage?"

"Son didn't wait for a moment, Dad, please be careful, the snow is a bit slippery."

Zhou Shuren was helped into the carriage by his son and waited for Changyi to come up. "What's the matter with you picking me up?"

Chang Yi told what happened today, "You are very thoughtful."

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard, "Marquis Oge has an advantage over the other marquises. His daughter is a concubine in the palace. If she behaves well, she can live a stable life. The other princes don't have this blessing. They don't cherish their blessings!"

Aruna's pregnancy was fake, and this was her merit. As long as Ogehou was honest, the emperor would have some sympathy for the Oge tribe. If they made trouble, the emperor's sympathy would be gone in an instant.

Chang Yi was speechless, "You have a sister in the palace, why are you still making trouble? Now you are not honestly training the younger generation. The more you make trouble, the more unhappy the emperor will be."

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and said, "Because people are always greedy."

The next morning, Zhou Shuren was the first to stand up and handed over the folder in his hand. He said in a sad voice, "Last year, the bilateral war destroyed many families in our dynasty and left many children without fathers. In recent days, every time I think of the relief money, I think of the sons and daughters who died defending their country. I can't sleep at night."

In fact, the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty were a little confused. After hearing these words, they did not understand Zhou Shuren's thoughts.

Zhou Shuren paused and continued, "I was born in the countryside, and I know best how the people live. A family without a pillar will have a very hard life. It's OK if the eldest son can take on the responsibility of supporting the family, but the problem is that the woman is young and the children are young. After marriage, a woman obeys her husband. After the husband dies, she obeys her son. If the son is young, a woman can only obey her elders and remarry. Of course, there are also strong-tempered women who take on the responsibility of supporting the family, but they are very rare."

The Emperor had read the memorial and handed it to the Crown Prince.

Some of the ministers still didn't understand it clearly, while some had grasped some of Zhou Shuren's ideas.

Zhou Shuren continued, "If the woman remarries, what will happen to the children? Although they can stay with their relatives or remarry with their mother, the national grain production decreased last year and the whole country is short of food. How long can the help from relatives last? How much food can they get if they remarry with their mother? These children are the descendants of heroes who defended their country. They deserve better care and should become useful people for the country like their fathers."

Now everyone understands Zhou Shuren's thoughts. Some people were very moved. Of course, most of them were military generals, and there were fewer civil officials. After all, most of the civil officials were from aristocratic families and could not empathize deeply. Don't expect the powerful and aristocratic families to have much sympathy!

Mr. Wang attended the morning court today. Zhou Shuren talked to him about this yesterday. He thought it was a good thing, both for the country and for the people's popularity.

Mr. Wang stepped forward and said, "We cannot let down the souls of the fallen heroes. I second your proposal."

Later, someone else seconded the proposal that the Ministry of Revenue be in charge of grain and silver, and that the Ministry of Revenue take the lead, so they don't have to worry about silver and grain. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the emperor agreed.

The emperor did agree. He thought more. The aristocratic families and the powerful monopolized the resources, and it was difficult for poor people to study. Although there seemed to be many scholars in the country, there were actually not many. Most of the scholars were occupied by the aristocratic families.

Not only can they educate their children and brainwash them from a young age to make them more loyal to the royal family, but they can also cultivate talents to compete for resources from the aristocratic families in the future.

Moreover, the orphans of these soldiers also serve as a publicity stunt for the imperial court, and will make conscription more efficient in the future.

Zhou Shuren understood the emperor's thoughts, so he focused on the benefits of raising these children. In ancient feudal times, people's thoughts were controlled, so he slowly planted the seeds, which would sooner or later sprout and grow into big trees.

The timing is very good now, with the right time, right place and right people. If he lacks one of them, there will be many obstacles if he wants to open an orphanage. Now every aspect is beneficial to the royal family, and with the banner of defending the country, it is much easier.

By the time the aristocratic families reacted, the emperor had already taken all the initiative. The emperor wanted to weaken the influence of the aristocratic families in the first place, so naturally he would not give in.

Although he cannot see the future, his descendants will.

After the morning court session, Zhou Shuren was kept by the emperor for a detailed discussion. Zhou Shuren said to the emperor, "First, we need to count how many children have become orphans and how many have been abused. The court must have a clear idea of ​​this, so as not to be unprepared and make a mess."

The prince frowned, "Being abused?"

Zhou Shuren looked at the prince with caring eyes, "There are many cases where a stepfather turns a real mother into a stepmother, and similarly, there are many cases where a stepmother turns a father into a stepfather. Abuse often occurs, and some children are oppressed by uncles who have no conscience. Some children do not grow up well. The King of Qin was abused a lot when he was a child."

The prince was humble, "I still know too little about the people. I will visit the village more often in the future."

Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows and had to admit that the prince as the heir was a blessing to the people. "The prince is very kind."

The emperor was also very pleased and asked, "Who do you think is suitable to be in charge of this matter?"

Zhou Shuren was calculating in his mind, "I think no one else can do this except Your Majesty. Royal Orphanage? What do you think?"

The emperor's title means he is linked to the royal family. Tsk tsk, when the noble families react in the future, they won't dare to say anything and can only swallow their anger and regret not stopping it.