Chapter 1555 Intelligence

When Zhou Shuren left the palace, he felt so refreshed. He had a whole folder of items he wanted to exchange, all of which were valuable items that were prohibited in maritime trade. They were not stupid. No country would be willing to sell important resources unless it was absolutely necessary.

At the Ministry of Rites, Zhou Shuren motioned for Jianyan to go in and look for Changyi. Changyi was very busy, and when he came out he trotted all the way, got on the carriage quickly, and asked, "Dad, what do you want to tell your son?"

Zhou Shuren motioned his son to lean over and whispered, "The emperor has drawn up a document for exchanging food. You should have an idea of ​​it first. You can also talk to the envoys from various countries in the next few days to find out the details."

Chang Yi thought that he was familiar with the information, and the political achievements were coming, "My son will definitely take care of it."

"Okay, that's enough. Go ahead and do your work. I'll be back soon."

Changyi is indeed very busy, and now he is also receiving envoys. "Okay."

After getting off the carriage, he asked the driver to go slower and be careful as the road was slippery as it was cold.

At the Zhou family, Zhulan returned home, and Li came to greet her, "Mom, the New Year's gift from my in-laws in my hometown has arrived in advance."

Zhulan heard the hesitation in Li's tone, "What's wrong?"

Mrs. Li said, "After Master Dong passed away, the Dong family split up. The New Year gifts sent by the Dong family were too expensive. It was like a competition. They far exceeded the gift list set by our family."

Zhulan was speechless. It hadn't even been a year since Mr. Dong passed away. "If there are too many, select them and send them back."

"My third brother's wife's face?"

"We have given the Dong family face this time. They will only become more aggressive in the future. Send them back directly to avoid future troubles. Hey, your third brother and his family are in Qizhou and can't take care of our hometown. Please help us make the decision."

Li's shoulders sank. Her mother-in-law had handed over all the affairs of the mansion to her. Her burden became heavy. "My daughter-in-law will take care of it."

"Yes, I believe you."

Seeing that her mother-in-law was tired, Li said nothing more and helped her mother-in-law back. She waited until her mother-in-law changed her clothes and rested before she left the main courtyard.

Li looked up at the sky, thinking about the account book that he hadn't finished reading. The sky was no longer blue. "Let's go. We still have to check this year's purchase account book."

The old woman said attentively, "Be careful where you step."

The servants in this mansion are the best at changing their attitudes according to the situation. The several branches of the Zhou family get along well with each other, but in the servants' hearts, the eldest branch is the future master. Mrs. Li has established her authority, so it is inevitable that the servants will flatter her. Fortunately, the Zhou family is fair and strict, so there has been no chaos.

In the evening, Zhou Shuren came back and told Zhulan about the exchanged materials. Zhulan whispered, "Actually, I've always had an idea."

Zhou Shuren, "Hmm?"

"People from both countries gather at the northeastern border, and their numbers are still increasing. Even if the two countries don't care, these people will become a problem sooner or later."

"The Emperor will not allow people from either country to enter the country."

Zhulan tapped the tea with her finger and drew on the table, "What do you think of digging trenches at the border? Or building a wall?"

"Building a wall is difficult."

"Then dig trenches to serve as border defenses in the future."

The labor force was utilized and also consumed. The foreign people on the border did not even have the energy to cause trouble, while the imperial court had to pay with a mixed cake that was not enough to kill people.

Zhulan added: "When people are extremely hungry, they can do anything."

"I can't bring this up, and Rong Chuan can't bring it up either."

"Who do you want to bring it up then?"

Zhou Shuren also used his finger to dip into water and wrote the word Liang on the table. "Since he has been stationed in the Northeast, he is the most suitable."

Zhulan gave a thumbs up, "Good choice."

Zhou Shuren needs to plan carefully, Prince Liang is hiding in the palace and he can't see him, so he still can't get around Rong Chuan. With his eyes narrowed, he needs to make a plan.

A few days later in Qizhou, Chang Lian listened to the report, looked at the first three villages on the list, and signaled the yamen runner to go down, "My lord, what do you think?"

Prefect, "Send someone to investigate secretly. I don't want any fraud to happen."

Chang Lian did not think it was false, but he felt sad in his heart that according to the court's method of disaster relief, there was a big gap between villages. The village with the clan as a whole was the most efficient and could also help other villages. This was the advantage of the clan.

As for the villages with mixed surnames, even if they are united, they cannot compete and still cannot be included in the list.

Chang Lian had visited the countryside before, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Sir, why don't you rank the villages that are organized by clans and the villages with mixed surnames separately?"

The prefect responded with emotion. The top few would receive disaster relief supplies as rewards. Some villages were in urgent need, while some clan villages were not. "Okay, divide it into two lists."

Chang Lian smiled and said, "Your Excellency the prefect is a good official who serves the people. The people all praise you."

The prefect smiled and said, "I only hope that Qizhou will have good weather and good harvests in the future, and that the people can live and work in peace and contentment. As for my false reputation, it is not important."

Chang Lian thought that it would be more convincing if the corners of his mouth were not raised.

Chang Lian came out of the government office and strolled back to the gate. He smelled the medicine before he got off the carriage. When he got off the carriage, he saw many people queuing with bowls in their hands. He walked up to his wife and said, "Thank you for your hard work these days."

Dong, "It's not hard."

Chang Lian asked, "How many herbs are left?"

"Not much left. I've been making soups to strengthen my body these days, and the herbs at home are running out."

Chang Lian: "It's okay if it's gone."

Mrs. Dong followed her husband into the house, "The prefect has run out of medicinal herbs, so he is making ginger soup now."

"It's not easy for the prefect either."

Mrs. Dong was a little angry. "In order not to go beyond the governor's authority, our family did not donate much medicinal materials. The governor's wife wanted to have a good reputation and set up a medicinal soup stall. Our family followed suit. She doesn't know how capable she is. She came to our family to say sour words when there was no medicinal materials left. It makes me angry just to hear that. Why, she still wants our family to send some medicinal materials over?"

Chang Lian patted his wife's shoulder and said, "Well, why bother with her?"

"If the prefect wasn't a good person, I wouldn't bother with her."

Chang Lian, "We'll close the shed if we run out of herbs, and you won't have to listen to any sour words."

"Um."

In the capital, Zhou Shuren and several important ministers accompanied the emperor to receive envoys from various countries. Zhou Shuren felt that Changyi was also suitable for intelligence, and he really found out a lot. The envoys from various countries didn't know that there was a traitor among them. After reading the exchanged material folders, they all had angry faces. Well, some people pretended to be really good.

The emperor ignored the envoy's anger and pointed to the folder, "The above is what our country wants to exchange. We don't have much to choose from. Those who exchange first will get food first."

The envoys shouted, "!!"

Isn't that enough? From precious metals to resources that are prohibited from trading, the list is very detailed, so detailed that they wonder if they know the reserves in their country.

Zhou Shuren got the emperor's look and continued, "Our country is a populous country. Although the land is vast, the cultivated area is not much. In recent years, our population has grown rapidly and we are also very short of food. I am in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and I am very reluctant to take out food, but who can blame me for being a country of etiquette? I gritted my teeth and collected some food, but it is really not much."