Chapter 109: To be on the safe side, Dr. Zhang and another doctor were invited to...
To be on the safe side, I asked Dr. Zhang and another doctor to take my pulse. They both said that I was pregnant, but it was still early in the pregnancy.
Nanny Wu and others were extremely happy and kept congratulating them.
Muxue lowered her head and touched her flat belly, looking a little confused.
To be honest, she didn't have any special feelings at the moment, but she was in a state of mind of "Oh, it's raining today?"
Mother Zhao smiled and said, "Oh, right? This is great news. We need to send someone to catch up with the Prince Consort."
"Wait a minute."
Mu Xue said, "It has not been long since the prince consort inherited the Khan's throne, so he should go back to see her first. If we send someone to tell him now, he will definitely come back immediately. It would be better to wait a little longer, and have him come back to accompany her when the month is older."
She already regarded the Tushetu Khanate as the common property of the couple, so she had to have her own people go and take a look before she could feel at ease.
Besides, with Dorji's personality, he would be extremely happy when he came back, and he would protect her with his eyes. She also wanted to do something while she was relaxed and think quietly.
Nanny Wu also nodded: "As the old saying goes, it is best to announce the pregnancy after 100 days. Otherwise, it might not be good. It is better to do it later."
She had given birth and raised a child, and was also the wet nurse who had fed the princess since she was young, so she had a lot of experience. Mu Xue asked her to look after the necessary things, such as the clothes she would wear in the next few months, slightly loose embroidered shoes, etc. Of course, the most important thing was to discuss it carefully with Qiu Hua and the others, form a medical team, and pay attention to every aspect.
When it was late at night, the lamp was blown out, and the room was filled with darkness, with only the moonlight leaking in from the south window.
Mu Xue stared at the goose yellow satin curtains, slightly distracted.
In a few months, she will give birth to a relative for me, a blood relative.
The timing was good now. Mobei was peaceful, and she was safe in the princess's mansion in Guihua City.
But what if the child doesn’t like this world?
She turned over.
Since it was a life she brought into this world, she would do her best to make it aware of the beautiful parts.
She turned over again.
However, there are some things that she chooses to keep for herself, such as her thoughts, career, and her future.
With all kinds of thoughts in a mess, Mu Xue's last thought before falling asleep was that she hoped it was a daughter.
So the next day, he got up and asked Nanny Wu to prepare more small clothes for girls.
There was a new green in the princess's garden. On a bright spring afternoon, Muxue changed into a goose yellow satin cloak from the south of the Yangtze River and sat in the garden to have her meal. She ate half a bowl of slightly sweet milk and bird's nest porridge, and watched the maids take out the fur coats they wore in winter and dry them in the sun, preparing to put them into boxes.
During this auspicious season, Wang Xiangqing led his people north to do business, while Fan Yuqi, Cui Gu and others returned to the capital as usual to take care of various matters.
Only Yunqi was kept by his side and was asked to run away and do something important.
If you want to be rich, build roads first.
The post road and post station from Guihua City to Khalkha need to be well built and arranged so that more merchants can pass through this route.
The court had already allocated some silver, but it was not enough to build all the post stations along the route, and this matter was on the mind of Shuo Dai, the governor of Guihua City. In the early spring, Shuo Dai received an imperial edict to urge him to do so. Because it involved local affairs in Khalkha, Shuo Dai thought about it and submitted a visiting card to the princess's mansion to ask for an audience.
"Princess, the commander of Guihua City has arrived and is waiting in the front hall."
Mu Xue stroked the jade hairpin beside her temples and said lazily, "Got it. Take him to Jingyi Hall to wait. Also call the Chief Clerk Mu Sen over."
After all, he was the governor of Guihua City, the head of a place, and a second-rank official in the court. The chief eunuch Yanxi personally delivered the letter. He was a well-regarded eunuch, and Shuodai was polite when he saw him. Seeing that the princess had not arrived yet, he chatted with her to get closer.
"If you come a few days earlier, the prince will be here and it will be cheaper if we negotiate."
The word "Prince" made Yanxi's smile freeze for a moment. He realized that it was Dorji. The princess and her entourage all followed suit and called him Prince Consort, which sounded a bit strange at first.
He was complaining in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He just smiled and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it to the princess."
He is such a confused person. When the princess speaks, the prince has to obey! He really can't tell the big Buddha from the small Buddha.
After a while of perfunctory talk, the chief secretary Mu Sen came. They had met before when they were building the princess's mansion, so they exchanged pleasantries again. But Shuo Dai didn't understand why he called this person here at this time.
There was no time to think about it, as I heard the messenger announcing the princess' arrival.
Shuodai and others immediately bowed, and Muxue sat down on the throne, and then was given a seat.
"What's the matter with you coming here today?"
Shuo Dai said, "Princess, the court has sent an order to urge you to settle down on the Khalkha post road. This matter involves both Manchuria and Mongolia. I thought that perhaps the princess could intervene. You married into the Khalkha, and the Mongolian princes and taijis all respect you. With your help, this matter will be twice as easy with half the effort. When the post road is built, I will ask the court for permission, and I will definitely write a great deal about your achievements."
Mu Xue crossed her hands and placed them flat on her cloak, and said in a gentle voice: "It sounds like a good thing, but unfortunately I am a woman and I don't know much about repairing the post road. I would like to ask the governor to explain in detail how to do it."
After hearing this, the Chief Clerk Mu Sen and the Chief Eunuch Yan Xi couldn't help but curl their lips.
A woman? Well, it feels like the master is about to start again?
Shuo Dai didn't doubt it. He was not young, more than fifty years old, and held a simple view of women that was common at that time. Although the fourth princess had made great achievements in business before, it was obvious that such a young girl could not come up with so many ideas on her own. Most of the time, it was the people around her, such as the chief secretary or the people from Concubine Yi's family, who helped her plan and gave her this good name.
So he patiently explained it to the princess.
The construction of the post road involves many things. First, the post station must be built. Post stations are large and small. A post station of a certain scale needs at least 80 to 90 horses, 10 donkeys, 30 to 40 grooms and dozens of runners. Even a small post station needs at least 8 horses and 4 grooms. There is also the cost of building the post station house.
Actually, it is operation. The post station and post road are not a one-time business. They must be maintained for a long time, such as feeding horses, repairing houses, and leveling the ground of the post station. As long as it exists for a year, it will cost a year's money.
There are many post roads from Guihua City to Khalkha Mongolia, and the distance is very long. Even if the post road from Guihua to Kulun that is being built now is one post station every 100 miles, there will be 14 or 15 post stations. If the entire Khalkha Mongolia is to have post stations available, about 100 will have to be built.
"The imperial court has allocated some silver. But it can only build half of the post station. And it is only for construction expenses. The subsequent maintenance expenses such as grooms and horses will need to be raised by each person along the way."
Shuodai's idea was that Princess ? would send someone to go forward, together with the officials of the Lifanyuan, to consult with the Mongolian tribes along the way.
Mu Xue listened quietly and asked, "I? I don't quite understand what it means to raise funds along the way."
Shuo Dai was stunned and could only explain: "It means that the Mongolian tribe supplies sheep and horses and sends people to take them nearby."
Mu Xue frowned: "Isn't that a new layer of corvée?"
"That's not the way to put it. It doesn't sound nice. It's just a mandatory service." Shuo Dai said, "Besides, it's not new. The post station in Mo Nan also did this before."
"The situation in Mobei is different. It is vast, and you also said that there is not so much funding from the court. Doesn't that mean that many post stations need to be funded by each tribe and flag themselves?" Mu Xue said seriously, "Khalkha has been annexed for less than ten years, and because of the war, many herdsmen had a hard time making a living. Now that there has been peace for a few years, they can finally take a breath. Now they are conscripted to work at the post stations. What will they think? If I understand correctly, the so-called conscription is to pull people over and force them to serve as station guards without paying them. It can be as short as a few months or as long as a few decades. And the cattle, sheep and horses used for errands, are they the livestock raised by people themselves?"
"If you do this, maybe people will be able to tolerate it in the past few years? But if it continues like this, resentment will accumulate over time. Aren't you afraid of causing a Khalkha uprising?"
After hearing this, Shuo Dai's forehead was covered with cold sweat. He immediately knelt down and said, "I dare not have such intention. Princess, please understand. This is indeed the order of the court, and a good cook cannot cook without rice."
There was silence in the palace for a long time before the princess' voice was heard.
"Get up. I'm not targeting you. It's just that there may not be a better way to deal with this matter."
A better approach?
Shuo Dai stood up, raised his eyelids and quickly glanced at the princess on the throne: "Please give me some advice, Princess."
Mu Xue said, "You have been an official for many years, don't you have any ideas?"
Shuo Dai said with a bitter face: "Princess, if it is not borne by the people along the way, then the money must be provided by the "big family". Princess, if you can persuade them, you can give it a try."
The wealthy were the imperial merchants and Mongolian princes and nobles. It was just like the old days when the county suffered a disaster and went to the wealthy to beg for alms. But no wealthy family would be so selfless and donate money, let alone princes and nobles? It was even more difficult.
The princess had good intentions, but she was a little too naive. Even though she could be given face because of her status, it was not so easy to get real money.
Mu Xue chuckled lightly: "This princess does have an idea. Let the imperial merchants or tribal taijis contract the post roads in sections and provide the postmen with rice. After the road is completed, they can collect fees for ten years, such as rest fees for passing caravans, water and grass fees for cattle and sheep, and postage for personal letters and other items. Of course, if there is a war, it will be used for military purposes. In peacetime, it will be as mentioned above. After the time limit, the post road will be handed over to the court. By then, the treasury will be full, and the tolls may be reduced, but the treatment of the postmen will remain unchanged."
The government had no money in the early stages of infrastructure construction, so it used the franchise model to build, operate, and transfer the roads, using the straw boat to borrow arrows before building them.
Shuodai had never heard of such an idea and was shocked.
But after careful consideration, he had to admit that there was some truth to it.
Shuo Dai first praised her, then said: "Princess, this is a brilliant plan, but this matter is of great importance, and I still need to discuss it with other colleagues. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
"Of course." Mu Xue said, "If you don't understand, you can ask my chief historian."
Shuodai suddenly realized that love is a trap.
He bowed, stood up and said goodbye. Just as he was about to cross the threshold, he suddenly heard the princess' voice.
"Shuo Dai, you are not young anymore, right?"
"Princess, I am fifty-four."
"At your age, if you don't have any achievements in the next 'big plan' exam, you should retire when you are over 60." Mu Xue looked at him, "This is an opportunity."
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