Chapter 31: Communications in Rouge Land are extremely underdeveloped, "We'll meet soon..."
Nowadays, communication is extremely underdeveloped, and it is common to "meet on horseback without paper and pen, so please tell me you are safe."
Mu Xue chose to go to such a remote place as Mobei.
It was difficult for her to hear the news in the capital. How could she understand current events when she had limited knowledge and experience? Ever since she left the capital, Mu Xue had been worried about this.
As for the matter of delivering the letter to the capital, before leaving the Forbidden City, Mu Xue had privately asked Concubine Yi. Concubine Yi only told her to hand the letter over to the clerk. She asked the clerk again, and the clerk said that he had ordered someone to deliver it to the post station, and then the post station would deliver it. Other information was not very clear.
It was not until she asked the Fourth Prince, who patiently explained the entire process of the postal system to Mu Xue, that she finally understood.
Letter transmission is a private way of communication, only for royal relatives like Mu Xue. The official documents used by court officials to report local affairs to the emperor are memorials, memorials and other documents.
The title book is a bit like the OA process. After being sent to the capital, it is first sent to the ministers of the corresponding departments, and then reviewed and uploaded layer by layer until it is sent to the emperor. The memorial is a bit like sending a private email directly to the leader, because there is no participation or contact between others, it is more suitable for reporting some more private matters. Nowadays, most of them have evolved into memorials, because paper can be folded to write more words.
Mu Xue thought that it would be more appropriate to write the report in the form of a memorial.
The Fourth Prince was puzzled: "What do you want to say? Isn't it enough to write a letter?"
"I'm going to complain to the Emperor, but I can't write anymore." Mu Xue joked.
The Fourth Prince also laughed: "Okay, you dare to joke with me."
"That's because I know that Fourth Brother loves me." Mu Xue said with a smile, "Actually, I want to tell Father Huang about the trip to the West, and I want to ask him for a favor - to grant me the Rouge Land in Guihua City."
She told the Fourth Prince about the stories of the people traveling west that she had seen along the way, and emphasized the benefits of such a wind direction.
Firstly, it can promote local agricultural development and economic development, and provide more food for the stationed soldiers. Secondly, it can find a new job for the poor people in Kou Nei, so that they can survive and not be forced to rebel by the famine. In addition, the more people come from Kou Nei, the more the Qing court will control this place in disguise.
"It's like a military farm. Normally, it's used for farming. But if there's a small disturbance, not necessarily a war, these people can be organized to quickly quell the situation."
"Of course, another point is to increase your sister's dowry." Mu Xue said, "But my idea is still immature. What do you think, fourth brother? Is it feasible?"
The Fourth Prince looked at her with a certain respect. In fact, apart from her status as a woman, the Fourth Princess was indeed smart. She was born in the deep palace. She had never been exposed to the outside world before. She had no staff around her. But she could think of these things just based on what she saw and heard on the road - even ordinary men might not be able to think of them.
Khan Ama would most likely agree to it, as this matter would not harm any interests. On the contrary, it would benefit both the country and the family. The princesses born to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang had enjoyed the privilege of granting rouge land in the place where the princess married, so there was a precedent. Now was the critical moment for the emperor to grant grace to Khalkha. It was a small request from the future Khan's wife of the Tushetu Khanate, and it didn't cost any money. It was not difficult to approve the request to enclose a piece of land.
But he still felt a little awkward.
Mu Xue saw him frowning, guessed something in her heart, and said, "Fourth brother, you can just treat me like a brother."
She smiled and said, "As for the virtues of a woman, I am a married woman anyway. If I want to cause trouble, I will cause trouble to Dunduobu Dorji. It will not harm you or the Qing Dynasty. Isn't it?"
Men are prone to double standards. For example, some modern men scold their wives for being "Voldemort" and moving money and things to her parents' home; on the other hand, they hope that their sisters are "Voldemort" and help them buy a house and a car and give them a dowry.
Mu Xue is not a woman in the Fourth Prince's backyard. If she really gained some power in Mobei, she would definitely not harm the Fourth Prince's interests, and might even help him.
Even though he is stubborn in his ideas, the Fourth Prince is a smart man. Mu Xue believes that he can always put aside his emotions and sort out the interests involved.
The Fourth Prince smiled, looking a little more relaxed. "How can I call myself a nuisance?"
Mu Xue took a piece of paper and stood up and said, "Then can you please teach me how to write a memorial?"
"You're talking nonsense again."
"Why is that nonsense?" Mu Xue said, "A teacher is someone who imparts knowledge and resolves doubts. Isn't Fourth Brother a teacher to me?"
This strange talk sounded new to him, as he had never experienced being a teacher. The Fourth Prince curled his lips, then said with a stern face: "Don't say nonsense, come here, I will teach you how to write a sealed memorial. Although some people are lazy and ask their subordinates to seal it, I have always written and sealed it myself."
The Fourth Prince attaches great importance to the word "confidential".
Muxue followed him to learn the process and gained a new understanding of the Fourth Prince's meticulousness.
In order to prevent the memorial from being wrinkled or creased during delivery, he even ordered people to make a wooden leather-lined folding box, the size of which was just right for the memorial paper. After putting it in the box, he would use yellow paper to carefully seal a yellow paper edge along the gap of the box and stamp it. If anyone opened the box, they would be able to see it immediately.
The Fourth Prince was still not satisfied: "You didn't prepare in advance. If there was a key left in the capital, you could have locked it up."
...Muxue thought, if it were in the future, this brother would have to use a pile of thick bubble paper to wrap the memorial tightly, and then pack it in a box to ensure that there is no dent or scratch.
She was criticized once for unevenly applying the glue on the edge of the folding box, and again for not aligning the seal exactly to the center. After three consecutive times, the folding box that Mu Xue assembled finally received the Fourth Prince's initial approval.
However, the content of the memorial has not been completely written, and Mu Xue is still waiting for news.
On the edge of Guihua City, beside the Qingshui River.
Four or five people rode on mules, a mule team went up the green mountain.
The mule was walking slowly, but the eunuch Zhuang who was carrying it had a serious look on his face.
He had finally begged for this job, and he was determined to do it well.
After showing them around Guanzhuang, the Fourth Princess instructed them to refer to the pros and cons of Guanzhuang and look for a place suitable for farming near Guihua City.
Jiang Zhuangtou, who was accompanying him to stay up late, couldn't stand it any longer. This eunuch was too serious. He slept for less than two hours a day, and the rest of the time he slept on the mule! His nice clothes had already turned into a mule smell!
Jiang Zhuangtou smiled and asked, "Eunuch Zhuang, the land along the river here is in the best condition. We still have to travel tomorrow. Why don't we go back and report to the princess first? It won't be good to make the princess wait anxiously."
Hearing that he had to report back to the princess on time, Eunuch Zhuang finally looked at him and said, "That's right."
"That's right," said Jiang Zhuangtou, "Among the places we have seen, there is no better land than the Qingshui River. Although it is all covered with grass now, it is flat, open, and close to the water source. There is also sheep manure! It should be that shepherds occasionally drive their sheep here to graze. The land is fertile, and after it is reclaimed, the harvest will definitely be good."
He is an old farmer and he can tell which land is fertile and which is poor by just looking carefully.
Such good land, but nobody cultivates it, and it is just lying there in vain. If it is left in the hole, it is unthinkable.
Although Jiang Zhuangtou climbed to the position of village head, he also had a hard life. A piece of land is very important to farmers! It can grow food and keep people alive. For an acre of land, two farmers or even two villages can fight each other and get bloody, but the land here is just left there for nothing!
Oh my, just thinking about it makes me feel so sad.
Jiang Zhuangtou complained: "Such a good land is left here for nothing!"
Eunuch Zhuang looked out at the flat grassland and sighed, "Who says it's not?"
Before sunset, they rode their mules into the city.
When they arrived at the mansion, Eunuch Zhuang was tying up his mule when he suddenly turned around and ran into an acquaintance.
He greeted her: "Hey, you just got back from work?"
Aunt Wu was about to go up the stairs with her son, Xiao Wu. Hearing this, she stopped and smiled politely, "Yes."
Actually? Not entirely.
Yesterday, Nanny Wu saw Madam Zhao and the eunuch Yanxi whispering to each other, and then the princess took people out. She found her husband and asked him to work hard, so as not to let others get ahead.
Nanny Wu was always honest: "What can my son do now? The princess didn't give any instructions."
"Don't you know how to think more when she didn't tell you to?" Nanny Wu said, "What errand did the princess ask you to do before? Oh, yes, remember the price of rice and grain. You should also remember the market price here."
At home, Aunt Wu always had the final say. Aunt Wu's father just had to take his son out to inquire.
After a walk, he came back and happened to meet Eunuch Zhuang and others at this time.
They said a few words to each other without tacit understanding. Eunuch Zhuang went to look for Yanxi, and Nanny Wu went to look for Nanny Wu. The two walked faster and faster, fearing that if they were a little late, the other would get there first.
"You said that Nanny Wu also ran away?" Yan Xi was still eating dinner. He put down his chopsticks and hurriedly led Eunuch Zhuang to the courtyard where the princess was.
In the end, he got there first, since it was a serious task that Mu Xue had instructed him to do.
Yan Xi smiled and introduced the eunuch Zhuang to the princess: "...He is an experienced and skilled man. He has learned how to look after the imperial farm before. He did not come back to rest last night and was running around outside. I finally worked hard to come up with a result. Report it to the princess quickly."
Eunuch Zhuang took a deep breath, bent his waist very low, and said respectfully: "Your Highness, I have explored the land around here. At present, the land along the Qingshui River is the most suitable for farming."
As he spoke, he handed over a simple diagram with the approximate location marked on it.
Mu Xue looked at it carefully and nodded, "It's done very well. Have you had dinner yet?"
"I didn't make it in time to reply to the princess."
"Is that so?" Mu Xue turned to Rong Er and instructed, "You set up a table outside and give them some of the dishes that I didn't finish using."
Yanxi and Eunuch Zhuang were naturally grateful profusely.
They went out of the house and saw Nanny Wu and her husband standing at the door. They nodded to each other as a greeting.
In the room, Muxue was about to take a closer look at the blueprint when she suddenly heard Nanny Wu and her husband coming.
After paying respects, Nanny Wu smiled and said, "We'll rest here for two days. We'll have nothing to do anyway. Thinking about the task the princess assigned to me last time, I asked my wife to go for a walk on the street. I wrote down some rice and oil prices."
She quietly nudged her husband with her elbow and said, "Show it to the princess."
After being poked, Nanny Wu immediately stepped forward and handed over a few pieces of scattered rice paper with both hands.
Mu Xue took it and said, "Thank you for being so thoughtful."
She took a quick look and found that the price of brick tea was slightly higher than that in Shaohukou, about 20% higher.
"I remember that Mammy loves to eat milk cakes. When I was dining earlier, I happened to try some made by a local chef. They tasted very good. Rong'er, go get a box and bring it back for Mammy and Mammy's father."
After sending everyone away, Mu Xue ordered her maid to light a few more lamps so that she could write the memorial by light.
As he wrote, he thought: With the post station, he could send a letter to the palace, but at most he could communicate with the emperor and Concubine Yi. The post station was not available for anyone to use. According to the information he heard from the Fourth Prince, there were only about a hundred officials in the country who were qualified to use the post station to send a letter directly to the emperor.
If I want to send a message to her pawnshop in the capital, the post station may not be useful, so I need to think carefully.
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