Chapter 49 Xihezhuang
Zhu Zhanji kept his word, granting the princesses fertile farmland and renovating a princess residence in the south city. He also conferred the title of Princess Yongqing on the second princess and Princess Changde on the third princess. With the decree issued, everyone received their rewards, making Zhu Yuhuan's attempt to take advantage of the situation less conspicuous. After all, the princesses were of marriageable age and should have been granted farmland and money. Furthermore, it was widely known that the Wunong Temple was built because of Princess Shunde, and the imperial farm was likely simply to facilitate the temple's operations.
However, some people raised objections. Princess Shunde had not yet married, and her daily food, clothing and other expenses already had a fixed quota. What was the use of granting her land?
However, Zhu Zhanji claimed that he would not give Princess Shunde any more farmland, and the objections in the court gradually disappeared.
Zhu Zhanji had originally established the Qingning Palace Manor for Empress Dowager Zhang, and was familiar with the matter of enclosing land. He enclosed land near Fengrun to build a new imperial manor, named Xihe Imperial Manor, and the fifty hectares of fertile land were all given to Princess Shunde Zhu Yuhuan.
This piece of territory is nothing compared to the several princesses, so no one bothers to bother with it too much.
Zhu Yuhuan didn't care. After all, the land had other uses for her. Just as the ministers said, the grain was indeed useless for a princess who had no mansion and no husband's family. That was why Zhu Zhanji rewarded Zhu Yuhuan so unscrupulously.
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't use it, so everyone knew who the grain and tax money should be given to.
The main purpose of the imperial farm was to increase revenue. After all, only a portion of the taxes from the national treasury were used by the royal family, and almost all of the income from the imperial farm went to the holder, who only had to pay royal taxes far lower than ordinary farmers. This was a good thing for both the owner of the imperial farm and the tenants who were recruited to farm in the farm.
But in reality, it is impossible for the royal family to manage the tenants personally. There must be other people to manage them, so it is naturally difficult to ensure that there will be no commission.
Zhu Yuhuan thought about it and decided to let the landless farmers registered in the charity hall move into the imperial farm as tenants. The tenants would take turns in management and mutual supervision. There would be multiple copies of the account books for easy reference at any time, which would simplify the management structure from top to bottom, eliminate the need for outsiders to act on behalf of the government, and to a certain extent prevent anyone from profiting from it.
In addition, Zhu Yuhuan charged relatively low rent to tenants, and allowed them to retain part of the grain from the land they were responsible for cultivating, in order to ensure their enthusiasm for farming.
Paying land tax is a cost shared by the entire imperial farm, but if their own farmland has a better harvest, they can keep more grain, so the tenants are naturally very enthusiastic.
Not to mention that these tenants had already received assistance from the charity hall and regarded the Queen and Princess Shunde as their benefactors. When they learned that the young man who had often come to the charity hall before was Princess Shunde who was on a secret visit, they were even more moved.
Zhu Yuhuan looked at the vast tracts of farmland planted with corn and wheat, and couldn't help feeling emotional.
As expected, buying houses and land is an instinct ingrained in the Chinese people. Although Zhu Yuhuan had no worries about food and drink in the Ming Dynasty, when he saw these fields, he still felt a sense of warmth from the bottom of his heart.
Zhu Zhanzhen accompanied Zhu Yuhuan out of the palace to see the imperial farm given by Zhu Zhanji. He couldn't help but sigh: "With so much arable land, the grain grown will definitely be more than what we had in the palace before."
The two stood in the green farmland, gazing at the distant scenery. The breeze blew, and the crops made a rustling sound, which dispelled a lot of the summer heat.
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "It's a pity that the scale of the seedling cultivation and soil cultivation at Wunong Temple is too small to directly cover so much arable land. I don't know if these few years will be enough to produce any results."
Zhu Zhanzhen sighed and said, "In spring, plant a grain of millet, and in autumn, harvest ten thousand. Farming is inherently a matter of course. My brother, the emperor, has appointed agricultural officials to the Ministry of Agriculture to encourage farming in various places. Furthermore, the war in the southwest is intense. I've heard that Duke Ying has submitted several petitions expressing his willingness to lead troops to Jiaozhi to quell the rebellion. I don't know how long it will take before the people can truly rest and recuperate."
When Zhu Yuhuan heard him mention the Jiaozhi incident, he also sighed and said, "I'm afraid there's no hope for a turnaround in the Jiaozhi situation."
Zhu Zhanzhen uttered an "ah." Although he knew there was no one around, he subconsciously lowered his voice and asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhu Yuhuan wiped the sweat from his cheek and said, "Father, now is the time to rest and recuperate. Jiaozhi's climate is different from ours, and the rebels are Jiaozhi natives. Fighting in a foreign land doesn't offer any advantages, and we've suffered heavy casualties in the past. There's really no point in clinging to Jiaozhi. It would be better to issue an imperial edict to negotiate peace, to demonstrate Your Majesty's compassion and benevolence."
Zhu Zhanzhen was somewhat confused and asked, "Duke Yingguo volunteered to go on the expedition, so why didn't Your Majesty agree? Even though Duke Yingguo is old, he led four expeditions to Jiaozhi during the reign of the Emperor. He must be more familiar with the battlefield than those previously sent."
Zhu Yuhuan lowered his voice, a rare occurrence, and said, "My little uncle has forgotten, when the commoner Zhu Gaoxu rebelled, who was the first person he found when he entered the capital?"
Zhu Zhanzhen was slightly stunned, then he understood and said, "My Royal Highness, are you worried that the Duke of Ying might rebel?"
Zhu Yuhuan shook his head and said, "I don't think that's the case. After all, Prince Hejian (Zhang Yu) is also my great-grandfather's favorite general. The Zhang family is so loyal, Daddy wouldn't think they have any intention of rebellion... But there must be a knot in his heart that he can't untie."
"That's right..." Zhu Zhanzhen sighed and continued, "The Duke of Yingzhou must understand this in his heart, so why does he keep asking for orders?"
Zhu Yuhuan showed a rare hint of sadness and said, "I think it's because it was Grandpa Zeng who brought Jiaozhi back to the Ming Dynasty."
The two of them fell silent at the same time. After a while, Zhu Yuhuan finally spoke, "It's so hard to come out of the palace, let's not talk about these things. I heard that my father is choosing a prince consort for the two aunts, but I don't have much free time, so I didn't ask about the results."
The princess's marriage was a joyous occasion, and Zhu Zhanzhen's face lit up with a smile as he said, "My royal brother mentioned to Mother earlier that the consort chosen for my elder sister is named Jing Yuan. He once gave up writing to join the army. Although he came from the military, he is still elegant and has military achievements under his belt. He's obviously a good man."
Princess Jiaxing was the biological daughter of Empress Dowager Zhang and the younger sister of Zhu Zhanji, so choosing a consort for her could not be done hastily.
Zhu Yuhuan touched his chin and asked, "What about Second Aunt?"
"He is Jiao Jing, the younger brother of Jiao Yi, a close confidant of the emperor."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "No wonder Daddy chose him."
Zhu Yuhuan did not know this Jiao Jing, but he was very familiar with Jiao Yi. After all, he was also a Jinyiwei. More importantly, he was also from Pengcheng and was a fellow villager of Empress Dowager Zhang. Zhu Yuhuan naturally paid special attention to such a loyal Zhu Zhanji - mainly because he was worried that his little tricks would be discovered.
Speaking of this, Zhu Zhanzhen said worriedly: "My brother the emperor said that he would not grant you any more farmland. Fifty hectares is too little. The King of Zhao already has eighty hectares."
Zhu Yuhuan said with a smile: "Your Majesty's words cannot be taken completely."
The last person who believed Zhu Zhanji’s lies has been roasted to death.
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