Chapter 88: Tour of the Imperial Manor
After the border patrol, the emperor returned to the capital, and the various guards returned to their original positions. Zhu Zhanji, as agreed with his daughter, dismounted in Fengrun and rested for a few days. The resting place was naturally Zhu Yuhuan's imperial farm in Fengrun.
When the army passed through Jizhou and saw the hard work of the people in the fields, Zhu Zhanji was pleased but not surprised. As early as when he was still the crown prince, he had witnessed the hard work and hardships of farmers. But when he actually arrived at the imperial farm, Zhu Zhanji could not hide his surprise.
He knew that the land he gave his daughter was nothing compared to the empress dowager's palace farm, even though he had heard that Zhu Yuhuan had been implementing various management systems in the imperial farm that were different from those of ordinary farms, and had each family cultivate different land and compare "per mu yield" to receive extra rewards at the end of the month and the end of the year.
After all, no matter how the imperial farm was changed inside and out, it would not be ruined by his daughter, so Zhu Zhanji never took it to heart. But today, he saw that Zhu Yuhuan's imperial farm was completely different from ordinary ones. Not only were there few people who were lazy, but the farmland also had a good harvest, and there was no resentment in the imperial farm.
In particular, the high stacks of hay and large areas of grain spread out to dry in the sun, the quantity of which far exceeded what Zhu Zhanji had seen in Jizhou and other places, made Zhu Zhanji unable to take his eyes off.
He originally thought that Zhu Yuhuan's so-called "breeding" and "soil improvement" would be difficult to implement, but today he saw that it had achieved some results.
Zhu Zhanji gazed at the stream in the distance and asked in surprise, "Why does the river seem to have widened so much? I remember the map presented to me originally showed that the river was only a dozen feet wide."
Zhu Yuhuan explained honestly, "The river was later widened to facilitate water diversion and irrigation. It just so happens that the mud along the river is of high quality, so digging it up and moving it to farmland is just right, so it's not considered a waste."
Zhu Zhanji didn't expect that Zhu Yuhuan actually knew something about water conservancy. "I see."
Zhu Yuhuan didn't know what Zhu Zhanji was thinking, so he just asked someone to summon the managers selected by the tenants in the imperial farm to come to the main hall to meet the emperor.
Taking advantage of the time when no one else arrived, Zhu Yuhuan took the tea brought by the maid in the farm and poured it for his father himself, saying, "Father, try this tea. How is it? I bought it from a merchant in Jiangnan."
Hearing Zhu Yuhuan calling Zhu Zhanji "Daddy", the maidservant immediately understood and quickly knelt on the ground, stammering: "I pay my respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!"
"Get up, it's just that the princess invited me here, saying she has a surprise prepared." Zhu Zhanji put the tea aside and just waved his hand. Seeing the maid retreat, Zhu Zhanji said, "They didn't show any intention of kneeling to you when they saw you just now."
"Huanhuan is just a princess. Kneeling is a great courtesy, and of course it can only be done to Daddy."
"You're so clever." Zhu Zhanji took the tea and tasted it, then raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "This tea is quite sweet and refreshing. Is this also used in the 'milk tea' and 'thirst tea' you sell at Taiping Teahouse?"
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and nodded, saying, "I also heard from Empress Wu that the tea in Nanzhili is the best, so I found a guild hall in Beijing and asked them to help introduce a merchant named Shen. That's how I got this tea from Jiangnan."
Zhu Zhanji didn't take it to heart and just said, "She will help you find a solution. I heard that you had people ship all the goods sold in your fifth uncle's shop to the south and sell them there, and you made a lot of money."
Zhu Yuhuan was exposed by Zhu Zhanji, and he just laughed and said: "There are more wealthy families in Jiangnan. If you make something more exquisite, you can make double the money. Others still need to make small profits and sell more. Huanhuan dare not compete with the people for profit."
Zhu Zhanji nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's the right way to think. Merchants buy goods from the people at low prices and sell them at high prices. They are cunning and treacherous. We must never imitate their words and deeds."
Zhu Yuhuan agreed obediently, thinking to himself that although you said so, you didn't oppose doing business. It shows that everyone has their own scale to judge whether money is good or bad.
She also wanted to take this opportunity to make her relationship with the guild and Shen Guangci and others clear, so as to avoid Zhu Zhanji's suspicion in the future.
Before, Zhu Zhanji mostly used Zhu Yuhuan and seldom confided in her. However, during this border patrol, she unexpectedly talked a lot with Zhu Yuhuan about government affairs. This shows that Zhu Zhanji's trust and evaluation of her had significantly increased.
Zhu Yuhuan naturally wanted to seize this opportunity to go further and gain more trust from Zhu Zhanji.
"Your Highness, everyone has been brought here."
Zhu Yuhuan let them in. These five people, who were usually close to Zhu Yuhuan, had never been so reserved as they were today. They almost buried their heads in the cracks of the ground and knelt on the ground trembling with fear, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Long live Your Majesty!"
Zhu Zhanji put the teacup aside and asked, "You all look quite old, please sit down."
Upon hearing this, they all looked at each other in bewilderment, and only dared to raise their eyes slightly, trying to glimpse what Princess Shunde meant through the cracks in their eyelids.
Zhu Zhanji naturally noticed the trust that several people had in Zhu Yuhuan, and found it a little funny. He secretly raised his hand to signal Wang Jin not to speak.
Seeing Wang Jin remained silent, Zhu Yuhuan said helplessly, "Your Majesty has permitted you to sit down, so please do so quickly. There's no need to be so restrained."
The five of them then sat down obediently. Seeing that they only dared to let their butts touch the edge of the chair, Zhu Zhanji didn't care and asked, "Are you the ones who usually manage Xihehuang Manor?"
The oldest tenant, Li Shiwu, replied, "In response to Your Majesty, we take turns making decisions and discuss things together. If there are any disagreements, we must report them to Your Majesty." He was also over fifty years old, but he was humble and respected among the tenants. He learned a few words when he was young and spoke clearly.
Zhu Zhanji raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Why don't you let the officials in charge of the manor make the decision?"
Li Shiwu said respectfully, "Your Highness has instructed us that we, the common people, are the ones who work and do the labor on a daily basis. We understand the operation of the tenants in the manor better than the officials. The officials are there to help teach us how to do things. When the tenants are able to support themselves in the future, they will not suffer any loss if they bring their families with them."
Zhu Zhanji looked at his daughter, who smiled as she spoke, "Father is a benevolent and wise man. He will definitely distribute the land to the farmers in the future. Keeping them in the imperial farm is not a long-term solution. Naturally, we must cultivate their ability to be independent."
Zhu Zhanji couldn't help but sigh, "Girls are the best. They are thoughtful and kind, and they think things through."
Even if there were no Jinyiwei, Zhu Zhanji knew that most gentry would not care so much about their tenants. Not only would they provide subsidies and rewards on a daily basis, but they would also consider the tenants' livelihood.
Zhu Yuhuan smiled brightly and said, "That's all thanks to my father for gifting the Imperial Manor to my daughter. If it weren't for these arable lands, the speed of breeding and improving the soil wouldn't be so fast, and the tenants wouldn't have the opportunity to make a living in the Imperial Manor."
Although Zhu Zhanji knew that this was Zhu Yuhuan's deliberate flattery, he was also very pleased. He just smiled and asked, "What was the surprise you said you would give Dad? Why haven't you seen it yet? Could it be some kind of glass?"
Zhu Yuhuan said to one of them, "Boss Zhao, are you ready?"
"Don't worry, Your Highness, we've already prepared everything!" Zhao Qisan said, then realized he wasn't being respectful enough and quickly changed his words, "Your Highness, the weaving room has already been prepared and is already up and running."
Zhu Yuhuan then bowed to Zhu Zhanji and said, "Please, father, please go to the weaving room and take a look."
Zhu Zhanji stood up quickly and said with a smile, "Let's go."
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