Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 347 Investigation, Court Session
There are many idle and unemployed people, but the amount of farmland capable of producing grain is decreasing. What will be the final result?
The first two words that came out of Jiang Da Shao's mouth were famine. Zhang Chen suddenly stopped before he could say the same two words. He, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu had made countless plans and thought of countless plans before coming to Xingtai, but it was better to do than to say. After actually doing it this time, facing such a chain reaction, he finally gained something different.
After thinking about it again and again, his expression finally changed little by little. The initial laxity and confidence were all thrown away, and was replaced by deep fear.
When Zhang Shou saw his reaction, he knew that Zhang Chen was born into a noble family. Even though he had been a playboy since childhood, he was much more knowledgeable than Jiang Dashao through the influence of his surroundings. If you ask modern people this question, nine out of ten people with a little bit of brains will immediately answer you - the final result is war.
That’s right, it’s war, not famine, because famine will inevitably lead to war.
Zhang Shou didn't look at the panicked Jiang Da Shao, but nodded slightly to Zhang Chen, as if to confirm his guess. Then he said softly: "The famine issue is actually easy to deal with. I have also made some gains in Cangzhou. If it is successful, then in the future we will have other food crops that may not taste as good as rice and wheat, but have a yield several times higher."
Zhang Chen and Young Master Jiang looked at each other, and both felt that they were listening to a book written in heaven. You know, tracing back two or three thousand years, there were indeed not only rice and wheat, but also many kinds of grains such as corn and sorghum. However, since flour milling and various noodle products became popular in the north, and various kinds of rice became the mainstream in the south, rice and wheat became the main food for most people, and the others were just supplementary.
What other grains can be compared with rice and wheat? And the yield can be several times higher?
Of course, Zhang Shou would not reveal that Lao Xianyu had corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, three crops that could be used as food. He was not sure about the yield of corn and potatoes, but sweet potatoes... Hehe, he remembered clearly that in the later generations when rice fields could produce more than 1,000 kilograms per mu, sweet potatoes could already produce 5,000 to 7,000 kilograms.
Moreover, the skin of sweet potatoes is much easier to deal with than the bran of grains. And if you don't care that much, it's totally fine to eat the sweet potatoes with the skin after washing and steaming them. Of course, eating sweet potatoes as meals all year round is actually a very cruel thing, but eating them mixed with rice was common for a long time in later generations.
Between filling your stomach and eating delicious food, you have to choose to fill your stomach first.
Zhang Shou felt guilty, but he knew that even the founding emperor, Emperor Taizu, could not solve all the problems, let alone him. At this moment, seeing that Zhang Chen and Young Master Jiang were confused but did not question, he said directly: "So, in the final analysis, the most important problem is not the food problem, but the unemployment problem."
"As for how to solve the problem, we can try various methods to solve it in Cangzhou. After all, the new textile machinery has only been introduced here not long ago, and the new looms have not been officially launched. Only when a solution is found in Cangzhou can the new looms be promoted to other places with good reason."
Only after hearing Zhang Shou's last words did Young Master Jiang feel relieved, thinking that he would not have to witness wars everywhere in the world. The turmoil in Cangzhou alone was enough to scare him to death.
He immediately smiled and said, "That's good, that's good. Anyway, I will do whatever you say, Doctor Zhang and Master Zhang. I will listen to you. By the way, I haven't been home for a day and a night. Can I go home and say something first? My mother died a long time ago, my two younger brothers are useless, my son is still young, and my wife has never seen the world. I am afraid that my family will be in chaos..."
Zhang Shou nodded very sensibly and said, "Go ahead and tell them outside so that Zhu Hong or Zhu Yi can accompany you back. Then you won't be restricted when you go in and out of the house in the future."
Seeing Young Master Jiang thanking him repeatedly and leaving as if he had been pardoned, Zhang Chen was immediately furious. What kind of teammate is this? He has already backed down before he even started, and he has no sense of responsibility at all! The little brother that Mr. Xiao chose for him this time is not good enough... He is not even as good as Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu!
"Young sir, this boy is timid and useless..."
Zhang Shou interrupted Zhang Chen with a smile: "Don't use the standards of Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu to demand such a rich young man who can only be regarded as a playboy and incompetent in Cangzhou. It's good that he can do what he has now and can take the initiative to think about and solve problems."
"But he already knows about the new loom. If he lets it out, we'll lose a bargaining chip!" Zhang Chen said angrily, his face full of indignation. "I reminded him thousands of times on the road today, and he still looks like a hopeless case."
"People need to be cultivated little by little . Moreover, he was not a good piece of wood, but a half-rotten piece of wood. As for the new loom, it is best not to leak the news. It doesn't matter if it leaks. Don't forget that your weaving workshop is secretly guarded by the servants of the Duke of Qin's mansion. Keep it secret. As for me, I don't have the drawings and the craftsmen, so others can't find out anything."
"If it is leaked in the future, it may attract covetous people, but how to make good use of these covetous people is the key."
Seeing that Zhang Shou seemed to have a lot of wisdom, Zhang Chen immediately realized it in a self-righteous manner, "I see, young master, you are testing Jiang Da! It doesn't matter if he is afraid of things, but if you use him to lure out some useful people, at least he can be regarded as making use of waste, and all your efforts will not be in vain."
Zhang Shou smiled indifferently, letting Zhang Chen guess for himself. He would never say that he used Young Master Jiang on a whim at first, and then for convenience and ease, and thought that this innocent, stupid and filial young man was interesting, and later he thought that it was better to use him than to use him. However, Young Master Jiang still had some ideas, but he was a little useless after being raised at home for a long time, so he was afraid of trouble.
How dare Zhang Chen criticize others? Back then, wasn't he, the eldest son of the Duke of Qin, only able to show off his power and swagger?
But with Zhang Chen's arrival, he had a relatively mature helper. Zhang Shou, of course, wanted to make the best use of him, and immediately began to assign tasks to Zhang Chen - or, in other words, assign homework.
"Your servants and retainers can still survive without you in Xingtai for the time being, so don't go back yet. It's easy to resume work in Cangzhou and hire new people, but there is something quite complicated to do next. Pick a few reliable people from the Cangzhou County Office and find out how many people are unemployed, how many are just doing odd jobs, and how many have stable jobs in various parts of the city..."
After citing a variety of employment situations, Zhang Shou saw Zhang Chen nodding repeatedly, so he continued, "Of course, you don't have to go to all the places. I'll give you a few examples. The back street of Washi where Brother Zhu killed those unknown assassins today, Shuishi Street where Lao Xianyu's salted fish shop is located, Fangshi Street where the spinners of Xianyun River once lived, and Jile Street, the most prosperous street in Fangshi..."
He took out five streets as samples in one breath, and explained in detail why he chose these places. Seeing that Zhang Chen understood, he agreed without saying a word. He thought about it and finally added two more sentences: "You can bring Zhu Er with you when you go back. Anyway, what he was supposed to do has been done, which can reduce your burden a little. Of course, you are the main one."
Zhang Chen was immediately displeased when he heard that Zhu Er was going to be brought along. That useless guy, after he left, he was said to have taken over his position as the head of the temple. If it wasn't because of nepotism, how could he have done that?
But after hearing the last four words, he calmed down. As long as he could be the main person, it would not be difficult to take Zhu Er with him. He would do it reluctantly... Give Zhu Er a street and let him help with the work!
In fact, the thing Zhang Shou wanted to do most in Cangzhou was to register the middle-aged labor force, but thinking about doing such a thing in those days, it was as difficult as ascending to heaven, so he finally gave up and only planned to do a simple sampling survey of the employment of middle-aged laborers. The five samples he selected included the rich area, the business area, the slum area, the market area, etc.
He only has a rough idea about how to solve the problem of idle labor and develop jobs.
As for what to do if they don't find old salted fish, and there are no food crops like corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, facing the domestic economic crisis... Well, in fact, he had this idea long before he found out that the result of the northern expedition was a great victory for our army and a great defeat for the enemy army...
The world is peaceful and the masters are lonely. If we stop fighting, the result will definitely not be to focus on internal training, but to focus on internal fighting. Looking back, there will definitely be many internal troubles, and we will be dumbfounded when external troubles occur. Since the external enemies are powerless, when will we take the opportunity to expand?
Of course, this expansion does not necessarily mean going to war with foreign countries... If industrialization can really be launched, it can't be completely dependent on domestic demand, right? We must open up overseas markets, right? Once the cotton fields are really increased in large quantities, if the rice and wheat production is not greatly improved, people can't eat sweet potatoes every day, and overseas granaries are definitely needed. In addition, the Northeast is a good place, but it's too cold...
There were no witnesses to the fight between General Mingwei Zhu Tingfang and the back street of Wa City. There were quite a few people who heard the noise, but few dared to speak out. Therefore, when the soldiers of the Ruiqi Battalion rushed to the scene and cleaned up the dead bodies, it did not cause much commotion, and no one even came out to check. The Ruiqi Battalion did not bother to ask for any confessions.
Because Du Heng and the four people he brought with him, from overhearing to witnessing to participating, they missed nothing from beginning to end.
Although there were people in the city who were discussing the matter, and some even swore that General Zhu Tingfang was seriously injured and dying, when Zhu Tingfang announced that he would personally try several cases the next day, including the case of Qi's youngest son robbing a man from a good family, not only did this rumor lose its market, but some people even went to the county government to report the person who spread the rumor. As a result, Zhu Tingfang dragged him out and flogged him ten times without saying a word.
As for all the corpses, Zhu Tingfang ordered the county coroner to carefully examine and record them, then burn the corpses and saltpeter the heads one by one, and then send them to the capital. Although they were murdered, they did not ask for confessions, but they had to be sent to the capital for someone to review, and maybe some of them would be recognized. As for what would happen after they were recognized, Zhu Tingfang was too lazy to care.
In another carriage with the boxes of skulls, sat the haggard eldest prince. Of course, if the eldest prince knew that he was returning to the capital with such a horrible thing, he would have gone crazy long ago.
The fifty men selected from the two hundred elite cavalrymen Du Heng brought with him were responsible for the escort . As for the one hundred men who had accompanied the eldest prince to Cangzhou, Du Heng left them in Cangzhou for the sake of suppressing the situation and giving them a chance to at least make up for their crimes. With just this one reason, Du Heng finally won the hearts of many soldiers.
Of course, the degree to which he is popular among the people is inversely proportional to the degree to which the eldest prince has lost the hearts of the people in Cangzhou and the Ruiqi Battalion.
The biggest source of instability in the city, the eldest prince, was escorted out of the country with courtesy, and the next day, Mr. Jiang was finally released from the palace - or more accurately, he was brought out for trial. Zhu Tingfang, who presided over the trial in person, directly summoned the surviving acting heads of various families, including Mr. Jiang and Mr. Qi, to listen in. However, Zhang Shou did not show up in the court, but just stood in the shadow of the screen at the back of the hall.
Zhu Tingfang was not a person who would drag his feet. After a brief opening statement, he went straight to the point: "You stopped work and business without reason, burned down houses, and aroused the rebellion of innocent people. This is the first crime. You also abandoned your home when I arrived in Cangzhou and ordered the Sharp Cavalry Battalion to guard the houses of each family. You did not go to the county government to surrender, but stopped Dr. Zhang of the Imperial Academy and Commander Du of the Sharp Cavalry Battalion who were ordered to visit Cangzhou to protest your innocence. This is the second crime."
Young Master Jiang, who was also in the hall, was not very courageous to begin with. At this moment, his heart was pounding and his face turned pale after being told so harshly by Zhu Tingfang. He even couldn't help wondering if his previous words of being in a hurry to go home were taken as an excuse by Zhang Shou, so now his father was being used as a target by Zhu Tingfang. Just as he was getting more and more worried, Zhu Tingfang hadn't finished speaking yet.
"It was you, as the head of each family, who contacted the eldest prince and participated in all matters, but you blamed the eldest prince. This is the third crime. Seeing that the imperial envoy did not express his position, you threatened to commit suicide. This is the fourth crime."
Although Zhang Shou couldn't see the expressions of the various heads of the families behind the screen, he could guess. Everyone thought that since Young Master Jiang was the only survivor of the county government banquet that night and was released to visit various families and put forward conditions and requests on behalf of the imperial envoy, the Jiang family would definitely be lifted up and let down gently, but unexpectedly, things turned out to be completely different.
They didn't even think about the fact that the eldest prince would suffer a bad fate if he returned to Kyoto this time. Mr. Jiang, as the head of the families in public, had done such an extreme thing - even if he said that he was coerced, the people who coerced him would die with their eyes open!
If the Jiang family is the only one that escapes punishment because of their decent personal morality, how will the other families who have committed numerous crimes and are about to be severely punished feel?
Almost subconsciously, Young Master Jiang took a step forward, knelt down, and bowed deeply, saying, "Father was just confused for a moment. The son should pay for the father's debts and the son should take the blame for the father's crimes. I am willing..."
Before he could even say his willingness, he was interrupted by a roar.
"Shut up, you bastard!" Mr. Jiang, who had been kneeling on the ground for a long time, stopped his eldest son with one breath, and then whispered, "My son is ignorant, please forgive me, General! I have committed thousands of sins, all of which are my fault. Although my son is stupid, he can still bear the burden of the family!"
