Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 555: The Host
Zhang Shou emphasized the two words "please" to Ah Liu. Zhu Ying knew Ah Liu's temper, and Princess Yongping had heard of it, so they naturally understood it. However, the Third Prince was not like the Fourth Prince, who had personal experience, and was completely confused. As for Hong, she was a very smart person. She had heard that there was a very powerful young master around Zhang Shou, so she took a deep breath.
It turned out that if Zhang Shou hadn't said this, the young man would not have gone to ask for help, but would have directly kidnapped Yang Zhan?
Although she had many questions, she did not know how to ask them clearly. In addition, the Third Prince and Princess Yongping asked her many questions. At this time, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying went to the window hand in hand to look at the scenery and talk without any hesitation. She could only deal with it independently.
Fortunately, Hong had been well-read since childhood and had a solid foundation. She also had the experience of dealing with people to clean up the mess for her father over the years, so she could handle it well. However, when Princess Yongping suddenly asked a question, she couldn't help but change her expression. Because the question hit her heart, and under the focused gaze of the Third Prince, she couldn't even avoid it.
"Madam Hong, I think you should be like me and my third brother, you have been educated by your parents since childhood, and Mr. Hong is very conservative in his words and deeds. Things like women's education should not be within his daily consideration. Therefore, under his influence, you should be more like the filial daughters and chaste women in the biographies of women, and not someone who pretends to obey your father but actually disobeys him."
Speaking of lip service, Princess Yongping bowed slightly as if apologetically, but still said bluntly: "I am a bit blunt, but this is not only my concern, but also the concern of my mother, father and grandmother. A person cannot be born out of thin air. Even a child prodigy like Zhongyong will become ordinary after meeting foolish and short-sighted elders."
Zhang Shou, who was standing at the window, heard these words clearly and couldn't help but sneer. Why did he feel that Princess Yongping's words seemed to be not only addressed to Hong, but also to him?
Sure enough, the next moment, he noticed Zhu Ying leaning close to his ear and whispering, "That girl Yongping is talking about you on purpose, right? You grew up like this on your own, does that mean there are no geniuses in the world? You are smart, studious and motivated, and Aunt Wu always thinks of you. Even if an elder like her has never been to school, she is much better than that old Taoist priest Hong Shan!"
Zhu Ying's voice was very soft, and it was obvious that the eldest lady was not as self-centered as outsiders thought, and did not want Hong to hear her criticizing someone else's father behind his back. However, Zhang Shou glanced at Hong, who looked calm, and knew that Princess Yongping's straightforward question was forcing this talented woman from Jiangxi to tell the truth.
Speaking of which, this girl's having a father like that is actually much more pitiful than his nominal background!
After keeping her eyelids drooped for a long time, Hong finally raised her head again, looking calm and fearless.
"Since the princess has asked, I dare not say nothing. My mother was born into a scholarly family, well-versed in poetry, literature, etiquette and music. She married my father at the age of sixteen, took care of the household chores, and was filial to her parents-in-law. Later, I was born. However, because I was a difficult birth, although she was lucky enough to survive, she could no longer have children. My father was not a lustful person in his life, and he firmly refused the elders' request to take concubines and maids to continue his heirs , claiming that he could adopt me."
"However, although this was considerate, he did not consider that my grandparents took out their grievances on my mother, and because they were too focused on studying, they had no time to defend her. My strong-willed mother did not want to complain about her in-laws in front of my father, so she pretended to be strong and treated me as a listener since I was a child. She also raised me as a boy and tried her best to teach me all kinds of things carefully."
"My mother once got a manuscript of Emperor Taizu. The book was very tattered, and the bookseller at the time said frankly that it was just a fabrication in the name of Emperor Taizu. The handwriting on the book was very strange, and the content was absurd, and it was actually a fantasy hundreds of years later. Let's not talk about other bizarre scenes at that time, but it mentioned that women could study, work, and even serve as officials. Moreover, those talented women did not write poems, but invented magical medicines, discovered magical substances, and discovered the truth hidden in the operation of heaven and earth. My mother was amazed."
After Zhang Shou was stunned for the first time, he couldn't help but cover his forehead gently.
That should not be something written after someone ascended the throne. Maybe it was written casually shortly after traveling through time, recalling the era that he had experienced, recalling the convenience that he once had but did not know how to cherish, recalling everyone in that era, even the passers-by who were completely ignored... Because judging from the fact that he was still thinking about the New World after he abdicated, he probably didn't have the heart to write about this.
This was normal. During the first three years after he arrived, he also hoped to find a way to go back in time, because compared to that wonderful era, although the current Ming Dynasty was a little more open-minded than the Ming Dynasty in history, it still seemed ignorant, closed and backward... He also wanted to write a book to record the memories of future generations, but the reason he gave up in the end was very simple.
He thought it would be better to first record down the science and engineering knowledge he remembered, and then wait until he was really tired of the present before reminiscing about the era that he would never be able to return to.
Unlike him, Taizu left behind a diary that was considered fake by the bookseller, but when the book came into the hands of Hong's mother, it gave people a new understanding. Sure enough, the next moment Zhang Shou confirmed his guess from Hong's words.
"That manuscript contains all kinds of fantastic ideas, or nonsense. It contains the key to grinding lenses, the movement of stars, the composition of matter, and many conveniences of life five hundred years later... At least when my mother taught me, I was dizzy and made a great wish to settle accounts with the person who deceived my mother with the fake book!"
This time, even Zhu Ying couldn't help but burst out laughing. Princess Yongping's usually cold face was already showing a bit of a smile.
Instead, the Third Prince said thoughtfully, "It's normal for Madam Hong to have this thought. If I saw it, I would also think the book is fake. After all, there haven't been any big changes since hundreds of years ago. How could the world become so strange after hundreds of years?"
He paused, but continued, "But if the world is really so strange, then perhaps there has been a huge change like the one from the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties."
"I've heard my teacher tell me about history. During the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the world was a tribal system and had never expanded to its current territory. When Emperor Yu became the Son of Heaven, the three dynasties of Xia, Shang and Zhou all divided the country into vassal states. The emperor was said to rule the world, but in fact his decrees could not govern those vassal states. But both the emperor and the vassal states took it for granted, because without dividing the country into vassal states, they could not rule over all places."
"The borders of that era were different from those of today. For example, Shandong today was actually quite far away for the Zhou emperor. The two lakes that we now use as granaries, which were the Jingchu of the past, were once considered to be a wild and barren land in the southern border."
"By the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Zhou emperor was gradually declining, and his orders did not even leave the capital. The princes rose up, and everyone thought that this coexistence of various countries would last for a long time. However, after the seven major powers of the Warring States Period, it was the Qin State that unified the world and established the county system. When Qin Shihuang whipped the four seas and issued orders to the world, no one thought that the powerful Qin would collapse overnight, and even less did they expect that the early Han Dynasty would restore the old system of Xia, Shang and Zhou and enfeoff princes."
"It was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty issued the Enfeoffment Order to reduce the power of the feudal lords that the county system really took root in people's hearts. With the replacement of the imperial examination with the recommendation of the emperor, the selection of talents became a regular process. Even farmers could eventually become officials because of their hard work. This is how the world is today. With the exception of the Mongols, each dynasty mostly made some improvements on the system of the previous dynasty, and there were no earth-shaking changes."
Zhang Shou, who was admiring the scenery with Zhu Ying in front of the window and was also being watched by others, couldn't help but feel deeply touched when he heard the words of the third prince.
Unexpectedly, the Third Prince not only listened to his very , but also absorbed it into his current state. At such a young age, the Third Prince was able to understand the core meaning of his very concise words and then express it in his own words, even if there were some problems with the logic, but it was still rare.
Hong was also looking at the Third Prince who was talking eloquently, and was also somewhat shocked. She felt that this little boy really lived up to Chu Kuan's praise. Because he did not think that it was nonsense just because it was absurd, but he actually thought about whether the world would be different after hundreds or thousands of years of changes.
At least when the Third Prince was so young, she would never have thought so far.
At this moment, she heard Zhang Shou's voice coming . When she looked again, she saw Zhang Shou walking towards her with his hands behind his back, a gentle smile on his face.
"The Third Prince is half right. From ancient times to the present, except for the truly wise men, in the minds of most scholars and writers, it seems that there is only the difference between a peaceful and chaotic world, the difference between a foolish ruler and a wise ruler, and the difference between a virtuous minister and a treacherous minister. However, they fail to see the differences in the social environment, the population, or more fundamentally, the difference in social production capacity behind these appearances."
Zhang Shou added the word "capacity" to the term productivity to make it more intuitive: "What is productivity? It is the ability of people to create wealth. It is probably the ability of farmers to grow crops and harvest food, and the ability of craftsmen to make tools and various utensils. The ability of scholars to write articles to educate the people is also considered productivity, because it is also creation, and what is created is spiritual wealth."
"If someone from the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period or the pre-Qin period were to suddenly come to the present, he would be greatly amazed at the richness of today's diet. Because during the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period and the pre-Qin period, ordinary people in the north ate rough wheat rice, or bean rice, or corn porridge."
"Nowadays, rice is also grown in the north, and northerners eat noodles made from stone mills and various soy products made from soybeans. If you put yourself in the shoes of the ancients and think about it from their perspective, wouldn't they think it was like being in a fairyland to eat such delicious food? And if the ancients had imagined this about modern people, wouldn't people today think it was nonsense?"
Zhang Shou saw the Third Prince nodding repeatedly, and then revealed an expression of serious thought. Hong, who had just been a little excited because of talking about her mother's past, also fell into deep thought with a gloomy face. Only then did he continue to speak.
"Why was the diet different between the Warring States Period and the pre-Qin period and the Tang and Song dynasties? Because in the beginning, wheat was pounded with stone pestles to produce grain, which required a lot of manpower. Even soybeans were only made into inedible bean rice because no one knew how to process them."
"Were there no stone mills? In the beginning, there were definitely no stone mills. In the Qin Dynasty, stone pestles and mortars were even used as heavy labor to punish women who committed crimes. When stone mills were invented, they were too heavy and not everyone could afford animal power, so only wealthy families could afford fine flour or tofu."
"Ordinary people in the Qin Dynasty could not have imagined that there would be water-powered mills in the future, and they would not have imagined that in addition to wheat and bean rice, there would be pasta made from refined flour, and delicious foods such as tofu."
Since this was not in Jiuzhang Hall, Zhang Shou certainly would not openly address the Third Prince as Zheng Rong, but his tone was still as relaxed as if he was chatting casually.
"Think about it, is it easier for the stomach to digest steamed buns and tofu, or rough wheat rice or bean rice? Is it stronger for the farmer who can eat steamed buns, or is it stronger for the farmer who can only fill his stomach with wheat rice and bean rice?"
"Only when you have strength can you cultivate the land carefully, increase the yield per mu, and reclaim wasteland? When it comes to reclaiming wasteland, the tools you use are even more important."
"The Book of Lord Shang says that in the land of Qin today, there are five areas of a thousand li, but less than two of them are covered with grain, and the number of farmlands is less than one million. The wealth and treasures in its swamps, valleys, famous mountains, and great rivers are not fully utilized, and this person cannot be called a land. In other words, of the five thousand li of land, less than one thousand li is used for planting crops, and the area of farmland is less than one million mu, with wasteland everywhere. This is enough to show the level of land reclamation at that time."
"After Qin Shi Huang unified the world, he should have rested and recuperated, but he continued to wage war and levy heavy taxes. Except for Xianyang, which was the place where all the world's treasures were gathered and therefore magnificent, the rest of the country was just a deserted city with mud walls. The Qin Dynasty ruled the world for too short a time, and productivity did not improve substantially compared to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, until the rise of iron tools in the Han Dynasty..."
Zhang Shou recounted the development and changes in staple food, clothing, tools, etc. in each dynasty compared to the previous one. He even divided the Song Dynasty, which was known to be a weak dynasty, into the Northern Song and the Southern Song, and listed their various advantages and disadvantages in agriculture and industry, and their improvements in productivity compared to the previous dynasty. Not only did the Third Prince listen attentively, but even Princess Yongping and Hong were listening intently.
Zhu Ying, who had followed quietly, looked at Zhang Shou, who was speaking eloquently, with a smile on her face. She felt that her trip to the countryside was so wise and far-sighted.
Those people in the market are so short-sighted. She didn't just look at Zhang Shou's face!
Next, Zhang Shou analyzed each dynasty from many factors, such as per-acre yield, processing level, metal smelting level, weapon level, number of water conservancy projects, etc. These were all things he had accumulated from arguing with others when he was a keyboard warrior on the Internet. They were pure analysis and did not solve the problem. But speaking them out now had the interest of a scholar venting his anger.
At this moment, Princess Yongping saw that Hong's eyes were shining. Instead of interrupting Zhang Shou's words, she listened attentively. She couldn't help but feel absurd. Today, she and the third prince were ordered to test Hong, right? Zhang Shou was just a guest, right? Then why did he suddenly become the host?
