jdhmnovel Chapter 773 I am your brother-in-law, not the king of the wishing well!
Chapter 773 I am your brother-in-law, not the king of the wishing well!
Chen Zhong returned to the capital with the memorials written by Zhu Biao and Yang Shaofeng. Zhu Biao once again resumed his carefree and unrestrained state, like a fish returning to the sea or a bird entering the forest.
It's just a few scoldings; I'm used to it by now.
However, after arriving in Yangzhou, Zhu Biao, who had been as happy as a husky that had been let loose, changed his attitude.
"The entire city of Yangzhou, the city where people could 'have 100,000 strings of cash around their waist and ride a crane down to Yangzhou,' was occupied by Zhang Mingjian in the seventeenth year of the Zhizheng era."
"Due to a shortage of food, Zhang Mingjian actually ordered the killing of civilians for food."
"When my father sent Miao Daheng to recapture Yangzhou in the eighteenth year of the Zhizheng era, only eighteen households remained in the entire city of Yangzhou."
Zhu Biao forced a smile and said, "These eighteen households aren't even eighteen complete households."
“There are those who lack fathers and mothers, those who lack children, and those whose husbands have died and whose wives have died.”
"My mother told me that my father was completely dumbfounded at the time."
"Tell me, just how ruthless must one be to slaughter everyone in Yangzhou until only eighteen households remain?"
At this point, Zhu Biao sighed again and recited: "The places where the Qin and Han dynasties once stood are now a sorrowful sight, their palaces and towers turned to dust. In times of prosperity, the people suffer; in times of ruin, the people suffer!"
Yang Shaofeng hummed in agreement, and then he and Zhu Biao fell silent.
The tragedy in Yangzhou was not just that the entire city was slaughtered, leaving only eighteen households.
Even more tragically, the missing civilians were all used as military rations by Zhang Mingjian.
However, this was only the tragedy that Zhu Biao and the Emperor Zhu knew about.
Two hundred and seventy years later, Yangzhou will suffer an even more devastating tragedy.
“The corpses were piled up, their hands and feet intertwined, and their blood turned the water blue and red, then into five colors, and the pond became flat.”
“Everywhere, in front, behind, left, and right, was scorched.”
"The city was piled with corpses like a tangled mess."
Even more tragically, before "The Yangzhou Ten Days" was brought back from abroad, only "The Story of the Stone," which was praised by Zhiyan Zhai as "all unofficial histories can be destroyed, but this book cannot be destroyed," recorded the tragedy that began on the 26th after the city fell on the 25th, using flowers as a metaphor for splendor, in its 27th chapter.
(This should be the real reason why "Dream of the Red Chamber" was banned and destroyed. Only in this way can we understand why a novel that describes the relationship between men and women, "Dream of the Red Chamber", became the first of the Four Great Classical Novels.)
Yang Shaofeng sighed and followed Zhu Biao into Yangzhou City.
By the sixth year of the Hongwu reign, Yangzhou had somewhat recovered its vitality.
But it was only a tiny bit.
Whether it's the number of pedestrians on the street or the living conditions of ordinary people that can be seen with the naked eye, it's far inferior to the capital.
Zhu Biao sighed again and said, "Even so, Yangzhou City still experienced the problem of gentry annexing land a few years ago. If it weren't for the progressive tax system and the equal-field system, Yangzhou City would probably have recovered much slower."
"The rest, like Fengyang and Huai'an, are actually quite similar, except that they have more people than Yangzhou."
"But these are still considered good."
A hint of anger flashed across Zhu Biao's face: "The journey from Ningyang County, or rather from Dengzhou Prefecture to the capital, is somewhat better."
"Because Uncle Xu was going to lead his troops on a northern expedition, my father and mother also had to travel this route to Ningyang County. There were no brothels or similar places in the prefectures and counties along this route."
"If you go to the Jiangnan region, there are quite a few brothels and brothels."
"This was especially true in the areas where salt merchants lived."
"This city of Yangzhou before me... Ah."
Ok.
Yangzhou's "slender horses" (a euphemism for prostitutes).
Datong women.
Taishan nun.
Boat girls on West Lake.
These are all very famous.
Yang Shaofeng and Zhu Biao strolled slowly through Yangzhou City until they reached the vicinity of the Yangzhou government office. Zhu Biao then spoke up again, saying, "After Yangzhou, the next city is Huai'an Prefecture."
"Last year there was a severe drought, and this year there is a mild drought."
"If it weren't for the water pump, the people of Huai'an Prefecture would probably have to leave their homes due to the drought."
At this point, Zhu Biao suddenly fell silent for a while before looking at Yang Shaofeng and saying, "Brother-in-law, water pumps can alleviate drought, but is there any way to solve flooding?"
What the hell?
Yang Shaofeng stared blankly at Zhu Biao.
I am your brother-in-law.
It's not the turtle in the wishing well!
You expect me to figure out how to solve a flood problem?
You really think too highly of me!
While mentally ranting, Yang Shaofeng said with a dark face, "The reason why water pumps can alleviate drought is because there is water underground. You just need to find a way to pump it up."
"Flooding is caused by excessive water volume. To alleviate the harm caused by flooding, we must dredge and widen the river channels, control siltation, and build reservoirs to give the excess water a place to go."
"In addition, we need to make preparations in advance for dealing with disasters such as floods, epidemics, and earthquakes."
"For example, stockpiling food and medicine in various prefectures and counties in advance, and building houses in high and stable locations to accommodate the people in advance."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "The only problem now is whether the national treasury has enough money to support such a large expenditure and whether it can procure so many supplies."
As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Zhu Biao was almost driven mad with anger.
It's like placing countless exquisite dishes in front of a starving person, but just as the starving person picks up their chopsticks, someone suddenly appears and says that they must pay first before they can eat.
Zhu Biao grew angrier the more he thought about it. After a while, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "The national treasury is short of money and supplies, but the border markets are rich in money and supplies."
"If we can't do it in one year, then we'll take five, ten, or even twenty years to do it slowly."
"Anyway, my dad is still young. Twenty years is enough time for him to slowly get all these things done."
"If twenty years isn't enough, then spend fifty years doing it."
"If the Qin Emperor could build upon the legacy of six generations, then our Great Ming Dynasty might not be any worse than the Qin Dynasty."
"Moreover, the King of Qin had no water pump, no steam engine, and no railway."
"Our Great Ming already possesses enormous advantages; at worst, we can create a century-long plan in addition to the five-year plan."
"If our descendants all work towards this goal, we will eventually succeed."
"Take your time."
Ok?
What are these black sesame dumplings saying?
Not only did he scheme to get Lao Deng to do the millstone work for him, he also planned for his descendants to risk their lives for this long-term plan.
Yang Shaofeng clicked his tongue and said, "Your Highness has a long-term vision, which is truly a blessing for the people of the Ming Dynasty."
"However, for a plan that involves a century, it is best to have the Cabinet work in coordination with the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue."
"What we need to do right now is to take a look at the prefect of Yangzhou."