PFC Chapter 25 This kid finally praised us!
Chapter 25 This kid finally praised us!
"If I had to express my gratitude, I would only thank my maternal grandfather, the villagers who had weathered the storm with me, and our own hands. If it weren't for the fact that Zhu Yuanzhang unified the country and the wars ended, freeing us from hiding, I might have already joined the villagers in rebellion!"
"All of this was achieved through our own hard work, by surviving with our own hands. It really has nothing to do with Zhu Yuanzhang or the imperial court. Even if Zhu Yuanzhang were standing right in front of me today, I would still say the same thing!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen were both taken aback. The shock on their faces gradually faded, and they couldn't help but admire Zhu Yao's resilience from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhu Yuanzhang stood frozen in place, his mind involuntarily recalling the tragic experiences of his youth.
His family was destroyed, his relatives starved to death, he was forced to become a monk, begged on the streets, and suffered all kinds of bullying. Finally, when he had nowhere else to turn, he embarked on the path of rebellion.
He suddenly realized that he and Zhu Yao were so similar, both struggling to survive in a chaotic world, only they had chosen different paths.
Forced into a corner, he took up arms to fight against injustice and vie for the world.
Zhu Yao, on the other hand, chose to bury himself in farming, stay close to his fellow villagers, and rely on his own hands to earn a chance for survival for himself and those around him in the chaotic world.
The two had different desires and took different paths, but they shared the same unwavering commitment: to live a good life and to escape the suffering of hunger and war.
At this moment, the anger in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart quietly dissipated, leaving only a few complex emotions and a sigh. His gaze towards Zhu Yao also showed more understanding and emotion.
Just then, a commotion arose outside the mansion gate, accompanied by the cheers of three boys. Zhu Yuanzhang was startled, his expression instantly changing as he pondered to himself:
Oh no, have these three unfilial sons gotten into trouble again?
The next second, Zhu Shuang, Zhu Su, and Zhu Gui rushed in excitedly, their faces full of excitement and amazement, each vying to speak.
Zhu Shuang spoke first, excitedly saying, "Father! This place is so interesting!"
"I went out on the street to cause some trouble, and casually pushed a street vendor. Suddenly, several people in uniform rushed out. They said they were urban management officers, not government officials, but they were stricter than the government. I was indignant and wanted to fight them, but they beat me up so badly that my arm hurt!"
"But honestly, with them around, the streets are exceptionally tidy. There are no vendors blocking the way, and no one misbehaving. It's much tidier than the streets of Nanjing!"
He rubbed his arm as he talked on and on, his tone full of curiosity.
Holding a bundle of freshly picked herbs, Zhu Su's eyes sparkled as he said eagerly, "Father, the pharmacies here have found many rare herbs on the street, and the prices are very reasonable; ordinary people can afford them!"
"There are so many medicines I don't recognize!"
Zhu Gui, beaming with excitement, exclaimed, "Father! I've discovered so many hot pot restaurants here!"
"The restaurant offers a wide variety of dishes, including all kinds of meat, vegetables, and many ingredients I've never seen before. The aroma wafts from afar, and many locals are eating there. It makes my mouth water just looking at it!"
"It's like a paradise!"
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly turned to look at Zhu Yao. He instantly understood that Zhu Yao must have a way to make the people of the world live a good life because he managed this place so well.
He asked urgently, "Yao'er, since you've managed to govern this place so well, you must have a way to make the people of the world live a good life. Tell me quickly, what is your method?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yao couldn't help but roll his eyes, his tone full of helplessness: "Father, you're not the emperor, why are you so concerned about the lives of ordinary people?"
"It's as if if I reveal the solution, you can implement it and all the people in the world will benefit. Don't waste your energy."
Zhu Yuanzhang was rendered speechless by Zhu Yao's words. His chest heaved, and he almost blurted out, "I am the emperor!" but he swallowed the words back down.
He quickly gave Liu Bowen a look, signaling him to help out of the awkward situation. Liu Bowen understood immediately and quickly smoothed things over: "Young master is joking. Master was just expressing his feelings on a whim. He was just chatting with you casually and had no other intentions. If you have any thoughts, please feel free to share them and broaden our horizons."
Zhu Yuanzhang quickly echoed, his tone softening considerably: "Yes, Yao'er, we were just chatting. Tell me your thoughts. Even if we can't implement it, I'd still like to hear your ideas."
Seeing the anxious looks on the father and son's faces, Zhu Yao shook his head helplessly, but finally relented: "Alright, since you want to hear it, I'll tell you."
"To be honest, Zhu Yuanzhang wasn't entirely without merit. After unifying the country, he did a lot of practical things, so he still has his merits."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's face instantly lit up with a smile, and he was secretly delighted: Good heavens, this child is finally willing to praise me. It seems that what I have done is still being seen by others.
Zhu Yao continued, "For example, he encouraged agriculture and sericulture, promoted large-scale land reclamation, encouraged people to reclaim wasteland, and allocated large amounts of wasteland to farmers so that people had land to cultivate and food to eat."
"There was also the military settlement system, and he also organized the repair of water conservancy projects across the country. These were all truly good things."
Zhu Yuanzhang listened with a broad smile, nodding repeatedly, his face full of pride. His gaze towards Zhu Yao became increasingly gentle, and the slight resentment in his heart completely vanished.
But the next second, Zhu Yao changed his tone, the praise in his voice fading away, replaced by a hint of complaint: "However, these methods look good, but there are quite a few problems with them, and they don't really solve the people's predicament at all."
Zhu Yuanzhang's smile froze instantly, his expression darkening, his brows furrowing, and his tone tinged with displeasure: "Oh? Quite a few problems? Then tell me, what are the problems? Do you have a better solution?"
Zhu Yao raised his chin, his tone certain: "Of course there are, and not just one, but three!"
"The first point is to promote high-efficiency crops and break through the limits of land yield."
"Some high-yield crops are drought-resistant and can thrive in poor soil. They can be cultivated even in barren mountainous areas, and require much less land to feed the same number of people, which will greatly reduce the probability of famine."
Upon hearing this, both Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen's eyes lit up.
"Secondly, introduce currency and credit to avoid complex in-kind taxes."
Zhu Yao continued, "The 'Da Ming Bao Chao' issued by Old Zhu is quite good, but I'm not optimistic about its future!"
"A better approach would be to establish a more robust silver standard system, where officials' salaries and military pay would be paid in cash, and farmers' taxes would be converted into silver."
"In this way, the costs of water transport and warehousing can be significantly reduced, the market can be made more flexible, and transactions can be made more convenient for the people."
"However, the rampant smuggling of silver requires extremely high financial management capabilities to establish a stable monetary system, which Zhu's current court is not yet capable of."
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and fell into deep thought. He was aware of the problem Zhu Yao mentioned, but he had not been able to find a solution. Zhu Yao's words undoubtedly gave him a new idea.
"Thirdly, a more lenient approach to immigration, shifting from coercion to inducement."
Zhu Yao took a sip of tea and continued, "The 'immigrant reclamation' policy that Old Zhu is currently promoting has a strong coercive element. For example, if wealthy people from Jiangnan are moved to Fengyang, even if they are given oxen and seeds, the people will be reluctant to leave their homeland. Many will flee or be dissatisfied, so the effect of immigrant reclamation will not be achieved at all."
"A better approach would be long-term, phased tax incentives. For example, immigrants could be exempt from taxes for the first five years and pay only half the taxes for the next ten years. They could also be allowed to return to their hometowns to visit relatives during the off-season to alleviate their homesickness."
"At the same time, by utilizing market mechanisms, land prices in sparsely populated areas are set at extremely low levels, encouraging people to spontaneously buy, sell, and lease land, allowing economic laws to take effect, rather than relying on administrative orders to 'drive' people to reclaim wasteland. Only in this way will people be willing to participate, and only then can immigration and land reclamation truly be effective."
After Zhu Yao finished explaining his three good ideas, he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen, who were deep in thought, smiled slightly, and added: "Besides these three points, there is another crucial method that can completely solve the current problems of chaotic taxation and exhaustion of manpower, and that is the 'Single Whip Law'."