Bai Shan and the other three did not participate in their conversation, standing aside and talking at the shops on this street.
Wei Yu shook his head, "It's too extravagant."
No wonder his father didn't speak very well when talking about the emperor recently, and was worried that he had become extravagant over time.
The ministers in the court were as worried as Wei Zhi, especially the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, so they often wrote poems recently to cry out for poverty, with only one purpose.
Emperor, although it seems that the country is prosperous and the people are wealthy now, in fact the country still cannot withstand the hardships. We are still very poor now. You see, you have been the emperor for more than 20 years, and the national treasury is still empty as soon as spring comes.
money.
Money is needed to support farmers and mulberry trees, money is needed to build water conservancy projects, money is needed for disaster relief in some places, money is also needed for the Ministry of War, and money is needed for building imperial tombs. We also need to save a little more to prevent emergencies, just in case it happens again like the year before.
If we need to conquer the West, the treasury cannot allocate military funds?
So, Emperor, we are still poor, so don’t think about building construction projects, lavishing rewards, or getting luxurious tributes...
Some officials even wrote a letter saying that the dowry given to the two princesses greatly exceeded the etiquette system. Even if it was not paid for by the treasury, it was not allowed, so the extra part should be recovered...
The emperor always accepted admonitions with an open mind, but he ignored matters such as taking back excess dowries.
Now even the prince had an opinion and said privately to Zhan Shifu, "These officials are also bullying the weak and afraid of the strong. When my father gave the third son so many things, why didn't he exceed the etiquette early? Why didn't I see them writing a letter to recover it?"
?”
"Mingda and Changyu are princesses, so we caught them bullying them. Hmm, they are really good at picking on the weak."
Guo Zhanshi couldn't help but said: "His Royal Highness is clearly doing the best for the princess, so why bother bringing up Prince Gong again? If word spreads, Your Majesty will only think that you are unfriendly to your brother. You must never say such things again."
The prince remained silent.
Wei Yu is currently serving as the censor in Taichung, and he is doing the job of being an official. However, because the matter involves Princess Chang Yu, and Wei Zhi also privately told him that the past has passed and he has already been impeached, so there is no point in pursuing this matter.
, but it will annoy His Majesty, so it is better to look forward and just advise His Majesty on his current and future behavior so that he will not forget to be frugal.
But when she really saw the shop the emperor gave to Princess Mingda, Wei Yu couldn't help but said: "It's really too extravagant."
However, Bai Shan was curious and asked the steward and the manager of Huangzhuang, "Where is the end of the shop?"
"That's just outside the new city," Li Chang said with a smile, "that's the imperial mansion that your majesty gave to the princess."
Bai Shan squinted his eyes, leaning against the Imperial Manor in Xincheng.
He asked, "How far is it from the ancient city of Yueyang?"
The steward of Huangzhuang was stunned for a moment and then said: "It's not very far, but there is no road. We need to go around. It takes about an hour by car."
Bai Shan asked: "What if the road is through Huangzhuang?"
The manager of Huangzhuang smiled and said, "That's much closer. You can get there in less than three-quarters of an hour."
Bai Shan then smiled and nodded, turned around and talked to Man Bao about this.
So Manbao's eyes lit up, and he suggested that when he went back, he should take Huangzhuang, pass through Yueyang County, and go to Wannian County and then return to the capital from Dongcheng Gate.
In the past, when they left Yongzhou from the capital, they had to go to the South City Gate, take a detour and then go north to Yongzhou.
The steward of Huangzhuang couldn't help but remind him in a low voice: "Princess, the roads from Yueyang County to Wannian County are mostly small roads. They are not as wide and flat as the official roads, so they may be bumpy.
Upon hearing this, Mingda became more interested and immediately said: "Then we will go back from Wannian County and visit the farm by the way."
Man Bao nodded with deep understanding and said to her: "My fief is at the other end. I also want to see my fief. Do you want to see my workshop?"
This time Chang Yu nodded, she wanted to take a look.
So after visiting the shops in Xincheng, they went directly to Huangzhuang.
Changyu was riding on the horse. Mingda saw that the horse was not fast, so he also rode on the horse. The spring breeze was blowing in his face, but he was still very comfortable and happy.
It was the end of February, when spring returned to the earth, and there were many green grass sprouts sprouting on the ground. Mingda and Changyu had both plowed and tried farming with the emperor, so they were not ignorant of grains.
But now the weeds and the green wheat seedlings really look alike.
Mingda couldn't tell the difference after looking at it for a long time, so he turned around and asked Bai Erlang quietly, "Is this piece of land a weed?"
Bai Erlang only took one look and shook his head, "No, it's Mai Miao."
Mingda pointed to a tunnel on the opposite side and said, "So this area is also a wheat seedling?"
Bai Erlang glanced at it and remained silent for a moment, "No, this is a weed."
Mingda:……
She frowned, "Why do weeds grow better than wheat seedlings? And it's all land, so why don't we grow wheat seedlings here?"
Bai Erlang only glanced at it and said: "That side is close to the water, so it should be reserved for planting rice in the spring. This side is farther away from the water, so wheat is planted."
The steward of Huangzhuang, who was walking quickly behind, had cold sweat on his forehead. He nodded repeatedly, trotted forward and said, "It's exactly what the prince consort said. In recent years, the side of Huangzhuang that is close to the water has been reserved for planting rice in spring.
On the other side, we need to plant wheat. After harvesting, we will plant rice or beans depending on the situation.”
As for why the weeds grew better than the wheat seedlings, Bai Erlang glanced at the steward and said: "Last winter was relatively cold, and there was a snowstorm in the Central Plains. It must be that the disaster resistance here is not strong, and many wheat seedlings were frozen to death."
Man Bao nodded with deep understanding, and complained to Ming Da: "Last year, my family's three working fields were all affected by disasters. The straw and wheat straw left before were spread on the ground to keep warm, but even so, many people froze to death.
, this summer’s harvest will definitely not be as good as next year’s. We have to reduce the rent some.”
Mingda was stunned and asked: "Then do I want to reduce the rent for my tenant farmers?"
Man Bao smiled and said, "If you have such kindness, then you can reduce it."
The steward at the back quickly said: "Your Highness, we don't have many tenants in this imperial village. Most of them are palace slaves working here."
That is to say, long-term workers, the kind of long-term workers who do not receive wages. Huangzhuang provides food and accommodation, and they are responsible for farming.
Man Bao glanced at the fields on both sides of the road and nodded slightly. Sure enough, it was work done by people without wages. If it were her father, he would make the weeds in the field grow taller than people instead of just taller than wheat seedlings.
After walking out of the imperial village, Man Baocai said to Mingda: "If you want to take care of this village, you can't let it go like this. Who would be willing to work hard for you if there is no profit?"
She said: "If a talented person wants to sell something to the emperor's family, then the emperor must be able to pay a corresponding price. Otherwise, the talented person would rather live in seclusion in the mountains and forests than serve the emperor with humility."
Mingda understood this metaphor immediately, and she nodded thoughtfully, "What you said is wrong, it's time to take care of it."
After leaving Huangzhuang and walking down the road, there is a fork in the road. One road leads to Yueyang County, and the other leads to Wannian County. The border between the two counties is Zhou Man's fiefdom.