allonlinenovel Chapter 1236 We can't spend money only to have the common people criticize us behind our backs.
Chapter 1236 We can't spend money only to have the common people criticize us behind our backs.
Upon entering Hejian County, Emperor Zhu was stunned by the sight before him.
The city walls were dilapidated and no one was repairing them, but the streets inside the city were wide enough, and the shops on both sides were lined up one after another. Pedestrians came and went in droves. Although it was not to the point of being shoulder to shoulder, it could still be described as prosperous.
"I was saying that Hejian County has never mentioned repairing the city wall in all these years. It turns out that this guy has used all the money to repair the city and roads, and he's too lazy to repair the city wall at all."
As Emperor Zhu strolled through the streets, he said to Empress Ma, "If we hadn't entered Hejian County, just looking at the city walls, who would have imagined that the city would be so prosperous?"
Empress Ma smiled and nodded, but Emperor Zhu's eyes lit up. He pointed to a shop by the roadside and said, "Sister, look over there!"
"Authentic Hejian donkey meat sandwich".
"Wow, we've seen authentic Ningyang donkey meat sandwiches back in Ningyang, and now we can see authentic Hejian donkey meat sandwiches in Hejian."
"I wonder how long this lawsuit between the master and his apprentice will last?"
Seeing Emperor Zhu's gloating expression, Empress Ma couldn't help but roll her eyes and said, "They're in a lawsuit, master and disciple. Who do you think should adjudicate this case?"
As Empress Ma finished speaking, the smile on Emperor Zhu's face gradually froze and then slowly disappeared.
Yeah, that good student taught by that bastard is suing that bastard. Who will decide the case?
Dali Temple?
Ministry of Justice?
Or the Censorate?
In the end, isn't it still up to the emperor himself to make the judgment?
So, which is more authentic, the donkey meat sandwich from Ningyang or the donkey meat sandwich from Hejian?
While Emperor Zhu was pondering things in his mind, he continued walking along the street with Empress Ma.
When they reached a shop with a sign that read "Benefit the People Pharmacy", Emperor Zhu stopped in his tracks.
"Speaking of which, we've traveled through more than ten counties and visited more than ten public pharmacies along the way."
"While it's not fair to say that the pharmacies are deserted, it's fair to say that very few people go to the Huimin Pharmacy. On the contrary, the pharmacies in the private sector are doing better business."
"Only the pharmacies in Ningyang County and Hejian County have a relatively large number of customers."
Emperor Zhu stroked his chin and said, "Sister, do you think it's because the people of our Great Ming Dynasty know how to save money for the Huimin Pharmacy, or is there something else going on?"
Empress Ma did not directly answer Emperor Zhu's question. Instead, she asked, "If you were an ordinary citizen of the Ming Dynasty, would you choose to go to those folk pharmacies instead of going to the Huimin Pharmacy, where medicines are cheaper and you can even buy on credit?"
Emperor Zhu shook his head and replied, "Of course we won't. After all, the Huimin Pharmacy is a benefit that the court provides to the people. We are citizens of the Ming Dynasty, so of course we should go to the Huimin Pharmacy."
Empress Ma hummed in agreement and then pressed on, "If you were relatively wealthy, would you go to the Huimin Pharmacy or a local pharmacy? If you were wealthy but unwilling to go to the Huimin Pharmacy, what would be the reason?"
Emperor Zhu also hummed in agreement, but then shook his head slightly and said, "What about the Huimin Pharmacies in Ningyang County and Hejian County? Does that mean the medicine sent to the Huimin Pharmacies in Ningyang County and Hejian County was..."
Before he could finish speaking, Emperor Zhu said "Oh," and then snorted coldly, "I know what's going on."
"Some people can't afford to mess with our good son-in-law, and they also feel they can't afford to mess with the heavy burden he raised, so they bully those ordinary people who have no one to back them up."
“When the Huimin Pharmacy can no longer truly benefit the people, the people will naturally be unwilling to go to the Huimin Pharmacy.”
Empress Ma nodded and said, "I guess that's probably the reason too."
How are the common people of the Ming Dynasty?
it is good.
They diligently cultivated the land and honestly paid their taxes and performed corvée labor.
To say that their morality is so high that they wouldn't take advantage of the imperial court would be pure ridiculous.
If someone can pay less grain, no one will voluntarily pay more.
If someone can pay one less penny in taxes, no one will voluntarily pay one more.
Humans eat grains and other foods, and birth, aging, sickness and death are natural occurrences. How could ordinary people not take advantage of the benefits of the Huimin Pharmacy?
The only explanation is that ordinary people don't get any benefits from going to Huimin Pharmacy, and may even suffer losses, which is why few people are willing to go there.
The prices of medicines at the Huimin Pharmacy were set by the imperial court and were low enough. The only reason why ordinary people felt they were not getting a good deal or even being taken advantage of was probably due to the quality of the medicines.
This also explains why people in Ningyang County and Hejian County are willing to go to the Huimin Pharmacy.
Because the pharmacies in these two places make ordinary people feel like they're getting a good deal.
In other words, the price of the drug is low enough, while the quality is guaranteed.
Then the problem is coming.
Which link in the chain went wrong?
From buying medicine, to distributing it, and then selling it...
Empress Ma shook her head slightly, but Emperor Zhu's face grew increasingly dark.
Damn it!
How long has it been since the Empty Seal Case that swept across the entire Ming Dynasty? Now, this Huimin Pharmacy Case is about to pop up again.
After being emperor for so many years, I never imagined that someone would still dare to treat me like a fool and make a fool of me!
The Emperor Zhu's expression gradually turned ferocious, and he sneered, "Let's go, let's go see that kid Song Zhiyan first, and then we'll leave the Huimin Pharmacy matter to Biao'er and that bastard to investigate."
After taking only a couple of steps forward, Emperor Zhu muttered under his breath, "Since we're not sitting on the dragon throne now, this case should be investigated by the one who is."
Empress Ma didn't hear what Emperor Zhu said clearly, so she asked, "What did you say?"
Emperor Zhu shuddered involuntarily and said, "It's nothing, but we need to thoroughly investigate this Huimin Pharmacy."
"And it's not just the Huimin Pharmacy."
“We need to thoroughly investigate things like the remaining almshouse, the Louzeyuan, and the houses we had built and distributed to the people before.”
"We can't spend money and then let the people criticize us behind our backs."
……
When Emperor Zhu and Empress Ma arrived at the Hejian County government office, Song Zhiyan, the magistrate of Hejian, was not even there.
After Erhu found out what had happened, Emperor Zhu was so angry that he laughed.
"Now we finally know where the saying 'Like begets like' comes from."
"Damn it, that bastard was always running around when he was the county magistrate, so it seems that the students he taught were never in the county office either."
"That bastard is always checking in for himself, 360 days a year. He's at the county office every single day, and now the good students he taught are all worthless."
"They're all utterly despicable! They treat the system of officials clocking in and out like it doesn't exist!"
After grumbling and expressing his dissatisfaction, Emperor Zhu, with a dark face, ordered Erhu, "Come on, take us to him. We need to see what this little rascal is up to!"