allonlinenovel Chapter 728 Making Each Other Unhappy
Chapter 728 Making Each Other Unhappy
Seeing Chang Mao roll his eyes, Emperor Zhu chuckled and asked, "Do you think the Chang brothers, Chang Mao and Chang Sheng, are stupid?"
Yang Shaofeng looked at Chang Sheng, then at Chang Mao.
What can be said about these two brothers?
He does seem to be not very smart.
The screams of pain from the beatings of Master Sheng and Master Mao, which echoed through the capital, were enough to demonstrate the brothers' low intelligence.
But then again, they were often beaten up yet still managed to swagger around, and on their first visit to Ningyang County, they dared to steal all of Chang Yuchun's Little Dragon Bun. It would be a bit unreasonable to say that these two brothers weren't smart.
More importantly, the Chang brothers, Chang Sheng and Chang Mao, look older than their age; at first glance, they resemble a smaller version of Chang Yuchun.
Was Chang Yuchun stupid?
Definitely not stupid.
From a bandit who robbed and plundered, he transformed into the Duke of E in the Ming Dynasty, the father-in-law of the Crown Prince. No one can call Chang Yuchun a fool.
So, these two brothers probably aren't stupid.
While mentally ranting, Yang Shaofeng casually remarked, "Both Sheng-ge and Mao-ge are very smart."
Emperor Zhu snorted and said, "They may look reckless, but they are actually quite shrewd."
"Guess why they dared to steal Chang Heizi's Little Dragon Bun on their first visit to Ningyang County?"
"Because your mother-in-law said that Jin'er and Yu'er should come to Ningyang County to meet you."
"Those two bastards are smarter than monkeys when they're around!"
"And Liu Lian, doesn't he look rather unremarkable?"
"You'll find out once you get to know him better. This guy may look unremarkable, but he's actually a smaller version of the Earl of Chengyi, and he doesn't have the Earl of Chengyi's habit of hiding his talents."
"And Li Qi..."
Speaking of Li Qi, Emperor Zhu suddenly glanced at Yang Shaofeng with a strange expression, and then commented: "He's a good kid, but he's been corrupted by some scoundrels."
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback, then flew into a rage.
You old bastard had better explain to me clearly what you mean by "certain scoundrels".
How am I a scoundrel?
Emperor Zhu ignored Yang Shaofeng and instead said to himself, "Biao'er has wiped out all the noble descendants in the capital in one fell swoop."
Yang Shaofeng looked at the three hundred idiots in the yard.
Indeed, almost all the well-known second-generation nobles in the capital lived in this courtyard.
Moreover, it must be admitted that Zhu Biao played this move very cleverly.
Who would believe they aren't protons?
These three hundred second-generation nobles were all legitimate sons, not a single one was born out of wedlock. They were thrown to farm in Ningyang County, and it was these nobles who were most concerned about the safety of Ningyang County.
But could they be called protons?
Certainly not.
The reason Zhu Biao sent them to Ningyang County was not only to make it clear that he intended to give them important positions, but also to send a signal to the nobles behind them.
I trust you all very much, and so does my father. Keep up the good work, everyone, and serve us like slaves. Our Zhu family will not treat you unfairly.
So, there are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names. This black sesame dumpling absolutely lives up to its nickname.
Its appearance is as smooth and warm as jade.
The inside was so black it was practically bursting with liquid.
Tsk tsk.
Yang Shaofeng was internally ranting, while Emperor Zhu said with a smile, "In about half a year, the sons of those civil officials should be sent over soon."
"Once they've all completed their training, we'll never have to worry about manpower again."
"The gentry and gentlemen of Jiangnan?"
Emperor Zhu snorted coldly and said menacingly, "Don't they always think that the Ming Dynasty can't do without them? This time, we'd like to see if the Ming Dynasty can really do without them!"
Yang Shaofeng hummed in agreement, then, after a moment's thought, asked, "What about the workshop?"
Emperor Zhu was slightly taken aback and asked, "What workshop?"
Yang Shaofeng said, "Of course, it's the workshops that those gentry and gentlemen want to set up—if the gentry and gentlemen really set up workshops, honestly pay commercial taxes, and honestly pay wages to people, what are your thoughts, Father-in-law?"
Emperor Zhu was even more bewildered and asked, "What are you thinking? As long as they pay their commercial taxes honestly and pay the people their wages honestly, can't we just not allow them to set up workshops?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled twice and said, "Then the workshop owner has more and more money..."
Emperor Zhu hummed in agreement and was about to speak when Yang Shaofeng hurriedly added, "Furthermore, I've been thinking about this. Although the local schools, county schools, and prefectural schools will be able to train a large number of students in ten years, there is an even more thorny problem."
"After all, no matter how many students there are, their knowledge belongs to them and cannot be shared with ordinary people."
"The reason why corrupt officials dare to run rampant in the countryside and oppress the people is mostly because they take advantage of the fact that the people are illiterate and do not know the laws of the court."
"Solving this problem will probably not be easy."
Emperor Zhu glanced directly at Yang Shaofeng.
We've figured it out now; this bastard is deliberately trying to annoy us.
If he doesn't manage to anger us today, then his day has been wasted!
Emperor Zhu cursed his good son-in-law inwardly for being a scoundrel, but he showed no sign of it on his face. Instead, he twitched the corners of his mouth and said with a forced smile, "Although this problem is a bit troublesome, there is a ready-made solution that can be copied. What's so difficult about it?"
Pointing again in the direction of Liu Miao Village, Emperor Zhu said, "Liu Miao Village must have over a hundred households now, right?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded, puzzled. Emperor Zhu continued, "There are about a hundred households, several hundred people. Anyone you pick out can recognize more than five hundred characters. Isn't that ready-made experience?"
"It's alright, we're not in a hurry. We can just take it one county at a time."
"Only when the people can read can Shenming Pavilion truly play its role."
"Those corrupt officials naturally dared not deceive the people anymore."
……
While Emperor Zhu and his son-in-law Yang Shaofeng were exasperated with each other, Zhu Biao, far away in the capital, was discussing the next steps with Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen.
"The next step is the children of officials of the fifth rank and above."
"We'll see how many there are in total. We can arrange them in Ningyang County first, and if there aren't enough, we'll send them to Dengzhou Prefecture."
"It doesn't necessarily have to be limited to farms."
"If other people's children can repair roads, they can do the same."
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and said, "Ningyang County has so many workshops, there must be a suitable place for them."
Liu Bowen turned his head and glanced at Li Shanchang.
His own children were sent to farm in Ningyang County, so he was thinking of getting other people's children to work in the workshops of Ningyang County.
That old scoundrel is becoming more and more despicable.
Pooh!
Liu Bowen cursed inwardly, then bowed to Zhu Biao and said, "Your subject seconds the motion."
Zhu Biao nodded, then picked up a memorial and had it handed to Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen.