allonlinenovel Chapter 592 Finding a Korean as a middleman?
Chapter 592 Finding a Korean as a middleman?
Li Shanchang was slightly taken aback and asked, "Agricultural College?"
Emperor Zhu nodded and said, "Yes, the Agricultural College."
"They specialize in studying how to cultivate crops, how to breed high-yield and drought- and flood-resistant crops, the role of food crops in non-food crops, various vegetables and wild vegetables, and even various agricultural tools. There are different departments and disciplines for everything related to agriculture."
The mere mention of the Agricultural College made Emperor Zhu feel uneasy.
The emperor and the court encouraged agriculture and sericulture every year.
The results of it?
Whether you persuade them or not, it won't interfere with the farmers' normal farming activities.
The farmers' harvest didn't increase by more than a few kilograms despite the advice given.
Even without persuasion, the farmers didn't seem to lose more than a few kilograms of grain.
On the contrary, the agricultural college that this bastard created has quietly made a big fuss.
Places unsuitable for growing crops may be suitable for growing fruit trees, and planting fruit trees can also help reduce soil erosion.
Moreover, fruit trees don't require much maintenance, so people can treat fruit tree planting as an extra source of income.
More importantly, their agricultural college can cultivate superior varieties and even has dedicated experimental fields to verify whether the seeds they cultivate are high-yielding, drought-resistant, or flood-resistant.
In contrast, what exactly has the Ministry of Agriculture and the so-called "encouragement of agriculture and sericulture" accomplished over the years?
Emperor Zhu couldn't help but rub his forehead and said to Li Shanchang and other civil and military officials, "The reform of the prefectural government he mentioned in his memorial is probably just copying the system of Ningyang County, dividing different matters into different departments, and then creating several deputy prefects to be in charge of different matters."
"Once the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission is restructured, almost all government affairs can be divided into different lines."
"From the Deputy Provincial Administration Commissioner in charge of agriculture, to the Deputy Prefect in charge of agriculture, and then to the Deputy County Magistrate."
"If the township government offices between the prefecture and county and the village and community are also set up, then it will be possible to go directly to the deputy magistrate of the township or town."
Listening to Emperor Zhu's description, Li Shanchang suddenly felt a pang of regret.
sloppy.
If I had known it could be done this way, I should have directly proposed reforming the Secretariat and creating several or even a dozen vice prime ministers to share the burden of government affairs with me.
It's much better than me having to work like a beast of burden all by myself.
Just as Li Shanchang was pondering whether he should appoint some unlucky individuals as vice prime ministers, Xu Da was also considering whether he should appoint some unlucky individuals as vice governors.
One is in charge of the troops, one is in charge of the weapons and armor, one is in charge of the land reclamation, one is in charge of the grain and laborers, and the rest of me, the governor, only needs to focus on leading the troops to fight the Hu Yuan. Why should I have such a headache now?
No.
I still have to resign from the position of Right Chancellor.
Before Xu Da could figure out how to resign as Right Chancellor, Emperor Zhu continued, "There's also education, culture, environment, and sanitation; there are many different interpretations of these matters."
“Schools such as prefectural schools, county schools, and community schools were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, as were printing and bookstores.”
“The management of sanitation is quite complex. It covers everything from whether there is garbage on the streets of Dengzhou Prefecture to how each household disposes of its manure.
"As for that job position he wrote in his memorial..."
Emperor Zhu habitually pursed his lips.
"That bastard said that if a country could become rich and powerful just by farming, then the most powerful country would be the monkeys, not the Ming Dynasty. After all, the monkeys can harvest two or even three crops a year, and they can grow grain just by scattering some seeds."
"Therefore, we can't just focus on the harvest from farming; we also need to run the workshops well while cultivating the land."
"If workshops were everywhere, people would not lack the skills to use various farming tools, nor would they be afraid of not being able to afford them. They could also use bricks and tiles to build houses openly."
"Ideally, we could make something like a glass goblet and take it to the market to swindle people."
……
Just as Emperor Zhu was patiently explaining Yang Shaofeng's "Work Report" to his trusted ministers, including Li Shanchang and Xu Da, Yang Shaofeng was receiving Park Sung-sung at the Imperial Son-in-Law's residence.
"Your Highness, does the Ming Dynasty need warhorses?"
"Five thousand horses, all of them top-quality warhorses."
Park Sung-sung cautiously probed, "As long as the Prince Consort speaks, I will immediately send someone to Dengzhou Prefecture."
Yang Shaofeng immediately perked up and asked, "Five thousand horses? Where did they come from?"
Five thousand fine warhorses?
Did the Koreans rob Hu Yuan's horse farm?
Park Sung-sung lowered his voice: "It was Grand Commandant Hu Yuan Nahachu who, under the pretext of the Liaodong White Disaster, directly 'frozen to death' more than 5,000 warhorses."
Yang Shaofeng was somewhat bewildered.
and many more.
Nahachu, the fact that more than 5,000 warhorses "froze to death" is easy to understand.
It wouldn't be surprising if Nahachu sold these five thousand-plus warhorses directly to the Ming Dynasty.
The problem is that Nahachu actually wants to find a Korean to be the middleman?
Then you can only say he deserves his bad luck.
Just as Yang Shaofeng was pondering to himself, Park Sung-sung whispered again, "These are all top-quality warhorses, only fifteen taels of silver each."
"It's best not to let Hu Yuan find out."
"Otherwise, it will be difficult to explain to Xiaguo and Nahachu."
Yang Shaofeng glanced sideways at Park Sung-sung. "Fifteen taels of silver a bolt? And you still have to hide it? Vice Envoy Park, are you here specifically to make fun of me?"
To be honest, a fine warhorse would cost far more than fifteen taels of silver.
Moreover, the goods were transported from Korea to the Ming Dynasty, which added considerable costs.
However, the origin of these warhorses is questionable.
It also involved Grand Commandant Hu Yuan.
"You want me to pay another fifteen taels of silver?"
Yang Shaofeng sneered, "Seven taels of silver per bolt. I will take whatever Deputy Envoy Park has on hand. And just like before, there's no need to go through the border market or pay taxes. Deputy Envoy Park only needs to have the goods delivered to Dengzhou, and I will take care of the rest."
Park Sung-sung immediately became anxious: "Seven taels? Your Highness, that price is far too low. I'm afraid Nahachu won't agree."
Yang Shaofeng put on an indifferent look: "Disagree? If he disagrees, let him keep it. When the Ming Dynasty has the time, he can take it himself. He won't have to spend a single penny."
Park Sung-sung was sweating profusely with anxiety: "Your Highness, these are over five thousand fine warhorses, and more than ten of them are suitable for breeding. It's just that we happened to be caught in the Liaodong White Famine, which is probably why Naha dared to do this. If we miss this opportunity, next time..."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "How about eight taels?"
Eight taels?
Park Sung-sung was almost driven mad by Yang Shaofeng's offer.
You're asking for seven and a half ounces for a cow, but you're asking for eight ounces for a top-quality warhorse?
Park Sung-sung said with a bitter face, "Twelve taels. I will not take a single penny of the benefits from being an official. Consider it a tribute to the Emperor of the Great Ming."
Yang Shaofeng smiled, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Alright, twelve ounces it is then."
"However, now that Hanna has made such a big mess, he should be thinking about solving the problem first, not making money."
“Vice Envoy Park can quote him nine taels, and make a profit of one tael per horse.”
Park Sung-sung's eyes lit up immediately.