pdf-ebookys Chapter 120 Old Zhu: We just feel like we've been cheated!
Chapter 120 Old Zhu: We just feel like we've been cheated!
Emperor Zhu had thought more than once about quickly bringing that madman Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate, to serve as an official near the capital. Firstly, it would make it easier for him to observe Yang's character and conduct, and secondly, it would make it easier for Biao'er to learn from him.
However, considering Yang Shaofeng's stubborn and unruly nature, as well as the decadent lifestyle of Jiangnan, Emperor Zhu was not entirely comfortable sending Yang Shaofeng to Jiangnan to serve as an official.
What if, what if he goes astray?
Just like Yang Xian, he was dutiful and conscientious when he was an inspector, but he became a completely different person once he arrived at the Secretariat. Now he even dares to cause trouble for Li Shanchang!
Seeing Emperor Zhu Chongba's expression change repeatedly, Empress Ma simply smiled and said, "You, you always overthink things—do you think there's anything wrong with Magistrate Yang now?"
“If he stays in Ningyang County, far from the emperor’s reach, and receives occasional rewards from Biao’er, the prefect of Yanzhou will not easily interfere with him. He can do whatever he wants to take revenge.”
"But if you bring him to serve as an official in or near the capital, won't he be subject to control at every turn? Today he's a superior, tomorrow he's a superior, he'll be welcoming and seeing off officials every day with utmost care, what kind of trouble can he possibly cause?"
"So, you can leave him in Ningyang County, and then you two can stay in the capital and keep an eye on him. As long as he doesn't cause any major trouble, let him do whatever he wants."
With Empress Ma's words of comfort, Emperor Zhu Chongba's previously tense brows gradually relaxed.
Seeing this, Empress Ma smiled and said, "Alright, alright, you two wait here, I'll go make some noodles."
This time, however, Emperor Zhu Chongba did not agree directly. Instead, he reached out and grabbed Empress Ma's sleeve: "Let Jin'er and Yu'er go. Biao'er and I will just wait here. Otherwise, we will feel like we are losing out."
After pulling Empress Ma to sit down, Emperor Zhu instructed the eunuch standing to the side, "Go and call Princess Jin and Princess Yu, and tell them that my sister and I, as their parents, want to eat the noodles they make."
The young eunuch obeyed and left. Empress Ma laughed and said, "You really are something. You dislike Magistrate Yang but can't vent your anger on him, so you're tormenting Jin'er and Yu'er?"
Emperor Zhu Chongba was unwilling to admit that Empress Ma had guessed his thoughts, so he stubbornly retorted, "What do you mean there's no way to vent your anger on him? We're just thinking that Jin'er and Yu'er are about to get married, and we, as their parents, haven't even eaten the meals cooked by our maids. We feel guilty."
Empress Ma smiled, picked up her half-finished needlework again, and ignored Emperor Zhu Chongba.
Sitting to the side, Zhu Biao, the Grand Vice Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, frowned slightly and asked, "What about his demand for prisoners? Should we give them to him too?"
Emperor Zhu snorted and said, "Give him my ass! Even if we were willing to give him some, would Ningyang County have that much grain? He's trying to trade wheat flour for bran and chaff. He's really got a good idea!"
After scolding Magistrate Yang, Emperor Zhu turned his attention to Zhu Biao: "And you, can't you use your brain to think about where he can get enough bran and chaff to feed tens of thousands of people?"
After a long while, Emperor Zhu said angrily, "First, allocate a thousand prisoners to him. We'd like to see if his methods will work and where he'll get so much grain."
After a slight pause, Emperor Zhu added, "Have Yidu Guard dispatch a thousand troops to Ningyang County under the guise of land reclamation. If those prisoners make any unusual moves, we must eliminate them completely. We must not let these prisoners ruin the excellent situation in Ningyang County."
"Also, tell them to behave themselves when they get to Ningyang County. They don't need to care what Magistrate Yang does. As long as he doesn't intend to rebel, let him do whatever he wants."
"We'd like to see what kind of trouble he can cause."
After a long silence, Emperor Zhu Chongba suddenly instructed the maidservant beside Empress Ma, "Grind the ink for us."
After the ink was ground, Emperor Zhu went directly behind his desk and began writing a letter to Xu Da.
“My dear brother Tiande: I heard that you are almost at the vicinity of Dadu, which makes me very happy. However, when I think of the hardships faced by the people under the Yuan Dynasty, I can't help but feel extremely sad. Just a few days ago, Biao'er sent his servant Wang Qiong to Ningyang again. I heard that... you should let the people complain and then uphold justice for them... and make them work to atone for their sins... If one person escapes, ten people will be implicated, and the crime will also involve the officials of the hundred and thousand households. In this way, the northern lands may be pacified. I will consider this carefully.”
After finishing writing it, Emperor Zhu copied out an almost identical copy, except that he changed the first two characters "Tian De" to "Bo Ren," while the rest remained almost unchanged.
Just as Emperor Zhu finished writing the letter, Empress Ma finished her needlework.
Empress Ma walked behind Emperor Zhu, gently massaging his temples as she said, "Are you feeling any better?"
The Emperor Zhu closed his eyes and softly hummed in agreement, "I feel much better."
Empress Ma smiled and nodded, then asked, "Then why are you in such a hurry to marry off Jin'er and Yu'er?"
Emperor Zhu's eyes, which had been slightly narrowed, suddenly widened, and he exclaimed, "When did we say we were in a hurry to marry them off? We said we would give them the title of princess, not that we would marry them off!"
At this point, Emperor Zhu snorted twice in anger: "These two girls have been raised by your side since they were little. Although they are not your biological daughters, apart from their status as princesses and their habit of serving you, how are they any different from our own daughters?"
"Putting everything else aside, just look at our Biao'er, and the second, third, fourth, and fifth brothers. Don't they all treat them like their own older sisters?"
"Let me tell you, we never thought these two girls would get married one day!"
Emperor Zhu Chongba grew angrier and angrier as he spoke: "Damn it, our daughter, whom we raised with such care, is about to be given away to that man surnamed Yang. How can we be happy about that?"
"The problem is that our two daughters are also useless. You know, they haven't even been engaged yet, and they've already asked Biao'er to send sachets and handkerchiefs to that young man surnamed Yang. If they're engaged, those two, those two..."
After they talked for a while, Emperor Zhu Chongba suddenly sighed heavily again, "Alas!"
Seeing Emperor Zhu's appearance, Empress Ma couldn't help but laugh, and her thoughts drifted back to fifteen years ago.
Fifteen years ago, it was the second year after she married Zhu Chongba, and also the year she picked up the two maids, Jin'er and Yu'er.
That winter, the snow was so heavy. Two little girls, just two or three years old, lay on the bodies of their parents who had frozen to death, crying loudly and breathlessly. If I hadn't taken them in, they probably wouldn't be here anymore after that day.
From then on, he took them both in as his own.
Fifteen years have passed in the blink of an eye. The little girl who cried her eyes out back then has now grown into a beautiful young woman and is about to get married.
Empress Ma wiped her eyes and said with a smile, "Where in this world is there a girl who doesn't get married? Back then, you lost your family, and so did I. It was my godfather who arranged my marriage. Now, it's our turn to arrange the marriages of these two girls."
As she spoke, Empress Ma, who had been choking up, suddenly chuckled and said, "Speaking of which, it really is quite similar to our time. My godfather only married me off to you, but we had to marry two people off."
Emperor Zhu had already hurriedly stood up when Empress Ma started sobbing. Now, seeing Empress Ma in tears, Zhu Chongba was extremely anxious. He quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of Empress Ma's eyes and said anxiously, "Look, look, our daughter has grown up, and you're even shedding tears!"
After offering Empress Ma a few words of advice, Emperor Zhu suddenly glared at Zhu Biao again: "It's all your fault! Why did you have to choose either of them?"
Zhu Biao was completely stunned—couldn't I have been thinking of finding good husbands for Sister Jin'er and Sister Yu'er while winning people's hearts?
……
Just as Emperor Zhu Chongba was writing letters to Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng was supervising the construction work at the earthwork site between Liumiao Village and Xihe Village in the west of the city.
Of course, Magistrate Yang's so-called supervision was actually just lying on a recliner drinking water and dozing off. As for whether the young and strong men would slack off, Magistrate Yang didn't need to personally care.
Even the constables, including Limpy Wu, were idle, some relaxing in the shade of the trees, others lying down and fast asleep.
On the contrary, the young and strong who should have been under surveillance worked harder than anyone else, without needing to be urged at all.
After dozing off for a while with his eyes closed, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng suddenly got up from his recliner and had someone call over Wang Laowai, who was directing the young men to work.
Yang Shaofeng pointed to the small stool next to him and said, "Sit down and talk."
Old Wang carefully sat down on the stool, then looked at Yang Shaofeng and said, "What are your orders, sir?"
Yang Shaofeng said, "I was just thinking, what if we made some large bricks directly from yellow mud, dried them, and then used these mud bricks to build houses? Wouldn't that be faster?"
After listening to Yang Shaofeng's question, Wang Laowai shook his head slightly and said, "To answer your question, sir, it is not impossible to build a house with mud bricks, but these mud bricks still require taking mud, mixing mud, stirring, and drying the bricks. Apart from the final step of firing the kiln, none of the remaining steps can be omitted."
"And there's something even more difficult: this mud can't be made into adobe bricks directly. It has to be mixed with chopped wheat straw. If it's not mixed with wheat straw, the mud bricks won't last long before they break."
"And then there's the foundation. The bottom foundation can't be made of mud bricks directly. It has to be made of stones and blue bricks. Only then can mud bricks be used on top. Otherwise, if it gets soaked in rainwater, the house will collapse."
“You can’t just use mud bricks for the gable walls; you have to use blue bricks or stones to support the beams, otherwise they’ll easily collapse.”
"..."