Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 540

"Peach patter..."

In April, with the gloomy weather on the first day of the fifth day of the lunar new year, a "sparse" drizzle fell on Shuntian Mansion, bringing a shower of rain to the long-drought Shuntian Mansion.

"Your Highness, add some clothes to avoid the wind and cold..."

On the tower of Andingmen, holding an umbrella alone, Zhu Youjian, who was looking at the city, heard the news from behind.

He turned around and saw Li Dingguo holding an umbrella and a cape.

He just took a three-day vacation, and today he accompanied Zhu Youjian to take a look around, after all, the two hadn't seen each other for two months.

"Hmm..." Listening to Li Dingguo's words, Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, then turned his head and continued to look at the streets and alleys of the inner city under the city wall.

Li Dingguo handed the umbrella to Jin Yiwei behind him, shook his cape, and carefully put it on for Zhu Youjian.

During this process, Zhu Youjian didn't do anything else, he just stood behind the crenellation of the parapet wall, holding an umbrella alone like this, quietly watching the streets and alleys in the city in a daze.

It seems that as he grows older, or because things are too busy, he is either raising children or dealing with government affairs on weekdays, so visiting the capital on rainy days has become his recent pleasure.

He likes to look at the capital in the rain, because the capital in the rain has a light and thin texture like paper.

I don't know if his eyesight is too good, or it is the effect of the drizzle.

The capital city was clearly hazy in the rain, but the people and scenery in the streets and alleys of the city were seen more and more clearly by Zhu Youjian's slender eyes.

He stood like this, holding an umbrella, watching the raindrops fall and slide down the eaves of the houses in the streets and alleys.

In the ear, what can be heard is the crisp sound of rainwater coming down from the nearby watchtower and city tower.

In the eyes, the capital under the drizzle is full of various forms.

Zhu Youjian saw an old man and a child sitting under the eaves. The old man was holding a pair of black scissors wrapped in gauze. .

After a while, some images of cattle and sheep appeared on one side of the paper.

Zhu Youjian couldn't see his face clearly, and he couldn't even see exactly what animal he cut out. He could only see the old man holding two paper-cuts, moving his hands up and down, sitting beside him The other child put his face in his hands and listened carefully.

Even if he couldn't see clearly, Zhu Youjian could still feel the kindness on the old man's face, and the child's head propped up to watch and listen with fascination.

They sit in the eaves of their small courtyard and enjoy the world of their grandparents, while outside the courtyard, the busy people in the capital are also living their own lives.

The rules of the capital city have been changed by Zhu Youjian. The main roads of every square city are commercial streets. There are clothing stores, gold stores, shoe and hat stores, and imperial stores on the streets...

Of course, with the improvement of living standards, flower shops are the favorite place for people in Beijing to visit.

Since the reign of Xuande in Beijing, the wind of growing flowers has been prevailing, and flowers have also become a special commodity in Beijing. Flowers are sold in shopping malls in any season throughout the year.

Among them, every April and May, the jasmine sold in the market is in pieces. Some people carry jasmine for sale, and some are piled up in flower shops, so that the fragrance of flowers on the street is clear and unforgettable.

Even in winter, florists still grow lilacs in pots for sale.

However, because lilacs are unbearable, no matter how the times change, jasmine is a variety that is generally liked by the people in the capital.

Now April is the time when jasmine flowers are on the market, so when Zhu Youjian stood at the top of the city and looked inward, he could see the elegant guests of teahouses adorning their tea tables with jasmine, and the women on the street wearing jasmine in their hair. If you are a man, as long as you wear Taoist robes, you must wear a jasmine flower to show yourself.

Regardless of men, women and children, they either wear jasmine flowers or hold jasmine flower baskets.

There were so many rivers in the capital city of the Ming Dynasty that some of the alleys were next to the river, and pieces of bluestone slabs stained with moss stretched all the way into the river.

Standing at the head of the city, Zhu Youjian looked towards the river, and he could occasionally see a small boat coming from the distance of the river, and the water splashed by the side of the boat rippled all the way to the palm of the raccoon girl by the river.

Some raccoon girls by the river spoke Daming official dialect, and Wu Nong's soft words pierced into the ears of the scholars and old men on the boat, making people feel that they couldn't escape, so they could only let their hearing be intoxicated by the shallow and ordinary tones middle.

"Peach patter..."

"Boom—"

Gradually, the rain became heavier and heavier, and there were a few flashes in the gloomy dark clouds, and then there was a muffled thunder.

"Your Highness, go sit in the archery first, and come out when the rain is lighter."

Li Dingguo was worried that Zhu Youjian was suffering from the cold, so he suggested carefully.

In this regard, Zhu Youjian often did not answer, but after nodding his head, he chose an archery tower to go in and rest.

Before he entered the watchtower, the soldiers inside had already been evacuated, Jin Yiwei also lit some spices in the watchtower, and made several soft beds for the wooden bed.

After entering the watchtower, there are more than a dozen kerosene lamps hanging inside. This is a new thing that the Military Armament Academy has completed last year, the Yumajian built a factory, and the Huangdian began to sell at the beginning of the year.

More than a dozen oil lamps are hung, illuminating the interior of the watchtower clearly.

Zhu Youjian walked to the bed without accident, and frowned slightly after sitting down.

He reached out and touched the bed, counting the softness.

"Fifth floor..." Counting the five floors, Zhu Youjian looked at the hundreds of households in Daxingying who were on duty at Andingmen today, and said kindly:

"How many layers of soft sleep do the soldiers usually sleep on?"

"When I return to Your Highness, I usually lay out two layers of thatch, then wrap myself in a marching mattress and then go to sleep. The brothers who guard the city usually guard for a day and rest for a day."

The guard replied respectfully, and Zhu Youjian nodded to express his understanding. After a few seconds, he said to Li Dingguo:

"Let someone send a message to Cheng En, and ask him to go to Longsui. Please allocate 10 taels of military pay to add a marching mattress to the soldiers of the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion,"

"The boy takes orders..." Li Dingguo bowed in response, and there was no sound in the watchtower for a long time. Zhu Youjian just sat on the bed, staring at the window of the watchtower, which was not as big as his head, in a daze.

Just as dazed as he was, there was Bi Ziyan, who had been the cabinet assistant since the beginning of the year.

Same thing, different place, Bi Ziyan is on the carriage to Hubu at this moment.

Since batches of industrial zones have been continuously put into production, the output of various raw materials and commodity factories has soared, and the price of glass, which was once expensive, has now dropped to a price of a hundred cents a foot.

As the Secretary of the Household Department and the second assistant to the cabinet, Bi Ziyan's four-wheeled carriage naturally used glass windows, so he could also see the streets and alleys outside the transparent windows.

The tiled houses on the streets are scattered and row upon row. Unlike the three cities in the east, west and south, the ground of the inner city is paved with colorful Lejiao rocks.

These rocks are smooth and translucent under the perennial footsteps and rain.

Bi Ziyan saw some standing water on the ground, and when he passed by, he saw an upside-down street in the standing water, but before he could take a closer look, the carriage had already gone away.

The sound of wheels rolling on the road brought him back to reality, and he turned his head. His white hair and beard and age spots on his face made him look like he was over eighty years old.

Since the beginning of the new year, he gradually felt that his strength was insufficient, and at the end of March, Ye Xianggao's death also made him a lot older.

Under the grief of the rabbit's death and the fox, he only felt that he didn't seem to have a few years left.

The situation in Daming is like this, if he dies now, then...

"Alas..." With a long sigh, Bi Ziyan didn't know what he was thinking in his cloudy eyes.

When the carriage stopped, he slowly got up, and when he straightened his back, he got out of the carriage with the support of the driver.

The rainstorm came and went quickly. When he got out of the car, there was no trace of the heavy rain except for the fresh air after the rain, the stagnant water on the ground, and the constant dripping from the eaves.

"You will go back later, go to Qi Wangfu first, and send this letter to Wang Bingbi."

Standing at the door of the household department yamen, Bi Ziyan took out a handwritten letter and handed it to his driver.

"Yes..." The driver didn't ask anything, but nodded honestly.

Seeing his answer, Bi Ziyan nodded slightly, and then walked into the yamen of the household department.

According to his words, the coachman also sent the letter to Prince Qi's mansion a while later.

Almost when the letter was sent to Prince Qi's Mansion, Zhu Youjian, who also felt the rain stopped, also walked out of the watchtower.

He was walking on the horse path at the top of the city, but he looked inside the city and outside the city from time to time.

The capital was washed clean by a heavy rain, and the dust caused by months of drought and dust was washed away one after another, making it look extremely clean and bright.

Walking at the top of the city, the air was fresh and overflowing, which made Zhu Youjian feel enlightened.

He walked to the other side, looked at the market town outside the capital, across the moat, and stopped immediately.

Zhu Youjian thinks he is a superficial person, unlike those literati and poets who can speak well and write poems against Yanyu Jiangnan.

He can't understand famous mountains and rivers, and he can't exaggerate ordinary alleys with writing without depth.

However, thanks to Chongzhen's memory, what he can show in terms of literary talent is probably the good ink painting and the sketches he learned from his previous life experience.

In his view, everyone has eyes to discover beauty, and the world is full of scenery, but the scenery they see is different.

Sixteen years after entering Tianqi, the population of Beizhili has dropped to 16 million, and out of the 660 million people, 600 million live in Shuntian Prefecture.

Among the 290 million people living in Shuntianfu, another 130 million live in Beijing.

Of the remaining 160 million, 130 million live in the "sparsely populated" Shuntian Prefecture, farming and working in the fields... The remaining 10,000+ people live in the market towns around the capital.

On weekdays, the streets of market towns outside the capital are crowded with people, and there are all kinds of small businesses and hawkers. It is as lively as a vegetable market in later generations.

Walking into the market town, many people can hear the clear yelling of hawkers and the lively bargaining.

Because of his excitement, some people in the inner city of the capital, even high-ranking officials, would pretend to wander around the market towns outside the city, listening to anecdotes and eating delicious food.

But at this time, this bustling market town was full of people who came to the capital to work and earn a living.

Northern Zhili is no better than Sichuan, and even worse than Yunnan, which is "a hundred miles away from human habitation". In terms of arable land, the arable land in Northern Zhili can only satisfy 700 million people.

The satisfaction referred to here is to simply eat enough food, and by the way, be able to eat meat during the Chinese New Year.

People are always pursuing a better life, and the people in Beizhili are no exception.

For the people in Beizhili, whose per capita land is only six acres, life is good now, but they are also looking for a better life.

Therefore, when the busy farming season is over, the common people who cannot afford to live in the capital will stay in market towns outside the capital, and spend all their slack farming time working on part-time jobs.

Children want to study, and they need to prepare their own paper, pens and inkstones. These things cost money. For children, many people squat on the steps beside the moat.

Even if it rains, they still wear coir raincoats and squat on the steps, waiting for employers who come by boat to hire them.

It is the same as now, thousands of people wearing coir raincoats are sitting by the moat, judging from their actions of shaking the coir raincoats, the heavy rain just now did not let them go back home, most of them are waiting in the rain.

Perhaps for the people who have houses in the capital, if it rains, they will stop working and just go back to sleep.

But for rural people who come to the capital to work, renting a Zhangxu hut in a market town outside the capital also costs ten copper coins a day.

Food can be cooked and eaten from home, but the rent cannot be waived, and it cannot be waived.

If there is no work today, they will have to pay ten cents.

For them, ten Wen is enough to buy two bundles of twenty sheets of paper for their children, enough for three or four days.

Therefore, they can only sit on the steps in the rain, waiting for a job of fifteen or twenty yuan a day to do it.

However, since the beginning of summer this year, Yongping Prefecture, Shuntian Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture and other three prefectures in North Zhili have suffered from drought one after another, and the grain production has decreased. Therefore, many farmers have come to Tianjin, Beijing and other places to work during the slack season.

When there are too many people, it will be difficult to find a job, and the wages will naturally be cheap.

"With so many people looking for jobs, isn't Yumajian's new factory recruiting people?"

Looking at the thousands of people waiting to work, Zhu Youjian asked Li Dingguo without looking back. Li Dingguo asked the eunuch behind him, and then responded:

"It's been recruited, but when the common people hear that they are long-term workers, they shake their heads and don't want to work."

For farmers, they don't understand what industrialization is, they only know the difference between long-term labor and short-term labor.

Although the factory is to provide employment, the employment of urban residents is the same as that of rural residents. Since it is a factory, it cannot be guaranteed to be profitable, at least it must not lose money.

Therefore, the workers needed by the factory must be stable, and stability means a long time.

For farmers, what they are best at is farming. They are used to being loose and free. It is okay to let them sell their manual work, but let them go to the factory to be disciplined, which makes them avoid it.

Therefore, even though the Huangdian factory offered a wage of [-] Wen per day, many farmers were still unwilling to do it.

"Your Highness..." Li Dingguo was afraid that Zhu Youjian would think that the Huangdian was doing nothing, so he explained: "Although many people are unwilling to work, the factory has recruited more than 2000 long-term workers. These people are already left."

Daming's industrialization coverage rate is not large enough, and the number of factories is not that many. There are more than 2000 workers, which is enough to provide the number of workers for four or five factories.

For the rest, Huangdian also has intentions but is powerless.

This is not a problem of Huangdian, nor a problem of farmers, but a problem of Zhu Youjian.

In any case, Daming is currently being governed by him, and since he is governing, he has to be responsible.

If a farmer does not have a job during the slack season, he will make a trip in vain, or even go home with debts. At that time, in order to repay the debts, he will have to spend several years working hard. Don't want to do things.

Therefore, farmers want to find short-term jobs. It is their situation that prevents them from doing long-term jobs. What the court needs to do is to solve their problems for them, not to scold them for being ignorant.

"The Ministry of Works will build a railway linking the capital's east, west, south, north, and four stations. It will recruit workers on the spot, and the wages will be fifteen yuan. The speed must be fast. I will see the specific memorials within three days."

Zhu Youjian looked at the group of farmers who were eagerly waiting for work, and felt very uncomfortable. He immediately thought of building a railway around the city to provide relief with work.

For this road, he wanted to see if he could generate electricity before he left Daming to prepare for the future trams. However, under the catastrophe, many things needed to be arranged in advance, and his personal wishes could not be accommodated.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian got off the horse path, and Li Dingguo and some disguised Jin Yiwei hurriedly followed.

Zhu Youjian walked out of Andingmen in front of them and went to Anding Market Town outside Andingmen.

Walking through the stone bridge in front of the moat, Zhu Youjian came to Anding Market Town, and what caught his eyes were colorful, fresh and juicy fruits and vegetables, as well as lively fish, shrimp and freshwater fish.

These things immediately made Zhu Youjian feel the breath of fireworks rising.

"Your Highness, these things are nothing to look at, and the crowds are noisy, so it's better to be careful..."

Li Dingguo followed, perhaps because he had stayed in the Military Academy for a long time, he was a little too cautious, so after following up, he cautiously reminded Zhu Youjian to pay attention to safety.

However, facing his reminder, Zhu Youjian said calmly: "When you go to a new place, you have to go shopping. Some people like to visit the city, some people like to visit the landscape, but I would rather visit the vegetable market."

"At the very least, looking at these raw chickens, live ducks, fresh and juicy vegetables, and bright red peppers here, I can know how the local prices are."

"Come to experience this bustling, crowded, and bargaining market. I can know whether the vendors are making money or losing money."

"Look at the farmers waiting in line for work. I can know how the countryside is, whether the New Deal is effective, and how the farmers are doing."

Zhu Youjian talked about his own views, and his views influenced Zhu Ciran, but Zhu Ciran was not as thorough as he was. He only wanted to see the countryside, but forgot that the city and the countryside were indispensable.

"Your Highness... I don't understand..." Li Dingguo saluted back, then raised his head in doubt:

"If just a vegetable market has so much knowledge and can understand so many things, why do local officials manage the place so poorly?"

"You..." Zhu Youjian sighed softly:

"If the officials of the Ming Dynasty are willing to put down their face and go to the vegetable market, if they go to the vegetable market and can make changes after knowing the hardships of the people's livelihood, then the Ming Dynasty does not need me to implement the New Deal."

"These people, like Shi Fenglai, Feng Quan, and Gu Bingqian, go out for outings on weekdays, look at the mountains and rivers, recite poems, and feel the convenience in the temples and the streets of the capital..."

"Or, they are like the local officials who have been arrested over the years. They actually know what people's livelihood is like, but they pretend not to know."

After Zhu Youjian finished speaking, Li Dingguo was even more puzzled.

"Why pretend? Isn't it a good thing that you can be promoted if you get meritorious service in governing the city?"

"It's a good thing...but it needs people to do it..." Zhu Youjian shook his head, Li Dingguo also understood after his words, and replied:
"Your Highness is saying that officials are afraid of making mistakes, and even more afraid of making mistakes?"

"Well..." Zhu Youjian nodded slightly: "It's not bad if you don't do it, this is basically the code of conduct for officials in my court above the temple."

"If they want merit, they can build bridges or emigrate. There is no need to understand the problems of the people and solve them all."

"A lot of times they don't understand, but pretend to be confused."

"In the future, if you pretend to be confused in front of them in officialdom, you will have to pretend to be even more confused than them."

Zhu Youjian was teaching Li Dingguo how to be an official, but Li Dingguo smiled wryly and shook his head:

"I don't want to pretend to be so stupid. I would rather do something. Even if I make a mistake, at least I have a clear conscience."

"..." Li Dingguo was still the same character, and hadn't changed. Listening to his words, Zhu Youjian didn't know what to say to him for a while, and he even reflected on himself.

It seems that I shouldn't teach Li Dingguo this way. The reason why there are so many twists and turns in the officialdom, the official talk and the bottom line, is plainly made by a group of people who are afraid of taking responsibility.

Zhu Youjian felt tired and felt that the official atmosphere of Daming could not be changed, but for Li Dingguo who had not really set foot in the officialdom, he was more willing to believe in the truth.

He has a lot more convenience than Zhu Youjian, the most convenient of which is that he can concentrate, but Zhu Youjian can't.

Different state affairs are in front of Zhu Youjian's eyes every day. Such an environment is destined to make it impossible for Zhu Youjian to focus on one thing for a long time, unless it is very big and serious.

Therefore, if you want Zhu Youjian to rectify the officialdom, Zhu Youjian can only recruit a few people to rectify it.

It's just that this kind of approach is only a temporary solution for Daming's officialdom, but Li Dingguo is different, he can concentrate on one thing.

If he wants to lead troops to fight, then he will concentrate on leading troops to fight.

If he wants Enke to be an official, then he can concentrate on being an official and manage his one-acre three-point land well.

If he wants to rectify the atmosphere in the officialdom, then he can keep a close eye on this group of people and rectify it from bottom to top and from top to bottom.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian smiled, and at the same time showed a trace of relief.

"If you have the heart, go to the army to train for three years after graduation, and then enter the court as an official."

"Boy, take orders!" Li Dingguo raised his hands in a bow, and solemnly responded, his back straightened.

Seeing his appearance, Zhu Youjian shook his head again and again.

The reason why he shook his head was because Li Dingguo's thoughts and appearance were exactly the same as when he just entered the officialdom back then, but what Zhu Youjian got in return was disheartened, so what is Li Dingguo...

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian was going to continue to visit the market town, but at this moment a Jinyi guard quietly came to Li Dingguo, whispered a few words in his ear, and handed over a letter.

After receiving the letter, Li Dingguo hurried forward, whispered to Zhu Youjian, and at the same time handed over the letter:

"Your Highness, this is Bi Cifu's handwritten letter sent by Wang Zhangyin..."

　Meeting this afternoon, update postponed until [-]pm

　　
　
(End of this chapter)