111. Wang Jisui's Prosperous Years

The shadow guards change shifts, one during the day and one at night.The whole day passed, and the shadow guards in the entire palace knew that their Commander He Qi had run to receive the punishment.

As for the "notice" written by their master... the shadow guards are not stupid, so it's impossible to tell the difference.

These shadow guards are well aware of their master's temperament, and the master obviously doesn't look angry at Commander He, so they definitely won't really punish him with four hundred lashes.

I just don't know how their commander offended the master, so that the master spared no effort to copy more than a hundred copies of the notice to bury him.

As for He Qi being buried, he also felt lingering fear.Fortunately, he is the commander, and the shadow guards did not dare to laugh at him because of his majesty, but he put out all the thoughts of taking the initiative to accept the punishment - who knows what the master will say next time to slander him?

Although Pei Nianyu's move was completely unreasonable, it was surprisingly useful.

………………

The days in the palace were uneventful, and two days later, Lou Yefeng's internal injuries fully recovered, and he continued to practice his internal strength every day, trying to return to the peak level as soon as possible.

The cold relief map hanging in the house is filled with more and more gestures, and the weather is getting colder and colder.

On this day, Gao Tong, the chief manager of the palace, rarely came to see Pei Nianyu.

Even though Gao Tong was a eunuch, Pei Nianyu respected the chief executive who had followed him the longest, and only treated him as half an elder.

He invited Mr. Gao, whose hair was already graying, into the room, and asked Lou Yefeng to serve him a cup of hot...milk tea.

"Recently, their shadow guards like to drink this. I don't know if Director Gao is used to it."

Gao Tong took a sip, and of course he wouldn't say anything to refuse.And Pei Nianyu knew that he probably didn't like sweetness, so there was almost no sugar in the milk tea he gave him.

"Thank you, my lord. This milk tea... is rare to be made from the ten-year-old tea in Tiannan Prefecture, so it's naturally mellow. I thank you, my lord."

"It's easy to say. Uncle Gao came here today. I don't know why he came?"

Usually, Gao Tong only handles the general affairs of the government in the Guanfang Outer Court, and takes care of some daily industries.He knew that the prince didn't care much about these things, so he never bothered him with these trivial matters.

So as long as he came here on purpose, there must be something for Pei Nianyu to decide.

"It's like this. It seems that the day after tomorrow is Laba, and it's time for Zhuangzi in various places to hand in the annual regulations. The old minister here has all the Zhuangshang's harvest sent by the Zhuangtou for this year. Just take a look, but there are stillDo you want to add anything. After all... this year's New Year's Eve, I don't know how the prince plans the meals for the family?"

"...Wait, Laba?"

Pei Nianyu was surprised.Since returning from the winter solstice banquet in the palace, he has been practicing martial arts diligently, obsessed with moves, and his life has been muddled.It's the twelfth lunar month without knowing it, and didn't expect the Chinese New Year to be so soon.

Pei Nianyu immediately turned his head to look at the picture of dispelling the cold hanging on the wall - "weeping willows in front of the court cherish the spring breeze", which clearly only covered the first word, which is nine days.

Gao Tong: "..."

Pei Nianyu: "...Forget it, I guess I forgot to paint it for many days, made a mistake, made a mistake."

He didn't bother with this, but picked up the stack of lists given by the heads of various King Manors, looked at them roughly, and said over and over again:

"Thirty green sheep, fifty domestic sheep, fifty domestic pigs, a thousand catties of various fish, two hundred catties of shrimp, three hundred chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits..."

"Two hundred catties of beans of various colors, one hundred catties of seasonal vegetables, fifty stones of glazed rice, fifty stones of green rice, thirty stones of purple glutinous rice, and one hundred stones of miscellaneous grains of various colors..."

Pei Nianyu put down the note in his hand and pondered slightly.these things……

His food town, King Manor, was allocated by Pei Niancheng, so naturally he was allocated a lot of... territory.

Among these Zhuangzi, except for the Zhuangzi in the suburbs of Beijing, who are responsible for delivering fresh dishes, dairy products, live chickens and ducks and other livestock every day.Other Zhuangzi come to deliver their harvest almost every month, including rice, flour, grain, oil and so on.

And when the Chinese New Year is approaching, each Zhuangzi will give away a big one, which is regarded as the rent at the end of the year.The agricultural products and food that Pei Nianyu saw were only part of them, and most of the rest would be converted into silver taels and sent to the treasurer of the Fuzhong.

But this will cause a problem-every new year, it will cause a huge waste of food.

There are one hundred shadow guards in his mansion, and there are not many eunuchs, servants and maids in the mansion, and the total number is only more than one hundred.And only they, the shadow guards who have no father, no mother, no home and no job, will all stay in the mansion for the New Year, and half of the servants will go home to reunite with their families during the New Year's Eve.

The number of people in the mansion who wanted to eat was actually smaller than usual.

In the past few years, his idle prince was limited by the concepts of the times, and the head of a house would be ashamed to personally calculate these daily necessities, so he never asked.But since he came through...then what should be calculated is still to be calculated.

And Gao Tong was not surprised that their lord suddenly began to ask about these matters in person, so naturally he would not talk too much about asking why, and just quietly waited for the lord's arrangement.

Pei Nianyu thought for a while, and asked Gao Tong first:

"Uncle Gao, what do you do with the... unfinished food from the village last year?"

"If you go back to the prince, last year's New Year's Day in the mansion only consumed less than 10% of the yearly records sent by the villages. The rest will naturally be frozen in the icehouse in the mansion."

Pei Nianyu: "..."

His eyes went dark.

It is certain that his majestic palace has all kinds of supplies in stock, but he can't finish it every month, and he will stock up like this every new year's day...

No need, really no need.

So Pei Nianyu quickly made a decision:

"How about this, first find a way to clear part of the inventory in the ice cellar in the mansion. The major restaurants in Capital City will definitely have a booming business during the New Year's Eve. If you find out which ingredients are out of supply, just clear them out at a low price."

"As for the annual regulations of the village this year...all will be refunded by 30%. It must be returned to the farmers in the village. It can be regarded as a gift for them during the festival. I will send a shadow guard to follow everywhere."

Gao Tong knew in his heart that this so-called 30% refund, if it was just an order from the palace, then 100% of the ones that could actually reach the hands of the villagers in the end might be as high as the heavens - the village head and the village below would definitely be in the middle.The stewards exploited layer upon layer.

And their lord certainly didn't want these little stewards who had already swallowed a lot of oil and water to take advantage of the opportunity to make money, so they said they would send shadow guards to watch over the execution.

"As for the managers at all levels in the village... I will let the shadow guards bring New Year's rewards, and each person will be rewarded with a few silver ingots."

——This is because they are afraid that their hearts will be unbalanced, and the training of their tenants will become more severe next year.

A piece of silver ingot is about ten taels.On the contrary, it was worthless, as much as he wanted in the treasury of the palace, it was only a month's salary of the shadow guards.

Gao Tong nodded in approval, and by the way flattered him without any trace:

"Your lord's thoughts are really thoughtful, and it saves the old ministers from wasting their minds. It's just... Your lord, you are kind-hearted and considerate of the people's livelihood. It's their luck. But do you think about what to do next year, lord? It's 30% freeOnce the precedent is set... I'm afraid..."

Pei Nianyu naturally knew what he meant. He was afraid that 30% of the exemption would be exempted this year. If he didn't want to exempt next year, he might cause dissatisfaction among the farmers.It is too common for Shengmi to fight Michou in these village households, not to mention Pei Nianyu's status as an "official lord" to them.

Pei Nianyu smiled faintly:

"Anyway, I can't finish it, so what if I continue to avoid it next year?"

Gao Tong slightly disagrees:

"My lord, this... you should think twice."

It's not like he's staring at these things anymore, all the firewood and rice are the private property of the palace anyway.He just took care of the accounts too much, and felt sorry for Pei Nianyu's money.

Pei Nianyu smiled again:

"This is Uncle Gao's worrying too much. Of course, this king has thought about this issue. Let me ask Uncle Gao—how is the annual rate of the village turned over this year compared to last year? How is last year compared to the year before?"

Gao Tong was taken aback for a moment:

"It is indeed... more and more year after year. How did you know, my lord?"

Pei Nianyu thought, although I don't ask about government affairs, but Xiaosheng's system is very powerful, so you don't need to ask about such things——

"Naturally, it is because His Majesty has focused on farming and vigorously reformed in the past few years since His Majesty took charge of the government. New farm tools and water canals are all useful."

In the past two years, Pei Niancheng has divided several new departments from other than the six departments, which are on par with the six departments.Among them, the Ministry of Agriculture, which was independent from the Ministry of Revenue, was the first to be drawn out, specializing in agricultural affairs.

Pei Niansheng regarded the annual grain production of the Dajing Dynasty as important as his lifeblood. How could the officials of the new dynasty not work hard in order to make meritorious service and get promoted.Therefore, the production of various species in the King Manor of his palace also benefited from Pei Niancheng's credit.

"So, every year, Zhuangzi handed over more crops than before, but the amount used in this mansion is not much. Why bother to collect 30% of the chicken, duck, fish, and rice that can't be eaten instead of collecting them into the mansion? Why don't we leave them to the farmers for the New Year?Not better."

"...Yes, the old minister understands."

"The most important thing is that Uncle Wang doesn't have to worry. After next year, if the weather is as good as this year, the annual harvest will only increase and not decrease, and it will increase even more than before."

Of course, Pei Nianyu's words were not without basis. His confidence came from his system.Since Pei Niancheng asked him to buy more seeds with delicious food, he has exchanged hundreds of thousands of seeds of various colors.

Hybrid rice and wheat are nothing more than modern scientific research. Naturally, Pei Niancheng attaches great importance to high-yield food crops such as corn and sweet potatoes.The seeds are piled up in his space, and Pei Niancheng has asked the Ministry of Agriculture to plant a small part of them as a trial, and they will be distributed in large areas in the next spring.

In less than two or three years, it can be spread throughout the territory of the Dajing Dynasty.In addition, Pei Niancheng is also using the "Qiangu Mingjun System" to replace various fertilizer improvement technologies, so the output will increase steadily every year.

Pei Nianyu knew well that the two of them might not have enough gold fingers.

And Gao Tong is still worried:

"But... my lord, it's so easy to ask for good weather. Drought, flood, water, fire, and locusts are not easy to deal with. If the production of Zhuangzi in various places is reduced next year, it will be difficult for you to get back the 30%..."

Pei Nianyu sighed helplessly.He also knew Gao Tong was a matter of class, so he had no choice but to explain:

"If the production is reduced next year, then the 30% cannot be demanded anymore. The farmers are not enough to fill their stomachs. How can this king force them to eat food?"

Speaking of this, Pei Nianyu suddenly remembered that it is really hard to say that the weather will be smooth, and no one can predict the weather in a year.The farming era... That's why there is the theory of the country's annual fortune.

I am afraid that these new seeds of his will not be able to fully spread next year. If there is any disaster, the tenant farmers under his rule...

"In addition, I have 100,000 corn seeds and sweet potato seedlings here, and I will let the shadow guard in charge take them with me. Uncle Gao, please sort out the poor villages in various villages and let them plant them first..”

"Next year, the imperial court will vigorously promote corn in the Gyeonggi area and Qingzhou Dongzhou. When the autumn harvest comes, the imperial court will send people to various villages to buy corn back to make the next batch of seeds."

"If the weather is good next year, it will be considered a small profit for farmers in these impoverished villages to sell corn seeds to the imperial court. If the spring plowing is not smooth and the grain harvest fails, the corn and sweet potatoes can also withstand hunger in autumn and winter."

Pei Nianyu is self-aware that his ability can't control the world's people. Apart from his contribution to changing more seeds, most of the rest will be the responsibility of Pei Niancheng.

However, as an idle prince who eats the people's salary, although he can't be equal to the people.But it is still possible to be sympathetic to the farmers under his own control as much as possible.

Gao Tong didn't question the prince's decision any more, and agreed:

"Yes, the old minister will arrange it now."

After arranging the livelihood of the people under his rule, Pei Nianyu finally remembered that the festival was coming soon:

"By the way, Laba porridge is going to be cooked on the day of Laba... Uncle Gao, hurry up and ask the big kitchen to soak all kinds of beans and nuts a day in advance, otherwise I'm afraid it will be too late."

Gao Tong obviously loves these traditional meals more than milk tea.Hearing that the lord was going to cook the Laba porridge himself, his usually calm and steady face actually smiled slightly, as if he was looking forward to something.

After all, this Laba porridge is a festival custom, and it is boiled in a big pot every year, and everyone in the house has a share.

"My lord, please tell me."

Laba porridge, also known as eight-treasure porridge, is usually not limited to eight ingredients.Pei Nianyu decided to make a big one this year - just like the daily milk tea of the shadow guards in the house, you can choose your own flavor.

"First of all, rice. You need to prepare white rice, sticky rice, bijaponica rice, exquisite rice, glutinous rice, yellow rice, millet, and purple rice..."

"Then there are beans, soy beans, red beans, mung beans, kidney beans, rake beans..."

"For nuts, at least almonds, hazelnuts, melon seeds, walnuts, raisins, and prunes..."

"There will also be lotus seeds, lilies, chestnuts, longan, red dates, jujube honey, adzuki bean, plum rose dew..."

Gao Tong started to feel dizzy:

"My lord...slow down a little bit, let the old minister take notes with a piece of paper."