There are also people who make a living by working or doing odd jobs, and they all have to get up early to go to work.
On the contrary, farmers can stay at home during this slack time.
But it's such a cold day, the rivers and ponds are frozen, and the house is like an ice cellar - I can't bear to burn the kang. Moreover, being idle and having no income makes me feel panicked.
In short, the life of farmers is not easy.
Sheng Hong dispatched another 5,000 elite troops to the border town. It was already so cold in Shengjing, and it would definitely be even colder north of Shengjing. The Hu people could not bear the cold and were afraid they would go south.
The defense of the border town needs to be strengthened.
When the elite soldiers go to the border towns, they have to keep up with the food and grass. This year's military expenditure is higher than in previous years.
But Sheng Hong didn't care much about the extra money he spent. His current pockets were not bulging, but they were definitely not empty either.
Sitting in front of the charcoal basin in the Qiuxian Hall, Sheng Hong was extremely happy.
Fortunately, Li Aiqing purchased a lot of cotton this year. Under Li Aiqing's influence, his eldest son and fourth son also purchased cotton in Jibei Province. Jiang Aiqing also purchased cotton in Langfang Mansion, and Ming Aiqing also purchased cotton in Dongshan Province.
And the Fan family is also buying cotton.
Although the influence of these people's purchase of cotton is limited compared with Dasheng's vast land, this is a signal.
A signal for everyone to see.
For ordinary people, this signal is that the court has not given up on them and is saving them.
Even if the favor of the court does not reach their heads now, they finally have hope in their hearts.
For the rich and noble, this signal is that prosperity is very stable, super stable, invincible and stable, and don’t have any small thoughts.
Therefore, from this perspective, Sheng Hong really wanted to put the second edict of appreciation directly into Li Qiao's arms.
Compared with the land reward, appreciating the imperial edict is more precious.
But the time limit he gave for the second question was three years. Therefore, what he could do at this time was to reward Li Qiao with another 100,000 acres of land.
This kind of food is used to grow food, and this kind of cotton is used to grow cotton. Anyway, if it is left uncultivated, it will remain unused. It is better to reward it to Li Aiqing and transfer it to the people through Li Aiqing's hands.
Of course, it would be best if things go smoothly from next year and the nightmare disappears completely!
Li Qiao got another 100,000 acres of land for free, which made his worries lessened.
This week, the weather has been extremely cold, but it's not snowing, it's just dry and cold, which has a great impact on people's daily lives.
There are also crops in the fields that need to survive the winter. Although the winter wheat has just been planted and has not sprouted out of the ground, if it continues to get so cold, the winter wheat hidden underground will not be able to withstand this temperature.
Moreover, all the cotton purchased previously has been distributed.
But there are still people who go there and want to receive things to keep out the cold.
Tao Zhu simply put up notices for purchasing old cotton clothes at the door of the charity hall and his own shop.
Donating cannot solve the problem, so you can only buy it with money.
Shen Hua was filled with emotion and moved by Tao Zhu's behavior.
Compared with the lower class people who were shivering from the cold and whose hands and feet were covered with frostbite, his pain seemed not worth mentioning.
There is no big deal between life and death.
Not only did he not face life or death, he was well fed and well clothed.
Shen Hua packed up all the cold-warming clothes, bedding, etc. that he didn't need at home and prepared to send them to the shantang.
He had donated before, but he left after delivering the things. He did not go into the charity hall to understand the difficulties faced by the people at the bottom.
Now that he understood it, he went home and packed it up again. If he didn't need it, he would donate it all.
Facing the half-empty wardrobe and boxes, the Shen family couldn't help but feel a little distressed. The Shen family was not a wealthy family. If the quilts and fur clothes donated by Shen Hua were sold, they could fetch a lot of money.
"Dad, Mom, what little do we donate? Compared with Brother Zhu, I just feel that I have done less."
"I've been looking at the Shantang's account books these days and found that many people sold cotton to Brother Zhu, and then went to the branch to get cotton for free."
"This kind of thing is unbelievable, isn't it? You are using Brother Zhu as a trap for fools. I immediately asked Brother Zhu, how could you allow those people to do this?"
"But Brother Zhu didn't care at all, saying that those people's family situation was really not good. They didn't have any land at home and they were all tenant farmers. They either had to eat one meal but not another, or they didn't have enough to eat all year round or they could barely afford food and clothing. "
"Brother Zhu said that Brother Qiao purchased cotton for these people. Since the cotton is in the hands of these people, there is no need to worry about the rest."
"Tell me, compared with Brother Zhu, what does my donation mean?"
The Shen family couple: "..."
Is there such a thing?
Unbelievable indeed!
When Shen Hua saw that his parents had nothing to say, he added: "Our family is not as good as the previous ones, but it is definitely more than the inferior ones. Anyway, we can't use these now, so why not donate them."
"When you need it next year, just buy it again."
He didn't do enough!
The Shen family couple looked at Shen Hua's busy figure. After being shocked, they were relieved.
No matter what, at least now their painting brother won't have a gloomy face all day long.
Just donate.
They also donated items that the couple could no longer use, helping everyone they could.
*
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Chapter 217 Sheng Hong’s Third Question: The Sixth Prince’s Warlike Heart
The items donated by Shen Hua were either made of silk or damask, not even cotton. Tao Zhu followed his old habit of selling what he could sell and replacing it with cheap cotton clothes.
Li Qiao and Taozhu's behavior indeed made some people think that they were stupid.
Some people also think that since their husband and wife earn so much money, they should spend their own money to help ordinary people.
But there are also people like Shen Hua who pack up some cold-weather clothes that they don't need or don't like at home, pull them by cart, and transport them to the shantang.
This is the case for the seventh prince and the eldest prince. As princes, even if they can't wear them, they still have to make dozens or dozens of new sets of clothes every time the seasons change. In their houses, there are almost piles of clothes that have only been worn once or a few times. It’s a mountain.
Now they have packed up these clothes and donated them to the charity hall.
In this regard, the Sixth Prince felt that it was an exaggeration.
Because the weather was too cold, Sheng Hong canceled the morning meeting. If anyone has something to do, just hand over the certificate.
But Li Qiao went to work as usual every day.
Because he is also responsible for sorting the papers.
The youngest of the several bachelors, Zhou Zhengye and Lord Zhou, were all in their fifties. Sheng Hong couldn't bear to have them get up early in the freezing cold at such an advanced age, so all the work fell on Li Qiao alone.
Li Qiao lived a miserable life, wrapped up like a bear every day. He got up in the middle of the night, and when he entered the palace, he went to Guang'an Hall to work first, and then to Qiuxian Hall to work.
Sheng Hong felt that he was getting old and should take more rest like the few cabinet bachelors.
So he spent the past few days after dawn, and then slowly went to Qiuxian Hall to handle government affairs.
On such a cold day, it stands to reason that there shouldn’t be many discounts, but in fact, the discounts are about the same as usual.
The temperature has been very low for three consecutive years, which has attracted the attention of many officials.
What if the temperature remains the same next year?
Some officials suggested that farmers should be called on to plant a large amount of cotton next year. Regardless of whether it is sold or used for personal use, it will be beneficial.
Moreover, continuous low temperatures may freeze crops and reduce food production, which is a big deal.
Li Qiao summarized these memorials and presented them to Sheng Hong.
Sheng Hong flipped through a few books at random and looked at Li Qiao with a sigh: "A variety of cotton? What about other grains? Farmers have limited energy and limited fields."
"The more critical issue is that if this low temperature continues, neither cotton nor food may be saved."
Li Qiao: "..."
He was silent.
No.
A variety of cotton, these four words are not just a matter of words.
The atmosphere in the palace was dull. At this moment, the little eunuch's voice came from outside:
The Sixth Prince asked to see him.
The sixth prince came in quickly. He was wrapped in a thick sable fur cloak, and his cheeks were a little red from the cold wind.
He first saluted Sheng Hong, and after Sheng Hong called out, he first glanced at Li Qiao standing beside him, and then looked at Sheng Hong.
"Father, my son heard that the courtiers have been offering suggestions to deal with the severe cold recently. My son also has a suggestion, and he wants to tell it to his father."
"What can we do?" Sheng Hong immediately became interested after hearing this and stared at his sixth son curiously.
"Go south."
The Sixth Prince got straight to the point, very directly: "The barbarians couldn't bear the severe cold, so they went south with their swords to attack us in Dasheng."
"The barbarians are tough and they are forced into a desperate situation. Our elite soldiers in Dasheng have to pay their blood and lives to repel them."
"My son feels that instead of fighting to the death with the barbarians, it is better for us to go south in Dasheng. Those small countries to the south of Dasheng cannot withstand the iron hoof of our elite soldiers in Dasheng. These small countries do not have winter, so they will not suffer from the severe cold."
Li Qiao: "..."
He didn't speak, he raised his eyes and looked at Sheng Hong quietly.
Sheng Hong's brows were so furrowed that he could kill a mosquito: "Xu'er, do you mean that we, Da Sheng, will give up the territory in the north and move south as a whole?"
"If winter is as cold as these days every year, then instead of spending time here, we might as well open up new territories."
The Sixth Prince did not directly nod in agreement, but it was close.
Sheng Hong stared at the Sixth Prince for a moment and asked, "Have you already been interested in those small countries in the south?"
