After beating Zhu Xi, Lao Zhu returned to Fengxian Hall and continued to handle official duties.
To say that the emperor was as good as Zhu Yuanzhang, he was the only one.
Not to mention his inexhaustible energy, he has always been extremely keen on handling government affairs.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who was immersed in reading the memorial, had to interrupt because of the appearance of Gong Weilang.
"Your Majesty, a reply from His Highness the Crown Prince."
Gong Weilang handed the letter to the eunuch, who then handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Okay, you go down."
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and sent Gong Weilang away.
He picked up the letter and was a little curious. Didn't he just reply to a letter not long ago? Why did it come again now?
Could it be that something happened?
With doubts, Zhu Yuanzhang finished reading the letter.
After reading it, his face looked a little unhappy:
"What a waste. You can't even do this little thing well."
Lao Zhu really didn't expect that he just asked Gong Weilang to check the internal situation of the papermaking workshop. How could such a problem arise?
It's so embarrassing to be caught on the spot by Su Jing!
Fortunately, their identities were not exposed, otherwise Lao Zhu would not be able to spare them even with Zhu Biao's plea.
After scolding, Zhu Yuanzhang also calmed down.
With Su Jing's intelligence, it was normal for these guards to be discovered.
But, in this case, how to complete the bet with Queen Ma?
Without asking someone to take a look, Lao Zhu was unwilling to admit how powerful Su Jing was.
After all, he still has a prejudice against Su Jing.
Lao Zhu had better not mention this to Queen Ma, otherwise he would be laughed at.
what to do?
Lao Zhu was a little worried for a while.
In Kunning Palace, Queen Ma was quite happy. In front of her, there were embroideries framed in glass frames.
This is the purpose of glass written by Zhu Biao in his letter, to frame various things for viewing.
After Empress Ma understood this, she asked someone to make a few frames and try it out.
I didn't expect this effect, it is quite good.
Looking at the framed embroidery, Queen Ma felt very comfortable.
But considering that these glasses are the raw materials for making telescopes, I feel that it is a bit wasteful to do so.
It's a pity that Zhu Biao is not with Queen Ma, otherwise he would immediately tell Queen Ma to use it as he wants.
Su Jing's glass factory can start operations again at any time.
Lishui County.
Life calmed down, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.
The autumn mood is getting stronger and the temperature is continuing to drop.
The people all put on autumn clothes, and there were also more cotton-padded clothes on the shelves of Su's Cloth Store.
In Su Jing's courtyard, fallen leaves need to be cleaned every morning.
Naturally, it was impossible for Su Jing to do this. With Zhu Biao and Zhu Zhu here, it would be impossible for him, the teacher, to do it.
It was another early morning. Zhu Biao and Zhu Ru swept away the fallen leaves in the yard, sat on the stone table in the yard and started reading.
Although what Su Jing teaches is modern knowledge, he does not reject ancient classics.
Su Jing didn't write much, so they usually read classics.
Zhu Biao mostly wrote history books, while Zhu Ji wrote "Nine Chapters on Arithmetic".
Su Jing didn't know it at first, but it turned out that the ancients had already done very profound research on mathematics.
When teaching Zhu Ju, he specially asked someone to find some ancient mathematics classics.
This "Nine Chapters on Arithmetic" is a very good book. It not only covers fraction problems, but also involves the concept of negative numbers and the rules of addition and subtraction of negative numbers.
There is even an "equation", which is simply beyond Su Jing's imagination.
When Su Jing first read this book, she was extremely shocked.
When he was in school in his previous life, he did learn historical knowledge related to "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", but it was only used as a test point, and he passed it by memorizing it.
Now, in the early Ming Dynasty, he found the original text of "Nine Chapters on Arithmetic" and read them one by one.
Such a feeling could not be experienced in the previous life.
More importantly, "Nine Chapters on Arithmetic" was written around the first century AD, which was during the Han Dynasty.
It can only be said that the ancients of their own country did not know how many years ahead those countries in the West were.
Su Jing suddenly felt a sense of responsibility in her heart.
He immediately made "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic" a must-read extracurricular book for Zhu Xi.
Teach Zhu Ju well and let him embark on the path of scientific research as soon as possible.
Ming Mendel?
No, Mendel will be Austrian Niu Su from now on!
However, the meal must be eaten one bite at a time, and the work must be completed step by step.
Su Jing came out of the bedroom and stretched.
"Master Su, breakfast is ready."
Zhu Biao immediately stood up and said to Su Jing.
Su Jing nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."
Then he looked up at the sky, and the sun came out rarely.
"It's good. It finally stopped raining. People all over the world are tired of it these days."
Su Jing sighed slightly.
This autumn rain really comes at once. Although it is not as violent as summer, it lasts really long.
Su Jing has not seen the sun for almost half a month, and it has been raining intermittently for half a month.
For Su Jing, who does not have a mobile phone or the Internet, it is very painful to be forced to stay at home.
"Yes, it finally stopped raining."
Zhu Biao also lamented: "If this continues, I'm afraid the autumn floods will turn into floods, and the people will be the ones who suffer."
Water conservancy measures in ancient times were not as developed as modern times. Droughts and floods were common occurrences.
Spring floods and autumn floods are even more common.
Continuous rainfall causes river water levels to rise, and floods will occur if the dams cannot stop them.
When Su Jing heard this, she shook her head slightly and said, "Even if there is no flood, the people will still suffer."
Um?
Zhu Biao was stunned, looked at Su Jing and said: "Master Su, what do you mean by this? Without floods, people's farmland can produce food. How can this be miserable?"
Obviously the autumn floods have not turned into floods, which should be a good thing, but in Su Jing's mouth, there seems to be no change.
Zhu Biao didn't understand, really didn't understand.
Su Jing was not in a hurry to answer. She quickly wiped out her breakfast and then said, "Niu Yi, what do you think the people hate the most?"
What do people hate the most?
Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment and replied: "Wars and natural disasters?"
Su Jing's face jumped slightly. Zhu Biao's answer was not wrong, but it was not what he wanted.
Boot failed!
Su Jing could only add: "What if there is no war or natural disaster?"
The question is not accurate, so I have to patch it myself.
No wars or natural disasters?
Zhu Biao couldn't think of it for a while, but Su Jing didn't rush him, so he slowly thought about it for a while.
"Corrupt officials."
After holding it back for a long time, Zhu Biao gave another answer.
Su Jing took a deep breath and said: "Corrupt officials are certainly hateful, but after all, they violate the law and will not be punished. As long as they are caught, the people will still applaud them."
"But there is one thing. It has always existed and has never disappeared. It has been within the laws of all dynasties, but it still makes the people hate it extremely."
Listening to Su Jing's words, Zhu Biao was really down.
What is this?
The people hated it, but it was always within the law.
Zhu Biao thought for a long time, but he didn't expect it. He could only ask Su Jing: "Master Su, please give me some explanation."
Su Jing nodded slightly and said only two words: "Corvee."
Corvee!
Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao was immediately stunned.
But after a moment, he turned to Su Jing and said: "Master Su, corvee has existed since ancient times, whether it is military service or miscellaneous labor. Without corvee, the country cannot exist!"
In a country, there are always people who want to serve as soldiers. Otherwise, how can we defend ourselves against foreign enemies?
Some public projects cannot be completed without corvee work.
In Zhu Biao's view, corvée is a matter of course, and it must be hard, but it is also for the people to live a better life.
Su Jing looked at Zhu Biao and was not too surprised by Zhu Biao's answer.
After all, corvee has been recorded in the Zhou Dynasty. After the feudal dynasty appeared, it has not been discontinued until the present Qin Dynasty.
If a system can continue from ancient times to the present, it must be irreplaceable.
As a Ming Dynasty person, it is natural for Zhu Biao to have such an understanding.
Su Jing said calmly: "What you said is correct, but what does it have to do with what I said? Could it be that because it is important, people can't hate it?"
Su Jing's rhetorical question was simple and direct, which confused Zhu Biao.
Yes, corvee service was very important to the rulers of feudal dynasties, so it has always existed. Even if dynasties changed, this rule has continued.
But this has no causal relationship with corvées being hated by the people.
Zhu Biao opened his mouth and wanted to continue to refute, wanting to answer from a perspective that the people would not hate so much.
But he happened to have the history books of the Qin and Han Dynasties at hand. Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, revolted directly in order to survive because he led people to do corvee labor and delayed the construction period.
How can we say that the people don't hate it when they can directly force them to revolt?
"Master Su is right, the people do hate corvee service."
Zhu Biao replied, but he was obviously in a depressed state.
Corvee service is not good, but it cannot be avoided.
Zhu Biao just felt that he couldn't handle this matter at all.
Su Jing looked at Zhu Biao and could probably guess what her student was thinking.
It is extremely uncomfortable to worry about the people all day long, but cannot solve the problem when you encounter it.
"Niu Yi, come on, come out with me."
Su Jing said to Zhu Biao, and did not forget to say to Zhu Zhu: "Niu Su, you should read well at home first."
"Yes, Master Su." X2
Zhu Biao and Zhu Rui nodded and followed Su Jing's instructions.
After leaving the house, Su Jing took Zhu Biao and ran straight to the river.
It wasn't too far. In about a little more than a stick of incense, the two of them arrived at the river embankment.
Although it was early morning, there were already many people.
They were all nearby farmers who were recruited to strengthen the river embankments.
They used their own carrying poles and baskets to transport pieces of soil, sand and gravel, and kept going back and forth.
On the side were the officers and soldiers supervising them.
"What do you see."
Su Jing and Zhu Biao were standing not far from the river embankment. Su Jing asked.
Zhu Biao answered truthfully: "The people are serving and reinforcing the river embankment."
Su Jing asked again: "Then look at where the tools in their hands come from?"
"Nature comes with it."
Zhu Biao immediately replied that there is no need to think about it, because these common people have various tools and there is no unified standard.
"good!"
Su Jing nodded and said, "Then continue to watch here."
Su Jing didn't explain anything, just let Zhu Biao watch here.
Zhu Biao nodded. Su Jing asked him to read it, so he continued to read it.
The civilians who served did not have any pause, and the soil, sand and gravel were transported one after another.
Because once you stop, you will be beaten and scolded.
Even if it is slower, it is still difficult to escape the supervision of the supervisor.
Zhu Biao looked a little uncomfortable. He had never seen such a scene of service.
Time passed slowly and the sun slowly rose.
It was noon in a blink of an eye.
"Okay, you can stop now and continue in half an hour."
The overseer shouted something to the civilians who were serving, and then left to mind their own business.
It's time for lunch.
Su Jing and Zhu Biao in the distance were still watching, watching the civilians taking out dry food from their arms and eating on the spot.
If you are thirsty, go to the river to catch some.
"Niu Yi, where do you think their dry food comes from?"
Su Jing asked Zhu Biao again at this time.
Zhu Biao replied calmly: "I brought it myself."
"So, are they paid?"
Su Jing said calmly.
"No."
Zhu Biao shook his head.
"So, do you understand now why people hate corvee?"
Su Jing said lightly.
Facts speak louder than words. The corvee in the early Ming Dynasty was relatively easy.
Although the officers and soldiers supervising the work were strict, they did not go so far as to be brutal.
There was also a half-hour break during lunch.
But when Zhu Biao looked at it this way, he felt in his heart that corvee was really nothing!
Most of these people are farmers. It has been raining before, making it difficult to do farm work.
Now the weather is finally getting better, but the corvees came to reinforce the river embankment.
Not only that, but you also need to bring your own tools and dry food.
Free labor takes up time to do farm work, and they are beaten, scolded and supervised.
This is corvee!
(End of chapter)
