GBP Chapter 1114 My brother-in-law's map of Yan... is aimed at me!
Chapter 1114 My brother-in-law's map of Yan... is aimed at me!
Zhu Biao was not worried at all about whether Li Chenming, the Chang brothers, and Xu Yungong could solve the problems in Jiangnan.
As Li Qi said, the imperial court and the Grand Military Commission intentionally handed over the current turmoil in Jiangnan to the second-generation nobles for practice.
If they can quell the situation, they should. If they really can't, there are still generals like Xu Da, Duke of Wei; Chang Yuchun, Duke of E; Li Wenzhong, Duke of Cao; Deng Yu, Duke of Wei; Feng Sheng, Duke of Song; Tang He, Duke of Xin; and Fu Youde, Duke of Ying. Any one of them can cover for them.
Rather than worrying about them, Zhu Biao felt he should worry more about his older cousin—according to his brother-in-law, Li Wenzhong, known in the martial arts world as the "Kind Father of the Grasslands," was actually just an innocent young man from Jiangnan who would blush even if he received a handkerchief from a girl.
Therefore, Zhu Biao was even more curious to know if his brother-in-law had any new ideas.
Yang Shaofeng leaned back in his recliner, took a sip of his Xiaolongtuan tea, and said with a forced smile, "What thoughts could I possibly have? I'm just wondering why the people of Jiangnan would follow those officials and gentry in rebellion?"
Zhu Biao chuckled and, in a very obsequious manner, picked up the kettle and refilled Yang Shaofeng's teacup. "So, brother-in-law, have you thought it through?"
Yang Shaofeng took a sip of tea and said, "I've figured it out."
Meeting Zhu Biao's expectant gaze, Yang Shaofeng simply put down his teacup, sat up straight, and said, "I once heard a saying..."
"There are actually only two reasons why the people want to rebel."
"I can't go on living like this, I've had enough of being wronged."
"The reason why the people of Jiangnan dared to follow those officials and gentry in rebellion can be summarized in these two reasons."
Zhu Biao paused for a moment, then said, "That's not right."
"If this had happened before the second year of the Hongwu reign, this statement might have been somewhat plausible."
"But after the second year of Hongwu, the people of Jiangnan were also allocated land. In addition, my father frequently exempted taxes, and the progressive tax system forced those officials and gentry to return land. The livelihood of the people of Jiangnan was not so good, but at least there was no question of them not being able to survive."
"As for what my brother-in-law just said about having had enough of being wronged..."
Zhu Biao shook his head directly: "Isn't this how all the people in the world live?"
"So people in other places don't complain about living like this, but only people in Jiangnan do?"
"Moreover, seven years have already passed, or even more than seven years—before the second year of Hongwu's reign, life was not as good as it is now. Why didn't you feel wronged back then?"
Yang Shaofeng glanced at Zhu Biao.
These black sesame dumplings are acting strange today.
It seems like it's gotten smarter and isn't so easily fooled anymore.
Yang Shaofeng pondered for a moment and said, "Confucius said: 'Those who govern a state or a family are not worried about scarcity but about inequality; they are not worried about poverty but about instability.'"
“In the past, all the people in the world lived the same life. Although life was bland and tasteless, it was still the same.”
"But things are different now."
"The lives of the people in Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture have improved slightly."
"..."
Before Yang Shaofeng could finish speaking, Zhu Biao couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Have the people of Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture improved their lives even slightly?
Or is it that you, brother-in-law, have some misunderstanding about the unit "a little bit"?
Zhu Biao was internally ranting, while Yang Shaofeng continued, "But these good-for-nothing bastards, who can't even hold two ounces of sesame oil in their bellies, don't know how to restrain themselves. Every time they come to Jiangnan, they have to spend lavishly."
"Then the people of Jiangnan must have some complaints about them, right?"
“Especially since the people of Jiangnan are close to the capital, if you expand the circle around the emperor’s capital a bit, Yangzhou and Quanzhou can be considered to be within the emperor’s capital area.”
"As a result, life under the emperor's nose was worse than in that poor, remote village in Shandong. And with those officials and gentry fooling them, the grievances of the people in Jiangnan were naturally magnified infinitely."
"..."
Zhu Biao rolled his eyes again.
It seems that the opinions of the people in Jiangnan are not just "that little bit"?
The key point is that my brother-in-law's remarks sounded reasonable, but something just didn't feel right.
After thinking for a long time without coming up with a solution, Zhu Biao simply looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "What does brother-in-law think?"
Before Yang Shaofeng could answer, Zhu Biao shook his head and said, "There are workshops in Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture, as well as in various prefectures and counties in Jiangnan."
"The wages that the people of Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture can receive are the same wages that the people of other prefectures and counties in Jiangnan can receive."
"Even from the perspective of the imperial court, the benefits that Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture could obtain were not missed by other prefectures and counties in Jiangnan."
"To be honest, the only difference between Jiangnan and Shandong is that the taxes in Jiangnan are heavier and the population is larger in Jiangnan than in Shandong. There is no difference in other places."
"Moreover, the climate in the Jiangnan region is mild and humid, making it superior to Shandong in both farming and living conditions."
"The only two places that are really bad are the border market and Dengzhou University."
At this point, Zhu Biao's eyes widened as he looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "Brother-in-law, you're not planning to move the border market to Jiangnan, are you?"
This time it was Yang Shaofeng's turn to roll his eyes.
Should the border markets be moved to Jiangnan?
You black sesame dumpling, you must be dreaming!
The entire population of Shandong relies on the border markets to make money!
Yang Shaofeng shook his head and said, "It has nothing to do with the border market."
"My idea is that since the people of Jiangnan feel that their livelihood is not as good as that of the people of Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture, we should find ways to improve their living standards."
"For example, we could have the South Koreans put forward a 'vegetable basket project' first."
"..."
Zhu Biao stared blankly at Yang Shaofeng.
My brother-in-law unfolded his map of the Yan Kingdom, but the dagger hidden in the map was not aimed at the King of Qin, but at his own father and the high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty court.
wrong!
My father is completely unreliable; I might be the one who suffers!
Yang Shaofeng picked up the small dragon ball again and took a sip.
As the ancients said, the seven necessities of life are firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.
"These seven items are all related to eating and drinking."
"This also aligns with the hierarchy of needs theory that I learned from a wise man—food and drink are the most basic survival needs."
"The so-called 'vegetable basket' project is to find ways to enable people in the Jiangnan region to eat more kinds of vegetables, meat, fish and eggs."
"Putting aside everything else, at the very least, each child should be guaranteed one egg a day, right?"
"How can children grow tall and strong without enough chicken, duck, fish, meat, and vegetables?"
"If the child isn't tall enough, how can he go out and conquer new territories?"
"If we can't expand our territory, then..."
Zhu Biao's ears were already ringing, and he couldn't hear any of the nonsense Yang Shaofeng said afterward.