Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 165 Emperor Zhu: Our Biao'er has improved

After Empress Ma and Zhu Biao finished reading the "Year-End Summary" and "Work Report" that Magistrate Yang had painstakingly written, Zhu Chongba frowned and said, "Tell me, what exactly is this scoundrel trying to do? Originally, we thought that as long as we were patient and read it slowly, we would eventually be able to figure out what he was thinking, but now, we suddenly lose confidence."

In fact, Emperor Zhu Chongba had a vague suspicion in his heart, but he dared not believe it no matter what.

Instead, Empress Ma smiled and said, "Regardless of what he thinks, and regardless of whether you are confident or not, just consider the things he has done and what he has accomplished in Ningyang County. Have they been beneficial or detrimental to your Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Chongba clicked his tongue and said, "Look at the question you ask, as if I, Zhu Chongba, am a fool—even if I, Zhu Chongba, were a fool, I could see that his actions and the things he has stirred up are of great benefit to our Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, would we let him scheme against us at every turn?"

Zhu Chongba pointed to the "Work Report" beside Empress Ma and continued, "Take this school uniform he mentioned, for example. It's a very good idea. Whether rich or poor, as long as they enter the academy, they will all wear the same clothes and eat the same food. The poor will not have to feel inferior because of their poverty, and the rich will not be able to be arrogant because of their wealth. We just thought about it, and the Imperial Academy and the prefectural and county schools in various places should also be like this in the future."

Pointing to the "Year-End Summary" beside Zhu Biao, Zhu Chongba continued, "Take road construction for example. Even if it's just a simple road construction project, he has developed so much knowledge about it, such as budgets, construction periods, and materials. If all the prefectures and counties in the country could produce such budget and construction period tables like him, wouldn't our emperor be able to have a clear understanding of all the projects in the country?"

Empress Ma nodded and said, "Then that settles it. Magistrate Yang is originally from the North, but the court is full of Southerners. It's inevitable that their ways of doing things are different. As long as his actions are beneficial to our Great Ming Dynasty, we should let him be."

Emperor Zhu Chongba nodded, tapped the table with his fingers, and said, "We used to think he was a talented person, but now we don't think so."

“From household registration books and land registers to Daming Lake and Taizi Canal, from breeding farms and livestock farms to lighters, from fried noodles and canned goods to cement roads, from the Hongwu Encyclopedia, Hongwu Rhyme Dictionary, and Hongwu Dictionary to the current work reports and year-end summaries, he has accomplished so much in less than a year, and the entire Ningyang County has undergone earth-shaking changes.”

"Do you know what news Limpy Five reported?"

“Nowadays, every household in Ningyang County has several strings of cash and two or three thousand catties of grain. They raise chickens and ducks, and many households also raise pigs. On average, each household in Ningyang County can be allocated a cow or a horse. If you add the land that was reclaimed before winter, everyone in Ningyang County can have more than 20 mu of land, regardless of age.”

"From a small, poor county with only two thousand people, where people often didn't know where their next meal would come from, and had to ask the imperial court for relief grain during spring droughts and locust plagues, it has become a rich county that no one else in the world can compare to today. All of this has only taken a little over half a year."

"Luckily, this bastard fainted outside Ningyang County and was found by Chang Heitan. If the Tartars had picked him up, heh!"

After frowning and thinking for a while, Zhu Chongba brought up the marriage of Jin'er, Yu'er and Magistrate Yang again: "No, his marriage needs to be put on the agenda as soon as possible, otherwise we will not feel at ease."

Empress Ma did not directly respond to Emperor Zhu Chongba's suggestion. Instead, she frowned slightly and said, "It's fine if you want his marriage to be put on the agenda, but you have to answer one question for me first."

Emperor Zhu was slightly taken aback and asked, "What's the problem?"

Empress Ma said, "You and Biao'er both said before that they couldn't figure out what Magistrate Yang really wanted—so my question is, have you figured out what he wants now?"

Faced with Empress Ma's question, Emperor Zhu Chongba was slightly taken aback, then laughed heartily twice, and turned to Zhu Biao, asking, "Biao'er, have you figured out what he wants?"

Zhu Biao, the Ming Dynasty's Executive Vice Emperor who had always remained out of the public eye, was taken aback upon hearing this and said, "I think I have guessed something, but I am not quite sure if I can believe my own guess."

Emperor Zhu smiled and said, "Since you have some guesses, then feel free to speak your mind. It's okay if you're wrong."

Zhu Biao nodded and said, "Judging from Magistrate Yang's year-end summary and work report, I think he is the kind of scholar who believes in the idea of ​​'cultivating one's own virtue when poor, and benefiting the world when successful.' Therefore, he doesn't care much about fame or money. Instead, he works diligently to plan for the people under his jurisdiction when he is the magistrate."

Emperor Zhu smiled again and turned his gaze to Empress Ma: "Sister, what do you say?"

Empress Ma did not answer, but instead asked, "What do you think?"

Emperor Zhu chuckled and said, “Biao’er is right, but not entirely right—that bastard does have a bit of the idea of ​​‘when poor, one should cultivate one’s own virtue; when successful, one should help the world,’ but he is also a tough nut to crack and a watchdog. If anyone offends him, he will definitely try to retaliate. He always thinks of taking anything he has home.”

"However, he hasn't settled down and started a family yet. He's only concerned with himself, so he's going to Ningyang County to ask for relief grain and doctors from the imperial court. That's the gist of it."

At this point, Emperor Zhu turned his gaze to Zhu Biao: "Do you remember when I told you that some people can be tempted by profit, some people can be driven by fame, but there are also some people who are not moved by fame and profit. You can't talk about fame and profit with such people, so you talk about friendship with them?"

Zhu Biao nodded and replied, "Of course I remember. However, I think that one cannot talk about friendship with someone like Magistrate Yang, because once he gets into a rash decision, neither laws nor human feelings can restrain him. Perhaps only family ties can restrain him."

Emperor Zhu Chongba immediately chuckled and said to Empress Ma, "Our Biao'er has improved."

Empress Ma smiled and nodded, saying, "Alright, if you agree to one more condition, I will grant Jin'er and Yu'er's marriage."

Emperor Zhu, curious, gave an "oh" and asked, "What are the conditions?"