I am the king of the dead

Chapter 516 Disappointment and Hope

After hearing Nikolaoz's question, Hu Wei frowned and said: "In ancient times, when people hunted, if the sacrifice was greater than the harvest, they would choose not to hunt."

"It's like ships at sea today, which rarely hunt big fish, because the gains outweigh the losses."

Nikolaoz's eyes lit up. Hu Wei's analogy is very good. Big fish have more fish oil, but among the tributes from the Ryukyu Islands, there is only 30 catties of fish oil a year.

This is not because the big fish cannot be killed now, but because the effort is much smaller than the gain.

Nikolaoz sat up straight and said, "The benefits of childbearing are far less than the cost, so why don't you have children?"

"It's not just that." Hu Wei shook his head and said, "We can easily see that some people who have no worries about food and clothing are not willing to have children, and they don't have many children."

"Prince Xiang is the most honorable prince of Ming Dynasty, but he only has three children. For King Xiang, benefits, costs, gains, and sacrifices are all nonsense. But he doesn't want to have children."

After Hu Yan finished speaking, Nikolaoz fell into silence.

Of course Nikolaoz knew that the reason King Xiang was unwilling to have a child was because the family property would be divided after birth.

If the throne is passed on, Prince Xiang loses his honorable uncle status, and Prince Xiang's lineage will lose the current grace. The more children there are, the more fights there will be.

King Xiang thinks like this, how many people in Daming think like this?

Rome also has the order of the four seasons, but in the vigorous spring and summer when everything is flourishing, the Romans are still unwilling to have children.

They hope that their children will have a better future. It is much easier to cultivate one child with the resources in their hands than to cultivate two.

Nikolaoz said helplessly: "Da Ming doesn't seem to have this problem. Although your arable land is very barren, the people of Daming are so hardworking. As long as the politics is clear and the world is stable, they seem to be very happy to live."

"Even though Hu Yuan has ruled this land for 100 years, they are still passers-by. In the end, this place still belongs to you."

It has been two years since Nikolaoz arrived in Daming. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, he saw all the five- and six-year-old children running on the street, so he was very envious.That carefree appearance moved Nikolaoz a lot.

If the Romans had such a strong desire to have children, what chance did the Gauls, Germans, Goths, Ottomans, and Russ have?
The Romans turned themselves into a small clan.

"What is a child?" Hu Wei asked a very crucial question.

Nikolaoz thought for a long time and said, "It's the future of an empire."

"Children are the hope of parents." Hu Wei sat up straight and said.

Nikolaos frowned, and asked in a daze, "Hope?"

Hu Wei nodded and said, "When there is despair, even after birth, those babies will drown. When there is hope, they will look forward to more children and more blessings."

"Children are the hope of parents. When parents are full of expectations, they will have more children and more blessings. Parents are desperate, so naturally there will be no hope."

The pimple on Nikolaoz's brow finally relaxed. He tapped his fingers on his shoulders, forehead, and chest, bowed his head and said, "Thank you Hu Shangshu for your teaching."

In Nikolaoz's view, although Hu Wei is not a priest, he seems to have insight into the world and understand the world better than him.

Daming's etiquette laws and Taixi's religious laws are all about maintaining order and stability, but Nikolaoz thinks he doesn't understand the principles of the world, and he has learned a lot in Daming.

Hu Wei accepted Nikolaoz's etiquette without humility at all.

Elena looked at the two dully, she was very touched by this.

In the castle of Constantinople, when the crisis was at stake, she would never think about the child anyway.

But after arriving in Daming, she has expectations for her future life, and with hope, she often fantasizes about her married life.

I don't know if the heroic king will love her, or if a child of the King of Kings and the Co-Lord of Rome will be born.

When she was in Constantinople, she dared not even think about it.

Children are hope. How can there be hope when parents are desperate?
The Western Roman Empire fell to the barbarians, and the Eastern Roman Empire also fell to the barbarians.

Elena understood.

Hu Yi originally prepared a lot of topics today, such as the logic in the Roman Twelve Tables, but after he finished discussing this issue, he suddenly felt that it was boring.

"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. There will be a flower show in Tai'an Palace. Empress Wang will take the harem concubines to enjoy the flowers. Princess Elena should participate." Hu Wei stood up and ended today's conversation.

After he walked out of the Huitong Hall, he stood in front of the post gate, looking at the children running around in the street, and fell into a moment of confusion.

Did Daming really never let the world despair?

In the 14th year of Zhengtong, Dingkou, a stagnant water, is it just a local concealment?
At least, Hu Wei has not seen for a long time that there are so many running children in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

A naughty boy obviously had a great time playing with his partner, he didn't know how to watch the road, and bumped into the leg of a Tiqi while running.

The naughty boy looked up at Tiqi, who was like a mountain to him, rubbed his head, and suddenly grinned. The light laughter echoed on the street like a mountain stream caressing a bluestone. The child's smile was very clear. , Just like a stone smashed into the ripples of a clear spring, it overflowed from the small vortex at the corner of his mouth, infecting the children around him.

Tiqi showed a slightly scary smile, touched the child's horns, and with a slightly hoarse voice, stomped his feet deliberately showing a ferocious expression, and said loudly: "Ha!"

The urchin was so frightened that he jumped on the spot, then turned around and ran away, blending into the crowd in an instant, without being seen.

Standing on the street, Hu Wei said with some emotion, "Where is Your Majesty now?"

Ti Qi came back to his senses and said: "Hu Shangshu, Your Majesty is not in the martial arts lecture hall, nor in Tai'an Palace, but in the folk house outside Chaoyang Gate."

"Going to Chaoyang Gate?" Hu Wei took a step towards Chaoyang Gate.

At this time outside Chaoyang Gate, Zhu Qiyu's silk and satin clothes appeared on the water transport pier outside Chaoyang Gate, which seemed a little out of place, like a rich man who came to hire poor coolies.

Naturally, Zhu Qiyu didn't come here to hire poor coolies.

He stood on the water transport wharf outside Chaoyang Gate, watching the water transport ships begin to unload countless grain bags and send them to the grain market entrance inside Chaoyang Gate.

After searching for a long time, he saw Liu Qi.

Liu Qi was still very strong and muscular, and he carried a bag of rice on the car.

Zhu Qiyu stepped forward, patted the rice bag, and said with a smile: "Liu Qi, long time no see."

"I'm busy, I have to wait until next month..." Liu Qiyi looked up, seeing Zhu Qiyu's plausible smile, and was startled.

Zhu Qiyu and Liu Qiyi met four times in total, the first time was outside Chaoyangmen, the second time was at the Water Transport Wharf of the folk house outside Chaoyangmen, and the third time was at Nanya, where Liu Qi was in charge of escorting Jingtai Tongbao into Nanjing City, The fourth time is now.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty!" Liu Qi had already met His Majesty outside the Chaoyang Gate the last time His Majesty made his triumphant return, so he naturally recognized who it was.

He yelled at His Majesty twice, the last time he saw His Majesty sitting on the jade chair, he had nightmares for several nights in a row, fearing that some horse would come in and pick off his head.

After waiting for a few days, he also figured it out. It is estimated that His Majesty is too busy to talk to him, or simply forget him completely.

Zhu Qiyu stopped Liu Qi and saluted and said: "There is no need to be too polite."

If Liu Qi really knelt down, with so many people on the pier, his identity was basically confirmed.

"Busy? Chatting?" Zhu Qiyu explained the purpose of coming.

Liu Qiyi wiped his hands and said, "Not busy, not busy, Brother Chen, I'm asking for a day off today, I'm here... I have something to do."

The strong man called Brother Chen looked at Zhu Qiyu's appearance of Zigong Zizi, took a deep breath and walked over, put a bag of rice on his back to block Zhu Qiyu's sight and said in a low voice: "If you have something to say, what are you talking about?" Shiyong, don’t be afraid of him, at worst, let’s beat Dengwen Drum and let His Majesty decide for us.”

Brother Chen had good intentions, but Xing'an and Lu Zhong, who were standing beside Zhu Qiyu, held back their smiles, knocking on Deng Wengu, and it was obvious that they were also the one in front of them.

Zhu Qiyu didn't speak, walked to the tea stand and ordered four bowls of tea.

It didn't take long for Liu Qi to finally arrive in front of the Daming Emperor, feeling a little restless. The person in front of him was not a seventh-rank participant in politics, but the current emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

"Sit, sit, sit, today we are participating in politics and discussing politics, chatting." Zhu Qiyu said with a smile: "Don't be restrained."

Only then did Liu Qi sit down. He heard that the craftsmen of Shijing Factory would meet with His Majesty once every seven days, and on the first and fifteenth day of each month, someone would make an announcement.

It's just to see the emperor, he has seen it several times, so what happened before, your majesty is not a monster, can you still eat him?

Zhu Qiyu signaled Liu Qi to drink tea. He is the emperor and he doesn't eat tea soup outside.

"Do you still have to work during the Mid-Autumn Festival?" Zhu Qiyu asked suspiciously.

Liu Qi hurriedly said: "That's right, this season is the busiest, except for Chinese New Year and Tianming Festival, you have to go to work."

Zhu Qiyu sat forward and asked, "Where is your child? Where is it placed?"

"That baby died, died of illness." Liu Qi's eyes were full of darkness, and the corners of his mouth trembled.

Zhu Qiyu felt like someone was holding his heart and squeezing it hard.

Is that eccentric child with dripping eyes gone like this?For a while, Zhu Qiyu felt a little dizzy, with a lot of thoughts in his heart.

"Didn't you go to Huimin Pharmacy? Still no money?" Zhu Qiyu asked.

Liu Qi shook his head and said, "I've gone, I didn't think much about it, the Huimin Pharmacy only needs a few dollars, I've used all kinds of medicines, children, I'm not resistant to disease."

Zhu Qiyu's heart was full of disappointment, the medicine of Daming had to continue to develop, and the Xie Jie Hospital had to continue to operate.

As for infamy, he just needs to take care of it.

Lu Zicai and the others will not be scolded, only he, the violent emperor, will be scolded.

"My condolences." Zhu Qiyu didn't know how to comfort this tough man.

Liu Qi showed a slight smile and said: "Caomin bought a private house last year, married a wife, and now has a daughter, and I plan to have another one."

Zhu Qiyu felt relieved. Birth, old age, sickness and death are natural things. As the emperor, he can't control the affairs of the underworld.

Now that Liu Qi is married to a daughter-in-law and has a daughter, she plans to have another one, which means Liu Qi is willing to have a child.

Zhu Qiyu asked a lot about the coolies of the poor. As long as they are willing to work hard, they can support their own children in addition to supporting themselves.

Zhu Qiyu's Labor Insurance Bureau is not useless at all.

Although the wind on the Nanya side was strong, the Beiya side was too close to the emperor to be loyal. Coupled with the turmoil of Dengwengu, these firms dared not play Li Daitao's stiff trick.

An emperor who is elusive is enough to cause headaches.

Right now the courtyard walls of Dengwen Drum Courtyard have been demolished, and the East and West Changan Gates are always open.

"That's my wife, here to bring me food." Liu Qi saw a woman and waved her hand vigorously.

The child was on the woman's back, looking straight at Zhu Qiyu with round eyes, and then cried out loudly.

Zhu Qiyu's children's fate has never been very good, and he is used to it.

"Doesn't the firm care about the food?" Zhu Qiyu heard from Liu Qi that the work on the pier was in charge of lunch, but Liu Qi's wife came to deliver the food.

Liu Qi shook her head and said, "No, my wife is afraid that I won't have enough to eat."

Only then did Zhu Qiyu understand, and inadvertently ate a mouthful of dog food.

"This is?" Liu Qi's wife finally coaxed the child.

Liu Qi said vaguely: "The Secretary of General Administration's participation in the administration of state affairs has come here to hear rumors and rumors. I have seen it before, and I will talk about it when I see it."

Liu Qi didn't explain Zhu Qiyu's identity, which is really difficult to explain, saying that the emperor needs to be believed, so he simply reported Zhu Qiyu's identity as an official.

Liu Qi looked at his wife with a simple and honest smile, then turned her head and said to Zhu Qiyu: "I will save money this year, and next year I will buy my own tank boat to carry grain from Tongzhou to Chaoyangmen." , I can make two trips a day, and I can earn seven hundred dollars a day!"

Zhu Qiyu thought for a while and said: "Don't spend all your money on the tank boat, because something will happen at home and you won't be able to get the money out."

Zhu Qiyu subconsciously expected the enemy to be lenient, and persuaded Liu Qi.

Life is the greatest enemy of the people.

"Master Guan also said the same thing. Be more careful, and you won't listen to what I tell you. You should listen to what Master Guan said!" Liu Qi's wife hurriedly said as soon as she heard it.

Liu Qi shook his head and said proudly: "I have saved enough money now, even if something happens, we will still have money."

Zhu Qiyu showed a smile, the people's ability to resist risks is very weak, since Liu Qi has this awareness, there is no need for Zhu Qiyu to play the piano randomly.

Liu Qi had a good life, it was the child he brought from Shaanxi, which made Zhu Qiyu quite a pity.

"The one you mentioned last time, the matter of the civilian service discounting money, we reported it, and we got a reply later." Zhu Qiyu talked about Liu Qi's suggestion last time. Liu Qi wanted to learn a craft, because the sentry was delayed.

Liu Qi looked at Zhu Qiyu, with hope in his eyes, hard work for northerners, this is a very real problem, not to say that the work is too tiring, it is too late.

Zhu Qiyu thought for a while and said: "The higher-ups can't say it, but it has been calculated inwardly, and it will take at least five years before it can be done."

"Da Ming doesn't have that much money in the market right now. The labor is converted into money, and the money goes back to the court, so there is no money for the public."

"It's not a matter of how much the discount is, it's such a discount, and it's easy for some officials to take advantage of the opportunity and take advantage of loopholes."

Zhu Qiyu really asked Ji Xing to figure it out, mainly because the amount of Jingtai Tongbao was still too small, at least five years later, when Daming's money shortage eased.

Liu Qi and Liu Qi's wife looked at each other, they didn't expect to wait for Hui Yin'er at all.

"I don't understand these things, I'm just talking nonsense." Liu Qi hurriedly waved his hand and said.

Xing'an leaned close to Zhu Qiyu's ear and whispered a few times.

Zhu Qiyu stood up and said: "You guys have dinner, we have something to do, so let's go around."

Liu Qi hurriedly stood up, pulled his wife up again, nodded and said, "Ei (ei)."

Hu Wei came to Chaoyang Gate and met His Majesty.

　Double monthly ticket, ask for a monthly ticket! ! ! ┗|｀O′|┛Aw~~! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
　　
　
(End of this chapter)