Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Following Zhu Yuanzhang's order, the two eunuch leaders, Wang Zhong and Xiao Lizi, bowed and hurriedly left the Taile Palace, and walked quickly towards the Zongrenfu one after the other.

Wang Zhong was wearing a dark purple dragon robe and a jade belt around his waist. Although he was an old man beside the emperor, he was walking in a hurry with sweat oozing from his forehead. Little Li was wearing an indigo official uniform. He looked young and capable. He followed closely beside Wang Zhong with a serious expression.

The two of them passed through the many palace gates. Along the way, the guards, maids, and eunuchs all looked at them sideways and whispered to each other.

"Look! Isn't that Eunuch Wang and Eunuch Li? Why did they come out together?" A little palace maid exclaimed, covering her mouth.

"Hush! Keep your voice down!" The old nanny beside her hurriedly grabbed her and said, "These two are the personal servants of the Emperor and His Majesty. On weekdays, one is in the Palace of Imperial Joy and the other in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. They rarely show up at the same time. With the scene today, I'm afraid something big is going to happen!"

Several guards couldn't help but whisper to each other: "Look at the direction, they are going to the clan residence!"

"The Imperial Clan House? Isn't that the territory of Prince Consort Ouyang Lun?" Someone gasped, "Could it be that Prince Consort Ouyang Lun has caused trouble again?"

"It's hard to say! The last time the two eunuchs went out together was during His Majesty's coronation ceremony. This time I'm afraid it will be even more serious than that!"

The atmosphere inside and outside the palace walls suddenly became tense, as if even the air was stagnant.

……

At the same time, in the backyard of the clan house.

Ouyang Lun was sitting leisurely on a stone bench beside the pond, holding a fishing rod and closing his eyes to rest. A breeze blew, ripples appeared on the water surface, and the fishing line trembled slightly, but he was unaware of it, and there was a comfortable smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Your Highness, your fishing rod has been shaking for a long time. If you don't pull it, the fish will run away!" The guard at the side couldn't help but remind him.

"What's the hurry?" Ouyang Lun opened his eyes lazily. "Fishing is all about the state of mind. Whether the fish takes the bait or not is a matter of fate."

As soon as he finished speaking, the fishing rod sank suddenly!
"Wow! Here it comes!" Ouyang Lun's eyes lit up, and with a flick of his wrist, a fat carp broke out of the water, drawing a streak of silver light in the air.

"Good fish!" He laughed. Just as he was about to put the fish into the basket, he heard hurried footsteps behind him.

Looking back, I saw Wang Zhong and Xiao Lizi rushing over with a team of guards. Both of them had tense expressions and beads of sweat on their foreheads.

"Hey? Why are the two eunuchs here together?" Ouyang Lun raised his eyebrows and said in a relaxed tone, "You came at the right time. I just happened to catch a fat fish. How about grilling it together?"

Wang Zhong and Xiao Lizi looked at each other with complicated expressions.

"My Lord, I'm sorry!" Wang Zhong gritted his teeth and winked at the guards behind him.

"Ah?" Before Ouyang Lun could react, four guards rushed up and lifted him up without saying a word!
"Hey, hey, hey? What are you doing?" Ouyang Lun's feet left the ground and the fishing rod in his hand fell. The carp flapped its wings on the ground twice and jumped back into the pond.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor and His Majesty have urgently summoned you. The situation is urgent and we have to go there quickly!" Little Li explained with a bitter face.

"No matter how urgent it is, you can't carry me like this, right? Put me down, I can walk by myself!" Ouyang Lun struggled, but the guards were too strong and he couldn't break free.

"No, Your Majesty, the Emperor said that you must be brought there 'immediately' and there can be no delay!" Wang Zhong wiped the sweat off his forehead and urged the guards to speed up.

Thus, an extremely funny scene appeared in the palace - Ouyang Lun, the dignified son-in-law and chief of the clan affairs office, was carried by four guards and hurriedly passed through the palace road like carrying a sack, while Wang Zhong and Xiao Lizi trotted along on the left and right, as if they were escorting some important prisoner.

The palace maids and eunuchs along the way were dumbfounded. They wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. They could only hold their breath and bow their heads. They only whispered to each other after the people walked away.

"Oh my God! What terrible mistake did the Prince Consort make? He was actually being carried away!"

"Who knows? But judging from the attitudes of the two eunuchs, I'm afraid something big is going to happen!"

"Tsk tsk, the Prince Consort is usually so majestic, but today he is really..."

Ouyang Lun was carried all the way. He struggled a bit at first, but later he gave up and simply lay down. He even crossed his legs and hummed a little tune, as if he was enjoying this unique "palanquin" service.

"My Lord Prince Consort, you... you are not angry?" Little Li couldn't help asking when he saw him so leisurely.

"Angry? What are you angry about?" Ouyang Lun smiled, "It's rare that someone carries me. It saves me from having to walk by myself. How comfortable!"

Wang Zhong: "..."

Xiao Lizi: "..."

Guards: "..."

Just like that, in the shocked gazes of everyone in the palace, Ouyang Lun was "escorted" to Taile Palace in an extremely indecent yet inexplicably cool manner.

At this moment in Taile Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were waiting anxiously.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were pacing back and forth in the Taile Palace when they suddenly heard a noise outside the palace.

"Quick, quick, quick! Put it down!"

"Hey, my Lord, please don't move!"

"..."

Immediately afterwards, the palace door was pushed open, and four guards, sweating profusely, carried Ouyang Lun across the threshold, while Wang Zhong and Xiao Lizi followed behind breathlessly.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were both stunned, staring at the scene with wide eyes - Ouyang Lun was held up by four guards, with his arms spread out and his legs dangling, looking like a tribute being carried into the palace.

"This...what's going on?!" Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at Ouyang Lun, shocked and angry.

Wang Zhong and Xiao Lizi knelt down with a plop, resting their foreheads on the ground, and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, the emperor, the prince consort...he..."

"They were afraid that I would dawdle, so they carried me here directly." Ouyang Lun took over the conversation with a smile, and even adjusted his posture to make himself more comfortable. "Your Majesty, I think this method is good. It saves time and effort, and it can be promoted in the future."

The corners of Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth twitched, while Zhu Biao covered his face and held his forehead, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Nonsense!" Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the table and glared at Wang Zhong and Xiao Lizi, "I told you to bring the prince consort here 'immediately', who told you to carry him in?!"

"If this gets out, people will think something happened between me and the emperor!"

Wang Zhong said with a bitter face, "Your Majesty, please understand! Every time the Prince Consort is summoned, he is either fishing or drinking tea, or he has 'important matters at hand' and drags his feet for half an hour. This time you specifically emphasized 'immediately', and we have no choice but to..." Little Li also added, "Yes, Your Majesty! Last time I went to invite the Prince Consort, he said he would finish writing a piece of calligraphy before coming. As a result, I waited for half an hour, and when I went in, I saw that he hadn't even started writing and was still playing with birds!"

Ouyang Lun was not embarrassed when he heard this. Instead, he nodded confidently: "Yes, writing requires a good state of mind. If the birds sing well and I am in a good mood, I can write good words."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

Zhu Biao finally couldn't help laughing, waved his hand and said, "Alright, let the prince consort down."

The guards were as if they had been pardoned and quickly put Ouyang Lun down. Ouyang Lun straightened his clothes and bowed with a smile: "I pay my respects to the Emperor, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his temple and said helplessly: "Ouyang Lun, Ouyang Lun, sometimes I really want to pry your head open to see what's inside."

"Your Majesty, we all pretend to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty." Ouyang Lun said seriously.

Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes, too lazy to argue with him anymore, and got straight to the point: "Alright, let's get down to business! Biaoer and I have read reports from various places, and the problems caused by the population explosion are urgent. Do you have any solutions?"

Ouyang Lun smiled slightly, pulled out a thick booklet from his sleeve, and presented it with both hands: "I have already prepared it."

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao looked at each other, took the booklet and opened it, only to see that it was filled with densely packed data, charts and response strategies in extreme detail.

"First, we should reclaim wasteland and settle immigrants in the border areas." Ouyang Lun said, "Liaodong, Yunnan, Jiaozhi and other places are vast and sparsely populated. We can recruit refugees to cultivate the land. The court will provide agricultural tools and seeds, and exempt taxes for three years."

"Second, revise the Ming Dynasty Code to strictly prohibit land annexation and impose heavy penalties on violators. At the same time, implement the 'official land leasing' system, whereby the government will uniformly manage unowned land and rent it to landless farmers at low prices."

"Third..." He paused, a sly look flashing in his eyes, "Lift the ban on sea trade and encourage people to go out to sea to make a living. Ryukyu, Luzon, and the South Sea Islands can all be used to settle immigrants."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "Lifting the maritime ban? This is a serious matter, and there will definitely be a lot of opposition in the court."

Ouyang Lun smiled and said, "So I have also prepared a fourth strategy - 'Official matchmaker to promote marriage'."

"Official media promotes marriage?" Zhu Biao was puzzled.

"That's right." Ouyang Lun explained, "Nowadays, the betrothal gifts in Jiangnan are very high, and it is difficult for poor children to get married. If this continues, the people will definitely resent it. The government can come forward to match people up and prohibit sky-high betrothal gifts. At the same time..." He raised the corners of his mouth slightly, "Encourage men to marry overseas women. Anyone who marries a woman from Ryukyu or Annan will be rewarded with ten taels of silver."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened: "You...are you going to make all the men of my Ming Dynasty go overseas to find wives?"

Ouyang Lun spread his hands: "It's better than letting them be single and eventually become bandits, right?"

Zhu Biao couldn't help laughing: "Brother-in-law, what's wrong with your brain?"

Ouyang Lun blinked and said, "Your Majesty, maybe when I was carried, my blood circulation was smoother and my thoughts were clearer."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

Wang Zhong, Xiao Lizi and a group of guards lowered their heads silently, their shoulders shaking from trying to hold back their laughter.

Zhu Biao pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up and asked, "Since population growth brings many problems, should we restrict the birth of the people? For example, stipulate that each household can only have two children at most?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly upon hearing this: "Biao'er's words make sense. The people have too many children, not enough food to eat, and not enough land to share. We should really take care of this."

Ouyang Lun stood up suddenly and said firmly: "No! I think that not only should we not restrict births, but we should encourage people to have more children!"

"What?!" Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao exclaimed at the same time.

Ouyang Lun's eyes were bright: "The population of the Ming Dynasty is less than 100 million now, and it is far from the time when restrictions are needed. In my opinion, it will not be too late to consider this issue when the population exceeds 1 billion."

"One billion?!" Zhu Yuanzhang almost jumped up from the dragon throne, "Are you crazy? We can't even support less than 100 million people!"

Ouyang Lun took a roll of blueprints from his sleeve and spread it out on the imperial desk. "Your Majesty, please take a look. This is the "Vision of the Future Hundred Years of Ming Dynasty Development" that I drew."

The drawings were densely marked with various data and diagrams. Ouyang Lun pointed to one of them and said:
"First of all, population is productivity. A strong laborer can cultivate 30 mu of land every year, creating value far exceeding consumption. Now that the territory of Ming Dynasty is vast, the arable land area can at least double."

He pointed to another point: "Secondly, population growth will force technological progress. For example, this 'new agricultural tool' can allow one person to cultivate 50 acres a day; this 'water conservancy project' can turn dry land into fertile land; and this 'high-yield crop'"

Zhu Yuanzhang squinted his eyes and leaned closer to the blueprint: "Can these strange things really be realized?"

"It's already being achieved." Ouyang Lun smiled confidently, "The new rice varieties cultivated by Peking Agricultural College have an annual yield of three shi per mu; the waterwheel developed by the Ministry of Industry has increased irrigation efficiency by five times. As long as we continue to invest, the yield can be multiplied several times."

Zhu Biao was thoughtful: "But the increase in grain production is ultimately limited"

Ouyang Lun unfolded another blueprint: "So I proposed a 'three-way expansion' strategy - to get space upwards, resources downwards, and land outwards."

"Upward, develop buildings and allow ten households to live on one acre of land; downward, mine minerals and use machines to replace manpower; outward, expand territory, Liaodong, the Western Regions, and Southeast Asia, which can accommodate tens of millions of people."

Zhu Yuanzhang listened attentively and suddenly asked, "But fighting a war means death. How can it be so easy to expand the territory?"

Ouyang Lun smiled mysteriously: "So I have one last plan - 'replacing soldiers with merchants.'" He pointed to the sea map and said: "Send a caravan out to sea, use porcelain and silk to exchange for local specialties, and establish a trading base. When the merchants have gained a foothold, they can settle in the border areas and expand the territory without a single soldier."

Zhu Biao suddenly realized: "Just like you did in Peking!"

"That's right." Ouyang Lun nodded. "Now that the trade route from Peking has been extended to the Western Regions, the next step is Southeast Asia. As long as the policy is appropriate, it is not a foolish dream for the population of the Ming Dynasty to exceed one billion within a hundred years."

There was a moment of silence in the hall. Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the blueprint and suddenly stood up and said, "Okay! Let's do as you say! Biao'er, draft an edict immediately: Anyone who gives birth to five or more children will be exempted from taxes for three years; those who promote new agricultural tools will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver; those who go out to sea to do business will be provided with low-interest loans by the court!"

Ouyang Lun breathed a sigh of relief and was about to thank Zhu Yuanzhang, but he heard Zhu Yuanzhang add: "But Ouyang Lun, if this matter of one billion people cannot be accomplished, I will only hold you responsible!"

Ouyang Lun blinked: "What if it is done?"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said: "It's done. I allow you to take Anqing to that Anning Island to live in retirement!"

Ouyang Lun's eyes lit up and he bowed deeply: "I will definitely live up to your trust!"

Ouyang Lun's pupils shrank suddenly when he heard this, and the smile on his face froze instantly. He stood up straight and stared at Zhu Yuanzhang with burning eyes: "Your Majesty, I have only discussed the matter of Anning Island with Anqing in private. How do you know about it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard, with a smug look on his face: "Humph, I am the emperor emeritus. What can go on in and out of the palace that can be hidden from my eyes?" (End of this chapter)