Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1587 Dinner in the Palace!

After inspecting Xiaowang Town, Ye Mingsheng inspected several villages around Xiaowang Town and learned about the local conditions. Originally, Ye Mingsheng planned to head further south, but as it was getting dark and considering that he had to return to the city tonight, Ye Mingsheng had to end his inspection and start his return journey.

At 15:00 in the evening, Ye Mingsheng returned to Yijing with his men. Before returning to the palace, Ye Mingsheng asked Bai Changjiu, the new governor of Yijing, who was standing beside him:
"As the governor of Yijing, what do you think about the current drought?"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng throwing this question to him, Bai Changjiu also felt the pressure. He hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"The current drought is indeed very serious. I will organize the people around Yijing to sincerely pray to God for rain!"

Ye Mingsheng was stunned when he heard this. He looked at the prefect of Yijing whom he had just promoted with disappointment, and then asked Bai Changjiu:

"Do you think your next priority is to pray for rain?"

Although Bai Changjiu instinctively wanted to nod, he was not too stupid after all. He could sense the dissatisfaction in Ye Mingsheng's tone and immediately changed his words:
"I want to organize the people to dig more wells on the ground, use the well water to irrigate the farmland, and ensure the grain production!"

After hearing Bai Changjiu's answer, Ye Mingsheng was reluctantly satisfied. If this guy really regarded praying to God for rain as a top priority, Ye Mingsheng would really doubt whether he had made a mistake in promoting Bai Changjiu...

Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment and organized his words:
"You can organize some rain-praying activities and bring out some statues of the Dragon King. There's nothing wrong with that, but you have to understand that these are just psychological comforts. You can't pin all your hopes on God's mercy!"

"You must coordinate well with the Youyan Provincial Government to fully utilize Youyan's water resources and ensure production as much as possible!"

"At the same time, you have to check the granaries. This year's grain harvest is bound to be poor, and the court will have to open the granaries to release grain to stabilize the grain price!"

"You also need to count the number of disaster victims, and then count their suffering. Once you have compiled all these statistics, you should compile a report and submit it so that the court can give you some tax reductions!"

At the end, Ye Mingsheng was very disappointed with his cheap brother-in-law, Changjiu, and said:

"You can believe in ghosts and gods, but if you put all your hopes on them, then you are a big fool!"

After listening to Ye Mingsheng's explanation, Bai Changjiu nodded repeatedly and said:
"I understand, I understand. I will definitely follow your Majesty's orders!"

Looking at Bai Changjiu's timid look, Ye Mingsheng shook his head slightly. This Bai Changjiu is really not as capable as Liu Ning!

Ye Mingsheng really regretted transferring Bai Changjiu to be the prefect of Yijing, but the emperor's word is final. He has made his decision, and it is not a good habit to change his mind every day. What's more, Bai Changjiu has only been back to Yijing for a short time, so it is normal that he is not familiar with some of the current situations in Yijing. At most, some work is not done well, but he has not made any big mistakes!
If I dismiss him now, it would be a bit too much. Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng patted Bai Changjiu's shoulder and said:

“Work hard! Yijing is the capital of our Daqian, so the prefect of Yijing has heavy responsibilities and you have to work harder…”

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, Bai Changjiu immediately expressed his opinion:

"I am willing to devote my life to the great cause, and I will not stop until my death!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly, then led Zhang Hu and others towards the palace.

After an incense stick of time, Ye Mingsheng returned to the palace. Whether it was a coincidence or other reasons, Ye Mingsheng felt a little hungry as soon as he entered the palace gate.

After receiving the report last night, Ye Mingsheng wanted to go and check out the drought situation, but because it was already late, Ye Mingsheng did not leave and slept with Chen Rouer in his arms all night.

Early the next morning, Ye Mingsheng drank a bowl of porridge, ate two steamed buns and a plate of braised beef in the palace, and then set off for Xiaowang Town near the outskirts of the city.

Ye Mingsheng had lunch at a restaurant in Xiaowang Town. Xiaowang Town is a small place, so the food in that restaurant was very ordinary. In addition, Ye Mingsheng saw the severe disaster at that time, so his appetite was not good, so he did not eat too much. He simply picked up two bites of vegetables and ate half a bowl of rice.

After a day of running around, Ye Mingsheng felt tired and hungry after returning to his palace.

Just when Ye Mingsheng was thinking about what to eat tonight, Madam Liu beside Ye Cui came over with two palace maids and said:
"Your Majesty! When the Queen Mother heard that you had returned to the palace, she asked you to go to her palace!"

After hearing this, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly, but he sighed in his heart. After experiencing a day like today, Ye Mingsheng really wanted to eat something good, but if he went to Ye Cui's place, it would mean that Ye Mingsheng would have to eat vegetarian food...

A moment later, Ye Mingsheng arrived at the palace where Ye Cui was. When Ye Mingsheng arrived, he found that An Miaoyi and Jingren, mother and son, were having dinner with Ye Cui.

After Ye Mingsheng greeted Ye Cui, Ye Cui also said with a smile:

"Miaoyi and Jingren are very filial. They care about me, an old woman, and they are afraid that I will be lonely, so they specially come to have dinner with me tonight!"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and responded. At this time, Ye Cui also asked:

"Mingsheng, you've been out all day today, have you had dinner?"

Ye Mingsheng shook his head and said:

"Mom! I haven't had dinner yet!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Cui immediately ordered:

"Madame Liu, go tell the imperial kitchen to prepare something for His Majesty!"

After arranging these, Ye Cui also asked curiously:
"I heard that you left the palace today to inspect the drought situation? Is the drought outside serious?"

Ye Mingsheng nodded and said:
"Although there have been some droughts in the Central Plains in the past few years, they were all sporadic and small in scope. However, this year is different. The drought this year has a large coverage area. Many places in Hebei, Henan, Youyan, Qi and Lu have experienced droughts, and the disaster situation is also quite serious!"

"Based on the current situation, a one-third reduction in summer grain production is inevitable, and even a reduction of half is normal!"

Ye Cui was also a landlord's wife back then. After hearing Ye Mingsheng's story, she understood the seriousness of the situation and immediately warned:
"The disaster is so serious, Mingsheng, you must make good arrangements, otherwise there will be starving people all over the place..."

Ye Mingsheng smiled and replied:

"Mother! I have already made arrangements. I have asked them to actively organize forces to fight drought and provide disaster relief. In addition, the imperial court has a relatively abundant supply of grain, which is enough to cope with this drought. There will definitely not be a tragic scene of starving people all over the land!"

After hearing her son's words, Ye Cui nodded in relief. Then the Queen Mother Daqian seemed to have thought of something and pointed at Jingren and said:
"Jingren, don't you have something to ask your father? What is that hierarchy of needs?" Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng looked at Jingren with some confusion.

Under the gazes of his father and grandmother, Jingren asked Ye Mingsheng curiously:

"Dad, what are the last two levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs?"

Ye Mingsheng was also very surprised to hear his eldest son mention Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. He asked Jingren in surprise:
"Jingren, where did you hear this?"

"Father, you said it!"

"I said that?"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng and Jingren and his son chatting awkwardly, An Miaoyi took over the conversation and said helplessly:
"Your Majesty, didn't you tell Concubine Rou about Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory the other day? I don't know how Jingren heard about it. Jingren was very curious about it and just told the Queen Mother about it!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Cui nodded and said:
"Who is this Maslow in Mingsheng? Jingren told me about it today, and what he said was quite interesting!"

Hearing what his mother, wife, and son said, Ye Mingsheng felt a little embarrassed for a moment. Some time ago, when he went to visit Chen Rouer, he drank some wine and he didn't know why he suddenly had a whim and talked to Chen Rouer a lot of things...

To be honest, Ye Mingsheng didn't take it seriously afterwards. After all, with Chen Rouer's intelligence and experience, she didn't understand what he was talking about at all. But Ye Mingsheng really didn't expect that what he said would be spread out.

Looking at Jingren who was like a curious baby, and Ye Cui and An Miaoyi who were looking at him, Ye Mingsheng was somewhat speechless, but he also slowly opened his mouth and said:
"This Maslow is a Western psychologist!"

Just as Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, Jingren beside him asked before his voice had completely fallen:
"What is a psychologist? Is Maslow's last name Ma?"

Ye Mingsheng couldn't help laughing when he heard this, but he still patiently explained:

"Psychologists study what people think. As for Maslow, his full name is Abraham Maslow. This Westerner is different from us in Daqian. They put their first name first and their last name last!"

"So this Maslow's last name is Maslow, and his given name is Abraham. According to our Daqian customs, he should be called Maslow Abraham, but our custom is to put the given name first and the last name last. You can call him Mr. Maslow!"

"Dad! You know so much!"

Seeing Jingren's admiring expression, Ye Mingsheng smiled and touched his head and continued:
"Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory states that human needs are divided into five levels: the first is physiological needs, the second is safety needs, and the third is social needs!"

“The last two are respect needs and self-actualization needs…”

“There are two types of respect needs. The first is self-respect, and the second is other-respect! Self-respect refers to one’s own respect and confidence in oneself, and other-respect refers to the respect and recognition of others!”

"My personal understanding of this need for respect is that it means I want others to respect me!"

"Give me an example. Jingren, when you were playing with toys or reading comic books, did you want your mother to scold you?"

Hearing his father say this, Jingren instinctively glanced at his mother beside him, then lowered his head and said:
"I hope my mother won't confiscate my toys and picture books!"

An Miaoyi glared at Jingren and said:

"All I do is play!"

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:

"Jingren, your idea is an experience of respecting needs. You hope your mother will respect your ideas and wishes!"

Hearing this, Jingren nodded as if he understood, and then asked again:
"So what is the self-actualization need?"

"Self-actualization needs are the highest level of human needs that Abraham Maslow believes. This refers to the realization of self-goals and self-worth!"

"For example, Jingren, do you have any goals in life? What do you want to do when you grow up?"

Upon hearing this, Jingren's expression changed instantly, and he subconsciously opened his mouth to say something, but before he spoke, the child seemed to have thought of something and paused, as if he swallowed back what he was thinking of, and then reorganized his words and said:

"When I grow up, I want to assist my father and make Daqian a better place..."

After hearing this answer and thinking back to the changes in his son's expression just now, Ye Mingsheng immediately understood what his son wanted to say. Although he felt a little emotional, Ye Mingsheng did not say anything, but followed Jingren's words and said:

"If you want to do this, then this is your need! How much you desire this goal, then how much satisfaction and accomplishment you will have after your goal is achieved!"

"It is often said in history books that someone was ambitious and wanted to achieve success and become an emperor. This is actually a reflection of his need for self-realization. He regarded becoming an emperor as a goal in his life!"

Hearing his father give this example, Jingren couldn't help but say:
"Dad, is your goal also to become emperor?"

Ye Mingsheng thought for a moment and said:
"This is part of the goal! There are many kinds of emperors. There are wise emperors, benevolent emperors, the kind of emperors who are the best in history, and there are also incompetent emperors, tyrants, and the last emperors!"

Before Ye Mingsheng could finish his words, Jing Ren spoke again:

"Dad, I understand. Your goal is to become the greatest emperor of all time?"

Seeing her son interrupting Ye Mingsheng, An Miaoyi couldn't help but frown slightly, but she felt relieved when she saw that Ye Mingsheng didn't seem to care about her.

Ye Mingsheng's attention was still on his son's problem, and he didn't notice this detail. He hesitated for a moment and said:

“To be honest, I have thought about creating a prosperous era, but personally, I have never thought about becoming the greatest emperor of all time. I just don’t want to be a tyrant. I don’t want to see the people’s lives become miserable under my rule. I hope that every one of them can live a good life…”