Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 84: Using a big banner to deceive others! (Good luck in the college entrance examination)
June.

The air in Yingtian is still cool, but it is mixed with a little heat.

In the imperial palace, Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting in a courtyard, leaning lazily.

Zhu Biao stood respectfully aside.

There was a stove in front of the father and son.

There is a fragrant smell of food inside, which stimulates people's taste buds.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the stove that was burning brightly, looked at Zhu Biao beside him, and said with a smile: "Biao'er, these potatoes taste really good when they are cooked."

“It’s almost like a pancake.”

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Yes, with these potatoes, I don't know how many people my Ming Dynasty can save. It's just that planting is a bit troublesome. If you want to cultivate them all at once, you need a lot of potatoes. Although Xia Zhibai sent a lot last time, it can only meet one or two acres of land. If you want to let everyone in the world plant them, it will take a long time."

Zhu Biao was filled with emotion.

Potatoes are good though.

But it is not so easy to expand the cultivation.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked uncertain and said coldly: "These potatoes will only be planted here and will not fall into the hands of ordinary people."

Zhu Biao was stunned.

He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with some confusion, not understanding what his father meant.

If ordinary people were allowed to grow potatoes with such high yield, wouldn’t it be able to feed many people?

Why can’t people be allowed to plant?

Zhu Yuanzhang moved his body and said seriously: "I know you are confused, but I have my reasons."

"The yield of these potatoes is very high and they can indeed support a lot of people."

"But it is precisely because the output is so high that we cannot let it flow into the hands of the public."

"If the people can have enough food to eat, who will take us, the emperor, and the Ming Dynasty seriously? The books say that the barbarians fear power but not virtue, and the people of the world are the same."

“You can’t treat them too well.”

"And once this thing becomes popular, how will we collect taxes in the Ming Dynasty?"

“Many aspects need to be modified and changed.”

"Some things cannot be changed casually. Once they are changed, problems may arise, and the world will be in chaos."

"It's good to keep the world as it is now. We can grow potatoes and other things ourselves. When disaster strikes, we can use them to help the people. The people won't say anything and may even thank us and be grateful to us."

"Let's tell this to the world."

"Just to let the world know that this thing exists."

"We have it."

"They will have hope in their hearts, hoping that the court will be able to provide timely disaster relief when natural disasters or man-made disasters occur. They always have high expectations of the court. If the people really encounter a disaster in the future, how can we be stingy? We will use all our money to help the people and help them get through the difficulties."

"We can let the people use these, but we can't let them grow them."

"Biao'er, we know that you are kind-hearted and righteous, and you can't bear to see the people suffer like that, but this is how the country has been governed since ancient times. Only in this way can the people below always remember the good things of the court and always be willing to stand on the side of the court."

"We are all doing this for the good of Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Biao's expression changed again and again, and finally he let out a deep sigh.

At this time.

Park Gouer came over with a wooden tray.

There were several roasted and browned potatoes on the wooden plate.

There is also a dipping sauce on the plate.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face lit up with joy, and he reached out and grabbed one, regardless of the scorching heat of the potatoes on the plate.

However, the potatoes were just out of the oven and were too hot. Zhu Yuanzhang pinched his ears because of the heat. Then, still somewhat unwilling to accept it, he took action again and broke the palm-sized potato into two halves.

He threw half of it to Park Gou'er and said with a smile, "Eat it."

“Try this potato.”

Pu Gou'er was stunned for a moment, then his face showed ecstasy again. He quickly picked up the half potato in front of him, knelt down and said gratefully: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed.

He took the other half of the potato in his hand, dipped it in the sauce, and started eating it with relish.

He looked like he was enjoying it.

While eating, he urged Zhu Biao to try it while it was hot.

Zhu Biao also grabbed one, only to feel the heat in his palms.

He switched his left and right hands several times before he felt a little better. Zhu Biao broke the potato in his hand and said, "Father, didn't Xia Zhibai say that there are defects in the planting of potatoes? As the number of plantings increases, the yield will decrease."

Zhu Yuanzhang blew air, narrowed his eyes, and sneered, "We know."

"We also know what Xia Zhibai is thinking."

"He actually knew how to prevent this from happening. He wanted us to spread the potatoes all over the country, saying that he wanted local farmers to work together to come up with a solution. But he forgot one thing."

"We are the emperor."

"All the people in the world belong to us."

“Farmers too!”

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said with disdain: "Are we still short of farmers?"

"Besides, we can grow it ourselves."

"I have sent a message to the Ministry of Revenue, asking them to find a hundred skilled farmers in the country, and have them come to Yingtian Prefecture to plant potatoes for us and find a solution for us. Our solution is much better than his idea." "Xia Zhibai has the whole world in his mind, but his vision is too narrow."

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head.

He waved his hand, not wanting to say more about it, and turned to ask about Xia Zhibai's condition.

Zhu Yuanzhang took the roasted potato and dipped it in salty sauce while asking, "How has Xia Zhibai been doing in the past two months? How much of our money has been squandered?!"

Zhu Biao bowed and said, "Replying to the emperor, Xia Zhibai has indeed encountered many problems in the past month or two. There were many twists and turns when recruiting people in April. At that time, he listened to the emperor's words and chose to recruit 1,000 people from the displaced persons and refugees."

"It's just that he is famous after all, and many people are interested in what he is going to do."

“Therefore, there were many people who were looking for trouble when recruiting people.”

"There are also various people who are clamoring for injustice."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes sank slightly, and he was not surprised.

Groups of displaced persons and refugees are a mixed bag and there is no order.

With a scale of thousands of people, the scene is still chaotic. If the situation cannot be controlled, it is likely to provoke civil unrest.

Moreover, Xia Zhibai is currently in the limelight. His previous remarks in the court have offended many officials. Now he wants to do business, and I am afraid that the merchants will not be happy about it.

There will be many people secretly stirring up trouble.

Although they dare not be too blatant or go too far, they still dare to instigate secretly.

This is a big test for Xia Zhibai.

Zhu Yuanzhang put his hands behind his back, and a fierce and cold light gradually appeared on his weathered face. He looked at Zhu Biao and said earnestly: "When encountering this kind of thing, the first thing to do is to make everyone in the audience obey, so you have to establish your authority first. If it were me, I would directly ask people to break the hands and feet of a few of them to make the people around quiet down."

“Sometimes you have to be ruthless!”

"If you're not ruthless, these people will think you're weak and can be bullied, and they will become even more aggressive."

"If you are cowardly and retreat, even if you can get away from it for a short time, you will still have troubles in the future, so you must establish your authority and set rules from the beginning."

"Biao'er, please remember this for us."

"If anyone dares to challenge your authority in the future, no matter who that person is, or how much that person has contributed to the Ming Dynasty,

"Those who deserve to be killed must be killed!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's words were cold and contained a murderous aura.

Zhu Biao sensed the strong murderous aura and said quickly, "Father, I know."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Biao and nodded. Zhu Biao was a little soft-hearted, but compared to himself, he was ruthless and resourceful. He asked indifferently, "How did you deal with Xia Zhibai? Did you make the situation worse?"

Zhu Biao said: "It didn't get out of hand. It was suppressed before it even started."

Zhu Yuanzhang let out a light exclamation, showing a hint of surprise.

"How did he handle it?"

Zhu Biao paused for a moment before saying, "He directly asked people to bring out more than a dozen large iron pots filled with porridge, and distributed the porridge to the refugees who had gathered. He took advantage of the time when these people were eating to state his demands."

"He has standards for who he wants."

"We need to carry dozens of kilograms of goods every day, and travel 20 miles back and forth."

"And he selected people this time with a specific purpose. Those who are willing to go will help him move the things sent by the government to the mine 20 to 30 miles away. This is one of the tests, and Xia Zhibai told the others directly."

“This is not a one-time thing.”

"And their daily work in the future."

"The only thing he could provide was three months of food, the same as what they were eating at the time."

"Those who can accept it should stay, and those who cannot accept it should leave."

“This meal is a gift to them.”

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes darkened slightly.

There was a hint of solemnity and vigilance in his eyes.

He climbed up from the bottom of society and knew deeply how difficult it was to deal with the people at the bottom. These people were like duckweed, the easiest to deal with, but also the most difficult to deal with.

It took him most of his life to gradually figure out how to govern the people.

It means using both kindness and severity.

Xia Zhibai's request for this meal happened to be a combination of kindness and severity, and it also gave people a lot of room for choice. This method of manipulating people's hearts made Zhu Yuanzhang a little frightened and uneasy.

Zhu Biao said: "After Xia Zhibai's move, the situation has completely stabilized. Many people with ulterior motives have also backed off. This could have turned into a farce, but under Xia Zhibai's handling, it was resolved quietly."

Zhu Biao's words were full of praise.

This gentle approach is indeed somewhat unexpected.

At least he didn't expect it.

The effect was surprisingly good. Not only did it explain the situation, it also did some screening in advance, and allowed those who were willing to go to help Xia Zhibai before they even started.

A meal is not a waste.

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said unhappily: "What's there to be happy about? He is borrowing our power, the power of the government."

"If he hadn't said that the things he was carrying were given by the government, do you think those refugees wouldn't continue to cause trouble? With the title of top scholar, carrying things from the government, unless there is someone who is not afraid of death, there is no way this matter can cause trouble."

"These few words of his are clearly an attempt to use a big banner to deceive others."

"This kid has a lot of ideas."

Zhu Biao smiled bitterly and said, "Father is right."

"My son, I will remember it."

(End of this chapter)