Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 131 Returning with a Full Load
If we were to say who has lived the most comfortable life these days, it would naturally be Emperor Hong Bao.

It is said that he and Prince Teng are brothers, one is the fourth brother and the other is the ninth brother. The ninth brother loves to direct traffic at the dock, while the fourth brother wanders around the various kilns picking up garbage.

Even though he was the emperor, it was really interesting to hunt for treasure in the garbage dump. He certainly wouldn't dare to do that when he was wearing the dragon robe, but after taking it off, he didn't care about so many things. He even formed a group with those old men around him who had nothing to do and picked up rags. They communicated with each other, telling each other which kiln would open today and which kiln would produce goods tomorrow.

These old men are not hungry and cold people. Some are wealthy businessmen who passed their family business to their sons and enjoyed a leisurely life. Some are elders who were settled by officials from other places. Some are idlers who had their land requisitioned and paid a large sum of money as compensation. These people gather under the big locust tree at the entrance of the town before dawn every morning, and then start to stroll around the entrances of various workshops and kilns, specifically picking up those defective products that are still in good condition. They will be thrown away anyway, right?

Emperor Hongbao was more enthusiastic when he gathered in the morning than when he went to court. He was different from others. Those old men just carried a torn bag and that was it, but Emperor Hongbao was more meticulous. He pushed a small cart...

He left early and came back late. When the harvest was good, he could pick up half a cart of porcelain. At night, he would sit alone in the yard, rummaging through his pile of garbage, and then put notes on it, saying Guo Da, Gao Shilian, Deng Cai, Xu Weigong...

After the day's harvest was divided, he would ask Tian En to distribute these "treasures" to the ministers according to their names. The ministers knew that these were rags, but they were also the emperor's grace, so they could only hold their noses and thank the emperor for his grace.

But you know what, Emperor Hongbao actually found a set of pretty good quality blue and white lotus tea set from the garbage dump, which came with a pot, six cups, and even a bowl.

After he had this set, he couldn't let it go. No matter whether it was a tribute or not, or whether it was exquisite and delicate, it couldn't compare to this set of tea sets that he had collected from the garbage dump. He usually put it in front of him. If someone came to chat with him, he would ask them to perform tea art with this set of tea sets...

"Shi Lian, I've heard that you are very elegant and have excellent tea making skills. Why don't you show me your skills today?"

"Dazi, I see you always follow those scholars to pretend to be cultured. You are good at making tea, right? Come, show me a lesson."

"Come on, Laojiu. I've heard that you are good at making tea. Come and open your brother's eyes."

In the first few days, everyone thought it was normal, but later on, the things he picked up became more and more exaggerated. He even picked up a puppy that was abandoned because of its poor appearance outside a dog farm, and even named it Qubing...

At this point, everyone gradually realized that His Majesty might have really lost his ambition due to his indulgence in pleasure. The censors finally found a point of attack, but they certainly did not dare to criticize His Majesty directly, so they started by criticizing Xia Lin. Some said that Xia Lin did not know the rules and did not entertain well, some said that Xia Lin was unruly, and some said that Xia Lin secretly changed the tax system and did not respect the law.

A minor crime would be enough to sentence him to three years, while a serious crime would basically mean immediate execution.

But Xia Lin didn't even bother to respond to these complaints. As for the poor hospitality, even Gao Shilian didn't feel like agreeing with him. After all, he was a scholar and had to have some dignity. Everyone knew how well they treated us. We haven't felt so comfortable in recent years. We ate well and slept well. Even clothes, shoes and hats were taken into consideration. They wanted to arrange a marriage for us. How could they say that they didn't treat us well? It's a shame to say that...

However, there is something to be said about the secret tax system change, but when the manuscript was submitted, Emperor Hongbao didn't even look at it, and directly wrote in red: "Tomorrow, my dear Gao, get up early, and I will take you to the ghost market."

Seeing that criticizing Xia Lin was useless, the censors decided to go and admonish Emperor Hongbao directly. However, when they rushed to where Emperor Hongbao was staying early in the morning, they found only an old eunuch named Tian sitting there, shaking his legs, drinking porridge and humming a little tune. Emperor Hongbao had disappeared long ago and no one knew where he was.

As for where he went? "Gao Aiqing, get up early. I will take you to the ghost market." Well, of course, he went to the ghost market.

This place is essentially a second-hand trading market, with all kinds of fake antiques and fake artifacts, such as the horsewhip used by Emperor Wu of Han, the unwashed shoes worn by Cao Cao, the hairpin of Empress Dowager Dou, and Xiao Qiao's underpants.

The most exaggerated thing is that there is a 50-meter-long street here, with 27 shops selling Qin Emperor's Tiger Tally, and they all insist that their tiger talismans are real and others are fake. What's more important is that these 27 sellers also made up 27 versions of the story about the tiger talisman.

Emperor Hongbao would stop in front of every stall and listen to the stories told by these vendors, laughing so hard that his eyes narrowed into slits. But Gao Shilian, who was standing next to him, was terrified because the stories told by these people were somewhat related to the Nine Clans Candy Crush Saga. Although no one dared to make fun of the current emperor, the imperial power passed down from generation to generation could not be tarnished.

But here... it's just short of telling the story of "Two or Three Affair between Emperor Ying Zheng of Qin and My Great-Grandmother". To drag this person out and execute him immediately for spreading rumors to confuse the people would be considered a pardon outside the law.

However, Emperor Hongbao didn't care at all. Instead, he asked in surprise, "Are you serious now?"

When they came to a secluded place, Gao Shilian asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, these people are so rude, it seems that they are incapable of education. I think..." "What education? The people don't understand anything about education." Emperor Hongbao waved his hand: "The reason why the ghost market is called a ghost market is that it cannot be seen in the light. It cannot be seen in the light. You don't care what they say. As long as they don't gather people to rebel, just take it as a pleasure."

"But Your Majesty..."

As soon as Gao Shilian opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Emperor Hongbao for the second time: "The education we speak of is just for those scholars. The people don't understand this. The happiness of the people is to pick up a few coins for no reason, buy cheap things, and fill their stomachs. You educate the world, but the people are hungry. They will still rebel against you. Hang our heads on the city wall. They will look up and ask, Gao Shilian, now you can educate one more person? But if the world is peaceful and everyone is well fed and well-drinked, even if you, Gao Shilian, sleep in the hall all day and don't care about worldly affairs, the people will still praise you and say that you should be remembered for generations. Starving people are thousands of miles away, and their heads are full of saints' teachings, but they can't produce three pounds of food. In a peaceful and prosperous world, a belly full of chickens and dogs can't do the ten unforgivable crimes."

"Ok?"

Gao Shilian was stunned for a moment, looking at Emperor Hongbao with a sense of strangeness. He could never imagine how this usually taciturn emperor could suddenly become so smart?

Emperor Hongbao felt so comfortable at this moment, he heard this theory from the academy, that is, the theory of "development solves all problems". No matter what the contradiction is, it can be solved with this idea, whether it is peasant uprising, family separatism, or foreign rebellion, the fundamental solution to all problems is not in education, but in development. The trade route runs through the imperial power, and the truth is against the blade.

Emperor Hong Bao thought about it for a long time. He did not fully support this theory, but it could form a counter-weight to what Gao Shilian had always insisted on. Based on the idea of ​​trying every possible means, if someone could go against Gao Shilian, he must do it with all his strength and deal with him first.

As for the theory itself, Hong Baodi personally believes that it does not conflict with education. We should focus on development on one hand and education on the other. Focusing on development will enable merchants to gain momentum, while focusing on education will lead to rigid thinking. Therefore, we must not relax on both sides, otherwise the wealthy areas will become disunited, the merchants will become treacherous, the educators will become conservative, and the scholars will become obstinate.

As time went by, the happy time of Emperor Hongbao... no, it should be the happy time of all the officials in the court finally came to an end. Next, they would return to Poyang Lake downstream and then enter the Yangtze River to return to Jinling. The big ship pulled by trackers and sails could now travel by leaps and bounds.

But it seemed that everyone was reluctant to leave.

On the night before the return journey, someone in the post station got drunk and cried while confessing his love to the technician, someone stood alone at the "Cape of Good Hope" looking at Fuliang, and someone else got together with a few good friends to drink and chat.

Only Emperor Hongbao showed no emotion today. He just called Xia Lin and Lao Guo to his presence. He looked at Lao Guo with a serious expression and said in a deep voice, "Fuliang County should be an unexpected surprise of this southern tour, but I am still a little worried. Xia Lin."

"I am here." Xia Lin immediately stepped forward and asked, "What do you want, Your Majesty?"

"I had often heard of your name before I met you. You were the most talented scholar in the world, and you dared to be the first in the world. The fact that you angrily killed the son of the minister also caused unrest in the court. But I helped you suppress it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."

"Don't be in a hurry to thank me. I just want to see what kind of achievements a young man like you can make. Now the Wei Dynasty seems to be peaceful, but in fact it is plagued by internal and external troubles. The two Lis in the north have long been alienated from the court, and only the Guo family can stand between them. In the south, the Gao family holds the lifeline of the country. In the north, there are grasslands, the Western Regions, Goguryeo, and Shiwei. In the west, there are Tuyuhun, Tubo, Tianzhu, and Dangxiang. In the south, there are the southern barbarians who are eyeing us covetously. The world thinks that I am weak, but in fact, I am not weak, but helpless. I don't want the world to be in war again. I can't bear to see the blood and flesh when I get old. Now that the dynasty has been three hundred years old, it has long been corrupt. Don't you know that someone at the border is killing innocent people to take credit? Don't you know that Gao Shilian's people exclude dissidents and occupy property? It's just helpless..."

Lao Guo and Xia Lin looked at each other, neither knowing what the emperor was going to say next.

"This southern tour has allowed me to see something new in this tiny place, just like a seedling in the wasteland, which makes me feel very happy. So my mind has become active again, Xia Daosheng."

"The minister is here."

"Just manage it well. As long as you don't rebel, I will protect you. However, it will only be five years. My body can only support it for another five or six years. By then, I hope you can become the new emperor's arm and revive the Wei Dynasty."

Xia Lin lowered his head: "I will do my best."

(End of this chapter)