kingnovel Chapter 449 This old emperor is not bad.
Chapter 449 This old emperor is not bad.
Even after leaving the steamed bun shop, Zhu Laowu kept pondering the words of Emperor Zhu.
Seeing Zhu Laosi's nonchalant expression, Zhu Laowu couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Fourth Brother, don't you have a headache?"
Old Zhu asked in return, "What's causing your headache?"
"How can we ensure that the people have enough to eat?" Zhu Laowu said, "Our Great Ming Dynasty has more than a thousand prefectures and counties, and tens of millions of people. If we want everyone to have enough to eat and wear, how much grain and how much clothing would be enough?"
Zhu Laosi glanced at Zhu Laowu and snorted, "Idiot, is this what Dad said you asked me to worry about—how to feed the people?"
"Our father is taking care of this now, and our eldest brother will take care of it in the future. Why do we need to do it?"
"Besides, there's still my brother-in-law."
"All you need to know is that ordinary people have a hard time making a living, so don't go around harming them."
After glancing around, Zhu Laosi whispered, "By the way, please keep track of the location of Ningyang County Academy for me. If our father scolds any student or official from Ningyang County, please write down their name."
Zhu Laowu was slightly taken aback and asked, "What do you want to do? Do you want to avenge our father?"
Zhu Laosi glared at Zhu Laowu and scolded him in a low voice, "Are you stupid? How could our mother have such a stupid son like you?"
Seeing Zhu Laowu's aggrieved expression, Zhu Laosi couldn't help but sneer, "You're so stupid, you won't admit it!"
"Think about it, my second brother is the King of Qin, my third brother is the King of Jin, I am the King of Yan, and you are the King of Wu."
"If our eldest brother were the emperor right now, that would be fine."
"The problem is that our eldest brother hasn't become emperor yet."
"So, all four of us brothers will have to take up our fiefdoms sooner or later."
"If you are to take up your fiefdom, you must have people under your command?"
"Which of the things from Jiangnan can compare to a scholar from Ningyang County?"
"Listen to me, brother. Write down their names first, so we can ask you for them when we're enfeoffed."
"Remember, don't mention this to our father. It's better to ask our eldest brother than to ask him."
"I'll ask my elder brother for a few men to manage my fiefdom."
"I will lead troops to expand the territory for my elder brother."
"To conquer a vast empire for our family."
Zhu Laowu was completely dumbfounded.
Does this work too?
First he screwed over his father, then he screwed over his brother?
But then he thought about it again and couldn't help but smack his lips, saying, "It's still a little lacking."
Zhu Lao Si paused for a moment, and Zhu Lao Wu continued, "If only we could be granted the title of Prince of the Realm, then we brothers would stay in the capital and never leave."
Just as Zhu Laosi and Zhu Laowu were whispering and plotting, Emperor Zhu, who was walking in front, couldn't help but laugh.
Look at the people coming and going in Ningyang County.
It's very different from when I came two years ago.
This time, although the people's clothes were still mostly coarse cloth, and many of them even had patches on their clothes, they were much better off than when I came last time.
When I last came here, the people of Ningyang County were dressed in tattered clothes that barely covered their bodies.
Moreover, when I visited last time, the people of Ningyang County, although they looked quite energetic, were still rather pale and thin.
This time, however, I saw some chubby babies being held in the arms of women.
Looking at those chubby, fair-skinned babies, Emperor Zhu even made soft "sucking" sounds.
Then, a surge of anger rose in Emperor Zhu's heart.
Damn it, if the statistics from the Secretariat and the Ministry of Revenue prove that there is no necessary connection between difficult childbirth and early marriage and childbirth, you dog can just wait to die.
We'll throw you to Liaodong, we'll throw you to Burma, we'll throw you to Japan, so you, you bastard, can delay us from having grandchildren.
The more Emperor Zhu thought about it, the angrier he became.
Emperor Zhu stopped in front of a courtyard.
The courtyard in front of us is not a grand or wealthy household.
However, a plaque hangs above the gate of the courtyard, which reads "Yangjiyuan" (meaning "alcoholic institution").
Emperor Zhu couldn't help but purse his lips.
These characters are written neatly on the surface, but in reality they look like they were scribbled by a dog's paw. It's obviously the work of that scoundrel.
Emperor Zhu snorted and simply led Zhu Laosi and Zhu Laowu into the courtyard.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the courtyard, an old man who was taking shelter in the shade of a tree looked at Emperor Zhu and said, "Hey? Aren't you surnamed Ma?
Emperor Zhu was slightly taken aback. He frowned and thought for a while before remembering that the old man in front of him was someone he had met when he first came to Ningyang County, and they had even chatted for a bit.
This old man has a really good memory; he can still remember people he met two or three years ago.
Emperor Zhu walked over to the old man, found a stool and sat down, then said with a smile, "Hey, it's you, old brother. We met once when we came to Ningyang County last time. Your surname is Wang, right? I'm not mistaken."
After saying that, Emperor Zhu waved to Zhu Laosi and Zhu Laowu, saying, "These two are my sons. They're coming with us to Ningyang for a visit."
Zhu Laosi and Zhu Laowu bowed respectfully.
The old man chuckled and said, "Not bad, not bad, you look energetic. Brother Ma really has a good memory."
Emperor Zhu chuckled and asked, "Brother, weren't you from some commune village in the west of the city? What are you doing here?"
The old man surnamed Wang pointed to the courtyard and said, "It's an almshouse set up by the magistrate. He said that the emperor took pity on us old folks who have no children and asked the county government to pay for our old age."
"You know what, the current emperor is actually quite good. He's exempted taxes for three years and then another three years, and he's set up this almshouse, with a charity bureau and some kind of welfare pharmacy next door."
"Tsk tsk, I wonder if the little tax he collects is enough to cover all the damage he's causing."
"In an ordinary family, this would be a spendthrift and wasteful thing."
Emperor Zhu's face immediately darkened.
No, you old codger, explain to me what "a spendthrift" means.
Do you think we can't understand the dialect of Ningyang County?
Old Master Wang continued, "It's only because this emperor is not bad that Heaven sent down such a good official as the Grand Master to assist him."
The Emperor?
Not bad?
Even if he's a spendthrift, at least he got a decent reputation.
It sounds better than the phrase "the emperor."
But no matter how he thought about it, Emperor Zhu felt uneasy and couldn't help but say, "Hey, old brother, don't keep calling the emperor a good-for-nothing. Aren't you afraid of trouble? Aren't you afraid of causing trouble for your master?"
Old Master Wang snorted and said, "What trouble could there be? I'm seventy-one years old this year, do you think I'm afraid of him?"
"I heard the master say that even if a seventy-one-year-old man defecates in the emperor's golden palace, the emperor can't do anything to me."
Emperor Zhu clenched his fist tightly inside his sleeve.
This is outrageous! It's an insult to the emperor!
What does it mean to defecate in our golden palace?
"Besides, this was an imperial edict issued by that old emperor himself, saying that the common people could say whatever they wanted about him, and that they were allowed to write letters to him. What's wrong with me grumbling a few words?"
"He's a spendthrift, and that's still a spendthrift, no matter how much he lets me take advantage of him."
"Let me tell you, I've heard people say that it's fortunate that the Empress is good at managing the household, otherwise the Emperor would be even poorer."
The displeasure in Emperor Zhu's heart immediately dissipated.
Yes, yes, yes, our Zhu Chongba really isn't good at managing a household. It's really thanks to our sister that the family is taken care of. You're right.
But Zhu Chongba is lucky. He was able to marry such a wonderful girl. Isn't that infuriating?
Ugh, this is so infuriating!
Just as Emperor Zhu was secretly pleased, the old man surnamed Wang said again, "As for my master?"
"He's that emperor's son-in-law, and he's the one who curses the emperor the most. What am I compared to him?"
No, are you fucking never going to stop?
He keeps calling me "the emperor" and "the emperor," and what the hell is this "spendthrift brat"? You're over seventy and you think you're so tough?
Damn it, Ningyang County is full of bad people.
Moreover, this bad guy has gotten old, making him even harder to deal with.
Emperor Zhu glared angrily at the old man surnamed Wang and asked, "What did he say?"