I'm really not King Jing of Zhongshan

Chapter 205 Farmers are the root of our Han family~
"There are tens of thousands of people in the world. In the final analysis, there are only four people: scholars, farmers, workers, and merchants."

"The 'scholar' in my Han family mainly refers to warriors, not scribes."

"For the rest of farmers, industry, and merchants, our Han family emphasizes agriculture and despises merchants. We neither value nor despise craftsmen."

A moment later, Tianzi Qi and Gongzi Sheng, the most honorable father and son in the world, sat down on the ridge by the roadside like ordinary farmers.

The servant Liu She led the carriage and waited for the father and son from a distance.

And Tian Ziqi took advantage of this opportunity to tell Liu Sheng about the Han family's national policy of 'emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business'.

"As early as Emperor Taizu Gao, the national policy of agriculture as the foundation and business as the end had already been established."

"—Emperor Taizu Gao attached great importance to farming;"

"In order to allow the people who hid in the mountains and forests to escape the war at the end of the Qin Dynasty to go down the mountain again and cultivate the abandoned fields, Emperor Taizu Gao ordered that anyone who is willing to register with the government and become a Han family citizen will be given one A hundred acres of fields."

"In addition to the [-] mu of land, there is also the title of Duke, a farm house, as well as grain seeds and farm tools."

"Because of these measures, our Han family was able to quickly settle down the people of the world and resume production and work after the war at the end of Qin Dynasty."

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"But for merchants, Emperor Taizu Gao stipulated that anyone who does not cultivate the land but seeks profits from merchants should be recorded in a separate household registration, which is: merchant registration."

"People who are registered as merchants must live in concentrated places designated by the government, and can only buy and sell goods in the market designated by the government uniform;"

"Also, you can't wear clothes made of silk, and you can't ride in a carriage..."

Listening to Tianzi Qi's gentle voice, Liu Sheng only nodded from time to time;

But when he heard the last sentence, Liu Sheng's expression suddenly became strange.

Turning his head and looking not far away, he was wearing a Chinese dress made of Sichuan brocade, sitting proudly in the carriage, and greeted his servants to buy the rice grain businessman;

When he turned his head again, Liu Sheng looked at Tianzi Qi with full of astonishment.

This?
what?
explain?
"The rules that merchants can't wear clothes made of silk and ride in carriages have not been mentioned for a long time..."

"This is because the first emperor wanted to use the power of merchants to make the world rich as soon as possible, so he deliberately indulged..."

After explaining in embarrassment, Liu Sheng let out an "Oh~", and then looked at Tian Ziqi, withdrawing all the sarcasm visible to the naked eye.

Tianzi Qi also immediately rearranged his face, and continued: "The national policy of suppressing business, because the former emperor can be indulged, has been temporarily forgotten;"

"But the emphasis on agriculture will never be forgotten, and there must be no changes."

"Because the people need farming to obtain food, the court also needs farmers, and pays agricultural taxes to the court to distribute officials' salaries and army food."

"So, the most important foundation of our Han family is farming."

"A large-scale grain failure is enough to be called: shaking the country..."

"—Because the poor harvest of food means that taxes cannot be collected, and even if they are collected, they will only receive much less agricultural taxes than in the past."

"And the poor harvest of grain will make the already poor farmers even more struggling. In addition, the merchants hoard grain and drive up prices, which will make the world complain and the common people will not be able to live."

"If the court intervenes, it will take countless money and food to make the situation a little better;"

"But if the court ignores it, the people will be disappointed with the court and the emperor if they don't have enough to eat and don't wear warm clothes."

"When disappointment accumulates to a certain level, people like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang will definitely appear..."

As he spoke, Tianzi Qi's face became more serious, and his tone was a little relaxed.

After all the words were out of the mouth, he let out a long sigh leisurely, and gently handed the obviously stunted millet stalk into Liu Sheng's hand, and put his hand lightly on Liu Sheng's shoulder.

"You have to remember: farmers must eat."

"Even if everyone can't be full, at least most people should be able to eat [-]% to [-]% full—or at least half full."

"If you do this, you will be loved by the people. No matter what difficulties you encounter, the people will be willing to help you."

"—Because they will think that it is you, the emperor, who allows them to eat."

"Conversely, if you can't do this, you will lose the support of the people all over the world."

"They don't care what you do or don't do;"

"They will only say: Ever since you took the throne, they have never had a full meal..."

At the end, Emperor Kai lowered his head, and nuzzled at the 'thin' millet stalk in Liu Sheng's hand.

"Just like this stalk of millet, it's just a stalk of millet, but it is enough to prove that the foundation of our Han family has been shaken;"

"If I, the emperor, don't do anything and allow this stalk of millet to become the cause of hunger and cold for the people of the world, then this stalk of millet will become evidence that I have ruined the ancestral temple and the community and failed the people of the world."

"Even if we go underground, Emperor Taizu Gao and Emperor Taizong Xiaowen will take this millet and ask me: Is this how you take care of the people we entrusted to you?"

"Are you the emperor?"

"Is this millet the answer sheet you gave us..."

The earnest words made Liu Sheng nod his head again and again, and secretly kept the words of Tianzi Qi firmly in his heart.

——Actually, Liu Sheng doesn’t need to remember these words deliberately;
After all, such an easy-to-understand truth, as long as you are not a meat eater who can say "why not eat minced meat", it is impossible not to understand it.

But Liu Sheng was still a little moved by Tianzi Qi's words.

After all, in Liu Sheng's opinion, his father, Liu Qi, should also be a member of the 'meat eaters' group.

For the members of this group, Liu Sheng, who was born in a peasant family, can have such a deep understanding. It is really impressive.

Nodding his head again, to show that he would never forget Tian Ziqi's admonition, Liu Sheng lowered his head and carefully looked at the millet in his hand.

Soon, Liu Sheng frowned a little, and was about to raise his head to ask, but he saw Tianzi Qi beside him, already in the posture of 'ask, I will answer your doubts'.

Startled by Tian Ziqi's posture, Liu Sheng pursed his lips hesitantly for a while.

"Father, do you understand farming?"

"--Hey!"

As soon as Liu Sheng asked, Tianzi Qi only provoked a hey smile, and a complicated look appeared on his brows.

have pride, have pride;
There is also a little embarrassment, and it is unbearable to look back...
"Back then, when the late emperor was acting king, we brothers would also follow the late emperor and farm in the palace."

"Even later, when the first emperor arrived in Chang'an and sat on the throne, he still did not abandon this habit."

"Even if this is the case with the late emperor, I, the crown prince, have also been by the late emperor's side and played with the crops~"

With a relaxed word, Tianzi Qi frowned slightly, and then looked at Liu Sheng suspiciously: "How can I remember..."

"Sigh~"

"——The grain planted by the late emperor, you bastard should have eaten it?"

After being reminded by Tian Ziqi, Liu Sheng suddenly realized: Liu Sheng really ate the crops planted by the first emperor Liu Heng himself!

I have to say: Liu Heng, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, was not only good at being an emperor, but also growing food, which is definitely something.

And there are many things!

But even so, Liu Sheng looked at Tianzi Qi with a trace of instinctive distrust.

As for the reason...
"Of course my ministers have eaten the food grown by the emperor's grandfather;"

"But I vaguely remember that the bowl of rice porridge was just cooked, and before I had time to eat it, news came from the palace gate;"

"It is said that the father went out and returned late again, and was arrested by Tingwei Zhang Shizhi?"

"Later, in order to appease Zhang Tingwei, the emperor's grandfather also..."

"Oh;"

"To Zhang Tingwei, uh, taking off his hat and apologizing?"

···
"Sigh~~~"

"Emmmmmm!!!"

···
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Liu Sheng clearly heard Tian Ziqi's extremely heavy breathing in his ear.

Cautiously turning his head slightly, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Tianzi Qi's complexion, which had turned red again into the color of a pig's liver...

"Uh······"

"Well, I have something to ask my father!"

"It's business!"

He hurriedly said something, seeing that Tianzi Qi's face still didn't turn warm at all, Liu Sheng hurriedly said again: "That, I don't understand!"

"Father, Father Emperor said that the poor harvest in Guanzhong is because all the males in Guanzhong have gone to quell the rebellion."

"But it's just a male, and not everyone in Guanzhong?"

"Even if some peasant households delay spring plowing because the males in the family go out to quell the rebellion, won't the production decrease by more than [-]% compared to the past?"

"—Father, please tell your ministers!"

"My son wants to know!"

"I really want to know!!"

The flustered tone of voice did not divert Tian Ziqi's attention from Liu Sheng's previous hilarity.

With such a sullen face, he stared at Liu Sheng gloomily for ten breaths;

Liu Sheng was sweating on his forehead while watching, the emperor Qicai turned his head with a gloomy expression, and took his eyes away from Liu Sheng's anxious face.

Looking at the boundless field, he looked at it for a long time, and then took a long breath, and finally calmed down the anger in his chest.

As for Liu Sheng's 'question', Tianzi Qi immediately gave an answer
"Farming has never been an easy task."

"When spring begins, farmers need to plant seeds at the right time and irrigate heavily after planting;"

"From sowing to crop germination, the frequency of irrigation will be very high."

"After the crops germinate, farmers still need to take care of them carefully, weeding and irrigating on time."

"Just being so busy until autumn, I still have to be full of apprehension, praying that the harvest will not be too little..."

···
"And the rebellion at the beginning of this year not only caused some farmers in Guanzhong to temporarily lose their males."

"—Spring begins in March, and it's time for spring plowing in Guanzhong, and the rebellion in Guandong hasn't ended yet;"

"So, in order not to delay the sowing, farmers in Guanzhong can only help each other to sow the grain seeds."

"However, this rebellion prevented at least one-third of the males in Guanzhong from staying at home during spring plowing. This prevented the canals and gullies in various places from being cleaned and dredged like in previous years."

"One-third of the men went to Kanto, and the remaining two-thirds had to take care of their own fields while helping their neighbors, widows, old and weak. Naturally, they couldn't take good care of their own fields."

"Combined with the fact that the canals are not cleaned and dredged, the crops cannot be irrigated enough, and they cannot be well cared for. It is not surprising that there is such a reduction in production..."

With an inexplicable melancholy tone, he gave Liu Sheng an answer, and Tianzi Qi finally calmed down;

Lowering his head sideways again, just looking at the millet stalk in Liu Sheng's hand, Tianzi Qi's eyes already showed a little sadness.

"This is pretty good..."

"——During the time of Emperor Taizu Gao, every time there were princes with different surnames in the Guandong, the grain production in Guanzhong would be reduced by half, more than half, or even completely cut off!"

"When the situation was at its worst, three consecutive years of bad and no harvests raised the price of grain in Guanzhong to [-] yuan per shi;"

"The national treasury and internal funds are empty, and the chariot of Emperor Taizu Gao can't make up eight horses of the same color;"

"Pingyang Hou Cao Shen, with the status of a dignified prime minister, can't even use a horse-drawn cart, he can only go to court in an ox cart..."

"Even if the court is like this, the common people are starving to death."

"The first emperor once told me that the first emperor saw the people in a village with his own eyes. Because they had nothing to eat, they had to exchange their children with their neighbors for food..."

At the end, Tianzi Qi's eyes were red, as if he was worried about the tragic scene that he had never seen with his own eyes.

Even Liu Sheng, who asked the question just to appease his father when the emperor moved to his side, suddenly sank.

Liu Sheng knows the suffering of farmers.

Liu Sheng himself has experienced the hardships of farmers.

But even so, Liu Sheng also feels sympathy and worries for the peasants of this era.

Because Liu Sheng knew that in the era he lived in, no matter how hard the peasants were, they would not have to worry about food and clothing.

——At least, in that era, farmers did not need to share part of the fruits of their labor as "agricultural tax"...

"Then Father, what are you going to do?"

"Besides tax exemption, there must be something else to do?"

"Can't we just stand by and watch the people in Guanzhong suffer so much that they can't even eat because of Liu Bi and Liu Wu's rebellion?"

In just a moment, Liu Sheng's tone was inexplicably imbued with urgency;

It was as if at this moment, Liu Sheng was no longer Prince Sheng, but a peasant representative who had the honor to come before Emperor Qi, representing the people in Guanzhong, and begged Emperor Qi to "do something".

Regarding this, Tianzi Qi smiled in satisfaction, and then nodded slightly to himself.

With another short sigh, he once again answered Liu Sheng's doubts.

"I will take action."

"Exemption of agricultural tax and low tax is just the reason in the question."

"The next focus is how to control and stabilize food prices, so as to protect farmers as much as possible."

"—especially the yeoman."

"Because the self-cultivating farmers are the most solid and loyal supporters of Liu Han Sheji."

···
"The salaries of officials and the food and salaries of the army need to be paid by the agricultural tax paid by self-cultivating farmers;"

"Conversely, those who receive food and pay, join the army, and fight for Liu Han are the nephews of these self-cultivating farmers, that is, 'good family sons'."

"—Taxes are paid by the peasants; military service is paid by the peasants;"

"Even the repair and maintenance of roads and canals, and the construction of cities and imperial tombs are all performed by these self-cultivating farmers."

"That's why I say: as long as the peasants are treated well, the emperor can gain the support of the people of the world."

"—Because for the emperor, the ancestral temple, and the community, the only ones who have been contributing to the world are farmers."

"As for other people, there are none, and they are far less important than farmers."

When it came to the end, Tianzi Qi's tone became more and more relaxed.

It's not because the Emperor Qi at this time is no longer worried about the bad harvest in Guanzhong this year;
But for today, being able to teach Liu Sheng this lesson, and getting feedback from Liu Sheng that is enough to satisfy him, made Tianzi Qi feel a burst of heartfelt peace of mind.

I don't know if it's an illusion;
Tianzi Qi always felt that this bastard in front of him seemed to understand the pain of the peasants better than himself.

As for Tian Ziqi and the Han family, a prince who can empathize with the peasants, and at the same time has a tough and hot personality, is really a bit...
"I don't know why this kid is so concerned about farmers' affairs?"

"From childhood to adulthood, I have never been out of the palace a few times..."

After pondering for a moment in confusion, Emperor Qi classified this as 'innate talent'.

In addition, seeing the little bastard in front of him became more and more pleasing to the eye.

"Hey, father;"

"Then the agricultural tax is collected first and then refunded. What is the refund?"

"Food, or money?"

"—Refund."

"—The food will be stored in the Shaofu first, and then sold to the common people at a low price next year."

"Oh······"

···
"Why not return the food directly?"

"—Because the food is returned, the common people will sell it to the merchants first."

"—Farmers, there is no way to store too much food..."

"Oh······"

"Understood······"

···
"What about the low tax?"

"Refund the money too?"

"--certainly."

"—The Ma Zheng of the eunuch needs these grasses as fodder."

"Oh······"

···
"Then Shaofu, where did you get so much money?"

"——preserved by the first emperor;"

"—cough cough, I have saved some in the past few years..."

"—Anyway, it's enough."

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"Little bastard;"

"--what?"

"In the future, you have to learn to save money;"

"Like the late emperor and I, live frugally."

"The saved money, even if you give two buckets of rice to the people of the world, is better than your own extravagance and enjoyment..."

···
"Remember?!"

"—Remember, remember!"

"——what are you shouting..."

"Remember not to answer!"

"What a bastard!!!"

···
···
······
the sky, the sun sets;
In the wilderness, the upper and lower red.

On the side of the road, on the ridge of the field, father and son sit next to each other, talking and cursing;

From time to time, also talking and laughing...
(End of this chapter)