Daming: After self-explosive time travel, Lao Zhu's mentality collapsed

His achievements in civil and military affairs and his benevolence are known all over the country. With Chu Ze in charge, there is no place in the world that will not obey.

But even so, Chu Ze was still as diligent as ever, busy with all kinds of affairs. Internally, he rectified the administration of officials and showed sympathy for the people. Externally, he won over vassal states and maintained good relations with neighboring countries.

Gradually, under his planning, the Ming Dynasty became prosperous. Civil and military achievements flourished, all industries prospered, and the country was peaceful and the people were safe. The four barbarians submitted to him and came to pay tribute.

At the New Year's court meeting that year, Chu Ze, as a first-class meritorious official, walked at the forefront of all the officials and accepted Zhu Yuanzhang's commendation.

"You are truly a pillar of the country and a loyal minister of the country! With your assistance, why should I worry about the prosperity of the country and the unrest of the people?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the hunchbacked Chu Ze and couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Your Majesty, thank you for your compliment." Chu Ze bowed his head respectfully and said, "It is the duty of a minister to be loyal to the country. In the future, Chu Ze will continue to work hard and shed his last drop of blood for the foundation of the Ming Dynasty!"

After saying this, Chu Ze knelt down tremblingly and kowtowed respectfully to Zhu Yuanzhang. Seeing this, all the civil and military officials in the court were moved.

"My dear minister, please stand up." Zhu Yuanzhang personally stepped forward and helped Chu Ze up.

"Your Majesty, I think the most urgent task is to vigorously develop science and technology to improve people's lives." Chu Ze said to Zhu Yuanzhang, "Although the world is now at peace, the people's livelihood is still difficult, which is really worrying."

"Oh? I'd like to hear more about it." Zhu Yuanzhang became interested.

"Your Majesty, when I was inspecting the local area, I found that many people were still using old production methods. Farming still uses wooden tools, and weaving is still done by hand. Not only is it inefficient, it is also time-consuming and labor-intensive."

"If this continues, not only will farmers' harvests fail to increase, but textiles will also fail to innovate. Over time, although our Ming Dynasty will be rich and powerful, people's livelihood will be unsustainable." Chu Ze said earnestly.

Zhu Yuanzhang listened and nodded repeatedly. "My dear minister, what you said is very true. The well-being of the people is the foundation of the country. In your opinion, how should we solve this problem?"

Chu Ze raised his head, his eyes shining. "Your Majesty, I believe that we should use science and technology to revitalize agriculture and handicrafts. Use machinery to replace manpower, and use new laws to reform the old system. Only in this way can the people's livelihoods improve by leaps and bounds, and they will have no worries about food and clothing!"

Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his thigh and exclaimed: "Great! You are worthy of being Lord Chu, you actually thought of this. Do you have any idea about this agricultural machinery?"

Chu Ze took out a stack of blueprints from his bosom and presented them respectfully. "Your Majesty, I have already planned this. These blueprints are all the design strategies for new agricultural tools and textile machines."

"New iron plows, spinning wheels, water-powered mills, etc. can greatly improve productivity. If they can be popularized throughout the country, it will surely lead to abundant grain and abundant cloth!"

Zhu Yuanzhang took the blueprint and looked at it carefully. He saw that the paper was filled with various mechanical structure diagrams and densely written annotations. Although it was difficult to understand, the exquisite design was breathtaking.

"Great, great!" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but jump up, "Minister Chu is really a pillar of the country. With such creative ideas, it will surely benefit all the people!"

"How about this, you will take the lead and select skilled craftsmen from the public to start manufacturing and promoting it. This new type of machinery must be spread all over China to benefit the people!" Chu Ze was overjoyed and immediately kowtowed and said: "I will obey your order! I will do my best to live up to your majesty's trust!"

In the experimental fields outside Beijing, farmers in ragged clothes were busy in the fields. Suddenly, there was a sound of iron hooves coming from far away, and a horse-drawn carriage came galloping and stopped abruptly at the edge of the field.

The car door creaked open, and a middle-aged man in fancy clothes stepped out. Everyone looked closely and found that it was the imperial envoy Chu Ze!

"Master Chu has arrived!" The farmers grabbed their hoes and knelt down hurriedly, "We didn't know you were coming, and we're sorry for not welcoming you!"

Chu Ze quickly stepped forward to help everyone up: "Please stand up, fellow villagers. I came here to bring you new farm tools!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw his entourage unloading brand new machines from the carriage one after another: iron plows and grinding mills, shining in the sun.

The farmers' eyes immediately lit up, and they gathered around, marveling at the device. "What are these?" "I heard it's a new gadget, much better than our old gadgets!" "Oh, look at it, it's so expensive, how can we farmers afford it?"

"Don't worry, folks. These farm tools are specially bestowed upon you by the imperial court. Now that you have the support of His Majesty and me, feel free to use them. Just ask for whatever you want!" Chu Ze waved his hand with a smile on his face.

The farmers were skeptical and pushed and shoved to grab the farm tools and started to compare them. "This iron thing is heavy, it should be able to grind the hardened soil, right?" "Look at this grinding machine, it's much better than our stone mill!" "Hey, this thing, I think it can make the work twice as fast!"

Seeing this, Chu Ze smiled with satisfaction. He stepped forward and said emotionally: "Fellow villagers, these farm tools are developed for you. From now on, we ordinary people no longer have to suffer from hardship and work from sunrise to sunset. As long as we use these new machines, we will be able to get twice the result with half the effort and live a good life soon!"

"Thank you, Master Chu!" The farmers could not contain their inner joy, and their eyes were filled with tears. "If it weren't for your thoughtfulness, how could we use such a good thing? I will never forget this kindness!"

Chu Ze nodded with a smile, but his eyes gradually became determined. He looked into the distance and said in a deep voice: "Fellow villagers, this grant of new farm tools is just the beginning. In the future, there will be more new things that will benefit the people! As long as you are willing to learn and use them, you will definitely live a good life with wine and meat in the rich houses and frozen bones on the roads!"

Exclamations came one after another: "Really, Lord Chu? What new stuff do you have?" "Then we will get rich!" "I've heard that Lord Chu is a capable minister, and now that I see him, he is really a living god among the people!"

Chu Ze smiled and waved his hand gently: "Fellow villagers, I am only doing my best. We should thank our current emperor! It is the emperor who vowed to make all the people in the world live a good life, which led to this great change."

Upon hearing this, everyone knelt down and shouted: "Long live the emperor! Long live Lord Chu!" The deafening shouts echoed over the fields for a long time.

Soon, the farm tools were distributed. Chu Ze was ready to leave, but the farmers were reluctant to leave.

An old farmer with white hair quietly squeezed in front of Chu Ze and pulled his sleeve: "Sir, I... I have something to say but I don't know if I should say it or not. Although this new thing is good, farm work depends not only on tools, but also on God's blessing! You should help me more in the future, and let the emperor beg God to stop thunder and hail!"

Chu Ze laughed and patted the old farmer on the shoulder: "Don't worry, uncle, I know what's going on. I'm going to repair the water conservancy and prepare for disaster relief soon. From now on, God can no longer be the master of us people!" (End of this chapter)