Chapter 1262: Short Composition and Advisor

Chapter 1262: Short Composition and Advisor

Chapter 1262: Short Composition and Advisor
It’s only a few days until the New Year, and construction is still going on on the open space north of the Dragon Scale Palace.

No, to be more precise, it is a renovation, that is, to enclose some of the ancillary buildings as the main body of the Wanxiang Academy. Perhaps some new buildings will be added, but not many, and the workload will not be large.

The objects in these palaces were taken out and replaced with a new batch of objects, after all, their uses had changed.

On this day, Shao Xun was lying on the couch, looking through the accounts of the Shaofu.

Unlike later times, the arrival of winter in this era basically meant the end of the year. The autumn harvest was the last big income for the Shaofu, and the subsequent income and expenditure were small, and the accounts were completely closed in the middle of the twelfth lunar month.

This year, the farmland under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu harvested more than 3.7 million hu of various grains, and spent more than 3.2 million hu. Fortunately, most of them were shipped directly from the production areas, so not much needed to be transported. However, after accounting for losses, there was still not much left, and it was scattered among the mansions in various gardens, making it difficult to use. There was not much grain to begin with, and you had to transport it here and there, causing losses in vain, which was not worth it.

However, Cai Cheng assured him that the yield per mu of some fields could be increased and would definitely exceed 4 million hu next year, but the population under the control of the Shaofu was nearly 200,000, and expenditures would increase next year.

This is a small society, even the government offices have the same names as the six ministries of the imperial court.

The silk production was not high, only about 120,000 pieces. This was related to the guidance of the Shaofu itself. There were more grain fields and fewer mulberry fields. The current strategy was to grow as much grain as possible and plant mulberry trees on the broken plots in the corners as much as possible.

There are mulberry fields for mulberry trees and hemp fields for hemp trees. This area is similar and has produced more than 300,000 pieces of linen of various colors.

There are also some rare cloths, but not in large quantities.

Most of the cloth was spent, and even the Shangshu Ling Chu Huo asked for a part of it and exchanged it for food and farm tools in the market to cover the cost of relocating the criminals.

By the end of the year, there was not a single horse left.

In addition to grain and cloth, there were also incomes from fruits, vegetables, meat, milk, wood, leather, and medicinal materials, which added up to a considerable amount. Part of it was used as palace expenses, part of it was used as officials' welfare, part of it was used for sacrifices, and the rest was sent to several Duzhi officers to be used for the delivery expenses of criminals when they moved west - but in fact it was not enough, and local officials had to subsidize part of it.

As for the output of bricks, tiles, stone slabs and other building materials, most of them are for self-use and cannot be calculated.

"Sell a batch of horses next year." Shao Xun closed the account book and said to himself.

The Shaofu family is wealthy and powerful, but in reality their financial situation is one of large inflows and outflows. When they count the accounts at the end of the year, there is very little surplus, and the whole thing is just an empty shell.

"Maybe I spent money too lavishly." Shao Xun stood up and paced around the room.

Rewards at every turn!

For example, a few days ago, when he went to the outskirts of Luoyang to visit the government soldiers, he gave out more than 2,000 pieces of cloth at once.

When the officials returned home for the New Year, they were given some bacon, turnips, cheese and dried fruits as rewards.

All of the above are expenses of the Shaofu.

All Shao needed to do was to wave his hand and give out the reward, and everyone would cheer. However, the Supervisor of the Imperial Household Cai Cheng had many things to consider.

I handed the account book to him today, probably with some ulterior motives in mind.

As a department head, he inevitably had to consider issues from the perspective of his department. It was not a good thing for the Shaofu to use his own things to subsidize the court.

This was still the early years of the founding of the country. If there was peace for a few generations, wouldn't his descendants have to eat eggs that cost one string of money each? Of course, the commodity economy was not rich enough in those days, and various expenditures including salaries were not fully monetized. His descendants could eat eggs laid by the Shaofu himself, but the meaning was the same.

Now let’s take a look at the newly built gardens in Jiangnan.

"When you were in Jiangnan, have you ever thought about the issue of money and food?" After walking around, Shao Xun looked at a corner of the hall and asked softly.

Shan Yinan was sitting behind the desk, seemingly writing something. He shook his head when he heard this.

After a moment, she put down the pen and handed it to Shao Xun.

Shao Xun took it and read the third short essay about him in Shishuo Xinyu:

"The emperor had always been fond of the noble concubine Pei, and over the years, he gradually accepted Pei Wei's views on Chongyou."

"When Lu Wan presented the crystal stone obtained by calcining grass and wood into ashes, he said: 'Ashes are 'nothing', and this strange substance was produced from 'nothing'. Is this a proof that it is precious and worthless?"

"The Emperor heard this and laughed loudly, saying: 'Are plants and trees not 'existent'? When the firewood is burned out, the fire will spread and eventually they will end up with something. That's why it is said that 'the absolute nothingness cannot produce anything, and the beginning of life produces itself.'"

"Wan Fu asked: 'How does the grass and trees turn into ashes, and the ashes condense into crystals?'"

"The emperor stroked the case and said, 'Pei Zi mixed all the roots and followed the ultimate way; Fang used different tribes to distinguish the species. All things are born naturally, each with its own partial energy, and each takes a different path.'"

"When playing with the stone, he broke it and asked, 'Since we know that it is self-generated, how can we understand its principle?'"

"The emperor said sternly: 'There is a reason for holding on to this, and it is verified by observation. In the past, Zhang Heng made the seismometer, and Yu Xi observed the stars at dusk, both of which proved the truth with objects.'"

"Wan bowed his head and said, 'I know it now. I will cast an iron proof to silence the people.'"

"The emperor clapped his hands and said, 'Empty talk is inferior to seeing with one's own eyes, and false words are no match for the touch of one's hands.'"

"Kneel down and bow again, then leave."

The reason why a short essay is a short essay is that its plot is fictional. It is not important whether there is such a dialogue between the king and his subjects. What is important is the idea conveyed by the short story itself.

"Okay, let's write it like this. Where should the first article be placed?" Shao Xun asked.

Shan Yinan glanced at him and said seriously, "'Copper smell' eyes."

Shao Xun tapped the table lightly.

Shan Yi Nan was not afraid at all, he lowered his head and smiled, "Put it under the heading of 'commerce and breeding'."

"Are you kidding me?" Shao Xun was stunned.

Shan Yinan looked at him in surprise. "Are you kidding me?" Shao Xun laughed.

Shan Yinan lowered his head somewhat awkwardly.

Shao Xun looked at him, slowed down his voice, and said: "This is good, this is good. You should be like this. If the sky falls, there will be a man to hold it up. You just need to smile more every day."

Shan Yinan was a little embarrassed and changed the subject, saying, "If Your Majesty releases this article and circulates it around, I'm afraid it will cause controversy."

"Criticism?" Shao Xun shook his head and said, "The Chongyou and Guiwu factions have been arguing until their mouths have dried. It would be good to have some 'criticism'. Let them think about the matter of calcining wood ash and then condensing crystal stones day and night, and ponder over and over again. Over time, the meaning will become clear. The real thing will not be fake, and the fake thing will not be real."

After that, he asked again: "Have you ever talked about Xuan?"

Shan Yinan hummed.

"Which one do you believe?"

"I used to believe in 'taking nothingness as the root' and 'respecting the root and ignoring the end'. Ever since..." She looked at Shao Xun with complicated eyes and said, "Since the unification of the North, the state affairs have been deteriorating, and I have been shaken. After the several battles in Shouchun and Jingzhou, I no longer believe in 'valuing nothingness'."

"You don't believe it at all?"

Shan Yinan frowned and said, "Some of it does make sense."

Shao Xun nodded. Both the philosophies of respecting existence and valuing non-existence have flaws and are difficult to justify.

If he were to say it, he would be more inclined to Chongyou. To be more precise, rulers all like Chongyou.

Of course, Chongyou theory also needs to be reformed, which is what he will do next.

As for why we don’t create our own philosophical theory, firstly, we don’t have the ability to do so, and secondly, the existing theories have been debated for decades, have traffic and popularity, and can draw everyone in.

It's not surprising that Yama Yoshio Nobutaka did this, because she actually managed the country for several years.

"Let's talk about what happened just now." Shao Xun said, "Why didn't you care about money and grain when you were in charge of Jiangnan?"

"It's useless to care." Shan Yinan said, "Every piece of cloth and every bucket of grain need the approval of the nobles before they can be stored."

"Have you ever had any idea?"

"Have."

"tell me the story."

"We transport bananas, kudzu, rattan paper and rare items from the South China Sea to the north and exchange them for horses." Shan Yinan said, "The other thing is to set up a county inspection office for overseas Chinese. This is a difficult matter, but fortunately the prime minister supports us, so we have made some progress."

"I heard that you are very fierce when giving orders?"

Shan Yinan rolled his eyes at him and didn't want to answer.

Shao Xun smiled lightly and said, "I have been planning for a long time and came up with a plan. I want to order the Shaofu to go to Jiaozhou to build a garden. I wonder what the people in Jiaozhou think?"

"After Tao Shiheng arrived in Jiaozhou, he reported to the emperor that Linyi had invaded the country many times. He defeated an offensive by the bandits when he was the governor of Rinan. After he was promoted to the governor of Jiaozhou, he defeated Linyi once more. However, both victories did not cause any serious damage to the enemy, and Linyi would come again sooner or later. When I read the memorial, I couldn't help but frown. However, the northern army was pressing on the border, and I couldn't spare any time, so I ordered Tao Shiheng to calm the situation and appease the people." Shan Yinan said, "Before Jianye City was captured, Tao Shiheng died of illness. At that time, Jiaozhou was without a master and there was no news from the north and the south, so I couldn't take care of it."

"Ten thousand soldiers from Jingzhou marched south, and the counties of Jiaozhou surrendered upon hearing the news." Shao Xun said, "I thought everything was fine, but after hearing what you said, I know that the small country of Linyi has always coveted the counties of Jiaozhou. This is indeed a cause for concern."

"Linyi is a small country with weak power and few soldiers. However, Daliang can send even fewer soldiers there, and they cannot stand the humidity and heat." Shan Yinan said, "If we open gardens in the northern counties of Jiaozhou and open them for trade, it may be a good idea. The world is bustling with people, all for profit. If there is huge profit in trade, more people will go there. Over time, we may have enough food and soldiers, and we will no longer be afraid of Linyi. But-"

"what?"

"The land route between Jiaozhou and Guangzhou is mountainous and forested, so most people take the sea route. If Jiaozhou becomes rich and powerful but the land route is blocked, it may breed ambitions, and we must guard against it," Shan Yinan continued.

Shao Xun looked at the woman with approval.

If she were a man, she would have been imprisoned. Fortunately, there can't be two tigers in one mountain, but they were one male and one female.

Alas, he was much smarter than Yu Wenjun, and he really was in charge of the country. He was not a temporary regent like Yu Wenjun who did not take charge of much affairs.

"We will definitely do it." Shao Xun said, "Shan Wei is currently the deputy governor of Jiaozhou. Do you think he is up to the task?"

"He has limited abilities. He can't do much, nor can he do anything bad." Shan Yinan said, "If you want him to help Guanqiu Zongkuang guard Jiaozhou, I'm afraid it won't work. But if he wants to help the Shaofu manage the gardens, he can still do it."

Shao Xun nodded slightly and said, "The south is vast, and it is difficult for northerners to adapt. In the end, southern scholars will have to govern the south and southern soldiers will have to control the south. I will need you to give me more advice in the future."

Shan Yinan hummed.

"Let's go, I've prepared something delicious for you." Shao Xun stood up and pulled Shan Yinan up.

The two then left the main hall.

"Zhuge Yu reported that most of the craftsmen in Wenmachuantun have left..."

"I know a man who used to be a clerk in the Cao Cao in Wang Maohong's court. He is from Jin'an and will surely be able to find a craftsman."

"Why did you disperse?"

"Wenma was transformed from a shipping village into a county because of the boom in shipbuilding. Now that shipbuilding is no longer practiced, it will naturally disband."

"People gather because of shipbuilding, and disperse because of not building ships. Jiaozhou seems to be able to gather because of sugar..."

The sound faded away.

(End of this chapter)