Chapter 1279 Getting to the bottom of things

Chapter 1279 Getting to the bottom of things

Chapter 1279 Getting to the bottom of things
While the front desk was debating, Shao Xun came to Fangzhou Pavilion and sat down, starting to understand some more intuitive things.

Counselor Shao Qiu sat behind him and took out a pen and paper to take notes.

Prince of Zhao Shao Xu and several other princes attended the meeting.

As for the prince, he stayed in the Wanxiang Court, which was the occasion for him to show up.

Tong Qianjin brought wine and food to everyone.

"It's not poisonous, don't be afraid." Shao Xun looked at the hesitant look of the person opposite him and told a cold joke.

Well, it was indeed a bit cold. Wang Xia and his two sons and brothers had no smile on their faces.

"How did the Wang family of Taiyuan manage their manor in Jiangdong?" Shao Xun asked.

The four of them were silent for a moment, and finally Wang Zhen said, "Your Majesty, on the first day of the first lunar month, the trees will be transplanted until the full moon day."

"In February, the best fields are planted with millet and wheat. In the rest of the year, beans, hemp, and other garden vegetables are planted, and the branches are pruned."

"In March, melons and rice are planted."

"In April, you can harvest some of the garden vegetables that were planted in late autumn last year. Until May, you can plant garden vegetables."

"In June, we will harvest the vegetables and fruits from the garden. After the Great Heat, we will store some melon and fruit seeds and plant another batch of vegetables from the garden."

“We plant turnips in July and August, harvest in the fall, and prepare the seeds.”

"In September, plant winter mallow and other things."

"Nothing happened in October."

“In winter, I make salty pickles.”

"There is no farming in the twelfth lunar month."

Shao Xun actually developed a favorable impression of Wang Zhen. A family cannot have everyone sitting around doing nothing, someone has to manage the business.

Wang Xia and Wang Ke seemed to be officials, while Wang Shu made friends with scholars and made a name for himself while serving as an official, and Wang Zhen was in charge of the family business, with a clear division of labor.

Millet, wheat and rice are the staple foods, and they are grown on the best land.

In other places, mulberry, hemp, fruits and vegetables are grown, and there may also be fish ponds, bamboo forests, livestock and so on, and there must be handicraft production as well.

"How do you manage the more than 500 farmers in your family?" Shao Xun asked.

"When I first went to Jiangnan, most of the land had owners, so it was not good to be too... too much, and the land was quite scattered, so I could only negotiate with them for rent." Wang Zhen said, "My family is more conscientious, so we split the profits 50-50. But we agreed that the farmhands would farm, cut grass, chop wood, repair houses, herd cattle and sheep, pound rice and brew wine for the owner, and all this was free of charge."

When Shao Xun heard it, he found it was pretty much the same as in the north.

Some manors do not have their own land, and all of it is given to farmhands and retainers to cultivate, and the manors are only responsible for management. Generally, the land under the name of the manor is not in large pieces, making supervision difficult. When Yu Wenjun married Shao Xun, the dowry she brought even included fields in Nandun and Runan counties, not just in Yingchuan.

Some manors operated part of the land themselves, letting slaves to cultivate it and requiring farmhands to perform compulsory labor, and rented the other part to farmhands.

"How much grain do we collect in a year?" Shao Xun asked.

"More than 50,000 bushels of grain, more than 1,000 bolts of silk, and countless fruits, vegetables and livestock."

"What about the balance?"

"The balance is three-one."

"What do you do with the surplus money and grain?"

"Find a way to buy land, slaves, and livestock."

"Nothing else?"

"No." Wang Zhen replied.

Shao Xun nodded and decided to reinvest all the surplus from the manor in land.

Therefore, if we want them to set aside part of their money for hobbies, we really need to change the culture.

To put it bluntly, the manor owners also have areas where they spend lavishly, such as hosting banquets, hiring dancers, etc., which occupy most of their leisure time.

Investing in land is not completely wrong...

Using dialectical thinking, how do you think Jiangnan was developed in history?

At the end of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao was still giving seals and ribbons to officials to the Shanyue chieftains on the south bank of the Yangtze River in an attempt to incite them to rebel.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan spent more time fighting the Shanyue than at other times.

By this time, it was difficult to find any trace of barbarians on the north bank of the Yangtze River in Yangzhou, and the barbarians in the counties on the south bank of the Yangtze River were basically inactive and could be considered to have been registered as citizens.

A manor is an organized development model, equivalent to a colonial pioneer group, and it is still advanced in the south where barbarians are everywhere.

Wang Xia’s family’s is a typical Jiangnan manor.

After Shao Xun asked clearly, he checked it with the memorial he had received and found that it was almost the same, so he felt relieved.

Judging from the economic model of the manor, if the extravagant lifestyle is changed, a lot of money can be saved, which can be invested in other aspects, such as studying "truth".

Of course, Shao Xun had no way of supervising effectively, let alone enforcing them. Even if these people stopped spending their money on wine and women and wasting money, they might not use the money they saved to study morality. Instead, they would more likely invest in land.

Well, it’s just like Jiang Taigong fishing, if someone is willing to take the bait, what else can we do?

It is good to be determined to open up new areas, it is always better than before.

"You four can at least serve as officials, scribes, and historians in the government. These are not officials, but minor clerks. It's not bad to earn your own living. Don't think too much." Shao Xun stood up and said, "All the wine and food are given to you."

After saying that, he left with his sons.

"Nian Liu, how many nobles do you think will be willing to study the truth in the future?" Shao Xun asked as they walked.

"Not one in a hundred." Shao Xu said.

"It's not that bad." Shao Xun said with a smile.

Before he was around, there were also people doing research in this area, but they didn't use the right methods, and only a few of them produced any results.

He did not overestimate his ability to persuade, but with such a low base number, it would be easy to double the number, or even more.

These people all conduct research at their own expense. They don't have to worry about the demise of their careers. What they should worry about is that their descendants will have no interest in this area after their death. But there is nothing that can be done about it. People should not ask for more.

Shao Xun had previously told Gong Zhuang that his family collected hundreds of thousands of hu of grain every year, but the Gong family was in a strange stage between tribes and the gentry, that is, the barbarian chiefs had been sinicized, but the lower classes had not been sinicized enough. For the Gong family, not all of the money and grain belonged to them, and it was hard to say how much of it they could actually use.

So he did some research again and found that if the manor was regarded as a company, the gross profit margin was quite high and the net profit attributable to the parent was not small. No wonder everyone liked to do this.

From this perspective, there is no problem with "funding".

Shao Xun told them to "do things within their capabilities", which was very considerate.

"Shiyilang, tell me, what will happen to Jiangnan in the future?" Shao Xun looked at Han Wang Shao Wo and said in an encouraging tone.

"Grandpa, I..." Shao Wu lowered his head. "Hmm?" Shao Xun looked at his son carefully and said, "You are my son, how come you don't have any courage? Raise your head."

"Eleventh brother, weren't you very smart when you were studying?" Zhao Wang Shao Xu said with a smile: "Even the professor praised you, and your archery is more accurate than mine. Third brother is really envious."

"Really?" Shao Wu looked at Shao Xu.

"Of course it's true." Shao Xu said with a smile.

Shao Wu looked up at Shao Xun with some joy and said, "Grandpa, I think that in the future, most people in Jiangnan will still run estates. A small number of people will study the truth under your advice. In addition...in addition...there may be some who make their fortunes by trading goods."

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Shao Xun asked.

Shao Wu hesitated for a while, and finally looked at Shao Xun with a slightly admiring look, and said: "Grandpa, I still don't understand, can you teach me in the future? Grandpa drove out the barbarians and unified the country. Such great achievements are unmatched. Grandpa must have done the right thing."

Shao Xun was amused by this and was very happy.

Shiyilang was born in the twelfth month of the sixth year of Shengui (322). If we count his actual age, he would be only eleven and a half, but if we count his virtual age, he would be thirteen. In fact, he is still a child.

Shao Xun was very pleased to hear the child flatter him sincerely.

If it was the crown prince or the eldest son or the second son who flattered him, Shao Xun would think they had ulterior motives.

"Okay, I'll teach you later." Shao Xun waved his hand and said happily.

Shao Wo also showed a happy expression and subconsciously took two steps closer, getting closer to Shao Xun.

The four-member group of "idle princes" Shao Yong, Shao Hou, Shao Ke and Shao Gong fell at the back and occasionally glanced at each other.

My father is not at home much, so how could he know many things?

The Eleventh Brother is closest to his Sixth Brother.

The relationship between them can't be said to be bad, but it is definitely not good either.

After all, the Queen was unable to treat Liulang and Shiyilang equally.

Of course, my father might already know this.

"You guys go back first." Shao Xun suddenly stopped and waved.

"Yes." Everyone saluted.

Shao Wo looked at his father's back, hesitated for a moment, and was quickly pulled away by the third brother.

After his sons left, Shao Xun walked forward a little further and then gave Tong Qianjin an instruction.

Tong Qianjin understood and left, and Shao Xun pushed open the gate.

This is an independent courtyard.

After Shi became pregnant, she was given some preferential treatment and lived in a separate household. Ying no longer had to work and could take care of her exclusively.

When seeing Shao Xun coming, Ying immediately bowed with a somewhat resentful look in her eyes.

"Your Majesty." Shi struggled to get up from the bed.

"Hurry and sit down." Shao Xun immediately stepped forward and helped Shi sit down.

I am six months pregnant and my belly is so big that it is not easy for me to stand up.

"Your Majesty." A voice came from outside the courtyard.

Shi and Ying looked at each other, both somewhat puzzled, and even with a sense of déjà vu.

"Come in." Shao Xun said.

The guard opened the gate, let one person in, and then closed the gate again.

"You will live here from now on, so it will be more convenient to take care of Concubine Shi." Shao Xun said, looking at the person who came.

Shi's face suddenly felt hot.

She looked at the person who came in surprise, it was Wang Jianji.

After the marriage with Prince of Kuaiji was settled, Shi met her several times on different occasions.

I still remember that once she hosted a garden party and many female relatives came. What did she say to Wang Jianji?

"This newly opened orchid is most delicate when the morning dew has not yet dried, just like when you first took charge of the palace. Now that you have entered our Sima family, you should know that the women of the noble families are not only beautiful in appearance. In the past, Ban Zhao wrote seven chapters of "Female Instructions", saying "leisurely, chaste, and neat", which is the foundation of a woman's life..."

Thinking of this, Shi felt ashamed to see Wang Jianji.

Wang Jianji seemed to have thought of this as well.

In her memory, when Concubine Shi said this, she was holding a book in her hand, her eyes were as cold as water in a pond, her brocade clothes were cut half an inch tighter than others, revealing her beautiful figure, and her shoulders were always straight, as if she had tempered her majesty over the years.

The collar is stuck three inches below the larynx, and is extremely tight.

The intonation of the speech seemed to be measured with a ruler, and the ending of each sentence fell at a fixed position between the yu tune and the gong tune...

She was so envious at the time, and felt that if she could achieve the dignified and chaste demeanor of Concubine Shi after being in charge of the Kuaiji Palace for twenty years, she would be lucky.

She was a little surprised when she heard that Concubine Shi was captured, thinking that Concubine Shi would die. But she didn't think much about it, thinking that Concubine Shi was in the palace, doing heavy work, but she was still untainted by the mud and had a great demeanor.

only--

The noble consort Shi in front of him was wearing a gauze shirt, exposing a large area of ​​skin, which was obviously not very dignified.

Her belly was bulging, indicating that she was pregnant.

This almost overturned the little girl's cognition.

There was also Ying, who came from a scholarly family. She once discussed women's virtues with her and mentioned that "a husband has the right to remarry, but a wife has no right to remarry" and "she should be chaste, quiet and leisurely, and behave with shame."

"Pa!" Shao Xun patted Ying's round buttocks and said, "Follow me."

After saying that, he took Ying's hand and went to the inner room.

Ying begged slightly, and tears gradually filled her eyes.

Shao Xun looked into her eyes and said, "Forget it. I actually softened my heart because of you."

Ying burst into laughter, then looked at Wang Jianji shyly.

"Serve me again in the future." Shao Xun said.

Ying blushed and hummed inaudibly.

"It is your two duties to take care of Gu, so don't slack off." After Shao Xun said this, he left in a happy mood.

Shi, Ying and Wang looked at each other and lowered their heads in embarrassment. The courtyard was silent for a while.

(End of this chapter)