The emperor had already heard a hint of the meaning, and so did Chu Kuan. One of them was a king, but he was very studious... or curious, always keeping a strong energy and a global vision; while the other one, because he often had to deal with the best talents in the world, coupled with his delicate and awkward identity, he was constantly working hard to enrich himself.
Therefore, Chu Kuan couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Those who have spare money will buy the meat and eggs that they are reluctant to buy, so the price of meat, eggs and poultry in the market may increase... And those who raise pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks will find that these are valuable, so they will naturally raise more..."
He rubbed his temples vigorously and continued, "If there are more of these things, the prices may fall, but it is also possible that they will make more money. Then for those who raise pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks, they may be able to buy white rice and flour that they couldn't afford before, all kinds of beautiful clothes, and even more expensive jewelry!"
The emperor immediately clapped his hands and praised: "Yes, that's the principle. Also, if people eat more meat and vegetables, they will eat less rice and flour. As long as more and more people have money, then even if the output of rice and wheat flour decreases, it can still feed the people of the world!"
Zhang Shou smiled and nodded, saying, "Your Majesty and Eunuch Chu are indeed far-sighted. However, this is only an ideal situation. The increase in production of a single item may not necessarily drive all aspects of life, such as food, clothing, housing and transportation. It may even make the price of cotton cloth and even clothes as cheap as grass because the market is flooded with finished products. But at least, this path is not wrong."
"I once said in the Imperial College that modern people are better than ancient people. Why? Today's agricultural tools are better than those of the Qin and Han dynasties, the Tang and Song dynasties, and of course, better than the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the prosperous era of Yao and Shun, and the Western Zhou Dynasty, which was remembered by countless scholars and was full of Zhou rituals.
With good farm tools, the yield of the fields will naturally be much better than before. So, just like improving spinning and looms, if we continue to improve farming tools, improve farming techniques, and cultivate high-quality and high-yield seeds, won’t the yield per acre be higher? "
The emperor's last trace of carelessness disappeared, replaced by an incomparable solemnity. He still remembered the records when he read the Records of Taizu. Taizu did many things, many of which many people at that time could not understand, but many of which were widely praised, including farming by himself. There were even many rice fields in the north city of the former Outer Imperial City.
Some people now think that Emperor Taizu wanted to show his emphasis on agriculture, but he learned from the stories passed down by word of mouth in the Imperial Household Department that Emperor Taizu wanted to cultivate high-quality rice varieties. However, since there were many things to be done after the founding of the country, Emperor Taizu later devoted himself to cultivating Emperor Taizong, and finally sailed to sea to avoid the fight for the throne and suspicion between father and son, but the rice fields failed to cultivate high-quality varieties, and eventually they were lost in history.
He nodded gently and said approvingly: "You are worthy of being the one who worked tirelessly in the fields at such a young age to persuade the villagers to switch to growing rice and raising tussah silkworms. You have such a profound understanding of these things where men farm and women weave."
"I just feel that the lives of the villagers are too hard."