When Zhou Shuren left the palace, he felt so refreshed. The supplies he wanted to exchange were all precious materials, all of which were prohibited in maritime trade. No country was stupid, and no country would be willing to sell important resources unless it was absolutely necessary.
At the Ministry of Rites, Zhou Shuren signaled Jinyan to go in and look for Changyi. Changyi was very busy. He trotted out and got on the carriage quickly. He asked, "Dad, do you have anything to tell your son?"
Zhou Shuren motioned his son to come over and whispered, "The emperor has drafted a memorial for exchanging grain. You should have an idea of it first. By the way, you can talk to the envoys from various countries in the next few days to find out the truth."
Chang Yi thought that he was familiar with the information, and when the political achievements came, "my son will definitely do a good job."
"Well, that's enough. Go ahead and do your work. I'll be back soon."
Chang Yi is indeed very busy, and now he is also receiving envoys, "Okay."
After getting off the carriage, he asked the driver to drive slower and be careful as the road was slippery as it was cold.
At the Zhou family, Zhulan returned home, and Li came to greet her, "Mother, the New Year gifts from my relatives in the old hometown have been delivered in advance."
Zhulan heard the hesitation in Li's tone, "What's wrong?"
Mrs. Li said, "After Mr. Dong passed away, the Dong family split up. The New Year gifts sent by the Dong family branches were too expensive. It was like a competition. They far exceeded the gift list set by our family."
Zhulan was speechless. It hadn't even been a year since Mr. Dong passed away. "Select the extra ones and send them back."
"The third brother's wife's face?"
"We've given the Dong family face this time, but they will only become more aggressive in the future. Send them back directly to avoid future troubles. Hey, your third brother and his family are in Qizhou and can't take care of their hometown, so you can help make the decision."
Li's shoulders sank. Her mother-in-law had handed over all the affairs of the mansion to her. Her burden was heavy. "My daughter-in-law will take care of it."
"Well, I believe you."
Seeing that her mother-in-law was tired, Li didn't say anything more. She helped her mother-in-law back and waited for her mother-in-law to change clothes and rest before she left the main courtyard.
Li looked up at the sky, thinking about the account books that she hadn't finished reading. The sky was no longer blue. "Let's go. We still have to check this year's purchase ledger."
The old woman said attentively: "Be careful where you step."
The servants in this mansion are the best at changing their attitudes according to the situation. The several branches of the Zhou family get along well with each other, but in the servants' minds, the eldest branch is the future master. Mrs. Li has established her authority, so it is inevitable that the servants will flatter her. Fortunately, the Zhou family is fair and strict, so there has been no trouble.
In the evening, Zhou Shuren came back and told Zhulan about the exchanged materials. Zhulan whispered, "Actually, I've always had an idea."
Zhou Shuren, "Hmm?"
"People from both countries gather on the northeastern border, and their numbers are still increasing. Even if the two countries don't care, these people will become a problem sooner or later."
"The Emperor will not allow people from both countries to enter the country."
Zhulan pointed her finger at the tea and drew on the table, "What do you think of digging a ditch at the border? Or building a city wall?"
“Building a wall is difficult.”
"Then dig a ditch, which will serve as the border defense line in the future."
The labor force was utilized and also consumed. The foreign people on the border did not even have the energy to make trouble, while the imperial court had to pay with mixed cakes that were not enough to starve people to death.
Zhulan added: "When people are extremely hungry, they can do anything."
"I can't bring this up, and Rong Chuan can't bring it up either."
"Who do you want to bring it up, then?"
Zhou Shuren also used his finger to dip into water and wrote the word Liang on the table. "Since he has been stationed in the Northeast, he is the most suitable."
Zhulan gave a thumbs up, "Good choice."
Zhou Shuren needs to plan carefully. Prince Liang is hiding in the palace and he can't see him, so he can't get around Rongchuan. With his eyes narrowed, he wants to make some plans.
A few days later in Qizhou, Chang Lian listened to the report, looked at the first three villages on the list, and signaled the yamen runner to go down, "My lord, what do you think?"
Sir, "Send someone to investigate secretly. I don't want any fraud to happen."
Chang Lian didn't think it was fake, he just felt sad in his heart that according to the court's method of disaster relief, there was a big difference between villages. The village with the clan as a whole was the most efficient and could also help other villages. This was the advantage of the clan.
Villages with mixed surnames cannot make the list even if they are united.
Chang Lian had visited the countryside before, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Sir, why don't you rank the villages that are based on clans as a whole and the villages with mixed surnames separately?"
The prefect reacted and was also very emotional. The first few people would be rewarded with disaster relief supplies. Some villages were in urgent need, while some clan villages were not in urgent need. "Okay, divide it into two lists."
Chang Lian smiled and said, "Your Excellency the prefect is a good official who serves the people. The people all praise you."
The prefect smiled and said, "I only hope that Qizhou will have good weather and good harvests in the future, and the people can live and work in peace and contentment. As for my false reputation, it is not important."
Chang Lian thought that it would be more convincing if the corners of his mouth were not raised.
Chang Lian came out of the government office and strolled back to the gate. He smelled the medicine before he got off the carriage. When he got off the carriage, he saw many people queuing up with bowls in their hands. He walked to his wife and said, "Thank you for your hard work these past few days."
Dong: "It's not hard."
Chang Lian asked, "How many medicinal herbs are left?"
"Not much left. I've been making soups to strengthen my body these days, and the herbs at home are running out."
Chang Lian: "It's better if it's gone."
Mrs. Dong followed her husband into the house, "The prefect's family has run out of medicinal materials, so they are making ginger soup now."
"It's not easy for the prefect either."
Mrs. Dong was a little angry. "In order not to go beyond the prefect, our family did not donate much medicinal materials. The prefect's wife wanted to have a good reputation and set up a medicine soup stall. Our family also followed suit. I don't know how capable she is. She came to our house to say sour words when the medicinal materials were gone. It makes me angry just to hear that. What, she still wants our family to send some medicinal materials?"
Chang Lian patted his wife's shoulder and said, "Well, why bother with her?"
"If the prefect wasn't a good person, I wouldn't bother with her."
Chang Lian, "We'll close the shed if we run out of herbs, and you won't have to hear any sour words."
"Um."
In the capital, Zhou Shuren and several important ministers accompanied the emperor to receive envoys from various countries. Zhou Shuren felt that Chang Yi was also suitable for intelligence, and he really found out a lot. The envoys from various countries didn't know that there was a traitor among them. After reading the documents on the exchange of materials, they all had angry faces. Well, some people pretended to be angry.
The emperor ignored the envoy's anger and pointed at the memorial. "The above is what our country wants to exchange. Our country doesn't have many things to choose from. Those who exchange first will get the food first."
The envoys: "!!"
Isn't that enough? From precious metals to prohibited resources, the list was very detailed, so detailed that they doubted whether they knew the inventory of their country.
Zhou Shuren got the emperor's look and continued, "Our country is a populous country. Although the land is vast, the cultivated area is not much. In recent years, our population has grown rapidly, and our country is also very short of food. This marquis is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and is very reluctant to give out food, but who can blame our country for being a country of etiquette? This marquis gritted his teeth and raised some food, but it's really not much."