novelhk Chapter 194 The Birthday Gift from Father Shen
Chapter 194 The Birthday Gift from Father Shen
"Zai Yu was sleeping during the day. Confucius said, 'Rotten wood cannot be carved, nor can a wall of dung be plastered! What is the point of rebuking Zai Yu?'" This is a passage recorded in the Analects.
It is evident that taking a midday nap was something that scholars looked down upon.
Shen Shixi, a poor student who doesn't study, actually asked her father why he didn't take a nap during the day. Shen's father was almost driven to his death by anger.
Once Li Yuanke emerged, Shen's father decided to ignore the troublesome fellow and, after bowing, said, "Your Majesty, regarding the civil administration of Bingzhou, I humbly request Your Majesty's guidance!"
Shen Shixi drank a couple of sips of tea and became more alert. She wanted to go out and play, but Li Yuanke kept her there.
"Consort Chen, please listen as well. Share your insights so we can discuss them together."
Since it concerned her father, Shen Shixi didn't keep him in suspense any longer. "Father, civil administration is just two words: the people. It's actually very simple when it comes to the people: enough to eat and enough to wear. But this is a military region, so there's an additional condition: there can be no war."
Shen's father knew perfectly well that "Bingzhou is a mountain city with many mountains and little land, making it extremely difficult for the people to survive."
Shen Shixi said, "This shows that your vision is not broad enough, Father."
Father Shen endured it, until he was spitting blood.
Li Yuanke felt sorry for him. "Speak properly, just say what you have to say!"
Why resort to personal attacks?
"Go outside and take a look. What's most abundant in Bingzhou City? Merchants. It's true that this place is located on the border, but there's also an official road that leads directly to the capital. Merchants from all over the country need to travel here. It would be best to build a pass here."
This leads to a new national policy: tariffs. All merchants from other regions who come to our Great Zhou to trade, whether their goods enter or leave the country, must pay hefty taxes. This is the first point!
Father Shen asked for a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and wrote down what Shen Shixi had said.
"Secondly, since there are many merchants, we should develop local specialties. Nowadays, woolen clothes in charitable halls have become a major specialty industry. If we can develop it, why worry about the people not making money?"
Thirdly, didn't my second uncle promote potato and sweet potato cultivation? The soil here isn't very suitable for growing rice or wheat, but what about growing corn? Sweet potatoes? Potatoes? There shouldn't be any problem.
Fourthly, isn't this place close to Beisha? We could establish trade relations with Beisha, exchanging cattle and sheep for products made from them to sell in Beijing, such as canned beef and mutton. As long as it's not the height of summer, these products, if properly prepared, can be preserved for a period of time.
Mr. Shen then asked, "What is canned food?"
Shen Shixi taught him how to make canned food, writing down the process for him: "You can use glass bottles or earthenware jars. Put the marinated meat in and heat it to expel the gas inside."
Translated, it means vacuuming.
When the weather is cool, this canned meat can be stored for at least half a month, and when the weather is cold, it can last for a month or two.
They also gave him a recipe for cooking canned beef and canned lamb.
"But this negotiation..." Since it concerned national affairs, Father Shen looked at the Emperor.
Li Yuanke nodded, "This time, both I and the Wolf King of Beisha expressed our intention to cease hostilities. Minister Shen can make preparations in advance."
"Your subject obeys the decree!"
The northwestern border region has always been very poor, and anyone with a bit of wealth has moved away, mainly because it's too poor.
When Mr. Shen took over this mess, he was very worried. But then his daughter pointed him in four clear paths, enough to keep him busy for the rest of his life.
Father Shen immediately became as if he had been injected with chicken blood, "Your Majesty, I take my leave!"
He still has a lot to do.
Just as he was about to leave, Shen Shixi called out to him, "Dad, remember this saying: If you want to get rich, build roads first!"
Mr. Shen almost tripped over the threshold, but then he heard his daughter's silvery laughter behind him. He shook his head helplessly and laughed along with her.
Li Yuanke had other matters to discuss in the afternoon, so he left first.
At noon, while Shen Shixi and Pei Xunli were taking a nap, Pei Xiang and Pei Xunli also talked for a while.
This was a truly devastating defeat.
After losing Bingzhou, Prime Minister Pei was undoubtedly dejected, but Pei Xunli didn't seem to care. He thought that it would take him many years to rise to the fourth rank, and to be in charge of the judicial system of a prefecture, which would be both powerful and prestigious.
"Prime Minister, this Shen family is really difficult to deal with. It seems that she deliberately exposed the Chu Feng Pavilion in the matter of the Princess Consort, allowing us to find the Shantang here; Shantang's headquarters is in Bingzhou, and she anticipated that we would definitely target Shantang, so she took the opportunity to seize Bingzhou."
Tang Zong thought about it more and more and felt that this matter was very strange. What kind of coincidence could there be in the world?
Imperial Censor Wang Yifang said, "Prime Minister, this Lady Shen cannot be allowed to live. Could we ask Her Majesty the Empress to lend a hand in the palace?"
Pei Xunli retorted angrily, "How could Her Majesty the Empress be a match for her? If none of you can do anything about it, what can Her Majesty possibly do?"
Prime Minister Pei tried to save face for the Empress, saying, "The Emperor and Consort Chen have a special relationship, and Consort Chen is no ordinary woman in the inner palace. You cannot look at her with ordinary eyes."
After these few performances, who would dare to look at her with ordinary eyes!
They had prepared for so long, but Cao Ruiyuan was taken down by her in a single move, catching them completely off guard.
Tang Zong was very annoyed. "That Cao Ruiyuan is really something, acting so carelessly in Bingzhou. And that Cao Wenlan, how could he be so heartless and insane, actually attacking a woman in public, and it just so happens to be a palace concubine."
Wang Yifang said, "Lord Tang, stop complaining. Who knows if Cao Wenlan has fallen into another trap?"
Prime Minister Pei also said, "Although the father and daughter who sang the song strongly testified that Consort Chen did not sing, I have also investigated and found that Consort Chen did sing. Moreover, there are a total of five teahouses in Bingzhou City, and she went to the one that Cao Wenlan went to. If there is no foul play, it is hard to believe."
Tang Zongdao said, "In that case, Consort Chen came prepared. In that case, our defeat is not entirely unjust."
Pei Xiang said, "Consort Chen is shrewd and resourceful, both wise and brave, and is indeed difficult to deal with. His Majesty trusts her implicitly, so we must be even more careful when we make moves against her in the future."
Wang Yifang said, "Prime Minister, how about we use Beisha's help?"
Prime Minister Pei shook his head, "You must never have such thoughts. Once you are caught red-handed, your entire family will be doomed."
Pei Xunli said, "You shouldn't underestimate Consort Chen. She might be looking for something to do with you. The reason why the Emperor chose Bingzhou as his base is not just because Consort Chen's birthday happens to be around this time."
The 18th was Consort Chen's birthday, and Prime Minister Pei asked the Emperor how he would celebrate her birthday.
The emperor politely declined the courtiers' offers, as Consort Chen disliked crowds and did not need her subjects to celebrate her birthday.
Lin Guiyou and the other two still sent birthday gifts to Consort Chen. Lin Guiyou sent a beautiful jade, while Consort Yuan and Consort Guo, who did not have the means, sent their carefully prepared embroidery instead.
However, Shen Shixi never used embroidery done by outsiders, and she asked them to put away all the congratulatory gifts they gave her.
The strangest gift her father gave her was a string of candied hawthorns.
Shen Shixi twirled the candied hawthorn with obvious disdain. "Li Yuanke, what was my dad thinking? He sent me a skewer of candied hawthorn. Did he see it on the street and then remember it was my birthday, so he bought it and sent it over?"
Bai Ping was heartbroken for her husband and couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, the master personally selected the hawthorns and made these candied hawthorns. If he heard you say that, he would be heartbroken!"
Even Li Yuanke chimed in, indignant, "What exactly has your father done to you that you keep trying to make him sick?"