After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Chapter 233 Can You Be a Little Kinder to Everyone?

When Zheng Hao returned to his residence, the ordinary servants dared not approach him, and Da Yan was busy arranging things for Zhao Xing and the others, so he was unaware of what had happened at his residence.

Leaning against the young man's chest, Gu Lin smelled the minty scent emanating from him, cool and light. Instantly, the metallic taste of blood in his throat that he had heard Zhao Xing and the others say that afternoon slowly faded away.

He turned his head, and in the dim light of the curtains, Zheng Hao saw that Uncle Gu's light brown eyes were filled with a layer of water. There was no fear or terror in his eyes, but rather other emotions.

Through those eyes, Zheng Hao could sense that Uncle Gu was sad, even though he didn't say anything.

What are you sad about?

Zheng Hao raised his hand and gently patted Gu Lin's shoulder and back. The force was gentle and reassuring, but a hint of fierceness flashed in his half-lowered eyes.

He wondered who had made Uncle Gu sad, and who dared to make Uncle Gu sad.

Concealing his emotions, Zheng Hao lowered his head slightly and met the young man's gaze.

Unaware of the young man's unease, Gu Lin looked up at Zheng Hao, his slightly pale lips parted slightly, and his usually clear voice became somewhat hoarse: "In the future, will you be able to provide a good life for everyone?"

Gu Lin's question was too abrupt.

Zheng Hao keenly sensed something was wrong. He wondered why Uncle Gu would ask such a question. Did the "everyone" the other person was referring to refer to Sister Zhao and the others, or was it someone else?

With his eyes half-closed, Zheng Hao caught the reluctance and sorrow in the other person's eyes. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he understood what Uncle Gu meant.

Before he could answer, Gu Lin continued, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes: "Most ordinary people in the world don't have many demands. They are easily satisfied. They don't ask for great wealth or high status, nor do they ask for lavish meals. The people of Daqian have even simpler demands. They don't even ask to be full. As long as they have a bite to eat and don't starve to death, that's enough."

Gu Lin's words were not nonsense.

The Great Qian Dynasty was not modern. Although the people here hoped to live a good life, due to their limited understanding and environment, they did not indulge in wishful thinking about getting rich overnight and enjoying a life of luxury.

Most people are down-to-earth and work hard from dawn till dusk just to make a living. But even with their tireless efforts throughout the year, they can barely make ends meet.

Even so, they didn't complain or feel that life was hard. Everyone goes through the same thing. As long as they have food to eat, that's enough. Life goes on, and no one can have a smooth life without any ups and downs. As long as their family is healthy and by their side, that's the best life.

In Gu Lin's view, the people of Daqian have pitifully low expectations for a good life, but such a life is something that most people cannot obtain at present.

"If possible, could you be a little nicer to everyone in the future?"

The young man asked again, turning his body so that he was facing the young man instead of leaning against him. Although they changed positions, they were still embracing each other intimately.

Zheng Hao lowered his head. Uncle Gu did not explicitly state his ambition to conquer the world, but he clearly understood his desires and intentions. Even though he had not yet achieved anything, the other party looked at him with extreme trust, his clear eyes filled with expectation and hope.

He leaned down and watched the young man approach him. Gu Lin did not dodge, but subconsciously blinked. In the instant he closed his eyes, Gu Lin felt a warm touch on his forehead. It was fleeting. If it weren't for the lingering warmth on his forehead, Gu Lin would have almost thought it was his imagination.

Gu Lin opened his eyes and saw Zheng Hao backing away, but the other man's dark eyes remained fixed on him, deep and understanding, as if he knew his sadness and understood his feelings, unlike others who would simply advise him not to be sad.

Zheng Hao lowered his eyes, parted his thin lips slightly, and said in a low, solemn voice, "What Uncle Gu wishes for is what I wish for."

As soon as he finished speaking, the young man watched as a smile appeared on Uncle Gu's previously sad expression. Although the smile was tinged with bitterness, it was filled with joy and expectation.

Gu Lin moved his hand slightly and placed it on the back of the young man's hand. The cool and hot touches met, and his dull light brown eyes regained their vitality: "I believe you."

Gu Lin had never doubted Zheng Hao's promise, and he had no doubts about whether Zheng Hao could or was willing to do what he had just asked for.

In the late years of the Great Qian Dynasty, chaos reigned, with numerous warlords emerging and each carving out their own territory. The emperor's power waned, and he was unable to command the regions. Several upheavals occurred, and the emperor lost all authority, with local forces taking turns controlling the country. The Great Qian Dynasty existed in name only. This turmoil lasted for ten years, and the people suffered greatly.

Until, in Youzhou Prefecture, a barren land that had always been looked down upon by the Central Plains, a Marquis of Champion appeared. He was born a commoner and rose to the rank of Marquis through his unparalleled military achievements. Later, when the Northern Barbarian army took advantage of the internal turmoil of the Great Qian Dynasty to invade, and the Northern Barbarian Emperor personally led the expedition, the Marquis of Champion rode a tall horse and shot the Northern Barbarian Emperor with an arrow, causing the Northern Barbarians to be too busy to pay attention to the Great Qian Dynasty.

Later, during the reign of the late emperor, the Marquis of Champion, who had loyally guarded the frontier, was caught off guard by the warlords of the Central Plains who had not yet realized his long-accumulated wolfish ambitions. The Marquis of Champion led his iron cavalry south with lightning speed, unifying the north in two years and the south in four years. He then used the emperor to command the feudal lords. After the emperor's death, the Marquis of Champion supported the young emperor to ascend the throne. The young emperor honored him as his father and appointed him as regent, holding the official position of Grand General. All the feudal lords in the world bowed down and submitted to him, and no one dared to cause trouble or start a rebellion.

Those who dared to provoke trouble and cause war were beheaded by the Regent's valiant army, and their entire army was annihilated.

Therefore, if asked who in the world could end the chaos, Gu Lin only believed in the young man before him. Only he could overpower all the heroes and intimidate both inside and outside the world in the shortest amount of time.

Although the two were standing very close, Zheng Hao had no idea that he was so influential in Uncle Gu's eyes.

Even in the dim light, the weariness in Uncle Gu's eyes could not be concealed. Zheng Hao softened his touch, changing from patting to stroking. Gu Lin's body gradually relaxed, and Zheng Hao watched as the other closed his eyes and fell asleep in his arms.

Fifteen minutes later, after Uncle Gu's breathing had stabilized, Zheng Hao carefully laid him flat on the bed and then covered him with a blanket.

He lowered the curtain and walked out of the room to the study next door. He sat down behind the desk and looked up to ask Da Yan, who was standing in front of the desk, "What happened at the manor during the day?"

Zheng Hao did not take Gu Shu's unusual reaction lightly. Since Gu Shu was unwilling to talk about it, he tried to find out the reason from other people.

He knew Uncle Gu well. Uncle Gu's daily routine was always the same: either he stayed at home, or he went to places like the White Porcelain Factory, the Glass Factory, and the Restaurant. No one outside would dare to mistreat him. Something must have happened at home to upset Uncle Gu.

Da Yan did not hide anything and explained everything clearly.

Zheng Hao frowned, his eyes darkening as he understood why Uncle Gu was sad.

Zheng Hao had received a letter about the drought in Yueming Prefecture half a month ago. He also understood that Uncle Gu cared about Sister-in-law Zhao and Brother Yu, and extended that care to Zhao Dagen, Chen Xiaoliu, and others. If anything happened to them, Uncle Gu would definitely be sad.

Zheng Hao disliked Gu Shu giving his attention to others, but he couldn't stop him. He could only try to reduce the amount of attention Gu Shu would give to others, so Zhao Dagen, Chen Xiaoliu, and others couldn't die.

So Zheng Hao sent someone to Yue Mingfu to pick them up, but when his men arrived, they found that Zhao Dagen and the others had already left.

They reacted quickly; if they had stayed any longer, they might have become food for the disaster victims outside the city.

Thinking of this, Zheng Hao recalled that Zhao Xing and Wang Yue were old friends of Uncle Gu. Their families had all perished on the journey of refugees. Uncle Gu had even sent many gifts back to Zhao Dagen's son for his one-month celebration…

He raised his finger and tapped the table. No wonder Uncle Gu was so sad behind the curtain, and his voice trembled with expectation, telling him to be kinder to everyone in the future.

"grown ups."

Zheng Hao raised his eyes and looked at the Great Yan.

Da Yan reported: "My husband's friend Zhao Xing wishes to see you, sir, saying that he has something to offer and that this item is something you will definitely need."

After saying this, Da Yan lowered his head and remained silent.

Their father holds the official position of prefect and military supervisor; how could he be someone that others can just see whenever they want?

If the person requesting an audience were not a friend of Fulang, Da Yan would not have made the request.

After a while, Da Yan heard a deep voice above her: "Take him to the front yard tomorrow."

"Yes."

Returning to his bedroom from the study, Zheng Hao found the room already bright. He looked up at Gu Lin, who was sitting at the table. Gu Lin greeted him as he entered, saying, "I was sleeping quite soundly and just woke up. Have you had dinner yet?"

"No." Zheng Hao walked closer to Gu Lin: "I ate something outside before going home, so I'm not hungry. Now I'll have dinner with Uncle Gu."

Gu Lin nodded.

Dinner hadn't been served yet, and the two sat close together. Thinking of what the other had said to him that evening, Zheng Hao suddenly asked, "Uncle Gu, what do you think is the best thing to do for the people?"

Gu Lin paused, then looked up at the young man and saw that his expression and eyes were serious, without any other intention.

A thought struck him, and he said, "Food is the most important thing for the people. I think the most important thing to do for the people is to make sure they have enough to eat."

To ensure they have enough to eat, the grain tax shouldn't be set too high; around one-twentieth or one-thirtieth would be sufficient. If the tax is too high, after paying their grain taxes, people won't even have enough to eat, and if they're unlucky enough to catch a cold or fever, they won't have the money for treatment.

Given the current low productivity, Gu Lin did not use the standards of a better life from later generations to measure the present.

He believed that a good life meant that the people of Daqian could be fed, that every household had surplus money, and that if they caught a cold, they wouldn't have to wait to die, but could afford medical treatment.

However, the current grain tax levied on the people of the Great Qian Dynasty is only one-tenth, which is not high. With the subsequent turmoil and the separatist regimes in various places, the grain tax varies from place to place. In order to support their own armies, local warlords levy two-thirds or even half of the grain tax on the people. Even the regent in the original story levied one-third of the grain tax on the people.

Zheng Hao poured Gu Lin a cup of calming tea, then looked down at him and said, “Grain tax is an important source of revenue. People’s livelihood, water conservancy, weapons, provisions, rewards and salaries all come from taxes. If grain tax is reduced, it means that a large amount of money will be reduced in the national treasury. In the long run, this will not be conducive to the stability of the court and the country.”

Gu Lin did not interrupt, but listened attentively to Zheng Hao's story. After the other party finished speaking, he said, "Taxation is not limited to grain tax. As far as I know, the commercial tax collected by the government is not low."

"But there are fewer merchants than ordinary people in the world. If we want to increase the national treasury revenue, we still need to increase the source of income. Is the sluggish economy of the Great Qian Dynasty really because the people don't have money to spend?"

Gu Lin shook his head slightly: "I don't think so. In my opinion, the management of private transactions in Daqian is too strict. Apart from buying and selling things on the street during the day, night markets are only opened during holidays such as the Lantern Festival. During the day, everyone is busy and has no time to go shopping. Night is different. If night markets can be opened to encourage transactions and promote economic development, tax revenue can be increased."

Gu Lin continued to offer a good solution: "Water transport is well-developed in the Jiangnan region, and Lingnan Prefecture is located by the sea and can trade with foreign countries. They can transport goods for trade through rivers and seas, but the North does not pay attention to this. The imperial court does not take maritime transport seriously and collects taxes according to ordinary commercial taxes, which is a mistake."

"In addition, the court should develop agricultural and handicraft technologies. Take cloth for example. Most people weave their own cloth for their own use and do not buy cloth from outside. Why? Because cloth is expensive outside. If we improve the weaving machine and increase the efficiency of weaving, we can reduce the price of cloth. When people compare the prices, they will find that buying cloth is cheaper and more affordable than weaving their own cloth, and they will naturally spend money."

"And there's the seigniorage..." At this point, Gu Lin stopped talking as eloquently as before. He paused slightly and shook his head: "Delegating the right to mint coins to the private sector makes it easy for them to cut corners and produce coins of inconsistent weight. It's better to keep the right to mint coins entirely in the hands of the imperial government."

Zheng Hao remained silent, listening intently to Uncle Gu's eloquent speech. Uncle Gu, however, was ecstatic, completely unaware of the value of these words, as even a single slip of the tongue could bring countless benefits.

Gu Lin's throat was dry from talking, so he picked up a cup of tea to moisten his throat. When he looked up, he saw Zheng Hao staring at him with a deep look in his eyes. He paused and explained, "These plans are not my own ideas. They are all other people's wisdom. I just happened to see them in a book."

“Even so, Uncle Gu is already very capable.” Zheng Hao’s praise of Gu Lin was not blind; it was a genuine sentiment.

He said, "Uncle Gu did not simply recite from the book, but combined the wisdom of his predecessors with his own insights to propose a method suitable for the Great Qian Dynasty. How can this not be considered Uncle Gu's achievement?"

Just like the seigniorage that the other party proposed later, he rejected it as soon as it was mentioned. This shows that Gu Lin has the ability to distinguish right from wrong and is not blinded by a single leaf. He can see how much benefit and harm this seigniorage measure brings.

Among these measures, opening night markets and promoting the development of agricultural and handicraft technologies can be implemented first in Youzhou Prefecture. As for water and sea transport, since Youzhou Prefecture is neither near rivers nor the sea, it is naturally impossible to implement them. It is not too late to plan for them later.

Dinner was served, and they continued to eat and talk. Gu Lin's thoughts wandered, and he said whatever came to mind. He talked about many strategies and measures from later generations, involving many novel terms. If he didn't explain them carefully, people of this era would have a hard time understanding them. But Zheng Hao had been with him day and night, and after Gu Lin explained them a little, Zheng Hao understood. This made Gu Lin talk even more enthusiastically and forget the sadness of the day.

When it comes to who's best at wooing their wife, Xiao Zheng is definitely number one.