Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1087 Old Zhu Teaches His Son
The reason for disguising themselves was because Zhu's family wanted to go among the people in disguise, take a good look around, and experience the sufferings of the people.

During Zhu Biao's coronation ceremony, the imperial court also appointed a group of foreign vassal states. Among them, twelve of Zhu's sons were given fiefs and were later to become vassals in other countries.

Although Old Zhu was very strict in educating his sons, perhaps because Old Zhu himself had no talent for educating children, very few of the children he had later were worry-free.

Therefore, this time when Zhu Yuanzhang retired and went on a tour, he also wanted to take his children to travel around the world to gain experience and knowledge.

Otherwise, when he is enfeoffed in a vassal state, he will still be a playboy and become a nuisance and a disaster to the people.

It also ruined the good situation that the Ming Dynasty had worked so hard to build up over the past few years.

Zhu Su expressed his understanding of Zhu's concerns. After all, in history, most of Zhu's sons were worthless.

He really needs a good education and to experience the hardships of life.

However, when Zhu Su saw a large group of teenagers dressed in flamboyant nouveau riche clothes, staggering out with a look of seven parts freshness and three parts pride, he still felt a little scalp-tingling.

Old Zhu was really fertile. When people in later generations talk about someone's fertility, they often use "giving birth to a football team" as a reference. But Old Zhu gave birth to two football teams!

Still bringing substitute players!

It can only be said that Emperor Hongwu's ability in certain aspects is unprecedented in history.

Add to that the chattering of his grandchildren, and Zhu Su suddenly felt overwhelmed.

But Old Zhu looked kind and seemed to be enjoying it.

Fortunately, these young boys all had their own eunuchs and officials around them, so they didn't need Zhu Su to look after them.

"Dad, where are we going today?"

Zhu Chong wore a jacket embroidered with gold thread, with a gold-painted padded jacket underneath. Around his neck hung a row of gold locks and in his hand was a gold-painted folding fan. He looked exactly like the silly son of a landlord.

But he was not ashamed of it. Instead, he was proud of it and felt pretty good about himself.

"Well, let's go outside the city today." Old Zhu said. He looked at Zhu Chong's outfit and nodded with satisfaction.

The aesthetic tastes of the Zhu family are mostly down-to-earth... Zhu Su secretly complained in his heart.

Old Zhu had come to Fengyang City several times before in disguise, so this time he was familiar with the route. The whole family got into several carriages and headed for the outskirts of Fengyang City, just like going for an outing.

Fengyang City received great support from the court at almost no expense. It was originally a poor place with poor natural conditions, and it could not reach the level of luxury of Yingtian Prefecture with its successive seasons, various sights to behold, brothels, painted pavilions, embroidered houses and pearl curtains everywhere.

However, because Fengyang gave birth to Emperor Zhu, the imperial court exempted taxes at will, and had previously purged those military leaders among the Huaixi nobles who had seized land from the people. As a result, the people of Fengyang could still live a decent life.

At least there were no lyrics like "Speaking of Fengyang, speaking of Fengyang, ever since Emperor Zhu came into being, there have been disasters nine out of ten years."

Coupled with the popularity of emerging crops such as corn, although the land is not very fertile, agriculture is prosperous.

Outside the city, there are also fields stretching across the fields. People who are engaged in spring ploughing are sweating profusely in the fields, creating a scene of bustling activity.

"The good oxen raised in the grassland can finally be used by the people." Old Zhu was quite happy to see the people using oxen and curved plows to plow the fields.

In recent years, the grassland herdsmen have raised cattle and sheep. The cattle are used as draft animals and sold to many landlords and farms, while the sheep are sheared and their wool is woven into clothes.

Today, the Northern Frontier Trade Route has become a very important part of the people's livelihood in the Ming Dynasty. Oxen and sheep have, to a certain extent, solved the two major problems of "clothing and food" in the Ming Dynasty.

Now, no official would lightly say that Mobei is a useless place, tasteless to eat and a pity to throw away, while our Central Plains is rich in resources and people, and has everything.

Even if there were a few corrupt scholars who occasionally said that the border areas were useless and that militarism was undesirable, they were often criticized by the people. The people had already enjoyed the resource dividends brought by the expansion of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, even though the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty still frequently rebel in the north, the consensus of the court is to keep the grassland firmly in their hands at all costs. After a few generations of assimilation, the grassland will become one of the cultural heritage of the Chinese nation.

After walking around the fields, he even rolled up his trousers and went into the fields to try plowing the fields with oxen. Old Zhu's outfit of a wealthy landlord looked out of place.

Fortunately, Fengyang was not short of such peasants who suddenly became rich. After all, it was the birthplace of the Ming Dynasty. There were countless Fengyang peasants who followed Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the world, became veterans, received rewards from the court, and became wealthy after retiring.

Therefore, the people only thought of him as a retired veteran who had made a fortune but had not forgotten his roots. Seeing that Lao Zhu spoke with an authentic Fengyang accent, they chatted with him eagerly.

Looking at the large number of children, the old farmer's eyes were filled with surprise and admiration, and he gave Lao Zhu a thumbs up:

"Brother, are these all your children and grandchildren? Wow, so many kids."

"Spread out branches and leaves! What a blessing!"

"Hahaha." Old Zhu also looked very proud. After walking around the fields, he felt even more energetic.

"They are such a headache! They make trouble at home all day long."

"We have experience in this matter. The private school teachers in the village all said that a good son is born under the stick. If there are any disobedient ones, then beat them hard!"

"Our son Daniu was not a good kid in his early years. He was lazy and gluttonous. After being beaten by me a few times, he is now a skilled manure carrier!"

"Brother, you should go back and give them a few more meals to keep them safe. These kids will all be very fast at carrying manure in the future!"

"Hahahaha, good, good! Old brother, what you said makes sense! I'll remember it! Hahahaha!"

Old Zhu laughed heartily, very happily. A group of his descendants looked at the old farmer telling his grandfather the truth that "a good son is born under the stick". They felt indignant, but they did not dare to say anything.

I could only secretly glare at the old farmer.

But the old farmer was not tactful and pretended not to see it. He even held Lao Zhu's hand and told him some tips on carrying manure and burying fertilizer. Lao Zhu didn't get bored and sat beside the ridge and listened with great interest.

After saying goodbye to the old farmer, he looked around the fields of other families and even drove a few princes and grandchildren down to the fields to help the old farmers here plant and plow.

Several princes ended up causing more trouble than help and were beaten by Zhu on the spot.

Afterwards, Lao Zhu took a large group of people to find a big tree by the roadside, and sat under the shade of the tree to educate his children and grandchildren.

"Governing a country is difficult, but also easy. If the people have food to eat, the country will be stable."

"How can the people have food to eat? First and foremost, we must give them land to grow crops and store food. The knowledge of governing a country lies entirely in this land."

"How to farm and feed the people depends on the local situation after you seal off the country."

"Since ancient times, every dynasty has had its own way of dealing with land. There is the official field system and the well-field system. Your teachers should have told you all about these in the main hall."

Among the princes who were about to go to the vassal state, some listened carefully, such as Zhu Zhen, the Prince of Chu, and Zhu Chun, the Prince of Shu. But most of them looked uninterested, such as Zhu Gui, the Prince of Qi, and Zhu Gui, the Prince of Dai.

Judging from their expressions, although they were intimidated by Lao Zhu's power, they pretended to listen carefully and nodded from time to time.

But with Zhu Su's experience, he had already seen that they were just pretending and had actually already lost their minds.

Old Zhu didn't care. Although he glanced at them, he continued to impart his experience to his sons:
"How to divide the land is a big science. The equal-field system in the Tang Dynasty seemed to allow everyone to have land to farm, but in the end, there was still the situation of 'rich people feasting and drinking, while others died of cold on the streets.'"

"In the final analysis, it is because the common people can never defeat the great aristocratic families. The great aristocratic families rely on their power and use this method to annex land, resulting in the common people having no place to stand and the court having no land to grant."

"The people have lost their fields and land, what should they do? They can only rebel, they have no choice but to rebel! They have no way out! The rebellious people are more terrifying than any bureaucratic family or any generations of nobles. Our ancestors said that water can carry a boat but can also overturn it. Those officials have huge power and may look intimidating on weekdays, but in reality they can only engage in some conspiracies and intrigues."

"The common people may seem insignificant at ordinary times, but if they are pushed to the limit... they can turn the world upside down! Do you understand?"

Among the princes and grandchildren of the emperor, some nodded deeply, as if they were thinking about something, while others curled their lips and disagreed.

The younger Liao King Zhu Zhi was a little confused and asked, "Dad, according to you, these bureaucratic families are not all parasites to our country."

"If we catch them all, wouldn't the world be at peace?"

His childish words made Old Zhu, Zhu Chong, Zhu Gang and other older princes laugh. Zhu Gang said with a smile: "Old Fifteen, without officials, who will sit in court, who will catch thieves, who will patrol the streets, and who will judge cases?"

"Are you, the King of Liao, coming here in person?"

Zhu Zhi scratched his head, feeling that he had asked a stupid question, and shyly shrank behind Zhu Chun, who was closest to him.

"Old Fifteen is right. There are inevitably corrupt officials among the government. We have to employ them, but we also have to suppress them."

"We must guard against them becoming too powerful and not let them get too fat and bloated," said Lao Zhu.

"Previous emperors liked to use power and balance to achieve this. Some even thought that this was the art of being an emperor, and were proud of their own manipulation of power."

"But this will only consume our national strength. This is the only solution. As a monarch, I have no ability, so I can only find an opponent for them."

"If you are ambitious and want to expand after closing the country, you should not use this method. You should use more upright methods to suppress them and make them do things in the direction you want."

When Old Zhu said this, he paused. King Zhu Chun of Shu bowed his head and pondered for a long time. Suddenly he raised his head and said, "I understand now. What you mean is that we should use those bureaucratic families, but we should also be on guard against them."

"We must guard against them wasting our national strength and harming the people. The balancing act of power and tactics can preserve the status quo but cannot expand it. To expand it, we must use upright means."

"For example, the farm system you use... gathers the strength of several households and contracts for joint production. It not only allows each person to share the land under the equal-field system, but also allows the people to gather together into a whole that can deal with the big families."

"One farmer can't afford to buy a working ox, but all the farmers on the farm can afford it. With a working ox, farmers can take turns using it, and everyone can grow more food."

"When a farmer encounters a disaster and can't make ends meet, he or she can only sell the land...but if so many farmers unite and come together, there is strength in numbers, and there will always be a way out."

"The farmers are living a more stable life, so the big households have no chance to take advantage of them. It's like a flawless system. Even if they want to suck blood, they can't get in... This is how we deal with these evil spirits with an upright and magnificent force!"

The farm system was actually developed based on the "household contract responsibility system" proposed by Zhu Su in later generations. However, if something from later generations was directly adopted, it might not be suitable for the national conditions of the Ming Dynasty at that time.

Therefore, after research by Zhu Yuanzhang, Song Lian, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen and others, they decided to integrate it with the equal-field system.

That is to say, the people are allowed to reclaim the land on their own, and after one year of cultivation, the court will allocate the right to use the land to you.

Land can still be passed down through your family, but ownership belongs to the court, and the land itself cannot be bought or sold.

Many people highly praise this point. They even hope that the land cannot be bought and sold, and will always be his family's land... Who wouldn't be afraid that there will be a prodigal son in the family who needs to sell the land in the future?
At the same time, land was divided into farms based on the regional principle. The farms had grain managers who were responsible for coordinating farmers, managing shared assets such as oxen, and transporting taxes to the court for farmers.

Farmers were responsible for their own production and production. Except for a certain percentage of grain tax collected by the court and the public reserve for the farm as a whole, the rest belonged to the farmers themselves.

Because of the integration of collective power, farmers have greater power. They can buy oxen and build canals. Even some farms today have used public funds to build windmills, waterwheels and other facilities.

It is more advanced than those wealthy families who own fertile land and have complete facilities.

"Hahahaha. Old Eleven can be a wise king!" Old Zhu laughed and praised. "Yes, that's right."

"The wealthy families are always swallowing up fields and lands, just like gluttons. Once the land is swallowed up by them, the common people will have no way to survive. This is what we need to do most to prevent the wealthy families from doing... This farm system is something that I, your fifth brother, Song Lian, Liu Ji and others have worked out after a long time of research. We want to use this magnificent momentum to suppress the wealthy families so that they can't even raise their heads!"

"Of course, each place has its own situation. This farm system may not be applicable everywhere... The important thing is to adapt to local conditions and how to implement it. The equal-field system during the Sui and Tang dynasties may not have been without the intention of restricting large households from swallowing up land, but in the end, it collapsed."

"When you arrive at your fief, think carefully about this."

Zhu Chun nodded and stopped talking. His fiefdom was in the Malacca-Srivihara area, which was originally a concession of the Ming Dynasty, but the surrounding regimes have changed several times, and now it can be said that it is the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

It is located at a hub, and there are many former Song immigrants, who are also Han Chinese. If we can unite them and forge ahead, we may be able to achieve great things.

He had already made up his mind, so he went back to find his fifth brother Zhu Su for some consultation.

(End of this chapter)