The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 224 Food Shortage Leads to Zhu Yuanzhang's Furious Outburst
"Back then, the Duke of Wei said that if we were ruled by the Yuan people for a few more years, our children wouldn't even know what Tang and Song poetry was!"

"But now that the world is at peace, these seeds of learning cannot be controlled by large families alone."

At the very least, we must enable all people in the world to learn to read.

"What does Lord Liu think?"

Liu Bowen sighed and stared intently at Zhu Xiong Ying as he spoke.

"Your Highness, please forgive my bluntness, but this idea is indeed good, yet it is completely impractical!"

"In reality, throughout history, those who have been literate have been mostly children of wealthy families. Very few children from poor families have been able to read and write. If everyone in the world were to be literate, then who would till the land and who would join the army!"

"Moreover, the cost would be too high; the Ming Dynasty simply doesn't have the capability to do it right now!"

Zhu Xiong Ying said with a smile.

"Of course, it can't be accomplished overnight, but we can change things little by little. I see that every post station has official gazettes, but very few people can actually understand them."

The public isn't very interested in the content either. Would changing the content lead to a better outcome?

Liu Bowen was taken aback; he had never thought about this before.

"Your Highness, the contents of the official gazette are all important matters of our Great Ming Dynasty. It would be inappropriate to change them!"

"Of course, it's not all changed; it's just divided into the official gazette used by the government and the Da Ming Gazette circulated among the people!"

"The newspapers circulating among the people mainly record strange tales, good articles, or things that interest them. Of course, such things can also be recorded so that the people know that our Ming Dynasty does not kill innocent people indiscriminately. If these people are guilty, then our Ming Dynasty will punish them!"

Liu Bowen was extremely shocked when he heard this. If it was true, then it would be equivalent to completely controlling the direction of public opinion.

At that time, the local people will know some of the court's ideas, and it will be impossible for scholars across the country to control public opinion.

"But the world is so big, and printing such newspapers everywhere would really consume too much resources!"

Zhu Xiong Ying had already thought all of this through.

"Don't worry, the initial expenses will be covered by the Ministry of Revenue. I've discussed this with Lord Yang Siyi. Besides, these newspapers aren't free; you can buy them for one coin per sheet. Although it doesn't seem like much, it adds up!"

"Besides, this newspaper doesn't require particularly good paper or ink!"

"The world is so big, the number of locks to be printed will definitely not be small. In this way, not only will we not waste money, but we will also make a profit!"

Given Yang Siyi's personality, he'll definitely get involved in anything that can make money, so as long as you explain it to him clearly, I don't believe the old man will disagree.

Liu Bowen immediately understood when he thought about Zhu Xiong Ying coming to see him today.

"So Your Highness means you wish for me to compile this newspaper?"

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded.

"Of course, with Lord Liu's abilities, this is a piece of cake!"

"Furthermore, I intend for your Censorate to participate in Guo Huan's case this time, with the Ministry of Justice primarily in charge, and you responsible for monitoring and reviewing it!"

"Once this matter is completed, with your contributions, you can be granted the title of Duke!"

Liu Bowen was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and was somewhat moved.

Back when Zhu Yuanzhang was still conquering the country, Liu Bowen had already been enfeoffed as the Marquis of Pingxi. Later, due to some disagreements with Zhu Yuanzhang, he was demoted again. In the third year of Hongwu, he was enfeoffed as the Earl of Chengyi.

Although he held a high position in the imperial court, his noble rank was very low.

Although Liu Bowen didn't seem to care about the matter, he was still conflicted. Hearing Zhu Xiong Ying's words, he smiled and said, "I've long since stopped caring about such empty titles, but since Your Highness has entrusted me with this task, I will certainly do my best!"

In the Jiangnan region, Zhu Yuanzhang traveled to many other places.

Although some officials are corrupt and exploit the people, the local government has achieved remarkable results after years of governance.

At least the Jiangnan region is much more prosperous than before.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the places he had once conquered and was filled with emotion.

“Erhu, we were just poor people back then. Who would have thought we would end up like this? This place used to be Zhang Shicheng’s territory. That salt merchant was not even as good as Chen the Bald!”

"If this guy hadn't held back, we wouldn't have been able to take down Baldy Chen so quickly!"

"Everyone says that salt merchant had a knack for governing the region. Look at how well our Ming Dynasty is governed now, isn't it much richer than that guy's!"

Erhu said with a smile.

"Of course, thanks to His Majesty, most people in our Great Ming can afford to eat, and the granaries are also stockpiled with grain. Even if a disaster occurs in a region, no one in our Great Ming will starve to death!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was very pleased to hear this.

"Of course! We come from poor backgrounds and love food the most. That's why we've built granaries in various places. If a natural disaster strikes anywhere, with this food, no one will die!"

"Speaking of which, the Ministry of Revenue recently re-counted the grain statistics for various regions!"

"Our Ming Dynasty's grain reserves can last for a very long time!"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Huan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, came to Zhu Yuanzhang's side with the latest official document in his hand.

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Jiang Huan instinctively hid the document in his sleeve again.

It's best not to tell His Majesty about this now, otherwise it would spoil His Majesty's mood.

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately noticed the document that Jiang Huan had hidden in his sleeve.

"Jiang Huan, has some new information come your way? Why are you keeping it to yourself? Are you perhaps planning a rebellion?"

Jiang Huan was startled and knelt down with a thud.

Then he took out the document from his sleeve.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. This servant would never dare to do such a thing. I just feel that it is inappropriate to hand this document to Your Majesty at this time. Perhaps Your Majesty could read it after you return to your residence?"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

"Could something so important interfere with official business?"

"Don't even mention your little memorial. Back when we were in the Qinzheng Shop, we only slept for two hours a day, and the memorials we reviewed every day piled up like small mountains, but we never felt tired!"

"With my dear son and grandson around these days, we've been living a very carefree life!"

"This document should record the deeds of our Hao Dasun. Let us see what good things our good Dasun has done for us this time!"

Jiang Huan trembled as he handed the document to Zhu Yuanzhang, as if he had already anticipated Zhu Yuanzhang's expression.

Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned extremely ugly after he finished reading the contents.

"Has this little brat gone mad? How dare he touch our grain?"

(End of this chapter)