Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

Chapter 18 The Little Princess Eats Bread!

To avoid using the name of Emperor Taizu Li Hu, the tiger was transformed into a large worm.

"Oh my god~" The little princess pointed to the cat squatting on the grass not far away.

Upon seeing the silver gradient clearly, Li Shimin couldn't help but laugh, "Hahaha!"

"This is my cat!" Xiao Ran said, then called out, "Coco, come here!"

"Meow~"

The cat meowed, ran towards Xiao Ran, and jumped into his arms.

Cheng Yaojin and Zhang Anan were also filled with lingering fear; if there really had been a tiger, it would have been dangerous.

With the princesses here, they certainly can't run away.

If anyone's going to run away, it'll be the princesses.

"I knew there couldn't possibly be a big bug here." It was a false alarm, and Li Shimin sat down to continue fishing.

"Wow~" The little princess stared intently at the cat.

I found this one to be nice too.

"I want to touch Little Nangjun~" the little princess said.

"it is good!"

Hehe~ So soft~

Princess Chengyang also reached out and touched it, clearly liking the little animal.

"I must say, the cats and dogs around you, my dear nephew, are quite special. I've never seen them before!" Cheng Yaojin chuckled.

"It was brought from other places; the Central Plains region doesn't have it." Xiao Ran was telling the truth; at least the current Tang Dynasty didn't have it.

Li Lizhi really likes Samoyeds, but when she saw the cat, she felt this one was better.

The aloof nature of cats suits Li Lizhi's gentle and refined personality better.

Xiao Ran brought Li Lizhi a small stool, and Li Lizhi sat down while holding the cat.

As for the two little princesses, they prefer playing with the lively dog.

With the two little princesses here, Xiao Ran lost interest in fishing.

Xiao Ran noticed the two little princesses' shoes; they were exquisite and small, and clearly very valuable.

The little dress she was wearing wasn't ordinary clothing either; compared to it, Third Sister's was almost unbearable to look at.

Regardless of the era, the gap between the rich and the poor has always been significant.

"Why are you still so distracted?" Li Shimin noticed.

"I've been fishing for a while, and I want to take a break."

Li Shimin picked up his fishing rod and placed it beside him, saying, "Perfect timing for you to rest. Uncle, try out your fishing rod."

Xiao Ran really didn't want to fish anymore, so he handed the fish to Li Shimin.

There are no fishing reels anymore, but everything else is about the same.

"Nephew, can this also stretch and retract freely?"

"Yeah, either is fine."

Li Shimin nodded, "Truly a masterpiece!"

Upon returning to Chang'an, Li Shimin consulted with craftsmen to see if they could make a fishing rod that was both retractable and sturdy enough.

The craftsman said that one cannot have both.

It is flexible and easy to stretch, but rather rough and not very sturdy.

Materials were scarce in that era, making it impossible to make such a fishing rod.

Xiao Ran picked up another fishing rod, cast it out, and handed it to Cheng Yaojin, "Uncle, use this one!"

"Haha, thank you very much, my dear nephew." Cheng Yaojin quickly accepted it.

Li Shimin stared at it for a moment, and realized that Xiao Ran didn't have two fishing rods, but three!

Cheng Yaojin also loved it dearly.

Li Lizhi also noticed the fishing rod, but she wasn't interested in fishing and just wanted to quietly hold her cat.

Li Lizhi felt an urge to take him home.

"Nephew, how's the harvest in Kaolao Village?" Li Shimin asked casually. "Very good, a bumper harvest!"

"I think the autumn harvest is almost over, and it'll be time to pay the granary tax soon!"

Upon hearing the name "Yicang" (charitable granary), Xiao Ran murmured to himself, recognizing it as a "Yicang" established during the Zhenguan era of the early Tang Dynasty.

"What do you think of the court's measure, my dear nephew?" Li Shimin was quite pleased with himself and wanted to hear Xiao Ran's praise.

"The court's original intention was certainly good, but it inevitably became distorted over time."

Xiao Ran said this because he knew that after the mid-Tang Dynasty, the equal-field system collapsed, wealthy households concealed their land holdings, poor farmers bore more grain taxes, and the public granaries gradually became oppressive policies.

The granaries were managed by local officials and lacked effective supervision, which led to frequent cases of embezzlement and misappropriation of grain.

In the late Tang Dynasty, officials often used grain from the public granaries to fill fiscal deficits or to enrich themselves, leaving the granaries empty during years of famine.

Limited grain storage technology makes long-term storage prone to mold and spoilage. Coupled with poor management, the actual disaster relief effect of the public granary is greatly reduced.

Later, it completely changed its nature, not only failing to help the people share the risks of disaster years, but also becoming a burden.

Li Shimin frowned and looked at Xiao Ran, "Nephew, do you think the charitable granary is bad?"

"It's good, at least it's good now, but who knows what will happen in the future."

Li Shimin naturally understood the hidden meaning in Xiao Ran's words.

Li Shimin, who was once quick to accept advice, is now somewhat addicted to it. He is even more interested in those who offer dissenting opinions or are not flattering.

"It seems that my nephew has noticed the shortcomings of the granary. Tell me about them."

Xiao Ran shook his head. "It's inappropriate to make irresponsible remarks about the court's policies."

Li Shimin hesitated, unable to speak.

"Hahaha!" Cheng Yaojin chimed in, "Nephew, you're overthinking it. His Majesty is open to advice and cares about the world. As long as it's not malicious slander, it's fine. There's no one else here, so it's okay to talk about it."

Li Shimin wanted to see what Xiao Ran thought, and Xiao Ran also wanted to let them know that he wasn't completely ignorant and that he had some knowledge.

Xiao Ran then said, "His Majesty and the court's initial intention of storing grain to prepare for famine is certainly good."

Li Shimin nodded, signaling Xiao Ran to continue.

"The key to a charitable granary lies in 'moderate collection of taxes.' If taxes are collected based on a fixed amount of land, it may seem fair, but it is not."

“The wealthy can hide their land and evade taxes, while the poor bear the heavy burden, ultimately resulting in ‘starving people everywhere while granaries are full.’”

“It is easy for officials to embezzle grain stored in granaries. Without ironclad laws to supervise them, the grain may end up in the pockets of officials.”

“If grain distribution during a famine year follows official procedures, it will inevitably lead to ‘the people dying before the documents arrive.’”

Li Shimin greatly admired Xiao Ran, believing that Xiao Ran's words were not unfounded.

Xiao Ran pointed to the hillside not far away, where Third Sister was picking millet ears in the field. "Uncle, that young lady is from Kaolao Village. She picks millet ears with a kaolao very early every day. If the granary levies grain and takes away the millet from her mouth, her original intention will become a sharp blade."

"She was not lazy, on the contrary, she was very diligent, but she didn't even have shoes and was barefoot in the fields all day long."

Li Shimin seemed to be deep in thought; in fact, this matter was also quite difficult.

If people were to voluntarily contribute grain, very few would be willing to do so, and most would go hungry.

It's not a matter of human nature, but a very real and cruel problem.

Forced expropriation will drive impoverished households into desperation.

“Nephew is right, there are indeed many problems.” Li Shimin was now quite impressed with Xiao Ran.

If an official were to say these things, Li Shimin would find it normal, as officials should be aware of these issues.

But Xiao Ran is different; it's quite remarkable that he knows these things.

Xiao Ran checked the time, stood up, and walked to the two little princesses. "My lady!"

"Hehe~ Little Nangjun~"

The two little princesses do look quite alike; they are both very cute.

Xiao Ran gave each of the three princesses a piece of bread.

"So soft~ This one is nice too~" The little princess pinched it.

Li Lizhi took a small bite, wanting to ask why Xiao Ran's food was so special, something that didn't exist in the Tang Dynasty.

Even the imperial palace couldn't produce something like that.

(End of this chapter)