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Volume Three: Under the Balcony Chapter 498: Festival

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    The Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, in the fourth year of Xuande and the thirty-first year of Jianwen.  The remnants of firecrackers and the aftertaste of the festival still remain in the streets and alleys of Wuchang, just like a place where a banquet has been held, leaving a mess.  According to folk tradition, after this day, the New Year is over, and you should take off your new clothes and start preparing for spring plowing; the whole year begins with spring, and right after the New Year should be the busiest time, with fattening, breeding, field management, and rice transplanting. Even local officials  The focus of government affairs must be shifted to persuading farmers.

    However, it is a sad day for children. When the busy farming season comes, it is of course not as fun as the New Year, and they may have to be called upon by adults to help.  There is a folk custom in Huguang. Children will tie hemp ropes to the foot of the bed on this day to express their wish to keep the New Year.  Zhang Ning sympathizes with this sentiment. When he was a child, he also hoped that the Chinese New Year would be as slow as possible, because adults had no time to pay attention to children during the busy farming period. At that time, his task was only to take care of his little sister.

    Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, was born a commoner, so he understood the sufferings of the people.  After all, Zhang Ning was also born in a rural mountain village. He was definitely not a prince who was raised in the hands of a woman. He also had a deep understanding of farming.  The people still have their last day of rest, and the government offices in various places have not opened their seals yet, but the Wuchang cabinet is already discussing matters.  The discussion this time was not about military affairs. Zhang Ning decided to issue an order from the cabinet after the local government opened the seal: boil manure for fattening.

    Several ministers inevitably questioned this decree because Zhang Ning could not explain why.  He only remembered that in order to save money on purchasing chemical fertilizers, the way to improve natural fertilizers in rural areas was to boil dung water, which could greatly improve fertility. What the principle was, but he could not remember Of course, bureaucrats would insist on such a thing.  A cautious attitude, if it is a "fiddle", is a waste of people's energy and is a bad government.

    Yang Shiqi moderately suggested that you can choose a piece of official land in each county to test it first. If it really works miraculously, there is no need to force the officials and the people. People will follow suit in order to increase their income. If the judgment is wrong, the impact will not be big and it will not damage the official prestige.  .

    But Zhang Ning is indeed a bit stubborn sometimes, and he is very stubborn when it comes to things he is really sure about.  There is no need to test this thing at all. It is based on his experience when he was a child and has been proven in practice. This unnecessary step will waste the opportunity of growing the agricultural economy this year.

    So the cabinet finally decided to issue decrees to nearly 200 counties controlled by more than 20 prefectures in Huguang and Jiangxi, ordering local officials to urge people to use the method of boiling manure for fattening.  The implementation strategy was based on the severity of corvee; in the early Ming Dynasty, the main methods of exploiting farmers were two taxes and corvee. The government stipulated that in the next three years, all small households using new fattening methods would be exempted from half of the corvee to encourage the new law and the government  Because the benefits of reducing corvee losses can be made up by increasing the two taxes on grain. The grain tax is a commission, and the higher the yield per mu, the more taxes.

    After this discussion, Zhang Ning naturally felt complacent again, feeling that he still had some ability to govern the country.  The small trial method should be regarded as a method of administrative control.  He believed that the economic system of the Ming Dynasty really lacked control means, especially the monetary policy, which was a complete mess. The early treasure money and the later finances were in a mess. No wonder there was no money to fight the war later.  He felt that if he were in power in the future, he should be able to do better.

    ¡­In the evening, the Lantern Festival Lantern Market outside the south gate of Chu Palace is extremely lively and prosperous.  Yao Ji took Zhou Niang and others to the palace city to watch the fireworks and lights, and sent someone to invite Zhang Ning, but he didn't go. He only said that they would go over and eat glutinous rice dumplings together at night.  There is a custom tonight, to eat glutinous rice dumplings, which is said to mean blocking the mouse holes, which will save less property and save more in the new year; keeping vigil after the third watch means peace and safety, and hopes for a better year.  The mind of disaster.  Anyway, these customs have auspicious meanings.

    Zhang Ning is busy working on the "teaching materials" and has decided to personally train naval generals in the spring. Although the starting point is to further establish discipleship relationships with middle-level generals, since things have to be done, they cannot go through the motions.  He was romantic and cheerful a while ago, but now it is approaching the schedule for the military generals to arrive in Wuchang. The training plan and courses are not ready yet, so he has to rush to work.

    When Yao Ji and others came back from admiring the lanterns, he had to go and have supper with her.  There is no need to go to Emperor Jianwen's place anymore. I went to greet him ceremonially in the afternoon. However, my relationship with Yao Ji is different and I need to accompany him for a while. After all, it is the Lantern Festival.

    Yao Ji¡¯s group of women were heard talking and laughing outside the door. As soon as Zhang Ning arrived at the door, the atmosphere in the hall became cold.  Sure enough, I am still not that kind of person?

    When Zhang Ning stepped forward, he only had to bow to Yao Ji, and then everyone else was his equal in terms of status, so he only had to accept the courtesy from others.  Everyone did not dare to say anything and seemed a little reserved. Only Yao Ji calmly said casually: "I wanted to organize a lantern market in the palace tonight. You see there are so many people in the palace. We can win by guessing lantern riddles."  Okay; but I thought, the war is not over yet, so it would be better for the harem to calm down a bit."

    "Mother concubine"Be thorough.  "Zhang Ning said hurriedly.

    He looked around and saw that Luo Yaoniang was also there, but he didn't know whether she came voluntarily to set up a trap or if Yang Shiqi asked her to come.  What's even more mysterious is that Xiao Qing, who can see the doctor and feel the pulse, also came last time. Isn't this bitch an assassin? Zhang Ning didn't care about her and let her go. This time, she came again as if nothing had happened. Could it be that she was thinking of letting her go?  Save her father by yourself?

    The women were all dressed up neatly. Even though it was evening, most of them had light makeup on their faces, which showed that they had been carefully tidied up.  Zhang Xiaomei quietly watched Zhang Ning, but he did not dare to flirt with her; because although the women in the hall all pretended to ignore him, it was obvious that people were paying attention to him, and it would be easy for others to notice if they were not paying attention.  Zhu Nanping was silent next to Zhou Niang, but Zhang Ning generously made a special trip to talk to her and asked her how much money he got during the New Year.  Zhu Nanping lowered his head and replied: "The imperial concubine gave me the ingot, and my aunt gave me the gold lock."

    Yao Ji asked again: "You go to the Yamen in the morning. What are you busy with?"

    Zhang Ning then replied: "Of course it is a state matter. I was thinking about the Chinese New Year celebrations a few days ago, and suddenly I thought of a way to boil dung, so I hurriedly discussed with the ministers how to do it."

    "What?" Yao Ji looked at him slightly doubtfully.

    "Cooking dung." Zhang Ning had to explain, "It is the excrement of humans and animals. Farmers mainly rely on it for fertilization. If the fertilizer is insufficient, the harvest will not be good. Cooking dung before using it will not only double the fertility, but also greatly improve  Fertility. It suddenly occurred to me that Ming Dynasty has not discovered this method yet"

    "Hey, that's enough." Yao Ji shook her head and smiled, "Stop talking, are you going to tell everyone to eat glutinous rice balls later?"

    Only then did Zhang Ning notice that the women were making disgusted expressions and hurriedly said: "I seem to have said something inappropriate, so I'm really sorry." He believed that excrement was also a matter related to people's livelihood, and there was nothing dirty about it, but the women present were resistant.  That's understandable.  Now that they have become ladies, they are not engaged in childbirth, so they don¡¯t have to worry about those things as their fingers are not stained with mud.  However, the economy determines the upper class. If Zhang Ning's power group is not managed properly, these women will not be able to have sex.

    He saw that everyone was a little reserved, and they were not having much fun talking or laughing. It would be a bit uncomfortable to sit and wait for the third watch like this, so he said, "I have a suggestion, how about we all play cards together?"

    After saying this, he suddenly got up and looked at Luo Yaoniang with a mischievous smile.  Luo Yaoniang curled her lips, but she couldn't resist talking back in front of many people.  Later, Zhang Ning realized that Yao Ji also knew about the promiscuous card game last time, and he hurriedly restrained himself.  But he saw Yao Ji looking at him with a half-smile.

    Fang Ling said: "Probably the only way to play leaf cards is with four people at a table. The younger sister and the princess don't know how to do it, and Concubine Bai Cizhi probably hasn't learned it either?"

    "We are not playing leaf cards. With so many people participating, we should choose another simple and interesting game." Zhang Ning said, turning back to a standing guard in white and saying, "Go and get a deck of cards, a pen and paint.  . You can also come and play together later."

    When the maid brought the props, he counted the number of people present, and then randomly picked out the same number of cards. While coloring with a pen, he explained: "This game is called 'Please close your eyes when it gets dark'. It's very simple.  . The red card represents the prefect who wears red official robes and serves as the referee; the green card represents the subordinate police officer; the black card represents the assassin who wears night clothes and commits crimes; the uncolored ones are civilians"

    In Zhang Ning¡¯s view, leaf tiles are similar to mahjong in later generations, but they are actually a kind of gambling; while the killing game he said is actually a social game, which seems to be more interesting.  During the game, everyone can make excuses and jokes, and have the opportunity to express themselves without feeling ignored or forgotten.  It brings people closer and gets some simple care and fun.

    ¡°We are all very smart women. Zhang Ning only explained the rules once to them.  They didn't show any interest at first, but since it was Zhang Ning who suggested it, and everyone had nothing to do while sitting together, there was no reason to refuse.  Playing casually is better than just sitting around.

    But after two games, people got into the mood and gradually found it interesting.  Zhang Xiaomei pretends to be innocent and naive, Yao Ji pretends to be righteous and strict, and Luo Yaoniang's words are spicy, each showing their strengths.  The hall gradually became lively and laughter reappeared.  Even the maid who was brought in to make up the numbers changed from her usual reserved and dull look, allowing people to feel her personality as a person.

    Zhang Ning was once identified as the "assassin", and he took advantage of it to make fun of Xiao Qing: "I look like the big bad wolf, but in fact you have all wronged me. But the real assassin is not only well-educated and ladylike, but also  I know my pulse, so it¡¯s wrong to just rely on feeling. Did I say something wrong?¡±

    Xiao Qing's face turned bright red when she said that. When it was her turn to speak, she said that she had no choice but to do so.

    One person said a few words, joking, time, the time passed very fast, and the three seemed to be here for a while.
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