Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 100 Twelve Essays on the Fall of the Ming Dynasty 12
"Tell me the last one!" After Emperor Yongle strengthened his determination to conquer the grassland, he again asked for the solution to the next problem.

"Grandpa, this is the true destiny!

No one has any effective way to directly solve this problem of time!" Zhu Zhanhe looked at the confident Emperor Yongle and said something that made everyone unbelievable.

Although everyone realized that this problem had no solution at all, they still couldn't help but feel sad.

"He'er, is there no way?" Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi asked without giving up.

"Uncle, if you want to change the time, you can only do it slowly, and this process may take thousands of years! Or even more!" Zhu Zhanhe really had no way to change the time.

"Thousands of years?!" After hearing this, even Prince Zhao, who was kneeling on the ground, couldn't help but choke up.

"Although there is no way to change the weather, there are still some ways to deal with it. It's just that..." Zhu Zhanhe looked at everyone's dazed and lost eyes, and Zhu Zhanhe gave everyone hope again.

"What method? You tell me. As long as it can be done, it's fine!" After hearing this, Emperor Yongle immediately stood up and asked anxiously.

Even the prince and others beside him looked over eagerly.

“People’s lives depend on firewood, rice and salt!
Firewood comes first. Now that the weather is getting colder, people need more heating!

There are only two ways to keep warm: one is to wear more clothes, and the other is to use firewood for heating!

If we want to overcome the difficulties, the cotton promoted by Emperor Taizu Gao must be planted on a large scale. At least, every citizen should have a set of cotton clothes, regardless of whether they are new or old!
Planting cotton requires land. Only when people have enough to eat will they have extra land to plant cotton!
The people are currently starving. Even if they knew cotton could keep out the cold, they probably wouldn't plant it! " Zhu Zhanhe pulled out the cotton sleeves he had his maid make from his bosom, walked up to Emperor Yongle, and in front of everyone's astonished gazes, he put them directly on Emperor Yongle's hands and stuffed both of them inside.

“So, this comes back to the issue of land. Only when there is enough land can we grow cotton while growing food!
As for methods of reducing the population, I won’t mention them!” Zhu Zhanhe again brought up the issue of cotton planting.

"Then there's the issue of firewood, which is essential for everyday life! Especially in the cold winter, more firewood is definitely needed!

Seeing that the forests around the capital were almost cut down, my grandson knew that there might not be enough firewood!

Most forests are private property, and cutting them down without permission is a serious crime for the people, so we need to find a substitute for firewood! Zhu Zhanhe expressed his inner thoughts, looking for a substitute for firewood, that is, using coal!

"How can we replace firewood? What can we burn if not firewood?" Zhu Zhanji asked in surprise.

"Carbon!" Zhu Zhanhe said a goal that shocked everyone.

"Carbon?! That stuff is poisonous?! Who would use that stuff except for the poor?

"He'er, don't talk nonsense. That thing is only used by the Military Affairs Bureau at most!" Prince Han felt his scalp tingling after hearing his son's words, and immediately objected. He knew that countless people died every year because of coal!
"He'er, tell me what you think!" Emperor Yongle knew his grandson wouldn't speak without a purpose, so he asked. "Grandpa, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty has a lot of coal veins!" Zhu Zhanhe didn't answer the question, but instead asked about the coal vein resources.

"There are a lot! And many of them are open-air!" Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi replied directly.

"Since coal resources are so abundant, if coal can be mined in large quantities, it will surely be widely used!

If this mineral can also be utilized, then Ming Dynasty’s tax revenue will surely increase again!

All Grandpa needs to do is issue an imperial edict seeking talent. As long as you can solve the toxic coal problem, you can grant titles to your wife and children!" Zhu Zhanhe once again offered Emperor Yongle and Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi an irresistible temptation!
"That makes sense! For the sake of the people of the world! Why should I be stingy with an imperial edict!" Emperor Yongle immediately became interested when he heard that this thing could be used to collect taxes. After all, the gold and silver of the Japanese pirates were still a bit far away, but if the coal was solved, it would be real gold and silver.

"Your Majesty is wise, what you said is absolutely true!" Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi agreed with this suggestion very much! It was just an imperial edict, but if it really solved the problem of toxic coal, it would definitely be a great achievement for generations to come! The court would definitely not hesitate to confer titles on his wife and son!

"Hey? Why are my hands sweating?!" Just when Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi was still fantasizing about carbon dioxide poisoning, Emperor Yongle suddenly spoke. He took his hands out of his ordinary sleeves. Everyone looked closely and saw that there was indeed a layer of fine sweat beads on the palms of Emperor Yongle's hands.

"He'er, what is this?!" When Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi saw Emperor Yongle's hand, his face was filled with astonishment. Without caring about anything else, he directly snatched the sleeve from his father, Emperor Yongle, and put his chubby hands into it.

"It's warm!" Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi exclaimed as soon as he put his hand in. Immediately, Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi turned his gaze to Zhu Zhanhe.

"Don't break it!" Emperor Yongle muttered when he saw his son snatching the sleeves away, and at the same time turned his gaze to Zhu Zhanhe.

"The outer layer is made of cotton linen, and the inner lining is cotton!" Zhu Zhanhe saw that his sleeves worked, so he looked at the eyes of everyone around him and began to explain.

"Is this cotton? If this is made into cotton-padded clothes, we won't have to worry about winter anymore!" Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi took out his chubby hands from his sleeves and let everyone look at his slightly sweaty hands, full of surprise.

"Emperor Taizu Gao's promotion of cotton is truly a contribution that will last for generations to come!" Looking at the fat uncle's sweaty hands, Zhu Zhanhe couldn't help but speak.

"Boss, we need to promote cotton planting!" Emperor Yongle looked at the sleeves in his fat son's hand and couldn't help but say to the crown prince Zhu Gaochi.

"Dad, I'll get ready as soon as I get down!" Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi also knew the priorities and agreed immediately.

"Now that we have talked about keeping warm, the next issue is food. As the weather gets worse and worse, the land yield in the north will definitely be greatly reduced, and even the land yield in the south is expected to decrease! In other words, the food rations of ordinary people will be reduced every year!" Zhu Zhanhe once again raised the key issue!

"Hiss!" Prince Han couldn't help but take a breath. He turned his head and saw that Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi also had a sad look on his face.

A reduction in grain production means less food for ordinary people, which also means more land is needed to feed their families. In other words, without enough land, state tax revenue will decrease! So, when people are starving, will anyone really plant cotton? Clearly, the Prince of Han could think of the same problem, which is why he looked so worried.

(End of this chapter)