Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 576 Bright Horn Lamp

"Senior brother~ I don't want to be the empress~"

Nestled close to her, Lin Daiyu softly complained, "I just want to be with you."

Lin Daiyu didn't care for the wealth and power of emperors, generals, or ministers.

All she wanted was to be happy with her senior brother.

"I can't always be with you." Lin Dao raised his hand and pinched Lin Meimei's pretty face. "I have to find you something to do."

The NPCs in the game will quietly wait for their turn to be triggered over endless years.

But Lin Daiyu is not an NPC.

It's said to be a world in a book, but it actually exists.

Lin Dao had previously observed with a telescope that every world is real, only the time period is different.

Imagine Lin Daiyu being treated like an NPC, spending her days in her room, on her bed, waiting for someone to suddenly appear, then disappear again in a flash.

That's not what Lin Dao is pursuing.

If he wants toys, the modern world has all kinds.

Lin Daiyu, who could vaguely sense something, rubbed her little head against Lin Dao's chest and said, "I really want to go with you."

"I'll think of a way."

That's what they say, but Lin Daoneng had tried every possible method, and even begged his master in his dreams.

The result was still the same: nothing could be done.

This is almost a matter of the laws of space and time, and Lin Dao really has no choice but to seek help from the system.

"I don't want to live in the palace."

Lin Daiyu buried her head even deeper, saying, "This place is so gloomy and scary!"

Lin Dao couldn't laugh at these words.

With your indestructible body cultivated through practice, what in this world could possibly frighten you?

For ordinary people, the palace is indeed like hell.

But what are you afraid of? Anyone who dares to have designs on you will be sent flying with a single slap.

Even if rebels break in, you can just pull out a willow tree and wave it around; who can get close to you?

"can."

What he was thinking was what he was thinking, but what Lin Dao said was quite different: "Where do you want to stay? Back to the Lin residence?"

"Father is never home; he's always so busy."

Lin Daiyu shook her head, "Going back is pointless."

She didn't manage things; all the work was left to Lin Ruhai.

As the Prime Minister, Lin Ruhai, who effectively became the regent, was truly extremely busy.

To pacify the people, reorganize the army, reform the local government, and rebuild the imperial court.

The original court of the Great Zhou Dynasty was basically wiped out.

The vast majority of the royal family, nobles, and civil and military officials were arrested, imprisoned, and interrogated one by one under torture.

Apart from a small number of truly honest individuals, the honesty here refers to honesty that can withstand the scrutiny of forest road surveillance cameras.

Those who are willing to serve the new dynasty can stay; the rest have no choice but to stay.

Lin Ruhai needed to rebuild the imperial court and, following the army's advance, also rebuild local government offices in various regions.

The sheer volume of work involved is simply maddening.

If Lin Dao were to become emperor himself, then all this incredibly busy work would be his own.

The reason why she trusted Lin Ruhai was for only one reason: Lin Ruhai only had Lin Daiyu as his blood relative.

Even if he had multiple younger sisters, Lin Dao would not have given him such great power.

Lin Ruhai clearly understood this principle, so although he had no shortage of concubines and maids around him, he never lacked contraceptive soup.

Lin Daoxin pondered for a moment, then asked with a smile, "So, where would you like to stay?"

Lin Daiyu looked up, her usually bright eyes now somewhat unfocused. "The Rongguo Mansion, is that alright?"

She didn't really want to live in the Rongguo Mansion; it was just because she was beautiful and kind-hearted.

Lin Dao's extortion was not just talk; it was real extortion.

Both the Rongguo Mansion and the Ningguo Mansion were directly searched and confiscated.

When the men were taken to the makeshift prison and saw the instruments of torture, their legs went weak.

When he witnessed someone he used to know being tortured, he was so frightened that he wet his diaper.

If there are preferential treatments, there are.

The women were not imprisoned and screened, waiting to be exiled; instead, they were kept in the mansion.

Grandmother Jia followed the route of Yuanyang, Zijuan, the Lin family, and Lin Daiyu, delivering her pleading words.

The beautiful and kind-hearted Lin Daiyu subtly expressed her desire to help the Jia family.

"You still remember?"

Lin Dao asked in a low voice, "What did we see and hear on our way from Yangzhou to the capital?"

"of course I remember."

Lin Daiyu nodded repeatedly, waiting for Lin Dao to continue.

"You must have seen the lives of the people along the way."

"Those ferry terminals and towns along the Grand Canal may seem bustling, but in reality they are all restaurants, brothels, gambling dens and pawnshops."

“Far away from the canal, most of the people are tenant farmers, and many families have no place to stand.”

"Two meals a day, mainly consisting of mixed grains, wheat bran, and sweet potatoes."

"There are many people who are barely clothed."

"At night, apart from the houses of landlords and gentry, the earth was shrouded in deathly darkness."

"The number of collapsed roads encountered along the way is countless."

Following Lin Dao's words, Lin Meimei recalled what she had seen and heard, and remained silent.

Lin Dao suddenly changed the subject.

Do you know what a horn lamp is?

"Ah?" Lin Daiyu raised her head and thought carefully. "It seems I've heard of it."

Lin Dao gently stroked her hair. "The Mingjiao lamp is a lamp made from the horns of a sheep."

"How can we make a lantern out of a ram's horn?"

"First, the horn and shredded radish need to be boiled together until they become translucent, which usually takes several hours. The radish softens the horn."

"Then, a special wooden board is used to stretch the sheep's horns."

"To avoid damage, we can only stretch it a little bit."

"After stretching it a little bigger and cooling it, boil it again, and then stretch it a little bigger with an even larger wooden board."

"This process is repeated continuously until the ram's horn becomes increasingly bulging, thinner, and transparent." "Only when it can clearly transmit light is a bright horn lamp considered complete."

Lin Dao laughed again, "Do you know how much this whole process consumes in terms of fuel, labor, time, materials, and yield rate?"

In ancient times, firewood was the first of the seven necessities of daily life.

In the days before gas stoves, fuel was extremely precious.

Why did so many people freeze to death in ancient winters? It was because of the lack of fuel.

Lin Daiyu shook her head, thought for a moment, and replied, "Could it be the palace's guiding light?"

"Haha~"

This made Lin Dao laugh. "It's not the large lantern from the palace."

"These bright horn lanterns, which cost countless amounts of money, were used by the lowest-ranking night patrol servants in the Rongguo Mansion."

Lin Daiyu was a clever person and quickly understood what Lin Dao meant.

"Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste; on the road, frozen corpses lie."

Lin Dao looked at her and asked, "Do you still feel sorry for the people of the Jia family?"

Lin Dao had seen far too many things like this.

The common people cannot even guarantee their most basic survival, while the wealthy and powerful indulge in unrestrained consumption.

Many ordinary people have never even seen or heard of shark fin, let alone eaten it.

But some people are telling the people, "Stop eating shark fin soup, remember to protect the fish!"
Pooh! ! !
"The Jia family has enjoyed the people's hard-earned money for so many years; now it's time for them to pay their debts."

"Deserve it!"

Lin Dao took a breath and looked at Lin Meimei, saying, "However, I am not someone who cannot distinguish right from wrong."

“As long as they have a clean reputation, I can give them a way out.”

"After some time, you can move to the Grand View Garden."

Lin Daiyu lowered her head and gave a soft reply.

The letter sent by Grandmother Jia was filled with earnest and sorrowful words, which truly moved Lin Daiyu.

But after hearing his senior brother's words, and recalling the Jia family's luxurious lifestyle over the years...

Suddenly, Lin Daiyu realized that her own family was in the same situation.

Seeing the change in Lin Daiyu's emotions, Lin Dao nodded in satisfaction.

She is indeed beautiful inside and out.

If it were something that one takes for granted, believing that wealth should be inherited, Lin Dao wouldn't have spent so much time and effort on her.

"If you are in a position, you should fulfill your responsibilities."

"Now that you've taken this position, you must shoulder the corresponding responsibilities."

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand politics, just stick to one thing."

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu hurriedly asked, "Which point?"

"We should continue to do things that benefit the people."

"We must resolutely oppose anything that harms the interests of the people."

"For example, the Yellow River, our mother river—alas, it has breached its banks yet again! What can we do?"

"Of course, it's disaster relief."

"Arrange personnel, carrying grain, supplies, and silver, to appease the people, rebuild their homes, and dredge and manage the waterways."

"This is the general direction, something that benefits the people."

"If someone says that officials are corrupt, that they are using inferior goods and causing all sorts of troubles to continue to spend money and supplies, and that disaster relief investment should be reduced, then that is harming the interests of the people."

"Specific tasks such as disaster relief and punishment of corruption will be handled by designated personnel."

"What you need to do is stick to the general direction."

"Disaster relief is needed, and supplies should be given."

"The rest are all minor details that need to be handled by the officials."

Lin Daiyu nodded repeatedly as she listened.

You know that~

Lin Daoxiao asked, "Throughout the thousands of years, when were the people happiest during each dynasty?"

Lin Daiyu thought about it carefully and replied uncertainly, "Emperor Wen of Han?"

"Yes."

Lin Dao praised, "You're really smart."

"For thousands of years, only during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han were the people of the Central Plains truly happy."

"Because Emperor Wen of Han exempted land taxes!"

"All those emperors, kings, and feudal lords, no matter how great their achievements, were inferior to Emperor Wen of Han."

"At least, that's how it is in the hearts of the people."

"Only he is qualified to be called a ruler of the people!"

Lin Dao has seen far too many emperors and generals.

He had spoken with both Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han.

Lin Dao felt only admiration, not respect, for these kings who conquered new territories.

Because they are essentially still exploiting the people.

Emperor Wen of Han was the only emperor in thousands of years to exempt the people from land taxes, and he truly deserves respect.

As for those who have neither the ability to expand territory nor the ability to exploit the people, Lin Dao usually sends them on their way.

"Senior brother."

Lin Daiyu pondered seriously, "I also want to be exempted from land tax."

"But if there is no land tax revenue, where will the money and grain come from to do things?"

"That's just an excuse." Lin Dao shook his head. "When Emperor Wen of Han exempted the land tax, did the Han Dynasty collapse and perish?"

"If he could do it, why couldn't the emperors of later generations?"

"It all boils down to two things: money and provisions."

"If we don't accept domestically, we can go abroad to collect them."

"Doing business can earn money, and money can be used to buy food."

"If all else fails, just rob it!"

“Those who plunder the wealth of other lands to enrich the people are the rulers of the people.”

"You must never learn from the Confucian ideal of being a saint in public and a king in private."

"Don't be afraid, do your best, I support you!"

(End of this chapter)