Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 259 Wuwei Arrives
As the poem says: "Enjoy life to the fullest when you are successful, and don't let the golden goblet face the moon empty."

At Wang Xi's age, he possessed boundless energy; it wasn't just a fleeting spring breeze, but a torrential downpour that lasted all night.

The main focus is on having a great time!
Of course, after having fun, one would then have to face the mother's education.

"I was hoping you'd still help me keep an eye on that boy, but little did I know you'd spoil him even more than I do. You!"

Princess Xue held Ashina Mi's small hand, looking at her now that she was a married woman, feeling both pity and helplessness.

Ashina Mi said, "Mother, did Mi'er do something wrong?"

Princess Xue laughed again, "It's not wrong. To be honest, I'm overjoyed. I've long considered you my own daughter. Now that the die is cast, even if Father Khan asks you to go back, I won't let you. Hehe!"

"mother."

Ashina Mi nestled into Princess Xue's arms and said, "Mi'er doesn't want to leave you and Que'er either."

"Good good!"

Princess Xue gently patted her arm and called out to the door, "You brat, get in here now."

"Coming!"

With a tumble, Wang Xi entered the hall. "Mother, did you see that? I really rolled in."

"Pfft!"

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were amused by the boy.

Princess Xue said sternly, "You brat, Mi'er treats you so well. If you ever dare to betray her in the future, I will skin you alive."

Wang Xi said, "Mother, don't worry, I will never be like Father and become a heartless man."

"What nonsense."

Princess Xue glared at him and asked again, "Then what about Xue Bao'er?"

Wang Xi glanced at Ashina Mi.

Ashina Mi hurriedly replied, "I didn't say that."

Wang Xi immediately said, "Mi'er, don't be afraid. You've already said it. No matter what you do, I won't blame you."

Then he said to Princess Xue, "Mother, Sister Bao'er is now with me too. I didn't hide it from Mi'er."

Princess Xue had a splitting headache. "If you want to take a concubine, I don't care. You can discuss it with Mi'er. But Xue Bao'er comes from a prestigious family and cannot be a concubine. Don't you understand this?"

Wang Xi said, "Isn't Father the same?!"

"Don't mention your father, I'm talking to you." Princess Xue's phoenix eyes widened.

Of course, she knew that Wang Shouyi had mistresses outside the home, including many women from prominent families. There was nothing she could do; that was just the Tang Dynasty.

"Oh."

Wang Xi rubbed his nose and said, "Mother, don't worry, I have my own way and I will never make things difficult for you."

Princess Xue said, "Tell me, what's your plan?"

“My uncle,” Wang Xi said with a proud expression.

Princess Xue asked in surprise, "Which uncle?"

Wang Xi said, "Of course it's Your Majesty."

Princess Xue asked in alarm, "What does this have to do with His Majesty?"

Wang Xi said, "My uncle said he would help me make the decision."

Princess Xue asked in shock, "Would His Majesty really stand up for you in something like this?"

Wang Xi nodded, "I have helped my uncle so much, so what is a little help from him? No, a few small favors are nothing."

Princess Xue was utterly speechless, and asked, amused and exasperated, "How many more do you want?"

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "The more the merrier."

Princess Xue was furious and said, "Mi'er, I don't hit people. Go and beat him up a few times for me."

She is a Buddhist, so she basically doesn't hit Wang Xi.

Ashina Mi said helplessly, "He's just that shameless; beating him won't help!"

Princess Xue sighed softly, patted Ashina Mi's head, and said, "You good-for-nothing child."

While Wang Xi was "indulging" in women, Wang Maozhong was working day and night on his books. Although he only used the Ministry of Works as a stepping stone, he was meticulous in everything he did and strived to do his best.

"Minister Wang."

Yu Qin entered the house and bowed to Wang Maozhong.

"Please sit down, Vice Minister Yu."

"Thank you."

Yu Qin sat down.

Wang Maozhong asked, "What has Vice Minister Yu been busy with lately?"

Yu Qin said, "I've been busy dredging the Bian River lately. Oh, it's something we do every year."

Wang Maozhong nodded and said, "I know that, but after looking at it, I think it's not done thoroughly enough. The number of conscripted laborers is also much less than the prescribed amount. In previous years, due to poor dredging in spring and summer, we often encountered blockages in autumn and winter."

Yu Qin nodded and said, "That is the case, but it also depends on the rainfall that year. Even if there is a blockage, it's not a big problem."

Wang Maozhong said, "Then why not do it all at once?"

Yu Qin said, "Minister Wang may not know this, but the corvée labor for dredging the Bian River comes from people in Luoyang and other places. If too many are conscripted, it will affect people's livelihoods. Everything should be done in moderation."

"This is your Confucian ideology."

Wang Maozhong pointed at Yu Qin with great dissatisfaction.

Yu Qin is no longer just the Vice Minister of Works; he is also the Censor-in-Chief. He is not afraid of Wang Maozhong and directly retorted, "What is wrong with treating the people with benevolence?"

“You go and force the people to work hard, just to reduce their labor by two days, is that benevolent governance?” Wang Maozhong questioned.

Yu Qin was taken aback, unsure how to refute, and asked, "Then, according to Minister Wang's opinion, what should be done?"

Wang Maozhong said, “It’s very simple. Do the job well and give some money to those who are forced to do corvée labor. Wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds? In fact, in my opinion, those people don’t complain about how much work they do, but rather about the lack of reward. Many times, they even have to bring their own food.”

Yu Qin said, "If that's possible, that would be best, but the problem is, who will pay for it?"

Wang Maozhong said, "I'm here to raise money so that the entire Bian River can be properly dredged this year."

Yu Qin asked, "Where will Minister Wang find the money?" Wang Maozhong replied, "Don't worry about that. I have my own way. I can't guarantee much, but I can definitely cover a household's daily food expenses. When I was in charge of horse administration, I saved the court a lot of money."

Yu Qin knew Wang Maozhong's methods and that he would never speak without reason, but he still said to himself, "Even so, doing this is not in accordance with the rules."

Wang Maozhong said, "If we don't do it now, the river will become silted up in autumn and winter, and we'll have to recruit laborers to dredge it. That would be even more of a waste of resources and manpower. I'll have to go and talk to His Majesty about it then."

Yu Qin pondered to himself, and indeed, those were all tasks that needed to be done sooner or later. If they could also receive a subsidy, it would obviously be a good thing for the people. He said, "Alright, I'll go and see how to arrange it."

Wang Maozhong said, "I'll leave it to Vice Minister Yu."

Yu Qin did not make arrangements, but immediately went to the Secretariat. In Wang Maozhong's view, this was a decree from the Ministry of Works, but in Yu Qin's view, it would inevitably affect the arrangement of corvée labor, which was no small matter and had to be discussed with Zhang Shuo and the others.

However, when Yu Qin arrived at the Secretariat, he found that there were many officials sitting inside.

Zhang looked at Yu Qin with a sense of utter despair and asked, "Minister Yu, you didn't come here because of Minister Wang, did you?"

Yu Qin was dumbfounded.

It turned out that Wang Maozhong was too arrogant, which led Dou Xiguan and his men to launch a frenzied attack, using various forms of coercion, bribery, and even outright robbery against the wealthy and local thugs.

They just stop at nothing.

In just under a month, they have almost monopolized the supply of manure and other raw materials in the entire Chang'an. Twelve large manure-making workshops are already in operation.

But this involves the interests of many petty officials, and if you monopolize the excrement, what about the fertilizer for the powerful and wealthy?
They didn't know at first that it was Wang Maozhong and his group who were behind this.

I initially thought a group of powerful figures had arrived, but after inquiring, I learned that similar incidents were happening everywhere. Something was definitely amiss.

Further investigation revealed that it was Wang Maozhong and his gang who were behind it.

This is blatant collusion between officials and businessmen!

Because those manure-making workshops were run by Dou Xiguan and his associates, and the manure from the imperial horse farms was also sold to them.

Zhang had originally planned to ask Wang Maozhong for advice, but when he heard that Wang Maozhong was also going to manage the river, he was devastated.

That's way too much.

Let's not let him come looking for us anymore. Let's go to the Emperor together and talk to him.

Wang Maozhong was appointed Minister of Works because of Li Longji's support.

Zichen Palace.

"Minister Wang, are all these things true?"

Li Longji threw a memorial on the low table and then asked Wang Maozhong a question.

Wang Maozhong nodded and said, "It's all true. I instructed the Duke of Song and his men to do it."

Li Longji asked, "Why is that?"

Wang Maozhong said, "I wish to save money for the court. Since Emperor Gaozu established the country, there has been a clear shortage of grain in Guanzhong, and some of it has to be transported from Jiangnan and other places. The losses in this process are simply incalculable."

Previously, the ministers advised Your Majesty to be frugal, economize, and be considerate of the people. But how much can Your Majesty eat by yourself? In my opinion, that's not the point.

Since assuming office at the Ministry of Works, I have inquired everywhere and discovered that many fields in Guanzhong have lost their fertility and become barren land due to excessive cultivation and waste caused by not following Taoist principles. The court should find ways to increase the fertility of the land in Guanzhong and produce more grain. This would reduce the court's losses by at least tenfold and lighten the burden on the people considerably.

Otherwise, no matter how benevolent the government is, it won't alleviate much of the burden, whether for the country or the people.

As Wang Xiaoque and the others said before, the problem lies in not following Taoist thought; no matter how much Confucian thought is used, it won't solve the problem.

Zhang said they glanced sideways at Wang Maozhong, their lips twitching.

Do you, a stable boy, understand Taoist philosophy?
It's shameless of them to talk like this.

Li Longji asked, "Then how should this be resolved according to Taoist thought?"

Wang Maozhong said, "Nature studies the land, follows the way of all things, uses it rationally, and tries to make the land fertile. This requires fertilizer. Through the research of the Nameless Academy, a complete fertilizer production method has been developed."

Yuan Qianyao said, "I have heard about your fertilizer production, which is similar to the records in the Qimin Yaoshu."

"But there's a huge difference."

Wang Maozhong said, "Although they look the same, there are many differences in fertilizer formulas and fertilizer production methods. And when these differences are combined, they are worlds apart."

Yuan Qianyao frowned slightly, not daring to say more, since he didn't have much research on this.

Zhang said, "But it seems you want to control all the fertilizer. How will the people get it?"

Wang Maozhong said, "Of course, it's purchased with money."

Yuan Qianyao said, "The fertilizer you collect from the people is then resold to them. Putting aside whether this is appropriate or not, the key issue is that those people can't afford it."

Wang Maozhong said, "The imperial court will pay."

Yuan Qianyao asked in surprise, "Paying money to the imperial court?"

Wang Maozhong nodded and said, "In the Guanzhong region, no matter the cost, it can only increase grain production. Compared to the losses in transportation, it is a sure thing and more considerate of the people. This is the Taoist principle of non-action."

"Let's not talk about this policy of non-interference for now."

Zhang Shuo got a headache when he heard this brute talk about governing by doing nothing, and said: "You are clearly colluding with officials and merchants. The owners behind those fertilizer factories are none other than the Duke of Song and his group."

Wang Maozhong said excitedly, "I get angry just thinking about it."

Zhang asked, puzzled, "Are you still angry?"

"Of course I'm angry."

Wang Maozhong said, "To be honest, Prime Minister Zhang, I originally wanted the Ministry of Works to do it themselves, but that Taoist priest Cui thought it was inappropriate to do it that way, as it would be competing with the people for profit. Moreover, if the government were to do this work, it would be a case of internal strife, and the court might lose more money. It would be better to hand it over to the people, and the government could save money."

He speaks very directly and frankly. When he took over the administration of Ma Ying-jeou, he also bluntly stated that there was too much corruption.

Yuan Qianyao and Yu Qin nodded in agreement.

They strongly agree with this viewpoint.

Wang Maozhong changed the subject and said, "Then let the merchants do it, but no one trusts me. Nobody believes in this Taoist philosophy. I had no choice but to force Dou Xiguan and the others to do it."

Zhang and the others were speechless for a moment.

It turns out they were forced into collusion between officials and businessmen.

But thinking about it, it's not exactly a good deal; nobles generally don't touch these kinds of things.

Li Longji smiled and said, "Mao Zhong, tell me your specific thoughts first."

Wang Maozhong said, "It's very simple. The imperial court will provide subsidies to fertilizer factories. At that time, the amount of fertilizer will be sold to the people based on the amount of tax they pay, at a low price that the people can accept. Those who do not pay taxes can buy it directly with money, but of course, the price will be higher."

(End of this chapter)