In the Ming Dynasty 1498, my restaurant connects two worlds.

Chapter 96 Song Xiaoyi's New Plan

Song Xiaoyi thought to himself, "Fine, I won't move. How can a modern person like me be manipulated by an ancient person?"

I can make money selling pancakes while standing up!

"Without affecting the personnel in the imperial court, Xiao Yi can start with the economy and agriculture. All he needs is Brother Zhu's covert protection."

Zhu Youcheng frowned slightly: "Economy? The national treasury is empty; the Ming Dynasty is in dire need of silver."

Song Xiaoyi leaned in and whispered, "It seems that the Iwami Silver Mine in Japan hasn't been discovered yet. Let's go and take it down and mine Japan's silver."

"Don't even think about it. If we provoke a border conflict, the court officials will surely rise up in opposition." Zhu Youcheng waved his hand decisively.

"Or let's keep it simple and just exchange the antiques for modern industrial silver to recast them. The same goes for the copper coins; exchange them for modern brass to recast them."

"Exchange antiques? How?"

"Those tablewares in your palace, even those chamber pots you used, are antiques in modern times. If you put them on the label of being used by the Ming Dynasty royal family, they will be even more valuable. Through my Taoye Ferry Song Mansion, they will be undoubtedly Ming Dynasty antiques in modern times."

Zhu Youcheng thought for a moment, "That's feasible! For example, how much could you sell this imperial seal for in modern times?"

"I haven't really researched this. But last time I forced Tang Bohu to write 'Ode to the Golden Powder of the Six Dynasties,' and after Sister Yunqiu framed it, it was valued at 200 million Chinese yuan in modern times."

"Two hundred million!?"

"Then what are we waiting for! I order the Imperial Guards to gather the scholars and have them devote themselves to painting and calligraphy! Isn't Tang Bohu on his way? Why is he taking the exam? Let him come directly into the palace and enter my Wuying Hall when he arrives."

"We still have to hold the exam. If you give him the top score, his calligraphy and paintings will be even more valuable. Money can be exchanged for silver. In later generations, silver is no longer a currency. Industrial silver only costs 12 yuan of Chinese currency per gram, which is 600 yuan per tael. If a painting is worth 60 million, it can be exchanged for 100,000 taels of silver."

"A painting worth sixty million? That's enough to exchange for one hundred thousand taels of silver?!" Zhu Youcheng's eyes suddenly lit up. "In that case, just a few paintings and calligraphies could fill the national treasury!"

Zhu Youcheng's eyes gleamed brightly as he grabbed Song Xiaoyi's wrist with astonishing force. "Come with me! I can arrange for all the painters in the Wuying Hall to create a batch of paintings according to your ideas! And all the antique collections in the Ancient and Modern Archives will be yours! You can take them and exchange them for silver and copper!"

After saying this, Zhu Youtang grabbed Song Xiaoyi and rushed down the city wall.

"The Hall of Martial Valor? The Archives of Ancient and Modern Times? The Imperial Warehouse!?"

"No, Brother Zhu, I wanted to discuss with you how to plan for strengthening the Ming Dynasty's national power and improving people's livelihoods!"

"Selling antiques? That's a completely wrong path!"

"What's wrong with it? No, it's not wrong. Although history cannot be changed, that only applies to key figures. If we only focus on the economy and don't touch the personnel, there might still be room for maneuver."

"With enough silver, I can bypass the constraints of the civil officials and secretly promote high-yield crops. Since you can go back, you should be able to buy potato, sweet potato, and corn seeds, right?"

Even if you buy it, what's the use? Song Xiaoyi had to pour cold water on him, "You have seeds, but do you have land? The land is all in the hands of princes and gentry. If 80% of the common people have 20% of the land, that's already pretty good."

"Without solving this fundamental problem, the seeds you bring over will only strengthen the power of the gentry and civil service, and the living conditions of ordinary people will not improve at all."

Song Xiaoyi thought to himself: Selling antiques all the time is not a long-term solution, but the legendary Ming Dynasty "Ancient and Modern Collection"... If I could take some treasures lost in later generations and send them back to the modern era in advance, it would be better than leaving them to be ruined by Yan Song.

"Brother Zhu, have you seen everything in the Ancient and Modern Collection in the palace? Which items have been lost to later generations?"

"If too many are lost, it's better for you to take them and send them to the future than for them to be ruined by Yan Song later."

"Yan Song must only be a teenager now, right? Shouldn't we find him and get rid of him?"

"I've told you before, don't think about killing people at the drop of a hat! Killing people won't solve the fundamental problem. Besides, Yan Song is a pivotal figure in history, he can't be killed. I can't even bring him up ahead of time to counter the civil service group."

"Alas. That's not right! Do you know what happened to Wen Zhengming's father, Wen Lin, the prefect of Wenzhou? He was almost poisoned to death by the Japanese."

"His memorial was submitted through Scholar Wang. It turns out that the historical record of Wenlin falling ill from overwork due to homesickness was just a facade. I didn't expect that either."

The two walked and talked, and before they knew it, they arrived at a tower. The main gate of the tower was locked, and two guards bowed when they saw the emperor arrive.

Zhu You took out the key, unlocked the door himself, and pushed it open, calling Song Xiaoyi to come in together.

"You all stand guard outside; no one is allowed to enter. Not even the Crown Prince."

"promise!"

Song Xiaoyi followed Zhu Youtang through the front hall to the first floor of the tower, where porcelain, rare books, and calligraphy and paintings from the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty were displayed.

The first thing Song Xiaoyi noticed was the "Chenghua Doucai Chicken Cup." "Brother Zhu," he said, "shouldn't this Doucai Chicken Cup be part of a complete set of twelve zodiac animal cups? Why is there only a single chicken cup here?"

Zhu Youcheng rolled his eyes at Song Xiaoyi. "Was that zodiac cup of yours sold to you by Huang Dewang?"

"It turns out that Xiao Yi's actions in Nanjing were indeed entirely under Brother Zhu's control."

"The two sets that Huang Dewang sold to you were just trial productions from the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln. The two genuine sets are in my bedroom."

"This is just a prototype?" Song Xiaoyi took out the remaining set of twelve zodiac cups from his spatial storage, opened the box, and asked, "What's the difference between this prototype and the final product?"

"The materials used are the same, and the genuine product has the Emperor's personal seal on the bottom."

"A private seal on the bottom mark?! What kind of manufacturing method is this? What are the rules?"

"Haha, there's nothing special about it, it's just a personal preference of mine. It's too boring in this palace, so I made it for myself to play with."

"You used it for fun, but it didn't survive to later generations, did it?"

"This is the way to restore the logic of history. If no one comes before my death, these two sets of twelve zodiac cups will be buried with me in the imperial mausoleum along with the Yongle Encyclopedia." Zhu Youtang gently stroked the rim of the cups with his fingertips, playing with them as he spoke slowly. "But now that you've come, those two sets of twelve zodiac cups will most likely be taken back to the modern era by you."

"In that case, these two prototypes suddenly become less appealing."

"Haha~, you can keep these three chicken cups, and the doucai 'Three Autumns' cup over there. Don't take those yellow-glazed pots, you already have them..."

'

"Come over here, these are Lü Tingzhen's works: 'Osmanthus and Chrysanthemum with Mountain Birds,' 'Apricot Blossoms and Peacocks,' and 'Withered Lotus, Eagle and Heron.' Take them all."

"Who is Lü Tingzhen? Is he famous?"

"Haha, Lü Tingzhen is Lü Ji. Elder Lü is currently in the Wuying Hall. Do not mention this to his face. His paintings are still very famous in later generations."