The Ming Dynasty: Zhu Biao's daughter ran away from her arranged marriage, terrifying Zhu Di.

Zhu Gaochi just covered the sky.

Everyone present immediately became anxious.

Shen Kan and Nan Ping both speak quickly, and in just a few breaths...

I have no idea how many good things I've missed out on.

Even Xie Jin couldn't help but think to himself that the Crown Prince was getting far too fat.

At least leave a crack!

Even Zhu Di didn't expect that his eldest son would pull such a stunt at such a crucial moment.

"Boss!"

"Back when you were studying under the Emperor, you were close to Zhu Yunwen."

"You're not going to abandon our family for that cousin, are you?!"

Zhu Gaoxu shouted as he strode forward, trying to pull Zhu Gaochi away.

But Zhu Gaochi remained steadfast in his conviction.

Even though Zhu Gaoxu was strong enough to carry the banner, he still couldn't move Zhu Gaochi even half a step.

"No, is the food in your Crown Prince's residence really that good?" Zhu Gaoxu said through gritted teeth.

Zhu Gaochi, on the other hand, had completely forgotten about his unfortunate second brother.

"father!"

"I only have one question for you."

"Such powerful weapons, if we were to obtain them from our Great Ming Dynasty..."

Are there still farmers cultivating the fields?

"He has both a spinning machine and a weaving machine."

"Is it possible to find food in the city?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di and the others were instantly stunned.

Shen Kan was not lying.

This thing can indeed greatly improve the production efficiency of craftsmen.

But what will be the price?

No matter how fast a spinning machine spins, it can't spin grain.

Even though Shen Kan later mentioned things like fertilizers that could increase grain production.

But those were things that the artisans of the Ming Dynasty could not understand at all.

Once this so-called industrialization begins.

Within twenty or thirty years.

That so-called fertilizer can never be produced.

but.

As a human being, one will die if one does not eat for seven days.

"father."

"If you can still listen to this."

"Let me do the math for you."

"Now, there are nine million people in the entire province of Zhejiang. If our Great Ming Dynasty were to allow all the people of Zhejiang to become craftsmen for the time being."

"Nine million people, each person is supplied with one and a half jin of grain per day."

"This means that other provinces would have to contribute 50 million shi of grain to Zhejiang every year."

As Zhu Gaochi spoke, he took out an abacus.

I just tapped it twice.

He was already drenched in cold sweat.

"father!"

"Fifty million shi of grain!"

"The annual grain tribute from the seven provinces south of the Yangtze River is no more than four million shi (a unit of dry measure)!"

"This doesn't even take into account the losses during grain transportation and storage."

"If it's really as Shen Kan said..."

"In less than three years, the provinces of Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong will be drained of resources by Zhejiang and reduced to barren wastelands!"

"If that happens, the country will cease to exist!"

If this is just a child's joke, then let everyone in the world move to the city to live.

Zhu Gaochi and Yang Shiqi could only chuckle at most.

But things are different now.

Shen Kan, standing above the sky, actually came up with a plan that would allow the vast majority of people in the world to enter the city.

Upon closer examination...

Zhu Gaochi felt his hair stand on end.

After understanding what Yang Shiqi and Zhu Gaochi were worried about.

Zhu Di then looked at Xie Jin.

Still not entirely convinced, Xie Jin took out his abacus and tapped it again.

Obviously.

Zhu Gaochi's calculations were correct.

"Your Majesty, what the Crown Prince said...is not without merit."

"Furthermore, I wonder if Your Majesty has noticed this."

"What?" Zhu Di frowned.

Xie Jin looked up at Zhu Di and said in a serious tone, "These... are all items used by merchants."

Merchants pursue profit.

"Once we obtain such a powerful weapon..."

"I'm afraid they won't give up until they turn the whole land upside down."

By this time...

Zhu Di gradually realized what kind of deadly weapon Shen Kan had shown them above the sky.

He has been in power for four years now.

How difficult it is to deal with businessmen.

Zhu Di knew this better than anyone else.

Once this information gets out, it becomes impossible to control.

Merchants were allowed to set up such workshops on a large scale.

When will the world be at peace?

Even if it's a million or two million people who die in war.

At least there's a number.

But what if we starve to death like this?

I'm afraid that in the end they won't even make it onto the list.

Based on this alone.

Shen Kan's place is definitely not the immortal realm!

"Is there really no food available?"

Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaochi with some disbelief.

Zhu Gaochi looked at his father as if he were a fool.

Zhu Di also farmed in Fengyang back then.

How much grain can one acre of land produce?

He knew perfectly well what was going on.

Even if the current yield per mu in the Ming Dynasty were increased three or four times, it would still be impossible to fill the food gap caused by industrialization.

But Zhu Di simply refused to believe in superstition.

It was at this moment that Nanping, above the sky, asked the same question as Zhu Gaochi.

"Immortal Master".

"If that is indeed the case."

"People flocked into the city."

"What do you want to eat?"

These words were spoken.

The Qianqing Palace fell silent instantly.

It was so quiet that everyone could hear each other's heartbeats.

Shen Kan was their last hope.

They are still dreaming.

Shen Kan was able to come up with a brilliant solution to this astronomical food crisis, just like before.

But to their surprise...

Shen Kan turned his head and looked at the central display case of all the exhibits at the Industrial Expo, which was piled high with rice.

"This pure white grain."

"They were all fed to foreign barbarians overseas."

"Isn't that such a waste?"

Shen Kan's few words were light and casual.

Nanping was so shocked that his mouth dropped open.

This is something that people in Nanping, who have been deeply influenced by Confucian culture since childhood, would never have dared to imagine.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty were more than just emperors.

He was even the emperor.

The emperor receives his mandate from Heaven, and all the people of the nine provinces and myriad regions, regardless of whether they live within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, are subject to it.

In terms of legal lineage, they were all subjects of the emperor.

They're just disrespecting the king and running wild outside.

To examine foreign lands from the perspective of the emperor.

The feeling was more like that of a parent watching their child running around outside all day.

Even if this child is wild...

They are, after all, our own children.

And Shen Kan's words.

This was undoubtedly a death sentence for these children who had left their homes.

Develop industry.

What to do if there isn't enough food?

It's simple, just let the foreigners overseas plant it, and then bring it back.

As for what foreigners eat overseas.

Only God knows.

"Master Shen...!"

"Are these foreign barbarians not worthy of living?"

Shen Kan raised an eyebrow, turned to look at Nanping, and said in an extremely serious tone, "Weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival; arrogance is."

"This is a real road."

"If you don't leave, plenty of others will."

"Either eat the food, or become the food."

There is absolutely no third option!

In just a few words.

Shen Kan has torn off the most crucial fig leaf of so-called civilization.

The initial motivation for early industrial-era colonial activities.

It has never been about dumping products or competing for market share.

Those established powers that have not yet completed their industrialization process.

There was only one original intention behind engaging in large-scale colonial activities.

—Plundering food rations!

Perhaps they thought the name sounded too awful.

They also gave the activity a slightly nicer name: Primitive Accumulation.