OBS Chapter 1244 Why is a short, ugly person's life not a life?
Chapter 1244 Why is a short, ugly person's life not a life?
Yang Shaofeng is now particularly afraid of the Imperial Observatory's tricks—it is said that the daylight saving time of the foolish thief Ying family can drive people to the brink of collapse, but if the Imperial Observatory's tricks are to happen, the negative impact may be far greater than that of daylight saving time.
Of course, Yang Shaofeng was just offering this friendly reminder.
After all, Old Deng had actually farmed before, and he could really read the almanac.
If the Imperial Astronomical Bureau dares to mess with Lao Deng regarding the revision of the calendar and the solar terms, Lao Deng will most likely retaliate by using the nine generations of relatives of those officials in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to make fun of them, giving them a live performance of what is called "the great nine generations elimination game".
While mentally ranting, Yang Shaofeng looked at the distant snow and asked, "Assuming the seasons here are completely opposite to those in our Ming Dynasty, when will spring arrive and the ice thaw here?"
The female official of the Imperial Observatory bowed and said, "Your Highness, if it is completely the opposite, it is estimated that Xinming Island will enter spring in about half a month to a month. However, if we want to determine the exact solar terms and revise the calendar accurately, we still need to build more observatories."
After the female official from the Imperial Observatory left, Liao Yongzhong immediately rubbed his hands together and said, "Half a month, a month? Judging from the winter supplies we have on board, we can last half a month without any problem, but it will be difficult to last a month."
Yu Tongyuan gritted his teeth and said, "What if we don't count those short and ugly guys?"
Liao Yongzhong stared blankly at Yu Tongyuan.
You fucking explain to me what you mean by "not counting those short, ugly guys"?
Although the lives of short people are indeed worthless, the problem is that these short people are used to scout the way, to build the road, and then to work as laborers. If you don't count them, then who should do the work of scouting, building the road, and repairing the docks and ports?
Yang Shaofeng was also very dissatisfied with Yu Tongyuan's statement.
Why is a short, ugly person's life not a life?
They cost five strings of cash each, after all. You're just saying they don't count?
Will you reimburse me for the cost of buying the short, ugly boy?
Besides, what are these short, ugly people doing on Xinming Island?
They were there to act as cleaners—if there were Han and Tang dynasty people who had migrated from the Central Plains on Xinming Island, that would be fine, but if there were no Han people and instead a bunch of random laborers, these short, stocky warriors would have to take on the role of cleaners.
The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were responsible for defending the country and protecting the people of the Ming Dynasty. They could only defend themselves and fight back, and could not take the initiative to invade other countries!
Yang Shaofeng glanced at Yu Tongyuan and said, "In my opinion, after we determine the landing location, we should first distribute winter supplies to those short and stocky people, let them disembark to scout the way and build a dock, and then unload the cattle, sheep and other livestock from the ships so that the empty ships can return to transport supplies."
As soon as Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Liao Yongzhong and Yu Tongyuan's faces darkened.
You, Yang the Madman, ate lamp ash and let out that light fart—returning empty-boat?
Going back is fine, but the question is, where to go back to?
Back to Bago?
Bago is located south of the Jiangnan region, and it's damn hot all year round. There's simply no way to replenish supplies for keeping warm in those areas.
Return to the Ming Dynasty?
The Ming Dynasty has no shortage of any kind of supplies, but the problem is how you, Yang the Madman, got on the ship. Don't you have any self-awareness?
We'll return to the Ming Dynasty empty-handed. You, Yang the Madman, will be fine, but we'll be asking for trouble!
Yu Tongyuan grew angrier the more he thought about it, and couldn't help but say with a dark, sour face, "If we're going back to the Ming Dynasty by ship, why not have the Prince Consort lead the empty fleet back?"
Liao Yongzhong's eyes lit up, and he chimed in, "That would be perfect! Developing new land and building ports are inherently tough and tiring work. It just so happens that it's the dead of winter here on Xinming Island. So, this old man and I will stay here to develop the land, while the Prince Consort will take the fleet back to replenish supplies. When we come back next time, it will most likely be springtime, and the Prince Consort's skills will finally have a chance to shine."
"..."
Seeing Yu Tongyuan and Liao Yongzhong talking back and forth, each sentence trying to get him back to the Ming Dynasty, Yang Shaofeng's face immediately darkened.
What, you two don't want to go back, but I do?
Moreover, when you two go back, you'll most likely just get scolded, and I'll take the blame for any major offenses.
But if I were to return with an empty fleet... not to mention whether I would be beaten for the crime of sneaking away, the very book I wrote, "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," would be enough to make my butt bleed!
Yang Shaofeng said with a dark face, "Let's find someone else. I'm not the kind of person who watches the Marquis of Nan'an and the Marquis of Deqing suffer on Xinming Island while I can comfortably run back to the Ming Dynasty to enjoy myself."
……
Just as Yang Shaofeng, Yu Tongyuan, and Liao Yongzhong were arguing fiercely on Xinming Island about who should take the fleet back to replenish supplies, Emperor Zhu was standing at the gate of the mine in Luan County, lost in thought.
We know that the mines in Luan County are quite large and require a lot of labor, but can anyone explain to us what's going on with these dark-skinned Kunlun slaves?
Zhou Liangyu stood beside Emperor Zhu with a forced smile and said, "These Kunlun slaves were bought by this humble servant through some merchants."
"Although they can't understand human speech very well and eat a lot, they are indeed very strong when it comes to work, much stronger than laborers from Korean, Japanese, and Annam."
"Moreover, these Kunlun slaves have all been castrated, so there's no need to worry about them running away and causing harm."
After a slight pause, Zhou Liangyu added, "In fact, these Kunlun slaves are quite honest and obedient. As long as they are given enough food, they will work hard and are not picky eaters; they will eat anything, good or bad."
Emperor Zhu glanced at Zhou Liangyu with a dark expression.
What I'm saying is, why can't you officials from Ningyang County learn something good from that scoundrel? Why do you have to learn his lousy habit of using laborers?
When I passed through Zunhua County before, I saw a large group of laborers from South Korea.
Now that I've come to Luan County, I've actually seen Kunlun slave laborers again!
Good heavens, are you officials from Ningyang County addicted to using laborers?
Besides, where does the money you use to buy laborers come from?
It's still using money from the county treasury, isn't it?
However, when Emperor Zhu thought of the steel production figures reported by Zhou Liangyu every year, he couldn't vent his anger. Regardless of how much money from the county treasury he spent on buying laborers, just considering the extra ten million catties of steel produced each year, and the fact that the people of Luan County were as wealthy as, or even slightly better than, Ningyang County, he couldn't scold him for buying Kunlun slaves. Instead, he had to reward him handsomely.
Emperor Zhu gave a soft hum, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly said to Zhou Liangyu, "How about we replace the magistrate of Luan County?"
Zhou Liangyu was stunned for a moment, then cupped his hands to Emperor Zhu and asked, "What does it mean to ascend the throne?"