OBS Chapter 255 Old Zhu 2: Why Not Get More Semu Prisoners?
Chapter 255 Old Zhu 2: Why Not Get More Semu Prisoners?
A kid as big as Zhu Biao is bound to be a bit rebellious. Even his own father, Zhu Chongba, could only control him, not truly win him over.
Especially since Zhu Biao was the Crown Prince, he held the highest status and the most prestigious position in the entire Ming Dynasty, second only to Empress Ma and Zhu Chongba. If he really wanted to act recklessly, even ministers like Song Lian might not be able to control him.
However, Zhu Biao was indeed clever and had always been gentle and refined, perfectly fitting the standards of a "wise and virtuous ruler" among civil and military officials like Song Lian.
In reality, he was a ruthless man who knew about the "extermination of three clans" punishment. He personally handled three of the four major cases of the Hongwu era, and the reason he didn't handle the last one was not because he was kind-hearted, but because he had already died at that time.
Therefore, Magistrate Yang treated Zhu Biao as a friend, rather than relying on his extensive knowledge as a time traveler to lecture him, since fourteen-year-old kids are most susceptible to that approach.
It's shameful to cherish one's life.
As for those two mischievous kids, Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San... these two started to let loose on their second day after arriving in Ningyang County. Every day they would either run around to various villages to watch the people build houses and cultivate the land, or run to the south of the city to watch the laborers repair roads, or run to various workshops to ask all sorts of questions.
Fortunately, because their uncle Zhu Biao lived in Ningyang County, the infamous Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San, who are notorious in history and online novels, did not show their unruly side and even behaved like gentlemen in their interactions with others.
Magistrate Yang sometimes even felt that this was not bad.
All the official business in the county government office was handled by Wu Yanhu, Chen Mo and Lü Peng, who were like oxen and horses. He only needed to keep an eye on the results and review the process. He no longer had to do everything himself as before.
When I have free time, I chat with Zhu Biao about all sorts of things, and when I have nothing else to do, I'll give Zhu Biao some random chicken soup from reading certain books and writing about certain things.
Occasionally, he would take the three Zhu brothers to visit the homes of ordinary people in various villages and fields, and their lives were quite comfortable.
It wasn't until the mud-brick house of Wang Er's family in Xihe Village was completely demolished and the foundation was laid that Magistrate Yang's carefree and comfortable days came to an end.
Magistrate Yang stood in front of Wang Er's house foundation, Zhu Biao stood next to Magistrate Yang, and Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San squeezed next to Zhu Biao. The four of them stared at the people who were ramming the earth.
"Wang Lao Er's family is so..."
"Heh heh!"
"Let's start tamping!"
"Heh heh!"
"They pounded it down, one ram after another, so densely!"
"Heh heh!"
As Wang Wuqi, the lead rammer, sang each line, the able-bodied men of Xihe Village would move a step to the side. When Wang Wuqi's chant ended, the men would respond with a "ho-hey." As they uttered the "ho" chant, they would simultaneously pull hard on the ropes in their hands, using the clever misalignment to swing the ram high into the air. When they uttered the "hey" chant, they would then redirect the force of swinging the ram upwards to downwards, causing the ram to slam heavily onto the ground.
Ramming is the process of laying the foundation. On the surface, Wang Wuqi is only responsible for shouting the work chants, making him the one with the easiest job. In reality, all the able-bodied men ramming the foundation rely on Wang Wuqi's chants for guidance. The position, direction, and force of each ramming stroke change according to Wang Wuqi's chants.
As for the foundation, the size of the house must be determined first.
Generally speaking, houses in rural Shandong are mostly three main rooms facing south. The east and west sides are usually within 3.5 zhang (approximately 11.5 meters), while the north and south sides are usually around 1.8 zhang (approximately 6 meters).
The middle room of these three rooms will be used as the main hall, where the family can eat or entertain guests. The room on the east side will be used by the elders of the family, while the room on the west side will be used by the younger generation. This is because traditional Feng Shui believes that the east represents the Azure Dragon, which is superior, while the west represents the White Tiger, which is inferior.
In front of the three main rooms is a courtyard. A kitchen will be built on the east side of the courtyard, a cowshed will be built on the west side, and a toilet will be set up in the southwest corner. A small plot of land between the toilet and the cowshed will be set up as a pigsty.
Whether or not there is a south wing is not certain; it is usually decided based on how many people are in the family. If there are many people, an extra south wing will be built, and if there are few people, no south wing will be built.
Once the size of the yard and the number of houses are determined, lines are marked with lime, and then the ground is broken and trenches are dug.
The so-called trenching involves digging a trench wider than the foundation, according to the layout of the house in the yard. Both the trench and the ground in the middle of the trench need to be compacted.
Because people need to live in the three main rooms, the kitchen on the east side is for cooking, and the cowshed on the west side is for cattle, the rammed earth trough is to avoid the risk of the house collapsing, and the rammed earth ground is to make the ground level.
If the soil is relatively loose, the amount of earthwork will be relatively large. The trench may need to be dug to about three feet wide, and the width may be more than twice that of the wall.
If the soil is relatively solid, the amount of earthwork can be relatively less, about one foot, and the width is only slightly wider than the wall.
As for the rammers used by the young men of Xihe Village, they are basically very heavy round stone discs with a hole in the middle for tying ropes. To prevent the ropes from wearing out too quickly, they also tie on thick hemp ropes soaked in water when rammering, and old shoe soles are placed between the hemp ropes and the stone.
Ramming is an extremely strenuous physical activity, and it is also a highly technical activity that requires a lot of coordination and skill. Without experience in ramming multiple times and without knowing how to coordinate, a few ramming sessions can leave you drenched in sweat.
Looking at the young men who were pounding the earth with their shirts off, Zhu Lao Er couldn't help but say to Magistrate Yang, "Brother-in-law, look how tired these people are. Why don't you urge Prime Minister Xu to bring over more prisoners of the Central Asian tribes so they can do the pounding?"
Zhu Laosan chimed in, "That's right. There are so many prisoners, keeping them is just a waste of food. We might as well send them all to do ramming for the people."
Ignoring the sudden outburst of Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San, Magistrate Yang instead looked at Zhu Biao and asked, "What does Your Highness think?"
When Magistrate Yang asked him this question, Zhu Biao, who was already somewhat hesitant, became even more eager and tentatively said, "How about I write a letter to Prime Minister Xu?"
Magistrate Yang nodded, cupped his hands in greeting to Zhu Biao, and said, "Then this humble subject thanks the three princes on behalf of the people of Ningyang County. We thank the three princes for depriving them of the opportunity to build their own houses and for depriving them of the opportunity to work and earn money in workshops."
Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment. He first looked at Magistrate Yang, then at the people who were ramming the earth, and then asked with a bewildered look, "What does brother-in-law mean?"
Magistrate Yang sighed slightly and said, "Your Highness, the palaces in the capital can be built by the Ministry of Works, and the county government offices can be built by the people performing corvée labor. There is no problem with that."
"But how can we use prisoners to build houses for ordinary people? Can houses built by prisoners be the same as houses built by ordinary people themselves?"
"Furthermore, if there are too many prisoners, I can guarantee that they will not be used to work in the workshops. They will only be made to do heavy work that could be fatal, such as building bridges and roads, quarrying and mining. But in other places, if there are free prisoners available, how many people would still be willing to spend money to hire civilians?"
At this point, Magistrate Yang suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "If the three princes don't believe me, they can try going hungry for a while longer. Then I will tell you how to stir-fry it. If the three princes cook a meal themselves, I guarantee it will be more fragrant than anything else's, even surpassing the imperial chefs in the palace."
Zhu Biao's face immediately darkened. He looked at Magistrate Yang and said, "Brother-in-law, I may not be very smart, but I'm not too stupid either. I know that when people are starving, anything tastes good, regardless of whether it's made by hand or not."