Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 64: Minglan's Hidden Talent

Imperial Palace, Chuigong Hall
After listening to Han Zhang's description of Jiangnan's situation, the emperor said in hatred, "These idiots who only care about their positions, dare to conceal such a thing just for the sake of evaluation and promotion?"

"Your Majesty, please calm down. It has been discovered early and the local government has organized the people to catch locusts. The impact is not great." Han Zhang said.

"So it still has an impact?" asked the official.

"There is definitely an impact. The grain output in Yangzhou and several nearby states should be lower than in previous years," said Han Zhang.

"How much will it be reduced?" asked the official.

"It shouldn't be more than 30%." Han Zhang said.

"what?"

The official was incredulous: "Didn't the Grand Master say that the impact was not significant? How could it be reduced so much?"

Although Han Zhang said it was no more than 30%, it was definitely more than 20%, otherwise Han Zhang would not have said that.

Jiangnan is an important grain-producing area. The 20% reduction in grain production in several states near Yangzhou will also lead to an increase in grain prices.

If any natural disasters occur somewhere else, the problem will be even more serious.

And all this could have been avoided.

When he thought of this, the emperor, who had always been kind and benevolent, had the urge to kill those officials.

"Because spring plowing season is approaching, people don't have much time to catch locusts. Although the locusts are not a big problem, they still have an impact," said Han Zhang.

The official took a deep breath and said, "What are the results of the review by officials from those states?"

"Your Majesty, according to investigations, there is no case of concealment. Those states have not experienced locust plagues in the past seven or eight years, so the officials have become somewhat slack," said Han Zhang.

"This is worse than hiding the truth!"

The official said angrily, "The fact that they concealed it at least shows that they did it. These people must be severely punished."

The emperor paced back and forth behind the imperial desk for a long time before he stopped and said, "These people neglected their duties, but they were still promoted all the way. There must be a problem with the Ministry of Personnel. The Shangshutai and the Yushitai should send people to review their evaluations over the years to see if there are any problems. If any problems are found, the officials responsible for their evaluations will be dealt with together!"

"Yes." Han Zhang replied.

"Your Majesty, Master Hai requests to see you." A eunuch came in and reported.

"Let him in," said the official.

The eunuch bowed and left, and soon Hai Wenyou walked in.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Hai Wenyou bowed.

"No gift."

The emperor waved his hand and said, "Shouldn't Bochang be teaching the prince in the East Palace right now?"

"Your Majesty, I left an assignment the other day, asking Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince and his study companions to write a poem on the theme of 'Scenery'. Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince wrote a poem that I was amazed by and felt inferior to, so I came here to present it to Your Majesty for your perusal." Hai Wenyou said.

"Oh?"

The emperor was very interested when he heard this and said, "Bring it here for me to see."

He knew Hai Wenyou well, a man of great literary character, who could make him say words that made him feel inferior to him. This showed that Zhao Xing's lyrics were very well written.

Hai Wenyou took out a folded piece of rice paper from his sleeve, and Eunuch Liu hurried forward to take it and presented it to the official.

The emperor took it and unfolded it to read. The poem was short and he finished it quickly. He laughed and scolded, "The poem is indeed well written, but the characters are a bit ugly. The great minister is very talented and won the second place in the imperial examination. Come and see how the prince's poem is written."

"Your Majesty and Bochang both praised the writing, so it must be excellent."

Han Zhang said this, took the words handed to him by the eunuch and started reading.

"how?"

The official waited for Han Zhang to finish reading, then asked impatiently.

Han Zhang looked thoughtful, and after hearing this he said, "Your Majesty, the poem written by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a profound artistic conception. It is a metaphor for people."

The emperor was startled when he heard this. Just now, the time was too short and he had not had time to savor it carefully. But after Han Zhang said this, he savored it carefully and sighed, "If all the officials in the world were like plum blossoms, which would fall into the mud and turn into dust, but still smell as fragrant as before, I would be able to rule the country like the name of this palace."

Han Zhang and Hai Wenyou fell silent after hearing this. Although they had studied Confucianism since childhood, they also knew that the great harmony of the world could only exist in fantasy. Human hearts and human nature were complicated. It was impossible to expect everyone to be as fragrant as plum blossoms.

"Bo Chang, publish this poem in the official gazette so that officials all over the world can take a good look at it." said the emperor.

The Dibao was a newspaper published by the Xuanzhengyuan that reported news about the court's decrees and the appointment and dismissal of some officials.

It was distributed to officials for reading, so that officials all over the world could better understand the court's policies and implement them in a timely manner.

The government published this poem in the official gazette, not only to warn officials all over the country, but also to create fame for Zhao Xing.

"I obey your order!" Hai Wenyou responded.

"You guys go down." The official waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, please give me your Highness's manuscript." Hai Wenyou bowed.

"Bochang has a photographic memory. This poem only has a few dozen words. Could it be that he can't remember it?"

"It's not that I can't remember it, but this is the manuscript of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's first poem, and I want to frame it and keep it." Hai Wenyou said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the emperor laughed and scolded, "The prince's handwriting is so ugly, what's the point of collecting it? Your calligraphy is also excellent, you should not be secretive when teaching the prince. I will copy a copy myself and give it to you for your collection."

This was the manuscript of his son's first poem, so how could he bear to give it to others?

"Then I would like to thank Your Majesty for the reward." Hai Wenyou bowed happily to express his gratitude.

……

The imperial court reports were divided into three types: daily, monthly, and inquiry-by-inquiry.

Daily reports were only for officials in Bian Jing, while local officials only had monthly reports and inquiry reports.

After Hai Wenyou left, he went to Xuan Zhengyuan, wrote out "Ode to the Plum Blossom" from memory, informed the emperor and had it printed in the palace bulletin.

When the people in the Xuanzhengyuan learned that the poem was written by the prince, they naturally did not dare to delay and immediately typeset and published it in the next day's newspaper.

The next day, with the distribution of the official bulletin, Zhao Xing's poem soon spread throughout Bian Jing. When the students heard about it, they were full of praise for Zhao Xing's talent.

……

Sheng family, Minglan has moved to Shou'an Hall for some time.

In addition to learning to read and write, they also learned various etiquette and how to make tea and arrange flowers.

As a woman, there are too many rules and regulations in this era.

Men can also study hard and pass the imperial examinations.

Women can only learn various skills in order to marry into a good family and become a good wife and mother.

Minglan didn't dare to stand out and acted like a fool, learning even slower than Rulan.

I was afraid of being treated as a sticking weed and being pulled out.

Her actions relieved Rulan of a lot of firepower. Not only did Rulan not target her, but she took care of her everywhere.

Minglan was punished and had her hands slapped. Rulan gave Minglan the ointment that Madam Wang had spent a lot of money to have someone prepare.

I was afraid that Minglan was seriously injured and needed to recuperate and could not come to attend the studies.

As the saying goes, old people become wiser.

Minglan only acted like a fool on the surface, but she actually studied very seriously in secret, and she practiced a lot after returning home, so she made rapid progress.

However, she had to pretend to be making slow progress in front of Old Lady Sheng and Mother Fang, which naturally caused them to notice something unusual.

So Mrs. Sheng asked Mama Fang to go and investigate.

Thank God for the reward from my second uncle.

Thank you all for your support through monthly tickets and recommendation tickets.

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(End of this chapter)