In the cold winter, heavy snow is flying.

The passenger ships heading north from Nanzhili are like long dragons, heading north.

On a small passenger boat, four men in their early thirties surrounded the stove, venting breath, looking outside through the glass window.

"This ghost weather can really freeze people to death..."

A man with obvious excessive wine and pale face wrapped in a thick cotton jacket, said angrily.

A man opposite was older than him, with a square face, holding a hot teacup, looking outside, and said, "Although the 'New Deal' is ridiculous, the disaster is indeed better than one year. Just say that the weather is much colder than in previous years."

The person next to him looked younger and stared at the teapot in front of him, looking stunned, not knowing what he was thinking.

Opposite him was a middle-aged man who looked premature. He stretched his legs and sighed: "I am not afraid of evil people doing bad things, but I am most afraid of doing bad things with good intentions."

The pale-faced man nodded and said, "Brother Li said that this is probably the case in the current court."

A square-faced man said, "This time we go to Beijing, first visit President Qin, then go to the Hanlin Academy and the Zhengyuan to debate with those people. We should see who is the one who ruins the country!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly looked out and said, "Boatman, I remember passing Yangzhou. Do you want to change the boat?"

The boatman outside laughed and said, "I'm afraid the guest officer hasn't gone north for many years, right? This canal is no longer the canal that was many years ago. Every year, the Ministry of Works and governments in various places will recruit civil servants to clear it. Now, there is no silt, even the largest ship can pass through."

Everyone in the cabin seemed a little surprised and said 'oh' and didn't ask again.

The younger one stared at the teapot and suddenly spoke, "You guys say, are we wrong?"

"Impossible!" The premature aging retorted immediately, with a fierce tone and said: "We are following the ancestral system for the sake of the Ming Dynasty for generations. What is the current 'new policy'? No tyrants dare to do this!"

The pale-faced person said, "Yes, we must stop them. If we continue, there will be chaos in the world and change the dynasty!"

The face was square and said coldly: "Yes, look at it now. Is the ancestor system still half a thread? Now the people's sentiment is boiling, and the world is in a state of chaos. What is the reason?"

The younger one wanted to refute, but didn't know where to start, and continued to stare at the teapot in a depressed manner.

Everyone wanted to say something else, and suddenly the ship's man said outside: "My guest officials, there are civil servants gathering in front of us, we have to wait."

The four of them were stunned and looked through the window together.

I saw dozens of civilians carrying some things along the cement road, pulling carts and moving forward in the cold wind.

The premature middle-aged man wondered, "What are they doing in such a big winter?"

These people are from wealthy and linger on the Qinhuai River for many years. How could they know what was happening outside?

The boatman outside smiled and said, "The guest officials don't know that they are all victims from all over the country. They are recruited by the Ministry of Industry and are responsible for maintaining the river. The stones they transport should be built bridges. They are all people who cannot survive in the village. If they were not recruited by the Ministry of Industry and would have to starve to death. I am pitiful..."

The four people looked at each other, and the younger one asked, "Are there many such people?"

The shipman seemed to sit down, his tone was much more relaxed, and said, "More? Liaodong has moved more than six million in recent years, and Annan has more than three million. I don't know that there are at least hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the canal. There are more people on the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, etc., and there are also those official roads, those who have cleared land and dug mountains, and there are a few of them, and there are one or two million people. If there are too many, you can't say..."

The premature aging person opened his eyes wide and said, "So many people, how can the imperial court get so much money and food? Isn't it said that the national treasury is empty?"

The shipman outside seemed to be stunned for a moment, and then said: "I'll ask the old man, but I've never heard of owing wages. These money are all withdrawn through money houses, and now they are called to be withdrawn from banks. There are also the Ministry of Works, the General Administration and other departments to supervise them one after another. Most people are not allowed to be corrupt."

The four people inside frowned and said squarely, "How much does it cost to eat so many people?"

The ship outside interjected a sentence and said, "Now I don't give food directly, I have to buy it in silver dollars."

The four people ignored the ship's man, and the pale face said, "If it is one million people, five taels a month, and three months, it is tens of millions..."

At this time, the shipboat interrupted again: "The lowest one is fifteen taels per month, three in spring and three in autumn."

The four of them looked outside, and looked displeased, and they were very unfavorable in a flash.

If the shipmaster says it is true, then the court will pay these civilians at least 30 million silver a year!

If other expenses were added, it would be unimaginable. Where did the imperial court get so much money? You should know that during the Apocalypse Period, the treasury income of the national treasury was less than three million yuan a year!

Everyone was silent for a moment, and the thoughtful and pale face said, "Can the Shenlong Mansion really make so much money?"

The square-cornered one snorted coldly and said, "No matter how much money you make, you can't have so many. You haven't robbed the family and destroyed the clan!"

After saying this, everyone was silent again.

The court's butcher's knife was too fierce, and they were unwilling to talk about it.

The younger one moved the corners of his mouth, and he wanted to speak but stopped.

He felt that even if he could not get so much money even if he was confiscated, he could not get so much money. The imperial court had a lot of money, but they were too concerned about the "New Policy" and did not find the key point.

They turned their heads and looked out the window again. The men were chiseling ice to clean up the frozen ice.

Everyone's hearts were shaken, their eyes flashed, and for some reason, they suddenly became a little heavy, without the passion that they had before leaving the door.

The boatman sat on the bow, cooking something with his daughter while whispering.

"Dad, Jizhou plans to let me go to the newly opened textile factory in Yangzhou Prefecture. It was run by him, a distant uncle. He will give him ten taels a month. It will cost more than he can..." The daughter whispered.

The boatman frowned and said, "Women should stay at home to take care of their children. Parents and in-laws can't run out to make money. Jizhou is too useless!"

The daughter quickly argued in a low voice and said, "No, Dad. Jizhou led people to dig coal in Shanxi. There are more than 60 taels a month, which is enough."

The shipboat came over with some understanding and said, "Did you want to go?"

My daughter wiped her hands on her clothes with a little embarrassed expression and said, "My in-laws are not old and the children are not that worried. I thought that since I can make some money, I will make some money. In the future, if I have a surplus, it would be better to buy two more boats. I can't let Jizhou dig coal outside for the rest of his life..."

The ship's face was gentle and said, "Discuss with your in-laws, I don't care."

Then the daughter chuckled softly and said, "I heard that there were female workers there, and the cloth and clothes they made were sold overseas, with a lot of profits. My mother and I could earn at least 30 taels a month. I heard that the price of raw silk has increased by more than 30% in the past two years. We are also planning to raise silkworms..."

The shipboat waved his hand and said, "I don't care about your affairs, as long as you live a good life. Xiao Si took the college entrance examination next year, and the professors in the school are very optimistic about him. At that time, you ask Jizhou, if you have any ideas, make arrangements for him..."

The daughter smiled and said, "Well, if my father doesn't say it, Jizhou will also be concerned."

Although the father and daughter didn't speak loudly, they could still hear clearly in the cabin.

The four of them looked at each other and were all stunned.
Chapter completed!