"My old man didn't get to study when I was a child, because the emperor and court of the Great Qing Dynasty were incompetent, always engaging in linguistic purges. Reading and literacy weren't just asking for trouble?"
"Reading now is because the emperor and court of our Great Ming are good to the common people. With reading and literacy, it's better than being blind with open eyes."
Speaking of this, Old Man Kang couldn't help but feel a bit proud. "Let alone the children at home, even this old man participated in that literacy class organized by the government! It's not me bragging, but I can recognize over a hundred characters now. The teacher said if I can recognize three to four hundred more, I can read newspapers myself. I just don't know how many more days I can read them."
Zhu Jinsong immediately understood – the so-called hundred characters he recognized meant he had recognized less than a hundred, and the need to recognize another three to four hundred meant he probably needed to recognize over four hundred more.
Heh, this old man also likes to brag.
Of course, Zhu Jinsong couldn't afford to offend an old man in his seventies, so he let Old Man Kang continue bragging. "You say life is better now, but these children have become useless."
"My Xiao Xing, only four years old, what does he understand? He actually dislikes fatty meat and only wants to eat lean bones. He also especially likes to eat grasshoppers from the fields! Oh my god, you say these children have become like this now, won't people in the future like to eat grass?"
"If you ask me, they're just not hungry enough!" xxs1
Zhu Jinsong gnawed on the stewed goose from the iron pot while silently complaining in his heart: What do you old fogies know? Eating grass is good for health. Haven't you seen those health experts who have lived past forty or even fifty years old?
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Jinsong continued to ask, "How much money can your family save in a year? How much can the poorest in the village save in a year? I reckon, even if the money is valuable, if no one has money in their hands, then these things can't really be considered cheap."
Old Man Kang raised one finger, his face full of pride. "My whole family can save about a thousand yuan a year, which is about a hundred taels of silver!"
"The poorest in the village, Hu Laosan's family, have many children, eat a lot, and have many expenses. Besides farming, they have no other livelihood. They occasionally do odd jobs, and can save thirty to fifty taels a year."
"So, these things are indeed very cheap, and everyone's money has indeed increased, and life has indeed become better."
This rambling conversation with Old Man Kang made Zhu Jinsong understand the grain price issue of the Great Ming. The information that Zeng Cheng and others had gathered was no different from what Old Man Kang said.
After the Ministry of Revenue completed the relevant statistics, and the Imperial Guard and Eastern Depot compiled the information they had gathered, Zhu Jinsong and Zeng Cheng, along with other big shots, finally understood.
The prices in the Great Ming were indeed low, not just grain prices, but the prices of many commodities were falling. The money in the hands of the people was indeed increasing, and the food on the table had indeed become richer.
After reaching this conclusion, Zhu Jinsong and Zeng Cheng, along with other big shots, finally felt relieved.
As long as the people's lives were stable, it was fine.
However, compared to the lives of the people in the Great Ming, the little broken ball had been rather unstable lately.
First of all, Louis XVI and George III, those shameless fellows, after returning to Europe, turned their attention to the Habsburg family.
The "French Newspaper" and "The Times" were originally the mouthpieces of France and England, but these two newspapers had recently gone crazy, obsessively focusing on gossip about the Habsburg family.
For example, Philip III married his cousin Margaret, and Carlos II's father married his cousin Elizabeth, which is why Carlos II died at the young age of 39.
Another example is the current Austrian Emperor Francis I, who married his paternal aunt and maternal cousin, Maria Theresa, Princess of Sicily.
"The Times" even opened a book with a schadenfreude attitude: would Francis I be able to have a normal, healthy son?
The "French Newspaper" openly mocked that the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the Habsburg family, was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.
This infuriated Francis I.
When France seemed a bit unstable, Francis I had written to Louis XVI, asking if he needed the help of the Habsburg family.
Although the letter carried more of a humiliation, the Habsburg family at least expressed concern. How could you, surnamed Lu, be so inhuman?
In his rage, Francis I decided to send troops to deal with Louis XVI. If he could also deal with George III, that would be even more perfect.
Under normal circumstances, if there were a few sensible people who could advise Francis I and allow the Habsburg family to save face through other means, the little broken ball's storyline might not have completely gone astray.
The problem was that no one advised Francis I.
Regarding the scandalous gossip created by the shameless Louis XVI and George III, the Habsburgs hated them to the bone.
Even more crucially, the traditional nobles in Europe had a bad impression of France and Louis XVI, and they all hoped that Francis I would depose Louis XVI.
Louis XVI had carried out one great purge after another in France, with large numbers of traditional nobles either having their property confiscated or their titles revoked. This pushed a large number of traditional nobles to the side of the Habsburg family.
The result was that no one advised Francis I. Instead, a large group of nobles and knights openly supported Francis I, jointly forming an army to attack France.
Then, a scene appeared that the Habsburg family and the traditional nobles and knights of Europe could not understand.
Before Francis I announced his campaign against Louis XVI, the "French Newspaper" and "The Times" were basically madly smearing the Habsburg family, and at the same time, they did not forget to slander each other.
While "The Times" mocked the Habsburgs, it often brought up France, mocking the French frogs for eating anything, calling them beasts similar to the Habsburgs.
The "French Newspaper" was similar. While mocking the Habsburg family, it often brought up England, mocking it as rose beef, believing that the so-called delicacies of the rose beef were just junk food fit for the Habsburg family.
After Francis I announced his intention to campaign against Louis XVI, "The Times" brazenly declared that England would send its navy to help the French frogs fight, and if the French frogs couldn't defeat the pure-blooded beasts, then the English army could also provide assistance to the French frogs.
In simple terms, England and France still disliked each other, but these two countries, having reached some unknown agreement in secret, intended to unite against the Habsburg family.
This made Francis I completely bewildered.
Was Francis I stupid?
No, he wasn't.
Previously, when mocked wildly by the "French Newspaper" and "The Times," Francis I had only announced his intention to deal with the French frogs and ignored the mockery of the rose beef, in order to avoid fighting on two fronts simultaneously.
As a result, Francis I's immense forbearance was met with further mockery from the rose beef, and a union with the French frogs?
It had to be admitted that the pure-blooded line of the Habsburg family was a complete mistake – in his rage, Francis I made a decision similar to eating a scarce young woman, and simply declared war on England at the same time as declaring war on France!
With Francis's actions, the various lords and knights dependent on the Habsburg family became somewhat hesitant.
Fighting France was not a problem, because France was relatively weak. Although no one could conquer Paris before France surrendered, and no one could defeat the French army led by nuns and cripples, they could still gain some benefits from France.
But adding England to the mix, the nature of the matter completely changed.
Challenging both Europe's strongest army and strongest navy simultaneously?
If the true Holy Roman Empire had revived, this might not have been impossible, but the Holy Roman Empire under the Habsburg family, which was neither holy nor Roman...
And while the lords and knights were undecided, Tsar Paul I of Russia also issued a public statement, announcing that after dealing with the Ottoman Empire, he would attack the Holy Roman Empire.
Although the Tsarist Russia had not yet managed to deal with the Ottoman Empire, such a so-called statement was essentially like farting. But who could guarantee that those Russians wouldn't go mad after drinking too much vodka?
Due to Paul I's statement on behalf of Tsarist Russia, and the lords and knights' intention to wait and see before making a decision, the pressure suddenly fell on the Habsburg family.
Of course, the Habsburg family was not made of mud. The Holy Roman Empire, Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and several duchies in Italy all announced that they would advance and retreat with the Habsburg family, and "would thoroughly crush the conspiracies of England and France."
When Louis XVI saw that the Habsburgs were starting to rally allies, he thought, "You think you're the only one who can rally allies? Do you think I, Lu, can't?"
In a fit of rage, Louis XVI immediately sent people to notify Spain, Navarre, Naples, Sicily, Luxembourg, and other countries, as well as several duchies in Italy and Portugal.
The aforementioned countries, large and small, were all members of the Bourbon family, and Portugal, being in debt to the Great Ming Empire for military expenses and owing favors to France, was brought in by Louis XVI to wave the banner.
This made George III very envious. Francis I and Louis XVI both had a large family supporting them, but George III had the House of Hanover behind him, which was unreliable, and the Stuart family was even more unreliable!