Chapter 2293: The Queen Mother's Warning

The status of women has always been a topic worth discussing.

In the long history, except for the matriarchal society, women have existed as vassals of men for most of the time.

But even so, even when women have the lowest status, there are always a group of women standing at the top, and they can even wrestle with men.

This group of people may be called princesses, such as those unfaithful princesses in the Tang Dynasty.

This group of people may be called queens and concubines, such as the empress with the sun and the moon in the sky.

This group of people may be called noble ladies, such as this group of dignified women in front of us.

"The queen is here..."

Accompanied by the eunuch's drawn-out voice, the queen mother appeared.

Hu Shanxiang supported her left hand, and Duanduan held the queen mother's hand and walked on the right.

This is a peaceful picture, so after the salute, the queen mother also smiled and said: "The plan for the year lies in spring. Although I also wish it was spring all year round, without the heat of summer, how can there be a good harvest in autumn?"

Most of the noble ladies standing here are not lacking in political sensitivity, and they understand those secret words in seconds.

So everyone smiled but refused to speak.

——The hot summer just passed, which was extremely hot for the gentry and dignitaries. But after this summer, the next is the harvest.

Hu Shanxiang sat at the bottom, while Duanduan did not have a special seat, so she sat next to the empress dowager.

The empress dowager glanced at the ladies below, then nodded and said, "Serve the wine and food."

Each person had a small table and a cushion.

After a while of rings jingling, the ladies sat down.

The ladies naturally could not be the same as men, so the dishes were mainly exquisite.

Zhang Shuhui ate a small dumpling calmly, and the taste of the filling burst out, and she found that it was actually a combination of several fillings, and then the various flavors went from being distinct at the beginning to being delicious after mixing...

This is the explosion of taste buds!

Zhang Shuhui glanced at the opposite side, and saw Zhenjing, that is, expressionless.

It is best to keep all your feelings to yourself. You can brag to your family or show off to outsiders when you go home. But now you can only be honest.

The Fang family's diet is very complicated. Fang Xing has a strong taste, while Zhang Shuhui and Xiaobai have light tastes, so they often cook two kinds of dishes.

Gradually, as time goes by, those with light tastes have learned to eat spicy food, and those with strong tastes have learned to eat light food.

This is fusion.

Zhang Shuhui was distracted for a moment, and the queen above had already raised her glass.

So everyone raised their glasses to toast the queen mother.

The queen mother drank the wine, looked down calmly, and said: "Lady Xinghe Bo..."

Zhang Shuhui slowly stood up, and the queen mother pressed her hand and said: "Sit down."

No one knew what the queen mother meant. After Zhang Shuhui sat down, she slowly said: "Xinghe Bo worked hard on this trip to the sea, and the emperor remembers it!"

Zhang Shuhui stood up again to thank her.

"In the past, I always thought that there were only a few fairy mountains overseas, and then it was all water."

The queen mother's words made everyone laugh.

Now the merchants in the south are already racking their brains for the qualification to provide goods for overseas trade. The last batch of merchants who donated money to build new warships made a lot of money. It is said that many people went directly to the shipyard with pockets full of money to express their willingness to donate money to build ships.

According to those people's estimation, if this supply qualification is completely liberalized, the new warships will probably not need the government to spend money.

But even the most stingy Xia Yuanji disagreed with this. According to him, how can the country's heavy equipment be entrusted to merchants?

But how could the queen mother speak so shallowly?

And she didn't need to care about the atmosphere. Even if she didn't say a word from beginning to end, no one dared to say that the meal was uncomfortable.

So everyone put down their chopsticks and listened carefully.

"After the treasure ship went out to sea many times, this palace knew that there were large areas overseas, and those places were not even smaller than the Ming Dynasty."

The queen mother's tone was flat, as if she was reading from a script.

"After the Western envoys came,

I realized that the world is not just the Ming Dynasty, not just the grasslands, but there are big countries in the distance. I felt that I was a frog in the well."

"Your Majesty, you are joking. If it weren't for what you said just now, I would not know what the Western envoys are!"

"Yes! Those foreign vassal people are barbaric. The Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette, so there is no need to bother with them..."

"I heard that Western women also wear skirts, but they all wear very high shoes regardless of gender. I don't know why. I'll ask someone to make a pair for me one day..."

"....."

The topic quickly went further and further. Duanduan sat beside the Queen Mother. Listening to these mutterings, she couldn't help but put down her chopsticks and whispered: "Grandmother, they... are so gossipy!"

The Queen Mother was originally observing these noble ladies. When she heard this, she couldn't help but say: "What is gossip?"

Duanduan frowned and said: "It means they talk a lot, like to inquire, and like to talk about other people's affairs."

This is a gossipy woman!

The Queen Mother couldn't help but smile, then touched her head and said, "Drink that bowl of soup soon, and you will feel better."

Duanduan looked at the bowl of mutton soup with medicinal herbs, and couldn't help but sighed like an adult, "Medicine is poisonous!"

The Queen Mother looked at Duanduan lovingly, and when she turned her face away, all that kindness turned into indifference.

There was no need for any dry coughs, and those noble ladies who were most good at reading people's expressions all stopped.

In silence, the Queen Mother said: "There is a lot of land overseas. Anyone who wants land can go there. When you get there, you can have as much as you want. As long as there are people farming, you can take it."

"Don't even look at the Central Plains!"

The Queen Mother raised a glass and everyone drank it in a hurry.

"Who told me last time..."

The Queen Mother held the wine glass and thought for a while, then said: "It is said that the land in the Central Plains has been cultivated for many years and has long been overwhelmed. Once there is any disturbance, it will be a disaster. I am thinking of overseas. It is said that the land there is so fertile that even a chopstick can survive. "

…

The banquet ended quickly, and the Queen Mother also sent a basket of fresh vegetables to each family.

Then everyone was led out of the palace amid a burst of praise for the emperor's grace.

"Is this appeasing?"

“It’s more banging.”

"We have been cleared of a lot of land. What I mean is that we should not bother with the Central Plains. If we still want land, then go overseas."

"Where's Nu'er Gandusi? Rumor has it that the fertile land over there is all black. That's a good place! It's closer."

"They don't accept immigrants there anymore, they say it's full."

"Full? No, it's a big place."

"People say that immigrants will give birth to babies. You have to reserve space for the birth of children and grandchildren. Otherwise, after a few generations, there will be no land for farming."

A group of ladies were analyzing the Queen Mother's words, and then they were all a little frustrated.

"I heard that we will clean up all the slaves with slave status in the future. Hey! Where can I find people to farm overseas?"

A lady sneered and exposed the hole the emperor had dug for everyone. Then she found that the surrounding area was suddenly empty, so she said harshly: "What are you afraid of? There is no way to survive. Can't you say a few words?"

The palace maids and eunuchs who escorted them out all lowered their heads and looked at the road, but everyone knew that what the noble lady just said would be spread to the right place later.

The noble lady regretted a little. When she saw Zhang Shuhui and Wu languishing behind her, her eyes turned red and she choked with sobs: "It's good to have holy relatives! People like us can only linger on, that's all. Let's turn around and The whole family tied themselves up to plead guilty."

These words were a bit self-defeating, and also a bit slanderous about Zhu Zhanji's cruelty.

Everyone quickened their pace for a moment, and soon left this woman behind.