Chapter 381: Qingning Paper is Expensive
Outside the delivery room, Huai Wei ran out briskly, looked at Ou Zanghua who was anxiously waiting, and said happily: "Congratulations, Master, you have a baby boy, both mother and child are safe!"

"Thank you so much!" Upon hearing that, Ou Zanghua's tense nerves instantly relaxed and he showed a relieved expression.

Only then did he realize that he had been holding Yue Lingshan's hand tightly.

He quickly let go, and seeing Yue Lingshan's frowning and clenched teeth as she endured, he felt very sorry. He held her hand again, pressing gently to relieve the possible pain, and apologized softly, "I'm sorry, Lingshan, I was too nervous just now and hurt you."

"I'm fine," Yue Lingshan looked at Ou Zanghua's distressed expression and said with a smile, "Brother, go in and see the lady first!"

Having said that, Yue Lingshan withdrew her hand and gently pushed Ou Zanghua.

"Well, I'll go in and take a look first." Seeing this, Ou Zanghua did not refuse and turned around and walked into the delivery room.

At this moment, Liu Qing had changed her clothes with the help of Shuyan and Jingnu, and was lying on the bed with a pale face. Jian Xi fed her lotus root, red dates and pork ribs soup, which has the effects of warming, replenishing blood, nourishing blood, moisturizing dryness and nourishing yin, and is helpful for physical recovery.

Ou Zanghua remained silent for a moment behind the screen, calmed himself down, and then slowly walked into the room.

What came into view was Liu Qing's pale and weak figure. This scene touched his heart deeply, causing the eyes of this usually carefree and unrestrained man to involuntarily turn red. He couldn't control his emotions at all.

He walked lightly to the bedside, leaned over, and gently covered Liu Qing's slightly cold hands with his hands. His voice was choked with sobs: "Qingqing, you... have worked hard."

"Well, it's not only hard, but also painful!" Liu Qing touched the tears from the corners of her husband's eyes and said somewhat aggrievedly.

Then she changed the subject, her mouth corners raised, her eyes sparkling with happiness, and she said with a smile: "But I am very happy to continue my bloodline and give birth to children for my husband. Look, my husband, the little thing is here~"

Ou Zanghua turned his head and saw a chubby little guy with his hands raised, nestling peacefully beside Liu Qing, immersed in a sweet dream.

His eyes fell on that tender and plump little face. He couldn't help but stretch out his fingers and gently brushed the delicate and silky skin. He suddenly felt his heart melting. The face of this little thing was like egg custard, smooth but not greasy, soft yet tough, making people afraid that it would be squeezed to pieces if they used a little force.

"How is it? Isn't it cute?" Liu Qing looked at Ou Zanghua's cautious appearance and couldn't help but asked with a smile.

"Well, you will be even cuter in the future." Ou Zanghua nodded.

"Husband, have you thought of a name?"

"Not yet. I still need to consider this matter carefully."

I chatted with Liu Qing for a long time, and only left the room when she felt sleepy.

After walking out of the yard, the night deepened and everything was silent. Only the distant starry sky seemed like pearls lost in the depths of the ocean, each carrying dreams and hopes from afar.

Ou Zanghua stood under the moon. Although it was a full moon, there was a layer of light clouds in the sky, so the moon could not shine brightly.

He couldn't help rubbing his fingers, which seemed to still have the tofu-like touch of the little baby.

"Am I a father now?"

Ou Zanghua had a feeling of unreality, as if the time travel happened just yesterday.

Even though it was so late, he didn't feel sleepy.

So, Ou Zanghua came to the study, and after grinding, he picked up his pen and wrote:
You have arrived in the world as promised, and I am grateful to the heavens for bestowing this blessing.

She is in good health and beautiful, just like a fairy from the Yaochi Lake.

Recalling the ten months of pregnancy, my only wish was for your health.

Although beauty is not what is important, true love is worth more than a thousand chapters.

No matter how stormy the world is, your perseverance and growth will have no limits.

He will become a great man one day, and will be free to do whatever he wants despite the vast world.

Early the next morning, when Ou Zanghua woke up, he heard the maid report to him that Liu Zhengfeng had arrived and was in the backyard.

Ou Zanghua was shocked. This Old Liu was too fast!
When he washed, changed his clothes and came to the backyard, Old Liu was happily being driven out of the room by Mrs. Ouyang.

Qu Yang sat on a stone bench nearby, watching with a smile on his face. Qu Feiyan stood behind him, massaging his shoulders.

Seeing Ou Zanghua coming over, Qu Yang stood up, bowed and said, "Sir."

"Mr. Qu, there is no need to be so polite."

After Ou Zanghua bowed in return, he looked at Liu Zhengfeng who was standing outside the door and occasionally peeking in, so he had no choice but to walk over and say, "Dad, Qingqing and the children are resting, and they can't go out for some time."

"Hey, I know, I know. I just saw it. That little cub is so cute."

Liu Zhengfeng waved his hand nonchalantly, then suddenly slapped his head and said in annoyance: "Oh, I just forgot to give the longevity lock to the little one!"

As he spoke, Lao Liu took out a golden longevity lock from his bosom. One side was engraved with "Longevity and Wealth", and the other side was engraved with the Four Gentlemen: Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum.

Ou Zanghua was speechless. This thing weighed at least one pound. It would be impossible for a newborn baby to wear it steadily.

So, Ou Zanghua took the longevity lock from Lao Liu and said, "Dad, I'll keep this for the child first. When the child grows up, I'll give it to him."

"That's fine. You're his father anyway." Old Liu was quite casual. After he finished speaking, he began to knock on the wooden door again, muttering something like "My dear grandson, grow up well."

By the afternoon, the news that Ou Zanghua had given birth to a son had spread in a small circle in Beijing.

Mrs. Fei Hong, Mrs. Xianning Hou, and Mrs. Yang Shen all sent people to deliver gifts and arranged a time to visit.

As for the officials from the Honglu Temple, the Ministry of Rites, the Zhanshi Palace, and the Hanlin Academy, they naturally would not lag behind others. They all presented various gifts through their wives. Some were for children, and some were for Liu Qing. Each of them was a shrewd person.

Ou Zanghua naturally would not accept other people's things for free. He asked Yue Lingshan to take Hua An and Shu Yan to arrange gifts in return.

This is how things will go at home from now on. When Liu Qing is not convenient, Yue Lingshan will take over.

Zhengde, who was studying Borjigin Batumengke in the Leopard Room, paused after hearing Zhang Yong's report. When he wanted to continue his study, he found that he could not concentrate. He threw away his brush, sat on the dragon chair, and recalled the conversation in the martial arts hall that day.

Then he sighed secretly. In this world, only Ou Qing was willing to talk to him about these topics. If it were someone else, he didn't know how it would be spread.

After being stunned for a while, Emperor Zhengde finally spoke: "Zhang Banban, let the Queen prepare some gifts and give them to Madam Ou!"

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Yong responded and slowly left the hall.

Emperor Zhengde walked to the bookcase and pulled out a book from a pile of books. It was the "Tianhuang Yudie", which was compiled by Xie Jin. However, there were grand secretaries in each generation who updated the content. The current version has recorded up to the sixth generation of Hou. As for the subsequent generation of Zai, there is not even one at the moment.

Boss Zhu was slightly stunned. He wanted to ask directly about the matters concerning the "Zai" generation, but then he thought that if he asked this question, it would definitely cause waves and involve a wide range of issues.

So, he endured it and began to think about how to use this incident to solve another big problem of the court - clan members!
When later generations explored the deep-seated reasons for the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the flaws in the clan title and inheritance system were undoubtedly an unavoidable topic.

When Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty established the vassal system, his grand vision was to consolidate the royal authority and maintain bloodline inheritance, but unfortunately he failed to fully foresee and properly plan for the astonishing reproduction rate of the royal descendants.

The blind spots in this system's design, coupled with the strict restrictions on clan members' involvement in secular occupations in order to support themselves, were tantamount to planting a time bomb in the heart of the empire.

Over time, this system has become increasingly burdensome.

A huge group of royal family members enjoyed generous rewards but did not have to bear corresponding social responsibilities. Their expenses devoured the country's financial resources like a bottomless pit.

This is the pig-raising plan that has been complained about for hundreds of years. The Qing Dynasty had raised pigs for more than two hundred years, but they were all slaughtered by the rebels led by Li Zicheng.

In fact, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty should bear half of the blame, and the other half should be borne by Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty.

They are indeed father and son, their train of thought is so novel.

According to the records of "Huang Ming Zu Xun", all the descendants of the princes of the prefectures were granted official positions. The son was granted the title of General Guarding the Country, the grandson was granted the title of General Assisting the Country, the great-grandson was granted the title of General Serving the Country, the great-great-grandson was granted the title of Lieutenant Guarding the Country, the fifth-generation grandson was granted the title of Lieutenant Assisting the Country, and the sixth-generation grandson and the following generations were granted the title of Lieutenant Serving the Country.
If any of the descendants of a county prince has talents in civil or military affairs and is suitable for appointment, the clan affairs office shall submit their names to the imperial court for examination and grant them official positions. Their promotion and transfer shall be in accordance with the normal selection method.
From this we can see that officials below the rank of Prince no longer enjoy the privilege of hereditary titles, and the official positions they are granted are not hereditary, that is, they cannot be passed down from generation to generation.

Therefore, Taizu had some idea that the increasing number of descendants would cause financial pressure on the court, but not much.

Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention was that the capable descendants would serve the court, and the court would provide money and food to support the incapable ones. He even set rules for them, not allowing them to engage in agriculture, industry, commerce and other industries, but only to study hard and practice martial arts, and serve His Majesty after learning something.

But Old Zhu did not expect that the fourth child was so competitive that he dared to take action with only 800 soldiers, and finally he succeeded.

After the fourth brother came to power, his ideas were completely different from those of the old Zhu.

As the saying goes, if you tear down the ladder to your own success, you won’t let others climb it.

Taizong was happy to spend more money and food to let his relatives stay in the fiefdom and enjoy life!

Although Lao Zhu's arithmetic is average, he is smart. Although following the path he designed may not necessarily be much better.

But the court was unable to resist the pressure from its own son, so much so that by the Hongzhi period, the imperial court was already struggling.

As a result, Emperor Hongzhi ignored the heavy financial burden of the central and local governments, turned a deaf ear to the advice of court officials, and stubbornly and generously rewarded land, salt permits and other resources to the princes, especially his closest relatives.

This move was nominally in line with the traditional "kinship" approach of treating the prince well, but in reality it divided and plundered a large amount of national fiscal revenue.

Emperor Zhengde naturally didn't know the conclusions of later generations. He just stood in this position and could more clearly perceive the big tail of the royal family.

However, he couldn't think of a solution. He just vaguely felt that his lack of an heir might alleviate the situation.

"Forget it, I'll call Ou Qing next time to discuss how to solve this matter!"

In the Ming Dynasty, government offices at all levels, from the central government to local governments, needed a large amount of paper. However, the government itself was not enough, so it introduced the method of paying paper to atone for sins to ensure the supply of paper.

The so-called penalty and redemption system is to pay property to atone for sins. Criminals can pay property to the court to offset their crimes. This method also depends on the court's decision, that is, the court needs criminals to exchange for certain property, and criminals just need to obey and do as they are told. Paying paper is one of the options.

However, from now on, the Ministry of Rites, the Honglu Temple, and the Zhanshi Palace will stop paying paper, and the vacant space will be replaced by Qingning paper produced in the Qingning Palace Imperial Farm.

When Xie Zheng received this message, he looked a little hesitant. After thinking for a while, he decided to find the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites to discuss the matter again.

At this moment, Ou Zanghua was still immersed in the excitement of having a baby boy. He was even full of energy at work. He just wanted to finish all the things quickly so that he could go home to see his baby.

Noticing his direct descendant coming in, he smiled and asked, "Brother Dazhong, how come you have time to come to my place?"

Xie Zheng is not a very famous person, but everyone knows his other fathers.

It was Xie Qian, one of the three famous leaders of the Hongzhi period in history!
The reason why Ou Zanghua and Xie Zheng became good friends was also due to calligraphy.

Xie Zheng, whose courtesy name is Dazhong, is a man of profound knowledge and proficient in four styles of calligraphy. He firmly believes that a book must have spirit, energy, bones, flesh and blood. If one of the five is missing, it is not a complete book.

So when he saw Ou Zanghua's calligraphy, he thought that the new right assistant minister was a sincere gentleman worthy of making friends.

After all, in the history of China, there have only been two people who are not what they seem, Qin Hui and Cai Jing.

"Sir Ou, I am here to ask for the paper used in the Ministry of Rites' office."

Without waiting for Xie Zheng to finish, Ou Zanghua pulled out a stack of snow-white paper and handed it to Xie Zheng, saying with a smile: "Brother, this is Qingning paper, which is more than 10% better than the paper used by the Ministry of Rites now. You might as well try it."

As a calligrapher, Xie Zheng has written on papers that are taller than a house when stacked up. He touched the paper and felt that it was thin but not brittle, white and flexible. It was indeed a rare good paper on the market.

Ou Zanghua took out another piece of Qingning paper with words written on it and handed it to Xie Zheng, asking him to take a look.

Xie Zheng took the paper and looked at it carefully. He saw that it absorbed ink quickly and flowed smoothly, which was far superior to any paper on the market. He couldn't help but like it a little.

However, he quickly collected his thoughts and almost forgot that he was not here just to appreciate paper. He was almost led astray by his good friend Ou.

Putting the paper aside, Xie Zheng bowed and reminded: "Lord Ou is lucky to have found such a fine product this time. But then again, such fine paper must be expensive. However, the Ministry of Rites has a fixed budget every year. If we rashly increase this expenditure, I am afraid it will be difficult to explain to His Majesty and the Cabinet!"

(End of this chapter)