"One."

"bump!"

The Queen Mother sat at the table, her face all smiles.

The exquisite ivory mahjong stands in front of you.

Ning Que and Emperor Feng sat nearby and drank tea.

Nowadays, mahjong has become a must-have in every household in Chang'an.

If someone doesn’t have one at home, they would feel embarrassed to ask for it.

The promotion was possible thanks to the help of the Queen Mother.

After all, she likes playing mahjong.

In order to please her, women must learn.

As a noble, you naturally have to use the best.

How can you even consider ordinary ox bone mahjong?

If you don’t buy the right one, buy the expensive one!

Ning Que made a lot of money from this!

The key is still monopoly trading.

The pricing power lies with Ningque.

Don't worry about someone copying it.

Unless he doesn't want the head!

"Xiao Ning, how is the winter wheat in Jingyang?"

"I saw it a few days ago." Ning Que put down his teacup and whispered, "It's growing well and hasn't been frozen to death. This proves it can survive the winter. We'll have a harvest next spring and summer. The yield may not be high, but it will fill our stomachs."

"Very good."

Emperor Feng nodded with satisfaction.

Agriculture is the foundation of the country.

It is also the confidence of Dafeng in its continuous wars.

Therefore, Dafeng attaches the most importance to agriculture and sericulture.

There are even many laws to protect it.

The main grains in Dafeng are millet and rice.

Millet is grown in the north and harvests once a year.

In the south, some areas can harvest rice twice a year.

There are never many people growing wheat.

After all, pasta is not popular nowadays.

Ning Que cleverly promoted winter wheat.

Can achieve three harvests in two years!

Greatly increase the harvest of the people in the north.

Emperor Feng intended to use Jingyang as a pilot area.

Wanted to see if winter wheat would work.

"I want to see the harvest myself next year."

"If it is feasible, we will promote it everywhere."

"It's better not to..."

"how?"

Ning Que sighed softly, "The people are already exhausted and toilsome from farming. Planting winter wheat is a helpless measure after the disaster. If we promote it as a means to increase production, it will not only overdraw the soil's fertility and lead to reduced yields, but will also make the people exhausted."

Farming is not just about sowing seeds and calling it a day.

You also have to water, fertilize, weed and catch insects.

Otherwise production will plummet.

Especially the soil fertility needs more attention.

If you only plant crops without taking care of the land, the land will be wasted.

It’s not easy to cultivate the land now that there are no chemical fertilizers.

Planting winter wheat is purely for the purpose of surviving natural disasters.

If planting is done on a regular basis, there will be serious problems.

Even those who haven't farmed know how hard it is for farmers. Many already look old and frail by their forties, their skin dark and cracked, their backs sluggish. Meanwhile, many middle-aged people in the city dress elegantly, enjoying tea and dancing.

We can’t just make the farmers suffer whenever something goes wrong, right?

Emperor Feng nodded thoughtfully.

Glance into the distance.

"I have no choice."

"The Ministry of Revenue comes to cry poor every day."

"The national treasury is empty, but all places need money."

"Like the recently conquered Shuofang, it also needs construction."

"Although Jiuquan has promoted mutual trade, it's just getting started and is basically unable to cover its expenses. I really want to break a copper coin in half. Also, do you know what the King of Qi said before he left?"

"I don't know."

Emperor Feng's eyes were icy as he spoke, "He said that Qi, without Linzi, was short of money. If we were to build large-scale sea vessels and train a fleet, Qi might not be able to afford it. So he hoped I could allocate funds, otherwise the eastern expedition to Goguryeo would be delayed."

"As expected." Ning Que said as a matter of course, "This humble servant has gained a lot from this wedding. It won't be of much use to keep it in the palace, so I'll give it to you, my Royal Highness, to use in building a fleet."

"How can this be possible?"

“We are all serving the country.”

Ning Que smiled.

Don't believe the emperor's polite words.

The corners of his mouth are harder to suppress than AK now.

From the moment he held the grand wedding, the emperor's goal was this. On the surface, it was a sign of his respect for him, requiring all officials to contribute to the dowry and hold a grand wedding. In reality, it was just a way to extort money from the wealthy, and the wedding was just an excuse.

A man is innocent unless he is in possession of a treasure.

Even if Emperor Feng hadn't spoken, Ning Que, as a subject, would have had to be sensible. Emperor Feng could call him a brother, but if he truly treated him as a brother, he would be foolish. "Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger" is no mere saying...

The most difficult thing about ancient dynasties was just one word.

【money! 】

Where does the money come from?

How to spend the money?

As long as you take care of these two issues, you will be fine.

Considering that Gu Yuan was able to remain unharmed, it wasn't because there was no evidence. After all, if the Emperor really wanted to kill someone, he wouldn't need evidence. The key was that the Gu family was willing to pay 300,000 taels of silver for indulgences!

There’s no way, Dafeng needs money!

If Ning Que is more self-aware, the Emperor will be more willing to speak to him.

"That's fine. Consider it a loan." Emperor Feng nodded with a smile and praised, "I'll reimburse you after we defeat Goguryeo."

"That's fine."

The two smiled at each other and drank from their glasses.

Emperor Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

Dafeng is really short of money now.

This time when he was offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, he made the Ministry of Revenue empty its treasury.

As for the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo?

Don’t think about it…

Ning Que had done his utmost to minimize losses during his northern expedition against the Liao. No one else could have achieved such a rapid victory. Even so, Dafeng still suffered heavy losses. Ning Que's combat style meant that he was destined to find little to no spoils.

"Samuel will be here in a few days."

"Including the 5,000 Qiang sheep you requested."

"That's a good feeling."

"Can you tell me what it's for now?"

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!