Chapter 585 A Letter from Huzhou

Eunuch Ming carefully opened the letter.

"Your subject wishes Gao Liangqi..."

Zhu Gaoliang was the prefect of Huzhou, holding the rank of fourth grade.

"It is now late June, the peak growing season for cotton. Magistrates from Ping'an County, Hekou County, Fenghuang County, and other counties have reported that the cotton plants are already ten to fifteen inches tall. Various places have long had methods for irrigating and controlling insects to combat cotton... However, in other counties within Huzhou, such as Qingshui County, Deping County... and Wanquan County near Huzhou, the survival rate of cotton seedlings is less than half when they are being cultivated. After transplanting, another half die. As time goes by, eight or nine out of ten of the remaining cotton plants in the fields will die..."

Halfway through his statement, the people present were in an uproar.

"Didn't they say that this cotton was suitable for any climate? How come so many of them died?"

"The imperial court issued an order to promote cotton cultivation, and the people cleared land to plant it. As a result, all the cotton died. The farmers in these areas must be full of complaints and cursing the imperial court."

"Didn't the people of Sui'an propose to promote cotton planting in the first place? But they didn't expect that even the land of Huzhou, which has favorable weather, cannot grow cotton. Wouldn't it be even more difficult to grow it in other regions?"

"The people of Sui'an rashly submitted a memorial to the court before they understood the characteristics of cotton, and they made such a huge mistake."

"..."

Many people cast condemning glances at them.

The Minister of Revenue frowned. He had sent Lord Zou and his entourage to Dahe Village in Huzhou to study cotton. All the data indicated that cotton could indeed grow and survive under many different climatic conditions. How could such a big mistake have occurred?

If there is any fault, it is the Ministry of Revenue.

Just as he was about to speak, Eunuch Ming said, "My Lords, please calm down. This letter has not been read yet."

"...In order to find out why the cotton plants died on such a large scale, I traveled far and wide and finally learned the truth... It turns out that the farmers in Ping'an County, Hekou County, Fenghuang County and other places used cotton seeds left over from last year's bumper harvest in Dahe Village, while those areas where large areas died used cotton seeds brought by merchants from the south... To prove that it was indeed the seeds that caused the problem, in late May, I sent someone to the northwest, where the cotton was growing extremely well. This means that only the seeds produced in Dahe Village can adapt to the climate of various places..."

There was silence.

Dahe Village is the hometown of the Sui'an people. The cotton seeds there basically all come from the Sui'an people.

In other words, the cotton seeds provided by the people of Sui'an can grow in the desolate Northwest, while the cotton seeds purchased from the South can die out in Huzhou, a place with favorable weather... If we still insist on blaming the people of Sui'an, then it is simply a deliberate attack on them.

Under the various gazes of the crowd, Cheng Wanwan remained calm and said, "Before cotton was planted in Dahe Village, I carefully selected the seeds from the south. During the first seedling cultivation, I used many traditional methods. The cotton seeds from the first generation of cotton harvest were more suitable for the climate of Huzhou. After two rounds of careful selection and seedling cultivation, the inferior seeds were naturally eliminated. These superior seeds will be passed down from generation to generation, and the yield should become more and more stable..."

Grand Tutor Lin said sincerely, "The people of Sui'an truly deserve to be called the people of Sui'an."

"The people of Sui'an truly deserve the title I bestow upon them." The emperor suddenly laughed. "It seems that these new species presented as tribute by the Laji Kingdom should indeed be cultivated by the people of Sui'an. What do you think, my dear ministers?"

The few people who had opposed the most just now looked at each other, and no one said anything.

They will ruthlessly kick those who are not capable of taking credit.

But they can no longer criticize those who are capable; saying too much would make them seem jealous of the people of Guangzhou.

They are scholars and men, how could they be jealous of a mere woman?

He Hanhai cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I believe that the people of Sui'an are capable of cultivating species suitable for our Great Yu Kingdom, and I am confident that the people of Sui'an will not let Your Majesty down."

Cheng Wanwan lowered her head and tugged at the corners of her lips.

This means that if she fails to successfully cultivate the child, she will have betrayed the Emperor's trust...

Lord He had already compromised, yet he still insisted on sowing discord between her and the Emperor; he was truly cunning and scheming.

"Since none of my ministers have any objections, then this matter will be left to the people of Sui'an." The Emperor paused, then continued, "Next year, the people of Sui'an will lead the screening of seeds for the promotion of cotton. Do any of the people of Sui'an have any objections to this?"

Cheng Wanwan immediately replied, "Your humble servant obeys."

Some officials sighed. They thought they could take the opportunity to kick this woman while she was down, but unexpectedly, they gave her another chance to make a name for herself.

By this time next year, she'll probably be promoted to a fifth-rank court lady. That speed of promotion is truly enviable…

"Your Majesty, there's another letter here, a memorial from Shen Dongming, the magistrate of Ping'an County," Eunuch Ming said with a smile. "Shall I continue reading?"

The Emperor nodded. He had heard of Shen Dongming two years ago. It was said that he had been a seventh-rank county magistrate for over a decade. Without Shen Dongming's trust, the people of Sui'an could not have achieved so much. Moreover, in the past two years, the people of Ping'an County had lived in peace and prosperity, becoming one of the wealthiest areas in Huzhou. It was time to promote Shen Dongming as well. For talented individuals, promotions beyond the usual ranks were commonplace...

While the Emperor was pondering this, Eunuch Ming had already reached the crucial point.

"...After Lord Zou and his entourage arrived in Dahe Village, Ping'an County, they devoted themselves to agricultural development. Under the guidance of the people of Sui'an, they successfully developed a human-powered waterwheel, which was called a waterwheel by the locals because it was powered by water...After the waterwheel, they developed a rice threshing machine, which could not be threshed with the help of external force and relied solely on human power to thresh rice and wheat, with extremely high efficiency..."

Whether it was a waterwheel or a threshing machine, few people present could understand it. They were all scholars and officials, people of the upper class, so how could they know how farmers at the bottom of society worked? Only some people in the Ministry of Revenue who had some knowledge of agriculture understood it.

The Grand Minister of Agriculture stepped forward: "Eunuch Ming, is there a blueprint on this memorial?"

His mind simply couldn't comprehend what a water-powered tipper would look like, or what a threshing machine was...

"Of course we have the blueprints," Eunuch Ming smiled. "However, Lord Shen has ordered the waterwheel and threshing machine to be sent to the capital. They should have arrived at the Guanghe Hall by now. If you gentlemen are interested, you can go and take a look. People from Sui'an are also here, and they can explain to the Emperor and Empress what these two things are."

The Minister of Works said repeatedly, "When Lao Zou and his party went to Huzhou and completed their cotton experiment, they wrote to me requesting to stay a little longer to study irrigation tools. I thought it would take at least one or two years to study them. I didn't expect them to succeed so quickly. It must be because of the guidance from the people of Sui'an. The people of Sui'an are clever and ingenious, which is admirable."

The Emperor stood up: "Eunuch Ming, lead the way. Asab and the envoy from Laki Kingdom, let's go and take a look."

Cheng Wanwan naturally accepted the order.

She was truly helpless. She hadn't intended to take credit for the agricultural machinery, because she had only offered the ideas and directions. The real work was done by Lord Zou and Lord Li... Now that Magistrate Shen's memorial had arrived, the credit seemed to be directly pinned on her.

But now is not the time to talk about that. It is obvious that the emperor is eager to see the new and exciting things and to demonstrate the power of his country to Asab and Laki...