Chapter 1042 Welcome Banquet

Concubine Jing didn't see her daughter and son come back together, so she asked out of curiosity.

"Chen'er, didn't your fifth sister come back with you?"

The previous letter specifically instructed them to bring that dead girl back, but why is there no one here now?

"Oh, mother, Fifth Sister came back with us, but she caught a cold on the way and is feeling unwell, so she's going back to the courtyard now."

Qin Chuchu hurried to help explain. Her elder sister-in-law's reaction was so obvious, if she really followed her.

Anyone who has experienced this should be able to see that she is pregnant, and her reputation will definitely be damaged.

"Oh, is that serious?" Concubine Jing frowned.

I don’t know how serious it is. The wedding date is approaching, and I hope nothing goes wrong. The emperor beside me also frowned, obviously worried.

Seeing the old woman's worry, Qin Chuchu hurried to explain.

"Don't worry, mother. Fifth sister is in good health. I think she will recover after a few days of rest."

"Oh, that's good." Concubine Jing nodded.

But he still looked very worried, thinking that he would go back and take a look, and if it didn't work, he would ask the imperial physician to take a look.

Hearing that his daughter was fine, the emperor felt relieved and looked at Han Muchen with a happy face.

"Chen'er, tell father about the situation over there!"

As he spoke, he could hardly control the smile on his face.

Although I have heard a lot about what is happening over there, that was just what others said after all. I still want to hear it from my son himself.

Seeing his father ask this, the man nodded quickly.

"Yes, I plan to completely develop the Far North within three years and dig all of it into underground greenhouses to grow grain and rice.

According to the current progress, there should be no problem."

As soon as the words fell, the originally quiet scene became noisy again, and everyone undoubtedly had a shocked expression.

Everyone knows how harsh the environment in the Far North is. The main reason is that the climate is too cold, and there is sand and gravel everywhere, which is not suitable for growing crops.

If this were not the case, then large tracts of land would not remain idle.

If it is true as King Chen said, and crops can be grown everywhere, what a huge yield would be.

If there is a good harvest, how could the people still be hungry, let alone die of starvation.

I had heard it from others before, but now I hear it from King Chen’s mouth with my own ears, and I really admire him.

That is not a small project that can be done with just a touch of the upper lip. It not only requires a lot of manpower, but also a lot of money.

I'm afraid no one can have such strong strength, but there are some people who are not convinced, and they are the second prince's party.

Seeing King Chen so glorious at this moment, he must have wanted to show off his power. When everyone was exclaiming in amazement, he expressed his doubts.

"According to King Chen's intention, this is no small project, as it requires a large amount of manpower. After three years of drought, the people are suffering terribly. If more men are conscripted, life will be even more difficult for the people in the Far North. Isn't King Chen's move a bit inappropriate?"

The discordant sound seemed particularly different, attracting everyone's attention.

Han Muchen also looked over. The person who spoke was a third-rank official and also Han Mulei's man.

Everyone knows what this means at this moment. It means that he is jealous of others because he cannot bear to see them doing well.

Han Muchen looked at him and curled the corners of his mouth in sarcasm.

"Lord Sun, you must be talking about the people in your jurisdiction. The people in my jurisdiction now have no worries about food and clothing. Every family has stored grain and vegetables.

If not, this king would not have the extra money to subsidize the people with food and vegetables."

"You......" Lord Sun was so angry that his beard was about to stand up.

This King of Morning was clearly mocking his incompetence and causing the people in his jurisdiction to suffer.

Just when he was isolated and helpless, another middle-aged official stood up next to him.

"I have something I don't understand. King Chen, how have you arranged for the people who have settled in the Far North over the past year?

Are you all going to dig a hole together?"

There was a hint of sarcasm in the official's tone. Such a large project would probably require the mobilization of all the people.

If it were men, it would be fine, but if women and children were also conscripted, then he would be showing his brutal nature and would not even let women and children go.

“………………”Qin Chuchu didn’t say anything.

But he stared at the two men with dissatisfaction. Seeing that they were in unison, it was obvious that they were targeting the Living King of Hell. It was obvious that they were not good people.

I was really angry listening to them talking, and just as I was about to say something to them, the man pinched my hand.

Han Muchen glanced at Qin Chuchu and gave her a reassuring look, then looked at the two adults again with a calm expression.

"It seems that the two adults are still too isolated from the news. There are more than just these people in my jurisdiction. Last year alone, more than one million people settled in the Far North.

Adding the original population of Qingzhou Prefecture, there are now less than three million people."

He said it calmly, but the people present were not calm at all. They all had surprised expressions and started talking in low voices again.

Although I knew that many people had settled in the Far North in the past year, I didn't expect there would be so many.

No wonder so many people left even though they collected so little tax from their fiefdom.

Even the emperor sitting on the main throne was surprised. He didn't expect that there would be so many people at Chen'er's place.

The Queen and Han Mulei gritted their teeth in hatred. Although they knew that he had a lot of people on his side, they didn't expect there to be so many.

The more people there are, the more taxes there are. No wonder they can come up with so much silver.

While everyone was discussing, the man's low voice sounded again.

“As for what you said about women also participating in the labor, it is true, but they are also paid.

The work they did was relatively easy, and they mostly earned 800 coins to 1 tael of silver per month.

The men had heavier work, most of them earned one to three taels of silver per month, and almost every household could earn seven or eight taels of silver per month.

Basic living is not a problem, and as for the children, they are all studying in the academy, and their training fees are also free."

The man still had a calm expression, as if he was talking about a very ordinary thing, but everyone heard it and it made him look very serious. They all revealed their true feelings again.

Each household could earn seven or eight taels of silver a month, which was almost as much as their annual harvest from farming.

And there is money every month, so if you calculate it this way, it’s about one hundred taels a year. Wouldn’t that mean every family would become rich?

Everyone was shocked and a little bit unbelieving when they heard this. How could so much money be earned?

The two adults also had surprised expressions. They looked at each other and raised their doubts again.

"How is this possible? Prince Chen is probably saying this just to please the Emperor!"

"Exactly, where does the money for so many people come from?"

"If that's the case, then the King of the Morning's private treasury is truly rich. I'm truly envious."

The two people's mocking words were very clear. King Chen was living in vain. If he really had so much money, it certainly didn't come easily.

General Cheng, who had been enduring all this time, could no longer bear it and stood up angrily.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"