Chapter 135, Chapter 135, Master

After selecting rare medicinal plants for cultivating Gu worms from the treasure vault and experiencing the Wuming Grand Feast, the two stayed for another two months before setting off back to Da'an.

Huigu Acuo Ashuang did not plan to leave the village for the time being. In the end, only Shang Yuji and Jiang Xiqu left. They bid farewell to the villagers who saw them off and returned home with gifts from the villagers.

On the way back, Shang Yuji opened the package and was overjoyed to find a bag of rice seeds that could be harvested three times a year.

Although a bag of seeds won't grow much rice, it can be given to Cheng Xiaona, the chosen one of agriculture and the future leader of Da'an Agriculture, for research. If he can develop a rice variety that increases yield, that would be great. If he can't, he can send troops to take over the land that produces three harvests a year of rice.

The Da'an army is no longer what it used to be; anyone who dares to provoke them will have to bear the unstoppable wrath of the new Da'an army.

With ample time to return, they occasionally encountered unexpected events deliberately presented to them by the nation's destiny. After resolving these events, they gained access to talents in various fields, making their return journey a truly rich and colorful experience.

The capital city, the imperial palace.

Zhou Chaoyun hesitated for a moment, looking at the two chubby little boys beside Shang Yuji, before finally saying helplessly, "Are you saying these two children are a future general and a future civil official?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty, please do not despise the young girls for being poor. They may be a bit young, but they are just right to accompany the princess as she grows up."

Zhou Chaoyun retorted, "This is more than just a teenager! He's clearly a child who hasn't even reached the age of seventeen!"

Shang Yuji rubbed the dry hair on the two children's heads and suggested, "How about I raise them a bit older before sending them to His Majesty?"

"Never mind, let's keep him in the palace. We'll send him abroad later to study martial arts and literature."

After thanking His Majesty with the two children, He Zhong appeared and took the children to the arranged accommodations.

The two handed over government duties, and Shang Yuji ended her year-long vacation.

·

Three years later.

Shang Yuji officially announced in the Hall of Supreme Harmony that Da'an had safely weathered six years of frequent natural disasters and avoided national collapse. From this point on, Da'an would write a new chapter.

In the same year, the westward caravan brought cotton, chili peppers and other crops. Da'an selected a site and planted cotton according to local conditions. The Da'an First Institute of Technology, led by Geng Zhi and other Mohist disciples, manufactured cotton gins and foot-operated three-spindle spinning wheels.

After the cotton harvest, a large number of female textile workers appeared in the countryside, and cotton textiles such as cotton clothes and quilts entered the market. The government controlled the price to prevent hoarding and speculation. People's lives had improved over the past six years, and they knew that cotton textiles were good at keeping warm, so they bought them one after another. The people of Da'an spent a warmer winter than in the past.

Zhao Qian was stationed in Yanbei and was ordered to promote the use of heated kang beds. She organized the people in Yanbei and the area north of Yanbei, including Da'an, to build heated kang beds in their homes. In the same year, a severe snow disaster struck. She also built temporary shelters in densely populated areas to house refugees, providing them with basic food and charcoal, and managing them centrally. After the heavy snow, the number of survivors far exceeded expectations. Zhao Qian ended her posting and returned to the capital to receive her reward.

The First Affiliated Medical College of Da'an welcomed its third graduating class. The students, who received study subsidies, signed a contract to contribute to the grassroots medical cause in Da'an. They took on their missions, packed their bags, and, with the support of local governments, scattered like stars across Da'an to practice medicine and save lives.

The First Medical College boasts a legendary healer from Xuanhu Valley who has disappeared from the world, as well as doctors from all over the country who come seeking to improve their medical skills. Through numerous efforts, the medical college has made many contributions, such as conquering smallpox, replanting severed limbs, and clarifying the patterns of epidemics for effective prevention and control, thus promoting the rapid development of medical undertakings in Da'an.

The Xianbei were incorporated into the territory of Da'an. The tea and horse trade facilitated the exchange of goods and services, with each side bringing their own skills and expertise. Although there were conflicts between the people of the two regions, the ethnic relations gradually deepened.

In the southern border region, led by Wuming and with the new village chief Wucuo taking the lead, various villages voluntarily submitted to Da'an. Wucuo, as the first Protector-General of the Southern Border Region, was in charge of affairs in the southern border region.

Through the matchmaking of Tangxi Liu, the imperial court and the Beggars' Sect signed a logistics agreement. Leveraging the Beggars' Sect's large numbers and ubiquitous presence, they transported goods from villages to towns and cities. Beggars' Sect members cherished this rare and exclusive work opportunity, ensuring punctuality and trustworthiness, thus enhancing their reputation and stimulating deeper cooperation with the government. Furthermore, the stable income reduced the number of beggars and vagrants in the streets, improving the city's appearance, reducing uncertainty, and promoting public order.

The martial arts world and the imperial court coexisted amicably. Martial arts practitioners followed standardized procedures when accepting missions from the government, and their trading rights were protected by the government. The two sides maintained good relations, regularly holding competitions in the outskirts of the capital to exchange skills between masters from both sides. These competitions were always limited to a few points and ended without further ado. Various factions from the martial arts world actively participated, while imperial generals were equally competitive. Lin Mingshan, a martial arts practitioner, won the first competition, while Lakar, a young general from the imperial court, won the second. The imperial court and the martial arts world were evenly matched, and their ties deepened through the established exchange platform.

The Youyun Chamber of Commerce, Xinhua Bookstore, and the Wanshang Alliance, three major chambers of commerce, act as celestial investors. Researchers from various fields prove the excellence of their "projects" in order to obtain funding support from sources other than the imperial court. Sun Fengwan selects research projects based on the advice of Shang Gu Niang, and Huo Shengge blindly follows suit, making a fortune. Qi Nian helps manage the Youyun Chamber of Commerce. Since the Youyun Chamber of Commerce is essentially an official chamber of commerce, it provides random funding to motivate researchers, resulting in both losses and gains.

The resulting impact is that Da'an's science and technology industry is booming, which in turn benefits all sectors of Da'an, including agriculture, industry, and commerce, forming a positive social ecosystem.

Thanks to improvements in agricultural tools, government-supplied cattle, and upgraded agricultural techniques, the harvest was bountiful, marking the largest harvest in Da'an in nearly fifty years. Households were overflowing with grain, and granaries were full.

Everything is thriving and everything is developing in a positive direction.

·

Three years later, in the Imperial Garden of the Palace.

Shang Yuji and Jiang Xi stood side by side when they saw Zhou Chaoyun push two princesses and a prince in front of them, waving his hand casually: "Choose one of them, and I'll have them recognize you as their godparents!"

"?" Shang Yuji's doubts were written all over her face.

Zhou Chaoyun patted his chest and guaranteed, "Choose any of them, all three are my own children!"

...It is precisely because she is Zhou Chaoyun's biological daughter that Shang Yuji dares not acknowledge this adoptive mother. If word gets out, wouldn't she become the prime minister, sitting on equal footing with the emperor? What is her intention?

She advised, "Your Majesty, there are already enough rumors circulating about us outside... You don't need to add fuel to the fire."

Why bother with them? Can't I even take care of my own child?

In fact, His Majesty is quite easy to get along with as a leader. Except for his sometimes whimsical ideas that leave people at a loss, it is Zhou Chaoyun's ability to learn from others, his strong capacity to accept new things, and his willingness to try new things that has made many impossible things a reality.

But it was still too much to ask the princess and princes to recognize a high-ranking official as their godmother. Shang Yuji was troubled for a moment. She looked at the eldest of the three, the Crown Princess, and compromised by saying, "I will be the Crown Princess's tutor."

Being a tutor to the emperor sounds more legitimate than being a foster mother.

Seeing her insistence, Zhou Chaoyun agreed to the suggestion and pressed down on the Crown Princess's shoulder: "Call her Master."

The Crown Princess had eyes as deep and affectionate as Zhou Chaoyun's. She bowed to Shang Yuji and said in a clear voice, "Zhaoyue greets Master."

Just as Shang Yuji agreed, Zhou Chaoyun seemed to casually ask, "Prime Minister, does the head of your bookstore still have any intention of entering the court as an official?"

Sun Fengwan is such a business-minded man. Within a few years, Xinhua Bookstore took the lion's share of Da'an Bookstore. Such a business talent should be in the imperial court as the Minister of Revenue, who is in charge of the purse strings!

Having been asked this question for three years, Shang Yuji's answer remained consistent: "Your Majesty, Miss Sun prefers running a bookstore and has no interest in serving as an official in the court."

"Well, that's a real shame."

The days of being the Crown Princess's tutor were no different from usual. Since the Crown Princess was also studying mathematics, physics, chemistry, literature, and history in the Imperial Academy, Shang Yuji pondered and decided to teach Da'an world geography, political and social structures, and political economy.

Shang Yuji may not be able to outmaneuver those cunning old foxes in politics, but what she can teach is a vision and knowledge that transcends the times. As the future leader of the country, the Crown Princess will need a far-sighted overall perspective and a strategic vision that knows both herself and her enemy.

She handed over the key to the world's treasure trove; now it remains to be seen how much effort Da'an can put in and what rewards he can extract from it.

For example, if you are told that there are high-yield crops such as corn and potatoes on the other side of the ocean, which can only be reached by ship, a treasure trove is right in front of you. Can you build a fleet for long voyages? Can you train a high-quality crew? Can you overcome the challenges of the vast ocean? The world overseas is full of dangers and opportunities. It all depends on who can conquer it.

Discussing this matter in the context of world geography, and even analyzing the causes of different climates and the living habits of people under these climates, is meant to make the princess understand that there are always people more capable than herself, and that there is always something beyond what is possible.

Maintain a sense of vigilance; the world not only has Da'an, but also many distant countries.

Therefore, it is unacceptable to innovate like Yelang, to close the country off from the world, or to be arrogant and complacent.

Seeing Zhou Zhaoyue's eager expression after hearing about the overseas countries, Shang Yuji understood that Da'an's development for the next hundred years was secure.

Of course, she also had her own motives in praising so many benefits of overseas countries while analyzing the backwardness of their governing institutions.

If Da'an becomes an undisputed world power in the future, the whole world will have to speak Da'an's official language.

Another day, after finishing her lesson on politics and economics, the Crown Princess racked her brains to figure out the homework left by Shang Guoxiang. The two companions that Shang Guoxiang had found for her when she was young were also helping to solve the problems. Awen could still analyze the reasons, but Awu's mind was blank and he could only play the role of companion.

There was a knock at the door. It was Jiang Xiqu. Zhou Zhaoyue glanced at him and quickly said, "The Grand Preceptor went to teach Chinese classics and just left. If you go there now, you can still see him on the way."

Jiang Xiqu stood in front of Zhou Zhaoyue. He shook his head. The long sword behind him had been taken by Kang Daoquan, one of the four elders of the Jianghu who had learned the new forging method, to be reforged. So he was only wrapped in a flying flower whip. Jiang Xiqu said, "I came to find you."

"?" Zhou Zhaoyue asked curiously, "What does Lord Jiang want with me?" It was rare for Lord Jiang to have something to do with his mind, which seemed to be filled with nothing but the Prime Minister.

With a solemn expression, he earnestly offered himself: "I am very skilled in martial arts. I can teach you both whip techniques and sword techniques, and I can even teach you witchcraft. So, would you like to become my disciple?"

Since Shang Guoxiang became Zhou Zhaoyue's teacher, her friendship with the two of them has deepened, and she has come to understand Jiang Xiqu's strange thought process more and more. If she cannot understand his behavior and words, she might as well attribute the purpose of his words and actions to Shang Guoxiang, and she can roughly guess the reason.

Zhou Zhaoyue pondered for a moment: "You want to become my teacher, just like the Prime Minister?"

“Yes!” Jiang Xi nodded.

After figuring out his intentions, Zhou Zhaoyue felt a sense of helplessness, as if she had just expected it. In her mother's words, this man was hard to control yet easy to win over, a real headache. Fortunately, she was still a child, so she decided to leave the problem to her mother: "I'll go back and ask my mother."

Although it's obvious without asking, one can guess that Mother will most likely agree.

Jiang Xi was satisfied with the answer and disappeared from the three people's sight in an instant after saying goodbye.