"What do you mean, 'ah'? It's just an imperial decree. Sun Jian, do you dare disobey it?"

Emperor Ganwu's gaze sharpened, and a chilling aura swept over him.

"It's nothing, Your Majesty, I obey your command."

Sun Jian bowed helplessly.

The thought in his mind couldn't help but come to mind:

Holy crap, isn't the role of a tutor just to accompany the crown prince in his studies? How did it become a position exploited by the emperor?

It's all my fault; I didn't recognize that the old man was the emperor right away.

Potatoes can be grown anywhere, so it doesn't matter.

With so many villagers following him, he couldn't very well let them find wild land in Kyoto to grow crops, could he?

It's a pity that the potatoes we used to grow belonged to us, but now we work for free and they all go to the government.

I have to support these people's basic needs... It's a losing proposition!

Emperor Ganwu seemed to have guessed what Sun Jian was thinking, and said, "Minister Sun, there is no need to worry. If the potato trial is successful, it will be a great achievement and will solve a fundamental problem for our Great Gan."

"At that time, I will not hesitate to reward you. I will also reserve the position of Director of Agriculture for you."

"During the trial planting period, I will also order the Ministry of Revenue to allocate silver to you regularly for your research and development and expenses."

Holy crap!

Giving money to people doesn't seem like a losing proposition, does it?

If that's the case, then this job isn't impossible.

Sun Jian immediately felt a little better.

"Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to ask, is this regular allocation of silver monthly or quarterly? And how much is allocated?"

Upon hearing Sun Jian's words, Wang De, who was standing nearby, nearly died of fright.

"How dare you!! Reader Sun...you...you..."

Wang De was so angry that he was glaring and his whole body was trembling.

Even Crown Prince Li Gancheng, who was standing next to Emperor Ganwu, trembled with fear.

His grandson is truly amazing.

They even dared to bargain with the Emperor…

I'm afraid only Brother Sun in the entire Daqian region would dare to do something like this!

Sun Jian, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned.

So what happened?

His estate near his house has several hundred acres of land.

Trial planting of super potatoes yields 10,000 jin per mu, so several hundred mu would yield several million jin.

We can't just give away millions of kilograms of grain for free every month, can we?

Even though the emperor provides the workers, if you make them work for free, they won't get anything in return.

That's absolutely impossible!

As the old saying goes, speak first, then shout.

If we don't agree on a price now, what will happen if the emperor wants to hand over all the imperial estates to me in a few months?

It should be noted that the imperial estates surrounding the entire city of Kyoto amounted to more than 53,000 hectares.

One qing is 100 mu, so 53,000 qing would be 5.3 million mu.

Even if the output isn't allocated to me, I should still get some compensation for my hard work.

Emperor Qianwu was not angry, perhaps because he was used to Sun Jian's death spree. He waved his hand and said, "Hehe, it's alright, it's alright."

"How about this, Minister Sun? In addition to providing you with personnel, I will also order the Ministry of Revenue to allocate one hundred taels of silver to you each month for your expenses. What do you think?"

Holy crap!

One hundred taels!

Sun Jian was overjoyed.

My monthly salary is only 4 taels.

That hundred taels is definitely an option!

If I were paid 100 taels a month, I'd buy all his land myself!

Anyway, it won't be me doing the work; the emperor will provide the manpower and labor.

Sun Jian scratched the back of his head, chuckled foolishly, and then said, "Alright, alright, then... Your humble servant obeys."

"Your Majesty, in addition to this, I would like to ask you for another favor..."

Everyone was once again shocked by Sun Jian's words.

Wang De was so angry that he stomped his feet, but there was nothing he could do.

What kind of audacity does this Attendant Sun have to dare to bargain with the Emperor...?

He's truly brave; he's utterly fearless.

Li Gancheng was now worried, fearing that if Sun Jian continued to act recklessly, he might no longer have a tutor...

"Just say it."

Emperor Ganwu was clearly getting impatient.

"Your Majesty, my convenience is not related to potato cultivation; I wish to open a shop in the capital..."

"Shops?"

Emperor Ganwu frowned; this time, he clearly did not understand Sun Jian's meaning.

Opening a shop is the most normal thing to do, why ask for convenience?

Li Gancheng cleared his throat and said, "Reader Sun, the laws of our Great Gan Dynasty do not prohibit officials from running shops."

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, my shop is a little different; it might make a little money... Therefore, I am informing Your Majesty in advance so that Your Majesty may know in order to avoid any trouble in the future."

"Make a little money? Need prior notice?"

Li Gancheng was stunned, clearly not understanding.

How small is "small money"?

"interesting."

Emperor Ganwu's gaze sharpened, and his eyes gleamed with a newfound intelligence as he looked at Sun Jian.

"Very well, then I grant your request!"

"As long as you do not violate the current laws and your shop can pay taxes normally, I will grant you a pass!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Sun Jian was overjoyed to receive the emperor's approval.

Trading potato cultivation for this huge benefit is such a good deal!

What's more, the imperial estate doesn't require me to contribute manpower or labor, and I'll receive an extra hundred taels of silver a month from now on. How wonderful!

With His Majesty's support, Sun Jian is at least no longer afraid of other factors.

Even if His Majesty sees that his small workshop is making money and wants to back out and bring it into the royal family, he will have his own way of dealing with it.

I don't care about anything else now, I'll just do everything according to my own ideas.

Let's take it one step at a time.

We've finished talking about potato cultivation, and we've also finished talking about opening small workshops and shops.

Besides being happy, Sun Jian was also a little worried. He was afraid that the emperor might suddenly decide to ask him to help Da Gan manufacture weapons, pass on medical skills, or even help resolve Da Gan's political problems.

But to everyone's surprise, Sun Jian's worries did not come true.

Emperor Ganwu gave him a deep look and then uttered the very words that Sun Jian had longed to hear.

"Alright, let's end the discussion here for today. I'm getting tired. You may all leave."

"Your subject obeys the decree."

"Your humble servant obeys the decree."

Holy crap!

It's finally over!

Could this old emperor be able to read minds?

Knowing that Lao Tzu didn't want to talk about these things at the moment, he simply told him to leave.

"Brother Sun, let's go."

While Sun Jian was still in a daze, Li Gancheng had already come down from the high platform, gently tugged at his sleeve and whispered.

"good."

Sun Jian bowed respectfully, followed Li Gancheng's steps back a few paces, and then turned and left the Taiji Hall.

Today, Sun Jian is facing a truly perplexing situation.

It was as if fate had played a cruel joke on him.

Brother Long, who was both a teacher and a friend, became the Crown Prince.

The old man who had previously spoken ill of the country became the founding emperor who led a great army...

On his way out of the palace, Sun Jian was still reeling from these two bombshell revelations.

Fortunately, the old emperor did not hold his previous recklessness and arrogance against him, but instead entrusted him with important responsibilities!