At noon, the catering department delivered lunch.

Wang Sun Wuya and others also went to Jinshui Tower and ordered a table.

"The court hasn't been adjourned yet...this grand court meeting is really quite grand." Yu Xingjian said with a smile.

Wang Chaofeng thought for a moment and said, "This further proves that there will be major developments in the dynasty today. Think about it, the new policies of the Yu Dynasty were originally proposed and promoted by him. The changes in Wofengdao are obvious to all."

"Now that he's back, the policies he implemented in Wofengdao will definitely be implemented in Wu Dynasty. However, His Majesty obviously hasn't fully unveiled his plans in Wofengdao. Now is the time for him to truly showcase his talents."

"Brother Wang, what you said makes sense. He actually already started planning in the Wu Dynasty. You know Mozhou, right? It's the Mozhou of the Nancang Eight Provinces. Last spring, the Fu Sidai rice seeds were shipped from Xishan. Last autumn, they had a good harvest, with an average yield of 700 kilograms per mu! It's on par with Wofengdao."

Lu Xihui paused and continued, "Although commerce and agriculture go hand in hand, food is still the foundation of a country. Oh, and those sweet potatoes, they also yield 6,000 to 7,000 kilograms per mu in Mozhou. All the farmland in Mozhou belongs to him! Even if it's the imperial farm now, next year these rice and sweet potatoes will definitely be promoted in the eight states of Nancang. In just one year, the Wu Dynasty will have more food than it can sell."

"To be honest, my family won a bidding war in Jinling last year to buy the Xishan winery because he gave me the recipes for Xishan Tianchun and Tianquan. My father has already brought his winemakers to the eight states of Nancang. I guess he'll establish the new winery in Mozhou. Grain prices will definitely drop, and this wine business will expand even more!"

Wang Chaofeng clasped his fists and saluted as soon as he heard this. "You have a good eye. I wonder who got the perfume, soap, etc."

"The bidding was extremely fierce. The perfume was won by Her Royal Highness the Princess, and the soap seems to have been won by the Sima family. Unfortunately, the most valuable item, the Firearms Bureau, was not sold and was given to Emperor Xuan."

"...Hey, this is probably the last bit of our friendship. Tell me, if he hadn't left Yu Dynasty, how bright would Yu Dynasty's future be?"

"In the last decree of Emperor Xuan, he said that in order to thank him for his help to the Yu Dynasty, he was appointed Duke of Shengguo and given two places, Biancheng and Xinzhou City..." Wang Sun Wuya suddenly lowered his voice, and several heads gathered together.

"I heard from my brother Wuji that... that's not the case."

"How can that be?"

Wang Sun Wuya turned his head to take a look and whispered, "It's said that Emperor Xuan sent General Peng to lead a large army to the Desolate Country, intending to..." He scratched his neck, "But General Peng didn't do that. Instead, he and the Desolate People's Heavenly Sword Army suffered a mutual defeat."

"So, he originally wanted to give the conquered Desolate Kingdom as a final gift to Emperor Xuan, but in the end... it turned out to be the current situation."

Wang Chaofeng and the others gasped. He suddenly said, "No wonder he used salt as a knife. He was going to stab Emperor Xuan."

"That's not all that bad, but the real worry is... he'll attack the Yu Dynasty!"

"How narrow-minded! Why do I feel that it would be better for him to just occupy the Yu Dynasty? Seeing the Wu Dynasty becoming more and more powerful, while the Yu Dynasty is falling further and further behind, as a Yu person..."

"Wuya, shut up! How dare you say anything?" Lu Xihui interrupted Wang Sun Wuya, and the waiter brought the wine and food just in time.

"Come on, have a drink, and let's continue waiting for news!"

…

…

In the Xuande Hall, Fu Xiaoguan and the ministers had a simple lunch together before continuing the grand court meeting.

"Developing both commerce and agriculture is also the national policy of the Wu Dynasty. Starting this year, all the royal farms in Mozhou will be used to cultivate Fu Wudai's rice seeds. In this way, almost the entire country will be able to plant these rice seeds next year."

"There's a problem with this seed. If it weren't specially bred, the yield next year would be drastically reduced!"

When he said this, the ministers were in an uproar.

"A sharp decline? Does that mean there's no point in preserving the seed?"

"Hahahaha, doesn't that mean Wofengdao will significantly reduce production next year?"

"This move is brilliant! I'm afraid Emperor Xuan will cry!"

Fu Xiaoguan pressed his hands together and continued, "Once these rice and sweet potatoes are spread out, our Wu Dynasty will not be short of food. If there is an abundance, most of it will be sold to other countries."

"Let the Ministry of Commerce handle this matter later."

"The Ministry of Agriculture should pay special attention to sweet potatoes. They can be used as food, but their greater significance lies in their use as feed for farmers."

"Beginning this year, we will encourage farmers to raise pigs..."

Before he could finish his words, someone raised an objection: "Your Majesty, pig meat is terrible to eat. It has a strong smell. If farmers raise a large number of pigs, who will they sell the meat to?"

Fu Xiaoguan laughed. The person who raised the question was Peng Fang, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Agriculture under the Ministry of Works.

"Here's how, Minister Peng, get a piggery at the Ministry of Agriculture. Go to any farmer and buy a few dozen piglets, ten days old, along with the sows. I'll teach you how to cook them. I guarantee there won't be any fishy smell, and they'll taste amazing!"

The ministers were shocked. His Majesty would do such a thing?

If this problem can really be solved, it will be a major event that benefits both the country and the people!

Pork is cheap, much cheaper than mutton.

A sheep weighs about 100 pounds, and after being slaughtered, the net meat is only about 60 pounds. Adding shipping costs, taxes, labor profits, etc., the market price is 60 cents per pound.

This is obviously unaffordable for ordinary people.

But the price of pork was only ten cents per pound, so although it tasted bad, it was the main source of meat and oil for the people.

If this thing can really remove the pungent smell, I'm afraid it will be liked by many people.

Minister Peng quickly bowed and said, "Then I will do it after the court is dismissed!"

"Well, let's talk about business."

Official Fu paused and picked up a thick account book from his desk. "This is the account book submitted by the Ministry of Revenue last year. I took a quick look at it and have a few questions..."

He raised his head. "Salt, iron, and grain transport—these two things should have been the main sources of tax revenue for the country. But throughout the Wu Dynasty, the annual tax revenue from salt, iron, and grain transport only accounted for 20%."

"Last year, the total tax revenue was 23 million taels of silver, the salt and iron revenue was only 3 million taels, and the grain transport revenue was only 1 million taels..."

Chen Suyuan's heart skipped a beat, and so did more than half of the officials in the court.

Zhuo and his group and Nangong Yiyu looked at Fu Xiaoguan almost at the same time. They had already told Fu Xiaoguan in detail about the situation of the Wu Dynasty.

As the two largest clans among the seven thousand-year-old clans of the Wu Dynasty, they were naturally involved in many interests, but it just so happened that their families had never intervened in these two matters.

The purpose of telling Fu Xiaoguan was to hope that he could understand the situation clearly, and either continue to maintain it as it is, or take it step by step. However, I didn't expect that he would directly raise this issue today.