Chapter 69

The princes went to work on the imperial farm to experience life. Even Yinzuo, well, even though he went to the imperial farm later, it didn't count as him really farming.

He also picked eggplants, carrots and greens from the imperial farm and sent them to Kangxi, claiming that he had grown them himself and asking the imperial chef to use them to cook dishes for his father to taste.

Under Kangxi's contemptuous eyes, Yinzuo and his father emphasized: "The seeds that my son sowed are indeed planted by my son himself."

Kangxi: "Does the food you grow taste better than the food others grow?"

Not really. Yinzuo said, "Don't you all like to make things by hand? My second sister embroidered a handkerchief for the emperor, and the emperor loved it so much. I saw it all."

That was because the second princess was getting better and better at whipping, and she was happy when she could pick up the embroidery needle. Ever since the second princess and her friends went out of the palace to play, they became more and more restless, and many noble ladies from the royal family made a lot of noise, and were even impeached by the censor in the court.

Some people complained about the girls in their family, and Kangxi also thought about not making it difficult for the girls in their family to get married.

But he was a little worried, and it was his own worry, but he was not happy to hear others impeaching him. Isn't it just a child's play?

Then he thought that his own princess was going to marry far away, so he just let them have fun.

Yinzuo brought eggplants, green vegetables and carrots, and then stayed to eat for free. However, even though he brought carrots, he didn't like them.

Kangxi glanced at it and said nothing. He was not the kind of father who would control his child's picky eating habits. Kangxi did like to eat carrots. The carrots grown by Yinzuo himself were certainly not more delicious than other carrots, but they were still okay.

Kangxi: "Why are you still going to the imperial farm?" It's been more than half a year, and the novelty hasn't worn off yet.

Yinzuo was dissatisfied: "My son is not going there to play. Didn't he say he wanted to farm? Your Majesty just didn't take his son's words to heart."

Kangxi was too lazy to pay attention to him and just said to him: "Your ninth and tenth brothers will also enter the upper study room. If you can't even keep up with their homework by then, I will see if you can handle it."

At this point, Yinzuo was not panicked. He said to Kangxi: "My son, I have seen that my ninth and tenth brothers do not seem to be studious."

Kangxi: “…”

Kangxi wanted to throw the chopsticks at the brat's head.

Kangxi thought that he would have to keep a strict watch on the two when they started school, and make sure they follow the rules when they first started so that things would be easier in the future.

Can't everyone be like this guy in front of me? Why do I feel that this guy is a bit reckless as he grows older? Kangxi narrowed his eyes and looked at Yinzuo.

Yinzuo felt something was wrong, so he quickly put down his chopsticks and said, "Father, I'm done eating."

"My son has gone back."

Looking at Yinzuo's back as he ran away, Kangxi said: "He has no rules."

Liang Jiugong laughed and said, "Isn't this just your own fault, Your Majesty?"

Yinzuo didn't really just play around at the imperial farm. He did plant crops in some corners, but he mainly ordered others to plant the crops and he would always go over to take a look.

Also because Prince Yinzuo was more favored, the people on the imperial farm wanted to please him and did not respond perfunctorily to his words, so the things growing in the corners of the land grew quite well.

This is the land that Yinzuo planted. It’s so fancy, just like a game. There are peanuts, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn planted in it...

He planted whatever seeds he could find.

Not only did he plant it, he also kept records.

By the time his ninth and tenth brothers entered the Shangshufang, and by the time they had gone from complaining all the time to adapting to life in the Shangshufang, Yinzuo's planting records had filled a whole book.

After having two younger brothers enter the study, Yinzuo has become a little more stable this year, but he is still rather relaxed in front of Kangxi.

Yinzuo sat in front of Kangxi and told Kangxi that it was only after he planted crops in the imperial farm that he discovered that pumpkins could grow so big, that pumpkin flowers were sweet, and that sweet potato leaves were edible.

Kangxi was flipping through Yinzuo's notebook. Hearing this, he frowned and said to him, "Don't put everything in your mouth."

No, no. To continue, Yinzuo and Kangxi kept talking about how he learned a lot after going to the imperial farm to farm.

Kangxi looked up from Yinzuo's notebook and met Yinzuo's expectant eyes. This time, he said as he wished, "Well, I'm not playing."

Yinzuo's smile grew wider, and he told Kangxi what he thought. He thought that pumpkins were so big, and so were sweet potatoes. Yes, and potatoes, too. They all seemed to produce more fruits than wheat and rice. Why not plant more of these to fill his stomach?

Yinzuo gestured to Kangxi the sizes of pumpkins and sweet potatoes.

Kangxi had also eaten the things that Yinzuo mentioned, as dishes and snacks. They were sweet and sticky, but he did not take them seriously.

Kangxi tapped his fingers and answered Yinzuo's question: "What you said is not easy to store."

Oh, really? He had taken it for granted.

However, Yinzuo touched his head and vaguely felt that the sweet potatoes he just mentioned were very important. He muttered to Kangxi: "Sweet potatoes grow fast and are easy to plant."

"What the Emperor said is that nothing is perfect. They are big and there are a lot of them."

"People in the imperial farm said that few people grow sweet potatoes here, and many people don't know about them."

"Growing them gives us another option, doesn't it? When the sweet potatoes and pumpkins are ripe, eating more of them can save some food for later consumption."

"Besides, maybe there is a way to store it. For example, the milk from Zebutan and his people can be made into dried milk tofu and then shipped to us for sale. We can also find a way to store pumpkins, sweet potatoes and potatoes. Maybe we can dry them out and grind them into powder or flour like wheat?"

"Oh, and corn. My son thinks that a corn stalk can have a handful of corn kernels, which is more than wheat and rice. Moreover, the corn kernels are dry when ripe, and it seems that they can be stored for a long time."

Yinzuo kept mumbling to Kangxi, but Kangxi praised him frankly this time, saying, "Now you can think about things."

If Kangxi praised him a little, Yinzuo would be so happy that he would raise his little chin. That's it!

But the most important thing is whether the emperor listened to it? Are all his actions and thoughts useful?

Kangxi only said: "Leave your little book here with me."

Then he added, "The day after tomorrow, come with me to the imperial farm to see what you have planted."

Wow, Yinzuo is smiling happily, as long as what he does is of some use.

After visiting the imperial farm, Yinzuo circled around Kangxi, asking him how he was doing.

Kangxi: "Don't be so impatient all the time."

Okay, don't be impatient.

The crops mentioned by Yinzuo have actually been introduced for some years, but there are reasons why they have not been promoted. On the one hand, the information and transportation are blocked these days, and on the other hand, people are not very enthusiastic about them. They can't be eaten as food.

Even these people just treated it as a new dish to try and did not take it seriously.

But when Kangxi took a walk around the imperial farm, he personally pulled out a nest of sweet potatoes, and went to see the corn that had been stored for several months, and he became envious of their yield.

Therefore, Kangxi was convening people during this period, including those who had grown these things before, and officials to discuss whether it was feasible. Everyone could discuss and try it out.

For example, the trade that was tried out with the Mongolian tribes seems to be going well so far. The cattle and sheep traded for cloth, tea, and utensils are very popular, and their furs and medicinal materials are also good. The Mongolian tribes have always been short of food and wanted to trade for food, but Kangxi did not agree because they also lacked food.

However, Kangxi thought that if pumpkin, sweet potato, or potato were any good, since the yield was high, they could be dried into dried pumpkin or sweet potato, etc. This would not only help supplement their own food supply, but also allow them to be traded.

The main reason is that there is not enough food. Food is the most important thing. Whether it tastes good or not and whether you can get used to it are not issues. You don’t consider these when you are hungry.

And with Kangxi's actions, Yinzuo once again came into everyone's attention.

Especially when Kangxi selected people to go to Shanxi to promote trial planting, there was a severe drought in Shanxi last year, and there were many wastelands. Trial planting was to be carried out on those wastelands and then see the results.

Although the results have not yet come out, everyone's regard for Yinzuo has increased again.

This prince is not only favored by the emperor, but he has also been involved in the Mongolian issue before and is now trying to grow crops such as sweet potatoes and corn. Although he cannot be said to be talented in everything, he is indeed not to be underestimated and has far-reaching influence.

The impact of the Mongolian tribe incident has already begun to show. Now, several more Mongolian tribes have taken the initiative to send people to Beijing, saying that they are here to learn, but in fact they are trying to show goodwill.

As for the trial planting and promotion of sweet potatoes and corn, if they can be successful, there is no need to explain the hard work.

Even though the teachers in the upper study room said that the Sixth Prince was not diligent enough in his studies, who would really regard him as a playful kid now?

Because of this incident, many people felt jealous. A typical example was that Rong Fei once again asked the Third Prince why he didn't go to the imperial farm more often. She even told the Third Prince not to study so often in the future and to go out more often. She thought it was just so-so for him to study in the study room.

The Third Prince was scolded and shook his head. Xiaoliu's behavior was very enviable.

Moreover, when Yinzuo was first given the name, his name caused some rumors. Later, no one mentioned it, but with his outstanding performance, the rumors resurfaced.

This time everyone said that the emperor's name was right, and it was indeed a blessing for the country.

Since this is a "blessing for the country", then in the future...

It’s hard to say.

Following the eldest prince and the crown prince, one the eldest and one the legitimate son, now a third one has emerged.

Even in the Eastern Palace, there were whispers. When Yinzuo arrived at the Eastern Palace, he found that the palace maid who poured juice for him looked at him more than once, and her eyes were a little strange.

The atmosphere in the East Palace was also subtly wrong.

Yin Zuo didn't know that those people in the Eastern Palace were speaking up for their prince. They all saw how good and special the prince was to the Sixth Prince. In the eyes of the Eastern Palace, the current situation was like raising a tiger to cause harm, and raising an ungrateful wolf.

Yinzuo felt that his brother, the Crown Prince, was also different today.

Yinzuo asked with concern: "Brother Crown Prince, are you feeling unwell? Or are you in a bad mood? What's wrong?"

The prince looked at Yinzuo and said, "Yinzuo has grown up and become a young man."

I'm already nine years old.

In the royal family, nine years old is not young.

His royal father ascended the throne when he was eight years old.

Yinzuo said, "Brother Prince, are you saying that I have grown taller?" He stretched out his hand and gestured to the prince. Now he had reached the prince's shoulder.

After gesturing for a while, Yin Zuo thought of the question again and asked again: "What happened to my prince today?"

He had grown up, but those eyes were still clear, as if they had never changed. At this moment, they were reflecting his figure, focused and concerned.

The prince looked at it for a while and said, "Just a little tired."

Yinzuo hurriedly asked the prince to sit down, massaged his shoulders, back and wrists, and said to him: "It must be that the prince is too tired from not resting all the time."

Then I thought of several things that could help the prince relax, such as playing chess with him, which he was pretty good at, playing polo, or going for a stroll in the capital and listening to books...

The prince listened to Yinzuo muttering.

He was not jealous of what his brother did, nor was he jealous of his brother's achievements and praise.

I just feel a little powerless.

I'm a little tired too.

Yinzuo actually ran up to Kangxi and said that he wanted to go out with his brother the Crown Prince to listen to books.

Kangxi was dissatisfied: "It's fine if you play by yourself, but now you are dragging the prince along."

Yin Zuo: "Brother Crown Prince is too busy and tired, let's go out for a walk."

Kangxi also said: "He is the crown prince, and he will be in charge of the world in the future, unlike you. Don't drag others into this nonsense."

"If you don't learn that a great mission is bestowed upon you, you must first work hard..."

Yinzuo interrupted Kangxi in a treasonous manner, saying: "The oxen plowing the fields need to rest. Your son has seen that the emperor is still listening to Concubine Chen playing music."

A memorial hit Yinzuo on the head. Kangxi's face turned red and blue, and then blue and black. This time he gritted his teeth and said, "Aisin-Gioro Yinzuo!"

Liang Jiugong's Buddhist whisk was taken away by Kangxi. Liang Jiugong couldn't help but cover his face and said, "Sixth Prince, I thought you had grown up and become a capable and upright prince. How come you still angered the Emperor? Your ability is still the same as before. Does courage also grow with age?"

And the Sixth Prince was standing there and getting slapped on the palm.

The Sixth Prince now dares to hide!

That is, learning martial arts cannot be in vain.

Yinzuo did not run away. He continued to ask about the matter of him and his brother the Crown Prince going out of the palace to listen to books, but the Emperor had not given him an answer yet.

(End of this chapter)