Xia Miaoyuan looked at the officials' reactions and felt nervous.
[Strange, strange. When the Tenth Imperial Uncle first returned to Daxia from abroad, the ministers' reactions were much more intense than this.]
【What happened today? 】
Prince Jin was introducing corn with great enthusiasm, but as he spoke, he also noticed a strange atmosphere.
But after all, it was in the Golden Palace, and it was a critical moment to introduce exotic crops. Even if he noticed something unusual, he could only pretend not to know and continue talking.
After introducing the corn, he picked up a washed potato from another basket and held it up to introduce it to his ministers.
"This, the locals call it potato."
"This thing can be used as food. It can be eaten after being steamed. It has a soft texture and a slightly sweet taste."
"In their local area, poor people simply steam or roast this and eat it to fill their stomachs."
"The key to this thing is that it has an extremely high yield and can grow even in a water shortage."
"So, during famine years, potatoes can save lives."
"If we plant potatoes everywhere in Daxia, the number of people who die of starvation every year will be greatly reduced."
Having said this, the King of Jin smiled at Xia Zhengqi and said, "Your Majesty, I have finished speaking."
After saying this, King Jin stepped aside and stood respectfully.
Xia Zhengqi nodded approvingly, then stood up and said, "My dear ministers, the King of Jin has just introduced these three crops one by one."
"I wonder what you, my dear ministers, think of these three crops?"
Xia Zhengqi's tone was filled with joy, and his voice was bright and pleasant.
The civil and military officials below seemed to be under a silencing spell and were completely silent.
Xia Miaoyuan frowned slightly, scanning the audience, his heart pounding even louder. "What on earth are these ministers thinking?"
[Sigh, last night I thought there would be a big stir in the court today. I never thought it would turn out like this.]
Xia Zhengqi secretly bit his back teeth and cursed in his heart: Usually you guys like to whisper to each other all the time and ignore the court etiquette and laws. Now, look what happens, you all become gourds without mouths.
Xia Zhengqi's face was already showing some anger, but he couldn't lose his temper, so he continued to encourage: "Everyone, please speak freely. You can say whatever you want."
His eyes swept over the ministers, and finally landed on his brother-in-law Xiao Licheng, "Xiao Siqing, you speak first."
Seeing that no one took the initiative to speak, Xia Zhengqi had no choice but to call out names.
In this case, of course it would be more reliable to call out the names of your own people.
Xiao Licheng was a little surprised, but he quickly calmed down. "Well, I think these exotic crops are very good, very good."
Xia Zhengqi continued to call out names: "What does Minister Wei think?"
Minister of Rites Wei Sanchuan scratched his head and said, "Very good, very good."
[No way, why are Uncle and Lord Wei both so perfunctory? ]
Something feels wrong!
Xia Miaoyuan was still lost in thought when Xia Zhengqi called out a third name: "Where is Lord Yan?"
Grand Secretary Yan Wenjing replied respectfully, "I believe these exotic crops are all valuable treasures. We must pay close attention to them. We must promote their cultivation throughout Daxia as soon as possible!"
[Master Yan, this looks like a high-scoring answer, much better than the previous two.]
Xia Zhengqi nodded approvingly to Yan Wenjing, and finally felt better.
At this time, the Crown Prince stood up and said, "I also believe that these three exotic crops should be popularized and planted as soon as possible. If they are cultivated on a large scale, they will play a significant role in the development of Daxia."
Xia Zhengqi smiled at the prince with satisfaction.
"My dear ministers, what Lord Yan and the Crown Prince just said is exactly what I think."
"I have decided to give the first batch of fruits grown in the cultivation garden as a reward to all of you present here."
"My dear ministers, take these home and share them with your family. After eating, please write down your feelings and return them to me."
Xia Zhengqi originally thought that as long as he mentioned that he would reward these rare items to the civil and military officials, they would be very happy.
However, he did not receive thunderous cheers of thanks, but an awkward silence.
Most of the officials looked embarrassed.
After a while, only a few ministers spoke up to thank the Lord for his grace.
At this point, Xia Zhengqi could no longer hold back. He coldly demanded, "My fellow ministers! Could you please tell me what you are up to today?"
"Don't you want these rare and exotic fruits?"
The ministers looked at each other and lowered their heads slightly.
Xia Zhengqi's eyes swept back and forth among the ministers, and he just caught sight of the white-bearded Censor Chen, who exchanged glances with the ministers beside him.
"Censor Chen, I saw you winking at the ministers next to you just now. Tell me, do you not want to try these exotic fruits?"
Censor Chen was stunned: "Reply...Reply to the emperor, I...I dare not try these things..."
[What? You don’t dare to eat it?] Xia Miaoyuan’s eyes widened in shock.
Xia Zhengqi was also shocked: "Why not? These are the foods that foreign people often eat!"
Censor Chen hung his head and stammered, "No reason, I just haven't eaten it before and I don't dare to eat it..."
How is that possible? There must be a reason.
Xia Zhengqi frowned. After thinking for a moment, he looked at his brother-in-law again: "Xiao Siqing, are you afraid to eat it too?"
Xiao Licheng nodded slightly embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, I really want to give it a try, but recently..."
Xia Zhengqi lowered his face and said, "It's okay, just tell me what you want to say."
Xiao Licheng let out a sigh and said, "I'll just tell you the truth. There have been rumors lately that these exotic fruits are poisonous and that Daxia people can't eat them. If they do, they'll be poisoned."
[No way! There's actually such a rumor!]
When Xia Miaoyuan heard his uncle say this, he felt it was ridiculous.
[Oh my god! It's poisonous? Who came up with this?]
[People in its native land have been eating it for hundreds and thousands of years without any problems. Could it be that it has become poisonous just because it arrived in Daxia?]
Xia Zhengqi frowned: "Censor Chen, you just said you didn't dare to eat, is it because of this?"
Censor Chen gave a wry smile and said, "That's right, Your Majesty."
"I also long for the harvest and hope to taste it, but the rumors have been getting worse lately."
"Considering the health of me and my family, I dare not try it!"
Xia Zhengqi's face was already showing a hint of anger. He sat on the dragon throne and pointed at the officials below and asked, "Just because of a few rumors, you are like this?"
"You, the ministers of Daxia, actually believed such nonsense."
"These are what foreigners eat almost every day. They eat them every day without getting poisoned. Now that they've been introduced to Daxia, they've become poisonous?"
"That makes no sense at all!"
At this time, the Minister of Works, Niu Baijin, stepped forward and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, you don't know. We Daxia people really can't eat these exotic things!"
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