After the emperor finished his morning court session, Minister Ma went to the imperial study to ask for an audience.
"Your Majesty, the Minister of Revenue, Lord Ma, requests an audience." Eunuch Shen said outside the imperial study.
"Let him in," said the Emperor.
Minister Ma entered the imperial study and saluted the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Long live the Emperor!" Minister Ma saluted.
"My dear minister, please stand up! What do you want from me?" the emperor said to Minister Ma.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Minister Ma stood up after expressing his gratitude.
"Your Majesty, my son returned to the capital yesterday and is now waiting outside for an audience." Minister Ma stated the purpose of his request for an audience today.
"Please come in quickly." The emperor said to Minister Ma.
Soon Ma Youcai was brought into the imperial study, met the emperor, and saluted him.
"Your Majesty, I, the magistrate of Qingshan County, pay my respects to Him. Long live the Emperor!" Ma Youcai performed the etiquette between the monarch and his subject.
"My dear minister, please stand up!" said the emperor.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Ma Youcai stood up after expressing his gratitude.
"My dear Lord Ma, has Li Yun come to Beijing?" The emperor asked the key question. Li Yun's coming to Beijing means Fei'er has also returned to Beijing.
"Your Majesty, Li Yun has arrived in the suburbs of Beijing. His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin wanted to take Li Yun and the others to play in the suburbs of Beijing instead of going directly to Beijing." Ma Youcai was afraid that the emperor would blame Li Yun, so he pushed the responsibility onto Shangguan Feiyun. This was also Shangguan Feiyun's intention.
"It's okay, let them have fun for a few days. My dear Minister Ma is tired, go back and rest first. I have something to announce at the morning court tomorrow." The emperor felt that Li Yun had already arrived in Beijing, and he should prepare for the enthronement.
"We obey your order and take our leave." A minister took Ma Youcai out of the imperial study and left the palace.
The emperor called Eunuch Shen and murmured something in his ear. It was unknown what he said, and Eunuch Shen left the imperial study.
The next day, at the morning court session, the emperor sat on the dragon throne and spoke to the ministers below.
"My lords, I have recently received a gift of a curved plow, harrow, and other agricultural tools from the Magistrate of Qingshan County, Ma. Many ministers already know their uses. With these magical tools, our people in the Great Jin Dynasty will have no worries about not having enough to eat. They are great helpers in clearing wasteland. The person who can come up with these magical tools is a meritorious official of our Great Jin Dynasty and a blessing to the people. She is Li Yun from Qingshan Village, Qingshan County.
This remarkable woman not only came up with the curved plow, she also came up with laws that benefit the country and the people. The Chief Justice, the Minister of Justice, and the Chief Censor all know this. I have also asked the Chief Justice, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate to revise the laws, and I believe it will be completed soon.
Does anyone among you know who first discovered the drought? It was Li Yun. It was she who suspected a locust plague. When she learned of the drought, she led the villagers of Qingshan Village to dig wells. Not just one, but every household dug a well. They also built a large pond at the foot of the mountain. Not only Qingshan Village, but the entire Qingshan County did the same. Qingshan County was the least affected this time, and all of this is thanks to Li Yun. She also came up with the idea of using ducks to fight the locusts. It was because of her reminders and methods that the drought and locust plague were minimized this time. She is simply the God of Merit of the Great Jin Dynasty, the lucky star of the people, and my benefactor. What do you think, such an extraordinary woman, should I reward her with? "The emperor told the ministers about Li Yun's great achievements, wanting to hear their opinions on what reward she should receive.
"Your Majesty, I think he should be awarded with a thousand acres of fertile land, a box of gold, silver and jewelry, and be given the title of 'Xiangjun'." The Minister of Justice was the first to speak out.
Li Yun's laws are really too important to the Jin Dynasty. Simply rewarding some gold, silver, jewelry and fertile land is not enough to convince the people. She is definitely worthy of the position of a county lady.
"Sir Huang, you have forgotten how important the laws that Li Yun thinks about are to the Great Jin. How can a mere county lady be worthy of her? Your Majesty, I think she should at least be conferred the title of 'county lady'." said the Dali Temple Minister.
In fact, he felt that the county lady was not worthy of her. He was afraid that other ministers would disagree if he spoke too highly of her, so he had to give up on the next best thing.
Mr. Huang is the Minister of Justice Huang Dehai.
As soon as the Dali Temple Minister's words came out, the ministers in the court began to discuss. Some ministers felt that the Dali Temple Minister was right and that such a remarkable woman should be given the title of County Lady, which would show the court's attention to her and even more so, its gratitude to her.
Some ministers voted against it, feeling that conferring the title of county lord on a peasant from a rural village was a slap in the face of the imperial court, a slap in the face of them, and even more so, a slap in the face of the scholars. Although her laws truly impressed them, they would not casually confer the title of county lord on her.
The emperor watched the ministers bickering in the courtroom and sneered. "Just wait for me, you dare to look down on my daughter-in-law? I'll show you how the woman you looked down upon will eventually be crowned a princess, and later a princess, a crown princess, and finally an empress. You'll regret it!" The emperor silently remembered the ministers who had opposed him and decided to teach them a lesson.
"Okay, everyone, be quiet! Have you thought about the reward?" The emperor was annoyed by the noise and angrily scolded the ministers to quiet down.
"Your Majesty, I think the title of County Lady is too light. Li Yun did not want to break the law, but she also created magical objects such as the curved plow. These agricultural tools benefit the people of the Jin Dynasty. If the people of the Jin Dynasty knew that Your Majesty does not value their great benefactor so much, they will disagree. Therefore, I think she should be conferred the title of 'County Princess'." said the Imperial Censor Zheng Yushi.
When he knew that his nephew liked Li Yun, he liked Li Yun even more. His father told him to do his best to help Li Yun get a good title. Originally, he wanted to say princess, but he was afraid that other ministers would not agree, so he had to say county lady. With the title of county lady, it would be fine to have his nephew.
"I second the motion!" said Jiang Zhongtian, the Grand Secretary.
"I second your opinion!" said the Minister of Justice. The title of County Master was indeed worthy of Li Yun.
"I second the motion!" said the Grand Court Justice. This was the outcome he had hoped for, and since Doctor Zheng had spoken of it, he naturally agreed.
This time the other ministers were even more opposed. When everyone was about to start arguing, someone came out to object.
"I object!" said Mr. Ma, the Minister of Revenue.
As soon as the Minister of Revenue said this, the ministers all looked over, and even the emperor looked over with a puzzled look.
"Lord Ma, please tell me why you object? Give me your reasons?" The emperor said with ill intention, "Lord Ma, you'd better have a reason that can convince me, otherwise I will make you regret your troubles today."
"Your Majesty, Li Yun not only invented agricultural tools and came up with laws to help the people survive droughts and locust plagues, but also resettled refugees for Your Majesty. She did so many good things. How could she be given the title of a county princess? I think she should be given the title of 'Princess Princess' or 'Princess'. I think that being a princess means being a member of the royal family, and Your Majesty should not agree. I implore Your Majesty to confer the title of 'Princess Princess' on Li Yun!" Lord Ma said this while everyone was stunned.
"Wow! Lord Ma, you must be joking! A country woman was named a 'Princess', isn't this a slap in the face? Doesn't it mean that our Great Jin Dynasty has no people?" The ministers in the opposition objected.
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