Chapter 514: Envoy Chang is going to make money again
Yuan Hao quickly walked in and raised his hand to salute Zheng Chao.
Zheng Chao took a look and saw that Yuan Hao had grown a lot taller. A boy of twelve or thirteen is just like the wheat seedlings that grow rapidly after spring, and he has undergone considerable changes in two or three months.
Because he grew so fast, Yuan Hao looked thinner and his skin was much darker, as if he had lost most of his tenderness and immaturity overnight and was growing up quickly visibly to the naked eye.
This growth comes not only from appearance, but also from his experiences and what he is currently focusing on.
Seeing beads of sweat on the young boy's face, Zheng Chao asked him to sit down and talk.
Yuan Hao bowed in fear and said, "How dare I?"
The scholarly air in him was not obscured by farming; instead, it was blended harmoniously with the farming work. The literary air that had been instilled in him since childhood gave people a sense of down-to-earth reliability.
"Why not?" Zheng Chao said with a smile, "You are a well-deserved hero in this summer harvest. Sit down."
After Zheng Chao finished speaking, he raised his hand to signal.
“I don’t deserve it.” Yuan Hao bowed his head and saluted again, but finally sat down obediently.
When the servant came in to serve tea, Yuan Hao said, "I heard that you have returned to Jiangdu..."
Zheng Chao nodded: "I guess you should have heard the news that the plague in Yuezhou has been resolved?"
"Yes, everyone is discussing this matter." Yuan Hao said seriously, "Your Excellency's trip has done great deeds."
"Yes." Zheng Chao looked at Yuan Hao: "The culprit, Duke of Korea Li Xian, was also killed in Yuezhou City by your Excellency."
Hearing the name Li Xian, Yuan Hao's eyes instinctively trembled, and the hand with the missing fingers subconsciously clenched slightly, but then slowly loosened: "Yes, I have heard about this matter too."
His voice was relatively calm, but for a moment, his mind was dragged back to the dark prison in Luoyang City, as if he smelled the lingering damp and bloody smell again.
It was at that time that his fingers were cut off by Li Xian.
His grandfather, father, and mother all died at the hands of Li Xian.
From that time on, his and his sister's lives changed drastically.
Yuan Hao had never shown hatred in front of others. He had tried to think about the causes and consequences of the Yuan family's demise, and had also heard Zheng Chao's sharp words criticizing the gentry... Gradually, he came to his own conclusion. Although he was sad, he did not hate the demise of the Yuan family. Although he was afraid, he did not hate the change of power. However, he hated and detested the evil ghost who would do anything to take revenge, torture and humiliate his relatives and clansmen.
And this evil ghost finally died today.
Yuan Hao had also heard about the way Duke Hanguo was dealt with, and like the people of Yuezhou, he also felt that it was a very satisfying way to die.
The news had been reported back to the capital, but many officials disagreed with the decision. Some even tried to use it to insinuate that the governor of Huainan Road was overbearing and cruel, and that he might be defying the majesty of heaven.
But just as these words came out, before Master Chu could make a move, Princess Xuan'an blocked them lightly: [Duke Hanguo is weak and couldn't hold on, how can you blame Envoy Chang? ]
Before the officials could refute this unreasonable statement, they heard the eldest princess ask back: [Or do you think the crime of treason is too light to be punished severely? ]
After these words were spoken, everyone in the court fell silent.
There are also some people who think that Li Xian’s death was very gratifying.
Coincidentally, this group of people included other people from the Duke of Korea's mansion - they did nothing, but were implicated by Li Xian. It was impossible for them to have no complaints against Li Xian.
Moreover, for them, the earlier Li Xian died, the smaller the trouble would be, and their fate would be slightly better.
Li Xian's death was tragic enough to vent the anger of the world, and naturally the anger directed at the Duke of Han would be less.
Li Xian's conspiracy undoubtedly made the emperor very angry, so he stripped him of his official position and title, and took back his surname. He changed his name to the criminal He Xian and made his crime known to the public.
After this punishment, news spread from the palace that the emperor was so angry and depressed that he fell ill.
A few days later, the empress did not appear at the morning court. Instead, Crown Prince Li Zhi temporarily took charge of the government, assisted by the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel.
There was an uproar in the hall.
This move of the crown prince ruling the country, which had never happened since the empress ascended the throne, quickly caused undercurrents everywhere.
On the surface, this seemed to be an indirect change in the situation caused by Li Xian's rebellious act.
At this moment in Jiangdu Wueryuan, Zheng Chao mentioned Li Xian's death, but did not say much. He only said to Yuan Hao: "Wuji, you are a rare and insightful child. You should focus on the future."
Yuan Hao bowed his head and said respectfully, "Yes, I will remember this."
Zheng Chao then asked him about this trip to "teach" the farmers.
Yuan Hao left Wuer Academy before the Dragon Boat Festival and went with a group of students from the Agricultural Academy to prepare for the summer harvest.
This summer harvest is winter wheat.
Wheat was introduced into the interior of China during the previous dynasty and gradually became one of the main crops in some parts of the north, but it was rarely grown on a large scale in the south.
Because the yield of wheat is higher than that of millet, the previous emperors of the Dasheng period had taken many measures to encourage and promote wheat planting, but due to the differences between the north and the south, the results were not ideal.
Many scholars in the south, influenced by the saying that "wheat rice and bean soup are the food of wild people and farmers", believe that wheat is a coarse food.
Most of the officials who promoted wheat planting lacked experience, and there were occasional mistakes in planting methods and water conservancy, which often resulted in unsatisfactory yields. Occasionally, natural disasters also caused countless complaints from farmers. In addition, Jiangdu is relatively humid, and many people do not know how to dry and store wheat, so wheat fusarium often occurs, which breeds rumors of "wheat poisoning", so farmers are increasingly reluctant to try to grow wheat. For them, it is undoubtedly safer to continue to grow what they are used to.
Due to various reasons like these, the planting of wheat in Jiangdu area has not been smooth.
Chang Suining was able to use one of the farmlands of Jiangdu No. 3 Middle School to grow wheat this time. In a sense, it was because of the "convenience" of the current situation.
After Xu Zhengye's rebellion, more than half of Jiangdu's farmland was unoccupied. After the autumn harvest last year, the large number of refugees taken in by Jiangdu had been properly settled, and each household was allocated the right to use the farmland. These refugees had just arrived, and compared with the original Jiangdu residents, they did not have such a strong sense of ownership over the farmland. Moreover, since they had not yet been allowed to settle down, they mostly obeyed Jiangdu's orders unconditionally.
When they heard that they were going to plant wheat, they had thought about the possibility of having no harvest, but the Jiangdu government gave them a reassurance in advance - after they arrived in Jiangdu, the first thing they faced was the problem of food and clothing, because Jiangdu was being rebuilt at that time, and most of them got the opportunity to work, but it was still difficult to maintain the food expenses of the whole family at first. At that time, Jiangdu implemented a decree that allowed them to borrow grain from the Jiangdu government warehouse on credit according to the number of people in their family, and they only needed to return the amount in the next year's harvest, without any additional interest.
This solves the problem of fullness, which is their biggest concern, from the root.
Before planting the wheat last year, the Jiangdu government also assured them that if the harvest was poor next year, they would not be asked to return the grain and would ensure their basic food needs.
In this way, everyone can feel at ease.
Planting old wheat was a decision made after repeated discussions between Chang Suining, Jiangdu officials, and a group of agricultural scholars. The Jiangdu Agricultural Department made a lot of preparations for this purpose instead of implementing it blindly.
Many of those refugees had fled from further south and had little experience in growing wheat. But one good thing was that they were willing to follow instructions and worked diligently on every inch of land they were given.
At the end of last year, Jiangdu had several consecutive snowfalls. Seeing the heavy snow covering the wheat seedlings, many farmers rushed to the fields and cried, thinking that the wheat seedlings would surely freeze to death in the fields.
After repeated explanations and persuasion from the government, they were only reluctantly convinced. It was not until the snow melted and the wheat seedlings grew vigorously in the spring breeze that the farmers felt truly at ease.
The weather was good, and it was a good year with abundant harvests and good weather.
As summer arrives and wheat ears turn yellow, farmers carefully pick an ear, rub it with their rough palms, rub it again, and then blow it hard. Seeing the full wheat grains in their palms, they can't help but redden their eyes with joy.
After the harvest, they paid off the grain they had borrowed on credit last year and paid taxes, so every household still had plenty of surplus grain, enough to support the family for most of the year.
This summer harvest solved many of the people's urgent needs and also filled Jiangdu's granaries. The officials in the granary all breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that they had finally made it.
Although they appear to be very generous when lending food to the people, they are actually poorer than anyone else.
At the beginning, most of the grain in Jiangdu granary was squandered by Xu Zhengye, and there was a flood. When Chang Suining took over, there was little grain left. Most of the grain lent to the people was collected from here and there, or donated by wealthy businessmen headed by Jiang Hai, or purchased by Chang Suining at market prices. Looking back, it was really a tough journey.
Now, when these officials think back to the many decisions made by the governor last year, they feel that they were made with great courage.
Now, Jiangdu is prosperous, full of talents, and united, but few people know how much determination and how many tortuous and difficult roads Jiangdu took to support these decisions. Resettling these refugees is just one part of it.
Fortunately, the most difficult time has passed. After this summer harvest, the autumn harvest will follow...Now they are busy selecting a site to expand the granary.
But this kind of busyness is undoubtedly exciting.
This large-scale summer harvest was undoubtedly very gratifying. Seeing that wheat was profitable, several times more than rice, countless Jiangdu farmers came up with the idea of planting wheat. They began to ask about wheat planting methods and channels for purchasing wheat seeds, preparing to start farming and planting wheat after the autumn harvest. In the past, they only knew how to plant wheat in summer and harvest it in autumn. Now, wheat can be planted, and it does not compete with their original crops for time and land, and it may be possible to ensure two harvests a year! However, not all environments are suitable for planting wheat. These days, Yuan Hao and others are busy teaching Jiangdu farmers how to plant wheat, and helping them check whether the fields are suitable, or whether there is a way to adjust the water and soil environment to make it suitable for planting wheat.
After Yuan Hao and Zheng Chao talked about their recent gains, they mentioned several issues related to water conservancy and irrigation.
Water conservancy was Zheng Chao's forte. The two talked for a long time until dusk, when a servant brought two bowls of soup noodles. The so-called soup noodles were actually soup noodles.
After the new wheat harvest, some southerners did not know how to cook it, but they soon learned that wheat can not only be made into wheat rice, but can also be ground into flour and made into various kinds of pasta.
Several months ago, Jiangdu had built three water mills that could grind 400 hu of flour a day.
When Zheng Chao heard this number, the first thought that came to his mind was that Chang Jieshi was going to make money again.
But he also knew that Envoy Chang Jie had contributed far more to Jiangdu than this, and this money should be earned by him.
For a time, due to the harvest of new wheat, there was an unprecedented noodle craze in Jiangdu City. Many kinds of noodles, for the first time, squeezed into this cultural Jiangnan area in such a noisy manner.
The rise of food is also a reflection of cultural integration and prosperity.
Recently, Wang Yue always buys two pies on the street before going to work every day. After work, he must go into the alley and eat a bowl of soup noodles sprinkled with chopped green onions.
Every time he ate heartily, Mr. Wangshan, who had learned the cooking skills from his mother for a long time, could not help but sigh: "This is what eating is all about."
Another person who has recently become fascinated by the various kinds of pasta available on the market is Dr. Sun.
Doctor Sun doesn't like to talk, but he likes to eat.
Doctor Sun now lives and eats in Wueryuan, and Chang Suining asked Zheng Chao to set up a separate small courtyard for him.
Although Doctor Sun stayed in the medical school as a teacher, he did not have to teach students on weekdays. If they encountered difficult problems, the teachers in the medical school could ask him questions, and Qiao Yumian would then convey them to ask for advice.
At first, the teachers in the medical school were very angry about this, thinking that this person was too arrogant. He was not a teacher to the students, but a teacher to the teachers! So, some of the teachers tried to make things difficult for him. However, after a few attempts, they realized that although the man did not have a mouth, he was a real talent. So they gradually put away their contempt and dissatisfaction, and even began to understand him - it was normal for a master to have a strange temper.
Recently, after school, Qiao Yumian would bring back some noodles for her master. In just half a month, she had managed to make her master gain a lot of weight.
Qiao Yumian even bought some Hu Bing today, which she had only eaten once before in the West Market in the capital.
By buying food for her master every day, Qiao Yumian was able to see the current bustling and stable scene in Jiangdu, and heard many words of gratitude and respect from the people for Chang Suining.
"Ningning is really amazing." Qiao Yumian was sitting on the stone steps, looking at the sunset, and suddenly said absentmindedly, "She is so amazing that she doesn't seem like Ningning at all."
This "dissimilarity" is not only "amazing"... After she recovered from her eye disease, when she saw Ningning again in Mianyang, she was shocked to find that Ningning's appearance had changed greatly from what she remembered.
People often say that appearance is determined by the heart.
Ningning used to be like a flower in the room, delicate and melancholy.
Ningning now is like a towering tree, seemingly with the power to reach the clouds and shake the sky.
Both types of Ningning are good. The former makes her want to protect her, while the latter keeps her behind him.
But how could such a huge change happen in Ningning's small body?
A wisp of evening breeze blew by, and Qiao Yumian's eyes felt inexplicably sour, but she couldn't tell why.
The setting sun left only a wisp of cool evening breeze swirling in the yard.
There is a cool breeze in the wind, autumn is in sight, and the autumn harvest is approaching.
Before the autumn harvest, an imperial edict from the capital, accompanied by the atmosphere of unrest, was delivered to Jiangdu City by express horse and delivered to Chang Suining.
Good night everyone, have you all had your holiday? (I’d really be jealous if I didn’t have any holiday)
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