Chapter 89: Yu Lingye is in a state of panic
The new fiefdom was vast and sparsely populated, nearly ten times larger than the old one.
The emperor continued to control the taxes and jurisdiction of the old fiefdom on the grounds that the new fiefdom was larger in area.
According to the custom of wealthy fiefdoms, 10% of the fiefdom's tax revenue, regardless of whether it was a good year or a bad year, had to be handed over to the national treasury.
He had to bear the consequences of floods in his fiefdom, reduced grain production, failed autumn crops, and opening warehouses to provide disaster relief and rescue the people.
If the fiefdom is wealthy, the products are plentiful, and the people are prosperous, then there is nothing to fear even in years of disaster.
But.
The fiefdom became a place of extreme poverty.
If it is a good year, only 10% of the grain can be handed over.
If it is a year of disaster, this amount of food will be a heavy burden.
The fiefdom was extremely poor and there was no surplus food in the granary.
The part of the taxes that belonged to him could be reduced or exempted, but the 10% of the taxes from the court could not be reduced or exempted.
Collecting a 10% grain tax when the people's grain production has decreased by 50% and the autumn planting has failed is tantamount to forcing the people to death.
If the people cannot survive, riots will naturally occur.
As the lord of the fiefdom, he not only had to suppress the riots, but would also be punished.
Yu Lingye pinched his eyebrows with a headache.
His good brother the emperor gave him this large and poor fiefdom, which was equivalent to digging a big hole for him.
Not only did it damage his reputation, but it also cost him money.
But he had no choice but to fall into this trap.
For now, there is only one solution -
He paid the 10% tax on behalf of the people.
Then spend money to buy food for disaster relief, to help the people survive until the next year's harvest.
besides,
He also has to spend money to build dams, open rivers, and fight floods and provide disaster relief.
This was a huge sum of money that was enough to make him spend all his family wealth.
He is not afraid of losing all his wealth.
What he was worried about was whether he could spend all his family wealth to get through this difficult time.
What about next time?
What about next time?
If the poverty of the fiefdom is not changed, it will sooner or later fall into a predicament again.
The fiefdom must start changing from itself.
But Yu Lingye had no idea how to change or where to start.
He threw the purple folder aside, pinched his brows, and looked extremely anxious.
The other side.
In view of the failure of the last snail noodle, Xie Yingmian decided to start with simpler ingredients.
For example, potatoes.
French fries, potato towers, potato chips, spicy, original, mustard...
Just thinking about it makes me salivate.
Unfortunately, she searched the kitchen but couldn't find any potatoes.
After asking Fu Mo, I learned that potatoes were not a crop in that era.
Without potatoes, potato-related ingredients will have to be put aside.
She promised Fu Mo to make desserts and planned to make sweet potatoes with plums first.
Fu Mo also told her that the Dayu Dynasty had sweet plums but no sweet potatoes.
Xie Yingmian was completely numb.
Fortunately, after listening to her description, Fu Mo told her that although there were no sweet potatoes and potatoes, there were taro and cassava that looked similar.
Because cassava is poisonous, no one eats it. It is only used as medicine and can be bought in pharmacies.
Taro can be found everywhere, but since the prince doesn't like to eat it, the kitchen doesn't buy much of it.
Xie Yingmian raised his eyebrows.
Cassava is indeed poisonous if not handled properly.
It seems that people of this era had not yet discovered how to eat cassava.
As for taro, there are so many things that can be made with it.
Xie Yingmian regained his spirits and asked Fu Mo to find cassava and taro.
After getting the ingredients.
Xie Yingmian fiddled with it for a long time and finally succeeded in replicating the taro paste cake.
She was going to make mochi bread.
Mochi bread is easy to make, but dealing with the toxicity of cassava is a bit troublesome.
Cassava needs to be soaked in running water for more than three days to completely remove the toxicity.
So, if you want to eat mochi bread, you have to wait three days.
The taro paste cake is baked and the sweet aroma fills the courtyard.
Fu Mo outside the small kitchen was dazzled by the fragrance.
He loves sweets, and he couldn't walk when he saw this fragrant taro paste cake.
Xie Yingmian found it funny.
Yu Lingye was right, Fu Mo's aloofness was indeed fake.
When Fu Mo is not pretending, he is just a foodie and an idiot.
"Want to eat?"
Fu Mo nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Yes, it smells so good."
“It looks delicious.”
Xie Yingmian separated the taro paste cake.
Most of it was left for Yu Lingye, Fu Mo and the others, and the remaining small portion was prepared for the girls to taste.
"Cut these and give them to His Majesty to taste." After she divided them, she took her portion back to the courtyard.
Fu Mo's eyes lit up.
He took a knife and divided the remaining half into half again, and then divided it again.
After dividing it into eight pieces, he picked up one happily.
“It’s delicious. Really delicious.”
"It's worthy of the princess's craftsmanship."
"Luckily this taro paste cake is big enough, otherwise I wouldn't be able to eat enough."
In the house.
Yu Lingye had already smelled a faint sweet scent.
The anxious and irritable feeling was inexplicably cured by this sweetness.
After waiting for Xie Yingmian to arrive for a long time, Yu Lingye said to Tianjia, "Go and see what she is doing."
Tianjia appeared in the small kitchen like a ghost.
Xie Yingmian was no longer in the kitchen. Only Fu Mo, who was eating secretly, was there.
Fu Mo was startled by the sudden appearance of Tianjia.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar golden mask.
"Brother Tianjia, scaring people can kill them."
Tianjia was indifferent and determined: "You are cheating."
Fu Mo's face flushed: "How can this be called cheating?"
"I'm just trying the taste for His Majesty."
"No, I'm just about to bring it to the prince."
Fu Mo put the taro paste cake away and brought it to Yu Lingye's room.
inside the house.
Yu Lingye looked at the uniquely shaped dessert and frowned slightly: "Is it made of taro?"
Fu Mo said, "The princess said this is called taro paste cake, and it's delicious."
"Your Majesty, would you like to try it?"
After washing his hands, Yu Lingye scooped up a piece of taro cake with a spoon.
He doesn't like eating taro.
Foods made from taro are rarely seen in the palace.
but.
This taro paste cake is different from other common snacks.
Even those who don't like taro can eat some.
"Not bad." Yu Lingye said, "Send a few to the Sixth Punishment Department."
Fu Mo had exactly this intention.
Xiao Kui comes to ask again every few hours.
He was afraid that the child would say bloody and horrible words with his innocent face.
"Okay, I'll leave three for Master Shen."
"I remember Lord Shen likes to eat taro. He must like this taro paste cake."
"Actually, the princess didn't want to make taro today. She asked for potatoes or sweet potatoes. I've never heard of them. She only said cassava and taro."
Fu Mo narrowed his eyes and brows: "Your Majesty, guess what?"
Without waiting for Yu Lingye to answer.
Fu Mo said to himself: "The princess is really amazing."
"Not only did she make taro paste cake, she also said she wanted to make mochi bread with cassava."
"Your Majesty, do you know cassava?"
"It's a very common plant on your land. The fruit grows underground and is poisonous and inedible. It's also useless. The leaves and rhizomes are used as medicine. It's the cassava."
"The princess said she could remove the toxins from cassava and that it could be used as food and tasted good if processed properly."
Snap!
The spoon in Yu Lingye's hand fell.
He raised his head suddenly: "What did you say?"
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