Capital city!
"Report! A great victory at the border! The brave cavalry general has won the battle, defeating the Tatar warriors and causing heavy casualties. The Tatars demand a ceasefire!"
The messenger rushed into the palace and the court to report the good news to the emperor.
"You won! You are truly worthy of being my great general."
The emperor was very pleased.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
Civil and military officials knelt down and paid homage.
"Alright! Everyone, please stand up!"
The emperor was very happy and his face was full of smiles.
The emperor discussed the issue of compensation with his ministers. Some advocated signing a peace treaty, while others advocated that they cede land as compensation.
Finally, for the sake of the people of Daliang, the emperor wanted to sign a peace treaty, form an alliance, and cease fire for fifty years.
The emperor sent Honglu Temple Minister and Eunuch Wang to the border to negotiate with the imperial edict.
The main officials in this peace talks were the General of Cavalry and Princess Xiangyun, assisted by the Minister of Honglu Temple.
Princess Xiangyun is knowledgeable, well-informed, and extremely intelligent. I believe she can handle this peace negotiation well.
The Second and Third Princes were vying to go to the border to negotiate. They had their own agenda. Princess Xiangyun was escorting them, and the Crown Prince was also at the border. If the two could come to terms with each other and assist the Crown Prince, their chances of claiming the throne would be slim. They had to go to the border to curry favor with Princess Xiangyun, hoping to recruit her into their fold and use her for their own ends. Alternatively, they could use their male charisma and manly tactics to capture her, take her into their palace, and make her a concubine. This way, they would be tied together, sharing both their success and their failure.
Of course the emperor saw through the two princes' little thoughts, and he certainly would not do as they wished.
Princess Xiangyun belongs to Jinqian, and no one should think of taking advantage of her. Moreover, Princess Xiangyun is extremely intelligent, and with her assistance to the Crown Prince in the future, she will surely lead Daliang to glory.
The Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Agriculture arrived in Taizhou, and the rice planted by Gao Zhijun was ready to be harvested.
"Your humble servant pays homage to the Minister!"
Prefect Zhang and officials from the government office welcomed the Minister of Revenue at the city gate.
"Master Zhang, please stand up!"
Minister Liu said.
"Thank you, sir!"
Magistrate Zhang stood up with the officials.
"How's the rice growing? Is it ready for harvest?"
Minister Liu asked Prefect Zhang.
What he cares about most now is the rice, which is the rice grown by his granddaughter.
"Your Excellency, it's time to harvest."
The ears of grain are full and ripe for harvest.
"Okay, there's no one who's blind enough to cause trouble, right?"
Minister Liu asked with concern.
The rice is what the emperor cares about most. It is the food supply for the people. If it is destroyed, he doesn't know whether the emperor will be furious.
"No, this is the princess's fiefdom, no one dares to destroy it. Moreover, the people are all guarding it voluntarily."
Magistrate Zhang told the truth.
He had been a prefect for so many years and had never seen anything like this. The people actually voluntarily helped the princess guard the rice and prevented it from being destroyed, and they didn't even ask for any payment.
Minister Liu was happy that his granddaughter was so capable that she could make the people guard the place voluntarily.
The Grand Minister of Agriculture was shocked. The princess was truly popular among the people, which made him look at her with new eyes.
"I want to see the rice, so I'll go directly to Huojia Village. Also, we'll be staying in Huojia Village."
Minister Liu said to Prefect Zhang.
"Yes, Lord Shangshu."
Magistrate Zhang said.
Minister Liu got on the carriage, and Magistrate Zhang led the way, and the carriage drove towards Huojia Village.
When they arrived at the entrance of Huojia Village, Mo Yu saw Magistrate Zhang, who opened the gate and let the carriage in.
Minister Liu got off the carriage, and Mo Yu immediately knelt down when he saw him.
"I greet the Minister!"
"Stand up, no need to be so polite, please stand up quickly."
Minister Liu waved his hand and said.
"Thank you, Minister!"
Mo Yu finished speaking and stood up.
Since everyone was acquaintance, Minister Liu brought the Grand Minister of Agriculture and others to live in Gao's mansion.
After Huo Jinzhou knew about it, he came back from the workshop and greeted Minister Liu.
"Sir Shangshu, you are here. Are you here for the rice?"
Huo Jinzhou asked Minister Liu.
"Yes, the Emperor heard that the rice harvest was great, and sent me here to buy the seeds at a high price."
Minister Liu stated the emperor's will.
"Okay, I'll take you there."
After Huo Jinzhou finished speaking, he took Minister Liu and the Minister of Agriculture to see the rice.
When they arrived at the ridge of the field and saw the golden rice fields, Minister Liu and the Minister of Agriculture were excited. They had never seen such plump rice.
The full grains of millet bent the stalks of wheat.
Carefully touching the plump grains of rice and smelling the fragrance of rice makes people feel good.
With these rice, people no longer have to worry about going hungry.
"Your Excellency, I have never seen such plump grains, and they look so pleasing. The princess is truly a wonderful person, knowing how to do everything. Your Excellency is truly blessed to have such a granddaughter."
The Minister of Agriculture held the full ears of grain in his hands and touched them lovingly. He was so cautious, afraid that he would destroy the grain and would be a sinner for all eternity.
"Of course. This minister's granddaughter must be extremely intelligent."
Hearing others praise his granddaughter, Minister Liu was overjoyed and beamed. His granddaughter must be extremely smart, and none of the rich girls in the capital could compare to her, not even his own granddaughter.
Minister Liu and others stayed at Gao's house, and Magistrate Zhang notified the people of Taizhou to go there tomorrow to help the princess harvest rice.
Early in the morning, almost half of the people in Taizhou had arrived, and the other half had work to do.
Magistrate Zhang had already paid money to send the refugees away.
Kong Meixue and Luo Minghu also came over, but were rejected by Huo Jinzhou.
Huo Jinzhou knew very well what kind of people the couple were, and he would never let them take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble.
Sure enough, when Huo Jinzhou refused, the two started to quarrel, rolling on the ground and making a scene, ruining Gao Zhijun's reputation and the Huo family's reputation.
At first the people ignored it, but when they heard people scolding their savior, they lost their composure and started to scold the two of them collectively, leaving them speechless.
When Prefect Zhang and Minister Liu found out, they were furious. Prefect Zhang took the two men back to the government office and beat them with twenty sticks, leaving their skin torn and flesh exposed. He also warned them that if it happened again, they would be driven out of Taizhou and would never be allowed to live there again.
Although the two agreed on the surface, they hated Gao Zhijun in their hearts and blamed her for everything.
Especially Kong Meixue, who wanted to kill Gao Zhijun.
Without any troublemakers, the people began to harvest rice.
Ten acres were harvested in one day.
The next day, Huo Jinzhou brought dozens of people to thresh the harvested rice.
Minister Liu and Magistrate Zhang weighed one acre of rice.
You won't know until you weigh it, and you'll be shocked when you do. One acre of rice weighs more than 2,100 kilograms.
Seeing this number, not only the people were shocked, but also Minister Liu and the Minister of Agriculture were even more shocked. If the people of Daliang planted this high-yield rice, they would not only have enough to eat, but they would also have surplus food.
It took a month to harvest and dry the rice, and then plant the second batch of rice.
At this time, the sweet potatoes can almost be dug.
Minister Liu and the Minister of Agriculture decided to stay and return to the capital after they finished digging the sweet potatoes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
