Chapter 3187 Want to be sealed
The emperor immediately grasped Mr. Zhuang's hand, looking at him with sparkling eyes, and said, "Mr. Zhuang, the Crown Prince will be entrusted to you from now on. He has a bad temper and is very old. I am most afraid that he will not listen to others' advice in the future."
Mr. Zhuang was somewhat moved and tightened his grip on the emperor's hand. "Your Majesty, admonishing the Crown Prince is my duty."
"Sir, ah, your Majesty," Zhou Wulang ran over, sweating profusely. Seeing the Emperor and Mr. Zhuang holding hands, all twenty or so people in the yard turned to look at him. He was a little nervous for a moment and stammered, "Well, the rice is ready. I just wanted to ask what vegetables you guys want. I'll go pick them."
Mr. Zhuang snapped back to his senses, immediately remembering Zhou Man's other crime. He hurriedly said, "Go catch a couple of chickens, pick up a few eggs, and catch a few fish. There's not much meat in the village, so let's prepare this for now. If you two can't do it, you can go find someone in the village to help."
After giving his instructions, Mr. Zhuang turned and smiled at the emperor, "Your Majesty, this village is remote and largely self-sufficient, so there's plenty of fruit. Would you like to go and take a look? They've planted quite a few fruits right by the pond, and now's harvest time."
Emperor: ...Mr. Zhuang is good in every way, except that he cannot compare to Wei Zhi in being fair and dedicated to public service.
However, the emperor nodded and took his people to visit Zhou Man and his family's orchard.
Although it is called an orchard, there is actually no dividing line. It is just several circles of fruit trees planted around the pond, and hemp is also planted on the outermost edge.
The emperor took one look and asked, "Don't you grow mulberry trees?"
Zhou Wulang shook his head and said, "Raising silkworms is too labor-intensive, and we don't have enough manpower in the village, so we don't plant them."
The emperor paused and calculated the size of the official farmland, averaging the number of acres per household. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "It's even less than the permanent farmland allocated by the court. Can't they even muster the manpower?"
Mr. Zhuang said, "Your Majesty, they have few acres of land, but they cultivate it carefully. They spend a lot of time on each acre, so the harvest is higher."
The emperor nodded slightly and asked no more questions.
There are peach trees, pear trees, apple trees, and pomegranates planted here. It is the time to eat pomegranates. As soon as they entered, they saw three pomegranate trees with a lot of fruits on them.
The tree wasn't very tall, so the emperor could pick some with just a lift of his hand. He reached out and plucked one, then lowered his head and kicked the dirt under his feet, raising an eyebrow and saying, "This dirt..."
Mr. Zhuang was waiting for him to ask, and immediately said, "This piece of land is dry and thin. It was used to grow beans. It was rented out in the first year, but in the second year, the tenants in the village all knew Zhou Man's good temper, so they were unwilling to rent this land anymore."
He laughed and said, "Every lord has a few acres of inferior land under his name. This is for the sake of fairness. These acres of land are wasted if they are not cultivated, and no one cultivates them if they need to be cultivated. So Zhou Man had the Zhou family dig a large pond here, which can be used for the villagers to wash clothes and raise some fish and lotus roots."
"The excavated mud was piled up around the area, and the soil became thicker. Zhou Man then had fruit trees planted there. To help the trees grow well, he also had chickens raised inside, as the chicken manure could nourish the soil. After five or six years, the area finally had its current appearance."
The emperor laughed and said, "I've heard from the Crown Prince and Lord Wei that Zhou Man's official farmland is being run very successfully, much better than the Ministry of Revenue."
Mr. Zhuang felt slightly relieved. Although occupying official land to dig a pond was not a big mistake, it was the time for rewarding merits, and Mr. Zhuang still didn't want this matter to affect her.
The emperor threw a pomegranate to watch Zhou Wulang fishing. As he watched, he looked up at the sky.
Wei Zhi took a quick glance and said, "It's already too late. It's impossible to rush back to the capital tonight."
Yin Li also said, "Your Majesty, it is too dangerous to travel at night. Let's stay here tonight."
Emperor: "...Didn't you say we can't spend the night outside?"
Wei Zhi and Yin Li: ...Safety comes first. If you hadn't counted the rice yourself and wandered around the fields for so long, they would definitely be halfway there by now.
The emperor didn't need their answers. He shook his head and said, "Let's go back and take another look at the rice fields. I haven't finished looking at the experimental fields around the villa yet."
After returning to the villa, Mr. Zhuang went to arrange the emperor's accommodation for the night.
When Zhou Dalang heard that the emperor was going to stay here tonight, he was shocked. "The old emperor wants to stay in my house?"
Mr. Zhuang comforted him, "Don't be afraid. The emperor's daughter has often stayed in the other courtyard. It's nothing for a father to stay in the courtyard where his daughter once lived."
After hearing Mr. Zhuang’s explanation, Zhou Dalang’s nervousness instantly subsided.
At this time, the emperor was strolling on the ridge of the field with Wei Zhi and Yin Li, and the guards followed from a distance.
"Since this rice seed can be planted simultaneously in Mianzhou and Qingzhou, there shouldn't be much of a problem in Jiannan Road and Hedong Road," the emperor said. "And since it's cultivated here, it should also be able to adapt to the climate of the Central Plains."
He let out a long sigh and said, "Qing Wei, to be honest, I am truly happy. With this rice seed, the current crisis in the Central Plains and the imperial court can be largely resolved."
Wei Zhi also nodded in agreement.
"But there are still too many people in the Central Plains, too little land, and too little food. This won't last long," the emperor sighed. "I wanted to consult Zhuang Xun to see if he wanted to use the land, but from what he said, he actually wants to let nature take its course."
Wei knew: "Didn't Your Majesty praise him?" Since he praised him so much, it was obvious that he agreed with his point of view.
The emperor nodded slightly and said, "I naturally hope that the prince can be like me and resolve the conflicts between the people and the land in the Central Plains. But I also know that the prince is not me. If he does what I want to do now, the Great Jin will be in danger."
"He's right," the emperor said. "For the Crown Prince, the best strategy is to let things take their natural course and quietly make subtle changes."
Wei Zhi also nodded. "Due to the salt administration, Jiangnan was in turmoil. In fact, not only did Jiangnan suffer heavy losses, but the imperial court also suffered a lot."
Although no one died in the war, a lot of things were lost, including the value that disappeared because the transactions were not completed and the taxes that were embezzled by them. These are all losses.
"If it weren't for your majesty's great prestige, I'm afraid there would really be changes in Jiangnan." If the person sitting in this position was not the current emperor, without the current emperor's prestige and power, Jiangnan would not be able to calm down like this.
The emperor turned his head to look at Wei Zhi, and saw that he looked tired and the sick look on his face had not disappeared until now. He couldn't help but sigh.
Xiao Yuanzheng had already told him that Wei Zhi's body could not hold on for much longer.
So he had to leave some people for the prince.
The emperor had never considered Zhuang Xun. Firstly, he had no experience in being sent abroad. He was good at teaching, but not so good at anything else.
The second reason is that he is too old.
Although he looks in good spirits, he is so old. Who knows when he will get sick and pass away?
But now, the emperor is considering it.
Zhuang Xun's answers to his questions about politics were very much in line with his thoughts. Most importantly, he did not feel disgusted at all when he heard him say that the crown prince should maintain the status quo and adapt to the times. This was much more comfortable than hearing others in the court say that the crown prince should be more restrained.
The emperor stroked his beard and thought for a long time. Finally, he said, "I would like to promote Zhuang Xun to the position of Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince."
See you tomorrow, good night
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
