Chapter 3194: Official Appointment
The emperor flipped open the latest volume and raised an eyebrow. "Is this the data for this year?"
"Yes," Zhou Lizhong said, feeling less nervous now, as this was his own record. "It's not quite complete yet. When I received the imperial edict, some of the rice in the village hadn't been harvested and dried yet. So the data only shows what has been dried, so it's not quite accurate."
The emperor flipped through the booklet, which contained detailed records, including which day the fertilizer was applied, which day the weeds were removed, and the condition of the rice at that time...
The emperor closed the book and took out the memorial that Bai Shan had submitted two days ago. He handed it to Gu Zhong and said, "Read it."
Gu Zhong first unfolded Bai Shan's memorial. The rice in the official fields of Beihai County had also been harvested. Because the new rice seeds were all planted in the official fields, the various data were summarized very quickly.
In summary, the per-acre yield of Guantianzhuangzi in Beihai County was only 4.8 shi, but the highest per-acre yield was 7.5 shi and the lowest was 3 shi.
Bai Shan listed the reasons, saying that most of the government fields here were wastelands left over from the past, so the soil was not fertile enough, which led to this result.
He felt that if he continued farming for two more years, the yield would increase and eventually reach a relatively stable value.
In Luojiang County, the data Zhou Lizhong collected was slightly higher, with the average yield per mu reaching 6.2 shi/mu, the highest yield per mu being 7.3 shi/mu, and the lowest being 5.6 shi/mu.
Everyone in the hall was shocked, even people like Old Lord Tang who had already heard some rumors were surprised, let alone others.
The hall couldn't help but stir up discussions. The emperor nodded at the table, and everyone gradually quieted down. Someone stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, even if the seeds have been improved and the yield has increased, it can't be increased so much all at once, right?"
The emperor then had Gu Zhong distribute the booklet Zhou Lizhong had recorded, saying, "This isn't just one year's work. Besides, I've seen with my own eyes that the rice ears are indeed long and full."
The emperor nodded to Gu Zhong, who then went back down. A moment later, he returned with a wooden box. He opened it, revealing a bunch of rice ears. The emperor smiled and said, "This is the yield of a single rice plant. Although this is a plant I specially selected, and it's better than most, it also gives us an idea of the strength of this new rice variety."
When the ministers saw the bunch of rice ears in Gu Zhong's hand, the first thing they thought of was whether the grains had been stuck there in some way.
Even Old Master Tang couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, can we take a look?"
The emperor waved his hand generously and said, "Check it out."
So everyone gathered around. Old Tang took a closer look and then reached out to pick off a grain of millet. He carefully examined the broken end and confirmed that it was real. Then he couldn't help but pull out other grains...
By the time everyone stopped, most of the grains had been pulled off the bunch of rice ears, forming a thick layer at the bottom of the box.
emperor:……
In the end, he held back his grief and thought, forget it, he would ask someone to go to Putian Village again. The Zhou family had picked a lot of seeds and left them there, and the rice ears might not have been threshed yet, so he would collect some for collection when the time comes.
After everyone confirmed that the bundle of rice ears was genuine, they returned to their seats. Although they were deeply shocked and felt that the world was about to change, they still habitually raised questions. "From what I heard from Master Zhou, the Zhou family began experimenting with rice seeds six years ago. Master Zhou, may I ask why you decided to do this?"
Before Zhou Man could stop him, Zhou Lizhong said, "My aunt asked us to experiment."
Everyone turned to look at Zhou Man.
Zhou Man could only truthfully answer, "Your Majesty, the new wheat seeds we planted a few years ago were created by chance. After that, new wheat seeds were used all over the world, and wheat yields increased."
"Rice yields are even higher than wheat. I wonder if rice seeds could be improved like wheat seeds, and their yield doubled, or even more, wouldn't everyone in the world have enough to eat?"
The emperor nodded.
Zhou Man said, "At that time, with the help of Lord Bai, Prince Consort Bai, and County Master Yin, I began to carve out a few plots of land from my official farmland to use as experimental fields."
The emperor nodded approvingly. Two days ago, Zhou Man had come to the palace to meet the emperor, and the two had already discussed this issue in depth. At that time, Zhou Man was much more frank. She told the emperor directly, "In addition to wanting to grow new rice seeds to benefit the people of the world, I also want to provide a future for my nephew."
She said, "Our family was poor before, so they couldn't keep up their studies. Now it's more difficult for them to find a career. As for their talents, besides other trades outside, farming is their best."
"Especially my eldest brother, third brother and eldest nephew, so I let them farm."
The emperor then asked, "Have you ever considered the consequences of not being able to grow new rice seeds? What if they can't grow new rice seeds for more than ten years, or even twenty years?"
Zhou Man said, "We're not just doing this. In addition to testing new rice varieties, we're also testing new farming methods and improving farm tools. I believe that as long as we work hard, we'll always reap rewards."
"Even if we can't grow new rice seeds, as long as we can increase the rice yield, our hard work will be worthwhile."
Of course, in the palace, Zhou Man wouldn't say it was for her nephews' future. She emphasized, "My family has been deeply blessed by the Emperor, and we never forget it. So even though we know the chances are slim, we're willing to invest the time to try. What if we succeed? Today, it seems Heaven has indeed shown mercy, and it's also because of Your Majesty's high moral character that you've succeeded so quickly."
Although the emperor knew that she was flattering him, he was still so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.
All the ministers looked at Zhou Man silently, especially Lord Tang, whose face twitched. If she had not really grown new rice seeds and the yield of the new rice seeds was not so amazing, he would have impeached her on the spot for the crime of slander.
The emperor was very pleased. After flipping through Zhou Lizhong's book, he became even more confident in the new rice seeds. With the data from Luojiang and Beihai counties, he immediately ordered: "Liu Qing, send someone to Zhou's family to purchase grain seeds. Next year, select a piece of land in various places to cultivate and test the planting conditions of the seeds in various places. The Sinong Temple will cooperate with the Ministry of Revenue to complete this task."
Zhao Siqing and Liu Shangshu stepped out together to respond.
"Zhou Lizhong has a talent for farming. Our dynasty is not picky about talent, and since he's a Luojiang County official, we'll promote him to the position of Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, specializing in improving crop production."
Seeing Zhou Lizhong in a daze, Zhou Man whispered to him, "Why don't you kneel down and thank me?"
Zhou Li regained his composure and immediately knelt down, "I thank Your Majesty for your grace."
The emperor asked him to get up, then thought of Wei Zhi. He sighed and asked Zhou Man, "How is Lord Wei's health?"
Zhou Man lowered his head and said, "Not very good."
The emperor then said, "I will go to see Lord Wei tomorrow."
Zhou Man understood that Lord Wei was about to wake up. A feeling of sadness rose in her heart, and she lowered her head in response.
(End of this chapter)
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