The Grand Tutor thought for a moment and said, "This matter is of great importance. I suggest that we send His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Ministers from the Taifu lineage stood up one after another and said, "I second the motion."
When the Prime Minister saw that this task was going to fall to the Crown Prince's party, he quickly stepped forward and said, "The Crown Prince is the foundation of the country, and he must not leave the capital easily. I think His Royal Highness the Second Prince is very steady in doing things, so it is better for His Royal Highness the Second Prince to go this time."
Ministers from the Prime Minister's lineage all stood up and said, "I second the motion."
The morning court session instantly turned into a market. The emperor, sitting on the dragon throne, said in a deep voice, "Okay, let the prince handle this matter."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince quickly stepped out and said, "Yes, Father, I will definitely fulfill my mission."
The ministers, headed by the Grand Tutor, all shouted, "Your Majesty is wise."
Seeing that there was no room for change, the Prime Minister's party also shouted: "The Emperor is wise."
After the morning court session, the prince was called to the imperial study by the emperor. The emperor looked at the prince and said, "This matter is of great importance and concerns the fate of the country. When you go to Beichuan County and investigate thoroughly, remember to treat the family that grows this high-yield wheat with courtesy."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, "Yes, Father, I know this matter is of great importance and I will not let you down."
The emperor looked at the prince who was becoming more and more steady, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "This matter should be dealt with as soon as possible. Go back and pack your things, and you can set off tomorrow morning!"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince bowed and said, "I'll take my leave." Then he turned and left the imperial study.
After the prince left, the emperor said, "Send a few skilled men to protect the prince's safety. Remember to make sure he returns safely."
As soon as he finished speaking, a voice came from somewhere, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Early the next morning, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince set out from the capital with a small entourage.
As for Beichuan County, since the county magistrate wrote the memorial, he knew that the court would definitely send an imperial envoy to verify the matter, so he ordered the yamen runners to tell the village head to leave one acre of wheat unharvested. The village head naturally did not dare to disobey the county magistrate's wishes and left a piece of wheat that was growing well, hoping that the imperial envoy would come earlier, otherwise the wheat would fall to the ground.
The prince and his entourage rode at full speed, and although they were not as fast as the attendant who had brought the news earlier, they still arrived in Beichuan County at the hour of Si on the eighth day, and went straight to the county government office.
The county magistrate expected the emperor to send an imperial envoy, but he did not expect that the envoy would be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The county magistrate quickly bowed and said, "I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
The prince raised his hand and said, "Master Yu, there is no need to be so polite. It is still early. Take me to see the high-yield wheat."
The county magistrate, Lord Yu, did not dare to disobey His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and said, "Yes, I will arrange it right away." After that, he turned and left the reception room, first sent a yamen runner to Huaishu Village to report the news, and then ordered someone to harness the carriage.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked the County Magistrate, Lord Yu, to sit in a carriage with him so that they could report the situation on the way.
When the group arrived at Huaishu Village, the village chief had already received the news from the county magistrate, so he summoned all the villagers to wait at the entrance of the village. After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, they saw a group of people coming towards them from afar. When the group of people was about to reach the entrance of the village, the village chief quickly asked everyone to kneel down.
When the carriage stopped, the county magistrate, Lord Yu, got off the carriage first, then turned around and helped a man in fancy clothes down. Led by the village chief, the villagers shouted, "We are here to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
The prince nodded and said, "Everyone, get up. Where is the village chief? Take me to see the high-yield wheat."
Upon hearing this, the village chief quickly stood up and said, "I am the village chief of Huaishu Village. Your Highness, please follow me."
The prince nodded and signaled the village chief to lead the way. The village chief walked in front of His Royal Highness the Prince with his body hunched. His Royal Highness the Prince and his entourage followed closely behind him, and the villagers also followed closely behind.
Soon the group arrived at the village chief's field. The prince looked at the golden wheat in the field and was amazed. He had seen wheat before. Unlike those children of noble families who did not know the difference between the five grains, he had been taught by the Grand Tutor since he was a child. He knew the poverty of the lower-class people and that many people were hungry. So he was determined to be a wise ruler and let all the people have enough to eat. So when he saw the heavy ears of wheat, he knew that his wish had a chance to come true.
His Royal Highness touched the full ears of wheat with his own hands and ordered: "Harvest this wheat, and remember to be careful not to let the grains fall to the ground."
The village chief hurriedly said, "Yes, Your Highness." Then he asked the village's skilled harvesters to start harvesting the wheat.
It took less than half an hour to harvest one acre of land. Then the village chief had people thresh the wheat grains, put them into bags, and weigh them on a scale. A total of 803 kilograms of wheat were threshed. Although they were very careful, the wheat was too ripe and some of it inevitably fell to the ground.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was watching the whole process from the side. When he saw the final number, his heart finally settled down. He laughed and said, "Who planted this wheat first?"
The village chief took An Dashan to the front of His Royal Highness and said, "Your Highness, this wheat was grown by An Dashan's family, and his family also successfully planted winter wheat, with a yield similar to this wheat."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looked at An Dashan and said, "Did you grow this wheat?"
An Dashan was not intimidated and replied respectfully, "Your Highness, this high-yield wheat and winter wheat were all created by my daughter. I dare not deceive Your Highness."
The Crown Prince was surprised and said, "Oh? Is your daughter here?"
An Dashan nodded, pointed at An Ning and said, "Your Highness, this is my daughter."
An Ning greeted the Crown Prince in a dignified manner. The Crown Prince looked at the girl, who was not yet of marriageable age, and said, "I didn't expect that such high-yield wheat and winter wheat were produced by a little girl. You can't judge a book by its cover!" He then asked for some details, and An Ning told him all of them.
The Crown Prince was very satisfied with An Ning's clear and logical speech and said, "Don't worry, I will report the truth to my father and I will definitely reward you handsomely."
An Ning bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, "Hey! I should be the one thanking you on behalf of the people of the world. Is there anything you want? I will report it to my father."
An Ning thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I have another recipe that I would like to present to you."
The prince did not expect there would be an unexpected surprise, and asked, "What is the recipe?"
An Ning said, "Your Highness, I need to demonstrate this recipe to you. Please follow me."
The prince did not suspect anything and brought a group of people to An Dashan's house.
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