116 Chapter 116
◎Find something to do.◎
Liu Ju was very happy that his father remembered that he had other sons and went to play with them, but Wei Zifu could not empathize with her son in this matter.
Wei Zifu started learning to read and write after entering the palace. After all, when she was a singer, all she needed was a beautiful voice. But to be the emperor's woman, she couldn't just serve him with her beauty.
Serving His Majesty, getting pregnant and giving birth, taking care of her children, and managing palace affairs, Wei Zifu had very limited time to read over the years, but she still saw many lessons from the past.
Therefore, when Wei Zifu learned that His Majesty had frequently summoned several other princes during the New Year, she couldn't help but feel worried.
Fortunately, soon the emperor only saw the beauty and not the child. Wei Zifu breathed a sigh of relief, but still couldn't help calling her son over and telling him to be respectful and filial to the emperor, not to act arbitrarily, and not to annoy the emperor.
Liu Ju comforted her, "Don't worry, mother. Liu Min and the others are also your father's sons. It's normal for your father to see them. Don't scare yourself."
"Hmm." Wei Zifu frowned. "I don't know why His Majesty suddenly became interested, and then lost interest. He's only been seeing Lady Wang these past two days, and hasn't asked her to bring the child over."
Liu Ju thought to himself, that's because they are real children, and I am a fake child. If a real child is teased too much, he will really cry, and the kind of crying that is very difficult to coax. It's natural that his father doesn't get any fun.
"Maybe it's because Grandpa loves me the most." Liu Ju said with a smile, "Look, mother, I go to Grandpa's place every day."
Thinking of the importance the Emperor placed on the Crown Prince, Wei Zifu patted her son's hand and warned him again, "Your Majesty may favor you, but you must not forget the boundaries between ruler and subject, and father and son."
Liu Ju smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. I will remember all your teachings."
Wei Zifu stroked his face and said with a smile, "My son has always been sensible. Mother is very relieved."
This time he persuaded her, but Liu Ju knew that his mother's worries would come back again. She was trapped in the Weiyang Palace, and all she saw and thought about were these people and these things. It was difficult for her not to think too much.
Liu Ju was willing to persuade her again and again, but this was not a long-term solution. He knew that his mother had persisted in the palace for many years in her previous life. However, since he wanted to change all this, he might as well change it more thoroughly.
Liu Ju thought, I need to find something to keep my mother busy.
Although the people of the Han Dynasty are open-minded, matters like the Queen's involvement in politics depend on who the Emperor is. Under his father, his mother has no chance. Only the Queen's duties can keep her busy as she should.
After much deliberation, Liu Ju finally decided on cotton.
At that time, cotton was only grown in Guangxi and Yunnan within the Han Dynasty. Liu Ju could not go that far, nor could he send anyone there, so he could only ask for help from the Emperor.
"Sima Xiangru?" Liu Che asked curiously, "He has already retired. Why do you want to see him?"
Liu Ju said, "I saw something called cotton in an ancient book. It's said to grow in the Southwestern Yi. I heard that Mr. Sima once went there on the orders of Aweng. I'd like to ask him to see if it's true. If it is, I'd also like to ask Aweng to have the county governor and county lieutenant there send some seeds to Chang'an."
The royal collection of books was so vast that even the emperor could not know exactly how many books there were and what was recorded in them in detail.
"What ancient book? What is cotton? And what are its seeds? Is it planted in the ground for viewing? Or is it eaten?" Liu Che asked questions one after another.
Liu Ju said, "The book is in my palace, old man. I'll show it to you tomorrow. Cotton is indeed grown in the fields, but it's not eaten. It can be made into clothes. It's softer than hemp or kudzu, and it doesn't need to be spun into yarn, so you can stuff it between two layers of cloth to keep warm."
After hearing the last part, Liu Che raised his eyebrows and asked, "Keep warm?"
"Yeah!" Liu Ju nodded affirmatively.
Although Liu Ju was young, he was not one to lie. With all the previous examples in mind, Liu Che immediately believed his words and asked, "Ju'er, where did you put the book?"
Liu Ju had anticipated his father's actions and had made all necessary preparations: "It's right on my desk."
Liu Che turned around and ordered, "Go to the Crown Prince's Palace and get the book."
Liu Ju quickly continued, "Be very careful. Grandfather, the book is already damaged."
Liu Che also ordered: "Do not damage this book."
The eunuch took the order and carefully brought over a roll of bamboo slips. When Liu Che took a look at it, he saw that it was indeed very worn out.
Liu Ju learned this aging technique from a swindler when he was bored in the underworld. He didn't expect that the first time he put it into practice he would be cheating his father.
He originally wanted to use it on allicin, but he didn't expect that after he took the finished product to his father, he believed in the effect of allicin without any doubt and agreed to equip the army.
Later he learned that it was because his father was superstitious at the time, but now the Emperor's worldview had been re-examined by Liu Ju, so he had to be deceived seriously.
After reading the so-called ancient books, Liu Che nodded and said, "If it really can keep you warm, it's really good."
"If people can grow some crops themselves in the future, they will have an easier time in winter," said Liu Ju.
Liu Che's voice was so low that it seemed as if he was talking to himself: "The land still needs to be used to grow food. As for this... Once I slowly deal with the powerful, I will have more land."
This is a bit difficult. Liu Ju thought that the current powerful people and future noble families would have to wait until Huang Chao killed them according to their family tree before they could gradually withdraw from the stage of history.
"So, Sima Xiangru is not the only one who has been to the Southwestern Yi. I will call a few more people over." Liu Che raised his voice and his eyes brightened.
Yunnan and Guangxi were not called this name at that time. They were divided into several counties, Dian Kingdom and Southwestern Yi.
Sima Xiangru was once ordered to go on a diplomatic mission to the Southwestern Yi. If he had seen cotton, it would have been less than ten years ago, so he would probably still have an impression of it.
Liu Ju copied the cotton picture on the bamboo slips on paper himself and asked Sima Xiangru and others to identify it together.
Sima Xiangru was more than twenty years older than Liu Che, and now he was almost sixty years old. His health did not seem good. After looking at Liu Ju's painting, he squinted his eyes and thought for a while. He turned his head and covered his mouth with his hands to cough twice before saying, "Your Highness, I did see this thing in a village in the southwest. When it is ripe, it will produce white fruits that are soft to the touch."
There were also two others who had some impression, but they did not dare to agree until Sima Xiangru opened his mouth.
Liu Che turned around and glanced at his former minister, thinking about how he had behaved in front of him in the past, and then looking at his old appearance now, the emperor, who had never had a conscience, couldn't help but sigh.
For this reason, after identifying the cotton, His Majesty the Emperor also asked the palace doctor to examine Sima Xiangru, prescribe medicine for him, and give him a hundred gold coins for his retirement.
Sima Xiangru thanked him calmly and did not look flattered. The emperor was magnanimous and did not bother with him. He waved his hand and asked people to leave.
Liu Ju watched from the side and thought to himself that this was the most unpredictable example of an emperor's favor being so fickle. Sima Xiangru must have figured out the true nature of their emperor.
Liu Che took the blueprint drawn by Liu Ju and said, "I will send someone to deliver this to the southwest as fast as possible."
Since there was no sign of cotton seeds, Liu Ju did not rush to ask his mother to take charge of cotton planting and spinning.
After returning to the Prince's Palace, Liu Ju first began to plan the cotton planting, and then he discovered a big problem.
It is extremely unrealistic to plant large quantities of cotton now. Before grain production increases, arable land used to grow crops cannot even fill our stomachs, so how can we free up land to plant large quantities of cotton that cannot fill our stomachs?
Moreover, the Han Dynasty has been engaged in continuous wars, and nothing consumes more food than war. If we want to have enough food, we will have to wait for several more years of peace, not to mention the period of war.
With the current productivity, even if Liu Ju had a lot of knowledge from the 21st century, he could not achieve success overnight. He still had to increase grain production slowly.
Thinking of this, Liu Ju felt that putting cotton planting on the agenda was too impulsive. He had to remind his father that when cotton seeds were introduced into the Central Plains in the future, it was absolutely necessary to prevent the wealthy and powerful from forcing the tenant farmers to plant cotton.
Who would have thought that Liu Che would burst into laughter after hearing this: "I was wondering when you would come up with it. Not bad, not bad, you came up with it right away."
There was some praise in the words, but Liu Ju could not accept it with peace of mind. He was not really a child, but he was still confused by his concern. It was clearly his negligence, and he did not deserve the compliment.
Liu Ju only then remembered what his father had whispered. At that time, his attention was on the powerful, but the Emperor had obviously thought of the food problem long ago.
Liu Ju said ashamedly, "Aunt, I didn't think it through. I'd better wait a few years before planting cotton."
Liu Che shook his head: "No, we must plant first."
Liu Ju heard the clue and asked, "What's the use of it, old man? Is it urgent to use it?"
"Didn't you say it can keep you warm?" Liu Che said, "The soldiers defending against the Xiongnu need cotton."
After the Battle of Hexi, the border of the Han Dynasty had become much more stable. The Huns hardly dared to invade, and Liu Che also reduced the garrison. However, there were still soldiers guarding there all year round, and they always needed warm clothes in autumn and winter.
Furs were expensive and hard to come by, so even though Liu Che knew of a cheap substitute like cotton, he certainly wanted to put it to use as soon as possible.
Liu Ju said, "Old Man is really thoughtful."
Liu Che explained his plan in detail. Cotton would be planted among the people, but the planting area of each household would be limited, and violators would be severely punished.
Since it is mainly used for soldiers guarding the border, there will be no restrictions on their families. His Majesty the Emperor even gritted his teeth and reduced their land taxes.
In addition, to demonstrate benevolence, the royal family also grows cotton.
Liu Ju continued, "Cotton needs to be spun, which is a woman's job. Why don't we let mother take care of it? What do you think, old man?"
Liu Che said, "In ancient times, there was Leizu. My queen..." He smiled and said, "Let the queen do it."
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