Chapter 369 Zhao Hede 30
The emperor's eyes were dark and unclear. He had just believed that everything the empress dowager had done before was for him. Turning around, he heard the empress dowager's nephew say that what happened last night was indeed instructed by the empress dowager.
The invisible vortex engulfed him again, and the familiar involuntary dullness once again made it difficult for him to breathe.
He slowly walked down the steps and placed his hand on Chunyu Chang's shoulder: "This is the second time you've interfered in my family affairs."
Chunyu Chang knelt on the ground with a plop:
"I am guilty, but I lost my father when I was young. It is only thanks to the kindness of the Empress Dowager that I have a place to stay in the royal family. I dare not fail to repay such a great favor."
"Your Majesty, you have shown me great kindness and have taken care of me as a brother. I am deeply grateful to you."
"Since ancient times, it has been difficult to be both loyal and filial. But Your Majesty, I have absolutely no intention of being disloyal! I simply thought that if this matter could be accomplished, it would not only make Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager happy, but also relieve their worries. That's why I was deceived..."
Seeing that his head was bruised, Liu Ao began to hesitate again. He had just reconciled his relationship with the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother had revealed her fears to him for the first time. Liu Ao really didn't want to cause any more trouble at this time.
Regardless of whether Ban Jieyu had run away yesterday at the behest of the Empress Dowager, he was unwilling to pursue the matter any further. Because it was meaningless. In Liu Ao's heart, the pure and noble Ban Jieyu had been stained by dust and had become no different from the other women in the harem.
Since the Empress Dowager is determined to protect her no matter what, let her stay with the Empress Dowager in Changle Palace. As long as she behaves herself, he can pretend that what happened yesterday never happened.
As for why the Queen Mother did this, he was too lazy to think about it. Even if he found out, what would it matter? Could he really resist the Queen Mother?
Liu Ao asked Chunyu Chang to get out and sat in the Xuanshi Hall with a headache. He felt that everyone in the palace was so strange and scary.
The Queen Mother's tenderness today and her scheming behind the scenes, Ban Jieyu's former elegance and her yesterday's debauchery, as well as Xu E and Chunyu Chang...
In this palace, Hede is his only comfort.
"Your Majesty, Zhao Yilang is outside requesting an audience. He said he has something important to report."
"…Send him in."
After all, he is the queen's brother, it would be bad not to see him.
Liu Ao closed his eyes, pinched his brows, and asked in a low voice, "What brings you, Zhao Aiqing, to the palace at this time?"
"Your Majesty, I do have something to report, and it is a matter of great importance. I dare not delay, so I have come to the palace to report without permission. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
The emperor then opened his eyes and said softly to Zhao Qin, who was sitting below him, "My dear minister, you have been promoted to the position of Shizhong and are therefore allowed to enter and leave the Forbidden City. What crime have you committed?"
"Your Majesty has great trust in me, but I cannot lose my duty as a subject and break the rules of the palace."
It must be said that Zhao Qin, with his tall stature, graceful manners, and handsome face, naturally possessed a respectable gentlemanly bearing. Compared to Xiao Yu, he was less romantic and more composed. When he spoke in a clear and unhurried voice, even his enemies could not help but be convinced.
What's more, there is Chunyu Chang who has been annoying him repeatedly for comparison.
Liu Ao finally smiled: "Outside, we should naturally talk about the relationship between king and subject. But inside, Zijing, you should call me brother-in-law. We are family and there is no need to be so formal."
Zhao Qin didn't act too politely. He bowed gently with a smile on his face. "That being said, it's not good to open this door and embarrass Your Majesty."
"You, in this world, with a temperament like your brothers, I'm afraid you'll inevitably suffer in the future."
Liu Ao said, sighing softly: "Forget it, after all, I have your sister and I."
"Why did you come to see me today?"
Zhao Qin then stepped forward and said, "Before I report this matter, Your Majesty needs to see someone. This person is waiting outside."
"Oh? Who is it?"
"My elder brother's son, Zhao Xin."
"Since he is Zi Ke's son, why don't you come into the palace with him? Announce him now!"
"How could a commoner like Zhao Xin dare to enter the palace without being summoned?" Zhao Qin said, calling out to his back, "Xin'er, why don't you pay your respects to His Majesty?"
Liu Ao saw a young man with a handsome face but dark skin who came forward slowly when Zhao Qin called him. He was holding a wooden box less than two feet long and saluted with a bit of hesitation:
"I, Zhao Xin, pay my respects to Your Majesty."
"Get up now."
Liu Ao was very gentle towards this half-grown child. He called him up and then said to Zhao Qin, "Zijing, I have also seen this child. What do you want to tell me?"
Zhao Qin walked over to Zhao Xin. His usually calm demeanor trembled as he spoke again, "What I want to report is in this wooden box."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Xin cooperated and opened the wooden box. Inside were bunches of ordinary yet extraordinary rice.
Liu Ao was stunned at first, and when he looked up at Zhao Qin's flushed face and Zhao Xin's honest smile, he suddenly trembled all over for some reason, and an inexplicable premonition enveloped his heart.
“This, this is…”
"This year, the yield of one mu of land planted with this kind of rice can reach at least five dan, and some mu even yield ten dan."
Liu Ao stood up and ran to the two of them. He carefully took a rice ear from the wooden box and felt a surge of blood rushing from his heart and lungs to his head.
"Hahaha, good, good, God bless me, my great man! God bless me, my great man!"
He turned around and shouted to the attendant beside him: "Go and get the Grand Marshal, Lord Xiao, and the Grand Minister of Agriculture. Go quickly!"
………
Even without trying to figure it out, Zhao Hede could guess the atmosphere in the hall. Food is a long-term social problem, and it can even be said to be the only social problem.
Of course, for the Han Dynasty today, it can only delay its decline.
The real problem now is that those aristocratic families, famous families, and powerful people have occupied almost all the land in the country. No matter how much grain is grown in the land, only one tenth of it will fall into the hands of the people.
But governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. Zhao Hede knew very well that now the ruler is weak and the ministers are strong. Although the surrounding wolves dare not risk the world's condemnation and be the first person to break the rules, it is difficult for the emperor to wipe them out. If he is not careful, he will even face their counterattack.
That's why she let Zhao Xin take this path.
Who wouldn't want to grow more food in their fields? Promoting this kind of thing would not touch their sensitive nerves, but would win their hearts and minds and earn them a good reputation.
Even if only one tenth of these grains fall into the hands of the people, the base amount is large, and for the landlords, even a slight increase in their donations can help save many people.
These common people, like old oxen, could continue to endure as long as they still had a glimmer of hope to survive. Those who were more interested could only continue to lie dormant until they were torn to pieces by her.
These are all methods she is familiar with, and Zhao Hede doesn't mind continuing to carry them forward in the Han Dynasty.
Every bit of this Han Dynasty's kingdom belongs only to her and her son, as it always has in the past and will always be in the future.
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