Even though most people did not want to buy these new crops to plant, the government had already begun to supervise door to door. In the end, most people had no choice but to buy some seeds of the new crops and plant them at home. As for the fresh vegetable seeds, they had no intention of trying them. Only a few people bought some and planted them in their own vegetable gardens.

The governor arranged a number of people to post notices everywhere, telling the people how to grow these two crops and those vegetables.

When planting potatoes, you need to place them in a bright and ventilated place to germinate. After germination, cut the sprouted potatoes into pieces. Each piece should have at least one or two buds. The cut parts of the potato pieces should be rolled and wiped with wood ash. This can disinfect and prevent viruses, increase the survival rate and yield.

The next step is soil selection, applying farmyard manure, and then deep tilling the soil.

In this way, after the potatoes sprout, they can be cut into pieces and disinfected before being planted directly. The spacing between the potatoes and the soil layers are clearly written on the notice. It also specifies in detail how to water the potatoes, when to apply organic fertilizer again, and how much organic fertilizer to apply.

Sweet potato planting is a little more troublesome. First of all, you have to dig the ridges and apply fertilizer. All of them are farmyard manure. However, it is better to apply farmyard manure for sweet potatoes.

Then it is time to sow the seeds, and when the seedlings emerge, you have to cut the seedlings off for cuttings, and then you have to decide how to fertilize, how to straighten the seedlings, and remove the excess branches and leaves, etc. Even these excess branches and leaves can be eaten as a dish, stir-fried, mixed with salads, or cooked with miscellaneous grains. When the leaves are a little older and not very delicious, you can peel the stems and break them off and stir-fry them with a little vinegar and chili, which is very delicious with rice, or stir-fried with shredded pork, which tastes great.

Pei Weixuan figured out how to grow these two crops to increase their yield over the past two years while having the islanders grow them.

After Xu Qinyu learned that the prefect had begun to let the people in the southwest grow sweet potatoes and potatoes, she asked her tenants to buy half of the seeds to grow potatoes and sweet potatoes.

She paid the tenants a relatively high rent, so the tenants were quite grateful and trusted her. Without saying much, the tenants bought all the seeds and came back to plant them according to the instructions on the notice.

Despite this, most people still feel a little unsure.

However, two months later, when the people saw the lush fields, they were no longer worried. The leaves of these crops were so lush, and the fruits and grains below must be good. Even if the yield per acre was not as high as the governor said, it should not be much different from the grain produced before. They were new crops, and no one knew how they tasted. Would they be the same as beans?

They didn't even dare to try the seeds that were used for sowing before, as no one was willing to eat the seeds.

The people in the southwest were anxious at first, but eventually they felt at ease.

Xu Qinyu's life did not change much. She spent all day around the restaurant. She also bought a lot of fruit trees on the mountain she rented before and asked people to plant them.

After surviving last year's drought, the people of Zhongzhou have received donations of crop seeds this year. Although most of them are grains and beans, without fine wheat and millet, the people of Zhongzhou are still very satisfied. With these seeds, they can plant them this year and have a way to survive when the autumn harvest comes.

In addition to seeds of various beans and grains, there are also some potato and sweet potato seeds.

Some families were only given potatoes and sweet potato seeds. They were confused as to what they were. Fortunately, the people who gave them potatoes and sweet potatoes also explained to the people how to grow these new crops. They also comforted them by saying, "I heard that these two new crops can produce thousands of kilograms per mu. If the yield is really that high, you can have enough food to eat all year round."

How many thousand kilograms of rice can be produced per mu?

Everyone was even more confused, and someone couldn't help asking, "Well, has anyone grown crops that yielded thousands of kilograms per acre?"

The man hesitated and said, "I haven't heard of this. It has just been planted in large quantities in the southwest. However, the governor there and the caravans that discovered this crop said that the yield per mu can be several thousand kilograms. I don't think it's a lie."

That is to say, ordinary people had never grown this new crop before and had no idea of ​​its yield per acre.

Therefore, the people who were allocated potatoes and sweet potatoes were still worried. They had no idea whether these grains could be grown successfully. Some grains are suitable for growing in the south, and some are suitable for growing in the north. Potatoes and sweet potatoes can be grown in the southwest, but can they really be grown here, more than 3,000 miles away?

But they had no choice. All their money had been used to buy food. They were penniless and heavily in debt. They had no money to buy other bean seeds, so they could only use these potato and sweet potato seeds, wait for the seeds to germinate, plant them according to the taught method, water them and apply fertilizer, and the rest was up to fate.

However, two months later, when summer arrived, some people in Zhongzhou felt relieved when they saw the lush greenery in the fields. They thought that if the crops could survive, there would definitely be a harvest.

…

The capital city has already entered the beginning of summer.

The four seasons in Duxun are quite distinct, and the summer is quite hot.

Empress Dowager Fu and the new emperor also went to the summer resort. Even when they went to the summer resort, they were accompanied by countless ministers. The affairs of state could not be neglected, and they had to review memorials every day.

Empress Dowager Fu originally wanted to take her younger brother, Prince of Handong, to the summer resort, but Prince of Handong was unwilling to go. He knew that many ministers in the court disapproved of him. Moreover, with so many people present and his elder sister in charge, it would be inconvenient for him to do anything. So he did not want to go and stayed in the capital.

On this day, the King of Handong was sitting in his sedan chair on his way to Jixianglou for dinner. There were many chefs in the King of Handong's palace, but some of Jixianglou's signature dishes were never tasted to his liking by the chefs in the palace. Most of the time, he would call the chefs from Jixianglou to the palace to cook for him, but occasionally he was willing to make a trip and go to Jixianglou to eat in person.

He was sitting in a gorgeous sedan chair inlaid with many pearls, jade and gems, with an ice basin inside. Two maids were kneeling beside him and gently helping him to lower his legs, and there were many followers following him outside.

The surrounding merchants, vendors setting up stalls, and people on the street, when they saw the sedan, all moved away in a hurry.

The King of Handong was already in his forties, very tall and rather stout. Ever since his elder sister became the Queen Mother and named him the King of Handong, he indulged in eating, drinking and having fun, becoming fatter every year. Now he was tall and fat, with a big belly. He sat in the sedan chair drowsy, and after a while he came to himself, motioned to the maid to lift the curtain and look outside. In front of a clay figurine stall, he saw a woman with snow-white skin and a beautiful face.

The young woman should be in her twenties, but she was very charming. She had a gentle smile on her face, her eyebrows were curved, and she had a light powder on her face. Her eyebrows were like smoke. She wore a crescent-colored embroidered jacket and a long skirt of the same color. There were two maids following her, talking to her.

The woman also showed the clay figurine in her hand to the two maids and said something to them. From beginning to end, she had a gentle smile on her face.

King Handong's eyes suddenly lit up. He waved to the guards outside the sedan chair and gestured to the woman in front of the clay figurine booth. The guards nodded and left quietly.

The woman who was buying clay figurines at the stall was none other than Qi Zhiqing, the youngest married daughter of the Taifu family.

She had just returned from her husband's family a few days ago. Her husband's family was not in the capital. She married the eldest son of the Tongzhou prefect. Her husband was also well-versed in literature and etiquette. He was selected as the top scholar in the imperial examination this year and would stay in the Hanlin Academy in the capital in the future. Her parents-in-law were sensible and allowed her to bring her two children back to the capital to stay with her husband.

Her husband's family bought a house in the capital, but she and her husband just moved to the capital and are currently living with her parents. Her mother has been feeling unwell recently, so she plans to stay at her parents' house for a few more days. Her husband is also willing to live at his parents-in-law's house so that his wife can stay with them for a while longer.

Qi Zhiqing took her two maids out for a stroll today and happened to see some clay figurines. She planned to buy two for her twin daughters to play with, so she picked out two. After choosing the clay figurines, she strolled around the market with her maids, and then got on the carriage to return to the Taifu Mansion.

Although the Taifu Mansion was right at the foot of the Imperial City, there were not many people coming and going at noon, and all the wealthy families in the alleys were tightly closed. Only Qi Zhiqing was there with two maids and a coachman driving a carriage.

When they were almost in front of the Taifu Mansion, two horse-drawn carriages suddenly passed by, followed by a number of guards. The guards came up and chopped the coachman on the back with a knife, and the coachman fell to the ground.

The carriage stopped suddenly, and Qi Zhiqing was also startled. The two maids lifted the curtain to find out what was going on, but were also hit on the neck by the guards who came up, and fell to the ground.

Qi Zhiqing realized that something had happened and was about to call for help, but the guard covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief. She only felt a strange fragrance entering her nostrils, and then she lost consciousness.

When Qi Zhiqing woke up, she found herself in a very luxurious room, filled with beautiful colored glass ornaments.

She knew that these colored glass ornaments were only available in some extremely wealthy families. Even some officials' families could not afford these colored glass ornaments because they were too expensive.

Qi Zhiqing's face changed slightly and she looked around hurriedly. She was lying on a bed. The gauze curtains on the bed and the bedding under her were all the most expensive in the capital. There were only a hundred batches of expensive gauze and fabrics that would be presented to the palace as tribute every year.

Qi Zhiqing sat up, got off the bed and wanted to go out. Her clothes were still neat and tidy, and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. However, she didn't dare to be careless for the time being. This place was full of luxury, and she didn't know whose mansion this was.

She didn't know where this place was, but the maid and the coachman were both in trouble, so she must have been abducted here.

At this moment, she just wanted to get out of the door first. Just as she reached the door, she heard footsteps coming from outside. Qi Zhiqing hurriedly hid behind a very tall vase in the corner.

The door creaked open and she saw the shadow of a tall, fat man on the ground...

Qi Zhiqing's face suddenly turned pale because she thought of some things her mother had told her.

Mother told her that a few days after she got married, Empress Dowager Fu named her own brother the King of Handong. The King of Handong was a tall, strong and fat man who was greedy for beauty and pleasure. He had robbed many women from the people and even the granddaughter of Lord Chongming. In the end, she was married to the King of Handong as a concubine by imperial decree. Mother also told her to bring a maid with her when she went out, and it was better to go out less, for fear that something might happen...

Qi Zhiqing's face was pale, her little face was extremely pale, she knew what might happen to her.

King Handong pushed open the door and walked around the screen, but he did not see the beautiful woman on the bed. There were guards guarding outside, so the person inside must not have gone out and was still in the room.

The King of Handong laughed, "My beauty, are you going to play hide-and-seek with me? This is a new way to play, I have never played it before. My beauty, please hide well. If I find you, you will marry me..."

Qi Zhiqing huddled behind the vase, trembling, watching the fat figure approaching step by step.

She knew that if the King of Handong found her, she would die. She would rather die by hitting her head against a pillar than be defiled by such a person...

…

The Handong Palace is a relatively remote courtyard. Even though it is a relatively remote garden, there are still many precious flowers and plants inside. In the courtyard, there are rockery and flowing water, and all kinds of precious koi in the fish pond. There are even two colored glass lanterns hanging under the eaves, and the windows in the entire courtyard are made of colored glass, which shows the favoritism of the master inside towards the people living in the courtyard.

There were many maids and old women guarding the corridor outside the courtyard.

Inside the room, on a concubine's couch, covered with a soft quilt woven with precious silk, lay a gorgeous little lady.

The little woman's face and lips were slightly pale. She had her eyes tightly closed, and her long eyelashes were trembling constantly.

She is the eldest granddaughter of Lord Chongming, the fourth Miss Zhang.

She was extremely beautiful. Even though her face was a little pale and she was still bedridden, she still exuded a stunning beauty.

She had been ill a few days ago and had been in low spirits for the past few days. She had just taken medicine and gone to bed an hour ago. She slept very uneasily, as if she had dreamed of something. She had cold sweat on her forehead and her eyelashes were trembling. Then Zhang Mingzhu suddenly opened her eyes, looked at the layout around her, and was slightly stunned, her eyes widened in disbelief.

What happened? Wasn't she dead?

Died under the green lamp of the ancient Buddha.

Why did she open her eyes again? And the scenery in front of her looked familiar. It was obviously the courtyard where she lived when she was a concubine in the Handong Palace before Prince Shu inherited the throne.

Obviously, King Shu had killed the new emperor and Queen Mother Fu, as well as all the descendants of King Handong. But King Shu did not kill her. He even released the poor princess and let them return to their parents' home. However, neither she nor the princess were willing to go back to their parents' home. Later, she and the princess went to a nunnery and stayed under the green lamp and ancient Buddha.

The princess had always treated her very well, almost as well as her mother's age. When she was abducted to the palace, the princess also tried to persuade the King of Handong, but the king locked her up and did not allow her to do anything wrong. Later, she stayed in the palace, and the princess had always treated her very well.

However, the princess died of illness ten years after King Shu ascended the throne. She did not last many years. Her health deteriorated and she died within a few years.

Zhang Mingzhu didn't know what was going on. King Shu had clearly ascended the throne, and she had already gone to a nunnery and died of illness. Why was she back in the Handong Palace now?

She was originally abducted to the palace by the King of Handong when she was only fifteen or sixteen years old. Her father was so angry that he took up his sword and went to the palace, asking the Queen Mother to punish the King of Handong. However, the Queen Mother issued an imperial edict to make her the King of Handong's concubine.

It’s not like Daddy hasn’t come to the palace to rob people before, but he never even entered the palace gate each time. In addition, because he made such a fuss, the reputation of other sisters and women in the family was affected. She was worried that he would harm her family, so she asked Daddy not to come to the palace again...

Thinking of these past events that happened a lifetime ago, Zhang Mingzhu still remembers them vividly. She wishes she could eat their flesh and drink their blood.

Later, when the King of Handong was killed, she snatched the swords from the guards and stabbed the fat corpse dozens of times, leaving holes all over the King's body before she stopped.

Zhang Mingzhu thought this was a dream she was having before she died. The dream took her back to the place she feared the most. She pinched her thigh hard, and the pain made her cry.

Zhang Mingzhu was stunned. It wasn't a dream?

So she really went back to more than ten years ago, when she was still in the palace?

But she was clearly dead, why did this happen? Could it be that God felt sorry for her and let her live again? If he felt sorry for her and wanted to give her another chance to live, why didn't he let her go back to the time before she was abducted by the King of Handong, but now?

By the way, what time is it now?

Zhang Mingzhu called the maid in and asked what year and month it was.

The maid said, "Madam, today is the eighth day of the fifth month of the fifth year of Yuanqi...Are you okay, Madam? Are you still feeling unwell? How about I ask the doctor to come over?"

Has it already been five years since the Yuanqi Emperor? It seems that the Shu King waited until the tenth year to come to the capital and chop off the heads of the dog emperor and the evil queen mother.

She remembered what happened in the fifth year of Yuanqi? It seemed that there was a great disaster in Zhongzhou. The Queen Mother and the new emperor only cared about their own pleasures and ignored the victims. Later, the world began to be in chaos. No, there was something else. She remembered that the first uprising team was because of the countless people who died in the drought in Zhongzhou. There was another reason...

Zhang Mingzhu jumped down from the imperial concubine's couch, without even having time to put on her embroidered shoes, and ran out of the yard in her slippers.

She remembered that in the fifth year of Yuanqi, in addition to the chaos in the world, there was also an event that led to the people's uprising. The first uprising team was organized by Taifu Qi.

The reason why Taifu Qi started the uprising was that his youngest daughter, Qi Zhiqing, who was already married off, was abducted by King Handong and raped. Qi Zhiqing refused to be raped, so she hit her head against a pillar and died. After that, Taifu Qi resigned and left the capital with his entire family, returning to his hometown. Then Taifu Qi called on the first uprising team.

Even though she knew that this was the most important link in the uprising team, and that it was because of Qi Zhiqing's death that Master Qi resigned and later helped with the uprising. Even though she also wanted things to go on as they did in her previous life and King Shu ascended the throne in the end, she still couldn't just stand by and watch. Too many girls had been harmed by this King of Handong, and Qi Zhiqing was one of them. She didn't want such a poor girl to die in vain.

She knew that not long after Qi Zhiqing's death, the wife of the Grand Tutor could not bear the blow and died of illness. Qi Zhiqing's husband, who was the newly crowned top scholar, also left the capital with his two daughters to follow his father-in-law to avenge his wife. Later, Qi Zhiqing's husband also died in the war, and the two children followed Grand Tutor Qi and were also displaced. Finally, after King Shu ascended the throne, she had no idea about the whereabouts of Grand Tutor Qi and Qi Zhiqing's two children.

She remembered that the day Qi Zhiqing was abducted back to the palace was today.

Zhang Mingzhu ran to the King of Handong's courtyard, panting.

The princess disliked her husband's evil nature and had long since stopped living in the same courtyard with him, instead living in another courtyard. Therefore, the King of Handong always lived alone in the main courtyard.

There were still many guards guarding the main courtyard. They recognized Zhang Mingzhu and knew that the prince was doing something in the house. If the concubine saw them, the prince would definitely blame them.

"My queen, no one can enter without the prince's permission."

Zhang Mingzhu shouted, "Get out of the way! Don't block my way! I'll have the prince kill you!"

These people are nothing but running dogs of the King of Handong. Without them, so many innocent women would not have been abducted.

Some women, after being captured and defiled by the King of Handong, felt bored and would have the guards throw them out of the palace. Although their lives were not taken, these girls were defiled and they dared not speak out after returning home and could only endure it silently.

Besides her, there were two other girls staying in the palace. All of them were good-looking, but she was the most beautiful, and King Handong loved her the most. Perhaps it was because she had been very stern with King Handong in the past few years and had never given in, King Handong seemed to be quite fond of her, so he was quite obedient to her. However, she hated King Handong so much that she had never spoken to him in a nice tone, and was even like a wooden stick in front of him, hardly saying a word.

The guard was well aware of the position of the concubine in the prince's mind, and after hesitating for a moment, he did not dare to stop her.

Zhang Mingyue ran into the yard holding up her skirt, and then saw that the door was closed. She rushed over and tried to push it open, but found that it was bolted from the inside. She also heard the sound of porcelain falling to the ground, followed by a girl's scream.

Zhang Mingzhu was anxious, and banged on the door vigorously and shouted: "Prince, Prince, are you in there? Prince, I have something to talk to you about."

The movement inside seemed to stop.

Zhang Mingzhu waited for a while, thinking that the King of Handong would not come out. She was about to kick the door, but it was opened from the inside. The tall and fat figure of the King of Handong appeared in front of her. Zhang Mingzhu suppressed the disgust in her heart, looked into the room and said, "Prince, did you bring another woman back to the mansion? The maids in my courtyard saw it. Prince, didn't you say that I was the person you loved most in your life? You will not let other women into the mansion in the future. Why did you lie to me?"

The King of Handong did not expect that she came here because she was jealous that he had brought another woman back home.

Among all the princesses, concubines and matrons in his harem, he liked Zhang Mingzhu the most, because she was the most beautiful and was a famous stunning beauty in the capital.

King Handong laughed and said, "Mingzhu, what are you talking about? Of course, I mean what I say. But you have always been very cold to me, and I feel bad, so I brought another woman back to the palace. If you were willing to be a little nice to me, why would I bring another woman back?"

Zhang Mingzhu ignored him and squeezed in beside him, where she saw Qi Zhiqing trembling in the corner.

Zhang Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the man was still alive and did not hit the pillar. Although his clothes were a little messy, they were probably torn when he was running and chasing just now. He was fine and not defiled. There was still time for everything.