Chapter 823 Five Years Later (Part 12) Bi Qionglan
The sky was pitch black, and the only sound in the quiet of Duoshou's house on the outskirts of Chang'an was the whistling wind.
After sleeping for just over an hour, Xu Jingzhen dressed and tidied himself up in the dark. He then took off the purse from his waist and placed it on the table, considering it a token of gratitude to Duo Shou for arranging the memorial service for Fang Chengxian.
The snow must have been falling for a long time from yesterday afternoon until last night. The snow on the ground was as thick as a person's ankles. Xu Jingzhen tiptoed to the donkey shed and led his horse out of the yard.
Xu Jingzhen turned around and took one last look at the direction halfway up the mountain, using the moonlight reflecting off the snow. No one knew what he was thinking at that moment.
Using his waist and abdomen to propel himself up on his horse, Xu Jingzhen gripped the reins tightly, his legs gripping the horse's flanks, and rode alone back to Chang'an against the icy wind.
Thanks to Xu Jingzhen's superb horsemanship, when he arrived at Anhua Gate, the city gate was wide open, and many people waiting in line outside the city were waiting to be inspected before entering.
"Doctor Xu?"
Following the sound, Xu Jingzhen looked behind him, "General Zhou!"
After speaking to the young general who was also riding a horse beside him, General Zhou, who was wearing armor, rode up to Xu Jingzhen's side.
Xu Jingzhen's gaze went from General Zhou to the hundreds of troops behind him, with a dozen or so horse-drawn carriages loaded with large wooden crates protecting the middle of the procession.
After a moment's thought, Xu Jingzhen realized what General Zhou and his troops were doing in Chang'an.
The two rode their horses to a quiet open space near the city gate to chat, clearly indicating that waiting in line would take some time.
"It's been over a year since I last saw you, Dr. Xu is still as refined and elegant as ever."
Unlike me, I'm three years younger than Doctor Xu. Just look at my face! Tell me, my precious daughter was terrified and cried when she saw me the other day.”
The fact that General Zhou started chatting casually with Xu Jingzhen right away shows that the two have a really good relationship.
To be honest, there are indeed some stories behind this.
Back then, due to the opium case, the officials in the court agreed to send troops south to conquer the southern lands. Although most of the soldiers were Du Qinghui's Du family army, it was naturally more convenient for the navy to travel south by boat.
However, in the imperial court, let alone Emperor Wu, how could these cunning politicians, who had eight hundred tricks up their sleeves, really trust the Du family army to go alone?
Therefore, in the early stages, the majority of the troops dispatched were indeed the Du family army, but some Imperial Guards and members of the Bad People were also mixed in.
After winning the first battle, the number of land troops was increased. Many soldiers were drawn from the various imperial guards and the personal guards led by Emperor Wu, and sent to Jiangnan East Road to travel south by boat.
Upon arriving in the south, they launched a direct landing operation, and within a year, the entire southern region was essentially brought under the control of the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, it was only then that a small country in the south sent an envoy to Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Wu.
General Zhou brought his troops to Chang'an this time because he had been tasked with escorting a portion of ores and rare treasures from the south to present to Emperor Wu.
As for why General Zhou and Xu Jingzhen had such a good relationship?
This is because when General Zhou was sent to fight in the south, the person who delivered supplies and pay to him was Xu Jingzhen, who was then the Assistant Minister of War.
You must understand that war is all about logistics.
In particular, many soldiers from the north were not used to the climate in the south after they went south, and many of them fell ill. At that time, it was thanks to Xu Jingzhen that a large number of medicinal materials from Lingnan East Road, which is closest to the south, were able to be transferred there. Otherwise, who knows how many more people would have died.
Therefore, General Zhou always remembered this favor.
For the next two years, the two maintained a good relationship, the kind where they would exchange New Year's gifts.
With his beard, Xu Jingzhen's face was definitely more youthful and handsome than General Zhou's, who was exposed to the elements. This was something that General Zhou, a rough man, greatly envied.
Xu Jingzhen smiled but didn't respond to that question. Instead, she asked, "Is it because the year is almost over and they've sent tribute over?"
General Zhou shook his head. "No, it's just some unusual items that are supposed to be delivered on the appointed day."
As for the tribute, although it's not under my jurisdiction, I've heard it should arrive within the next few days.
The two chatted for a few more minutes before ending the conversation.
Xu Jingzhen rode his horse into the city. After entering Chang'an, Xu Jingzhen, who was standing at the gate of Anhua, looked back and saw a green-robed official get out of a sedan chair and hurriedly run in the direction of General Zhou.
Upon returning to Chang'an, Xu Jingzhen didn't even go home; he went straight to the Ministry of War to take up his post.
As noon approached, Xu Jingzhen, who had spent the morning reading various official documents, was about to get up and stretch his legs when a court official led in a eunuch dressed in palace attendant's robes.
"Physician Xu, His Majesty has summoned you to the palace for a meeting!"
When Xu Jingzhen strode quickly into the large square outside the Taiji Palace, there were already four people around him.
Leaving aside the Ministry of War official who was in charge of coordinating the southern expeditionary war, the person in front of him was the Minister of Personnel, and the two people beside him were the Vice Minister of Rites and the Vice Minister of Works.
Behind the three of them was Ning Yizheng, the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Xu Jingzhen thought to himself, "Could this be some big news coming from the South?"
Therefore, the sage summoned so many people to the palace to discuss matters.
After they entered the Taiji Hall, they were led by an attendant to a side hall.
As soon as he entered, Xu Jingzhen saw a dozen or so officials dressed in scarlet robes sitting at the front. He glanced around and found that almost all the officials from the three provinces and six ministries were present.
Moreover, those who came were all heads of various departments, the kind who could make decisions.
Xu Jingzhen quickly found the Minister of War. When the Minister of War saw Xu Jingzhen arrive, he handed him a copy of the memorial that had been issued earlier.
Xu Jingzhen bowed and quickly accepted the book, then took a step back, found a chair, sat down, and began to read.
Upon opening the memorial, the first thing that caught Xu Jingzhen's eye was a beautiful piece of small regular script. As Xu Jingzhen continued reading, she saw that it was a joint memorial to the Emperor from two female officials.
The writer was Jiang Yijun, a fifth-rank female official close to Emperor Wu, and the co-author was Bi Qionglan, a sixth-rank female official of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The memorial described the results of the two men's experimental farming in the south. Bi Qionglan improved the seeds and farming methods, taught people to cultivate the land meticulously, and had the assistance of the curved plow and seed drill improved by the Ministry of Works official (Chang Siyuan).
The two most important ones are: first, it states that Jiang Yijun proposed and successfully tested the composting method, which can increase yields by 30% in high-quality fields!
Secondly, with the combination of the above three factors, it is not only possible to have three harvests a year in the south, but the final yield is also unimaginably large!
Finally, Bi Qionglan and Jiang Yijun's idea was to ask the Emperor to send troops and people to make the South a permanent granary of the Tang Dynasty!
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