Chapter 290 Infrastructure Mission: Earthquake Instrument Deployment in the Capital...
Qi Chengming sat motionless in the main hall, his mind racing with emotions, and no one disturbed him for a long time.
There wasn't even a single palace maid or eunuch peeking in at the door.
Gan Tang must have sensed something and stopped them from disturbing her. She was a steady and meticulous person, not very talkative, but her expression was quite interesting when she saw Qi Chengming make a mistake, which sometimes made Qi Chengming unable to resist doing something, and then she would nonchalantly help cover it up.
"..." Qi Chengming's mind was filled with these random thoughts. He stretched his stiff limbs and stood up, his face already smiling again. He called out to the outside, "Tell Aunt Fang to quickly make me a bowl of noodles, with some stir-fried mutton with scallions and a flatbread. The flatbread should be crispy and sprinkled with lots of sesame seeds."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The person guarding the door was indeed Gan Tang herself. She had just bowed when her Majesty urged her urgently, as if it were his life: "Hurry, hurry up! Don't make it so complicated. Have the imperial kitchen serve it as soon as possible. Clear soup noodles will do."
"Yes...!" Gan Tang couldn't remain calm any longer. She lifted her skirt and ran a few steps, quickly finding the fastest palace maid, Xiao Ju, and instructed her: "Go quickly, His Majesty is starving!"
The palace maid turned and ran away.
Qi Chengming stood behind the threshold, leaning against the doorframe, watching this scene, and let out a hearty laugh: "Hahaha!"
He hadn't eaten for most of the day and originally had no appetite at all; his stomach felt heavy and empty. But since making the decision just now and figuring out the origins of himself and his past life's experiences, his mood suddenly brightened, and he felt incredibly hungry.
"I've never felt...the future is so bright," Qi Chengming murmured.
The next day, Qi Chengming took the initiative to convene a grand court assembly.
The officials arrived in droves, their heads thronging as they whispered among themselves, inquiring about what had happened the day before. Why had His Majesty made such a grand spectacle to invite those ministers to the palace? Was it just a simple banquet? What right did they have to attend? Many were resentful and full of suspicion.
Yang Shou was particularly puzzled and silently watched those people without saying a word.
General Tao even came over to ask him what His Majesty meant yesterday, assuming that he was also one of the ministers who had entered the palace for the banquet. Only he and a few others knew that they had been asked to leave the main hall and had eaten their meal alone! Then they were politely invited out of the palace.
Yang Shou thought about it all night and could only vaguely guess that his cousin was planning something. Only those who guessed His Majesty's plan, or those ministers who had already reached a tacit understanding with him, could participate. Yang Shou was somewhat unwilling about this, but thinking that this was his own cousin, if his cousin asked him for something, he would do it.
Yang Shou calmed down and waited patiently for the grand court assembly to begin. He kept his eyes down and remained silent whenever anyone asked him a question.
Qi Chengming did not explain the meaning of yesterday's actions, but looked at Prince Ning, who had two dark circles under his eyes and had rushed back from Yanshi County overnight.
The Prince of Ning, who had been instructed to do so, stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, the first batch of sweet potatoes in Yanshi County has ripened! I approved 1,000 hectares of land, and after final calculations, we obtained about five million shi of grain."
Upon hearing this, even those officials who had already heard of the bountiful harvests from the experimental fields on the outskirts of Beijing couldn't help but sigh:
"...Hiss!" "So many..."
Qi Chengming was concerned about the adaptability of grain varieties to both northern and southern regions: "Are all the fields top-quality?"
“Yes, we didn’t deliberately differentiate between upper, middle, and lower fields back then. This is the total number.” Prince Ning said with a slight nervousness.
Last night, his elder brother summoned him in the dead of night, saying that if he spoke well today, he might not have to stay in Yanshi County for another two months. This made Prince Ning memorize the account books for half the night, and he was so excited that he almost cried.
Finally, I don't have to stay in this barren little county town anymore!
He hadn't thought much of it before, having grown up in the palace, but now Prince Ning only wanted to stay in the bustling capital and would never leave the city again.
At this moment, Prince Ning is risking his luck to ensure a successful response at today's grand court assembly!
"...Very good." Qi Chengming understood. It seemed that the grain seeds from the system store were indeed good seeds. The yield in the south was not low, and it would also be good for large-scale planting in the north. Although it was not comparable to modern times, it was already an unsurpassable miracle in this era.
"We'll have to take care of the remaining fields until September or October, right?" Qi Chengming deliberately didn't say what would happen to this batch of grain. He figured if it went into the Yanshi County warehouse, it would go into the Yanshi County warehouse. "Sixth brother, do a good job."
Upon hearing this, Prince Ning's expression nearly crumbled.
But before he could lose his composure, someone couldn't sit still any longer and hurriedly stepped forward to report: "Your Majesty, this is the first time that so much divine grain has been planted in Luoyang... Winter is approaching, and so many people are looking forward to next year's grain."
Zhang Ting muttered to herself.
They can talk their way out of a dead body! In the middle of summer, they can make it sound like winter is just around the corner!
Qi Chengming scanned the court and saw that many people's faces were moved, and they stepped forward to petition: "Your Majesty, please distribute grain seeds widely to relieve the people's worries!"
Soon, many reborn officials also joined in, following suit and making their own requests. The court was bustling with activity, as if everyone was of one mind.
"Alright then." Qi Chengming feigned being persuaded and confirmed, "The Prince of Ning's reforms in Yanshi County have been underway for quite some time now, and they're all very popular. So, shall we roll out this model in Luoyang City first?"
"Your Majesty is wise!" The ministers all knelt down, and there was no more decent opposition.
Those who bought factories and shops a few months ago, those who are now eyeing grain seeds, and those who missed the first few waves and want to make money, will no longer object to His Majesty's idea. Among them, there will certainly be a few who are unwilling... but the reborn ministers have already laid their cards on the table with their new emperor. This is the first task presented to them since they opened up; how could they possibly ruin it?
Naturally, they used every means to create momentum, coercing those unwilling ministers to agree!
"Sixth Brother, you've worked hard. You're familiar with this matter, so I'll hand it over to you when we return to Luoyang." With a casual remark, Qi Chengming freed Prince Ning from his duties in Yanshi County.
Prince Ning beamed with joy and replied firmly, "Thank you, Your Majesty!!"
"But—the cleanup in Yanshi County can't go wrong either." Qi Chengming warned him, giving him a subtle wink.
If you only care about returning to Luoyang to enjoy yourself and mess up your duties in Yanshi County, don't blame him for punishing you.
Prince Ning returned a subtle look that conveyed a sense of resignation to his fate.
For the sake of his newly repaired palace, he had to risk his life to return to Luoyang! Guaranteed to succeed!
...
In October, Yanshi County had a bumper harvest of the remaining grain.
Zhang Rui, the imperial envoy who remained there, methodically directed the county officials to conduct surveys in various places and report the good news to the palace.
When Qi Chengming received the letter, he glanced at the infrastructure system page and saw that all the tasks related to Yanshi County had now been terminated.
He glanced at the rewards, which were all things that would help Yanshi County develop. All of them added up to 800,000 shi of coarse rice and 21,000 bolts of homespun cloth.
Qi Chengming thought to himself, "This is just right."
The people of Luoyang are eager to distribute grain seeds, but they've taken away this year's harvest from Yanshi County. How are the farmers and people of Yanshi County supposed to survive? They've clearly grown so much grain, yet they have to endure hunger and hardship as before, barely managing to get through the winter.
Even without this reward, Qi Chengming had planned to compensate the farmers of Yanshi County. But now, with this batch of rice, grain, and cloth, the people of Yanshi County can have a prosperous winter.
That's more like it.
Why is it that in a county that got rich first through reform, no one is living a good life?
But the most noteworthy event in October was not the widespread distribution of grain seeds, but rather...
"Your Majesty, with the wedding date fast approaching, we dared not be negligent. We have inspected everything again, and all the canals and tunnels have been repaired. The twelve main roads have all been paved with cement, and each road has been left open. Now, except for those alleys and back alleys, along the riverbanks and behind houses, all the other roads are brand new. The city guards punish anyone who dumps filth on the ground with ten days of hard labor..."
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works led several senior officials in bowing deeply before returning to report back in detail.
Qi Chengming nodded in satisfaction, ignoring their anxious expressions as they waited to investigate, and focused his gaze on the air in front of him.
Of course he knew everything was taken care of.
The words "[Infrastructure Task: Luoyang City Sewers (Completed)]" and "[Infrastructure Task: Luoyang City Sanitation (Completed)]" have been flashing silently for a while now.
Qi Chengming had a habit of saving up his rewards to collect them all at once, so he looked at Zhao Guofang, who was kneeling silently to the side, and asked him, "How was it?"
In the eyes of the other officials of the Ministry of Works, this eunuch was the one His Majesty had sent to supervise the completion of the work; only when he spoke would His Majesty fully believe him. The senior officials fell silent for a moment, waiting for his reply.
Zhao Guofang understood the meaning, nodded vigorously, and affirmed with a double meaning, "Your Majesty, everything in the capital is ready!"
The third line of text then appeared before Qi Chengming's eyes:
[Infrastructure Task: Deployment of seismic instruments (incomplete)]
Objective 1: Deployment within Luoyang City (Completed)
This is a long-term mission. From now on, Zhao Guofang will be escorted by the Imperial Guards all over the country, and it is unknown when it will be completed.
Qi Chengming understood the situation and sighed, thinking to have them all rise and report: "Gentlemen, you have all worked hard and made great contributions. I know, this task has been handled well! Those who have made contributions should be rewarded, Xiao Dezi—"
"Yes." Xiao Dezi had been given this task by His Majesty half a year ago, and he was thinking about how to reward officials from His Majesty's private treasury in the future. Now he confidently went out to call someone to fetch the money.
The officials of the Ministry of Works excitedly responded in unison, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
They didn't know what His Majesty would reward them with, but they accepted it without worry, for His Majesty never shortchanged them in this regard.
They endured months of wind and sun, their skin roughened by pebbles and sand, doing the hardest and most tiring work, all for this moment, right?
After seeing off the jubilant group, Qi Chengming looked at the last task of the same period on the infrastructure task list—
[Infrastructure Task: Repair two princely palaces (Completed)]
—It also shows as completed.
He was puzzled.
The other three tasks were being handled by the same group of people, so it's normal for them to return together to report. But the Prince's Mansion had already been repaired? Qi Chengming had been busy reforming Luoyang City recently and hadn't had time to check the task list, so he'd forgotten about it. Why hadn't his uncle, the Imperial Clan Commander, replied?
Qi Chengming then called the man over and asked him questions.
"Your Majesty, the two princely residences were completed at the end of last month. However, Prince Ning wanted a grape garden, so he spent more money, which slowed down the construction. Now it is finished... We are waiting for an auspicious day to submit a memorial to request permission to move there."
As he spoke, the Imperial Clan Commander glanced at Qi Chengming, his meaning quite clear. The repairs were finished, but there was still no movement; everyone was waiting for His Majesty's wedding.
Who dares to rival His Majesty's brilliance this October?
The ministers handled the trivial matters in the court on their own. No one was so tactless as to bother His Majesty recently. So even the Imperial Clan Court Master did not reply. He waited until His Majesty was married before reporting this small matter. The two princes came to offer their congratulations, and then the matter was moved.
Judging by the timeline, Qi Chengming's wedding is scheduled for October 9th, which is only five days away. No wonder they didn't want to disturb him.
Qi Chengming chuckled.
Thinking that he would soon have a wife, Qi Chengming was overwhelmed with mixed feelings and couldn't help but drift into a daze: "..."
After a while, he came to his senses. His uncle, the head of the clan, had not yet taken his leave. The old man was looking at him with an exceptionally kind expression, his wrinkles smoothing out, and he looked very pleased.
Qi Chengming, unusually embarrassed, quickly dismissed his elders and diverted their attention with a new wave of rewards:
"...I have other matters to attend to, so I won't keep you any longer, Grandfather!"
This angered the old man, Zongrenling, who was still grumbling as he left: "Hmph, you call me grandpa and I can't even watch your jokes anymore? I'm going to go and reason with your real grandpa!"
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