26 Chapter 026
◎After the snowstorm◎
Snow fell in April, a strange and unprecedented thing, and it came so quietly.
Overnight, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and northern Henan were all covered in snow. The early summer flowers and plants had no chance to display their most vivid colors before they were ruthlessly interrupted by the heavy snow. Rivers froze, snow blocked roads, fields lost their vitality, and houses were in danger. In the face of natural disasters, everything seemed particularly insignificant.
When the news reached the palace, Xie Mingzhuo was practicing shooting.
Not a bow and arrow, but a hand cannon.
This pistol was unusual; it was a birthday gift carefully prepared for her by her mother and elder brother.
The two of them had previously spent their days and nights in the Armament Bureau just to study flintlock rifles.
The current steps of loading and firing muskets are quite complicated, and they are bulky and inconvenient to carry.
On this basis, the two men, together with professionals from the Armory who were proficient in the manufacture of muskets, worked backwards from the theoretical results and created the first flintlock rifle in Daqi.
The flintlock rifle greatly simplified the shooting process and was smaller and lighter, so it could be used as a secret weapon when traveling.
Xie Mingzhuo knew they were worried about him.
Besides the flintlock, she received other special gifts.
Her father gave her two portraits, saying that they were drawn based on his memory, one of Prince Liang and the other of Prince Liang's son.
Xie Changfeng's painting skills are beyond words. As long as the real person is not much different from the one in his memory, he can recognize them whenever he sees them.
However, the emperor met Prince Liang more than ten years ago. At that time, Prince Liang was only in his forties, but now he is over sixty.
The Prince of Liang is already over thirty years old, and compared to a decade ago, he has probably changed a lot.
His second brother said that the gift would be delivered in a few days. Xie Mingzhuo probably guessed that it was related to the newspaper, but he didn't know what it was specifically.
The gifts given by the Meng family are quite practical.
My uncle gave me an ancient book, my aunt gave me a set of jewelry suitable for young girls, my cousin Meng Fan embroidered a picture of pine and crane herself, and my cousin Meng Jian made a wooden mechanical bird himself.
The brother and sister are both skilled in embroidery, one is an excellent embroidery worker, and the other is an extraordinary mechanical engineer. Both are technical talents.
Prince An also gave a set of headgear, which was quite valuable. No one could say that his gift was bad, but this set of headgear was more suitable for older women.
Compared with Prince An, the gift from Princess Jiashan really touched Xie Mingzhuo's heart.
I had just promised a few days ago to pay attention to glass manufacturing technology, and yesterday I gave it to her as a birthday present.
With the "sponsorship" of Duke Jingguo and technical support, the glass factory can be put on the agenda.
Xie Mingzhuo was making plans in his mind, but the gun in his hand did not tilt at all, and every bullet hit the bull's eye.
Thanks to her keen five senses and daily practice, her shooting skills have steadily improved.
With the blessing of the "divine power" of the golden finger, she can now draw Sanshi's bow and aim at the moving bull's eye at the same time.
Few people knew about this. Even Jiang Qing, who practiced with her on weekdays, didn't know her true level.
"Your Highness, Second Young Master Lu requests to see you." Feng Caiyu came to report.
Xie Mingzhuo put down his pistol.
More than half a month ago, she asked Lu Er to run a pig farm, which triggered subsequent events.
For more than half a month, she had been busy preventing snow disasters and investigating the affairs of Duke Jingguo, and she had almost forgotten about the pig farm.
Thanks to Lu Er's diligence.
She put away her pistol and headed towards Wenhua Hall.
With her permission, Lu Er was free to enter and leave the palace, but Xie Mingzhuo agreed with him to only hold meetings in the Wenhua Hall.
The golden sunlight brushed across the palace walls, covering the camphor trees in the courtyard and casting mottled shadows.
Lu Fang lowered his head and silently observed the area around the tree roots. Several ants were carrying food with difficulty and lined up to go to the ant nest.
An ant fell behind and chose a more rugged route. It trembled its antennae anxiously, but could not climb over the steep slope.
Lu Fang squatted down, picked up a leaf, and gently moved it with the tip of the leaf to help it successfully cross the steep slope.
After a while, the ants caught up with the team and he couldn't help laughing.
"Have you been waiting for a long time?" A voice came from far away.
Lu Fang suddenly came back to his senses, quickly stood up and straightened his clothes, and subconsciously said, "I didn't wait long."
Then he remembered to bow: "Humble..."
"No thanks." Xie Mingzhuo walked past him and said, "Come in."
The two of them entered the side room of Wenhua Hall and sat down. After Feng Caiyu served them tea, Xie Mingzhuo spoke.
"Go ahead."
Lu Fang calmed himself down, took out a thin booklet from his sleeve, and handed it to Feng Caiyu, who then placed it on the desk in front of Xie Mingzhuo.
"Princess, the pig farm has been renovated. We currently have 2,000 piglets, 800 sows, and 600 breeding pigs. Once we have adequate management staff and sufficient feed, we will continue to expand the breeding."
Xie Mingzhuo flipped through his work report and nodded with satisfaction: "Well done."
In just half a month, the pig farm was back on track and very efficient.
Lu Fang scratched the back of his head shyly: "That's all I know."
"Specializing in one thing is also a great skill," Xie Mingzhuo praised generously. "You work diligently, and you deserve a reward. Remember you like apples, so I'll give you some more."
"Princess, can I change one?" Lu Fang asked with courage.
Xie Mingzhuo nodded: "You go ahead."
"I..." He clenched his fists, his eyes downcast, "I want to introduce some other pig breeds to see if I can breed pigs with tastier meat and better suited for farming."
Xie Mingzhuo was surprised: "How did you think of this?"
Hybrids are indeed indispensable in modern breeding, and hybridization is quite common in the development of agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry.
But this is Qi Chao.
It is really surprising that a native of Qi Dynasty could come up with hybrid breeding.
Lu Fang thought she thought he was being ridiculous, so he pursed his lips and said, "I just saw that fruit trees can be grafted, so maybe pigs can too. I heard there's a kind of white pig in Lingnan that has tender meat, matures early and is easy to fatten, and has high breeding potential. I want to try raising a few, but I won't breed them for now."
"You can raise them and breed them," Xie Mingzhuo encouraged with a smile. "You can write down any ideas you have in your work report."
Lu Fang quickly looked up, his face full of joy: "Really?!"
"Of course." Xie Mingzhuo paused and reminded, "If you have any insights and achievements during the breeding process, you can also record them. When the time is right, you can compile them into a book to benefit the people of the world."
Lu Fang's eyes lit up instantly, and a flame suddenly ignited in his heart, burning brighter and brighter as he imagined.
He never thought that he could write a book, and the princess actually trusted him so much!
Although he didn't think he could do it, he still said with full enthusiasm: "I will definitely live up to the princess's trust."
"Well, this isn't really a reward," Xie Mingzhuo said. "I'll still give you the apple."
*
When the news of the snowstorm reached the capital, the emperor urgently summoned the cabinet ministers to discuss the matter in Wuying Hall.
Officials were previously skeptical about the "April snowfall" warning, but now they are completely convinced.
Thanks to the early implementation of the wheat harvest plan, the people in the three places were spared from falling into despair and chaos.
It is said that nearly 80% of the wheat in the three areas has been harvested, and the remaining 20% was harvested either because it was too late or the farmers resisted desperately.
Among them, fully mature wheat accounts for 30%.
Don't underestimate this 30%. In previous years, after farmers paid grain tax and various miscellaneous taxes, they only had 30% left for themselves, or maybe even less.
Farmers who cooperated with the court's decrees were naturally grateful and happy, but those who tried to resist the decrees and delay time were all dumbfounded when heavy snow fell.
Of course, the imperial court would not sit idly by.
From the perspective of the farmers, the court could understand their emotions.
The theme of this meeting is how to provide disaster relief after the snow.
The relief grain donated by merchants could only support temporary needs. The court had to estimate the extent of the disaster and then allocate funds for relief accordingly.
Disaster reports from the three regions flew into the central government offices like snowflakes.
Heavy snow fell for five days and five nights in a row. The snow piled up half a person's height, blocking the road and making it temporarily impossible for vehicles and horses to pass. They could only wait for the snow to melt.
Henan is divided by Shangqiu, Kaifeng and Luoyang. To the north of the dividing line, there was heavy snow, while near the dividing line there was only one day of light snow. Further south, the sky was clear.
A village in Huaiqing Prefecture.
The villagers were trapped in thick snow. The chicken coops and toilets were collapsed by the snow, and even the beams of the main house were in danger.
The village chief called on the young and strong men to clear several roads leading to the village ancestral hall.
The ancestral hall was built with donations from wealthy families who left the village. It is made of bricks and tiles and is much sturdier than a house with earthen walls and thatched roofs.
The snow on the tiles has been cleared, and the yard and the area near the walls have also been shoveled clean.
In order to prevent the accumulated snow from collapsing the roofs and injuring the villagers, the village chief decided that everyone should live in the ancestral hall first, and then concentrate their efforts to solve the problem of dilapidated houses one by one.
The ancestral hall is spacious, enough for all the villagers, young and old, to squeeze in.
There was a brazier burning in the room. Everyone gathered around the brazier, all looking at the village chief who was smoking a pipe.
"Village chief, please say a few words."
The village chief puffed away, his pipe tapping against the leg of a bench. His voice hoarse, he said, "What's there to say? The snow's already fallen. All we have to do is wait it out and fix up our houses."
"That's right," a villager said thankfully, "it's a good thing we harvested the wheat a few days ago, otherwise we wouldn't know how to cry."
"Hey, who said the government had lost its mind?" another person joked, "Someone even said they wanted to kick the officials out."
Everyone was coughing and rubbing their noses.
The village chief glanced at everyone's guilty expressions and said loudly, "Alright, everyone, cut yourself some slack. Now that you all know what's going on, don't speak ill of the court anymore."
"I know, I know."
"Grandpa Village Chief," a child leaned over to the bench and asked in a clear voice, "Are there really immortals in the world?"
"It's probably true." The snow is falling right before my eyes. I didn't believe it before, but now I believe it.
Someone knelt down and bowed: "Thank goodness the Taoist immortal gave us a warning, it's really God's blessing."
Some people also knelt three times and kowtowed nine times towards the capital, their respect evident in words.
"Long live His Majesty the Emperor."
The emperor and the court received as much gratitude as they had before.
Even if someone disobeyed the government order and could not get relief food, they could still get through the difficulties with the help of fellow villagers.
Farmers in the Qi Dynasty had to pay grain taxes twice a year: summer grain in August and autumn tax after the autumn harvest. The remaining grain would be consumed by April of the following year.
If all the wheat froze to death in the snow, all the farmers would starve and freeze. How could they sit peacefully in the ancestral hall and warm themselves by the fire?
"What are you talking about? What 'Taoist Immortal Warning'?" A young girl walked in from outside the ancestral hall, wearing a thick jacket and skirt that did not fit her well and was obviously borrowed.
All the villagers looked over.
Five days ago, when the heavy snow first fell, a caravan came to stay overnight.
The caravan consisted of ten carts, each of which was spacious. On the carts were piled many large boxes, all covered with tung cloth and tied with ropes. One could only guess from their protruding shapes that they were square boxes.
Each car was guarded by three people, all of whom were strong and burly men, a total of thirty people.
The entry of thirty martial artists into the village naturally aroused the villagers' vigilance.
But what is surprising is that the manager of the caravan is actually a young and beautiful girl!
She called herself "Yao Sanniang" and was a bodyguard from the escort agency. She was hired from Weihui Prefecture to transport goods to Huguang.
The word "Datong" was also engraved on the caravan's vehicles.
Everyone in Henan Province knows about Datong Horse-drawn Carriage Company.
Seeing that she was kind and friendly, and that she took out thirty taels of silver for the stay, the villagers let down their guard.
The village cleaned up several old, unoccupied houses for them to live in, and they stayed there for five days.
Heavy snow blocked the roads for five days, and news was cut off. The only communication between the caravan and the villagers was when they delivered meals every day.
The villagers braved the snow to deliver the food and were shivering with cold. How could they have the time to chat with them? They just delivered the food and left without any further communication.
Today the road has been opened and the old house can no longer be lived in, so the caravan members rushed to the ancestral hall.
"Sanniang is here." A woman greeted with a smile, "Come and sit by the fire."
Yao Sanniang readily accepted the advice and sat over. Seeing her sewing the soles of shoes, she sincerely praised her, "Li Niang, you have such a skillful hand."
Li Niang said cheerfully, "It's just sewing a shoe sole, not embroidery. Those who embroider it so closely that it looks just like the real thing are truly amazing."
"Are you talking about this?" Yao Sanniang took out a silk handkerchief from her bosom. It was white in color, with an orchid embroidered on the upper left and two small characters on the lower right.
Li Niang couldn't read, but she knew it was fine silk. She didn't dare touch it with her rough, calloused fingers. She just leaned in to look at it and exclaimed, "It's beautifully embroidered."
"Do you like it?"
“Who wouldn’t like this?”
Yao Sanniang tucked the handkerchief neatly into her hand and, facing her shocked gaze, explained cheerfully, "Thank you for taking care of me these past few days. The food was delicious, and I lent you my jacket. I've never used this handkerchief, and although it's not a good thing, I still hope you'll accept it."
"Oh, this is not possible!" Li Niang refused repeatedly and leaned back, but she did not dare to pull the handkerchief with her hands.
Yao Sanniang: "That's right! If you don't accept it, you don't consider me a friend."
Li Niang: “…”
I don't dare to reach such a high level.
She couldn't help but look at the villagers, asking with her eyes.
"Sanniang is giving it to you sincerely, so please accept it." The village chief puffed out cigarettes slowly. "When the road is open, please prepare some dry food for them."
Li Niang had no choice but to accept the handkerchief. She was a little excited and a little ashamed. She blushed and said, "It's too expensive. I'll make some more cakes these days for you to eat on the road."
"That's great." Yao Sanniang beamed, then continued with her original question, "When I got here, I heard something about 'Daoist Immortal Warning'. Is it related to this snow?"
Li Niang carefully folded the handkerchief, put it close to her body, and asked in surprise, "You don't know?"
"I was busy collecting mountain products some time ago. I haven't heard anything about it. Can you tell me about it?"
Everyone became excited upon hearing this.
You talked one after another, from the Taoist immortal's warning to the heavy snowfall, they talked clearly and distinctly, and even remembered the ups and downs of the mental journey.
Yao Sanniang listened with a smile until they had had their fun, then she spoke again.
"That's really all thanks to Daoxian."
Everyone echoed: "Yes, yes."
"I heard there was a village where everyone was stubborn and refused to harvest wheat. I wonder what's going on now."
"I must be very worried."
Li Niang thought of the ten carts of goods and asked worriedly, "Sanniang, the heavy snow has blocked the road. If you don't deliver them in time, will you be scolded?"
"No." Yao Sanniang looked at the vast expanse of white outside and said softly, "The snow was an accident. The employer won't blame me."
Li Niang breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
"I'm free anyway, so I'll go ask my brothers to shovel the snow and repair the house." Yao Sanniang stood up gracefully.
The village chief immediately stopped him: "Hey, you are guests, how can you ask guests to work?"
"I'm used to being outside, and I'm not comfortable staying cooped up in the house all day. Repair the roof soon so you can move back in sooner."
Everyone praised: "Sanniang is such an open-minded person."
After waiting for a few more days, the snow melted, the road was open, and the villagers' roofs were repaired.
The government's disaster relief convoy can be vaguely seen on the official road.
Yao Sanniang bid farewell to the enthusiastic villagers and led the caravan south.
The caravan had no shortage of supplies and originally planned to speed up their pace and reach Huguang quickly, but after leaving the village, Yao Sanniang changed her mind.
"Let's go to the nearby county town to get some information first."
After arriving at the county town, the caravan sent two people to teahouses, inns and other crowded places to gather information.
Not long after, the two returned to the caravan and brought two newspapers.
"Sister Sanniang, the waiter at the teahouse said this is a newspaper from the capital. Currently, only the second issue is available. The first issue is gone. We paid a high price to get the first issue from a bookstore owner."
Yao Sanniang was puzzled: "Newspaper? The first issue?"
I have been cut off from the news for too long, and I didn’t expect that there would be something new happening outside.
She sat by the tea stall, opened the newspaper, and immediately saw the four big words "Beijing Weekly".
I was shocked when I saw the "Jingguo Case", but I didn't say much.
After flipping through the first issue and not seeing anything related to "Taoist Immortal Warning", she turned to the second one.
Like the first one, the middle page is firmly occupied by a report.
The content of the report is about snow disasters in three places.
The report was issued in the form of an "interview transcript", and there were three interviewees in total.
Chu Jun, the director of the Imperial Observatory, Lü Fei, a wealthy businessman from Shanxi, and another was a farmer from Zhangde Prefecture in Henan.
Chu Jun talked at length about "His Majesty the Emperor was appointed by Heaven" and "His Majesty the Emperor is the true Son of Heaven"; Lu Fei solemnly thanked the court for its decree and expressed his willingness to donate another three thousand taels; the farmers spoke in the simplest terms, thanking His Majesty the Emperor, thanking the court, and thanking the kind-hearted people who donated grain and money.
Just to the left of the snow disaster page, a space was reserved specifically to report the details of post-disaster donations.
The first one is Princess Rong'an.
The newspaper said that after Princess Rong'an learned that heavy snow was coming, she estimated the value of all the gifts she received at her birthday banquet and donated money and grain of equal value.
As soon as this news came out, the wealthy and powerful families in Beijing responded one after another.
At the same time, the emperor ordered all prefectures and cities to urgently send money and food to the three disaster-stricken areas.
The heavy snow crushed countless houses and buildings. It required a huge amount of manpower, material resources and financial resources to rebuild houses and treat people who were crushed and frostbitten.
However, because the imperial court had deployed a disaster relief plan in advance, the losses in the three places were not heavy and everything was in good order.
Yao Sanniang whispered, "Why is Princess Rong'an being reported? Is it a coincidence?"
Without hesitation, the subordinate said, "Maybe it's because Princess Rong'an took the lead."
Yao Sanniang shook her head. "Leading the donation is certainly worth reporting, but since it involves the royal family... This newspaper probably has a complicated background. Do you know who owns it?"
"I asked, but I don't know." The subordinate lowered his voice, "Do you want to check?"
Yao Sanniang folded the newspaper, put it in her sleeve, and stood up. "By the time we get to Huguang, I'm sure the newspaper will have already been delivered. There's no need for me to bother with that."
*
"Is this the birthday present you mentioned?"
Xie Mingzhuo held his forehead helplessly, feeling ashamed, so ashamed.
"This is positive publicity. Once your glorious image is deeply rooted in people's hearts, some things will fall into place naturally." Xie Mingshuo waved the newspaper. "We've done good things that benefit the country and the people. We can't just hide it."
Xie Mingzhuo understood his good intentions, but that didn't stop her from covering her eyes in embarrassment when she saw the report.
She had to be thankful that Daqi didn't have a camera and the newspaper couldn't print her photos, so she didn't end up "socially dead."
"I won't talk to you anymore. I'm going to go find my great-aunt."
Xie Mingshuo grabbed her sleeve and said, "I see Xiao Feng and Xiao Jiang have already started packing their luggage. Are you leaving?"
"Well, just in these two days."
【Author’s words】
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