"I am happy to serve you." Zhou Siheng said seriously in front of Xu Jing's surprised eyes: "I am happy to serve you, Your Majesty."
"Loyalty isn't something you can just say. I hope Lord Zhou can do what he says. For example..." Xu Jing hooked his arm around his neck and whispered in his ear, "Everyone knows how I feel about Lord Zhou. When will Lord Zhou fulfill my wish?"
"Your Majesty, please respect yourself."
Xu Jing's eyes moved slightly, and he saw that Zhou Siheng's ears were unusually red.
"Hypocritical." Xu Jing smiled and turned his face, snatching the breath from his lips and teeth.
"Prince...Prince." Zhou Siheng widened his eyes, and his panic-stricken look could really arouse people's competitive spirit.
Xu Jing held his head and deepened the kiss.
At first he could feel Zhou Siheng's resistance, and he stroked his lips tentatively. Seeing that he was reserved and unwilling to move, Xu Jing gradually increased his movements, prying open his lips and teeth, and conquering the "city".
The kiss made people feel confused. When Xu Jing let him go, he looked at him breathing heavily, his eyes moving around, and he looked so charming that he was ready to be picked.
"Your Highness, please don't..." He pleaded in his eyes and grabbed Xu Jing's hand. "Don't."
"You know some things can't be ended once they start." Xu Jing's lips curled up cunningly, his eyes glancing at his snow-white neck. "Jingxuan, you are really very attractive."
That night, not only Zhou Siheng didn't sleep well, but Xu Jing didn't sleep well either.
Zhou Siheng clutched the quilt tightly, sleeping fully clothed. He was terrified that his clothes would be stripped off and his innocence would be ruined. He didn't even dare to turn over, lying there like a salted fish until dawn, when he found an excuse to leave in a hurry.
After he left, 021 jokingly said, "I let you talk nonsense, now you're out of control."
"It's not that I'm crazy, I just didn't expect him to agree. It seems we have to change our plans."
021 asked, "What do you want?"
"I've already captured him. The next step is to win his heart. I need to assign him more tasks to do so he understands the high hopes that I, his lord, place on him."
021 said: "Then you have to work hard. While he is still in Lanzhou, you have to make good use of it."
"I will." Xu Jing had a sly smile on his lips.
Three days later, Ling Yuan and the two Jin brothers successfully brought back food and supplies.
Xu Jing asked Master Bai to record the grain and silver in the accounts one by one, and then instructed him to discuss the issue of grain distribution with Zhang Xin and others.
Zhang Xin summoned county magistrates from all over the country to Lanzhou City to distribute food according to each county's needs. Within five days, the food was completely gone. Qian Huai had been accompanying Zhang Xin and his men on their work for the past few days, witnessing the dire situation facing the victims in other counties.
Lanzhou City was relatively well-controlled; at least the refugees had food to eat and a place to live. As long as they worked hard, they could still have enough to eat.
The other three counties suffered horrifically. The reported death toll alone was enough to overwhelm the county magistrate, not to mention the issue of resettlement.
The most important thing now is to prepare food. The food sent by the court can only last for ten days, which is far from enough to cover the expenses of the victims.
The temperature also gradually dropped, and crops could not grow in the severe weather. Even crops such as sweet potatoes could not solve the problem of the disaster victims.
Fortunately, grain prices in Lanzhou were strictly controlled, keeping them stable and providing a way for the victims to survive. Xu Jing instructed Ling Yuan to take his badge and travel to the Huguang region to purchase grain for transport to Lanzhou. His own efforts alone were insufficient, so Xu Jing instructed Zhang Xin to solicit donations from wealthy households. The donated grain was then sorted and distributed to various locations.
Fortunately, there is always a way out. As the snow receded, grass began to grow on the dry ground.
Xu Jing asked the villagers to build a sun shed to grow sweet potatoes and potatoes.
These seeds were imported from foreign countries, and no one dared to eat them. Xu Jing pioneered the process and took advantage of the natural conditions to start growing sweet potatoes.
When sweet potato leaves sprouted, they were picked and boiled into porridge for the refugees outside the city. Sweet potato leaves have a fast growth cycle and can be cultivated over a wide area. With a tremendous investment of manpower and resources, they were able to slow the influx of refugees and fundamentally solve their food problem.
Besides reconciling accounts with Master Bai, Zhou Siheng was also busy. He compiled the cotton-padded clothes and trousers shipped from Hanzhong into a book and distributed them to the refugees.
In addition, Xu Jing also asked people to gather refugees and build temporary houses for them to live in.
After a period of rest and recuperation, the food shortage problem was alleviated. The potatoes in the greenhouses ripened around January, and Xu Jing ordered the refugees to dig them out, cook them, and use them as rations. Potatoes, with their rapid growth rate and ability to fill stomachs, quickly replaced sweet potato leaves as a deity for the refugees.
The food shortage problem in Lanzhou City was also fundamentally solved, which was of great help to the imperial court.
Xu Jing wrote memorials every now and then and ordered them to be sent to the capital, and Emperor Zhaodi never missed any memorial sent by Xu Jing.
Emperor Zhao was fully aware of everything Xu Jing did. The secret guards kept a clear record of Xu Jing's daily activities, and the reports were much more effective than the memorials Xu Jing submitted.
After learning that the crisis in Lanzhou City was completely resolved, Emperor Zhao's frown relaxed.
The messenger not only delivered the memorial but also brought sweet potato and potato seeds to Emperor Zhao. Emperor Zhao had the imperial chef cook them according to the instructions in Xu Jing's letter and then summoned the empress to taste them.
Although the Queen didn't know what the yellow stuff was, since she could see that Emperor Zhao was enjoying it, she didn't think much about it and just took a quick bite. It was soft, glutinous and delicious, indeed very good.
Emperor Zhao smiled and said, "Qi'er is really capable. He actually found a treasure for me. With it, I don't have to worry about food shortages anymore."
The queen asked, "What is this?"
"Qi'er said this thing is called potato, and it came from foreign countries. And you can try this sweet potato too."
Emperor Zhaodi broke open a sweet potato and handed it to the Empress. The Empress caught a whiff of its fragrance and found it sweet and delicious, even better than potatoes. "Qi'er is so thoughtful. Your Majesty, do you have any more? I'll give some to my sister, the Imperial Concubine, to try."
"Wang Ying." Wang Ying understood and said with a smile, "I will send it to the Imperial Concubine immediately."
"Qi'er has accomplished something significant this time." Emperor Zhao felt relieved, as he saw the shadow of his busy past in the memorials submitted to him. Emperor Zhao watched Xie Yunqi grow up step by step, and his orderly work style was somewhat similar to his past.
The Empress was always good at reading people's expressions. She followed Emperor Zhao's wishes and asked, "Is the Emperor planning to appoint a crown prince?"
"Yes, I am old and I want a crown prince to help me share the affairs. But this alone is far from enough. He is not yet able to bear the heavy burden."
"What does the Emperor mean?"
"Let's wait and see. If he is indeed the right material, he will come to me on his own."
The news that the emperor sent a basket of sweet potatoes to Concubine Lin, who had not slept with him for a long time, spread throughout the harem, and Concubine Mei naturally heard it too.
The slightest movement in the harem would spread quickly. When the Prince of Qin fell, everyone thought Concubine Lin was just maintaining an empty facade and had lost her former respectability. But things were different now. The gifts the emperor sent represented his attitude. Concubine Lin was about to regain his favor.
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