The rice terrace planting project was a great success, and Fu Changfeng reported the matter to the prefect overnight. Now they were just waiting to see what the imperial court would say.
Fu Changfeng was in a very relaxed mood. After a busy year, he finally had good news again. He could relax and take the children out for a trip.
In the prefectural city, Lord Li saw the report submitted by Fu Changfeng and almost dropped his hand, his eyes filled with shock.
"Take a look at this content. Is this... is it true?" Lord Li summoned several of his advisors. He was now unsure himself; it was difficult to convince anyone without seeing it for themselves.
"My lord, this Lord Fu of Shaoming County is truly a remarkable talent. In my opinion, this matter must be personally investigated before it can be reported. Otherwise, if he is bold enough to deliberately deceive you, wouldn't you also suffer if it were discovered?"
"Yes, this is a big deal. If these terraced fields can really be used, then our Juzhou Prefecture can produce more tax grain. This will be a great achievement for you, sir. Will you still have to worry about getting promoted in the future?"
"Very well, don't tell anyone about this yet. I'll take some men to investigate first." Lord Li decided that this matter should be handled as soon as possible, and he would go tomorrow.
Before Fu Changfeng could receive a reply from Lord Li, he heard from the yamen runners that the prefect had arrived with his men.
"I was unaware of your arrival, sirs, and have failed to greet you properly. I have been very disrespectful to you." Fu Changfeng remained calm, guessing that they had come to investigate the matter. Fortunately, the remaining rice had not yet been harvested and was waiting for them.
"No problem, no problem, take us to see if there is any rice that has not been harvested yet." Lord Li did not want to waste any more time.
"And another thing, I will take you there now." Fu Changfeng led his men to the location of the official fields. These fields were originally dry land, which was registered in the register, but he had now converted them into paddy fields.
"I thought Your Excellency might send someone over, so the water in the fields hasn't been completely drained yet. I'm afraid we'll have to wait until tomorrow to harvest," Fu Changfeng said, seeing the officials' astonishment at the terraced fields before them.
"Lord Fu, is this really the paddy field you transformed? And is the water brought in by that waterwheel?" Lord Li couldn't believe it and wanted to find out for himself.
"Yes, sir. You see, the waterwheel is still up there. I'll take you to check it out right away." Lord Li saw that there were indeed several waterwheels on the mountain. The waterwheels were still turning, but it was already autumn, and the streams on the mountain were starting to decrease, so not much water could flow to this side.
"Very good, Lord Fu is very kind. If these terraced fields can be promoted, I wonder how many places they will benefit. Ma Sinong, go and see if these rice ears are alright?" Although Lord Li is in charge of the government affairs of Juzhou, the matter of estimating the yield still requires professional personnel.
After feeling each one, Ma Sinong had a better understanding of the yield before reporting to Lord Li: "Your Excellency, it should yield about two hundred catties."
"Excellent, Lord Fu, you have done a good deed. I will personally oversee the harvest tomorrow, so you don't need to worry about this matter. It will be reported to the court, so just wait for the court's response."
"Thank you, sir. Without your strong support, how could I have had time to think about these things? Thank you for your appreciation." Fu Changfeng had already flattered Lord Li once in the document he submitted, but flattering him in person now would naturally have a better effect.
Lord Li was naturally very pleased and, with a smile, led his men to the post station for accommodation.
After witnessing the harvest and weighing the produce, Lord Li hurriedly led everyone back to Juzhou.
A month later, the imperial court received a memorial and learned that there was such a miraculous rice-growing method that increased rice production. The officials no longer dared to conceal the matter, as it was a major event. If they did not report it, the prefectural governors and the governors of Qianzhong Circuit would likely submit several memorials, and then it would be their fault.
The Emperor learned of this matter during the morning court session the following day. Hearing that it was Fu Changfeng from Shaoming County who had done it, the Emperor vaguely remembered his name: "Is this the same Fu Aiqing who made the waterwheel before?"
"Your Excellency, it is indeed him." The Minister of Personnel below dared not conceal the truth.
"Good, good! With such a good minister, I am very pleased!" The emperor is not yet thirty years old and is still very young, but he is a good monarch who is diligent in his duties and loves his people. He has long wanted to make achievements during his reign. In the following two years, good things happened. Even the emperor, who is usually not swayed by emotions, was happy at this moment.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! It is a blessing for the Great Zhou to have such a minister!" The emperor was overjoyed, and the officials below knelt down and shouted.
"Hmm, rise. My esteemed ministers, what do you think we should do to reward Minister Fu?" In his joy, the Emperor also wanted to hear the opinions of his ministers. After all, they had been blocking him from promoting Minister Fu before, and now he wanted to see what other reasons they had.
"Your Majesty, I believe that Lord Fu's actions are a great deed that benefits the country and its people, and he should be rewarded." A minister stepped forward. Lord Fu had made a political achievement, so naturally he deserved to be rewarded. They all wanted such a reward, but who could actually do that?
“Your Majesty, I also think this is a good thing and should be rewarded. This Lord Fu is a promising talent. However, I remember that Lord Fu has only been an official for a little over two years and has already achieved such political achievements in the county. This is not something that ordinary people can achieve. If he is promoted at this time, I am afraid that Lord Fu will become too proud and will never have the opportunity to do such good things again.
Therefore, in my humble opinion, perhaps we should allow Lord Fu to continue to gain experience in his post until the time is right in a few years. Then, we can transfer him directly back to the capital so that he can serve Your Majesty even better.” As soon as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue said this, the other ministers guessed that he probably had ulterior motives.
However, several other ministers then stepped forward, saying that although Fu Changfeng had made contributions, it was not appropriate for him to be promoted now. They believed that if he could achieve more political success in the future, it would be a blessing for the Great Zhou.
The emperor frowned, seemingly lost in thought. However, these officials also had their own cronies, and with just a glance, they would stand up for them, deciding that the reward would be in the form of objects, not in terms of official rank.
Although Lord Fu has made political achievements, he has no one in the court. When others see that someone wants to obstruct him, they don't dare to speak up for Lord Fu directly. So they all remain silent and wait for His Majesty's instructions.
"Since you ministers all say so, let's double the reward we gave you last time. Let Minister Fu gain more experience in a few years, and then he can be promoted directly to the capital." The Emperor knew what they were thinking when he saw this scene. These ministers used to use his youth as an excuse to undermine his power. Fortunately, he had been slowly scheming over the past few years and had gradually secured his throne.
Now that this has happened again, the emperor thought that if he really promoted Minister Fu, he would probably be tripped up by these ministers. It would be better to have someone secretly keep an eye on Minister Fu, and then slowly promote him when these people stopped paying attention to him.
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