Chapter 159 My Great Fortune
After reading the secret report, Empress Changsun opened the tightly wrapped wooden box, and a sweet smell of sugarcane wafted into her nose.
The wooden box was lined with clean straw, with layers of brown sugar cubes on top of each other, neatly arranged. Each cube was brown-red in color, and emitted an enticing aroma under the candlelight.
Empress Changsun picked up a piece, put it to the tip of her nose and sniffed it, then broke off some crumbs and put them in her mouth.
"Your Majesty!" Helan Rongrong, the personal maid, intervened, "Let me be!"
This thing came with a secret report. She didn't know whose report it was, nor did she know what it was. It smelled very fragrant, so she thought it was some expensive food.
As a personal lady-in-waiting, her duty was to take care of the queen's diet and daily life and to be responsible for food safety.
"It's okay! You can try it too!" The queen smiled, put the crumbs in her mouth, and handed the rest to Helan Rongrong.
It tastes sweet when you put it in your mouth, full of the flavor of sugarcane, crunchy and really sweet!
No wonder Fu Zhong rushed to get it back! It really is a good thing!
Fu Zhong returned the entire jar of brown sugar. He knew that the Queen had suffered severe loss of Qi and blood after giving birth, and brown sugar was a good thing to replenish Qi and blood.
As for sales, there will be plenty later, so there is no need to rush.
"Empress!" Holland Rongrong was stunned.
What is this? The sweetness of it made people want to cry with happiness, and even the court lady who was used to seeing rare treasures was a little out of control.
"Brown sugar!" Empress Changsun smiled faintly, "Let's go to Chongwen Hall!"
In the Chongwen Hall, Tian Khan walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, his steps brisk and it was obvious that he was in a good mood.
The palace door gently opened, and Empress Changsun walked in slowly, "Erlang!"
"Guanyinbi, why are you here?" Tian Khan stepped forward and took the queen's hand. "I was just hesitating whether to tell you the good news, and here you are!"
"I have good news too!" Empress Changsun smiled faintly and sat down with her husband's hand.
Helan Rongrong put the wooden box on the desk.
"What is this?" Tian Khan faintly smelled a sweet scent.
The Li family has a fondness for sweets, so this familiar sweet aroma is not unfamiliar to them at all.
"Good stuff!" Empress Changsun said with a smile, "Take a look!"
Tian Khan opened it and was greeted by a rich, sweet aroma. "Why does it smell like sugarcane? Could it be made from sugarcane?"
"Nothing can be hidden from Erlang!" Empress Changsun smiled. "New from Lingnan, sugarcane brown sugar!"
"Sugarcane brown sugar?" Tian Khan asked in surprise, "Can we make it ourselves?"
Empress Changsun nodded and said, "Try it. It's very different from the usual sugar paste."
The Khan broke off a little crumb and tasted it. "Great! I never thought that there was a sugar-making expert in the Tang Dynasty! If I had known, I wouldn't have sent anyone to India!"
"Although Lingnan is remote and wild, it hides a lot of good things! Surprises come one after another!" Empress Changsun sighed.
"Oh, could it be that Fu Zhong reported some good news?" Tian Khan joked.
"Take a look. I don't know what news you received, but here I have all good news that will make you very happy!" Empress Changsun handed the secret report to her husband.
"Take a look at what I have here!" Tian Khan handed Wei Shutong's secret memorial on the desk to his wife.
The couple read the report separately and became more and more delighted.
Wei Shutong focused on reporting on the Li people's participation in learning and construction in Huanggou Village, their harmonious coexistence with the Han people, as well as the use of compost to fertilize the fields, crop rotation, blast furnace lime kilns, etc. Wu County's Li people governance policy was very effective.
From the letter, Empress Changsun saw a prosperous scene of national unity.
Fu Zhong focused on reporting the shock of artificial beekeeping and honey harvesting, the scene of making brown sugar in Jinfengzhai, and Su Ying's plans and remarks on Wu County.
Tian Khan never expected that there would be such an insightful and capable person under his rule.
Focus on farming and develop sideline businesses to prosper the market and share wealth with the people.
Only when the country is strong and the people are prosperous and secure can the world be peaceful. This is the prosperous Tang Dynasty that Tian Khan wants!
If all officials had such vision and insight, why would we worry about the world being poorly governed?
Seeing this, Tian Khan's blood boiled, and he wished he could ride his horse to Lingnan to see it with his own eyes.
When I saw Fu Zhong mention HNA Trading, my heart moved.
The imperial court ordered the opening of ports such as Quanzhou and Guangzhou because the people living along the coast had no means of livelihood and no crops to grow. Opening the ports gave the people living along the coast a way to make a living.
Making money through HNA trade is not the first priority, as the port trade tax is not high.
Fu Zhong's secret report implicitly mentioned that sea trade could be increased and private sea shipping could be encouraged. While the court increased taxes, it would also promote trade between the Central Plains and Southeast Asia.
No matter how much Fu Zhong dared not mention it, how could a small eunuch have the right to discuss state affairs?
"I remember that Fu Zhong seemed to be from Quanzhou?" Tian Khan asked the queen.
"Yes, his family was the largest sea-going ship merchant in Quanzhou. In a moment of carelessness, they mortgaged the cargo of more than a dozen ships to go out to sea. They encountered a storm and all the goods capsized, and they lost all their money! They had no choice but to enter the palace." Empress Changsun said slowly.
The business world is like a battlefield, where they will take advantage of your weakness to kill you. Competitors took the opportunity to spread the news, and all creditors came to collect debts. The largest merchant in Quanzhou fell apart in an instant, and his family was destroyed.
When businessmen want profit, they will be ruthless and show no mercy.
Empress Changsun thought that only the royal family was ruthless, but after hearing Fu Zhong's story, she realized that merchants were no less ruthless.
"HNA's huge profits are huge, but when they lose money, they lose everything!"
"The secret report said that in addition to the storm at sea, another reason was that the ship was too small to withstand the wind and waves." Tian Khan thought.
"Erlang, are you thinking of expanding the warships at sea?" Empress Changsun looked at her husband with a smile.
"Guanyinbi is really a worm in my stomach!" Tian Khan laughed.
It is impossible for merchant ships to be large in tonnage while warships are small ships of a few hundred or a thousand tons. How can we patrol the coastal waters and protect passing merchant ships?
This was a good opportunity to expand the country's maritime military power and spread the power of the Tang Dynasty to overseas vassals.
"Also, the method of fertilizing the fields with compost, the rotation of beans and wheat, and the rotation of sugarcane, rice and wheat must be promoted quickly!" Tian Khan stood in the center of the hall with his hands behind his back, thinking about new ideas.
"Guanyinbi, if the double-season rice planting in Huanggou Village is successful and promoted in Lingnan Road, the annual grain production will double, which will alleviate the food shortage in many places!"
Tian Khan's brows relaxed, this was what made him most excited and happy.
Food is the most important thing for people. As long as food is guaranteed, nothing else matters.
"Good! It's a pity that only Lingnan Province has the possibility of having two rice crops!" The queen was happy and regretful. If there were more places, the people would not have to starve.
"Erlang, this blast furnace lime kiln can be handed over to the Chief Engineer. This method is very good. If the Chief Engineer can be inspired by it and improve the iron smelting furnace, our iron production will probably increase significantly."
Empress Changsun looked at the blast furnace lime kiln and felt that it was a pity to just put it aside.
"Good! Guanyinbi is the one who thought it through! Just hand it over to the Chief of Works!" The Queen actually noticed something that even Tian Khan had overlooked.
"Erlang, you are joking. I was just daydreaming. How can I compare with Erlang in knowing how to use people! The special envoy he sent is so capable!" The queen was not the only one who was happy and gave her husband a thumbs up at the right time.
"Good, marrying Guanyinbi is my great fortune! It is also a great fortune for the people of the Tang Dynasty!" Tian Khan hugged the queen excitedly and said emotionally.
Which emperor wouldn’t like such a virtuous wife?
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