Chapter 484 The Loss Outweighs the Gain
The palace door opened and the emperor and the queen came in.
"Aye!" the children exclaimed happily, "Look, donkey-hide gelatin cake!"
"Why did you think of making this?" The emperor looked at the neatly arranged donkey-hide gelatin cakes and picked up a piece to feed the queen.
The queen blushed slightly, and without publicly offending her husband, she took a light bite, and the emperor threw the rest into her own mouth.
"Well, it tastes good!" The emperor nodded. It was soft, sticky and chewy, fragrant and sweet but not greasy.
"Father, Master Xiao Su said that donkey-hide gelatin cake nourishes the body and replenishes qi and blood. Qingque specially learned how to make it for mother." Li Tai pulled his father's robe and acted coquettishly.
"Good, Qingque has grown up and become sensible! Father is very pleased!" The emperor was selectively blind and only praised Li Tai.
Li Chengqian's bright eyes flashed with disappointment, Changle glanced at his elder brother without saying a word, and Yuzhang pouted unhappily.
They also learned it. Originally, it was the Crown Prince who learned it, but the Fourth Prince came in and stole the credit. Father is biased!
The Empress tugged at His Majesty's robe, and the Emperor realized the mistake and hurriedly patched it up: "Gao Ming, Chang Le, and Yu Zhang are all good, they are filial children!
Gao Ming, you are very brotherly and a good brother! "The emperor patted the prince on the shoulder and encouraged him.
"I will remember my father's teachings!" Li Chengqian smiled and his eyes regained their luster.
After all, he is just a twelve-year-old child. He tries his best to do everything just to get his parents' approval.
"What's the little girl's name?" Empress Changsun asked Xiaotao and Atang kindly.
Atang didn't know how to answer and looked at Xiaotao.
"Your Majesty, I am Su Tao, the second daughter of Su Bucheng, the Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture." Xiao Tao bowed and replied politely.
"Your Majesty, I am Su Tang, the third daughter of Su Bucheng, the Junior Yin of Jingzhao Prefecture." Atang imitated.
"So beautiful!" Empress Changsun looked at the two girls who were about the same age as Yuzhang and fell in love with them at first sight.
With chubby cheeks and big, blinking eyes, they look like a pair of twins. They wear bright crimson coats, and they look festive and lovable.
"Your Majesty, you are too kind!" Xiao Tao said modestly.
"Your Majesty, you are so kind!" Atang followed closely.
"Puchi!" Empress Changsun was amused by Atang. He was a very cute child, but he didn't seem to understand the rules of the palace and learned everything from Xiaotao.
Gently holding Atang's hand: "How old are you?"
"Six years old!" Atang stared at the queen, "Your Majesty is so pretty! As pretty as my mother!"
"Atang!" Xiaotao hurriedly stopped him. This was very disrespectful. How could he compare a minister with the queen?
Atang looked confused, not knowing what he had done wrong.
"Really? Atang's mother must be the most beautiful in the world, right?" Empress Changsun said softly.
She didn't feel offended. When Atang compared herself with her mother, she was treating herself as someone she loved and respected.
"Yes!" Atang nodded, "Mother sews beautiful clothes for Atang, and Atang likes crimson!"
"No wonder, Atang looks so good in scarlet!" Empress Changsun liked this smart and somewhat silly child more and more.
Touching her hand, I felt that her fingers were unusually long and slender. Upon closer inspection, they looked different from those of an average person. "What's wrong with your hand?"
Atang withdrew his hand, hid it behind his back, and looked at Su Ying helplessly.
"My Lady, Atang is the child we picked up in Lingnan.
"I live at the foot of a mountain. I woke up this morning and found Atang unconscious at the door. After I revived him, he didn't remember anything." Su Ying said seriously and nonsensically.
Xiao Tao lowered her head, not daring to look at her elder sister and the Queen, fearing that her facial expression would reveal the secret.
"Poor child!" Empress Changsun caressed Atang lovingly. Her hair was soft and smooth.
After hearing this, Changle and Yuzhang took Atang's hand and looked at him with pity, "You must have suffered a lot, right?"
Atang didn't say anything. She was thinking about Huahua, Xiaohei, Wolf Dad, Wolf Mom, and the wolf brothers and sisters.
"I have some pieces of scarlet brocade. Go get them and give them to Atang and Xiaotao. Girls should dress up beautifully." Empress Changsun said to Helan Rongrong.
"Yes!" The personal maid turned and went out.
"How about going out of the city for an inspection today?" the emperor asked the prince.
"Your Majesty, we have chosen a few barren hills and permanent farmlands in Nanling Village, south of the city. It is remote and connected to the Qinling Mountains," Li Chengqian replied.
"Oh, why did you choose that place?" The emperor wanted to hear his eldest son's opinion.
"Replying to Emperor Father, that place is far away from people. There are no farmlands or people within a ten-mile radius. It is safe and reliable.
It will not disturb the people, will not occupy farmland, will prevent leaks of secrets, and will be easy to defend." The prince bowed and said, and when he talked about business, he returned to his old self, serious and methodical.
"Well! Why did you buy so much? Can you use it all?" Someone had already reported this to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, the portion of the permanent land was purchased by the Su family.
Half of the land is planted with sugarcane and the other half with beans. Rotate the crops after two or three years, and in a few years it will be a fertile land!
While cultivating the land, it also produces sugarcane and beans." Su Ying answered first.
"You are quite clever!" The emperor was moved after hearing this.
"If this method is promoted around Chang'an, after planting sugarcane and beans for a few years, a large area of mature land can be harvested."
"Your Majesty, no!" Su Ying shook her head.
"Why?" The emperor was stunned, and the instigator opposed it.
“Your Majesty, Chang’an City has a large population and is cold in winter, so we need a lot of firewood and charcoal to keep warm.
If forests are destroyed to create farmland, a large amount of forest will be lost, and heating in winter will become a big problem, which is not worth the cost.
"And large-scale deforestation can easily cause landslides, flash floods, and other disasters," Su Ying advised.
In ancient times, heating in the north was a big problem in winter. Many poor people died of starvation, but even more died of freezing in winter.
Su Ying didn't want to make a rash decision and let the poor freeze to death in the winter.
In modern society, there has been deforestation and farmland reclamation for sixty or seventy years, and in recent years there has been a large-scale policy of returning farmland to forests and protecting soil and water.
I only understood this after being retaliated by nature.
"Oh, from what Su Qing said, deforestation has such serious consequences!" This was the first time the emperor had heard such a statement.
"Your Majesty, I speak absolutely nothing false.
"Tree and grass roots absorb vast quantities of water, intertwining themselves in the soil and forming the backbone of the mountains. They absorb silt and stabilize the soil, preventing it from eroding," Su Ying explained.
"If we change to growing crops, won't their roots absorb water and take root in the soil?" The emperor was puzzled as to what the difference was.
"Your Majesty, the roots of crops are shallower than those of trees in the mountains, and the root networks they weave are much smaller.
Their ability to absorb and retain moisture and stabilize soil is far inferior to that of mountain trees," Su Ying explained.
Everyone present was enlightened. Previously, they only knew to ask the mountains for trees to make charcoal and build houses, but they did not expect that trees played a key role in ensuring good weather and good harvests.
"In that case, why is Su Qing promoting sugarcane planting in the Central Plains?" The emperor expressed regret and confusion.
Su Ying replied, "Your Majesty, this is mainly to verify the northern sugarcane planting method. The government can promote this method without forcing the people to plant it.
People would grow it in the fields, eat it as a snack, or sell it for money.
A little bit adds up to a lot, and by utilizing a lot of scraps of land, a lot of sugarcane can be produced.
The Fourth Prince plans to promote it in Yizhou and other places, which is a good idea.
The land there is fertile, and after harvesting sugarcane, other crops can be grown before planting the next sugarcane season."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
