Chapter 27 Princess Banquet
News of victory from the north quickly reached Beijing after the first heavy snowfall. Upon arriving at the border, Liu Yongcheng began patrolling the area. Although he failed to locate any trace of the Wuliangha, he encountered the Arutai invasion of Liaodong. Liu Yongcheng immediately led his troops to their aid, saving many soldiers and defeating them. Furthermore, he also captured numerous prisoners, horses, cattle, and sheep, demonstrating a resounding victory.
Liu Yongcheng won the battle, so there was no reason not to commend him. Therefore, Zhu Zhanji gave him rewards continuously, and even Liu Yongcheng's nephew Liu Ju was rewarded.
When Zhu Yuhuan heard the news, he immediately felt relaxed and happy, and couldn't help but feel happy for his master.
At least there is no need to worry about Liu Yongcheng being picked on by Zhu Zhanji.
After the New Year, Zhu Yuhuan's princess mansion was finally completely renovated, and various furniture and furnishings were moved into the princess mansion. Hu Shanxiang also sent some palace maids to the princess mansion to serve on duty.
In addition to the garden renovation, Ruan An learned that Zhu Yuhuan had now become Liu Yuanran's "disciple", and used the vacant land to build several separate rooms so that Zhu Yuhuan could worship Bixia Yuanjun. This was also a way to make full use of the remaining materials from the construction of the princess's mansion. Compared with the large-scale construction of other mansions, it can be considered frugal.
As soon as Ruan An was free, Zhu Zhanji sent him to dredge the Jinlongkou in Fengqiu and work with local officials to divert the Yellow River into Xu for water transport.
Because of Ruan An's contributions to the renovation of the princess's residence, Zhu Yuhuan, after consulting his parents, hosted a banquet for Ruan An at the princess's residence. After all, the original project was merely a garden renovation, and Ruan An had specifically used the remaining materials to build Zhu Yuhuan's house, a truly thoughtful act. Furthermore, Ruan An's contributions to water conservancy were considerable, so the princess's banquet naturally symbolized Her Majesty's favor.
The atmosphere in the capital gradually became more relaxed. The princes and nobles all had banquets in their homes, and often invited musicians and singers to their homes. The scene was lively and the common people had all heard about it. Therefore, it was not surprising that Zhu Yuhuan invited Ruan An to a banquet. It was better to say that the ministers were all so casual, so what was the big deal about the princess inviting people to dinner?
In Ruan An's mind, he was just a eunuch after all, and it was an honor for him to be valued by the royal family, not to mention that Princess Shunde personally hosted a banquet for him.
Ruan An was extremely nervous and naturally treated Zhu Yuhuan with great respect at the banquet.
Zhu Yuhuan didn't care at all and only told his main purpose after three rounds of drinks.
"I heard that Daddy wants to divert the Yellow River to Xuzhou. Banban is well-versed in classics, history, and literature, and must have read Chen Mengxi's notes, which describe the method of silting fields, an ancient method of fertilizing the land." Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "The river in Huangzhuang was diverted earlier, and the silt excavated was spread on the farmland. With a little improvement, the harvest was very good last year. I just don't know what the situation is like in Xuzhou. If Banban goes there, please take a look for me."
She said she would take a look for me, but in fact she was giving Ruan An an idea. As for whether it would be used or not, that was not her business.
Ruan An naturally understood Zhu Yuhuan's implication after hearing this and said, "Your Highness, I will keep your words in mind. After confirming the situation of the Yellow River, I will send someone to test it."
Dredging the canal is not a small project and will take at least a year and a half. Ruan An can use this time to observe the situation of silted fields.
The disposal of this silt is part of the dredging project, and it would be a good thing if it could be put to some use.
Ruan An agreed and smiled, "The Emperor even sent me a copy of the 'Book of Agriculture' that His Highness had compiled, saying that it would be helpful for local officials to take with them and help with farming. I imagine the Princess also wrote about methods for silting fields in this book."
Zhu Yuhuan sighed and said, "It's written... but how would anyone dare to dig up the river and take the silt? It also depends on how the local authorities deal with it..." She couldn't help but ask curiously, "It seems that this 'Book of Agriculture' has been printed on a large scale, but why is it not circulating in the market?"
She asked Yu Ying, Wu Ning and others to compile the book in order to provide the best solution obtained from the experiments of the imperial farm to more people for reference. After all, most of the harvest of the imperial farm, in addition to being used for taxation and distribution to tenants, belonged to Zhu Yuhuan's personal property. Regardless of whether the various methods succeeded or failed, the final result was the responsibility of Zhu Yuhuan alone, so Zhu Yuhuan had so many opportunities for trial and error.
The purpose of this book is to avoid more mistakes and enable more people to master the most effective farming methods as quickly as possible. Although this book may seem a bit of an exaggeration for farmers who work in the fields every day, summarizing and generalizing also has its importance.
But if you write it but don’t use it, wouldn’t it be a waste of time?
Ruan An had his servant bring the book and presented it to Zhu Yuhuan. He then said with a smile, "This book should first be distributed to local officials and agricultural officials. However, since it can now be rewarded to slaves, it is clear that it will soon be circulated in the market."
Zhu Yuhuan took the book and looked at it. She saw that it was stamped with the four-character seal of Princess Shunde. She was slightly stunned and said, "Why am I included?" She hurriedly turned it inside and saw that as Zhu Yuhuan had instructed, in addition to the names of Yu Ying and Wu Ning who were responsible for compiling and proofreading, there was also the signature of the tenant of Xihehuangzhuang. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing Zhu Yuhuan's surprise, Ruan An explained, "The Emperor said that the credit for compiling the 'Book of Agriculture' belongs solely to the princess. This compassion for the people alone deserves to be recorded in history."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled when he heard this, as if he was a little disappointed, and said to Ruan An: "If it weren't for Banban, I wouldn't have heard my father praise me like this."
This complaint, which wasn't really a complaint, showed Zhu Yuhuan's closeness to him. Ruan An quickly said, "The Emperor, as a king and father, is thoughtful and thoughtful. He has his own painstaking efforts, all for Your Highness's own good. Why should Your Highness dwell on those few compliments? You must not show it in front of the Emperor."
Zhu Yuhuan seemed to be enlightened by his words, and smiled again, saying, "I see there are some poems by Daddy in this book." She turned the page and read aloud: "The world is seen alike, and the universe is as vast as the heavens..."
Ruan An nodded and said, "This poem was originally intended for the Minister of Personnel, but Your Majesty thought it would be appropriate for the Agricultural Book, so you appended it to the beginning of the volume."
Zhu Yuhuan returned the book to the servant, then said to Ruan An, "Father is indeed very thoughtful. I hope you will pay close attention to me when we go to Xuzhou."
Ruan An stood up and saluted, saying, "To serve the country with loyalty, one must devote oneself to the country."
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