Chapter 41 Ji Shimin
Since the border patrol was confirmed, Zhu Yuhuan asked Huai'en and Han Guilan to bring Huang Jinfeng's family back to Beijing with other officials. The two of them settled the Huang family in Xihe Huangzhuang, while he himself went east to patrol the border with Xu Gong and others as guards.
Zhu Yuhuan himself has hidden armor, but Huai En and Han Guilan do not. Who knows if they will encounter any accidents while patrolling the border, so naturally they cannot gamble with their lives.
Huai'en and Han Guilan were both worried, but Zhu Yuhuan was accompanying Liu Yongcheng, a recent victorious general, and was accompanied by Xu Gong and others as guards. Furthermore, Zhu Yuhuan was traveling with the main army and wouldn't be as disengaged as he had been at the market. It was safe enough, so the two naturally had nothing to say.
Before leaving, Zhu Yuhuan specifically instructed the two of them to let Huang Jinfeng go to school with the children in the imperial farm first, so that Huang Jinfeng would not be illiterate when she returned.
The officials of Kuanhewei were naturally responsible for the officials' return to the capital, so Zhu Yuhuan didn't have to worry about it. Therefore, she followed Liu Yongcheng like a tail, watching how Liu Yongcheng reorganized military affairs and prepared for border patrols. Those who didn't know would think that Zhu Yuhuan was Liu Yongcheng's personal soldier.
As Shi Heng watched from the side, he felt more and more that Princess Shunde had a remarkable character, truly unlike any other woman. Simply flattering someone would not win her attention; one needed not only genuine talent but also diligence and practicality. After all, she herself was a leader, so how could she possibly appreciate someone mediocre and unwilling to work hard?
If it were someone else, Shi Heng might not have bothered to attach himself to them, but Liu Yongcheng had been ordered to patrol the border, clearly to take over Xue Lu's duties. Zhu Yuhuan was Liu Yongcheng's favorite disciple, and as Liu Yongcheng's current subordinate, Shi Heng naturally wouldn't pass up this opportunity.
Nowadays, it is not like the time when Emperor Taizong was preparing for war. It is not easy to flatter someone even if you want to.
But since my uncle has no son, he can only let his sons and nephews inherit his position in the future. But Shi Heng has more than one brother, so it is hard to say who will inherit the position. How can it compare to the fame and honor he has earned?
The patrolling troops continued eastward along the route mapped out by Liu Yongcheng. Zhu Yuhuan, fully armed, followed his master. Looking around, the area was practically deserted. Occasionally, traces of a former city or dilapidated city walls could be seen, but it was precisely because only broken walls remained that the desolate and dilapidated atmosphere became even more apparent.
It is no wonder that later on, military households from Shanxi and other places were no longer moved to Liaodong. Instead, criminals were conscripted into the army. At this moment, Liaodong was indeed not a treasure land.
The troops were stationed at a garrison near Guangning to rest. Liu Yongcheng noticed Zhu Yuhuan gazing into the distance from time to time and asked, "Your Highness, do you think these wastelands are a waste?"
Zhu Yuhuan came back to his senses, nodded slightly, and said, "Yes, this place can be considered a plain. If it is cultivated well, it may be fertile land. But because of the abolition of the prefecture and county, most of the land has been wasted."
Liu Yongcheng looked back at the neatly dressed soldiers standing on the city wall. Although they were fully equipped, one could still see that their cheeks were flushed.
Liu Yongcheng said helplessly, "It's only August now, and the weather in Liaodong is already approaching winter in the capital. The capital region is still in the autumn harvest, but in Liaodong, the wheat and millet would have been frozen long ago."
Zhu Yuhuan touched his chin and asked in confusion, "Why do we need to grow wheat and millet in Liaodong?"
Based on her later understanding of the Northeast region, it seems that soybeans, rice and sorghum are more widely grown here. Why did the Ming Dynasty choose to grow wheat?
"The troops stationed in this area are all from Jingji and Shanxi. They originally grew these crops in their hometowns, and naturally they did the same when they arrived in Liaodong. They wouldn't know how to grow anything else."
Now that the Liaodong Dusi was all military farmland, Zhu Yuhuan naturally couldn't interfere. She felt a little itchy and couldn't help but ask, "Master, why don't you try growing sorghum and soybeans on the military farmland?"
Liu Yongcheng was slightly stunned and asked, "Sorghum and soybeans?"
Zhu Yuhuan hurriedly explained, "Sorghum is drought-resistant and cold-resistant, so it's perfect for planting in spring. My imperial farm rotates sorghum and wheat. While it's not as good as the south where we can harvest twice a year, the harvest is still pretty good. It also keeps the farmland from going to waste, and the sorghum stalks can be used to fertilize the soil."
As a grain, sorghum naturally lacks the flavor of rice and wheat, but it can be planted in spring, coinciding with the winter wheat season in the capital, maximizing land utilization. Furthermore, sorghum cultivation tends to harden the soil, while wheat loosens it, improving soil condition. Combined with irrigation tools, grain yields at the imperial farm have never declined.
More importantly, the border troops have a problem with food. They need to allocate food supplies. Who has the time to care about whether it tastes good or not? As long as they don't starve to death, they are lucky.
Liu Yongcheng fought beside Zhu Di and didn't know much about farming, but he knew that Zhu Yuhuan had made great progress in farming in the imperial farm and had donated grain, so he knew that these were her experiences.
Liu Yongcheng thought for a moment and said, "If I were to tell you this, Your Majesty might not believe me. Why not submit the letter yourself?"
Zhu Yuhuan rubbed his wind-stiffened cheek and said, "Father's order for me to patrol the border with Master was a secret order. If I rashly submit a petition to him to raise political issues, especially those related to military farming, wouldn't Father be in a state of panic?"
Officials were always "bullying the weak and fearing the strong", so they certainly wouldn't say anything wrong with the emperor. At most, they would say Zhu Zhanji was too "pampering" his daughter, and the main target would of course be Zhu Yuhuan. After all, in those days, any woman with a decent family background would not go out casually, and Zhu Yuhuan's behavior was clearly "unconventional".
In essence, Zhu Zhanji was using Zhu Yuhuan as a raft to achieve his own goals. In the future, maybe someone would praise Zhu Zhanji for doting on his daughter.
Liu Yongcheng understood her difficulties, but he still said, "This matter is not only beneficial to the country, but also to the people and the army. It also demonstrates Your Highness's compassion for the people and his desire to help the people. How can I take all the credit? When the officials who escorted the grain arrive in the capital, the officials there will naturally know that the princess has not returned, and they will sooner or later submit a petition. In this case, why don't you take the initiative?"
Zhu Yuhuan naturally understood this, and with Liu Yongcheng's support, she pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, as long as it can be of use, then submit the petition."
In fact, she knew very well that this petition was simply a matter of Zhu Zhanji's mood. As long as Zhu Zhanji didn't want others to know, he could quietly suppress Zhu Yuhuan's petition. Otherwise, the greenhouse breeding, cement formula, and floor heating issues should have been blamed on Hu Shanwei, not the "Emperor's wisdom."
But as Liu Yongcheng said, this matter is beneficial to people, so it doesn't matter even if Zhu Yuhuan doesn't take this title.
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