kingnovel Chapter 1346 Forcing a Chat
Chapter 1346 Forcing a Chat
The carriage drove along Zhuque Avenue, through bustling streets and alleys, and slowly exited the city gate.
Compared to the city center, the suburbs are less bustling but more peaceful.
Ji Benchang had been pondering Cui Xiang's intentions the whole way, but he still couldn't figure out what benefits Shazhou Prefecture could possibly offer.
The emperor asked Xu Zhijie, "Minister Xu, what do you think?"
Ji Benchang snapped out of his daze.
I almost forgot, Xu Zhijie knows Prime Minister Cui much better than he does!
He quickly looked at Xu Zhijie.
Xu Zhijie seemed thoughtful: "Your Majesty, I dare to speak frankly, but Prime Minister Cui has never cared about agriculture, yet today he is frequently advocating for the reclamation of wasteland in the Northwest. There may be ulterior motives behind this. Perhaps you should play along..."
"Playing along with their plan?"
Ji Benchang also thought this was a good idea.
but......
"Lord Xu, I'm afraid your method won't work right now."
With a yield of over 9,000 catties per mu, people can easily grow two fen of land and have enough to eat, so why bother with land reclamation?
Xu Zhijie was slightly puzzled upon hearing this: "What do you mean by that, Lord Ji?"
Ji Benchang lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, looked ahead, and said, "You'll find out soon enough. But..."
He then changed the subject: "Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but I feel that Prime Minister Cui's actions have been somewhat unusual lately. His actions today were not without purpose. The court should still pay attention to the situation in Shazhou and be prepared for any eventuality."
The emperor nodded.
......
There are two large public fields in the suburbs of Shangjing.
The public fields in the western suburbs are called Jiahepu. The fields are mostly sandy and are planted with various drought-resistant crops such as soybeans and mung beans.
The public fields in the eastern suburbs are called Ruiguxuan. Within the fields, there are contiguous paddy fields and crisscrossing ditches, where various water-loving crops such as rice are grown.
In spring, the farmers at Jiahepu are busy turning over the sandy soil and sowing bean seeds, while the people at Ruiguxuan are busy harrowing the fields, drawing water, and cultivating rice seedlings.
In summer, the bean seedlings in Jiahepu grow lush and green, climbing all over the ridges, while the rice in Ruiguxuan stands tall and graceful, covering the paddy fields.
In the autumn harvest, the beans in Jiahepu are plump and heavy, and the rice in Ruiguxuan is golden and heavy with ears.
At the end of the year, the yields of the two public fields were almost the same. Even when the managers of the two fields met, they would appreciate each other's efforts and sigh, "We are evenly matched, and it is hard to tell who is better."
But at the beginning of this year, a change occurred.
— Ruiguxuan has obtained high-yield rice seeds!
The manager of Jiahepu Park was devastated.
He had long heard of the reputation of high-yield rice varieties.
If Ruiguxuan is allowed to plant it, what will Jiahepu have to compete with them?
However, it is clearly impossible to stop Ruiguxuan from growing rice.
Therefore, from that spring, the brotherly relationship between Jiahepu and Ruiguxuan was completely broken, and the manager of Jiahepu even resigned.
After the new manager took office, he never went to Rui Gu Xuan, but the manager of Rui Gu Xuan often came to Jiahepu.
"Oh, Steward Shen, although your Jiahe Garden is sandy and can't grow rice, your beans are growing exceptionally well! They'll definitely make the warhorses in the army strong and healthy!"
"Oh dear, Manager Shen, I have to say something to you. Your sandy land doesn't need so much fertilizer! Isn't that a waste? Here's what we'll do: give me 30% of the fertilizer, and when Ruiguxuan has its autumn harvest, I'll ask the brothers from Jiahepu to come and take a look!"
A month ago, Ruiguxuan was harvesting autumn crops.
Manager Shen led the farmers from Jiahepu to help.
Looking at the endless golden rice fields, he felt both envious and powerless—sand is sand, and no matter what, rice cannot be grown there.
But on that day, Minister Ji of the Ministry of Revenue patted him on the shoulder and said, "Keep an eye on that new crop. Your good days at Jiahe Garden are yet to come."
At that time, he did not understand the meaning of those words.
But today, watching the new crops being dug up from the sand and listening to the excited shouts of the agricultural experts, he realized—compared to the new crops that yield 9,000 jin per mu, the rice that yields 1,200 jin per mu is nothing more than a foot-washing maid.
He was so happy.
He felt like a serf who had been liberated!
But as the saying goes, things reach their extremes and then reverse; extreme joy leads to sorrow.
After Lord Ji was summoned to the palace, he made a mistake.
The sickle in his hand accidentally cut the skin of several new crops.
His world... collapsed again.
"Please forgive me, sir!" He was so panicked that he didn't even have time to put down his sickle before kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to the agricultural workers, admitting his mistake: "I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"
"Heavens! How could you be so careless!" A young agricultural expert looked at the torn red bark with heartache. "Lord Ji said these are all seeds for next year. You've torn four of them in one go. How are we supposed to explain this to Lord Ji?"
The agricultural instructors' faces fell; no one thought the young instructor was making a mountain out of a molehill.
Because the new crops in Jiahe Garden only cover nine acres now, every missing seed will be a loss for the Ministry of Revenue next year.
Manager Shen, realizing the enormity of his mistake, kept kowtowing: "Please calm down, Your Excellency! When Lord Ji returns, I am willing to accept any punishment! I would never dare to implicate any of you gentlemen!"
Seeing his state, the young agricultural instructor finally felt a pang of pity and couldn't help but whisper to the old agricultural instructor, "Master, let me take the blame for him... This past year, he has been extremely kind to the farmers, never withholding their rations or cheating them on the scales. Before the relief center was built, he turned a blind eye to those poor children who came to scavenge beans, never beating or scolding them. He is a kind man; if he loses his livelihood because of this..."
“No.” Old Farmer Qu squatted down, picked up the damaged new crop, and slowly shook his head. “He did make a mistake, a mistake of carelessness, but the Minister isn’t one to kill at the drop of a hat. If we take the blame for him ourselves, that would be deceiving the Minister…”
"fool?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from behind them.
Master Qu turned his head and saw Ji Benchang leading several imposing figures over.
"What happened?"
Ji Benchang's gaze swept over several agricultural teachers before finally settling on the kneeling Steward Shen: "What did he do?"
"Please punish me, Your Excellency!" Steward Shen, not wanting to implicate others, immediately kowtowed and said, "I deserve to die. I failed to control my right hand and damaged the newly dug crops! I know my crime is unforgivable and I am willing to accept any punishment!"
"what?!"
Ji Benchang was shocked and subconsciously glanced to his side, only to find that the emperor, who had been there just moments before, had vanished.
What about His Majesty, such a great man?!
Ji Benchang quickly turned around to look for the emperor, and after scanning the surroundings for a while, he finally found the emperor's figure in the field.
What is the emperor doing?
—Chatting with farmers.
They still just keep chatting all the time.
He asked, "Are you happy today?"
The farmer looked bewildered: "Who...who are you?"
He then asked, "Do you think high-yield rice is better, or this new crop?"
The farmer took a half-step back: "It's all good, it's all good..."
He then asked, "What if it's one of the two options?"
The farmer reluctantly said, "Then...then let's stick with this new crop..."
He then asked, "Why?"
The farmer looked at the cut vines in the field: "Manager Shen said that these vines are edible, but the straw is not."