Chapter 72: Prince Anxi's relatives

In the Liangyi Hall of Tai Chi Palace in Chang'an City, Li Jiancheng looked at the Minister of Rites and said, "Mr. Minister of Rites, Li Jing returned to Beijing and welcomed the grand ceremony in the suburbs. How are he prepared?"

The Minister of Rites came out and bowed and said, "Your Majesty, you are all ready."

Li Jiancheng nodded and turned to Wei Zheng and said, "Wei Zheng, the war has been completed. Is there any strategy for the aftermath of the Political Affairs Hall?"

Wei Zheng came out and said, "Report to Your Majesty, the Political Affairs Hall has a preliminary charter."

Li Jiancheng nodded and said, "Tell me."

Wei Zheng thought for a while and said, "First of all, the fallen soldiers will be given pensions and their families will be exempted from life-long rent and tax adjustments; secondly, rewarding the meritorious soldiers will have to wait for Chen Ying and Li Jing to submit the form for meritorious soldiers to settle. I estimate that these two expenses should be no less than 500,000 jin. The national treasury is probably less than this amount. I think that military officers above the school lieutenant can be rewarded. Those who have meritorious soldiers below the school lieutenant will be rewarded with Kaiyuan Tongbao. I hope Your Majesty will allow you to accept it."

Li Jiancheng said loudly: "The families of soldiers who fell into battle will be treated by Taiyuan as the families of soldiers!"

The ministers praised, "Your Majesty is wise."

Li Jiancheng nodded with satisfaction and said, "My dear friends, are there any things to start?"

Fang Xuanling came out and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to do, please forgive me."

Li Jiancheng said: "Fang Prime Minister, but it's okay to talk about it."

Fang Xuanling said lightly: "The army wiped out the Turks, and Your Majesty's pardon was forgiven by the world. All the people were grateful for Your Majesty's kindness. The so-called kings and ordinary prisoners were all pardoned, but the death row prisoners who committed serious crimes and were not pardoned did not receive the kindness of Your Majesty."

Li Jiancheng frowned and said, "Secretary Fang, why don't you let me pardon their death penalty?"

Fang Xuanling shook his head and said, "Of course not. I ask Your Majesty to give mercy and allow these death row prisoners to go home and reunite for the time being. I will return to prison before the autumn queen is executed."

Li Jiancheng looked around and laughed and said, "Secretary Fang, you are really good at joking. All those death row prisoners are unrepentant and extremely vicious people. Who will come back if they release these death row prisoners out of prison?"

The ministers burst into laughter.

Fang Xuanling said calmly: "Your Majesty, since Your Majesty took over the treasure, even though our Tang Dynasty has experienced a natural disaster that is rare in a century and has been almost affected by Turkic soldiers, Your Majesty is kind and the military and civilians are all convinced. Not only has he survived the disaster and famine, but he has also eliminated the Turkic who have been suffering from the Central Plains for hundreds of years. Your Majesty's achievements are comparable to the three generations of holy kings..."

Li Jiancheng coughed very much and said awkwardly: "It's past..."

Fang Xuanling said: "Although it is unheard of in history that the death row prisoners will not abandon the kindness that His Majesty has given them."

Li Jiancheng laughed and said, "Secretary Fang, your mouth is so bright. I ask you, what should you do if these death row prisoners don't return after the deadline?"

Fang Xuanling replied firmly: "I am willing to take the position of the Minister of the Shangshu Right Pushe as the rank. If a prisoner fails to return after the deadline, I am willing to resign from the position of the Minister of the Shangshu Right Pushe as the position of the Minister of the Shangshu and the position of the Minister of the Ministry of the Political Affairs..."

Li Jiancheng was moved and said, "Fang Xuanling, why bother with this?"

Dai Zhou couldn't help but leave the work and said, "Your Majesty, you must not! Those death row prisoners who violated the Tang Dynasty's laws and regulations are all unforgivable people. If they rashly indulge them to go home, wouldn't the Tang Dynasty's laws and regulations be useless?"

Fang Xuanling said: "After my words are expressed, it is hard to pursue you. I would like to ask Your Majesty to show kindness."

Dai Zhou turned to Fang Xuanling and said, "It's really ridiculous. If you escape from the prisoner, wouldn't Your Majesty become a joke for all eternity?"

Li Jiancheng shook his head without denying it and said, "The Prime Minister Fang said that it is not without reason. The Tang Dynasty was able to overcome unprecedented difficulties and eliminate the Turks in one fell swoop. It must have been protected by God. If such a great source of blessings cannot be bathed in every citizen of the Tang Dynasty, I will certainly regret it. Since Prime Minister Fang dares to suppress the title of Shangshu Right Pushe, why should I be afraid of leaving behind a laughing stock for the eternal period? I will report and call the Secretariat to draft an edict."

Fang Xuanling knelt down and bowed and said, "It is a blessing for my people in the Tang Dynasty to be able to receive such protection from His Majesty!"

The ministers knelt down and praised them.

Li Jiancheng smiled with satisfaction.

Dai Zhou looked unwilling.

The ministers retreated to the court.

Wang Gui caught up with Yang Gongren and said, "Why did Your Majesty suddenly have a whim and agree to Fang Prime Minister's request?"

Yang Gongren smiled and said, "It was just a whim. All the civil and military officials in the court looked at His Majesty with a look. At this time, the face of the Prime Minister Fang was not good. Besides, the Prime Minister Fang was also performing well. You didn't see Your Majesty, but you looked smiling."

Wang Gui said: "What's the use of being happy now? The Ministry of Education does not have a deputy signing. This imperial edict is just spoken and cannot be released from Tai Chi Palace."

Yang Gongren said with a look at the show: "Then it depends on Wei Xuancheng, whether he is willing to give up his talent or not."

Wang Gui curled his lips: "Xuancheng, Xuancheng, I see Xuan, eight out of ten, Your Majesty wants to be happy."

...

Li Jiancheng carried a bag of things and strode into the hall with a clear laugh: "Guanyin" and the maids and eunuchs saluted one after another. Li Jiancheng waved his hand and walked straight towards Zheng Guanyin.

Zheng Guanyin also wanted to get up, but was immediately stopped by Li Jiancheng.

Zheng Guanyin looked up at Li Jiancheng with a smile and said, "Your Majesty, why are you so happy today?"

Li Jiancheng teased Li Zhi who was being brought over by the maid and couldn't help laughing.

Li Zhi reached out to grab Li Jiancheng's beard, and Li Jiancheng grinned in pain.

Little Lizhi smiled.

While teasing Li Zhi, Li Jiancheng said to Zheng Guanyin: "I made a fuss when Wei Zheng did not attend court yesterday and found something for him."

Zheng Guanyin raised her eyebrows and asked curiously: "Your Majesty, what did you do?"

Li Jiancheng smiled even more presumptuously and said, "I have released all the death row prisoners in prison."

Zheng Guanyin Luo stared at him in shock.

Li Jiancheng admired Zheng Guanyin's surprised expression and sat down beside her. While brushing her wide robe and sleeves across the table, he also held her hand. Then, his brows were deeply frowned and said, "Why are your hands so cold?"

Zheng Guanyin subconsciously pulled her hand back and stared at her eyes and said, "Tell me about your own affairs, you are the emperor, isn't this nonsense?"

Li Jiancheng obviously lost interest and said in a vague way: "This is what Fang Xuanling proposed, and I can't refute his face."

Zheng Guanyin shook her head and said, "Then this is too inappropriate."

Li Jiancheng said disapprovingly: "It's okay, anyway, there is a gatekeeper who has the right to go to the village. Dai Zhou is also famous for his stubborn temper. When Wei Zheng is on duty, Dai Zhou will definitely go to Wei Zheng to talk about the situation."

Zheng Guanyin was so amused and laughed for a moment.

Li Jiancheng rubbed Zheng Guanyin's hands deeply and frowned tightly.

Zheng Guanyin said angrily: "No wonder it's like a leisurely trip to me in broad daylight. The ministers are working so hard, and you are still making trouble."

Li Jiancheng smiled and said, "Don't worry about my affairs. Wei Zheng and the others are watching. There is no problem. But you are yourself, trouble the harem and the children..."

Li Jiancheng sighed in disarray.

Zheng Guanyin looked in front of him, and Li Jiancheng, who did not hide his worries and heartache, smiled with satisfaction and happiness.

Zheng Guanyin's eyes fell on the package brought by Li Jiancheng and smiled and said, "I'm fine, hey, what did you bring?"

Li Jiancheng was stunned and quickly let go of Zheng Guanyin's hands, excitedly opened the package he brought, and a few sweet potatoes rolled out from it.

Zheng Guanyin's eyes lit up and said, "What is it?"

Li Jiancheng excitedly picked up a sweet potato, took out a knife, peeled it quickly, and then broke it in half.

Li Jiancheng said: "This is moved from Fusang Continent, so I will bring some here and you can try it."

Zheng Guanyin's face turned stern and said solemnly: "Your Majesty!"

Li Jiancheng held half of the sweet potatoes to Zheng Guanyin and nodded helplessly: "I know, I know, I guarantee that there is no waste of money. This is stored by my third sister in the cellar of Furong Garden."

Hearing this, Zheng Guanyin felt a little more uncomfortable.

After all, Li Xiuning and Chen Ying are truly rich and can match the country.

Zheng Guanyin smiled slightly, ate the sweet potatoes with Li Jiancheng's hand, and unconsciously stretched out the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.

Li Jiancheng also smiled with satisfaction and said, "Is it delicious?"

Zheng Guanyin smiled and said, "It tastes delicious! It's a bit sweet..."

Li Jiancheng said: "This thing is called sweet potato, with extremely high yield and originated from Fusang. Chen Ying was transplanted from Fusang mainland. After working hard for three years, he finally achieved results."

Many people believe that sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes can solve the food crisis.

In fact, this is a wrong understanding. Sweet potatoes were introduced to China in the 21st year of Wanli, the Fujian maritime merchant Chen Zhenlong and his son Chen Zhenglun, regardless of the blockade of the Spanish colonial army, hid in a cable and brought them to Fujian to plant. However, sweet potatoes did not spread rapidly throughout China. In theory, such high-yield crops could definitely avoid the famine in the late Ming Dynasty. However, in fact, the problem of food famine in the fields was not fundamentally solved until the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.

More than three hundred years have passed.

Mainly because any species, migrating from the place of origin, has a suitable process, and of course, the most important thing is that good varieties need to be cultivated.

For example, cotton. As one of the origins of cotton in the world, ancient India was not of good quality and low yield. On the contrary, long-length cotton was widely planted in the world, which is mainly the result of cultivation.

When Chen Ying first tried to grow sweet potatoes, the yield per mu did not have the astonishing yield as in later generations. It only produced five or six stones per mu, less than a thousand kilograms.

Of course, this is still heavy. If you make sweet potatoes into dried sweet potatoes and then grind them into flour, you can actually look like 300 kilograms, such as peppers, corn, potatoes, and tomatoes, you will face a very serious problem.

Extremely low yield.

Fortunately, Chen Ying had a certain foundation and used technicians from the Agricultural College of Datang University of Technology to conduct repeated research and experiments, and finally cultivated sweet potatoes with a yield of more than fifteen stones per mu.

Li Jiancheng explained to Zheng Guanyin the origin and function of sweet potatoes.

At the same time, someone brought a red mud stove. On this red mud stove, Li Jiancheng placed the sweet potatoes on the fire and baked them.

Li Jiancheng explained: "Sweet potatoes can not only be eaten raw, but also roasted and cooked..."

After a while, the sweet smell of sweet potatoes stimulated Zheng Guanyin's taste buds.

Zheng Guanyin sniffed the smell of roasted sweet potatoes and said: "It smells very good..."

Li Jiancheng said: "After three years of application, the sweet potatoes cultivated finally reached a yield of fifteen stones per mu!"

"What? Fifteen stones?" Zheng Guanyin asked in disbelief: "Will it be so high?"
To be continued...