On February 20, a memorial from Xi Hui, the governor of Yongzhou, was sent to Shangshu Province.
The Shangshu Province is in charge of administrative power. It has five Shangshu (1), namely, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Ancestral Halls, the Duzhi, the Zuo Min, and the Five Soldiers, which are in charge of all affairs in the world. Farmland affairs were under the management of Tuntian Cao, and Tuntian was under the jurisdiction of Zuo Min Shangshu.
After seeing Xi Hui's memorial, Gan Yue, the assistant minister of Cao Shangshu in Tuntian, stood up from the felt mat excitedly. He danced with the memorial and said: "If there is such a magical thing, the people will not suffer from hunger and discouragement. God bless me in the Jin Dynasty."
In the astonished eyes of everyone, Gan Yue took the memorial and came out of the official residence happily to find Chen Song, the minister.
Chen Song took the memorial and read it, and said with a smile: "This Yang Quanqi first abandoned literature and joined martial arts, and now he must give up martial arts and join farming. However, this thing is magical, but it has delivered a real object."
After receiving a positive reply, Chen Song stood up and said, "Let's go and try again."
After the field test, Chen Song was also very excited and said happily: "This is a great and happy event. I must report it to the King of Kuaiji quickly."
In the tenth year of Taiyuan (385), Xie An passed away. The imperial court issued an edict to appoint Sima Daozi, King of Langya (who was moved to the title of King of Kuaiji in 392), as the governor of Yangzhou, responsible for recording Shangshu affairs, false festivals, and military affairs at home and abroad. From then on, the royal power of Kuaiji dominated the world. .
The Kuaiji Palace is located outside the Jinyang Gate of the imperial city and on the west side of Qingxi River. The palace is large-scale and magnificent.
The palace was built for him by his favorite minister Zhao Ya. It cost tens of thousands to plant bamboos and move trees, build rockeries, and dig ponds. Even the emperor Sima Yao was very dissatisfied after seeing it and criticized it for "excessive decoration." However, Zhao Ya, who was originally promoted, was appointed as the prefect of Wei County by Sima Daozi.
Chen Song came to the palace to ask for an audience. After waiting for half an hour, he saw King Kuaiji leaning on the brocade couch. The strong smell of wine could be smelled from a distance. It was obvious that the prince had just come down from the wine table.
After seeing the ceremony, Sima Daozi smiled and said: "Chen Qing rarely comes to the house. King Qiao (Sima Shangzhi) gave some good wine to the orphan, so I happened to get drunk with you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Chen Song said with a smile: "Being able to get drunk with Your Majesty is a blessing for me as a low-ranking official."
After a few words of flattery, Chen Song finally said, "I'm here to offer you a treasure."
"Present treasures?" Sima Daozi looked at Chen Song with drunken eyes and said with a smile: "There are countless rare treasures in Prince Gu's palace. What treasures do you have? Please bring them up for Gu Yi to see."
"Your Majesty, Yang Quanqi, the prefect of Xinye, has developed a new plow. This plow only uses one ox, but the efficiency of plowing the land is twice that of the original plow. The official has tried it in the field. The memorial said that the implementation of this plow can produce 50% more grain. If this is true, the court will no longer have to worry about food shortages."
Sima Daozi sat upright and ordered the maid to serve him sobering soup. He wiped his face with a hot towel and felt much more awake.
Taking the memorial from Chen Song's hand, he looked through Sima Daozi and asked, "Have you tried this plow? Is it as stated in the memorial?"
Chen Song responded respectfully: "Xiaguan personally took people to the fields to test the cultivation. It is conclusive."
Sima Daozi slapped the memorial, clasped his palms together and said: "Amitabha, Buddha bless you, this plow is indeed a priceless treasure. This Yang Quanqi is the pillar of the country. I want to be the emperor of tomorrow and reward him heavily."
After the business is done, the banquet is served. Halfway through the drink, Zhongshu ordered Wang Guobao to arrive with his younger brother Wang Xu. Sima Daozi was very happy and ordered people to remove the remaining seats and start the banquet again.
Wang Xu flattered and said with a smile: "Your Majesty has a happy face. It seems that he has encountered some happy event. Could it be that Mr. Chen presented some treasure to Your Majesty."
Sima Daozi smiled and said: "You guessed it correctly, Chen Song presented a big treasure to the orphan."
Wang Guobao glanced sideways at Chen Song, thinking that more and more people were flattering the prince, and Chen Song had joined them. I have to go to the palace frequently, otherwise these people will take advantage of me.
Wang Xu joked: "I wonder what kind of treasure it is that makes the prince so happy. Can I open my eyes and look for a rare treasure for the prince next time?"
Sima Daozi smiled and said: "You can't find this treasure. It is a new type of plow developed by Yang Quanqi, the governor of Xinye."
Wang Xu's smile froze when he heard Yang Quanqi's name. Old and new hatreds surged into his heart. He was deprived of an opportunity by the Yang family, humiliated in Luoyang, and sent Wang Qiang to deal with him secretly but failed. These things were like a poisonous thorn in his chest. Thinking of it makes my heart pierce with pain.
Wang Guobao frowned and said: "What kind of plow deserves the prince to be so happy? It is just the work of a craftsman."
Chen Song smiled and interjected: "Master Wang, I don't know that if we use this new plow, we can cultivate more than 10,000 hectares of grain fields and increase grain production by 50%."
Wang Guobao snorted coldly and said, "How can you be sure of your speculations? Master Chen, don't bewitch the prince."
Chen Song was stunned by Wang Guobao's rebuke. Sima Daozi knew that the Wang brothers were not getting along with Yang Quanqi, so he smiled and said: "We are having a banquet today, and we will not talk about state affairs. Come, let's drink all the wine in the cup."
…………
Jiankang Palace in the Imperial City. In the third year of Taiyuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (378), Xie An presided over the complete reconstruction of Jiankang Palace, and built the back hall and pavilion into a magnificent and majestic palace.
The palace city has three layers of palace walls inside and outside. Inside the outermost layer of the palace wall are the general government offices and garrison, as well as the official residences. The second layer of palace walls is where the official offices of the imperial court are located. The Shangshu Province is in the east, and there is a door to the south that leads to the outside. Zhongshu Province, Menxia Province, Secret Pavilion and Yongfu Province where the prince lived are on the west side.
Inside the third layer of walls is the palace, with the court area in front, the main hall Taiji Hall, and the east and west halls on the left and right. The Taiji Hall was used during dynasties and celebrations. On weekdays, state affairs were discussed and scriptures were discussed in the east hall, while the west hall was the resting place for the emperor. Behind the Taiji Hall is the Emperor's palace, Shiqian Hall, followed by the Xianyang Hall. Wing halls are built on the left and right of the two halls for the residence of the concubines. To the north of the palace is the inner garden Hualin Garden.
February 25th, East Hall, Chang Chao.
Amidst the sound of bells and drums, everyone knelt down and worshiped. The emperor ascended to his throne. When the music started and stopped, everyone got up and sat on both sides.
Chen Song, the Minister of Zuo Min, stood up and wrote a memorial, saying: "Long live my minister Qi, Yang Quanqi, the governor of Xinye, presents a new plow, which only uses one ox, and its efficiency is far better than the old plow."
Emperor Sima Yao had already read Xi Hui's memorial. After hearing the memorial, he said: "The new plow saves animal power and is more effective. The Ministry of Finance will issue the pattern to the world and promote it quickly. Don't miss the spring plowing this year. Yang Quanqi's contribution to the plow is a great achievement." In Sheji, I should give you generous rewards, what do you think?"
Shangshu Zuopu shot Wang Xun out of the class and said: "Yang Quanqi was born in the Yang family of Hongnong. He has always resented the fact that his family rank was classified as the fourth rank. Long live his merits, and he might as well promote his family rank. The Yang family will be grateful and loyal to the emperor and serve the country."
"Absolutely not." Wang Guobao retorted loudly: "Long live, the court has long established laws for assessing family status. County title, title, official rank, and marriage are all indispensable. Long live Jia Bizhi was ordered to compile "Eighteen Prefecture Scholars" Genealogy" as the basis for product selection."
"The Yang family crossed the Yangtze River too late, and their marriages were out of character. Yang Liang even served in the imperial court. If he rashly raises his family rank, I'm afraid it will shake the foundation of family status. I think it is absolutely impossible."
Wang Xun had always looked down on Wang Guobao and believed that he was a despicable villain. Last year, the two had a dispute over Yang Quanqi's defeat. This time Wang Guobao denied his proposal in person, making Wang Xun furious.
In front of the emperor's ministers, it is still important to have the demeanor of a celebrity. Wang Xun said with a cold face: "Family status and rank are not static. Yang Quanqi should be rewarded since he has made great contributions."
Wang Guobao said tit for tat: "I can just reward people with lots of money and silk, but how can I reward people based on their family status?"
"Master Wang, agriculture is the foundation of the country. The contribution of Governor Yang is no less than that of attacking the city and occupying the land. The lower official thinks that he will be given a title and a title." Prince Zuo Wei led Xu Miao.
"Master Xu is wrong. This plow was only donated by Yang Quanqi, not necessarily made by him. If it is a heavy reward, wouldn't it be a reward and not a person..."
The court was divided into two groups, arguing endlessly, gradually going off topic, and turning into mutual attacks.
Sima Yao put his hand on his forehead. He was still hungover last night and had a headache from the noise. He stood up and said: "The three provinces of Shangshu, Zhongshu and Menxia will discuss this matter together and report to me for a decision in three days."
With a flick of his sleeves, Sima Yao walked away, leaving all the courtiers looking at each other.
Sima Daozi got up and left the main hall to return to the palace. The imperial concubine Li Lingrong sent someone to invite him into the palace to talk. Li Lingrong was the emperor and his biological mother. Sima Daozi entered the palace and had a few words with his mother and concubine. Concubine Li sent someone to invite the emperor and ordered a banquet. During the banquet, she persuaded the two brothers to work together.
In front of their mother, the two of them naturally agreed, acting like brothers and sisters. The Crown Princess was happy and let the two brothers drink as much as they wanted.
Recalling that Sima Daozi had not expressed his position at the previous meeting, Sima Yao asked, "Brother Emperor, what do you think of the award to Yang Quanqi?"
Sima Daozi put down his wine glass and said, "My brother thinks that the new plow will be beneficial to the country, so I should reward it."
"Oh", Sima Yao looked at his younger brother, originally thinking that Wang Guobao's objection to the heavy reward to Yang Quanqi in the court was his instruction.
"Long live, I have read the memorial that Xi Hui transferred to Yang Quanqi. The memorial said that this plow was developed by his third son Yang Anxuan. I asked someone to check the Yang family tree. Yang Anxuan only came of age at the age of sixteen this year. I thought he had little contact with him. In farming, it is unlikely that a new plow will be developed, and it is most likely that the work of the craftsman will be taken away.”
Sima Daozi's words made sense. Sima Yao nodded and said, "The emperor is right, but I also have my doubts."
"This year is the year of ranking, and Yang Anxuan is at the right age. I thought it was Yang Quanqi's way of seeking a high ranking for his son." Sima Daozi said: "So I should reward you, but not too much."
Sima Yao picked up the wine glass and took a sip, and said: "No matter who develops the new plow, it will eventually contribute to the country. If the reward is too small, it will hurt the loyalty of the loyal ministers."
Sima Daozi thought for a while and said: "Promoting one's family status is of great importance and should not be taken lightly. The contribution of offering a new plow can be rewarded to the marquis in Guan Nei. After the defeat of Luoyang, Yang Quanqi was dismissed as General Longxiang, so just give it back to him. In addition, reward him. Two hundred taels of gold and five hundred pieces of brocade."
"How should Yang Anxuan be rewarded?" Sima Yao asked.
Sima Daozi smiled and said: "Yang Anxuan has not yet been judged, so he cannot be given an official position. If he is really talented and learned, and is judged to be a high-ranking man, I can send him to the capital, and be rewarded and reused as appropriate. In the future, the Yang family can also be promoted to Yang Anxuan. If he only has a false reputation, why should he care about him forever?"
Sima Yao raised his glass with a smile and said: "These words of the emperor's brother are mature words for the country. I am very relieved. Bo Xihui of Dong'an has made merit in recommending materials and should be rewarded."
Sima Daozi smiled and said nothing. His imperial brother was looking for an opportunity to reward his close ministers again.
Crown Princess Li Lingrong smiled and said, "I feel relieved to see that your brothers are discussing and getting along harmoniously with each other. I will have a drink with you."
