Emperor Tian pays off his conscientious people.
Those carts of kapok were finally rescued by Su Xian before they were sent to the charcoal kiln. Hundreds of kilograms of kapok were not lost at all.
The Queen obeyed her words and handed over all the kapok zai to Su Xian.
I didn't ask what the usefulness of this thing was.
I just silently look forward to it in my heart. Today, one year later, what can Su Xian conjure through kapok? I guess it's an artifact comparable to the Quyuan plow!
After handling the matter, everyone returned to the Vientiane Palace.
Just as it was time for dinner, the Queen ordered a banquet to be held for all the ministers. During the banquet, everyone exchanged glasses and smiled happily.
Su Xian has always been the focus of everyone, and this banquet was also held for Su Xian.
After the five flavors of food and three rounds of wine had passed, everyone was tipsy and the singing and dancing took a break. Taking advantage of the mood, the Queen formally announced the reward to Su Xian.
In addition to the hereditary marquisship, there are also many physical rewards. The list is very long, including fields, houses, servants, livestock, etc., and even Su Xian's wives have also benefited from it...
After the reward was completed, the Minister of the Ministry of Sewing Industry came to report:
"Your Majesty, all minor problems with the Quyuan Plow have been resolved and can be put into use immediately!"
"So fast? Great!"
The Queen was overjoyed and took this opportunity to reward the craftsman who made the Quyuan Li and the old farmer who rectified the name of the Quyuan Li. Finally, she handed over the important task of promoting the Quyuan Li to Princess Lanling.
Lanling is known as the "Female Prime Minister of Daliang". She is the chief minister of Shangshu Province and has jurisdiction over six ministries. It is her duty to promote Quyuanli.
Lan Ling happily accepted the order.
The feast continues.
The Queen and the ministers exchanged cups and cups, and there was singing and dancing in the hall. When the sky turned dark and the palace door closed, Su Xian and the ministers just left the palace and returned home.
…
A few days later.
The progress of promoting Quyuan plow is very gratifying.
Among the people, the common people witnessed the power of Quyuanli with their own eyes and fell in love with this baby on the spot. This is a good thing.
Being able to cultivate twice as much land in a limited period of time saves both manpower and animal power. It’s fast and efficient, and it can also open up part of the wasteland. It’s amazing!
Su Xian's name, with the promotion of Quyuanli, has once again become famous all over the world!
…
Nan Chen.
royal palace.
Royal study room.
On top of the large dragon eucalyptus, there are piles of folds piled one after another. The table is equipped with pens, inks, paper and inkstones. The inkstones are filled with cinnabar as red as blood, and the pen tips are dyed red.
Emperor Chen sat behind the dragon eucalyptus with a golden sword on his horse.
He held an unfolded booklet in both hands, his brows became more and more furrowed as he looked at it, his expression uncertain.
In the open space in front of the Dragon Eucalyptus, a few feet away, two people stood respectfully, a man and a woman. They were Princess Chen Keyan of Wu Kingdom and King Tian.
It was extremely quiet in the Imperial Study Room, with mottled tree shadows on the screen windows and the faint sound of birds chirping outside.
After overthrowing the mastermind, the Queen, more than ten days ago, Emperor Chen made the decision to pass the throne to King Tian, with Chen Keyan's assistance.
Therefore, during this period of time, whenever Emperor Chen dealt with military and political affairs, he would call King Tian and Chen Keyan to let them watch and learn from the sidelines. As the saying goes, teaching by words and deeds is nothing more than this.
After a while, Emperor Chen put down the coupon.
He frowned, looking slightly distracted.
"Father?" Chen Keyan had been observing Emperor Chen's expression. Upon seeing this, she hurriedly saluted and asked, "But are the remnants of the Queen's family still making trouble?"
"Not really."
Emperor Chen picked up the booklet, handed it to King Tian, and said, "You should also take a look."
It's okay if it's not... Chen Keyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and suddenly looked sideways and noticed that King Tian beside him seemed to be distracted, and he didn't even reach out to take the fold that Emperor Chen handed over, which looked like a piece of wood.
Chen Keyan knew in her heart that Prince Tian was not very concerned about the military and political affairs of the court. He could be distracted at times like this. He was probably thinking about a certain girl, right?
Chen Keyan shook her head and gently pushed King Tian.
King Tian immediately reacted and quickly took the booklet with both hands. At the same time, he apologized and opened the booklet to read...
Emperor Chen saw all this in his eyes and wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing. He just shook his head and glanced at Chen Keyan one last time, hoping that Chen Keyan could assist King Zuo Tian well in the future.
After King Tian read the document, he handed it to Chen Keyan.
Chen Keyan frowned a little after reading it. It turned out that the brochure was talking about Daliang's situation. To be precise, it was the current dilemma Daliang was facing.
"The shortage of cattle in Daliang reaches tens of thousands, accounting for almost half of all cattle!"
Emperor Chen spoke slowly:
"But yes, Daliang suffered from natural disasters, man-made disasters and military disasters last year, especially floods and plagues. It can be said that the losses were heavy. If Su Xian hadn't turned the tide, Daliang would have been afraid..."
Chen Keyan asked: "Father, the book says that the Empress of Liang intends to send people to Nanchen to buy cattle. I wonder what your father's plan is?"
Emperor Chen's expression changed slightly, and his sympathy for Daliang quickly disappeared. He frowned and thought for a long time before replying:
"Right now, Daliang and I, Nan Chen, are on good terms. If they send someone to buy cattle, we can't refuse them outright. However, cattle are related to the country. We can support Daliang a little, but the premise is that we can't hurt our roots. "
"But Father..." Chen Keyan was not satisfied with the result.
"No need to say more." Emperor Chen waved his hand directly to stop Chen Keyan from speaking. He was shocked, his eyes swept over King Tian and Chen Keyan, and said in a lecturing tone:
"International exchanges should be limited, and the first consideration in everything is how to protect ourselves."
"Just like the current matter, if we go all out and sell thousands or even tens of thousands of cattle to Daliang, it will indeed solve Daliang's predicament."
"But what about us? What about our people? Do we have to watch them starve?"
"Furthermore, even if we gain Daliang's friendship in a short period of time, how long can it last? If our two countries fall out in the future, Daliang will not miss our help today."
"..."
Chen Keyan didn't understand this truth, but she still said:
"But Father, I'm afraid Daliang's difficulties this time will be difficult. If it causes turmoil, it won't be a good thing for us!"
"The Sword Comes"
King Tian admired Su Xian very much, and when he saw this, he also interjected: "My second opinion!"
Emperor Chen turned his head and glanced at King Tian, but ignored him. He frowned in thought and finally decided:
"We can sell enough grain to Daliang, but we must not buy cattle to them. That is a way to die! You must keep this in mind."
"At present, it seems that this is all we can do."
Chen Keyan shook her head. Although she wanted to help Su Xian, she couldn't sacrifice the people of Nanchen. Her identity was always the princess of Nanchen.
Prince Tian also sighed and said: "Brother Su is the Grand Lieutenant of Daliang, and he is highly trusted by the Queen. I'm afraid that this time... I won't be able to save my life."
"perhaps."
Chen Keyan raised her eyebrows, and a bright light flashed in her bright eyes: "Brother Su, if he can come up with a solution, maybe the problem of Daliang will be solved easily!"
"Unlikely!"
Emperor Chen shook his head:
"I have personally seen Su Hou's abilities. He is indeed a young talent, but... Daliang's difficulties this time cannot be solved by manpower. Although Su Hou is also powerful, he is only a mortal after all."
"..."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone suddenly asked to see him outside the royal study:
"Your Majesty, the secret guard is reporting urgently."
"Come in."
Emperor Chen was shocked. The urgent report from the secret guard must be a big deal and must be treated with caution.
King Tian and Chen Keyan also looked stern and silently retreated to the side.
"Meet your Majesty." The secret guard walked into the imperial study, a middle-aged man.
"Say." Emperor Chen nodded and said only one word.
"Reporting to your majesty, the secret guard has just received news from Daliang: the difficulties in spring plowing in Daliang have been perfectly solved." The secret guard replied.
"What did you say?"
Emperor Chen, King Tian and Chen Keyan were all shocked, with expressions of disbelief on their faces.
They plucked their ears, suspecting that there was something wrong with their hearing.
The root cause of Daliang's spring plowing difficulties is the lack of tens of thousands of cattle. Cattle are cattle. How did Daliang solve this problem in a short period of time?
How incredible!
"Please tell me in detail what happened." Emperor Chen frowned.
"According to the order." The secret guard maintained his bowing posture and reported: "Su Xian, the Taiwei of Daliang, tinkered with a new plow a few days ago. The name is Quyuan Li."
"This plow is extraordinary and can be operated flexibly. It not only saves manpower, but also animal power. The plowing speed is twice that of ordinary straight-shaft plows!"
“The advent of the Quyuan plow not only alleviates the difficulties of spring plowing in Daliang, it can even support Daliang to open up wasteland and increase the planting area!”
"..."
After listening to this, Emperor Chen and others remained silent for a long time.
They are all digesting the news.
After a long time, Emperor Chen frowned and asked, "Is the news true?"
The secret guard replied:
"Reporting to your majesty, the news is that the Empress of Liang has ordered Princess Lanling to promote the curved shaft plow. Many people have witnessed the power of the curved shaft plow. As rumored, the plowing speed is twice that of the ordinary straight shaft plow."
"We have received confirmation from all aspects that this is all true! Quyuanli is really powerful, and Daliang has really got rid of the difficulties of spring plowing!"
When Emperor Chen and others heard this, they understood in their hearts that the matter had come to this, and they couldn't help but not believe it.
The difficulties of spring plowing in Daliang were easily solved by Su Xian!
"Is the person who tinkered with Quyuanli really Su Xian, the Grand Lieutenant of Daliang?" Chen Keyan suddenly asked.
"Yes, it's Taiwei Su Xian. I'm afraid he is the only one in the world who can tinker with artifacts like the Qu Yuan Li!" the secret guard replied.
After Chen Keyan received a definite answer, she couldn't help but turn to look at Emperor Chen with a proud look on her face.
As if to say: "Didn't my father conclude that Su Xian cannot solve this problem? What about now?"
Emperor Chen didn't notice Chen Keyan's look. He thought for a while, his eyes suddenly lit up, he stood up and said anxiously:
"Immediately send envoys to Daliang to discuss the introduction of Quyuan plows. Isn't Daliang short of cattle now? We will send tens of thousands of them!"
"Father?"
Chen Keyan and King Tian were stunned on the spot.
Taking the initiative to give tens of thousands of cattle to Daliang, doesn't this conflict with what he just said?
Emperor Chen ignored their suspicions, waved his hand, and continued to give instructions:
"The Quyuan plow is a sacred tool for the country. If we can get it from Nanchen, it will surely make the country rich and strong and the people rejuvenated. We must get it!"
"If Daliang is not satisfied with the conditions of tens of thousands of cattle, we can provide food and money... If these fail, doesn't Daliang want to buy the divine thunder from Nanchen? I am sure!"
"No matter what, no matter what means we use, we must get the Quyuan Plow!"
"..."
Chen Keyan was stunned for a long time before she came back to her senses. She didn't understand Chen Di's thoughts and tried to say:
"Father, don't worry, that curved shaft plow must not be very complicated. We should be able to imitate it without spending so much money."
"Are you talking about pirated versions?" Chen Di looked sideways and said seriously:
"The most important thing in the friendship between nations is sincerity. It is true that we can imitate the Qu Yuan Li without giving any benefit to Daliang, but our friendship with Daliang ends here."
"In the long run, this move is very inappropriate!"
Chen Keyan and King Tian nodded slowly and said:
"Father is wise!"
…
Shu Kingdom.
royal palace.
Above the main hall, Emperor Shu sat high on a dragon chair, with a small table in front of the chair filled with fine wine and delicacies.
Below the main hall, on the left and right sides, many ministers were sitting on the floor, and there were also a few tables of wine and food in front of them.
In the middle of the hall, many palace dancers were dancing, and the sound of silk and bamboo echoed around the beams. The emperor and his ministers of Shu were enjoying the dance while drinking and chatting happily.
Suddenly, there was a break in singing and dancing.
After the Emperor Shu and his ministers had a drink in the air, he smiled cheerfully and asked:
"By the way, where are the old, weak and sick cows that I ordered to prepare? Are they all ready? I estimate that in just two days, Queen Daliang will send someone to beg me to buy cattle."
"Hahahahaha..."
The hall erupted into bursts of laughter.
After the laughter paused, a minister joked:
"Our Majesty is really kind-hearted. When he learned that Daliang was short of cattle, he thoughtfully prepared many old, weak and sick cattle, waiting for Daliang to send someone to buy them!"
"Hahahahaha..."
The hall erupted into bursts of laughter again.
Emperor Shu was also very happy. He was licking melon seeds and leaning on the dragon chair, feeling very happy!
"Let's discuss how many old, weak and sick cattle should be sold to Daliang. If the selling price is less, Daliang may not be happy and say that we look down on them!"
"Old cows, just sell them for 10,000 taels a head. Weak cows can be cheaper, 9,000 taels a head. As for sick cows... we can sell them cheaper, 8,000 taels a head!"
"Yes, the price is just right!"
"Hahahahaha..."
"..."
Just as the Shu emperor and his ministers were laughing wantonly, suddenly, the news came that Su Xian had invented a curved shaft plow and solved the difficulties of spring plowing in Daliang in one fell swoop——
The bustle in the main hall just now suddenly stopped.
The smile on Emperor Shu's lips disappeared.
After confirming the authenticity of the news, he kicked over the table in front of the dragon chair, spilled wine and food all over the floor, looked up to the sky and said angrily:
"It's this Su Xian again! Ah... sooner or later, I will cut this man into pieces! He'd better not come to Shu again! Ah..."
At the same time, the news about Qu Yuuli also reached Zhang Meiniang's ears. After hearing the news, she remained silent for a long time. The moment she turned around, a beautiful curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.
…
Liao.
The Crown Prince of Liao, Nalan Jie, also recently received the news that Su Xian was tinkering with the Quyuan Li.
"Right now, the internal problems of our Liao Kingdom have been temporarily suppressed."
Nalanjie stood up, looked south, with deep eyes, and said:
"It's time to go to Youzhou and restore the trade in Ping'an City. There is also Brother Su's Quyuan Plow. This is a sacred weapon for the country. We, the Liao Kingdom, are determined to get it!"
