sjar Chapter 4 The Empress Dowager's Mind-Reading Skills Promote Surnames Among the People, and Pota
Chapter 4 The Empress Dowager's Mind-Reading Skills Promote Surnames Among the People, and Pota
Chapter Four: The Empress Dowager Reads Minds; Popular Promotion Leads to the People Finally Planting Potatoes and Corn
During the banquet, those ministers and generals who were stunned and speechless could not express the shock they felt! Only they themselves knew the extent of the impact the banquet had on them.
The Grand Minister of Agriculture originally intended to retire and return to his hometown, having lost all hope for the state of Yunxuan. His self-reproach made him feel that he possessed vast knowledge but could not apply it! He felt utterly useless! This overwhelming self-blame and loss of confidence led him to consider retiring prematurely!
Just when he was contemplating ending his career in the imperial court, everything that happened at the banquet rekindled his extinguished hope, reigniting the flame of hope within him! It gave him enough confidence to put his knowledge to use, to benefit the people of Yunxuan Kingdom, to dedicate his life's learning to the well-being of all its inhabitants, and to ensure that the people would no longer have to live lives of hunger, poverty, and humiliation!
It goes without saying! Anything produced by DaBai is guaranteed to be top-notch! Looking at the corn seeds and seedlings, Da Sinong felt an instant surge of confidence! His tireless research day and night, his meticulous cultivation of the seedlings, his repeated experiments, his constant monitoring of the corn's survival rate, and his meticulous record-keeping, combined with his professional expertise, all contributed to his boundless confidence!
Ultimately, both the corn seedlings and seeds achieved a high survival rate! He truly helped to gradually introduce corn seedlings and corn seeds to the general public! However, the initial promotion was not smooth, due to interference from court officials, a lack of acceptance among the people, and inconsistent awareness among everyone.
Naturally, he faced much opposition! He accepted this arduous task under immense pressure! Moreover, His Majesty had entrusted him with everything! He couldn't let His Majesty down! Even more so, he couldn't let down the people who supported his methods and ideas! For the sake of the people!
He was willing to dedicate his entire life to the cause! He would die without regret! The Grand Minister of Agriculture, with unwavering will and boundless confidence, did not stop his work because of the opposition! On the contrary, he petitioned His Majesty to personally promote the work among the people, and he personally handled many details!
To demonstrate his sincerity and determination to the people, he even lived and ate with the villagers who trusted him, and personally went to their fields to help! The assistant assigned to him by the imperial court was also dragged around by him to work the fields! He became a farming assistant, and a group of people busily moved between the fields of various villagers!
When thirsty, they drank spring water; when hungry, they ate the dry food brought by kind villagers. The dry food was rough and difficult to swallow without water, and they might even choke to death. Seeing how poor the living conditions of the people were, he was determined to change their quality of life, and this idea became more and more firm in his heart!
He worked tirelessly and personally, and the villagers saw his efforts. His hard work and attention to detail gradually dispelled the initial doubts of the villagers, and their skepticism crumbled and disappeared, replaced by acceptance and adaptation.
Everything was moving in a positive direction. But there are always two sides to every coin. Good things and correct decisions always attract skepticism; good things are often met with difficulties! His biggest obstacle wasn't the ministers in the court, nor their doubts about him and his actions—those weren't considered obstacles in his mind. His biggest obstacle, however, came from the greedy common people!
Some people are just born this way! They don't want to work hard, they don't want to put in much effort, yet they spend their days idly, indulging in pleasure and laziness! They always want to take advantage of others! And they don't want to put in much effort or thought! They're like parasites, indulging in daydreams!
They don't want to work hard, they are complacent when they get a bargain, and they have the ridiculous idea that if they don't take advantage of a bargain, they are fools and bastards. This stupid, ignorant, vicious, dirty and filthy thinking runs through the lives of these poisonous insects. Their inherently greedy nature has opened a door to the abyss of hell for their behavior and greedy thoughts!
In the end, these greedy and foolish villagers, who were like snakes trying to swallow an elephant, met their end. Some were even imprisoned, paying a heavy price for their greed and lack of gratitude. They will spend the rest of their lives eking out a miserable existence in dark and damp prisons...
While the promotion of agriculture was progressing smoothly, he was not idle. He traveled to various villages, towns, and government offices in Yunxuan Kingdom, working tirelessly to help the people grow high-yield crops as soon as possible. He embodied the qualities of meticulousness, thoughtfulness, and responsibility to the fullest extent.
At the same time, the government also widely recruited talents from the people, including skilled farmers and those with solid agricultural knowledge. These talents were brought together to discuss, speak freely, and express their opinions. Work was meticulously arranged according to each individual's abilities, and the Grand Minister of Agriculture benefited greatly from this!
These talented individuals shone brightly in their respective fields of expertise, collaborating with the government and the Grand Minister of Agriculture to conduct joint research and practice. Through repeated experiments and verification of results, their ideas were gradually implemented, and the experimental results were widely promoted. As a result, Yunxuan Kingdom gained many skilled professionals from the common people, making significant contributions to Yunxuan Kingdom's agriculture. The imperial court also gained several outstanding agricultural geniuses!
As time slowly passed, the corn reached maturity. Many villagers' fields were laden with corn, and the people welcomed their first harvest. Some cheered with excitement, while others were too overwhelmed with emotion to speak, their eyes brimming with tears. They expressed their joy and satisfaction in various ways...
Some honest and kind village chiefs organized the villagers to bring their harvested grain and collectively went to the Grand Minister of Agriculture. They gave the Grand Minister of Agriculture all the grain and dry rations they had brought. The Grand Minister of Agriculture repeatedly refused the villagers' kindness, keeping only a small portion of the dry rations and letting the villagers take the grain back. The Grand Minister of Agriculture's original intention was to ensure that the people would no longer go hungry and that they could live and work in peace and contentment!
He certainly wouldn't accept the grain offered by the villagers! The Grand Minister of Agriculture resolutely refused, saying he appreciated the people's kindness! Seeing the Grand Minister of Agriculture's actions, the people felt immense warmth and gratitude, and also felt fortunate to have encountered such an upright and benevolent official who benefited the country and its people. Deep in their hearts, they were thankful for the Grand Minister of Agriculture's selfless generosity…
The village chief led the group to kneel down and kowtow in gratitude. When the Grand Minister of Agriculture saw this scene, he realized that he had only done his duty, yet he had won the heartfelt approval of these simple and honest people. His determination to completely change the lives of the people of Yunxuan Kingdom became even stronger!
At this moment, some villagers in Yunxuan Kingdom have already harvested corn. These villagers are the first people to acknowledge the Grand Minister of Agriculture and recognize his corn planting methods. They are determined and have great faith in him. They do not want to live a life of hardship without food and suffering from hunger every day. They want to have a foundation to stand on in this cannibalistic era!
Rather than living such a bleak and aimless life, they decided to take a gamble and make a desperate attempt. With this courage and determination, they diligently followed the instructions of the Grand Minister of Agriculture to learn planting methods. They followed the steps taught by the Grand Minister of Agriculture to plant corn and planted the corn. They became the first group of people to profit and enjoy the fruits of their labor!
Seeing the bountiful corn harvest, some villagers no longer hesitated and followed the instructions of the imperial court to plant corn, reaping considerable rewards. However, in Yunxuan Kingdom, where land was originally scarce, the corn harvest could only be considered to have saved a small number of people. The idea of enabling every household in Yunxuan Kingdom to live a life free from poverty still requires further promotion of other high-yield crops to improve the current situation. The task is arduous and the road ahead is long.
The Grand Minister of Agriculture quickly submitted another memorial to His Majesty, requesting the full promotion of potatoes so that the people could have enough to eat. Emperor Yunxuan naturally granted this request and bestowed upon the Grand Minister of Agriculture a token! Seeing the token was like seeing him in person! The fact that the people of Yunxuan Kingdom were living in abundance was a source of pride for him, as the Emperor of Yunxuan!
After receiving the permission, the Grand Minister of Agriculture immediately issued instructions to local governments. With the precedent of the corn's success, the instructions were quickly implemented among the villagers. Most villagers followed the court's instructions and planted potatoes in the fields, waiting for them to ripen and be harvested!
Of course, behind every good thing, there are always negative examples! The promotion went more and more smoothly day after day! The methods of planting corn and potatoes were gradually spread to every household. With the widespread promotion of potatoes and corn over time, things were indeed much better than the years of famine and hunger in the past.
However, the land of Yunxuan Kingdom has always been barren and the soil fertility is insufficient. The yield of crops is still not enough to help every family member in Yunxuan Kingdom. After all, there are many families living in even worse poverty and hardship. In addition, these families are already poor and have many members, including the elderly, the young, and infants who are crying for food. This situation is simply adding insult to injury.
In such impoverished families, not everyone can have enough to eat. People's hearts are unpredictable, and the larger the family, the more complex the people's hearts tend to be!
Since ancient times, poverty has brought endless sorrow to couples. Human nature is unpredictable and impossible to fathom. Everyone has their own agenda and ulterior motives!
Just to survive, they eat as much as they can, showing no respect for the elderly or the young, being greedy and selfish, and disregarding the lives of their family members!
They hoarded the life-saving food for themselves, even their own children and elderly, ignoring their lives. This can be said to have taken human selfishness to the extreme!
In a farmhouse courtyard, a man was covered in dirt, wearing thin, tattered clothes that were barely enough to cover his body. Where the clothes were exposed, there were old wounds, scars, and bruises. His thin, emaciated arms and legs looked as if they could be broken with a chopstick. He was so thin that he had almost no flesh on his body, just skin and bones, and looked as fragile as if a gust of wind could blow him over. His face was pale from long-term malnutrition.
The little girl, who looked about six or seven years old, had a timid and cautious expression. At this moment, her eyes were filled with hope and pleading as she hovered around an old woman. The old woman was about fifty years old, with a pair of triangular eyes, downturned mouth, and a face full of fat, giving her a fierce look.
The old woman had her hair styled in a neat, slicked-back, glossy style, with a simple silver hairpin tucked behind it. She sat at the table, holding a cornbread that seemed to have just come out of the pan, still steaming hot. She was eating the cornbread with gusto, chewing contentedly and occasionally sipping water to help her swallow.
The little girl next to her swallowed hard, licked her lips from time to time, and stared longingly at the old woman in front of her as she chewed and swallowed food in front of her, her stomach making rumbling noises from time to time!
The little girl suddenly spoke up: "Grandma, the yard is clean, the water in the vat is full, the firewood is chopped, all the family's clothes are washed and dried, and the weeds in the field have been pulled up. Grandma, can I eat now?"
The young girl, in a pleading and tentative tone, carefully reported to the old woman before her. The old woman, who was happily stuffing cornbread into her mouth, eating with abandon, was instantly rendered speechless by the girl's sudden words!
She was instantly out of breath and hurriedly picked up the large bowl of water in front of her, taking two mouthfuls to finally swallow the choking food. The old woman, regaining her senses, flew into a rage. She strode outside, grabbed a fire poker, and lashed out at the little girl, leaving another bruise on her body.
The old woman muttered impatiently, "You good-for-nothing, all you do is eat! You suddenly made a sound, almost scared the soul out of me! You almost choked me to death! Why don't you just starve to death, you little bastard!" As she spoke, the old woman raised her fire poker and struck the little girl hard again.
Feeling relieved, he casually tossed the fire poker into the yard, walked briskly to the large pot, picked up a dark, unappetizing lump of unknown food, and tossed it to the little girl, saying, "Here you go~ you little brat, your food! Hurry up and thank your grandma!"