The ministers begged me to ascend the throne

Spring plowing in Lingnan has begun.

Spring plowing in the inland areas does not start until mid-April, but due to the warm climate in Lingnan, it starts one month earlier than in the inland areas. At the same time, it is also for this reason that Lingnan can grow rice for two to three seasons.

Zhao Yao attaches great importance to spring plowing. Before spring plowing began, he first made an improved version of the curved shaft plow, then opened up terraces suitable for mountainous areas, then produced new fertilizer, and then asked the Ministry of Works to make a water wheel.

Just some time ago, the Ministry of Industry finally produced a cow water cart, a horse water cart, and a donkey water cart.

Zhao Yao ordered the construction of waterwheels in many places, which made the people very happy. Although there is no shortage of rain in Lingnan, there will be short-term droughts in summer or autumn. With a water truck, there is no need to worry about irrigation. Furthermore, cow water carts, horse water carts, and donkey water carts do not require manpower. Farmers can save a lot of effort when using water trucks to irrigate rice fields, and they are also very light.

In the past two days, His Royal Highness Zhao Yao, the King of Han, went to the fields to cultivate the land in person, attracting many people from Marsh Mansion to watch. They originally thought that the king of Han went to the fields to plow the land just for show, and he didn't really know how to plow the land. Besides, His Highness the King of Han is so pampered, how can he possibly cultivate the land? However, what they didn't expect was that Zhao Yao could really plow the land, and he could do it very well.

Just kidding, before Zhao Yao came to Marsh Mansion, he would go to the fields with the emperor to plow the fields and plant rice every spring. In autumn, he went to the fields to cut and thresh rice. In addition to him, several other princes will do the same.

When the late emperor was still alive, he always emphasized that the Zhao family was a peasant. Although they became the masters of the world, they could not forget their origins. Every farmer knows how to work in the fields and grow crops, and the children of the old Zhao family cannot do it.

As mentioned before, the emperor had his own piece of land and planted crops every year. Zhao Yao and other princes also have their own fields, and they also grow food every year. When the autumn harvest comes, the emperor will also inspect whether their autumn harvest is abundant. The most important thing is that when they farm, they must work in the fields themselves and cannot rely on others.

Leaving aside this rule of the old Zhao family, Zhao Yao himself is very interested in farming. The most important thing is that like the emperor, he attaches great importance to food, otherwise he would not have made plows, fertilizers, waterwheels and other things that are conducive to farming.

In order to ensure that every household could cultivate the land well, after Zhao Yao made an improved version of the Quyu plow, he ordered the Ministry of Industry to mass-produce it, and then distributed the improved version of the Quyu plow to every household for free.

Worried that the people would not be able to use the improved Quyuan plow, Zhao Yao even sent someone to teach them personally. Also, if there is a problem with the new Quyuan plow during use, you can directly take it to the Ministry of Industry for free repair.

The people of Marsh Mansion saw that His Highness the King of Han really knew how to farm, and their impression of him became a little better.

With the new Qu Yuan plow, it will be much easier for the people of Marsh Mansion to plow their land this spring, and the land they plow will be better than in previous years.

Although spring plowing has just begun, the people of Marsh Mansion are full of expectations for this year's harvest. First, because His Highness the King of Han has made many things that are conducive to growing crops. Second, because Zhao Yao exempted all taxes this year, that is to say, except for the grain that was handed over to the court, the remaining grain belonged to the people themselves, and they did not need to hand it over to the King of Han.

After Zhao Yao took the lead in demonstrating spring plowing, he looked around to see how the people were plowing the land and asked them if they encountered any problems while plowing.

When Uncle Gao saw Zhao Yao disappear again, he felt that the Han Palace had become a decoration.

"General, why do I feel that this is not the Han Palace, but your general's palace." Zhao Yao didn't spend as much time in the Han Palace as He Lianfang.

"Why, do you miss him?" He Lianfang joked, "If you miss him, I will send someone to find him."

"That's not what I meant. Hasn't His Highness finished plowing the land? Why is there no one there?" He has been back for a while and has only seen His Highness very few times.

"He went on an inspection tour to see how the people were farming."

"There is no need for Your Highness to do these things personally, right?"

"He has always valued food, otherwise he would not have made so many things that are beneficial to farming." He Lianfang said, "When the late emperor and his master were alive, they often emphasized that they were farmers at their roots and must be able to farm. Over the years, Zhao I have been doing well in this matter, and except for Xiao Shi, the other princes also know how to farm and grow crops."

"The other princes will not be like His Highness." Uncle Gao said with a puzzled face, "I feel that Your Highness likes to work in the fields. When I was plowing the fields a few days ago, I saw Your Highness smiling very happily." He also participated in plowing. He felt tired after plowing for a while, but His Highness didn't seem to get tired. He was smiling from beginning to end.

"He really likes farming."

"To be honest, His Highness really doesn't look like a prince." Having been in contact with His Highness for so long, he felt that His Highness didn't look like a high-ranking prince, but like an ordinary person. However, His Highness's noble temperament is not something ordinary people can possess.

Some time ago, when he went to Nanshan Farm, he actually saw His Highness milking cows and goats. Wasn't this what shocked him the most? What surprised him the most was that he saw His Highness delivering a sow in person. Isn't this something that a noble prince can do?

"Your Highness, he really doesn't care about his identity as a prince at all." When he thought of the scene of Zhao Yao delivering a sow, Uncle Gao couldn't laugh or cry.

"He didn't care. He always said that he was no different from other people. He had the same two eyes, two ears, one nose and one mouth. There was no difference. He also said that he was born in a royal family, so that His status has become noble, but at the same time he also has a lot of responsibilities. All he can do is try his best to make the people's lives easier."

"His Highness is really a good man. No wonder the Emperor and you arranged for him to sit on the throne." His Highness sitting on the throne is a blessing to the people of the world.

"He said he wanted to be a free and happy free king, but many of the things he did were to benefit the people, which completely exceeded his ideals. He also always felt that it was right for him to do something for the people." He Lianfang sighed, "He actually cares about the world, but he doesn't realize it."

"This is the most rare and valuable thing." His Highness obviously has a lot of money, but he never spends it for himself. He spends money for the sake of the people. His Highness asked him to go to Japan to find Jinshan and Yinshan for the sake of the people, not for himself.

While He Lianfang was chatting with Uncle Gao, he heard someone outside say that His Highness was back. Uncle Gao was preparing to greet Zhao Yao, but he didn't expect Zhao Yao to come directly.

Uncle Gao's eyes widened in shock when he saw that Zhao Yao was wearing coarse cloth with a hole in his knee.

"Your Highness, why are you dressed like this?"

Zhao Yao looked down at his clothes and didn't think there was anything wrong.

"What's wrong with me?"

"Your body..." Uncle Gao didn't know what to say for a moment, so he thought about his words and said, "You don't look like the prince."

As soon as Zhao Yao heard this, he knew why Uncle Gao was surprised. He smiled and said, "I've been in the fields these days. If I don't wear these clothes, why should I wear a prince's uniform?" After saying that, he sat down and took a cup of tea from He Lianfang. "Your Highness, you are a prince after all, so you should pay attention to your status no matter what."

After hearing this, Zhao Yao looked at Uncle Gao jokingly: "Uncle Gao, I didn't expect you to be a formalist."

“What does formalism mean?”

"You just pay too much attention to form." Zhao Yao said amusedly, "I thought you didn't care about anything."

"No, I just think that you have lost the dignity of the prince."

"Dignity is not a superficial form." Zhao Yao said in an indifferent tone, "I don't care about this."

Uncle Gao wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by He Lianfang.

"Aren't you going to inspect the farmland? How come you have time to come back?" He Lianfang asked, "Have you finished your inspection?"

"It's over, we have done a good job in plowing." Zhao Yao said with a smile on his face, "Then we will wait for God to rain."

"What are you going to do next?"

"While busy with the planning of Marsh Mansion, I found that the planning of Marsh Mansion is very problematic." Zhao Yao was very upset that he had just discovered this problem. "I plan to re-plan Marsh Mansion before the trade conference."

"The plan of the Marsh Mansion?" He Lianfang and Uncle Gao both looked confused, "What plan?"

"It's just the layout." Zhao Yao said with a serious face, "The layout of Marsh Mansion is very problematic. I have to plan it carefully."

"Is there something wrong with the layout?" Uncle Gao asked, "Is the feng shui bad?"

"It's not a matter of Feng Shui." Zhao Yao explained, "It rained heavily the past few days, and there was water accumulation in many places in the Marsh Mansion. This is the problem."

Hearing what Zhao Yao said, He Lianfang found that it was true, but the water was not deep.

"The water accumulation is not serious."

"That's because it's not a heavy rain, and it doesn't last long. I've asked about it, and the swamp mansion was often flooded in the past." Zhao Yao pinched his chin and said, "The trade conference is about to start, and there will be many people coming by then. , we need to build some public toilets on the streets, otherwise it will be embarrassing if people have no place to go to the toilet when they have three emergencies."

He Lianfang and Uncle Gao looked surprised: "Build public toilets?"

"By the way, we need to do some greening. We need to build a slender green belt in the middle of the road and plant some unique Lingnan flowers and plants. This will not only be beautiful, but also very vibrant."

"Planting flowers on the road?"

"There is another problem that must be solved immediately, and that is the issue of draft." Marsh Mansion is surrounded by the sea on three sides. It seems to be rich in water resources, but it is all sea water. Also, the groundwater in Marsh Mansion is affected by sea water, and the water is somewhat salty. The people of Marsh Mansion are used to eating, but Zhao Yao is not used to drinking.

There is a well in the Han Dynasty, but the water in the well is salty. The steward of the Han Palace knew that Zhao Yao did not like to drink salty well water, so he went to fetch lake water from a far away place.

There is a large lake to the west of Marsh Mansion, which the locals call Marsh Lake. The lake water flows down from the mountain. It can be said to be mountain spring water. The water quality is very good.

"While the road is being built now, we can bring the water from Marsh Lake to Marsh Mansion, so that the people of Marsh Mansion can have lake water with good quality." Zhao Yao said, nodding, "It's also time to repair the sewer drainage. question."

He Lianfang and Uncle Gao were confused. Just when they were about to ask Zhao Yao what to do, Tong Xi walked in and told Zhao Yao that Zheng Cheng had arrived.

"Second uncle, uncle Gao, I'm going to discuss the plan of Marsh Mansion with Zheng Cheng. You can continue talking." After saying that, he left He Lianfang's house in a gust of wind.

After Zhao Yao had left for a long time, He Lianfang and Uncle Gao came back to their senses.

Uncle Gao looked at He Lianfang in confusion and asked, "What was your Highness just saying?" He could understand every word, but when these words were put together, he couldn't understand them.

He Lianfang shook her head and said: "Who knows what he will do, he just wants to do something."

"Your Highness always has a way of saying words or phrases that we have never heard before."

"He always does this." He Lianfang said, "Don't worry about him, let's continue talking about our story."

On the other side, Zhao Yao took Zheng Cheng to his study. He told Zheng Cheng in detail about the plan of Marsh Mansion.

After Zheng Cheng heard this, he immediately understood what Zhao Yao meant.

"You should discuss it carefully with the craftsmen. First, the sewers of Marsh Mansion must be repaired."

"Don't worry, Your Highness, I and the craftsmen will come up with a plan as soon as possible."

"As for diverting the water from Marsh Lake to Marsh Mansion, I will discuss it with the craftsmen." Zhao Yao felt that he could refer to Su Dongpo in the history of Zhao Yao's world in his dream to build Hangzhou water conservancy and solve the problem of daily water supply for the people of Hangzhou. Now that we have more manpower, we can do these things well before the trade conference. (End of chapter)