Hundreds of households in Liaodong, covering the light with one hand

Chapter 159 The world is turbulent and the emperor is hesitant

The situation in the court has changed dramatically in the past few days. Zhu Youxiao, the instigator, is sitting in the imperial garden, looking at the tools thrown on the ground and the exquisite screen that has been torn to pieces not far away, silently.

"Your Majesty," Wei Zhongxian held the food box in his hand with a flattering smile on his face: "This is what the Holy Empress personally cooked for Your Majesty. Do you want to try it?"

"Let's hear what new comments there are in the capital these days," Zhu Youxiao threw the tools in his hands to the ground with some dejection.

"Well," Wei Zhongxian put the food box aside with a guilty conscience and said, "These are just rumors from ignorant people. Your Majesty does not need to take them seriously."

Zhu Youxiao turned his eyes and said nothing, but gave Wei Zhongxian a sidelong glance.

Wei Zhongxian was sweating on his forehead and could only whisper: "It is said in the capital that Han Xu's death is just like the first time."

"What was it?" Zhu Youxiao lowered his brows and asked in confusion.

"It's like when Yu Shaobao died." With a plop, Wei Zhongxian knelt on the ground: "The Jin Yiwei has arrested him and thrown him into prison. Your Majesty does not need to take it seriously."

"Haha," Zhu Youxiao sneered, his eyes full of indifference. This was a heart-wrenching comment. Zhu Youxiao had heard it too much and was almost immune.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing," Wei Zhongxian raised his head carefully and looked at Emperor Tianqi.

"What's the matter?"

"In Nanjing, many courtiers reported to rescue Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others. At the same time, news came from the Jinyiwei that Liu Yijing and others organized Yingtianfu scholars to come to Beijing to remonstrate."

Zhu Youxiao gritted his teeth, with murderous intent in his eyes.

Public opinion in the world is fierce, but Yingtian Mansion is the financial and taxation center of the Ming Dynasty, so there can be no trouble there! When necessary, Zhu Youxiao will not hesitate to kill people!

"Your Majesty, there is something that I don't know whether to talk about or not," Wei Zhongxian continued.

"Speak directly if you have anything to say."

"His Royal Highness King Xin has recently become very close to Yang Lian and others."

"Huh?" Zhu Youxiao finally showed a trace of hesitation on his face, stood up and walked around with his hands behind his back.

Wei Zhongxian looked at Emperor Tianqi's hesitation and secretly guessed that His Highness King Xin indeed had some weight in the emperor's heart.

"King Xin has already decided on the vassal territory. He has sent a message to Huzhou to speed up the construction progress and try to let my brother leave the capital next year!"

"Your Majesty, don't worry, I will take care of it now!" Wei Zhongxian kowtowed and stood up slowly.

At this moment, not far away, Queen Zhang Yan came walking.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!" Zhang Yan saluted Chongzhen.

"Why are you here?" Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and told Wei Zhongxian to step back, while he stepped forward to help the queen onto the chair.

The queen is pregnant and her body is already showing some signs.

"I heard that the recent situation in the court has been somewhat troublesome to your majesty, so I came here to talk to your majesty." The queen gently moved her hair with her hands and lightly opened her red lips: "When the situation in the court is in chaos, people's hearts are also in chaos. Your Majesty ."   "Do you want to persuade me to give in to those literati?" Zhu Youxiao's face turned cold instantly.

"Your Majesty, the situation in Liaodong has just calmed down and people's hearts are stable. Why should the overall situation be ruined because of a small matter?" The queen reached out and touched Zhu Youxiao's hand gently and said warmly: "And I believe that Duke Lang is innocent, even if that Yang Lian goes to investigate, but what can he find? If the truth is revealed in the end, it will calm the angry hearts of the scholars in the world, and secondly, it can clear Duke Lang of his crime. If His Majesty insists on going his own way, then wouldn't it mean that Duke Lang will be blamed for no reason? Are you charged with this?"

Zhu Youxiao looked at his wife's beautiful face, and his angry heart gradually calmed down.

"I also believe that Duke Lang is not guilty," Zhu Youxiao sighed softly: "But those Donglin Party members also bullied me!"

"If your majesty is uneasy, why not call Duke Lang back to the capital and confront him face to face?" The queen stood up and saluted Zhu Youxiao: "Concubine, your majesty, please think about the country and the country of your ancestors and appease the hearts of the ministers in the world."

Zhu Youxiao looked at his queen's pretty face and hesitated for a moment.

After all, Zhu Youxiao was extremely tired of fighting against all the ministers of the court by himself.

----

The situation in the capital suddenly changed, and Wang Qi, who was far away in Jizhou Prefecture, naturally received the news.

These days, Ye Xianggao and Sun Chengzong both wrote to themselves, emphasizing the seriousness and momentum of the situation and reminding Wang Qi to act carefully.

However, Xu Guangqi's observation showed that Duke Lang did not seem to have received much impact. Wang Qi inspected the resettlement situation of the people in Jizhou Prefecture with him almost every day, and also took the lead in the resettlement of refugees from Liaodong. Begin execution.

In the past few days, Xu Guangqi and Wang Qi had many discussions on political, agricultural, and military affairs, and they seemed to regret meeting each other late.

According to Xu Guangqi's suggestion, there are currently more than 6 million acres of available land in Liaodong. If the imperial court can reduce or exempt land and grain taxes in Liaodong and encourage people to plant crops, the refugees in Liaodong can completely return to Liaodong and reclaim wasteland. One side can also rely on its own efforts to consolidate the border areas.

On the other hand, the commercial activities between Horqin and the Ming Dynasty have become increasingly frequent. A large number of merchants have gone north to get a share of the pie. The land south of Horqin and north of the Ming Dynasty's territory is all fertile land that no one has reclaimed. If the court If you can send people for guidance and garrison, it will also be of great benefit for the refugees to go farming.

Moreover, Xu Guangqi has been studying the planting and storage methods of sweet potato crops from Cochin in recent years, and has written to the court many times to promote it. In his opinion, if this crop can be grown in large quantities, it will also be a good way to deal with the increasingly cold weather. Prepare in advance.

"The only drawback is that this plant is not tolerant to severe cold. I have tried to plant it in many places in the north, but none of it has been successful. Unless you go further south, close to the Yangtze River Basin, it is possible to promote it on a large scale. But there are many plants in the south. No one is interested in growing rice." Xu Guangqi shook his head regretfully.

"What if it's a man-made thermal insulation shed?" Wang Qi handed the teacup in his hand to Xu Guangqi and asked.

"Insulation shed?" Xu Guangqi heard this word for the first time and chewed on its meaning. It was not difficult to understand.

"Is it possible to use wooden beams, branches as the ship's bones, and earth and running water to cover the gap with the outside world to isolate the temperature from the outside world and form a relatively high temperature in a small range?" Wang Qi used the experience of the insulation shed in his previous life. Add it to the current conditions and explain it.

In fact, since the Han Dynasty, there has been a method of lighting a fire indoors to create an artificial greenhouse and then growing vegetables. During the Han Dynasty, more than twenty kinds of vegetables could be grown in greenhouses, including leeks, ginger, fungus, mallow, green onions, etc., which were already abundant. But the cost is very expensive and the output is very low. In the Yuan Dynasty, sorghum poles were used to make "greenhouses". The sorghum pole greenhouses were built with soil, and animal excrement was used to cover the vegetable fields for heat preservation. This technological advancement was more economical than the Han Dynasty, and it increased the number of off-season vegetables. of planting.

But overall, it is only reserved for high-ranking officials, and the cost is still too expensive for the common people at the bottom.

However, Wang Qi's words made Xu Guangqi's eyes light up.

If the insulation shed can be transformed to reduce manufacturing costs, sweet potato crops will definitely be able to be promoted on a large scale.

Scientists have always been action-oriented. When Xu Guangqi heard this suggestion, he immediately geared up and wanted to try it.

(End of this chapter)