Linxia

Chapter 189, Fourth Rank

The capital, the palace.

Emperor Hongtai had already sent people to verify the contents of Fang Lin's manuscript, which included matters needing attention in seed selection and planting, preservation and cellaring methods, etc.

In the feudal era, when the emperor was determined to do something, his will would be executed quickly. He first verified the news that the yield of sweet potatoes per mu in the south was extremely high and confirmed whether the news was true or not. Then, he sent people to plant a crop of summer sweet potatoes. Because it was an experimental field and was carefully cared for, the yield per mu exceeded ten dan, which was ten times the yield of rice and wheat!
"Your Majesty, great joy, God bless Daxia!" After Chen Daban got the result, he immediately came over to report, his voice so shrill that it broke with excitement.

"Good good!"

Emperor Hongtai had been very worried about disasters in the south and the north these days, so this was a rare piece of good news. He had a good impression of Fang Lin and Dong Zugao, and was thinking that this good news would strengthen the confidence of the court and the public. He couldn't wait to promote it on a large scale, so he summoned Dong Zugao to reward him.

"Order the cabinet to draft a decree. Fang Lin is rewarded with the title of Jinyiwei Commander for his contribution of sweet potatoes. Dong Zugao is rewarded with the title of Imperial Academy Reader for his contribution of sweet potatoes."

The Jinyiwei Commander, a fourth-rank official, with a monthly salary of 24 dan of rice, was just an honorary position. Putting aside the fact for now, the meaning behind Dong Zugao's promotion was even more frightening!
According to common sense, even for the top scholar, it would take two to three years to go from a sixth-rank Hanlin Academy editor to a sixth-rank Hanlin Academy reader, but it took Dong Zugao less than half a year!

In official circles, one quick step leads to every step. It can be said that as long as Dong Zugao does not make any big mistakes in the future, he will be able to enter the cabinet as he ages!
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Dong Zugao bowed with great joy, and at the same time secretly sighed in his heart: "I originally said that I would protect Brother Fang, but I didn't expect that I would benefit from Brother Fang again."

"Lord Dong, as the imperial envoy, you are returning to your hometown to announce the emperor's will. You can also visit your relatives on the way. In addition, you can discuss with Mr. Fang about the various experiences in planting and storing sweet potatoes."

"I obey your order!" Dong Zugao walked out of the palace with the imperial edict and looked at the wild geese flapping their wings and flying south in the sky. He had a nostalgic look on his face. "I left my hometown in late spring and have been away for several months. If I calculate the time, Brother Fang's nephew or niece should have been born. This time I go back, it is just right to celebrate this joy."

……

Huai'an Prefecture City.

On this day, Fang Lin held a full-moon banquet for his daughter Maomao, which was relatively simple.

However, a mountain is not famous for its height, but for the presence of immortals; a river is not famous for its depth, but for the presence of dragons. Although the West Alley is ordinary, because the Fang family lives here, many people come here today, and they are either rich or noble.

At Qinghuan Residence, Gu Yuyan and Shi Wenjun came over and joked that they wanted to be Maomao's godmothers and teach her music, chess, calligraphy and painting in the future.

The big families in the city, the Fan family and the Yang family, came and presented gifts that were equivalent to the food, clothing and daily necessities of an ordinary person for most of his life.

The Fan family was obsessed with the perfume business and had no competition with Fang Lin. Also, because they had advertised in the Huai'an Popular Fiction Guild, they had been in a honeymoon period, so it went without saying that they were generous in their efforts to win over Fang Lin.

On the Yang family's side, the crying child gets candy. Fang Lin and Fang Chuanhui asked them to forget the secrets of the South China Sea Fleet, but they secretly expressed their dissatisfaction. The Yang family did not want to fall out with Fang Lin, so this was probably compensation.

Xu Kuo Lao came and generously gave a pure gold longevity lock; Pu Zhifu also came and gave a pair of silver bracelets.

"The imperial edict has arrived!"

At the last moment, Dong Zugao came belatedly and announced the imperial decree: "The Emperor, in compliance with the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: Fang Lin is a man of praiseworthy loyalty and filial piety, as witnessed by the sun and the moon, who presented sweet potatoes... and has made great contributions to the country... He is specially appointed as the assistant commander of the Jinyiwei... I decree this!"

"Hehehe!" Just as the words fell, Maomao seemed to feel the joyful atmosphere and clapped his hands and giggled.

Everyone in the room looked at it and secretly sighed in their hearts, saying that this was truly a lucky doll.

On this day, Fang Lin named Maomao Fang Qiuer. He didn't use any noble name because he was worried that he couldn't describe the girl's name. He just hoped that this girl would live a safe and smooth life.

……

Originally, the Fang family had a baby girl, and there had long been some people in the alley who were envious of the Fang family and had said some sour words behind their backs. But ever since Fang Lin was promoted at the full moon banquet, all these sour words were swept away, and everyone was saying that Maomao was the Fang family's lucky doll.

Fang's mother was also a little superstitious. She was very happy to hear this and liked Maomao even more.

Tian Xuan also got rid of some of the knots she had over not giving birth to a boy.

Of course, the greater impact was that Fang Lin's imperial favor and Dong Zugao's promotion, this soaring momentum, shocked the four families of Gu, Ma, Shao, and Duan in the city, and made them sober.

Originally, the four families had recently completed the land merger and were gradually freeing up their hands to create some trouble for Fang Lin's factory, but now they have all exercised restraint.

……

The next day after Dong Zugao came back, he turned down all social engagements and drank with Fang Lin.

Although they hadn't seen each other for several months, they didn't feel strange at all. They hugged each other, put their arms around each other's shoulders, and went to Qingyun Pavilion to drink.

Now, with their identities, going to the Donkey Restaurant, which has no elegant rooms, would cause a sensation and is no longer appropriate. Instead, they went to Qingyun Restaurant. Manager Fan was a fan of Fang Lin's books and even painstakingly requested the original manuscript of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He reserved a seat for Fang Lin and treated him to good food and wine for free every time he came.

"Thank you, Brother Dong. My promotion to the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard must have been due to your contribution." Fang Lin poured wine for Dong Zugao.

"No, I should thank Brother Fang. Because of the sweet potato incident, I got promoted to a higher rank thanks to Brother Fang. To be honest, this promotion will have a huge impact on my future career."

Dong Zugao clinked his bowls together and drank the whole thing in one gulp. "By the way, His Majesty sent me here to announce the decree. Besides letting me visit my relatives, I also want to learn more about sweet potato planting and storage experience from Brother Fang. Finally, I want to urge Brother Fang to publish his new book."

"Haha, I'm already writing a new book. As for sweet potatoes, I've basically covered everything I know in the manuscript. I'll think about the rest later!"

Fang Lin nodded and told Dong Zugao about the factory.

"That's a good thing."

Dong Zugao agreed: "Opening factories can provide jobs for the people who have lost their land and prevent them from causing chaos."

As he spoke, he sighed, "In the early years of every dynasty, land was abundant. As the dynasty developed, land gradually concentrated in the hands of a few people. Most people lost their land and became what Brother Fang called 'unstable factors'. It was easy for them to rise up in rebellion. With many people waiting to die, a new dynasty was established, and then the cycle began again... Opening factories in this way, providing jobs for the landless and land-poor people, extracting profits from overseas, and supporting our Great Xia is actually a way to break this cycle." Don't think that the ancients were stupid. They may not have known the terms 'land annexation' and 'dynasty cycle', but many elites had a deep understanding of this truth.

Fang Lin was quite shocked when he heard this: "Isn't this a theoretical way to break the dynastic cycle? Transfer internal contradictions to external contradictions, obtain incremental resources, and solve problems in development!"

External plunder can be through war or economic means. For East Asia, the radiating circle of Chinese culture, the latter actually has a natural advantage.

"How did Brother Dong come up with this idea?"

"I got the inspiration from chatting with Brother Fang about all sorts of things. I have also mentioned these to my colleagues, but for some reason, it felt like we were talking to a deaf person, as if my thoughts and ideas were incompatible with theirs." Dong Zugao sighed.

Fang Lin understood this. Although this method was good, it was difficult to implement in Daxia because this land was heavily influenced by Confucian culture. After the Han Dynasty, Confucian culture seemed to have been gradually distorted and had a self-destructive nature, which manifested itself in being a sage on the outside and a king on the inside.

'In the sixth year of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang of Sui held a meeting of all nations, and envoys from all over the world gathered in Chang'an. Emperor Yang of Sui ordered silk to be tied to every tree in the city, and restaurants and hotels were free for all foreigners... In the end, this matter was exposed. Not to mention how embarrassing it was, this kind of preferential treatment for foreigners happened against the background that the people in the country were poorly clothed, hungry and cold.'

'Not only the Sui Dynasty, but also the powerful Tang Dynasty and the strong Ming Dynasty were always very tolerant and generous to foreigners, and very harsh and stingy to their own people. This was true for the Sui, Tang, and Ming Dynasties, not to mention the Song Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, this 'fine tradition' was developed to the extreme. The material resources of China were all for the pleasure of the country. They would rather give thousands of taels of gold and silver to 'friendly countries' than give half a copper coin to 'domestic slaves'. '

From this perspective, Fang Lin felt unprecedented confusion in his heart: "In this land deeply influenced by the distorted Confucianism, nowadays, no matter how good the system or thought is, it seems that it will be influenced, assimilated, corrupted, and distorted. Even if your generation fails, the next generation will be like this."

'Destroy the Kong Family Store and rescue Confucius?'

Fang Lin shook his head slightly. Without the New Culture Movement, the impact of scientific thought, and a large number of pioneers who opened their eyes to the world, it would be a fantasy to want to set things right by one's own efforts.

'I want to go to sea, and subconsciously I may not have left this environment, to bring out a group of people who have truly gotten rid of the distorted Confucianism, the external saintliness and the internal kingliness, the internal self-destruction, self-harm, and self-coiling, and instead have new ideas of opening up and plundering the outside world. Only with such a large group of people can we truly keep the fruits of victory and prevent them from being usurped. That will be the right time to fight back.'

'It takes ten years to grow a tree, and a hundred years to educate a person. Even if I can't do it myself, I have to leave a foundation so that my sons and grandsons can do it.'

At this moment, Fang Lin thought too much.

……

Dong Zugao had a long talk with Fang Lin that night, and a few days later, he left for Beijing. It was really a hasty meeting and a hasty separation.

On the factory side, the weaving workshop has been built and started operating, gradually getting on the right track. This does not occupy Fang Lin too much of his energy. He just implements some models from his previous life, such as the incentive system. In this era of competing for the worst, he has already achieved excellence.

'Opening a factory, a labor-intensive industry, is the easiest way to gather people. The next step is to bind these workers. The housing prices in the city are expensive. We can gradually build workers' dormitories in the future, and we can also open a school. Oh, the name of the school is too eye-catching. We can change it to a skills training class, recruit workers' children, and not teach the Confucian Four Books and Five Classics. The first step is to teach literacy and arithmetic, and deceive people by saying that it is to train management talents...'

"One day, these people worked in my workshop, lived in my dormitory, and their children studied in my school... their food, clothing, shelter and transportation were completely dependent on me. When I said I wanted to go to sea, it was just a matter of words."

"We must not forget the gun!"

Fang Lin's eyes were deep: "The so-called school can actually be the prototype of a military academy. These children who have been trained since childhood, after learning literacy and arithmetic, will learn to use troops and fight in due course. This is my real core team. However, we cannot be too radical, lest someone with ulterior motives catch us. At present, there are no instructors with high military literacy... That's it, let's take it step by step!"

"When the school is completed in the future, relatives like Fang Chuanhui and Fang He will be sent in to study and learn to read and write."

"As for firearms, that's something that will happen after we have an independent fleet. In this regard, it would be much easier if there was a Westerner to act as a go-between. Oh, I happen to have a Western friend, the son of a big Western capitalist. I just don't know where this Western friend is now!"

Fang Lin was planning, knowing full well that haste makes waste, and he had to ensure that every step was steady.

"Many things cannot be rushed. We need to act according to the time and situation. For example, when building workers' dormitories and opening schools, we need to wait until the factory is fully on track and see how it operates."

'Recently, I'll just spend time with my daughter and write some books.'

Fang Lin was not going to give up writing popular novels. He had finally found this channel, with the profit of one book being one hundred thousand taels of silver. Any plan would require money.

At the same time, he also needed to continuously launch popular novels to maintain his voice in the Huai'an Popular Novel Guild and the influence behind it, which was also to maintain his relationship with the emperor.

'Emperor Hongtai has been very kind to me. Even if we don't talk about maintaining the relationship, but just returning the favor, it's not easy to stop writing. This time I'll use "Journey to the West" to test the waters!'

……

A few days later, Hong Yingheng suddenly came and talked about something.

"President Fang, we have a rival. There is a 'Yingtian Popular Fiction Guild' in Yingtian. The guild leader is Zhang Yide, the third son of Minister Zhang of Yingtian's Ministry of Rites. He is the author of fantasy novels such as The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl and The Curse of the Date. He has even opened up a distribution channel. His system is a complete imitation and copy of ours."

"Oh?"

Fang Lin's mind was moved: "This chapter is about virtue, and his ambition is not small. He wants to copy my path, leave his name in history, pass it on to His Majesty, and be awarded an official title?"

In fact, this was indeed his influence.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms made Fang Lin rich and famous, and his reputation spread far and wide. Dong Zugao's title of top scholar was largely related to this. Later, he was appointed as the governor of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and this time he was again appointed as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Although the imperial edict stated that it was because of the offering of sweet potatoes, it is hard to say that it has nothing to do with the good impression that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms gave to Emperor Hongtai.

Such fame and fortune, as well as official titles and honors, are extremely attractive to scholars all over the world, especially those who have no talent for the Four Books and Five Classics and have no hope of taking the imperial examinations. Fang Lin has simply paved a golden road for them.

This also promoted the development of popular novels in Daxia. Countless literati no longer considered writing popular novels to be vulgar and lowly, and they flocked to write popular novels, dreaming of becoming famous with one book and gaining both fame and fortune... This situation was even worse than that of the Ming Dynasty in the parallel universe. This land saw an unprecedented cultural prosperity since the "Hundred Schools of Thought in the Pre-Qin Period" and "Tang Poetry, Song Lyrics and Yuan Opera".

……

(End of this chapter)