Prodigal Son of the Ming Dynasty

  Chapter 223 Face Saint

I saw Fang Jifan pulled his face, and said righteously: "Uncle Shi, who do you take my nephew as? I, Fang Jifan, have morals! I dare not even think about such a false report. A man should behave like a man. You are as bright as the sun and the moon! How is it different from animals if you practice deceit?"

   "..."

  Zhang Mao paused, seeing Fang Jifan's upright face, he felt ashamed of himself because of the uprightness that rushed to his face.

  I am really nothing, I am not even as good as a child!

  After taking a serious look at Fang Jifan, Zhang Mao suddenly felt that he would be admiring him after three days.

  He never imagined that Fang Jifan was such an honest child. That old Fang... is really good at teaching his children. Compared with Lao Fang, he is really a dog.

   There was a sigh in my heart, and I couldn't care less about emotion at this time, Your Majesty is still waiting to return!

  So Zhang Mao said without further delay: "Thirty stones are thirty stones, let's go, return to life."

   After finishing speaking, Zhang Mao patted Fang Jifan's shoulder affectionately, very warmly.

  …

   At this time, in Jinshen Palace, a court meeting is still going on.

   It's just that Emperor Hongzhi was in a trance.

  Although I feel unbelievable about the so-called 30 shi per mu.

  But Emperor Hongzhi still had some expectations.

  From the beginning of history, not to mention thirty stones, this crop yields ten stones per mu. I have never heard of it.

  Actually, if Fang Jifan reported a ten shi, perhaps, Emperor Hongzhi would have believed it, but the thirty shi was so absurd that he felt that it was too fake just by hearing it.

  He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, if this could come true, it would be great.

  But then, he shook his head again.

   All the ministers were already fighting with each other, but Emperor Hongzhi was distracted. When he came back to his senses, he just looked blankly at the empty hall.

  Liu Jian was presiding over the court meeting, looking at Emperor Hongzhi inadvertently. Usually, Emperor Hongzhi would always speak, but today, he could clearly feel His Majesty's anxiety.

  Actually... he can understand.

  The so-called state affairs, isn’t it just a matter of money and food?

  There is a disaster, money and food are needed, and there is a rebellion. The soldiers and horses have not moved, but the food and grass must go first. Things in the world can never escape these two words.

  The auspiciousness of thirty stones per mu sounds absurd, but it will inevitably make His Majesty think about it! In fact, why is he not tempted?

   In the world, it is true that the yield of 30 shi per mu can be realized. No, even if it is 10 shi, the great rule of the world will not be far away.

  It's a pity... Fang Jifan's kid has aroused everyone's appetite, but his auspiciousness is really vain.

  But at this moment, a **** hurried in and said, "Your Majesty, the Duke of England is back..."

  At this time, it was almost evening, and the two-hour court meeting had come to an end.

  Emperor Hongzhi listened, but he was not in a hurry to summon the Duke of England, but said indifferently: "Let him wait a while, I will see you later."

   Here, there is actually a desire to protect that kid Fang Jifan.

Now that the Duke of England has been asked to conduct a thorough investigation, it is likely that the boy did not know what medicine he took wrongly today, and he made a false report, and when the false report was found out, in front of the court full of civil and military officials, the Duke of England said this When the news comes up, it will definitely cause an uproar. There are many censors here. Once everyone scrambles to speak up, it will be fine, and it will make him and Fang Jifan unable to step down.

  So, it is still rumored in private, so even if it is a false report, at least it is not eye-catching. There are so many things happening in the court every day, and the censors are afraid that they will not bother to bring up the old things again.

  The **** nodded, then backed out.

   But not long after, there was a commotion outside.

  The British Duke Zhang Mao and Fang Jifan entered the palace, and they waited outside the palace, but the **** said, let them wait.

  Zhang Mao is impatient and anxious. He can't wait for such a big happy event.

  There are strict rules in the palace, and the Duke of England is an old minister. If it were normal, His Majesty would not say to wait for a while, even if he was asked to wait for three days and three nights, he would not lose his temper.

  But now...he pulled his face and said: "No, Jifan, let's see you immediately. How can such a big event be delayed? Come with me. If something goes wrong, the old man will take care of it."

   After finishing speaking, with a light wave of his hand, he pushed away the **** standing in front of him.

  Zhang Mao was very strong, even if it was only 'lightly', the **** was thrown out directly, and he fell on his back. He still did not forget his duty: "No...Your Majesty ordered..."

   Zhang Mao can't control so much, he is a rough but fine person, even if he entered the palace with a knife today, he won't worry about getting his head chopped off because of this great joy.

   "The matter of the canal transshipment, according to my opinion..." Chen Huang, the head of the Jiangxi Qingli Department of the Ministry of Household Affairs, was talking eloquently, when suddenly his words stopped.

  He stared dumbfounded at Zhang Mao entering the hall with a high spirit.

  Fang Jifan seemed to be a lot more low-key, hiding behind Zhang Mao, just following step by step.

   "..."

  In the Ming Dynasty, apart from the change of Tumu Fort, there were ministers fighting in this Jinshen Palace and beating to death Wang Zhen’s henchmen at that time. I have never seen anyone so bold.

  Countless pairs of eyes stared at Zhang Mao dumbfounded.

   Including Emperor Hongzhi.

  Emperor Hongzhi frowned subconsciously.

He had a good impression of the British Duke Zhang Mao. Although Zhang Mao was occasionally reckless, he was also a person who knew how to advance and retreat. Zhang Mao was appointed to worship the ancestral temple, but today...

   "British lord, you are so bold!"

  At this time, someone stood up with a righteous voice.

   This person is Liu Daxia, who is known as the three gentlemen of the Hongzhi Dynasty.

Liu Daxia relied on contradicting Xiang Zhong, Minister of the Ministry of War, in order to prevent the imperial court from making great achievements, and thus supervised the construction of ships to go to the West. Therefore, he got his name by burning the blueprints of shipbuilding and Zheng He's materials. Seeing that the British Duke is like this now, even though he is a mere military officer, he still dares to stand up and scold the British Duke.

On the other hand, Zhang Mao didn't even look at this person, and didn't bother to pay attention to him at all. What kind of gentleman is not a gentleman? The most important thing in the Ming Dynasty is a gentleman. If you sell it by the catty, you can get a good price. Guaranteed to be rich now.

An old fritter like Zhang Mao who has gone through several dynasties, although he is 'daring and reckless', he is very aware of the importance. He continued to move forward, and then he saluted Emperor Hongzhi without hesitation: "Your Majesty, my minister is Come to announce the good news, great joy..."

   Overjoyed?

  Emperor Hongzhi had a thought, and seemed to realize something instantly, but he still couldn't believe it. He looked straight at Zhang Mao and said, "Your family, but it doesn't matter."

   Now I don't have the slightest mood to take care of other things.

  Zhang Mao said proudly: "Your Majesty, I have found out that the so-called auspicious things are nothing!"

   There is nothing.

   These four words instantly made everyone's attention focus on Fang Jifan.

   Sure enough, it’s a fraud...

  Hmph, this smelly and shameless thing.

  Although Fang Jifan wasn't embarrassed, he couldn't help cursing in his heart, Shibo, can you finish a **** sentence in one breath, and you have to make a sentence here, do you think you are a writer?

Fortunately, Zhang Mao immediately said: "The so-called thirty stones per mu is indeed not auspicious, but... the old minister believes it with his own eyes, and dares to use the head as a guarantee, but it is absolutely true. The reason why the old minister said it is not auspicious , because it is not accidental that the yield of 30 shi per mu is not accidental. In Xishan, there are lands with 30 shi per mu of grain everywhere. Your Majesty, this is God Blessing Daming. Suffering."

   Speaking of this, Zhang Mao also became emotional.

   In this life, I have really lived on dogs. Look at Fang Jifan, who solved a century-old problem at once.

  Emperor Hongzhi trembled. He had already stood up. Hearing this, he was like a thunderstorm on a sunny day. His feet went limp, and he slumped down on the imperial chair.

   And the bustling Jinshen hall was suffocated for a moment.

  Liu Jian's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but said, "This... how is it possible, the yield per mu is 30 shi, is it rice or wheat?"

  Liu Jian is still quite prudent, and he can still maintain a trace of clarity.

  Zhang Mao fell silent.

  In fact, since the British government confirmed the yield of 30 shi per mu, basically no one dared to question it.

  Zhang Mao was waiting for Fang Jifan to answer.

  Fang Jifan knew that it was time for him to express himself, so he stepped forward and said, "It's not wheat or rice, but sweet potatoes. Because the skin is red, they are also called sweet potatoes."

  Suddenly, the person who had raised hope suddenly fell into the ice cellar. It turned out that it was not rice or wheat.

  If this is the case, what is the point of producing a hundred stones per mu?

   "Can you eat it?" Liu Jian continued to question.

  Every question raised by Liu Jian is the object of attention of the monarchs and ministers of the Manchu Dynasty.

  Fang Jifan settled down: "It's delicious."

  He didn't answer the question of whether it was possible, but directly answered all the doubts with delicious food.

  Liu Jian raised his eyebrows, now it's a bit interesting.

   But he still has many questions, so he continued: "Can it relieve hunger?"

   "Yes!" Fang Jifan answered very simply.

  Thinking of the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty, it was supported by this sweet potato, which increased the population by nearly ten times and fed countless people.

   It's just... many people still don't believe it.

   It’s not because they are smart or not. No one who can stand here is a fool.

   But sweet potatoes, they have never seen it before. Now that they hear such a 'magical' thing, they really can't believe it.

  Liu Jian took a deep breath excitedly, and then said word by word: "How to prove it?"

   "It's easy to prove." Fang Jifan replied word by word under the watchful eyes of everyone: "I have brought all the guys, just try it!"

  (end of this chapter)