Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1515: Legend of the Hidden Sea 35

It was impossible for Zang Hai to hide the actual situation in Zhongzhou and Jiangnan from Xiao Jinyue, but he was not in a hurry to talk about it when he returned home in the evening. After seeing off Gao Ming, Liu Chu and Guan Feng, Xiao Jinyue directly asked Zang Hai to go to bed early.

Of course Zang Hai refused, and he kept rubbing against him, pretending to be pitiful. Xiao Jinyue just held him down with her hand, and asked with a half-smile, "How about I ask the imperial physician to check your pulse?"

Zang Hai didn't behave himself immediately, but he had come back from a long journey from Zhongzhou, and if his body wasn't damaged at all, it couldn't be said to be made of iron and steel. Seeing that Xiao Jinyue was as hard as iron, he could only hold him and sleep in his arms.

Of course the imperial envoy who was sent out to the capital would be given a holiday when he returned. Zang Hai had a special status, so Emperor Zhenshun asked for a month's vacation, which really made Zang Hai laugh and cry.

Those who didn't know couldn't help but joke that this was the old father doing a favor for his precious daughter Xiao Jinyue. Those who knew the inside story, such as Xiao Jinyue and Zang Hai, became more and more resentful of Emperor Zhenshun.

However, before officially talking about Zhongzhou and Jiangnan, Zang Hai first expressed his concerns about the Hetao region. "There may be a severe drought in the Hetao region this year. Last year, Shu had a poor harvest due to floods. This year's disaster relief may be difficult. In addition, there was an incident of people from the northern border moving south. If there is unrest in the Hetao region, war between Dayong and the northern border may be unavoidable."

Xiao Jinyue certainly knew the threat posed by the northern border tribes to the Central Plains dynasty. Even in the eyes of the Yong court, the northern border tribes had been under attack for more than a hundred years after the founding of Yong, and could not pose too much of a crisis to Yong. But for the people living in the border areas, once the northern border tribes moved south, it would be a huge crisis of family destruction and death, so they were the ones who supported Xiao Jinyue the most.

Because of the wool business, the increasing number of trading posts on the border ensured that Dayong and the northern border tribes could exchange what they had, reducing the frequency of the northern border tribes going south to forage for food. This also greatly stabilized the border environment and exchanged for peaceful development of the border. Therefore, they were the ones who least wanted the northern border tribes to go to war with Dayong.

Xiao Jinyue had some confidence in the affairs of the tribes in the northern border. "Dayong has been trading wool with the tribes in the northern border for seven years. During these seven years, I believe the grazing structure on the grassland has been updated. Sheep that can produce meat, milk, and most importantly, wool are the mainstream of herdsmen's grazing. The number of horses and other animals may not decrease linearly, but the growth of sheep herds has definitely squeezed the living space of horses and cattle."

Zang Hai was afraid of a possible eventuality: "What if there are such knowledgeable people in the northern border tribes who see the obvious conspiracy of Dayong and want to give it a try?"

Xiao Jinyue said without thinking: "That's perfect. If we can severely damage the vitality of the tribes in the northern border in one fell swoop, all the grasslands from east to west will become the wool production area of our Dayong."

"The most important thing is that the Hetao area will also have a chance to recuperate. Who knows, I may see the day when the water of the Yellow River becomes clear in my lifetime."

Zang Hai felt that there were some loopholes in this, so he asked immediately, "If there is no grazing in the Hetao area, how will the people live?"

Xiao Jinyue had already started making preparations for this. "In Hetao, we won't graze our livestock. We can first plant grass to conserve the soil and water, and then start planting trees. Trees with high fruit yields, such as jujube trees, apricot trees, hawthorn trees, and apple trees, can all bloom and bear fruit in Hetao. The fruits they produce can be made into dried fruits and candied fruits on the spot and sold to the northern Xinjiang grasslands."

"Don't think that the grasslands only produce cattle, sheep, horses, camels and grass. In fact, in the right season, there are many wild vegetables and mushrooms on the grasslands. The button mushrooms are also selling well in Beijing."

"Besides, I have already sent people to investigate a lot. The grassland not only produces coal, gems, gold and silver, but also a lot of mineral deposits. If the climate was not so bad, I would even want to directly bring the entire grassland under the rule of Dayong."

All Zang Hai had learned before was his personal interests and hobbies, apart from the desire to inherit his family's knowledge. He had not really considered much about other things. Even the idea of serving the country and the people was something he had only come up with after he witnessed the darkness of officialdom.

And now that Xiao Jinyue was talking about the grassland, this almost touched on the blind spot of his knowledge. For a moment, he could only express his verbal support for Xiao Jinyue and did not dare to say anything about the grassland easily.

But if the Yellow River can become clear, it means that the water in the upper reaches will no longer carry too much silt into the lower reaches where the water flow is slower and then deposited. Without silt deposition in the lower reaches, the riverbed will not continue to rise, and there will be no worries about river flooding. Then the Central Plains will once again become an important grain producing area, and the capital will become more stable.

The couple pointed at the map for several days like this. Mingxiang and Andu could not help but send out invitations, and only then did the newlyweds, who had been separated for a long time, go out.

The Zhenlou is still prosperous and lively. Good wine and good food are just the basics. The various good things collected by Mingxiang Antu through various channels are also very attractive. In particular, King Yongrong used to like to come to the Zhenlou to show his support and contributed a lot to Canghai's revenge.

When those who were interested heard that Xiao Jinyue would come to the Pillow Tower to watch the fun, they couldn't help but come to join in the fun, especially when Mingxiang Antu took out the legendary elixir of immortality of the Holy Mother of Xiling. Such important news even alarmed the palace.

Naturally, Mingxiang Antu was criticized again and again in the court, and the only thing that came close to saying was that she wanted to use the fictitious elixir whose origin and efficacy were unknown to poison the people of Dayong, and that she had evil ambitions.

There were even radical elements who remembered Mingxiang Andu and Dongxia's identities as hostages and wanted to send a letter to question Dongxia.

Although Xiao Jinyue volunteered to come and support Mingxiang Antu, she did not agree with her approach of directly putting the elixir of immortality on the table. "This will not help those who have been blinded to the truth to return to the right path. Instead, it will make them angry and desperate."

Mingxiang Antu smiled bitterly and said, "Then I can't just watch someone with ulterior motives harm our winter and summer like this..."

Xiao Jinyue could only give Mingxiang Antu some spiritual support. Although Dongxia was against the harsh environment in Northeast China, the situation was more complicated than that in Dayong. Mingxiang Antu had already received news that the death of her mother Mingyusuti was not only caused by Zhao Bingwen, but also by the betrayal of the Dongxia royal court.

So she easily forgave her sister Ming Yan Yin Shu and decided to stay in Dayong and wait for an opportunity to help Dong Xia.

If Mingxiang Antu returned to Dongxia, the best outcome would be that she would be sent to marry a foreign prince by Mingyan Yinshu. If she stayed in Dayong, she could not only continue to run the Zhenlou and shelter those desperate people, but at least she could also raise food and fodder and contribute her own strength to Dongxia.