Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 1349 Catering to Their Preferences

The book recording the yield per mu was given by the emperor to Eunuch Hong.

Eunuch Hong, holding the register, moved among the officials. Anyone who didn't believe him could stop him and take a look at the register.

Among all the officials, none spent the most time looking at the records than Prime Minister Cui.

Cui Xiang's gaze was so intense it seemed to pierce through the book, and Ji Benchang felt an immense sense of satisfaction.

"Prime Minister, in your opinion, is this register genuine or fake?"

Cui Xiang suppressed the urge to smash Ji Benchang to death with his tablet and forced a smile, saying, "Since Lord Ji dared to bring this book into the palace, how could it be fake?"

Despite saying that, he still refused to believe that there really was a crop in the world that could yield 10,000 catties per mu, and that such a crop was perfectly suited for planting in sandy soil.

What a coincidence, isn't it?

Yesterday, he proposed reclaiming wasteland in the Northwest.

Today, Ji Benchang presented a crop that could yield 10,000 jin per mu in sandy soil, thwarting all of Ji Benchang's plans.

It is true...

Or was the emperor colluding with the Ministry of Revenue to set him up?

He believes it is the latter.

Could it be... that the emperor has already discovered his plot?

Thinking of this, his heart tightened, and he couldn't help but probe: "Lord Ji, I wonder if I would have the honor of seeing this divine object with my own eyes?"

This is exactly what Ji Benchang was waiting for.

"Your Excellency is too kind." He looked outside the hall. "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has planted more than ten mu of this crop. When Marquis Shen left the capital, he took more than one mu with him, leaving nine mu for the Ministry of Revenue. The entire crop was harvested yesterday, with a total yield of 90,640 jin. It is currently stored in the Jiahepu warehouse. I wish to transfer it to the granary in the capital. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission!"

The emperor witnessed the magnificent harvest yesterday, and his heart is still filled with excitement.

But with all the officials around, he had no choice but to continue playing along with Ji Benchang.

He simply raised his hand and waved it: "Approved. The matter of transferring the treasury will be handled by Minister Cui. Report to the palace once it is confirmed."

Prime Minister Cui was secretly alarmed.

He didn't understand why the emperor would entrust this matter to him.

Is it a tap, or...?

Before he could ponder it further, the emperor's displeased voice rang out: "Minister Cui is unwilling?"

He immediately came to his senses and kowtowed in gratitude for the imperial favor: "Your subject obeys!"

The emperor waved his hand: "Go."

......

As soon as Cui Xiang and Ji Benchang left, the hearts of all the officials also flew out of the palace.

The yield of crops in sandy areas reaching tens of thousands of kilograms per mu is truly astonishing.

Even after the court session ended, many people were still in a daze.

However, several people who always liked to speculate on the emperor's intentions had already noticed something amiss: "My lords, don't you think His Majesty's reaction in the hall earlier was a bit strange?"

"Indeed... judging from His Majesty's expression, he is only pleased and not surprised, just like..."

"It's as if His Majesty already knew that the new crop would yield over ten thousand per mu."

"That's right!"

The group exchanged glances, then huddled together whispering. After a moment, they came to a conclusion: "The fact that this crop yields over ten thousand kilos per mu is something that Marquis Shen must have already told His Majesty!"

"As expected of His Majesty!"

"As expected of Marquis Shen!"

Such a major event, how could these two have kept it a secret until today!

"The people of our Great Zhou are truly blessed!" They couldn't help but start imagining the future: "With this crop, how could the Qiang, Hu, and Dayue tribes not submit to our Great Zhou?"

Previously, although they verbally proclaimed that they wanted to "take down the Hu tribes," they knew in their hearts that if the court went to war with the Hu and Qiang, it would inevitably be a waste of manpower and resources.

Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back; once war begins, there's no reason to stop halfway.

In the end, even if it's not a lose-lose situation, even if they manage to defeat the Hu and Qiang, they will likely suffer heavy losses and incur huge costs.

But now, everything is different.

With the Zhou dynasty holding the power to produce tens of thousands of catties of grain per mu in the sandy land, it held the lifeline of the Hu and Qiang ethnic groups.

At that time...

"At that time, I will hold up that grain and ask the Qiang people—"

Lan Youguang, accompanied by a military officer, passed by them, raising his right hand in a gesture of respect, and said, "'Do you want them? If you do, then submit to my Great Zhou and offer up some fine horses as tribute, and I will consider taking you in.' Hahahaha—"

With that, Lan Youguang laughed heartily, "How wonderful! How wonderful! Lord Shen is truly a divine being! He relieved the siege of Shazhou without losing a single soldier! I am convinced!"

The military officer beside him laughed, but then suddenly remembered something: "But... General, before court today, didn't you say you were going to storm Liuyang Prefecture and take that Shen... umm... umm—"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Lan Youguang quickly covered the officer's mouth. "When did I ever say such a load of rubbish!"

The military officer, struggling to breathe as the officer's hand was smothered, cried out, "General, but it's Young Master Yi...!"

Upon hearing his beloved son's name, Lan Youguang slapped his forehead.

"That's right! I was just worried that Xiao Yi would be without a master and no one would teach him in the future..." He slapped the military officer's shoulder. "Lord Shen is smart, so let Xiao Yi become her disciple! Quick! Go and find out what Lord Shen likes and dislikes, so I can... what did he like to me again?"

"Catering to their preferences."

"Yes, yes, cater to their preferences! When giving gifts, you have to cater to their tastes!"

Lan Youguang put his arm around the military officer and walked away.

The officials who had been watching them leave rolled their eyes: "That good-for-nothing brat of his dares to dream of becoming Marquis Shen's apprentice? Dream on!"

......

Tongan County.

The Empress Dowager is setting off again.

Outside the Tong'an County government office, Shen Zheng looked reluctant to part: "Madam, why don't you stay until after the New Year? Wasn't that your plan before you came to Tong'an County...?"

Now that she's leaving so suddenly, she feels a little reluctant to go.

The Empress Dowager held her hand and patted it gently, saying, "Good child, the sweet potatoes are of great importance, and I must go back. This year... I will spend the New Year in the capital, so that the Emperor may be pleased as well."

Shen Zheng pursed her lips: "Then this junior will not keep you any longer."

She looked at the row of wooden crates behind her: "But I hope you can take these with you."

The Empress Dowager followed her gaze, listening as she introduced each item: "The first box contains mahjong tiles, complete with instructions, to keep you entertained on the journey. The second box contains rubber axles and wheelchair mats; replace any worn-out ones to make the ride less bumpy. The third box contains raw sweet potatoes, which you can roast and eat on the road..."

"Sweet potatoes?" Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager immediately shook her head. "Such a rare variety, even if I were craving it, I wouldn't eat it. You keep them all for seed next year!"

Shen Zheng took two steps toward the alley containing the sweet potatoes, opened it, and said with a smile, "Look, these sweet potatoes are rather small and the eyes are not very obvious, so they are not suitable for seed saving. Even if you don't take them to eat, I will eat them myself."

Roasted sweet potatoes...

Just thinking about its sweet and soft texture made Shen Zheng's mouth water uncontrollably.

The Empress Dowager was skeptical: "Is it really true?"

Seeing that she didn't believe him, Shen Zheng immediately took out a sweet potato, took out the dagger from her waist, and stabbed her.

The sweet potato is cut in half; the flesh is yellowish and the juice is whitish, making one's mouth water at first glance.