my brother-in-law is the prince

Chapter 249 The big happy event

Deng Jian stared dumbfounded at Xia Yuanji who bowed to him.

This Xia Yuanji, even in front of Zhang Anshi, has never been so polite.

In Deng Jian's memory, only when Xia Yuanji saw the prince did he look so fearful.

This Deng Jian has begun to feel a little at a loss.

After all, he lived far away from the court for too long, and he has been serving people all his life. He is called an eunuch if you put it nicely, but he is not even considered a human being if you put it badly.

Xia Yuanji was excited to see Li.

Then Yang Rong and Hu Guang rushed forward and said, "I have seen Mr. Deng."

Deng Jian hurriedly said: "Ah...no...you don't have to be like this, we have met Yang Gong, Hu Gong and Xia Gong."

Before he could finish speaking, Xia Yuanji had already grabbed him, with an intimacy and a bit of flattery on his face.

"Eunuch Deng, the old man has something to ask for advice."

"Don't dare, dare not." Deng Jian blushed, not knowing whether he was excited or shy.

Xia Yuanji said seriously: "Can these potatoes be promoted?"

"Of course!" Deng Jian said, "We are preparing to select and breed good varieties from these potatoes, and plan to open dozens of acres of land to continue to cultivate. But... At first, the potato varieties brought from overseas were limited. It is inevitable that the good and the bad will vary, and now that we have an acre of land, we will have a lot of surplus, so we must choose the best potato species."

Xia Yuanji was ecstatic, and he said hoarsely, "Eunuch Deng brought this back from overseas?"

"Exactly."

Xia Yuanji raised his thumbs up, and said generously: "I heard that the sailors and warriors brought by Mr. Deng's trip to sea, they escaped death and suffered more than two years..."

When he said this, Deng Jian's eyes turned red unconsciously.

It was a painful memory buried deep in Deng Jian's heart.

But since he came back from the sea, he got some rewards and sent him to farm here. Those things in the past are like being sealed in dust.

Almost everyone, no one remembers that there was a group of people who stepped into the vast ocean with him, raised the sails, and headed for the vast and uninhabited place.

No one remembers, and no one cares.

After all, even if someone mentions voyages, most people think of his godfather Zheng He.

But even for his godfather, there are mixed opinions, at least in the court, people at most praised his godfather's courage, but they all thought that it was useless, but the product of great success, the result of His Majesty's slap on the head.

As for being as small as Deng Jian, no one wants to remember it for a long time.

For countless nights, Deng Jian even felt worthless for those who followed him back then.

Those people... Most of them were ordinary children who had to go to sea, but because they followed him, how many people were buried in the belly of fish, and how many people endured the torture like Ling Chi.

More than two years, more than two years, even if the people who survived, most of them are no longer human.

Apart from getting a little reward, who would deliberately mention it?

But at this moment, the majestic Hubu Shangshu Xia Yuanji personally mentioned it, and was full of praise, so Deng Jian couldn't stop crying.

He hurriedly wiped away his tears. Although he was not a man, he couldn't be cowardly at this moment, but his choked voice still betrayed him.

He said with a trembling voice: "At the beginning... everyone did suffer a lot and suffered a lot. Many of them, we can still dream of them now, but many of them can only be seen in dreams. See you. There is a child who is only 14 years old. He is a military household for generations. When his father fell ill, he replaced his father in the service. He fell ill on the way, as if suffering from hysteria, howling on the boat all night. Father and mother, I couldn't stand it later, and while everyone was not paying attention, he threw himself and jumped into the sea to die."

Deng Jian's eyes were red and his nose was sniffling.

Xia Yuanji couldn't help being moved at this moment, and said with emotion: "Hey, it's not easy, it's not easy."

The value of a person lies in this. People always judge heroes by their results. If there is no result, even if they sacrifice their lives, people will disdain them.

But now... After listening to Deng Jian's words, Xia Yuanji and the others couldn't help but have reddened eyes.

"It's a pity that he died at a young age."

Deng Jian shook his head and said: "No, it's good that he died. At that time, we and the people who were still alive on the boat saw him jumping off. Do you know what we and they were thinking? I was thinking... It's good, at least I don't suffer so much. Too many sins, we have many times, and we don’t want to live anymore, but in the end, we can’t bear it.”

Xia Yuanji said with emotion: "Those people... the old man remembers that the court gave compensation."

Deng Jian said: "There is a pension."

"Too little." Yang Rong frowned, and said from the side: "I know, I drafted the imperial edict, and each family gave tens of taels of silver...but now it seems that it is too little."

Xia Yuanji said: "These things will be repeated later, Eunuch Deng... This matter is of great importance, the old man asks again, can it really be generalized?"

Deng Jian nodded with certainty and said, "You can continue planting how you planted it at the beginning."

Xia Yuanji took a deep breath: "Do you know this method of planting?"

Deng Jian nodded again.

Xia Yuanji said: "Okay, it's not too late, Mr. Hu and Mr. Yang, let's go back to the palace quickly and meet the Holy One..."

He looked around and saw that there were many guards here, so he was relieved.

Then he looked at Deng Jian again, and said cordially: "Eunuch Deng, stay here for a while, the three of us will come if we go...Even if it is getting late, we will definitely come back. The guards here...with Marquis Annan here, they should Don't worry, Eunuch Deng, take a rest first."

After finishing speaking, he cupped his hands again, and without further words, hurriedly left with Yang Rong and Hu Guang.

Deng Jian stared blankly at their retreating figures.

Zhang Anshi and the others touched their stomachs, Zhang Anshi couldn't help but said: "Just now, we patronized Mr. Yang and the others to eat potatoes, but we were very hungry. Come here, prepare some food and wine for us, and we are not allowed to eat potatoes... this potato... It is more precious, kill us a lamb... and kill a chicken, the chicken and the lamb are cheaper."

As he said that, Zhang Anshi greeted Deng Jian: "Eunuch Deng, come, let's eat together later."

Deng Jian suddenly realized something, he took a deep look at Zhang Anshi, but said: "We are full, let's eat, we... have to get someone to store these potatoes quickly, after all, we have to keep them for seeding .”

Zhang Anshi then said: "Then it's hard work for you."

…………

Zhu Di was in the Wenlou at this time, and he met Zhao Kan, a bachelor of the Imperial Academy.

Zhao Kan is regarded as a bachelor's student, and occasionally needs to accompany the emperor in case his majesty asks about political affairs at any time.

Speaking of the disaster, Zhao Kan shed tears and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that there are refugees everywhere now, people fleeing from famine, starving to death countless times... Really... hey..."

After Zhu Di heard this, no matter how hard-hearted he was, he couldn't help sighing at this moment, and sighed: "The Qing family need not be sad, the imperial court will help them."

Zhao Kan said quietly: "Hey, the people's livelihood has declined to this point, and there are many gossips in the market. Your Majesty...I think...the tax should be exempted."

Zhu Di was hesitant when he heard about the exemption.

Now the main food and taxes of the imperial court come from the south of the Yangtze River. Now, the national treasury is empty. If the food and taxes are reduced, how will the imperial court maintain it in the future?
Zhao Kan went on to say, "It's not impossible for the imperial court to keep saving on food and clothing in the past few years, but the common people can't keep going. If this continues, I'm afraid there will be civil uprisings everywhere."

Zhu Di said: "If the tax is exempt...wouldn't the court have no way to help?"

Zhao Kan said: "But the reason why the people have no food surplus is precisely because of heavy taxes."

Zhu Di said: "During the time of Emperor Gaozu, the tax set was not high. Although it was not as high as the thirty-one tax in Han Gaozu's time, it would not bring too much burden to the people. As far as I know, the reason why The people are overwhelmed by taxes precisely because...the local government colluded with the local gentry and deceived the upper and lower in the name of fire consumption and other losses."

"But fire consumption and loss are things that have existed since ancient times!" Zhao Kan said earnestly.

Zhu Di frowned: "It has existed in ancient times? The ancient one you are talking about existed in the Yuan Dynasty, right?"

"Exactly."

Zhu Di frowned and said: "But the Yuan Dynasty died because of this, and the Ming Dynasty continued its old-fashioned method. Could it be that the Qing family said that my Ming Dynasty is the same as the Yuan Dynasty, with only a hundred-year Guozuo?"

"This..." Zhao Kan said: "Your Majesty... the fall of the Yuan Dynasty was due to tyranny. It was the result of the Yuan court not caring about the power of the people and making great achievements, not..."

Zhu Di's frown deepened, and he said, "Okay, okay, enough."

Seeing Zhu Di's displeasure, Zhao Kan felt emotional, but he had to keep silent.

I just couldn't help thinking in my heart, the emperor can't be good, and it's only a matter of time before such a disaster occurs in this country.

However, he dare not say these words, after all the current Emperor Yongle is a ruthless person, he really dares to kill people.

Zhu Di showed a distressed look, and his heart was depressed.

How much tax is confiscated, but there are many places for relief, the treasury is not enough, and there are many things to deal with in the world, but everyone teaches him to be kind and benevolent, but the problem is that benevolence can't turn into food.

How difficult it is to rule the world.

At this moment, a eunuch hurried in and said, "Your Majesty... Duke Yang, Duke Hu, and Duke Xia are asking to see you."

Zhu Di was in a bad mood, he frowned and said, "Didn't I hear that they went begging for food?"

The word begging for food is hard to say.

Majestic minister, isn't this begging?
Of course, what displeased Zhu Di the most was that the high-priced food ordered by the commercial firm, after all, was the one who lost money.

Although at this time, it is understandable for the commercial bank to provide a little food for relief, but it is still uncomfortable after all.

At the beginning, it was said that the national treasury belongs to the national treasury, and the internal money is the internal money.

If there is any shortage of internal funds, if you want the treasury to give some, the Ministry of Households will scream, as if your mother is dead.

Now it's all right, we need to use internal funds for the expedition, a lot of internal funds for armaments, and internal funds for relief. Up and down, they are all pointing at me!

The more Zhu Di thought about it, the more angry he became, so he said sullenly: "I don't see you, they have wasted so much time, let's deal with the official business at hand."

See Zhu Di's displeasure.

The eunuch didn't dare to talk too much, so he obediently went.

But after a while, the eunuch came back bravely and said: "Your Majesty, they said... they said... there is a big event to play, and they have to see it."

Zhu Di was angry, and said angrily: "How dare they refuse to obey the edict? They turned against them."

Already already full of anger, Zhu Di began to curse and greet all kinds of women indiscriminately. After all... he still said patiently: "Call in."

After a while, Zhu Di saw Xia Yuanji almost jumping in.

It's really bouncing, it belongs to the kind of toe-holding, like a toad, poking and bouncing, like a spring, when the toe hits the ground, it is immediately bounced up.

Zhu Di raised his eyebrows.

Xia Yuanji became more and more unruly.

Logically speaking, the ministers should file in. It should be Hu Guang who enters the palace first, followed by Yang Rong, and then Xia Yuanji, and the ministers should pay respects...

Damn it, now this kind of thing needs to be taught by me?

"I have seen Your Majesty." Xia Yuanji's voice was hoarse and tired, but at the same time, he was full of energy.

Zhu Di held back his anger, nodded lightly and said, "What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, let's start with the voyage to the West..."

In the end, Zhu Di couldn't help it anymore, and he suddenly flew into a rage: "Damn it, you have been going to the West for several years. As the secretary of the household department, you don't handle your own affairs well. You are idle all day long. Can you get rid of the deficit of the national treasury?"

With such harsh criticism, any minister would know that he had offended Tianyan, and he should apologize immediately.

But Xia Yuanji continued very calmly: "Your Majesty... After hearing what I said, there was an eunuch named Deng Jian who went to the West. Deng Jian brought back a foreign species from overseas. After that, this Deng Jian farmed in Qixia... Your Majesty, guess what?"

Zhu Di: "..."

Zhu Di felt that things had gotten out of control.

Most of the time, with just one look from him, the ministers should seem to be tamed, obediently bowing their heads and ears, but today Xia Yuanji...is very outrageous.

Even Yang Rong and Hu Guang didn't seem to be courtiers at this moment. They all raised their heads and stared at him fixedly. How could they look like courtiers?
Zhu Di said angrily: "If others farm, they will farm. It's none of your business?"

"This is not only related to the subject, it is related to Daming, it is related to Your Majesty, it is related to the common people in the world!" Xia Yuanji said excitedly: "Your Majesty... the alien species brought back has now been cultivated, and it is called potatoes... ...This thing...is amazing, its taste is no less than that of wheat and rice, and it can fill the stomach, which is not counted...Your Majesty...Its yield per mu can be [-] catties...[-] A hundred catties..."

Xia Yuanji smiled, and suddenly his eyes turned red, and he cried: "Ordinary people, one mu of dry land can grow [-] catties of wheat, which is not bad, but this potato can grow [-] catties. It is twice as big as a wheat field, Your Majesty... If one mu of land could feed a man before, then now... one mu of land can feed four people... This... This... I really dare not even think about it about... Your Majesty..."

Saying this, Xia Yuanji bowed down, kowtowed and said: "I am a great Ming... I have God's blessing, this thing called potatoes, if it weren't for the manifestation of the ancestors, if it wasn't for your majesty's kindness, how could it appear in the world... Naturally... this It was the eunuch Deng Jian who went to sea and went through untold hardships to get it, if it wasn't at the beginning... Your Majesty is so happy... No, no..."

"If it wasn't for your majesty's sageness, how could you get this treasure? If you have this thing, if you start to promote it, within ten years, my Ming Dynasty, there will be no shortage of food within 200 years. Even if there is a day A big famine is enough for the court to deal with it calmly..."

Zhu Di heard Deng Jian first.

I just thought the name sounded familiar.

It took a lot of effort to remember that this is the eunuch of the East Palace, and he has a close relationship with that guy Zhang Anshi.

When this man came back from the sea, he had seen this man and gave him some rewards!

Zhang Anshi even made a bet with him.

Of course, Zhu Di had long forgotten the details of the bet when he was in Java.

But after hearing that the yield per mu was [-] catties, Zhu Di couldn't close his mouth.

His eyeballs stayed in their sockets sluggishly, with a feeling of sleepwalking.

Seeing that Zhu Di remained silent for a long time, Xia Yuanji said uncertainly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

"Hmm." Zhu Di didn't scold anyone, nor was he agitated, but sat very calmly behind the court case.

At this time, he became extremely gentle.

"The yield per mu is [-] catties?"

"It's [-] catties per mu." Xia Yuanji said loudly.

Zhu Di said, "Is it Xiangrui?"

"It's not auspicious." Xia Yuanji said seriously: "It's the real yield per mu. I have personally inspected it, and even harvested, cleaned, titled, and converted. I have done it with Hu Gong and Yang Gong. It can be said that it is Qianzhen. Indeed, it is really thirteen hundred catties."

Zhu Di stood up and stared fixedly at Xia Yuanji: "How could there be such a thing in the world?"

"This..." Xia Yuanji couldn't answer, and finally he said: "Marquis An Nan seems to know a thing or two about this, when he told the story back then, Kechen was dizzy and didn't understand some things. "

Zhu Di said: "Zhang Anshi..."

After thinking about it, Zhu Di suddenly said, "Are you sure this thing is edible?"

Xia Yuanji insisted: "Yes, I have eaten it, the taste is quite good, and it can fill my stomach. This is what I ate at noon today, and I don't feel hungry now. Marquis Annan also said... some benefits of this food, but ... I can't remember clearly."

Of course I can't remember clearly, when I was eating, I just felt that Zhang Anshi was bragging, but I didn't bother to care about Zhang Anshi's words at that time!

Zhu Di took a deep breath, then calmed down and said: "Damn it, Zhang Anshi, why didn't you say it earlier, if I knew it earlier..."

Xia Yuanji said: "Your Majesty, I hope that I will immediately issue an order to contact Yousi, let me take the lead, and then go to Qixia. First, to protect the grain seeds, it is best to arrange guards and surround the farm. There are no more than 5000 people, so I am a little worried. Besides, I want to ask Mr. Deng to teach the method of farming, and let the Ministry of Households organize people..."

Zhu Di raised his eyebrows and said, "Yousi? What are Yousi going to do? That's Qixia, you want to steal the show? But... I still don't believe it... It's really unimaginable. Four times the ration, wouldn't it be equivalent to increasing my Ming's rations?" Quadruple the land?"

It's terrible, which also means that even if it carries four times the population, there is no need to worry.

Zhu Di immediately said: "Leave the palace, leave the palace, I want to go and see for myself."

Zhao Kan on the side felt that the ruler and ministers were all crazy, talking incoherently. As for the thirteen hundred catties of grain, he couldn't believe it, but he didn't say anything.

Now that he heard that His Majesty was going to leave the palace, Zhao Kan took the opportunity to stand up and said, "I'm only worried that someone is going to cheat..."

What he said is not unreasonable, Zhang Anshi is a relative, and Deng Jian is an eunuch, no matter how you look at it... they are not good birds.

Zhu Di said with a gloomy face: "Go, go..."

There was chaos in the palace for a while, mainly because it was too hasty, but soon, the Daming Gate opened, and Zhu Di, the ministers accompanying him, and hundreds of imperial guards hurried out on horseback.

Zhu Di had a kind of ecstasy all the way, but then...he seemed to be scared by the fools of his subordinates, and felt...shouldn't be too happy.

Although Zhang Anshi is credible, what if Zhang Anshi was also fooled by that eunuch named Deng Jian?
All kinds of thoughts came all the way.

So much so... that Pegasus almost ran into a passerby who had no time to dodge.

…………

Zhang Anshi and the others set up a table of wine and food in the Zhuangzi at this time.

Today is a celebration.

Although the object of the celebration was Deng Jian, Deng Jian did not serve because he had already had lunch.But it doesn't matter, so does Qing Zhang Anshi.

Zhang Anshi drank a few glasses of wine and told Qiu Song not to drink too much.

Qiu Song said unhappily: "I'm not young, big brother, at home, my father also let me drink some."

Zhang Anshi said meaningfully: "You should drink it elsewhere, not in my village, you understand."

Qiu Song: "..."

He doesn't understand.

Zhang Anshi couldn't help saying, "This lamb is good. It's fresh but not fishy. Our Qixia land is good for raising people."

Zhu Yong said: "Yes, in the future when sister-in-law is pregnant, I will teach her to give birth here in Qixia, and in the next year, I will give birth to such a delicate nephew for eldest brother."

Zhang Fu said: "Nonsense, it's not good to be too delicate. It needs to be darker and rougher, so that it looks like a man. If not, wouldn't it be the same as the actors in those theaters?"

Qiu Song said: "At that time, I will make a big firecracker, blow it up here, and even the Forbidden City can hear the sound."

Zhang Anshi helped his forehead, and said with emotion: "Hey... a crime."

"Brother, what crime did you do? It's okay, our father and brother, which one is not murderous? If you say crime, they should have given birth to a baby without an ass hole, but look, aren't we all good? It can be seen These nonsense are all lies." Zhu Yong said flatteringly: "Brother, don't be afraid."

Zhang Anshi: "..."

He decided not to speak when eating or sleeping, otherwise he would lose his appetite if he continued talking.

Deng Jian made a fuss, and warmed up another pot of wine.

Zhang Anshi said: "Eunuch Deng, sit down and eat."

"I'm not used to it." Deng Jian said, "I just like to serve the young master."

Zhang Anshi said: "What's not used to? We are a family."

These words hit Deng Jian's weakness, he hurriedly turned his head away, turned around after a long time, and forced a smile: "You guys eat."

between talking.

There are fast horses arriving.

Someone first stumbled in and said, "It's not good, it's not good, people are coming from the palace, many people are here..."

It's a school lieutenant from the Uchitoku Institute who came to report in a hurry.

Zhang Anshi was furious, and he raised his hand ready to hit someone: "Someone from the palace, what's wrong? You bastard, can you talk?"

The slap didn't go on, after all, the captain of Uchisento was one of his own.

But the captain hasn't apologized yet.

Then another person came in anxiously and shouted: "Marquis Annan, Marquis Annan, pick you up, go pick you up quickly."

But it was Yi Shiha who rushed in first.

This time I came too hastily, so that I didn't prepare anything. Yi Shiha was worried that something might go wrong, so he came to report the news first. In fact, he was worried that the farm would not respond in time.

Zhang Anshi didn't dare to hesitate, he got up immediately.

Deng Jian also panicked and hurriedly stood in the corner.

Yi Shiha looked around, and then landed on Deng Jian.

Then, Yishiha showed an intimate smile, stepped forward, grabbed Deng Jian's hand, and held Deng Jian's hand, as if brothers who had been separated for many years were reunited, and said affectionately: "Eunuch Deng ..."

"Ah... Grand Duke..."

"Don't call me Dagong, you are too born to be like this. We are all eunuchs, and people are not counted. So, we must treat each other as a family."

Also laughed very kindly.

If it was the past, Deng Jian saluted Yi Shiha, but Yi Shiha might not have looked at Deng Jian more.

There are too many disciples and grandchildren in the palace, with different relatives. Deng Jian...Yi Shiha also paid attention to him at the beginning, and thought he was clever, so he was dispatched to the East Palace.

It's a pity... Later, he went to the sea and plowed the fields again, which made Yi Shiha realize that Deng Jian might have no future.

But there is no way, the people in the palace... that's it... There are so many people that you can't pay attention to, and it's impossible to worry about everything.

But now...Yi Shiha seemed extraordinarily affectionate: "Let's go, first go see you."

"Slave... slaves are going too?"

"You should go."

Yi Shiha began to dust off Deng Jian's body, wishing to treat Deng Jian's clothes as if his hands were a washboard, and smiled happily. Zhang Anshi, who was about to pick him up, glanced at him, and said in a low voice: "You good fortune... tsk tsk... I really met a nobleman, who is so lucky in this palace? Later... When you are in front of the Holy One, what should you do?" Just say what you want, don't be afraid."

Deng Jian's heart was beating wildly. In fact, he had faintly noticed this early in the morning, but he still couldn't believe it, but now... the Grand Duke has understood what he said, and he nodded deeply: "I know now .”

……

"Minister Zhang Anshi..."

"Slave Deng Jian..."

"Meet Your Majesty"

Zhu Di had already fallen off his horse. He saw Zhang Anshi and Deng Jian first, with solemn expressions, and then... his eyes swept away, and he saw Qiu Song.

He nodded Qiu Song first, and ignored Zhang Anshi and Deng Jianping, pointed at Qiu Song and said, "Fork this guy out first, the farther the better, pass the decree, Qiu Song dares to step within a thousand steps." , break his legs... no, break his and his father's legs."

Qiu Song: "..."

Without saying a word, the guards flew up and dragged Qiu Song away.

Qiu Song shouted: "Brother..."

Zhang Anshi immediately buried his head lower, not daring to vent his breath.

What else can he say?

Say a bird.

…………

Chapter 2 has been delivered, please ask for a monthly pass, the cold has recovered a lot, and the normal update will resume tomorrow, thank you for your concern.

(End of this chapter)