Ci Jinzhi

Chapter 376 Treasure

 The air of Qianqing Palace is filled with the faint smell of burning fireworks. This is how the Chinese New Year is celebrated in the palace. From the New Year to the Lantern Festival, fireworks will be set off in front of the Qianqing Palace every day.

Xinyou walked into Qianqing Palace with a relaxed expression and saluted Emperor Xingyuan.

Emperor Xingyuan was a little surprised.

He thought Ayou would be somewhat emotional.

 “A seat is given without any gift.”

The chamberlain brought a brocade stool and Xinyou sat down silently.

 “Ayou.”

 “I am here.”

“I wronged you at the New Year’s Eve family dinner.”

Xin You's eyes were filled with surprise: "It's already passed, I have forgotten it."

These words made Emperor Xingyuan speechless.

At first, he had comforted Ayou, but he also told Ayou to be more tolerant when dealing with his mother in the future. After all, the mother was old. Mentioning these things now makes it seem like he is holding on to them.

“The Queen Mother is hard-spoken and soft-hearted, don’t take it to heart.”

"Yes." Xin You said simply.

 Of course she wouldn't take the old lady to heart.

“You have to attend that family banquet in the future.” Emperor Xingyuan said again when he saw that Xin You didn’t look like he was going to agree.

Xin You raised her eyes to meet Emperor Xingyuan's eyes and said in a very calm tone: "I feel that I should not appear at the family banquet in the palace. This is the Queen Mother's wish."

 Finally, she had an honest reason to refuse, so she was stupid before agreeing again.

 “The Queen Mother just said a few words——”

 “Submit to the Queen Mother’s wishes, and the Queen Mother will be in a good mood.”

There was really no way to refute these words, so Emperor Xingyuan had no choice but to be vague and talk about his thoughts later.

Xin You was too lazy to dwell on this topic anymore, and said what he had been thinking about: "Your Majesty has sent a minister to the palace, and I happen to have something to report."

Emperor Xingyuan straightened his expression: "What's the matter?"

 He unconsciously showed the demeanor of a monarch towards his ministers. Xin You saw it and was happy to see it.

 Leave aside whether you agree to her proposal or not, at least take what she has to say seriously.

 “Although the New Deal is good, it also has disadvantages.”

Emperor Xingyuan was stunned: "Disadvantages? Please tell me carefully."

“Dividing a small amount into an acre, those with more land will pay more taxes. I believe the tax revenue will be effective this year.”

Emperor Xingyuan nodded.

He is not very knowledgeable, but he is quite talented in arithmetic. He has long forced the Minister of Household Affairs to secretly calculate together, and he is very much looking forward to the taxes that will be collected from the new policy pilot.

 “What are the disadvantages?”

 “The disadvantages are not in the present, but in the future.”

 “In the future?” Emperor Xingyuan looked at the girl with bright eyes, and suddenly remembered what she said when she persuaded him to implement the New Deal.

At that time, she said, the current evils are not deep, and there is the threat of the founder of the country. If we don’t implement the new policy now, how can we leave it to our descendants?

“Are you worried that the New Deal will not be implemented effectively in the future?”

Xin You shook his head: "It's useless to worry about this. People's thoughts are the most uncertain."

Emperor Xingyuan understood what this meant.

Even if he pushes forward the New Deal, how can he guarantee future generations?

“Under the New Deal, landless people do not have to pay taxes. Without this restriction, the number of children would probably more than double.”

Emperor Xingyuan’s eyes lit up: “This is a good thing!”

 The newly established dynasty after the war was short of people.

“It’s a good thing now, but the output of the fields is certain. After two or three generations, the population exceeds the support capacity of the fields, and trouble may occur…”

Emperor Xingyuan's expression changed as he listened to Xinyou's explanation.

 He understood that it was possible!    No, in a few generations, this will definitely happen!

Emperor Xingyuan was shocked, Xin You pursed his lips slightly.

 The benefits of the New Deal are immediate, and there is no need to mention the problems that may arise many years later. And the reason why she specifically pointed it out was to open up a hole in the national policy of maritime ban.

Of course, she will not explicitly encourage the lifting of the sea ban. Once people taste the benefits of going abroad, their minds will naturally change.

“Ayou, since you mentioned the hidden dangers of the New Deal, is there a way to deal with it?” Emperor Xingyuan quickly reacted.

Xin You hesitated for a while and then said: "My mother once told me that there is a crop overseas that can be used as a staple food. This crop can be cultivated in barren lands and has extremely high yields-"

Emperor Xingyuan became interested when he heard that it could be grown in barren land. When he heard that the yield was extremely high, he hurriedly asked: "How much is the yield?"

Xin You paused and asked, "How much grain can we produce per mu?"

Farming is the foundation of the country. Emperor Xingyuan was very familiar with this data. He immediately said: "The fields are different in the north and south. The average yield per mu is between two and three stones."

After finishing speaking, Emperor Xingyuan asked tentatively: "Could it be that the crops Ayou mentioned can reach five or six stones?"

If it cannot be doubled, the output cannot be said to be extremely high.

Xinyou curled his lips and said: "It can reach dozens of stones."

 “How much?” Emperor Xingyuan stood up directly.

 “You heard it right, the yield of this crop can reach dozens of dan per mu.”

Emperor Xingyuan sat down and stretched his neck to approach Xinyou: "Ayou, is the measurement of an overseas acre different from ours?"

Xin You smiled and said with certainty: "It's based on our one acre."

Emperor Xingyuan couldn't sit still at this time. He stood up, walked back and forth twice, and simply walked to Xin You: "Ah You, are there really crops with such high yields in this world? You can't coax me!"

"How dare I deceive you?"

 “What is this crop called?”

 “It’s called sweet potato.”

“Sweet potato?” Emperor Xingyuan read this unfamiliar name, his heart burning.

If there is such a crop, no matter how it tastes, at least the people will not be hungry!

Xin You seemed to know what he was thinking, and smiled: "The sweet potato yield is extremely high, which is enough to solve the problem of food shortage caused by the population explosion caused by the New Deal many years later."

 “Okay, okay, great!” Emperor Xingyuan began to spin in circles again.

 No monarch wants to see the people under his rule prosper. People themselves are the best resource.

Xinyou promptly reminded: “But this crop is overseas.”

Emperor Xingyuan was stunned, as if a basin of cold water had been poured on him.

 The policy of sea ban was decided by him.

 To this day, he still feels that opening the sea will do more harm than good.

“The imperial court will send envoys to surrounding countries from time to time to enhance the country’s prestige. If there are plans to send envoys this year, some people can be quietly arranged to look for sweet potatoes.”

 “Quietly?” Emperor Xingyuan was puzzled.

“Such a crop with high yield, irrespective of soil fertility, and can be used as a staple food, the country that possesses it will definitely regard it as a treasure and will not let it go out easily.”

As soon as Xin You explained, Emperor Xingyuan couldn't help but nod.

This is true. If Daxia had this treasure and foreigners wanted to take it home, he would definitely chop off the foreigners' heads.

Emperor Xingyuan was silent for a moment and asked: "Did your mother tell you these?"

"yes."

Emperor Xingyuan fell silent again.

Different from the ban on private overseas trade, the imperial court never stopped communicating with overseas countries. From time to time, it would send envoys to various countries, and it would also entertain envoys from foreign countries who came to Daxia.

 Large ships and sailors are readily available. If there really are sweet potatoes that Ayou mentioned overseas, it would be worth looking for. Even if you can't find it, it's equivalent to a normal mission and you won't lose much.

Emperor Xingyuan quickly made up his mind: Go!

 (End of this chapter)