"Your Majesty the Emperor and the Queen of Heaven, it has been verified that all foods are non-toxic and can be eaten!"
Waiting and waiting, the long wait is very annoying. Fortunately, the incense stick as a sign has finally burned to the end. The eunuch leader responsible for inspecting the food asked in a low voice several young eunuchs who were trying the dishes.
After saying that everything was normal, he felt relieved, walked quickly to Gaozong's table, and respectfully reported something.
"Um."
After waiting for such a long time, Gaozong was already quite displeased. He did not show any good looks to the eunuch leader, but he just said a stern face and sent him away.
"Grandpa Huang, here, my adopted son has peeled the peanuts for you."
Although Li Chongyi was young, his ability to observe colors was not bad. When he saw that Gaozong was unhappy, he immediately peeled a few peanuts, showed an innocent smile, and handed them to Gaozong obediently.
"Well, okay, then Grandpa Huang will come and have a taste."
As soon as he saw Xiao Chongyi's innocent smile, Gaozong's unhappiness immediately disappeared. He reached out and took a few peanuts with a smile, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it carefully. The more he chewed, the more he chewed.
The more fragrant it tastes, the more surprised the face becomes.
"It's delicious, it's delicious, it's good, it's good. All my dear friends, please try it."
Emperor Gaozong didn't pay much attention to food, but as an emperor, he tasted a lot of delicacies from mountains and seas, but he had never eaten such crispy food. He couldn't help but applaud again and again.
"Well, it's really good. What a good thing."
“This food is fragrant, crispy and chewy, not bad, really good!”
“It’s delicious, as expected of overseas delicacies, so good!”
…
The ministers and workers were originally very curious. When they saw Gaozong's words, they all started to take action. Whether it was peanuts or roasted sweet potatoes, they picked them up and put them in their mouths. The taste was obvious after eating them.
When he arrived, the praises immediately became louder.
"Grandma Huang, these are the peanuts that Yier peeled for you. Please taste them, Grandma Huang."
The whole hall was filled with the sound of chewing, but Empress Wu was the only one who sat upright without moving. Although her face was calm as usual, there was a trace of haze flashing in her eyes. Seeing this, Li Xian quietly gave Li Chongyi a look,
The extremely well-behaved Li Chongyi immediately walked up to Empress Wu with a small plate of peeled peanuts and said something crisply.
"Oh, Yi'er is so good. Come on, put it here with Grandma Huang. Grandma Huang will eat it now."
Although Empress Wu didn't like Li Chongyi in her heart, she would never show it at that moment. Instead, she showed a kind smile, reached out and touched Li Chongyi's head, and replied lovingly.
"My righteous son obeys my orders."
Li Chongyi was not close to Empress Wu at all, and would not act coquettishly in front of Empress Wu. He just respectfully agreed, placed the small plate in his hand at the position indicated by Empress Wu, and immediately retreated to Gaozong's side.
While chatting and laughing with Gaozong, he was busy preparing food for Gaozong. The grandfather and grandson were minding their own business and having fun. When this happened, although Empress Wu still smiled lightly, there was a gloomy look in her eyes.
It's just a little bit thicker.
For this feast, Li Xian had made full preparations for several months. All kinds of dishes were rare and rare. He also had the chefs of the East Palace practice it several times. The dishes they made were of course delicious.
The food was delicious and delicious. Although I was delayed for some time due to the food inspection, fortunately the weather was hot, but I didn't expect the dishes to be cold. They were warm just right, and everyone in the hall was full of joy as they ate.
The more everyone ate happily, the deeper the dissatisfaction in Empress Wu's heart became. However, she couldn't easily break out in front of everyone. After all, her image was still important, so she quietly glanced at Jia Chaoyin, signaling him to come forward and stir up the situation.
.
"His Royal Highness, I heard that Your Highness said that he could solve the disasters in Henan and Hebei, but he didn't know how to solve the problem?"
Jia Chaoyin was Empress Wu's confidant, so he had already been informed by Empress Wu in advance. When he saw Empress Wu giving the signal, he did not dare to neglect it, so he stopped the chopsticks in his hand and moved towards Li Xianyi.
He handed over his hand and started to get angry.
"Don't be anxious, Mr. Jia. Since I dare to speak out about this matter, I dare to take responsibility for it. Let's have dinner first and discuss it later."
Li Xian had long expected that Empress Wu's party would cause trouble at the banquet, so he would not be offended by Jia Chaoyin's unforeseen affair. He smiled slightly and answered confidently.
"I'm afraid Xian'er's words are inappropriate. Millions of people in both places are in danger of not having enough to eat. As the people in charge of the government, how can we have the heart to have a feast? If this matter is not decided for a day, it is my mother's duty.
It was hard to live in peace for a day, and since Xian'er said he could solve the problem, he came up with a safe way."
Although Jia Chaoyin dared to take the lead in attacking, he didn't have the courage to confront Li Xian in court. He was blocked by Li Xian's words and didn't know how to deal with it. Seeing this, Empress Wu immediately interjected, no
This leaves no room for maneuver for Li Xian.
"The mother's lesson is correct, and the child should obey it. However, before the child tells the advice, please invite the father, the mother, and all the ministers to accompany the children and ministers to the backyard."
Be prepared and you will be safe. Li Xian was not afraid of the troubles caused by Empress Wu at all, but he did not follow Empress Wu's rhythm. Instead, he smiled and made an invitation.
"Well, okay, all my dear friends, please come with me."
Although Emperor Gaozong was excited after eating, he was still thinking about the current severe drought. When he heard what Li Xian said, he immediately put down his chopsticks without hesitation, stood up first, and said a decree.
.
"My sons and ministers (ministers, etc.) obey the order!"
Now that Emperor Gaozong had spoken, everyone stood up one after another, whether they liked it or not, and headed straight for the back garden led by Li Xian.
The back garden of the East Palace is not too small, covering an area of more than forty acres. It was originally a place where green grass and flowers intersected among the pavilions and pavilions. But now the back garden that appears in front of everyone is a large vegetable field, a full half of it.
The back garden had been plowed by Li Xian, and rows of strange plants had been planted. There was also a small half of empty ridges, and the soil on them was freshly plowed. It was obvious that the plants on those ridges had just been harvested.
Come down.
"Xian'er, these are all very strange plants, how come I don't recognize them all?"
Although Emperor Gaozong was an emperor, he still knew about grains. When he saw how cute the green plants in the fields were, his curiosity immediately aroused. He walked to the fields and wandered around for a while, but suddenly found that they were all the same.
Unable to recognize it, I had to ask the question to Li Xian.
"So that my father will know that the ingredients used in the previous banquet came from here. They were harvested in advance and made into dishes. Father, please see, this row is planted with corn, and those green protrusions are
Inside the sac is the fruit, and beside it are sweet potatoes whose leaves are edible and whose tubers are buried in the ground.
Below, these seemingly inconspicuous grasses are peanuts, and their fruits are also underground. The ridges of land are planted with potatoes. Those hanging red fruits are peppers, which are excellent condiments.
I invite my father, my mother, my queen, and all the princes to come here because I want you all to be witnesses."
Li Xian pointed to the plants in the ridges with a smile on his face, and listed the names of various plants one by one like a treasure trove. At the end, he changed the subject and made a request.
"Witness? How do you say this?"
Upon hearing what Li Xian said was strange, Gao Zongdeng was a little confused. He glanced at Li Xian doubtfully and asked hesitantly.
Li Xianyi bowed and explained with a smile: "To tell my father, I plan to ask the palace guards to harvest various plants immediately. Please ask my father and mother to see the yield of these plants on the spot."
"Oh? Okay then, let's get started."
Although Gaozong didn't understand Li Xian's intention, he did not refute Li Xian's favor and agreed with a smile.
"Your Majesty, Father and Queen, please sit down in the pavilion. I will tell the palace guards to start immediately."
Upon hearing that Gaozong had agreed to his request, Li Xian did not dare to let Gaozong stay under the sun any longer, so he respectfully moved Gaozong and Empress Wu to a pavilion beside the fields and arranged for the eunuchs in the palace to offer them to him.
After the newly brewed fragrant tea, I ordered the guards who had been waiting for a long time to go to the fields to harvest.
After Li Xian gave the order, a group of guards immediately got busy. Some went to pick corn, some went to plow the fields to harvest sweet potatoes, and some weighed the harvested fruits. They were the guards involved in the farm work.
There were more than two hundred people, but it took more than half an hour to get the matter completely done.
"Your Majesty the Emperor and the Empress of Heaven, all kinds of crops have been harvested. Among them, sweet potatoes were planted on 50% of the land and the actual harvest was 2,700 jins; corn was planted on 60% of the land and the actual harvest was 520 jins; potatoes were planted on 50% of the land.
From the land, the actual harvest is 430 jins; from one acre of peanuts, the actual harvest is 350 jins; from three-thirds of the land, the actual harvest from peppers is 57 jins and 8 taels."
Zhang Mingwu was personally in charge of the statistical work. After all the data were summarized, Zhang Mingwu did not dare to neglect it, but when he saw him walking into the pavilion quickly, he bowed to Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu, and reported loudly.
After a while.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, dear."
Although Gaozong could distinguish grains, he had no idea about the data of yield per mu. He had no special reaction to the data reported by Zhang Mingwu, and just gave him a casual reassurance.
"Your Majesty, these are godsends. If they can be widely used, why worry about the food and clothing of the people?"
Emperor Gaozong didn't understand, but Pei Yan, the Minister of Household Affairs, understood the pros and cons. In his excitement, he stood up first and shouted excitedly, regardless of what others thought.
"Huh? Why did Aiqing say this?"
Emperor Gaozong really didn't understand. When he saw Pei Yan being so excited, his curiosity immediately arose and he hurriedly asked.
"Replying to Your Majesty, I should be in charge of the household department and have some knowledge of the grain yield per acre. As far as I know, the rice yield in the south is less than 500 jins per acre, and the wheat yield in the north is only about 400 jins.
Most of the common people depend on this for their livelihood, and it only matters in good years. But if the production decreases, the people will not have enough to use it. If you can use this magical thing, why worry about the world being unruly!"
Pei Yan took a few deep breaths, calmed down his excitement a little, and then explained.
"Oh? I don't know. It turns out that these things are really treasures. Can you tell me how you found these treasures?"
Gaozong mentally calculated the yield per mu of sweet potatoes and other items, and then compared it with the yield per mu of grains mentioned by Pei Yan. His interest immediately became high, but he did not rush to make a decision, but started to inquire more about it with great interest.
…
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