12dz Chapter 351
Chapter 351
Yu Ningxin picked up an autumn pear from the table and took a bite. "That time, they even sent people to secretly watch the farmers harvest the rice from the fields from start to finish. Then, following the old rules, they paid a high price to buy the rice ears along with the stalks."Yue Fuguang nodded. She had tacitly approved of this matter. If they wanted to watch, let them watch. What they were selling was exactly that batch of rice from the fields. If they wanted anything else, they wouldn't get it anyway.
"As a result, the rice seedlings grew beautifully this year. After improving the planting methods, the rice ears also formed. It was said that they grew quite well, but it's a pity they only grew ears without yielding any actual rice grains. And so, the three kingdoms still haven't given up, thinking that planting for another year will surely yield plenty of rice."
Yue Fuguang curled her lips into a smile. She wanted to trick them a few more times, so in the second year, she switched to a rice variety that was equally high-yielding and equally incapable of being kept for seed. The only difference between the two types of rice was that one produced ears but no grains, while the other hardly produced any ears at all.
This was called proceeding step by step, giving them hope little by little, and making them have the illusion that as long as they tried harder, they would definitely succeed.
She hadn't expected them to actually fall into the trap again this year. As for this year's rice seeds, they surely wouldn't disappoint them. They would produce rice grains, only to be eaten by unknown pests. Come to think of it, their hearts would bleed, wouldn't they?
Yue Fuguang rubbed her increasingly slender and smooth chin, which now showed a distinct jawline. This could be considered collecting early interest for their continuous harassment of her over the past two years.
"Tell Second Brother to handle the finishing touches well and try not to leave them with any leverage." It was not yet time to tear all face with them.
Over the past two years, the Sancha region had been continuously reinforced, and the stationed army had reached over fifteen thousand men. But if they really found out they had been played, they would probably go crazy, and their counterattack would definitely be frantic. So it was better to keep them in the dark for now.
By the autumn of the seventh year of Yuankang, the Great Yan's new army had also grown to two hundred thousand strong. These men were all part of a brand-new army trained and ideologically educated using the new methods she had provided.
She just didn't know if this best-equipped army in all of Great Yan could withstand the impending chaos of the world, where internal and external pressures would multiply due to natural disasters.
Since autumn began, there had only been one autumn rain, and it had actually stopped before it could even wet the ground.
Her prophecy seemed to be coming true. Watching the fine weather day after day, Emperor Mingxi, who had become increasingly smug over the past two years, was now so anxious these days that he had lost all anticipation for the upcoming Wanshou Festival.
Just as the Great Yan courtiers couldn't stop the drought no matter how much secret preparation they made, the un-anticipated Wanshou Festival arrived on schedule.
Among the diplomatic missions from various countries, the ones who came this time were all old acquaintances, and it was also the largest delegation in terms of numbers and scale from each country.
Yue Fuguang still sat upright just below the emperor. From her position, she could see the courtiers and the people of the diplomatic missions below very clearly.
Yue Fuguang's gaze first fell on the few people from the Nanzhao Kingdom sitting at the very front of the diplomatic missions.
The person leading the team this time was an old acquaintance she hadn't seen in over a year, Lan Xuan'er. Although Yue Fuguang hadn't spoken more than a few words to her, she had eaten all the gossip about her and Prince Ming from beginning to end.
It was a pity that Prince Ming died of illness in the deep winter of the fifth year of Yuankang. A heartbroken Lan Xuan'er had never come to Great Yan again since then.
She hadn't expected her to return this year to Shangjing, which could be considered a place of heartbreak for her.
"Little Zhu, does Lan Xuan'er know that Prince Ming's death was the doing of the Nanzhao Emperor?"
[Master, if Lan Xuan'er didn't know that the one who made the move was her Empress Mother, you wouldn't be seeing her at this year's Wanshou Festival!]
"How did she know? The Nanzhao Emperor did it so secretly back then, and the grass on the graves of the perpetrators is already quite tall."
[Naturally, it was our kind-hearted Emperor who sent an insider to deliver the news to her.]
Hearing the Divine Artifact mention him, Emperor Mingxi, sitting in the main seat, awkwardly picked up his wine cup and drank with Xie Zhiyan and his son.
At that time, the people he had left by Prince Ming's side had long noticed that someone was secretly administering a slow-acting poison to Prince Ming.
After he found out, he just watched and didn't step in to stop it. Ultimately, Prince Ming's death had nothing to do with him. Even if this Nanzhao princess, Lan Xuan'er, wanted to hold a grudge, she shouldn't hold it against him, the Emperor of Great Yan.
So he kindly pointed out to her who her true enemy was.
With a severe drought approaching, apart from their Great Yan, the political situations of the other countries shouldn't be peaceful and stable either.
The throne was so tempting; how could the little brats below not fight and snatch for it!
"Oh, so the Emperor also knows how to throw sand into other people's homes? I thought only Great Yan had been infiltrated like a sieve from top to bottom, and that we, as ruler and ministers, just wouldn't fight back when hit or talk back when scolded!"
Mocked by Yue Fuguang's endlessly sarcastic remark, Emperor Mingxi felt the hairs on his body stand on end, and his toes couldn't help but curl against the soles of his shoes.
Given some time, he could definitely carve out a small palace with his toes.
As for the ministers, they heard absolutely nothing. Today's wine was truly delicious; why did it feel a bit intoxicating!
[Master, although the Emperor has been a bit full of himself these past two years, he hasn't slacked off on his work either. His hands are now almost reaching into the beds of the emperors of various countries.
[With your book as a guide, the Secret Spy Bureau has done a good job these past few years. The emperor will never again be deaf and blind like he was two years ago.]
"So to speak, as long as Great Yan safely passes the hurdle of this drought, there really is a possibility that it won't perish?"
[The way Little Zhu sees it, ever since Master appeared, the declining fate of Great Yan has slowly turned around. If the sovereign and ministers of Great Yan can maintain the current situation, there is an eighty percent chance they won't face national subjugation in the fourteenth year of Yuankang like in the original timeline.]
Hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Emperor Mingxi's eyes before quickly fading away.
A long-held speculation was finally confirmed. Hearing with his own ears today that the divine artifact had certified that Great Yan most likely wouldn't fall meant there could absolutely be no mistake.
At this moment, monstrous waves of joy surged in the hearts of the Great Yan sovereign and his ministers.
Emperor Mingxi, with an excited heart and trembling hands, forcefully suppressed his turbulent emotions. Under the guise of accepting toasts from his courtiers, he quickly exchanged glances with a few of his most trusted ministers, then acted as if nothing had happened.
Over the years, as she grew older, the Junior Preceptor, aside from her unchanging laziness, had become increasingly difficult to fool.
Therefore, they acted with ever-increasing caution in their daily affairs.
Over the past two years, as her divine nature began to manifest, her temperament had become even more elusive. They dared not provoke her ire in the slightest.
"Who knows if Emperor Mingxi and his ministers can maintain the current situation? I heard the emperor just confiscated some silver from the noble families and already wants to build some garden? Is he getting carried away again?"
Is he getting carried away again? These words struck coldly against Emperor Mingxi's heart, awakening the civil and military officials who had been immersed in immense joy.
Over the past two years, not to mention the massive amounts of gold, silver, valuables, and vast tracts of land confiscated from the noble clans, which had heavily enriched both the state treasury and the emperor's private coffers.
Just speaking of the time since the downfall of the Sima family, they had vigorously developed maritime trade. Every time a fleet went out to sea, it was escorted by a naval force of several thousand men.
Both the imperial court and individuals had made a fortune, so much so that when the emperor proposed building a summer garden to escape the heat, aside from Feng Tang who raised doubts, everyone else tacitly agreed.