12dz Chapter 348
Chapter 348
He didn't even need to think about it. As the news of the yield per mu of those three types of crops spread, the ignorant commoners of Great Yan, who would obey anyone who gave them a bite to eat, would surely turn their hearts toward the imperial court.Even within the royal court, whether genuine or acted, there would be an atmosphere of jubilation.
Soon, Emperor Mingxi received the news. On the very night Sima Jing learned about the crop yields, the news that Great Yan possessed high-yield seeds producing thousands of catties per mu was sent out to sea along with several ships of supplies.
One route went to Dongyi, and the other to that nameless small island.
It was exactly at this time that Emperor Mingxi, who had been laying out his plans for over half a year, finally began to close the net. The leader of this operation was none other than his nephew, the son of the Grand Eldest Princess, Shen Jian.
"System, are you saying the Sima family has already fallen? Then why haven't our points arrived yet?"
[Host, the Sima family is involved in too much. As of now, from the entire Sima clan to the local officials they bought off, various factions, including sleeper agents like Shen Wanchuan, and some naval generals and ordinary soldiers, the number of implicated people reaches into the tens of thousands.
This doesn't even count those 'pirates' currently drifting on the sea.
Therefore, for the system to calculate and issue the points, it will probably have to wait until the entire Sima clan is escorted back to the capital.
However, you will soon have another large sum of points credited to your account.]
"Are you saying the Murong family is almost at the capital?"
Yue Fuguang rolled her eyes, thought of a question, and almost laughed out loud. "Then this capital city is going to get lively again.
Besides Emperor Mingxi, the current reigning emperor, there's also Murong Qian, who will be posthumously honored as Emperor Shizu of Liang.
Once the Sima family is escorted into the capital, there will also be the future Emperor Taizong of Wei and Emperor Taizu of Wei."
"Host, you also forgot the Great Chu established by Shen Wanchuan's grandson. The Tong family is also implicated this time; both Tong Jiye and his son Tong Chengzong are on the escort list."
Good heavens, Yue Fuguang exclaimed to herself. Now, five emperors from the present to the future were gathering together. If there really was such a thing as dragon aura, the capital city would probably burst from it.
"System, does this world have that dragon aura stuff?" If it did, she wondered if she could use energy beads to collect some.
[Host, this world doesn't even have spiritual energy, so where would dragon aura come from?]
The system understood its host so well. With a spin of its data, it knew exactly what she was thinking. [You won't be able to collect dragon aura. When these families get beheaded, you could try collecting some sinister aura and resentment instead.]
Those things were not rare on execution grounds and battlefields, but they would quickly dissipate after a person died.
Yue Fuguang shook her head in disgust and tossed the crystal-clear grape in her hand into the porcelain dish next to her. "System, when I have my own body in the future, I plan to walk the grand and righteous path of cultivation.
I won't practice demonic arts or evil paths. What do I need sinister aura and resentment for!"
There were no outsiders in this courtyard, so the system ruthlessly exposed her without any hesitation. [If that's the case, Host, why did you buy the Ten Thousand Soul Banner?]
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Yue Fuguang quickly sat up from her lounge chair, looked around, and then righteously retorted, "System, what I bought was clearly the Human Emperor Flag. How did it become the Ten Thousand Soul Banner?"
The system glanced at the product name in the shop. It was indeed called the Ten Thousand Soul Banner!
It leaned in a bit closer, only to discover that beneath the huge words "Ten Thousand Soul Banner," there was a line of small text: Alias: Human Emperor Flag!
The system couldn't help but roll its eyes. It hadn't expected that their system network, in order to sell products and give those self-proclaimed righteous people a way out, could come up with such an idea.
Yue Fuguang: Just tell me, is it called the Human Emperor Flag or not!
So there was absolutely nothing wrong with what she bought. If it wasn't to prepare for those people in the east, why would she spend one thousand eight hundred points on this thing?
The officials in the royal court were all kept busy by the downfall of these two families, and various secret rivalries continued unabated.
Among the common folk, however, neither the impending arrival of the Murong family in the capital nor the sudden imprisonment of the entire Sima clan held even half the appeal of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn.
Sweet potatoes yielded eight thousand two hundred and sixty-six catties per mu, and potatoes yielded seven thousand three hundred and twenty catties per mu.
Corn was lower, but still yielded one thousand two hundred and eighty-two catties. Moreover, these were staple crops that could be stored long-term.
Commoners gathered in groups of tens or hundreds in teahouses, taverns, and fields. Whenever they opened their mouths, they discussed this matter, each speaking as if they had witnessed it with their own eyes.
As they talked, the topic naturally shifted to Yue Fuguang.
"Old Man Zhang, coming to the market! Did your family burn incense for the Divine Maiden today?" The one asking was an old man with a white beard wearing a coarse scholar's robe; he was the accountant of a restaurant in the town.
"Of course we did. Not just me, but the boys and the women in the family didn't miss a single step." Old Man Zhang, who frequently delivered vegetables to the restaurant, and Accountant Xu were old acquaintances. When talking about this, his face wrinkled with a wide smile.
In the past, burning incense for the Divine Maiden was solely his job as the head of the household, but now, the whole family turned out for it.
Old Man Zhang sat down on the rock next to Accountant Xu. Watching the bustling, joyful crowds at the market, the happiness soon spread to his own face. "I heard from the great lords in the city that it was the Divine Maiden who made the decision to distribute the divine grain to us poor commoners to plant first."
Otherwise, come next spring, with limited seeds available, it would never be the turn of ordinary commoners like them. Under the old ways, the seeds would have long been snatched up by the rich and powerful.
How different it was now. "I heard that after the seeds are distributed next year, officials from above will come down to every village to guide us on how to plant the divine grain, and they won't leave until the autumn harvest is over?"
The old man in the scholar's robe nodded and lowered his voice, "That is for the best. With those lords keeping watch, families like ours won't have to worry about the seeds in our hands being 'bought' away by those landlords. Even the yield from the fields is guaranteed not to fall into their hands."
The arrival of those officials was both a form of surveillance and protection. For commoners like them, who harbored no crooked thoughts and only wanted to tend to their fields, it was a true blessing.
Hearing this news, a man nearby, whose face had originally been clouded with sorrow, flushed red with excitement. His rough, calloused hands unconsciously tugged hard at the old scholar. "Old sir, is what you just said true? Will the Emperor really send officials to every village?"
The old scholar winced, struggling to rescue his arm from the man's grasp, and rubbed his bony hand hard over the spot where the reckless fellow had grabbed him.
Nevertheless, he answered the man's question in a good-natured tone. "Young man, I heard this news directly from a relative working in the magistrate's office. How could it be false?"
He had already noticed this man sitting there in a daze for quite some time, his complexion looking unwell. Now that the man seemed almost overly thrilled, the old scholar couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked, "What is it, young man? Have you run into some trouble?"
Hearing the question, the man mumbled hesitantly. He looked around, and seeing that no one was paying attention to their small group, he lowered his voice. "You gentlemen look like men of experience. I would like to ask, if someone wants to pre-order the high-yield grain seeds that are supposed to be distributed to my family, and my family doesn't want to sell but can't afford to offend them, what should we do?"