Chapter 296: Transition
Editor: Atlas Studios
The 23rd year of Jingyan was the year with the most disasters in the Great Zhou Dynasty. According to history, it was generally believed that the Great Zhou Dynasty had perished at this time.
Back then, Emperor Duanzong and his ministers did not see this coming. Although there had been less rain since the beginning of spring, they felt that the Imperial Astronomer had already predicted this last year, so they were not worried and just did what they had to do.
Emperor Duanzong was still looking forward to the construction of the Spring Mountain Palace1 outside the city, hoping to move in this winter. Yes, he also looked forward to staying on the mountain to avoid the summer heat during summer.
Although the most important thing on Spring Mountain was the hot spring, it was still very cool halfway up the mountain.
If the Emperor knew that his country would perish in less than ten years because of the events of this year, he would not force the Ministry of Revenue to give him money to build a palace on Hotspring Mountain. Instead, he would use that money to strengthen the military. No, he should use it to provide relief to the people.
In the autumn of the 23rd year of Jingyan, there was a drought along Lizhou Circuit. Almost no grains of rice were harvested. The highest yield of wheat was only 120 catties, and the lowest yield had fallen below historical records at only 18 catties, barely enough to recover the grain seeds.
Fortunately, with the corn seeds contributed by Qi Xiuyuan and the corn cultivation method he promoted, the highest yield per acre now was 632 catties, and the lowest was 289 catties. Contrasting the poor harvest of wheat and rice, it could be said to be a strong performer.
However, other prefectures weren’t as lucky as Lizhou Circuit. The area around Lin’an Prefecture had also become drought-stricken, but there were floods in the two lakes. Not only did they flood the farmlands, but many houses were also destroyed and drowned. The commoners were displaced.
The Miao people in the southern borders were also restless. However, in the eyes of the Imperial Court, these were merely small-scale disasters. In Lin’an Prefecture, the Imperial Court was holding a banquet. Firstly, it was to celebrate the completion of Spring Mountain’s temporary palace so that the Emperor could move in to avoid the cold.
Secondly, it was to celebrate the bountiful corn harvest. That’s right, the corn harvest.
One-fourth of the corn seeds that the Imperial Court forced Qi Xiuyuan to hand over were handed over to the Emperor. The Emperor handed them to the Imperial Plantation for planting. The remaining three-quarters were divided between the ministers and the aristocratic families.
After a winter of wrangling, the seeds were carefully planted in the fields by the tenant farmers after being divided up. They were planted according to the planting method submitted by Qi Xiuyuan. Not long ago, they had just harvested the autumn crops, and their acre yield had reached 748 catties. Of course, this was the highest possible yield, but this also indirectly proved that Emperor Shizong’s evaluation of corn back then was correct.
Regardless of whether corn was delicious or not, such a high yield would definitely ensure that the people wouldn’t starve to death after they were made mainstream. Therefore, when they heard that there were refugees rebelling everywhere, they did not take this matter to heart.
What a group of unruly people. They had already obtained such a high yield of crops, yet they still rebelled.
At this moment, they had forgotten that the corn seeds were not disseminated enough, and the corn seeds from the south had all been pocketed by them. Not a single one had flowed out.
After hearing that there were also people rebelling on Lizhou Circuit, the Emperor of Great Zhou waved his hand and asked Qi Xiuyuan to lead his troops to quell the rebellion.
When Qi Xiuyuan received the document, he almost gritted his teeth. He slammed the document on the table and said angrily, “Didn’t anyone persuade him to make peace?”
Qi Haoran was also very angry. When it was time to make peace, those ministers would not say a word. On the other hand, when it came to dealing with the Hus, they would eagerly suggest making peace with the other party.
“Big Brother, I’ve gone to investigate. They’re all farmers in the Tongchuan area who only attacked the county office because they couldn’t survive. They didn’t kill anyone. All they did was open the government office’s granary.” At this point, Qi Haoran gritted his teeth and said, “I heard that the commoners in the Tongchuan area have already reached the point of exchanging their children with one another to eat them, but the county office and the government office simply refuse to open the granary.”
Qi Xiuyuan held his forehead with a headache. “You can’t blame Tongchuan’s magistrate for this. He reports to the Imperial Court every other day, but the Imperial Court only tells him to hold on and not open up the granary to provide disaster relief. The Emperor still thinks that the unruly people are just messing around like before.”
Qi Xiuyuan looked at Rong Xuan and said, “Military Advisor, draft a memorandum and I’ll hand it over later. Explain the situation here clearly. Considering those are farmers who farm, it’s better to negotiate with them peacefully.”
Rong Xuan responded.
“But since the Emperor wants us to go to quell the rebellion, we can’t sit around and do nothing. At the very least, we have to control the situation in Tongchuan Prefecture. Haoran, immediately lead the troops to Tongchuan Prefecture and bring the 4th and 5th Division with you. You’ll be in command, and Mu Shi will be the vanguard. We’ll set off tomorrow.”
Qi Haoran replied listlessly.
“What’s wrong?” Qi Xiuyuan looked at him strangely and asked, “Don’t you usually jump up in excitement when you hear about war? Why are you listless now?”
Smiling, Rong Xuan said, “General, have you forgotten? It’s Miss Mu’s birthday the day after tomorrow. Little General even said that he wanted to hold a birthday banquet for Miss Mu in Hanzhong Prefecture.”
Qi Xiuyuan laughed out loud and patted his shoulder. “I thought it was something important. Leave with peace of mind. Since you’re not at home, I’ll get Zijin to help you handle it. I’ll also help you supervise.”
He wasn’t depressed because of this, okay? He had spent a month preparing a birthday gift for Mu Yangling, but now, it was all gone.
Qi Haoran left listlessly. Rong Xuan watched him leave before turning to look at the smiling Qi Xiuyuan. “Chengde, Haoran is getting more and more concerned about Miss Mu.”
Qi Xiuyuan shook his head and laughed. “I didn’t expect this kid to find a wife before I did.”
Rong Xuan looked at him in shock. “You really don’t mind? The Mu family doesn’t have a good family background.”
Qi Xiuyuan’s expression was slightly cold as he said, “All my life, I hate prejudices about one’s family status the most.”
His mother, him, and his younger brother had been harmed by this all their lives.
“What family status does the Qi family have? Five generations ago, our ancestors were just illiterate farmers. It was only in the third generation that a xiucai1 appeared. He’s only the son of a fifth-grade official, but he actually despises others for their family background. What’s wrong with the Zhu family?”
Rong Xuan immediately fell silent. He knew that the Qi family and the Zhu family’s enmity was a melodramatic debt. Until now, no one could say who was right or wrong. However, to Qi Xiuyuan and Qi Haoran, Qi Feng had indeed let them down.
After calming himself down, Qi Xiuyuan said, “Haoran has a bad temper and rarely heeds anyone’s advice. Other than me and Zijin, Mu Yangling is the only one who can restrain him. Since he likes her, there’s no need for us to stop him. I’ll mention it to the Mu family when they’re older.”
At the thought of Shu Wanniang’s behavior, Qi Xiuyuan relaxed and said, “Maybe the Mu family also has a good family background. As long as they don’t look down on our Haoran.”
Rong Xuan rolled his eyes and knew that he was joking. Seeing that he was laughing happily, he said dryly, “Chengde, you’re 20 years old this year, right? You’re 21 years old in terms of nominal age, eh. Isn’t it about time you get married?”
Qi Xiuyuan froze.
Rong Xuan originally said this to rebut him, but after saying it, he started to think seriously. He suddenly realized that his words were accurate. His good pal was already 21 years old, but he was still not married.