mtl008 Chapter 178 Let Marquis Weiyuan go.
Chapter 178 Let Marquis Weiyuan go.
Emperor Lingjun listened patiently to Empress Li's complaints.
Beside them, Li Hong, the elder brother of Empress Li and father of Li Huaiyuan, and his wife watched them with smiles.
“My son is not a fool, and Huaiyuan is in Baishi County, so Ayun doesn’t need to worry too much.”
Ling Jun patted Empress Li's back with one hand, "If that sweet potato is really as good as my son says, then his going south is for the sake of the soldiers of Daqi."
"This is what he should do as the Crown Prince of Daqi."
Empress Li naturally understood this principle, but...
“This is my son’s first time leaving the capital... As his mother, I can’t help but worry.”
"I know," Ling Jun said with a smile. "I will make more time to spend with the Empress in the future."
"As for my son's trip to the south, I will send someone to Baishi County to accompany him."
Empress Li immediately began to ponder, "Who should we send?"
Ling Jun pondered, "Let Marquis Weiyuan go."
Marquis Weiyuan, Wei Shaoyuan.
Empress Li nodded, "He is indeed a suitable candidate."
"Your Highness, the dishes are ready to be served." Granny Zhu came in from outside.
"Let's serve."
As soon as the palace servants carrying the dishes reached the palace gate, the people inside smelled the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes.
"This smell..." Empress Li couldn't help but sniff it several times... "It smells so good."
Ling Jun couldn't help but sigh, "It smells so good..."
"This is what sweet potato tastes like?"
Empress Li looked bewildered. "I guess so..."
Palace servants brought in sweet potatoes, each carrying a plate with a dark, roasted sweet potato on it.
At this moment, the chefs in the imperial kitchen were trembling with fear...
The dark-colored sweet potatoes smelled delicious, but their appearance made it impossible to know where to even begin eating them...
Surely the things His Highness the Crown Prince sent wouldn't be something to harm the Emperor and Empress?
Empress Li pouted, looking at the dark, unappetizing sweet potato, "This..."
She looked her up and down...
How are we supposed to eat this?
Ling Jun looked at Li Hong and his wife, who also looked bewildered.
Madam Li chuckled awkwardly, "Yi'er mentioned this sweet potato in his letter home. He said... the sweet potato is fragrant and sweet... incredibly delicious..."
"How...how could this be?"
Granny Zhu hurriedly took out Ling Yao's letter and read it from beginning to end.
"Your Majesty, this old servant has come..."
Following the instructions in the letter, she used a spoon to cut open the sweet potato, revealing the golden, piping hot red flesh inside.
"Your Majesty, this is how you eat it."
When she handed the spoon to Empress Li, she couldn't help but swallow hard.
I really couldn't tell!
The bright red fruit that was covered in dirt before turned out to be so sweet and delicious after being roasted.
The palace servants around Ling Jun helped him cut open the sweet potato.
Li Hong and his wife then did it themselves.
Empress Li had already taken her first bite of sweet potato.
"Delicious." She nodded to Ling Jun, then ate one bite after another...
They quickly finished a sweet potato that weighed nearly a pound.
She touched her stomach... "I have to say, I'm quite full."
The second dish is sweet potatoes that have been peeled and cut into small pieces.
Empress Li was the first to try it.
"The taste of eating it raw... is not bad either."
"It makes your mouth water...it's almost like eating fruit..."
After trying both ways of eating it, Empress Li understood why Ling Yao wanted to go to the border to grow sweet potatoes.
"No wonder..."
She told Ling Jun what Ling Yao had written in his letter: "My son said that the sweet potato yield is over 7,300 jin per mu..."
"Even in places with poor soil, as long as you sprinkle some wood ash regularly, it will grow very well."
"The way to eat it is simple... eat it raw, or roast it in a fire..."
"It's perfect for the soldiers on the border."
Although Empress Li, as the mother of the nation, had never been to the battlefield, she still had some understanding of what happened there.
The soldiers' rations were usually flatbread, which was quick to make and easy to carry.
However, these cakes become very dry and hard if left out for too long.
While eating, they all stretched their necks out like geese that had choked...
There's no need to worry about this sweet potato.
"Your Majesty, these are sweet potato cakes made with sweet potato puree and flour." The third batch of sweet potato cakes was served.
Then came French fries, and a soup made with white fungus, sweet potato, and red dates...
Having tasted sweet potatoes, Li Hong also supported Ling Yao's decision to go south.
"Your Highness is not joking. If these sweet potatoes can really be grown in the south, it will be a great thing for the soldiers there."
"Moreover... it can also alleviate the pressure on the national treasury."
The military equipment for border soldiers is all funded by the national treasury.
The treasury of the Great Qi Kingdom... has been empty for years.
And the grain depots... are also in dire need of supplies.
So much so that... when natural disasters occurred, the emperor had to solicit funds from his officials and merchants in the capital...
With these sweet potatoes yielding over 7,000 jin per mu...
The national treasury will be much lighter.
"Your Majesty, I think...we shouldn't wait until next year. Let Wei Shaoyuan go to Baishi County now."
"By the way...go check if the yield per acre of those high-yield rice, potatoes, and sweet potatoes is all true."
Empress Li hopes these things are true.
But she found it hard to believe.
"Your Majesty, if the yield per mu of high-yield rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes... is true, then the people of Daqi will truly be blessed."
Li Hong was overjoyed, "Not only will the people be blessed, but our granaries throughout Daqi will also be overflowing..."
There's also the national treasury.
But he didn't say.
He didn't say it, but he believed the emperor would figure it out.
Ling Jun had just anticipated this!
The people are blessed! The granaries are full! The national treasury is overflowing!
"Immediately issue an imperial decree to Marquis Weiyuan, ordering him to go to Baishi County!!"
Empress Li slowly sipped her sweet potato and red date soup, muttering to herself, "That brat... There are so many delicious things in Baishi County, but he only brought me sweet potatoes... Humph."
Ling Jun gently patted her back helplessly, "Perhaps other things are difficult to carry."
"I think he doesn't care about me, his mother, at all."
*
When Wei Shaoyuan received the imperial edict, he asked the palace servants in disbelief, "His Majesty wants me to go to Baishi County to find His Highness?"
The palace servants were also helpless...
Going back several generations, the Wei family were all heroes on the battlefield, loyal, courageous, and righteous!
Unfortunately, by the time of Wei Shaoyuan's generation, he was the only son, and he was raised to be a gentle marquis who was powerless to even kill a chicken.
He was especially gentle with women, each one more so than the last, which always caused the noble ladies of the capital to fight over him.
Recently, things have gotten even worse; three noble ladies actually fought over him, slapping each other in the face...
The fathers of these three noble ladies took the matter to the Emperor, each sticking to their own version of events and refusing to back down.
Unfortunately... all three noble ladies were protecting Wei Shaoyuan.
This time, the Emperor sent him to Baishi County to find His Highness, presumably hoping he would stop staying in the capital and cause more trouble...
Ah! The Emperor's intentions are truly profound!