Gu Yelin turned around and said, "Prince, you know that the Seven Stars Division has a rule that when the leader retires, everyone in the world can leave, but they cannot return home."
Such a rule is inhumane, but necessary. After all, as the leader of the Seven Stars Division, he holds too many secrets. If he becomes inclined, he can still do a lot of things even if he retires. And for someone who has been away from home for so many years, he will definitely help the family with all his strength, whether it is for compensation or something else.
The prince knew this, but he just smiled and said, "Duke Dingguo is now a high-ranking official. What else can you do? What's more, you have made great contributions to the country. It doesn't make sense that you can't even return home. In the final analysis, it is my royal family that owes you."
The prince stood up and bowed to Gu Yelin, but Gu Yelin would naturally not accept this gift. He had been resentful for most of his life because of the helplessness of leaving his relatives and never seeing them again, the pain of betraying his beloved, and the sorrow of being a faceless man. But he would not vent these emotions on a half-grown boy, not to mention that he allowed him to go home even though he knew the rules of the Seven Stars Division. This was already very courageous.
"Your Highness is better than the late emperor." Gu Yelin said disrespectfully, and bowed with a slight smile on his lips, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your kindness, allowing me, an old minister, to have the opportunity to burn incense at my parents' graves."
Hua Zhi lowered her eyes. She couldn't help but wonder whether Yan Xi was also so helpless and sad in the life that Haoyue knew. Just thinking about it made her heart ache.
"I, this old minister, have come here to ask to go to Yanxi City."
Hua Zhi raised her head abruptly and exchanged glances with the prince. This...
"I remember that the old man was seriously injured before."
"Thank you for your concern, Prince. Thanks to the careful care of the divine doctor, he has recovered greatly."
The prince was somewhat tempted. In terms of age, the old man was younger than Duke Anguo and General Lin. In terms of ability, the old man had been in charge of the Qixiu Division for many years. Even the regent was trained by him. Moreover, the old man had been teaching newcomers for several years after his retirement. Even if his skills had deteriorated, it was limited. After careful consideration, he was the most suitable candidate at the moment.
The prince confirmed it again, "Is the old man's injury really healed? I want to ask the divine doctor Yu."
Gu Yelin's heart, which had been frozen for a thousand years, softened a little because of these words. "Although I am getting older, my body's recovery ability after years of martial arts training is stronger than others. Your Highness, rest assured that I will not show off my strength."
The prince nodded slightly, and looked at Duke Dingguo, "What do you think, Grand Master?"
Duke Dingguo sighed in his heart. What could he say? The Regent went to the battlefield, and even Shaoyao changed her hairpin and took on important tasks. How could he stop his own people from going? "Ye Lin has been in charge of things on his own for many years. He must have something in mind when he spoke."
"In that case, I'll have to trouble you, old master. I wonder if you have any requests."
"There are forty men in Shibuya who are barely useful. The veterans will be taken away. The rest are young, so let them receive training there."
"allow."
Gu Yelin crossed his arms and saluted, "I will go and make preparations right away."
Duke Dingguo took his leave immediately afterwards, and Hua Zhi went to the Ministry of Revenue.
Zhu Bowen waved his hand to excuse her from the ceremony and motioned for her to sit down. "If you don't come over, I will send someone to invite you. Has the commander for the west been decided?"
"Yes, it will be announced at the court meeting tomorrow. Grandfather, the pressure is all on the Ministry of Revenue."
Zhu Bowen sighed, "Last year, there were floods in the south and drought in the north. Many places were exempted from taxes. In addition, rats appeared in the granaries. The grain reserves in Daqing are just a drop in the bucket. If I hadn't listened to your advice and stockpiled some grain, I'm afraid I would have fallen into the dilemma of a skilled cook without rice. But even so, it won't last long. Now I hope to conquer Yan Kingdom."
"We can't put all our hopes on Yan Country. Nothing is absolute. If things don't turn out as I expected, Chaoli is also guarding that granary, so it will be difficult to take it down. We still have to make some preparations."
"For example?"
"I suggest making crispy noodles. They are coated with oil and have a strong sense of fullness. Soaking them in boiling water and drinking the soup will make you feel fuller than eating bread. In addition, they use less ingredients than bread, which saves food from the source. However, it is not realistic to make them in the capital and send them to the four war zones. My idea is to send people to teach the cooks, and then recruit local people to help make them."
"Is it difficult to do?"
"It's not difficult, it just won't last long."
Zhu Bowen nodded slightly, "If we can save food as you said, we can give it a try. This is considered saving money. How can we increase revenue?"
"Do you know about konjac?"
"I didn't know this before, but I found out last year when the vegetarian restaurant specially prepared a konjac feast."
"Konjac can be made into powder. It produces a large amount of powder and can also be used as military supplies." Hua Zhi spoke faster and faster. "It's a little late now. Otherwise, we could plant more. Now we can only harvest as much as possible. In some places, it will be ripe in July. When the time comes, please ask my grandfather to send someone to do this."
"Can it replace food?"
"able."
"Great." Zhu Bowen clapped his hands together, and his expression was finally a little relaxed. "I knew you had a way. You can use konjac in a variety of ways. Are there other things that can be used in this way?"
Yes, there is the magical sweet potato, but it is not available in Daqing right now. If it were available, why would we need to worry so much about food
Hua Zhi shook her head. "It's already the end of May. We need to arrange this matter sooner rather than later. We should collect as many as we can."
"Zhi'er, the treasury is empty."
"I'll find a way to get the money." If they can't think of a way, they'll just rob. Robbing officials, gentry, grain merchants, and wealthy families. They will never let the soldiers on the front line go without food.
"Thank you for your hard work." Zhu Bowen sighed, not knowing what his granddaughter was thinking. He didn't want to be so incompetent, but the Ministry of Revenue he took over was already a sieve full of holes. He tried his best to tidy it up, but now he could only barely clear out the termites inside the Ministry of Revenue and truly take control of the Ministry in his hands.
It is so difficult to accomplish something in such a short time.
One thing after another weighed heavily on her shoulders. Hua Zhi didn't even have time to relax and digest the knowledge. She went straight to the Ministry of Works after leaving the Ministry of Revenue, found the Minister of Works, and borrowed a few skilled hands to take home.
She asked Butler Xu to entertain them first. She went back to the study to sketch for a while, then came out with a pile of blueprints and handed them to the people. "Is it easy to make?"
There were about twenty drawings in total, fifteen of which looked simple and rough, while the other five were much more sophisticated. Several craftsmen looked at each other and nodded, "Not difficult."
"Okay, Butler Xu."
Butler Xu stepped forward in response.
"Go find a spacious place and buy it. I want to build a big workshop to make these toys."
"yes."
Hua Zhi looked at the craftsmen again, "This is just the beginning. We will continue to provide drawings later. You don't need to rush back to the Ministry of Works. Stay in the workshop for now. Don't worry, I will report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. You will receive your salaries as usual, and I will give you an additional bonus."
Of course, the craftsmen were willing to accept the offer as they could get more money.