On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the palace ate a sweet potato feast.
All concubines of high rank got a bowl of sweet potato rice.
For concubines who are used to delicacies from mountains and seas, sweet potato rice is not necessarily delicious, it just tastes fresh and decent.
Decentness is the most important thing.
Can the sweet potato rice rewarded by Emperor Wende be disrespectful
The concubines got a bowl of sweet potato rice, but Weiyang Palace opened a sweet potato feast.
Steaming, cooking, roasting, various cooking methods, the best imperial chefs have played tricks on the little sweet potatoes.
"Sure enough, I'm very hungry!"
Emperor Wende felt full after eating a roasted sweet potato. The side dishes are already too much to eat.
Empress Pei personally filled a bowl of soup and put it in Emperor Wende's hand. "Your Majesty, drink the soup to help you digest your food. Congratulations to your majesty. You will have high-yield sweet potatoes, and you will no longer have to worry about famine for the common people."
Emperor Wende drank half a bowl of soup, wiped the corners of his mouth, and said, "It's too early to draw conclusions on this matter."
Empress Pei paused, "Does Your Majesty not trust Gu Jiu?"
"I naturally believe her. She has no guts to lie about such a big matter. But food is related to the national economy and the people's livelihood, so I must treat it with caution. When the spring begins, I will let Huangzhuang grow sweet potatoes. When the autumn harvest, the production capacity per mu will reach seven or eight hundred catties. Even if you don’t need to produce a thousand catties per mu, I will order the government to promote the cultivation of sweet potatoes.”
"Your Majesty is more thoughtful than a concubine. If the sweet potato does not reach the yield of seven or eight hundred catties per mu, it will damage the prestige of the court if it is promoted rashly." Empress Pei said softly.
Emperor Wende nodded, "That's exactly the reason."
Empress Pei saw that Emperor Wende was happy, so she smiled and said: "Gu Jiu has made a great contribution this time, she is really a lucky star."
For the sake of her son Liu Zhao, Empress Pei didn't mind saying good things about Gu Jiu in front of Emperor Wende.
Liu Zhao and Liu Yi are both her sons.
Let's make a splash for the sons first.
Emperor Wende laughed, "Don't worry, I will reward her. As long as the sweet potato is promoted, I will reward her heavily."
"The concubine first thanked His Majesty on behalf of the eldest daughter-in-law." Empress Pei smiled happily.
She thought that if Gu Jiu got the reward, Liu Zhao would also be rewarded. This is a good thing.
Now Liu Zhao will stay in the palace to eat sweet potato rice under the favor of his wife.
Gu Jiu was with him.
Gu Jiu muttered softly, "I felt that I had done something wrong, so I stayed in the palace to eat sweet potato rice."
She has long been tired of eating sweet potato rice, she wanted to eat hard dishes, but Emperor Wende rewarded her with a bowl of sweet potato rice.
Beep!
She can't stop eating.
Liu Zhao silently picked up Gu Jiu's bowl of sweet potato rice, poured it all into his own bowl, and he ate it for her.
Gu Jiu smiled happily, "What do you think the emperor will reward me with?"
Liu Zhao shook his head, "Not sure."
Emperor Wende has been on the throne for two years and rarely rewards people. Even if there are rewards, they are all worthless odds and ends, let alone.
Gu Jiu asked again: "Guess, what will Father Emperor ask?"
The couple had dinner in the side hall of Weiyang Palace. It's decent.
But both of them knew that Emperor Wende would have something to ask when they stayed in the side hall for dinner.
Liu Zhao finished two bowls of sweet potato rice in one go, took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of his mouth, and said, "Maybe it's about the concrete road, you should prepare it."
Gu Jiu put down his chopsticks.
If Emperor Wende asked about the concrete road later, how would she answer
Liu Zhao said bluntly: "Present the cement prescription, provide the engineering team, and help the imperial court build roads."
This is his suggestion to Gu Jiu.
The cement road is destined to be impossible for Gu Jiu to keep repairing it.
It is related to people's livelihood and financial rights, and the court will definitely not let it go.
Even though the cement from the capital to Luozhou has not yet revealed the essence of the gold-swallowing beast due to the heavy snow blocking the mountains. But it does not prevent the imperial court from holding this sharp weapon in their own hands.
Gu Jiu nodded, "I understand."
From the very beginning, she didn't expect to be a road repair expert, nor did she expect to continue repairing concrete roads.
The cement road is a new source of income for the imperial court, and it can be regarded as a project to benefit the people. Sooner or later, it will be handed over.
Gu Jiu was already very satisfied with being able to win the 40-year right to collect tolls on the concrete road from Beijing to Luozhou.
She is not greedy.
If she wants to make money, she has a lot of ways.
There is no need to confront the imperial court and Emperor Wende.
Sure enough, just after dinner, a servant invited the husband and wife to the main hall to talk.
Emperor Wende and Empress Pei, both the emperor and empress, sat on the Arhat couch, each occupying half of the seats.
The husband and wife bowed to pay their respects.
"Free gift! Is the sweet potato rice delicious?"
Emperor Wende asked with a smile.
Liu Zhao said coldly and expressionlessly: "I'm very hungry. If it can be extended to the border, the problem of military rations can be greatly alleviated."
"That's right. I just don't know if sweet potatoes can be grown in the arid region of Northwest China."
Gu Jiu said in a low voice: "The Shaofu and the Ministry of Household Affairs will work together, and sooner or later we will be able to cultivate sweet potato seeds that can adapt to the climate and soil in the northwest, and the yield per mu may catch up with that in the south, reaching a yield of 1,000 jin per mu."
Emperor Wende liked to hear these words, so he laughed out loud without hesitation, "That's very good. The Shaofu and the Ministry of Households have the best old farmers in the world, and they will be able to successfully cultivate the seeds."
After finishing speaking, Emperor Wende's eyes swept over the faces of the two of them one by one.
When he was in Xingqing Palace before, Emperor Wende didn't mention the cement at all, just guarding against the household department.
The household department is so poor that it wants to get involved in any project that can get money.
However, Emperor Wende planned to include the cement road project in Shaofu. The Shaofu presided over the construction of cement roads to prevent toll collectors from collecting tolls.
To put it bluntly, Emperor Wende just wanted to leave the household department aside.
So he chose to discuss the matter in Weiyang Palace.
"The cement road from Beijing to Luozhou is well repaired!"
Sure enough, it is a cement road.
Gu Jiu was very kind, "It's all thanks to my father that the cement road from Beijing to Luozhou was completed on schedule, and the toll was collected smoothly."
Emperor Wende laughed, "I heard that seven thousand taels of tolls were collected in October."
Gu Jiu answered honestly: "Exactly."
Emperor Wende said: "In October, it started to snow in many places, and the weather was extremely cold, and merchants did not go out. In addition, many people did not know that the cement road had been fully connected at the time. That's it, the first month of opening. To be able to charge 7,000 taels of tolls is remarkable.
When the spring began, the weather was warm, and the merchants went out one after another. It is estimated that the monthly toll fee can be tens of thousands of taels. "
Gu Jiu said: "My daughter-in-law also thinks the same way. After the new year, the toll booth should usher in a wave of significant growth."
Gu Jiu is not poor anymore.
He is generous and frank, but he has been praised by Emperor Wende.
November, the twelfth month, is colder than October.
Compared with October, the toll charges collected by the toll booths have dropped significantly.
However, the two toll stations in Beijing and Luozhou did not decrease but increased.
The capital, Luozhou, is one of the best big cities in the world.
As the end of the year approaches, don't be too busy visiting relatives and friends, traveling for business, and delivering goods.
There are fewer foreign merchants, but local merchants are very active.
In November, the tolls at these two toll stations alone amounted to more than 4,000 taels. ,
Including the other 18 toll stations, the tolls at all toll stations in November barely exceeded 6,000 taels.
Some earn!
It's just that the opening time was not selected, and it was in time for winter. No explosion as expected.
But wait until spring, when the weather warms up.
On the road from Beijing to Luozhou, bandits and road tyrants were severely attacked. By the second year of Wende, more people will come out to do business.
Emperor Wende laughed, "The toll station looks inconspicuous, but it is better than the long stream of water, which can also benefit people's livelihood."
The key lies in the role of the military.
Of course, there is no need to say this.
Gu Jiu made a decisive decision, "My daughter-in-law wants to present a cement recipe, please accept it."
Emperor Wende felt happy, it's really rare, Gu Jiu is very knowledgeable today.
But he said: "How dare I ask for your cement recipe."
Gu Jiu felt disgusted for a while, it's really hypocritical!
On the surface, she had to say respectfully: "My daughter-in-law is too weak to build concrete roads all over the world. Only the imperial court, only the father, has the courage. Please, the father must accept the cement prescription with a smile."
Liu Zhao also said: "This is the filial piety between the son and Xiaojiu, please accept it with a smile."
Empress Pei also said: "Your Majesty will accept the children's filial piety."
Emperor Wende laughed happily, "Since you are so filial and I can't refuse you, then I will accept it."
Gu Jiu took the opportunity to give Emperor Wende a money-making idea, "Cement can be used not only to build roads, but also to repair houses, plaster walls, and floor. Especially for the floor, you don't have to worry about raining. Mud. At the price of the capital, ten cents a load, this business is promising."
"Oh?"
Emperor Wende asked curiously: "Such a good business, don't you plan to do it?"
But Gu Jiu said: "My daughter-in-law begs the emperor to allow my daughter-in-law to send people to Jiangnan to build a cement workshop and sell cement in Jiangnan."
The implication is that Gu Jiu gave up the northern market to Emperor Wende, and she went to the south to open up new markets and make a front stand.
Emperor Wende laughed, "You are really smart. Well, I will allow you to set up a cement workshop in the south of the Yangtze River. If one day, the Shaofu also enters the south of the Yangtze River, you should help me."
"Father, don't worry, the Four Seas Trading Company under the name of my daughter-in-law and Shaofu are like brothers. Shaofu is the elder brother, and Sihai is the younger brother. The younger brother has to always look up to the elder brother."
Nonsence!
Gu Jiu was overwhelmed by his own brazenness.
is this her
Yes, this is her.
She has fallen!
Beep!
No, she is not depraved, she is a hero who knows the times and affairs.