As time passed, news of the battle on the northeastern border was constantly reported back to the capital, and many people fled in panic.
The rent in the capital has increased a lot, and many people are rushing to the capital.
The emperor looked out from inside the carriage. Some of the small vendors on the streets of the capital were gone. The majority were carriages entering the capital. "Heh."
Zhou Shuren, "Recently, there are many spies in the Northeast who are inciting the people, and this has caused a chain reaction."
The emperor turned his head and said, "This is the incompetence of the officials."
Zhou Shuren thought to himself, how powerful must the officials be to calm the panic? Even with the advanced information in modern times, it is impossible to do so, let alone the inconvenient information in ancient times. "The officials in the Northeast states have also tried their best."
There are members of the Zhou family who are officials in the Northeast. He Shu and Wu Ning are also in the Northeast. Don't let the emperor kill them all at once.
The emperor was silent for a moment, "You are right, the tribes have been planning this war for a long time."
Zhou Shuren did not continue this topic. Some things only need to be said once. Saying them too much would not be good. He felt emotional in his heart. No wonder everyone likes to be the emperor's close minister. Giving advice can indeed influence the emperor's ideas.
The Emperor suddenly asked, "Has anyone from the Zhou family come to Beijing?"
Zhou Shuren, "My granddaughter hasn't returned to Beijing yet, so the Zhou family can still remain stable."
The Emperor was surprised. "Your family is so confident about your granddaughter that they didn't even ask her to return to Beijing?"
Zhou Shuren replied, "My eldest daughter was afraid to write a letter back, so this child wrote an urgent letter back. This girl was afraid that her departure would cause a chain reaction of panic. You also know that the Zhou family has a high status in Pingzhou because of me."
The emperor knew that Zhou Shuren would not reveal the emperor's plan, so he was curious. Now after hearing this, he said, "Your granddaughter is good."
As long as the Zhou family does not move in Pingzhou, Pingzhou will be relatively stable.
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "If this girl were a boy, she would be better than her father."
In fact, he wanted to say that he was better than his grandson Jiang Du, but unfortunately he couldn't because his grandson still had to pursue a career in politics. If he was outdone by his sister, the emperor would have a bad impression of his grandson.
The retired emperor had no impression of Zhou Shuren's eldest son-in-law at first, thinking he was just a contented man. Later, when Jiang Sheng gradually became a master, he did not pay much attention to him, but he also expressed a few feelings, saying that it takes a rare mind to paint spiritual paintings, and then that was it.
The emperor smiled and said, "Your eldest son-in-law is not bad either. Only a father with a good character can raise a child with a good character."
Zhou Shuren smiled. Since the emperor asked, he would naturally not miss the opportunity to speak for his granddaughter. This was what his granddaughter deserved. It would be good for Mu Fan if his granddaughter was good. Although the Jiang family could take the imperial examination, the emperor would look at the past, and Jiang Ming's affairs would still affect Mu Fan.
Zhangzhou, Yushuang looked at the fields, "These few rains are life-saving rains."
Liu Feng hugged his son tightly and said, "Yes, if there hadn't been these heavy rains, this year's food supply would have been at least halved."
The grain supply has been halved, and the people have basically no food left for the year after paying taxes. Many people will starve to death. The county, which was already poor, will only become even poorer.
Yu Shuang frowned, "I don't know how the war in the Northeast is going."
Liu Feng looked at the people working in the fields. War requires food and fodder, so this year's taxes may not be reduced. "No news is good news."
Yu Shuang nodded, "The medicinal fields in the villages are ahead."
Liu Feng smiled a little, "Yes."
To grow medicinal herbs, he consulted many books and invited herbal farmers to confirm that the land was suitable for growing medicinal herbs. He then bought the medicinal herb seeds with his own money.
Each village has only two acres of medicinal fields, so the county government hired people to reclaim the land so as not to occupy the people's fields.
This was the method he thought of. He didn't expect that the growth of the medicinal herbs was so good. There was a shortage of medicinal herbs this year. Although not many were planted, he could estimate how much he could earn.
Yu Shuang stood beside the medicinal field, where the herbs were growing well.
Liu Feng said: "If this year is successful, each household can open up two acres of land to grow medicinal herbs every year, so that the land used to grow crops will not be occupied."
Yu Shuang smiled, "Your hard work will be rewarded."
Liu Feng, "I just hope that the people under my jurisdiction can have enough food to eat."
"Will do."
In the capital city, Zhou Shuren followed the emperor to the greenhouses. Looking at the greenhouses, he stood there without moving.
The emperor turned around and said, "Come on, what are you looking at?"
Zhou Shuren pointed to the shed and said, "I am looking at the silver."
These days, his mind was full of money, and he regretted very much that he would not have approved so much silver to the emperor earlier.
The emperor pulled his beard. He had not expected the flood to be so serious this year. "Are you still going to watch it?"
Zhou Shuren gritted his teeth and said, "Look, why don't you look?"
All of this was bought with a lot of money, he must see it.
The emperor arrived at a greenhouse where many old farmers were carefully tending to the wheat. "This is wheat grown from selected good varieties."
At the beginning, a lot of manpower was spent on obtaining good varieties, selecting them one by one, and planting seeds of the same size together. He also found experienced farmers to take care of them. Recently, the growth has been good, and he wants to show off.
Zhou Shuren stood on the ridge of the field. There was something he really wanted to say. He didn't know anything about farming. In his eyes, the wheat seedlings were indeed growing well, but that was all. He really couldn't tell any specific differences between the fields.
The emperor boasted: "Well, I said it was worth the money."
Zhou Shuren, "This is just the first batch of good seeds. We don't know what the next generation of seeds will be like yet!"
The Emperor said, "I know, so I am not in a hurry. We can take our time with the food issue."
"The weather this year is abnormal, and grain production has dropped drastically, making life difficult for the people."
So don't take it slow, he always feels that there are signs of a mini ice age.
The emperor regretted bringing Zhou Shuren here. Not only did he fail to show off, but he was under even more pressure.
Zhou Family, Chang Li said: "Mother, every year the grain merchants who buy from our farm ask my son if he can sell them some grain this autumn."
“Have you told them that they won’t sell grain this year?”
Changli nodded, "Yes, now everyone knows that grain production has decreased in various places, and with the war, grain merchants are also worried that they will not be able to receive grain."
The Zhou family sells a lot of grain every year, which is produced by the farms of each branch and the farms owned by my parents. In addition, the Zhou family will not oppress merchants by selling inferior goods as good ones, nor will they add sand and gravel to the grain. Grain merchants do not want to lose this business.
Zhulan has always believed in leaving a way out for the future, so she thought for a while and said, "Then sell 20% of the food and store the rest. Thank you for your hard work. You have been taking care of these all these years."
Chang Li smiled innocently, "It's not hard for my son."
He likes to be busy, which makes him feel good about himself. Although he cannot be an official like his younger brothers, he can manage the family well. Over the years, the food of each family has been entrusted to him. This is also a sign of trust in him. It feels good to be trusted.
Zhulan added: "Don't sell the fish from the fishery this year. Put them all in the ice cellar and freeze them."