After farming, I opened a family tree

Chapter 147: Sending Grain to the Capital

Let’s talk about County Magistrate Lin who was delivering grain to the capital. Because it was a government-owned ship, he had a smooth journey.

Moreover, this grain transport ship has attracted much attention since it left Qingshan County, so County Magistrate Lin had a smooth journey to the capital.

Even when the ship stopped at different ports for rest, many local officials came to show their concern.

It was even more incredible after hearing County Magistrate Lin say that Qingshan County had harvested more than one million kilograms of grain.

Many officials even began to ask indirectly whether there were any seeds left in Shenjia Village, County Magistrate Lin.

They were all lifted up by County Magistrate Lin with a smile, and when the grain ship left the dock.

Many people were also wondering why it was County Magistrate Lin who went to Beijing to deliver grain, rather than Shen Tang.

County Magistrate Lin did not hide it, which made others envious for a while, and they looked at each other with envy in their eyes.

Who in the whole Da Qi wouldn't envy County Magistrate Lin for being able to climb the ladder of success like Shen Tang?

Jingkou Wharf. After receiving the letter, Emperor Jing sent troops to station at Jingkou Wharf as soon as possible.

This is so that they can receive the batch of rice seeds brought by County Magistrate Lin at any time.

Therefore, as soon as County Magistrate Lin arrived in Jingkou with the grain transport ship, he was picked up by people sent by Emperor Jing.

The rice seeds were sent directly to the granary of the Ministry of Revenue and the national treasury, and Emperor Jingdi specially sent heavy troops to guard it.

After changing his clothes at the post station, County Magistrate Lin went to the palace to report on his work.

According to the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty, local county magistrates were not qualified to report directly to the capital and could only convey their work through their superiors. However, due to the special nature of rice seeds, County Magistrate Lin was summoned by Emperor Jing in person.

In the Qinzheng Hall, Emperor Jing sat high up, and below him stood the most important ministers in the court.

County Magistrate Lin stood at the head, saluted, and began to report:

"Shenjia Village in Qingshan Town has a total of 1,2266 households, and a total harvest of 1,968,000 kilograms of rice. Planting occurs in mid-March, and harvesting occurs in late July or August. When I arrived in Beijing, Shenjia Village and the surrounding areas had already begun planting late rice..."

County Magistrate Lin stood at the bottom and reported the situation of Shenjia Village to Emperor Jing carefully and seriously.

Although Emperor Jingdi had received the letters from County Magistrate Lin and Shen Tang early in the morning, it was still different to hear them with his own ears.

The Minister of Revenue also stepped forward:

"Your Majesty, County Magistrate Lin is correct. The Ministry of Revenue has completed the inventory, and it is indeed 1,968,000 kilograms."

"Your Majesty, I believe that these rice seeds should be planted in the national treasury first. The grain grown can replenish the national treasury and also alleviate the urgent food and grass situation at the border."

The Minister of Revenue spoke seriously.

After all, planting rice in the imperial farm will prevent others from interfering.

Emperor Jing originally planned to distribute the seeds to each county and then have the county government sow them, but the words of the Minister of Revenue also reminded him a little.

All the imperial estates of the Great Qi together had countless fertile fields and countless estates.

By default, 90% of the output of the imperial farm went into the national treasury, and 10% went into the emperor's private treasury.

"What you say, my dear minister, is not without reason. However, we have a million catties of rice seeds. How can we plant them all on the imperial farm? How should we distribute the remaining rice seeds?"

"Your Majesty, I think this rice seed can be distributed to some of the great men in the court. They have a lot of land in their families, and it's good land. Why don't you just requisition it for two years first?"

After the crops have been grown for two years, the land will be returned to the adults."

Someone suggested.

This suggestion was rejected as soon as it was made:

"If so many seeds are left in Shangjing, what will happen to the people? Your Majesty, as far as I know, all the people in Daqi are looking forward to being given a share of a thousand kilograms of rice seeds. If all these seeds are given to you to plant first, I am worried that the people will complain."

The person who said this was a former top scholar and came from a poor family.

Shen Tang grew a thousand kilograms of rice, and the people from humble backgrounds were the happiest. However, the powerful and wealthy were not actually happy.

The people don’t have much land, and the grain they grow each year is barely enough to feed their family. But now with rice like this, grain is worthless.

The wealthy and powerful families, who have been around for centuries, have countless properties, and grain is worthless, which is equivalent to cutting off their source of income.

That's why some people are eager to obtain the rights to grow seeds.

"What good ideas does County Magistrate Lin have?"

Emperor Jing was sitting at the top, looking at County Magistrate Lin who was standing there, and suddenly asked.

County Magistrate Lin did not expect Emperor Jing to ask this question suddenly. He was slightly surprised and then answered:

"Your Majesty, I believe that this rice seed can be planted in both the north and south."

When Emperor Jing and the ministers in the court heard this, they became curious.

“I don’t know what planting in the north and south means.”

County Magistrate Lin secretly clenched his fists and spoke cautiously:

"Thousand-jin rice was first cultivated in Jiangnan Road, and the harvest was quite good, which shows that the climate in Jiangnan Road is actually more suitable for growing thousand-jin rice. The climate in the north has always been much colder than that in Jiangnan. Jiangnan can grow double-season rice, but the north may not be able to do so.

Therefore, the fastest way is to plant 1,000-jin rice in Jiangnan. Planting in two seasons is one of the ways to grow the most food in a short period of time.

As for the planting in the north, it relied on the imperial farms, and the rice grown in the imperial farms was used as rice seed reserves.

The crops grown in the south are used as food reserves.

In this way, within two years, almost every household in Da Qi would be able to grow crops.

Moreover, the most important point in growing 1,000-jin rice is that it can be grown by ordinary people, not just by the wealthy.

After County Magistrate Lin said this, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

As soon as these words came out, the whole audience was silent.

Doesn't this clearly mean that after the grain is grown, the common people should be given priority, and those in the court should not get involved?

The other ministers all looked unhappy, especially the minister who had just proposed to distribute rice to the ministers.

Emperor Jing glanced at County Magistrate Lin.

County Magistrate Lin knew that his words had offended many people present, so he immediately spoke:

"Actually, if the Lord in the court wants to grow this rice, there are ways."

"What method?"

"This rice is extremely valuable. If we plant two acres of land a year in advance, we will have a lot of seeds. The court can take out a small portion of the seeds and sell them at a high price."

County Magistrate Lin stopped talking here.

The meaning is very clear. If the ministers want to plant it, they can just spend money to buy it.

Sure enough, when Emperor Jing heard this, his brows relaxed.

"Well said! But this Thousand Gold Rice is so precious, I wonder what the reasonable selling price is?"

The Minister of Revenue stood up and said,

"The price of grain in the market ranges from a dozen to several dozen coins. This rice seed is precious, so I'm sure it could be ten times higher than the market price!"

County Magistrate Lin raised his eyes to glance at the Minister of Revenue. This small movement did not escape the eyes of Emperor Jing.

"Does Lord Lin have any other suggestions?"

"Your Majesty, when I left Qingshan Town, I joked with the Ning'an County Marquis privately about how to price the precious rice seeds if merchants wanted to buy them. The Ning'an County Marquis said—"

What did the Ning'an County Marquis say? You should tell me. Everyone looked at County Magistrate Lin, who was hesitant to speak and looked embarrassed, and felt anxious.

"The Marquis of Ning'an said that this kind of rice can support a family as long as there is no extreme natural disaster that results in a total crop failure.

Human life is the most precious thing. I won’t sell these seeds for less than ten taels of silver per pound!”