Zhuo Qihua

The next day, Ziyuan left the palace in the name of purchasing.It may be difficult for others to find out where the beautiful princess of Tarkin is being held, but for the empress, this is a trivial matter.Zi Yuan came to an inconspicuous private house in the capital. Outside the private house were dozens of imperial guards dressed as ordinary guards.Ziyuan took out the handwritten note of the royal concubine, and the person in charge let Ziyuan in after reading it.

Wan Gushu was imprisoned in a separate room, with two old nuns guarding the door, men were not allowed to enter.Those two old nuns were nuns in the palace, so they naturally knew Zi Yuan.Seeing Ziyuan, the two old nuns hurriedly saluted: "Miss Ziyuan."

Ziyuan is the eldest maid next to the empress, and the two nuns are naturally respectful when they see her.Zi Yuan said: "Your Majesty sent me over to take a look, the two nuns don't talk too much."

"Don't dare. The old slave doesn't know anything."

A nanny said something, then unlocked the door, pushed the door open, and Zi Yuan walked in.The people in the room quickly got off the bed after hearing the voices outside, and stood vigilantly in the corner.As soon as Ziyuan entered the room, she saw a woman standing in the corner.At that glance, Zi Yuan was stunned in place.

Wan Gushu bit her lip, she was too aware of the impact her face would have on others.But why is it a woman!Ziyuan stared at Wan Gushu closely, and she looked too far away at him.Zi Yuan turned around and left without saying a word, and Mammy quickly closed the door and locked it.Seeing this, Wan Gushu rushed over and knocked on the door: "I want to see His Majesty the Emperor! Let me see His Majesty the Emperor!"

Ziyuan left with a livid face. After she left, she said to the person in charge of the custody: "Don't say that I have been here."

"Yes."

Zi Yuan hurried back to the palace.She walked on the front foot, and Hu Pengju came on the back foot, carrying a pack of medicine.A nun made the medicine herself, and then the two nuns entered the house.Wan Gushu's screams came from inside the house, and Hu Pengju waited outside.After a while the two nuns came out and locked the door.A nun said to Hu Pengju: "The medicine has been poured down."

Hu Pengju nodded and said: "Princess Wan Gushu is a distinguished guest, we must take good care of her."

"Yes."

Hu Peng lifted it away.

Ziyuan hurried back to Huayang Palace, seeing her expression, the empress said, "What? Did you see someone?"

Zi Yuan said anxiously: "Master! That woman really has a troublesome face!"

The pupils of the imperial concubine shrank slightly, and asked, "Can Your Majesty go to see her?"

Zi Yuan: "No! But, Eunuch Zhang has been there." Zi Yuan was impatient, "Master, even slaves, are all stunned. If His Majesty saw it, he would definitely not be able to escape the seduction of that demon girl!"

The royal concubine never thought that a woman from Talkin's department would have such an appearance.After thinking about it, Huang Guixie said: "Wan Gushu is so beautiful, but His Majesty has never called her into the palace. The Queen Mother hates that Wan Gushu. As long as the Queen Mother refuses to allow it, the Palace will stop her. Your Majesty is always wise, so she will not be called into the palace." She is confused. Let the Queen Mother be prepared, and a Tarkin woman must not be allowed to disturb the stability of Danyang Palace."

Shion nodded.

■

Zhuo Ji told Quan Sheng and Liang Qi to make a new card and they finished it.Feng Xi came over and said, "Cui, Your Majesty, please go to Qinwen Palace."

"Okay. Here we go."

Zhuo Ji asked Chang Jing to put away the cards, just in time to show them to His Majesty.When we arrived at the Qinwen Palace, we saw that the ground of the Qinwen Palace was full of boxes of different sizes, and Emperor Yong'an greeted him: "Shunxi, these are treasures seized from the Talkin Palace, come and see what you like. "

Zhuo Ji walked over: "So many?"

Emperor Yong'an said with disdain: "Not much. Atutai is a poor man. I didn't expect to get any good things from him. I didn't let them carry those things that you definitely don't like." .”

Zhuo Ji laughed, that's right, His Majesty the Emperor sits in the land of geomantic omen of Mata, so the treasures are naturally the most.Zhuo Ji looked at the past one by one, jewelry, high-quality fur, and high-quality medicinal materials accounted for most of them. Pearls and jade were also the main jewels. Talkin is close to the sea. It is not surprising that there are pearls, and there are also jade. mine.Zhang Xian said on the side: "He, these treasures of Atutai, and some of them were donated by businessmen who surrendered to the enemy in Mata country. These are not rare things in our Mata country. Long live will not let them go." Bring it here."

Zhuo Ji took a rough glance and said, "Keep the medicinal materials for me."

Emperor Yong'an: "I knew you only liked these herbs."

Zhuo Ji saw a small box of crystal clear stones.Most of them are irregular in shape, the largest is as big as half a palm, and the smallest is as big as an adult's thumbnail.Looking closely, most of these stones are light yellow, and a few are bluish, reddish, and dark yellow.He walked over: "What is this? Crystal stone?" At first glance, it was an untreated rough stone.

Emperor Yong'an: "Yes. Lin Yi brought back these three boxes. I don't know whether they were sent by the merchants of the Mata country who surrendered to the enemy or the Tarkin Ministry has crystal mines. But these crystals are not very big, and they are not good. If you like, I will have someone polish it into jewelry or utensils for you."

Zhuo Ji bent down, picked up a piece and looked at it, and then faced the sunlight, and saw the inside of the "crystal" shining brightly under the sunlight, which was really beautiful.Zhuo Ji's heart skipped a beat, he put down the one in his hand, picked up a fingernail-sized one, not so yellow in color, and pointed it at the sun again. The brilliance inside the "Crystal" is dazzling, refracting colorful colors.Zhuo Ji smiled happily, Emperor Yong'an saw this and stepped forward: "Like these stones?"

Zhuo Ji: "I like it."

It's rare to meet someone who likes Ai Shi so much, Emperor Yong'an immediately said: "I asked Zhang Xian to send the rest to Xiangfu Palace."

Zhuo Ji looked at Emperor Yong'an, the light in his eyes made Emperor Yong'an's heart soften.Zhuo Ji said happily: "Your Majesty, this is not a crystal mine, this is a good thing."

Emperor Yong'an: "What good thing?"

Zhuo Ji: "This is diamond, the hardest substance that exists in nature. Diamond has great uses in industry, and the diamond obtained after refining diamond is the most beautiful gemstone that women will flock to." Diamond Forever and ever, one will last forever', for this slogan, I don’t know how many women have fought for it, and I don’t know how many men have spent their money. Although spending a lot of money to buy diamonds is suspected of paying IQ tax, but as a luxury, No matter how expensive it is, it will never be out of date. There are so many rough diamonds in Atutai, which means that there must be a rough diamond mine in Talkin. Diamond is very hard. With the existing technology and conditions, it can only be made of diamond powder If we can find that diamond mine and strictly control the output, this thing, which is as big as a soybean, can be sold at a sky-high price."

Emperor Yong'an put his arms around Zhuo Ji and smiled: "You are indeed my lucky star, my virtuous wife."

Emperor Yong'an immediately ordered Lam Yi to interrogate Tarkin's most important prisoner, where is the diamond mine in Tarkin's department.As long as you ask, Emperor Yong'an will immediately give Pan Po a secret decree, asking him to quickly send someone to control the diamond mine.Then, Emperor Yong'an summoned Shi Yu again.

Emperor Yong'an was playing with a piece of diamond, no matter how he looked at it, he couldn't see how valuable it would be.Zhuo Ji had already explained to him the main uses of diamonds in industry, and the more Emperor Yong'an listened, the more he was satisfied.

Feng Xi came in from the outside: "Your Majesty, the people sent by Dengzhou Zhizhou have arrived and are waiting outside the palace."

Emperor Yong'an was stunned for a moment, then remembered that incident, and said, "Xuan."

Zhuo Ji: "Is it the things found on the ships of those foreign thieves?"

"Yeah." When that matter was mentioned, Emperor Yong'an's face couldn't get any better, "There were some things on those ships, and Mi Wanzhong couldn't figure out what they were. He knew how to be cautious now, and sent someone to send them back for me to have a look. Those who come from overseas may really find something." Emperor Yong'an did not shy away from it, "He said he was looking at it for me, but in fact he was looking at it for you." Having said this, Emperor Yong'an said coldly, "He should be smarter and more diligent. , I will not demote him to Dengzhou. The official of the Ministry of officials, how important the country is to the court, but he is confused again and again!"

Zhuo Ji: "King Qin seems to like the new Minister of the Ministry of Officials very much."

King Qin and King Qi would sometimes write letters to Shun's parents, telling them about their recent learning experience, and Zhuo Ji would also write back to them. This was because they would not meet them directly, and this was also to avoid suspicion.Emperor Yong'an obviously also knew about this, and said: "Both of them like to read 'science' journals, and they have a common language."

Shi Yu came faster, and he was in the cabinet.People from Dengzhou are still outside the palace, and their speed is slower.Zhuo Ji did not avoid him, as soon as Shi Yu came, Zhuo Ji said: "Shi Shangshu, there is one thing that needs to be troubled by the craftsmen at the Ministry of Industry and the Academy of Sciences."

Shi Yu said anxiously: "Cui! How can you say that what you have explained is troublesome! The Ministry of Industry and the Academy of Sciences are proud to share the worries for you! If you say this, it is a disgrace to the lower officials, and the lower officials are afraid!"

Zhuo Ji held back his laugh, and Emperor Yong'an said with a look of disgust: "Okay, okay, I know you are loyal. Among the trophies brought back by Edward Lam, there are some rare diamonds. This is a good thing. You should listen to Shunxi first. .”

Zhuo Ji first told Shi Yu what diamond is and how to distinguish diamond from crystal.After Shi Yu expressed his understanding, he told Shi Yu the use of diamonds and the value of the diamonds after purification of Jin Guangshi. Shi Yu's eyes lit up when he heard that.Zhuo Ji said: "The most important thing is how to get diamond powder first, and then make it into a grinding wheel. As long as the research institute can succeed, we will be in control of the development and utilization of all diamond mines. At that time, the Academy of Sciences can cooperate with 'Zhao Yuan The firm' joined forces to set up a diamond firm to trade in diamonds."

Shi Yu immediately patted his chest and promised: "The minister and the Academy of Sciences will definitely not disappoint the expectations of your majesty and you!"

Zhuo Ji: "You take a few yuan to the research institute first, and be sure to save it, it's all silver."

"The subordinate understands!"

Zhuo Ji chose four pieces with the worst quality for Shi Yu, and Shi Yu left happily.Emperor Yong'an: "He's the one who can flatter you the most."

Zhuo Ji laughed and said: "I think Shi Shangshu is quite interesting." No wonder the boss likes the eloquent subordinates, he is in a happy mood.

It was only at this time that Zhang Xian stepped forward and said, "Long live, 翍俍, people from Dengzhou have arrived and are waiting outside the palace."

"Xuan."

Soon, the eunuchs came in with wooden troughs and two boxes.And Shi Yu, who had already left, also turned back and said: "Your Majesty, I saw some rare things from Dengzhou. I thought that there might be something I need to do, so I came back."

Emperor Yong'an: "Well. Since the things have been delivered, you should also take a look."

A Imperial Guard who came in with Zhang Xian said: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Guard seized some unknown agricultural products when they were searching for foreign pirate ships. Please take a look, Your Majesty."

Zhuo Ji walked up to the two pots of dried up so-called crops, and his expression was a little strange.He immediately asked, "Is there such a thing as a found seed?"

"Yes. In these two boxes."

"Open!"

The eunuch quickly opened it, and Zhuo Ji walked over and squatted down, and there were various clay pots, large and small, inside.He picked one up, opened it, and sure enough, it contained seeds.Pour it out and look, Zhuo Ji is overjoyed.Before he had time to explain what it was, Zhuo Ji opened all the clay pots in the two boxes, poured out the seeds inside and checked them one by one.Then he asked someone to take a flower shovel and dug out two kinds of oblong fruits from the six wooden troughs, carrots from the soil in two wooden troughs, and carrots from the soil in two wooden troughs. The white radish was picked, and a pumpkin was dug out of the soil in the three wooden troughs. The appearance of this pumpkin was different from that of the local pumpkin in Mata country. It was relatively small and had dark green skin.

Zhuo Ji's hands were trembling, his eyes gradually became moist as he looked at these things.It was quiet in the Xingxing Hall, and Emperor Yong'an walked up to Zhuo Ji and helped him up.Zhuo Ji covered his eyes with one hand, not wanting everyone to see his gaffe.Emperor Yong'an turned him around and hugged him into his arms.Zhang Xian, Shi Yu, Feng Xi... They have known 俍俍 for so many years, and this is the first time they have seen him like this. Is there anything special about these crops?Many people present could recognize carrots and white radishes even though they could not tell the difference between grains.That green-skinned thing looks like a pumpkin.The other two didn't recognize each other, but they didn't look like they were precious either.

Emperor Yong'an stroked Zhuo Ji's back and asked, "What's wrong? What did you find?"

Zhuo Ji took two deep breaths, let go of his hands, and raised his head, his moist eyes were full of joy and excitement.He smiled deeply, but his voice was hoarse: "Your Majesty, I am so, so happy today!"

Emperor Yong'an relaxed his tight heart, and smiled: "What did you find?"

Zhuo Ji came out of Emperor Yong'an's arms, picked up the two things that no one present knew, and held them up in front of Emperor Yong'an: "Your Majesty, this is a sweet potato, this is, a potato."

Emperor Yong'an's pupils tightened, and he asked in shock: "Potatoes! Sweet potatoes?!"

Zhuo Ji nodded vigorously, smiling like a flower: "Yes, it's potatoes and sweet potatoes."

Of course Emperor Yong'an knew what potatoes and sweet potatoes were. He was so happy that he finally understood why Ai Shi was so excited just now.He didn't think it was dirty, so he reached out to take it, feeling overwhelmed.Shi Yu took a step forward: "Your Majesty, what treasures are these potatoes and sweet potatoes?" Judging by the expressions of Your Majesty and Chu Chu, these two things are probably really good things!

Emperor Yong'an looked at Shi Yu, but said: "Immediately order agricultural experts from the Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Households to enter the palace!"

Shi Yu was shocked: "I will go to the Academy of Sciences immediately!"

Feng Xi: "Slaves go to the cabinet!"

Nianqing had to find the agricultural experts from the Ministry of Household Affairs, and Nianqing was supposed to be in the cabinet at this time.Shi Yu and Feng Xi hurried away.Zhuo Ji continued to smile and said: "The foreign thief has stocked up a lot of crop seeds that our country does not have. Your Majesty, after the foreign thief is escorted to Beijing, I want to interrogate myself. I want to know why there are potatoes and sweet potatoes on their boat , and so many seeds!"

Emperor Yong'an: "I am with you."

Emperor Yong'an signaled to Zhang Xian, Zhang Xian asked the others in the room to retreat, and he stayed.Zhuo Ji picked up a clay pot and poured out a small handful of seeds inside: "Your Majesty, these are pepper seeds, we don't need to go to America to find them!"

Emperor Yong'an's first reaction was: "I can eat authentic boiled fish now."

"Yes!" Zhuo Ji laughed from ear to ear.

Poured the chili seeds back, Zhuo Ji picked up another clay pot and poured it out: "This is pepper."

Emperor Yong'an: "I know. Zheng He brought back a lot of pepper from his voyages."

"Yes, that's the pepper. Before Zheng He's voyages, pepper was a scarce item. After Zheng He's voyages, pepper became a common item."

Zhang Xian said that he did not understand at all, but this is not important.His Majesty and Zuo are so happy, Zhang Xian is also happy.

Zhuo Ji picked up another clay pot, and the contents inside made Zhuo Ji a little dumbfounded: "This is coffee seeds."

Emperor Yong'an: "Just the kind that tastes bitter?"

Zhuo Ji: "Yes. But coffee can only grow in tropical regions. The most suitable place is Nanzhao."

Emperor Yong'an: "This food doesn't taste good, so there's no rush."

Zhuo Ji: "That's not necessarily the case. I don't like it, but it doesn't mean that others don't like it. It's also a very important cash crop."

Emperor Yong'an: "What else?"

Zhuo Ji gave Yong'an Emperor science one by one, and many seeds were actually broken.But as long as there are seeds to plant, there is hope!Among the collected seeds were tomato seeds, sunflower seeds and lemon seeds!There was even a terrine with lots of sun-dried lemon slices!Although there is no such thing as corn or peanuts, Zhuo Ji is already very satisfied.

Emperor Yong'an was also very happy.With these potatoes and sweet potatoes, it is tantamount to solving part of the food problem in Mata country.At least the people in those bitter cold places can rely on growing potatoes to make a living.In those sandy soils, sweet potatoes can be grown.

Emperor Yong'an couldn't help lowering his head and kissed Zhuo Ji's mouth: "You are really my lucky star."

Zhuo Ji's eyes were also shining, because he was so happy.He originally planned that the Mata country would prepare to go to sea within three years, and then explore the ocean while finding ways to find the seeds of these crops and bring them back. Who would have thought that such a coincidence!

"In addition to the coffee seeds, these seeds, together with those potatoes and sweet potatoes, should be planted in the greenhouse as soon as possible. The pumpkin is a new variety, and it is also planted."

Emperor Yong'an: "When Shi Yu and Nian Qing come over, I will arrange it immediately. This planting matter must be handed over to reliable people. Shi Zhu and Shi Li happen to be in charge of the output of the greenhouse on the farm. People are responsible for watching this matter by the way.”

"it is good."

Fengtian Temple became busy because of the crops sent back from Dengzhou.The tomatoes and peppers that Lumentin and the others grew on board were frozen to death all the way.But if you have seeds, you are not afraid.As for the coffee seeds and pepper seeds, Zhuo Ji plans to breed them in the greenhouse for the time being.After the new year, I sent people to Nanzhao to buy some land in a place suitable for growing coffee in Nanzhao as a private person. Coffee still needs to be planted.Pepper can also be bred while selecting suitable areas to start experimental planting.Potatoes can be used as a staple food, and sweet potatoes can be used as a supplementary food. For the people of Mata country whose food production is not high, these two things are good news!