Great Qin Shi Empress

Perhaps because he really likes tofu, Ying Zheng finally ate that bowl of sweet tofu without any sign of dismay.

In addition to tofu nao, Yingzheng also likes most soy products.

Not only did he like it, but Ying Zheng also specially ordered the kitchen staff to make a lot of soy snacks and put them on the table where he handles government affairs, and he would eat one from time to time.

This is the first time Lin Qian has seen Ying Zheng like a kind of food so much——

Even compared to tea, it is not much worse.

Seeing that he liked it, Lin Qian searched his guts to find a lot of food made of tofu, and even found the modern host deliberately, and exchanged a lot of soy products from the plane where the modern host is located.

Ying Zheng ate quite happily.

However, these things happened several days later. Apart from feeling that Ying Zheng liked tofu very much, Lin Qian didn't know that he even liked all kinds of soy products.

All her attention now is on the selection of the person in charge of Yantian.

Not only Lin Qian, but all the ministers of the DPRK and China became extremely excited after knowing that Ying Zheng had a method to increase the production of sea salt and even improve the quality of sea salt.

No one knows better than these ministers how important salt is and how profitable it is.

You must know that the deeds of Yi Dun in the Spring and Autumn Period are still circulating in everyone's ears——

This man, who was originally just an ordinary citizen of Lu State, found Tao Zhugong and Fan Li for advice, moved his family to the vicinity of the Salt Pond in the River East, and started a salt sales business, and successfully became the richest businessman in Lu State.

Not to mention, this Yidun was later recorded in the historical records.

Although after him, the huge profits of the salt business were discovered by Guan Zhong of Qi State, and he directly proposed the "Official Shanhai" initiative, directly including salt and iron in the scope of official operations, but...

Officials who handle the salt business still have a lot of money.

It is not to accept bribes and other illegal activities to earn benefits, but to gain benefits from legitimate behaviors such as personal connections and human relations with all parties that will come into contact with after holding the control rights of salt.

What's more, Yingzheng asked them to recommend the officials responsible for expanding the production and quality of sea salt?

The officials in charge of this matter were appointed by Ying Zheng himself, and everyone couldn't interfere even if they were tempted; but since Ying Zheng asked them to recommend suitable candidates, they naturally wanted to use it for their own benefit.

The civil and military ministers are almost fighting for this position——

Even if you are not suitable, there are always suitable candidates for your relatives, friends and even confidantes.

Seeing the minister's pale face, Ying Zheng couldn't help but frown.

Lin Qian saw it, but there was nothing he could do about it.

As far as she knows, the ministers who can be sent to the coast to be responsible for the promotion of salt fields are either sent to the grasslands, or sent to the Western Regions to cooperate with countries in the Western Regions to open factories. At present, there is really no better candidate to provide to Ying politics.

Therefore, Lin Qian could only watch these ministers arguing for the position of the person in charge.

In the end, after a lot of "competition" between you and me, only three people who are very good in various aspects such as ability, identity and qualifications stand out from them——

Zhao Tuo, who was born as a general, Zhang Cang, a civil servant, and Meng Yi, who was on duty next to Ying Zheng Lin Qian.

These three are not unknown even in history.

Zhao Tuo was sent by Yingzheng to attack Baiyue in history. After several years of pulling and successfully taking Baiyue, he was left by Yingzheng in Baiyue to suppress the local people (although he finally ceded the territory and created a South Vietnam in Baiyue Zhang Cang served as prime minister in the Han Dynasty, and he was also responsible for the repair and compilation of the book Nine Chapters of Arithmetic; Meng Yi needless to mention, from his grandfather to his eldest brother Meng Tian, ​​​​all were loyal to the Qin State, and he was also responsible for it. Yingzheng is safe.

It seems that no matter who is selected for this position, it is normal.

Of course, this is just Lin Qian's idea.

In her eyes, the three people with the same winning rate are very different in the hearts of others——

Although Zhao Tuo is well-known, he is not as good as Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Meng Tian, ​​Li Xin, etc., and the military general was elected to be in charge of Yantian, and there is always a feeling of "professional inappropriateness";

Zhang Cang has made some achievements in recent years, and he is also a civil servant, but his family background is actually not that good. If he hadn't studied under Xunzi like Li Si, and the two are considered brothers, he might have been excluded long ago;

Meng Yi has nothing to criticize, but he is too young to worry that he will not be able to control things.

Lin Qian's eyes were numb when he heard the ministers' criticism of the three of them.

Ying Zheng saw her expression clearly, and couldn't help laughing: "Marquis Gu Feng has never expressed his opinion, but he already has a suitable candidate in his heart?"

Lin Qian raised her head in disbelief: [What can I say?I have no opinion! 】

Ying Zheng raised his eyebrows: "Since the law of Yantian was proposed by Marquis Gu Feng, as the person who knows Yantian the best among all the people present, you should also be the most clear about the characteristics that the person in charge of Yantian needs. Zhao Tuo, Zhang Cang and Meng Yi each have their strengths and weaknesses, so it should be a good choice?"

Lin Qian frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "The excavation of the salt field and the subsequent work of drying the salt should be done by prisoners. These people should be watched. Then the person in charge must at least be able to control people?"

Zhao Tuo's eyes lit up, and he straightened his back instantly.

"The excavation of salt pans, the drying of salt, and even the collection of salt require someone to direct and coordinate. The daily salt production and income and expenditure also need to be watched by someone, so this person should know some relevant knowledge?"

Zhang Cang glanced at Lin Qian, and slowly let out a breath.

"The location of Yantian is relatively conspicuous, and the location of Yantian is also a problem. After the selection is made, it needs to be discussed with local officials and the people. So we have to find someone with a high status or high official position to take over?"

Zhao Tuo and Zhang Cang looked at each other, and looked at Meng Yi in unison.

The official positions of the three are almost the same, only Meng Yi has the highest status. If you must choose according to this requirement, then Meng Yi will become the most likely person.

But if the three are added together...

Ok……

None of the three of them fit perfectly.

Even Meng Yi can barely meet the three conditions.

But his age is really a big problem.

Ying Zheng looked at Lin Qian: "Are you sure the person in charge needs to be selected according to these three conditions?"

Lin Qian nodded seriously and said, "This is my personal opinion."

Ying Zheng fell into deep thought, and looked up at the three of them after a while: "Since that's the case, the three of you are in charge of this matter. Meng Yi is in charge, Zhang Cang is in charge, and Zhao Tuo is in charge of the army."

Lin Qian: [The three are in charge of this together? 】

She looked at Ying Zheng suspiciously. At first, she didn't understand why he did this, but after thinking about it, she realized that the arrangement of the three people was obviously based on the configuration of "Junshou, Juncheng and Junwei" , the three pillars stand together and restrict each other, which is quite characteristic of the Qin State.

And the others, like Lin Qian, quickly understood Ying Zheng's thoughts.

Now that they understand, they naturally have no opinion.

The three of Meng Yi looked at each other, and immediately bowed their heads in response.

……

Soon, the three set off for the coastal area with the method of drying salt in the salt field.

After the people left, Lin Qian began to toss about the food.

During this time, Yingzheng had new soy snacks that Lin Qian asked the kitchen to make almost every day. Even though he still had endless government affairs to deal with, he was still in a good mood.

But it may be that extreme joy begets sorrow, Li Si hurriedly begged to see Ying Zheng within a few days.

Before Yingzheng could ask, Li Si couldn't wait to say: "Your Majesty is bad, the potato harvest in Jiujiang County will be ruined this year!"

Ying Zheng was stunned: "But a natural disaster happened?"

Li Si wiped the sweat from his brow, shook his head and said, "Since His Majesty ruled the world, the weather has been smooth and there have been no natural disasters or man-made disasters. The weather in Jiujiang County has been good since the beginning of the year, and there has never been a disaster."

Ying Zheng was thinking about how to provide disaster relief, but when he heard about it, he was puzzled: "If there was no natural disaster, could it be a man-made disaster?"

What kind of man-made disaster can destroy the potato crop in a county without war?

Li Si shook his head again: "It's not a man-made disaster."

Ying Zheng frowned, and looked at Li Si suspiciously: "Since it was not a natural or man-made disaster, how did the potatoes grow so well in the ground that they were never harvested?"

This is why Li Si was in a hurry to enter the palace——

He swallowed, and said with a sad face: "Because, because the people of Jiujiang County saw that the price of potatoes is higher than that of corn and sweet potatoes, so they expanded the planting area."

Ying Zheng: "???"

People's pursuit of delicious food is endless.

Especially after there are more and more kebab stalls, other common people want to stand out from the crowd of competitors, and because the price of kebabs is too expensive, there are not many people willing to buy them, so they buy kebabs. Not long after the stall appeared, people spontaneously roasted various vegetables and grains.

Among them, potatoes have the best effect.

And it's not just potato kebabs. After several years of development, the number and types of potato-related delicacies are almost the same as those of modern times.

Naturally, potatoes, which are indistinguishable from grains and vegetables, are sought after by the people.

The people are in pursuit of it, so the price will naturally be high.

Ying Zheng was also aware of this.

but……

Unable to hear the reason for the crop failure in Jiujiang County for a long time, Ying Zheng couldn't help feeling impetuous, and looked at Li Si, who had been keeping a secret, with a particularly hostile look: "Is there any connection between the expansion of the potato planting area and the crop failure of the common people?"

Li Si noticed that Ying Zheng's temper had been put to the extreme, and he didn't dare to be vague anymore, so he quickly said, "Because the potato planting area they expanded is the field where potatoes were planted last year."

Ying Zheng looked at Li Si in disbelief: "Are you sure?"

Li Si nodded again and again: "I carefully read the letter from the governor of Jiujiang County, and I'm sure that's what he said. And judging from what the governor said, it seems that the local people have been planting potatoes on the same land for the third year."

Growing potatoes on the same field for three years?

Ying Zheng was about to be annoyed with laughter: "When Gu Fenghou took out potatoes and promoted them, didn't he tell you repeatedly that these potatoes are very susceptible to disease if they are planted on the same land for years? The people in Jiujiang County did not plant them in the first year. How could you make such a serious mistake?"

Straight to the bottom line?

He immediately sneered: "What do the local sheriffs and agricultural officials do for food?!"

Li Si shuddered in fright, but he still explained seriously: "Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with the sheriff and agricultural officials of Jiujiang County."

"When the local sheriff learned last year that the people were going to plant potatoes on the same land, he personally led people to find people who wanted to do this and dissuaded them. Some people changed their minds, but some people still said that potatoes had been planted for so many years. Nothing happened, and there are not many people around who have planted potatoes on the same field for two consecutive years because there are not many fields at home, and there is no problem, so I insist on planting.”

"The land belongs to the people themselves, and the county guards cannot use force or other coercive means, so they can only watch them plant it."

"Fortunately and unfortunately, nothing happened to potatoes last year."

"Those people who insist on growing potatoes on the same piece of land have made money and attracted the attention of people around them and even people in other places. So this year, the number of people growing potatoes on the same piece of land has increased."

Li Si took a deep breath: "In the beginning, the potatoes in the fields of a few people had symptoms such as withered leaves, and the potatoes in the fields of other people were fine. But the disease spread like a plague, and soon the potatoes in their neighbors' fields Potatoes also began to show the disease of withered and yellow leaves, and then passed it on from one to another, and when the potatoes were harvested, more than half of the potatoes planted by the common people in Jiuyuan County were infected with the disease..."

Most of the potatoes in the common people's fields are infected with diseases, which is no different from the failure of the potato harvest.

After Yingzheng heard this, the veins on his forehead twitched: "Since the responsibility for this matter rests with the common people, why are you looking for widows?"

Li Si secretly sighed in his heart: [I knew that this matter would definitely make His Majesty angry. 】

【but……】

He said helplessly: "The local people have grown potatoes on almost half of the land. If Your Majesty doesn't care about them, I'm afraid many people will go hungry this year."

Maybe even starve to death.

Yingzheng looked at Li Si: "But all of this is their own choice. The court told them when they distributed the seeds that potatoes cannot be planted in rotation. It is their own greed and willingness to take huge risks for a little profit. grow potatoes in the same field."

The imperial court has done all the things that should be done, and the local county guard has never neglected his duties. The local people can only blame themselves for the current ending.

Ying Zheng said indifferently, "They should have made a lot of money last year, so they shouldn't starve to death."

Li Si didn't know what to do.

Because obviously, Ying Zheng is very dissatisfied with the self-assertion of those people, and he has a lot to ignore those people, let them fend for themselves, and taste the bitter fruit he planted by disobeying the court's orders.

He wanted to persuade-

Although the fault of this matter lies entirely with the common people, if the imperial court really ignores it, the reputation of the imperial court and Yingzheng will be seriously damaged after all these years of hard work.

But seeing Ying Zheng's angry look, he really didn't dare to speak.

Just when he was in a dilemma, he suddenly heard the servant come in and communicate——

"Your Majesty, madam please see me."

Ying Zheng frowned, subconsciously looking at Li Si.

Sensing Ying Zheng's gaze, Li Si buried his face in his chest.

Ying Zheng was even angrier.

But even if he was angry, it was impossible to let Lin Qian let her in.

He could only hold his breath and say, "Come in!"

When Lin Qian entered the door, she immediately noticed that Ying Zheng was furious, while Li Si was feeling guilty.

She paused and asked, "Someone tell me, what happened?"

Lin Qian was dealing with official business in Shaofu, when Li Si's subordinates suddenly came to her, saying that Li Si had entered the palace to discuss matters, and hoped that she could also enter the palace as soon as possible.

Can……

What were the two talking about before?

Li Si glanced at Ying Zheng, and quickly explained the ins and outs of the matter.

Lin Qian understood in an instant: Ying Zheng didn't really intend to care about those people, but the behavior of the local people offended him, so...

But even Lin Qian didn't know how to persuade him: "It's not a big deal, the common people just want to live a better life, otherwise, how could they take such a big risk at the same time?" Potatoes in a field?"

"Besides, this matter is not bad, at least it can let others know that what I said back then is true..."

She was about to continue persuading her, but suddenly she heard a message from her servant that the farm boy, who had always been very low-key, suddenly wanted to see Ying Zheng.

farmhouse?

After a few years, let alone Ying Zheng, even Lin Qian almost forgot about the peasant family.