Chapter 206 The Matter of Growing Rice

After answering, Wei Zhengli, like most of the ministers, didn't understand why Jiang Chen asked this.

Jiang Chen then looked at Xu Changqing, "Minister Xu, where in Great Wei can rice be planted twice a year?"

Xu Changqing quickly replied, "The south of the Jiangnan region can all plant rice twice a year."

Jiang Chen nodded, then swept his gaze across the hall, "Since seeds with more grains per ear produce higher yields, why not take advantage of the ability to plant twice a year to cultivate higher-yielding grain varieties?"

This suggestion stunned everyone.

But upon closer thought, this method seemed theoretically possible.

"We could even consider mixing different varieties of rice to plant together, maybe a miracle will occur!"

Jiang Chen waved his hand, "Minister Xu, I'll leave this to you. Find farming experts from Great Wei and conduct experiments in areas where rice can be planted twice a year, to cultivate rice varieties with sufficiently high yields for Great Wei as soon as possible!"

Xu Changqing was only in his thirties, full of ambition,

Hearing Jiang Chen's words, he couldn't help but get excited, "This minister obeys the decree!"

Wei Zhengli felt a little flustered.

This matter should have been his.

But the Emperor actually assigned it to Xu Changqing!

On the surface, it seemed like he was relying on Xu Changqing.

But if one delved deeper, this was a division of his power!

Thinking of this, Wei Zhengli quickly said, "Your Majesty, this minister is willing to work with Lord Xu to share Your Majesty's burden."

But Jiang Chen waved his hand, "You should focus on building the ships first!"

Wei Zhengli's face turned pale.

Jiang Chen's words were clearly a warning that if he didn't wholeheartedly build the ships well, then he might not have a share in the Ministry of Works' affairs in the future!

The Vice Ministers and Directors of the Ministry of Works also understood the meaning behind Jiang Chen's words and couldn't help but get excited.

The Ministry of Works was originally a leisurely department, but it seemed that His Majesty intended to value it.

Just as they were thinking, they heard Jiang Chen say, "Where is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works?"

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works trembled with excitement and quickly stepped forward and knelt, "This minister is here!"

"Now that every commoner has land to cultivate, but there aren't enough oxen and farming tools, and water conservancy must also be guaranteed."

"I dare not say that every household will have oxen and enough farming tools, but it must be ensured that there are enough!"

Jiang Chen then looked at Xu Changqing, "Minister Xu, coordinate with the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, and after review, funds will be disbursed from the national treasury as communal assets for the villages."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works repeatedly kowtowed with excitement.

Wei Zhengli was anxiously scratching his head.

Besides repairing palaces and imperial villas, the greatest power of the Ministry of Works was to build water conservancy projects and manage cultivation.

Now that both of these had fallen to the Vice Minister, he, the Minister, only had the task of building ships. Who exactly was the Minister?

"Your Majesty, this minister also..."

He wanted to speak, but Jiang Chen didn't give him a chance to open his mouth.

"Minister Wei, I'll say it again, when you've built the ships I asked you to build, then you can do other things."

Afterward, Jiang Chen looked at several Directors of the Ministry of Works and said earnestly, "You must cooperate well with matters under your jurisdiction."

The Directors excitedly stepped forward and knelt, "This minister obeys the decree!"

The other ministers all looked sideways.

Everyone knew that the Ministry of Works was at the bottom of the six ministries, and its presence was only strong during large-scale construction projects.

Unexpectedly, His Majesty would suddenly value it today, it was truly incredible.

After explaining these matters, Jiang Chen announced the end of the court session.

After more than a month of battles, Jiang Chen did not go to the Diligent Governance Hall, but returned to his palace.

Seeing Jiang Chen return, several imperial concubines all came to greet him.

Jiang Chen laughed heartily and attended to the imperial concubines one by one.

After comforting them, the Noble Consort Shu said, "Your Majesty, this concubine heard that Your Majesty mentioned the Ministry of Works today?"

"Oh? What does Noble Consort Shu want to say?" Jiang Chen asked.

Noble Consort Shu was a little embarrassed and said, "This concubine remembers reading in miscellaneous books that the Gongshu family is good at these things. Could Your Majesty seek them out?"

Jiang Chen nodded and kept this matter in mind.

Under Jiang Chen's arrangements, the ministers gradually became busy.

Jiang Chen was also generous, directly increasing the salaries of all ministers by 20%.

As a result, the ministers were full of energy.

The entire Great Wei was also a scene of bustling activity and vigorous vitality.

"Your Majesty, the Quanrong have sent a letter of courtesy to Great Wei, saying they want to send a prince to pay respects to Your Majesty."

This morning in court, Minister of Rites, Wen Fengli, reported.

"The Quanrong?"

Jiang Chen frowned.

Through the investigation of the dark guards, the Western Legion and the Quanrong were ambiguously linked.

Sending a letter of courtesy half a month after he pacified the Northern Legion, the meaning behind this was very thought-provoking.

"What do you think, ministers?" Jiang Chen asked.

The ministers all had unpleasant expressions.

Although everyone usually acted for their own interests, their attitude toward foreign races was relatively unified.

"Since the other party dares to come, does Great Wei have anything to fear?"

"That's right! We must also let them know that Great Wei is not comparable to their Quanrong!"

Seeing that the ministers' opinions were unified, Jiang Chen said, "Since that's the case, then let them come."

"Yes!" Wen Fengli responded and stepped down.

"What else is there?" Jiang Chen asked.

Wu Zuo, who was temporarily in charge of the Ministry of Justice's affairs, stood up at this time and said, "Your Majesty, this minister has investigated the matter of Cao Zhenrong, Deng Pengfei, and others from the Northern Army embezzling military pay and rations. According to the investigation..."

Jiang Chen interrupted Wu Zuo's words and said, "Just state the results."

Wu Zuo paused and said, "This minister believes that the amount of embezzlement by these people is enormous, their crime is akin to treason, and they should be punished by executing their nine generations as a warning to others! All their family property should be confiscated into the palace."

After speaking, Wu Zuo looked at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen nodded heavily, "Approved!"

This response made Wu Zuo's heart rejoice.

He did not notice that the gazes of the other ministers towards him, in addition to fear, also contained dissatisfaction and anger.

When Mo Lan served as the Minister of Justice before, no matter how great the crime, he would often try to handle it as lightly as possible.

But after Wu Zuo took charge of the Ministry of Justice's affairs, the results of the two cases he handled were both the execution of nine generations!

Although they did commit crimes worthy of the execution of nine generations, the law should be tempered with human compassion, and the scope could be reduced to three generations.

Wu Zuo was too ruthless!

The ministers couldn't help but think in their hearts.

"What else is there?" Jiang Chen asked again.

Minister of Personnel, Yang Yongqi, stood up at this time.

"Your Majesty, since Minister of War, Han Kanglin, was arrested, there are many vacancies in the Ministry of War. Please make a decision as soon as possible."

Jiang Chen nodded, "I have this matter in mind."

Saying that, Jiang Chen said to Feng Jin, "Draft an imperial decree to have Yao Shouxin return."

The ministers were all shocked.

Did His Majesty want Yao Shouxin to serve as the Minister of War?

This was too incredible, wasn't it?

Xu Changqing was in his thirties when he served as the Minister of Revenue because Xu Changqing had indeed demonstrated his abilities.

But what abilities did this Yao Shouxin have?

If only they had followed His Majesty on the expedition.

Many ministers felt sour in their hearts at this moment.