Chapter 224
Yue Fuguang looked at his sparkling eyes and felt that this child must have been bullied by his old man, which was why he wanted to throw his father under the bus.
If she went in to take a look, how could she leave without taking some souvenirs with her?
Thinking of the contributions she had made to the Great Yan, going in to take a look wasn't out of the question. After all, her five-hundred-cubic-meter storage ring was still quite empty.
Yue Fuguang didn't possess the good quality of seeing through things without pointing them out. She asked directly, "Did His Majesty bully you?"
Xie Zhiyan was clearly taken aback by Yue Fuguang's directness. But thinking of the Junior Preceptor's personality, he instantly felt relieved and answered just as directly, "Not me, but my mother, the Empress."
With huge scandals repeatedly breaking out in the inner palace, all related to his imperial father's concubines, his dad was obviously a bit triggered!
Yue Fuguang instantly understood. Thinking of the gossip she and the system had leaked last night, it was no wonder the Emperor had a face longer than a donkey's today.
The forced smile he squeezed out when he saw her was truly hideous!
However, for him to push all the blame onto the Empress was a bit too much! An emperor who didn't know how to reflect on himself clearly needed her to knock some more sense into him.
"I'm a little tired today. How about you accompany me tomorrow? His Majesty wouldn't disagree, right?"
With the Crown Prince here to throw his dad under the bus, he would definitely know which items inside were the most precious. Space was limited, so she would only take the most expensive ones!
"By the way, Crown Prince, there will be many commoners tomorrow. Could enemy spies infiltrate the crowd? Do you have any preventive plans for the planting of sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes?"
Xie Zhiyan's face immediately turned serious. He replied, "Please rest assured, Junior Preceptor. The first batch of seeds will all be planted in the imperial estates.
The second batch is planned to be planted first by the important ministers in the court, and then the imperial court will purchase the harvest from them to distribute as seeds to the commoners.
While the court and the public maintain strict information confidentiality, security measures around the fields and borders will also be increased to ensure that the superior seeds do not flow out."
Yue Fuguang nodded. It would be difficult to prevent them from leaking out entirely, but as long as the Great Yan could maintain an absolute lead for two or three years, relying on their current financial resources, they could build a strong and well-equipped army.
It wouldn't matter if the seeds leaked out after that. By then, according to her plan, it would be time for the Great Yan to expand its territories!
The great drought three years from now wouldn't just strike the Great Yan. It would be a natural disaster sweeping across all six nations, affecting the entire region, even though the severity would vary from country to country.
Natural disasters would breed man-made calamities.
The chaos would officially begin three years from now!
Thinking of her increasingly robust divine soul, she recalled the system telling her that many officials were worshipping her statues in their homes. Her incense offerings came precisely from these people.
Once the potatoes were dug up tomorrow, her reputation as the Junior Preceptor would become even more resounding. When autumn arrived and the sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes made their debut, which commoner who relied on the land for a living wouldn't worship her?
Yue Fuguang, who originally didn't want to be famous and only wanted to complete her missions from behind the scenes, now acted like a star eager for fame because of the benefits the incense offerings brought to strengthening her divine soul. She was just afraid that others wouldn't know her name.
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was the first quarter of the Chen hour the next day. Yue Fuguang stood beside the Crown Prince once again. Both faced east, watching the slowly rising sun gradually illuminate the entire land.
In front of them was a high terrace with jade steps. Upon it sat a large three-legged bronze cauldron, engraved with intricate patterns and texts.
Below it was a large incense altar. In the middle of the altar sat an incense burner, from which three thick, long incense sticks leisurely emitted wisps of blue smoke.
Slightly below the incense burner, on the left and right sides, offerings of the three sacrificial animals, tea, fruits, and pastries were placed.
Although Yue Fuguang and the others didn't need to offer incense anymore, the Ministry of Rites still didn't dare to omit the incense, candles, and sacrificial offerings meant for respecting heaven and earth.
Behind them was a dense crowd of people stretching as far as the eye could see. The system showed her a bird's-eye view. Starting from the Fengtian Hall and radiating outward, densely packed heads filled every street and alley of the capital city of Shangjing, extending for miles outside the city walls.
This crowd rivaled the foot traffic of certain famous tourist spots and train stations during the National Day holiday! As far as the eye could see, it was just people!
There were high-ranking officials and noblemen, as well as commoners in plain clothes. Old people held the hands of children, and women followed their husbands. Families brought their entire households, all craning their necks to look forward.
In reality, all they could see in front of them were motionless heads, and more heads.
Many people sat on the ground and began to eat their morning meal.
"System, we still underestimated the allure that high-yield superior seeds have for the commoners. Nothing has even happened yet, and there are already so many people.
I don't even dare to imagine what the scene will be like when the corn and sweet potatoes are harvested."
[To the commoners, how could anything that fills their stomachs be a trivial matter! The people from your world are just too well-fed, which is why they forget that there are still many people starving.]
Yue Fuguang smacked her lips. Those words were truly irrefutable. The greatest hardship she had suffered in both of her lifetimes combined was during those days at the Zhou family.
At that time, the system was afraid she would kick the bucket, so it even took out loans to feed her. Strictly speaking, she hadn't actually gone hungry for many meals.
Following Eunuch Qian's loud and clear announcement of "His Majesty arrives!", Emperor Mingxi slowly walked out from the side hall.
At once, the officials turned solemn, and the commoners bowed their heads.
The moment Emperor Mingxi stood still, the resounding cheers of "Long live the Emperor" rose and fell like ocean waves, surging from the palace to the imperial city, and extending all the way from the imperial city to the outer city.
Wherever the sound passed, tens of thousands of commoners fell to their knees in prostration, like wheat being harvested.
However, the hundreds of officials of the Great Yan only bowed to Emperor Mingxi.
In previous years, on such grand occasions, they would have had to kneel and prostrate as well. But for some unknown reason, His Majesty had actually exempted them from this grand ceremony today.
Some people cast a glance in Yue Fuguang's direction. Could it be out of consideration for her?
Although Yue Fuguang really wanted to be famous right now, she didn't want to stand out like a sore thumb at a time like this. She was extremely satisfied that the officials could perform a bowing salute just like her.
"Rise!" Emperor Mingxi clearly used his inner energy for this word. It spread far and wide, as if he had used a loudspeaker.
At the very least, the commoners at the front all heard it.
Although the segment where the Emperor and the officials offered incense was skipped, the Ministry of Rites dared not be careless when it came to sending a message to the Heavens during the sacrifice.
Yesterday, they finally won Yue Fuguang's approval to keep the program of burning the sacrificial memorial to the Heavens, simply going through the motions.
Considering the presence of the commoners, it was understandable that the imperial court wanted to make things a bit more sacred and solemn.
Yue Fuguang agreed to it; as long as they didn't make her offer incense, it was fine.
Otherwise, to maintain her absolute authority, she would have had to blow up the incense burner!
The Minister of Rites solemnly unrolled the sacrificial memorial and began to read it aloud.
We humbly submit that the Sovereign of Vast Heaven nurtures all living beings and oversees all categories of life. Now, as the early spring farming begins and the southern fields are opened. Your subject risks death to report: the green jade is offered upon the purple altar, and the dark liquor is laid out in the pure temple. We dare to present our utmost sincerity, reaching up to the high heavens...
To be honest, with Yue Fuguang's shallow knowledge, she only understood a little bit of it. However, listening to Zhang Zhongping's rhythmic and cadenced reading, she actually found it quite hypnotic.
We only hope that the Imperial Heaven will show mercy, and the Sovereign Earth will manifest its spirit, granting us a year of abundant harvest, and blessing our multitudes of people. So that the granaries may be full and the people may know propriety and righteousness, and the world within the seas may be peaceful and bear your great blessings.
Your servant, overwhelmed with utmost trepidation and reverence, respectfully presents this memorial to be heard.
By this time, Minister Zhang's throat was noticeably dry. Fortunately, he managed to finish reading the letter to the Heavens before his voice cracked.
"Little Zhu, do you think the Heavenly Dao can understand this?"
[Master, before your memories were sealed, you could understand it too. Deities interpret a sacrificial memorial not by its words, but by the faith, sincerity, devotion, and reverence it carries.]