Chapter 120: Surprises, One After Another

Chu Tiankuo spoke again, “Father Emperor, the first tray holds the original rice and wheat ears of our Chu State, the second tray holds the high-yielding rice and wheat ears of Zhao Kingdom, and the third tray holds the newly cultivated high-yielding rice and wheat ears of our Chu State.”

The officials: “…”

They had actually cultivated both high-yielding wheat and rice?!!!

The three types of rice and wheat ears were placed together on the trays, the contrast was extremely stark!

The original rice and wheat ears of Chu State had sparse grains and many shriveled, empty husks.

The rice and wheat ears of Zhao Kingdom had plump, compact grains with few empty husks or shriveled grains.

And the last rice and wheat ears had large, plump grains, forming a full, heavy cluster with almost no empty husks!

They felt heavy in the hand!

The comparison between the three wheat ears was also very clear!

The Emperor, suppressing his excitement, beckoned to the Vice Minister of Revenue, “Minister Zhou, take a look. Estimate how many jin these rice and wheat ears can yield per mu.”

Vice Minister of Revenue Zhou Liang came from a humble background and was responsible for supervising the imperial farmlands. He was the most familiar with grains among the officials.

Wen Ruiqing stood in a corner, looking at Zhou Liang with envy.

Zhou Liang and Wen Ruiqing had passed the imperial examination in the same year. Zhou Liang was the top scorer of that year, while Wen Ruiqing earned the title of “Tan Hua” （third-place winner） for his youthful handsomeness.

Their year had the highest number of students from humble backgrounds passing the imperial examination and becoming “Jinshi” （successful candidates at the palace level）.

Over the past decade, Zhou Liang had risen from a minor compiler in the Hanlin Academy to Vice Minister of Revenue!

The position of Vice Minister of Revenue was much better than that of Minister of Rites. The Minister of Rites had a thankless job, especially when dealing with Zhao Kingdom.

Wen Ruiqing felt annoyed just thinking about having to receive the envoys from Zhao Kingdom soon.

Eunuch Lao carried the tray to Zhou Liang.

Zhou Liang’s eyes lit up when he saw the heavy rice ears. He had never seen such large and plump rice ears!

He picked up the heavy rice ear and carefully counted the number of rice grains on it.

Afterward, he excitedly asked Chu Tiankuo, “Crown Prince, how many rice ears can one grain of this high-yielding rice produce?”

Chu Tiankuo: “20-30 ears.”

Zhou Liang gasped in excitement. He said excitedly, “Your Majesty, each rice ear in our Chu State has about a hundred rice grains, with many empty husks. Zhao Kingdom’s rice ears generally have over 200 grains, sometimes close to 300, with only about 30 empty husks. This is already excellent! However, the high-yielding rice cultivated by the Crown Prince has over 300, close to 400 grains per ear, each grain plump and full, with only two or three empty husks, almost negligible. Based on this rice ear, the yield could be over 900 jin per mu, even reaching over 1,000 jin per mu!”

The Vice Minister of Revenue’s voice trembled as he spoke!

A yield of 1,000 jin per mu, this was legendary!

Silence fell over the surroundings: Over 1,000 jin per mu?

What did this mean?

With a yield of over 1,000 jin per mu, a family with just one mu of land could have enough food for a year from a single harvest!

Most fertile lands in Chu State could yield two harvests a year, and in the remote south, where the climate was warm year-round, they could even have three harvests!

This meant…

The Emperor’s voice trembled with excitement, “The Crown Prince has made a great contribution this time! Haha, I must reward the Crown Prince handsomely! Reward the commoner who cultivated this high-yielding grain! He has made a great contribution! From now on, the people of Chu State will be blessed!”

The Vice Minister of Works immediately knelt and said loudly, “Congratulations, Your Majesty! The people of Chu State are blessed! From now on, our Chu State will never suffer from famine again! The people will never starve again!”

Censor Lin and others, seeing this, also knelt down one after another, “Congratulations, Your Majesty!”

The Second Prince, Prime Minister Liang, and others exchanged glances, their eyes heavy with confusion. They followed the crowd and shouted, “Congratulations, Father Emperor/Your Majesty!”

The Emperor said happily, “Rise, all my officials. Take a look at the high-yielding grain cultivated by our Chu State, compare it with Zhao Kingdom’s, and see how excellent our high-yielding grain is!”

The officials rushed towards the Vice Minister of Revenue.

Some officials carefully held the heavy clusters of rice or wheat ears, counting the grains.

Some officials picked them up and carefully weighed them.

The Emperor watched as the heavy rice and wheat ears were passed among the officials.

✿✿✿

He secretly clenched his fists.

What was being passed around was not just a cluster of rice and wheat ears; it was a hope, a future!

They could rise again; from today onwards, Chu State could rise again!

Talented people emerge in every generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years!

It was Chu State’s turn now!

~

Chu Tianyu, Prime Minister Liang, the Minister of Revenue, and others stood up, their expressions grave.

Prime Minister Liang stroked his beard, his heart heavy as a stone: Could Chu Tiankuo have really cultivated high-yielding grain?

If it were true, this achievement would be enough to earn him the admiration of the people, the support of the masses!

This was a glorious achievement that would be recorded in history!

Prime Minister Liang couldn’t help but glance at Chu Tiankuo. He had searched for so many experienced farmers to research high-yielding grain, yet they had failed to cultivate it after more than a decade. Could Chu Tiankuo really have succeeded after leaving for just a few years?

The reports from Futai County clearly stated that the grain in the granaries was definitely not high-yielding.

Where did these two heavy clusters come from?

Chu Tianyu glanced around. The officials were all excited, only Chu Tiankuo stood there, gazing outside, looking calm and indifferent, unfazed by praise or criticism.

He didn’t believe that Chu Tiankuo could really cultivate high-yielding grain! Those must be fake grains!

He couldn’t help but say, “Imperial Brother, if you have truly cultivated high-yielding rice and wheat, you have indeed made a great contribution! Imperial Brother truly admires you.”

Chu Tiankuo’s gaze fell upon the petite figure standing obediently in the distance. He turned his head and glanced at Chu Tianyu indifferently, “What’s real cannot be faked. There are many things about me that will make you admire me! Learn well in the future! Don’t always let your mind dwell on things that don’t belong to you, only then can you make real contributions.”

Chu Tianyu: “…”

What’s with the arrogance? Who hasn’t made contributions?

If you’re so capable, keep making contributions one after another!

Chu Tianyu was speechless! This high-yielding grain must be fake!

Chu Tiankuo, after speaking, ignored him and addressed the Emperor, “Father Emperor, there are three new types of farming tools outside…”

~

Outside, on the spacious platform.

The foot-pedaled thresher, the manual reaper, and the winnowing fan were placed side by side on the ground. Next to them was a pile of freshly harvested rice stalks and a bag of dried, unwinnowed rice.

There was also a primitive threshing basket and a semi-enclosed winnowing fan.

The officials looked at the three giant farming tools on the ground, their eyes filled with shock and curiosity.

The Emperor looked at the three behemoths on the ground. Were these the things Old Master Kong mentioned in his letter?

The surprises the Crown Prince had given him today were truly one after another!

The Emperor’s heart surged with excitement, but his face remained impassive. He asked with authority, “Can this foot-pedaled thresher, manual reaper, and winnowing fan really save time and effort by nearly half?”

Chu Tiankuo stood at the forefront of the officials, bowing respectfully and replying calmly, “Father Emperor, it is absolutely true. I have already confirmed it, and we can have someone try it now. Father Emperor will see for himself.”

After speaking, Chu Tiankuo’s gaze fell upon the obedient figure standing not far away.

Today, he must earn her a great reward!

Let her be able to roam freely in Chu State with her token!