The Lone Star of the Tang Dynasty

Du Ruhui's sudden appearance was like a pebble thrown into the calm lake, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

The officials present all looked at him in surprise, whether it was a dignitary from a family or a scholar who entered the imperial examination, they were all shocked by his speech.

You must know that Du Ruhui is a pillar of the country, and he is deeply relied on by Li Er, and is known as "Fang Mou Du Xuan" together with Fang Xuanling, and is the core figure of the imperial court's decision-making.

However, today, this minister, who has always been known for his uprightness, actually said such a shocking thing, which made the entire court explode in an instant.

The voices of private discussion came and went, and the officials exchanged heads and ears, and they were shocked

What the hell is going on? Could it be that Lord Du's sense of smell is out of order today?

It is impossible! Lord Du has a resolute and upright character, how could he lie or flatter His Majesty on such a matter?

Isn't that a bit of a reference to a deer as a horse?

If others do this, I still believe it, but if Lord Du does this kind of thing, I wonder if I heard ...... wrong

Strange, why hasn't Lord Wei Zheng spoken?

Du Ruhui's abnormal behavior caused a storm of public opinion, and everyone's thoughts quickly shifted to another equally respected minister, Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng has followed Li Er since the Wagangzhai period, giving advice to him, and has always been famous for daring to give direct advice and being outspoken.

At such a critical moment, everyone naturally expects him to stand up and express his opinions, after all, his attitude undoubtedly has a decisive impact on this issue related to the strictness of imperial authority and the fairness of the imperial court.

The relationship between Wei Zheng and Li Er is extraordinary, they are both master and apprentice, friends, and ministers. He is known for his uprightness, outspokenness, and admonition, from court officials to scholars to ordinary people, everyone knows it.

At this moment, Du Ruhui's behavior made everyone puzzled, as if he was uncharacteristically playing the role of a courtier, and Wei Zheng, who had always been straightforward, did not immediately stand up to refute it, which was even more puzzling.

Just when everyone was speculating about how Wei Zheng would respond, he really came out to speak: "Your Majesty, Weichen Wei Zheng can also smell this fragrance, and I am very curious about the source of this fragrance, please tell Your Majesty in detail." "

In an instant, the original whispering voices in the hall stopped abruptly, and everyone was dumbfounded, and their brains went blank.

The scene in front of me is unbelievable - is this really the Wei Zheng who dares to face the emperor's arguments?

Many people are doubting whether they are still in a dream, and they have raised their hands and pinched their thighs or people, trying to confirm that this is not a hallucination.

When they were convinced that this was not a dream, everyone gradually came back to their senses and realized that the words just now were indeed from Wei Zheng's mouth.

The entire court hall was suddenly plunged into a state of surprise and confusion, as if today was a special day, and the sun seemed to rise from an unusual direction, breaking their inherent cognition.

Immediately afterwards, the eldest grandson Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Duan Lun and other important members of the Tiance Mansion also came out one after another, making this seemingly ordinary early dynasty more and more confusing ......

As a result, the entire Ganlu Hall fell into unprecedented confusion and amazement, and the officials looked at each other, and all of them fell into a state of extreme bewilderment.

At this moment, Li Er smiled slightly, and he noticed that in addition to Fang Xuanling and a few of the courtiers they had communicated with in private, even officials from his own faction, such as Xiao Yu and others, also stood up one after another.

"It seems that you have a good grasp of my news. Li Er said with a smile.

"In that case, I would like to ask a question—what crops are grown on the land that your respective families cultivate

?"

As soon as these words came out, many ministers rushed to answer as if they had been relieved.

Compared to the previous question about the origin of the aroma, this question about farmland cultivation seems a little sudden, but at least it sounds more practical and less confusing.

"Your Majesty, Weichen's family has 35 acres of land, which is now mainly managed by the eldest son, and the main crop currently planted is rice, and some potatoes have also been planted on a trial basis. "

"I told your majesty that the courtier's family owned sixteen acres of land, and that he had taken in two homeless people as tenant farmers, and that he was now growing leeks and some other miscellaneous grains. "

"Your Majesty, Your Minister......

".

After each of the ministers reported on the planting of their fields.

Li Er then asked the next question: "Then I want to know, if you have a field where you grow food crops in your family, what is the average yield per mu?"

As soon as this question was raised, the atmosphere in the court was obviously much more relaxed, and many officials secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Li Er did not take the opportunity to purge the court, but asked a topic that was really related to the national economy and people's livelihood.

"Back to Your Majesty, the fields of the minister's family produce rice, and the average rice per mu can be produced one stone!".

At this time, the officials in the court came out one after another to report the situation of their fields.

Officials from the imperial examination responded positively, while officials from the family were relatively silent, after all, their families had a lot of land, and once the figures were reported, they might attract Li Er's attention. But the officials of all factions are well aware of the grain yield per acre—usually about one stone.

After everyone finished reporting, Li Er asked again: "How many ploughing cattle do you have in each family?"

A dark-skinned young official, who was obviously from a humble peasant family, stepped forward and said bluntly: "Weichen's family has a total of twelve acres of land, and it is currently being tended by two younger brothers in the family. According to common sense, ten acres of land need one cow, but my family only has one cow, and the remaining two acres of land are cultivated by my younger brothers. "

After hearing this, Li Er was slightly sympathetic and asked, "Then these two acres of land must be very hard to cultivate, right?"

The young official smiled bitterly and said, "What Your Majesty said is extremely true, if it is not helpless, who wants to work so hard?"

Just as the young official speculated about Li Er's intentions, he saw Li Er smiling and announcing: "Okay! In that case, I will give you two things......

."

"Your Majesty...... Your Majesty?" the young official was surprised and frightened, he did not expect that he would receive a gift from the emperor when he first entered his career.

Li Er continued: "The first item I gave you was a plow, which was different from ordinary plows in that it had labor-saving efficiency. An ox is needed to plough 10 acres of land, but with this plough a man can easily plough 20 acres of land, and if it is combined with oxen, the cultivated area can be doubled. "

Hearing this, the officials present were all shocked, a cow could only plow 10 acres of land, but now it can plow 20 acres, isn't this equivalent to an extra cow out of thin air?

After the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the long-term turmoil in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the population of Shenzhou has decreased sharply, and a large area of wasteland needs to be reclaimed urgently.

The ministers discussed a lot, some speculated that this was the magic weapon of the immortal family, and some questioned why Li Er gave such a precious item to a humble official. The officials from the family were even more slanderous, thinking that Li Er's move was just to buy people's hearts, and even if this plow was magical, there was only one one, and its role was limited.

The young humble official was very pleased, and this reward meant a lot to his family.

At this moment, Li Er threw out another shocking news:

"You don't need to be envious, from today onwards, such plows will be popularized in every family in Datang!".

As soon as these words came out, the entire court fell silent in an instant, and then an uproar broke out. This means that Datang's arable land, grain production and treasury revenue across the country are likely to usher in a huge increase, and its impact is even more than the promotion of sweet potatoes, which can be called explosive news!