Later, Yan Ge sent Master Li and Master Zhao’s sons to the military camp for training, and they actually made a name for themselves.
On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the palace held the seal ceremony, during which the emperor stopped working and the ministers also took a break.
On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, Huangfu Yuchen had already planned to visit the Yan family with Yan Ge. Officially, Yan Xiaojing was his subject, but personally, he was his father-in-law. Huangfu Yuchen presented a precious jade-carved pine tree, finely crafted and of great value both in terms of Huangfu Yuchen’s intentions and the craftsmanship, as well as the value of the jade carving. As soon as Huangfu Yuchen and Yan Ge left, Yan Xiaojing locked it in a secret room for fear of losing it.
On New Year’s Eve, Yan Ge woke up and discovered that it had snowed the previous night. Everything was covered in a silvery white coat, as if spring had come overnight and thousands of pear trees were blooming.
Huangfu Yuchen led all the members of the royal family in offering sacrifices to the heavens and ancestors before having breakfast.
The New Year’s Eve dinner was the most important meal. The royal family usually had a table full of delicacies, and the New Year’s Eve dinner was even more sumptuous, with a variety of delicacies, fruits, and desserts. Even if they only took a bite of each, it would be enough to make them full.
Despite this, the New Year’s Eve dinner was exhausting because the etiquette was even more cumbersome. Blessings, toasts, serving meals, kneeling, expressing gratitude, and more, not a single detail could be neglected.
This was Yan Ge’s second New Year’s celebration in the palace, so he already had some experience. He had the Imperial Kitchen send some of his favorite dishes to the Tenglong Palace and only after he and Huangfu Yuchen had eaten to about 80% full did they attend the formal New Year’s Eve dinner.
The first day of the lunar new year was as important as New Year’s Eve. Before dawn, civil and military officials arrived at the meeting hall to pay their respects and congratulate the emperor. The hall was solemn and majestic, with various instruments playing, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.
After Huangfu Yuchen ascended the throne, the civil and military officials took their respective positions, kowtowed three times and knelt nine times, shouting, “Long live Your Majesty!” The sound echoed through the sky, displaying the majesty of the emperor. Next, the Historians read the New Year’s greetings and summarized the achievements of the emperor and ministers in the previous year, praising their merits. After the reading, the officials kowtowed again, and Huangfu Yuchen rewarded them with tea and seats. After drinking the tea, the officials’ New Year’s greetings were considered complete.
After the officials left, Huangfu Yuchen rewarded the eunuchs and palace maids with prepared red envelopes. The envelopes contained golden ruyi, jade ruyi, silver ruyi, and silver coins. Depending on their ranks, the eunuchs and palace maids received different rewards.
At the same time, the harem was also bustling with activity. The palace maids and eunuchs from each palace and hall came to pay their New Year’s respects to their masters, and the princes paid their respects to the empress. The consorts also paid their respects to the empress.
Yan Ge had just finished dressing when the palace maids and eunuchs in the hall knelt in front of him with smiles on their faces, offering their New Year’s greetings. He had prepared red envelopes in advance and gave generous rewards to each of them.
After the New Year, the weather gradually became warmer.
Yan Ge arrived at a heavily guarded entrance with Du Juan, Gao Feng, and Gao Yun. A sign that read “Agricultural Experimentation Department” hung above the gate, guarded by the imperial guards who prevented unauthorized entry. This was a newly established department before the New Year, dedicated to researching agricultural development. It was managed by the Ministry of Revenue, and Yan Ge was the chief advisor.
“Greetings, Yan Caiqing.”
“No need for formalities.” Yan Ge entered the gate. He had been demoted to a lower rank not long ago, but on New Year’s Day, Huangfu Yuchen promoted him back to Caiqing as a New Year’s gift.
Nevertheless, the common people already understood that regardless of Yan Ge’s rank, the emperor’s favor towards him would not diminish in the slightest. Even if his rank fluctuated, everyone regarded it as a matter of interest between the emperor and Yan Ge. If anyone dared to disrespect him because of his lowered rank, they would face unlucky consequences. About a month ago, someone learned that Yan Ge had been demoted to a lower rank and thought that the emperor no longer favored him, so they had the audacity to speak rudely to him. As a result, the emperor had them thrown in the dungeon.
Once inside the gate, they passed through the first and second courtyards and saw fields of green wheat and vegetable gardens. A group of workers dressed uniformly were busy in the fields, loosening the soil, weeding, and fertilizing…
Chen Guowei, the Minister of Revenue, happened to be inspecting the fields with several officials. When he saw Yan Ge, he quickly walked over and saluted, “We have seen Yan Caiqing.”
“No need for formalities.” Yan Ge asked, “Master Chen, how is the situation in the experimental field?”
They walked as they talked.
Chen Guowei said with a smile on his face, “According to your instructions, we selected fully-grained wheat seeds for this batch. We also invited experienced farmers to assist us and applied straw fertilizer, wood ash, and manure in the fields. Now the wheat in the experimental field is growing exceptionally well, surpassing the yield of ordinary farmers in previous years by two or three times. Yan Caiqing’s talent is truly admirable!”
“Yes, indeed.” The other officials echoed.
“Let’s see for ourselves before making conclusions.” Yan Ge stepped into the irrigation channels in the wheat fields and carefully examined the moisture in the deep ditches and canals. He said to Chen Guowei, who was following him, “The spring season in the capital has more rainfall. We must clean the irrigation channels in a timely manner and enhance their drainage capacity to prevent water damage to the wheat.”
“Yes,” Chen Guowei said to the clerk, “Write it down quickly.”
“How are the vegetables growing?” Yan Ge looked towards the nearby vegetable garden, where many workers were bending over to weed and combat pests.
Chen Guowei said, “We followed your instructions before the New Year and built greenhouses. Now the cucumbers, peppers, and eggplants are growing exceptionally well, but there are quite a few pests that need to be dealt with every day.”
Yan Ge tried to recall what he had seen on a TV program in his previous life and said, “Mix soap powder, manure liquid, and water in a ratio of 1:4:400, then spray it on the leaves of the vegetables. It should be effective.”
Chen Guowei didn’t understand, “What does the ratio 1:4:400 mean?”
Without Yan Ge having to intervene, Gao Feng answered, “It means mixing one ladle of soap powder, four ladles of manure liquid, and 400 ladles of water, then stirring it evenly.”
“I see.” Chen Guowei nodded.
The clerk hastily wrote down the instructions.
Yan Ge said, “Since this is an experimental field, everything is under trial. You can start by spraying the mixed liquid on a few plants to see if it is effective. If the results are not obvious, you can adjust the ratio of soap powder and manure liquid accordingly to find the most suitable proportion. This is the work of all the staff in the experimental department, I believe I don’t need to explain further.”
Chen Guowei solemnly clasped his hands, “I understand, please rest assured, Yan Caiqing.”
Yan Ge looked at the officials and said, “If you achieve success, I will report your contributions to the emperor and reward you accordingly. But if anyone disapproves or slacks off, be careful of losing your official positions.”
“Yes!”
“I also have some other information here. Take it as a reference, but make sure to keep it confidential.” Yan Ge instructed Du Juan to hand the information to Chen Guowei.
“This official understands.”
After leaving the experimental field, Yan Ge pondered over things, and his steps became slower and slower.
Gao Feng asked, “Young Master, do you have something on your mind?”
Yan Ge said, “Our kingdom’s food production is too low. As far as I know, except for the fish and rice regions the side of Lu River, the yield of other areas is around 200 catties per mu, which is too low.”
Gao Feng said, “Actually, our kingdom is much better off compared to other kingdoms. The Mai Kingdom has vast grasslands and hardly produces wheat and rice; the Youji country is mostly mountains and forests, and its grain crops cannot compare to our kingdom’s.”
Yan Ge couldn’t help but smile, “But should we compare ourselves to kingdoms that are worse off? If we want our Great Han to become a strong nation, increasing food production is a necessary prerequisite.”
Gao Yun was confident, “The progress in your experimental field is going smoothly. I believe that in another two years, our kingdom’s food production will definitely increase.”
Yan Ge remained silent. He was not a farmer in his previous life after all, nor did he graduate from an agricultural college, so he had limited knowledge of farming. He could only do his best.
Some time ago, he suddenly remembered a magical stone that could increase food production—the Maifan stone. This stone is also known as the Longevity Stone and Health Stone, it is a natural mineral and medicinal rock that is non-toxic, harmless to living organisms, and has certain biological activity. One of its functions is soil improvement. As far as he knew, the Maifan stone was not only used for feeding livestock and planting vegetables in his previous life, but also for making various daily necessities such as Maifan stone water dispensers, tea sets, bathtubs etc, which are beneficial to human health. The Yan family in his previous life had many Maifan stone products, and there were magazines dedicated to introducing Maifan stone. Maifan stone was believed to be formed by volcanic eruptions from underground, subjected to high temperatures and acidic substances generated by volcanic activity, and pressure from crustal movement. In other words, the Maifan stone was found in volcanic areas.
He had checked In the palace library and learned that the volcanic belt of Great Han was mainly located in the northeast, northwest, southwest, and coastal areas of the south. He believed that the possibility of the Maifan stone being present in these areas was high.
Yan Ge looked at Gao Feng and Gao Yun, “Gao Feng, Gao Yun, as far as I know, you two are not married yet, right?”
Both of them smiled.
“Yes, Young Master.”
Yan Ge smiled and asked, “Now you two are quite popular in the capital. I heard that the matchmakers have almost worn out your door. Are you still not satisfied with the girls introduced?”
Gao Feng said, “Marriage is a lifelong matter. We don’t want to rush into it.”
Gao Yun also said, “Yes. We have just turned twenty, so we don’t want to get married too early.”
Yan Ge said, “If I have an important mission that requires both of you to leave the capital for more than half a year or even longer, would you be willing?”
Gao Yun eagerly responded, “Of course, we’re willing.”
Gao Feng also nodded, “May I ask, Young Master, what is the mission?”
“This mission is not dangerous, but it will require a longer time,” Yan Ge said, “but there’s no rush. Let’s return to the palace together for now. I’ll need Yuchen’s help for this matter. Just the two of you won’t be enough.”
Gao Yun was eagerly looking forward to the new mission. “Young Master, shall we return to the palace now?”
Upon returning to the palace, Yan Ge led Gao Feng and Gao Yun directly to the Imperial Study. Huangfu Yuchen usually handled state affairs in the Imperial Study in the morning.
Seeing the door to the study closed, Yan Ge estimated that Huangfu Yuchen was in a meeting with the ministers, so he took Gao Feng and Gao Yun to a side hall to wait.
“Reporting to Yan Caiqing, the Emperor has finished the meeting.”
The group entered the Imperial Study. Huangfu Yuchen had just stood up from behind the desk, and Deng Mande was tidying up the papers on the desk.
“Xiao Ge, you’re back.”
Yan Ge nodded and instructed the palace attendants, “You may all leave.”
“Yes!”
Only Yan Ge, Huangfu Yuchen, Gao Feng, Gao Yun, and Deng Mande remained in the Imperial Study.
“Your Majesty, I pay my respects.” Gao Feng and Gao Yun showed their respect.
Huangfu Yuchen waved his hand and walked over to Yan Ge, pulling him to sit down. “Baby, what’s the matter?”
Yan Ge said, “Yuchen, do you know about the Maifan stone?”
“Maifan stone? I’ve never heard of it.” Huangfu Yuchen arched his hand in a respectful manner. “Please enlighten me, my love.”
Yan Ge brushed off his hand and continued, “The Maifan stone is…”
As they listened to his explanation, Huangfu Yuchen and Gao Yun both wore surprised expressions.
“Such a miraculous stone exists in this world?” Huangfu Yuchen’s expression became serious. “If we can find this stone, wouldn’t our kingdom’s food production double or even increase exponentially?”
“That’s correct.” Yan Ge played with the golden fan in his hand. “So, I want to send Gao Feng and Gao Yun to search for this stone. But their numbers alone won’t be sufficient; we will need additional manpower.”
Huangfu Yuchen nodded. “No problem. According to what you said, we will dispatch teams to the northeast, northwest, southwest, and coastal areas. Lu Fei and Jun Xiang are also reliable. Gao Feng, Gao Yun, and the two of them will each lead a team of ten people. How does that sound?”
