bookbashuk Page 2486
Page 2486
"The Emperor is here!" Li Qingzhao's face lit up with joy.
Zhao Yuan said, "I have recently studied the rules of ci poetry and have made some progress. I have also composed a new ci poem."
Li Qingzhao smiled and said, "The Emperor's new words must be extremely interesting."
Emperor Qianlong enjoyed writing doggerel, but our Dean Zhu is an expert in doggerel lyrics.
He would release a song every now and then in that "old cadre style" format, and after more than a year of doing so, his lyric writing skills did improve, at least he stopped making some basic mistakes.
After exchanging literary ideas, the atmosphere became increasingly ambiguous.
Zhao Yuan finally said, "Since you are widowed and have no relatives to take care of you, why don't you move in with us?"
"It is up to the Emperor to make arrangements."
Li Qingzhao blushed. One day last year, while drinking, the two had already had intimate contact, and afterwards they would do so from time to time.
Li Qingzhao was quite fond of this official, even though his poetry was terrible; he was extremely considerate and very interesting.
Li Qingzhao's anxiety stemmed from the fact that she was already quite old and a widow. She did not consider herself exceptionally beautiful, so would the emperor really grant her a title?
From Zhao Yuan's perspective, Li Qingzhao was at most in her early thirties, which in later generations would be considered a mature age.
In addition, her status as a woman of unparalleled talent and her interesting personality made Zhao Yuan unable to resist her.
Zhao Yuan said, "Then I will make the arrangements today, and the title of Consort Chen will be conferred tomorrow."
Li Qingzhao was taken aback. Having a formal title was already a luxury, yet Zhao Yuan had directly granted her the rank of concubine.
The imperial concubine system of the Ming Dynasty was simply adopted from that of the Northern Song Dynasty without any modification.
She first entered the palace as a court attendant, and after a period of time was granted the title of Lady. Then she rose through the ranks to become a Consort, a Beauty, a Lady of the Palace, a Lady of the Palace, and a Lady of the Palace.
When the news spread that Li Qingzhao had been granted the title of Imperial Concubine Chen, it shocked the entire population of Tokyo.
The authorities are serious this time; the rumors were indeed true.
.....
midsummer.
An official ship was heading to the capital, where eunuchs and guards were already waiting at the dock.
As the official boat docked, several government officials disembarked, followed by an old Taoist priest.
The eunuch hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "I am here on His Majesty's orders to welcome Master Chen to the capital!"
The old Taoist priest returned the greeting, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."
There was a carriage nearby, which was the royal carriage. The old Taoist priest was invited to sit in the carriage.
Immediately afterwards, palace guards and eunuchs led the way on foot, and the group headed straight for the imperial city.
The merchants and travelers on the dock all found it incredibly strange.
The current emperor does not believe in Buddhism or Taoism, nor does he appreciate auspicious omens; he even claims that the earth revolves around the sun.
Why the sudden high-level reception for a Taoist priest?
People couldn't help but think of Emperor Huizong of Song. Could it be that another "Lin Lingsu" was about to appear in the capital?
Could it be that the emperor, in his old age, also began to pursue immortality?
I heard that the Emperor recently took a new concubine; perhaps the concubine whispered something in his ear.
The appearance of the old Taoist priest caused great anxiety among the people of Tokyo, and the news quickly spread throughout half of the capital.
Chapter 3274 The Old Taoist Priest
When the imperial carriage entered the Donghua Gate and carried the old Taoist priest to disembark north of the cabinet, even several cabinet ministers quickly received word of it.
They heard that the emperor himself went to the side hall to greet them!
Li Bangyan was overjoyed upon hearing this, for he had experience in befriending Taoist priests.
If the emperor truly wanted to cultivate immortality, Li Bangyan could help gather Taoist priests and use the same methods he used to appease Emperor Huizong of Song.
"Please come in, sir." Zhao Yuan smiled warmly.
Chen Fu was flattered and quickly returned the greeting with a Taoist bow: "It's just a humble mountain path, I dare not trouble Your Excellency to personally welcome me."
"We are kindred spirits, there is no need for formalities."
Zhao Yuan grabbed Chen Fu's hand and dragged him into the side hall.
This old Taoist priest was well-versed in Confucian classics as well as other schools of thought.
He was knowledgeable in various Yin-Yang and numerology techniques and made a living by cultivating medicinal herbs. However, he was recommended by local officials because he had written a book called "Agricultural Book" last year.
Upon entering the side hall, Zhao Yuan explained, "To facilitate discussions with the cabinet, I usually work in this side hall instead of the Chuigong Hall. There's also a bed here; you can lie down and take a nap when you're tired."
Chen Fu exclaimed sincerely, "Your Majesty is truly a wise and unparalleled ruler, deeply concerned about the affairs of the country!"
"Please sit down." Zhao Yuan sat on the edge of the couch himself, and then invited Chen Fu to sit on the couch as well.
Sitting opposite the emperor on a couch?
Chen Fu felt a little guilty, afraid that he might be impolite or disrespectful.
The eunuch brought over a stack of manuscripts, and Zhao Yuan said, "The magistrate of Yizhen (Yizheng) County presented this book. I read it and couldn't put it down. You have a great deal of knowledge about agriculture."
Chen Fu hurriedly replied, "I dare not. My writing of agricultural books was also inspired by Your Majesty."
This is not just polite talk; the historical Chen Fu's "Agricultural Treatise" only contains 12,000 characters.
However, this book, "The Book of Agriculture," has more than 50,000 words, and most of its content is influenced by Zhao Yuan.
It is not only longer and covers a wider range of fields, but it is also written in great depth and detail.
Take "land preparation" for example; he explained it in more detail than Zhao Yuan did.
He categorized the cultivated land in Huainan and Jiangzhe into different types, such as high fields, low fields, sloping land, turnip fields, lake fields, early fields, and late fields.
It also analyzes and elaborates on different types of land, and summarizes the details of planting mulberry trees on the dikes of the shoal, raising fish in the ponds, and irrigating the fields with the pond water, explaining the combined development of agriculture, sideline production, and fishery in a very clear way.
Other topics include how to raise and manage water buffalo, how to prevent and control water buffalo diseases, and intercropping techniques for mulberry and hemp, etc.
They even taught farmers how to manage farmland and advised them not to strive for perfection.
Farming and management should be done according to the family's financial resources, based entirely on their actual circumstances.
He also categorized soil types, calling soil depletion "soil decay" and soil compaction "gas decay," and explained how to revitalize such "decaying fields."
Chen Fu also conducted in-depth research on the "baking fields" technique that Zhao Yuan guided when he was in Shangbai Village, and the technique surpassed that of previous agricultural books.
If Zhao Yuan had not appeared, Chen Fu's "Agricultural Treatise" would have represented a completely new height in ancient Chinese agronomy.
The emperor and the old Taoist priest had a very pleasant conversation, and their topics all revolved around how to farm.
As they chatted, Chen Fu suddenly asked, "I heard from the agricultural official that His Majesty intends to implement the 'three dry and one wet' method."
Why does alternating wet and dry planting of cotton and rice improve the soil and prevent pests and diseases?
“I have observed that the dry-wet rotation of rice and rapeseed also seems to have this effect.”
Zhao Yuan explained with a smile: "Let's talk about preventing and controlling pests and diseases first. Crop pests and diseases can be caused by pathogens or insects."
"The diseases and pests of different plants are different, especially for irrigated and dryland crops."
"Suddenly turning paddy fields into dry fields will cause pathogens and insect eggs that originally relied on the moist environment to become very unsuited to the new soil environment. The reverse is also true."
“I see,” Chen Fu asked again, “I know about insects, but what about germs?”
Zhao Yuan said, "I will give you a microscope; you may go and examine it yourself."
“The Agricultural Promotion Office and the Medical College also have microscopes. Even the Agricultural Promotion Office at the prefectural level always keeps microscopes on hand for research.”
Chen Fu couldn't understand at all, so he decided to visit the Agricultural Promotion Office first.
Zhao Yuan added, "The alternation of wet and dry conditions in crop rotation also involves various redox reactions in the soil."
"Well... how should I put it? Soil contains many substances, each with a different function. They react with the air under different humidity conditions..."
"Alternating wet and dry conditions can suppress the emission of a substance called methane, and also promote the production and emission of another beneficial substance..."
"When soil is in a region where aeration and anaerobic conditions coexist, or when aeration and anaerobic conditions alternate, the activity of certain bacteria in the soil increases..."
Chen Fu was completely dumbfounded and stared blankly at the emperor.
After Zhao Yuan finished speaking, Chen Fu sincerely exclaimed, "Your Majesty's learning is profound and encompasses both heaven and man; I, a humble Daoist, am far inferior to even a fraction of it."
"Your Majesty's agricultural knowledge is almost complete, but I, a humble Taoist, cannot understand it and am unable to sit down and discuss it with Your Majesty."
Chapter 3275 The Way of Incarnation of All Things
Zhao Yuan was also troubled: "This involves chemistry, and there are many things that are difficult to explain, and I can't demonstrate them to the agricultural officials for the time being."
Chen Fu asked curiously, "What is chemistry?"
Zhao Yuan said, "The study of the generation and transformation of all things."
Chen Fu, who was well-versed in the Book of Changes, became excited: "Heaven and earth interact and all things are born. Is the great way of agriculture actually the great way of heaven and earth?"
"That's right. Without the interaction between heaven and earth, how could all things be born and reproduce?"
Zhao Yuan said, "It is said that all things are derived from Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. Without verifying the truth of this, I believe that there are many other elements in the world."
"Some of the scholars who failed the exam this year are willing to sign up for agricultural training."
"Several of them were selected by me as the first batch of students to study the way of chemistry."
"If the old gentleman is interested in this, he can go and take a look."
"I have cultivated for half my life, but I have not mastered the Daoist arts; all I know how to do is grow some medicinal herbs and crops,"
Chen Fu cupped his hands and said,
"If one can glimpse the way of the creation and transformation of all things before dying of old age, it can truly be said that one has heard the Way in the morning and died in the evening, which is enough."
Zhao Yuan said, "I have already ordered the manufacture of various instruments for chemical research, and they should be ready in the next few days."
"Please stay in the capital, sir. Once everything is prepared, we can begin."
After chatting for a while, Chen Fu bowed and took his leave, then was led by a eunuch to his temporary residence.
After working until mid-afternoon, and with nothing particularly important to do today, Zhao Yuan decided to leave work early.
Li Qingzhao, who had just been granted the title of Consort Chen, was playing a game of circus with the Empress, Imperial Noble Consort, and Noble Consort. This game was probably a Monopoly game played on a chessboard.
Besides playing, Li Qingzhao would occasionally return to the Hanlin Academy to bring out her newly researched academic materials.
The three imperial concubines, Li Shishi, Hu Sanniang, and Liu Huiniang, often consulted Li Qingzhao, making progress in their knowledge of lyrics, music, and rhythm.
"Has Your Majesty seen that old Taoist priest?" Li Shishi asked.
Zhao Yuan said, "He was originally good at farming, and he also studied my agricultural book in detail, which made some contributions to many details."
"Especially in farming and animal husbandry in the Jiangnan region, this person can be called the best in the world."
"Agronomy is a complex discipline that involves meteorology, biology, chemistry, geography, and many other fields."
“I have always wanted to develop a system, but it is too difficult to do. It is like blind men feeling an elephant.”
The four concubines didn't quite understand, but they seemed to think it was very impressive.
Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "I'll take you to see some new gadgets another day. I've had some chemical instruments made and collected a lot of chemical substances."
"Although it is far from enough, simple research can begin."
Li Qingzhao said, "I still don't quite understand what Your Majesty is talking about regarding the creation and transformation of all things."
"You'll see when the time comes that Taoist alchemy actually contains the principles of chemistry," Zhao Yuan said.
Hu Sanniang asked, "Does the Emperor also practice alchemy?"
Zhao Yuan laughed heartily: "I don't know how to refine pills, but as long as I know the materials used in refining pills, I can probably guess the chemical principles behind their refinement."
"Come, come, I've also created a periodic table, and many of the words representing the elements are newly created."
Opening a periodic table is like reading a book written in a foreign language.
Li Qingzhao recited: "Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron... it seems like a Taoist or alchemical text. Your Majesty is indeed well-versed in Taoist arts."
Liu Huiniang covered her mouth and laughed, "Perhaps Your Majesty can even live forever. More than ten years have passed since I started serving Your Majesty, and Your Majesty's appearance has not aged at all."