I'M THE FARMGIRL YOU CAN'T MESS WITH

Chapter 296: Transition

Editor: Atlas Studios

The 23rd year of Jingyan was the year with the most disasters in the Great Zhou Dynasty. According to history, it was generally believed that the Great Zhou Dynasty had perished at this time.

Back then, Emperor Duanzong and his ministers did not see this coming. Although there had been less rain since the beginning of spring, they felt that the Imperial Astronomer had already predicted this last year, so they were not worried and just did what they had to do.

Emperor Duanzong was still looking forward to the construction of the Spring Mountain Palace1 outside the city, hoping to move in this winter. Yes, he also looked forward to staying on the mountain to avoid the summer heat during summer.

Although the most important thing on Spring Mountain was the hot spring, it was still very cool halfway up the mountain.

If the Emperor knew that his country would perish in less than ten years because of the events of this year, he would not force the Ministry of Revenue to give him money to build a palace on Hotspring Mountain. Instead, he would use that money to strengthen the military. No, he should use it to provide relief to the people.

In the autumn of the 23rd year of Jingyan, there was a drought along Lizhou Circuit. Almost no grains of rice were harvested. The highest yield of wheat was only 120 catties, and the lowest yield had fallen below historical records at only 18 catties, barely enough to recover the grain seeds.

Fortunately, with the corn seeds contributed by Qi Xiuyuan and the corn cultivation method he promoted, the highest yield per acre now was 632 catties, and the lowest was 289 catties. Contrasting the poor harvest of wheat and rice, it could be said to be a strong performer.

However, other prefectures weren’t as lucky as Lizhou Circuit. The area around Lin’an Prefecture had also become drought-stricken, but there were floods in the two lakes. Not only did they flood the farmlands, but many houses were also destroyed and drowned. The commoners were displaced.

The Miao people in the southern borders were also restless. However, in the eyes of the Imperial Court, these were merely small-scale disasters. In Lin’an Prefecture, the Imperial Court was holding a banquet. Firstly, it was to celebrate the completion of Spring Mountain’s temporary palace so that the Emperor could move in to avoid the cold.

Secondly, it was to celebrate the bountiful corn harvest. That’s right, the corn harvest.

One-fourth of the corn seeds that the Imperial Court forced Qi Xiuyuan to hand over were handed over to the Emperor. The Emperor handed them to the Imperial Plantation for planting. The remaining three-quarters were divided between the ministers and the aristocratic families.

After a winter of wrangling, the seeds were carefully planted in the fields by the tenant farmers after being divided up. They were planted according to the planting method submitted by Qi Xiuyuan. Not long ago, they had just harvested the autumn crops, and their acre yield had reached 748 catties. Of course, this was the highest possible yield, but this also indirectly proved that Emperor Shizong’s evaluation of corn back then was correct.

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