In the third year of Yonghui (652 AD), on the twenty-sixth day of the lunar month, in the afternoon, Wufu study on Jinhua Avenue.

Cui Yixuan took out Wu Zhaoyi's letter, slowly put it on the table, and said lightly: "The old man doesn't know much about Wu Zhaoyi. I only know that she is a talented person of Taizong, and after Taizong died, she went to Ganye Temple to become a monk. Yonghui was brought back to the palace by the saint in the second year, and was named Zhaoyi this year. Erlang, you have correspondence, how much do you know about her? ”

Wu Kang searched his memory, and said after a few minutes: "Don't hide it from Cui Gong, I know some inside information." According to the grapevine, the first emperor was sick in bed, and the saint was waiting in front of the bed, and Zhaoyi hooked up with the saint. In the first year of Yonghui, the sage went to Ganye Temple to mourn the first emperor, and the old relationship with Zhaoyi was rekindled. ”

Cui Yixuan's face was solemn, he couldn't stop brushing his beard, and sighed after being silent for a long time: "According to the convention, the first emperor died, and the palace people who had no heirs had to become nuns. Zhaoyi is unwilling to fate, find a way back for herself, the vision is far-reaching, the city is deep, and the women don't let the eyebrows! ”

Wu Kang nodded in agreement, forgetting that Jiu Niang was combing her hair, ripped off a few more strands of hair, pouted and said, "Zhaoyi can return to the harem, thanks to Queen Wang." Queen Wang has no children, and the sage favors Concubine Xiao Shu, she is sick and rushes to the doctor, and comes up with the bad idea of taking Zhaoyi into the palace to fight against Concubine Xiao. ”

"Don't stop having bad ideas, it's just stupid", Lao Cui's face was full of disdain, and he continued to speak venomously: "Lure the wolf into the house, and the rat will be blind." Even if the plan is successful, the favor of the saint will be transferred to the Wu family, and the Wang family's bamboo basket will be empty. ”

"Cui Gong is like a god, it is indeed like this", Wu Kang patted his ass and continued: "The sandpiper and the clam compete for the benefit of the fisherman, and the Wang family made a wedding dress for Zhaoyi. Zhaoyi was very pleasing to the queen, and the queen praised her repeatedly in front of the saint, causing her to be more favored. Later, the queen felt out of control, and joined forces with Concubine Xiao Shu to fight against Zhaoyi together, which was the situation in the harem. ”

Cui Yixuan was noncommittal, his face gradually became serious, stared at Wu Kang and asked, "Erlang, what do you think?" ”

Wu Kang pondered for a moment and replied: "There are no eternal friends, no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. The dead and alive Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu, for the sake of common interests, can turn enemies into friends. Wu Kang secretly thought that the interests were eternal, and whether it was palace fighting or officialdom, it was unimpeded. ”

Lao Cui was very pleased, stroked his beard and smiled without saying a word. Wu Kang continued: "It's a pity that they are united, and they are not Zhaoyi's opponents. Two months ago, Zhaoyi gave birth to a baby girl, Queen Wang came to visit, and when she left, Zhaoyi suffocated the baby girl and planted the blame. It's just that I couldn't imagine that such a shady deed would actually be said to me, an outsider. ”

"This is where her cleverness lies", Cui Yixuan sat down and began to peel off the cocoon: "First, let the saint hate the queen, and even think about it." Killing the royal bloodline because of jealousy, how to honor the world? Second, be a pet for yourself. The saint took pity on her for the loss of her beloved daughter, and she must feel guilty in her heart, and she must be more pampered. Third..."

glanced at Wu Kang, and said lightly: "The third is you, tie you and her together." The old man thinks you are a talent, and Wu Zhaoyi thinks so too. You are both surnamed Wu, and she still recognizes you as a cousin, if you know this secret, you can only look at her. ”

Wu Kang couldn't help but smile bitterly, sighing and said: "It's no problem before and after the saddle, I'm worried that she will become the emperor in the future... Later, every time he saw me, he remembered the death of the baby girl, and every time he thought of me, he reopened the scars. At that time, I will be a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh, and it will be a matter of time before I am killed, and I may be beheaded all over the house. ”

"yes", the anxious Jiuniang just spoke, and was glared back by Lao Cui, pouting and lowering her head, her hair bun was inserted into a white hosta, and she stood next to Wu Kang obediently.

Seeing that his beloved daughter was wronged, Lao Cui sighed again, shook his head and said, "Erlang was stimulated by hysteria because of this thought, right?" It doesn't have to be this way for three reasons. First, even if she becomes the queen, she can't cover the sky with one hand, and whether or not to execute court officials, she doesn't count. ”

Wu Kang smiled bitterly, Lao Cui, Lao Cui, you don't know how powerful she is, not only the queen, she will also be the emperor in the future! It will be easier to take my life than to crush an ant. It's a pity that I can only think about these words for myself, and I must never say them to anyone.

Cui Yixuan continued: "Second, the struggle for power has always been bloody, and the royal family has no family affection. To put it mildly, how long has it been since the Xuanwumen incident? Besides, there must be a lot of gossip about this matter, and there are more people who can guess the truth. ”

There is a point in this, there are more smart people. Seeing that he listened, Lao Cui continued: "Third, in the old man's opinion, she really regards you as a confidant. The knife in her hand can kill others, she can kill her own children, but she will not stab her own henchmen, never. ”

After a pause, Lao Cui smiled slightly and made a final summary: "Don't worry about nothing, as long as you don't go against her and do your best for her to send, there will never be anything." The old man can conclude that no one in the harem can fight her, and the position of queen is in his pocket. For you, this is a godsend. ”

After some words, Wu Kang was completely confused, and there was still this kind of operation? After savoring it, I also felt that it made sense, and the knot gradually opened, and my mood suddenly lightened. Looking at Jiuniang next to her, she was also relieved, and even a little happy.

After enlightening the two of them, Cui Yixuan handed the letter to Wu Kang, and then reassured him: "Erlang, don't worry, it'll be fine." You are the son-in-law of the Cui family, even if she kills in the future, the old man can protect you. The name of the five surnames and seven wangs is not called casually. That's all I have to say, think about it, Jiu Niang go back with me! ”

The tone was a little heavy, Jiu Niang didn't dare to disobey, and pouted aggrievedly. Wu Kangjue's incident started because of himself, and he quickly got up to round the field, but he didn't know what to say, scratched his head and sneered: "Cui Gong, don't blame Jiuniang, it's all my fault, if you want to scold, scold me, anyway, I have no skin and no face." ”

Jiu Niang glanced at him, snorted lightly, Wu Kang smiled, and saw that Lao Cui really had the momentum of spraying, so he immediately changed the topic: "Gong Cui, I will have a banquet for the Linyi delegation today, I will go over too, the wind and cold are almost better." Oh yes, where the hell is Linyi? ”

"If you don't learn and don't know", Lao Cui glared at him and said in popular science: "The southwest of Lingnan Road borders Yanzhou. About a year ago, King Fan Tou Lixue was succeeded by his son Zhenlong. The minister Gadu rebelled, slaughtered the Fan family, and established himself as king. The people refused to accept Jiadu, and set up Fan Touli's cousin Zhuge Di as the king, and asked Fan Touli's daughter to marry. At this point, Linyi was stable, and Zhuge sent an envoy to pay tribute, passing through Wuzhou. ”

In the southwest of Lingnan Road, bordering Yanzhou, this is not a big brother in Vietnam! Linyi, it seems to be a city... Champa? Champa rice! Wu Kang's head buzzed, his hands danced excitedly, his face flushed, and he grabbed Cui Yixuan's sleeve: "I said Lao Cui, we are going to make meritorious service again, great merit..."

Before he finished speaking, he was slapped on the head, Cui Yixuan's face darkened, and he scolded sharply: "No big, no small, no respect, 'Old Cui' is also your name?" Little bunny looking for a fight! ”

At about three o'clock in the afternoon, the conference room of Wuzhou Yaertang was full of Wuzhou bigwigs. Wu Kang peeked out of the corner of his eye, except for Cui Duwei from the previous time, the leadership team was here.

The main position in the north is the assassin Cui Yixuan, the head of the west, and the military Lu Huaiyuan is recorded. Then there are six Cao joining the army: Si Gong Shen Military Wang Lin Rui, Si Cang Shen Military Sun Yingyuan, Si Hu Shen Military Sun Mao, Si Bing Shen Military Qin Li, Si Shi Shen Military Wei Yingzhou, and Judicial Staff Military Wukang.

Next to Wu Kang, it was Yu Hongzhi, the commander of the regimental training. Further down are the three military officers, who are under the ninth grade, similar to the staff officers of the army; A list of things, from the nine products, is responsible for recording the book, similar to the secretary-general; At the end of Lonely is Hua Rong, a medical doctor, from the bottom of the nine products. The so-called doctor of medicine is a unit hired by the government, Lang Zhong, and the imperial doctor of the palace.

In the entire Wuzhou officialdom, except for the commander of Zhichong, there are so many serious officials, and the others are officials and temporary workers. Of course, don't drive, Sima, Changshi and other pension officials, naturally stand aside and are not qualified to participate in the conference.

Wu Kang was secretly happy in his heart, in the officialdom ranked by seniority, he finally didn't have to sit on the tail of a snake. Participating in the military, recording affairs, and medical doctors, they all went to the mansion with the folding, and according to the rules, they could come back in advance.

Lao Cui saw that everyone had arrived, and the scribe was already in place, and announced the beginning of the meeting. As the pig's foot of the conference, Wu Kang stood up and spoke: "Colleagues, the civil strife in Linyi has been decided, and the envoy will be sent to pay tribute to our dynasty and be honored by our dynasty. The kingdom of heaven, the ten parties surrender, all the nations come to the ceremony, congratulations for me! ”

The big guys' faces were weird, Lao Cui directly blackened his face, King Sigong pouted when he joined the army, and kindly reminded: "Change, we are a temporary meeting, not a formal ceremony, so there is no need to say this." Also, Chang'an is in the northwest, what salute do you do to the northeast? ”

Everyone couldn't help but laugh, Lao Yu laughed, Wu Kang's old face turned red, he put down his hand, coughed dryly twice, and said: "The Linyi mission passed by Wuzhou, and they have a treasure that makes me salivate, I call it Zhancheng rice, and the local area is called early rice." It has four major characteristics, drought tolerance, strong adaptability, high yield, and early maturity. ”

According to Wu's speech routine, a piece of paper was hung on the nail on the east wall, and the word "drought tolerance" was written on it. Except for the old man at the scene, the rest of the people all despise it, and the more others write, the better they are, and the more they write, the more stinky they become. Cui Yixuan's face was even darker, and he had the urge to get up and pump his head.

"Everyone, don't care about the details", Wu Kang didn't care, and got to the point: "The location where the city is located, I call it the Indochina Peninsula, where agriculture is backward. Sow rice, do not water in drought, do not drain in waterlogging, do not fertilize, do not cultivate, and let it grow naturally. The specific natural environment and extensive farming methods have formed the characteristics of drought tolerance and waterlogging resistance of Champa rice. ”

Everyone is confused, and there is this kind of farmland routine? At this time, Lao Hua, a doctor of medicine, looked up at Lao Cui, and stopped talking. Cui Yixuan waved his hand, Lao Hua got up and said humbly: "What Wu Senjun said is true, I heard from my friends in Lingnan that they are like this, and the southernmost part of Lingnan Road is also like this." ”

Wu Kang nodded kindly to him and continued: "Our rice is much more squeamish, and we are afraid of both drought and waterlogging. Especially in drought, all dynasties were helpless. The demand for rainwater for Champa rice is far less than that of our rice seeds. It can be said that as long as it is not a major drought, Champa rice can withstand it. ”

Hearing this, everyone changed color, and their expressions were all serious. Magistrates are most afraid of drought, and as long as there is a severe drought in their jurisdiction, their political careers are basically over. Because the ancients were superstitious, the court gave you a strange reason, virtue is lacking, there is no way to govern, and if you anger God, it doesn't rain, and you have no place to reason. Not to mention the magistrates, in the event of a severe drought, the president has to make an edict against himself.

The drought-tolerant characteristics of Champa rice successfully impressed them, Wu Kang struck while the iron was hot, hung up "strong adaptability", and continued: "As we all know, oranges are oranges when they are born in Huainan, and oranges are oranges when they are born in Huaibei. Even human beings are not adapted. However, Zhancheng rice has strong adaptability, and can thrive regardless of Jiangnan or Guannai. ”

After talking about the possibility of introduction, Wu Kang hung up the "high yield" and continued: "The rice ears of Zhancheng rice are about an inch longer than the Wuzhou rice ears, and the grains are fuller than those of Wuzhou rice. Colleagues, don't underestimate an inch, spread out to 10,000 acres of land, and increase the yield by at least 30%. ”

The bigwigs finally widened their eyes, as the so-called people take food as the sky, if there is food, there will be stability, if there is stability, there will be a population, if there is a population, there will be political achievements, and if there are political achievements, you can be promoted and rich. Wu Kang was very satisfied with everyone's performance, and hung up "precocious", and couldn't help but think of Jiuniang.

In ancient times, women were precocious, married as a wife at thirteen or fourteen, and an old girl at sixteen, and they dare not imagine it in later generations. He was distracted, and he was suspected of deliberately hanging his appetite, which immediately caused the dissatisfaction of the big guy, and Cui Yixuan slapped the table directly.

Wu Kang instantly came back to his senses, and continued to speak apologetically: "The maturity cycle of Zhancheng rice is short, from planting to harvesting in less than two months, which is far shorter than Wuzhou rice. As you all know, most of the fields in Wuzhou are harvested once a year, and the crops in the two crops are scarce and the yield is not high. Personally, I think that if Zhancheng rice is popularized, Wuzhou can harvest two crops. ”

"This is true", Cui Yixuan Huo Ran got up and stared at Wu Kang in a daze. The bigwigs were dumbfounded, what is the concept of collecting an extra season of grain? This is going to be passed on to the court, and it is definitely a great credit, and it is not a problem to leave a name in history.

Wukang did not dare to pack tickets, historical records show that Zhancheng rice was introduced to Guangxi and Yunnan at the end of the Tang Dynasty, and was introduced into the Yangtze River basin at the beginning of the Song Dynasty, resulting in "Jiangnan is ripe and the world is full". But now it is the early Tang Dynasty, a difference of nearly three hundred years, and no one knows how much the variety at this time is different from that time.

After pondering for a moment, he said cautiously: "Rice is a temperature-loving crop, the higher the heat, the more abundant the sunshine, and the higher the yield. Datang from north to south, the climate gradually becomes hotter, Linyi is hotter than Datang, the rice ripening cycle is shorter, the annual harvest of two seasons is not a problem, three seasons are possible. As for our Wuzhou, I don't dare to pack tickets. ”

Cui Yixuan frowned slightly, sat down slowly, and all the bigwigs were a little disappointed. Wu Kang looked around and said with a smile: "Let's not talk about the two seasons of the annual harvest, the first three advantages alone are worth introducing." If it succeeds, the result is unimaginable, in case 'Wuzhou is ripe, the world is full', then..."

Everyone was stunned at first, and then smiled, this is whimsical. Lu Huaiyuan spoke first: "The four advantages of Zhancheng rice, just take out any one, it's worth trying." However, there is no basis for what you say, and before you are sure of the authenticity, it is best not to write Chang'an. ”

"Lu Gong's words are reasonable", Si Cangsun looked at Lao Cui and put forward his opinion: "Not long ago, I wrote a book and proposed a postal express system, which has already shaken the imperial court. Mu Xiu will destroy it in the forest wind, and then throw out the Zhancheng rice, in case it is not true, for fear of being maliciously slandered, please Cui Gong think twice. ”

"Please Cui Gong think twice", as if agreed, shouted the slogan neatly. Wu Kang couldn't help but be secretly happy, they were all old foxes, of course they knew too much. The postal express system, when the results are achieved early next year, the bigwigs will be promoted to two levels. If you throw out the Zhancheng rice again, it is still two levels of official promotion, and it is impossible to upgrade to four levels. Therefore, the credit is slowly released, and the grade is slowly rising.

Lao Cui's eyelashes are empty, of course, he doesn't flatter the public, and he has the final word: "If you talk in the vernacular, you can't really get into the book without real evidence." But Erlang's idea is very good, we can't give up just yet, let's introduce the Champa rice experiment in Wuzhou, and you will come out with the charter. ”

There was a lot of discussion at the venue, and the bigwigs exchanged heads, and a few minutes later, Si Shiwei joined the army and spoke: "Since you want to experiment, you must have rice seeds, and rice seeds are in Linyi." Although the mission is in Wuzhou, we can't look for them, because we can only receive them, and we have no right to intervene in trade and state affairs. In this way, he could only send his capable men to Linyi to purchase rice seeds. ”

Si Husun joined the army, nodded first and shook his head, and said after a moment's consideration: "What Wei Gong said is right, this is the only way. However, our capacity is limited, how many people can we send? How many kinds can you collect? Hundreds of thousands of acres of cultivated land in Wuzhou are a drop in the bucket! ”

Si Bing Qin joined the army and smiled: "We alone will definitely not work, and if you don't eat a mouthful, you can't get fat, and you can't buy grain in the whole state at once." Even if it can be bought, the people may not be willing to use it, after all, this is farming, and it is a matter of life and death. ”

Everyone you say a word, each has his own opinions, and only Lao Yu, Lao Hua, a medical doctor, and Lao Zhang, a reporter, don't open their mouths, they are soy sauce. Lao Cui is well-controlled, and the atmosphere is very river crab, and there is no intrigue.

Feeling that it was almost over, Cui Yixuan coughed dryly, waited for everyone to stop discussing, and kicked the ball to Wu Kang: "You bring this matter up first, is there a good plan?" ”

Wu Kang sat down and put forward the concept of experimental fields: "I agree with everyone's opinion, the only way to get grain is to buy it in person. However, you don't need to work hard to move the crowd, you can buy 20 acres of grain. I plan to open a test field and invite experienced old farmers to try to grow Champa rice. Summarize the experience and record it in detail, if the experiment is successful, write to the imperial court, and vigorously promote it at the same time. ”

Looking around at everyone, he said sharply: "After the test is successful, notify all counties and townships and bring farmers to visit." The facts seen are far better than the boasting of the sky, the people are not stupid, who doesn't want to fetch more food? Next is a new routine, excellent grain purchase business. ”

Wu Kang got up again, hung up the "substitution" paper, and talked eloquently: "With the reputation of Wuzhou Yamen as a guarantee, adhering to the principle of non-compulsion, we will sign a contract with interested farmers." The farmer pays the grain seed money first, and we select powerful merchants to form a caravan to go to the border of Linyi to buy excellent grain seeds and pay the farmers according to the contract. ”

Everyone looked at the monster onlookers, or nodded or shook their heads, Lao Qi, one of the three military staff, put forward different opinions: "Duke Wu, when the results of the experimental field come out, let's go directly to the imperial court and let the imperial court negotiate with Linyi, wouldn't it be better?" ”

Without waiting for Wu Kang to answer, Lu Huaiyuan said with a smile: "Qi joins the army, this is inappropriate, report to the imperial court, and the imperial court will send an envoy to confirm, it will take time; When the envoy returned to Chang'an, the courtiers held a meeting to discuss, which took time; It takes more time for the court meeting to pass, prepare copper coins, and inform Linyi State. And so on and so forth, at least for a year. ”

Qi Senjun nodded silently, and Sicang Sun joined the army and said: "It is difficult for the old man to rest assured that he will be handed over to the merchant to buy grain seeds." The cunning of the businessmen is obvious to all, we have not seen Champa rice, and it is difficult to distinguish if we have seen it, if the businessmen find some rice casually, the common people will suffer, not to mention, we have to carry the black pot. ”

This remark caused a new round of discussion, and the scholars looked down on the merchants. When the discussion is quiet, Wu Kang should throw out his interests: "You are reasonable, you can't let the businessman deceive." But as I just said, our state government came forward to select powerful businessmen and form a joint caravan. ”

deliberately emphasized "selection" and "strength", and the old foxes instantly realized that this was a good opportunity to make a fortune, and there was no objection in an instant.

Cui Yixuan glanced at everyone and concluded: "First open up the experimental field, everything is easy to say if the yield is good, and it's all nonsense if the yield is not good." When he became unwell, he went home to rest, and the rest of the people entertained the mission with me. Meeting! ”