Jiang Chongwen's eyes burned, his throat moved slightly, staring at Emperor Shengming on the Jinluan Palace.

The boy stared at him with the same gaze.

"Your Majesty—" Jiang Chongwen's voice trembled a little, he was full of enthusiasm and affection, and even more generous in defending the old system, "Minister-"

"Okay," Chen Yicong gently closed Jiang Chongwen's recital, "I know that you are old, and you haven't been able to sleep well lately." When your father died of illness in his hometown, you should have returned to your hometown to worry, but the Ministry of Rites was short of manpower at that time, and the imperial grandfather left you behind...... Now that I think about it, Master Jiang must have a lot of regrets. ”

Jiang Chongwen was stunned for a moment.

"Although your resignation letter is not in compliance with the system, I don't care about you for your hard work over the years." Chen Yicong looked at Sun Beiji on the left, "After retiring from the dynasty today, you can go to the ministry to hand over by yourself." ”

After that, Chen Yicong frowned slightly, and his voice was low, "Why isn't Lord Jiang grateful?" ”

Jiang Chongwen decided not to expect that the death advice he had painstakingly prepared would end before it had even begun.

Of course, he didn't thank him, but he was really shocked - the emperor didn't even give him a chance to argue, this is not the emperor's usual attitude towards his subordinates at all - after all, Emperor Shengming has always been a corporal of courtesy and virtuous, and he is even willing to condescend to a farmer in the deep mountains, let alone a courtier!

Jiang Chongwen quickly came back to his senses, no matter what, his full exhortation could not be drowned like this. His eyebrows tightened, and he simply stepped forward, since the emperor would approve his resignation, then he would also plan it, and take advantage of the fact that he was now in front of the palace to bluntly state the reason for his resignation.

However, almost at the same time, the smile on Chen Yicong's face turned cold, and he threw Jiang Chongwen's recital straight off the desk.

"How many other people came today with a letter of resignation, and now they are all standing up!" Chen Yicong's eyes lit up with anger, "I will never keep it, I will approve it all!" ”

Sun Beiji was a little untenable, "Your Majesty ......"

"Don't come out and make mud," Chen Yicong scolded sharply, "I have only been on the throne for three years, and there are always people who deceive me when I am young and act arbitrarily...... The result?

"The result is that today, you dare to force the palace with your resignation!"

As soon as the two words "forcing the palace" came out, all the ministers present knelt down, and the "emperor's anger" echoed in the sky above the Taihe Palace.

Chen Yicong looked coldly at the black head in front of him, including Jiang Chongwen's, and couldn't help but sneer a little in his eyes.

"Jiang Chongwen, look at me!"

Jiang Chongwen raised his head slowly, today's Long Yan was really angry and caught him off guard.

…… It shouldn't be like this.

"Don't think I don't know what's going on in your hearts. I ask you, is your resignation today because you are dissatisfied with the establishment of a special imperial examination and the Second Institute of Agriculture and Industry, so you want to stay on your own and threaten me to stop? ”

"Minister...... How could the minister think that-"

"And what do you think?"

"The minister just thinks that agriculture and fortifications have always belonged to the Ministry of Works—"

"If you want to talk to me about farming and fortifications, that's good!" Chen Yicong then interrupted Jiang Chongwen's answer, "I ask you, how many seedlings can be planted in an acre of rice field?" How much grain can be produced? How much money do you get in exchange? How much arable land do I need in Da Zhou, and how much grain do I have to produce every year, so that I can supply the front-line soldiers for a year's war? You answer me! ”

"This ......" Jiang Chongwen's face was slightly dripping with sweat, his cheeks turned red, and he whispered, "Minister...... The minister has always stayed in the ministry, and he is not very busy with these farming things...... I don't know much about ......"

"Don't understand, do you?" Chen Yicong sneered, "Then I will tell you!" One acre of land can plant 18,000 seedlings, so many seedlings can produce rice in the end but five or six stones, and they can be sold for one or two silver on the market.

"A family of five, just to support themselves, must have at least ten acres of paddy fields in their hands, and this is not counting the taxes they have to pay!"

Chen Yicong stood up from the dragon chair.

"In the twenty-seventh year of Jiahe, the cultivated land of my Great Zhou was more than 3,173,600 hectares, and in the fourth year of the Apocalypse, because of the invasion of gold thieves, the cultivated land fell to more than 2,661,100 hectares, and in the Jianxi period, this number once increased to more than 7,247,500 hectares!

"But Zhuozhou City was broken three years ago...... Thousands of miles of fertile land in Guanzhong are all scorched earth. The gold thieves have invaded our territory year after year, the people of the north have been displaced, and the people have moved south - there are people with fields but no cultivators in the north, and there are many mountains and forests in the south, and now there are so many mouths to eat......

"To appease the people, the court must pay a light amount, but the gold thief is eyeing the door of the house and can't collect the grain, you tell me - this battle, how do I fight!"

Chen Yicong's voice was almost deafening, and the entire hall was silent.

The aftermath swirled on the beam, and he turned and held on to the edge of the table behind him.

"Why do we need to set up the Agricultural Research Institute and the Industrial Research Institute...... In the same way, south of the Anjiang River, in some places, one acre of land can produce seven stones of grain, and some can only produce three stones, where is the difference? It is also a pest, why can some state capitals avoid it, and some state capitals have to make great efforts to resist it every year?

"Is there a way we can reclaim more farmland? Is there a way to increase the output per acre of farmland?

"These questions - Jiang Chongwen, you hold your ancestors to become the Fa, answer me!"

Jiang Chongwen couldn't say a word, just lay on the ground tightly, and didn't dare to come out.

Chen Yicong breathed a sigh of relief at this time, he looked at the courtiers, and lowered his voice slightly.

"In the Jiahe Dynasty, I had a total of 6.49 million households in the Great Zhou, with a population of more than 3,250 people, and the number of households was not counted during the Apocalypse, and in the fifth year of Jianxi, the number of households reached 9.67 million, and the number of people was nearly 60 million...... Sixty million! ”

The corners of Chen Yicong's mouth sank slightly, and his eyes were about to shoot arrows.

"What do you think these numbers are? Is it a tool for your six ministries to whitewash the Taiping and advocate political achievements? It's a mouth waiting to be fed, and it's a living person!

"I don't care what ancestral family law you move out, and I don't care how many little Jiujiu you have in your heart and don't say it, but today, I put this sentence here-

"If anyone hasn't turned his mind around now, thinking that as long as he hides in Pingjing City, the knife of the Jin people will not be able to cut you, or he will disturb the court for his little useless name, I will not spare it!"

In the echoing scolding, the ministers leaned down and kowtowed again.

In the silence of everyone, Emperor Shengming brushed his sleeves away in the court for the first time, leaving the ministers to reflect in the palace.

……

On this day, Chen Yicong did not stay to participate in the deliberations of the cabinet - it was today that he officially handed over the matter of the imperial examination to the cabinet, and the cabinet needed to come up with a set of practical preliminary plans within half a month.

"Your Majesty...... Your Majesty...... Slow down, watch your step! Lu Dou hurriedly chased after Chen Yicong.

Chen Yicong had been immersed in his previous thoughts, and only then did he come back to his senses and realize that he was walking fast under his feet.

"Where is Your Majesty going now?"

“…… Go to the hospital for duty. ”

Lu Dou nodded hurriedly - when the emperor said that he was going to the Tai Hospital to be on duty, he generally meant that he was going to see Bai Ling in the nameless courtyard next to him, and he already knew this, "Then the slave maid will go and announce the decree and let them wait for the ride-"

"No need," Chen Yicong said softly, "I'll go by myself." ”

。