Facing the rising sun in the east, the officials of the Ming Empire set out on foot en masse.

Zhu Di walked in the front alone, he wore a yellow robe embroidered with the sun, moon, stars, mountain dragons and other things, wore a crown of twelve heavens, and a jade belt around his waist.

is different from the usual dress of Yanju, Zhu Di at this time seems to have an invisible imperial majesty around him, and even those eunuchs who are holding various items behind him can't help but stay away a little.

The big altar is built outside the Zhengyang Gate, the sun of Zhongshan.

The altar is a double-layered structure, the second floor is seven feet in circumference, eight feet and one inch high, and the second floor leads to the first floor with four steps, each of which is nine steps.

The first layer is on the basis of the middle radius of seven zhang, and the additional five zhang is expanded, and at the same time, whether it is masonry or gangan, it is built with yellow glaze.

Fortunately, today's weather is not too hot, and there is a slight drunken warmth in the face of the morning sun.

But even so, in the short distance of a few miles from the Hongwu Gate of the Imperial City to the Zhengyang Gate of Nanjing City, and then to the Great Altar, there were still old and frail officials who were left behind and had to be put away to rest.

By the time the team reached the main shrine gate in the south, the formation had been scattered at this time, and the officials no longer had the usual commanding authority, or they were shy on their stomachs or holding their knees, and they were all panting and tired.

Zhu Di rarely showed humanistic care for hundreds of officials.

"Your Majesty's will, officials above the fifth rank can go to the corridor to rest, tidy up their clothes, and prepare to participate in the sacrifice."

There are three stone gates in the big shrine gate, which are the middle god road, the left royal road, and the right royal road, and the corridor is directly leading to the two temples of the big shrine hall, therefore, after passing through the big shrine gate, the middle-aged and elderly people above the fifth grade have sat on the straight seat of the corridor and are unwilling to get up.

Immediately after that, the second decree was handed down.

"Your Majesty is sympathetic to the hard work of the princes, and specially ordered each person to prepare a bowl of sour plum soup."

Obviously, this is also part of Daoyan's plan.

First he was targeted to shame the officials, then the announcement caused a shock, and then the long journey made the political elites of these empires exhausted by the road and the scorching sun, and then lost the ability to think.

And this bowl of sour plum soup is a little sweetness.

The old PUA master is gone.

In the twenty-first year of Hongwu, the altar was repaired behind the altar, and more than 20 semi-underground pools were dug in the southeast of the outer altar, and the ice was chiseled in the winter month, and the thatch and other things were covered for the summer and autumn sacrifices.

Now it came in handy, and as the palace people were busy, bowls of sour plum soup with ice cubes were distributed to the officials.

The princes were idle, and finally had the heart to think about today's things, and those who had a heart naturally figured out the wrong taste.

Everything today seems too much like a rehearsed script.

It's like singing Yuan opera dramas appearing one after another, and the ups and downs are all under the control of the emperor, the master of the troupe.

"Li Shangshu."

A director reluctantly came to the front of Li Zhigang, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites.

"What's wrong?" Li Zhigang suppressed his desire to burp and asked out loud.

"What kind of immortal is being sacrificed today?"

This chief did not ask for no reason.

According to the system of the Ming Dynasty, all the sacrificial systems are led in the Taichang Temple and belong to the Ministry of Rites, with Yuanqiu, Fangze, Zongmiao, Sheji, Asahi, Xiyue, Xiannong as the great worship, Tai Sui, Xingchen, Fengyun and thunderstorm, Yuezhen, Haidu, mountains and rivers, the emperors of the past dynasties, the first teacher, the flag, the Sizhong, the Si Ming, the Simin, the Si Lu, the Shou Xing for the middle worship, the gods for the small worship.

In these sacrifices, the emperor needs to personally sacrifice, nothing more than heaven and earth, temples, sheji, mountains and rivers, if the country has a major event, or personally sacrifice or order officials to sacrifice, as for the so-called middle rituals, they are all sent officials to sacrifice.

And today, since it is said to be a sacrifice to immortals, it seems that it doesn't rely on anything?

"I don't know." Li Zhigang shook his head, "Your Majesty only let you prepare according to the etiquette of the Great Ceremony, and the rest has not been informed." ”

The surrounding officials were extremely tired, and it was already a great happiness to hold the sour plum soup, and they had no time to think about it anymore.

The emperor will sacrifice whatever he likes, let me rest for a while.

The hundred officials rested for a while, and before they had recovered much strength, they were told that they were ready to participate in the sacrifice.

When Zhu Di came to the square of the Great Altar, there were already dense civil and military ministers gathered here, Zhu Di took a look at the surrounding environment and nodded with satisfaction.

At this time, the square in front of the Great Shrine Hall was very empty, except for the so-called "Imperial Forest Army" among the people, that is, Jinyiwei, Jinwuwei, and Zhongyiwei, there were only civil and military officials and some eunuchs who were responsible for auxiliary matters.

Zhu Di slowly walked to the second step and looked down at the living beings condescendingly.

"I summoned Zhuqing to come over to worship today, just to pray to the immortals who descended the immortal side!"

He paused and said, "In this way, we can verify the effect of the elixir under the witness of the immortals." ”

When the ministers heard Zhu Di's words, they all secretly rolled their eyes in their hearts, but their faces still showed a respectful look.

The doctrine of ghosts and gods is used to fool the people, and it is not impossible for ministers to believe in this set, but there are not so many of them.

A white jade statue was uncovered with silk covering it.

The statue of the immortal appears in the middle of the large altar.

I saw that this immortal statue was carved into an image dressed in a dark robe and wearing a Taoist crown, the statue's eyes were slightly closed, and there was an indifferent and detached atmosphere between the eyebrows.

The hundred officials look like they are just the appearance of an ordinary carved immortal wind bone, and there is nothing special.

Only Tong Xin, the commander of the Loyal and Righteous Guard, who was on guard in the distance with a big bow with horns, frowned when he looked at the statue.

This immortal, it looks familiar?

Where have I seen it?

It's a pity that although Tong Xin's eyes are good, his memory is only at the level of ordinary people, and he has long forgotten about the hurried glance at Jiang Xinghuo on the Qinhuai River painting boat.

As for one day in charge of transporting supplies in the edict, he never took a picture at all.

If he could turn over the portrait of the whole city, he might be able to instantly remember who carved the facial features of this immortal.

"The Great Ritual Begins!"

A series of tedious and lengthy steps followed, culminating in a curling cigarette on the altar.

All worshippers saluted and prayed to the statue of the immortal.

At the end of the sacrificial ceremony, right here at the altar, Zhu Di continued to announce.

"Please ask Zhang and Yuan to demonstrate the elixir of fertilizer in public."

This time, in the hands of Zhang Yuchu and Yuan Heng, it was no longer the kind of delicate elixir in a box, but a huge elixir with the same color and smell.

The farmland is not large, only a few zhang long and wide, but it is the same soil, and people with a little farming experience will know at a glance that there is indeed no difference in soil and light.

The seeds were all the same, and the seeds of the same variety of vegetables were immediately sown in different fields.

The difference between them is that some farmland is not sprinkled with chemical fertilizer elixir, while some farmland is sprinkled.

In the future, there are daily supervision and records of personnel from the six ministries and various agencies, which is that whoever comes, it is impossible to say that the process is fake.

As for the reason, it's simple and straightforward – all the elements of farming are the same in this land!

In this case, as long as the crops can germinate and survive, a simple comparison of the farmland with the fertilizer elixir and the farmland without the fertilizer elixir can be drawn.

Seeing that the emperor and the eldest prince and other people who presided over this demonstration were so confident, the doubts of the hundred officials were also buried in their hearts.

After all, it doesn't matter if you question Xia Yuanji, Xia Yuanji won't cut you, but if you question the emperor, the emperor will really cut you.

The emperor has already done this, and if he goes up to question it again, it will be purely fatal.

Then, the departments left three unlucky eggs, and then returned to Nanjing City in a mighty way, what should they do.

This incident soon became a big news known to women and children in Nanjing, and many people came to the eastern suburbs of the altar every day, although only officials could enter, but they couldn't stand the eyes of everyone, and no one dared to make ghosts inside.

Ten days later, somewhere in Nanjing.

One person asked: "Is this so-called fertilizer elixir really effective?" ”

Another person at the same table replied: "Who knows, I hope this is a blessing from the immortals, with the elixir of chemical fertilizer, the yield per mu can really be doubled, I don't know how many people can be fed." ”

"It's simple." The old man at the next table took a sip of wine, "Even if there is really this kind of elixir, and it really works, it will not be our turn to use it for ordinary people." ”

With that, he took another sip of sullen wine.

"Why?"

The person next to him asked curiously.

The old man sighed and replied: "It should always be the turn of the emperor, the vassals, the nobles, and the hundred officials to use it first, how can ordinary ordinary people afford it." ”

After listening to the old man's explanation, everyone also understood.

Where will there be an elixir in this world, and even if there is, if there is, if you want to say that the person in the world is qualified to enjoy it, I am afraid that there is only the emperor.

Moreover, even if a large number of elixirs really appeared, they must be in the hands of the highest level, so that there is nothing for ordinary people at all.

However, this is much more reassuring to everyone.

If the elixir really works, it will inevitably be valued at the highest level, and at that time, it will definitely find a way to increase production.

It's like a sentence from Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, buy early and enjoy it early, and buy it late to enjoy discounts.

The output of the elixir is high, if the imperial court wants to collect more taxes on grain, it needs more people to participate in the production activities, so as to use the fertilizer elixir to improve the production efficiency, the grain output can naturally increase, and the taxes paid to the state will be more.

As a result, the price of fertilizer elixir will inevitably fall.

For ordinary people, as long as it is not outrageously expensive, it is naturally better to increase the yield per mu and save more grain to prevent famine in advance.

And just when everyone was talking about the hottest topic in Nanjing, in the distance, it suddenly seemed like a storm, and a group of people were surging in the street, and they seemed to be discussing something enthusiastically.

"What are they talking about?"

"What's Going On?"

When the crowd got closer, the people in the teahouse heard.

"The elixir of chemical fertilizer has worked!"

"The grandson of Mrs. Li next door is an official, and he has seen with his own eyes that vegetables grow taller than others!"

"Really? Don't fool us. ”

"How can there be a fake? It's rumored throughout the city of Nanjing! ”

"If that's the case, then I have to go to the Eastern Suburbs Altar to have a look."

"You can't get in without an official body, what are you looking at outside?"

The news quickly spread like wings, and at this time, it was the turn of several people in the teahouse to freeze.

"Is there really an elixir in this world?"

And soon, even more exciting news came from the palace.

The officials heard that the reason why the emperor wanted to deduct the next month's Yulu to subscribe to the Ming treasury bonds was because it took money to build a workshop for refining fertilizer elixir, and all the officials paid for the construction of a fertilizer elixir workshop, so everyone had the income generated by this workshop for refining fertilizer elixir according to different official ranks!

As soon as this news came out, it had an earth-shattering effect.

The officials' slightest dissatisfaction with His Majesty the Emperor's previous grievances was all transformed into gratitude.

"What?"

"Can you get back more income than you subscribed for Daming treasury bonds? This is an eye-opener! ”

"That's right! In this way, the money that we borrowed from the poor Hanlin before can also be slowly earned back without relying on money! ”

"I didn't expect Your Majesty to be so wise and powerful!"

"Hahaha...... Of course, how can my pilgrim be on a par with ordinary ordinary people! ”

The officials of various departments of the imperial court were immediately overjoyed when they heard the news.

They originally thought that next month's Yulu had already been lost, but they didn't expect that His Majesty would save them from this situation with just one sentence!

Not only that, but you can also get an unknown number of times the benefits.

And the more this matter spreads, the more they feel that it was so right that they didn't bump into His Majesty at the Great Altar in the first place!

For a while, there was a lot of discussion in the streets and alleys, and under the deliberate guidance of public opinion by the officials, all of them praised the virtue and benevolence of today's holy monarch without exception!

Zhu Di didn't seem to be the murderous butcher Yan Wang who had to eat eight children for a meal when he hadn't crossed the river a few months ago, but the Holy Lord Mingjun like Yao Shun!

In this environment of revelry of all officials, the eldest prince said that Yuan Zhenren claimed in a letter that he had discovered the main materials necessary for refining the elixir of chemical fertilizers when he traveled overseas.

At that time, they did not know the precious value of this material, and now it was suggested that in order to expand the refining capacity of the fertilizer elixir, the imperial court should send a sailor to explore.

Moreover, Yuan Zhenren also said that further overseas, there are records that indicate that the various materials for refining fertilizer elixir will be distributed on the islands where they are.

In this regard, the eldest prince proposed that the imperial court should expand the sailors, docks, and shipyards, and recruit more sailors and craftsmen to go to sea to obtain various materials for refining fertilizer elixir.

The princes of Gongon, who had received benefits, were almost a kind of efficiency that had never been seen since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and they all agreed to the proposal of the great prince.

As a result, the five-year appropriation ship construction project was launched.

And when the outside world was in a carnival, some people in the edict were not in a good mood.

Imperial prison, duty room.

Li Jinglong was sipping down his wine in a depressed manner.

"Why are you so drunk?"

Zhu Gaoxu got the news of the jailer and rushed to the room.

As soon as he entered, he smelled a strong smell of alcohol, and found that Li Jinglong had already drunk and turned red, and he was not far from getting drunk.

"Don't drink it."

Zhu Gaoxu snatched the other party's wine jug with his hand.

"Give, give me a drink, I, I, no, drunk!"

It's good that he has been a cellmate and classmate for so long, and Zhu Gaoxu looked at Li Jinglong at this time, but he was not so unpleasant.

Zhu Gaoxu asked, "Isn't it just to go to Japan as the main envoy?" Why is it like this? ”

"No, you—you don't understand."

Li Jinglong directly buried his head in the crook of his arm, twisted his cheeks and said to the other party.

"They, all, all want me to die."

"I've asked, asked, asked about the situation in Japan."

"This bureau, there is no solution, there is no solution."

"When I get out of prison, I will die, die."

"No, no one, can, can help me."

Zhu Gaoxu naturally didn't know anything about the situation in Japan at this time, but looking at Li Jinglong's ghostly appearance, he also knew that his attitude towards Daming was not very good.

So, Zhu Gaoxu asked.

"You don't have to leave until tomorrow, tomorrow is the time for Mr. Jiang to give a lecture, why don't you ask Mr. Jiang, who knows everything, what to do?"

(End of chapter)