I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 128 Girl, just go ahead and do it
...

Li Lin caught up with Yuan Qingcheng and said to her, "Don't argue with Zhang Chun. She has no one else to rely on, and seeing that you are keeping to yourself and not willing to help her, she is taking her anger out on you."

Yuan Qingcheng stopped and said angrily, "I don't owe her anything, why should I be so angry with her?!"

Li Lin didn't say, "In Zhang Chun's opinion, everything you have today is entirely due to the efforts of the few of us, and you've been reaping the benefits." Instead, he said, "Cai Jing and Cai Bian both served as prime ministers. They were also leaders of the New Party, with many students and former officials. The Cai family itself was a prominent family with a deep foundation. So, as soon as Cai Xuan opened her mouth, Cai Jing presented Zhao Ya with thirty beauties, including daughters of the Cai family, daughters of New Party officials, and even boat girls from West Lake..."

Yuan Qingcheng interrupted Li Lin: "What is a West Lake boat girl?"

"Zhang Chun said that they originated in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, and continued to the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China. It is said that when Emperor Yang of Sui was on a southern tour, he asked women to serve as boatmen, and since then, boat girls have appeared in Jiangnan. The boat girls in West Lake each have a flower boat with two floors. The upper floor is for living or staying with prostitutes, and the lower floor is a living room. They are nurtured by the southern water towns, and are petite, beautiful and docile. They are good at playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. In addition to staying overnight, they can also accompany guests to row boats in West Lake. They are guests of honor for literati and scholars." Li Lin said.

"Cai Jing sent a prostitute to Zhao Ya?!" Yuan Qingcheng was a little bit unbelievable.

"It must be a prostitute like Li Shishi who hasn't been sorted out yet, and Cai Jing must have cleared her identity."

"Zhang Chun also said that only at that time did there not exist the skinny horse from Yangzhou, the wife from Datong, and the nun from Mount Tai. Otherwise, with Cai Jing's cunning and power, he would have gathered these four famous prostitutes for Zhao Ya." Li Lin said.

"Is it okay for the prime ministers to do this? What about the censors? Why don't they do anything?" Yuan Qingcheng asked.

"Zhao Ya is using Cai Jing to carry out economic reforms, so he must protect Cai Jing and even appease Cai Jing so that Cai Jing dares to carry out reforms."

"As for the censors, why didn't they take action? Chen Guan, Chen Cisheng, Zou Hao, Lü Tao, and Sun Jue all impeached Cai Jing, some even directly impeaching Zhao Ya."

"Who would have thought that Zhao Ya said that since the ministers were concerned about the lack of women in his harem, he would hold a beauty pageant. The number of candidates was tentatively set at 300. The 30 beauties Cai Jing had presented would be included in the selection, and he would only need to choose 270. Moreover, Zhao Ya also explicitly stated that the daughters of ministers were welcome to apply. He also specifically said that he hoped to see the daughters of the censors also submit their daughters for the selection."

"Thirty years later, three hundred years later, Chen Cisheng was so angry that he wanted to retire and return home, but Zhao Ya refused, saying that without the supervision of the censors, how could the new legal reforms benefit the people?"

Li Lin knew that Yuan Qingcheng and her team were mostly doing agricultural research in Genyue Wansui Mountain, and she didn't know much about current affairs, so she told Yuan Qingcheng so much.

"Ah? Why does Zhao Ya use such shameless means?" Yuan Qingcheng said.

"How could this be considered a rogue tactic? The imperial court already has a policy of regularly selecting decent women from the common people to fill the harem. This selection process focuses on a woman's family background, moral character, and appearance. Usually, she must come from a family of officials or wealthy nobles with a clean family background. In other words, a minister sending his own daughter to the harem is in compliance with the regulations."

"Besides, do you think these censors are good people?"

"Let's not talk about anything else. For example, Zhao Ya built the Yanfu Palace. I don't know how many times these censors criticized him. They almost said that Zhao Ya was a tyrant for his massive construction. Please, Zhao Ya built it with his own money and kept everything simple. But these censors still hold on to it."

Yuan Qingcheng noticed that now not only Zhang Chun and Li Lin, but also Ye Shiyun and Ma Xiaojiao were all speaking in Zhao Ya's favor. She could no longer say bad things about Zhao Ya in front of these women.

So Yuan Qingcheng wisely shut her mouth.

"With the thirty beauties Cai Jing sent her, and Cai Xuan copying Zhang Chun's homework and expanding it even further, Zhao Ya naturally went over to Cai Xuan's side. But Zhang Chun went to such great lengths, even losing face, but she didn't get pregnant, while Cai Xuan, who copied her homework, actually got pregnant. How do you think she felt?"

"Also, the old party has turned against Zhang Chun, leaving him all alone again."

Hearing this, Yuan Qingcheng was puzzled: "Why would the old party cross the river and burn the bridge? Isn't Zhang Chun going to replace Empress Dowager Xiang and ally with them?"

"That's Zhang Chun's wishful thinking. How could she possibly be as virtuous as Empress Dowager Xiang? Think about it carefully. If she leaves Zhao Ya, what power will she have? I can figure this out, so how can those old-timers in the old party not figure it out?"

"Furthermore, Zhang Chun's political stance is to support reform, which is different from the old party's ideology. It is impossible for the two sides to become a permanent alliance."

"The most important thing is that Empress Zheng discussed Confucian classics such as the Book of Documents, the Analects, and the Book of Filial Piety with Han Zhongyan and the two Su brothers. They also discussed the principles of officialdom and ministerial service, as well as the dangers of harem interference in government affairs. After that, the old party stopped contacting Zhang Chun."

"I guess, in addition to the pressure from Queen Zheng on the old party, it's probably because the old party realized that it wasn't Zhang Chun who could influence Zhao Ya, but that Zhao Ya had no intention of eradicating the old party at all."

"Also, everything Zhang Chun did was completely deviant and unorthodox, something no gentleman should be ashamed of. Previously, those members of the old party had no choice but to compromise. Now that their crisis is over, if they continue to mess around with Zhang Chun, their reputations might be shattered."

"Now, except for Li Qingzhao and Li Chun, who is not pregnant yet, the other daughters of the old party no longer play with Zhang Chun much. They are all resting and taking care of their pregnancies, preparing to become famous through having children."

Hearing this, Yuan Qingcheng couldn't stand it any longer. She spoke up for Zhang Chun and said, "These hypocrites from the old party are too shameless. They are worse than the real villains of the new party like Cai Jing and Tong Guan!"

"People who play politics are all like this. They only care about profit. Where is the moral integrity?"

"After this incident, Zhang Chun finally realized that relying on others for everything without her own team wouldn't work. That's why she wants to recruit a few of us to help her..."

In fact, after hearing this, Yuan Qingcheng could guess the rest without Li Lin saying anything more.

Li Lin is interested in military affairs and politics, which she doesn't understand and is not suitable for, so she definitely doesn't want to get involved in Zhang Chun's affairs.

Ye Shiyun is lazy and only likes to eat, drink, have fun and enjoy life, so it is even more impossible for her to help Zhang Chun in politics.

She and Ma Xiaojiao are devoted to scientific research.

Zhang Chun could only fight alone.

As a last resort, Zhang Chun took the initiative to find the original owner's family, wanting to build her own political power.

Not only did she refuse to help, she also spoke so harshly about Zhang Chun. No wonder Zhang Chun fell out with her.

Over there, Li Lin continued, "Zhang Chun kept trying to get me to help her, but she was playing too much, and I couldn't handle it, so I didn't go."

Yuan Qingcheng thought to herself, "You're not complaining about Zhang Chun's extravagance, it's obvious that you can eat alone, so there's no need to go to Zhang Chun and the others to compete with a bunch of women for food."

Of course, Yuan Qingcheng could only think about this in her heart. On the surface, she said: "You guys keep exploiting Zhao Ya. Sooner or later, Zhao Ya's body will be hollowed out by you." Li Lin smiled: "You are wrong. You don't understand the inside story, so you think so. If you and Zhao Ya..."

At this point, Li Lin realized that Yuan Qingcheng was not Zhang Chun, Ye Shiyun, or Ma Xiaojiao. She was still a virgin and there were some things she couldn't say carelessly, so she changed the subject and said, "I mean, all of us women of Zhao Ya know that when Zhao Ya has had enough fun, he will stop. He never forces himself, let alone takes drugs to enhance his pleasure. Moreover, Zhao Ya diligently practices Prisoner Conditioning and Yoga, and pays great attention to health preservation. His physical fitness and endurance are far superior to those of ordinary people..."

Yuan Qingcheng simply didn't want Zhao Ya, whom they had carefully selected, to become a tyrant. She didn't want to discuss Zhao Ya's abilities with Li Lin in depth, so she found a way to change the subject and asked, "Why didn't Zhang Chun choose to ally with the New Party?"

"Do you think Zhang Chun doesn't want to? But on the New Party side, whether it is Zhang Dun, Cai Jing, or other prime ministers, they are all highly valued by Zhao Ya. If they really have something to do, they can just go to Zhao Ya directly. Why bother to find Zhang Chun? What if he is punished by Zhao Ya for making friends with the harem? It will be more trouble than it takes for them?" Li Lin said.

Yuan Qingcheng felt sorry for Zhang Chun for three seconds, then couldn't help but say, "Since politics is so difficult, why doesn't Zhang Chun give up? Why does he have to keep trying?"

"Maybe everyone has their own pursuits?" Li Lin said uncertainly. "Besides, as long as Zhang Chun holds on to Zhao Ya, even if she can't win, at least she won't be completely defeated, so she can take her time."

"Perhaps... just like Zhang Chun himself said, as long as I stay at the table, there's a chance of winning."

Yuan Qingcheng still didn't understand why Zhang Chun was so obsessed with politics, but after Li Lin's persuasion, she was no longer so angry with Zhang Chun.

After all, in this world, they are the only five who come from the same place, and they are the only ones who can speak to each other completely openly. They are not relatives, but they are better than family.

After talking it out, Yuan Qingcheng let Li Lin go back, and she returned to Genyue Wansui Mountain alone.

Yuan Qingcheng didn't ride in the imperial carriage. Although she wasn't as keen on exercising as Li Lin, she was also someone who walked regularly and even went for a night run, because it helped her stay in shape and was healthier. Most importantly, "Only if I have a good body can I go to the fields every day."

The walk back to Genyue Wansui Mountain was just enough for Yuan Qingcheng to get enough exercise for the day. As long as she walked back, she wouldn't have to run at night tonight.

What Yuan Qingcheng didn't expect was that just as she was about to walk out of the palace, she ran into Zhao Ya who had just returned from Genyue Wansui Mountain.

Yuan Qingcheng quickly stopped and saluted Zhao Ya, who was also not riding in the imperial carriage: "Your Majesty, your concubine Yuan pays respects to you."

"No need to be polite, please stand up." Then Zhao Ya took the initiative to say: "I just went to your agricultural base..."

Yuan Qingcheng's heart suddenly tightened!
So far, she has only done some simple grafting, and as for the research and development of rice that she wants to do the most, there has been no progress at all.

So, up to now, she has almost no research results.

In this situation, she was naturally afraid that Zhao Ya would become anxious, no longer trust her, or even directly cut off her research and development.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Ya said: "Yes, the seedlings and seeds I sent people to find for you have all been planted. This is a good start."

Yuan Qingcheng really didn't expect that Zhao Ya's requirements would be so low.

Zhao Ya added: "I have been busy with many things lately and cannot pay attention to you..."

Yuan Qingcheng's heart tightened again when she heard this: "First praise, then criticism? What's next is probably going to be unpleasant, right?"

Finally, Zhao Ya's tone changed. "I think your hybrid rice plan is good, but the results of the experiment in this area are limited. Therefore, I plan to ask the Ministry of Personnel to recruit 300 scholars with agricultural backgrounds to the Sino-Agricultural Temple. You will teach them and teach them to disperse to various parts of the Song Dynasty to conduct experiments. You will only need to supervise and control the overall situation. I will also grant you one million strings of cash each year and issue an imperial decree to instruct local government offices to fully cooperate with the people you send to conduct experiments. In this way, can hybrid rice be developed sooner?"

Yuan Qingcheng never expected that Zhao Ya was not going to withdraw his investment, but to give her additional investment, and the additional amount was not just a little bit, but one million strings of cash every year.

What is the concept of one million strings of cash?
Zhang Chun said that one Guan at that time was roughly equivalent to six hundred yuan in later generations.

By this calculation, it means that Zhao Ya gives her 600 million in research and development funds every year.

If you don't have any idea about this.

Zhao Ya's budget for building Yanfu Palace was only one million strings of cash.

It can be seen how much Zhao Ya invested in her!!!
So is Zhao Ya’s huge investment useful?

Of course it works!
You have to know that when Mr. Yuan first started researching hybrid rice, he was the only one there, and he didn't have many people or much money in the first ten years of his research on hybrid rice.

Now, she has such abundant human and financial resources, and the key is that she can stand on the shoulders of giants like Mr. Yuan. If she has not made any achievements, it is purely her personal problem.

Yuan Qingcheng, who never promised anything, made a promise for the first time: "I will never let Your Majesty down!"

Zhao Ya nodded and said, "You don't have to feel stressed, and you don't have to worry about the management of these people. Anything that is inconvenient for you to handle can be instructing the Sinong Temple to do it. If you are short of people or money in the future, you can come to me again, and I will consider adding more people and money for you."

Yuan Qingcheng was a bit dazed by Zhao Ya's words of support. She felt like the man before her had transformed into the domineering CEO from her romance novels, who had pushed her against the wall and said to her, "Girl, just go for it. I'll clear all the obstacles for you."

When Yuan Qingcheng came to her senses, Zhao Ya had already left.

Yuan Qingcheng hurriedly asked the maid beside her: "What did His Majesty say just now?"

The maid replied, "His Majesty said that he trusts the Empress, and that he has already sent people to Dali, Champa, Goryeo, Japan and other neighboring countries to ask for special rice seedlings, seeds, and soil, so that he can help the Empress..."

After hearing this, Yuan Qingcheng didn't know why she felt a little disappointed. "Is it all about work?"

……

(End of this chapter)