Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 460 The Situation is Excellent

In short, Senior Choi was unwilling to recall that unbearable dark history, so the matter was simply left unresolved.

For the next eight months, the entire Great Jing Dynasty was swept up in a wave of learning. Even illiterate old farmers would urge their children to practice writing more characters on the sand table when they got home. His Majesty was going to hold a special imperial examination to recruit officials, and at the same time, he would also hold a miscellaneous classics examination to recruit officials. If one could be selected, one could be called a disciple of the Emperor in the future. Who wouldn't want to get involved in such a good thing? Moreover, since it was the first time a special imperial examination was being held, many people would certainly not be fully prepared. Taking the exam wouldn't cost much money, and if one could pass, it would truly be a stroke of good fortune!
When superiors have a certain preference, subordinates will follow suit. This is especially true when it concerns such a major event as the future and destiny of one's own family. Naturally, everyone from top to bottom will devote themselves wholeheartedly to studying, hoping that they or their family members can pass the exam and bring honor to their ancestors.

In this atmosphere, the low-priced paper produced by Jiuque was consumed at an astonishing rate, and a steady stream of silver flowed into the treasury. Even the officials of the Ministry of Revenue, who had previously been skeptical, couldn't help but bow down in admiration to His Highness when they saw the rapidly increasing figures in the accounts. They had previously thought that the price of paper was too low to generate profit, but now it seemed to be a steady and reliable source of income.

Coupled with the popularity of "The People's Books," the imperial examination books published by the Minshuo Bookstore were in high demand and short supply. Previously, due to constant natural disasters and man-made calamities during the Great Jing Dynasty, the Ministry of Revenue was always short of funds. Other ministries said that the officials of the Ministry of Revenue, from top to bottom, were all born misers. But if the national treasury were full, why would they withhold every expenditure? It wasn't until they encountered His Highness, who could continuously bring in silver revenue, that the officials of the Ministry of Revenue were truly convinced. His Highness was truly a reincarnation of the God of Wealth; in such a short time, the national treasury had increased by millions of strings of cash.

Yes, Jiu Que had turned over the vast majority of her income from the past eight months to the national treasury. This was what earned her the most praise from the court officials. After all, who in this world doesn't love money, especially when it's the prince's own legitimate income? Yet she was able to take it out and hand it over to the national treasury for various expenditures. Some might think it was a show, but whatever the purpose, her actions genuinely benefited the country, and isn't that enough? The saying "judging by actions, not intentions" applies here. Moreover, although Jiu Que doesn't dislike money, she hasn't really lacked it since arriving in this era. Especially now that she holds this position, with both power and wealth, she naturally wants to do something more meaningful.

Take, for example, improving people's livelihoods worldwide.

At the end of September, the autumn sky was clear and the weather was pleasant. The crops in the fields had been harvested, and the various prefectures and counties had received fertilizers distributed by the imperial court. The harvest of grain crops was nearly double that of previous years!
To put it bluntly, when they saw the houses piled high with grain, all the farmers couldn't help but burst into tears. These people were born of the land, grew up on the land, and depended on this land to feed themselves and their families. They had worked the land for so many years, yet they had never known that this most familiar field could produce so much grain. Although they couldn't rest easy, their lives afterward were immeasurably better.

At times like these, recalling their initial resistance when the higher-ups delivered the fertilizer, many couldn't help but blush with shame. But they couldn't be blamed; grain was far too important, and no one dared to use something of unknown origin in their own fields. Even though it was supposed to increase grain yields, what if it didn't work, or even harmed their seedlings?

So initially, when this fertilizer, which had never been seen before, was distributed, the news from many prefectures and counties was not very clear.

However, the promise of a generous reward inspired many brave souls. Despite the disease, quite a few farmers dared to try this fertilizer, and their results were obvious. Those farmers who had refused to use it were filled with regret upon seeing the success of others. They even went to the county government office, which they had previously dared not approach, to inquire, fearing that their previous resistance had angered the authorities and prevented them from using the fertilizer.

Of course, this situation wouldn't occur. Jiu Que had anticipated this. In fact, this fertilizer was simply a crudely made compound fertilizer. A quick online search in later generations would easily reveal this, albeit a rather crude one. By weight, 40% well-rotted manure, 30% bone meal, and 30% wood ash could create a compound fertilizer that would significantly increase grain yields. Of course, specific situations require specific analysis, and the proportions of this compound fertilizer would vary depending on the soil conditions of different regions. The teachers and students of Chaoyan Academy worked diligently for a long time, and the production of the compound fertilizer was limited. However, after seeing the results, not only did the imperial court provide strong support, but many wealthy merchants were also willing to invest large sums of money, just to get a share of the profits.

It is expected that the fertilizer shortage problem will be greatly alleviated by the next planting season.

This year's autumn harvest was made possible by a combination of factors: compound fertilizers, new farming tools, carefully selected superior seeds from the Chaoyan Academy, and the concerted efforts of everyone involved. It's no exaggeration to say that when Emperor Jingtai saw the total grain yields reported from various regions, he jumped up from his chair with joy and laughed heartily. Since ancient times, food security has been the biggest obstacle to development. Wasn't Emperor Jingtai's rebellion ultimately caused by hunger?

The common people are actually the most docile, as long as they can fill their stomachs. Those who are starving will even cook and eat their own parents and children. Ensuring the people have enough to eat has always been the biggest problem weighing on Emperor Jingtai's mind, but now that this problem is about to be solved, how could he not be happy?
Moreover, the northern border adopted the method of military farming, and with the full support of Jiuque, not only were large tracts of land reclaimed during the spring planting season, but the grain output also ranked first among the counties of Dajing.

In the past, there was always the worry that the army could not be supported, but now the army has solved most of the food problem on its own, which is truly gratifying. However, Jiu Que knows that this is not the best solution, but only a transitional measure for the next few years. In addition, there are no external enemies invading the northern border, and the Northern Frontier Army highly approves of Jiu Que. Everyone, regardless of age or gender, supports any decision made by Jiu Que, which is why we have the current good situation.

With such a grand scene in the first year, if there were more than five years of peace, the hunger problem in the entire Dajing area would be 5% solved!

Emperor Jingtai was increasingly feeling that his life was very comfortable. One day, he took his newly acquired myna bird and strolled to Qiuwu Palace in Jiuque, intending to show it off to his beloved daughter. Then he saw a continuous stream of officials coming and going from Qiuwu Palace.