The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

In order to collect these ten cartloads of tribute.

In the two months before returning to Shangdu, Xiong Zhen racked his brains and made a trip to Ganluchuan.

Gan Minglan led him on a long walk around the main street of Ganluchuan New City.

Then, he went to several workshops and abused his privileges.

In the sugar shop, he said:
"General, please give me twenty catties of all flavors of milk candy from your candy shop! Your manager is so clueless. What do you mean by 'production can't keep up'? Tell the vendors at the door to wait a little longer! Your General is still here."

Gan Minglan: "Make arrangements for the Marquis!"

"Hey, why are you frying pistachios with salt in your sugar shop? Who came up with this brilliant idea? And the fried pistachios even open up? I'm eating them, they smell so good! Pack me a few more sacks, lots and lots!"

Gan Minglan: "Arrange it!"

"General, what good stuff is this again? It looks like walnut kernels. Your candy shop is really thoughtful. Many people love walnuts but can't stand the hassle of shelling them. This kind of texture, coated in syrup and sesame seeds, is very different! It's crispy, sweet, and has a walnut aroma! Pack it all up, pack it all up!"

Gan Minglan: "Keep pretending!"

"Hey! I smell a very special aroma. What's being baked? What's toast? Let me have a taste! Very good, the milky fragrance and soft texture are much more delicious than naan! I want to take some toast to the capital for His Majesty to try!"

Gan Minglan: "My lord, this really can't be kept for more than a month; it will spoil. Otherwise, I'll have someone write down the recipe for you?"

"That's wonderful! The night before I return to Shangdu, I'll have the chefs bake it, and it'll be sent to the palace the next day!"

Gan Minglan: "Okay, I'll arrange it for you right away."

Inability to vomit.

All the fresh food available in Ganro River was included in Kuma's list of Kansai specialties.

Silk quilts, plant-dyed cotton fabrics, and various embroideries were also included.

Finally, they also loaded a large truck with wheat and rice seeds.

At this moment, Xiong Zhen is focusing on introducing the following to Emperor Qianwu:
"Our high-yield wheat and rice from Kansai have been trialed in the Nine Guards of Kansai for three years and promoted in the Hexi Corridor, Huaiqing Prefecture, and Border Town for more than a year. The yield of wheat per mu in cultivated land is stable at five shi, and in barren land and thin fields it is no less than three shi."

Rice yields are higher than wheat, with the fertile fields of Ganluchuan and Biancheng yielding seven shi more. Even the lowest yield of dryland rice is four shi.

General Gan believed that the wheat and rice seeds from Kansai were very stable for seed preservation, and applied to select several major grain-producing areas for trial planting during the Yongtai reign.

In my humble opinion, if these two types of seeds are successfully promoted in these major grain-producing areas, the people of the Yongtai Dynasty will be able to solve their food and clothing problems within five years.

Emperor Qianwu was shocked by Xiong Zhen's bold idea.

For over two thousand years, which emperor dared to promise that all the people of the world would have enough to eat?

No!

Absolutely not!

Which emperor didn't have such ambition?
Emperor Qianwu, suppressing his wildly beating heart and remaining rational, asked about his concerns:
"Compared to the Northwest, the major grain-producing regions are all in the South. Can seeds cultivated in the dry land of the Northwest adapt to the climate of the South?"

Xiong Zhen stated:

"I don't know if other southern regions can adapt! But this year, the Sichuan Provincial Administration Commission used rice varieties from Guanzhong to plant 1,000 mu of rice on a trial basis, and I heard that the average yield per mu exceeded six shi."

The seeds selected from 1,000 mu of rice are enough to plant 100,000 mu of land next year. After next year, the Bashu Provincial Administration will no longer need to purchase rice seeds from Guanzhong.

Emperor Qianwu: "."

Good! Good! Good! His son-in-law returned to the capital a few days ago to report on his duties, and only stayed at the palace for half an hour.

He spoke eloquently about the small matters of governing the local area.

On the important matter of high-yield rice, they didn't even let him, the emperor and his father-in-law, utter a word!
Gan Mingfu: I'm innocent! His sister specifically instructed that the credit for promoting high-yield, improved varieties should go to the Marquis of Zhongyong. He's just a supporting player, and he'll be secretly building up his strength in Sichuan. Having received such a powerful boost, Emperor Qianwu could no longer control himself.

He paced back and forth in the Imperial Study with his hands behind his back.

Mouth murmured:

"If the superior varieties from Kansai can be successfully promoted throughout the country and maintain high yields, how should I, I, repay General Gan?"

Xiong Zhen: "."

Today's subordinates may climb over him in just a few years.

But he wasn't jealous; his marquisate had also been taken away with him.

The emperor and his ministers were lost in thought for a short while when Empress Jiang was summoned.

Xiong Zhen bowed deeply and said, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty live a thousand years!"

Empress Jiang was very kind:

"Lord Zhongyong, please rise! I heard the old lady also returned? How is her health? Should we send an imperial physician to check on her?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty! If it weren't for General Gan's arrangement of a campervan with underfloor heating, I really wouldn't have dared to let my mother come back in the winter. She's had the most comfortable journey yet, eating and drinking as usual, without even a headache or fever."

After becoming empress, Lady Jiang increasingly exuded the aura of a national mother, and her words were as gentle as a spring breeze.

Ultimately, men and women are different.

After exchanging only a few words of farewell, Xiong Zhen quickly brought out the dragon and phoenix cloud brocade robe that Gan Minglan had asked him to bring.

When the black dragon robe with gold accents was slowly unfurled and laid out on the imperial desk.

Even straight men like Emperor Qianwu and Xiong Zhen were amazed.

The surging waves meet the sea and cliffs!

The patterns on the collar buttons are exquisite!
The nine golden dragons on the dragon robe have winding and coiling bodies, distinct scales, sharp and powerful claws, and flowing and graceful whiskers.

Each golden dragon has a different posture and a majestic look in its eyes.

Even Emperor Qianwu, as an emperor, couldn't help but become more solemn upon seeing such a dragon pattern.

Like it?
He loves it so much!

However, "One such dragon robe is enough for a lifetime. How much gold and silver thread must have been used to create such a large dragon pattern?!"

Emperor Qianwu stated that he was not a wasteful and extravagant emperor, and that having such a magnificent robe to enhance his prestige was enough.

Xiong Zhen laughed and said:
"Your Majesty, please weigh this dragon robe. It weighs less than two pounds!"

Ganluchuan Yunjin uses silk thread from a type of seven-colored wild silkworm.

This type of silk is exceptionally tough; when woven into brocade, it cannot be cut by a knife and can serve a protective purpose. Furthermore, the silk's color is natural and will not fade even after a hundred years of washing!

If we disregard the scarcity of the seven-colored wild silkworms and the design fee for the dragon robe pattern, the cost of such a formal brocade dress could be kept under five hundred taels of silver!

Emperor Qianwu: "."

He wanted to take out his knife and slash!
If it is truly that resilient, then all of my outer robes will be replaced with Ganluchuan Yunjin from now on!

What's more, this dragon robe, which costs five hundred taels to make, can look like it costs no less than fifty thousand taels!
This is such a great deal, isn't it?! (End of Chapter)