The overland Silk Road came back early after three years due to the spillover of the war between Kang and Bound Chi, and the ministers who returned after fulfilling His Majesty's request were all duly rewarded.
The three leading ministers were rewarded according to their merits, and their titles were increased. Xue Yuan Feng signing the Privy Council affairs, leading from the third grade or above the military dispersed officials, was appointed second-class Bo Yuan waiter.
Signature of the Privy Council is the deputy of the Privy Councilor's deputy, is a candidate for the future Privy Councilor, the military affairs, just full assistance in the Holy Spirit.
Xue Yuan did not have the experience of foreign transfer but can jump into the ranks of the third grade officials, although the silk road is meritorious, but more or his own ability is strong and the saint's expectations and valued him.
The Privy Council and the Hall of Government were directly under the orders of the saint and were not controlled by any minister. The power in their hands was completely controlled by Gu Yuanbai, able to put it down and put it back up, which was hard for the Xue Yuan of the past to endure, but now he was willing to do so.
Compared to the land silk road, the sea silk road traveled slowly for five years, and it was only after five years that Lin Zhicheng and his group returned with ships waving Daheng flags all over the place.
They brought great wealth, besides millions of taels of gold, silver, and copper, and goods exchanged by various countries, but more important than the wealth was the present condition of the other countries abroad.
Lin Zhicheng offered a thick folded document in which he wrote in detail about the sights and geographical locations of each country. There were also some islands that were still unoccupied, and Lin Zhicheng said with a sense of urgency in his interview with the saint, "Your Holiness, we can occupy all of these islands."
Gu Yuanbai also had a sense of urgency as he nodded affirmatively, "You're right."
He asked Lin Zhicheng a lot, Lin Zhicheng answered one by one, "Although some countries outside are very rich, but the situation is very complicated. The food in some places is so different from ours that they even drink blood and hair. According to the old route, some countries that didn't show their fame during the Great Tang Dynasty have extraordinary strength now, but they are not as strong as our Daheng Dynasty. This time we went out to sea, Daheng's reputation became famous at home and abroad, and many small countries are very eager and reverent towards Daheng, not only sending tributes, but also intending to establish a solid merchant fleet with my Daheng."
Lin Zhicheng, on this return trip, also brought back people from various countries who had a strong curiosity about Daheng, who wanted to take a look at this land in the far east, and wanted to feel how prosperous and civilized some of this country that could produce tea, silk, and porcelain was.
Gu Yuanbai heart, the current era, the maritime hegemony has not yet shadow, those countries in Europe are still in the chaotic medieval era, no one recognizes the importance of the sea, and at this time, China is still the world's first, Daheng has the ability to match, with the shock of the world's ships.
This sea voyage of Lin Zhicheng's would shock the people of the entire Daheng Dynasty just by the wealth it brought with it.
Perhaps one day not too far in the future, it will be Daheng's flag that will be flying all over the oceans.
Gu Yuanbai smiled, and asked about some of the seeds that he had paid special attention to. The old route was not to the Americas and Europe, so corn and sweet potatoes and potatoes, which were high-yield crops, should not be brought back.
But to his surprise, Lin Zhicheng had really brought back a surprise for him!
Gu Yuanbai abruptly stood up from the dragon chair.
Lin Zhicheng was startled by him, "Your Holiness?"
Gu Yuanbai stared at the three small bags of seeds on the table without letting go, confused and dazed by the surprise, "Where did this crop seed come from?"
"Among those countries to which I have traveled there is a man who claims to be from a country called Spain," said Lin Zhicheng, "a country that seems to be very far away from us, and according to this man, there is a battle going on in their country today to expel the invaders. He, on the other hand, drifted alone into the midst of a foreign country in the midst of the battle because of an accident, and he used these seeds to make an exchange with my minister, so that he could bring him to Daheng. At first glance, I thought that the seeds in the yellow bag were the same as the 'corn' that His Majesty had spoken of, and that they were both in the shape of rice grains with a golden luster as if they were the size of teeth. The remaining two, however, I could not recognize."
Gu Yuanbai's heart has been agitated at this time, he repeatedly looked over the corn kernels, and went to open the other two cloth bags, the seeds are yellow and dark, all lack of water to the dry look, clearly is the seed of potatoes and sweet potatoes.
These unimpressive seeds were like priceless treasures in Gu Yuanbai's eyes, Gu Yuanbai was surprised and then began to stare, these seeds looked quite bad, who knew if they could still be planted and live?
The opportunity is right in front of us, so if we can't grow it, we'll be in deep shit.
Gu Yuanbai made an immediate decision, "Someone come!"
Whether it can live or not, have to try first, as long as there is a slightest hope of survival, Gu Yuanbai will try to do everything possible to make these crops grow on the land of Daheng.
*
While His Majesty the Emperor was planting as if he had been honored, the world shook as he had not expected because of this sea voyage of Lin Zhicheng.
The more well-connected merchants and officials of the court had more or less invested a sum of money for the voyage. This money was completely multiplied several times after five years of waiting, and the people who had been stoned by such a large benefit looked at the sea trade piece anew with new eyes.
Subsequent petitions came to Gu Yuanbai's desk, flying snow-like folders all begging to ask when His Majesty the Emperor's next sea voyage would be.
Without a strong army and ships around to protect them, their caravans really didn't dare to go too far on the ocean.
Folk began to set off a wave after wave of seafaring fever, about overseas travel records overnight like a hundred flowers bloomed, not only travel records, but also more detailed biographies compiled by the seafarers themselves.
The more of these things there were, the more everyone could recognize. As the people from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Criminal Affairs transported the gold, silver, copper and goods from the hold to the national treasury, many people realized one fact - overseas was a treasure bowl.
They were dumbfounded, but Gu Yuanbai had no time for them.
Now it happened to be farming season, he summoned hundreds of farmers who were most knowledgeable in the ways of cultivation, and handed them three small bags of less than a hundred seeds, looking serious and repeating his instructions, promising glory and wealth to those who succeeded in planting.
Hundreds of farmers looked at each other, slowly opening their mouths wide. When they reacted, their eyes warmed up.
The farmers worked feverishly to figure it out, and Gu Yuanbai was immensely concerned about this matter; he remembered that all three crops were suitable for sowing in April, and among them, corn was a drought-resistant crop, so the likelihood of planting it successfully shouldn't be too low.
He also read about it at night, "Sweet potatoes are drought tolerant, just not as much as corn. Potatoes, on the other hand, use a lot of water, so I'll think about it and see what else I can come up with ......"
Xue Yuan didn't hold back from getting up and scratching the center of his foot, and Gu Yuanbai shivered and scolded with a laugh, "What are you doing!"
Xue Yuan slowly worked his way up from his calves, sniffing fascinatedly at the smell of His Holiness just after his bath, his mouth complaining, "Your Holiness, your mouth and heart are full of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn, and it's only a matter of a few days of reciting them, but what time is it today? Can you still look at me?"
Gu Yuanbai stretched his leg over his legs, "Press it for me. Xue Jiuyao, how old are you, born into the mold of a jealous man."
Xue Yuan pinched his leg, and at his words, his expression stiffened, and he tried to smile a gentle smile that was not so jealous of his husband, "Your Majesty, how could I be a jealous husband?"
His tall figure wrapped the comfortable Gu Yuanbai in his arms, kissing over his ears from time to time, "If I were a jealous husband, wouldn't I even be so jealous that you would be dying of envy if you had one more sentence of conversation with a bystander today?"
Gu Yuanbai calmly asked, "How many times have I laughed with the Hanlin Academy editors today?"
Xue Yuan's eyes sank, his finger bones pinched and cackled, "You laughed twice."
When he finished speaking, his entire body stiffened.
Gu Yuanbai mentally grunted, jealous husband.
Xue Yuan suddenly said, "I also saw it by chance, as soon as Your Holiness laughed my eyes couldn't help but stick to it, was it really twice?" He pretended to touch his chin, "Or three times?"
Gu Yuanbai matched him with a sudden realization, "It was I who misjudged Xue Qing. However, the editor who came to the front of the temple today is quite dignified in appearance, and has quite a bit of the demeanor of Jiu Yao when you were young."
Xue Yuan's smile paused, and after a long time, he licked Gu Yuanbai's ear bead and said lingeringly, "Your Holiness, I'm right here, it's enough for you to look at me, but what else do you want to look at the others who resembled me when I was young? Could it be that I'm still not better than what I was in the past?"
He held Gu Yuanbai in his arms, holding his hand and touching it to his neck, slowly going downward, "When I was young, ten of them couldn't beat one of me."
His chest was warm and muscular, resilient to the touch, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, solidly masculine.
Xue Yuan valued his body's physical strength and appearance, and he had always been proud of being able to serve his king with his color, and he did not let up even when he stood up. Daily drills were sweaty, beads of hot sweat would pool together along his sharp jaws, he liked to practice the push-ups that the saint taught him on his back, up and down he could do more than three hundred a day, Gu Yuanbai was turned upside down on his back, the tip of his nose was filled with the smell of sweat from Xue Yuan's body, and the clothes under his hips were all drenched in the sweat on Xue Yuan's back.
Gu Yuanbai was disgusted the first time he was pulled to sit on his back, but then without Xue Yuan's words, he went to be a regular daily personal aggravator.
Because of the sweaty Xue Yuan, mesmerized Gu Yuanbai occasionally fainted, his heart surging and sweating along with him.
Sometimes one would marvel in one's mind, what did this guy grow up eating? How can he be so fierce.
The long and stormy workout had made his tight and powerful arms and thighs harbor strength that could kill a person with a single punch, and heavy objects that were hard to shake for an onlooker were already not difficult for him, but ten couldn't beat him? Gu Yuanbai didn't really believe it, "Your skills when you were young were already scary."
Xue Yuan looked at Gu Yuanbai's serious demeanor, and surprisingly, a strong jealousy of his past self really rose in his heart, and his gloomy look revealed itself when Gu Yuanbai did not touch it, did His Holiness dislike him for being old?
But every time, it's the Holy Spirit who can't stand his physical strength, and that's still called old age?
Xue Yuan convicted the source on the body of today's Hanlin Academy editor, laughed coldly twice in his heart, and then collected himself, holding the hand of the saint and said seriously, "Your Majesty, you'd better go on to talk about sweet potatoes and potatoes."
Stop saying things that make jealous husbands burn with jealousy.
Gu Yuanbai: "......"
Oh, man.
Author's Note: Forum extras written later haha!