Chapter 692 0687 [Qin Hui Loves to Grow Vegetables]

After much selection, Hu Yin chose Jiangling Prefecture.

First, the cultural heritage there is not strong, and it really needs famous teachers to teach;

Second, there is some foundation there, and the quality of students is not too bad;

Third, it is a thoroughfare for several provinces, which is conducive to the spread of physics.

It is really surprising that he did not work as a Beijing official and went to a local place to be a principal.

"The Hu family is really good at calculating," Qin Hui said with emotion, "Hu Yin was originally just a small official. He petitioned to be transferred to a prefecture as a professor. He can please the emperor and the prince without being suspected of flattery, and even get unanimous praise from the court and the public!"

Qin Zi, his half-brother, happened to return to Beijing to report on his work during this period. At this moment, he was also amazed: "If it was in peacetime, it would take at least seven or eight years to be promoted three levels in a row. Although the official position has been reduced, it is worthwhile to increase the official rank."

Qin Hui said: "We still have to figure out the emperor's intentions."

"Sanlang, how are you studying agriculture?" Qin Zi asked.

Qin Hui said with emotion: "My foolish brother is diligent in his official duties and often helps his colleagues with their work. Although he has time to learn farming, where can he find the time? He just learns to grow vegetables."

Qin Zi said proudly: "I have mastered most of mathematics and physics."

Qin Hui nodded and said: "Mathematics is really handy for official duties related to accounting. I have also read some physics, inertia, friction, gravity, levers, refraction... I still have some understanding of this kind of knowledge. It's a pity that I can't find any opportunity to show it in front of the emperor and the prince."

"I heard that Sanlang had a dispute with Prime Minister Zhai last year," Qin Zi said worriedly, "This time, the Duke of Gan retired and returned to his hometown, and Prime Minister Zhai took the opportunity to become the prime minister."

Qin Hui sighed: "Why am I not worried?"

In order to please the emperor and the prince, Qin Hui almost publicly stabbed his own teacher and mentor Zhai Ruwen.

Although it did not cause any bad consequences, it caused Qin Hui's reputation to be ruined. He could only use various means to try to make friends with his superiors, colleagues and subordinates, and slowly reverse his unfavorable image through his strong ability to do things and popularity.

Who knew that in just one year, Zhai Ruwen would become prime minister!

And he did not get promoted even though he flattered the emperor.

A typical case of losing more than one chicken.

Qin Zi asked: "Didn't Sanlang go to ease the relationship?"

Qin Hui sighed: "Alas, I have come to ask for an audience more than a dozen times, but Prime Minister Zhai is unwilling to see me again."

"I have to think of another way." Qin Zi said.

Qin Hui shook his head: "Instead of asking for help, it is better to rely on your own efforts. The current emperor and the prince like ministers who can get things done, and are very wary of wealthy and powerful families."

"It just so happens that I come from a small family. Before I became an official, I was so poor that I could only make a living as a village teacher. I am also very capable, far superior to many ministers in the court. Last year, I drew a clear line with certain factions. In the future, I will be a lone minister, a straight minister, and a capable minister. Sooner or later, I will be favored by the emperor."

"Don't forget that I am the same age as the current prince!"

"I am still very young, why should I be in a hurry? When the prince ascends the throne, he will reorganize the cabinet. By that time, I will at least be a minister, and it is not a luxury to wait a few more years to enter the cabinet."

Qin Hui is indeed qualified to be a capable minister, and it is nonsense for him to be a lone minister and a straight minister.

This guy has started to form a small group now.

After listening to his brother's idea of ​​promotion, Qin Zi exclaimed: "Sanlang has long-term plans, and he will surely make a name for himself one day."

Some local chronicles and local collections record that Qin Zi and Qin Hui were at odds. Because he hated Qin Hui's selling out his country for glory, he took the initiative to resign and move to live in seclusion until his death.

This is pure nonsense!

The two local historical materials were written in the middle and late Qing Dynasty and had never been seen in writing before. During the Qianlong period, one of Qin Zi's descendants happened to pass the imperial examination and became the top scholar.

How can the top scholar get by without whitewashing his ancestors?

The real Qin Zi never resigned and lived in seclusion.

After his brother Qin Hui became prime minister, Qin Zi was promoted for several consecutive years. When he died of illness, he was already a scholar of Duanming Palace (he was impeached and dismissed during this period).

In this time and space, Qin Hui secretly wrote a letter to his brother, and Qin Zi abandoned his official position in the small court in the southeast, and went north to join the new Ming Dynasty after "thousands of difficulties and dangers".

Qin Zi also made up a story, saying that he was almost caught by Tong Guan, and he spent all his family wealth to bribe Tong Guan's followers to escape.

At that time, public opinion was hyped up, and everyone praised Qin Zi for his righteousness.

Even Zhu Ming heard about it, and he did not interfere with the normal operation of the Ministry of Personnel.

Qin Bin, Qin Zi, Qin Hui, Qin Di, Zhu Ming really wanted to see what tricks these four brothers could come up with.

Qin Hui whispered: "The prince asked me to clean up the land in Xichengso, and I secretly kept a piece of land at that time. And I bought it with money, without secretly embezzling or favoritism. This piece of land is adjacent to the experimental field of the Agricultural Persuasion Department. On holidays, if the government goes to the Agricultural Persuasion Department, there must be a family slave riding a horse to report. I personally went to the fields to plant the land, and I have been seen by the government several times."

"Wonderful!" Qin Zi clapped his hands and praised.

Is Qin Hui a born bad seed?

Of course not.

Before he was captured by the Jin Kingdom, he was a staunch advocate of war, and he was tougher than most officials.

However, never overestimate Qin Hui's integrity.

Qin Zi was born in a humble family, and he was able to curry favor with the eunuch Liang Shicheng the year he passed the imperial examination. Who gave him such a big face?

To put it more bluntly, Liang Shicheng was so popular at that time that the new imperial scholars had to wait in line to flatter him.

Moreover, Liang Shicheng was almost dying of illness at that time, so how could he be interested in promoting the new imperial scholars?

In this case, Qin Zi not only clung to him, but also made it known to everyone. (Historically, when Qin Zi was impeached and attached to Liang Shicheng, he was at the peak of Qin Hui's power. The impeachment was actually successful. As prime minister, Qin Hui didn't even protect his brother because he was caught because he couldn't argue.)

Qin Zi could only connect with Liang Shicheng through Qin Hui's relationship. And it was impossible for Qin Hui to leave a stain on himself, so Qin Zi should have left because of his connections with the Wang family.

In order to climb up the ladder, the elder brother came out to cling to the Six Thieves, but the younger brother made friends with Zhongliang and opposed the Six Thieves.

Perhaps Qin Hui had also thought about getting promoted purely based on ability and political performance.

But the corrupt politics of the Huizong Dynasty made it impossible to achieve this. He was a genuine Jinshi, the grandson-in-law of a former prime minister, and his own abilities were extremely outstanding. However, he first worked as a principal in Shandong for six years, returned to Beijing and took the first place in the macro-ci subject, and still could only become Tai Xuezheng.

After ten years of wasting time, what would Qin Hui think?

When Jin soldiers besieged the city, if he didn't take the initiative to fight against Jin, he wouldn't even be able to stand out.

Qin Hui's bottom line as a person continued to wear away when he was in decline in officialdom. It has been worn lower and lower in the past ten years. When he helped his brother to get Liang Shicheng, he was already in his ninth year of passing the Jinshi examination.

Just when the two brothers were discussing how to get promoted, a house slave rushed in, and there was no obstruction from the gate to the inner house.

The domestic slave came over and whispered: "Ms. sir, Your Majesty took the concubine, the prince, the princess, and the prince took the crown prince, his wife and their children, and they left the city two-quarters of an hour ago to go to the Agriculture Department!"

Qin Hui pursed his lips and smiled, and said to Qin Zi, "Brother, I'd like to excuse you, but I have to go out of the city to farm."

"Brother, I also want to learn farming." Qin Zi said.

"Let's go there together." Qin Hui was very generous.

The two brothers trotted all the way on their bad horses, and in a blink of an eye they were out of the city and in the western suburbs.

There is a farmyard built by Qin Hui here, and there are ten acres of land not far from the Agriculture Department. They all bought it with money and in compliance with the law.

They put on their working clothes and went to the fields with their hoes on their shoulders.

There was a tenant who was weeding vegetables, and Qin Hui immediately took his brother to join him, and he was very good at using a hoe.

The two of them were weeding while waiting for the emperor and the prince to return to the city. There was a certain chance of seeing them when they passed by.

…

Advise the Agriculture Department to test the fields.

The Queen, the concubine, the Crown Princess, and the Crown Prince's wife were leading a group of little ones on an outing.

Zhu Guoxiang squatted at the edge of the experimental field and pointed to the melon seedlings being transplanted: "The Uyghur King of Gaochang sent someone to Beijing, together with the Sogdian scholars and the Black Khanate books. I asked people to plant it a few days ago, and now it has arrived. When transplanting.”

Although Ju Ming spent his childhood in the countryside, he was a big fan of crops. He stared at the melon seedlings for a long time: "Today is a holiday, and you brought me out just to see this thing?"

"Guess what?" Zhu Guoxiang laughed.

"Cucumber?" Zhu Ming said confusedly, "Cucumber should have been introduced to China a long time ago."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Watermelon!"

Ju Ming asked: "How do you know there are watermelons in Gaochang?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Ma Kuo made many missions to Liao and Jin, focusing on inquiring about the courts and armies of the two countries. I described to him the appearance of watermelons, and he said that watermelons were military supplies in Liao and Jin."

"Military supplies?" Ju Ming failed to connect the watermelon with the war.

Zhu Guoxiang explained: "The watermelon at this time is not sweet and has a bitter taste. When marching on the prairie, you may not be able to find a water source, so you bring watermelon with you for emergency water replenishment. In the Liao and Jin Dynasties, they specially planted it near the stables. Watermelon and horse manure are natural nutrients for watermelon.”

Ju Ming immediately paid attention: "In the future, we should bring watermelons for logistics when we fight on the grasslands and the Western Regions."

"Watermelon was brought to Xinjiang from West Asia as a water source by merchants, and it was also regarded as a water source when it was introduced to Liao and Jin Dynasties," Zhu Guoxiang said. "When Ma Kuo used Gaochang as an envoy to go to the grassland, I asked him to order the king of Gaochang to send it to Xinjiang. Come to Seed. After waiting for more than a year, I finally saw it.”

Ju Ming asked: "Can you cultivate sweet watermelons?"

Zhu Guoxiang muttered: "It all depends on luck. Sweet watermelons are genetic mutations, and breeders have no control over them. They can only look for less bitter watermelons, or watermelons with a slightly sweet taste, and breed them from generation to generation."

Ju Ming squatted on the edge of the field, happily looking at the watermelon seedlings.

It doesn't matter whether it's sweet or not, as long as it can be used as military supplies. Especially in the Gobi and deserts, this thing is very convenient for marching and preventing temporary short-term water shortage.

The Liao and Jin countries were not fools. They hid the watermelon secretly and it must have great military value.

The father and son chatted for a while, then went to accompany their wives, concubines and children for an outing to enjoy the scenery.

In the middle of the afternoon, under the protection of the guards, they began to ride the carriage back to the palace.

Zhu Guoxiang said with a smile: "Believe it or not, you may see Qin Hui doing farm work on the way back."

"Do you often encounter this?" Zhu Ming asked.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "It's not possible to see him every time. That would be too deliberate. If I come to the Agriculture Secretary three or four times to persuade him, I can probably see Qin Hui once."

Zhu Mingle said: "If you are deliberately trying to please the emperor, you have to cheer him up. This time I will go and talk to him."