No matter if you are a human or an immortal, you can still farm for me after traveling through time!

The outbreak of war will always have an impact on people's lives, especially in the northern region close to the battlefield.

Ji Qingyue discovered that since the conflict broke out between the two countries, the people of Chang'an themselves were not affected much and continued to live a happy life. On the contrary, the number of caravans coming to Chang'an seemed to have decreased a lot, and the popularity of Jinguan Gate and Kaiyuan Gate, where carriages and horses usually passed through, had decreased, which should be a direct impact of the conflict.

After returning home from duty, Li Sanlang reported, "For some unknown reason, the Uighurs have bucked their usual behavior and, despite the enormous risks involved, are entering Dali through the weakly walled desert wasteland. They're ambushing Western Hu merchants and tribute-paying convoys from various Western countries as they make their way through the desert, seizing their goods and tribute."

Until now, Ji Qingyue still cannot adapt to the panic brought by the war every once in a while, so he has not been able to rest well in the past few days.

This conflict once again made Ji Qingyue truly feel the passion of the people of Dali who were happy to hear about war. They seemed not to be afraid of or opposed to fighting with foreign enemies. Even the toothless old men and babbling children on the street clapped their hands in joy when they heard the news of the war between Dali and Huihe. The old men wished they could be twenty years younger, and the children wished they could grow up overnight so that they could go into battle and kill the enemy.

They are not afraid of temporary defeat, but oppose retreating without fighting.

The people kept rejoicing in their hearts that their official was not a coward who was afraid of fighting.

Ji Qingyue couldn't help but feel ashamed when he heard people's thoughts like this. Could this be the legendary "the biggest hawks in the country are ordinary people"?

——It’s okay if you lose a battle, you can fight again next time.

What? Surrendering without even fighting?! We paid all that tax for nothing?! We used it to pay reparations instead of recruiting soldiers?!

These are the true voices that Ji Qingyue heard from the common people. It can only be said that the people of Dali are so strong.

The emperor hated it most when someone was plotting to attack the trade route, so he ordered Longxi and Beiting to send troops immediately to cooperate in strangling the Uighur cavalry.

It's simply too arrogant.

……

In the imperial city of Chang'an, after the morning court session ended, many ministers gathered in the imperial study as ordered. Needless to say, the left and right ministers were present, Luo Shizhong and several Hanlin scholars were also present, as well as officials from the Chief of Works and several other departments.

As soon as the supervisor arrived, the officials present more or less guessed what His Majesty was thinking.

Everyone waited for a while, and the official strode into the study. He waved his hand nonchalantly to stop the people in the study from bowing, and asked them to take their seats.

The morning court session had just ended, and the emperor had not yet changed into his court robes. He sat down as soon as he entered the study. The chief steward Zhang Yi immediately asked the palace maids to serve tea.

The tea was purple bamboo tea, a tribute that had just been delivered this year. After taking his seat, the official blew gently on the hot tea while looking up at Luo Shizhong. He stated the main point directly, "I believe you elders have already guessed why I summoned you."

Luo Shizhong bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this is for the Grand Princess Gu'an."

The emperor nodded and said, "The Grand Princess is my aunt. She willingly married into Tuyuhun to stabilize Dali. She has been gone for nearly fifty years. Now it is time for her to return home."

"The Grand Princess of Gu'an is virtuous and kind, and she has returned home with great honors."

"My Lords, especially Lord Luo, you and the Grand Princess have been childhood sweethearts. I would like to ask you to personally go to Ganzhou and welcome the Grand Princess back to the capital on my behalf."

As the king of a country, he certainly could not leave Chang'an easily, but he wanted people to know that he attached great importance to this matter, so he handed it over to a minister of high moral character to complete it on his behalf.

Luo Shizhong understood the official's intention in an instant. Although he was over 60 years old, he was still very strong and it was not difficult for him to provide support halfway.

Several cabinet ministers expressed their willingness to take on the task.

Afterwards, the emperor instructed the officials from the Ministry of Rites to work with the elders to finalize the ceremonial arrangements. The ceremony had to be thorough and the scene had to be grand and solemn, and the Grand Princess must not be neglected.

"Is the official from the Ministry of Works present?" the emperor called out his name. Several officials sitting far below immediately stood up and saluted. "Have the arrangements for the renovation of the Grand Princess's Mansion been finalized?"

The Imperial Household Department was an official office specifically responsible for the repair of palaces and the production of jewelry for members of the imperial family.

After receiving a positive response from the Chief of Works, the Emperor said, "Zhang Yi, allocate 500 kilograms of gold and 100,000 taels of silver from my inner treasury to be used for the renovation of the Grand Princess's mansion."

"Yes."

"Also, select a batch of rare treasures from the inner storehouse and send them to the Grand Princess's residence."

The Grand Princess Gu'an Mansion has been vacant for nearly fifty years. Although someone takes care of it on weekdays, it has not been renovated or repaired for a long time and is no different from being abandoned.

After dealing with the matter of Princess Gu'an, the supervising officials bowed and left, leaving only a few cabinet ministers and the left and right ministers.

Now, the real business is here: "Military reports have arrived from Longxi: a severe drought in the grasslands has caused internal conflict among the Uighurs, and there seem to be signs of a split. Do you think now is the time to attack?"

The two servants who had just looked relaxed immediately sat up straight. The right servant Zuo Fu said, "I think it's time to take it slow."

"Oh? What does the Right Servant think?"

"Your Majesty, the implementation of the new tax system has already yielded positive results, with taxes and grain collected smoothly throughout Jiangnan. The national and military treasuries are now overflowing. Furthermore, cotton cultivation in Shandan has been steadily expanding. For three years, County Magistrate Hong has exercised full control over the cotton industry, preventing wealthy landlords from monopolizing the seeds and distributing them to the people. General Yang and County Magistrate Hong have collaborated to purchase cotton, transforming it into clothing and distributing it to the soldiers." Zuo Fu had a precise grasp of the situation in the northwest, and his words were naturally insightful. "Although the military reform has only been in place for a year, the carefully selected soldiers are more courageous and skilled than ever before. County Magistrate Hong's four-year term has expired, and Your Majesty's wish to transfer him to Ganzhou suggests he's been sharpening his sword for a while, ready for action."

"Hahahahaha—" The emperor laughed out loud after hearing this: "You're right. I've been planning for years, all for this moment!"

Zuo Pushe Lu Shu also laughed and said, "We just need to add more fuel to the fire of the Uighurs and intensify the conflict between the tribes. Then we can benefit from the conflict between the snipe and the clam."

The official raised his eyebrows, his eyes full of surprise: "What is your strategy?"

Lu Shu brought up the horse-stealing incident from last year: "Your Majesty, do you still remember when General Yang's young generals stole two thousand horses from the Uighurs?"

The official nodded.

He remembered that Yang Huang indeed had such a brave and resourceful soldier under his command. With only three subordinates, he dared to go deep into the grassland and lurk in the Uighur camp. Not only did he deceive the Uighur King Hunxie, but he also stole two thousand horses under his nose!

"Your Majesty, this young general is now a thorn in the side of the Uighurs and a source of hatred. Mogesaqi has even offered a bounty to the entire grasslands, seeking a brave warrior to chop off his head."

Mogesaqi was the reigning Khan of the Uighurs, and this young general was Li Changxiang, the second son of the Li family.

"The hatred of having my horse stolen and my camp burned is bearable, but the humiliation of being teased is unbearable. King Hunxie, son of Mogesaqi, has even sworn an oath to the Eternal Heaven to personally capture me." Lu Shu said with a smile, "Why not let me take action and continue to muddy the waters of the Uighurs and further confuse the situation?"

……

After discussing the situation in the northwest, the emperor and several trusted ministers continued to discuss other political affairs.

What makes the government happy is that the policy of encouraging innovation and invention that has been implemented for a long time has finally borne some small results: blast furnace ironmaking technology, blower improvement, ironmaking raw material ratio, etc., only the first three improvements or inventions have greatly increased ironmaking output, and the impact is very significant.

Perhaps in the near future, the government will be able to relax restrictions on steel products and allow people to use more iron products.

"Speaking of which, Shandan is truly a place of great feng shui where talented people abound. Not only did they improve the blower, but they also grew cotton. Several of these achievements came from the northwest. Great! Very good!!" The official was so happy that he said several good things in a row, and asked the chief steward to remind him to reward these inventors and improvers.

At this time, Lu Shu asked for instructions: "This year marks Your Majesty's fortieth birthday. In previous years, a small family banquet was held in the palace. I suggest that this year we should hold a grand banquet to show the emperor's power!"

Luo Shizhong and the other elders echoed Lu Shu's proposal, saying, "Your Majesty has been on the throne for seven years, working tirelessly to govern the country, yet has never held a large-scale celebration. It is a blessing for the people of Dali that a monarch of this generation is so frugal."

"Yes, Your Majesty, this year's Qianqiu Festival will be held in a grand manner, and the people of the country will pray for Your Majesty!"

Faced with the requests of the ministers, the emperor had no choice but to agree.

Every emperor’s birthday was different, and the name of the birthday was also different. For example, Aong’s birthday was called Shouchang Festival, and Qianqiu Festival was his birthday.

The birthday is in October so there is still time for the Ministry of Rites to plan slowly.

The discussion was almost over, and several ministers stood up to bow and take their leave. Unexpectedly, the emperor called Luo Shizhong and asked him out of the blue, "Lord Luo, before Princess Gu'an got married, she loved plum blossoms and pearls the most?"

Luo Shizhong paused, turned around with a puzzled look on his face and said, "Yes."

The emperor then explained, "When I was little, I followed my father-in-law on his campaigns, spending very little time with my aunt. I'm naturally worried that I might misremember her preferences and that she might be upset when she returns. That's why I casually asked, 'Lord Luo, please go back.'"

Even though Luo Shizhong had doubts in his heart, he could not raise them. He had to leave the study with doubts in his heart. He planned to meet with other ministers after returning and bring up the issue and discuss it with them. He always felt that His Majesty was reminding him of something.

"Zhang Yi."

"The servant is here."

"Send all the pearls in the storehouse to the Grand Princess Gu'an's residence. Also... I remember that my aunt loved the royal pink plum the most and ordered the gardener to plant it full of royal pink plums when she was building the garden."

"Yes."

……

The eventful month of June was already halfway over, and the conflict between Dali and Huihe ended quietly and quickly without anyone noticing, with a feeling of much ado about nothing.

Ji Qingyue was still grateful that he did not trigger a full-scale war. Everything went on as usual in Chang'an. Apart from running a shop and farming, he also packed cherry trees.

Didn’t the child say he wanted a cherry tree?

He thought about it and realized that if he only gave a sapling, it would take several years before he could eat cherries. Now there was a cherry forest in the painting, so how about giving a mature cherry tree?

In addition to the increased mutation rate, the plants cultivated in the magical land also have improved "physique", so Ji Qingyue is not worried about whether the trees can survive after transplanting. Giving a cherry tree full of fruits as a birthday gift will definitely make the children very happy.

After confirming that this idea was feasible, Ji Qingyue returned to the painting and personally selected a large tree from the orchard that was neither too big nor too small and was covered with bead-like fruits. Then he tied a big bow on the trunk with a piece of red satin and dug down along the roots with a shovel, trying to dig up as much soil as possible on the roots without damaging the main root system.

If it is too heavy, it will be difficult to carry.

After digging up the soil almost completely, wrap the roots with a wet cloth, and then find a large piece of burlap to wrap the branches and leaves to avoid damaging the fruit during transportation.

Finally, the cherry trees were carried up the mountain by two mules in parallel.

After taking the cherry tree out of the painting, Ji Qingyue spent a long time before transplanting the fruit tree into a huge flowerpot.

During the transportation process, it is inevitable that there will be bumps and collisions, so many leaves and fruits will fall off. They are planted in flower pots to allow the fruits to adapt to the environment outside the painting. They must recover before the child’s birthday.

A wilted tree is not a good birthday gift.

Unexpectedly, after Li Sanlang got off duty, he brought news of another grand birthday party.

"What? The whole country is on holiday for three days for the Emperor's birthday?!"

"Yes, this year's Qianqiu Festival is your Majesty's fortieth birthday, and we have decided to celebrate it with the whole country. Officials will present gifts to your Majesty, and you will reciprocate. There will be singing, dancing, and banquets."

"Do you want to make a gift too?"

Li Sanlang smiled and said, "A lowly official like me doesn't need it, but the higher-ups are worried about what gift to give."

Ji Qingyue had only been in society for a short time and didn't know much about workplace etiquette. He immediately became curious: "Are there any taboos about gift-giving?"

"Everyone naturally wants to send a gift to His Majesty, but His Majesty has not held a palace banquet for a long time, and many adults can't guess what to send." Ever since they knew that the emperor was going to celebrate the festival, the ministers have been secretly discussing what to send that would not violate taboos and would please the emperor. After all, giving gifts is also a science, and it might help one's career.

Li Sanlang suddenly remembered some recent news: "Brother Ji, I heard... His Majesty seems to like painting. For a while, he was almost abnormally looking for paintings. He even asked for paintings from the Zuo Pushe, who has the largest collection of scrolls. Some officials then wanted to try to continue sending paintings."

"Looking for a painting?" Ji Qingyue was puzzled. Could it be that the emperor also received some omen like Miss Lu?

Although Miss Lu had only a very vague dream, it made her be on guard in advance. So did the emperor also know that he was about to be in danger and was on guard?

If this is true, it would be a good thing for Ji Qingyue and the others.

He believed that with the emperor's ability, there would be no problem in protecting himself.

Regardless of whether the painting the emperor was looking for was his, Ji Qingyue himself absolutely did not want to and was unwilling to expose it to the public. He had to be more careful next time so as not to arouse suspicion from outsiders.

The only outsider who knew his identity was Miss Lu, which was an unpredictable variable. If Miss Lu revealed the scroll to his father or others...

After knowing that the emperor might be looking for him, Ji Qingyue felt a sudden surge of pressure and became very worried...