The empress is wild and cool, and I'll help her secure her throne

The corners of the empress's mouth also moved slightly.

Qian Jianan’s request is really too harsh!

Isn't this obviously an attempt to kill Kong Zhongzhi and Ye Qianxuan!

So, she immediately said, "There are still six days until the 39th day of the lunar calendar. This is not enough to solve the food shortage problem!"

"I think it would be great if it could be resolved before winter!"

Kong Zhongzhi nodded and said quickly, "Your Majesty is wise!"

The Minister of Revenue was so angry that his nose was about to be crooked!

But since the empress said so, he didn't know how to proceed!

Ye Qianxuan, however, scratched his head, prostrated himself, and said, "I think the Minister of Revenue is right. If we can't solve the food shortage problem before the 39th day of the lunar month, I wonder how many people in the capital will starve to death this winter!"

"Before the 39th day of the lunar month! I promise to solve the winter food problem!"

hiss……

This time, everyone was shocked!

Kong Zhongzhi looked at Ye Qianxuan with sweat on his forehead - Brother, don't involve me in your bragging!

If you don’t do it well, you will be held accountable!

Solving the food shortage problem in six days? What you said is totally unreliable!

After being shocked, the Left Prime Minister could not help but sneer - he was young and frivolous, and only saw the world from a narrow perspective. He was indeed just a lowly person!

After Qian Jianan recovered from his shock, he felt excited.

I'm ready to let you go!

You actually took the initiative to bump into the knife!

Extremely stupid!

Then I will grant your wish!

Qian Jianan immediately said, "Alright! Before the 39th day of the lunar month! If you can't solve the winter grain problem before the 39th day of the lunar month, you and Minister Kong will both be guilty of deceiving the emperor and should be executed immediately!"

The Empress also frowned, thinking that Ye Qianxuan's remarks were too arrogant, and said lightly: "Ye Qianxuan, there is no joking in front of the king, have you thought it through?"

Ye Qianxuan bowed and said, "Just before the 39th day of the lunar month, if you can't do it, I am willing to accept the punishment!"

"If you do, please, Minister Qian, keep your word and let me scold him for the whole day!"

"Oh! If you can solve it before the 39th day of the lunar month! I will let you stand at the door of the Minister of Revenue's mansion. I will move a chair for you and listen attentively to you scolding me!" Qian Jianan also swore a poisonous oath!

Seeing this, the Empress had no choice but to nod: "Okay! Then before the 39th day of the lunar month!"

"My dear ministers, please step back!"

Everyone bowed down and then left.

When the Left Prime Minister passed by Kong Zhongzhi and Ye Qianxuan, he didn't even look at them.

The level of the two of them is not enough to catch the eye of the Left Prime Minister!

When Qian Jianan passed by the two of them, he sneered contemptuously, and his eyes seemed as if he was looking at a dead person!

Kong Zhongzhi directly took Ye Qianxuan to Kuaiji Village!

After taking a sip of the calming tea, Kong Zhongzhi said angrily, "Friend Ye! You've really put me in such a bad situation this time! How can you solve the food shortage problem in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty before the third day of the ninth lunar month?!"

"Even if we go to Southern Wu to buy food, it will take at least three days to transport it back to the capital!"

"What are you going to do?"

Ye Qianxuan bowed and said, "Dean Kong, do you still remember the sweet potatoes we tasted that day?"

"Yes, I remember." Kong Zhongzhi looked puzzled.

Kong Zhongzhi always believed that sweet potatoes were high-end food and did not associate them with solving the famine problem.

"Sweet potato is a very adaptable crop. It can grow in poor soil and arid environments. It has very low requirements for water and fertilizer and can maintain a certain yield even in winter."

"In addition, the sweet potato has a relatively short growth period and a fast planting cycle. If it is promoted on a large scale, the food shortage problem in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty can be completely solved!"

"Coincidentally, I already have quite a few sweet potato vines here, so I can promote them on a small scale first."

After Ye Qianxuan finished speaking, Kong Zhongzhi was a little shocked!

It turns out that this young friend Ye already had a trump card to solve the problem!

No wonder he was so wild in the imperial study!

However, he still looked worried: "No matter how short the sweet potato growth cycle is, or how fast the planting cycle is, can it be harvested on a large scale within six days?"

Kong Zhongzhi had never heard of crops that could be harvested in six days.

Sure enough, Ye Qianxuan shook his head: "No."

“But there’s a bottom line.”

"With these sweet potatoes, the food shortage problem of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty will be completely solved. At least the empress won't really chop off our heads."

Kong Zhongzhi thought about it and felt that it made sense, which somewhat relieved him a little.

This young friend Ye is indeed a genius!

He took the initiative to stand up and pour Ye Qianxuan a cup of tea. This time, his tone was asking for advice:

"The Empress won't chop us off, but if we can't find winter food before the 39th day of the 9th month, the Minister of Revenue won't let us go!"

"Yes. So if we want to quickly solve the problem of food shortage in Dongzhou, we still need money." Ye Qianxuan shrugged and said:

"The coal mines at Heizang Mountain have already grown to a considerable size! The Ministry of Industry should have made a lot of money from the large-scale sales of honeycomb coal."

"I invented honeycomb coal. Dean Kong, you have a close relationship with Tao Yuanzheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. I think borrowing some money shouldn't be a problem!"

"That's not tens of millions of taels!" Kong Zhongzhi said with a sigh.

Ye Qianxuan nodded: "So, we still need the help of Donghuangtai Shopkeeper Song!"

"My idea is to sell sweet potatoes, a famine-resistant crop, to Beiliang and Nanwu at a high price through Donghuangtai!"

"Beiliang has always relied on livestock meat for food and lacks raw vegetables. This thing will definitely sell for a good price!"

"Although Southern Wu is not short of food, roasted sweet potatoes are extremely delicious and will definitely be favored by the Southern Wu nobles!"

Kong Zhongzhi frowned: "That's a good idea! But wouldn't it be considered collaborating with the enemy?"

"No." Ye Qianxuan shook his head. "Sweet potatoes can be grown with sweet potato vines. Even if we don't sell them, once they are widely promoted in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, people from Southern Wu and Northern Liang will definitely bring them back to their own countries to plant them. We can't prevent them from doing so!"

"Why not take advantage of this opportunity to sell it to them at a high price under the guise of 'delicacies' and rip them off!"

When sweet potatoes were first introduced to China, it was a Mr. Chen who brought the sweet potatoes back to China by weaving sweet potato vines into cables, thus avoiding the inspection of the colonists.

Therefore, this kind of thing is hard to guard against, so it is better to take advantage of the information gap and make a profit.

After hearing this, Kong Zhongzhi could not help but nodded, with half a hope rising in his heart. Then he leaned forward and asked respectfully:

"But, my dear friend Ye, even if we sell these sweet potato vines to the two countries, I'm afraid we won't be able to exchange them for enough food for the entire capital of Dongzhou to survive the winter, right?"

He was already looking forward to how Ye Qianxuan would answer.

"Yes, so I will also try to promote a women's clothing line and sell it to the whole world through Shopkeeper Song." Ye Qianxuan said solemnly: "If the sales are successful, plus the money from the first two payments, the problem of food shortage in the Dongzhou winter will be solved!"

"I'll take care of the loan from the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works," Kong Zhongzhi said softly, "But are you sure you can market this women's clothing? Are you sure you can convince Shopkeeper Song to help you with the business?"

"Sure! You can make an appointment with Shopkeeper Song tonight at the Jiaofangsi!" Ye Qianxuan said meaningfully, "While it's still early, I have to rush back to try on women's clothing!"

Then, Ye Qianxuan stood up and left!

Kong Zhongzhi also quickly got up and sent Ye Qianxuan to the village entrance. He looked at Ye Qianxuan's back and was stunned for a long time!

There was shock in my heart and admiration in my eyes that I couldn't suppress!

This is a great talent!

Unparalleled talent!

After a long while, Kong Zhongzhi murmured and sighed:

"Friend Ye, this position of Minister of Rites really should be held by you!"