The girl traveled through another world and forced the prince to take the imperial examination

In the study.

Yun Qing was explaining the situation in the Great Qi Kingdom to Mu Qingcheng. Mu Qingcheng had just realized how hard life had been for the people of the Great Qi Kingdom! This was something Mu Qingcheng hadn't expected. However, the most pressing issue now was the hundreds of thousands of border guards stationed on the northern border. They had to find a way to gather food and fodder, and there was also the huge issue of keeping warm during the winter.

Mu Qingcheng was extremely depressed at this moment. She was a fake and inferior time traveler without any space or system. She wanted to do something, but what could she do?

"You said Nanyue is a land of grain, but Nanyue is already struggling to supply the entire Great Qi State. So which country is rich in grain?"

"Of course it's Southern Yan, but there's no way Southern Yan would sell us grain. During the reign of Emperor Yong'an, there was a year of famine, and the Emperor wanted to go to Southern Yan to buy grain. The King of Southern Yan made a huge demand, wanting Da Qi to give him three cities in exchange."

"What? Isn't this just taking advantage of someone's misfortune? How abhorrent! Did you change it later?"

Yun Qing shook his head and said, "Of course not. However, that year, Da Qi suffered a famine that killed over 200,000 people. Almost nine out of ten houses in the entire north were wiped out. It was that year that Da Qi was fundamentally damaged. It was not until Nanyue later submitted to Da Qi that it was able to rest and recuperate peacefully for so many years."

"Then we can exchange whatever Nanyan needs with him."

Yun Qing sighed and said, "The late emperor had thought about this a long time ago, but they only lack salt. The Great Qi Kingdom only eats sea salt, which is bitter and astringent and not as white and fine as the West Sea salt. Southern Yan doesn't like it."

"What? They're short of salt!"

Mu Qingcheng excitedly leaned over half of the desk and grabbed Yun Qing's hand.

"They're short of salt. Great! I can make white refined salt!"

Yun Qing was stunned for a long time and said in shock, "What did you say? Say it again."

"I said, I can make white refined salt."

Mu Qingcheng thought back to when she saw Madam Zhou boiling salt water at the Zhou Family Inn. That method was too crude, and she had wanted to improve it.

"The sea salt we eat is simply not purified. I'll prepare the tools tomorrow and show you how to purify it. It's very simple."

Yun Qing was a little dumbfounded, not knowing what to say for a long time. How could she resolve this matter with just a few words? She really was a fairy.

Mu Qingcheng wrote and drew on the paper: "Exchanging salt for food is only a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution. We have to find a way to solve the food problem from the root."

Yunqing was like a primary school student, listening carefully and answering questions actively.

Mu Qingcheng asked: "Does the Great Qi Kingdom have any products that can replace grain?"

For the first time, Yun Qing felt that his brain was not enough, and he could not keep up with Mu Qingcheng's pace.

"what you mean?"

Mu Qingcheng wrote a list on a piece of paper: "For example, sweet potatoes, potatoes, white radishes, red radishes, pumpkins, and what else? Let me think..."

Yun Qing was completely confused. Apart from white radish, he had never heard of anything else.

She slapped her forehead and said, "Oh, and there's corn. I've never seen anyone selling corn here. Don't you have corn here?"

Yun Qing frowned and thought about it carefully. Whether it was from books or heard, he had no idea what it was. He could only ask, "What kind of rice is corn?"

Mu Qingcheng became excited again: "Really?"

Yun Qing asked cautiously, "Tell me what corn looks like."

Mu Qingcheng said, "Corn is very large. When you peel off the husk, you'll find golden kernels inside. You can cook it directly and it's fragrant and sweet. You can also grind it into powder and make porridge or steamed buns. It's much more delicious than your bran buns. It's also cold-resistant and drought-resistant, and it has a high yield. Have you really never seen corn here?"

It’s a pity that Yun Qing can’t see, otherwise she would draw it for him directly.

"I can draw you a picture of corn, but unfortunately you can't see it. But in the future, you can ask your subordinates to take the picture and look for it. The yield is really high."

Yun Qing excitedly grabbed Mu Qingcheng's hand and asked anxiously, "Nuannuan, where have you seen this kind of product?"

Mu Qingcheng carefully recalled the history she had learned, but unfortunately, the history she had learned was completely useless here.

"Does our Great Qi State have merchant ships that go out to sea for trade?"

Yun Qing thought for a moment and said, "There are merchant ships sailing out to sea in the Fuzhou area. The corn you're talking about can't be a foreign product, right?"

"Yes! Corn is indeed a product of foreign countries." She couldn't remember which country it was from, but she only remembered that the book said it was introduced to the south during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty.

Mu Qingcheng said, "Send people to keep an eye on these merchant ships going out to sea, especially those heading southeast."

"Okay! Okay! I'll send someone to find some corn right away."

Suddenly, Yun Qing felt a little embarrassed. Who should he send? It was really a pity that there were not enough people when they were needed!

Mu Qingcheng said, "Don't worry. Even if we find it now, we can't plant it in the fields. We can't eat hot tofu if we are impatient. Why not go for a walk together in the spring? Maybe we can find some unexpected harvests!"

Yun Qing also felt a little yearning: "Okay! Let's go together next spring."

"Well, now we just need to keep warm. How do you keep warm in the North?"

"The traditional way of heating in the north is to burn a kang. Unfortunately, the soldiers at the border don't have any kangs, so they're lucky to be able to burn firewood to keep warm."

"If the firewood doesn't burn well, it often requires one person to constantly watch over the fire. Once the fire goes out, everyone in the tent will be gone."

Mu Qingcheng pondered, "Firewood doesn't burn well, and charcoal is too expensive. There's another fuel, coal. I wonder if there's a coal mine here."

Firewood is easy to find, but making it into charcoal is a bit troublesome. Moreover, cutting down trees in large quantities will damage the environment.

Besides, the entire Daxi Village doesn't even have firewood now, so what will they do in winter? They don't lack bamboo here, Yun Qing won't let Mo Yu cut bamboo!

Why don't we ask around here? Coal would solve everything. Aren't there many mines in this area? Maybe there's coal there!

"Yun Qing, have you ever seen a black stone, a very, very black stone?"

Yun Qing said, "Are you talking about graphite, gray stone, or black gold stone?"

"Uh!" How could she say, "That is, have you ever heard of coal, this kind of thing?"