Chapter 98

Always paying attention to Xu Dingchen, Wei Tonghe immediately noticed his abnormality.

"Lord Xu, from your appearance, could it be that this letter contains some good news?"

Xu Dingchen took a deep breath. Even with his years of experience in the political arena, he couldn't help but show his joy. He smiled and handed the letter to Wei Tonghe, saying, "Thanks to your auspicious words, Lord Wei, there is indeed some good news!"

Seeing Xu Dingchen hand over the letter, Wei Tonghe did not take it. Having played political games in the palace for over twenty years, how could he not know that this was just Xu Dingchen's courtesy? When someone shows you their private letter, it's out of respect for you, but if you boldly accept it, it only shows your ignorance and arrogance.

Wei Tonghe waved his hand, "Lord Xu, I won't read this letter. Why don't you tell me what the good news is?"

"That's fine!" Seeing how "understanding" Wei Tonghe was, Xu Dingchen nodded inwardly. This Wei Tonghe seemed to understand the rules, unlike some newly arrived eunuchs who acted as if they were the most important people after the emperor.

Clearing his throat, Xu Dingchen smiled and said, "This letter is from one of my advisors. A few days ago, he was sent to Yingzhou to collect salt taxes. I didn't expect much, but things turned out quite unexpectedly. This Yue Zhenghong agreed to pay the remaining 100,000 taels of salt tax in one go, which was quite a surprise to me!"

"Oh... really?" Wei Tonghe's hand, which was holding a teacup, paused in mid-air, his eyes showing a look of disbelief. "That Yue Zhenghong is actually a salt merchant?"

"Ha ha ha... Lord Wei, did you not expect that?" Seeing Wei Tonghe's surprised expression, Xu Dingchen laughed. "This Yue Zhenghong is not only a talented military leader but also a shrewd businessman. Half a year ago, he somehow obtained a large amount of high-quality salt. Not only was it well-made and of high quality, but it was also cheap. In less than half a year, he managed to squeeze out the sea salt from Shandong and Jiang-Zhe, which had dominated the market in Shanxi. Now, most of the high-quality salt in Shanxi comes from him."

"Wow..." Wei Tonghe drew in a sharp breath. Although the concept of monopoly didn't exist at the time, he could easily understand the implications. The profit from controlling a large portion of the salt market in a province was enormous. Thinking about this, the dim light in Wei Tonghe's eyes turned into a greedy gleam.

Seeing Wei Tonghe's expression, Xu Dingchen naturally knew what he was thinking. He frowned and said casually, "Lord Wei, although Yue Zhenghong has money, he has only been in the salt business for a short time. I think the 100,000 taels he can pay for the salt tax is already his limit. As officials, we should be considerate of our subordinates and not act in a way that would harm them in the long run, don't you think?"

Hearing Xu Dingchen's words, Wei Tonghe was taken aback. He then laughed and said, "Of course, of course, how could I not know that?"

Although he said this, Wei Tonghe was secretly cursing Xu Dingchen, "This old man must have received some benefit from Yue Zhenghong to speak up for him like this. Humph, once I find out more about Yue Zhenghong, I'll deal with him later!"

What Wei Tonghe didn't know was that he was right. In the letter, Tang Xueying didn't hide the fact that Yue Zhenghong had given him 20,000 taels. Regardless of anything else, Xu Dingchen had to protect Yue Zhenghong for the sake of these 20,000 taels. After all, in the political arena, there were rules about what money could be accepted and what couldn't. If you accepted money, you had to speak up for the person, or your reputation for taking money without doing anything would spread, and no one would be willing to give you money in the future.

Feeling somewhat frustrated, a hint of dissatisfaction appeared on Wei Tonghe's face. He said coldly, "Since Yue Zhenghong is so righteous, I will report to the court and ask the emperor to commend him."

Xu Dingchen, being a seasoned official, knew immediately that this eunuch was trying to trip up Yue Zhenghong. He was secretly annoyed, "This eunuch is so petty, seeing no benefit, he immediately tries to trip people up. Truly a despicable person who harms others without benefiting himself!"

Although he didn't want to deal with this petty person, Xu Dingchen was worried that Wei Tonghe would really report Yue Zhenghong's "great achievements" to the court, causing trouble for him. Reluctantly, Xu Dingchen said, "Lord Wei, there's no need to be so hasty. The letter also mentions that Yue Zhenghong will be getting married in a few days. Why don't we go and join the celebration? What do you think?"

"Oh? That's a great idea!" Wei Tonghe's eyes lit up. If he could take this opportunity to meet this wealthy and capable military leader, it would be beneficial for him in many ways!

"Then it's settled. We'll go together tomorrow, how about that?"

Xu Dingchen stroked his beard and smiled, "With Lord Wei's presence, I'm sure Yue Zhenghong will be overjoyed!"

"Heh heh heh..." Wei Tonghe also laughed, but his voice was as unpleasant as a duck's quack.

Looking at the smug Wei Tonghe, Xu Dingchen sighed inwardly, "Yue Zhenghong, this is all I can do for you. The rest is up to you..."

Yue Zhenghong, of course, didn't know about these events happening hundreds of miles away. At this moment, he had more important matters to attend to, such as inspecting the rice fields under the control of the Yue family.

Yue Zhengheng led Hai Lou, Yue Laifu, and several other officials responsible for the land management, slowly walking along the paths between the fields. In the distance, a row of willow trees could be seen, and on one side of the willows was a vast sea of wheat, stretching as far as the eye could see. The golden wheat waves swayed like ocean waves in the breeze, creating a beautiful scene.

According to the geographical conditions of Shanxi, except for a few places, most areas were not suitable for growing rice, as rice requires ample water. However, with the help of modern drilling machines, over a hundred wells were dug, and water from the Sanggan River was used for irrigation, miraculously ensuring the water supply for over 10,000 acres of rice fields.

Standing before this vast expanse of golden wheat, Yue Laifu was almost moved to tears.

"Master, we've succeeded! Our rice is finally ready to be harvested. Look at these wheat ears, so dense and full. If I'm not mistaken, the yield per acre will be at least 800 pounds! 800 pounds! I've never seen such a sight in all my years of farming!"

Seeing Yue Laifu's excitement, Yue Zhengheng just smiled. The yield of modern hybrid rice was something that people of this era could hardly comprehend. If not for the lack of chemical fertilizers and modern management techniques, the yield of these rice fields would not be less than 1,500 pounds per acre.

After a moment of thought, Yue Zhengheng turned to Hai Lou, who was equally excited, and asked, "Hai Dianli, based on your estimation, how much grain will we harvest this time?"

Since joining Yue Zhengheng, this man, who claimed to be a descendant of Hai Rui, had changed dramatically. His once scruffy beard was now neatly trimmed, his long robe was clean, and he looked much more spirited.

Hai Lou thought for a moment and said, "Lord, next month will be the time for harvesting. If the average yield per acre is 900 pounds, and we have over 12,000 acres of good land, we can expect to harvest about 10 million pounds of rice. Our rent is split 50-50, so we can expect to harvest about 5 million pounds. Lord, this year will be a bountiful year!" Hai Lou's face turned red with excitement as he spoke.

"Is that so!" Yue Zhengheng calculated in his mind. If they could harvest 5 million pounds of rice, after dehusking, they would get about 3.5 million pounds of rice. This amount of grain could be used for many purposes.

At this moment, not only Yue Zhengheng, but also Hai Lou, Yue Laifu, and the surrounding tenants were breathing heavily. In this era, even in the so-called "land of fish and rice" in Jiangnan, the average yield per acre was only about 400 pounds, and in places like Shanxi, it was only about 300 pounds. The yield of 900 pounds in Yue Zhengheng's fields was something they had never even heard of, let alone seen. If this news spread, it would surely cause a sensation.

At this point, Yue Laifu suddenly thought of a problem, "Master, with such a high yield, our bountiful harvest will be hard to keep secret. The surrounding areas will be in an uproar. What should we do if people come to buy our seeds?"

"Yes... what should we do if people want to buy our seeds?" The people around him also thought of this problem.

Everyone knew that the high yield of the Yue family's rice must be related to the seeds Yue Zhengheng brought. This would be a serious issue, as people would likely come in droves to ask for the seeds.

"Lord, what Yue Laifu said is correct. As the saying goes, 'a man without fault is envied for his virtue.' If news of our bountiful harvest spreads, everyone will know that you have a high-yield rice seed. People will come to you in droves asking for the seeds. If you don't give them, they will try to buy the seeds from the tenants, and our high-yield seeds will eventually spread."

Hearing this, Yue Zhengheng smiled, "I've already thought about this. You don't need to worry. Even if they steal our seeds, they won't be able to do much with them. In the end, they will still have to come to me!"

As he said this, a look of extraordinary confidence appeared on Yue Zhengheng's face...

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