Forced to Ascend the Throne after Transmigrating

Chapter 156: After Years

(T/L NOTE: Everyone thank the buyers of {240+, now 260+} chapters, that you got to read these bonus chapters!)

But Champa in this life is not called Champa, but Lucheng, so the so-called Champa rice should be called Lucheng rice in this life.

When he heard the news from his men, even Wei Wen was so excited that he was incoherent.

There actually is such a place in the world, where rice is everywhere, and some of it even rots on the ground but no one harvests it. What a waste!

Just by reading the text, Wei Wen felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife, and he wished he could collect it for the people there.

If there really are gods and fairylands in this world, Lucheng should be like this.

How happy and joyful it would be if everyone had enough to eat.

But how did the Ninth Prince know all these things?

Such a thought flashed through his mind uncontrollably, and then Wei Wen threw it aside fiercely. No matter how he knew it, as long as he could save people, Wei Wen didn’t care how he knew it.

Smart people always know what to ask and what not to ask. Wei Wen only cares about the results, not the process.

Champa rice can be harvested as soon as it is planted, regardless of whether the soil is fertile or barren, and can be harvested up to three times a year. The same is true for Lucheng rice. People nowadays have never seen this thing before, so they are naturally shocked.

But actually this is nothing. If Wei Wen were asked to go to South America in his previous life, it would be a real shock.

In tropical areas such as South America, any seed you sow can grow, and there is edible food everywhere.

The matter was of great importance, so Ye Shuo made a special trip to meet with his eldest cousin.

He seldom mentioned his grandfather’s family and visited them less than twice a year, so a visit after such a long time would not arouse suspicion.

My eldest cousin is worthy of being the only hope of the whole family. He is really reliable in doing things and there will hardly be any mistakes in anything that goes through his hands.

If it weren’t for his adoptive father’s suspicion, his achievements would have been far more than this. Thinking of this, Ye Shuo couldn’t help but feel regretful.

The conditions in ancient times were not as good as those of modern times. After several years of traveling back and forth, most of the first dozen people died on the road, and the rest have been replaced by two batches. Now there are only five or six old people left in the team.

Hearing this, Ye Shuo couldn’t help but fall silent.

Then Ye Shuo took out a few silver notes from his purse and said, “Please distribute this money to their families.”

“No need.” Wei Wen shook his head: “I have already given it to them before.”

Those who can take on such a job naturally don’t come from very good families. If they are given too much at once, it would be troublesome if they cannot protect the children.

“I will have messengers send money there every year until their children reach adulthood, which will be better.”

Very good, Wei Wen has learned how to distribute pensions without any guidance.

Ye Shuo finally kept the banknote.

Although the Lucheng rice has been found, it is of no use as long as my grandfather has no intention of rebelling. Even if he has the intention of rebelling now, it is too late. Except for my grandfather himself, people like my uncle and cousin can hardly be the opponents of the eldest prince and his generals.

Therefore, Lucheng rice is not a good thing for the Duke Zhen’s Mansion, but will become a death warrant.

This thing can only be used at critical moments, so it is better to keep it in Lucheng for the time being.

Apart from the Yellow River’s change of course two years ago, the grain harvests in the past two years have been pretty good. Anyway, I haven’t heard my cheap dad worry about it, so there must be enough to eat and it won’t be of any use for the time being.

After finding out the situation, Ye Shuo didn’t want to worry about it anymore, but then he changed his mind and realised that the eldest prince and the crown prince were now fighting like a pair of black chicken eyes, and the other brothers would join the battle sooner or later. It was true that when gods fight, mortals suffer. It would be fine if Ye Shuo didn’t have the ability, but if he did, he would naturally think about taking precautions.

It is not enough to just find a place. Ye Shuo is thinking about whether he can find a way to expand his power. It would be a waste if the rice in Lucheng rots in Lucheng.

However, after hearing his words, Wei Wen shook his head: “It is already extremely difficult to find Lucheng, how easy is it to establish a force?”

This is no longer just a matter of whether those dozen people have the ability, it also requires a lot of financial support.

Although the Duke of Zhen’s Mansion is rich, it is still very difficult to support such a team.

The most important thing is that most of the money in the mansion is earned by grandma and aunts. Although grandma and aunts are unlikely to ask, how can’t Wei Wen feel embarrassed to spend such a large amount of money every year?

Ye Shuo laughed: “Now that we have food, are you still worried about not having money?”

The most important thing is that if those people can lay some foundations in Lu City, it will be a way out for them if they really reach the end of their rope.

Yes, they do.

Even if his mother has feelings for his adoptive father, they are not as deep as those for his grandparents. Ye Shuo couldn’t bear to see his mother sad, so naturally he would go wherever his mother went. In addition to the remaining foundation of his grandfather, and when Ye Shuo has thoroughly understood the skills of the secret guards, the secret guards will no longer be a threat. If it really doesn’t work, and they really can’t make it in Shangjing, they can still run away, right?

Of course, this was just a helpless choice. Even if there was a glimmer of hope, my grandfather probably would not leave here.

Ye Shuo thought about it, then asked his eldest cousin for a charcoal pencil and started writing on the spot.

After a while, the method of making distilled liquor was developed.

Since we have grain, making wine is an excellent choice.

Distilled liquor is definitely a far cry from today’s low-alcohol liquors that are full of impurities. It’s a dimensionality reduction attack.

Wei Wen had never thought that his younger cousin could also make wine. After a quick glance, he said, “If it really has such an effect, it would be nice to sell it to dignitaries.”

“…Drinking alcohol harms the liver, why would you harm your own people?” No matter what kind of wine it is, no matter how precious it is, it will ultimately do more harm than good.

Ye Shuo finally discovered that among all the people he knew, very few of them looked outside.

“Such a good thing should naturally be left for the people of Beiting to enjoy.” Beiting is located in the north, where the winter is extremely cold and people need alcohol the most to warm themselves up. Therefore, almost everyone in the north loves and is good at drinking. It would be a pity not to take advantage of such a good market and such a good opportunity to make money.

Ye Shuo’s heart is very small and can only accommodate people from his own country, not people from other countries.

The prices of grain and wine are high, and only princes and nobles can drink them to their heart’s content. Ordinary people of Beiting cannot be cheated, and at the same time, Beiting’s combat power can be weakened. Why not do it?

After hearing what his little cousin said, Wei Wen also felt that it made sense.

“Anyway, let’s try this recipe first and see how effective it is.” It’s not that Wei Wen doesn’t believe him. After going through so many things, Wei Wen no longer has any doubts in his heart. It’s just that he always has to get the finished product, which will make him more convincing.

If you just make it at home, the equipment is very simple. The only difficulty is the cooling equipment. However, the temperature of well water is enough. If that doesn’t work, saltpeter can also make ice.

Ye Shuo nodded, and talked to his grandparents for a while. When it was evening, he left after saying “Ask me if you have any questions.”

Although Wei Wen was a clumsy person, he estimated that he and the servants around him should be able to do the job.

He accidentally saw his eldest grandson fiddling with something in the kitchen, and he was fussing with half a bag of rice. The Duke Zhen, who had come all the way to see him, was heartbroken.

As an old general who had fought in the battlefield, what he hated most was people wasting food.

Doesn’t he know how many soldiers could be saved by this small half bag of rice?

If it weren’t for the past, the Duke of Zhen would have taken action long ago.

Half a month later, the rice had disappeared, and was replaced by a jar of wine.

“Is this what you have made these days?” Wei Wen let the brewed wine settle for a few days and now felt that the time was about right. As a result, just as he opened the seal, he suddenly heard such a voice coming from behind him, and was immediately startled.

“grandfather?!”

“Okay, stop talking so much, pour me a bowl and let me try it.” The Duke of Zhen was not polite at all and sat down on the bench beside him.

Wei Wen had no choice but to pour him a bowl.

When the wine bowl was brought in front of him, the Duke of Zhen immediately smelled an extremely strong aroma of wine. The aroma of the wine was extremely mellow, and just by smelling it, he felt drunk.

Looking at the wine soup again, it is not turbid in color, and there are not even many impurities. It is clear and transparent, just like well water.

The Duke of Zhen immediately understood that this must be a good thing.

No wonder the two people, one big and one small, are so troubled.

The Duke of Zhen’s mouth was watering and he picked up the bowl without hesitation.

The wine first passed through the mouth, then the throat, and then the stomach. Wherever it went, it felt like fire. Almost instantly, sweat broke out on Duke Zhen’s forehead.

“Good wine!” The Duke of Zhenguo couldn’t help but his eyes lit up.

Wei Wen didn’t use much rice, only a little over a pound in total. The wine that came out later was not as strong as at the beginning, so he stopped immediately according to the instructions on the recipe.

The grandchildren will not be able to enjoy this pound of wine, but it should be enough if I just share it with my sons.

Hearing him say this, Wei Wen couldn’t help but remind him: “Think carefully, this is just one jar of wine. Once you drink it, it will be gone.”

“Just brew more after you finish drinking it.” The old Duke didn’t care. Now that he has a mountain of gold, is he still worried about not having money to spend?

But the next moment, Wei Wen shook his head and said, “I knew you would say this once. When my cousin was leaving, he specifically told me to only do this once and not again.”

When Ye Shuo came here before, he knew how much his grandfather, uncle, and cousins ??could drink, one jar after another. But the problem is that alcohol is really not a good thing. For the sake of their health, it is better to forget about drinking this kind of strong liquor with an alcohol content of 40 or 50 degrees.

The Duke of Zhen’s expression froze in an instant.

When he heard that they were going to provide such good things to the people of Beiting, the Duke of Zhen flew into a rage on the spot.

“You two are really betraying each other!”

“Unfilial sons, two unfilial sons!”

Wei Wen withstood the pressure and asked, “Grandfather, based on your understanding of the Beiting people, do you think this is feasible?” After all, Wei Wen had never really dealt with the Beiting people, so he was inevitably a little nervous.

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Zhen sneered: “Let’s put it this way, if there is really a chronic poison in here, do you believe that they can drink themselves to death?”

The winter in Beiting is extremely cold, and people can freeze to death if they are not careful. This strong liquor is not only a pastime for them, but also their lifeblood. How could anyone refuse it?

Wei Wen immediately felt relieved.

The Duke of Zhen looked at his eldest grandson eagerly, feeling deeply regretful. If he had known, he should have taken a closer look when his eldest grandson was processing the batch of rice. Now, he couldn’t even remember how his eldest grandson did it.

Wei Wen remained unmoved.

The eldest grandson is so hard-hearted that the Duke of Zhen is helpless and can only see if his youngest grandson can think of a solution.

As for distributing the only jar of wine to his sons? Forget it!

The Duke of Zhen planned to put the jar in the room, next to the bed, and drink it slowly.

However, the Duke of Zhen made a sad discovery that after tasting this wine, he could no longer drink any other wine.

Those things are as light as water, and have a sour taste. Is that something people drink? It’s almost like horse urine.

After more than one pound of distilled liquor was consumed and it was time for dinner, the Duke of Zhen suddenly lost interest.

Ye Shuo’s uncles were surprised to find that their father didn’t drink anymore!

“This is good wine that Zhao’er spent a lot of effort trying to get from outside. Father, are you sure you don’t want to try it?” Could the old man be sick?

His uncle spoke tentatively.

However, the Duke of Zhen just sniffed it and immediately lost interest.

The taste of this wine is extremely mixed, not even a fraction as good as the wine brewed by my grandson. It is really tasteless.

“No, you can drink it by yourselves.” The Duke of Zhenguo flatly refused.

Ye Shuo’s uncles soon started drinking heavily.

It is indeed a good wine, the taste is really extraordinary. I have to drink it sparingly and not guzzle it like usual.

Seeing how excited they were, the Duke of Zhen shook his head.

What a bunch of ignorant people, this is all they can achieve in their life.

Alas, the people of Beiting are so lucky…

Gradually, the Duke of Zhen even quit drinking.

About five months later, Wei Wen sent silver to Lucheng several times in advance. The dozen people set up stalls and produced a batch of finished products. Then a caravan set out from General Xu and came to Lucheng, then bypassed the State of Chen and entered Beiting with this batch of distilled liquor.

Since it was being sold to the people of Beiting, there was really no need to be polite. Ye Shuo just ripped them off, and the profit increased dozens of times. Even Wei Wen, a scholar who had little contact with the business in the mansion, had the urge to smack his lips in amazement.

This is too dark…

However, there is no way around it, the monopoly industry is so profitable.

Not long after, the best distilled liquor brought by these merchants was brought to the Wolf King.

Then, there was news that the Sixth Imperial Concubine was pregnant.

Nine months later, the Sixth Princess gave birth to a boy with great difficulty, and the Sixth Prince finally got his wish.

Another year and a half passed, and the Sixth Prince’s son, Ye Jin, finally learned to walk.

It was an extremely sunny day. When Jianjian, who was already eight years old, came back from the study room with Master Cen, she heard the sounds of “creaking” and “creaking”.

Then there is a familiar hammock.

The young man on the hammock has his eyes closed, his limbs are slender, and the corners of his lips are half-curled. The afternoon sun shines on his face, which is as beautiful as a painting.

There was an uncontrollable flash of surprise in those sharp eyes.

Then, the boy who looked like a god slowly opened his eyes.

In an instant, the fog was thicker than before.