Chapter 465 - Rising Step by Step
Chapter 465 of "After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times" opens showing developments: Ting He and Fu An saw their masters being dragged outside, quickly returned to grab... Keep reading!
Ting He and Fu An saw their masters being dragged outside, quickly returned to grab cloaks, and chased after them to drape the clothes over them.Zhao Erlang diligently pulled them to the entrance, pointed at two other baskets, and said, "Sister, Brother-in-law, these are your firecrackers, hurry and burn them! Mother said that burning firecrackers during New Year dispels bad luck for the year, making the next year prosperous and ascending in success!"
Zhao Erlang further contemplated with his limited mind, his eyes suddenly brightened, and he delightedly said, "Sister is already a high official, a regional commander; if you rise even higher, wonât you be able to become a marquis or prime minister? Sister, hurry up."
Zhao Hanzhang couldnât help but laugh, glanced at Fu Tinghan, and then the two stepped forward together, picking up a handful of bamboo shoots and throwing them into the fire basin. They immediately stepped back, and after just two steps, the bamboo shoots in the fire basin burst and crackled...
Upon hearing the sound, Zhao Erlang excitedly jumped up and shouted, "WooâwooâSister and Brother-in-lawâs firecrackers are really loud! The New Year will certainly be great!"
Zhao Hanzhang couldnât help but remark, "Youâre really getting better at saying things."
Zhao Erlang just chuckled.
"Alright, you burn the rest for us."
Zhao Erlang was overly delighted, immediately rushing forward, grabbing a large handful of bamboo shoots, and throwing them into the fire basin. As the crackling sound began, he hopped excitedly on the spot.
Zhao Hanzhang watched with a smile on her face, then turned and said to Ting He, "You go burn a handful too."
Ting He joyfully curtsied, "Yes!"
Fu Tinghan nodded with bright eyes at Fu An, and the two dashed forward to burn firecrackers with Zhao Erlang.
After a festive half-hour, the sound of firecrackers in the city gradually faded, with only the occasional pop heard.
Zhao Erlang and the others finished burning all the firecrackers, and he finally felt sleepy, obediently following Zhao Hanzhang back.
Zhao Hanzhang saw him yawning continuously yet still musing about tomorrowâs firecrackers, laughed, and said, "Go to sleep peacefully. Iâll have Qiu Wu save all the firecrackers for you. Tomorrow, take them to the alley to burn with the kids."
Zhao Erlang felt more at ease and said, "I want to compete with them, see whose firecrackers are the loudest, and who has the most explosions."
"Alright, go to sleep."
Zhao Erlang yawned as he headed back to the house to rest.
Zhao Hanzhang stood in the courtyard waiting for him to leave, then had Ting He and Fu An retreat a bit, and walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Fu Tinghan back to the main courtyard, chatting along the way, "Letâs start adjusting the gunpowder tomorrow."
Fu Tinghan nodded, "Iâve already asked Qiu Wu to gather the materials."
He stopped, turned back, and said, "I thought you wouldnât agree."
Zhao Hanzhang replied, "Didnât you change your mind too?"
After a brief silence, Fu Tinghan said, "Theyâre struggling too much. Quarrying is tough and deadly; slowing down house construction is fatal. I donât know whether more people will die from quarrying with one hammer strike after another or from potential casualties once gunpowder is introduced."
He continued, "These are lives on the line. I canât experiment on them and decide based on statistics afterward. I can only go with the flow. I think introducing gunpowder now makes their work a bit easier and reduces some sacrifices should be good, right?"
Zhao Hanzhang nodded and then sternly added, "Iâll have Qiu Wu assist you. In the future, only Qiu Wu will handle this matter. The gunpowder formula must be strictly confidential!"
Fu Tinghan nodded, knowing that this thing was more valuable than anything before.
As they returned to the main courtyard, the chill on Zhao Hanzhangâs face dissipated, and she wore a smile again, "Rest well tonight, see you tomorrow."
Fu Tinghan nodded, "See you tomorrow."
Watching Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan walk away side by side, Wang Nai and Xie Shi turned back to the guest courtyard.
Wang Nai sighed, "I was hoping to drink till dawn tonight, but didnât expect the governor to return so early."
Once Zhao Hanzhang left, they couldnât stay longer and gradually dispersed.
Xie Shi pondered another issue, "The governor ends her mourning this year, right? Does that mean she will marry Mr. Fu?"
Wang Nai frowned, "Wonât it be too soon? If the governor gets married, can she still be the governor? What if she gets pregnant?"
Xie Shi shared this concern, for the entire Yu State relied on Zhao Hanzhangâs sole authority. Though there were conflicts, no one dared openly offend her.
But once married, and especially if she has children, the situation becomes complicated.
"Mr. Fu and the governor live in the main courtyard."
Wang Nai replied, "But they are separated. Although they come and go together, I see their relationship isnât at that level yet."
"I think otherwise; they always seem to form an exclusive world when standing together, and others canât get in."
Wang Nai pondered for a while, then shook his head, "Forget it, thinking too much about this is useless. Itâs better to focus on doing our current jobs well."
Xie Shi agreed.
Zhao Hanzhang hadnât thought about marriage at all. It was now the third year of Yongjia, and by June this year, she would be out of mourning.
But she temporarily forgot about it, as there were many things she needed to do; the most urgent after the spring season was farming and recruiting talent.
The yearâs plan depends on spring. Last year, the spring in northern Yu State was ruined by Gou Xi and Prince East Sea, and summer and autumn were destroyed by them together with Liu Yuan, leaving the whole Yu State as a disaster area.
This year, they must compensate for last yearâs famine, or Yu State will keep declining.
So on the first day of the lunar New Year, while the cityâs people were still resting and reminiscing about last nightâs celebration, Zhao Hanzhang was already discussing the major matters of persuading agriculture and recruiting talent with the officials visiting to celebrate the New Year.
Especially in persuading agriculture, she emphasized to Yin Sheng, "Instruct each County Magistrate to personally go to the countryside to encourage farming, shelter all the refugees, allocate land for cultivation, prepare necessary seeds, and assist them with farming tools and livestock as much as possible."
She added, "Have the Ministry of Agricultureâs staff go to the countryside to guide more rational farming."
As she spoke, Zhao Hanzhang turned to Fan Ying, "I remember Ru Nanâs Ministry of Agriculture has had quite a few outputs and discovered two new fertilization methods, right?" Official source Äąs ????????????????????â????????????????â????????????
Fan Ying recalled for a moment and nodded, "Yes, we discovered two fertilization methods and also made changes to spacing, which supposedly helps plant growth, increasing yields per acre."
Zhao Hanzhang nodded slightly and asked, "How is the new farming equipment being distributed?"
"Currently, itâs used mainly in Ru Nan County; in other counties, itâs barely utilized."
Zhao Hanzhang frowned slightly, looking at Yin Sheng, "I remember when the new farming tools were first developed, I sent the blueprints to each county, instructing you to prepare this."
Cold sweat appeared on Yin Shengâs forehead, explaining, "Yes, but we really had no iron or too little iron, so we couldnât produce them."
Zhao Hanzhang snorted softly; donât they know how to find a way to obtain it?
But she was not interested in blaming now, directly instructing Fan Ying, "Tell Chen County and Ru Nan County that this year, part of Ru Nan Countyâs iron output will be allocated for making farming tools, to be sent to each county."
Zhao Hanzhangâs face was cold, "Inform each county, if this iron does not appear in the form of farming tools in the hands of the ordinary people, I will use their heads to plow the land."
Everyoneâs spine chilled, and Fan Ying loudly responded, "Yes!"