There was suddenly an ambiguous atmosphere in the cabin.

Qing'er had already gone to arrange meals, leaving Li Kuan and Wu Meiniang in the cabin.

In the palace of Prince Chu, everyone can guess that Wu Meiniang will be one of their mistresses in the future, but no one knows when this day will come.

Even Wu Meiniang herself feels that her relationship with Li Kuan is still one step away from reaching a new level.

Could this be the state of a lover who is not satisfied?

Now, Wu Meiniang feels that the opportunity has come.

"My lord, why were you so stupid just now? Why did you jump into the river without hesitation in such a big storm and cold weather?"

Wu Meiniang leaned on the head of the bed and gently held Li Kuan's hand with both hands.

To be honest, when Wu Meiniang knew that Li Kuan was so desperate to save her, it would be false to not be moved.

The son of Qianjun will not sit in the hall.

This is not something you say casually.

With Li Kuan's current status, unless it was Li Shimin who fell into the water, there was no need for him to jump in personally to save others.

It's not like there aren't other people on the boat who know how to swim.

"It's nothing stupid. I heard Gu Panpan's cry and saw you flopping in the river, so I naturally jumped down."

Li Kuan's simple and unpretentious answer touched Wu Meiniang's heart.

I did not misjudge the person, and my choice was not wrong. This is the person worthy of trusting me for the rest of my life.

In the past, I always wanted to see if I could stand out and show some color to the two brothers from the Bingzhou Wu family.

Now it seems that all hatred and grudges have been taken lightly.

If it hadn't been for so many things that had happened before, I wouldn't have gone to Chang'an, I wouldn't have had the chance to meet His Royal Highness the King of Chu, and everything wouldn't be happening now.

As for the future, let alone that.

"The mountains have no mausoleums, and the rivers are exhausted. The winter thunders tremble, and the summer rains and snows. Heaven and earth are in harmony, so I dare to be with you! Your Majesty, Meiniang is the prince's person in life, and is the prince's ghost in death. I hope that the prince can let you stay with me forever.

By your side, even if I am just a maid serving tea and water, I will never complain."

If a girl said something like this, Li Kuan would naturally not pretend to be there anymore.

"Mei Niang, it is my fate to meet you. I am satisfied to have Jingwen with you in this life."

…

Because of the unexpected timing of falling into the water, the fleet of Li Kuan, the deposed envoy, simply docked in Runzhou for a few days.

"It's a pity that only ruins of the ancient city of Jiangning are left."

Li Kuan stood in the Laolao Pavilion, admiring the ancient city with emotion.

More than forty emperors and three hundred autumns.

Since the establishment of the capital of Dongwu, this city has been the capital of the six dynasties of Dongwu, Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang and Chen.

It can be said that after more than three hundred years of accumulation, Jiankang City or Jianye should be a very large and promising city.

Unfortunately, history has played a big joke on it.

"Yes, it is said that this was also a prosperous city with a population of one million, not much worse than Chang'an. However, after the Sui Dynasty destroyed Chen, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty ordered the razing of Jiankang City and the destruction of all the palaces and cities.

, was converted into cultivated land, and a large number of people moved to other places. Now, this large capital city is actually just a Jiangning County under Runzhou."

Wu Meiniang's complexion has completely returned to normal, and she is now standing in the pavilion with Li Kuan admiring the scenery.

"Although the geographical location of Jiangning County is not as good as that of Yangzhou, it is not far behind. If the imperial court does not blindly suppress it, it can still become a prosperous state capital."

There are so many cities with development potential in the Tang Dynasty. Although Li Kuan feels that the current situation in Jiangning County is very regrettable, he will not take advantage of the situation with the big bosses in the DPRK and China.

"Your Highness the King of Chu, didn't the imperial court really move the Turks from the grasslands to various places in Jiangnan Province? In fact, I think Jiangning County has a vast area and sparse population, so it is very suitable for settling a large number of Turks."

Gu Panpan couldn't help but express his opinion on the sidelines.

However, Li Kuan and Wu Meiniang pretended not to hear it.

This is what someone without political consciousness would say.

Why did the Sui and Tang Dynasties unanimously suppress the ancient capital of Jiangning County?

Not only because it was the ancient capital of six dynasties, it is a city with profound political significance.

If the Turks were allowed to settle here, wouldn't it be...

"Your Majesty, we have been delayed in Jiangning County for a few days. Calculating the time, by the time we arrive in Hongzhou, it will be almost time to prepare for spring plowing. How about we continue our journey tomorrow?"

Wu Meiniang was very clear-minded and knew that inspecting the promotion of Nanyang rice all over the world was the most important task of Li Kuan's trip.

Besides, the promotion of Nanyang rice is actually related to the increase of grain production in the Tang Dynasty, which is of extraordinary significance.

"Okay, let's talk about Hongzhou. I heard that although the local population is not large and the economy is not developed, there is a general trend of attaching importance to learning. I would also like to see it."

After Li Kuan founded Guanshishan Academy, he paid a lot of attention to the imperial examination situation.

In the Hongzhou area, which is also known as the Jiangxi area in later generations, although there are not many people who have passed the Jinshi examination in various subjects, the upward trend is obviously higher than that of ordinary state capitals.

It seems that in the following dynasties, it is not an accident that Jiangxi has the largest number of Jinshi in the country.

…

The boat went upstream at a slightly slower speed, but after all, the distance was not too far. At the end of January, Li Kuan finally appeared at the gate of Yuzhang County.

"The area north of Hongzhou is quite suitable for growing rice. Not only is the land vast and sparsely populated, but it is also densely covered by water networks. The only pity is that the population seems to be a little smaller."

The fleet turns from the Yangtze River into the Poyang Lake waterway, and then flows down the Zhangjiang River, directly to the vicinity of Yuzhang County, which is very suitable for walking on waterways.

As for the Zhangjiang River, also known as the Ganjiang River in later generations, as the second largest tributary of the Yangtze River, the water flow is very abundant and the river surface is relatively wide. Even ordinary sea-going ships can travel here.

If the surrounding rice planting area increases, it will be very convenient to transport rice out.

Li Kuan: "In recent years, the population of Datang has increased very rapidly. According to preliminary estimates from the Ministry of Revenue, more than one million households were added during the Zhenguan period alone. This number is still growing rapidly. Once the surrounding areas of Hongzhou

After the success of planting rice, some mountain people from the south will inevitably be attracted to settle nearby, and the population should increase quickly."

Historically, the population of the Tang Dynasty should have reached its peak during the Tianbao period, with about 80 million people.

However, it is obvious that according to the current trend, the number of 80 million may be reached by the end of Zhenguan.

The premise is that Li Shimin lived a few more years than in history.

Wu Meiniang: "If this is the case, the fertile farmland around Poyang Lake alone is estimated to be able to support millions of households."

"Your Majesty, officials from Hongzhou have come to greet you."

When Li Kuan and his party docked at the pier, there was so much movement.

Soon, the officials of Hongzhou Prefectural Government and Yuzhang County Government learned that Li Kuan, the deposed envoy, had visited their territories.

Not to mention that Li Kuan was a prince himself, Hongzhou Prefecture would take any official from Chang'an City seriously.

This is the difference in status between Beijing officials and local officials.

This reminded Li Kuan of later news reports. When local leaders go to some authoritative departments of the central government, even if you are the top leader of a prefecture-level city, you may not be able to see a department director, or you may have to wait in line.

The team meets people.

"Where are the Turks settled?"

Li Kuan had no intention of being polite to the local officials and started to understand the situation directly.

If the so-called inspections of rice promotion in places like Suzhou and Hangzhou were more of a formality, then starting from Hongzhou, this is the area that Li Kuan will focus on inspecting.

Hongzhou, Ezhou, and Xiangzhou, these three state capitals and their surrounding areas, are the places that Li Kuan pays most attention to.

As important rice-producing areas in later generations, these state capitals were insignificant in the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Xiazhou, which belongs to His Highness, could not attract the attention of the distinguished officials of Chang'an City, regardless of the rank of officials or the local economy and population.

attention.

However, Li Kuan chose these state capitals to promote Nanyang rice.

Students from Guanshishan Academy also go to these places the most.

Of course, if you want to go to prosperous places like Yangzhou and Suzhou, it is not that easy, and the opportunities will be much less.

"Your Highness the King of Chu, these Turks are mainly resettled along the Zhangjiang River, and the nearest resettlement point is in Taohua Village."

Zeng Xing, the magistrate of Yuzhang County, was quite skilled in business, and he knew very well where the nearly 1,000 Turks assigned to Yuzhang County by the imperial court were located.

"Taohua Village, right? How far is it from Yuzhang County?"

We took a boat all the way, and the boat was big and comfortable enough, and we had beautiful people accompanying us, so it wasn't a tiring journey at all.

Therefore, Li Kuan was unusually enthusiastic about his work. He wanted to see if the students from Guanshishan Academy and the Turks had completed the preparations for spring plowing.

Early rice is usually sown between the Waking of Insects and the Spring Equinox. If this period is missed, current seeds can basically only be planted in one season a year.

Hongzhou obviously has the conditions for two seasons a year, coupled with fertile water and soil, Li Kuan doesn't want to let anything go wrong at the beginning of a good time.

"Five miles northwest of the city gate is Taohua Village. If you ride a horse, it only takes a moment." Zeng Xing was a Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty in the second year of Zhenguan. He was considered a hard-working official in Hongzhou Prefecture. When he saw Li Kuan

With a work-first attitude, I also have a little more expectation in my heart.

Zeng Xing, who was born into a declining landlord family, has stayed in Hongzhou for twelve years.

And his official position has always been limited to the magistrate of Yuzhang County, and he has been unable to be promoted; this is closely related to his inability to cater to his superiors.

Of course, it also has a lot to do with the fact that he was not born into a famous family.
Chapter completed!