Zhu Youjian stood where he was and did absolutely nothing.
The eunuchs, however, immediately sprang into action.
They ran around the Imperial Estates shouting instructions, summoning a large group of farmers. Soon the whole place was bustling. Under the guidance of Liang Shixian's earlier demonstration, everyone began copying the process, carefully spreading the chemical fertilizer across the fields.
After a busy stretch of work, half a sack of fertilizer had been used up.
A large patch of farmland was now properly fertilized.
Zhu Youjian was extremely eager to see the results.
Unfortunately, crops did not care about imperial impatience.
Fertilizer did not perform miracles overnight. The only thing to do was wait.
And wait.
Three days later, Zhu Youjian had already forgotten the entire matter.
A whole month passed before Cao Huachun cautiously reminded him.
"Your Majesty, the people from the Imperial Estates have come to report something. They say the fields where fertilizer was applied are growing extremely well."
Zhu Youjian blinked.
"What?"
He looked puzzled.
"What fertilizer?"
Cao Huachun froze.
This was… awkward.
He had no choice but to help the emperor recover his lost memory.
After a long explanation, Zhu Youjian suddenly slapped his thigh.
"Ah! Right, right! The fertilizer I personally applied!"
Cao Huachun silently rolled his eyes inside.
You personally applied it?
Since when?
Zhu Youjian jumped up excitedly.
"If the results are visible now, we must go take a look immediately!"
Cao Huachun muttered under his breath.
"When did you ever personally apply any fertilizer…"
Zhu Youjian turned his head.
"What are you mumbling about?"
Cao Huachun instantly raised his voice.
"I was saying that Your Majesty is wise and mighty, personally overseeing every matter!"
Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. Let us go."
The emperor hurried off toward the Imperial Estates again.
Before long, Zhu Youjian was standing at the edge of the farmland.
He lifted his eyes and looked across the fields.
Then he froze.
The crops in the fertilized section were growing vigorously. The difference was obvious even to someone who knew almost nothing about farming. Compared with the neighboring fields, the plants here were taller, greener, and visibly stronger.
The contrast was almost ridiculous.
Even Zhu Youjian could tell that this patch would produce far better harvests than the others.
The emperor burst into laughter.
"This chemical fertilizer is truly amazing! If every field in the empire could increase its harvest like this, I would never have to worry about money again."
Cao Huachun immediately bowed.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Such a miraculous fertilizer…"
At that moment, the steward of the Imperial Estates hurried over and bowed.
"Your Majesty, I must report something."
He looked miserable.
"The fertilizer… only half a sack remains. It will only last for one more application."
Zhu Youjian stared.
"What? Who presented this fertilizer in the first place?"
Cao Huachun replied.
"It was presented by Grand Secretary He Fengsheng and the Assistant Prefect of Shuntian, Liang Shixian."
Zhu Youjian waved his hand casually.
"Then have them present more."
Very soon, He Fengsheng and Liang Shixian were summoned to the Imperial Estates.
Liang Shixian stepped forward and spoke calmly.
"Your Majesty has already seen the effect of the fertilizer. But a sack of this size can only support the fields in front of us for about two months."
He gestured toward the vast farmland.
"Your Majesty's Imperial Estates are enormous. There are countless fields like this one."
He continued counting.
"Besides the Imperial Estates, there are also the lands of princes and nobles, the estates of local gentry, and the fields of ordinary farmers."
Liang Shixian shook his head.
"If we want all these lands to use fertilizer, the small quantity I brought from Shaanxi is nowhere near enough."
Zhu Youjian nodded.
"That makes sense. So how do we produce more fertilizer?"
Liang Shixian smiled.
"Build factories."
He followed the emperor's train of thought perfectly.
"If we build fertilizer factories and produce large quantities, we will be able to supply the surrounding farmland."
Zhu Youjian did not hesitate for even a moment.
"If that is the case, then build them immediately."
When the emperor spoke the words "build them immediately," those four simple characters instantly became the highest priority of the entire court.
Liang Shixian soon received an imperial edict.
He was authorized to build a Gaocun-style factory in Shuntian Prefecture.
Liang Shixian chuckled.
Then he rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
---
Meanwhile.
Outside Jinan City.
Panlong Mountain.
The army of Chuang Wang had been stationed here for several days. Yet Jinan City stubbornly refused to open its gates and surrender.
Li Guo approached his uncle.
"Uncle," he said quietly. "Our food supplies are starting to run low."
Chuang Wang frowned.
The situation was not good.
A few days earlier, Niu Jinxing had tricked Li Yan out of the camp, planning to deal with him in a secluded place. In the end, Niu Jinxing died instead, while Li Yan disappeared.
No one knew whether he had defected to the firearm rebels.
Chuang Wang had suddenly lost two strategists.
Only Song Xiance remained.
But losing strategists was not the worst problem.
Food was.
The rebel army had to keep moving constantly, attacking cities and seizing supplies in order to survive.
But Jinan had not been persuaded by the famous nursery rhyme.
If they tried to take such a large city by force, the cost would be enormous.
Chuang Wang finally made a decision.
"We cannot remain here in a stalemate with Jinan."
He stood up.
"We need to attack another city and open their official granaries. Only then can we keep the army alive."
Li Guo nodded.
"East of Jinan there is a county called Zibo. It is not large and should be easier to take."
Chuang Wang slapped the table.
"Good. We will attack Zibo."
The rebel army immediately set out.
Three days later they arrived outside Zibo City.
Their agents had already spread the famous nursery rhyme there.
But when the army appeared outside the city walls, the gates were tightly shut.
There was no sign of anyone coming out to welcome Chuang Wang.
Chuang Wang waved his hand.
Five hundred professional insult-shouters stepped forward and began yelling toward the city.
"Eat his mother, wear his mother, and still not enough. Only Chuang Wang can give you more!"
"Open the gates and welcome Chuang Wang!"
"When Chuang Wang arrives, there will be no taxes!"
"Poor people of the city, what are you waiting for? Kill the corrupt officials and open the gates!"
After the shouting ended, the magistrate of Zibo appeared on the city wall.
In his left hand he held a skewer of Zibo barbecue.
With his right hand he pointed toward the rebel army and shouted angrily.
"This official is eating dinner and you choose this moment to attack my city?"
"Have you no shame at all? Can a man not eat in peace?"
Seeing this scene, Chuang Wang suddenly had an idea.
He waved his hand again.
The five hundred insult-shouters immediately resumed their yelling.
"Look at your dog magistrate!"
"He is eating barbecue while you are starving!"
"Why are you still waiting? Overthrow him!"
The moment the shouting stopped, dozens of heads popped up along the city wall.
They were members of the local militia and ordinary citizens.
Every single one of them was holding a barbecue skewer.
They shouted back at the rebels.
"You liars! Stop trying to trick us!"
"The 'no taxes' thing is obviously fake!"
"We are not falling for that nonsense!"
"We are currently holding the Dao Xuan Tianzun Zibo Barbecue Festival and having a great time!"
"Can you stop making trouble for a moment?"
A huge question mark slowly appeared above Chuang Wang's head.
"What on earth is the Dao Xuan Tianzun Zibo Barbecue Festival?"
At that moment another person appeared on the city wall.
It was Li Yan.
The moment Chuang Wang saw him, his expression turned awkward.
The rebel soldiers also froze.
Li Yan enjoyed tremendous prestige within the rebel army. Many soldiers respected him deeply.
Now he was standing inside an official city.
Half of the hundred-thousand-strong rebel army instantly fell into confusion.
Li Yan said something.
But his voice was too soft.
The wind carried his words away before they reached the rebels.
Then another scholar-like figure appeared beside him and handed him a metal speaking trumpet.
Li Yan took the device and cleared his throat.
"Hello. Hello. Can you hear me?"
For some reason, everyone who used such a device for the first time always said that.
After testing the sound, Li Yan sighed.
"Brother Chuang Wang."
"The nursery rhyme about not paying taxes was taught to you by me."
"But now I realize that I was wrong."
"I was naive."
"I discovered my mistake too late."
He looked straight at Chuang Wang.
"But you were different."
"You knew from the beginning that I was wrong."
"You never exposed me. Instead, you pretended to believe me and followed my plan."
Li Yan's voice became heavier.
"In reality, you were only using me."
"You never truly intended to abolish taxes."
"Am I right?"