Chapter 1027
Chapter 1027
Because the letter was so thick, and the beginning described in detail how he had followed the recipe to compost fertilizer, the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture tossed it aside after reading the first part. It was during the spring imperial examination that Pan Yun, wanting to avoid Pan Yue's examination time and excessive interaction with other officials, idly flipped through his letters and discovered this precious letter.
After reading the letter, Pan Jun had only one thought in her mind: This is fertilizer!
Someone can actually rub fertilizer by hand? That's amazing!
Pan Yun couldn't wait until nightfall. He immediately flew to Southern Zhili, went to the address on the letter, revealed his identity, and brought the scholar and his wife to the capital that very night.
Oh, the scholar was over forty years old and already had grandchildren. He was badly injured by the bombing, both physically and mentally. When Pan Yun arrived, he was so thin that he was just skin and bones.
Pan Yun was afraid he would die, so he immediately put him and his wife to sleep, and the couple slept all the way to the capital. He arranged for them to stay at the Ministry of Agriculture and asked the emperor to send an imperial physician to examine them.
The scholar, Hou De, was still somewhat incredulous after taking two doses of medicine. He tilted his head and asked his wife, "Is this really the capital?"
"Yes, it's still in the capital city. I went out for a walk, it's huge."
Hou De seemed to be deep in thought, then asked, "Is this the ninth day of the second month?"
“It’s true, I asked several people, and they were all wearing official robes. They wouldn’t lie to us. In just one day, no, one night, we traveled from Southern Zhili to Beijing.”
Hou De murmured, "Indeed, there are immortals; the Imperial Preceptor is indeed extraordinary."
"Husband, could it be that you committed sins in your past life?"
Hou De slowly shook his head: "If I had committed a sin, the Imperial Preceptor would certainly not have paid any attention to me. He specially brought me from Southern Zhili to the capital and arranged for the imperial physician to treat me. I'm afraid it wasn't a sin, but a blessing. I knew it. I have never done anything evil in this life, so how could I have been an evil person in my previous life?"
Hou De concluded directly: "I really am a good person."
Soon, Pan Yun's arrival confirmed his suspicions: he was a good person, or rather, a good person blessed by heaven.
Pan Yun specially requested an official position for him from the emperor: a sixth-rank official, the Minister of Agriculture, who would specialize in researching fertilizer production lines.
Pan Yun said, "Since you've grown a crop using composted fertilizer, you should already know that this is a powerful tool for the nation. If grain production could be increased by one to two times from its current level..."
Hou De's eyes gleamed: "With full granaries, there will be no famine in the world."
Pan Yun: "This achievement is so great that he should be recognized as a national hero. Does it not surpass the merit of passing the imperial examinations by a factor of ten million?"
Hou De was captivated and immediately began treatment. In less than half a month, he was like a completely different person, full of vitality.
His wife stayed by his side to take care of him and also helped him with the composting process.
After all, she had to cultivate most of the family's land to support his education.
If he hadn't given up on continuing his studies for the imperial examinations, he wouldn't have had the chance to do such dirty work as composting.
Upon seeing this, Pan Yun simply helped her request an official position from the emperor as well.
The emperor was torn.
But Pan Yun rarely offered any opinions, let alone sought an official position.
Both times she sought official positions, it was for the sake of the country, not for herself. After thinking it over, he still appointed her as a seventh-rank official, Doctor of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Now that both husband and wife have government jobs, they work even harder.
Neither of them stayed in the capital. After recovering from their illnesses, they went directly out of the city to the factory prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture to conduct research.
The couple were very enthusiastic, especially Hou De's wife, Zhang Zhen, who devoted herself to fertilizer research ever since she learned that she had also become an official.
When it comes to reading and writing, she is far inferior to her husband, but when it comes to farming and composting, she is in no way inferior to him.
One was good at starting from practical experience, while the other preferred to find breakthroughs in books. With their combined strengths, they set up an alkali production line in June. After Pan Yun inspected it, he named the two types of fertilizers they produced ammonia fertilizer and nitrogen fertilizer, respectively. Then he sent the by-product of fertilizer production—nitric acid—to the Ministry of Industry, instructing them to research new types of explosives.
The produced ammonia and nitrogen fertilizers were partly transported to Huangzhuang, partly used by the government, and partly distributed to farmers free of charge.
Pan Yun also petitioned the emperor for rewards for the two of them.
Having been appointed to an official position less than six months ago, he couldn't be promoted again. Besides, the fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Agriculture was the limit.
Therefore, the emperor only gave gold and silver as rewards.
Although it was a small amount, the couple was overjoyed and decided to continue their efforts to repay the emperor's kindness.
Pan Yun also gave them two extra pills to strengthen their bodies.
Officials in the court couldn't help but inquire, "Are these two really not relatives or friends of the Imperial Advisor?"
"No, we investigated his ancestors for three generations and found that they had no connection with the Imperial Preceptor at all. It's strange, since the Imperial Preceptor never asked his father or brothers for official positions or sought imperial favors for his fellow disciples. Why is he so good to these two?"
An official who admired the Imperial Advisor said, "The Imperial Advisor is never one to use public office for private gain. She treats them so well because they are of great use to the country."
Upon hearing this, regardless of whether people verbally mocked or opposed it, they secretly spent a lot of money to buy the fertilizer from the farmers and use it on their own farms.
When the farmers received the newly distributed fertilizer, they really didn't want to use it. As soon as they saw someone buying it, most of them sold it.
Only a very small number of people saw that it was an official's servant who was buying it, and immediately decided to use it, and they used it carefully.
After summer planting and autumn harvest, four months later, when the harvest was in the fields, the family who had used fertilizer weighed the produce and was immediately astonished to find that the yield per acre was more than double that of the neighboring field.
The yield per mu instantly increased from three shi to six shi.
The emperor and his courtiers received the data feedback immediately.
Both imperial estates and government-owned fields were used, and the harvest time in these two places was slightly earlier than that in the homes of ordinary people and officials.
The head of the imperial estate noticed something amiss during the planting process, so he immediately threshed and weighed the grains after harvesting, wanting to report it as soon as possible.
However, the speed of Sinong Temple was faster than that of Huangzhuang.
The fertilizer factory was under the name of Sinong Temple, so Sinong Temple naturally used the fertilizer it produced.
The experimental fields at Sinong Temple have consistently been the pinnacle of national grain production.
Calculations show that the highest yield per mu is seven and a half shi (a unit of dry measure). The Minister of Agriculture is confident that if the cultivation is tested in the south or on more fertile land, the yield per mu will only be higher.
In the autumn of the second year of the Jingtai reign, the entire court was shocked!
The emperor murmured, "I knew it. The Imperial Advisor is not the kind of person who would casually offer official positions to just anyone."
The courtiers said, "I knew it. The Imperial Advisor is still as devoted to the country as ever."
Yu Qian praised Hou De and Zhang Zhen, a married couple, and asked the emperor to bestow titles upon them.
Amidst the commotion, a young Taoist from the Imperial Observatory came to relay Pan Yun's message: "These are only two types of fertilizer; the road ahead is long, and we still need to work hard."
The emperor immediately decided to grant the two men titles and to publicize the matter extensively to encourage more people to serve the court and conduct research at the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Emperor said, "Besides the notice boards in the government offices and the propaganda in the county government, we must also widely publicize this in the local tabloids. The Imperial Advisor said that talented people are hidden among the people; we should earnestly seek them out, sincerely learn from them, and serve the country." (End of this chapter)