Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 883: Chapter 28: Blowing Up the Alchemy Furnace (3)

"Your Highness, are you really going to exempt all the taxes?" Zheng Qian hesitated and said, "Lingnan has to submit taxes to the court every year. If you exempt all, what will be given to the court?"

"I meant a complete exemption only for Swamp Prefecture, not other places," Zhao Yao replied with a smile. "It’s just for this year; taxes will resume tomorrow. However, taxes for the next two years will be reduced by half."

After hearing this, Zheng Qian felt relieved.

"I understand."

"As for distributing according to population, consult with Prime Minister Wen," Zhao Yao provided Zheng Qian with a general direction, while the specific details were for Zheng Qian, the Minister of Revenue, to draft. If even the details were to be decided by him, Prince Han, then what were officials for?

"Yes, Your Highness." Zheng Qian thought about the lands of the tribes and asked, "Your Highness, should the lands of each tribe also be distributed according to population?"

"I remember each tribal tusi owns quite a bit of land, correct?"

"Yes, they own at least a hundred acres of land."

Zhao Yao stroked his chin and said thoughtfully, "Distribute according to population then. Excess land can be sold."

"Yes."

"In the future, land taxes won’t be collected based on headcount but on acreage." The more land a family has, the more tax it pays.

Upon hearing, Zheng Qian’s eyes brightened and his expression became excited.

"Your Highness is wise, Your Highness is benevolent!"

"After you have allocated the land, distribute seeds and farming tools," Zhao Yao instructed seriously. "Swamp Prefecture will soon start farming, so ensure everything is prepared quickly so the people have land to cultivate and seeds to plant when the time comes."

Zheng Qian felt a jolt in his heart and responded with seriousness, "Rest assured, Your Highness, we will complete this task promptly."

Zhao Yao had a high level of trust in Zheng Qian’s capabilities.

"Then go on with your work."

"Your Highness, I bid farewell..." Before Zheng Qian finished speaking, a loud noise erupted, and the Alchemy Furnace exploded, startling both him and Zheng Cheng.

Zhao Yao saw the Alchemy Furnace finally explode, his face full of joy. However, he didn’t rush forward to inspect, fearing it might explode further. After a while, he walked over.

"It finally exploded."

Although Zheng Cheng didn’t understand why an exploding Alchemy Furnace was cause for celebration, seeing Zhao Yao’s joyful expression, he knew it must be a good thing.

"Tong Xi!" Zhao Yao shouted loudly.

After a while, Tong Xi appeared before Zhao Yao, "Your Highness, what’s the matter?"

"Quickly get a bigger Alchemy Furnace, larger than the previous one."

"Huh?" Tong Xi looked at the shattered remains of the Alchemy Furnace on the ground, his face full of shock and confusion, "Your Highness, didn’t you just explode the Alchemy Furnace? Why do you need another one?"

"Of course, to continue exploding."

Tong Xi: "..." Your Highness, have you become addicted to exploding furnaces?

"Quickly get me a bigger Alchemy Furnace. I need to continue the experiment."

"At once, Your Highness."

He Lianfang came over at this point, startled by the earlier loud noise. Upon arrival, he heard Zhao Yao instruct Tong Xi to find a larger Alchemy Furnace.

"Still exploding furnaces?" He Lianfang looked at Zhao Yao with an odd expression, "How many more furnaces do you plan to explode?"

"Just a few more should suffice," Zhao Yao replied with a face full of smiles.

He Lianfang sharply commented, "What kind of hobby is this?"

Zhao Yao defended himself yet again, "These are experiments, not a peculiar hobby."

He Lianfang, uninterested in continuing, left pushing his wheelchair.

Zhao Yao had others clean up the site and took Zheng Cheng to the study, while Zheng Qian went to find Wen Daoji. As for Wen Daoji being on vacation at home, he ignored it altogether.

Zheng Cheng accepted the stack of papers Zhao Yao handed him and looked down to see diagrams. Seeing the words "Water Wheel," his eyes sparkled as he looked at Zhao Yao and asked, "Your Highness, what is this?"

"Water Wheel, an irrigation tool." Zhao Yao pointed to the stack of papers in Zheng Cheng’s hands, "I’ve drawn three types of Water Wheels: Water-driven Turning Wheel, Ox-driven Turning Wheel, and Donkey-driven Turning Wheel."

Zheng Cheng quickly skimmed through the diagrams for the three types of Water Wheels and his expression became very excited, "Rest assured, Your Highness, we will promptly make these Water Wheels."

"As long as they’re made before the farming begins." Lingnan’s terrain is complex, with varying elevations. Without Water Wheels, many lands can’t be irrigated. With Water Wheels, both high and low terrain can be watered.

"Yes, Your Highness." Zheng Cheng took the Water Wheel diagrams and hurriedly left Prince Han’s mansion for the Ministry of Industry’s office.

Zhao Yao wrote down the proportions from the Alchemy Furnace explosion earlier then headed out with the ingredients. He deliberately chose a place with trees to test the explosive effectiveness. The result was decent, destroying several trees.

When Tong Xi came to find Zhao Yao, he saw his face was injured and bleeding, and frightened, called out for a doctor.