Chapter 75: I have a small disposition and will seek revenge on the spot!
Ultimately, all national problems are rooted in food problems! This is because the country is made up of people, and people need to eat. Only by first being well-fed can they worry about other things. If they can’t even eat well, then other issues cannot even be discussed. The Empress’s just now had a point, as long as the food problem can be solved, many other problems won’t be problems!
If Lin Beifan can really improve the grain yield, then…
The Empress anxiously asked, “Sir Lin, are you sure? Can this hybrid rice improve yield?”
“I wouldn’t dare to deceive Your Majesty!” Lin Beifan clapped his hands, and someone immediately handed him a booklet, which he passed to the Empress.
As the Empress read, Lin Beifan explained, “This is information that I had my students collect from the common people, visiting large farming households, and walking through the fields!”
“According to the information, the hybrid rice grows taller and stronger, more able to resist natural disasters, and produces more grains per stalk!”
“Furthermore, a grain of hybrid rice can increase the yield by more than 30% compared to regular rice!”
“Your Majesty and all other officials, think about it…”
Lin Beifan said in a tempting tone, “If we were to research and promote hybrid rice throughout the country, the national rice yield would increase by over 30%! And this…would be able to solve the food problems of 50-60 million people!”
Everyone’s breathing became rapid.
An increase in rice yield of over 30%!
Solving the food problem of 50-60 million people!
What a great achievement this would be!
It is worth noting that many countries have populations of only ten million or so!
Although the Great Wu Empire has abundant resources and can support only two hundred million people, 90% of the population struggles to get by, without sufficient food.
Therefore, the national situation is now highly unstable, and people are barely surviving!
All of this is due to the fact that they cannot eat their fill.
If the hybrid rice can be successfully promoted, not only can it solve the food issues of 50-60 million people, it can also consolidate the ruling power!
After all, if people have enough to eat, live well, who has the energy to start a revolution?
If you dare to resist, I won’t let you eat!
Food is the most powerful weapon and is the guarantee of long-term peace in a country!
“Sir Lin, can this hybrid rice really increase yield by 30%?” The Empress asked again.
Lin Beifan smiled faintly, “That’s just a conservative estimate, it could be even more! If we could select the best rice varieties for crossbreeding, it wouldn’t be surprising if we could increase yield by 50% or even 80%!”
50% or even 80%!
Everyone listened, their eyes glazed over, and their breathing became rapid.
“If we can really research and promote this hybrid rice, the people would have enough food, and the country would definitely become more stable, with peace throughout the realm! Your Majesty’s rule will be unshakable, and the Great Wu Empire would have long-term stability and succession!”
The Empress’s breathing became even more rapid, “Sir Lin, you must research this well! Tell me what you need, and I will make sure you have it!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kind words!” Lin Beifan laughed.
Then, Lin Beifan led the Empress and the other officials to see other inventions and creations.
Although they were not as stunning as the first three inventions, they were still of great use.
The Empress and the officials were dazzled and impressed, feeling as if they had wasted their lives for the past few decades.
“Your Majesty, this is the strange and clever technique that I have encouraged my students to research. What do you think of it?” Lin Beifan smiled proudly.
The Empress laughed and scolded, “If this counts as a strange and clever technique, then there is no such thing as a strange and clever technique in the world! For this kind of strange and clever technique, you should bring more people to research it! As long as you can research one, it can benefit the people, and the merit is immeasurable!”
“However, all my intentions are for Your Majesty, for Great Wu, and for the people! Despite my genuine loyalty, I am not understood by others, and even accused and slandered by my colleagues and officials. I am suffering!”
Lin Beifan covered his chest and forcibly squeezed out two tears with his inner strength.
At this point in the play, Lin Beifan felt that Oscar owed him a little golden man!
The officials twitched their mouths as they listened. Who was he calling a petty person?
The Empress sympathetically said, “Minister Lin, you have suffered injustice!”
She then looked at the officials with the authority and threat in her phoenix eyes. “I will let Sir Lin continue to research his strange and clever technique. Does anyone have any objections? If you do, just speak up, I won’t listen anyway!”
The officials smiled wryly. There was no use saying anything since the Empress wouldn’t listen.
It was obvious that the Empress was biased towards Lin Beifan!
If they were the emperor, they would have done the same thing because these things were too terrifying. As long as one of these things could be researched, the national strength would increase rapidly! It was simply a national treasure, and no one would be unmoved.
“We have no objections!” the officials said in unison.
The Empress encouraged Lin Beifan, “Sir Lin, research these things well. As long as you research one of them, you will be heavily rewarded!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Lin Beifan bowed.
The suspicion was cleared. Now, it’s time for revenge!
Lin Beifan was a person with a small mind who couldn’t stand being wronged. If he had a grudge, he would revenge it on the spot!
Let’s kill two petty people first and boost morale!
Thinking of this, Lin Beifan sighed with disappointment.
“Why are you sighing, Sir Lin?” the Empress asked.
“Your Majesty, since taking the position of the Director of the Imperial Academy, I have been working diligently and conscientiously, fulfilling my duties. As a result, the Imperial Academy has undergone a complete transformation. The students have obeyed the rules and regulations and achieved significant improvements in academic performance. All of this is visible to everyone!”
“However, I don’t know why, but all the officials have come to accuse me! Ignorance is not a crime, and I can understand that! But, as colleagues of mine, Principal Liu and Director Sun, they have seen all of this, yet they continue to accuse me! So, I am extremely confused, distressed, and can’t control my emotions!”
The Empress’s face turned solemn. “Liu Huaye and Sun Tiandao, is this true?”
Principal Liu and Director Sun became flustered and stammered. “This…”
“Your Majesty, you can ask other teachers and students, and they can testify for me!” Lin Beifan said.
At this moment, a familiar person appeared in front of the Empress and the officials.
“Greetings, Your Majesty, Long live Your Majesty!”
This person was Yao Zheng, an official who taught at the Imperial Academy. He came to pay respects to the Empress because he heard that she was here. He wanted to show that he was still in the game and had a chance to be called back.
When the Empress saw Yao Zheng, she smiled and said, “Sir Yao, long time no see! I heard that you teach at the Imperial Academy now. I am very pleased! I hope you can cultivate more talents and serve the country!”
Yao Zheng was overjoyed and said, “Yes, Your Majesty! I will not disappoint your expectations!”
“You came at the right time. You are an honest person, and I have something to ask you!”
“Your Majesty, please ask. I will tell you everything!”
“I ask you, how has Sir Lin done since he took office at the Imperial Academy?”
Yao Zheng glanced at Lin Beifan and said, “Your Majesty, Sir Lin has been responsible for the discipline, morals, and academic performance of the students at the Imperial Academy. In terms of discipline, Sir Lin strictly enforces the regulations of the Imperial Academy, and the phenomenon of being late, absent from class, and skipping class has noticeably decreased. The atmosphere has improved greatly!”
Lin Beifan secretly smirked. He had reduced the phenomenon of students being late or skipping class by disciplining them.
“As for moral conduct, Sir Lin has put forward higher rules. Anyone who does not bow to the teachers, says vulgar language, or spits randomly will be punished! At the same time, he also invited me to be the morality teacher, and the students’ moral conduct has improved significantly!”
Lin Beifan smirked again. He had put forward stricter rules to fleece these spoiled kids. Anyone who dared not bow to the teachers, spoke vulgar language, or spat randomly would be punished. With strict rules, the results will naturally be remarkable!
“What about the students’ academic performance?” the Empress asked again.
“Your Majesty, since Lin Beifan has taken over as the director, there have been two monthly exams, and the average student performance has significantly improved!” Yao Zheng replied.
Lin Beifan smiled secretly. Holding those students firmly in the classroom, even if they didn’t want to learn, they could learn something eventually. And if they didn’t perform well, they would either be beaten or fined. They had great potential, and their grades improved rapidly.
With their improved performance, wouldn’t the average performance of the students in the Imperial Academy increase?
It can be said that by getting these students under control, many problems will be solved easily! At this moment, the more the Empress listened, the more her face became gloomy.
Liu Jiyue and Sun Siye’s faces were getting paler and they were almost collapsing.
Finally, the Empress asked, “Sir Yao, what you said is true?”
“Every word I said is true! Although I have different opinions from Lin Beifan, I would never speak good or bad words with a guilty conscience! I am a righteous person and if there is any falsehood in my words, Your Majesty can punish me!” Yao Zheng’s face was serious.
The Empress turned her head and pointed at Principal Liu and Director Sun, angrily saying, “You, Liu Huaye! You, Sun Tiandao! As the officials of the Imperial Academy, you have accused loyal and honest people and harmed your colleagues! With such unscrupulous behavior, what right do you have to lead students as role models? With such disregard for the law, what crime should you be punished with?”
“Your Majesty, forgive us! We were ignorant for a while…” The two of them knelt down in fear and secretly signaled to the officials, hoping that they could say a few good words for them.
After all, they were being instigated by the officials. However, not one official stood up. They watched intently, their noses and hearts in sync, with hands in pockets.
At this time, the Empress shouted loudly, “Take off Sun Tiandao’s official robe and demote him to a commoner, never to be employed again!”
“Your Majesty, forgive me, I know my mistake…” Sun Tiandao kept bowing his head. ”
“Take him away! I don’t want to see him again!” The Empress waved her hand.
So, Sun Tiandao has been taken away. “And you, Liu Huaye,” the Empress shouted loudly, “As the principal of the Imperial Academy, not only is your conduct reprehensible, but you have also harmed your subordinates! Moreover, you have poor eyesight and are really not worth utilizing! However, in view of your hard work in providing the court with a large number of talents over the years, your position will be temporarily retained, but your salary will be docked for two years! I hope you remember this lesson, and if you make the same mistake again, I won’t spare you.”
“Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty!” Liu Huaye bowed his head and breathed a sigh of relief secretly.
