In the end, Zhao Erlang left carrying two hundred thousand coins. His sister had convinced him that though life was hard now, they were building a foundation—the future would get better and better.

Zhao Erlang happily returned to the county office with the grand vision his sister had painted for him. Along the way, he told the silent Zhao Zheng, “Once the docks are built, I’m going to Qingzhou to train troops. Elder Sister says they’ll be training a navy then. Do you know what a navy is? It’s an army that fights at sea, specifically to combat pirates.”

Zhao Zheng nodded. “I’ve heard there are immortal islands beyond the seas, with mountains containing silver and gold mines. I don’t know if it’s true.”

He continued, “If it’s true, it could indeed resolve the court’s urgent needs.”

Zhao Erlang replied, “But you still need seeds to plant. Elder Sister said having just gold, silver, and copper coins isn’t enough—you also need something called productive forces. You must grow grain. Otherwise, even if the national treasury has money, if there’s no grain in the world, where would you buy it?”

Zhao Zheng said, “Hence the need to encourage agriculture and sericulture!”

He became energized, saying solemnly, “When we return, let’s start preparing immediately. We’ll have everyone prepare now so they can plant and harvest more when spring arrives next year.”

Zhao Erlang nodded vigorously.

Zhao Hanzhang entered the study and nodded to Shen Ruhui and Cao Ping, who were waiting there. She had Zhao Yunxin bring out the maps. “These show the coastal conditions of Qingzhou and Guangzhou. I’ve invited you both here to discuss building docks in these two provinces.”

Shen Ruhui’s first thought was, “Is the General planning to attack Yangzhou from the sea?”

Zhao Hanzhang paused and looked up at him.

Shen Ruhui was startled and lowered his head. “Please, just pretend you heard nothing. I said nothing.”

Cao Ping shrank his presence as much as possible while his heart pounded.

Fu Tinghan said, “Building the docks is for going out to sea.”

He explained, “Across the ocean is a landmass with abundant gold and silver mines, which can temporarily relieve the treasury’s pressure.”

Shen Ruhui and Cao Ping didn’t believe this at all, but dared not say so aloud. They could only grumble internally: Why not say there are immortal mountains across the sea?

China was vast and rich in resources—what didn’t it have?

If such things were hard to find even in China, how could one expect such treasures in barbarian lands beyond the seas?

This must still be about attacking Yangzhou from the south, right?

Both Shen Ruhui and Cao Ping assumed they understood and lowered their heads to examine the maps Fu Tinghan had drawn, thinking seriously. If they were to deploy troops by sea, the ships would need substantial capacity. After all, besides soldiers and provisions, they would need to carry siege equipment—all very heavy. The choice of dock location would require extreme caution.

Shen Ruhui quickly marked three locations on the map. “Based solely on the data and maps, these three locations are most suitable. But whether they can actually be built, and how, requires on-site inspection.”

Cao Ping looked at the three locations, mentally calculated the data, and said, “Correct. These three have the best numbers, but we don’t know the actual conditions on the ground.”

Zhao Hanzhang pondered, “On-site surveying is necessary?”

To build such large docks, the designers would certainly need to inspect the sites in person before daring to begin construction. Who would dare start work based solely on these maps and data?

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at Fu Tinghan and asked Shen Ruhui, “Minister Shen, I heard you improved the plow and harrow, as well as soybean planting methods?”

Shen Ruhui paused before replying, “I merely made slight improvements based on the manuscript Minister Fu provided. The primary credit belongs to Minister Fu.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded and asked, “As for wheat cultivation and increasing yields, and rice planting and production increases—do you have any new insights?”

Shen Ruhui’s heart rose to his throat. After considerable hesitation, he said quietly, “I’ve recently been researching compost production. Wheat is a heavy feeder and requires fertilizer after the greening period each year, but because farmers have few livestock at home, they don’t produce enough fertilizer.”

Seeing Cao Ping’s strange expression, Shen Ruhui quickly explained, “I once consulted Minister Fu about this. He is truly learned in both ancient and modern knowledge. He said fallen leaves and dead branches can all be made into fertilizer—it’s just a matter of insufficient decomposition. In the hot, high-temperature south, things decompose quickly; in the cold, low-temperature north, things decompose slowly. So the key to turning these leaves and branches into fertilizer is temperature.”

So don’t look at him so strangely—he didn’t have some peculiar interest. Fu Tinghan understood these things too, didn’t he?

If anyone was strange, Fu Tinghan came first.

However, Zhao Hanzhang looked at him with bright, piercing eyes. “So has Minister Shen successfully developed this?”

Shen Ruhui said quietly, “I’ve only achieved initial results—I wouldn’t dare claim complete success. I think more observation is needed.”

After all, the fertilizer he had produced was only used on a few vegetable plots and hadn’t been tested in actual fields. He didn’t know how effective it would be. Though privately, Shen Ruhui was quite confident.

He paused before continuing, “As for rice planting, I tested several fields over the past two years. When seedlings exceed three inches before transplanting, at harvest they’re about an inch taller than those transplanted at around two inches, with longer grain heads as well. The yield is greater by about one to three pecks per acre.”

Don’t underestimate an increase of just one peck per acre on average. If you had ten acres of rice, that would be an extra hundred pecks… or one bushel.

One bushel of grain was enough to feed a person for one hundred days. With careful rationing, it could last even longer without starving to death.

Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Shen Ruhui. How could she bear to send him off to build docks?

Such talent should remain at the Agricultural Ministry to continue researching various grain crop cultivation methods.

Her gaze shifted to Cao Ping.

Cao Ping was shocked and quickly said, “Following Minister Fu’s instructions, this subordinate built two water-powered mills along the Luo River, plus two forging workshops. The electricity you wanted to create is also under research—we’ve made some progress.”

Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes brightened as she asked, “Oh? What results have you achieved?”

Cao Ping looked somewhat aggrieved. “Only some preliminary findings. Minister Fu’s requirements are very precise craftsmanship—few craftsmen can achieve it. Storing that divine force in such a small box is extremely difficult.”

In Cao Ping’s view, electricity was equivalent to divine power, an existence like lightning from the heavens.

Lightning itself was created by the gods, and Fu Tinghan now wanted to become a god-maker—not only creating electricity but also storing and using it. Wouldn’t that make him equivalent to a god?

Each time Cao Ping went to operate and research, his heart trembled with fear. The workshop had indeed exploded several times. Though each time was just crackling noises without casualties, it still frightened him terribly.

Zhao Hanzhang looked at him sympathetically, understanding his situation. “I’ve troubled you. The electrical workshop is indeed difficult. How about this—leave that matter to Minister Fu. Clerk Cao, you make a trip to Qingzhou and Guangzhou to oversee the construction of maritime docks. What do you think?”

Cao Ping: …

Qingzhou—a barbarous wasteland. He really didn’t want to go.

Zhao Hanzhang saw his expression and immediately said, “I’ll appoint you as Maritime Pacification Commissioner, fourth rank, equal in position to a provincial governor. You may mobilize the people of Qingzhou and Guangzhou to build the docks.”

The hesitation on Cao Ping’s face immediately dissipated as he fell into contemplation.

A clerk was a sixth-rank official. This represented a leap of five grades.

Cao Ping swallowed hard and couldn’t help glancing at Shen Ruhui. Finally, he gritted his teeth and accepted. “This subordinate will not fail the General’s expectations.”