Chapter 191: The Situation Was Settled
Chapter 191: The Situation Was Settled
Fang Jifan paused and hesitated for a while in his heart before raising his eyes. At that moment, Emperor Hongzhi was looking at him with a piercing gaze.
Fang Jifan naturally knew what the emperor wanted to hear, so without any hesitation, he said firmly.
“There is no such thing as the Dragon King in this world.”
“…”
Huff…
Emperor Hongzhi’s first reaction was to heave a sigh of relief.
Influenced by the previous emperor, Emperor Hongzhi greatly disliked talk of ghosts and monsters.
He did not even believe in the existence of gods.
But such a miraculous event had actually occurred, making him feel uncertain and a bit uneasy inside.
If ghosts and monsters truly existed in the world, then how many deceitful Taoists had he expelled since taking the throne? Wouldn’t that completely undermine the foundation of the reforms he had carried out?
Now, hearing these words from Fang Jifan’s mouth, he felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Seeing that Emperor Hongzhi was not as agitated as before, Fang Jifan began to explain in detail.
“That Taoist Li, who is also my junior fellow apprentice, certainly cannot summon wind and rain. The reason the Crown Prince and I prayed for rain was not to pretend to have magic powers, but because the people firmly believed that heaven no longer favored the Great Ming. There were even outrageous rumors saying that His Majesty was no longer the Son of Heaven.”
The Son of Heaven, who received the mandate from heaven and ruled alone—this was the foundation of the emperor’s power, a theory that had been passed down for generations.
Therefore, almost all rulers chose to accept this theory.
But a problem arose: receiving the mandate from heaven was a double-edged sword. It was both proof of the legitimacy of imperial power and a potential weapon that could be turned against it.
Hence, there were instances like “Chen Sheng Will Be King” found in the belly of a fish, or the stone man with one eye that stirred up rebellion along the Yellow River.
The common people were always very creative.
Fang Jifan used this as a spear to attack the shield of rumors. With the heavy rain, all the rumors became fragile and collapsed without attack.
Emperor Hongzhi nodded repeatedly, his bright eyes narrowing slightly. He seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then, his brow moved unconsciously, and he smiled faintly.
“You handled it most appropriately.”
If there had been no rain prayer ritual, what difference would it make even if it rained? The rumors would still come in all forms, and although they might not be as rampant as before, they would never stop.
But now, the world had quieted down.
And all of this was Fang Jifan’s idea. This rain prayer ritual shattered all the rumors. Even so, Emperor Hongzhi was still very curious. So he lifted his gaze and stared at Fang Jifan, asking with confusion.
“But how did you know it would rain today?”
At this point, Fang Jifan had no choice but to continue lying. His handsome face showed sincerity as he gave Emperor Hongzhi a faint smile.
“Your Majesty knows that when I was young, I received guidance from a Taoist, right?”
“…” Emperor Hongzhi was a bit confused. Why was the topic shifting to a Taoist again?
Fang Jifan didn’t care whether Emperor Hongzhi would suspect him and continued.
“That person was quite skilled in observing celestial phenomena and taught me some knowledge. After observing the sky, I deduced that it was highly likely to rain today.”
He deliberately said “highly likely” instead of “definitely” to leave some room for error.
Although Fang Jifan was a brainless youth, he wasn’t stupid. If he were truly able to observe celestial phenomena with such high accuracy, he might be tied up and forced to give weather forecasts every day from the star observation platform—that would be terrible.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi couldn’t help but narrow his eyes, looking thoughtful once again. At that moment, he formed a new impression of Fang Jifan.
This guy’s work… was reassuring, but his words were somewhat…
Emperor Hongzhi suddenly remembered something and frowned, staring at Fang Jifan as he pressed further.
“But what if there had been no rain?”
“This…” Fang Jifan glanced at Liu Jian, then at Xiao Jing, feeling too embarrassed to speak.
Zhu Houzhao, who had been holding back all this time, finally saw his chance to speak since Fang Jifan remained silent. He bared his teeth and said with full negativity, “If that Taoist couldn’t bring rain, we would naturally tie him up and sacrifice him to heaven.”
“…”
This was truly a grand scheme.
Suddenly, the Warm Pavilion fell silent.
Liu Jian’s face turned pale at that moment.
Xiao Jing and Mou Bin, however, looked at Fang Jifan with admiration, faint smiles playing on their lips.
Fang Jifan felt their unusual gazes and thought to himself, “What kind of looks are those? Don’t admire me! I’m not that kind of person with twisted morals—I’m a good person! How could I be so unethical?”
Emperor Hongzhi felt a sense of frustration.
But he knew he couldn’t dwell on these details.
Overall, Fang Jifan had handled the matter beautifully.
He glared at Zhu Houzhao and said, “Nonsense!”
Zhu Houzhao knew he had spoken out of turn and quickly lowered his head, not daring to make a sound.
Emperor Hongzhi then took a deep breath. The rain prayer was a response to the officials and people. Those who believed in fate would naturally believe in the rain prayer. Since that was the case, the truth behind the rain prayer could not be exposed. After a moment of silence, he looked at Fang Jifan and spoke gently.
“Jifan, I never expected you to even understand celestial phenomena. I wonder what else you are hiding inside?”
“…”
Fang Jifan almost blurted out, “What about the concept of scientific development?… I can also sing: ‘There has never been a savior, nor are there gods or emperors…'”
Of course, he didn’t dare say it. Otherwise, even a brain illness couldn’t save him.
Emperor Hongzhi gazed at Fang Jifan with a smile on his face.
“Tell me now, what else are you hiding? I want to hear it so that I won’t be startled like today again.”
Fang Jifan thought for a moment and then became serious. “I have one unique skill.”
Emperor Hongzhi was immediately interested, his eyes burning as he stared straight at Fang Jifan.
“Tell me about it.”
Fang Jifan said, “I can make one mu of dry land yield twenty dan of grain.”
“…”
Suddenly, the Warm Pavilion fell silent.
It seemed as if even breathing had stopped.
The mu measurement in the Ming Dynasty was similar to that of later times—the former was about 614 square meters, while the latter was about 660 square meters.
At that time, the average yield per mu in the Great Ming was mostly around two dan. One dan in the Great Ming was approximately equal to 120 jin, meaning that harvesting 250 jin of grain per mu was considered quite good.
Of course, this involved regional differences. The soil in the south was more fertile, and it was possible to harvest three dan per mu. In the north, where dry land was common, achieving two dan per mu was already the maximum. Moreover, with the recent years of continuous famine, even one dan per mu could not be guaranteed, let alone two.
Fang Jifan spoke with great confidence, claiming he could make dry land produce twenty dan of grain.
That was nearly a thousand jin.
A yield of a thousand jin per mu… What did that mean?
Emperor Hongzhi could not imagine it.
Liu Jian and the others were also stunned; they were even less able to fathom it.
This meant that whereas originally thirty mu of land were needed to support one household, now just four or five mu could sustain a family’s basic needs.
The atmosphere remained silent for a long, long time…
Suddenly…
Xie Qian could not hold back and laughed. “Haha…”
Though Xie Qian was usually restrained, as he aged, he still had a playful side. At the very least… he found Fang Jifan’s joke quite amusing.
If the yield per mu could reach a thousand jin, he, Xie Qian, would cut off his own head and use it as a Cuju ball. Of course, this was just a joke—harmless and in good fun.
Liu Jian and Li Dongyang both smiled faintly.
After a brief moment of stiffness, Emperor Hongzhi also could not help but laugh. He was in an exceptionally good mood that day. Looking at the rain outside, he thought that soon tales would spread everywhere about how wise and compassionate the Crown Prince was, loving the people as his own children.
This son of his was not easy to handle, but Emperor Hongzhi wholeheartedly wished the best for him. He would have given his own heart if he could.
Fang Jifan was reckless with his words, even telling jokes in such an unconventional way. Hmm… but he had worked hard this time. It seemed that having Fang Jifan accompany the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace was the right decision.
Fang Jifan felt depressed.
What was going on?
I was telling the truth.
But in the end, even he laughed.
To be honest, if he hadn’t lived two lives and someone dared tell him that grain could yield a thousand jin per mu, Fang Jifan would have broken that person’s legs—he’d even write his surname “Fang” upside down.
“Haha…”
“Haha…”
Fang Jifan felt speechless inside and simply laughed even louder. “HAHAHAHAHAHA…” His laughter shook the rafters, drowning out all other sounds.
A joyful atmosphere filled the Warm Pavilion.
“Very good.” Emperor Hongzhi did not expose Fang Jifan’s boast. It was understandable for young people to be competitive and enjoy bragging. “Minister Fang, you have rendered great service this time. I will assign you to manage military farming. When you produce that grain that yields twenty dan per mu, I will not hesitate to reward you heavily. As for that Taoist…”
Heavy rewards, but only later… It felt just like his superiors in his previous life—always saying, “Work hard, young man, I value you greatly. Put in more overtime, and you’ll have a chance for promotion.”
Human nature was indeed universal.
Of course, Fang Jifan had his sights set on Longquan Taoist Temple. Next, it was time for his junior fellow apprentice to shine. Fang Jifan said, “His surname is Li, and he is my junior fellow apprentice.”
Emperor Hongzhi put away his smile and said seriously, “This Taoist has rendered meritorious service in praying for rain. He is hereby bestowed the title of Perfected Master and granted the honorific ‘Guardian of the Law’.”
Perfected Master Guardian of the Law.
A new Perfected Master was rising.
What was even more astonishing was that this person was originally just an insignificant Taoist. The Great Ming had always been stingy in conferring the title of Perfected Master.
The number of Perfected Masters officially recognized by Zhengyi Taoism could be counted on two hands. What virtues or abilities did Li Chaowen possess? Given his luck, qualifications, and pitiful intelligence, he could never hope to become a Perfected Master in this lifetime—not even a ‘Master’, which was a rank lower than Perfected Master.
But now, a single rain prayer ritual had directly elevated Li Chaowen to become the most outstanding among the new generation of “Chao”-generation disciples in northern Zhengyi Taoism. In terms of official status, he was almost on par with Fang Jifan’s senior fellow apprentice, Perfected Master Puji.
Fang Jifan felt relieved in his heart—the situation was settled!
He secretly rejoiced and said, “Your subject, on behalf of my junior fellow apprentice, thanks Your Majesty. Long Live the Emperor, who sees everything clearly. We are all bathed in Your Majesty’s grace…”
“Enough.” Emperor Hongzhi waved his hand. Then, he looked out at the rain and suddenly became lost in thought, muttering to himself, “If it were truly possible to yield twenty dan per mu, what a sight that would be?”
In his heart, perhaps… Fang Jifan was just telling a small joke, but that little joke seemed to strike straight into the depths of his soul.
If it were really true, it would surely be a magnificent era of prosperity.
But alas, such divine techniques did not exist in this world.
Shaking his head, Emperor Hongzhi smiled.