Although Ying Zheng was unaware of Lin Tian's capabilities, he was filled with curiosity about the things Lin Tian created.
He was curious about both trains and high-speed trains. Even Ying Zheng couldn't help but get involved, wanting to understand the differences. Fortunately, Lin Tian stopped him, preventing Ying Zheng from delving too deeply into their inner workings.
Trains and high-speed trains were, after all, merely modes of transportation for Great Qin. Such transportation could be researched by others. As for Ying Zheng, the Supreme Emperor of Great Qin, he could completely focus on more important matters.
For instance, grain. Lin Tian had created grains from later eras by expending destiny. The rice of later eras could yield several thousand catties per mu. When this appeared, Ying Zheng was utterly stunned. He couldn't believe that such potent rice existed in the world. He had never dreamed of yields of several thousand catties per mu.
While potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn had already been popularized in Great Qin, and their yields also reached several thousand catties per mu, they were still somewhat different from rice. Although they could serve as staples, eating them every day could lead to minor adverse reactions. When necessary, people would eat other foods to alleviate these reactions. Rice, however, was different.
Rice had always been a staple food, consumable daily. Furthermore, there was no need to worry about any harm from consuming rice every day. That was not the most crucial point. The most important thing was that the common people had an inherent sense of recognition for rice. Many of them were resistant to planting potatoes. After all, they had never seen or eaten potatoes before. They would only plant potatoes out of necessity to avoid starvation. Many potatoes even went unsold. Apart from those who had no food, essentially no one ate potatoes.
Rice, however, was different. It was something universally recognized. People possessed a natural sense of affirmation towards rice. Moreover, many people wished they could eat white rice. Just being able to eat white rice would make them feel truly satisfied. A sense of satisfaction that they truly felt they had eaten their fill. Hence, Ying Zheng was so excited about the existence of rice.
"Can this rice truly yield several thousand catties per mu?"
"Your Majesty, it absolutely can yield several thousand catties per mu. Moreover, it's less prone to pests and diseases and resistant to lodging. Its benefits for our Great Qin are too numerous!"
"Good! Good! Good! Our Great Qin needs this kind of rice. The people of Great Qin need this kind of rice!"
"With this kind of rice, our people will never suffer from hunger again!"
Ying Zheng looked at this rice, more excited than he would be seeing a gold mine. He even felt that this rice was more valuable than gold. Because of this, he did not allow anyone else to interfere with the planting of rice, personally overseeing its cultivation.
Lin Tian had anticipated this. In fact, Lin Tian considered this the best possible scenario. This way, Ying Zheng would have something to do and wouldn't simply retire. If Ying Zheng retired and lost his drive, Lin Tian wouldn't dare to guarantee what Ying Zheng might become in the future.
Of this, Ying Zheng was unaware, as were the ministers in the imperial court and the common people of Great Qin. All they knew was that Lin Tian had produced rice seeds that could yield several thousand catties per mu, and Ying Zheng would distribute these seeds to the people for cultivation.
Upon hearing this, the officials of Great Qin were all astonished.
"Heavens, is there truly rice in this world that yields several thousand catties per mu?"
"Unbelievable, this is too unbelievable. This is simply a divine item!"
"Who would have thought His Majesty possessed such a treasure? With such a treasure appearing, who in the world would not praise our Emperor!"
The ministers had a premonition that once Lin Tian revealed his creations, the common people of the world would surely praise him. And indeed, the common people did just that. When they learned that Lin Tian would provide them with rice seeds yielding several thousand catties per mu, they were all astounded. Many of them initially reacted with disbelief. But when they learned that the Supreme Emperor Ying Zheng would soon distribute the seeds to them, everyone became ecstatic.
"Hahaha! I knew it, I knew that after His Majesty ascended the throne, he would bring us a beautiful future. See, my thoughts have come true!"
"Rice yielding several thousand catties per mu, this is the rice that will save our lives! With this rice, none of us will starve again!"
"Long live His Majesty, long live Great Qin! With this rice, how can our Great Qin not prosper?"
The appearance of rice yielding several thousand catties per mu made the common people feel that the golden age of Great Qin was about to arrive, let alone the officials. With the emergence of rice yielding several thousand catties per mu, the officials of Great Qin were filled with awe for Lin Tian. Every single one of them behaved honestly, not daring to harbor any ill intentions.
Not only them, but even those who opposed Great Qin had a change of heart. They looked at the cheering common people with despair in their eyes. Recalling the lives of the common people before, they suddenly felt that their cause of restoring the kingdom was even more hopeless. They even abandoned the idea of restoration themselves. They realized that with their capabilities, even if they succeeded in restoring their kingdom, they could not provide their people with a better life. In fact, their people might live even worse lives than before. Perhaps their people would still not have enough to eat, and they would still be separated from their families.
Thinking of this, their hearts were filled with pain.
"If I truly did that, would it be too cruel to the common people?!"
Those who had such thoughts were kind-hearted. These kind-hearted individuals felt that they should not disrupt the beautiful lives the common people were currently enjoying. Therefore, they began to consider abandoning their plans for restoration. This abandonment was undoubtedly painful for them, but it was an excellent outcome for the common people.
Even if some of them lacked such benevolence, looking at the common people praising Lin Tian, they knew they could not succeed. Now that the common people's hearts were with Great Qin, they knew that if they wanted the common people to join them in rebellion and restore their kingdom, no one would agree. After all, who would be willing to abandon their current good life and engage in a life-threatening endeavor?
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