Chapter 174: Crying rhythmically

"Your Majesty, Duke Wu has come to report that this afternoon, Zhao Chen and others went to Wannian County and were intercepted and killed by Turkic spies on the way."

In the Li Zheng Hall, Li Shimin was talking to Queen Changsun.

Suddenly hearing Cheng Yaojin say such news, his heart skipped a beat.

"What's wrong with Zhao Chen?" Before the emperor could speak, Empress Changsun immediately asked.

The anxious look on his face made Cheng Yaojin stunned for a while.

"Speak." Li Shimin said in a deep voice.

"Zhao Chen has intimidated the Turkic spies. Nothing happened to the four of them. It's just that the auspicious seeds given to Zhao Chen by His Majesty were snatched away by the Turks." Cheng Yaojin said again.

"Huh——" Queen Changsun's heart dropped, and a trace of joy flashed across her face.

"Where are the Turks, have they been caught?" Li Shimin also quietly breathed a sigh of relief and then asked.

The yield of three thousand kilograms of rice seeds per mu was the greatest weapon of the Tang Dynasty.

As long as they are planted for a few years, Datang will not be able to finish all the food.

By then, Datang's national power will be extremely strong.

In this way, other countries can be easily conquered.

But now that the seeds have been taken away, Datang's advantage will soon be gone.

"All the Turks were killed and the seeds disappeared." Cheng Yaojin said.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, and the oriole follows behind." Li Shimin's expression changed, and he asked again, "Any clues?"

Cheng Yaojin shook his head.

"Your Majesty, those Turks and the people who killed them must know each other, otherwise there would not be such a coincidence."

"I'm afraid they have been secretly following Zhao Chen for a long time. Your Majesty, it's better to send some people to protect Zhao Chen." Queen Changsun said.

Queen Changsun's words made Cheng Yaojin very curious.

Thinking of the emperor Long Yan's furious look when he asked about the relationship between the emperor and Zhao Chen.

Cheng Yaojin was very sure that the emperor and empress must have a special relationship with Zhao Chen.

\u003c

br\u003e But if it was just the emperor's illegitimate son, there was no need for the queen to be so worried.

Could it be that he is the son of the emperor and the queen?

When Cheng Yaojin thought of this, he quickly shook his head.

Everyone knows that sixteen years ago, the queen only gave birth to the prince Li Chengqian, so how could she have another child.

"On Zhao Chen's side, I will ask Jingde to send someone to protect him. Lao Cheng, order him to go down and conduct a strict inspection of Chang'an City, and we must find those seeds." Li Shimin ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Cheng Yaojin responded and stepped back.

"Your Majesty, it's too dangerous outside. Let Zhao Chen enter the court earlier." Cheng Yaojin retreated, and Empress Changsun said to the emperor.

Even when she went to Wannian County, she was targeted by Turkic spies. Empress Changsun was already full of worries.

"Let's give it a few days. I haven't figured out how to see him yet." Li Shimin was silent for a moment before speaking to Empress Changsun.

…

Early the next morning, Zhao Chen and others came out of the old house and saw the village chief waiting outside.

They did not stay at the Beiya Forbidden Army camp yesterday, but went directly back to Zhao Chen's old house in the village to rest.

"Brother Zhao, you're awake. Take your friends and go to my place to have some breakfast first." The village chief invited a few people with a smile.

"We just ate some, so we won't go. The village chief will take us to see the peppers first." Zhao Chen smiled and rejected the village chief's kindness.

The village was not very wealthy to begin with.

It's enough for them to just eat some dry food.

What Zhao Chen is most concerned about now is the peppers grown in the village.

It’s almost October now, and if we don’t harvest the crops, they will rot in the ground.

"Okay, Brother Zhao, please, please

follow me. "The village chief said with a smile, walking in front to lead the way for a few people.

"Brother Zhao!"

"Brother Zhao, why didn't you say anything to us when you came back? Did you have dinner? Come to my uncle's house for dinner at noon. My uncle asked your aunt to kill some chickens for you."

"Brother Zhao, tell me whether this beautiful girl is your fiancée."

Walking on the small road in the village, people greeted Zhao Chen along the way.

The simple and gossipy looks of the villagers made Li Ruoshuang keep her head down the whole time.

Not long after the group walked, they saw a green pepper tree in front of them.

There is a pepper tree every three steps, with huge red and green peppers hanging on the pepper tree.

"Brother Zhao, according to your instructions, a total of twenty acres of peppers have been planted here. In the past few days, many peppers have begun to fall."

"It is estimated that in a few days, more will fall." The village chief and Zhao Chen introduced the situation of the pepper field.

Zhao Chen squatted on the ground and picked a chili pepper in his hand.

When you break open the pepper, you can see the pepper seeds inside, which are round, white, plump and stylish.

"It's time to pick it up." Zhao Chen nodded.

"Village chief, please ask the villagers to help pick these peppers and send them to the warehouse in Chang'an City."

"According to the previous agreement, each person's daily wages are fifty cents, and the income from the peppers of five acres of land is distributed to the villagers, regardless of gender, regardless of age, everyone has it."

"By the way, leave one acre of peppers and some seeds for next year's pepper planting." Zhao Chen said to the village chief.

After hearing this, the village chief did not react for a while.

When he reacted, he was already kneeling down towards Zhao Chen.

Zhao Chen was also shocked. Why did such a good person kneel down?

\u003e "Village chief, what are you doing? Get up quickly." Zhao Chen pulled the village chief, but the village chief couldn't get up.

"Brother Zhao, it's not easy for you to make money. You have helped the villagers enough. We can't be so greedy..."

"Village Chief, what you said is too foreign. Zhao Chen doesn't have many friends. Uncle Fu is the only relative around him. The villagers are my relatives. Zhao Chen doesn't have much ability, so he can only try his best to help." Zhao Chen interrupted the village chief and said with a smile.

"Hey, Brother Zhao, you are treating us like this. As an old man, I don't even know what to say." The village chief sighed and shook his head, looking at Zhao Chen with gratitude in his eyes.

"Why are you talking about this? You and the villagers are Zhao Chen's relatives. It's too foreign to say this." Zhao Chen helped the village chief and said with a smile.

"Village Chief, please go and tell the villagers that the peppers should be picked within the next two days." Zhao Chen took the initiative to speak before the village chief could say any more words of gratitude.

"Okay, Brother Zhao, I'm going to tell the villagers right away and promise to pick all the twenty acres of peppers within three days." After the village chief finished speaking, he hurriedly left excitedly.

"Brother, I saw you right. This is the first time I've seen someone as nostalgic as you." Cheng Chumo patted Zhao Chen on the shoulder and said with a smile.

His eyes were full of admiration.

Pepper is worth more than gold, these can replace pepper.

Even if the price is too bad, it won't be too bad.

All the income from the five acres of chili peppers was given to the villagers. Cheng Chumo wondered whether he would be able to give up so many things.

"Zhao Chen, how much do you plan to sell this pound of pepper for?" Qin Huaiyu picked off a pepper and put it in his mouth to chew.

The spicy taste made him burst into tears and nose.

They used their hands to wipe away the tears that had come out. As soon as they wiped them, they saw Qin Huaiyu yell and then cry rhythmically.