After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Chapter 1191 - 1173: Yu Cong

Therefore, Yu Cong refused the County Magistrate and worked with the villagers to increase production. When tax collectors came to demand taxes, he helped the villagers underreport their harvest so that each household had some grain stored.

The years of accumulation not only protected the villagers in times of famine but also because of mutual aid among the villagers, one family helping another, several nearby villages were sheltered.

When the Xiongnu moved south, and wars erupted everywhere, he warned of several impending disasters and promptly led people to hide in the mountains, saving most of the villagers.

Once Zhao Hanzhang pacified the Xiongnu and reestablished the capital in Luoyang, he said to his father and brothers, "Now we can enter officialdom. The world should be stable."

His father and brothers didn’t want to leave their homeland, so Yu Cong said, "Our family’s reputation here is too high, which is a good thing but also a bad thing. Although staying here can ensure wealth for a lifetime, it’s hard to progress further, and there’s a risk of conflicts with the local county government due to interests. The Great General is capable and broad-minded, but her subordinates may not share the same tolerance."

Trusting Yu Cong’s foresight, the Yu family painfully sold all their lands and houses and moved to Luoyang as a whole family.

That period was genuinely filled with anxiety and fear, as it was their first time traveling such a long distance, leaving their hometown and placing their lives in the hands of the yet unseen Zhao Hanzhang...

Fortunately, thanks to the good name of the Yu family and framing their journey as going to Luoyang to participate in recruitment examinations, they arrived safely in Luoyang, despite losing most of their possessions to two bandit encounters on the way.

This was unfortunate, but fortunately, those bandits only dared to rob goods, not harm lives.

The newly decreed policies by the Great General were quite effective, as generals in various places were keen on eliminating bandits. If bandits didn’t have a murder case against them, they could be treated as displaced people, settled directly and given land;

If they had murder cases, they would be enslaved or executed, so even bandits were cautious to avoid killing whenever possible.

Yu Cong also considered preserving lives as more important. Apart from the books at home, he was willing to abandon anything that couldn’t be kept, as long as their lives were safe.

Thus, the entire family reached Luoyang safely, albeit nearly emptied of possessions upon entering the city. Although the Yu family occasionally doubted Yu Cong’s decision, their trust in him was renewed each time before voicing it, so they boldly ventured into Luoyang.

Fortunately, Zhao Hanzhang lived outside the palace, frequently traveled, and showed respect to the wise and scholarly. It was said she read all written submissions to her.

So Yu Cong used an agricultural paper he wrote to knock on Zhao Hanzhang’s door. Zhao Hanzhang specially arranged a morning to meet him and later personally introduced him to Fu Tinghan.

He was then immediately given a house, relocation fund, and registered as residents in Luoyang, with land allocated to their family according to the new settler policy. Half of the land was inside Luoyang City, the other half outside, but not far apart, facilitating their farming.

Moreover, she allowed their children to directly enroll in school, as Yu Cong was willing to serve as an Agricultural Doctor at the Imperial College, and he had a patronage quota for entry into the Imperial College.

Yu Cong immediately allocated this quota to his studious nephew.

Thus, the Yu family entered the scholarly class and could directly engage with Zhao Hanzhang, holding a considerable status.

From then on, the Yu family no longer doubted Yu Cong’s decision; the results of this migration proved their success without question.

Yu Cong joining Zhao Hanzhang’s cohort was like a mouse finding a barn full of rice. Before, he had too many worries: protecting his family, his acquaintances, and both recognized and unrecognized villagers, leaving him little time to ponder agricultural science.

But after joining Zhao Hanzhang, she swiftly altered Yu Cong’s thinking patterns, freeing him from other worries so he could focus solely on his research interests.

Money and promotion were no longer issues; as long as his research was effective, Zhao Hanzhang could ensure it was employed nationwide, making his name renowned as well.

Though Yu Cong modestly claimed he didn’t care much, witnessing his name spread across the land along with his improved crops and methods that saved countless lives, he couldn’t help but feel exhilarated.

Thus, although his official position was rather low, he enjoyed many privileges and never felt Zhao Hanzhang shortchanged him. Entering officialdom naturally starts from junior positions and ascends gradually.

In essence, isn’t the purpose of holding office to gain authority to pursue one’s research and earn reputation?

And now, aside from his rank not being high, doesn’t he have all of that already?

Regarding Li Tian and Imperial Censor Lu’s obstructions and insults, Yu Cong didn’t take it to heart, thinking disdainfully that these people, despite having higher ranks, still targeted him out of sheer jealousy.

Jealous of his talents, jealous of him being favored by the Great General.

So why should he be angry?

This only proves his capabilities.

But being stopped once earned him two bamboo slips, let the insults come more fiercely then.

Yu Cong was thrilled holding the bamboo slips.

Sending off Xi Lian, the two Yu family fathers crowded around to view the slips and sighed, admiringly looking at Yu Cong, saying, "Younger brother, why don’t you walk the Imperial City Palace Road more times tomorrow and see if anyone else challenges you."

Their family had worked hard for three generations, yet they only had twenty-eight books stored, six obtained by the eldest grandson after entering the Imperial College, five borrowed by Yu Cong and Fu Tinghan for copying at home, nine bought this year from bookshops, and the remaining three were added by him over his lifetime.

It shows just how difficult it was to keep books.

This was thanks to the increased availability now, with many books in the bookshops, otherwise, their collection would have been even smaller.

As for bamboo slips like those Xi Lian brought, they were essentially privately kept by families and couldn’t be found outside.

Yu Cong shook his head to regain composure, regretfully stating, "No more will come. The Great General certainly will not let Doctor Shen and me suffer such grievances; after this time, no one will dare provoke us again."

Yu Cong pondered for a moment and said, "I think I might be promoted."

Yu Cong guessed correctly, Zhao Hanzhang was indeed promoting him, not just him, but upgrading the entire Ministry of Agriculture.

Previously, there wasn’t such a department. Under the Ministry of Industry, there was a small branch called Ministry of Agriculture, which Zhao Hanzhang emphasized when she was a County Magistrate in Xiping, focusing on agricultural yield improvements, grain storage for preventing disasters, and war.

After she became the Yu State Governor, this name and change was implemented across the entire state, and as she entered Luoyang, the change extended to all of the Great Jin.

She did this to demonstrate her emphasis on agriculture.

However, observing today, it wasn’t enough, so she planned to separate the Ministry of Agriculture and make it independent from the Six Ministries, which prior to this were Six Departments with scattered functions and overlapping areas.

Taking this opportunity, she aimed to clearly redefine them further; besides, she planned to establish the Academy of Sciences, a place without official power yet holding status and prestige.

Unexpectedly, Li Tian, Imperial Censor Lu, Shen Ruhui, and Yu Cong never imagined that a mere roadside harassment incident could alter parts of the official system and even lead to the establishment of an institute later capable of changing social structures.