From cute to empress

Chapter 264: Windmill Witnesses History

The deafening cheers gradually died down, and the excited voice of the agronomist reached my ears clearly: "Your Majesty, I have an idea! Today's abundant harvests and the people's peaceful and prosperous lives are all inseparable from the precious farming experience passed down by our ancestors and the hard work of generations. I think we can hold an agricultural cultural exhibition to showcase this precious cultural heritage to more people!"

My eyes lit up. This was indeed a good idea! "Go on," I motioned for the doctor of agronomy to continue.

The doctor of agronomy adjusted his glasses and said excitedly, "We can invite agricultural experts and scholars from all over the world to gather at the Agricultural College to jointly plan this cultural exhibition. Not only can we display various farming tools and traditional crop samples, but we can also invite veteran farmers to demonstrate traditional farming techniques on site. This will allow more people to understand the historical changes in agriculture and experience the charm of farming culture!"

"Great! That's a great idea!" I nodded approvingly. "I'll leave this matter entirely to you and the Agricultural College. Just let me know if you need any resources. We must make this exhibition a success!"

The doctor of agronomy was extremely excited to receive my support and immediately bowed and said, "I understand! I will do my best to make this exhibition a success!"

I swept my gaze over the jubilant crowd and announced loudly, "Fellow villagers, to better inherit and promote our excellent agricultural civilization, I have decided to hold an agricultural culture exhibition at the Agricultural Academy! Everyone is welcome to come and visit!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in enthusiastic cheers again. People rushed to tell each other about the upcoming event, excitedly discussing it.

Preparations soon began in full swing. I personally ordered the allocation of funds from the national treasury to support the exhibition and called on experienced farmers and agricultural scholars from across the country to come to the Agricultural Academy to participate in the design and layout of the exhibition.

I was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm of the locals for this exhibition, which far exceeded my expectations. People from all over the country sent in their treasured ancient agricultural tools and traditional crop seeds, and many experienced farmers volunteered to contribute to the exhibition.

I brought Zhen Youcai to the Agricultural College. Seeing that the originally empty venue was now filled with a wide range of exhibits and bustling crowds, I felt a lot of emotion.

"Your Majesty, look!" Old Farmer Tian excitedly took my hand and walked us to a quaint wooden windmill. "This was passed down from our ancestors in our village. I heard it has hundreds of years of history!"

A hunchbacked old woman stood beside Mr. Tian and added with a smile, "Yes, when we were little, we often followed the adults to grind flour with this windmill. It was so useful!"

Looking at the weathered but still sturdy windmill in front of me, I seemed to see the diligence and wisdom passed down from generation to generation.

"Your Majesty, please look over here!" A young doctor of agronomy pointed to the various crop seeds neatly arranged on the exhibition stand and enthusiastically introduced them. "These are traditional crop samples collected from all over the country. Some varieties are now extremely rare. We hope that through this exhibition, more people will understand this precious agricultural heritage and work together to protect our farming culture..."

As he listened to his incessant explanation, an idea suddenly occurred to me. "Doctor," I interrupted him, "the stories behind these exhibits are certainly important, but if they could be presented in a more vivid and vivid way, the effect would definitely be even better..." I paused and looked at the doctor of agronomy. "What do you think?" The doctor of agronomy's eyes lit up when he heard me, but then his face became hesitant. "Your Majesty is absolutely right, but... it's not easy to present these stories vividly."

I smiled faintly and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Doctor. I'm sure you can come up with a good idea. Think about it, what can be combined with these exhibits to more intuitively demonstrate their value and significance?"

My words seemed to enlighten the doctor of agronomy. He lowered his head in thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and said excitedly, "Your Majesty, I understand! We can write an explanation for each exhibit, explaining its purpose, history, and the story behind it in a simple and easy-to-understand way. That way, even people who don't understand agriculture can easily understand the value of these exhibits!"

"Good idea!" I nodded approvingly. "I'll leave this matter to you. Make sure you write each commentary carefully so that visitors can not only understand agricultural knowledge but also appreciate the breadth and depth of our agricultural civilization!"

"I obey your command!" the doctor of agronomy responded excitedly, turned around and began to think about the content of the commentary.

At this time, a wealthy businessman in fine clothes approached me, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I am in the grain business. Today, I have the honor of visiting this agricultural cultural exhibition. I am deeply moved and shocked! To support Your Majesty's righteous act, I would like to donate a certain amount of funds and supplies to support the smooth running of the exhibition!"

I recognized this wealthy businessman as the one who had previously supported the development of agricultural science at court, so I smiled and said, "Merchant A, I appreciate your kindness. I believe your kind act will surely add luster to this exhibition!"

Upon hearing this, Rich Merchant A smiled with satisfaction and said quickly, "It is my humble honor to be able to share the emperor's worries!"

Looking at the bustling scene before me, my heart was filled with hope and anticipation. At this moment, Zhen Youcai walked up to me and said softly, "Your Majesty, County Magistrate B requests an audience. He says he has something important to report."

I nodded and motioned for him to bring County Magistrate B over.

After a while, County Magistrate B quickly approached me, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, your humble servant..." His face was filled with unconcealed excitement and awe, a stark contrast to the timid look he had displayed in court before. "Your humble servant, your humble servant..." He seemed about to say something, but hesitated.

I smiled gently, signaling him to relax. "There's no need to be so formal, County Magistrate B. Just say whatever you want to say."

He then raised his head, his eyes gleaming with a thirst for knowledge. "Your Majesty, after observing this agricultural cultural exhibition, I was deeply moved and inspired! I earnestly request Your Majesty's permission to organize local officials and students to come and visit and learn, so that they too can experience the greatness of agricultural civilization and understand how hard it is to produce food!"

"Permitted!" I agreed without hesitation, feeling a surge of relief. It seemed the agricultural exhibition had an even greater impact than I'd imagined, subtly changing people's perspectives.

County Magistrate B was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly kowtowed to thank the emperor for his grace. I watched him depart and said to Zhen Youcai, "Please arrange for officials from all over the country to bring common people to visit and learn from the event. Especially for those scholars far from home, you should help them understand the truth that 'every grain of rice on the table is the product of hard work.'"

"I obey your order!" Zhen Youcai took the order and left.

Over the next few days, the Agricultural Academy was bustling with activity, with visitors from all over the country flocking in. Some stopped to admire the ancient agricultural tools, some listened attentively to the explanations given by the agricultural doctor, and some enthusiastically participated in the interactive activities.

I went on a secret visit, moving among the crowd and listening to people's discussions and sighs.

"I only knew that farming was hard work, but I didn't know there was so much knowledge involved!" A peasant woman C pointed to the waterwheel model in the display cabinet and said to her companion.

"Yes, look at the design of this waterwheel, it's so clever! No wonder the emperor wants to vigorously promote agronomy. If agriculture develops, our lives will get better and better!" The companion echoed.

I watched all this with joy, my heart filled with hope and strength. It seemed that my efforts had not been in vain, as the people of this land had begun to rediscover and value agriculture.

On the day before the exhibition was about to officially open, I stood alone on the podium of the Agricultural College, looking at the empty seats below, but in my mind I seemed to see a huge crowd and hear deafening applause...

Taking a deep breath, I slowly stepped forward. The solemn and dignified lobby of the Agricultural Academy came into view. The sounds of people chatting and children laughing blended into a bustling sea. Sunlight filtered through the window lattices onto the exhibition stands, where ancient farm tools seemed to speak of the wisdom and hardships of agricultural civilization over thousands of years.

"Good morning, my dear ministers, my fellow citizens!" I cleared my throat and spoke in a resonant voice. The noisy crowd gradually quieted down, and everyone looked up at me, their eyes filled with anticipation and curiosity.

"Today, we gather here to witness this agricultural cultural exhibition of extraordinary significance! Here, we can not only see the precious wealth left by our ancestors, but also feel the great spirit of diligence, bravery and self-improvement of the Chinese nation!" My eyes swept across the simple faces, and a warm current surged in my heart.

"Food is the most important thing for the people, and agriculture is the foundation of the country. Generations of farmers have worked hard to make us have enough food and clothing today. However, in recent years, the idea of ​​neglecting agriculture has become increasingly prevalent, and many people, especially the younger generation, have gradually forgotten the significance of farming. This is a very dangerous signal!" My tone became serious, and the people in the audience also restrained their smiles and listened to my speech carefully.

“The purpose of holding this exhibition is to awaken everyone’s attention to agriculture and to inherit and promote excellent agricultural culture! We want more people to understand and love agriculture, and let agriculture radiate new vitality in the new era!” My voice became high again, and the resounding words echoed throughout the lobby.

"I believe that as long as we work together, we can make agriculture a respected industry again, make farmers an enviable profession, and let our country always stand at the top of the world!" I said the last sentence passionately, and thunderous applause broke out from the audience.

I looked at the hopeful faces before me with joy, and suddenly an idea popped into my mind: "In order to better carry on agricultural culture, I decided..."