131: Chapter 131 Eunuch Lin Makes Sense 131: Chapter 131 Eunuch Lin Makes Sense “Building a few rooms on that flat ground should not be a problem.
Especially in the gently sloping areas, where a small river runs through, in such an ecological environment, survival shouldn’t be an issue.
Even during the harsh winter, the valley there should not be too cold.
Therefore, in your servant’s view, it is a very good choice.”
However, the venerable officials present listened to Lin Yi’s words, and the corners of their mouths all revealed a faint, almost imperceptible smile, especially the Fourth Prince, who wore a particularly triumphant expression.
It was clear to see that Lin Yi was indeed aware of the times.
He directly chose Nanshan, and did not opt for any of the territories of officials present.
This also made everyone at the scene feel that Lin Yi knew the measure of things quite well.
However, there were those who scoffed at this.
After all, Nanshan has always been a desolate place, and although the environment there seemed not bad, there was one aspect that was incomparable to anywhere else.
That is, growing grain in Nanshan would yield not even the smallest harvest.
After all, in Nanshan, digging up anywhere would reveal dark stones.
That’s right, beneath Nanshan lies an inexhaustible supply of Black Poison Stone.
Although this substance can be ignited to create fire, it contains huge amounts of toxic gas.
Igniting that stuff, it would only be a matter of two days before people would be poisoned to death.
Thus, even though Nanshan is so close to the Capital City, no one wished to claim that place anymore.
Even when land was allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, the lowest-ranking officials were unwilling to take that piece of land.
Regarding this, there was an unwritten rule among officials, that if they had any connections at all, they would not take land there.
Now, Lin Yi had actually proposed wanting that piece of land, how could the people not be pleased?
Of course, while they were happy, they also cursed silently that this fellow was foolhardy.
Nevertheless, although this is what they thought, no one would say such things aloud; they would rather Lin Yi mess this up.
Especially the Fourth Prince, who initially just wanted to trouble the young Emperor, naturally would not step forward to offer any assistance.
However, when the young Emperor heard Lin Yi’s words, she couldn’t help but frown.
She knew what everyone knew.
After pondering for a moment, the young Emperor directly spoke to Lin Yi:
“The environment there is indeed quite decent, but you may not know, Nanshan does not produce grain.
Moreover, beneath Nanshan lays poisonous Black Stone everywhere.
Therefore, in my view, you should still reevaluate and select another place.
After all, once the resettlement ceremony for the refugees starts, it will not be a short-term matter.
It’s very likely that some refugees unwilling to return home will choose to stay here.
And that place is absolutely unsuitable for long-term survival.
Once the land does not yield grain, it would be a source of great distress for those people next year.
It might even result in them becoming refugees again.”
The young Emperor clearly explained all the pros and cons to Lin Yi, also subtly intimating to him that place was absolutely not to be chosen.
However, just as the young Emperor was speaking and wanted to continue persuading Lin Yi, wanting to explain the details of choosing that place, suddenly she heard Lin Yi’s chuckling in her mind:
“Hehe, naturally I know about the Black Stone there.
But what you do not know is that I chose that place precisely because of those Black Stones, you see?
If there were no Black Stone there, I would not want it.
Certainly, this area will not produce grain, that’s a given, planting on coal would be truly bizarre if it yielded grain.
I have done a preliminary survey here, and just the open-pit coal mines alone are astronomically productive.
If we were to excavate Nanshan entirely, it is likely there won’t be a coal shortage in the Capital City for hundreds of years to come.
I’ve inquired before, not a single official here wishes to take that piece of land; truly they are in the treasure mountain, unaware of its value.
Not to mention anything else, if Nanshan were mine, within two years, the people there would surely become the wealthiest in the entire Capital City, even the entire You Country.
Alas, it’s just that our young Emperor is unaware of this situation.
For now, I can only hope that she doesn’t insist too much.
Well, it’s better to wait and talk to her alone after court is adjourned.
It’s strange that I’ve been too busy recently and forgot to explain the situation to her.”
While thinking this, Lin Yi had already decided not to argue with the young Emperor for the time being, agreeing to look for another location first, and then explain the importance of the coal to her in private after returning.
But he didn’t know that the young Emperor had already heard all the thoughts in his heart.
This also caused the young Emperor, who wanted to continue persuading Lin Yi, to withdraw the words on the tip of her tongue.
Simultaneously, her eyebrows remained tightly knit as she began to process the content of Lin Yi’s words.
Although she did not know why Lin Yi chose that place, fully aware that it produced Black Stone, nor did she understand why he referred to those items as a treasure mountain, her intuition still told her that Lin Yi’s words were trustworthy.
Hence, she resolved in her heart to act according to Lin Yi’s intentions, believing that Lin Yi would not frivolously embark on this unprofitable venture.
However, she could not agree with Lin Yi outright since there were many officials present.
If she were to give her direct consent, there could be complications afterwards, so she decided to pass the buck to everyone present.
Thus, she furrowed her brow, looking at the officials in the hall:
“What do my faithful officials think about relocating the refugees to Nanshan?”
The young Emperor was naturally very astute; if she were to lead this matter, any subsequent unforeseen events could be problematic.
But now, if the decision was made by these officials, even if Lin Yi stirred up any troubles later, it would leave them in a difficult spot.
Upon hearing the young Emperor’s question, the officials continued to put on a show of discussion, whispering to each other in pairs or groups.
After a short while, the head of the Court of Judicial Review was the first to speak to the young Emperor:
“Reporting to Your Majesty, I think Eunuch Lin’s proposal couldn’t be more appropriate.
Although grain cannot be grown in Nanshan, it is already the autumn harvest season, and hence there is no need to continue planting grain.”