The capital of the Ming Dynasty was very large, with millions of people living there. In this era, it was definitely one of the largest cities in the world.
However, although the capital is large, the news seems to be very small when it is transmitted. On that day, everything that happened in Wangyue Tower spread throughout the entire capital at an extremely terrifying speed in a short period of time.
Suddenly, everyone from the princes and nobles to the common people were discussing the Golden Continent, Australia, Europe, Africa, etc. that Liu Jin talked about, as if a door to the world had suddenly opened.
Let everyone feel the alluring aura from outside the Ming Dynasty.
In the residence of Liu Jian, the cabinet scholar, two cabinet elders, Xie Qian and Li Dongyang, were also invited to Liu Jian's house. The three of them gathered around the stove, drinking tea and chatting non-stop about what Liu Jin said.
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"I have asked someone to find out about this Liu Jin. He is from Changli County, Yongping Prefecture, Beizhili. He is a scholar. This time he came to the capital and was invited to participate in the Autumn and Winter Poetry Festival."
"He lost his father when he was young, and was raised by his mother who had to endure hardships alone. He studied hard, was precocious and intelligent at a young age, and at the age of seventeen he had already obtained the title of scholar, which is quite good in the north."
Li Dongyang took a sip of tea and slowly told the contents of his investigation. When he said that he was admitted as a scholar at the age of seventeen, he also looked at Liu Jian.
Li Dongyang and Xie Qian are both from the south, and they are also among the best in the exams. Xie Qian is from Zhejiang, the hometown of exams, and was the number one scholar in Chenghua in the 11th year. Li Dongyang is not bad either. He was ranked second in Tianshun in the sixth year.
First, you must know that there are only three people in the first class, which means that he ranked fourth in the exam, and he was the best in the exam.
Among the three, only Liu Jian is from the north, and he barely ranked second in the imperial examination that year, so when he mentioned this, he also added a sentence.
This seventeen-year-old scholar is not bad in the north, but it is common in the south. Not to mention the seventeen-year-old scholar, there are also many seventeen-year-old scholars. Some monsters can win the imperial examination even at the age of thirteen.
, Zhang Juzheng, who will come out in a few decades, will be a monster who won the imperial examination at the age of thirteen.
"That's fine."
Liu Jian smiled and nodded, then thought for a moment and said, "Do you think the Golden Continent he mentioned really exists?"
"If this Golden Continent really has three kinds of crops that can produce tens of dan per mu, even if our Ming Dynasty devotes all the efforts of the country, we will introduce these three crops back. From now on, our Ming Dynasty will no longer have to worry about famine.
Problem."
Emperor Hongzhi is still very good at employing people, and the three ministers in the cabinet are all wise people. As soon as the incident at Wangyue Tower came out today, Liu Jian was thinking about the three high-yielding crops in Golden Continent.
This is to relieve the king's worries and seek benefits for the common people. This Liu Jian is truly practicing the highest pursuit of a scholar. He was thinking about this just after hearing the news.
"We still don't know whether it exists or not. Liu Jin also said that he met an expert named Xu Xiake. The credibility of this is not too high. Maybe it is a pure fabrication.
It’s also hard to say.”
Li Dongyang thought for a while and shook his head and said: "How can there be crops in the world that can produce dozens of acres of crops per mu? Even if our Ming Dynasty is in the Jiangnan area, the most fertile fields will not produce more than 5 shi per mu. This crop can produce dozens of shi per mu.
I can’t even think about food crops.”
"Of course, if there really is such a food crop, then our Ming Dynasty will never have famine from now on. According to Liu Jin, these sweet potatoes and corn are very drought-resistant, and potatoes are very cold-resistant. If there is such a thing, we will
There will be more fields that can be cultivated, food production will be higher, and there will be no more famines.”
"I think his words are somewhat credible. Places like Golden Continent, Australia, Europe, and Africa are too far away from us and we have no way of verifying them, but Nanyang is still very close to our Ming Dynasty."
"When Zheng He went to the Western Seas, he also passed through Nanyang and brought back a lot of information about the Nanyang region. To this day, many Nanyang vassals come to pay tribute to our Ming Dynasty."
"I specifically checked the relevant records. This Nanyang area is indeed what Liu Jin said. It is like summer all year round, rice can be harvested three times a year, and the land is extremely fertile."
Xie Qian had a different view. He was from Zhejiang, and his family was considered a big family in the south of the Yangtze River. He naturally knew more about things outside the Ming Dynasty.
"Having said that, I still find it very ridiculous. He said that we live on a big ball. This is really unacceptable. The sky has been round since ancient times."
"In addition, how can there be a place in this world where gold is everywhere and cities are built with gold?"
Li Dongyang shook his head as he spoke. He was skeptical of Liu Jin's words.
"In my opinion, no matter how credible Liu Jin's words are, or whether this Golden Continent is filled with gold, we all have to suggest that Your Majesty organizes people to go to this Golden Continent to take a look and take a walk."
"If there really is a Golden Continent and there are really three high-yielding crops, then no matter how much investment there is, it will be worthwhile."
Liu Jian looked at the two people, thought for a while and said: "We, the people of the Ming Dynasty, are really suffering. Today, if we work hard and love the people, we can still live a good life, but if it continues to be like the time of the late emperor... in the final analysis
He said, it is still a matter of eating. As long as this problem is solved, other problems will not be a problem."
"Gong Liu is right. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we should fight for it."
Li Dongyang nodded, and then said: "I'm just afraid that this person is talking nonsense. When the time comes, our court will organize a large-scale manpower to go to the Golden Continent, and ultimately lose everything."
"You also know that the imperial court's finances have always been very tight. They are barely able to maintain operations. Once there is a natural or man-made disaster or something, they will immediately be stretched thin. If we spend more money to organize people to go to Golden Continent, I'm afraid..."
Although Li Dongyang is very wise, he is also afraid of trouble and does not like to make troubles.
"I think we should discuss this matter with His Majesty tomorrow. It would be best if His Majesty could be able to use money from his own funds to do this."
"This high-yielding food crop is really important to our Ming Dynasty. The world outside the Ming Dynasty is very big. Maybe there are really many high-yielding food crops. You must know that this wheat is not original to our Ming Dynasty. It is
It was also introduced to our Central Plains from the Western Regions. In the past, chestnuts were mainly grown in the north."
Xie Qian still supported Liu Jian's view. We must go to Golden Continent, but whether the money should come from the national treasury or the emperor's private funds needed to be carefully discussed with Emperor Hongzhi.
