() "I don't want to eat it, I just want to recommend this sweet potato to the emperor." Zhong Jinwei explained helplessly.
"Oh, Uncle Zhongxing thinks this sweet potato can be spread all over the country?" When Xu Guangqi heard this, his heart moved and he asked quickly.
"It can be grown not only in the north and south of the Yangtze River, but also in all parts of the Ming Dynasty. Not only can it be grown, but it is also a drought-resistant and high-yielding crop, which is an indispensable food supplement for the people. By the way, didn't you write this "Sweet Potato Thinning"? Don't you know?
Then what did you write in "Sweet Potato Shu"?" Zhong Jinwei was a little confused.
Xu Guangqi was a little ashamed, his face reddened, and he told Zhong Jinwei the history of "Sweet Potato Shu" and the reasons why he did not recommend it to the emperor in the end.
It turns out that this sweet potato was originally from Luzon overseas. The local Western government strictly prohibited the export of sweet potatoes. In the 21st year of Wanli, Chen Zhenlong, a Fujian native, secretly carried the potato vines to avoid exit inspection and brought them back to Fuzhou for trial planting.
That year, there was a severe drought in central Fujian and the grain harvest was small. His son Chen Jinglun wrote to Jin Xuezeng, the governor of Fujian, claiming that Luzon sweet potatoes could save famine. Jin Yun tried planting and submitted it for inspection after the harvest. That year, the test was successful. Jin was overjoyed when he heard the news.
In the following year, orders were spread throughout the country to solve the problem of food shortage among the Fujian people.
In the thirty-sixth year of Wanli, there was a flood in the south of the Yangtze River, and there was no harvest of rice or wheat. Xu Guangqi's retainer Xu Sheng of Putian gave him sweet potato seeds many times. Xu Guangqi succeeded in trying the seeds, so he wrote "Sweet Potato Sparing" and said:
"Oranges grown in Huainan are tangerines; those grown in North Huaibei are tangerines." This concept is deep-rooted among people of the Ming Dynasty. Xu Guangqi questioned this concept in the sweet potato sparse sequence. Taking sweet potatoes as an example, he advocated the different crops in different regions.
They must not be able to breed with each other.
The common people were uneducated and could not read Xu Guangqi's "Sweet Potato". The scholar-bureaucrats had no worries about food and drink. In addition, in the areas south of the Yangtze River, there was a bumper harvest of wheat and rice the following year, so they basically had no worries about food. Therefore, few people cared about whether sweet potatoes could be introduced locally.
The introduction of sweet potatoes was extremely slow.
Later, Xu Guangqi was busy with scientific research, Sino-foreign exchanges and official career, so he did not vigorously promote it to the north of the Huaihe River, and he did not recommend it to the court, fearing that he would be impeached by his political opponents if there were any problems.
Sweet potato, a crop with extremely high yield, spread among the people at an extremely slow speed, and it was not until the early Qing Dynasty that it was promoted nationwide.
Zhong Jinwei was speechless after hearing this. If there had been a special agricultural research institute in the Ming Dynasty to study crop yields, sweet potatoes would have been recommended to the research institute for nationwide trial planting. If such benefits are useful, the recommender will have merit.
, it doesn’t matter if it’s useless, there is an extra buffer from the institute.
If sweet potatoes were popularized throughout the Ming Dynasty, the peasant uprising at the end of the Ming Dynasty would be alleviated. Maybe the Manchu Qing Dynasty would not be able to take over the Central Plains, and many things in the future could be avoided. It is a pity.
It was already late today, so Zhong Jinwei and Xu Guangqi agreed on the spot that early tomorrow morning, Xu Guangqi would bring "Sweet Potato Sparing" and Zhong Jinwei to jointly recommend sweet potatoes to the emperor, and the trial planting must be promoted nationwide.
That night, Xu Guangqi returned to his residence, found out the "Sweet Potatoes" he had written that year, and read it again. He was so sad that if it weren't for Zhong Xingbo's strong recommendation, his original intention of writing this article would have been buried.
At dawn the next day, Xu Guangqi came to the ceramics factory early, joined Zhong Jinwei, and went to see Emperor Chongzhen.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen was already handling government affairs in the Wenhua Palace, and he was not in a good mood.
Yesterday afternoon, the Ministry of Punishment received his instructions, and Dongchang heard the trial. With the solid evidence, the two censors were all sentenced to have their homes confiscated and exiled.
More than 600,000 taels of silver were confiscated from the homes of these censors, of which as much as 400,000 taels were obtained from corruption and bribery. The censors regarded themselves as incorruptible and shouldered the responsibility of supervising all officials of the imperial court, but they themselves were already guilty of such serious corruption.
, it can be seen that other officials will not be much better. Emperor Chongzhen did not dare to imagine how bad the officials were, so he felt heavy.
When he heard that Zhongxing Bo and Xu Guangqi, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, asked for an audience, he thought that the cement had been tested. He felt happy, washed away his previous depression, and hurriedly summoned him.
As soon as Zhong Jinwei entered the Wenhua Hall, he did not bother to salute Emperor Chongzhen, but said first: "Congratulations to your majesty, congratulations to your majesty, what a great joy!"
Zhong Jinwei didn't know where he learned the words, and they sounded a bit like congratulations on the birth of a son.
When Xu Guangqi behind him heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little speechless. If there is a problem with the promotion of sweet potato in the north, are you, Zhongxing Bo, afraid of the emperor punishing you for making such a loud noise?
When Emperor Chongzhen heard Zhong Jinwei's congratulations, he quickly stood up from his throne. He finally had good news: "But the cement has been fired?"
"Ah, no." When Zhong Jinwei heard that Emperor Chongzhen might have misunderstood, he quickly denied it.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he sat back on his throne in disappointment and complained to Zhong Jinwei: "Master Zhong is staying in the ceramics factory and the cement has not been fired. What else can make me happy?"
Zhong Jinwei smiled at Emperor Chongzhen and said nothing. He turned sideways and pursed his lips towards Xu Guangqi.
Xu Guangqi took a step forward, stood a little behind the left side of Zhong Jinwei, and saluted Emperor Chongzhen: "My lord, Xu Guangqi, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, is here to see your majesty."
Emperor Chongzhen looked at Zhong Jinwei like that. Could it be that there was really a happy event related to Minister Xu? So he quickly asked: "Xu Qing, there is no need to be polite. If you have anything to say, please tell me quickly."
"Your Majesty, I have written a memorial." Xu Guangqi looked at Zhong Jinwei and then said to Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen nodded and asked Xu Guangqi to speak.
"In the thirty-sixth year of Wanli's reign, I wrote a "Sweet Potato Book". I am ashamed that I did not submit a letter to the court in time. After Zhongxing Bo heard about it yesterday, he was very willing to jointly recommend sweet potatoes with me."
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he wondered if the great joy that Master Zhong was talking about was this sweet potato. Master Zhong attached so much importance to it, it must not be a mortal thing. He couldn't help but become interested, and did not let the servant pass on the "Sweet Potato" that Xu Guangqi had brought out, so he walked down.
After receiving it, I looked at it on the spot.
Emperor Chongzhen first read the preface, and vaguely saw the reason why Xu Guangqi had not recommended it to the court before. Then he read the content, which showed the benefits and cultivation methods of this sweet potato. The yield was also compared, which was clear at a glance.
The combined yield of summer wheat and autumn millet in the north is about two dan per mu, and the yield of rice in the south of the Yangtze River is about four dan. According to Xu Guangqi's trial planting in Shanghai, the sweet potato yield can reach about six dan per mu. Emperor Chongzhen's eyes lit up when he saw this.
.
There was not much content in "Sweet Potato Shu", so he read it quickly, then raised his head and asked Zhong Jinwei: "What Shilang Xu said is that the yield of sweet potatoes is so high, is it true?"
Emperor Chongzhen had a kind of expectation in his heart. Although Zhong Jinwei had just said that he was very happy, he still wanted to hear it again with his own ears.
Zhong Jinwei knew what Emperor Chongzhen meant. He asked whether future generations could prove the benefits of this kind of sweet potato.
Zhong Jinwei nodded, and then said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Yes, and sweet potatoes can survive all over the country. It is said that eating them has many benefits for the human body."
When Xu Guangqi heard this, he testified: "In the Compendium of Materia Medica written by the miracle doctor Li Shizhen, it is said that sweet potato has the effects of replenishing deficiency, replenishing qi and strength, strengthening the spleen and stomach, and strengthening the kidneys and yin."
"Can it solve the disaster in the northwest?" Emperor Chongzhen immediately thought of the disaster in the northwest and looked forward to Zhong Jinwei's affirmative answer.
"It should be able to alleviate it, but I'm afraid it won't be possible to solve it comprehensively." Zhong Jinwei thought that sweet potatoes could completely solve the famine, so that no one would starve to death in future generations.
Although Emperor Chongzhen did not hear a satisfactory answer, sweet potatoes had such a high yield and were drought-tolerant, which could just solve the increasingly serious drought in the Ming Dynasty.
However, sweet potatoes are a new thing after all. If you rush to promote such crops in all fields, you may regret it if there is an accident. However, the disaster in the northwest is particularly serious now, and slow testing may delay the disaster.
There have been rebellions by hungry people in many places, and the governor of Yansui, Hong Chengchou, has sent several memorials urging food relief.
Emperor Chongzhen walked back and forth a few times in front of Zhong Jinwei and Xu Guangqi, then stood still and asked Zhong Jinwei: "Master Zhong, do you think it would be better if I try planting it first and then order all fields to be sown with sweet potatoes?"
"
Zhong Jinwei fainted. It seemed that Emperor Chongzhen had never been out. He still needed to consult for such a simple reason.
So, he nodded and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "I have two suggestions for your Majesty's reference."
"Master Zhong, tell me quickly."
"First, Your Majesty should mobilize sweet potato seeds from Fujian and Zhejiang and promote them to the disaster areas as soon as possible. One of the advantages of sweet potatoes is that they can be planted directly in barren mountains without occupying the original fields. No problem. You can grow as much as you can this year."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded: "What about the second one?"
"Second, set up a research institute to study sweet potato varieties and cultivate high-yielding sweet potatoes. As far as I know, the sweet potato yield is more than six dan per mu. In my hometown, even if I try to increase the yield, it is too small."
Zhong Jinwei had been in the Ming Dynasty for some time, and he almost knew the unit conversion. At this time, one stone was about 180 kilograms. In later generations, sweet potatoes weighed at least 2000-3000 kilograms, so he could boast about this.
Xu Guangqi was stunned when he heard this. How could Uncle Zhongxing really be so sure that the sweet potato yield per mu in Ming Dynasty could be so high? Uncle Zhongxing’s overseas experience may not necessarily be suitable for Ming Dynasty. If he said this nonsense, he would probably not be the same as Uncle Zhongxing.
blessing.
He did not know that the place Zhong Jinwei mentioned was the place of the Ming Dynasty, but there was a difference in time. Of course, Emperor Chongzhen knew this.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen's attention was not the same as that of Xu Guangqi, but on the term "research institute" mentioned by Zhong Jinwei.