The emperor opened the latest volume and raised his eyebrows, "Is this this year's data?"
"Yes," this was his own record. Zhou Lizhong was no longer so nervous and replied: "It's not complete because when I received the imperial edict, there were still some rice confiscated in the village and not dried, so the data had just been published.
It's not accurate enough."
The emperor then flipped through the book, which recorded very detailed information on which day to fertilize, which day to weed, and what the condition of the rice was at that time...
The emperor closed the book and took out the folder that Bai Shan had just delivered two days ago. He handed it to Gu Zhong and said, "Read it."
Gu Zhong unfolded Bai Shan's story first, and all the rice in Guantian Village in Beihai County was harvested. Because new rice seeds were planted in Guantian, all kinds of data were compiled very quickly.
Taken together, the yield per mu of Guantianzhuangzi in Beihai County is only four stones and eight stones, but the highest yield per mu is seven stones and five stones, and the lowest is three stones.
Bai Shan listed the reasons in it, saying that most of the official fields here are wastelands left over from the past, so the soil is not fertile enough. This is the result.
He felt that after two more years of farming, the yield would get higher and higher, eventually reaching a relatively stable value.
Over in Luojiang County, Zhou Lizhong's statistics are a bit higher, with an average yield of six stones and two per mu, the highest being seven stones and three per mu, and the lowest being five stones and six.
The whole palace was shocked, even people like Mr. Old Tang who had already heard some rumors were surprised, let alone others.
There was a lot of discussion in the palace. The emperor nodded the table and everyone gradually became quiet. One person came out and said, "Your Majesty, even if the seeds are improved and the yield has increased, it can't be so high all at once, right?"
The emperor asked Gu Zhong to hand out the booklet recorded by Zhou Lizhong and said: "This is not a year's work. Besides, I have seen it with my own eyes. The rice ears are indeed long and full."
The emperor nodded to Gu Zhong, and Gu Zhong turned around and went down. After a while, he brought up a wooden box and opened it. Inside was a bunch of rice ears. The emperor smiled and said: "This is the yield of one rice plant, although I specially selected it."
One strain is better than most, but it can also be inferred how powerful this new rice strain is."
When the ministers saw the bunch of rice ears in Gu Zhong's hand, the first thing they thought about was, could the millet be dipped in some way?
Even Mr. Old Tang couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, can I check it out?"
The emperor waved his hand generously and said: "Let's check."
So everyone gathered around. Mr. Old Tang took a closer look and then stretched out his hand to pinch off a grain. He looked carefully at the fracture, and after confirming that it was real, he couldn't help but eagerly pull out other grains...
By the time everyone stopped, more than half of the rice ears had been torn off, and a thick layer had been spread directly on the bottom of the box.
emperor:……
He finally held back his heartache, forget it, and asked someone to go to Pucun later. The Zhou family picked out a lot of seeds and left them. Those rice ears might not have been threshed yet, so they would collect some for collection.
After everyone was sure that the bunch of rice ears was real, they stood back to their positions. Although they were shocked and felt that the sky was about to change, they still habitually raised questions, "Listen to Mr. Zhou, the Zhou family is
I started experimenting with rice seeds six years ago. I dare to ask Lord Zhou, why do you want to experiment with rice seeds?"
Before Zhou Man could stop him, Zhou Lizhong already said: "My sister-in-law asked us to experiment."
Everyone turned to look at Zhou Man.
Zhou Man could only say truthfully: "Your Majesty, the new wheat seeds in the early years were planted by our family by chance. After that time, the wheat seeds in the world were renewed, and the wheat yield increased."
"The yield of rice is higher than that of wheat. I thought, if rice seeds can be improved like wheat seeds, and the yield can be doubled or even more, wouldn't all the people in the world be able to have enough to eat?"
The emperor nodded.
Zhou Mandao: "At that time, I also had the help of Mr. Bai, Bai Consort and Yinxianzi, so I started to carve out several fields in my field as experimental fields."
The emperor nodded approvingly. Two days ago, Zhou Man came to the palace to meet the emperor. The emperor and his ministers had discussed this issue in depth. At that time, Zhou Man was much more frank. She told the emperor directly, "In addition to wanting to grow new rice seeds,
In addition to benefiting all people in the world, I also want to give my nephew a future."
She said: "Our family used to be poor and they couldn't keep studying. Now it's more difficult to make a future. As for what they are good at, apart from all walks of life outside, what they are best at is farming."
"Especially my eldest brother, third brother and nephew, so I let them farm."
The emperor asked at that time, "Then you have never thought about the consequences of not being able to grow new rice seeds? What if they can't grow new rice seeds after more than ten years, or even more than twenty years?"
Zhou Mandao: "We are not just doing this one thing. In addition to testing new rice seeds, we are also testing new farming methods, improved agricultural tools, etc. I believe that as long as we work hard, we will always gain something."
"Even if we can't grow new rice seeds, as long as we can increase the rice harvest, our hard work will be in vain."
Of course, in the main hall, Zhou Man would not say that it was for the future of her nephews. She emphasized: "The Chen family is deeply favored by the emperor and dare not forget it every day, so even if they know that the chance is slim, the Chen family is willing to spend the money."
Time to try, what if it succeeds? Looking at it today, God is indeed merciful, and it is also because of your majesty's high virtues that it succeeded immediately."
Although the emperor knew that she was flattering him, he was still too happy to close his mouth.
The ministers looked at Zhou Man silently, especially Mr. Old Tang. His face was twitching. If she hadn't really planted new rice seeds, and the yield of the new rice seeds was so amazing, he would definitely
Impeach her on the spot for the crime of slander.
The emperor was very happy. After reading Zhou Lizhong's book, he was more confident in the new rice species. In addition, there were data from Luojiang County and Beihai County here, so he directly ordered: "Liu Qing, let people
Go to the Zhou family to purchase grain seeds, select a piece of land for cultivation next year, and test the planting conditions of the seeds in various places. Sinong Temple will cooperate with the Ministry of Household Affairs to complete this matter. "
Zhao Siqing and Liu Shangshu went out together to respond.
"Zhou Lizhong has the ability to farm, and our government employs talents of various styles. Moreover, he is also an official of Luojiang County, and he is promoted to the position of Sinongsi Cheng, specializing in planting improvement."
Seeing that Zhou Lizhong was in a daze, Zhou Man reminded him in a low voice: "Why don't you kneel down quickly to thank me?"
Zhou Li regained consciousness and immediately knelt down, "I thank your Majesty for your kindness."
The emperor asked him to get up and thought of Wei Zhi. He sighed and asked Zhou Man, "How is Master Wei's health?"
Zhou Man lowered his head and said, "Not very good."
The emperor then said: "I will go see Mr. Wei tomorrow."
Zhou Man understood that Mr. Wei was about to wake up. Sadness arose in her heart and she bowed her head in response.