Zhu Qizhen knew the reason very well, but Li Zhen and Chen Ying had doubts on their faces.
Both of them came from meritorious families and highly respected Emperor Taizong.
After hearing what Yu Qian said, it seemed reasonable, but...
Zhu Qizhen also noticed that the expressions of the two men were not right, so he said: "Marquis of Xiangcheng and Marquis of Taining, please tell me what you think!"
Li Zhen frowned and said: "Master Yu's words do make sense, but, but..."
Seeing his hesitation, Yu Qian said directly: "Marquis of Xiangcheng, do you want to ask why Emperor Taizong didn't do this when he attacked Mobei?"
Li Zhen scratched her head and said nothing.
He had doubts, but his status did not allow him to question Emperor Taizong's decision-making.
Yu Qian looked indifferent and said: "Actually, the problem we have to face is exactly the same as before, that is, the land in Mobei is barren and not suitable for reclamation."
"Whether they are Oara or Tatar, their foundation is not actually riding and shooting, but just because they are too poor. If you put them in a millstone, they can't even squeeze out a star of oil. If you launch a war against them, it will be a fight.
It’s a vain fight, a waste of national and people’s power, and a waste of countless money and food!”
"If a country within a country suddenly appears in the prosperous land south of the Yangtze River, I can guarantee that tomorrow the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty will go crazy and destroy all the dregs of this country within a country."
"But Mobei is different. Since the Tang Dynasty, the generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing had beaten the Huns on the grassland to flight. However, the occupied land was worthless. Even if the people were moved here, they could not grow food.
, and eventually had to move back to the pass. Whether it was the Huns at the beginning, or the Khitans, Jurchens, and Mongols later, new nomadic groups continued to rise in the desert, harassing the Central Plains and causing great trouble."
Li Zhen suddenly understood and said: "So, the key to the matter is to plant food in the desert. Once the food is planted, the people will be able to settle down. Is this what you mean?"
Yu Qian nodded and said, "That's exactly what I mean."
Chen Ying then asked: "Although Mobei is barren and not suitable for growing grain, we can imitate the Mongols in grazing. They can graze here, why can't we?"
Yu Qian shook his head and said: "The so-called grazing does not mean that you just circle a piece of land. If you want to fatten the cattle and sheep, you must have sufficient fodder. Once the water and grass in one place are eaten clean, you have to go to the next place.
, so the Mongols herd and wander around."
"If the Han people follow the example of the Mongols, living on grass and wandering around, then if they are attacked by the Oara people, they will die without a burial place. The Oara people would like us Han people to go out to herd like this, so that they can plunder."<
/p>
After listening, Li Zhen and Chen Ying fell silent.
They finally understood why the emperor valued Yu Qian so much, and he really knew a lot.
He also looks at issues very thoroughly and everything he says is on point.
Yu Qian continued: "Even if we kill them with one shot now, Mobei will always be the territory of the Mongols. It won't be long before a new leader appears. This person will fight in all directions, reunify Mongolia, and then gather troops."
Go south. Therefore, what we have to consider now is not how to defeat Ye first, but how to occupy the desert."
"Weichen suggested that the Ministry of Household Affairs should take the lead in searching for cold-resistant crops all over the world, and arrange for people to come outside the customs to try planting. If they can successfully grow food, more and more people can be fed. If everyone gets together, they can form a team.
They form city fortresses, and each city fortress is connected to each other, acting as horns for each other, and echoing each other, so that the land we occupy will not be taken away by the Oara people again."
"Every inch of land occupied by the Ming Dynasty will reduce the living space of the Oara people. Following this, the production of cattle and sheep will decrease, and the population will decrease. In the end, they can only choose to surrender and learn to settle and farm like us. Maybe three
After the Five Generations, there will no longer be any difference between them and the Han people, and only then can the troubles in Mobei be completely eliminated."
"Well said!"
Zhu Qizhen was very excited, slammed the table and stood up.
"Next, I will do as you say, step by step, and fight steadily. I will completely eliminate the trouble in Mobei!"
Yu Qian said truthfully: "What I am worried about now is whether the Central Plains crops can survive in Mobei. If the reclamation problem cannot be solved, everything will be just empty words. I suggest you try highland barley, which is widely distributed in the northwest region. Maybe
It can be successful."
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said: "Don't worry about growing grain, I will figure it out!"
Isn’t it just growing food in Mobei? What a joke!
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, rye...
They are all cold-resistant crops and are very high-yielding. There is no problem in promoting them in Mobei.
After the meeting, Zhu Qizhen immediately wrote a letter and gave it to Yuan Bin, asking him to send a fast horse back to the capital.
Wang Zuo, the Minister of Household Affairs, received the urgent report and thought that there was not enough food for the front line. When he opened it, he was confused.
Sweet potatoes, potatoes, what are these?
Never heard of it...
In desperation, he called the two guards on his left and right, and then... he looked confused.
"The emperor has said that this matter is of great importance and we must search for it with all our strength. You two should quickly think of a solution!"
"Master Wang, I have never heard of it. Can beans grow in this soil?"
"Yes, even though Xiaguan has lived this long, he still doesn't know what these sweet potatoes and potatoes are."
Wang Zuo thought for a while and said: "Let's do this. I'll go find other departments and let them help think of a solution. You can tell everyone to stop what they are doing and do their best to find out the news about sweet potatoes and potatoes. This is an imperial edict.
, no one can afford to miss the imperial edict, understand?"
"Yes!"
Immediately afterwards, the entire Hubu Yamen began to look for sweet potatoes and potatoes. If they couldn't find them, they mobilized their family and friends. Wang Zuo even issued a reward. Within three days, everyone in the capital was asking, what are sweet potatoes and potatoes?
Finally, someone provided a clue.
A smuggler named Wu Canghai was imprisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. He happened to hear the jailer talking about sweet potatoes and potatoes, so he asked a few questions.
The jailer was also smart. He thought that Wu Canghai had many years of experience in maritime smuggling and was well-informed. He might have seen it before, so he told him the whole story.
Wu Canghai then said that when he was sailing overseas, he saw a foreign food called potato. I wonder if it has anything to do with sweet potatoes.
The jailer only heard what sweet potatoes and potatoes looked like, so he truthfully reported what Wu Canghai said to his superior.
However, his superiors didn’t understand either, so they continued to report to the superiors.
In this way, reports went up level by level, and finally, the Minister of Punishment told Wang Zuo this clue.