Chapter 2312 The initial success of rice hybridization
Li Xingchen stretched out his hand to help Li Yuan up: "Shude (Li Yuan's cousin) is flat."
Li Yuan's heart suddenly moved, and His Majesty directly addressed him by his cousin!
This is obviously His Majesty's intention to express his closeness to him.
However, he also knew that this also included Li Xingchen's trust and expectations for him.
I couldn't let His Majesty down anymore.
If Li Yuan knew that in Li Xingchen's heart, as long as he worked down-to-earth and didn't think about rebellion, he would be very happy. I wonder what he would think?
Li Yuan led Li Xingchen into the government office of the Ministry of Agriculture. Naturally, the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture lined up to greet him, and they were all flattered.
Among the many government offices in the Han Dynasty, the tasks of the Ministry of Agriculture have always been the simplest and crudest, which is to cultivate the land and cultivate new high-yielding species. This means that every spring and autumn planting time, it needs to go out to inspect and supervise the farming in various places. These were originally the Ministry of Household Affairs.
If you set up a dedicated department to handle tasks that you can handle even with your busy schedule, it will naturally be more than adequate.
Moreover, when the Ministry of Agriculture was established, it was just when the Northern Expedition of the Han Dynasty had just achieved its first stage achievements. When the country was in urgent need of stability, it was also the time to recruit people. At that time, the Ministry of Revenue was busy integrating the northern taxation into the Han system. Therefore, although there was great pressure to employ people
, Li Xingchen also had to separate farming matters from the household department, otherwise his brother-in-law might have a schizophrenia.
The shortage of manpower in various departments of the imperial court naturally means that the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture come from all kinds of backgrounds. They are basically drawn from various government offices and are unsociable or not very capable. Even if everyone is familiar with this
The support of the newly formed little brothers.
In this regard, although Li Xingchen also thought about mobilizing people from the inner government, the manpower in the inner government has always been stretched thin, and the majority of them are female officials. The officials who are responsible for running errands on the periphery are often targeted and selected experts in a certain industry.
Of course, talents cannot be thrown away to cultivate the land.
So I can only feel wronged to Li Yuan first.
However, according to the inspection feedback from the Yushitai, Li Yuan obviously does not mind these arrangements of the court. In fact, these officials who are more or less meant to be squeezed out are not necessarily any worse than others in terms of their own abilities. Most of them are because they are too stable and honest in temperament.
He had little contact with the colleagues around him and was not good at socializing, so he was naturally marginalized. The Ministry of Agriculture needed people, and everyone was happy to have a clear view, so they just threw these unsociable ones over.
However, the more those who do not like socializing and socializing and only work honestly, the more suitable they are for the work of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Driven by these people, the Ministry of Agriculture has developed rapidly.
However, it is obvious that they did not realize that their shortcomings made them the most suitable for the development of the Ministry of Agriculture. One or two of them just said that they were sent here because of their inability, so no one expected that one day they would even be able to return to the Ministry of Agriculture.
to be able to see His Majesty the Emperor.
Li Xingchen smiled and said something to several chief clerks at the Ministry of Agriculture, and the officials saw it in their eyes and naturally felt warm in their hearts.
Your Majesty is aware of the work they have done and is even very satisfied with it.
We are not mediocre people who have nowhere to put themselves!
Many young officials were already in tears and seemed to have seen a way forward again.
Li Xingchen didn't think too much about it, because in his mind, the Ministry of Agriculture was one of the seven departments of the imperial court and should be treated equally, so it was no different from his inspection of other departments.
Li Yuan was keenly aware of the mood swings of his subordinates. He winked at the clerks next to him and everyone nodded slightly. After His Majesty left, he took this opportunity to strike while the iron was hot and boost everyone's fighting spirit.
Before this, although everyone worked hard, Li Yuan always felt that everyone was just completing the work mechanically.
"Following your Majesty's instructions, we have tried three hybridization experiments on rice." Li Yuan went straight to the point, "The results of the first and second rounds of hybridization were not very good, but there was a breakthrough in the third round. Rice
Those with the highest yield per mu can even increase it by half to 10%.”
Li Xingchen nodded slightly. Of course, he knew that the requirements should not be too high. The yield of an acre of land increased by half, which was also very high. After all, the world is so big. If all rice could increase these yields, it would be able to feed millions more.
people.
After all, the technology in other directions in this era cannot be guaranteed. The hybridization that Li Yuan and others can perform is simply pollination between different types of rice, not to mention that the rice varieties they can use are inherently limited.
But everything is difficult at the beginning, and this is just the beginning.
Through hybridization experiments, people can gradually understand the characteristics of organisms, and then perhaps more hybrid varieties can be cultivated, or it may be possible to make breakthroughs in biology, making people more clearly aware of the composition of organisms and the reasons for the expression of traits.
.
Genes may be a very distant concept, so far away that Li Xingchen has not heard of it for more than ten years.
But Li Xingchen believes that as long as people of this era are given enough support, this word or similar words will appear again in a few decades or a hundred years.
"If the growth effect is stable, it can be promoted." Li Xingchen said slowly.
"I have selected many state capitals in the south of the Yangtze River and are preparing to cultivate experimental fields." Li Yuan said hurriedly, "In addition, a variety of Western vegetables and fruits have been transported on the Nanyang Trade Road. I have sent people to the Jiangnan port to receive them and see if they are
It’s not something that can be planted.”
Li Xingchen nodded.
Although the current vegetables, melons and fruits in Southeast Asia and the West are different from those in the Central Plains, not all of them are suitable for the Central Plains. Most of them can only be cultivated in the subtropics or even the tropics. It is enough to grow one kind in Lingnan and other places.
What Li Xingchen really cares about is actually potatoes and sweet potatoes that should only be spread in the Americas. These two things are the easiest to survive, have large yields, and have very low climate requirements. They are the most important guarantee for population growth. Historically
The rise of Europe and Russia are inseparable from potatoes.
After all, this is something that can survive millions of years of ice and cold in Siberia.
However, the Han Dynasty's caravans probably do not yet have the ability to reach America directly. The trade routes are basically along the coastline.
There was no need for Li Xingchen to let his subjects take this risk.
When the Han Dynasty was able to build a larger sea-going ship, and adjusted it based on existing experience, erasing some factors of inland river ships that had not faded away, it would not be too late to start a cross-sea expedition. Historically, the Yuan Dynasty absorbed the navigation experience of the Southern Song Dynasty and built it
Didn’t the huge fleet of ships always come back defeated in the harsh sea conditions in Japan?
Ocean exploration cannot be rushed.
The huge benefits that ocean travel can bring have already been revealed to everyone.