After the fleet returned to Qingzhou, a large amount of cargo was unloaded.
The Agricultural College came over immediately to receive the high-yielding crop seeds, and met with the agronomy experts in the fleet to take them back and prepare to start working on them.
There are not only sailors on the ocean-going fleet, but also a large number of scientific researchers and professional teams from the academy.
For example, experts from the School of Astronomy conduct planetary research for fleet navigation.
After experts from the School of Geography arrive at a place, they study local hydrological fluctuations, climate change, mineral resources, and topography.
Experts from the Agricultural College studied the effects of local specialty plants, experts from the Medical College served as shipboard doctors, and even officers from the Military Academy organized soldiers to act as shipboard escorts.
After the seeds from the American land arrived, experts who already knew how to cultivate them through the local people had to take them back immediately for experiments.
After all, the ancients have long understood the truth that "oranges grown in Huainan are oranges, and those grown in Huaibei are oranges."
Wouldn't it be embarrassing if things like corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes were highly productive in the Americas, with a yield of a thousand catties per mu, but in the Han Dynasty, the yields were a hundred kilograms per mu, and not as good as millet and wheat, which could produce three or four hundred kilograms per mu?
However, these things need to undergo experiments at present, and conclusions cannot be drawn immediately. We need to see whether these crops are suitable for the climate of Han Dynasty and whether they can be promoted.
However, Xuezhou Pei Qian and others worked non-stop. On the third day after disembarking from the ship, they immediately headed west to Luoyang.
After sailing upstream along the Yellow River, all counties along the way worked hard and used trackers to pull the ship. Ten days later, the ship finally arrived at the capital of the Han Dynasty.
Liu Bei sent Taiwei Yang Biao, Grand Scholar of Yuntai Palace, Cabinet Secretary Xun Yu, and three other Jiu Qing officials to greet him.
This reception standard was enough to welcome Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Chen Mu, which shows that the court attached great importance to it.
Xue Zhou and Pei Qian were flattered. Under the leadership of the ministers, they entered the Luoyang Palace and brought carts and carts of tributes to the square outside Chongde Hall, preparing to present them to the emperor.
A large group of people arrived outside Chongde Hall, which is opposite Zhangtai Gate.
There are dozens of carriages on the square outside the palace, carrying several tons of cargo. This is only a part of them, and more are still on board.
Wang Zhi, the regular servant, had already been waiting outside the palace. When he saw them coming, he immediately came out to greet them.
"You two are Colonel Xue and Chief Pei, right?"
Wang Zhi smiled, bent down and saluted, extended his hand inside and said, "Your Majesty is already waiting for you two."
"Always at your service."
The two of them quickly returned the greeting and followed Wang Zhi into the main hall of Chongde Hall.
The main hall was extremely empty, with some ministers sitting on the seats on both sides. The person at the head of the throne, wearing a black and red dragon robe and a crown, was overlooking them.
The two people hurriedly kowtowed and said, "I see you, Your Majesty."
"Get up."
Liu Bei smiled and said: "Give me a seat."
Immediately, an attendant brought a mat and spread it on the floor in the center, and the two of them knelt on the mat.
Other ministers such as Yang Biao, Zhao Wen, and Zhong Fu were also sitting on the left and right, and cabinet ministers such as Xun Yu, Xun You, and Jia Xu were also sitting on the table next to them.
After everyone was seated, Liu Bei said: "Second Qing, you have been running all the way and have worked hard to open up overseas territories for the Han Dynasty. It is really a great achievement for the Han Dynasty. Where is Xuezhou, the Navigation School Captain?"
"The humble job is here."
Xue Zhou quickly stood up and held his hands.
Liu Bei smiled and said: "I appoint you as Pingbo Zhonglang General, with the rank of rear admiral, and the fourth rank."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Xuezhou was extremely grateful and kowtowed.
Liu Bei asked again: "Where is Pei Qian, the head of the Navigation Department?"
"I'm here."
Pei Qian also hurriedly got out of the queue.
Liu Bei muttered: "You have done a lot of work. You should have been promoted to the director of the Navigation Department. However, the current director and the Zhenhai Guards are also escorting you behind the scenes. You have worked hard and achieved great results. It is not easy to move lightly. In this way, let's talk about it."
Do you want to stay in the Navigation Department, or do you want to become an official somewhere?"
Pei Qian was born in the Pei family of Hedong. Now that his family is in decline, he urgently needs a door with two thousand stones to guard the family heritage, so he said without hesitation: "I would like to go to a local place and become an official."
"Um."
Liu Bei thought for a while and said: "There has been some chaos in Daijun recently. The local Wuwan and Xianbei invaders sometimes invade the Han people. You can serve as the prefect of Daijun and suppress the border."
"I obey the decree."
Pei Qian quickly accepted the order.
He had heard about it when he came.
Nowadays, the imperial court is divided into nine ranks of officials, and the local governors and prefects are the fourth rank, becoming one of the middle and senior officials.
It turns out that he is a chief of the Navigation Department under Zhenhaiwei, and is in the sixth rank.
The director of the Navigation Department is from the fourth grade.
The envoys of Zhenhai Guard are of the third grade.
Now he has been promoted to four levels in a row, and his rank is still above that of the Director of the Navigation Department. The salary is generous, which makes him very satisfied. He sighs in his heart that the efforts of more than ten years have finally been in vain.
After awarding the two men, Liu Bei leaned over and looked at them and said, "I heard that you brought countless rare things from overseas. Can I see them?"
Xue Zhou and Pei Qian had already discussed it on the way here, and Pei Qian came to introduce them one by one.
Therefore, Pei Qian immediately stood up and said, "Rong Chen will explain it to Your Majesty."
Wang Zhi at the door waved.
The carriage in the square outside has long been unloaded. The palace guards took the things off the carriage, and then the eunuchs loaded them on plates one by one and stood in line outside the door.
After Wang Zhi waved, the first eunuch walked in with some brown fruits on the tray in his hand.
Pei Qian introduced: "Your Majesty, this is a specialty product of America. After the Prime Minister heard about its appearance, he named it peanut. It can be squeezed for oil, eaten raw, steamed, steamed, or fried. Normally fertilized, the yield per mu is about
Four to six stones.”
"Four to six stones?"
Liu Bei happily stroked his goatee under his chin, nodded and said, "Not bad, not bad."
Seeing his joy, Pei Qian quickly waved his hand to signal the next one. When the second tray came up, he pointed to the corn on it and said, "Your Majesty, this thing is golden. The prime minister named it corn. The yield is about six to ten stones per mu."
"
"Oh? Six to ten stones?"
Liu Bei's eyes suddenly lit up and he said: "Isn't that the yield per mu is a thousand catties?"
Pei Qian responded: "Yes, Your Majesty, this is a common food for people in the Americas. The yield in the Americas is relatively low. The locals just scatter the seeds randomly and wait for the harvest. The yield per mu is only four or five stones. We use excrement and grass ash to fertilize locally. After fertilizing, it can reach up to ten stones, and the average is about eight stones."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Hahahaha."
Liu Bei nodded with satisfaction, looked around, and said to Xun Yu, Xun You, Yang Biao, Zhao Wen and others: "It is not in vain that the prime minister spent a huge amount of money to search for such fine seeds overseas. With this thing, the Han Dynasty will have fewer hungry people. "
Yang Biao smiled and cupped his hands and said: "Congratulations to your Majesty, congratulations to your Majesty. This trip to the sea is comparable to Shen Nong tasting a hundred herbs. This is all the work of gods and men, and the merits of your Majesty and the Prime Minister."
"Hey, these are all due to the Prime Minister's foresight, and I have no merit."
Liu Bei said this, but his expression became even happier.
My fourth brother has far-sightedness, and while his face is bright, he also proves his ability to recognize people.
However, Pei Qian smiled and said: "Your Majesty, although the yields of peanuts and corn are abundant, compared with the other two things, they are far behind."
"oh?"
Liu Bei was surprised and said: "Is there anything else?"
Pei Qian pointed to the next thing and smiled and said: "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister named this thing potato. The yield is between twelve and twenty stones per mu."
"Twelve to twenty stones?"
Liu Bei and the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty took a deep breath.
In the Han Dynasty, one stone was equal to 120 kilograms. Calculated in this way, the maximum output of twenty stones could reach 2,400 kilograms, which is equivalent to 1,000 modern kilograms.
At that time, the yield of millet and wheat in the Han Dynasty basically remained between two and four shi per mu, with an average of about three shi.
In conversion, even if the maximum yield is four stones, it is only 200 kilograms per mu, which is five times less than the potato yield!
How could the emperors and ministers of the Han Dynasty not be surprised by this, who had never seen such a high-yielding crop?
But that's not all.
Pei Qian pointed to another thing and said, "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister named this sweet potato. The yield is between twenty and thirty dan per mu."
"Twenty...to thirty stone?"
The monarchs and ministers were dumbfounded.
This kind of output is simply unimaginable!
Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine that crops with such yields could exist on the land of the Han Dynasty.
However, what they don't know is that the output of these things is actually very low.
Because the output in later generations will be much higher than now.
For example, under normal circumstances, the yield of peanuts per mu is about 300 to 400 kilograms.
Converted into Han Dynasty units, it was between six shi and eight shi, or 750 kilograms to 1,000 kilograms.
But that is only if there are sufficient fertilizers in later generations.
At the level of agriculture in the Han Dynasty, we could only rely on artificial fertilization, and the increase in production could not reach the level of chemical fertilizers.
Moreover, the retting technology in the Han Dynasty was still very backward. It would not be until the Ming and Qing Dynasties that the retting technology reached the peak of the feudal dynasty.
This kind of retting technology should be remembered by rural children born in the 80s and 90s in future generations.
The toilet is built in a pig pen, and a cesspool is dug under the toilet. The feces produced by humans and pigs are discharged into the cesspit, and then mixed with plant ash and other things for fermentation.
When planting food, use a long-handled spoon to scoop the manure water from the manure tank into a bucket, and then carry it to the vegetable field or field for watering.
It sounds disgusting, but this was indeed the norm in later generations during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and even in the 1970s and 1980s of the Republic of China and the founding of the People's Republic of China. Even in the 1990s and early 21st century, many remote rural areas still retained this habit.
It can only be said that Chen Mu is lucky enough to know this method of retting. After all, he is not a city dweller. His hometown is in the countryside, and he lived with his grandparents for several years when he was a child.
When Chen Mu was the governor of Qingzhou, he vigorously promoted this method of retting in Qingzhou, which greatly improved the retting technology of the Han Dynasty and reached the level of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the early years of the founding of our country.
But even so, the increase in yield from artificial retting is far less than the increase in yield from chemical fertilizers.
If chemical fertilizers can increase crop yields by 40% to 60%, then the retting technology promoted by Chen Mu may increase the yield by around 10% to 30%.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, peanuts can produce 300 to 400 kilograms per mu, but in the Han Dynasty, they could only produce 200 to 300 kilograms per mu.
The same principle also applies to corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
The average yield of corn per mu is 400-600 kilograms, but in the Han Dynasty it was only 300 to 500 kilograms.
The average yield of potatoes per mu is 1,500-2,500 kilograms, but in the Han Dynasty it was only 600 to 1,000 kilograms.
The average sweet potato yield per mu is 2,500-3,500 kilograms, but in the Han Dynasty it was only 1,000 to 1,400 kilograms.
All grain output will basically shrink by 20% to 50%, and the output will even be even lower due to problems such as varieties, hybridization, and seedling breeding technology.
But even so, in an environment like the Han Dynasty, such a large output of crops was already shocking and terrifying.
Such an exaggerated yield per mu shocked the emperors and ministers who had never seen the world.
Liu Bei calmed down for a moment, thought about it seriously, and soon fell into ecstasy, laughing excitedly: "Hahahaha, with these things, won't my big man prosper?"
"Congratulations to your majesty, congratulations to your majesty."
"We are currently in a period of troubled times and are seriously short of food. These crops have solved our urgent needs."
"This is God's blessing for our great Han Dynasty. Your Majesty inherits the ancestral system and re-establishes the Yan Han Dynasty. This is the law of heaven!"
Many courtiers sent congratulatory messages one after another.
But Pei Qian wasn't done yet.
"Your Majesty, these are just some of them. The land of America is no smaller than the Han Dynasty, and there are many rare things in it."
Pei Qian asked the next eunuch to bring up the tray, pointed to the object and said: "This is American ginseng. The medical school professor on the ship said that this object has the same medicinal effects as Chinese ginseng, which is quite wonderful."
"Well, not bad, not bad."
Liu Bei nodded repeatedly.
"The Prime Minister named this thing Chili Pepper. It has the same spicy taste as the Sichuan peppercorns, but Sichuan and Sichuan are spicy. This thing only has a spicy taste and can be used as a food seasoning."
"very good."
"The prime minister named this thing pumpkin. It tastes sweet and has a large yield."
"Very wonderful, very wonderful."
"This thing is called..."
He introduced more than 20 to 30 American specialties in one breath. Some were preserved seeds, some were fruits grown on ships, and some were simply pickled or dried vegetables or meat products. They were all exotic, and Liu Bei praised them repeatedly.
.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! When tobacco was introduced, Pei Qian himself was smoking on the ship. He became addicted to cigarettes, and immediately tried smoking with their handmade tobacco rod, which filled the palace with smoke.
The ministers kept coughing.
If not for the wisdom of the ancients, the Han people who went to the Americas learned to smoke from the local indigenous people. Because they were not used to the indigenous people lighting them up and smoking them closely, or rolling them with leaves to smoke, they learned by themselves and made their own pipes.
Using the metallurgical furnace on the ship, he built a smoking pot and installed a pipe on it. It was similar to the long pipe used by Ji Xiaolan in "Iron Teeth and Bronze Teeth Ji Xiaolan". He puffed on the ship every day to relieve stress.
Although smoking is harmful to health, it is not said that the Han people do not understand its dangers. Even those who realize its dangers, such as Chen Mu himself, will not say anything to them.
Because life on board is boring and boring, all you have to do is look at the endless sea all day long. There were even sailors who couldn't bear the pressure and committed suicide by jumping into the sea in despair.
With the advent of tobacco, this situation has been alleviated and the sailors have found an outlet for their psychological pressure.
Under this situation, tobacco spread rapidly among sailors. There were more than 30 ocean-going ships, each with more than 100 sailors, almost three to four thousand people, and everyone smoked.
Even if smoking addiction is passed from person to person, there is nothing that can be done about it.
Knowing that this substance is a so-called "magic medicine" used by local indigenous people in America to treat diseases, Liu Bei himself took a few puffs out of curiosity. He coughed a few times because it was too choked. After enduring it, he felt a little ecstatic, and
Got addicted.
At that time, the monarchs and ministers spread the word that among the pipes donated by Xue Zhou and others, they were puffing out smoke, making the huge Chongde Hall full of smoke. This was something Chen Mu had never expected.
"Yes, Not Bad."
After taking a few puffs of cigarettes and being completely immersed in it, Liu Bei, with the idea of sharing good things with his brothers as soon as possible, said to the eunuch beside him: "Ask the Military Intelligence Department to send it to Yun Chang, Yide and Zigui, and tell them that this thing
It’s so delicious, you must try it.”
"yes."
The eunuch hurriedly went out and divided some of the roasted and dried tobacco, as well as a few pipes, to send to Guan Yu in Chang'an, Zhang Fei in Bingzhou, and Chen Mu in Yangzhou.
After giving the instructions, Liu Bei said: "Let's cultivate these crops in Luoyang. From now on, the prosperity of my Han Dynasty will begin!"
"only!"
All the ministers stood up at the same time and saluted with their hands in hand.
It seems that with these emerging crops, Dahan's future will be bright.