Thanks to the book friend "My main account was blocked, so I used my small account" for the reward.
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Zhu Youxiao had his own judgment and ideas, but he still appreciated Xu Guangqi's ideas and nodded in approval.
"I once wrote a memorial on sweet potatoes... Wherever sweet potatoes are, they provide the inhabitants with half a year's worth of food..."
Uncle? Or uncle?
Zhu Youxiao blinked, and suddenly his eyes flashed. He raised his hand to interrupt Xu Guangqi and asked anxiously, "Lord Xu, why haven't I seen the 'Sweet Potato Memorial'? Also, where did this sweet potato come from, and what does it look like?"
Xu Guangqi bowed and replied, "The Sweet Potato Memorial was written in the 41st year of the Wanli reign while I was living in Tianjin. I also wrote The Turnip Memorial, The Order on Reclamation, and Draft of the Agricultural Book. As for the sweet potato, it was imported from overseas and cultivated before the Minyue people..."
Sweet potato, it must be sweet potato without a doubt.
Zhu Youxiao was so excited. Roasting sweet potatoes, frying French fries... well, these were all small things. The most important thing was to save the country and the people. The practical significance was even greater than that of muskets and cannons.
This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but if the Ming Dynasty had promoted the planting of high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn earlier, the disasters caused by the Little Ice Age and the course of history would definitely have changed.
Xu Guangqi saw the young emperor was very excited, rubbing his hands and pacing quickly back and forth in front of the throne. He couldn't help but pursed his lips, feeling a little amused.
Zhu Youxiao paused, his eyes determined. "Next spring, we will promote the cultivation of sweet potatoes in Gansu, Shaanxi, Henan, Shanxi, and Zhili. I will issue an edict ordering local officials to supervise the implementation and not to neglect it. If the standards are not met, they will be severely punished."
"Your Majesty..." Xu Guangqi hurriedly stood up and said, "It seems inappropriate to issue an edict directly. It is better to submit it to the court for discussion."
Zhu Youxiao frowned, not wanting to argue with Xu Guangqi about this, so he asked, "Lord Xu, do you know about potatoes? They also grow in the soil, are similar to sweet potatoes, and taste very soft."
Xu Guangqi thought for a moment and replied uncertainly, "I remember that in the book Chang'an Kehua, written by the Jinshi Jiang Yikui during the Wanli period, there seems to be a mention of ground potatoes. I wonder if they are the same thing Your Majesty is talking about?"
Ground potatoes? Potatoes?
Zhu Youxiao was also unsure. He noticed from the corner of his eye that Liu Ruoyu had a strange expression, as if he had something to say, so he pointed and said, "If you have something to say, just say it. I won't blame you."
Liu Ruoyu quickly bowed and said, "I seem to have heard of potatoes. They seem to be grown in Shanglin Garden. Your Majesty, please send someone to bring them here to examine and taste."
Potatoes, also known as potatoes, were introduced to China in the late Ming Dynasty. Due to their special and rare variety, only the rich and powerful could enjoy them, and ordinary people could never eat them.
In the Ming Dynasty, there were "vegetable farmers" in Shanglin Garden who specialized in growing vegetables and had certain technical advantages in screening and cultivating potatoes.
But it was an institution serving the court after all. It would neither plant potatoes on a large scale nor introduce potato seeds and planting techniques to the public.
It was not until the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty that the potato cultivation technology gradually spread, as wars caused the Shanglin Garden to be abandoned and those "vegetable farmers" became ordinary people.
Haha, it turns out that the potatoes are grown in our own garden. Why are we still looking for them? This saves us so much trouble.
Zhu Youxiao turned his gaze to Xu Guangqi and said with a smile, "Shanglinyuan will be converted into a new crop experimental site, under the guidance and management of Minister Xu. Furthermore, Minister Xu does not need to go to Tianjin and can rest and recuperate in Beijing. Please submit a memorial on strategies for enriching the country, strengthening the military, and pacifying the people. Also, please recommend the many talents you consider promising."
Looking at the young emperor's expression, Xu Guangqi knew that things had taken a turn for the better and that his ideals and ambitions had a great chance of being realized. He felt relieved and bowed to take his leave.
Watching Xu Guangqi retreat, Zhu Youxiao was still excited. He sat on the throne with a smile on his face, lost in thought.
The civil unrest at the end of the Ming Dynasty was ultimately caused by the issue of "food".
To put it more simply, who would be so bored as to risk losing their head in a rebellion?
If you had enough food and clothing, you would definitely slap someone in the face if they advised you to rebel. You are sick, you have nothing better to do than to want to harm me!
Even if we take a step back and let's not have enough food and clothing, but just have some sweet potato porridge to drink, I guess not many people would pick up rakes and hoes to fight the soldiers to their death.
Sweet potatoes and potatoes are very drought-resistant and have an astonishingly high yield, several times higher than wheat, the main crop grown in northern China at the time.
Foreign crops such as corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes were introduced to China in the late Ming Dynasty. Don’t you think this was a blessing from heaven for the Ming Dynasty?
Unfortunately, no one paid attention to it, and no one urged to promote its planting. Instead, the bran and porridge took advantage of it, and people started to eat sweet potatoes, potatoes and drink porridge.
Sweet potato, sweet potato, um, potato.
Zhu Youxiao seemed to smell the tempting aroma of roasted sweet potatoes, and a silly smile appeared on his face.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Liu Ruoyu took the compiled list of officials from the Ministry of Personnel from the young eunuch. Looking at the state of the emperor, he was a little unsure whether he should interrupt the emperor's daydream.
Ah, ah! Zhu Youxiao woke up slowly and wiped his mouth subconsciously. Yeah, no saliva!
"Your Majesty, the list of officials from the Ministry of Personnel has been compiled. Please take a look—"
I've read the one from the Ministry of War, it's not interesting; as for the one from the Ministry of Personnel, since it's been brought over, I might as well just listen to it!
With the emperor's approval, Liu Ruoyu began to read out the list of officials in the Ministry of Personnel in order from oldest to youngest.
Zhao Nanxing, nothing; I don’t know this person; I have no impression of that minister…
Zhu Youxiao felt very bored and disappointed after listening to this, and yawned.
Seeing the young emperor's condition, Liu Ruoyu lost interest in reading and lowered his voice.
"... Sun Chuanting, the Doctor of Honors, and Zhang Chou, the Chief of Seal Verification..."
"Wait, wait." The young emperor, who looked bored and sleepy, suddenly sat up straight, his eyes wide open, and pointed at Liu Ruoyu, "Please repeat what you just said. I didn't hear it clearly."
"Yes." Liu Ruoyu agreed and repeated, "The seal verification officer is Zhang Chouwei."
"Not this one, the one before, the one with the surname Sun." The young emperor frowned.
Liu Ruoyu looked at it carefully and read it again: "Ji Xun Langzhong Sun Chuanting..."
"Sun Chuanting, it's really Sun Chuanting. I thought I had misunderstood him, so why did he go to the Ministry of Personnel?" The young emperor raised his hand to stop Liu Ruoyu, muttering to himself.
Liu Ruoyu didn't understand what was going on, and then he saw the emperor take out a small notebook, pick up a pen and write something with a smile on his face.
"I want to see Sun Chuanting's resume. Please send it to me as soon as possible." After Zhu Youxiao finished writing, he looked up and gave the order.
This trick works!
Zhu Youxiao must have laughed, and he laughed from the bottom of his heart.
Even if you are a time traveler and know many great people, it is still very difficult to remember them all at once and send people to find them.
No one is a computer and can remember the age and resume of those great people, or even the specific year, month and day when historical events occurred.
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