Mu Yundian was extremely happy at this time. After learning that sweet potatoes could be used to make wine, he really admired sweet potatoes as a food. Although it was just a kind of food, it played a much greater role than many officials in the court.
Cao Mengde continued to ask, "Your Majesty, should we disclose the brewing process of this sweet potato wine?"
Chu Fan thought about it and shook his head. This brewing process is indeed simple, but if it were made public, ordinary people could indeed brew "sweet potato cake" for their own consumption. However, this is not a good choice.
You have to know that in this world, winemaking techniques are relatively crude. When the imperial court publicly disclosed the brewing process of "sweet potato wine", the first to benefit were not the common people, but the merchants with keen sense of smell. You have to know that the common people do not have sufficient funds and equipment. What's more, it is only the first year for the common people to grow sweet potatoes. Even if the brewing process is made public, most people will not turn food into wine for consumption. After all, you can live without wine, but without food, you will die.
Regardless of the era, the people valued food in a way that rulers could never imagine. Perhaps Prime Minister Cao Mengde believed that the people now had sweet potatoes at home, and that making the "sweet potato cake" recipe public would offer them a new way to survive. But in reality, the people knew how to cherish food and wouldn't take risks easily. Instead, merchants would exploit this opportunity to make a killing, and the people would ultimately suffer.
Chu Fan thought about all this for just a moment, and then he said, "Prime Minister Cao is also thinking about the people, but we need to be cautious in this matter. After all, the people's basic needs are food and clothing. Although brewing wine can increase income, it cannot shake the food foundation.
Another more selfish reason was that the profits from winemaking were enormous, and since the court had such a technological advantage, it should be transformed into national wealth. This would allow the court and local officials to gain certain benefits, thus strengthening their support and loyalty to the court.
Therefore, I have decided not to disclose the brewing process of "Sweet Potato Shao" to the public for the time being. Instead, the imperial court and local government will uniformly purchase sweet potatoes for brewing, and then sell them through official channels. This will not only ensure quality, but also stabilize market prices and prevent merchants from driving up prices."
Upon hearing this, Cao Mengde and the others nodded in agreement with Chu Fan's decision. They understood that while winemaking could generate certain profits, it could also cause social problems if mismanaged. Centralized control by the imperial court would safeguard the nation's interests while preventing the people from suffering due to winemaking.
Chu Fan continued, "Regarding the storage of sweet potatoes in various places, after ensuring that there are enough food reserves to deal with natural disasters and man-made disasters, the remaining sweet potatoes can be used by local governments to build small workshops for brewing sweet potato cakes. At that time, 10% of the profits will be paid to the imperial palace treasury. After the taxes paid to the merchants are paid to the national treasury, the remaining profits will belong to the local government and be used to improve people's livelihood and infrastructure.
If local governments buy too many sweet potatoes, they can process them into dried sweet potatoes or other foods and store them for future use."
Cao Mengde and others also knew that the matter had been settled, so they did not continue to dwell on it.
At this time, Chu Fan took out another stack of papers. After Cao Mengde took the papers and took a look at them, he showed a look of shock. Mu Yundian and others saw Cao Mengde's expression and came forward curiously. When they saw the contents on the paper, they were also shocked.
Minister of Revenue Qian Dai excitedly asked, "Your Majesty, are the tools and oil refining methods you drew on these papers real?"
As a prince of the royal family, Chu Anran was very dissatisfied with the fact that someone doubted Chu Fan's ability, and immediately said, "Does the Minister of Revenue still doubt the ability of His Majesty?"
Qian Dai quickly bowed and apologized: "Your Majesty, please calm down. I never meant that. It's just that the drawings Your Majesty provided are truly amazing."
Chu Fan was speechless at their exaggerated expressions. He smiled calmly and said, "This is just a corn oil refining technology. Is there any need to make such a fuss?"
Cao Mengde patiently explained, "Your Majesty, you don't understand that if this technology could truly be realized, it would be a great boon to the people of Wei. You should know that only the wealthy in Wei could consume a small amount of rapeseed oil. Because rapeseed production is low and the refining process is very complex, the price of rapeseed oil has always remained high."
Ordinary people could only obtain meat and fat from animals through hunting. The emergence of corn oil refining technology will break this situation, allowing ordinary people to enjoy cheap and healthy cooking oil. This is a great thing for the ordinary people of Wei State and Shengwu Continent.
After all, cooking oil has always been a scarce resource in the Shengwu Continent, not just in Wei, but also in other countries. It's so expensive that ordinary people simply can't afford it. If corn oil refining technology can really be implemented, the price of cooking oil will surely drop significantly, making it more affordable for more people.
And one last point: when Wei conquers other countries in the future, when cheap corn oil appears before the conquered people, it will not only quickly win the hearts and minds of the people, but also effectively stabilize the situation and further consolidate Wei's ruling position."
Liquor is just a pastime for some wine lovers, but if corn oil can be successfully refined, it will benefit countless ordinary people. This is why Cao Mengde and others did not show much surprise when they saw the brewing technology of "sweet potato burning", but were so shocked when they saw the corn oil refining technology, fearing that this technology was not real.
Minister of Rites Fu Youde sighed and said: "Immortal food is indeed immortal food. Corn can not only be eaten directly by steaming or cooking, but can also be ground into powder and made into cakes. Moreover, corn is easier to store than sweet potatoes. The stems and leaves of corn can not only be fed to livestock, but some people also spread these stems and leaves on their beds to keep warm. The extra stems and leaves can be dried and used as firewood.
Now that corn can be refined into edible oil, this is truly a great gift from heaven to the State of Wei. This truly is Heaven's will for the prosperity of the State of Wei."
Just as Fu Youde was speaking excitedly, Chu Anran said coldly, "The sweet potatoes and corn were brought out by your Majesty. What does this have to do with what you call heaven in the Ministry of Rites?"
Fu Youde was stunned for a moment. He knew he had said the wrong thing in his excitement. Perhaps it wouldn't have been a big deal in the past, but now the emperor's prestige among the court and the people had reached an unparalleled level. For a minister like him to attribute the emperor's actions to heaven was extremely inappropriate.
If someone in the court makes a big fuss about this matter, I am afraid that my position as the Minister of Rites will be in jeopardy.
Fu Youde quickly apologized to Chu Fan, saying, "Your Majesty, what you said is absolutely right. I was just speaking out of turn. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
