"What were you all doing just now? It was quite a commotion."
After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Liu Hongsui looked at the officials with a smile and asked them a question.
Yang Ci stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the other day, officials from the Court of State Ceremonial brought back some jujubes from Jiaozhou. All of you colleagues would like to try them.”
"Since you all like it, Grand Herald, don't be stingy, give some to each of you," Liu Hong said with a smile.
Yang Ci nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, we are deeply grateful for Your Majesty's great kindness!"
Upon hearing the emperor's words, everyone received a toast, and the officials at the back of the line also expressed their gratitude.
Liu Hong's expression turned solemn: "I summoned the Grand Herald to bring this Gan Zhe to the court today not so that you gentlemen could enjoy it, but because this Gan Zhe plays a vital role for our Great Han."
Upon hearing this, the officials were stunned and stared blankly at the emperor. To them, was a mere Gan Zhe really that important?
Cao Song stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this jujube is just a fruit. Why do you value it so much?"
Although the officials did not speak, their gazes toward Liu Hong were filled with curiosity.
Liu Hong smiled and said, "The Grand Minister of Agriculture might as well try this sweet jujube first and experience its wonders for himself."
As he spoke, Liu Hong nodded to Yang Ci. Yang Ci understood, so he stepped forward, handed the Gan Zhe fruit in his hand to Cao Song, and told Cao Song how to eat it.
"Hehe~, Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness!"
Cao Song chuckled, then picked up the jujube and started biting into it.
As soon as he bit into the outer skin, Cao Song felt an extremely sweet juice flow into his mouth, which made his eyes light up.
Then Cao Song couldn't wait to bite off a section of the outer skin, revealing the juicy sugarcane flesh inside, which looked very tempting.
"Snap!"
With one bite, Cao Song felt an unprecedented sweetness filling his mouth and teeth, and he couldn't help but close his eyes and begin to chew.
"Gulp!"
The surrounding officials, seeing Cao Song's blissful expression, couldn't help but swallow hard.
After chewing for a while, and feeling that there was no more juice in the sugarcane in his mouth, Cao Song stopped, then spat the residue into his hand and put it into his sleeve.
Seeing this, Liu Hong asked with a laugh, "How does the Grand Minister of Agriculture feel?"
Cao Song sighed with relish, "Your Majesty, I have tasted all kinds of delicacies, but this is the first time I have tasted something so sweet. Its sweetness even surpasses that of watermelon."
The juice inside is like nectar, making one's mouth water and bringing joy.
Please forgive my limited education; I am truly unable to describe its beauty.
"Gulp!"
As Cao Song finished speaking, the officials in the hall couldn't help but swallow hard once again, their eyes shining as they looked at the jujube in Cao Song's hand.
Nowadays, with the royal merchant's dividends, all the officials are wealthy and have naturally learned to enjoy life.
Especially Cao Song, who is known for being picky about food; it's rare for him to say that something is delicious.
Furthermore, sweets were a rare luxury in this era, and most people rarely had the chance to eat them. Hearing that this was even sweeter than watermelon, the officials immediately became excited.
Upon seeing this, Liu Hong looked around at the officials and asked, "Which of you ministers did not eat before court?"
At this moment, Tian Feng, looking exhausted and with red eyes, stepped forward from the ranks: "Your Majesty, I was on duty at the Ministry of Personnel last night and have not eaten yet."
"Grand Minister of Agriculture, let Yuan Hao try some Gan Zhe."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing this, Cao Song reluctantly handed the Gan Zhe fruit to Tian Feng.
Tian Feng didn't stand on ceremony and started gnawing on the jujube.
After only a few bites, as the sweet juice went down his throat, Tian Feng's eyes lit up.
Then Tian Feng respectfully said, "Your Majesty, I did not eat or drink anything last night, and just now I felt thirsty, hungry, and weak all over."
But after taking a couple of bites, I felt refreshed, my stomach was very satisfied, and I regained some strength.
"Oh? This thing actually has such miraculous effects?"
The people around were also taken aback. They could understand quenching thirst, since it was very juicy, but being able to fill their stomachs was something they didn't quite understand.
Seeing the officials' expressions, Liu Hong laughed and said, "Gentlemen, there's no need to be so surprised. The reason Yuan Hao is like this is because the jujube contains a lot of water and sugar."
The sugar in it is the same as the maltose you all know.
"Maltose?"
Upon hearing this, the officials' eyes lit up.
"Indeed!" Liu Hong smiled. "As far as I know, one hundred catties of jujube can yield fifteen catties of maltose..."
(Malcum, also known as maltose, was extracted from grains in my country as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty. However, due to low grain yields at that time, it was only consumed by a very small number of nobles and was considered an extremely luxurious item.)
As soon as Liu Hong finished speaking, all the officials fell silent.
It should be understood that with the technology of that era, refining one pound of maltose would require wasting more than two hundred pounds of grain. In addition, given the emperor's emphasis on grain, even officials who were rich and powerful rarely had the opportunity to eat it.
Therefore, the price of a pound of maltose on the market is comparable to that of gold, and there is often no market for it.
The news that 100 catties of jujube can be used to extract 15 catties of maltose shocked the officials.
After the initial shock, Cao Song was the first to speak up: "Your Majesty, the Gan Zhe has such miraculous effects. It is indeed extremely important to our Han Dynasty. We should plant and introduce it on a large scale."
At this moment, Cao Song's face was flushed and his breathing was rapid. In his eyes, the taro, which could be used to extract a large amount of maltose without wasting grain, was no longer a fruit, but a gold mine, an inexhaustible gold mine.
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