Zhu Yunwen was indeed very happy. He could finally rest assured about the people's food problem.
Although giving people land is half the battle won, as long as they have their own land, even if they grow low-yield crops, they will still be much better off than before if they are frugal.
However, in Zhu Yunwen's view, having potatoes and sweet potatoes was the real solution to the people's food problem.
After Zhu Yunwen's waiting, Ma Sanbao finally returned on New Year's Eve.
On this day, Zhu Yuanzhang held a grand banquet in the Imperial Garden of the palace, inviting all civil and military officials in Nanjing to attend.
At the banquet, Zhu Yuanzhang brought out fine wine and drank heartily with his officials. The food on the table was very plentiful, and everyone ate to their heart's content.
Zhu Yunwen, sitting below Zhu Yuanzhang, was gazing absently at the palace gate in the distance.
He was waiting for Ma Sanbao and kept asking a eunuch beside him where Ma Sanbao was.
The eunuch smiled and said to Zhu Yunwen, "Your Highness, don't worry, Lord Ma will be back soon. He should be arriving at the palace very soon."
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly, and at this moment Zhu Yuanzhang also said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Yunhu, now that we've found it, there's no need to rush. How could we not bring it back? Just relax!"
Zhu Yunwen chuckled, appearing nonchalant on the surface, but he was actually very anxious inside.
This is a rather important matter for him.
Once sweet potatoes and potatoes are found, the problem of feeding the people can be truly solved. How could he not be concerned about such a major issue?
Outsiders simply cannot understand how important these two things are.
At this moment, some officials below kept coming forward to toast Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yuanzhang.
In particular, Lan Yu, having already confronted Zhu Yuanzhang, actively treated his leg injury, and it was basically healed.
So he resumed drinking.
Lan Yu, who hadn't drunk much for a long time, was delighted tonight with the fine wine Zhu Yuanzhang had given him, and he drank to his heart's content, frequently coming up to have a drink with Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Yunwen was in a good mood, so he drank some with her. However, just as Zhu Yunwen and Lan Yu were drinking together, Ma Sanbao led twenty or thirty foreigners dressed in strange clothes and with appearances very different from those of the people of the East into the palace gate.
Their appearance immediately attracted the attention of many people in the Imperial Garden.
Lan Yu was even more surprised and said:
"Ma Sanbao is back, but why do those people behind him look so strange? Their hair is curly and yellow, and if you look closely, their eyes are glowing blue, making them look a bit like people from the Western Regions."
Chang Sen, one of the Chang brothers, said, "They might be from the Western Regions, or perhaps from even more distant places overseas. It's not strange that they look unusual."
Lan Yu nodded and said, "That's true. I heard that Ma Sanbao not only brought some things back this time, but also that some overseas countries along the way will send envoys to visit our Great Ming. I suppose they are these blue-eyed, blond-haired people."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and Zhu Yunwen quickly stood up, took a few steps forward, and walked up to Ma Sanbao.
Ma Sanbao was also very excited when he saw Zhu Yunwen, and immediately knelt on the ground:
"Your subject, Ma Sanbao, pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince. May Your Highness live a thousand years..."
Zhu Yunwen hurriedly said, "Forget about these rules, get up quickly, you are a meritorious official of our Great Ming Dynasty. By the way, where are the things?"
After being helped up by Zhu Yunwen, Ma Sanbao took a deep breath and said:
"Your subject has successfully fulfilled your mission!"
Then, with a wave of his hand, several soldiers behind him carried up several boxes. When they were opened, the boxes were filled with sweet potatoes. These sweet potatoes were about the size of two or three fists and looked very appealing, which made Zhu Yunwen extremely excited.
Then a box next to it was opened, and inside were potatoes the size of a fist.
These potatoes are all about the same size and look good, so it's clear that Ma Sanbao selected very high-quality seeds when he brought them back.
With such good-quality sweet potatoes and potatoes as seeds, the ones that grow will definitely be good too. In addition, the area of Daming is also quite suitable for sweet potato and potato seeds. If they are planted in the right way, they will be even bigger than these seeds.
With this thought in mind, Zhu Yunwen finally felt completely relieved of his worries.
The sweet potato seeds were exactly what he had imagined, even better than he had expected.
In this way, the important matter he wanted to accomplish was finally much more secure.
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang also stepped forward and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"These two boxes are the potatoes and sweet potatoes you mentioned?"
Zhu Yunwen nodded and said, "That's right."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the very large sweet potatoes and potatoes and said:
"These two things have such large fruits, much larger than the wheat and rice we grow now. I just wonder about their cultivation and yield?"
Zhu Yunwen smiled: "Planting them is very simple, and both potatoes and sweet potatoes are cold-resistant and drought-resistant. Most importantly, the yield is very large, so you can rest assured about that. By the way, Ma Sanbao, how many seeds did you bring back?"
Ma Sanbao hurriedly said, "We sailed according to the route on the map, and after arriving at the place you mentioned, we befriended the king of a country called Ula. He had heard of our Great Ming Dynasty and wanted to come and pay homage, so he presented us with many of these potato and sweet potato seeds. There are hundreds of boxes like these."
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