Although Zhu Yunwen strictly required the Ministry of Revenue to properly handle the sweet potato and potato seeds, he also knew that someone would definitely have designs on these seeds and try to tamper with them.
After all, Zhu Yunwen knew better than anyone the importance of these two things, and how many people wanted to use them to overthrow him and undermine his policies and grain reforms.
Therefore, Zhu Yunwen's biggest concern now is the cultivation and protection of sweet potato and potato seeds.
He couldn't rest easy, since he would be away for such a long time each time, and he had to come up with a foolproof plan to ensure that the potato and sweet potato seeds would not have any problems.
After a brief moment of thought, he immediately came up with a good idea, so he summoned the Minister of Revenue and said:
"What stage is the cultivation of sweet potato and potato seeds at now?"
Minister of Revenue Zhang Shan hurriedly and excitedly said:
"Your Highness, these sweet potato and potato seeds are very easy to grow. Even though we sowed them in the winter, they sprouted and grew very quickly."
There were 10,000 jin of sweet potato and potato seeds, and after this period of cultivation, they have now grown to nearly 100,000 jin. If the seeds are cultivated again, there will be millions of jin of seeds.
Then, they can be distributed throughout the country for planting.
Zhu Yunwen nodded in satisfaction and said:
"It has been proven that potatoes and sweet potatoes are very easy to plant on our land and can yield good income. However, we must be careful to prevent unscrupulous people from tampering with them."
Therefore, I have decided to devise a solution. You should go to the Ministry of Revenue and issue an order for the officials in charge of seed cultivation to distribute the seeds in batches.
Each official was responsible for cultivating 5,000 to 10,000 catties of grain seeds. They were each in their own place, only responsible for their own, and were strictly forbidden from touching or cultivating the seeds of others.
If a problem arises with the seeds of someone else, that person will be held responsible. This way, no one can access each other's potato or sweet potato seeds, making it easier to investigate if a problem occurs with one of their seeds.
Most importantly, such a policy would make the officials responsible for potato and sweet potato cultivation more cautious and more concerned about potential mistakes.
Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Zhang Shan immediately nodded and said:
"This is indeed a good method. If everyone is responsible for their own sweet potato and potato seeds, they will be more responsible for this matter."
Moreover, even if someone with malicious intent manages to damage the sweet potato seeds in the possession of an official, it will not affect the other sweet potato seeds, and the losses can be minimized.
"As expected of His Highness the Crown Prince, he is indeed a man of great wisdom and resourcefulness."
Zhu Yunwen had no interest in such flattery, so he waved his hand and ordered Zhang Shan to carry it out immediately.
Furthermore, Zhang Shan was given a strict order: if there were any problems with the sweet potato or potato seeds, the entire Ministry of Revenue would be punished.
After Zhang Shan left, Zhu Yunwen finally felt a little relieved. With his plan and strict requirements, he believed that the probability of problems with the sweet potato and potato seeds would be very small.
Even if one batch of seeds encounters problems, the other seeds managed by other officials are likely to be fine.
After making arrangements for all the things that Zhu Yunwen was worried about, Zhu Yunwen chose a day and set off from Nanjing with Lan Yu, Feng Sheng, and an army of 200,000 men, heading towards the southwest region.
The southwest region is quite a distance from Nanjing. In the past, it would have taken at least half a month to reach Nanjing.
Those are the fastest speeds.
After all, not all soldiers could ride horses; most would walk, and it would take some time to get there.
But things are different now. Cement roads have been built all over the Ming Dynasty, especially the main roads, which are wide and well-maintained.
It makes things much easier for the army to move around.
Before setting off, Zhu Yunwen also ordered the requisition of many carriages from Nanjing and the surrounding areas.
If all the carriages were gathered together, there would be a total of ten thousand. Each carriage would be crammed with ten to twenty people, but some soldiers would ride horses, thus completely avoiding the problem of walking.
After all, the roads are now good, flat and wide, making it very easy for horse-drawn carriages to travel.
Because the road surface is so good, the wear and tear on the carriages is very low.
Around ten thousand horse-drawn carriages could easily pull down an army of two hundred thousand.
With horse-drawn carriages, the soldiers not only no longer had to walk, but their speed also increased significantly.
Therefore, the army advanced towards the southwest region at a very fast pace, covering half the distance in just three days.
The key point is that the soldiers are not tired at all. They sit leisurely in the carriage, constantly marveling at the benefits of the cement road and enjoying the scenery along the way.
Among the group, Zhu Yunwen's carriage was the most luxurious and the most stable. Sitting inside the carriage, traveling on the flat cement road, there was almost no bumping.
Inside the carriage, Zhu Yunwen was even drinking tea, while Zhao Qingzhu, who had taken off his eunuch's clothes and put on the clothes of a personal guard, was also pulled down by Zhu Yunwen to sit down and drink tea with him.
Zhao Qingzhu looked at Zhu Yuntong and said:
"Your Highness, I think the industry that will be vigorously developed next is definitely the horse-drawn carriage. The roads throughout the Ming Dynasty are so good now, which leaves a lot of room for the development of horse-drawn carriages. Such roads, paired with horse-drawn carriages, are simply perfect."
Zhu Yunwen nodded and said:
"Speaking of carriages, you've reminded me that there are actually things even better than carriages. I'll study them slowly after I win this battle and return home."
What Zhu Yunwen was referring to were actually bicycles and tricycles.
Of course, he doesn't yet have the audacity to think that he can create something like a car.
However, based on simple principles, making tricycles and bicycles is not a difficult task.
Once the bicycles and tricycles are brought out, they will bring great convenience to the people of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhao Qingzhu was also very much looking forward to seeing what Zhu Yunwen would come up with.
This time, the army set off for the southwest region, and along the way they encountered many civilians walking on the official roads and many merchant caravans.
They all praised the wide and flat road.
The people were overjoyed by this significant change in the Ming Dynasty.
Seeing the smiles on the faces of the pedestrians on the street, Zhu Yunwen smiled as well.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he wants to change the world.
Enabling people to live better lives and infinitely improve their happiness index is perhaps itself an indescribable sense of accomplishment.
This further solidified Zhu Yunwen's idea of making the Ming Dynasty strong and improving the lives of the people.
In the days to come, this will become Zhu Yunwen's main goal.
Of course, the main task now is to liberate the southwest region.
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