Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 142 Small talk
Looking at the more than ten pieces of ripe sweet potatoes dug out in front of him, although Chongzhen had been mentally prepared, he was somewhat disappointed.

Compared with the sweet potatoes produced under high-tech conditions such as countless cross-breeding improvements, seedling raising and top dressing, these sweet potatoes on the ground are obviously much smaller. It seems that the yield per mu will not be very high, but it should be higher than other food crops. Much higher.As long as we gradually understand the habits of sweet potatoes and carefully cultivate and plant them, I believe that the yield will gradually increase.As for the taste of sweet potatoes, it doesn't matter. Under the great famine in the next few years, it is good to have a stutter, who is picky about the taste.

Wang Chengen and Liu Chao looked at a pile of strangely shaped things on the ground, and were skeptical about whether such things could be eaten as the emperor said.

Wang Chengen hesitated for a while and finally said: "Your Majesty, this thing can really fill your stomach? Why does this old slave look similar to rhubarb fern root? Could it be a medicinal material? Ordinary people are free from disease and disaster, so eating it will be fine? "

Liu Chao also said: "My lord, how should I eat these sweet potatoes? This year, I only planted more than ten acres, and I still need my lord's instructions to expand the planting."

Chongzhen said with a smile: "Don't underestimate these things. In the future, the rations of the Ming people will depend on them! The biggest advantage of sweet potatoes is drought tolerance! The drought in Daming is getting worse and worse. It started from Shanshan and Shaanxi, and now it has spread to Henan. , Shandong. As far as I know, the rainfall in some prefectures and counties in the Gyeonggi area has dropped sharply this year compared to previous years. It is one of the sharp weapons! As for how to eat it, it is mainly to wash and cook it and eat it directly, or to cook it and dry it and then grind it into powder to make steamed cakes. I will not try other methods for now.”

Chongzhen glanced at Zhu Cihong and Changping, who were acting like obedient babies, and said with a smile: "Brother Lang, take a few yuan, find a shelter from the wind, and bake sweet potatoes according to the method I told you!"

After Zhu Cihong and Chang Ping saluted, each took a few pieces of sweet potatoes and rushed away, and several guards hurriedly followed.

"As far as I know, it is not difficult to grow sweet potatoes. Next year, we will try our best to expand the number of acres planted. There are not enough seeds to send people to the hometown of Xu Xueshi to search for them. There should be farmers planting them there. It is best to move the whole family here." Liu Chao Immediately, you have someone dig an acre of sweet potatoes and see how much the yield is!" Chongzhen ordered.

Liu Chao immediately ordered Zhuangtou to find someone to bring sweet potatoes, while Chongzhen went down to a house in Huangzhuang to rest under the guard of Cheng Qianli, and Wang Chengen also followed.

After drinking a cup of hot tea, Chongzhen said to Wang Cheng'en, who was standing beside him: "Big companion, how is the operation of the East Factory? Is the staff responsible for their duties? Is there any overlap with Jinyiwei?"

Wang Chengen bowed and said back: "If you go back to the emperor, Dongchang has three thousand households, stalls, and 860 soldiers since the old slaves. They are all selected from Jinyiwei. After several months of running-in, the current operation has been completed. Becoming normal, there are few people who are slack! There are overlaps with Jin Yiwei, but it doesn't affect the overall situation!"

Chongzhen nodded and said: "After the reopening of the East Factory, the elders and important ministers of the pavilion repeatedly wrote the book, saying that the reopening of the East Factory is not a blessing for the community. The courtiers who have the factory guards restored are all worried and have no intention of doing business. If the use of inhumane If you are not careful, you will repeat the mistakes of Wei Nizhi, and try your best to confuse me to close the East Factory! But I have made up my mind, and I will keep all these memorials, hum! How can I not know their little abacus? It is nothing more than I don’t want to have a sharp sword hanging above my head!”

Wang Chengen echoed: "Back to the emperor, the old slave has been watching the court with cold eyes for several years, and now he has finally gained something. The old slave feels that the more the courtiers oppose many important matters, as long as the emperor persists, the final outcome will be more correct." Daming is beneficial! Conversely, the more the courtiers try their best to promote it, the more harmful it is to Daming!"

Chongzhen couldn't help laughing when he heard the words, pointed at Wang Cheng'en and said: "Hahahaha! You old man! How can you say such classic words! This statement hits the vital point of the current court! If those civil servants listen to your words today, I'm afraid it won't be true. Turning from embarrassment into anger, I directly rushed forward to fight with you! Hahahaha!"

Wang Chengen smiled triumphantly: "If they pounced on them before, this old slave would definitely not be an opponent! But if it is now, hehe! The old slave's Dongchang is not a good man who eats vegetarian food and recites Buddha!"

Chongzhen laughed for a while and said, "Big Companion, do you know why they did this?"

Wang Chengen shook his head and said: "This old slave only knows what happened, but not why."

Chongzhen Dao sighed and said: "Actually, it's very simple. What they say and do is for the benefit of individuals or the forces behind them. They seldom think of me or the people of Daming! In their eyes, Daming is the Zhu family. It’s not their family, so why bother to plan for others? Even if the dynasty changes, for most courtiers, it’s just a change of owner! As long as everyone’s high-ranking officials and rich salary are indispensable, who else should they follow?”

Wang Chengen gritted his teeth and said: "These bastards! This old slave can't wait to confiscate their homes one by one! Send their family members to the Jiaofang Division, and serve as slaves for generations!"

Chongzhen waved his hand and said: "That's not necessary. In fact, it's human nature to think about it. Being an official for thousands of miles is only for money. For them, studying hard in a cold window and exhausting countless efforts, isn't it just for being an official in the end? It is seeking money and profit. The prosperity of the world is for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit. Maybe some people still have the feelings of serving the country and the people, and they have not forgotten their original aspirations from beginning to end, but most of them have long lost their original aspirations bingo."

Wang Chengen asked puzzledly: "According to what the emperor said, there is nothing wrong with these bastards?"

Chongzhen smiled and said: "Sitting in this seat, it is not too difficult to manage the country left by our ancestors well. Mencius has a saying: If the emperor envoys the court with courtesy, the minister will serve the emperor with loyalty; Ministers are like brothers and sisters, and the ministers regard the emperor as the heart; ministers only regard the emperor as dogs and horses, and the emperor regards the ministers as citizens. What I want to do is to give names to others who want to be famous, and to give benefits to others who want benefits. But My premise is that no matter what position you are in, you must do what you have to do well. Civil officials rule one side, and most of the people under their rule have no worries about food and clothing; What I have to do is to clearly distinguish rewards and punishments, so that there will be few complaints, and all problems will be easily solved!"

Wang Chengen shook his head and said: "The emperor's words are too simple! Don't you know the difficulties of the emperor? Some people want to be famous, but it is difficult to get a profit! Only in the past two years, the money has been more generous. How could the emperor have so much money before?" Money and them? The emperor’s robes are damaged and he is not willing to replace them; in order to save a little money for national use, the queen has to weave cloth herself to reduce expenses! The old slave sees it in his eyes and hurts in his heart! He only hates himself for being incompetent , unable to help the emperor!"

As he spoke, Wang Chengen's eyes turned red.

Chongzhen was also emotional in his heart.Before I crossed over, the predecessor of this body was too mean to me.All aspects of food, clothing, housing and transportation are kept simple, just to get some money out of the teeth to meet the various urgent needs of Daming.There is no way, of course you can't break the game if you are in the game. Only yourself, a latecomer who is watching coldly, knows how to start to change.

Amidst the sound of hurried footsteps, Liu Chao rushed into the house, ignoring etiquette and shouting with a smile on his face: "Your Majesty! Great joy!"

Chongzhen knew that the yield per mu of sweet potatoes must have come out, so he didn't blame Liu Chao, and asked with a smile: "But the yield of sweet potatoes has been weighed?"

Before Liu Chao replied, Wang Chengen scolded in a low voice dissatisfied: "Don't you kneel down and salute? You servant have forgotten who you are?"

Only then did Liu Chao come to his senses, and hastily knelt down and kowtowed to plead guilty: "The emperor forgives the sin, the slaves deserve to die! It's because the slaves are too happy! The emperor is not to blame!"

Chongzhen got up and walked over, stretched out his hand to hold Liu Chao, and joked with a smile: "You Liu Chao will be a person who will be famous in history in the future, how can I blame you! Get up!"

There are so many powerful eunuchs in the palace, when did the emperor treat others so politely?
Liu Chao was frightened and moved at the same time, got up with a flushed face, bowed at a loss and said, "How dare you let the emperor help you with such a lowly body like a servant! Don't stain the emperor's body!"

Chongzhen wanted to be both angry and laughing, and said, "Okay, okay! I'm not a woman, how could I dirty my body! Come on, tell me, how much is the output?"

"My servant personally watched the farmer weigh it, and the output of one mu is enough to weigh a thousand catties! Your lord! Nearly ten stones! I have lived for decades, and I have never seen so much output from one mu of land!" Liu said. Under Chao's joy, his eyes were narrowed into a slit, and his mouth was almost grinning to his ears.

Wang Cheng'en only knew about planting sweet potatoes, but he had forgotten about them, and he had never fully understood what sweet potatoes are. Today is the first time he has seen the real thing.

When he heard that the yield per mu of this thing could reach nearly ten shi, his eyes widened in surprise, his mouth opened wide, and his face was full of surprise.

No wonder, for many years, people have only known that one shi of grain per mu is a good harvest, and it must be good fertile land, and a few buckets per mu is not bad for a field with poor soil fertility.

After being surprised, he didn't care about reprimanding Liu Chao for being impolite just now, he stepped forward a few steps and grabbed Liu Chao's collar and asked sharply: "Ten stones per mu? Liu Chao, don't deceive the emperor! Otherwise, our family will send you to Go to the Clothes Bureau!"

Liu Chao replied with a wry smile: "Old Ancestor, how dare the servants speak nonsense? It is indeed ten stones! If you don't believe me, go and check it yourself!"

Chongzhen was also very happy.I thought it would be good to have a few hundred catties per mu, but I didn't expect it to be around a thousand catties. The food problem that I worry about all day is finally an extra channel for my heart.

He laughed and said, "Let go, buddy! What Liu Chao said is indeed true. As far as I know, if it is improved, the yield of this product will reach several thousand catties!"

Wang Chengen let go of Liu Chao's robe, bowed to Chongzhen and apologized: "This old slave is rude! Please punish the emperor!"

Chongzhen shook his head with a smile and said: "Don't be punished all day long! Both of you are unintentional mistakes! Besides, you are all people I trust, how can I care about the details!"

The two hurriedly saluted again to thank them.Wang Chengen had long claimed to be a member of the royal family, and Liu Chao was very moved when he heard the emperor's frank words.

Wang Chengen said: "The emperor said just now that this thing would weigh several thousand catties? Could it be that someone planted it before?"

Chongzhen nodded affirmatively and said: "It is true that someone has been born, but this person has been dead for many years!"

He still has some regrets in his heart. He didn't master this knowledge when he was in school.If an agricultural expert travels over here, it will not be a big problem to plant thousands of catties per mu of land for future generations, and all problems will be solved by then.

Before Wang Chengen could continue to ask, Chongzhen continued: "Liu Chao, how to store sweet potatoes should be recorded in Xueshi Xu's book. After the spring of next year, you have to make arrangements to expand the number of acres planted. This thing is very important. You must be careful!"

　Back to Kai Kai Lingyun: Wang Chengen is loyal to the royal family, not the court officials. He knows the emperor's difficulties, so he hates those court officials especially.The inner and outer courts of the Ming Dynasty have always been in opposition. Eunuchs are retainers of the royal family. Although they are also greedy, they are more loyal and obedient than foreign officials.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)