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Chapter 263 The sky is high and the emperor is far away 5
"...Zhu knew something about this, and he had both joy and worry. When Governor Li first came here, he selected several counties and asked local officials to encourage farmers to reclaim hillside land to plant wheat and sweet potatoes. The results became more and more effective year after year.

It has been more than two years since now. In addition to paddy fields and sugar cane, almost every local farmer has planted sweet potatoes, especially sweet potatoes. The price ranges from three to four or five stones per mu.

Although it cannot be eaten for meals, it can be used to deduct taxes, or it can be dried and stored to satisfy hunger during lean times.In fact, as long as wheat and sweet potatoes are allowed to be deducted from taxes, farmers will be more willing to grow these crops that require less care and have higher yields.

However, the counties selected by Governor Li were all near Zhaoqing and Wuzhou. The local officials had good relations with them and agreed to use wheat and sweet potatoes to offset taxes.Other state capitals are different. They insist on obtaining official documents from the court before they are willing to change. Therefore, not many people grow wheat and sweet potatoes. "

Suzaku also had a good understanding of the wheat and sweet potato planting plan promoted by Li Zhi in Guangdong and Guangxi.Although the sugar mills do not use these two kinds of grains, they have to deal with sugar cane farmers in various counties, hear and see them, and never tell lies.

"But Hu Guifang is causing trouble?" Yuan Yingtai became more comfortable when it came to officialdom. Without thinking, he immediately named one person.

"The feudal government is a clear warning. Hu Fantai is an upright official. He is not deliberately targeting him. He is just a little conservative and does things strictly." In front of the right chief envoy, he commented on the merits and demerits of the left chief envoy. On the premise that he was not particularly familiar with it, Suzaku I will definitely not speak my mind, I will do it as I say.

"...The people's land belongs to Yuan. Even with His Majesty's instructions, it will take time to convince the parents and officials of these 10 prefectures, 1 state, 77 counties and scattered states. If Li Dusi can take the lead and set an example, it will be easier for Yuan here. There are too many.”

No matter how tactful Zhuque was, Yuan Yingtai also understood the crux of the problem. Hu Guifang was definitely responsible, but it was not his intention alone.Although the chief envoy is the head of a province and is in charge of civil affairs, if there is no official document from the court and he can just rely on lip service, the officials in the prefectures and counties may not buy it.

Although banana wheat and sweet potatoes have been tested for more than two years and have been proven to be good crops that are resistant to barrenness and have high yields, the results are different in the eyes of different people.Compared with rice, many people may not be used to the taste of barley and sweet potatoes, let alone find them delicious.

If they were not hungry, they might not be willing to try it for the rest of their lives, and naturally they would have no motivation to take the risk of making mistakes and include these two grains in the tax list without authorization.It is not difficult to change. As long as you take all the responsibilities on your own head as the chief envoy, the states and counties will no longer insist on confrontation.

But all this will take time, at least until he has almost met nearly a hundred officials to talk.Before that, if Li Rumei could set an example as the capital commander, his persuasion work would definitely be smoother.

"...Yuan Fantai wants me to test the seeds in military fields first?" Li Rumei thought for a moment and guessed what it means to set an example first. Each province has commanders in charge of their own provincial guard posts, and there are not only soldiers but also soldiers in the guard posts. There are acres of land.

"Of course! Does Li Dusi know what the use of the wheat and sweet potatoes collected by the imperial court is?" Seeing Li Rumei being so kind, Yuan Yingtai reciprocated the favor and planned to tell some secrets that could be revealed.

"I don't know, so I ask the feudal lord to clarify my doubts!" ​​Sure enough, upon hearing that there was news about to explode, Li Rumei, who was indifferent to civil affairs, immediately perked up and stretched out her ears.

The same thing happened to Suzaku. Ever since the governor began to vigorously promote the cultivation of wheat and sweet potatoes, he had a question in his mind: Farmers were allowed to use these two grains to deduct taxes. What should the court do with the collected grains?
When will the salary be paid out?It is estimated that no officials are willing to ask for it; should it be distributed as disaster relief food?Many people in northern provinces may have never seen these two grains, let alone eat them.You can't use it to feed livestock, that would be too wasteful! "I am honored to be gifted by His Majesty and have tasted the wheat biscuits and sweet potato chips made by Shangshan Supervisor. They are crispy, sweet and have a unique flavor."

When a story comes to be told, it is a blessing to have an audience that listens attentively.Yuan Yingtai looked at Li Rumei and Suzaku, who were full of desire, and his satisfaction burst out from the bottom of his heart. He gestured with his hands while talking, for fear that others would not understand.

"...Is it possible that Your Majesty wants all the people in the palace to eat wheat and sweet potatoes?" Suzaku clicked his lips, as if he had also tasted the taste.However, it tastes bitter after entering the mouth. If the emperor really wants the harem to eat large amounts of barley and sweet potatoes, he, a member of the royal family, may not be able to avoid it.

Can it be eaten?It must be edible. He has eaten both wheat and sweet potatoes, and the taste is just okay.You can only taste it occasionally, don’t eat it every day.According to farmers who grow these two crops, sweet potatoes require too much heat and are difficult to ripen. Eating too much sweet potatoes will cause stomach upset and acid reflux.

"President Zhu is joking, how can the royal meal be changed at will? Your Majesty wants to use special methods to turn wheat and sweet potatoes into delicious food to use as military rations.

Although Yuan has never been to the front line, he has been planning food for the frontier troops in Liaodong Town for several years. Biscuits are much better than their two meals a day.What’s amazing is that biscuits and sweet potato chips can be stored for a long time and don’t go bad, making them ideal for carrying on the road.Paired with canned fruits and sugar cane wine, you don’t need to start a fire to make rice, and you can have a full meal in the tea room! "

At this time, in Yuan Yingtai's eyes, the two people in front of him were both frogs in the well.It is understandable that Suzaku has been in Guangdong for a long time. You Li Rumei lives in Beijing and has been summoned by His Majesty. You haven't even eaten biscuits and sweet potato chips. You are so ignorant.

"What kind of head?" Li Rumei didn't have any awareness, and kept adding materials to herself.

"Canned food... put fresh fruits picked in season into glass bottles, soak them in special soup, seal the lid with wax, and call it a canned food. Yuan tasted it in Yangxin Hall, wow, how can there be such a sweet thing in the world? It’s not much better than the frosting sugar. His Majesty said that if it is stored properly, it will still be as fresh as ever after two or three years!”

"...According to what the feudal lord said, your majesty wants to use wheat, sweet potatoes, glass cans and sugar cane wine as military rations?" Li Rumei was dumbfounded by this and even licked her lips along with Yuan Yingtai, as if she had really eaten them.

But Zhuque was not that greedy. He wanted to go up and touch Yuan Yingtai's forehead to see if the new chief envoy had been sickened by the sea breeze. How could he talk so blindly?

Let’s not talk about whether the wheat and sweet potatoes are delicious or not, let’s just talk about the glass bottles.A fist-sized transparent glass bowl without any pattern and irregular shape can be sold in Guangzhou for more than a foot-long porcelain plate.There were as many Francois as they wanted, and they were all filled with snowflakes and shipped away.

Give such expensive things to Bian Junyi, seasonal fruits, sweeter than frosting sugar, and sugar cane wine!Then everyone has failed to pass the imperial examination, so they can all join the army.Officials in the capital don't dare to eat like this all the time. No matter how much money they have, they probably won't be able to support thousands of soldiers and horses.

(End of this chapter)