The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 52 Vegetable Substitution

The method Wang Wenlong said was indeed beyond the three people's expectations.

At this time, the few people were thinking about how to prevent the people from fleeing in droves, and they never thought about asking the people to go back to farming.

In fact, the main purpose of Jin Xuezeng's call for Shen Yourong was to prepare the people to flee the famine in batches, and to go in different directions, so that at least there would be supply capacity along the way, and the army should know the main destinations of the people fleeing the famine, so as to avoid being unable to mobilize in time if something happened along the way.

Xu Xueju shook his head and said: "At this time, a disaster is about to occur. At most, we can take these people to the mountains to dig wild vegetables and catch some prey to satisfy their hunger. How can we still let them farm?"

Seeing the strange looks in their eyes, Wang Wenlong stood up and said to them:

"I have learned some knowledge about farming overseas. Can you please listen to me first?"

Seeing the three people nodding, Wang Wenlong explained: "The growth of all things depends on the yang energy of the sun. Human beings plant crops on the ground to receive sunlight, and the crops fix the yang energy in the sunlight as their own energy. The human body eats these crops , and digests the energy into its own strength, then it will have the strength to live.”

As he spoke, he looked at everyone's expressions. Seeing that a few people did not show any doubts, he continued:
"Due to the severe drought this year, the crops in the fields are not growing well. The fixed energy of the crops with poor growth is too little. This energy cannot feed the people of Quanzhou Prefecture, and famine will occur."

Wang Wenlong is actually explaining the concept of plants as producers in the biosphere in a way that people at this time can understand.

"It has become a fact that the fixed energy of this batch of crops is low. This energy gap cannot be made up, so the people must flee. The rice in the fields will be received soon, and it has passed the grain-filling period. In any case, it cannot be done in a short time. To increase production more, how can you guys think about how to capture more energy from the sun?"

At this point, Wang Wenlong paused for a while, allowing everyone to think.

Xu Xueju present was a scholar, and Chen Jinglun was an agriculturalist. Needless to say, he had some understanding of natural sciences. Shen Yourong had also read some books and could understand complex things.

It was the first time they heard about the energy theory that converts solar energy into chemical energy stored in plants, and then the chemical energy is absorbed by the human body. Although this explanation is novel, it is easy to understand.

After a little thought, the three of them understood what Wang Wenlong meant, and then felt that this theory could explain many agricultural problems, and the theory was very clever.

Xu Xueju thought for a while and then said: "Jianyang means that if there is a famine, we should replant other crops on the farmland to absorb sunlight?"

Wang Wenlong nodded and smiled:

"This is exactly the truth. All plants can absorb energy from the sun, but part of the energy absorbed must be discounted, and the other part is not used to grow edible things. Many plants grow into thick branches and trunks, or grow into There are useless or even poisonous flowers and leaves that have no nutrition for humans to eat. Only the energy stored in crops that have been selected and bred for generations is the easiest for the human body to absorb."

All three nodded.

"Grains store the most energy. Just a few bowls can satisfy a person. Although vegetables are not as good as melons, they are still better than nothing."

"Since the harvest of the most important staple food crops has failed, we should lead farmers to plant melons and vegetables, and use these fruits and vegetables to do everything possible to store the solar energy that falls on the land during the remaining time. The energy brought by fruits and vegetables can always be more Feeding a few disaster victims is better than all the farmers fleeing the famine, leaving the land barren and letting the solar energy go to waste growing weeds that humans can’t eat.”

When Wang Wenlong inspected the disaster situation with Xu Xueju, he began to recall whether there was any record of the disaster in Fujian in the 27th year of Wanli. He found that the places where the imperial court opened warehouses for disaster relief that year were mainly Henan, Hebei and Shandong, and Fujian was not mentioned, so he knew that Fujian Although affected by the disaster, the damage was not too serious.To deal with the reduction in grain production caused by this moderate drought, Wang Wenlong naturally came up with the idea of ​​substituting melons and vegetables.

There is only so much solar energy that falls on a piece of land in a year. If crops are not fixed and provided for human absorption, it will just wait to be wasted. Therefore, the melon and vegetable generation that can seize time to collect solar energy is actually inferred from biology. The best way to combat staple food shortages.

When the staple food encounters a famine, we must quickly replant fruits and vegetables on the fields. Although the energy brought by fruits and vegetables is far less than that of grain, it is still better than having nothing to eat.

After he finished speaking, the three of them also thought carefully.

Guacedai's theory is very simple and can be understood with a little thought.

Then the three people's eyes lit up.

Xu Xueju nodded and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Chen?"

Chen Jinglun thought about it and said: "Jianyang's method is reasonable. On the disaster-stricken land, as many vegetables and vegetables as possible can be grown by the tribesmen, which will definitely alleviate the famine. At least the people can dig vegetables to eat in the fields in the village, and the energy consumed will be the same." It’s less than going up the mountain to dig wild vegetables.”

Shen Yourong also nodded and said excitedly: "Although vegetables are not a big deal, growing vegetables on the ground instead of food is better than leaving the land uncultivated. Why has no one ever thought of this method before?"

The more they think about it, the more it makes sense. Quanzhou Prefecture is short of food, but the amount of food it lacks is not too much. The people will be able to flee the famine for a month or two at most. If they can survive even a month with melons and vegetables, they will die less. Many people, if they were allowed to eat vegetables mixed with grain, they might be able to survive longer. In the best case, they might be able to survive for two months!
The more the three of them thought about it, the more surprised they became. Thinking about it this way, it seemed that there really was a solution to the food shortage in Quanzhou Prefecture.

Then the three of them looked at Wang Wenlong in surprise.

Xu Xueju said: "This method is really unheard of. How did you come up with it?"

There were agricultural officials in the Ming Dynasty, but the agricultural officials only advised the people to grow food. I have never heard of anyone trying to persuade the people to grow vegetables.

Wang Wenlong said: "Most people have done this method before, but it has not been promoted on a large scale."

When Wang Wenlong went to the countryside with Xu Xueju to inspect, he found that people in this generation had no awareness of using melons and vegetables as substitutes for famines.

At first, Wang Wenlong didn't understand that it was impossible to force farmers to starve to death in the wasteland, but the government guided them so that the people would not rush away as soon as a disaster struck. Leaving some people behind to replant vegetables could feed more people. The reason seems very simple, how come no one has figured it out?
But when he thought about it carefully, he understood:

Once people notice signs of a famine, their first reaction will definitely be to flee, and they will scramble to get there first. If they run too slowly, the food in nearby places will be eaten up, and they may not be able to escape.

In this case, who would be willing to stay and farm in a place that is about to be affected by a disaster?What if I starve to death?
There is no one left to farm the land, so no one would think of replacing vegetables with melons. Even if someone does, it will only be limited to a small number of people who stay in the village and cannot escape. These people are already weak and have no allocation. If they only rely on melons and vegetables for staple food, they will most likely starve to death, and they will almost likely pass on their experience to future generations.

Therefore, such a simple method could not be proposed until the concept of the biosphere energy circle was discovered and people theoretically realized that collective escape was not a good way to solve the food shortage.

(End of this chapter)