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

Chapter 53 Potatoes

Xu Xue gathered a few people to discuss for a while and felt that substituting melons and vegetables was feasible. Wang Wenlong also emphasized that if he decided to implement this method, he must act quickly. It was already October, and if it were later, there would be almost no vegetables that could be planted.

So Shen Yourong hurried back to Fuzhou to report this method to Jin Xuezeng. Because of his status as an agriculturist, Chen Jinglun was invited by Xu Xueju to stay in Quanzhou to participate in follow-up matters.

Winter officially begins after the tenth month of the lunar calendar, and the winter of the 27th year of Wanli was not peaceful.

At the end of September, Tumut troops invaded Jinzhou and Yizhou and looted wantonly.

People in the Ming Dynasty only thought that this was because the weather was bad this year, so these Mongolian tribes came again to clear grass and valleys. Only Wang Wenlong understood after hearing the news that this was because Lin Dan Khan in the northeast was leading the Chahar tribe to fight with Nurhaci at this time. After the Jin Dynasty went to war, these Tumut tribes were moved eastward to the Liaodong area by Lin Dan Khan and became the Eastern Tumut tribe to defend against the Later Jin Dynasty.

The Tumut tribe was unfamiliar with the place and was afraid that they would not be able to survive the cold winter, so they looted the capital of Ming Dynasty to prepare for the winter.

This incident shows that Houjin is growing rapidly.

At the same time, the famine in the north had alarmed the imperial court. On the sixth day of October, the imperial court decided to open warehouses to provide relief to the hungry people who had fled to the capital.But famine is still spreading, and it looks like this winter will not be easy.

At the same time, because the imperial court wanted to use troops against Yang Yinglong in Bozhou, it was also increasing the total land tax in Sichuan and Huguang provinces. Just looking at the news, it was known that the food that could be used for disaster relief this year would not be abundant.

After the onset of winter, widespread rainfall finally began in Fujian, and people in coastal areas shivered due to the bitter rain.

People generally cursed that if the rain could fall half a month earlier, this year's autumn harvest would be a different situation. It would not rain until the autumn harvest season. Not only would it not be beneficial, but the crops would be unable to dry out and become prone to mildew.

But after all, the rain eased the soil moisture, and Xu Xueju breathed a sigh of relief. If it didn't rain again and it turned into a year of continuous drought, then Wang Wenlong's proposal of melon and vegetable substitution would not be possible. Growing vegetables also requires water.

……

Since it was decided to implement the substitution of melons and vegetables, Xu Xueju asked Chen Jinglun to discuss with local agricultural officials what fruits and vegetables to plant.

Winter has already entered October in the lunar calendar, and the types of vegetables that can be planted are actually very limited. This is the first time that Chen Jinglun and the local agricultural advisor have taken the lead in such a thing. The first list they listed contains some winter-specific vegetable types.

When Xu Xueju was handed over to counselor Wang Wenlong, Wang Wenlong knew at a glance that the decision was not feasible.

Because the vegetables they list are mainly melons and green vegetables, and there are even some locally domesticated wild vegetable varieties. These can only barely make people feel full, and their energy content is quite low. It is definitely not worth eating. thing.

Fortunately, the rain conditions in Zhangquan have improved since winter, and a variety of crops can be planted.

Wang Wenlong thought for a while and made another list.

The types of vegetables don’t need to be complicated, as long as they do the job.

The first crop that Wang Wenlong thought of was sugarcane. Yes, this stuff was historically an important crop for food and famine relief, and sugarcane was grown in autumn and winter in Fujian.

Moreover, when planting sugar cane, just cut the sugar cane into small pieces and bury them in the soil.

Quanzhou has always had a tradition of growing sugar cane, but the scale of planting is small and it is only used as a cash crop. However, this thing is lazy grass and can grow regardless of care. The only difference is the sugar content.

Sugar cane can provide sugar and grow quickly. The calories of fresh sugar cane are comparable to sweet potatoes. It is definitely more reliable than the vegetables suggested by Chen Jinglun and others.Then there are some local vegetables that are commonly grown in winter, including winter melon and white radish, etc. Unfortunately, the pumpkin season has passed, otherwise these things can also be used as famine relief food.

Finally, Wang Wenlong asked Xu Xueju to find a way to ask if he could get potatoes.

According to history, potatoes may have entered the Ming Dynasty around the time of Wanli, because a few decades later, Xu Guangqi's "Agricultural Policy Complete Book" already recorded potatoes.

But when Wang Wenlong asked Xu Xueju and Chen Jinglun, they both said they had never heard of this crop.

Wang Wenlong thought for a while and finally remembered that unlike sweet potatoes and pumpkins introduced from the coast, potatoes should have entered China from Myanmar through Yunnan and Guizhou and Sichuan.

Potatoes are adapted to the cold and high-altitude climate, and require lower temperatures for growth than sweet potatoes. In fact, they are not suitable for planting in coastal areas. Instead, they are a suitable supplementary food crop in the Yunnan-Guizhou region. Hundreds of years later, the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan region was also keen on growing wolves. You can eat potatoes in various ways such as toothed potatoes, potato chips, tornado potatoes, etc.

"Master Fantai can ask people in the southwest, and maybe he can get the result."

When he said this, Wang Wenlong was also a little worried, because at this time the Yang Yinglong Rebellion in Bozhou was going on in the Yunnan-Guizhou region, which might affect the speed of the introduction and spread of potatoes.

If you want to promote the substitution of melons and vegetables, you must obtain a large number of potato seeds in a short period of time. However, if due to the war at this time, potatoes are still intended to be planted in a small number of border areas in Yunnan or Guizhou. Even if they are discovered, they will not be able to be decomposed by water. Near thirst.

Xu Xueju also had such worries, but he still quickly found connections to inquire, and even directly used the official post to quickly search for potato seeds.

In mid-October, the winter rains in Fujian this year were particularly strong, but this made Wang Wenlong and others happy. Too much rain would at best make the crops grow unpalatable, but it was better than not being able to grow vegetables.

The cold wind and cold rain were beating on the window purlins. Xu Xueju, wearing a raincoat on his body, walked quickly through the gatehouse of Fantai Yamen with a group of staff and servants.

After he entered the hospital, the servants behind him quickly closed the door, which was wrapped in iron sheets and closely guarded by the iron nails, which could more or less block the biting wind and rain from drifting in.

Seeing Xu Xueju enter the room with an excited face, Wang Wenlong and Chen Jinglun, who were talking about something, both looked at him.

Xu Xueju said happily: "Jianyang, the potato you mentioned was indeed found in Guangxi!"

Chen Jinglun said in surprise: "Is there such a crop of Daming Guo?"

The joy on Xu Xueju's face was beyond words, "It was my friend who wrote the letter in the same year. He went to the countryside to look for this potato. As Jianyang said, it can withstand severe cold and can be used as a staple food. After eating it, you will feel as full as grain." How many!"

"This plant has been cultivated in several counties in Guangxi, especially by the local natives for more than ten years, but it has not spread yet. I have asked him to buy potato seeds locally and load them directly on ships and transport them by sea. Fujian.”

In this era, the shortest way to transport bulk goods from Guangxi to Fujian is to enter Guangdong from Wuzhou, and then go out to sea from Guangdong. The time taken can be shortened to more than ten days if the goods are expedited.

The person who worked with Xu Xueju in the same year also knew that he was in urgent need of potato seeds. When he wrote the letter, he had already sent a ship to Fujian to transport potatoes. In a few days, the potatoes would be landed in Quanzhou.

Wang Wenlong was also happy when he heard this, "In this way, all the crops will be found!"

(End of this chapter)