The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 431: The Battle of Going Out to Sea
"Go to sea?"

“High-yield food crops?”

"What is all this?"

Zhu Houzhao asked with a confused look on his face.

Tang Hao slowly said, "Your Majesty, the grain crops of our Ming Dynasty are mainly rice in the south and wheat and corn in the north, right?"

After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao felt more and more confused, but he still nodded.

"Then your majesty, do you know the average yield of wheat, rice, and corn per acre?"

"Apart from other factors, rice can be grown twice a year, with an average yield of about four shi per mu. Wheat is also divided into winter wheat and spring wheat, and the average yield is about four shi per mu. Corn is much worse, with only two shi per mu."

After all, this is a matter of common sense. Although Zhu Houzhao had never farmed, he had a photographic memory, so he naturally knew it clearly.

"What if I told you that there are three kinds of grain crops hidden on a continent overseas that can easily produce 20, 30, or even 40 dan per mu? What would you do?"

Zhu Houzhao was so shocked that he stood up suddenly, his body shaking with excitement.

The yield per mu is twenty shi!
The yield per mu is thirty shi!
The yield per mu is even 40 shi!
And there are three kinds of this kind of food!
What is this concept?
The registered population of the Ming Dynasty is now around 50 million, far exceeding the prosperous periods of the Han and Tang dynasties.

However, it was precisely because of the large population and the constant natural disasters in the Ming Dynasty that tens of thousands of people starved to death or froze to death every year!
For example, right now there is drought and locusts in the three northern provinces, and the people are so hungry that they have to eat their own children, all because there is no food!

If there were enough food, the population would not decrease but would soar!

What is a prosperous age?
How to evaluate a prosperous era?

population!

This is the final answer.

Zhu Houzhao wanted to revive the Ming Dynasty, who should he rely on to accomplish it?

people!
A constant stream of people!

Whether it is fighting or farming, it all requires labor!

As long as there is enough food and enough manpower, Zhu Houzhao will definitely be able to revive the Ming Dynasty.

"Savage, do you know what you are talking about?"

"Could this be true? And how do you know?"

Faced with this series of questions, Tang Hao did not answer.

The Ming Dynasty really needs these three kinds of crops.

Due to the different climates between the north and the south, wheat is the main crop grown in the north. A young and strong man can get at most 200 kilograms of wheat, or about one or two shi, from cultivating one acre of land.

The rice yield in the south is higher, but it is limited. The average yield of ordinary rice is about 200 kilograms per mu, which is about two stones.

In the Jiangnan region, due to the numerous rivers, high water levels and fertile soil suitable for rice growth, the per-acre rice yield is relatively high, generally between 300 and 400 jin, or about three to four shi.

In the Ming Dynasty, one dan was about 120 jin.

In later times, rice production could easily reach more than 1,000 kilograms.

But this is the Ming Dynasty after all, and the production technology is backward and far from comparable to that of later generations.

This is the staple food of the people in the north and south of the Ming Dynasty. The yield of wheat in the north is one or two dan per mu, and the yield of rice in the south is three or four dan per mu. So according to a rough calculation, if a family in the north wants to maintain food and clothing, if they don't cultivate 30 to 50 mu of land, the family of several people will probably have difficulty in getting enough food.

I think it would be impossible for a family in the south to survive without ten acres of paddy fields.

It is precisely because of the low output that there are so many starving people and refugees.

But the key point is that the Ming Dynasty was in the Little Ice Age. The climate would only get colder and colder, and grain production would become lower and lower. In the end, it would not be enough to feed tens of millions of people, and then the dynasty would collapse!
The Ming Dynasty was an unfortunate dynasty because China was in a Little Ice Age from the Yuan Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty.

To put it bluntly, the so-called "Little Ice Age" means that the earth's temperature dropped sharply and natural disasters occurred year after year, resulting in a significant reduction in global food production, which in turn caused severe social unrest and a sharp decline in population.

During the Ming Dynasty from Hongwu to Chongzhen, there were more than a thousand natural disasters, including floods, droughts, hail, locust plagues, heavy snow, plague... It made people despair and numb!

The period from the end of the Ming Dynasty to the beginning of the Qing Dynasty officially entered the fourth Little Ice Age. The temperature dropped dramatically and the whole of China was extremely cold in winter. It lasted for decades, causing drought in the north and a large reduction in grain production, leading to decades of severe social unrest and war. The long-term famine was the root cause of the unlimited expansion of the war, and it also successfully destroyed the Ming Dynasty!

And now the Ming Dynasty has also begun to show signs of decline.

The most serious consequence of a drastic reduction in grain production is famine!

In the first year of the Zhengde reign, there was famine in the northern capital, Shandong, Henan, Fengyang, Huai'an, Xuzhou, and Shanghai.

In the second year of the Zhengde reign, there was famine in the four prefectures of Suzhou, Songshan, Jiaxing and Huzhou.

In the fourth year of the Zhengde reign, there was famine in fourteen prefectures, counties and guard posts in Nanji, Zhejiang, Shaanxi and Huguang.

In the fifth year of Zhengde's reign, there was famine in Shuntian, Baoding and Hejian.

In the seventh year of the Zhengde reign, Shandong suffered from famine. In the twelfth year, famine struck 24 prefectures and counties in the province.

In the eighth year of the Zhengde reign, there was famine in Shuntian, Qingzhou and Kaifeng.

In the tenth year of Zhengde, there was famine in Pingyang and Datong prefectures.

……

Only a few words were left in the history books.

But behind these few words, lies the tragedy of thousands of people freezing to death or starving to death!
The people had no food to eat, so they could only dig wild vegetables and eat tree bark. But when all the wild vegetables were dug and all the tree bark was eaten, what should they do?

They exchanged their own children for food and used their bones to cook food!
When a person is hungry, when he is crazy and mad with hunger, he is no different from a beast.

When famine occurs, a large number of refugees will be created. The imperial court will be unable to provide disaster relief, and the number of refugees will increase. As the refugees gradually become "beastly", they can only choose to rise up and gather together to cause chaos in order to survive. Then, fire and smoke will spread all over the world, and the huge Ming Dynasty will collapse!
Tang Hao was a person from later generations, and he was very clear about this, but he didn't think much about it.

After all, human power cannot defeat nature. With his own strength, it is far from enough to change the fate of the entire Ming Dynasty!

He had also thought that during his lifetime, he could lead the Ming navy to the sea, devote all his life's efforts to the American continent, bring back all the precious grains such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, and corn, and leave some food artifacts for the people of the Ming Dynasty to keep them well fed and warm.

Food crops are important, and the American continent is equally important!
Putting aside new species such as potatoes, corn and peppers, the American continent itself is a fertile land.

This is a continent blessed by God, where there are abundant resources, fertile land, and a unique and suitable climate. Judging from the geography, resources and climate alone, we have to admit that the American continent is even much stronger than the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the people of the Ming Dynasty need it!

Therefore, Tang Hao needs to go there in person!
"Your Majesty, the news is true, but we don't know the exact route!"

"After much thought, I think it's only right for me to lead the navy out to sea and explore that continent!"

(End of this chapter)