Smuggling Daming

Hearing that Wu Shan and others dared to use human heads as guarantees, Li Dongyang finally dispelled the last trace of doubt in his heart, and at the same time looked at the corn in the tray excitedly.

Li Dongyang has served as a cabinet scholar since the time of Xiaozong, and presided over the government of Ming Dynasty. Naturally, he knows that Ming Dynasty seems to be strong, but there are strong enemies outside, and there are many crises at home. If he is not careful, he may fall into the abyss of eternal destruction. During the administration period, he has always been walking on eggshells, and he knows better than anyone else the importance of food to Daming.

Yang Tinghe and the others next to him also had similar expressions, and they all looked at the corn with extremely hot eyes.Think about it, if corn can be spread in the north, then Daming's grain output can increase by at least a few percent, and their life will be much better by then, at least when there is a famine, there will be no shortage of grain to adjust embarrassing situation.

Seeing the eyes of Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe and others, Zhengde was also very interested, and he also wanted to know the other party's expression when he knew the production of sweet potatoes, so he signaled Zhou Zhong to continue the introduction.

Seeing Zhengde's eyes, Zhou Zhong immediately understood, ignored the shock of Li Dongyang and others, and then pointed to the sweet potato next to the corn and said: "Everyone, please look, the crop next to the corn is called sweet potato. Sweet potato is related to wheat and rice. Unlike crops such as corn, it is not seeds that are edible, but rhizomes that grow underground."

Hearing Zhou Zhong introduce another crop, Li Dongyang's eyes were also attracted, and then they only listened to Zhou Zhong's introduction: "Sweet potato has two major advantages. One is that it does not pick the land. Even if it is an ordinary crop Sweet potatoes can also grow in saline-alkali soil where they cannot grow, and the second is that the yield is large..."

"Oh, it's another crop with a large yield, but I don't know how the yield of sweet potatoes compares with that of corn?" Zhou Zhong had just introduced the yield of sweet potatoes, but Li Dongyang, who has always been prudent, interrupted the export. After the output, the chief minister of the cabinet has lost his former stability.

Hearing Li Dongyang comparing corn with sweet potatoes, Zhou Zhong smiled mysteriously and said, "My lord, Mr. Shoufu. Compared with wheat and rice, the yield of corn is indeed a high-yield crop, but it cannot be compared with sweet potatoes. .”

When he said this, Zhou Zhong deliberately paused, then glanced at the anxious eyes of Li Dongyang and the others, and then continued: "I got relatively few sweet potato seedlings this year. Therefore, I only planted a part of the land, but in the end it was a lot of sweet potatoes. More than 300 catties of sweet potatoes have been harvested, that is to say, the yield of sweet potatoes per mu should be about [-] catties, even if the sweet potatoes are dried, there should be a yield of [-] catties in the end!"

"Wow~" I heard that the yield per mu of sweet potatoes has reached [-] jin.Several cabinet ministers were all stunned, even if they were as mature and dignified as Li Dongyang.He also stood up straight in excitement, and his white beard on his chest trembled. If he hadn't already had a telescope and corn as a foreshadowing, he would never have believed that there is still a thousand catties of grain per mu in this world. crop.

The performance of Yang Tinghe and others was similar to that of Li Dongyang, they all twirled their beards and couldn't speak because they were still worried about the absurdity of His Majesty calling him suddenly.But I didn't expect to give them two big surprises in a row. If it was Zhou Zhong's words, they were all true.Then when corn and sweet potatoes are popularized, Ming Dynasty will no longer have to worry about food shortages for a hundred years. Countless people will live because of corn and sweet potatoes. These cabinet ministers will also leave a great reputation in the annals of history. So that it will last forever, which is the greatest pursuit of their poets and scribes in their lives.

Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe and others were even more excited when they thought that they could be praised by thousands of people like those sages in history. It is indeed a great credit for you to bring these two kinds of crops that are so beneficial to the country and the people to my Ming Dynasty, but if the imperial court wants to promote these two crops, is there anything that needs to be paid attention to?"

Hearing Li Dongyang's words, Zhou Zhong immediately answered: "To Li Gong, the biggest problem now is that there are not many corn seeds and sweet potato seedlings, and it will take at least one year of breeding before they can be widely promoted. His Majesty has given instructions to me to send corn seeds and sweet potato seedlings to the capital, and plant them in the Huangzhuang around the capital next year, and wait until the year after that to slowly promote them, and in order not to disturb the people, it is best to promote them Be gentler, let the common people see the advantages of the two crops first, and then they will naturally scramble to plant them!"

Hearing that the seeds and seedlings were insufficient, Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe and the others also secretly cried out that it was a pity. Although they also understood that the promotion of these two crops would not happen overnight, and it would take at least several years or even ten years to spread to the whole country. They still want to start the promotion earlier, so that they can see the effect sooner.Especially Li Dongyang is not young anymore, and he doesn't know how long he can be a bachelor, so he wants to make some achievements in promoting corn and sweet potatoes before leaving office, so that he can also be successful by then When the light fades away, when future generations mention corn and sweet potatoes, they will naturally not forget him.

While Li Dongyang and the others were shocked by the yield of corn and sweet potatoes, Zhengde said with a smile: "My dear friends, corn and sweet potatoes were brought back to my Daming after Zhou Zhong worked so hard. If these two crops If it is popularized, countless people will no longer suffer from hunger, I wonder if you, dear friends, think that with Zhou Zhong's contribution, can he be the Admiral of the Four Seas?"

"This..." Hearing Zhengde's words, Li Dongyang and the others also woke up from the shock, looking at each other, not knowing how to answer.Given the influence of corn and sweet potatoes on Daming, it is not an exaggeration to grant Zhou Zhong the title, but it is a pity that what Zhengde wants is not just to get Zhou Zhong the title, but to promote Zhou Zhong to the rank of Admiral of the Four Seas, although it is inappropriate to take up this position at the other party's age, but considering the great achievements he has made, it is more than enough to hold such an official position.

Seeing that Li Dongyang and the others were silent, a smug smile appeared on the corner of Zhengde's mouth, and he finally made a decision: "Since all the lovers have no objection, it means that you agree, come here, and immediately draw up a plan." The decree is to establish the Admiral of the Four Seas office from now on, the governor of coastal defense and military affairs, and promote the former Jinyiwei Tong Zhi Zhou Zhong to be the Admiral of the Four Seas!"

Li Dongyang and the others couldn't find any reason to object to Emperor Zhengde's oral order, so Zhou Zhong's appointment as Admiral of the Four Seas was settled in this way. Of course, the establishment of a new yamen is not that simple. A series of collaborations between various departments such as the Ministry of Household Affairs, but Zhengde and Zhou Zhong don't need to worry about these matters, and everything can be coordinated by cabinet ministers like Li Dongyang.

Seeing that Zhou Zhong had taken up the position of a feudal official at a young age, Li Dongyang and the others couldn't help but look at Zhou Zhong again, but when they saw Zhou Zhong still standing there with a calm face, they didn't seem to care. When they got carried away because of this, it made their evaluation of Zhou Zhong a bit higher.It's just that they couldn't help worrying that Zhou Zhong was so favored by His Majesty the Emperor at such a young age and became one of the few great officials in the frontiers of the Ming Dynasty.

After discussing the matter of Admiral of the Four Seas, Zhengde just wanted Li Dongyang and the others to retreat, but Li Dongyang hesitated for a moment and then said: "Your Majesty, I have just reported to you that the two strong men of Bazhou, Liu Liu and Liu Qi, are open to the public. Rebellion, Your Majesty, you have not given a definite answer, and the cabinet does not know how to deal with it, so please express your Majesty!"

When Zhengde heard that Li Dongyang brought up the rebellion in Bazhou, he immediately said nonchalantly: "The rebels in Bazhou are only a few thousand mobs in the area, and they can't make a big deal. From my point of view, we will call the guards of the surrounding states Just let them quickly wipe out the rebels!"

Hearing Zhengde's words, Li Dongyang instinctively felt that this kind of handling was a bit hasty. However, there were not a few rebels in Ming Dynasty in recent years, and most of them were minor disturbances. Generally, as soon as the officers and soldiers arrived, the rebels would immediately collapse. It wasn't that this time Liu Liu and Liu Qi rebelled in Bazhou, which is very close to the capital. I'm afraid he wouldn't let Zhengde make up his mind, so in Li Dongyang's mind, he didn't really take Liu Liu and Liu Qi's group of rebels seriously.

Thinking of this, Li Dongyang just wanted to obey the order, but at this moment, Zhou Zhong, who had always been very low-key, stood up and said: "Hold on, Your Majesty, I have something to say about Liu Liu and Liu Qi's rebellion. explain!"

"Oh? Zhou Zhong, what do you have to say?" Seeing Zhou Zhong standing up, Zhengde asked in surprise.

"Your Majesty, when I was in the south as a cover for business, I often dealt with various people. I also know Liu Liu and Liu Qi. As far as I know, Liu Liu and Liu Qi are big thieves who run rampant in the capital. People are ruthless, and they always do things unscrupulously, this time they can gather thousands of people in just one month, the court must not underestimate it!"

Having said that, Zhou Zhong paused for a moment, and then said solemnly: "In addition, as far as I know, Liu Liu and Liu Qi are also closely related to the rebel Yang Hu who is entrenched in Shandong. Maybe they will join Yang Hu. If the two rebels meet at that time, it will definitely be a big shock. If the court wants to exterminate them, it may not be that simple. Therefore, I ask your majesty to think twice and send heavy troops. You must not be careless to encircle and suppress Liu Liu and Liu Qi's gang of rebels!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)