Can I get to the other side?

Weiyang Palace, greenhouse.

"You mean... they want to make trouble?"

Liu Xie closed the progress report on the construction of the ocean-going treasure ship presented by the Metallurgical Bureau in his hand, and cast his eyes on Jia Xu.

Jia Xu said respectfully: "Reporting to Your Majesty, Cui Yan secretly summoned the heads of the major families to gather in his mansion last night. This behavior is really suspicious."

"I think they may be conspiring to discuss something illegal."

Liu Xie raised his eyebrows and asked: "Then have you found out what they talked about specifically?"

Jia Xu shook his head and said: "They discussed in a secret room, and there were guards inside and outside, so the Embroidered Clothes Envoy could not sneak in."

"But if Your Majesty wants to know, I will arrest a few of them and put them in prison for interrogation on the grounds of investigating corruption."

The behavior of the heads of the major families gathering in Cui Yan's mansion last night has been spotted by the Embroidered Clothes Envoy.

After Jia Xu learned about this, he tensed up his nerves and went to the palace to report to the emperor as soon as possible, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

Because he didn't know what this group of people talked about.

If they were discussing something that was intended to overthrow the Han Dynasty and was detrimental to the emperor, they must be eliminated as soon as possible.

The power of the combined forces of the major families should not be underestimated. The newly unified Han Dynasty could not fall into war again.

"No need."

Liu Xie rejected Jia Xu's proposal and said, "Let's get together. There is no law in my Han Dynasty law that prohibits ministers and civilians from gathering privately."

"Just send someone to watch, don't do anything else."

Liu Xie was not as nervous as Jia Xu.

He recently opened the Imperial College and surveyed the land. It was normal for these people to get together to discuss how to deal with it.

He was not so narrow-minded as to frame people for such things and put them in jail for interrogation. Otherwise, wouldn't he become a tyrant?

As for whether they were discussing something about rebellion, he thought it was unlikely. Cui Yan and Chen Lin and their group should not be so stupid.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Jia Xu responded respectfully.

He was just considering it from a cautious perspective. Since the emperor was not worried, he had nothing to say.

At this time, he noticed the drawings of the treasure ships on the emperor's desk and asked, "Your Majesty, are you planning to build a navy?"

"I guess so."

Liu Xie nodded and did not deny it.

Jia Xu was puzzled and said, "Your Majesty, now that the rebels have been pacified, what's the point of building a navy?"

The drawings on the emperor's desk were obviously drawings of large ships.

But there is no war in the world, what's the point of building ships and forming a navy at this time?

It costs a lot of money to build a navy.

Liu Xie did not hide it from Jia Xu and said truthfully, "I built this ship not for war, but for going to sea."

"Go to sea?"

Jia Xu was stunned after hearing this.

What to go to sea for?

Liu Xie smiled and said, "I learned from The Exploitation of the Works of Nature that there is an island overseas called Luzon."

"There is a crop called sweet potato on this island. It is not only cold-resistant, but can also replace millet and wheat as a staple food, and the yield per mu can reach dozens of stones."

"If my Han Dynasty can get this thing, it will save many people from hunger, so I want to form a fleet to go to Luzon Island to find sweet potatoes."

What is the most important thing for the people?

It is to have a full stomach!

If Zhu Yuanzhang could have a full meal at the beginning, there would be no Hongwu Emperor later, and rebellion would not exist.

It can be said that feeding the people is the foundation of the stability of the dynasty.

Among all crops, sweet potatoes and potatoes are the least picky about growing conditions, have the highest yield, and can also replace wheat and rice.

Don't think about potatoes for now. There is no such crop on the land of China. It exists in distant overseas, and the Han Dynasty is now unable to reach such a far place.

But sweet potatoes are different.

Sweet potatoes first appeared in the Philippines. According to the current national strength of the Han Dynasty, it is entirely possible to send a fleet to bring back sweet potatoes.

If sweet potatoes can be introduced to the Han Dynasty and planted on a large scale, it will be a blessing for countless people!

Sweet potatoes have high yields, and usually the yield per mu can reach thousands of kilograms or even higher. Compared with traditional crops such as millet and wheat, the yield advantage is obvious.

Sweet potatoes are drought-resistant and barren-resistant, have low soil requirements, and have strong adaptability. They can grow well in barren lands such as mountains and hills and newly reclaimed land. They can use idle land to increase food production, which can alleviate the contradiction between people and land to a certain extent.

When Liu Xie was studying history, he read a sentence that was very correct-the reason why the Qing Dynasty was able to maintain its rule was that potatoes and sweet potatoes played an indispensable role.

Because natural disasters occurred frequently during the Qing Dynasty, the Yellow River and Yongding River broke their banks many times, and floods and droughts continued, traditional crops were easily affected by disasters, reduced production, or even no harvest.

Sweet potatoes can have a certain harvest even in disaster years, becoming the life-saving food of the people in disaster years, preventing a large number of people from starving to death, reducing the mortality rate, and maintaining the basic survival of the population.

Moreover, sweet potatoes can be used as staple food to meet people's energy needs, which can better feed a large population and provide a material basis for population growth.

From the Kangxi to the Qianlong period, the population of the Qing Dynasty increased from less than 100 million to more than 300 million, and reached 450 million in the late Qing Dynasty!

Food is the basis of social stability. The widespread cultivation of sweet potatoes has made the food supply relatively stable, allowing the people to maintain their basic lives and reducing the probability of large-scale uprisings, which allowed the Qing Dynasty's rule to continue.

That’s why it is said that sweet potato potatoes allowed the Qing Dynasty to maintain its rule.

More importantly, sweet potatoes were also very important to him in promoting reforms, because people could only afford to study if they had a full stomach.

In the past, I was too busy fighting against all kinds of rebels and had no time to send a fleet out to sea to find sweet potatoes. Now I naturally have to hurry up and find them.

"Replacing millet and wheat? Resistant to cold and drought? Yielding dozens of shi per acre?"

After hearing this, Jia Xu couldn't help but widen his eyes and close his mouth in shock. He just felt that this was simply a fantasy.

As far as he knows, the average yield of millet per mu is about three stones, and the yield of wheat is slightly higher than that of millet, but the difference is not big.

In addition, under some special circumstances, such as water-irrigated fields and land using the "generation field" and "district field" methods, the wheat yield per mu may be higher.

For example, the average yield of irrigated fields can reach four stones per mu, and there are sayings such as "one acre of wheat can often harvest a hundred dendrobiums" for "regional-grown" wheat.

But even so, it is far from the point of dozens of stones!

There is no difference between these crops and fairy fruits!

Liu Xie smiled and said: "It's amazing, isn't it? I didn't believe it at first, but I learned the technology from "Tiangong Kaiwu" before, such as the extraction method of fine salt, construction plows, construction machines, etc. All have been realized one by one, which shows that what was said in "Tiangong Kaiwu" is true, so I plan to form a fleet to search for sweet potatoes overseas. "

"Even if it's just a contingency, as long as we find it, we can save many people in my country from starvation."

After hearing this, Jia Xu slowly recovered from the shock. After thinking deeply, he nodded and said: "It is indeed true. Even if there is only a slight possibility, you have to try it."

"If we can really find this sweet potato, then under the leadership of Your Majesty, I, the big man, will create an unprecedented prosperous age!"

Crops yielding dozens of dan per mu.

He couldn't even think about it.

Liu Xie smiled slightly and said: "I have handed over the formation of the ocean-going fleet to Gong Jin. The fleet will go to sea after the spring of next year."

"I hope I can find the sweet potatoes successfully."

He didn't know if he could find it, but he had to try. If he didn't find it, it would be a waste of time and effort, but if he found it, he would make a lot of money.

While Liu Xie and Jia Xu were chatting, a eunuch walked into the Greenhouse Palace and reported to him: "Your Majesty, the Queen wishes to see you."

Lu Lingqi is here?

Liu Xie was stunned for a moment when he heard this. Although he didn't know what Lu Lingqi wanted to do with him, he still said: "Xuan."

The eunuch bowed and retreated, and Lu Lingqi walked into the hall a moment later.

"I see you, Your Majesty."

Lu Lingqi saluted Liu Xieyingying, and then said: "Your Majesty has been busy with government affairs these days and has been quite hard, so I personally made soup for Your Majesty."

After she finished speaking, she motioned to the maid behind her to come forward with a tray.

This book was recently updated in ##六@@九@@书@@!! Updated!

There was a cauldron of soup on the tray, which was steaming.

Jia Xu, who was standing by, saw this and said wisely: "Your Majesty, I still have something to do, so I will leave first."

After saying that, he turned around and left the hall.

Looking at Jia Xu's leaving figure, Lu Lingqi couldn't help but ask: "Has my concubine disturbed His Majesty's discussion with Grand Sima? Why don't I, my concubine, step aside first?"

She originally wanted to leave after the soup was delivered, but she didn't expect Jia Xu to leave first, which made her a little embarrassed.

Liu Xie couldn't help feeling helpless when he heard this. Although Lu Lingqi had been in the palace for a long time, she had always maintained a cautious and respectful attitude towards him.

It is certainly a good thing for a husband and wife to treat each other as guests, but he prefers the harmonious relationship with Zhen Mi.

"It doesn't matter, the Queen came just in time, I happen to be hungry."

Liu Xie said with a faint smile.

Hearing this, Lu Lingqi's eyes couldn't help but brighten, and she asked inquiringly: "Then... my concubine will serve His Majesty for soup?"

Liu Xie didn't say much, he just moved his butt, gave up half his position, and motioned for Lu Lingqi to come over.

A hint of shyness flashed in Lu Lingqi's beautiful eyes. She stepped forward and sat down next to Liu Xie. Then she took a spoonful of the soup bowl, opened her red lips slightly, and blew lightly.

Then he put the spoon to Liu Xie's mouth. After seeing the latter drink it, he asked with some anticipation: "Your Majesty, how does it taste?"

This was her first time trying to make soup and she had never tried it before.

Liu Xie glanced at the scars on Lu Lingqi's fingers. Although the soup was average, he still nodded and praised: "It's very good."

Lu Lingqi was relieved after hearing this and continued to serve Liu Xie and drink soup.

There wasn't actually much soup in the cauldron. If Liu Xie drank it by himself, he would have finished it quickly, but because Lu Lingqi fed him spoonful after spoonful, it took him a whole stick of incense to drink.

During this period, Liu Xie had been looking at Lu Lingqi.

When he first met Lu Lingqi five years ago, she was dancing with a gun in the snow in a full costume, her heroic appearance was so heroic that people couldn't take their eyes off her.

After so many years, that heroic woman has now learned to cook a spoon with bare hands, and has become a good wife and mother.

Emotionally speaking, he prefers Zhen Mi, but he also has deep feelings for Lu Lingqi.

She was made the queen because Lu Lingqi was indeed qualified, and she was completely worthy of it in terms of character and other aspects.

It's not that Zhen Mi is inferior to Lu Lingqi, but for the position of queen, Lu Lingqi is more suitable.

After all, Lu Lingqi was the only one in the entire harem who had a good relationship with all the concubines, and she never took the initiative to bully or provoke others.

While Liu Xie was sizing up Lu Lingqi, Lu Lingqi also secretly glanced at Liu Xie from time to time. The latter's gaze gradually made her pretty face blush, adding to her unspeakable beauty.

"Why does Your Majesty keep staring at me? Is there anything wrong with my makeup today?"

Lu Lingqi asked with a blushing face.

Liu Xie gathered his thoughts, shook his head and smiled: "It's nothing, I'm just thinking about something."

Lu Lingqi was relieved after hearing this.

Since she was established as queen, she has started to act cautiously, for fear that if she does something wrong, others will say that it is an insult to the queen's style.

"Where are Ying'er and Jue'er?"

Liu Xie asked. He hadn't seen his children for a while. There was nothing he could do about it. He had too many things to deal with.

Lu Lingqi said: "In sister Zhen's palace, my sister asked my concubine to tell your majesty that if your majesty has free time, he can go and see the two children."

"Ying'er has been clamoring to see His Majesty recently."

Liu Xie couldn't help but smile after hearing this and said: "I will go tonight. I am too busy during this period, so I have ignored them."

Lu Lingqi heard this and said seriously: "If the state affairs are busy, the state affairs should be the first priority. I will take care of Ying'er and the prince."

Although she had not read many books, she also knew that the queen wanted to manage the harem for the emperor so that the emperor could focus on managing the world.

"Besides, there is one more thing..."

When she said this, Lu Lingqi paused for a moment, her pretty face turned slightly red, and said, "Your Majesty rarely visits the palaces of other concubines. This is not acceptable."

"Your Majesty has very few heirs now. He should be blessed with other concubines and give birth to more heirs."

Xiao Qiao and several other concubines complained to her, saying that the emperor failed to treat them several times throughout the year, and they were no different from being relegated to the cold palace.

Lu Lingqi was actually very embarrassed about this kind of thing. As a queen, she had to coordinate the harem, but no one could decide the emperor's fortune.

Zhen Mi told her that she didn't need to pay attention to them. The emperor just doted on them both, and she was envious of them.

But she was soft-hearted, and the concubines came to complain to her, so she had no choice but to talk to Liu Xie tactfully.

"Pfft...cough cough cough——"

When Liu Xie heard this, he almost spit out the soup in his mouth, choking and coughing.

Lu Lingqi was startled and quickly patted him on the back.

It took a while for Liu Xie to regain his composure. He stared at Lu Lingqi for a long time and finally smiled helplessly.

Although it is a good thing to be a queen who does not fight or be jealous, pushing the emperor to the bed of other concubines is too Buddhist, and Zhen Mi is not afraid of being angry if she finds out.

"I know. I will go to other concubines' palaces when I have time."