Please ask me to be the emperor

Now that the decision to cultivate the land has been made, it’s time to cultivate the land.

So Zhang Shenyan stood up and remonstrated: "People regard food as their first priority, food is mainly grain, and grain is produced by agriculture. If there is no planting in spring, there will be no harvest in autumn; if there is no farming, there will be no food! I invite you Talk about farming, just in case something unexpected happens!”

Lu Weiqi heard this and said secretly that it was not good. Since ancient times, those who started a business have focused primarily on farming. In the past, when Yu Wenhe established military forces in the fields, the Western Wei Dynasty lost its power; Cao Mengde established military garrison in Qingzhou, and the Eastern Han Dynasty existed in name only.

Both of them are traitors and tyrants! The same is true for Zhang Shun today. You can see his disobedience!

This matter was originally planned by the two of them, so how could Zhang Shun not allow it?

Zhang Shenyan then talked eloquently: "Henan has been suffering from drought for a long time, and there has been no rain for more than a year. I went out of the city to watch, and many seedlings were dying! If I just sit back and ignore it, I'm afraid there will be no harvest next year! By then, the people will have nothing to eat. If the army has no pay, great things will not be accomplished!"

"What can be done?" Zhang Shun quickly prepared a compliment.

"The long-term solution is to build water conservancy and irrigate and fertilize!" Zhang Shenyan continued, "But now it is urgent and we have to hurry. In my opinion, it is only right to replant in time in the past years!"

"Not only the rebels must replant, but the people under the rule must also organize themselves to replant so that there will be no shortage of food in the coming year!"

After Zhang Shun heard this, he couldn't help but feel moved in his heart, and asked quickly: "In the opinion of Mr. Zhang, what kind of crops should be replanted?"

Zhang Shenyan was stunned. The two of them had not discussed this carefully, so they answered according to their original thoughts: "In Henan, the wheat grown is cultivated in late autumn and matures in May and June of the next two years. It is called 'autumn wheat'."

"If you need to replant, you can sow it in the spring and harvest it in May or June. Because it has not survived the winter, it is difficult to eat, so it is called 'spring wheat'."

"The yield of wheat per acre is more than two shi, which is lower than rice and higher than corn. It can make up for the shortcomings in famine years!"

Zhang Shun pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked: "I wonder if this wheat can withstand drought?"

Zhang Shenyan shook his head and said: "If it is drought-tolerant, there will be no chance of the seedlings dying!"

"What if the drought continues next year?" Zhang Shun asked what he was most worried about. After all, reality is not about playing games and being able to save and start over. If the drought continues in the coming year and the fields fail to harvest, the soldiers will disperse on their own without waiting for the officers and soldiers to encircle and suppress them.

What's more, he vaguely remembered that there were constant natural disasters in the late Ming Dynasty. Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of what happens!

"Can't these people be so unfortunate?" Zhang Shenyan said a little uncertainly.

"The weather is abnormal this year, so don't be careful!" Zhang Shun frowned and expressed his worries, "You are all talented people here, why not brainstorm a solution!"

"That's fine!" Seeing Zhang Shunruo pointing something out, Zhang Shenyan ignored it.

Sure enough, Li Baihu couldn't help but stood up when he heard the words, and said with a smile: "In that case, I have to offer some advice."

"I went to Huguang a few days ago and saw two novel things, so I bought them for everyone to try."

After saying that, he actually ordered people to bring in two large baskets made of wattle and bring them out.

Everyone was quite curious to see the soldiers struggling, and quickly gathered around to take a look. One basket contained a spindle-shaped meal, like a large taro; the other basket was filled with a bunch of long sticks, covered with densely packed particles the size of a little finger.

Those who know the goods can't help but exclaim: "These are sweet potatoes and royal wheat!"

Li Baihu couldn't help laughing when he heard this: "You are well-informed, that's right! These things are called sweet potatoes and royal wheat, and some people in Huguang call them sweet potatoes and rice!"

After saying that, Li Baihu reached out and grabbed a stick and said with a smile: "In some places, it is also called corn! No matter how it is called, it is always these two things."

"I have seen that there is a lot of cultivation in the deep mountains of Huguang. In the abandoned land in the past, anyone who cannot plant rice or wheat can grow this kind of thing. The yield of corn can be as high as that of millet, and the yield of sweet potato can reach up to one thousand catties!"

"What?" Li Baihu's words shocked everyone and made everyone unable to sit still.

Since ancient times, a yield of two to three hundred kilograms per mu has been considered a high yield. As for rice in the south, the yield of three to five dan per mu is already a miracle. Is there such a high-yielding crop in the world?

Li Baihu saw that he had whetted everyone's appetite, so he smiled and said: "But this thing is not enough to withstand hunger. It is enough to take four to one or five to one."

Everyone made a mental calculation and realized that if four were taken as one, the yield of one thousand kilograms per mu would only be equivalent to more than two stones, and then they breathed a sigh of relief.

The "King of Troubled Times", who was already somewhat familiar with Li Baihu, couldn't help but laugh and said: "Old Li, don't show off, you are so startled, be careful our hearts won't be able to bear it!"

Li Baihu smiled when he heard this, and then continued: "In terms of yield, these two things are average. It's just that they have two advantages, but they are incomparable to other crops!"

"Firstly, it does not occupy existing fertile land and can be cultivated in mountain ditches; secondly, it is drought-resistant and is not afraid of prolonged drought without rain!"

Only when Zhang Shenyan came here did he understand what Zhang Shun was thinking, and why he suddenly raised the issue of "drought tolerance" without consulting him.

The relationship was that Zhang Shun wanted to compliment Li Baihu, and Zhang Shun probably just learned about this and had no time to discuss it with him.

Zhang Shenyan couldn't help but ask: "This thing is really good, but the farmers don't know how to farm, so what can they do?"

"There is nothing to worry about!" Li Baihu quickly assured, "When I come back this time, I have already brought more than ten people who are good at farming, and I can teach everyone how to farm! If there is insufficient manpower, I can still go to Huguang, Hire again!”

In fact, Li Baihu didn't take the sweet potatoes and corn too seriously at that time. He only bought them as military rations because they were cheap and rare.

I thought my son-in-law and daughter might have something fresh in their mouths. He just spent some money and hired a dozen people to come back and plant some rare things.

Who would have thought that his son-in-law would not only promote him to manage the prince's collection of children, but also urge the payment of silver and other matters. He also wanted to vigorously promote the rare items he brought back, so he had no choice but to advocate hard.

Seeing that his goal was almost achieved, Zhang Shun continued: "Let's try farming first and see what the effect is."

"In my opinion, we must be cautious in this agricultural matter, and it is better not to plant a single species. The current year is not good, and there are many droughts and floods. If God doesn't give you face, won't you be helpless?"

Zhang Shenyan nodded after hearing this and responded: "My lord, this is a mature statement. Then I will try my best to order people to breed wheat, millet, corn, sweet potatoes and other crops in preparation for famine."

Seeing that the matter was done, Zhang Shun agreed. Unexpectedly, Zhang Shenyan continued: "If you don't have long-term worries, you will have immediate worries. My lord, this reminds me of something."

"Since ancient times, after a severe drought, there will be locusts in the coming year. I want to mobilize the nearby rebels and people to prepare for the removal of locusts. I also ask for your permission, Lord!"