The common people know how to plant beans, but they only plant some in front of and behind their houses and on the field roads. I don’t expect to gain much, just a little extra income.
But Han Du did not flinch at Lao Zhu's words. He smiled and said: "Beans are much easier to take care of than rice. Your Majesty also knows a lot about farming. I have seen someone grow like rice after planting beans." Have you taken care of it so carefully?"
Lao Zhu was asked about Han Du's words. After thinking about it carefully, he really didn't realize how carefully the beans needed to be taken care of. He remembered that when he was a child, when his mother planted beans around the house, she would always bury the beans. As long as the bean sprouts were not pecked by chickens, they could wait until the beans withered and the leaves turned yellow, then cut the bean sprouts back and dry them. .
Pinch the shriveled black pods with your hands, and a few fat, yellow-white beans fall into your hands.
Lao Zhu figured out some things in his memories, but the doubts in his heart became more serious. He looked up at Han Du and asked, "Then why do people plant rice instead of beans?"
Others also followed the emperor's words and looked at Han Du.
Indeed, since growing beans has so many benefits, why do people choose to grow rice instead of beans?
Han Du thought for two seconds, and there must be some guessing in it, and said: "I think, first, beans cannot be completely used as food. Since ancient times, food has been the most important thing for the people, and food has a very important position in the hearts of the people. . As long as there is land, people will almost always choose to grow food instead of other crops, even if it is easier to grow beans."
"The second thing..." Han Du pondered, paused, and answered seriously, "It should be because of the land. The people's land is still less. Even if there is a little extra land, the people still don't have enough land." I only grow food."
Although Han Du's words were just speculation, they sounded somewhat reasonable to Lao Zhu. He has truly been a farmer and knows very well what it means to be a farmer. No one had broken this point in the past, and Lao Zhu would never have thought of it. Now that Han Du said it, he naturally noticed it.
"Then you think it's okay to grow beans outside the customs?"
"Of course," Han Dujian finally convinced Lao Zhu, and naturally he was confident. He raised his index finger in front of everyone and said eloquently: "First, the land outside Guan Guan is so vast and sparsely populated. There is too much land for everyone to cultivate, as long as If you can grow it, it won't be a problem to cover hundreds of acres. Secondly, these places will be covered by heavy snow for a long time every year, and some weeds and insects will be directly frozen to death. Planting beans in such a place is almost completely There is no need to weed, and there is no need to worry about insects destroying the beans. Finally, if they are only allowed to grow beans instead of grain, then the grain can only be transported from within the Ming Dynasty. In this way, not only can the Ming Dynasty exchange grain for a large amount of beans every year, And it can also strengthen control outside the customs. Holding food in the hands of the Ming Dynasty is like holding the lifeblood of these people in the hands of the Ming Dynasty."
Han Du's meaningful look made Lao Zhu startled when he heard this.
It turns out that there is another advantage to not growing rice outside the customs. If we could grow rice outside the customs and be self-sufficient, I would really worry about someone getting rich.
But if you switch to growing beans, you won't have this worry. Although beans have many uses, they cannot be eaten as a staple food. At that time, if the Yuan people want to survive, they will need food from Ming Dynasty. In this way, naturally one does not dare to have second thoughts towards Ming Dynasty.
Of course, Ming Dynasty could not punish the Yuan people too harshly. If the Yuan people couldn't survive, they might be forced to eat beans and pick up bows and arrows again.
Of course, with Lao Zhu's wisdom, such a thing would not happen.
Using food to control the outside world is a very good trick... Lao Zhu looked at Han Du with a smile on his face.
Zhu Biao did not think about the role of food. Instead, he was a little worried about the transportation of food. "There are hundreds of thousands of people outside the customs, and they need a lot of food every year. And the beans need to be transported to the inside of the customs. This is an incredible amount of manpower." How many."
Han Du was prepared for this, nodded, and continued to explain: "Transportation is indeed a big trouble, but it is not impossible to solve it. The main problem of transportation remains unchanged, as long as we repair the road and build it into a cement road , then transporting food will be much easier."
And once the cement road is built outside the pass, it can further strengthen the control outside the pass... Lao Zhu glanced at Han Du with a smile and understood what he meant.
Lao Zhu has not forgotten the scene when Han Du told him about the role of cement roads.
"And the benefits of concrete roads don't stop there. The cavalry came and went like the wind on the grassland, giving them an advantage. It was easy for the Ming Dynasty to defeat them, but it was difficult to stop them from escaping. With cement roads, the Ming army could Marching fast. These concrete roads are like shackles strangling their throats."
In fact, the best yoke is the railway. Unfortunately, with the steel output of the Ming Dynasty, we don't want to think about it now.
Han Du just mined charcoal and laid a small section of steel rails, but the cost was so great that Lao Zhu couldn't help but smack his lips. If you really tell Lao Zhu now and ask him to lay thousands of miles of rails on the grassland, Lao Zhu will probably lay himself on the ground first.
"Build cement roads. You can try this outside the customs after defeating Naha." Lao Zhu listened calmly, with a gentle smile as a reflex.
Han Du felt much better when he saw Lao Zhu nodding. He nodded with a smile, which was a response to Lao Zhu.
Lao Zhu didn't pay attention. When the discussion was over, he gave one final instruction, "We'll talk about the future matters later. The most important thing now is to mobilize soldiers from various guards and prepare food, grass and weapons. We will win the battle and capture Naha in one fell swoop."
"According to the decree~"
Feng Sheng, Tang He, and Fu Youde led everyone to retreat.
When only Lao Zhu and Zhu Biao were left in the hall, Lao Zhu looked at the prince standing in front of him with his head lowered, and suddenly laughed softly.
Zhu Biao raised his head when he heard the sound and asked doubtfully: "What are you laughing at, father?"
Lao Zhu laughed a few times, then slowly stopped. He sighed and smiled and said to Zhu Biao: "We are laughing, you are indeed better luck than dad."
Hearing his father calling himself "we", Zhu Biao was moved in his heart, his eyes turned slightly red, and his emotions contained a father-son feeling close to Lao Zhu.
Lao Zhu attaches great importance to etiquette, and even between him and Zhu Biao and his son, most of them treat each other as monarch and minister. Like now, there are really not many times when I talk to Zhu Biao on a father-son basis.
"It's all because of my father's great blessings and blessings for his son." Zhu Biao was greatly moved and bowed slightly towards Lao Zhu.
