Strictly speaking, the growth cycle of potatoes is two to three months, and sweet potatoes are slightly longer and take three to four months. It has been more than two months since the seeds were sown in the fields of Tongzhou Farm two months ago, and potatoes are already in harvest season. , sweet potatoes can barely be harvested, but harvest does not mean a bumper harvest.
But for the imperial court and the people of the capital, who had been waiting eagerly for more than two months to finally dig them out and eat them, this was a good harvest in itself.
If it were a normal year, the harvest date could be postponed later, but as the weather got colder, these two crops could not be delayed, and the people's stomachs could not wait. Based on the actual situation, Song Yingxing decided to dig in advance, which attracted the attention of the moment. The eyes of the people in Gyeonggi Province, some even came from dozens of miles away to watch and see what this life-saving crop looked like.
The first batch of freshly dug potatoes and sweet potatoes were delivered to the palace immediately. Emperor Chongzhen and Queen Zhou looked at the fist-sized potatoes and sweet potatoes on the plate. The expressions on their faces were indescribable. They picked them up and smelled them. I put it down again, picked it up again and looked at it, but I couldn't put it down. Either I couldn't eat it or I couldn't bear to eat it, I just... couldn't tell.
Naturally, they have eaten potatoes and sweet potatoes. I cannot say how delicious they are, but they are definitely not unpalatable. They can be eaten boiled, cooked, and eaten in various ways...
"This is the elixir that Chang Yu said can save the common people." Emperor Chongzhen couldn't suppress his excitement, his hands trembled, his body trembled and his eyes turned red: "With these two things, life can be saved."
Don't say that Emperor Chongzhen was too exaggerated or pretentious, not at all.
No one understands the importance of these two life-saving crops better than him.
What he went through and the burden he shouldered was beyond imagination.
Just because too many people have died in the capital in the past six months alone!
After the murderous plague and the murderous bandits and Tatars took turns harvesting, the poor people in Gyeonggi Province suffered from a great famine. The number of deaths reported to the court every day ranged from dozens to hundreds. It was not the case of the plague. To die is to starve.
But now everything is saved.
Strictly speaking, everything is getting better, and the joy of Emperor Chongzhen's harvest is not only potatoes and sweet potatoes, but also the lives of the people.
After the war, Gyeonggi faced three biggest difficulties: the invisible and invisible plague that killed people, the refugee wave that overwhelmed the capital, and the great famine in Gyeonggi.
But now these have been effectively controlled and are moving towards good things. Of course, many people died in the process.
Let's talk about the plague first. Under Chang Yu's suggestion, the imperial court and various government agencies intervened to guide and isolate the people and carry out environmental sanitation. Chang Yu even searched for a needle in a haystack and hired Wu Youxing, an infectious disease expert, to personally take charge of the work. The weather is getting colder and colder in winter, and the effect is immediate. The most important thing is that the execution of each yamen is much more dedicated than before.
Everyone knows what the yamen's style was before the beginning of the year. Lazy and lazy administration was the norm, and a football player could participate in the World Cup. However, after Chang Yu's various cuts, Dongchang fans are now keeping an eye on each yamen, and there is laziness. Those who neglect government affairs may be raped or imprisoned at worst, and the atmosphere will improve immediately. No one dares to underestimate the methods and prestige of the eunuch in this regard. He can do whatever he wants to do to relatives of the emperor, and officials from small yamen can do it to you. More casual than taking a flight.
Let’s talk about the refugees that plagued the capital city. They were first swept north by the rebel army and then were disrupted by the Tatars. There was no one in the capital area (Hebei, Shandong and Henan) who had no skin left intact. Countless families had their families broken up, their families were separated, or they were kidnapped by the rebel army or because of In order to survive, they had to leave their hometown and migrate north to survive, so that the imperial capital was overcrowded, which caused great pressure on health and public security. Those thousands of mouths crying for food are actually thousands of time bombs. If they are not handled properly, they will be killed. It will explode on the spot, and it will be impossible to survive without food. It will either riot or rebel at any time, endangering the safety of the capital.
But now you look at it, you can hardly see refugees in the inner city, and it’s hard to see hordes of refugees and beggars in the outer city that was originally filled with shit and urine. Where are they going? They had all been dispersed subtly. It was not forced by the imperial court. In fact, more of them left voluntarily.
Where have you gone?
Thousands of people immigrated to Tongzhou to open up wasteland and grow potatoes. Thousands of people were divided into supervisory schools, ordnance industry institutes, and military hospitals in the western suburbs of Beijing. Many more went to work for Octopus. This was also the case for Emperor Chongzhen. One of the most fortunate things was that I listened to Chang Yu's suggestion and established an imperial merchant. Firstly, I bought people's hearts and established a loyal chamber of commerce to serve the imperial court. Secondly, it greatly saved the imperial court's cost in purchasing and transporting grain and grass. The third is an unexpected surprise, which actually provided them with an unimaginable number of jobs during the disaster year.
The Octopus Chamber of Commerce is an imperial merchant. Their main business is to purchase and transport grain and grass for the imperial court, but this is not the only business. They also have branch shops in many places across the country to conduct various transactions, which requires a large number of logistics employees and cart pullers. , truck drivers, escorts, loaders and other laborers. In addition, the coal business now cooperates with the two lords of Shanxi requires more labor, and these refugees are their most cost-effective and cheapest labor force.
For the refugees, it is a great blessing to be able to earn some wages by taking care of food these days.
Octopus also has a bodyguard bureau, which has been renamed Sitong Bodyguard Bureau, meaning that it extends in all directions. The business of the bodyguard bureau is also booming. After the war, thieves and bandits were bred. Nowadays, merchants and wealthy families will hire Si Tong bodyguards whether they are entering or leaving Beijing, whether they are leaving or taking goods. Ask the escort agency to follow you and pray for peace. In addition, the Sitong Escort Bureau is also responsible for the escort of silver cars to and from the Octopus Chamber of Commerce and Daming Bank, so they also need a lot of labor, including escorts, trippers...
The plague is under control and the employment problem of the refugees has been solved. What remains is how to deal with the famine.
This is a big problem that makes people scratch their heads and scratch their eyebrows. Everyone in the imperial court is helpless about this, but it is not without action. In fact, the imperial court has been working hard to adjust grains since the famine first appeared, and then Chang Yu even more They tried every means in the south and even intercepted military rations for disaster relief. They even contacted the Zheng Zhilong family in Fujian to request assistance. The Zheng family did their best to show their goodwill and for future benefits. The first batch of life-saving seeds was sent to more than a hundred ships. Then he purchased grains, rice, sweet potatoes and potatoes in Fujian and transported them to Beijing by sea. In two months, two batches of relief materials were sent, which greatly alleviated the famine in the Gyeonggi region. Chang Yu's various preparations in the south are also showing results one after another. Mi came to Beijing one after another, and the expected scene of corpses strewn about the fields caused by famine did not appear, which made everyone in the court heave a sigh of relief.
The imperial court did make an effort in this matter, but everyone knew that the biggest contributor was the eunuch of Dongchang. He prepared for rainy days before the famine, and used all his strength during the famine to deceive, abduct, and plunder... This matter has the same background. Under the same circumstances, no one else would be able to do anything. If you just call in the most powerful chief ministers of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng, Yang Shiqi, Yang Tinghe, and Xu Jie, can you achieve this step?
I'm just afraid it's difficult!
For this reason, although the courtiers still have various criticisms against Chang Yu, no one dares to scold him now, such as arresting the emperor's relatives and imprisoning them. They just pointed out that Sang and Huai did not dare to name names like in the past. It was not because of fear. Is it because he has a guilty conscience? He is capable of fighting wars, quelling chaos, fighting epidemics, and providing disaster relief. Are you scolding him? Isn't that looking for scolding?
With the disaster relief grains transported from the south and the harvest from Tongzhou Farm, although the famine in Gyeonggi cannot be said to have been solved, it can be said to be under control. The refugee problem that was pressing on the brow has also been divided into pieces. There are still refugees estimated to number in the thousands, mostly women, children, old, weak, sick and disabled, but they are no longer in danger. The only consideration is how they will survive the cold winter. If someone accidentally freezes to death instead of starving to death...
Hey, hey, just as the weather is getting colder, coal trucks are coming to Beijing from Shanxi one after another. Some good people say that these coal trucks are lined up from Beijing to Changping. There is coal burning this winter and they will not freeze to death.
If there is coal to burn, do you have the money to buy coal?
No money required!
There are many shacks built outside Nancheng. Most of them are homes built by the refugees themselves, and some are public places built by the court. This winter, these shacks are provided with free heating coal, paid for by the court, and the supplier is Octopus.
Octopus opened a store mainly selling coal, selling anthracite, bituminous coal, briquettes, and peripheral products, including stoves, briquette machines, fire scissors... The imperial court could not blatantly advertise for enterprises, but it could take the lead. For example, the imperial court purchased a batch of supplies for the refugees, and various government agencies and units replaced charcoal for coal for heating. Several nobles immediately went to Octopus to purchase a set meal. Although they did not say anything, they expressed their stance with actions: We all burn coal.
Even better, one of the twenty-four yamen in the imperial city, Xixinsi, placed its first order early in the morning on the first day Octopus opened to sell coal. The whole city was in an uproar. It turned out to be an imperial merchant. The emperor was the first to take the lead in supporting him.
The appearance of the royal family and nobles is actually soft advertising, but they are not the main consumer group, ordinary people are.
But what people are most concerned about is the cost price, rather than whether charcoal is really cheap.
It is absolutely cheap and practical. The guys at Octopus are shouting and promoting it in the store every day. Of course, safe coal use is one of the top promotions.
Leave the buying and selling to professionals. There are too many such professionals in Octopus. Chang Yu never worries about this.
He is only responsible for diverting water.
Everything will fall into place.
