Chapter 64 Shocked Zhu Yuanzhang
As an emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang was still familiar with the local area. It was this familiarity that reminded him of a Shanghai county.
In fact, this era of Shanghai County is very young. It was only established as a county in the Yuan Dynasty, less than a hundred years ago. In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, it was even more incredible, although he said that Guangzhou was a land of barbarians. But after all, Guangzhou has historical origins. During the Tang Dynasty, it was also a big city. It is not impossible to radiate to Guangdong and Guangxi and develop and grow in the future.
But Shanghai confused Zhu Yuanzhang.
Even if a small county develops, shouldn't it be Songjiang Prefecture?
He Xi immediately opened the map of Shanghai with the mouse. Keeping it open, he could directly see the streets of Shanghai clearly.
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent.
This was a city that he could not imagine. Not to mention the high-rise buildings and countless roads, the area covered was beyond his imagination. Because in his opinion, from Songjiang Mansion to Suzhou Mansion, and even around the entire Taihu Lake, they are all connected.
Become a huge urban network.
It took a long time for Zhu Yuanzhang to say: "So much land has been used to build houses. What will we eat then?"
This question is definitely not asked out of thin air.
Because in the early Ming Dynasty, the Taihu Plain was an important grain-producing area. A large part of the food Nanjing needs comes from the Taihu Plain. After all, in this era, development elsewhere is inadequate.
It was not until the middle and late Ming Dynasty that Huguang became famous all over the world.
In fact, this can also be seen from taxes. Why did Zhu Yuanzhang have to collect so many taxes from Jiangnan and set up so many official fields in Jiangnan? Of course, there is a small intention of retaliation, but to regard Zhu Yuanzhang as narrow-minded and not tolerate it just because the people of Jiangnan once followed Zhang Shicheng is to underestimate Zhu Yuanzhang. If nothing else, Chen Youliang's foundation is in Wuchang, why? Didn't Zhu Yuanzhang use taxes to attack Wuchang?
The reason is simple. There is food in Jiangnan. And not elsewhere.
Therefore, from Zhu Yuanzhang's perspective, a large number of buildings occupied the grain-producing land in the south of the Yangtze River.
He Xi did not explain to Zhu Yuanzhang the changes in grain production areas over the past hundreds of years. He would not even tell Zhu Yuanzhang that the largest grain-producing areas in later generations were the Northeast and Henan, which is still sparsely populated and wild beasts are rampant.
He Xi said: "Please allow me to explain a person to Your Majesty. That is Yuan Longping. Mr. Yuan."
Then He Xi pulled out a photo from the album.
To be honest, He Xi doesn't like taking pictures very much. There are not many photos in his album. Most of them are photos of beautiful women. There are very few photos of celebrities. The photo of Mr. Yuan was also a photo of the elder Yuan who he kept out of nowhere when he learned that Mr. Yuan had passed away.
He Xi said: "Not long after the founding of the new dynasty, there was a shortage of food in the country and everyone did not eat much. In order to obtain higher yields, the country carried out a series of scientific research at that time. Among them, Mr. Yuan's hybrid rice project was one of them . Mr. Yuan spent decades to successfully develop it. The yield of rice per mu can be more than 1,000 kilograms. Even before Mr. Yuan died, he was still studying seawater rice, so that all the coastal beaches in the world can be planted with rice. "
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned and looked at the photos on the screen.
I couldn't believe it.
In fact, the first thing he couldn't believe was the clear image inside. When looking at the map, Zhu Yuanzhang was already extremely surprised. He couldn't imagine that the map in front of him was drawn. But a map is a map after all, and it has some abstract qualities. And Zhu Yuanzhang also knew that there would be things in future generations that could reach heaven. After all, He Xi had told Zhu Yuanzhang before.
But in front of him, Mr. Yuan's photo was so clear that Zhu Yuanzhang was incredulous.
The second person who couldn't believe it was this old man. This Mr. Yuan was actually able to achieve such a great initiative. In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, he was simply a living Shennong. It should be noted that in the south today, the annual output of most rice is between three and four stones. Converted to the weights and measures of later generations, it was about two to three hundred kilograms.
This has doubled several times.
What is Zhu Yuanzhang's most profound memory in his life? It’s the hunger of youth. It was a feeling that he would never forget for the rest of his life. Not only was it uncomfortable to feel hungry, but it was also because hunger took away many of his relatives.
How can this be forgotten?
But now we see Mr. Yuan’s scientific achievements. Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes glowed red. The heartbeat in my chest turned into a voice that kept repeating: "I want it. I want it."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Do you know how to make Mr. Yuan's hybrid rice?"
He Xi said: "Mr. Yuan is an academician of the Academy of Sciences of the New Dynasty. I am just a student who has just graduated. The gap between me and Mr. Yuan is like the gap between a child who has just graduated from elementary school and a scholar of the Song Dynasty. , no, even bigger.”
"Your Majesty is really forcing someone to do something difficult."
"However, I know that some new crops can produce thousands of pounds per acre."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Where?"
He Xi said: "Your Majesty, wait a moment." Then He Xi opened the satellite map again and adjusted it to North America. However, because he hadn't seen much of the situation here before, it became completely blank as soon as he zoomed out. Only a rough outline can be seen. But even this is enough.
He Xi said: "Here, now it is ruled by a primitive tribe. They are blessed with corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes and other crops. Your Majesty, in the Qing Dynasty, the so-called prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong, some people called it the prosperous age of sweet potatoes, was because they vigorously promoted sweet potatoes. .At the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was enough to have more than 400 million people."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "This is true."
He Xi said: "Really. I dare not deceive Your Majesty. In fact, the more important thing is that this is an unclaimed land. The so-called primitive tribes are called Indians by the Westerners. It is said that there are two versions. One is that the Westerners will This place is regarded as India and called Indian. There is also a saying that these indigenous people often say, Yin Di'an."
"Yin Di?" Zhu Yuanzhang was not an ignorant person. When he heard this word, he immediately made some associations.
He Xi said: "Yes. Some scholars have inferred that these people are the descendants of the remnants of the Yin and Shang Dynasties who made the eastward journey. Legend has it that King Zhou of Shang was actually a very brave king. It was just that he had been at war with Dongyi for many years. Although he finally defeated Dongyi The Yi, but their vitality was greatly weakened, and only then did the Western Zhou Dynasty rise, defeat Muye, and then fall. When King Zhou of Shang was defeated, the Shang Dynasty still left tens of thousands of troops in the east. Then the Duke of Zhou marched eastward and wiped out the remaining forces of the Yin and Shang dynasties. Sweeped away. But these tens of thousands of troops have disappeared."
"That's why some scholars speculated on the eastward journey."
"However, the important thing is not who they are. The important thing is that their technology is very backward now, and they seem to be still in the Shang Dynasty. There are even very few iron tools. It is not worth mentioning that the Westerners conquered the country with just a few hundred people. the Inca dynasty."
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said: "I understand. They are now Yin merchants. I will make one of my sons King of Yin and cross the river to rule them."
He Xi said: "I'm afraid it's not enough." He Xi maximized the map. From now on it is a world map. Circle above, Australia, North America, South America. and some places in Oceania. Said: "Your Majesty, these places are sparsely populated but rich in products. The Great Plains of North America are sufficient for farming, and the products produced are unparalleled in the world. Even in the future, the United States will be the largest exporter of agricultural products in the world. And these places may have gold. The mines of silver, copper and iron may be useful for grazing cattle and sheep.”
"However, these are not the most important things."
"Actually, for Ming Dynasty, these are not the most important. After all, even if Ming Dynasty does not have these places, it will live very well. With these places, various problems will arise. However, if God does not give it, he will suffer from it. "
"Your Majesty, the Westerners I have always spoken of are only here."
He Xi pointed to Europe and said: "All the Western countries combined are not as large as the Ming Dynasty. Today, the Westerners combined are not as numerous as the Ming Dynasty people. But later Westerners have encroached on this area." He Xi pointed out that in North America, South America, Australia, etc. were drawn together, and he said: "In the future, our country's population will be 1.3 billion, which is already the peak, but the combined population of the West is estimated to be no less than this number. Or even more. It can be said that the power of the Celestial Kingdom is in the hands of the Qing Dynasty Even after falling, a hundred years later, it has not been completely lifted up.”
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "I understand. If you don't take the gift from heaven, you will be blamed for it. The strategy of opening up the sea and sealing the vassal has been decided."
He Xi heard this and said, "Your Majesty is wise."
He Xi was secretly happy in her heart. No matter what, as long as Zhu Yuanzhang is willing to send people to seize the territory, the Chinese will seize the advantage in the future. Even if it declines again, how far can it decline? And He Xi knows one thing better.
When Ming Dynasty had a huge overseas market. When various industries are in short supply. Labor costs increase. Then the industrial revolution, even without He Xi's promotion, will come slowly.
Counting birds with one stone.
Play Zhu Yuanzhang in the palm of his hand.
How could He Xi be unhappy?
However, he did not dare to underestimate Zhu Yuanzhang at all. He knew very well that the reason why he was able to trick Zhu Yuanzhang today was not because Zhu Yuanzhang was less intelligent than him. It's because the two sides have different knowledge levels. In this regard, He Xi is under suppression.
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the laptop and said, "Can you explain to me what this is?"
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang was more curious about the laptop than he was worried about the future of Ming Dynasty. After all, the future of Ming Dynasty is very far away, and this laptop is right in front of us.
Since He Xi wanted to severely intimidate Zhu Yuanzhang today, he would use the future imperial examination to knock Zhu Yuanzhang unconscious. Naturally, he said without hesitation: "This is an important tool for future production and life, the computer."
