Chapter 69 Taking root
He Xi left Cao Guogong's mansion and still couldn't go home.
Need to enter the palace.
After He Xi entered the palace, he did not see Zhu Yuanzhang immediately. But after changing clothes and washing up in his former dormitory in Qianqing Palace, he met Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were still bright and clear, and there were still piles of memorials in front of him that he could not finish. Zhu Yuanzhang himself was actually a person who couldn't take time off. Even if he has a secretary to share a lot of government affairs with him. His daily working hours are still a slam dunk. From when I open my eyes in the morning to when it's late at night.
Not much less than before.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw He Xi coming, he didn't even raise his head. He said: "Sit down." Still looking at the memorial.
After He Xi bowed and sat down, Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "How is Wenzhong's situation?"
He Xi said: "I am ashamed, I really don't know."
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed in his heart. He had expected this result. But he was inevitably disappointed in his heart. He said: "You have been running outside for more than half a year this year, but there is one thing you probably don't know. Anqing is here. It's been several months. She will probably give birth next spring."
He Xi felt as if an electric current rushed from his heels to his forehead. What Zhu Yuanzhang said was somewhat unclear.
He Xi counted the time, and it was exactly what happened before he left Jiangnan for Liaodong. There are mixed feelings in my heart. It seems that there are countless ideas, and these countless ideas merge together, and it seems that there are no ideas at all. My mind goes blank.
I only had one thought: "I'm going to be a dad. I'm going to be a dad."
After a while, He Xi came back to his senses and said, "Why didn't you send me a letter?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "When I was just pregnant, the fetus was not stable, so I couldn't talk nonsense. Later, it was almost the same. Your whereabouts have been irregular. The secret play has stopped for a while, and it is difficult to find you. This time I call you back. , I just want you to stay at home and wait until the child is born."
He Xi said, "Thank you very much, Father."
He Xi said thank you, but felt a little confused in her heart.
He Xi is naturally willing to accompany his wife and children. But he knew that the pace of doing things in the Ming Dynasty, no, it should be said that the pace of doing things in the entire agricultural era was incomparable with the industrial era. Many things are progressed on an annual basis.
If He Xi is delayed for only half a year, the whole thing will be postponed for more than half a year, or even a year.
This made him a little unwilling.
After all, this kind of rhythm makes He Xi very uncomfortable as he adapts to the high efficiency of the industrial age.
Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to understand He Xi's thoughts and said: "Don't worry, no one can do anything in the world without you. Didn't your disciple do a good job?" Then Zhu Yuanzhang handed a memorial to He Xi.
He Xi took it with both hands, but it was a memorial from Dong Shengwei. The above is a tribute to Huang Zicheng. It shows that Huang Zicheng dug gullies and cultivated acres of land during his two years in the Hetao. According to local conditions, horse plowing was proposed. Hundreds of hectares of farmland were opened. Last year had a good harvest. Although due to horse farming and soil fertility, only one stone of grain can be produced per acre. But he still collected tens of thousands of shi of grain. Dongshengwei consumes half of it, and more acres will be reclaimed this year, which is expected to be within three years. Dongshengwei is self-sufficient.
In fact, He Xi often received letters from the disciples of the Imperial College, especially the group of disciples he had led. Of course he knows Huang Zicheng's progress. The difficulties Huang Zicheng faced were relatively simple. After all, as a farming nation, the Han people focus all their skills on farming.
As long as it is confirmed that the Hetao area can be cultivated, the rest will not be difficult.
As for horse plowing, this is also a very mature technology. The only problem is that horse plowing is shallower than oxen plowing, and the yield per unit mu is relatively low. However, the Hetao is vast and sparsely populated, and there is enough wasteland on both sides of Fengzhou Beach. It is not necessary to pursue intensive farming like Jiangnan.
It is not difficult for Huang Zicheng to implement a mature plan. Of course, this was also the reason why He Xi asked someone to greet the commander of Dongshengwei.
He Xi did not ask the commander of Dongshengwei to take more care of him, but to do less to let him understand that Huang Zicheng had a backing. Don't take it lightly.
But what worries He Xi even more is Lian Zining.
Lian Zining still has not made any progress in Daning. He has long been appointed as the steward of a racecourse, although he still has the official title of Secretary Lang. But it is already considered within the Taipu Temple system. Without him, in many cases, just having a backstage is not enough.
Practice Zi Ning for the Qing Chu method. Within two years, experiments were continued, but they all failed.
It just started because of He Xi. Daning also sent people to support them. But then there were many more failures. No one in Daning wanted to talk to Lian Zining. If it weren't for Lian Zining He Xi's background, he would have been thrown away long ago.
Why let him be in charge of a horse farm? Let Lian Zining figure out all the experiments by himself and not bother others.
As long as Lian Zining can raise the horse well, they don't care about the rest.
He Xi could imagine what it was like for Lian Zining, who was high-spirited, carrying fodder and feeding horses from stable to stable in the cold wind outside the Great Wall. It hurts to think about it. However, Lian Zining's letters to He Xi did not mention these things at all, but contained experimental reports one after another. All failed, for various reasons, and some for no apparent reason.
He Xi once thought about training Zi Ning back. It's okay to arrange for him to be a minor official. But Lian Zining flatly refused.
Nowadays, one is up to heaven, and his career is imminent, while the other is sinking into a subordinate position, no doubt like an ordinary official. How could He Xi not sigh?
He Xi said: "Although Huang Zicheng is said to be my disciple, in fact I don't teach him much. He is more of a talent trained by His Majesty's Imperial College. This is Your Majesty's virtue."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "You are really well-informed these days when you go out. You have seen all kinds of flatterers. Tell me, what does Ye Wang mean? What do you mean?"
Zhu Yuanzhang handed another memorial to He Xi, and He Xi took it with both hands. It was Ye Wang who suggested that Jin Yiwei take over the trade with Jurchens.
He Xi did not expect that Ye Wang had really made up his mind.
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "If I hadn't suppressed this memorial, the commander of the capital of Liaodong would not be Ye Wang. Ye Wang is a rough man. What kind of writing skills are there to write your name clearly in the memorial? . Just tell me, what do you mean?"
"What do you want to do with Ye Wang? Let him surrender like this."
He Xi adjusted his mentality and said; "Your Majesty, actually I have to say something even if Your Majesty doesn't say it. Liaodong is very different from what I imagined. In our time, Northeast China was the largest commercial grain base, almost catching up with it." The Central Plains region. But the current situation is that Jiangnan is where the most food is produced."
"I know." Zhu Yuanzhang said: "I know everything you said. But what does this have to do with Ye Wang."
"My son has two plans for Liaodong, one is a long-term plan and the other is a short-term plan. The former is to fill up Liaoze into paddy fields. Tens of thousands of hectares of land are enough to be the granary of the north. Huang Zicheng's contribution is that grain can be grown in the Hetao , Hetao has tens of thousands of dan of grain, which can save the court at least hundreds of thousands of dan of grain. And if Liaodong has millions of dan of grain, it will definitely not be a problem for the Ming Dynasty's soldiers to march north to Mongolia and station troops outside the Great Wall."
"The short-term plan is to increase shipping. Erchen has already made a plan."
Then He Xi held up his plan with both hands.
Zhu Yuanzhang took it and read it carefully.
He Xi held his breath and concentrated. Wait carefully.
For long-term plans. He Xi did not elaborate, because He Xi was definitely too far-term. Now it is almost impossible to complete the Ming Dynasty. As for increasing sea transportation, private forces are invited to join in transporting grain. But it was what he wanted to pass.
At this moment, he was carefully waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's sentencing.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw the plan to exchange wood for rice. Under careful consideration. Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a long time and then said: "If it is so profitable, why not let the imperial court run it? You seem to like it and distribute these benefits to others?"
Although Zhu Yuanzhang read a lot of modern books, he still couldn't turn around in many ways of thinking. He read He Xi's report. Make sure that the whole plan is profitable. He subconsciously felt that it would not be much better to let the government run the business. When the shipping fleet returns, most of it is empty.
