"Please!"
After Zhou Yuji left, Chongzhen looked at Zheng Chongjian and chuckled: "Zheng Aiqing, I have hired a capable person for you. From now on, it will be up to him whether you are short of food in Shaanxi!"
Before Zheng Chongjian and Yuan Keli could speak, Chen Jinglun entered the garden and saluted immediately after seeing Chongzhen.
"Your Majesty, Chen Jinglun, is here to see you!"
Looking at the dusty Chen Jinglun, Chongzhen instantly became energetic.
"Hahaha, Chen Aiqing, I have been waiting for you for a long time!"
"It's been a hard journey, please give me a seat and some tea!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty. It's my fault for keeping Your Majesty waiting for so long!"
"You came just in time. If you had come two days later, I would have left Xi'an!"
After Chen Jinglun finished a cup of tea, Chongzhen introduced each other to everyone. Although Zheng Chongjian had never heard of Chen Jinglun's name, he knew the name of the Agricultural Research Institute.
If you can be appointed by the emperor as the vice president of the Agricultural Research Institute, you are definitely a great person technically.
At this moment, he was full of expectations.
After everyone saw the ceremony, Chongzhen asked again: "Chen Aiqing, how are you preparing the things I asked you to prepare?"
Seeing the emperor asking about business, Chen Jinglun immediately stood up, but was stopped by Chongzhen.
"Replying to Your Majesty, after I received a message from Sun Chao of the Imperial Guard Qianhu on February 19, I immediately notified Xiong Wencan, the Chief Envoy of Fujian Province, for consultation.
In order to obtain high-quality seed potatoes and save time, I purchased 1,500 shi from farmers at the price of two taels of silver per shi (150 jins).
Excluding losses, it is estimated to be around 200,000 kilograms!
According to the germination situation, one acre of land requires about 100 kilograms of seed potatoes. The 200,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes brought by Chen this time can be planted on 2,000 acres of land. "
“On February 26, we set off from Quanzhou, Fujian Province, passed through Jiangxi and Huguang provinces, and entered Weinan from Tongguan.
At present, all the sweet potatoes are in Weinan City. Sun Chao of the Qianhu of the Jinyi Guards has coordinated with Teng Zao, the commander of the Tongguan Guards, and transferred the Tongguan Guards to guard them! "
Everyone's eyes changed slightly as they listened to Chen Jinglun's report.
First of all, the new term sweet potato seems to be a new crop, but they have never seen it before.
Secondly, the price is as high as two taels of silver per stone. You must know that rice is only one tael of silver per stone.
The third thing is transportation. It took nearly fifty days to go from Quanzhou, Fujian to Weinan. In the middle, we had to cross Jiangxi and Huguang, nearly four thousand miles.
To be able to cross such a long distance in such a short time and still reach here safely is definitely due to the strength of the guard stations along the way.
They even recruited civilian men and had to walk at least a hundred miles every day.
It’s okay to walk more than a hundred miles in one day, but it’s okay to just grind your teeth for ten days.
But it has been like this every day for more than 40 days, not counting weather problems such as rain in the middle.
One can imagine how difficult it is.
If the manpower and material resources consumed and used on the road are included, the price of one stone of sweet potatoes is at least twenty taels of silver.
They were full of curiosity and doubts at this moment about the sweet potatoes that had to be transported at such a high cost.
The reason why Chongzhen asked Chen Jinglun to introduce sweet potatoes to Shaanxi was because the sweet potatoes of Qindu in Shaanxi were relatively famous in later generations, so it was absolutely right to introduce them to Shaanxi.
Seeing everyone's expressions, Chongzhen looked at Chen Jinglun: "Chen Aiqing, please tell me the characteristics, planting and harvesting of sweet potatoes!"
"My lords, sweet potatoes are not picky about soil quality or terrain. They like warm and are afraid of cold. If the temperature is too low, they will stop growing. Relatively speaking, they are relatively drought-tolerant.
It is planted in April and May every year, and the harvest time is in August, September, and October. When harvested, the yield is three to five stones in the lower ground, six to ten stones in the middle ground, and ten to fifteen stones in the upper ground. The highest record in Fujian is twenty stones. "
hiss……
Everyone stood up suddenly, their eyes filled with disbelief.
It can yield a harvest of five dan in the field and fifteen dan in the field. Compared with current wheat, rice, etc., it is three to five times higher, and it is also drought-resistant.
This kind of harvest is simply a fantasy for them.
All the arable land left by the emperor is cultivated. If two thousand acres are planted according to Chen Jinglun's report just now, then he can harvest 30,000 shi, which is equivalent to 4.5 million catties.
If it is preserved well, 45,000 acres can be planted next year and the harvest will be 675,000 shi, equivalent to nearly 110 million jin.
If the whole of Shaanxi grows this, the harvest... Shaanxi will really not be short of food.
When everyone thought of this, their eyes began to wander and their breathing began to quicken.
Seeing this, Chongzhen coughed immediately as he didn't know what everyone was thinking.
"Don't dream about it. Although sweet potatoes have a high yield, they have many limitations. For example, if you eat too much, it will cause food accumulation, abdominal distension, burping, excretion, etc.
Besides, even if it is planted, not all people like it. It can only be used as a supplementary grain besides rice and wheat. It is not bad when mixed with the staple food.
After the natural disaster in Shaanxi, it will be up to the people to choose. "
After everyone listened, they all smiled.
Chongzhen also talked about the issues such as how to collect land tax, military rations, etc. after the promotion of sweet potatoes proposed by the ministers.
The way everyone looked at Chen Jinglun changed again, and their eyes were filled with approval.
Zheng Chongjian wondered: "How come I haven't heard of sweet potatoes with such a high yield before? If there were sweet potatoes, so many people wouldn't have starved to death last year!"
"Master Zheng, my father twisted the sweet potato buds on a cable from Luzon Island in the 21st year of Wanli..."
After everyone heard Chen Jinglun talk about the origin of sweet potato and the reasons for its promotion, they all sighed.
They can imagine the danger of this kind of 'smuggling'. Once discovered, they may be dead.
The reason for not being able to promote them all. As the chief officials of a province, how could they not know the tricks involved?
There were countless people alive at the risk of death, but they were stopped by some "careful people". How sad!
"Mr. Chen is a true righteous man and a role model for our generation. It is a pity that we have not been able to meet him!"
"Chang Lebo's move will save millions of people in the Ming Dynasty. On behalf of the people of Shaanxi, I would like to thank Vice President Chen.
When sweet potatoes are popularized, I will definitely build a meritorious service temple for Chang Lebo in Xi'an to commemorate his merits as a living person! "
After Zheng Chongjian finished speaking, he looked at Chen Jinglun and said solemnly: "Vice President Chen, the introduction of sweet potatoes to Shaanxi is entirely up to you. I will have the political officer in charge of agriculture stationed in Weinan to help you!
If you have any difficulties or requirements, you can come to him to solve them. If he can't solve them, you can come to me. "
After hearing this, Chen Jinglun was silent for a moment, and said with a somewhat embarrassed expression: "Others are fine, but there are really some difficulties at the moment. Please help Mr. Zheng!"
