Emperor Chongzhen was stunned for a moment after hearing this. He seemed to think carefully about it for a while before saying: "It seems that such a thing happened, about ten years ago. I remember that all the ministers at that time said that fish and turtles live in rivers and turtles live in mountains. Elk, if it grows in Huainan, it will be orange; if it grows in Huaibei, it will be orange. The leaves are similar, but the taste is different..."
At this point, he paused before adding: "Rice, wheat and other crops have been cultivated for thousands of years. If we rashly replace sweet potatoes with sweet potatoes, we are afraid that more people will starve to death. In addition, the national affairs at that time were corrupt, so the court made the final decision, There is no chance of Xu Qing’s memorial.”
After finishing speaking, Emperor Chongzhen looked at Zhang Mingwei and asked in surprise: "Sir, do you mean this is really better than rice, wheat and other things?"
Since ancient times, there has been a deep-rooted impression that a certain kind of creature should only exist in a certain area. If it is moved to other places, it will be restricted by water, soil, climate, etc., and will either die or deteriorate.
Emperor Chongzhen just explained it, and that’s probably what he meant.
It is precisely this concept that is so common that Xu Guangqi even emphasized this matter in the preface to Sweet Potato, saying that Sweet Potato would be an exception. However, judging from the results, he still did not change his original impression of Emperor Chongzhen and the officials. In addition, everyone was worried about the bandits and Jianlu, and no one was willing to try it. And Xu Guangqi died in the early years of Chongzhen, so the matter ended.
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei frowned and thought, maybe it was because no one in the court, including Emperor Chongzhen himself, could personally serve the farmland like Xu Guangqi, so they only believed what the book said and failed to change their inherent nature. impression.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh and said seriously to Emperor Chongzhen: "This sweet potato is a great tool for disaster relief! It is possible that the sweet potato at this time has not been improved, and the yield per mu may not be as high as that of later generations. But the most critical thing is Yes, this sweet potato can be planted not in the fields, but on the mountains or somewhere else. It is a powerful supplement to farmland cultivation. If Your Majesty fully promotes it, many people will definitely avoid starving to death!"
"Ah?" Emperor Chongzhen was shocked when he heard this, and then he looked regretful. If he had known that he could avoid occupying farmland, maybe he would have made the right decision at that time!
What the Ming Dynasty lacked most was food! If there was food, we wouldn't be in the state of subjugation now!
No matter how regretful he was, Zhang Mingwei turned to Prince Zhu Cihong and said: "After you go to Nanjing, immediately find experienced farmers who grow sweet potatoes, and promote them in the southern provinces without occupying farmland, and remember to cultivate excellent varieties."
Of course Zhu Cixiang also knew that this matter was very important to Ming Dynasty, so he nodded seriously and said: "Sir, I have written it down!"
Emperor Chongzhen listened on the side and told Zhu Cihong very seriously: "If the local officials are perfunctory, they must be dealt with seriously!"
Zhu Cixiang nodded again after hearing this.
As for the north, there are military disasters everywhere. It is too difficult to promote sweet potatoes, so we should slow down for a while.
Zhang Mingwei continued: "There is also a high-yielding crop that does not occupy farmland and is very suitable for planting in the north. The yield in cold areas is very high. It is called potatoes. It should have been introduced to the Ming Dynasty from Fanbang by this time. When the prince arrives, he must Work hard to find this kind of potato so that it can be promoted in Daming!"
Emperor Chongzhen was overjoyed when he heard this. Before Zhu Cixiang could answer, he grabbed Zhang Mingwei's hand and confirmed loudly and happily: "Sir, are you serious about this?"
If he was worried that the sweet potatoes originating from Fujian might have problems in the north, what kind of potatoes were mentioned now? Zhang Mingwei emphasized that they were very suitable in the north, so his previous worries were gone. How could he not be happy? Crazy!
Zhu Cixiang was also very happy, but he immediately asked: "Sir, I don't know what this kind of potato looks like. How should I find it?"
Sweet potatoes are already common in Fujian, so he is not worried, but no one has heard of this potato before. Therefore, he asked this question.
"Let me draw it to give you a rough idea!"
As soon as Zhang Mingwei finished speaking, Emperor Chongzhen immediately led him to the imperial case in person, and personally picked up the imperial pen and held it in both hands. Princess Kunxing, who had been listening silently, also had the consciousness of a maid and immediately went to polish the ink.
Zhang Mingwei took the brush and looked at it, and said a little embarrassedly: "I only learned a little bit about brush writing in elementary school. From now on, I use ballpoint pens and fountain pens. I really don't know how to use this. It's ridiculous."
After he finished speaking, he began to draw potatoes on the imperial rice paper.
Zhang Mingwei was born in a rural area, and he is no stranger to potatoes and sweet potatoes. Therefore, the potatoes and leaves he drew have a general look. But if you want to say how similar it is, it’s not necessarily true.
Emperor Chongzhen and others knew that Zhang Mingwei did not know how to calligraphy with calligraphy as soon as they saw Zhang Mingwei's gesture of holding the brush.
However, no matter who it was, no one had any contempt for Zhang Mingwei. Because they all think that writing brushes are like swords and guns, and the ballpoint pens and fountain pens mentioned by Zhang Mingwei are just like the artillery they saw in the documentary, and they are definitely incomparable. Therefore, how can future generations use calligraphy brushes again?
After finishing the painting, Zhang Mingwei explained it to the three people watching. Then, not knowing the reason for holding the pen just now, I subconsciously stretched and yawned.
Seeing him like this, Princess Kunxing suddenly came back to her senses and said to Emperor Chongzhen in surprise: "Father, I'm afraid it's already the third watch."
Emperor Chongzhen had already come to his senses when Zhang Mingwei yawned. However, he was so excited that he didn't feel sleepy at all. But no matter what, Zhang Mingwei is already a little sleepy. No matter how excited he is, he still has to show it.
So, after thinking about it for a moment, he asked Zhang Mingwei respectfully: "Sir, why don't we sit down and sleep, and talk for a while?"
"..." Zhang Mingwei was speechless after hearing this, sleeping on the same bed as Emperor Chongzhen?
What made him even more unexpected was that Zhu Cixiang said, "Father, I still want to listen!"
The impact Zhang Mingwei brought to them was indeed too great. As long as there is a trace of curiosity, they can't help but listen more, not wanting to miss any news that Zhang Mingwei brought to them.
When Zhang Mingwei heard Zhu Cixiang's words, he couldn't help but turn his head and look at him, speechless in his heart: There is another prince on the bed?
"Father, I want to listen too!" Princess Kunxing heard Zhu Cihong speak, and she couldn't wait to follow suit.
But as soon as she said the words, she immediately realized something, her face turned red, and even her neck turned red.
………………
Besides, when Wang Chengen went to interrogate Wang Dehua, he deliberately kept a low profile even though he had been given instructions. But it was already night in the palace, and no matter how low-key it was, the movement couldn't be too small.
I saw a chamberlain walking quickly in the dark palace without holding a lantern. After a while, he bumped into a group of people.
I saw two chamberlains holding lanterns for a eunuch wearing a scarlet robe.
As soon as he saw this, the hurried waiter hurried over and whispered at the same time: "Godfather, it's bad, Godfather, something happened!"
When the eunuch heard this, he immediately stood up, looked at the chamberlain who had quickly arrived in front of him, and asked: "What is the situation with the emperor? What happened?"
He had obviously heard that something unusual was going on with Emperor Chongzhen, and judging from his appearance, he rushed over to see what was going on.
"Godfather, my son saw that Wang Dehua was taken away by Wang Chengen's people!"
"What?" When the eunuch heard this, he was immediately shocked. "Did you see clearly what was going on in the dark at night?"
In fact, in his heart, he understood that such a big thing was absolutely impossible to make a mistake. However, Wang Dehua, the dignified Chief of Ceremonies, Eunuch in Charge and Supervisor of the East Factory, took it as soon as he said so. How angry did the emperor have to be to do this?
"My son doesn't know the specific situation. He just saw Wang Dehua rushing to the emperor's side. Not long after, he was escorted out by Wang Chengen's people."
The eunuch pondered for a while, and then immediately asked: "Did the emperor summon him?"
"I don't think so. I should have gone to see what was going on, and then..."
As soon as the eunuch heard this, he immediately turned around and left. At the same time, he said: "Let's find out more about this matter secretly, and then come back to the Royal Horse Eunuch to report back."
Obviously, he didn't understand what was happening on the emperor's side, and was frightened by Wang Dehua's incident. He didn't dare to go any further: What if he ended up with the same fate as Wang Dehua if he bumped into someone for no reason?
