Daming: After self-explosive time travel, Lao Zhu's mentality collapsed

"Well said!" Zhu Yuanzhang clapped his hands and laughed, "You are worthy of being my trusted confidant and pillar, with such a broad mind and vision."

He slammed the table and stood up: "Chu Qing has made great contributions this time. I have already issued an edict to give you a yellow jacket, a purple gold crown, and the title of Prince's Guardian. From now on, it is up to you to make the decision, and everyone in the court and the country will obey!"

"I don't deserve it!" Chu Ze kowtowed in fear.

Zhu Yuanzhang personally stepped forward and helped him up.

"My dear minister, there is no need to be too modest. This great victory is truly the work of heaven and man. From now on, let us work together to create a prosperous foundation and achieve greater glory!"

The two held hands and looked at each other, full of high spirits.

The sound of bells in the distance seemed to sound the clarion call for this new era.

The sunlight shone through the windows of the palace, casting a warm glow on the two of them.

"Your Majesty, I have something to tell you." Chu Ze suddenly remembered something and said respectfully.

"speak."

"Although this great victory is well-known, the enemy's covetousness is not dead yet." Chu Ze analyzed, "I think we can't relax, and we must prepare for the rainy day."

"Oh? What do you think?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked with great interest.

"In my opinion, we should recruit talents from all over the world, including those who are proficient in science and good at invention." Chu Ze said carefully, "Let them gather together and pool their wisdom, which will surely bring endless innovation to the Ming Dynasty. In this way, we can always seize the initiative and avoid being taken advantage of by the enemy."

Zhu Yuanzhang clapped his hands and exclaimed: "Wonderful, wonderful! You are indeed well-read and learned. I have the same idea, but I don't know where to start. Since you mentioned it, I will approve it. I will order you to take the lead and establish a 'Jixian Academy' in the capital, recruit talented people from all over the world, and teach advanced Western knowledge."

"I obey your command." Chu Ze agreed generously.

A rainbow quietly rose above the capital.

This day is destined to go down in history.

Because it marks the prelude to a great change that has slowly begun on this ancient land.

Under the guidance of "Jixian College", more and more people with lofty ideals have begun to devote themselves to scientific research.

Some of them came from the scholar-farmer class, the merchant class and the artisan class, while others came from high-ranking officials.

But no matter what their origins are, they all have the same beautiful vision for the future——

That is to allow the Ming Dynasty to be revived under the guidance of Western learning!

Laboratories are springing up in the capital, and batches of students are knocking on the doors to seek education.

They shuttled back and forth in the library, studying intently; they worked day and night, pursuing their goals diligently.

Finally, exciting news began to spread:

Someone invented new agricultural tools, stone mills were abandoned, and iron plows became popular.

Someone has refined a new type of medicine, which has saved countless lives and saved people from the brink of death.

Some people even successfully predicted solar eclipses and made great progress in astronomy and calendar.

In the academy, Chu Ze was concentrating on instructing a student.

"Gently turn this gear, and the medicinal materials will be squeezed at a uniform speed." He said patiently, "This way, we can save manpower and improve the efficacy of the medicine."

The student's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly.

"I will remember your teachings in my heart. When I return home after completing my studies, I will definitely promote this method in the village!"

Chu Ze smiled with relief: "Good, good. With the efforts of young people like you, the future of our Ming Dynasty will be bright!"

At this moment, there was a sound of hurried horse hooves in the yard. "President, the imperial court has issued an order!" A eunuch ran over quickly, panting.

"Your Majesty, please ask the dean to come to the palace immediately. We have something important to discuss!"

After hearing this, Chu Ze said a few words to the people around him and hurried on his way.

After a long journey, they entered the palace in a short while.

"Your Highness, I am Chu Ze, your humble servant, and I pay my respects to Jin An." He knelt in front of the palace and saluted.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him intently and motioned for Chu Ze to stand up.

"My dear, do you know why I came to you?"

Chu Ze said respectfully: "I am a stupid and ignorant person, please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

"Haha, you are still the humble Chu Ze of the past." Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily, and then said seriously: "I asked you to come here because of the backlog of cases in the capital. You and I both know that the high price of rice in the capital has hurt farmers and the people have been living in poverty for years. The root cause is nothing more than two: one is that the yield per mu is too low and the supply is insufficient; the other is that the loss of stored grain is too great and the circulation is not smooth."

"The two memorials submitted today are both here." Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the desk, where two thick volumes of memorials were neatly placed.

Chu Ze's heart moved. How could he not know the difficulties of the people's livelihood in the capital? But there were many disputes in the court, and the ministers were discussing it. It was not easy to solve it thoroughly.

"I accept your order." Chu Ze clasped his fists and said, "But increasing grain production, storage and transportation is not something that can be achieved overnight. If we want to sustain it, we need to make fundamental innovations."

"My dear minister, you are absolutely right." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly. "I like your courage to be the first and your perseverance. You have done a great job in Fengyang, and now I will let you do what you want in the capital. If you want money or people, just ask. I will not be stingy!"

"I will do my best to live up to your majesty's expectations!" Chu Ze was full of fighting spirit and knelt down to accept the order.

Zhu Yuanzhang was delighted and waved his hand, saying, "Go back and prepare first. We will set off on a chosen day to supervise the farming in Beijing!"

Chu Ze thanked him and left.

On the second day, he summoned his confidants Li Changji, Zhao Si and others to have a secret meeting in his mansion.

"The capital's problems are so deep-rooted that it seems to be in a terminal state," Li Changji said worriedly.

"Master, although we are willing to make reforms, if complications arise in the court, won't all our efforts be in vain?" Zhao Si was also a little hesitant.

"Don't panic, everyone." Chu Ze said confidently, "No matter how big the problem is, it won't stop us from applying what we have learned. Remember when we built the 'Enterprise' in Fengyang, didn't we also encounter many obstacles? But what did we rely on? We relied on the courage to think, dare to act, and never admit defeat!"

I saw him pick up a wolf hair brush and splash ink on the rice paper in one go.

"Look, is there anything written on it?"

Li Changji came forward and saw four big words written on the paper: Science and technology will make the country strong!

Zhao Si suddenly understood: "Master, what you mean is that we should use new machinery and management methods to improve farming in the capital, just like Fengyang did?"

"That's right." Chu Ze said firmly, "Science and technology are the primary productive force. With it, we can increase grain production and preserve food freshness. Is there anything we can't do?"

"But, after all, the capital is not like Fengyang. The climate and soil are different." Li Changji was still a little worried.

Chu Ze smiled and said, "This is a great opportunity for us to show our talents! Let's go find some sample fields and do some experiments. There will always be a new method that can give the capital a brand new look!"

The next morning, when the first rays of morning light shone on the earth, a section of farmland on the outskirts of Beijing was already a scene of bustling activity.

Hundreds of strong farmers were sweating profusely, and the fields were full of brand new farm tools:

The plowshare is specially designed to reduce labor intensity while also deeply loosening the soil and retaining water and fertilizer.

The rake is made of tough steel and has densely packed teeth, which can break up soil and bumps, kill weeds and roots, and is extremely effective.

The seeder was even more ingenious, sowing the seeds one by one accurately in the furrows, completely replacing manual sowing and saving a lot of manpower and material resources... (End of this chapter)