Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 425: Renjun’s posture

"Have you tried any of these barks that the imperial court needs?"

"Back to Your Highness, I haven't tried it yet."

On the 24th of the first lunar month, with Zhu Di heading north and Zheng He heading south, Zhu Gaoxu finally obtained most of the American crop seeds he needed.

There are more than ten boxes of various sizes placed in the Chunhe Hall, which contain corn, potatoes, pumpkins, peanuts, sunflowers, peppers, tomatoes, beans, lima beans, pineapples, custard apples, pomegranates, avocados, and cashews. , American ginseng, papaya and other seeds and fruits of various vegetables and fruits.

Many of the fruits were still stained with soil. Apparently because the seeds were not stored long enough, they could only be planted in the soil in large tanks on the ship to maintain growth, so they persisted until the Ming Dynasty.

"There is no problem with the seeds or fruits. The most important thing is to find out which kind of bark works."

Zhu Gaoxu put down a piece of bark. He didn't know the cinchona tree, so he could only distinguish it through human experiments.

Standing next to him was Cao Yi, the official of the Hundred Households in the advance team, who was only twenty years old. This was his first voyage to the West, but he successfully brought back most of the crops.

"Wang Qianhu communicated with the local natives, and the local natives peeled off the bark of trees they thought were useful. There were 300 boxes of bark of various types in the cabin of the return ship, but it was unclear which ones were useful."

Wang Bendao, the Secretary of Agriculture, kept writing on his wat board with a brush, while the ministers were not very interested in potatoes, a crop with a yield of less than 200 kilograms per mu and an unsightly appearance.

If there hadn't been a shortage of food in the prison at that time and some prisoners were forced to eat potatoes, potatoes might have remained as ornamental items.

"The planting process is to dig small holes in the prepared soil and plant the potato pieces with the buds facing up, paying attention to maintaining appropriate spacing and placing farmyard manure around the potatoes."

"Therefore, once this fungus begins to spread, it is extremely easy to cause widespread famine, and the Department of Agriculture needs to pay more attention."

"Eight hundred to one thousand?!" After hearing Zhu Gaoxu's words, everyone took a breath.

"This is potato. The yield in Dongzhou is about 200 kilograms per mu, which is not too much. However, it does not compete with grains for land and does not have high requirements for land. However, sandy loam soil is better."

"Of course, before that, we still have to let the Department of Agriculture and Taixue experiment for a few years and select grain varieties."

"After sowing, cover with a layer of soil and keep the soil slightly moist. Water regularly. Keep the soil moist but not too wet to avoid water accumulation."

"I, the Secretary of Agriculture, Wang Bendao, greet your Highness." The Secretary of Agriculture, Wang Bendao, quickly stepped forward to bow, while Zhu Gaoxu introduced some things about potatoes to him.

"After planting in this way for about three months, the potatoes will be mature and harvested. At that time, the size and maturity of the potatoes can be checked by digging up the soil."

"You graduated from Taixue University of Agriculture, so you should understand what I'm talking about."

"However, this potato is also susceptible to fungal diseases. This fungus develops in warm and humid environments and relies on wind to carry spores to reproduce."

Potatoes in later generations were basically plump as long as the soil was cleaned, but the potatoes in Zhu Gaoxu's hands were very ugly, with small stems and very irregular shapes.

"Potatoes belong to the tuber food group and have a special breeding method, which is asexual reproduction."

After Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, he introduced pumpkins, peanuts, sunflowers, peppers, tomatoes, pineapples, pomegranates, avocados and other crops one after another. However, he did not understand these crops very well, so he could only leave them to the Department of Agriculture and Taixue for research.

But before they could get excited, Zhu Gaoxu struck: "Although the yield is high, it contains more water. If it is actually used to fill the stomach, it is about the same as 240 or 50 kilograms of rice."

After he personally cleaned the soil on it, he said: "This is a sweet potato. Although it looks ugly, after detoxification, its yield can reach 800 to 1,000 kilograms..."

As for the spread of potatoes, it is also inseparable from the background of global food production reduction during the Little Ice Age in the 17th century.

"So when it comes to planting methods, the simplest method is to place the potatoes in a well-ventilated place away from direct sunlight before sowing to accelerate germination. When the potato buds grow to the length of a fingernail, sun-dry them."

Whether in the East or the West, under the background of the Little Ice Age, severe famines occurred in many areas of the world. It was under such an opportunity that potatoes truly entered the people's dining tables and became a staple food for ordinary people.

"Of course, it has its own advantages over rice."

"Like potatoes and corn, it does not compete with grains for land. It can grow in barren fields and hills, allowing people to open up some land that cannot grow grains to grow these crops."

"Corn and potatoes need to pay attention to different things. I wrote a few of them myself and gave them to you to experiment on."

"After the sun-drying is completed, cut the potatoes into three to four pieces. Each piece must have sprout eyes, and then put it into the soil for planting."

Zhu Gaoxu didn't care about their opinions, but continued to pick up the next crop to introduce.

There are more than 30 people at all levels, including the six ministers, the six ministers, and the governor's office and the six army governor's office.

Speaking of potatoes in Europe, the historical Irish Famine cannot be avoided, so Zhu Gaoxu will naturally not forget to explain.

"After the potato seedlings grow to a certain height, you can use bamboo strips to fix the plants to prevent them from lodging."

Zhu Gaoxu showed it to the ministers, but the potatoes in his hands did not look like what later generations would recognize.

Zhu Gaoxu walked to the first box, showed the bunch of fruits he had just taken out of the soil to everyone, and introduced at the same time:

The corn he introduced was different from the huge and plump ones of later generations. Instead, it was only the size of a young man's fist, and the corn kernels on it were only a hundred or so, less than one-tenth of those of later generations.

Zhu Gaoxu showed the crowd a circle, and at the same time said to an official from the Ministry of Industry standing in the crowd: "The Minister of Agriculture, come forward."

At this moment, they were standing behind themselves, curiously looking at the crops in the box.

"Throw away the uneaten potatoes. After a while, they will sprout and take root, producing new potatoes."

The yields of potatoes and corn were not high, and the officials felt a little uninterested when they saw Zhu Gaoxu's introduction.

"This corn can be burned and eaten, or it can be peeled off, stir-fried, and cooked. After peeling off the corn kernels, it can be dried and used as firewood. It is very flammable."

"This is corn. The yield is about 120 to 30 kilograms. Like potatoes, it does not occupy grain land."

As Cao Yi explained, Zhu Gaoxu also nodded and looked away, looking sideways at the dozens of ministers holding wat boards beside him.

Because of this, the spread of potatoes in Europe was not smooth.

Zhu Gaoxu also noticed it, so he picked up the last ugly sweet potato.

Because potatoes will oxidize and turn black when opened, so for a long time, potatoes were only grown on a small scale as ornamental plants or animal feed. Some people even think that they will carry toxins after they turn black.

In order to facilitate their research, Zhu Gaoxu took the initiative to divide the fields of the wealthy households in the former Jiangdong six prefectures who opposed the New Deal and incited riots. He set aside 3,000 acres of land outside Nanjing as experimental fields and gave them to the Department of Agriculture and the Imperial Academy. College of Agriculture.

After explaining everything, Zhu Gaoxu began to scan the officials.

At this moment, their eyes were no longer distracted at the beginning, but filled with curiosity and a bit of amazement.

They watched helplessly as the boxes filled with crops were carried away, and then Zhu Gaoxu sat back on the main seat. The ministers came to the chair one after another, and when they saw Zhu Gaoxu pressing his palms to indicate that they should take a seat, they all took their seats.

After they were seated, Zhu Gaoxu also spoke: "The imperial court has been eating a lot of food these years, but the gold and silver brought back by Zheng He from his voyages to the West, as well as the gold, silver and copper mining in Japan, Southwest and Southeast Asia, can provide a lot of subsidies."

"A few days ago, I have discussed with Duke Qian and Duke Cao that the imperial court must reform the land in Guangxi and deal with the chieftains who are dissatisfied with the imperial government."

"In this way, Guangxi can contribute to the imperial court like Guizhou. In the long run, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages."

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at the ministers with a look of satisfaction on his face.

I have to say that after driving Xie Jin and Yang Shiqi away, the temple became much quieter.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu also said in detail: "This time Guangxi will implement the New Deal first, and then pacify the rebels."

"The Ministry of Household Affairs will conduct an inventory and allocate 2 million yuan of new money to be escorted to Guangxi. The Ministry of War will cooperate with the Chief Envoy of Guangxi to recruit 200,000 civilians first."

"In addition, regarding Japan, the leader of the country, Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, discussed with Marquis Hirae a few days ago and decided to station five thousand troops in Tsuruga, Wakasa, so that reinforcements can be sent at any time."

"In addition, Mutsu will allocate a piece of land to the imperial court as an official place to facilitate the future supply of the fleet to the East Ocean."

"I have thought over and over again and prepared to station the Kaiwei in Tsuruga and the Toyowei in Mutsu, totaling more than 10,000 troops in the south and north, to protect Japan."

Zhu Gaoxu said he was protecting Japan, but in fact he was helping Ashikaga Yoshitsugu to maintain his rule. After all, even the guardians of the Kansai kingdoms who loved making money couldn't ignore the emperor's renunciation, and they couldn't bear the idea of ​​Ashikaga Yoshitsugu cutting off his title as emperor and calling himself the king. things.

There are more than ten thousand soldiers and horses, one in Gyeonggi and one in Kanto, which is enough to block the guards of various countries in Kansai and Kanto.

In addition, Chen Chang is stationed in Donghai Mansion. Once something happens to Japan, Jiangnan and Northeast China can cross the sea to Japan. The reins of Japan are firmly in the hands of the Ming Dynasty.

"It is His Highness's opinion to station two troops and guards in Japan!"

"In addition, Guangxi is also the main road from our empire to Jiaozhi. Nowadays, the land tax in Jiaozhi is increasing day by day, and maintaining peace in Jiaozhi is also needed by the court."

Guo Zi bowed and sang. After all, Japan can produce two million dollars worth of silver and copper coins every year. In comparison, the cost of maintaining two guards and horses is nothing.

As for the relationship between Guangxi and Jiaozhi, needless to say, in the era without steam engines and ships, only when Guangxi is stable can Jiaozhi be stable.

Last year, Jiaozhi turned over more than 4.8 million stone fields of grain. Except for 30%, which was retained for personal use, the remaining 70% was escorted to Yunnan and Guangxi.

"The Ministry of Industry has to send people to check the official roads between Guangxi and Yunnan. If they need to be widened, they will calculate the money and food required. I will make a decision after viewing it." "In addition, how is the construction of the post road from Kunming to Jingding? What about the post road from Kunming to Manmo?”

Zhu Gaoxu asked Huang Fu, his respected minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Huang Fu bowed his head and said, neither humble nor overbearing:

"The total length of the post road from Kunming to Manmo is 1,400 miles. It was built in the 30th year of Hongwu. The once five-foot road is now two feet wide."

"In the case of segmented construction, there are still about 400 miles of roads that have not been built, and millions of kilograms of gunpowder are consumed every year."

"As for the post road from Kunming to Jingding, since it was only built during the Nanzhao and Dali periods, it was abandoned for many years and took a long time."

"Although it is only a thousand miles long, since the construction started in the fourth year of Yongle, it has only been repaired and widened for more than 700 miles, and it will take another four years to complete."

The Ministry of Industry is a major money-consuming project. Every year, dredging of canals, preparing embankments of the Yellow River, and maintaining and repairing post roads require millions of dollars in money and food.

Huang Fu was as incorruptible as Xia Yuanji, and he could also rectify the administration of his yamen, which made Zhu Gaoxu very relieved.

With the two of them here, at least there will be no problems with the money and food when leaving Beijing.

"Have the construction of Beijing city and the Yellow River water flushing sand been effective?"

Zhu Gaoxu continued to ask. Although he had the title of supervising the country, he had the attitude of a human king.

"The construction of Beijing City has come to an end. Kuai Xiang has started the work. Your Majesty has moved into the Beijing Palace City five days ago and is very satisfied."

"About July, Beijing will be able to complete the project..."

After Huang Fu finished speaking, the hall fell silent. Many people began to think about what would happen after the construction of Beijing ended.

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu had already announced that they would move the capital after Beijing was built, which was very detrimental to Jiangnan.

Because of this, many officials complained one after another, believing that the relocation should not be done too hastily.

Zhu Di was too lazy to pay attention to this group of people, so before leaving Beijing, he told Ji Gang and Chen Ying to investigate those who blocked the move of the capital.

Although he was talking about an investigation, what Ji Gang and Chen Ying were doing these days was obviously not an investigation, but an actual impeachment and detention.

Zhu Gaoxu also turned a blind eye to their actions. After all, he was too lazy to pay attention to this group of civil servants who blocked the move of the capital.

It is inevitable to move the capital to Beijing. Hebei is currently sparsely populated. Even though Zhu Gaoxu has vigorously moved people from Shanxi and Shandong into Beizhili in recent years, the population of Beizhili is only more than three million.

Because of its sparse population, Hebei now has a network of rivers and abundant water resources.

If we compare the data of later generations with the population of Hebei in this era, the per capita water resources in Hebei in this era are undoubtedly more than thirty times that of later generations.

The potential of Hebei was not developed in the Ming Dynasty in history, or even if it was developed, the occupation of land by nobles and eunuchs made it more difficult to collect taxes in Beizhili.

After moving the capital to Beijing, Zhu Gaoxu will start to develop Beizhili and at the same time better control the Northeast region.

Nowadays, sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes have all been discovered. As long as grain seeds can be cultivated in the future, the Northeast will become the northern granary in advance.

Even if the technological level is not reached, the grain produced in the Northeast is enough to fill the gap in Beizhili, and Beizhili will avoid competing with Jiangnan for grain.

Without food concerns, Beizhili's development will be better than in history.

Of course, the main reason why Zhu Gaoxu insisted on moving the capital was that there was a box of natural rubber and rubber tree seeds placed in the dozen boxes just now.

In addition to that box of rubber, the other nine boxes have been sent to Taixue.

Compared with Eucommia gum, rubber that is more suitable for steam engines has been obtained, so the steam engine project that has been unable to be promoted can begin to develop rapidly.

Once the steam engine is successful, the mineral resources in the north will be continuously developed, and the vast and flat terrain in the north will be connected by future railways.

Once there is a railway in the north, even if only one railway is built from Jilin to Hailar, the situation in Ming Dynasty will undergo earth-shaking changes.

This generation shows that the army can organize hundreds of thousands of troops at any time from the Hulunbuir Prairie to attack the Mongolian Plateau in Mobei, and the living space of the Mongols will gradually be forced from Mobei to the corner of Moxi, and even move westward to Central Asia.

Without the threat of the Mongols, Shanxi, Beizhili, and Shanxi can develop with peace of mind, and Ming's military investment can be reduced a lot.

"There are more than 7,000 sluice gates built on both sides of the Yellow River. When the water is collected and washed away during the rainy season, a large amount of sediment can be washed away into the sea."

Zhu Gaoxu was still thinking about steam engines and trains in the future, but Huang Fu briefly explained about the Yellow River.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded after hearing this, and was not prepared to change the course of the Yellow River.

The tragic experience of returning to the river in Sanyi in the Northern Song Dynasty was still vivid in his mind. Regarding the Yellow River, Zhu Gaoxu still felt that he could not move if he could.

Moreover, the Yellow River can bring a large amount of sediment every year, constantly creating land for Southern Zhili.

Judging from the climate of this era, the increase in land in southern Zhili is a good thing. The court only needs to maintain the Yellow River well and avoid the dam bursting.

"Okay, since there's nothing else, please leave."

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand to indicate to the ministers that they could leave. Upon seeing this, the ministers stood up one after another to bow and sing.

After they left, Zhu Gaoxu turned his attention to Yishiha and specifically told him: "Rubber and Dongzhou crops have been brought. You have the rubber trees planted in Luzon and Ryukyu. I will let Hu plant the crops." Watch closely."

"Besides, once Taixue's steam engine makes progress, please remember to notify me as soon as possible."

"I will teach you." Yishiha bowed in response. After pondering for a moment, he saw that Zhu Gaoxu had nothing else to say, so he spoke:

"Your Highness, the news that Beijing Construction is about to end may spread quickly. Should we make some preparations?"

"No, just keep an eye on Taixue's steam engine. As long as the steam engine is on track, the first to benefit will be the North Zhili and Jiangdong regions, but the biggest benefit will definitely be in the north."

Zhu Gaoxu is very confident. After all, railway technology cannot be achieved overnight. From the beginning, it will definitely only be carried out in places with relatively favorable terrain conditions.

The six prefectures in Jiangdong meet this condition, and so does Jiahang Lake, but it does not work when looking at the entire Jiangnan.

This is the innate condition of geography, and no one can change it.

Expecting this group of scholar-bureaucrats who resisted the New Deal to supervise railway technology is as outrageous as asking Confucius to study advanced mathematics.

The more they resist the New Deal, the further they fall behind the times.

At least for now, except for a few students in Jiangnan, most of them are very resistant to the New Deal.

By the time they accepted and changed their views on the New Deal, they had already lagged behind the north for more than ten years.

Of course, such backwardness will not allow the north to surpass Jiangnan. After all, the current era is mainly the maritime era, and Jiangnan has taken too many advantages, which the north cannot match.

However, as long as steam engines and railways begin to be laid in the north, and construction in the Northeast continues to deepen, the gap between the north and the south will never be as deformed as it was in the late Ming Dynasty.

This is all Zhu Gaoxu can do.

Touching his mustache, Zhu Gaoxu felt that the future was still bright. He couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. When asked, Yi Shiha said:
"What are my eldest brother and third brother doing recently?"

"Back to Your Highness, your two Highnesses are still the same as before, but there are some problems with the Han Crown Prince."

"The Prince of Han?" Zhu Gaoxu frowned. The so-called Prince of Han was his eldest nephew Zhu Zhanji.

"What is that boy Zhanji doing?" He asked Yishiha, and Yishiha replied in a low voice:
"As the Crown Prince grew up, he began to learn the art of war this year and began to take over the power of guarding the Han Dynasty."

Zhu Zhanji was already fourteen years old, so it was nothing to take over the royal guard at such an age.

After returning to Nanjing last time, Zhu Gaochi took the initiative to hand over many of his guards. Today, there are only less than 3,000 guards in the Han Palace, and Yunnan still has Mu Chun, He Fu, and Wang Xuan in charge.

With them here, Zhu Gaoxu was not worried that Zhu Zhanji would cause any trouble.

On the other hand, if Zhu Zhanji really had the ability to lead troops in battle and became an outstanding cavalry commander like in history, it would have a certain positive effect on the Ming Dynasty's stabilization of Yunnan.

"Keep an eye on him for now. If there is any illegal behavior, report to me in detail."

"Yes……"

Zhu Gaoxu is not worried about Zhu Zhanji. As long as Zhu Zhanji is not a fool, he will not do anything stupid.

What he was more curious about was whether his eldest nephew would become an outstanding cavalry commander in history, or whether he would become his son who was like a god of war.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu touched his mustache: "It's a bit interesting..."

(End of this chapter)