Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 111 Food is the most important thing for the people

"Hello, Mr. Chen." Zhang Xiao greeted the person coming.

"I am a businessman and I dare not be called sir. May I ask who you are?" Chen Shu asked.

"Zhang Xiao, the Imperial Attendant."

"The villain pays homage to Mr. Zhang."

"It's okay, sit down. Then I'll call you by your name. I just heard your introduction, your name is Chen Changwen, right?" Zhang Xiao asked.

"The villain's surname is Chen Mingshu and his courtesy name is Changwen. I remember the villain's name correctly."

"I just heard you say that you once went to the Japanese country for business, and do you know something about the Japanese country?"

"Yes, the villain's ancestral home is Quanzhou, and he went to Japan for business a few years ago."

"Have you ever met Toyotomi Hideyoshi?"

"I have never met Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but I have met Governor Konishi. Previously, Governor Konishi was also the son of a merchant, and later he became a prince with Toyotomi Hideyoshi."

"Oh, it seems that you are quite concerned about the political affairs of Japan."

"The villain dare not hide it. When the villain was in the Japanese country, he had already heard the news that the Japanese country was going to invade North Korea and even sent a large army to invade Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Later, the villain returned to the Ming Dynasty and told the news to As a result, the letter submitted to the local officials just fell into the sea."

"I believe you. The imperial court also heard news from different places that the Japanese were going to invade Korea. The matter was so big that local officials were not fully sure and would not dare to pass this information to their superiors casually. You were traveling in Japan How long have you been living, are you familiar with the customs and customs of Japan?"

"The villain is a businessman, and he has traveled around the Japanese country. The king of the Japanese country lives in Kyoto City, which has been dilapidated due to years of war. The Osaka Castle built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi is actually well built. The Japanese army is small. I have seen it several times, and there is nothing special. They still use swords, guns, swords and halberds, but the style is a little different. However, the Japanese army is indeed equipped with a lot of firecrackers. The feudal lords all over the Japanese country like to equip their soldiers with more firecrackers. , but the Japanese call fire guns iron cannons."

"Then, are there many so-called warriors in Japan? Are these warriors more ferocious and easy to kill?" Li Zhizao asked next to him.

"There are indeed many samurai in the Japanese country, and there are many kendo halls. The civil war in the Japanese country has been constant, and the lords everywhere need to recruit samurai. However, there are also many samurai who are not living well. Many people live with nothing but a handful. They are no different from bandits and bandits. Some crazy warriors even go around looking for lone civilians to test their swords."

"What is knife testing?" Li Zhizao asked curiously.

"The Japanese believe that the more people the samurai sword kills, the more powerful it will be. In order to test their swordsmanship and the sharpness of the sword, some samurai will suddenly kill passers-by on the road at night. The Japanese country has a clear hierarchy, and civilians in the Japanese country must salute when they see samurai. . Some samurai use the excuse that civilians are not polite and take the opportunity to kill civilians. In fact, these are all excuses, they just want to kill people and take wealth."

"Ah, that's what it means to test the sword. The life of the common people in the Japanese country is so pitiful." Li Zhizao was very surprised.

"Yes, the lords of the Japanese country are basically cruel and murderous people. Especially Oda Nobunaga, I don't know how many cities, villages, towns, and temples were destroyed, and he also called himself the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. But other Japanese princes were not so good. Wherever they go, there are tyrants who are militaristic and plundering. Master Zhang also wrote about it in detail in "Fifty Years in the World". I just traveled to the Japanese country and talked about my feelings."

"No matter what, you are very knowledgeable. What business are you doing now?" "The villain used to do business and sailing between Nanyang, Korea, and the Japanese country. But since the war between the Japanese and Korean countries, the court has not allowed it. The ships were launched into the sea at will. The villain is just sitting on nothing now. Fortunately, he still has some ancestral property in the capital, so he will not be impoverished. By the way, the villain still has something to present to the master." Chen Shu said.

"Oh? What is it?"

"It's the sweet potato mentioned in your book. When I traveled to Nanyang, I brought back sweet potatoes and sweet potato vines. Now I have planted them in my yard and there are still some harvests."

"Oh? You are interested. Can you give me some to see? No, no, no, I will go and have a look in person. I don't know if it is convenient." Zhang Xiao said.

"It is naturally an honor for me to be able to visit my humble home."

……

In the imperial study room.

The emperor carefully looked at the sweet potatoes handed over by Zhang Xiao.

"Zhang Xiao, I had previously ordered the Jiashi and Vegetable Department of Linyuan Supervisor to check the vegetables, flowers and fruits grown. Except for this sweet potato, there are actually potatoes, corns, and peppers, but there are not many. But. I don’t remember where these seeds came from. I don’t remember them at Shanglin Yuanjian. They should have been sent by some missionary mission or foreign monks. I also asked about potatoes and corn. They tasted just like that. Chili peppers can be used as medicine. How does this sweet potato taste?"

"It still tastes sweet and delicious, but don't eat too much. If you eat too much, you will feel uncomfortable and bloated."

"That's it. Then I also order the Jiashu Department to plant this thing."

"Your Majesty, would you like to ask if there are enough potatoes, corns, and peppers grown by the Jiasheng Department? Weichen would like to take some to Liaodong and North Korea for trial planting. I also suggest that these crops be promoted."

"Oh? Why is this?"

"Your Majesty, although the taste of potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn may not be as good as that of grains, they have several advantages. One is high yield, and the other is drought resistance. At present, floods and droughts are happening everywhere, so you can plant them at critical times. Prepare for famine, as long as the people have a mouthful of food to eat, the world will not be in chaos."

"As for chili peppers, in addition to being used as medicine, they can also be used as seasonings in cooking. Because this chili pepper has the effect of removing moisture and repelling coldness, eating it when grown in the north can drive away coldness, and eating it when growing in the south can also remove moisture."

"Oh, these things actually have such effects, so you can really try to plant them in more varieties. Do you know how to plant them?"

"Wei Chen knows a little about farming, so it shouldn't be difficult to grow these things. I personally went to the businessman's house to check on the sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes grew all over the vegetable garden, and the hostess thought there were too many. I just wanted to hoe some off."

"It's really easy to feed. According to you, the yield of sweet potatoes is quite a lot? So why are they so drought-resistant?"

"Your Majesty, sweet potatoes grow on vines. The roots of sweet potatoes spread everywhere and can even penetrate deep into the soil to find water sources. I also asked the businessman, and he said that if there is a drought, the sweet potatoes don't need to be used frequently. If you water, the leaves will wither at most, and they will recover if there is water. So if there is a drought, the yield will be less at most, and it will be difficult to stop harvesting." Zhang Xiao explained.

(End of this chapter)