Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1769

In addition to raising taxes across the board for the brewing industry, the Joint Investigation Bureau also sent a report. Ye Mingsheng initially thought it was about some progress in the investigation in Jiangnan, but after opening the envelope and reading the contents, he found it to be very good news. According to Ye Mingsheng's guidance, the Joint Investigation Bureau had found sweet potato vines and corn seeds overseas and brought them back to Daqian!
Looking at the words on the letter, Ye Mingsheng could hardly believe his eyes for a moment. He rubbed his eyes and then read the words again.

Seeing that he hadn't misread it and that the Joint Operations Office had indeed brought back sweet potato vines and corn seeds, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but smile with delight.

Before the widespread application of modern fertilizers and agricultural technology, how to feed the people has been a problem that rulers have had to face for thousands of years. It can be said to be the most important thing for them to govern the country. Many dynasties have perished and become dust in history because they failed to handle this core issue.

After Ye Mingsheng seized power, he kept thinking about how to give the people a satisfactory answer to this problem. He didn't expect the people to eat very well, but at least he wanted them to have enough to eat so they wouldn't starve.

To this end, Ye Mingsheng implemented various measures, including distributing land, reducing land taxes, developing chemical fertilizers, optimizing and large-scale use of agricultural tools, constructing water conservancy facilities, and trading with the grasslands for a large number of cattle, to help Daqian increase grain production and ensure that the people of Daqian had enough to eat.
Ye Mingsheng's efforts have finally paid off. The Great Qian Dynasty has changed from the past, when at the end of the Great Zhou Dynasty, regardless of whether the weather was good or bad, there was still not enough food and thousands or tens of thousands of people starved to death every year.

Now, as long as the heavens are on their side, ordinary people in the Great Qian Dynasty can generally have enough to eat and even have some money left over if they don't become lazy and work hard in the fields.

Even in years of famine like this year, the imperial court can centrally regulate grain production, releasing the grain accumulated in previous years to help the people of the land weather the hardship together and ensure that everyone has enough to eat to the greatest extent possible.

Although Ye Mingsheng has always been very concerned about the food issue and can honestly say that he has done his best, the current situation in Daqian is that grain production is only slightly above the red line. Whenever the weather is unpredictable, with too much or too little rainfall, or with temperatures that are too hot or too cold, it will seriously affect the food supply of the people of Daqian.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng has always wanted to increase grain production!
Compared to making significant progress in fertilizers and technology to increase grain production, Ye Mingsheng, who has a certain understanding of history, believes that it is more likely to obtain corn and sweet potatoes from overseas and bring them to Daqian for cultivation.

Currently, the main crops in Daqian are rice in the south and wheat and sorghum in the north.

In the south, under favorable weather conditions, one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) of rice can yield about 200 to 400 jin (approximately 100 to 200 kg) of grain. The yield is generally less depending on the fertile land.

In the north, under favorable weather conditions, the yield of wheat per mu (unit of land area) is only about 200 jin (unit of weight), while the yield of sorghum is slightly better than wheat, but not by much, around 250 jin (unit of weight).

These figures were all verified by Ye Mingsheng through on-site investigation, and he was certain of their accuracy.

However, if Ye Mingsheng remembered correctly, one mu of land could produce two to six thousand jin of sweet potatoes. This refers to fresh sweet potatoes. Even though fresh sweet potatoes have a higher water content, the actual amount of dried sweet potatoes that can be converted into grain is only about one-third of that of fresh sweet potatoes. Even so, one mu of land could produce about seven hundred to two thousand jin of dried sweet potatoes.

Although corn yields are slightly lower than sweet potato yields, the yield per acre is still approximately 500 to 900 jin.

Besides their high yield, sweet potatoes and corn have another very important advantage: both varieties are very drought-resistant. Sweet potatoes have a short growing season and are highly adaptable, allowing for rapid replanting after disasters. Every part of the sweet potato plant is valuable; the leaves can be eaten as a vegetable, and are rich in nutrients and have medicinal value, helping to detoxify and relieve constipation. The sweet potato vines can be used as feed for livestock such as pigs, cattle, and sheep, reducing feed costs.

Sweet potatoes and corn are drought-resistant and have well-developed root systems, making them suitable for mountainous and arid regions. This allows some mountainous areas that were originally uncultivable to be converted into agricultural land for the production of corn and sweet potatoes.

Furthermore, intercropping corn and sweet potatoes achieves spatial complementarity; corn stalks provide shade, promoting sweet potato survival, while sweet potato vines suppress weeds and retain moisture, reducing the need for weeding. A single fertilization process benefits both crops, significantly reducing labor costs…
In conclusion, sweet potatoes and corn are crops that can significantly increase grain production in Daqian. If these two crops are promoted and cultivated on a large scale in Daqian, the pressure on Ye Mingsheng's grain production will undoubtedly be much less.

Ye Mingsheng had sent people to Southeast Asia to search for these two crops nearly seven or eight years ago, but they had always come up empty-handed. Ye Mingsheng was almost giving up hope when the Joint Operations Office found the items, which was indeed an unexpected surprise.

Now that he had found everything, Ye Mingsheng wanted to plant it as soon as possible and see how it would turn out. With that in mind, Ye Mingsheng immediately wanted to write an order to the Ministry of Revenue. He had just started writing the first line when Ye Mingsheng suddenly seemed to have thought of something. He turned his head to look outside and then shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

He was so happy that he forgot it was December and the outside world was covered in ice and snow. Sweet potatoes and corn are heat-resistant but not cold-resistant, so it is impossible to plant them in the north now. Planting can only begin in March next year.

However, Ye Mingsheng thought of something else. The north was too cold to grow it, but the south was not so cold at this time of year, and many places didn't even have snow. So he could let these places promote the planting first and see how the yield was.

Ye Mingsheng quickly finished writing the order, put it in an envelope, and handed it to his bodyguard, instructing him to send it back to the capital three hundred li (approximately 150 kilometers) by express courier and deliver it to Cui Shao, so that he could carry out the order.

After finishing all this, Ye Mingsheng discovered that there was another memorial from the General Affairs Office that he hadn't read.

As Ye Mingsheng opened the textbook and read the contents, he couldn't help but frown. He truly hadn't expected such a thing to happen during the time he was away from the palace.

Empress Dowager Ye Cui suffered from malnutrition due to her long-term vegetarian diet, resulting in symptoms of dysmenorrhea and abdominal pain. Pei Zhixiu's proposed treatment was to resume eating meat. Ye Cui, who had been a vegetarian for decades, was naturally unwilling to accept this and even thought that Pei Zhixiu was trying to sabotage her spiritual practice. She even scolded Pei Zhixiu for this.

Faced with Ye Cui's insults, Pei Zhixiu, as the daughter-in-law, dared not disobey her filial duty. Although she felt wronged, she could only silently endure it. Although she was initially strongly opposed to eating meat again, in the face of illness, Ye Cui eventually stopped being stubborn and began to eat meat. Although she started eating meat again, Ye Cui felt that doing so went against her faith, so she felt guilty towards the gods and Buddhas, and her heart was filled with a sense of guilt. This also made Ye Cui lose her appetite and sleep.

In response, Abbess Jingchen of Tianci Nunnery, who was highly trusted by Ye Cui, offered a solution: Ye Cui would accompany her to Tianci Nunnery for three months of spiritual practice.

However, although Ye Cui was a devout Buddhist, she could not accept the idea of ​​going to a nunnery to practice for three months. So the final solution she came up with was to have someone else go to Tianci Nunnery to practice in her place for three months.

It was at this moment that Chen Rou'er jumped out, insisting that his mother was also a devout Buddhist, and that she had a special connection with Buddhism...
Thus, under the expectations of Ye Cuishi and the recommendation of Murong Qingwu, Chen Rou'er, though unwilling, had no choice but to obey the order and go to Tianci Nunnery to cultivate for three months.

Chen Rou'er has now arrived at Tianci Nunnery and officially begun her cultivation. She will conclude her cultivation and return to the palace on February 17th next year…

According to the information from the General Dispatch Office, although Chen Rou'er went there to cultivate, this Consort Rou of the Great Qian Dynasty is no pushover!

About ten days ago, Chen Rou'er stabbed a nun at Tianci Nunnery. It seems that although Chen Rou'er was only temporarily practicing for three months, Tianci Nunnery wanted to shave her head.

Seeing that Tianci Nunnery was going to cut her hair, Chen Rou'er became fierce and snatched the scissors, slashing the old nun who was about to cut her hair twice.

However, it must be said that the old nun who was going to cut Chen Rou'er's hair was quite lucky. Although she was stabbed twice by Chen Rou'er with scissors, she managed to avoid any vital organs, so she survived the ordeal and is currently recuperating at Tianci Nunnery.

Meanwhile, the palace was furious about Chen Rou'er's act of seizing the knife and injuring someone. However, none of the concubines were willing to replace Chen Rou'er, and no one wanted to go to Tianci Nunnery. Ye Cuishi couldn't find a suitable candidate, so she could only pretend not to know anything about it.

To be honest, although Ye Mingsheng did not expect that after he went out to inspect the palace, Chen Rou'er would be arranged to go to Tianci Nunnery to cultivate for three months as Ye Cuishi's replacement, he could say that the fact that Chen Rou'er was bullied was entirely within his expectations.

After all, Chen Rou'er had always been arrogant and domineering in the palace because of his favor, which made him quite a few enemies. When he was in the palace, people would give him face, and Chen Rou'er lived a relatively comfortable life.

However, since he is currently away on an inspection tour and not in the palace, the other concubines naturally wouldn't be so tolerant of Chen Rou'er...

It was to be expected that Chen Rou'er would be dealt with, as this was entirely within Ye Mingsheng's plan. Ye Mingsheng knew this would happen when he left Yijing, but he thought An Miaoyi would be the one to make the move. He didn't expect that it would be Murong Qingwu who would strike in the end.

Regarding the Tianci Nunnery incident, Ye Mingsheng knew that Chen Rou'er would write to him in a few days, asking him to stand up for her.

However, Ye Mingsheng did not intend to help his favorite concubine in this matter. Ye Mingsheng liked to admire Chen Rou'er's passion and boldness, which made him feel much younger when he was with her. However, Ye Mingsheng disliked Chen Rou'er's arrogance and domineering attitude after gaining power.

Ye Mingsheng had emphasized this issue to Chen Rou'er many times. When she was in front of him, Chen Rou'er was always very well-behaved and not arrogant at all. She was like a docile kitten, constantly acting cute towards Ye Mingsheng.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng had always hesitated to severely punish Chen Rou'er. This incident presented him with a good opportunity. While one cannot learn from others' actions, one can learn from their experiences. Chen Rou'er's stabbing incident made Ye Mingsheng feel it was absolutely necessary to properly educate her. He hoped this experience would dispel the resentment in Chen Rou'er's heart and help her mature...
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Jiangnan Lin'an Prefecture Government Office
Zhang Baoping, the prefect of Lin'an, was intently looking at the account book in his hand.

Everyone in the Great Qian Dynasty knows that Jiangnan is the mainstay of the Great Qian Dynasty's wealth, and Lin'an is the mainstay of Jiangnan's wealth. Almost everyone thinks that Lin'an is a treasure trove, and almost everyone wants to get a share of the pie and make a profit.

However, what they didn't know was that Lin'an's income was indeed high. In terms of urban revenue alone, no city in the Great Qian Dynasty could compare with Lin'an. Even Yijing's urban revenue alone was less than 80% of Lin'an's.

However, a city has not only income but also expenditure. Lin'an has a lot of income, but it also has many places to spend money. Especially after His Majesty implemented the work law in Lin'an, the profits of major businesses were affected, and the taxes paid were also affected.

Therefore, as the prefect of Lin'an, Zhang Baoping had to work hard and rack his brains to maintain such a large operation.

Just as Zhang Baoping was looking at the account books, pondering how to increase revenue, the clerk Wang Yu came over and reported:

"Your Excellency, the Imperial Envoy Zhang Mang wishes to see you!"

Zhang Baoping had been somewhat puzzled by Zhang Mang's insistence on seeing him, ever since he learned that His Majesty had sent Zhang Mang to Jiangnan as an imperial envoy. He had held a meeting with Murong Yuliang, where they discussed their opinions in depth. Ultimately, Murong Yuliang reassured Zhang Baoping that Zhang Mang was one of their own…