Ming Dynasty: The poisonous imperial teacher, Zhu Yuanzhang advised me to be kind

Chapter 34: Zhu Yuanzhang’s torment, how to solve the poverty of the people in the Ming Dynasty?

He was really speechless. No matter how vicious Chu Nan was, he would never harm the common people, who were so poor and destitute.

Besides, when has Chu Nan ever been poisonous? He is so kind.

“This time…”

"My sons." But just as Chu Nan was about to tell his plan, Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted him and looked at his sons.

"Tell me what strategies you have for governing the common people."

Zhu Yuanzhang was really afraid that Chu Nan's plan was too vicious, but he couldn't refuse it once he said it out loud. If that happened, the people would really suffer, so he wanted to hear what good ideas his sons had first.

"Replying to Your Majesty." Zhu Biao immediately expressed his opinion upon hearing this.

"I suggest that we should follow the example of the early Han Dynasty, which advocated non-intervention and governance, lighten taxes and levies, and alleviate the pressure on the people's lives, so that the people can live in peace."

Zhu Biao was full of confidence and believed that there was absolutely no problem with his plan.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "That makes sense. I have indeed exempted many places from taxes in the past few years, and it has worked."

"No." But Chu Nan shook his head when he heard it.

“Even if we don’t collect taxes, if there is a disaster and the people don’t have a harvest, we still don’t know how many people will starve to death.”

"This..." Zhu Yuanzhang thought it made sense.

Zhu Biao's expression also looked unhappy. He really had not considered this point.

"Father, please listen to me." But at this time, Zhu Di spoke again.

"I think, isn't your father killing corrupt officials recently? You can kill corrupt officials every year and distribute the embezzled money to the people."

Zhu Di looked very proud. This was a good idea and he would definitely be praised by Zhu Yuanzhang.

"That makes sense." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded when he heard it. The fourth brother has made great progress recently.

The common people are poor, but the corrupt officials are rich. What's wrong with distributing the corrupt officials' money to the common people?

"It still doesn't work." But Chu Nan shook his head again after hearing this.

"No matter how many corrupt officials there are, they are not as numerous as the common people. How many corrupt officials can be killed to feed the common people? Moreover, if there is a disaster and there is no food, what is the use of money? The fundamental problem is still food."

What? Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were shocked when they heard this. This plan was rejected again?

"Your Majesty, I also have ideas." Prince Qin Zhu Chong spoke again with confidence.

"I suggest that we ask the other vassal states around us to pay tribute to us year after year. This way, we will have enough food."

"Not bad." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded when he heard it.

My Great Ming has run out of food, so what's wrong with borrowing some from you small countries? This is your honor.

"No." But Chu Nan shook his head when he heard it.

"The countries surrounding the Ming Dynasty are even poorer than the Ming Dynasty. How much food can they borrow? Even if they robbed all of it, it would be a drop in the bucket for the huge population of the Ming Dynasty."

"And going to war with them would also consume the Ming Dynasty's national strength."

"What!" But this time, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help it.

This isn’t okay, and neither are those. What the hell is wrong with you, Chu Nan?
He looked directly at Chu Nan: "Then tell me, what should we do?"

Zhu Biao, Zhu Di, and Zhu Chong were also somewhat dissatisfied. Why were all their plans rejected? Hadn't emperors of many previous dynasties done the same?
They wanted to see what Chu Nan's plan was.

But Chu Nan was speechless. After all this talk, he finally came to ask me.

Then he sighed helplessly: "In fact, my plan is not vicious, but kind." "My idea is also very simple. The current situation of the Ming Dynasty is that it is impossible to feed the people of the whole country no matter what. Especially in the year of disaster, it is even more troublesome. Countless people will starve to death."

"The reason is simple. The productivity of the Ming Dynasty is too low, and the grain output is too low. One acre of land only produces 230 kilograms. How can it feed such a large population?"

"Indeed." After hearing Chu Nan's words, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but think deeply.

What Chu Nan said makes a lot of sense.

During the Ming Dynasty, the main grains grown by the people were wheat and rice, but the yield of these two grains was only two to three hundred kilograms per mu.

But this is still the case if the year is good. If the year is bad or there is a major disaster, an acre of land may only produce a few dozen kilograms of grain, or even no harvest at all.

Therefore, with this level of output, countless people starved to death in the Ming Dynasty every year.

Even if there were people who did not starve to death, there were countless people who were struggling to survive, selling their children into slavery, and selling their daughters into brothels.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that what Chu Nan said made more and more sense. Food is the foundation of a country's stability. If your grain production is so low, what's the point of having all these fantastic policies?
Chu Nan also continued: "So our top priority is to increase grain production. This is the fundamental thing. Anything else is useless."

"Then Lord Chu, do you have any method to increase the rice and wheat production in Ming Dynasty?" Hearing Chu Nan's words, the princes all became excited.

If it really improves, then the Ming Dynasty will have nothing to worry about.

Zhu Yuanzhang was also looking forward to Chu Nan's answer. Would Chu Nan know so much?
"No." But Chu Nan shook his head. He was not a scientist in the future, so he could not increase the yield of rice and wheat.

"No?" Zhu Yuanzhang and the princes were immediately disappointed when they heard Chu Nan's words.

"Why are you taking it so seriously? Aren't your ideas just empty talk?"

"We know we need to increase food production, but what are the methods to do so?"

"How can it be just empty talk?" But Chu Nan looked calm.

“Although I cannot increase the yield of wheat and rice, I know there are crops that can produce higher yields than wheat and rice.”

"What?" Everyone present was surprised when they heard Chu Nan's words.

Zhu Yuanzhang also looked at Chu Nan with eyes wide open: "What is that?"

He was also born into a peasant family and had farmed the land, so he knew that for thousands of years in China, rice and wheat had been the crops with the highest yields.

If there were grains that yielded higher yields, he would have planted them long ago.

So now I'm really anxious. What are the grains that Chu Nan is talking about?

"This grain is very simple." Chu Nan said calmly.

"Your Majesty, I gave you a world map a few days ago. Do you remember it?"

"To the southwest of Daming, across the ocean, you can reach a rainforest continent. On that continent, there is a crop called potatoes."

"Potatoes are good food. They can be used as a staple food. They are very filling and can be used to make dishes. Whether you stir-fry, fry, deep-fry, steam, boil, roast or grill them, they are delicious."

"And it's very easy to grow. Just cut it into pieces and throw it on the ground, and it will survive. It's much easier to grow than rice or wheat."

"What?" Everyone present was shocked. There are such good crops in the world? Aren't they born to solve people's famine?

However, Zhu Yuanzhang was still anxious: "These are not the main points. You should tell me how many kilograms per mu it produces."

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that if the yield of potatoes could reach 600 to 700 kilograms per mu, since the rice and wheat yield in the Ming Dynasty was only 200 to 300 kilograms per mu, it would be worthwhile for him to send people across the ocean to bring the potatoes back.

"The yield of potatoes per mu?" But when Chu Nan heard it, he smiled faintly.

"The yield of potatoes per mu is quite high. If the planting is poor, the yield is about 2,000 kilograms per mu. If the planting is good, the yield is about 5,000 kilograms per mu."

(End of this chapter)