My father is Jiajing

Chapter 114: Three Meals a Day: Potatoes

After seeing Feng Bao off, Zhu Zaigui was in a very good mood.

Since Taoist Master Jiajing has already said "yes", then it is a foregone conclusion that Li Shizhen will be the chief medical officer in his mansion.

So Zhu Zaigui found Li Shizhen again, told him the good news, and asked Li Shizhen to get ready immediately and not waste time, and to accept disciples and do research.

Time is very precious!
If Li Shizhen could really make a breakthrough on Penicillium, regardless of whether he could produce high-quality penicillin, even if it was of poor quality, Zhu Zaigui would be extremely surprised.

After all, this thing can be called a miracle medicine!
If we can successfully produce a miracle drug like penicillin, then in future high-intensity wars, the survival rate of wounded soldiers will be greatly improved!

In addition to the soldiers injured in the war, some colds, fevers and other illnesses occasionally contracted by ordinary people will no longer be a disaster. As long as they are treated properly, there is a high probability that they can be cured directly.

So now, whether it is for Zhu Zaigui or Li Shizhen, time will be extremely precious.

If we can discover the secret of Penicillium one day sooner, the world will be healthier one day sooner. What encouraging news!
But at the same time as he was having such exciting fantasies, Zhu Zaigui thought of another very important thing.

That is - food!
Food is the basis for population explosion. Only with food can there be a steady supply of people. With a steady supply of talents, more geniuses will emerge. Only with more geniuses will there be incredible technological breakthroughs.

All of these may seem to be far-fetched things at first glance, but they are actually like an interconnected chain, and food is the first and most important link.

Therefore, the issue of food cannot be ignored.

Most people in later generations attributed the increase in grain production to the explosion of seed technology, but anyone who has actually paid attention to the history of grain evolution knows that what really determines a good grain harvest is fertility. With the help of good fertility, ordinary seeds can also produce a considerable harvest.

As for the progress in seed technology, it is just icing on the cake of fertility, allowing seeds to absorb more fertility and produce more fruits.

Of course, this is also extremely important.

However, if we ignore the essence and simply think that only by cultivating high-quality seeds can we greatly increase grain production, this is a completely wrong cognitive misunderstanding!

Because if there is not enough fertility to help the growth of grain, no matter how good the seeds are planted in land with average fertility, the fruits that will eventually be produced will be weak and shriveled, and not many grains will be produced at all.

Therefore, if we want to quickly change the problem of food supply, the best and fastest way is to find a way to develop nitrogen fertilizer.

However, the invention of nitrogen fertilizer requires progress and breakthroughs in the chemical industry. With the current level of science and technology, neither the European civilization, which is on the brink of a major explosion, nor the aging Eastern civilization, has such a foundation for rapid development.

Moreover, Zhu Zaigui himself was not a chemical engineer. He only learned many things through the knowledge explosion and information explosion in later generations, which he saw on various platforms and through short knowledge videos produced by bloggers from all walks of life.

As for some advanced scientific and technological knowledge, Zhu Zaigui cannot learn it just by watching short videos a few times.

Therefore, if one wanted to invent nitrogen fertilizer in the Ming Dynasty, it would be even more difficult than for Taoist Master Jiajing to become an immortal.

After all, sometimes you can take a shortcut to becoming an immortal by relying on idealism. When you think you are an immortal, you can also hypnotize yourself into thinking you are an immortal; when everyone thinks you are an immortal, you can also be an immortal.

Therefore, sometimes, becoming an immortal can be accomplished by relying on idealistic feelings.

But the invention of nitrogen fertilizer is a real thing, because the amount of grain that can be harvested in a season is what it is. If anyone dares to lie about grain production, the consequences will be serious, and millions of people may die.

Not everyone can afford to bear the consequences of this crime. Even if it is deliberately concealed, the consequences will be unimaginable when the day of history comes.

Therefore, Zhu Zaigui did not dare to be so arrogant as to think that he could do this.

Moreover, the people of the Ming Dynasty today are not so easy to bully, and even if the court has knives and guns, it may not be able to control everything.

So it is better to be down-to-earth and think of some reliable methods.

In addition to nitrogen fertilizer, Zhu Zaigui actually has one or two good ways to replace nitrogen fertilizer.

One of them is sweet potatoes grown in America. If potatoes and sweet potatoes from America could be introduced to Ming Dynasty in advance, the food problem would naturally be solved to a certain extent.

However, such a problem would be very serious and might directly distort the future development of food culture, turning sweet potatoes and potatoes, which are not usually served as side dishes, into staple foods.

When Zhu Zaigui thought about people in the future eating potatoes for three meals a day, he couldn't help but shudder. It was really terrifying!

So Zhu Zaigui thought of the second solution.

Zhu Zaigui remembered that he had read the history of the rise and fall of a Pacific island country before he traveled through time.

That island nation is very small, with only tens of thousands of people, and its foundation is based on selling guano.

These bird droppings have accumulated over thousands and thousands of years, and no one knows how thick or how much they are. They have accumulated on the small islands in the vast ocean over the years, undergoing chemical changes and becoming a very high-quality fertilizer.

This high-quality fertilizer can be said to be a gift from God. If Zhu Zaigui can actually prove the power of this bird droppings fertilizer, even if the Ming Dynasty is still adhering to the so-called ancestral laws and implementing the maritime ban policy under the obstruction of certain interest groups, they will not be able to stop the surging public opinion across the country.

By then, the Ming Dynasty's ships will be like dumplings, rushing out of the rivers, lakes and reservoirs unstoppable, galloping across the vast ocean to plunder the islands that have accumulated countless bird droppings fertilizers, and driven by interests, they will complete a brutal evolution and become super battleships invincible in the world!
Such a magnificent scene is exciting just thinking about it.

So the most exciting thing Zhu Zaigui has to think about now is how to show the power of guano fertilizer in the Ming Dynasty, so that all the people in the Ming Dynasty can realize from the bottom of their hearts that in addition to dangers on the sea, there are countless wealth and unstoppable good fortune.

In this way, Zhu Zaigui would not have to spend much effort, and the Ming Customs, which had been forcibly closed for nearly two hundred years, would open naturally, and at the same time, it would also stimulate the pioneering spirit that had been dormant in the nation's genes for hundreds of years!
Of course, the premise of all this is that Zhu Zaigui must first find a "paradise island" full of bird droppings fertilizer, and then use this island to tell stories.

In this way, everything will happen naturally, otherwise it will all be just fantasy.

Therefore, we still have to find a way to go to the sea first. Only by going to the sea can we have the chance to find a guano island and let the power of guano fertilizer be presented to the world!

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The update is late... I'm very sorry... It will be back to normal tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)