Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 15 Zhu Yuanzhang: Let’s start the great voyage! [Please read more]

After coming to his senses, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke first, "Young Master Liu, you are still unmarried at your age. Is it because your family is poor? But you don't look like you come from a poor family, do you?"

Liu Kuan explained helplessly, "Your Majesty, times have changed, and customs have changed. Six hundred years later, it would be normal for someone of my age to be unmarried. Many people are still unmarried even after they are over thirty."

Still single at thirty?
After hearing Liu Kuan's words, the three members of the Zhu family found it unbelievable for a moment.

It should be noted that at this time, many people who got married early have become grandfathers and grandmothers in their thirties.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know why people in later generations were still unmarried at such an old age, but he keenly realized that this was not a good thing.

So he said, "As you said, if many people don't get married in their twenties or thirties, I'm afraid the population growth will be very slow, right? If a war breaks out and a large number of people are killed or injured, how long will it take for the country's population to recover?"

Liu Kuan sighed and said, "In fact, the people's unwillingness to get married and have children is a common problem in developed countries in later generations, well, in other words, powerful countries."

"For example, South Korea, which was Goryeo at the time, had already begun to see a natural decline in population before I traveled through time."

"That is, the number of people born each year is less than the number of people who die from natural causes—natural deaths mainly refer to relatively normal causes such as old age and illness, excluding war, plague, etc."

"Japan also has this problem, and China is also experiencing this trend. But China has a large population base of over a billion people, so this problem is not that serious."

"But for South Korea, which already has a relatively small population, the situation is very serious. Some predict that in a hundred years, the country may naturally disappear due to its small population."

Liu Kuan's emotional words stunned Zhu Yuanzhang and the other two.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had previously realized that the widespread late marriage among the people would lead to slow population growth.

However, it was unexpected that people in later generations not only married late, but even did not want to get married or have children.

At this time, people are often unable to get married or raise children because they are too poor to afford the betrothal gifts or raise children.

But Liu Kuan said that people's unwillingness to get married and have children was a common phenomenon in powerful countries in later generations.

Does this mean that poor and weak countries do not have this phenomenon?
This made Zhu Yuanzhang confused.

Zhu Biao was also puzzled and couldn't help asking, "Why are the people of a powerful country unwilling to get married and have children? Doesn't it mean that the people of a powerful country will become even poorer and their lives will become even more difficult?"

Liu Kuan shook his head. "That's not the case... This is a question that only arises in later times, and it's quite complicated to explain. How about I find some time later to help Your Highness solve this problem?"

Zhu Biao wanted to say something, but Empress Ma said, "Young Master Liu is right. Let's eat first. The food is ready. If we don't eat now, it will get cold."

Zhu Yuanzhang also laughed, "Sister, you're right. Let's eat first... We can talk while we eat."

Afterwards, several people took their seats and Queen Ma asked the palace maids to serve the dishes.

Although it was a family dinner, Zhu Yuanzhang was the emperor after all, so Liu Kuan and his companions did not sit at the same table, but ate at separate tables according to ancient customs.

Everyone has a table and stool, so there is no need to kneel like the ancients.

Zhu Biao sat on the east side, Liu Kuan sat on the west side, and Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma sat together on the north side.

There are two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, a soup, and a plate each of fruit, dried fruit, and pastries, all in relatively small portions.

There was also a jug of wine.

If compared with a royal banquet, it certainly cannot be called sumptuous, but for Liu Kuan, it is already very good.

Before eating, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "My sister and I both advocate frugality. Our daily meals are just a few dishes and a soup. They are very simple. Master Liu, please don't think we are stingy."

Liu Kuan said hurriedly, "It is a good thing that Your Majesty advocates frugality."

During the meal, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but ask, "Young Master Liu said that future nations will become strong through science and industry, but he didn't mention agriculture. Could it be that if science and industry become strong, the people will be able to have enough to eat?"

Liu Kuan said, "When science and technology and industry develop to a certain level, they will indeed help improve agriculture and increase food production."

"However, for China, the food problem would be alleviated three or four hundred years later with the introduction of American crops, and would be almost completely solved with the advent of high-yield crops such as hybrid rice."

Upon hearing this, not only Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, but even Empress Ma became interested.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had established the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years and restored peace to most parts of the world, many people still went hungry and some even rebelled because of hunger.

Therefore, the three members of the Zhu family are all very aware of the importance of the food issue.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked directly, "What are the American crops and hybrid rice? How can we obtain them?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "America refers to going east from the Ming Dynasty, across the Pacific Ocean, er, that is, the Great East Ocean at this time, there are two landmasses that are two or three times larger than the current territory of the Ming Dynasty."

"They are called North America and South America, but collectively they are called America. Because of the ocean's isolation, many of the plants and animals there are different from those in Ming Dynasty."

"The local people have domesticated three main crops: corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. Although they don't taste as good as rice, wheat, and millet, their yields far exceed those of rice, wheat, and millet."

"In addition, there are crops such as pumpkins, peanuts, and peppers - they can either increase the variety of grains, or they can be used as dishes or spices."

"Historically, it wasn't until Westerners embarked on their great voyages and discovered America that these American crops were brought to the East."

"In fact, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, someone took the risk of hiding sweet potatoes in the ropes of a sailboat, smuggling them back from Southeast Asia, which was ruled by Western barbarians, and presented them to the imperial court." "Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty was already plagued by internal and external troubles and was embroiled in factional strife, so this matter was not taken seriously."

"Later, American crops such as corn, potatoes, and peanuts were introduced to China, benefiting the Qing Dynasty."

"Later generations of Qing Dynasty descendants claimed that their twelve emperors were all wise rulers and that the country enjoyed prosperity for three consecutive generations. In fact, this was closely related to the introduction of these crops, which helped to feed a larger population."

Having said that, Liu Kuan stopped and took a sip of wine. He felt that it was too sour and too sweet and not that tasty, so he ate a piece of pear, which was refreshing.

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed for a moment after hearing this.

For a country, some things really are like planting trees for future generations to enjoy the shade.

For example, cotton is said to have been introduced to China during the Han Dynasty. However, because it was first planted in Lingnan, a hot place with mild winters, cotton has never been taken seriously and has not been spread.

It was not until the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty that cotton was introduced into the mainland in large quantities, making people realize that it could not only serve as a substitute for silk and linen, but also a rare warm material.

After he established the Ming Dynasty, he issued a special decree, forcing all places to set aside part of their land for growing cotton. After more than ten years, cotton became a must-have crop for the people.

From this incident, we can see that the promotion of certain good crops depends not only on luck but also on the active promotion of the imperial court.

The Ming Dynasty that Liu Kuan mentioned was obviously not very lucky.

When sweet potatoes were introduced to the country, it was too late and the Ming court was plagued by internal and external troubles, so it did not take them seriously.

"It would be great if these American crops could be introduced to the Ming Dynasty earlier."

With this in mind, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Have those American crops now spread to Southeast Asia?"

Liu Kuan said speechlessly, "Your Majesty, the great voyages of discovery by Westerners took place several decades later, but it took more than a hundred years for them to discover the American continent."

"Nowadays, even Westerners are rarely seen in Nanyang. Instead, Persian merchants are the main traders. How could there be American crops?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned after hearing this, as if he was thinking about something.

Liu Kuan took the initiative and said, "However, now that Your Majesty knows about the existence of America, there is no need to wait for the Western barbarians to start the great voyages of exploration. We, the Ming Dynasty, can start the great voyages of exploration ourselves."

"The world is vast. Although the Ming Dynasty has a considerable territory, it only occupies a small part. For example, south of the many islands in the South Seas, there is a continent no less large than the Ming Dynasty."

"This continent is inhabited only by indigenous people who still rely on slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting for a living. There is no country."

"Although most of the land is Gobi and desert, there are also many fertile areas suitable for farming, and there are also many minerals such as gold, silver, copper and iron."

"Although North and South America are far away, their resources are as abundant as those of China. Furthermore, the natives there are also mostly tribal. Although there are two or three kingdoms, their systems are similar to those of our Shang and Zhou dynasties, and their military strength is not strong."

"If the Ming Dynasty could build ships capable of sailing the oceans, the resources of these places would be freely available. In the future, if the people of the Ming Dynasty have no land to farm, they can migrate to these places."

"In fact, the reason why Western countries became stronger than China in later generations was because of the Age of Discovery."

"They plundered so much from these great lands that it would take hundreds of years to use up all the benefits. Even in my later generations, the people of these Western countries are still enjoying the benefits."

When Liu Kuan said this, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao didn't even eat, and just listened blankly.

First, although the two knew that the world was big through the information left by the Yuan Dynasty, they did not expect it to be so big.

What no one expected was that there was a piece of land south of the South Seas that was larger than the Ming Dynasty.

Secondly, although Zhu Yuanzhang was not a Confucian, his cognition was still influenced by it. He believed that the land of China was rich in resources and had outstanding people, and that no other place in the world could compare to it.

I never thought that the Western barbarians could obtain wealth from those continents through the great voyages that would last for hundreds of years.

If the Ming Dynasty could possess these riches, it would not be a problem for the country to last another hundred years, right?
Coming back to his senses, Zhu Yuanzhang's face flushed with excitement as he said, "If you don't take what Heaven has given you, you will suffer the consequences. Now that we have learned from Master Liu about the benefits of this great voyage, we must not let the Western barbarians take advantage of it."

"We have decided. We will embark on a great voyage of discovery to bring those American crops to the Ming Dynasty, so that the people of the Ming Dynasty will have less to worry about hunger!"

"We must also bring all those ownerless items to the Ming Dynasty, so that the Ming Dynasty will have more gold and silver treasures than it can spend for hundreds of years!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's passionate words also made Liu Kuan quite excited.

Let me ask you, which Ming Dynasty history enthusiast doesn’t want to travel back in time to help the Ming Dynasty start the great voyages?
Now that the opportunity is in front of him, Liu Kuan naturally will not miss it.

He immediately stood up and solemnly stated: "I am willing to do my utmost to help Your Majesty realize this great wish, so that China will no longer be bullied by the Western Barbarians!"

"Hahaha, good!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to see Liu Kuan's willingness to serve, and he picked up the wine glass and drank it all.

After a while, Zhu Biao asked curiously, "Master Liu, what about high-yield crops like hybrid rice?"

　Please collect, read and vote.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)