Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 109: The Spring Breeze of Reform is Blowing Across the Land! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"Don't worry, Your Highness. We can endure hardships, and you don't have to suffer with us!"

"Yes, Your Highness, we can definitely grow these sweet potatoes!"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is personally engaged in farming. How dare we neglect him?"

Countless Jiangling people on the barren hills greeted Li Chengqian enthusiastically and expressed their loyalty.

Li Chengqian smiled with satisfaction, then looked at Cai Sima behind him and said, "You have always been in charge of the farming in Jiangling. Have you found the experienced rice farmer I asked you to find a few days ago?"

"Found them. I have invited them to the mountain!" Cai Sima nodded and smiled.

Li Chengqian looked at him deeply and suddenly felt that this guy was quite useful, even though he was a traitor.

But there is a saying that goes, make the best use of people.

Even if he is a traitor, he has his uses.

"Well, I'm interested. Take me to see it!"

"Okay, Your Highness, please come this way."

Having said that, Sima Cai led Li Chengqian aside.

There was already someone waiting there.

"Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" A strong farmer saluted Li Chengqian respectfully.

"Liu Wu?"

Li Chengqian was slightly stunned, as if he didn't expect Liu Wu to be the senior rice farmer.

But then Sima Cai introduced: "Prince, you don't know, Liu Wu has been growing rice in the Pang family for more than ten years and is the best rice tenant of the Pang family!"

Then, he pointed at the other three and said, "They are all the best rice farmers from the wealthy families!"

"Oh I got it."

Li Chengqian nodded suddenly.

Jiangling is different from other grain-producing areas. It mainly produces rice.

The main grains in the Tang Dynasty were rice and corn.

Although we now have high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes, they cannot be eaten for a long time. In order to ensure that the people of the Tang Dynasty have enough to eat and eat well, Li Chengqian first thought of hybrid rice.

Yes, first of all I would like to thank Grandpa Yuan.

Secondly, the principle of hybrid rice is actually not complicated.

Anyone who has studied high school biology basically knows this.

But the people of the Tang Dynasty certainly don’t know this.

Therefore, Li Chengqian planned to first guide them to understand the basic principles of hybrid rice, and then let them engage in this work.

In this way, you can get twice the result with half the effort.

"Since you are all senior rice farmers recommended by Sima Cai, I won't hide it from you. From today on, you are scientific researchers of the Jiangling government and enjoy the treatment of officials. But what you do is confidential scientific research work and you are not allowed to disclose it to anyone. Otherwise, your treatment will be cancelled and you will face severe punishment. Do you understand?" Li Chengqian said solemnly.

Liu Wu and the other three looked at each other in confusion, but soon made up their minds: "Understood!"

Naturally, they had no hesitation in making the leap from tenant farmers to becoming government officials.

But Li Chengqian smiled with satisfaction and said, "Don't worry, as long as you get the job done, I won't treat you unfairly in the future!"

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Okay, I won't say any more nonsense. I'm sure Cai Sima has already told you that I want to research a new type of high-yield rice. This type of rice could potentially yield over a thousand kilograms per mu!"

"But Prince, we have been growing rice for more than ten years and have never heard of such high-yield rice." Liu Wu couldn't help but interrupt.

Li Chengqian looked at him and said with a smile, "Everything comes into being from nothing. Tell me, did your father and mother ever think of you before they got married?"

"Hahaha!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Liu Wu's face flushed red.

But then Li Chengqian added, "Don't think I'm teasing you. In fact, I'm telling you that the high-yield rice we're researching is the result of combining two unfamiliar rice species!"

"Ah? This"

Several people, including Cai Sima, were surprised.

"Why, you don't believe that rice can be combined?"

"No, Prince, how do you combine rice and water? Doesn't it just grow rice when you plant it?"

"Yes, Prince, rice doesn't have that, that..."

"Hehehe"

Li Chengqian chuckled at the words of several experienced rice farmers, then waved his hand to interrupt them, saying, "Actually, rice plants are divided into male and female varieties. The reason you haven't noticed this is because it's the flying insects that pollinate the rice, not human labor."

"Then according to what the prince said, if we want to study high-yield rice, we need human pollination?" Liu Wu was the first to grasp the key point.

Li Chengqian looked at him in surprise and nodded, saying, "You're right, but not entirely. Researching high-yield rice requires artificial pollination, but once it's developed, it's just like growing normal rice, and artificial pollination won't be necessary."

"Then may I ask Your Highness, how do we do artificial pollination?" Sima Cai couldn't help but ask.

"Before answering this question, let me first give you a correct understanding of rice!"

As he spoke, Li Chengqian took a diagram from Fu's hand and said, "This is a picture of rice. This is the pistil, and this is the stamen. We need to remove the stamen first, leaving only the pistil. This way, it won't be able to pollinate itself!"

"Next, we will find another rice plant, remove the pistil, and leave only the stamens. Then we will artificially pollinate them to produce new rice seeds."

"do you understand?"

"I see, it turns out this is possible!" Liu Wu exclaimed in surprise.

The others were also amazed and surprised.

They never imagined that after growing rice for more than ten years, they didn't even know the difference between male and female rice. It was really a waste of time.

However, Li Chengqian had not finished speaking.

He then continued, "Once you understand this principle, the rest is easy. We call the new rice we just produced a maintainer line. Because its stamens are naturally weakened, they don't need to be removed, thus eliminating the need for manual removal."

"However, this is not enough. We also need to find rice varieties that are more disease-resistant, disaster-resistant, and higher-yielding, and combine them with other rice varieties. We need to conduct continuous experiments to produce the rice varieties we truly need. Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

The four veteran rice farmers excitedly exclaimed in unison.

Li Chengqian's graphic and text explanations seemed to have opened up a new world for them, making them eager to try.

However, Cai Sima, who saw further ahead than them, raised doubts: "Your Highness, the local rice seeds only yield a hundred catties per mu, far from the thousand catties you mentioned. Moreover, their ability to resist disasters is also average. Can they be combined to produce high-yield seeds?"

"This"

Li Chengqian hesitated for a moment after hearing this, then looked around at the group and said, "Although I have taught you the technology, you know more about rice than I do. Therefore, it will be up to you to find and discover rice varieties that meet the requirements and conduct experiments."

"Don't worry, Prince! We will do our best, even if we have to travel to every corner of the Tang Dynasty, to find a rice variety that meets the requirements!" Liu Wu was the first to speak out.

The other three also echoed: "We will never let the prince down!"

"Well, if you need to cross the border to other places, remember to ask Cai Sima to help you get the customs clearance documents. Also, don't miss the local wild rice, as there may be mutant varieties!" Li Chengqian nodded with a smile.

Cai Sima seemed to recall something and added, "I remember there's rice in Lingnan too. It would be best to get some rice from there for the experiment!" "Right! The farther the better!"

Li Chengqian smiled, thinking that it would be easier to get things done with more people.

After solving the problems of sweet potato planting and hybrid rice, he immediately returned to Jiangling Prefecture to prepare for new reforms.

At this time, Pei Xuan, Cen Wenben, Ma Zhou, including the heads of the four major families, were already waiting for him in the government office.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

As soon as Li Chengqian came in, several people saluted him.

"We are all family, no need to be so polite!"

Li Chengqian smiled and waved his hand, then walked towards the others. He looked around and said, "I called you here today because I have something important to discuss with you!"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, please feel free to arrange whatever instructions you have!" Pei Xuan spoke first.

With Zhang Ping's leading role in exchanging his life for military power, he had no choice but to be loyal to Li Chengqian to death. After all, apart from being the chief officer of Jiangling Prefecture, he had nothing else to save his life.

Li Chengqian smiled at him and said, "Inspector Pei will be going to the capital to take the exam in a few days, right? How are your preparations going?"

"This"

Pei Xuan looked embarrassed, then smiled bitterly: "To be honest, this trip is very dangerous."

"So, you have no confidence?"

"To be honest, Your Highness, the news coming from Chang'an is not very good. The assessment is now being conducted by the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Fang Xuanling. He is said to be more fair and strict. I am afraid that as the Governor of Jingzhou, I will no longer be able to serve the Crown Prince."

"hehe."

Li Chengqian smiled noncommittally and said, "The Minister of the Central Secretariat and I are old friends. You don't have to worry about this. When the time comes, I'll ask you to bring some gifts to Chang'an. I'm sure he'll be flexible."

"minister!"

Pei Xuan was so excited that he stood up instantly and bowed deeply to the ground: "I will swear to be loyal to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince until death!"

"Okay, now let's get down to business. Let's not talk about life and death. We all need to live a good and fulfilling life from now on!"

"Hehehe"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Li Chengqian then added, "You all know that I came to Jiangling for food. Most of the farmland in Jiangling is now in your hands, but the grain yield is too low. Therefore, I have decided to reform the production method."

"Reform the mode of production?"

Everyone looked at each other, their faces full of confusion.

But Cen Wenben was the first to speak, "May I ask, Your Highness, how do we reform the production method?"

"I'm afraid this will take a long time, let's talk about it over tea."

Li Chengqian said this and waved outside.

Soon, Lai Fu and his men came in from outside carrying cups of tea.

No one paid much attention to it at first, but when they saw the tea in the cup, which was a light golden color they had never seen before, they were all surprised.

"Your Highness, this tea..."

"Haha, this is the freshly roasted yellow tea. You all should try it."

"Tea made from stir-fry?"

The head of the Cai family is also a tea lover. There are many tea trees planted in his family’s private estate, but it seems that this is the first time he has heard of this tea-making process. He couldn’t help but become interested and picked up the teacup to smell it.

"Hmm, a unique fragrance. Let me taste it for you first!"

After saying that, he took a sip.

Then, narrowing his eyes, he said, "It's a delicate and elegant tea with a hint of medicinal aroma. It's far superior to the teas I make at home! Great tea! Great water! I never thought tea could be drunk this way!"

Hearing this, everyone picked up their teacups and took a big sip.

"It's really good tea!"

“Pleasant fragrance!”

"It's worthy of being His Royal Highness's tea. I'll drink it, you guys can do whatever you want!"

"Uh"

Li Chengqian's mouth twitched, thinking, "Is it really that delicious? It makes me feel confident!"
"Okay, let's talk about tea later. Let's talk about reform first!"

Li Chengqian also took a sip of tea and brought the topic back on track: "Your grain production is mainly done by tenants. The yield is extremely low, and the tenants' enthusiasm for production is not high."

"So, my first reform is to rent out all your land, allowing the tenants to grow crops as if it were their own land. As the landlord, I only collect a portion of the rent, and the rest is theirs, thus increasing their enthusiasm for production."

"what?"

When everyone heard about Li Chengqian's reforms, they were stunned.

But then the Cai family's head hurriedly said, "Your Highness, this is unacceptable! If you do this, it will divide up our property. What will we do in the future?"

"Don't worry!"

Before the Cai family patriarch could finish his words, Li Chengqian interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "I'm going to reform this way. At the beginning, you will definitely suffer losses. I know that, but I will compensate you for the losses from other sources!"

"But Prince, even if you increase their enthusiasm for production, what's the use if most of the food is in their hands?" The head of the Ma family couldn't help but say.

Li Chengqian glanced at him and smiled, "Of course I know that most of the grain is in their hands, but we also have a second reform, which is free trade in grain. When they have grain, you can use goods to exchange for grain from them.

For example, if the cost of a product is only one dou of grain, you can sell it to them for three or five dou. This way, you can make a profit from the difference in grain prices, understand?"

"Ah? This"

Everyone was shocked again.

But then the head of the Huang family asked, "How can the prince guarantee that our goods can be exchanged for grain?"

"First, I sublet the land to them, which is a favor to them. Second, I'm taking advantage of human nature!"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I have something that can increase grain production. It's called compost. This compost can at least increase grain production by two to three times. Do you think they'd be interested?"

"There are also a variety of products that will appeal to them, covering food, clothing, housing, transportation, tea, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea. In the Jiangling Grain Free Trade Zone, all of these can be exchanged for grain."

At this point, Li Chengqian noticed that their eyes had changed when they looked at him, and he quickly said, "This way, they will grow food willingly, I will get a large amount of food, and the land will still be yours. Isn't that wonderful?"

"This"

After listening to Li Chengqian's reforms, the heads of the four powerful families were speechless for a long time.

Pei Xuan, Cen Wenben, Ma Zhou, Cai Sima and others also stared at Li Chengqian in amazement.

Damn it!
What reform spring breeze?!

Feelings are going around in circles, Your Highness, you are trying to make a profitless deal!!
　There are two explanations. One is that composting has existed since the Song Dynasty.

　　Second, it drew on later reforms to increase grain production, from production teams to land distribution to individual households.

　　However, what people got in later generations was their own land, which was rented land.

　　But the most important thing is that most of the food is our own.

　　But the most important thing is that the people are guaranteed food and clothing. Although they can trade, no one will be stupid enough to leave any food for themselves.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)