Chapter 566: God will not kill you, you can only save yourself

Chapter 566: God will not kill you, you can only save yourself

Chapter 566: God will not kill you, you can only save yourself
With a "start" sound.

The official from the Institute of Agricultural Administration standing in the experimental field raised the hoe high above his head with a sacred look on his face, and then dropped it heavily!

The sound of the hoe hitting the mud was crisp and pleasant.
With the sound of friction between soil and fine iron.

The hoe was embedded in the soil, and with a pull of both hands, pieces of soil were brought out.

The soil is moist dark brown and you can feel its stickiness and density.

Once upon a time.

The hoe swung down and dug up again and again.

The flat land suddenly became full of gullies.

Under the hoes of several people, straight grooves appeared.

Their movements were very precise.
A hoe will dig deep into the soil, but will not cut the sweet potatoes hidden inside.

Until the moist soil is brought out,

Only then can you see some round, plump things covered with soil.

More than one person had already stood up, standing on tiptoe, looking at the field.

Gradually, as more and more sweet potatoes were exposed, more and more people stood up.

It's just a cup of tea time.
Almost all the ministers from the six ministries and nine departments have stood up.

Staring blankly at the land ahead.

The round sweet potatoes are densely distributed on both sides of the groove.
Some dark red skin was revealed!

At first glance, it looks very ugly, with many potholes and holes.

Even the sweet potatoes were huddled together like a deformity.

But as the soil was dug up, the loose sweet potatoes fell down and landed in the ditch.

Only then can everyone see its true appearance.

Narrow at both ends, round in the middle, covered with mud,

It looks round and very cute.

At the top, Emperor Ming Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyes.
He also stood up slowly, his eyes sharp, staring at the experimental field ahead.

Although I already knew that this time I would reap a lot.

But when the soil is dug up and we really see,
He still couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart, he knew what this meant.

If all the land in the world were planted with sweet potatoes,
The "hunger" that had plagued him in the first half of his life would never appear again.

Even if the people of the entire Ming Dynasty did not live well, they would not starve to death.

It was hard for him to imagine that from the old Yuan Dynasty, when people were starving everywhere, to the present, in the 22nd year of Hongwu,

Only forty years had passed.

Looking through history books, every day was difficult in every dynasty.

Now, the Ming Dynasty will achieve the feat of eliminating all starvation.

Zhu Yuanzhang's beard trembled slightly, and his hands hidden in his dragon robe clenched tightly.

Stand upright like a javelin,
The old body burst out with unimaginable perseverance at this moment.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao seemed to be infected by this emotion and slowly stood up with his fists clenched.

Many, too many.

His first impression was that there were too many.

He had presided over and witnessed the harvesting of farmland countless times.

But even when the weather is good, there are not so many wheat fields to harvest!

The Emperor and the Crown Prince have already done this.

The six ministries and nine officials, who had only heard of him but never seen him before, were so shocked that they couldn't breathe.

Minister of Revenue Yang Jing's pupils were shaking violently and his lips were trembling slightly.

As the Minister of Revenue, he knew the court's annual investment in farming.

This is the top priority above all else.

But even so, the gains were minimal.

But now, what did he see?
A lot of food emerged from the ground.
They are entangled with each other in large clumps, seemingly endless.

He had eaten this thing before, it tasted great and was filling.

The Minister of Works Qin Kui placed one hand in front of him and the other behind his back, with his fists clenched.

He looked at Lu Yunyi, who had also stood up, with a complicated expression.

Since then, this person has been honored even more.
It is no exaggeration to call him the savior of the Ming Dynasty.

As the ditches were dug one after another, several elders from the Agricultural Administration Institute also stopped.

They are old, their foreheads are already covered with sweat,

But their expressions and eyes were filled with excitement.

They handed the hoe to the waiter beside them and waved their hands vigorously.

The people who were originally standing on the periphery came forward one after another.

Stepping on the groove, I began to pick and choose.
Dig out the Ming Dynasty’s “gold” from the soil.

Next to them, there were baskets of food.

The dug sweet potatoes were dusted off and placed in baskets, one by one.

The gentlemen present watched as the waiter took away basket after basket.

Take it and take it away,

His brows were tightly furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character "川".

From the initial amazement to the current doubt,
Complex emotions enveloped all of them.

How come there are so many?
This is the question in everyone's mind.
How many stones can be produced per mu?

Some people even thought that this was a "face project" by His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
The purpose is to calm people's hearts and prepare for the upcoming turmoil in the court.

But they turned their attention to the many officials of the Agricultural Administration.
I secretly rejected this idea.

Others don't know the Agricultural Administration Bureau.

But they are in high positions and naturally know the power of these people.

When it comes to farming, whatever they say is what goes, and even Your Majesty cannot impose orders on them.

Slowly, as the sun rises higher.

Everyone has turned their attention to the huge scale next to the experimental field.

This is the scale used to weigh grain throughout the dynasties!
The clerks of the Agricultural Administration have already adjusted the scale.
One hu is 40 jin, and three hu is one shi.

At this moment, the Agricultural Administration Bureau prepared twenty hu.

They are all made of exquisite bronze, and the dirt on them has been brushed clean.

As everyone stared in amazement, the twenty hu were quickly filled.
"How can this be?"

Minister of War Shen Xi stared blankly at the jar that was filled to the brim.

I couldn't help but move closer and take a closer look at the scale used for balance.

Forty kilograms is correct.

Seeing him act like this, the six ministries and nine officials could no longer hold back and came over one after another.

But they were too weak to fight against the governors of the Governor's Office.
I could only be squeezed outside and stand on tiptoe to check.

"Oh my god, it's true."

Geng Zhong, the commander-in-chief of the Left Army, blinked.
He rubbed his eyes hard again to make sure that he was not seeing things.

Twenty hu, one hu is 40 jin, that is 800 jin,

Just these in front of me are already six and a half stones.

But now in the Ming Dynasty, the farmland recorded

The largest production is in the "hometown of japonica rice", Jiaxing, Zhejiang, with an output of five and a half stones per mu!

It is called auspicious sign by the whole world.

They all remembered that the court had good weather and good harvests that year.
And now, six and a half stone!
At this moment, everyone turned their eyes to the land that was still being dug.

They were surprised to find that the groove they had stepped on had also been dug up.

A group of seniors and clerks from the Agricultural Administration Institute were lying down below.

With hard digging, lumps of sweet potatoes were dug out!

Roots connected, soil attached.

Although ugly,

But in the eyes of all the adults, she was more beautiful than a fairy.

"What are you standing there for? Take out all the sweet potatoes in the jar. Don't you see there are so many piled up next to it?"

At this time, a voice full of energy and a bit of pride and excitement sounded. It was the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.

He walked over, looked at the people gathered together, and cursed:
"Get out of the way, don't delay others' work."

Geng Zhong's reaction was the quickest.
He held a hu in each hand, walked to the side, and started taking out sweet potatoes from it.

He inspected it carefully and even took a bite.
Even though he bit a mouthful of mud, he still couldn't resist the shock in his eyes. It was actually true.
And it tastes a bit sweet.

Seeing him like this,

The group hurriedly lifted the twenty hu to one side and began to take out the sweet potatoes.
With everyone working together, they soon piled up a small hill of sweet potatoes.

It didn't look like there was much when placed in the container, but when they looked at it now, everyone was shocked again.

Many, too many!
"Keep on weighing!"

Zhu Yuanzhang soon saw two almost identical hills.
Shock flashed across his eyes, and he gave the order in a cold voice. The group stuffed the sweet potatoes they had just dug into the jar and placed them on the scale.

Because of their different shapes, many officials had never done this kind of farm work.

Many times, the sweet potatoes have to be piled beyond the hu to reach 40 kilograms.

But they enjoyed it, no one said a word, they just worked silently.

Lu Yunyi always stood behind them.
Looking at the sweet potatoes dug out in front of him, his face was calm.

The people from the Agricultural Administration had already told him about the sweet potato yield, so he was not surprised.

He was happy that the sweet potatoes in front of him were plump, round and full.

It is countless times more beautiful than the sweet potatoes from Luchuan.
It looks like a good material for making baked sweet potatoes.

When it comes to farming, people from the Central Plains have to come. The people of Luchuan are no match at all.

Time passed, and another quarter of an hour passed.

The last sweet potato in the field was dug out by the elder from the Agricultural Administration Institute!
The solemn expression on his face also relaxed at this moment, his tense expression revealed a smile, and he shouted:
"Gone!"

In the past, such situations were always accompanied by some disappointment.

After all, an acre of land can only produce one or two stone of grain.

But now, when everyone heard this,

I just felt relieved that it was finally gone.

If they dug deeper, almost everyone present would wonder if this was fake.

After the second weighing, the twenty hu were quickly filled again.

But everyone's eyes were focused on the small pile of sweet potatoes left not far away.
Why else?

At this time, even the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang had a bright smile on his face.

The Agricultural Administration Bureau is very good at farming, and the crops are carefully maintained in the palace, so it is natural that the yield is high.

If placed outside, sometimes the price will be discounted by 50% or even 60%.

But now, even if it is 50% off,

Zhu Yuanzhang even felt that God bless the Ming Dynasty!
Finally, under the stunned gaze of the group, the remaining sweet potatoes filled up two more hu.

A total of forty-two hu!
One thousand six hundred and eighty kilograms.

Fourteen stones.

Simple characters appeared in everyone's mind, and the scene suddenly became quiet.
Everyone was silent.
Looking quietly at the mountain of sweet potatoes in front of me, I pondered this number carefully.

Fourteen stones, even if 80% is less, there is still nearly three stones left.

Three stones is the yield of the best farmland in Ming Dynasty today.

The group felt their throats dry.
They are the six ministries and nine ministers, and the governors of the governor's office.

Holding a high position and holding power.

I haven't felt hungry for a long time.
Thirty years? Forty years? Fifty years?
Memories pulled them back to the troubled times in their hearts.

At that time, there was famine everywhere, the fields were full of starving people, and the dazed and skinny people were walking on the dilapidated official road.
Trying to find a safe place to stay in this chaotic world.

But every city he visited was in the midst of constant war.

Almost in an instant, everyone thought of the misery before the establishment of the Ming Dynasty.

Even though the Ming Dynasty had just been established and order had been newly created, there were still many cases of people starving to death.

They have already ascended to high positions.

I no longer think about things like being hungry, but only consider whether others can avoid going hungry.

The problem that they had racked their brains for but could not solve seemed to have an answer at this moment.

At this time, Zhan Hui, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, spoke in a trembling voice:
“Can I eat this sweet potato?”

A ridiculous question, but no one laughed.

But soon, this doubt was dispelled by a light remark.

Emperor Ming Zhu Yuanzhang spoke softly:
"We have all eaten tree bark, so there is nothing we can't eat with sweet potatoes."

wow——

The originally somewhat silent atmosphere was ignited in an instant.

Minister of Rites Li Yuanming, with tears in his eyes, fell to his knees with a thud and shouted:

"May the auspicious signs from heaven bless our Ming Dynasty!"

"From now on, God will not kill us, but we will save ourselves!"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty. This gift is from God. The people of our Ming Dynasty will be free from famine!"

For a while, the sound of shouting was endless.
Many adults present knelt on the ground to congratulate him, and a depressing atmosphere began to spread among the crowd.

The Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang stood quietly in front of the sweet potato.
His face was silent, his lips slightly pursed,
Even though there were gaps in his heart, his emotions at this moment were extremely complicated.

He bent down and took a sweet potato. It was plump and heavy in his hand.

As important as the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at everyone present and spoke in a deep voice:
"I rose from humble beginnings and stood on the mountaintop.
He worked hard for the Ming Dynasty, but this thing is sweet potato.

It benefits the country and the people, and the yield per mu is ten shi.

It is a symbol of good fortune and the result of many years of hard work by our Ming Dynasty.

Today, a prosperous era is approaching, and the whole world should celebrate together! "

"Decree that a banquet be held in the palace today, and eat this food for the people!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Everyone shouted in unison.

The strange situation that none of the six ministries and nine officials were in the yamen today quickly attracted the attention of many court officials.

After much inquiry, many officials were horrified to find that

Even the governors of the Governor's Office were not there.

For a time, people were talking about it.
Questions pop up in my mind one after another.

Is something big going to happen?
Soon, around noon, the six ministries and nine officials returned to the yamen.

But everyone found out.
The adults whom they used to revere as gods seemed a little absent-minded and absent-minded.

More importantly, they were holding a cloth bag in their hands.
Traces of mud can be clearly seen on the cloth bag.

I don’t know what it is.

All of a sudden, officials from various departments showed their talents and started to work together to find out what had happened.

But unfortunately, the six ministries and nine officials were too tight-lipped and no one dared to ask questions.

At the Ministry of Works, many people saw the scene where the Minister of Works Qin Kui and Lu Yunyi returned to the yamen hand in hand.

Especially the cloth bags in their hands, which are the focus of many people's attention.

Among them was Ji Yuchen, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

Even though he has lived a life of luxury for many years, his character has already become extraordinary.
But when I saw this scene, I couldn't help but feel jealous.

Those who went there were all the ministers of the six ministries and the governors-general.
How could Lu Yunyi deserve such an honor?

In the main hall of the Ministry of Works, Qin Kui sat at the head of the table, his face silent, and he remained silent for a long time.

Just sipping tea,

The other hand was groping the bag vigorously.
Even though he knew the shape of the sweet potato by heart, he still couldn't get enough of it.

Lu Yunyi sat at the bottom, his face calm.

In today's world without scientific fertilizers, fourteen stones is an unattainable number.

After an unknown amount of time, Qin Kui looked at Lu Yunyi and spoke softly:
"How much does it cost for the flood control you mentioned last time?"

Lu Yunyi was stunned, not knowing why he would bring this up, but he still answered honestly:

“My Lord, the construction period is very long, nearly four years.

The labor cost is about 1.5 million to 2 million, and nearly 600,000 civilians will be employed.”

Qin Kui nodded, with a thoughtful look in his eyes:

"Tell me, if we only look for disaster victims and don't give them money but only provide them with food, will it work?"

Lu Yunyi was stunned and blinked in confusion.

Qin Kui, however, started talking to himself:

"Every year, disasters hit both sides of the Yellow River, and countless people are displaced and forced to live under the roofs of others.
They lived a hard life, sometimes hungry and sometimes full.

This sweet potato can produce so much per acre of land.
If we just take care of the food, it doesn’t seem to cost much.”

Lu Yunyi said blankly:
"My Lord, eating sweet potatoes all day will cause you to get bloated and fart all the time."

"People are starving to death, how can you care about this?"

Qin Kui glanced at him, thinking:
"I think this is feasible. Using work as a substitute for relief has been a practice since ancient times.

Once the sweet potatoes are planted, maybe we only need to wait for a major disaster before we can start controlling the floods.”

Lu Yunyi's face changed drastically: "Master Qin, be careful with your words!"

Qin Kui also reacted and closed his mouth with lingering fear.

If this word gets out, it will definitely cause an uproar.

But when the two looked at each other, Lu Yunyi understood the meaning in his eyes.

The cost of flood control is nearly six million taels.
The court will definitely not give money if the situation remains calm.

But, if a disaster strikes, perhaps you can just go with the flow.

Especially with crops like sweet potatoes that have high yields and are very filling.

(End of this chapter)