"Oh my lord! This thing tastes so delicious!"

"Of course, Lao Cao, do you know what this is called? This is called chili pepper!"

"It's delicious! Then why didn't the prince tell me that this thing can't be eaten raw?"

"I only said that the thing was edible, but who knew that if you grabbed a handful and stuffed it into your mouth, your anus and intestines would be considered cowhide if it didn't burn you to death!"

In the palace, Zhu Song and Shi Cao Qinghe, the official of Prince Han's palace, were sitting face to face at this moment.

There is a special charcoal pot placed between the two, which is actually the hot pot of later generations.

There are many condiments next to the charcoal pot, the most conspicuous of which is a pile of chili peppers.

Not only that, another Hu merchant came to Kaiyuan today, and this time they brought more abundant things. In addition to these spicy food, these Hu merchants also brought many rare things from the Western Regions.

Among them, what concerned Zhu Song the most was the spicy food, followed by the seeds.

Corn seeds!

You must know that the Ming Dynasty did not yet have corn, sweet potatoes and potatoes, which are coarse grains that are resistant to drought and waterlogging.

Although these coarse grains do not taste very good, but have high yields, they are generally found on the other side of the ocean in the Americas.

And it was not easy for these corn seeds to travel all the way to the King of Han.

It is said that these seeds first traveled across the ocean from the Americas to Folangji, and then crossed from Folangji to the entire Central Asia, and then across the entire Northern Plains grassland, before arriving in Liaodong.

It is a coincidence that these Hu merchants originally planned to go to the mysterious Eastern country, Yingtian Mansion, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

As a result, I lost my way, stumbled, and couldn't find the way into the Ming Dynasty. I kept walking close to the Great Wall and ended up in Liaodong, not far from Shanhaiguan.

Fortunately, this corn did not flow into the Ming Dynasty, because no one in the Ming Dynasty knew how much output this thing could produce.

If it really fell into the hands of ordinary people, maybe these precious seeds would simply be thrown into the pot and fried popcorn.

Zhu Song remembers that the grain production in the Northeast Plain in later generations was frighteningly high!

Although the entire Northeast is not included in the Ming Dynasty, Liaodong also has the Liaohe Plain, and the food grown in the Liaohe Plain is much more productive than most of the land in the pass.

This is the charm of black land. Although there is only a small part of black land in the Liaohe Plain and a large area of ​​black land is still in Nurgandusi, it has already been included in Zhu Song's future plans.

Just thinking about it made Zhu Songdu Le's nose almost full of mucus.

If he could bring the entire Northeast Plain into his own pocket, he would become a veritable food king of the Ming Dynasty in a few years!

When the time comes to face the war between Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Di, Zhu Song will be able to sit back and watch more calmly.

After finishing the hot pot meal, Zhu Song and Lao Cao were sweating profusely.

"My lord, those Hu merchants are really capable. They can even get weird things like spicy food."

Zhu Song smiled and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "I don't understand, Old Cao. If you want to do a good business, you must first let the goods flow. Some things that are common in Liaodong, such as tiger skins,

Things like bearskin, ginseng, and deer antlers would be rare items if they were brought to the south of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Similarly, if tea, Suzhou embroidery, and Jinxiu from the south were brought to our Liaodong region, they would also be rare items, and the price would increase several times!"

"In our Ming Dynasty, there are also these merchants who travel north and south all year round. The only difference between those Hu merchants and our merchants in the Ming Dynasty is that they travel further."

Cao Qinghe nodded in admiration, just like when King Han first arrived in Liaodong, he not only vigorously developed agriculture, but also strongly encouraged local businessmen to enter the customs and do more business.

This second-hand sale will naturally make money. When the merchants make money, they can pay more taxes and money to the Liaodong government.

When the government has money, it can buy grain seeds from within the customs and give them to farmers.

In the first three years, no tax money or grain was collected from the farmers. The people were allowed to fill their bellies first. After three years, when the people had surplus grain at home, they began to pay taxes and grain.

This is how Liaodong became rich step by step, and the prince must be smart.

"Let's go, Old Cao, and go out with me to relax."

Cao Qinghe immediately went down to prepare.

After a while, Zhu Song left the palace and led a group of people out of the city on horseback.

Except for Kaiyuan City, there are large fields on both sides of the road.

Rice is planted in the fields and is growing well.

It is now August, and in one to two months, the harvest will begin.

Zhu Song couldn't help grinning when he thought that this year, another large amount of grain had entered the rice vats of the people of various families, and another large amount of grain had entered the pockets of Liaodong Wei.

In addition to the fields that almost cover the entire Liaodongwei, the people of Liaodongwei also go hunting in the mountains and forests.

Not all people living in the Liaodong area are Han people, there are also Jurchens and a small number of Yuan people who submitted to the Ming Dynasty.

The Jurchens are a nomadic people, while the Yuan people are nomadic. Zhu Song also divided the various areas near Kaiyuan. Where to hunt, where to farm, and where to graze, they were all divided very clearly.

Zhu Song rode his horse and led people to the place where the 100,000-watt prisoners were digging a river.

This place is not far from the Liaohe River. As long as the back road can be opened up and the water from the Liaohe River can be introduced, a large area of ​​land can be cultivated in the north of Liaodongwei.

Although Zhu Song never gave them enough food to feed these 100,000 people, they were also listless when working.

But one hundred thousand people are still more powerful in numbers. Even if they don't have enough to eat, the progress of this project is very fast.

"Not bad, not bad. The water from the Liao River should be able to flow in before winter comes."

Cao Qinghe nodded in agreement: "Yes, Your Majesty, when the planting starts next spring, large tracts of fields will be cultivated in the north."

Zhu Song also nodded with satisfaction. At this moment, he suddenly thought of the veteran who sent the letter. More than a month had passed since then. Is it time to come back?

"By the way, has the veteran who delivered the letter returned?"

Cao Qinghe nodded: "They came back. They came back with the imperial convoy. When they were fifty miles away from Kaiyuan, I sent someone to pick up the food in the car and the silver issued by the imperial court. They were not allowed to enter Kaiyuan."

city."

Zhu Song nodded with satisfaction and asked again.

"Then what's your father's reaction?"

Cao Qinghe looked embarrassed after hearing this.

"It is said that the emperor was very angry. He threw things and cursed people in the palace. This is what our veteran found out."
Chapter completed!