As the saying goes, those who win the hearts and minds of the people win the world. This sentence is an eternal truth. No matter what era or system, governments and rulers who lose the hearts of the people will eventually usher in destruction.
Now is the best time for him, the emperor, to win over the people. As long as he brings hope of life to the people who do not have enough to eat and are about to die of cold and starvation, they will stand unswervingly on his side.
Therefore, he decisively issued two decrees. One ordered the horse to rush six hundred miles to Fuzhou, Fujian, and summoned Chen Jinglun to the capital.
Chen Jinglun’s father was Chen Zhenlong, who brought sweet potatoes to the Ming Dynasty. They are among the best in their understanding of this crop.
And what attracted Zhu Youxiao's most attention was their experience and methods of planting and raising. The Chens and his sons had already started experimenting with planting and promoting it in the 21st year of Wanli.
The experience and insights accumulated in the past twenty years are of course priceless. Therefore, if you want to vigorously promote sweet potato planting, you must have this person.
The other edict was to go to Hangzhou. He wanted to re-appoint Jin Xuezeng as a foreign minister to lead the promotion of sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes and other crops.
Jin Xuezeng's other talents were not outstanding, but he had a heart for the country and the people. Without his support, Chen and his son's sweet potatoes would not have been planted on a large scale in Fujian.
Since planting is to be promoted, this kind of seed is naturally the most critical. There is no shortage of sweet potato seeds, and any vine can be planted.
But these corns and potatoes gave him a problem. The ones from Xu Guangqi were really far behind, and it was extremely difficult to buy them.
Foreigners regard these things as extremely important. The sea is strictly prohibited and highly confidential, so they will not be sold to them at will.
Otherwise, Chen Zhenlong would not have risked his life by hiding the sweet potato vines in the bottom of the smuggling boat before bringing them back.
"Xu Aiqing, all the corn and potato seeds you have there will be handed over to Wang Chaofu tomorrow, and we will find a way to continue collecting them. No matter what method is used, no matter what the cost, I can bear it."
"I understand. I immediately wrote a letter back to my hometown to negotiate with the red-haired barbarians to see if I can purchase seeds through them."
Zhu Youxiao had nothing to do about this. After all, he couldn't conjure up seeds that could be planted in several provinces out of thin air.
And if he wants these seeds, he naturally wants to plant them in his own imperial village. In addition to cultivating the seeds, it will also play a publicity role.
Even the emperor has planted it, so it is impossible to deceive people with these things. For the common people in this era, you can only organize them with practical actions, and it is useless to just rely on your words.
As the saying goes, leading by example is very important. Just like in a war, if a general takes the lead and is brave enough to fight and charge without fear of death, the combat effectiveness of the army he leads will definitely be the same.
"Your Majesty, as far as I know, there are also some Folangji people in the capital. Why not go and inquire with them first?"
Zhu Youxiao almost forgot about this. In the late Ming Dynasty, there were not only foreign instructors and soldiers in the army, but also many gold diggers and missionaries among the people.
These people are relatively easy to communicate with. As long as you give them enough benefits, they may still spare no effort to help you.
"Then leave this matter to the Ministry of Rites. You should investigate the Flemish people who are going to visit and negotiate in advance and know what they need, so that we can take the initiative."
Zhang Ruitu, the Minister of Rites, immediately made it clear and asked Xu Guangqi a lot about the habits and temperaments of foreigners to see how to negotiate.
After the ministers left, Zhu Youxiao immediately wrote a secret edict in person and gave it to Yang Huan to dispatch capable and loyal Tiqi to ride fast to Liaodong overnight.
The initiative in the situation in Liaodong is completely in his hands. Whether he wants to continue fighting or suspend his troops is all in his mind.
Therefore, he did not want to talk about this so-called peace negotiation at all. It was not a thing to him.
The old slave is really arrogant and shows no weakness at all. At this point, he still wants to make a fool of himself.
"Wu Wangchao, please prepare yourself. In three days, you will travel to the outside of the Great Wall. Bring some more food, salt and tea, and in my name go to visit and express condolences to the Mongolian tribes who have surrendered to me, the Ming Dynasty."
Wang Chaofu was a little surprised. You could just ask any official or minister for this kind of thing, so why would you send him there?
Zhu Youxiao looked up at him and saw the confusion on his face, so he had no choice but to say:
"With so many tribes gathered together, I am still a little worried. After all, people's hearts are unpredictable. I cannot completely trust them just because of their words of surrender."
"Under the double blow of me and Lao Nu, the tribes of Chahar in the past have reached a desperate situation. They have no food supplies and no living space."
"If they don't stand aside and choose to surrender, these tribes will just die."
"The purpose of my sending you on this trip has multiple meanings."
"Please make it clear to me, Lord Long Live, that I will definitely fulfill my mission."
Wang Chaofu was quite smart and he immediately realized that it seemed that Long Live the Lord was just doing other things in the name of condolences.
"Sending you to express my condolences can express my importance and trust to them to the greatest extent, and it can play a role in calming people's hearts. In this way, those Mongolians will not be on tenterhooks all day long and be easily incited by someone with malicious intentions."
"Secondly, I am sending you to convey a message to the outside world. I, the Ming Dynasty, treat my friends and those who sincerely join without any objections with absolute trust, so as to attract more Mongolian tribes to come and join."
"You need to check with the garrison officials over there and the Jinyi Guards to check the list of people they reported, as well as the number of horses, cattle and sheep, to see if it is true."
"This is especially important for those who are between fifteen and forty years old. You must check carefully to make sure it is correct!"
"The most important thing is that I want you to help me carefully check which tribes are loyal to me and which tribes are taking the opportunity to recuperate."
"After you go, first meet with Ao Han, Naiman and other leaders who are the first batch of people to join our Ming Dynasty, and carefully observe their attitudes and true inner thoughts."
"I want you to unite them and form a force that absolutely supports the Ming Dynasty and is loyal to me, so as to suppress them so that those thieves with hidden evil intentions will not dare to move."
"This will also reduce the pressure on the Ming Dynasty's border defense. Hundreds of thousands of Mongolian tribesmen gathered outside the Great Wall. Once there is an uncontrollable movement, it will be a catastrophe."
"Since Genghis Khan, the grasslands have never lacked ambitious and talented overlords, so we must always be on guard against this."
"During the Zhengtong years, the Yingzong Emperor, who could only fight with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, was defeated miserably, and even came to the gates of Beijing."
"There is also Nadayan Khan, who came from a humble background, but in just a few decades he unified the entire Tatars, dominated the grasslands, and competed with the Wuzong Emperor."
"Although the current Lin Dan Khan is not doing well, we have to guard against the emergence of someone who poses a threat to our Ming Dynasty."