Liu Chengzong’s request made Yang He feel magical.
This man lives in the West Sea, but he actually knows about sweet potatoes.
Yang He knows where to get sweet potatoes, Huangzhuang in Beizhili.
In recent decades, many officials have advocated the promotion of these two crops, but the promotion has not been smooth. Their advantages are not great, so the most planted places can only be Huangzhuang.
As newly introduced crops, people's acceptance of them is far less than that of corn. Corn is a good thing and can be used as a substitute for wheat.
The yields of potatoes and sweet potatoes are quite high. It is not a big problem to produce two to three hundred kilograms from one acre of land. However, the yields of these two are very weak because of their high water content. A person can survive a day by eating eight taels of white flour, but half a kilogram of sweet potatoes.
I was hungry again after peeing, and I choked myself to death and couldn’t eat enough.
At the same time, because the water is large and difficult to store, the most critical obstacle is the social structure...the landowners don't recognize this thing.
When it was time to pay the grain, the landlord put the official bucket in the courtyard, and the tenants pushed a cart and brought twenty-five stones of wheat, and then presented two live chickens. It was very simple to satisfy the landlord's mother-in-law. She is so sensible, and the land will be returned to the tenants next year.
Here you go.
Wherever the official fight goes, if the tenants pour twenty-five stones of sweet potatoes into the pot, regardless of whether they will be beaten to death by the landlord, they will definitely complete the class change from tenants to landless refugees.
A stone is a unit of volume. One dou can hold seventeen or eight kilograms of millet, or at most eleven or two kilograms of sweet potatoes. It is not hungry yet and is not easy to store. It will go bad if left alone. One kilogram of raw grain cannot be made into flour.
To five taels.
Nutritious food is a matter for high-ranking officials. As early as the Longqing Year in the Forbidden City, there were charcoal-burning vegetable greenhouses, but tenants had to consider whether they could grow food for a year and eat it for a year.
If you want this thing to be used as a staple food, it would be cost-effective to plow 80 kilograms of wheat on bad land and plant sweet potatoes and potatoes at 320 kilograms; and on fertile land with 200 kilograms of wheat, it would be cost-effective to grow sweet potatoes and sweet potatoes at 800 kilograms.
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Even the land in Chongzhen’s imperial village cannot produce eight hundred kilograms of potato seeds.
Unless you plant it for two seasons in the extremely fertile fields of Taihu Lake, it is not impossible to produce one or two thousand catties, but with intensive cultivation of rice there, you can produce six hundred catties.
In peacetime, the greatest value of potatoes and sweet potatoes was resting land.
Planting staple foods or cash crops continuously will exhaust the soil's fertility. If you want the land to rest, plant beans. Beans can nourish the land. But if you don't want the land to rest, plant potatoes, because potatoes cannot nourish the land but they do not consume the soil's energy.
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Of course, the advantages of these two things are also obvious. In places with extremely poor living standards, hunger will lead to hunger, and eating will lead to weight loss, but it can save lives.
In the final analysis, the drought comes too quickly. In places not affected by drought and refugees, it is more cost-effective to plant traditional crops. In places affected by drought and refugees, it is too late to plant anything.
Yang He made some calculations in his mind. To be fair, Liu Shizi's three requests, trade in Shaanxi, not building forts in Lanzhou and finding some sweet potatoes, are all suggestions that are beneficial to the world.
Thinking of 'the world' rather than 'the Ming' shows that Liu Chengzong's theory of the Ming Pill is deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Three years ago, no one believed this, but now, in the sixth year of Chongzhen, when the situation in the Ming Dynasty was at its worst, Yang He vaguely believed it.
However, this matter has little impact on Yang He. He is still a very old man. Even if the imperial court is bound to end, it will not happen so soon. Since the imperial court is still there and he is still a member of the imperial court, he must
Be brave enough to do whatever you want.
The most important enemies of the Ming Dynasty at the moment, Hou Jin, the bandits, and the Dengzhou rebels are all at odds with each other. Only Liu Chengzong in the northwest can avoid a war. With the example of Liaodong in front of us, the Ming Dynasty really cannot afford to fight for a long time.
The decisive battle in the Northwest.
Therefore, in the letter submitted to the emperor, Yang He unreservedly stated Liu Chengzong's three demands, and attributed the loss of five commanders and the tragic loss of Hehuang to Shaanxi's deliberate border blockade under unfavorable conditions of food and wages.
If trouble occurs, it is important to mention that Liu Chengzong can not be an enemy of the imperial court and do not provoke him.
However, Yang He did not dare to mention to Chongzhen that Liu Chengzong had plundered 500,000 shi of grain from nearly 178 households in Lanzhou.
He was not afraid that Emperor Chongzhen would imitate Liu Shishi and raid the homes of wealthy people.
The key is that I'm afraid that Lord Chongzhen will be disappointed if he can't steal so much grain. It's okay to say he's disappointed, but he'll definitely regret it when the negative effects of confiscating the house come after he's disappointed.
As soon as Lord Chongzhen regretted it, Yang He, who proposed this matter, had to offer an old head to add to the fun.
Just don’t mention it at all, whoever likes to mention it will mention it.
The letter traveled very fast through the Great Wall and was delivered to the capital on the eighth day of April. Chongzhen was dumbfounded when he saw the letter. The generals of the three towns were captured and the 30,000-strong army was wiped out. This was the result?
Chongzhen was very angry, because the blockade of trade was not a private action of Shaanxi, but was tacitly approved by the court. What does this mean, it is humiliating oneself?
But on the other hand, leaving aside the question of whether to build a fortress in Lanzhou, Liu Chengzong asked for mutual trading and two pockets of potatoes as war compensation?
Chongzhen felt that the battle had already been such a loss, and it wouldn't matter if he lost more potatoes and sweet potatoes, so he waved his hand and sent Cao Huachun to go dig potatoes in the goose ash pond.
Cao Daban was so frightened that he was shaking like chaff. He wondered if the emperor would send us to Xining again. He never wanted to see Liu Chengzong for the second time in his life.
Fortunately, Chongzhen felt that this battle was very embarrassing and was unwilling to send any more angels. He picked up a few large boxes and sent the Jin Yiwei to deliver them. He told Yang He to make an oath with Liu Chengzong as soon as possible to withdraw the army.
Liu Chengzong didn't expect that Emperor Chongzhen, who had a very awkward personality in his heart, would be so forthcoming this time. He delivered the things in just nine days, including several boxes.
He felt very refreshed, but Yang He was living like a year in Lanzhou City. Just two days before the potatoes were delivered, at least tens of thousands of people driving donkeys, mules, and carts appeared in the southeast of Lanzhou.
Under the escort, we walked along the foot of the south mountain to Xigu.
A group of military generals were gnashing their teeth in the city, but two hundred people dared to escort tens of thousands of livestock and convoys. How crazy could Liu Chengzong be?
Yang He was counting on the city. There were thousands of large and small vehicles, and nearly ten thousand donkeys, mules, cattle and horses. Some of the people pushing the carts were wearing flag army jackets. He was very anxious when he saw it... Where did he get robbed?
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In fact, Liu Shizi’s initial reaction was the same as Yang He’s. Where did he get robbed?
According to the plan, his plundering of 178 wealthy families in Xigu City, Jinxian City and many castles around Lanzhou City; Didao in Lintao Prefecture; Hezhou Acropolis and the surrounding countryside was completed.
, the troops that were released also returned in full.
Where did these people come from?
The most bizarre thing is that the two hundred horsemen escorted the people to transport money and grain to Xigu, then turned around and ran into the mountains without even meeting him.
"Commander, he is not one of ours."
Fan Sanlang asked the people and reported in the account: "I asked the people who sent food. Those people claimed to be generals of the commander's office, but they acted in disguise. They looted 22 large households in Weiyuan County, distributed food according to their will, and wiped out all their families.
No one will be left behind... Do you want to tell Lanzhou City?"
Liu Chengzong shook his head slightly and just asked: "How much food will be transported?"
"There are tens of thousands of large animals, and more than 20,000 dan of grain..." Fan Sanlang said: "There is no wealth."
Liu Chengzong chuckled: "That's very clever. Okay, the person who did this is in Lintao Guard. You don't need to tell Lanzhou, just think that I did it."
He never expected that imitation crimes would be committed in such a short period of time.
Liu Chengzong has so much experience in robbery. As soon as he heard about this incident, he immediately understood the ins and outs.
He must be in the Lintao Guard, and it is very likely that he led the banner army to join Liu Chengzu in looting Didao and the Lintao Guard, and at least participated in the transportation operation for money and grain.
Because except for the Lintao Guards, it would be difficult for others to gather hundreds of people in a short period of time, and it would also be difficult for them to attack Dahuzhuang; and if they had not participated in Liu Chengzu's looting, it would be difficult to find the key to inciting the people in such a short period of time.
After all, experience is still very important in this industry.
Liu Chengzong estimated that the reason why he transported the grain to Xigu was to clear the suspicion and put the blame on him. On the other hand, it was probably the same as the tiger general who robbed Wangzhuang to help the people of Yan'an...the money and grain he robbed was too much to hide.
Endless shipment.
So most of the grain and livestock were shipped over, and the money and a small amount of grain were left behind.
Liu Shishi estimated that this man was a mid-level officer of the Lintao Guard. It might not be long before he was exposed because of his subordinates' lavish spending. If he was not exposed because of this, he would soon know this young man from the list of promoted generals.
Smart ghost.
No matter what, Liu Chengzong felt that the sealing fee of 10,000 large animals and 20,000 kilograms of rice and grain was enough for him to seal the deal.
Fortunately, these things were not too much and were very easy to transport. Just as the last batch of money, grain and livestock were crossing the Yellow River, a messenger was sent from Lanzhou City, saying that Yang He would invite him to swear an oath in the middle of the battlefield. The potatoes and sweet potatoes sent by the emperor arrived. "Tell Yang He that he will come to my camp again to swear an oath. Also, the Jin Yiwei and the officers and soldiers are not allowed to enter the camp. Ask them to wait outside."
Liu Chengzong was actually very concerned about his own safety, but sometimes he had a military spirit on the battlefield and needed to take some risks in order to boost morale and win.
But at this time, it is impossible for Yang He, an old man of his age, to assassinate him, but if Jin Yifanzi, who does not want to live anymore, takes out a flintlock pistol and kills him, there is no need to take the risk.<
/p>
Yang He in Lanzhou City had no choice but to ask someone to carry the box to the camp. When he arrived at the gate of the camp, the sergeant of the Marshal's Mansion carried the big wooden box in.
Liu Chengzong counted the seven lacquered wood boxes from a distance. Six of them were the same, but one box looked simpler.
"Mr. Yang, are these the potatoes and sweet potatoes sent by the emperor?"
Although no one followed him, Liu Chengzong still gave Yang He good treatment. He suppressed his excitement and asked Yang He to sit down on the chair prepared outside the tent. After all, he was old and it was very hard to run around.
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At this moment, the guards had already stepped forward to check the seven wooden boxes and opened them carefully to prevent steel wheel mines from being tied to wires. When they opened them, they found that the six boxes contained sweet potatoes and potatoes with soil and leaves, three boxes each.
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Seeing that Liu Chengzong was extremely happy, he applauded and said: "It is possible to achieve this now thanks to the efforts of the old governor. Anyone in the northwest who can survive due to these two crops in the future should be grateful to the old governor's kindness."
These gadgets mean that the endless wasteland in his hands has a place to be put to use.
Liu Chengzong valued these two things, not because of how high the yield per mu was, but what he cared about was the property.
The Hehuang Valley is narrow and densely populated, with the lowest altitude, and even tracts of good fields are concentrated in the valley. However, the Hehuang Mountain Area is vast and sparsely populated, and scattered plots are planted with horse grass and alfalfa all over the mountains and plains.
If a person can become strong by eating hay, then he does not need to worry about food at all. The fields suitable for growing food under his rule, including the uncounted mountain fields in Xining Prefecture, may be less than 3 million acres, and he
The pastures under his rule... Liu Chengzong didn't even want to talk about it.
He didn't know how many millions the total population of Ming Dynasty had, but what he was sure of was that one person would not be able to stand enough for one acre of grassland.
In the two counties of Haixi and Haibei alone, he has more than 10 million acres of grassland.
It is useless for him to ask for so much fodder. Instead, it is farming. Even if only half of Hehuang's two million acres of mountainous land is planted with potatoes, and one acre of land can only give him one hundred kilograms of potatoes, that will allow everyone in Hehuang to eat two more.
Moon meal.
The extra two months of food rations spread over a year equals a bumper harvest.
Looking at Liu Chengzong who was dancing with joy because of several boxes of potatoes and sweet potatoes, Yang He sighed.
He asked: "Generalissimo, did you go to Lanzhou to grab food for the people of Hehuang?"
Liu Chengzong's eyelids twitched. General Liu became the generalissimo. This old man was deceitful. He suppressed his doubts, raised his finger and pointed at the sergeants in the camp and said with a smile: "Old Governor, look at my soldiers, any of them look like they are starving."
,Why do you think I fight?"
"The people of Hehuang are starving because I raise soldiers. Of course I have to feed them... Maybe they won't live well because I have too many soldiers."
Liu Chengzong shook his head and smiled bitterly, then said with firm eyes: "But I won't let anyone starve to death because of me."
Yang He looked at Liu Chengzong and nodded slowly. The young rebel commander in front of him seemed to really want to feed more people.
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There are not many people in this world who want to feed more people, but in the northwest, if they really want to do this, they may even succeed. Yang He only knows Liu Chengzong.
He once wanted to feed the people on the three sides of Shaanxi Province. He tried to appease and persuade the people, to avoid war, and tried everything he could do, but they all failed.
Yang He sighed quickly and lightly, raised his hand and pointed to the slightly plain wooden box, and said: "I know that Liu Shuai likes to read. The boxes in that box are filled with books collected by King Su to teach the people how to farm."
"Huh?"
Liu Chengzong took a closer look at the wooden box. It was full of books, including Wang Zhen's agricultural books, Xu Guangqi's manuscripts, and all kinds of books. This was something he had not expected.
He turned to Yang He and asked: "Why did the old governor find these books for me?"
"I also want to..." Yang He stopped talking, sighed quickly and softly again, and then said in a relaxed tone: "His Royal Highness King Su said that since Liu Shuai wants to plant potatoes and live people in Hehuang, please plant them well."
, Don’t always worry about his Wangzhuang. The rent for more than 30,000 acres of land in Gansu is only more than 7,000 dan. If that land is in your hands, you will definitely get more than him."
Liu Chengzong laughed and did not refute.
There is no way to refute it, the rent in Suwang Zhuangzi is indeed not high.
At this moment, he saw a messenger waiting not far from the commander's tent. Fan Sanlang went over and took a letter and came back. Liu Chengzong left Yang He and went over, and heard Sanlang say: "It's a letter from home."
Liu Chengzong opened the letter and frowned, it was the messenger again.
But this time, it was Hou Jin’s envoy.
Liu Chengzong put away the letter, turned to Yang He and said: "The old governor and King Su gave me the agricultural letter. I appreciate it, but please go back to the capital and tell the emperor that the five towns cannot defeat me. It is not the fault of the five towns. The country is really weak, not in the military."
But in political affairs, fighting me will only cost the lives of heroes... Maybe Lanzhou will send more troops to garrison in the future, so it won't hurt."
"If the people of the world are happy and the animals are prosperous, there will be no need for Liu to worry about the people and crusade. He will encourage the emperor to work hard to govern, practice more benevolent policies, and put the things in the east as his priority. He has nothing to worry about in the west."