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Chapter 46 Im afraid that my brother will have a hard time, but Im also afraid that my brother will drive a Land Rover

Three years after potato arrived in the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court finally ordered it to be promoted in the 23 counties under the jurisdiction of Chang'an.

The reason why it was promoted only after three years was that there were too few potato seeds and did not meet the conditions for promotion. On the other hand, it was the suggestion of Qin Hao and Yun Ye. After all, the seeds of crops may deteriorate. Common people

The ability to resist risks is really poor. If the seeds of potatoes deteriorate after one or two generations, the yield will be reduced or even no harvest will be harvested in the hands of the people. This will be a harm to the people and will be detrimental to the credibility of the court.

Undoing the damage.

Fortunately, the potatoes that Yun Ye brought in his backpack had mutated after passing through the wormhole, and their genes had become stable. After three years of cultivation, the seeds had not changed. Even the peppers that he brought with him had not changed.

The same was true for corn, which also made Qin Hao and Yun Ye breathe a sigh of relief.

The emergence of any new thing will inevitably bring about many problems, such as trust issues.

The government promotes potatoes, but the common people feel that this must be the government bragging. They lie about fifty dan per mu without drafting. If there is such a high-yielding grain, why don't those wealthy families see it?

Many counties have encountered this problem when promoting potatoes. No matter how much the county magistrate wears his tongue, the people are unwilling to plant them.

Li Shimin also had a headache about this. It was not that he couldn't force the people to plant potatoes, but this would inevitably damage the image of the court. As for bowing to those wealthy families? Li Shimin wanted to kill their heads.

The reason why the promotion of potatoes is not going well is, in the final analysis, the aristocratic family behind it.

On the surface, these aristocratic families own a lot of potatoes, and an increase in grain production should be a good thing for them. However, in fact, it is just the opposite. An increase in grain production is not conducive to their local dominance.

For these aristocratic families, the best situation is for the common people to work hard and survive all year round without starving to death. Only in this way can they count on the gentlemen of the aristocratic families to occasionally show kindness and give them a good meal.

If there is a disaster year, these aristocratic families will be even happier. When the common people are affected by the disaster and cannot survive, they will sell their land to them at a low price, borrow money at usury, and sell their sons and daughters to them as slaves.

When the common people are well fed, how can aristocratic families dominate the country? They have to be left hungry.

These aristocratic families have actually known for a long time that the yield per acre of potatoes is amazing, but they just don't plant them, or they plant them secretly. At the same time, they secretly spread rumors that potatoes are poisonous, and the court is cheating farmers.

"It doesn't make sense, it simply doesn't make sense!"

The magistrate of Xingping County went to the local area to promote potatoes, but he was beaten by a group of ordinary people. His legs were broken and he was almost beaten to death on the spot. Li Shimin turned green with anger.

Du Ruhui cautiously reminded: "Your Majesty, they just want to intensify the conflict. At this time, you need to proceed with caution."

"Well, what Du Aiqing said makes sense. The most important thing now is how to make the people trust the court." Although Li Shimin was angry, he was not carried away by his anger.

To the common people, court officials are outsiders, and aristocratic families are their "relatives" who have lived with them for generations. Many of them still have the same surname. How can they trust outsiders but not their "relatives"?

How the imperial court gained the trust of the common people has been an eternal problem. Most of the time, it took several generations for the imperial court to gain the approval of the common people. The Tang Dynasty was only founded more than ten years ago, so it is normal for the common people to have no sense of belonging.

Li Shimin didn't have much time to wait. Ten thousand years was too long, so he was seizing the day.

After Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui left, Li Shimin suddenly felt something in his heart.

"I remember, the academy will have its exams soon, right?"

"It is my will to add a question to this month's monthly exam, asking the academy students to write an article on how to promote potatoes."

"promise."

"Hold on, the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall will also arrange a monthly exam."

"promise."

Soon, the eunuch who delivered the order arrived at the academy. Li Gang was quite dissatisfied with this. After the eunuch left, he couldn't help but complain.

"What ideas can these children have that even the capable ministers in the court can't figure out?"

Qin Hao reassured: "Perhaps Your Majesty just wants to hear the opinions of the students, and many of the academy are civilian disciples. They understand the thoughts of ordinary people better. Maybe there is any good way?"

After all, it was the emperor's will, and Li Gang did not dare to openly resist it, so he finally temporarily added this question to the monthly examination paper.

The monthly exams were already familiar to the academy students, and no one even noticed that one of the questions was written by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

After the exams, the college students had a two-day holiday. Many students went out together, creating a happy and peaceful atmosphere.

However, at the same time, the atmosphere in Tai Chi Hall was very depressing.

Li Shimin looked through the papers of the students of Yushan Academy one by one. To his surprise, many students gave solutions that looked really good. For example, a commoner answered that he could be bribed to travel through the villages.

The salesmen asked them to promote potatoes, which gradually affected the people's acceptance of potatoes.

Even if some plans that Li Shimin felt were ineffective, at least the overall thinking of the students at Yushan Academy was clear.

As for the papers of the students from the Imperial College and the Hongwen Hall, apart from some rhetorical sermons, there was no actual implementation plan at all. Li Shimin stared gloomily at the kneeling bachelors of the Imperial College and the Hongwen Hall who were kneeling below.

"These are the students you teach. If you look at their papers, they only talk nonsense and have no political strategy. Is this how you educate talents for the country?"

The Imperial Academy's sacrificial wine and the Grand Scholar of Hongwen Hall were lying on the ground, trembling.

"I am guilty!"

When Li Shimin heard this, he became even more angry and slammed the table: "Guilty, of course you are guilty. The imperial court has spent so much money and invested so much energy. Is this how you repay the imperial court?"

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "These are the answers of the students of Yushan Academy. Many of them have just entered school for less than three months. Please open your eyes and see how these students are doing."

Answer!"

The Imperial Academy's sacrificial wine and the bachelor's degree from Hongwenguan picked it up and looked at them, and they were immediately ashamed.

"Humph, I feel ashamed now. Why did I go there earlier? If the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall continue like this, I don't think there is any need to continue to operate. They will waste national funds and raise a bunch of trash!"

"I know that I am guilty, and please punish me, Your Majesty!"

"It's useless to say this. After you go down, think about how to change it. If it doesn't work, you can go to Yushan Academy and see how they teach students!"

"No." Although the Imperial Academy Jijiu and Hongwenguan Grand Scholars were extremely reluctant, they could only get over this hurdle first. Otherwise, if Li Shimin really abolished the two departments, not only would their political future be affected,

If it is gone, it may still be recorded in the history books, which will be infamy for thousands of years.

After the two left, Li Shimin picked up a test paper with a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Go and call Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling."

"promise."

Not long after, Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling hurried to Tai Chi Hall.

"I love you, no need to be polite, just give me a seat."

Li Shimin called the two of them in front of him with a kind attitude, and then handed the test paper to them.

Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling looked at each other, then lowered their heads to look at where Li Shimin was pointing.

"Du Aiqing, Fang Aiqing, do you think this plan is feasible?"

"Your Majesty, who came up with this plan?" Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling asked with surprise on their faces.

However, Li Shimin gave it up and laughed: "How about you tell me about this plan first?"

"Maybe you can give it a try."

"Okay, let's give it a try!"

Li Shimin directly waved his hand and took the test paper back. From then on, a young man named Ma Zhou officially entered Li Shimin's field of vision, although at this time he was only a student who had just entered Yushan Academy for three months.

Soon, many traveling merchants appeared in various counties under the jurisdiction of Chang'an. These merchants went from village to village and bought a kind of grain called potatoes at a price twice that of wheat.

At first, the people thought this was another trick played by the government and did not take it to heart at all.

However, when they saw someone taking round things that looked like cow dung eggs and selling them for a lot of copper coins, someone immediately became interested.

"Daddy, I think life is going to be unbearable. Why don't we plant some potatoes? I've asked about it. There are several villages in Chang'an County and Wannian County. They started two years ago.

We have planted it, and the yield per mu is fifty dan, and now there are merchants who are charging a high price for it. Let us plant more than ten acres, not to mention food and clothing, and maybe we can save money and find a wife for the boss."

"Huh, you're so smart. If the yield per acre of potatoes is really so high, why would any businessman buy them at a high price?"

"Things are rare and valuable. We have to take advantage of the fact that there are not many people planting them now so that we can make money. Otherwise, when everyone has planted them, the price will naturally be cheaper. Besides, we are not asking you to spend all your money."

The land is full of potatoes, so we can plant a dozen acres first, and in addition we can still plant wheat."

"Daddy, why are you hesitating? If we are just growing wheat like this, when will our family turn around? How much worse can it be?"

"Okay, I'll go to the government later and ask how to grow these potatoes. As long as this thing can produce five or six dan per mu, our family can have enough food and clothing."

As the news spread wider and wider, the resistance to promoting potatoes, which had previously been ignored, soon became less strong. Basically, people in the 23 counties under the jurisdiction of Chang'an began to grow potatoes.

This thing is like a flood. As long as a hole is opened, it will be unstoppable.

No matter how those aristocratic families block it, there will always be a group of bold people willing to take risks due to the trend of interests.

Li Shimin looked at the potato promotion status reported by various counties and was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth.

"Yes, this Ma Zhou really has some evil ideas."

Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling looked at each other and secretly wrote down the name.

Three months passed quietly, and before winter came, the first wave of farmers who planted potatoes had also reached harvest time.

Many farmers were actually quite uneasy when they took out their hoe. Who knows what it will look like when it is planted in the soil.

However, as round khaki objects were dug out of the soil, the villagers watching the excitement were dumbfounded.

"Just one plant, and it bears so many fruits?"

"I'm afraid it must weigh several kilograms, right?"

"Oh my god, can there really be a grain yield of fifty shi per acre?"

As the villagers exclaimed, more and more people came to watch the fun.

"Old Liutou, don't be stunned. Dig quickly to see if this one is the only one with so many knots."

However, the next plant was dug out, and there was another bumper harvest, with fruits of all sizes hanging in abundance.

"Is this thing edible? Is it poisonous?"

"You don't care whether it's edible or not. There are craftsmen who collect this stuff. Just sell it to them."

"I heard that the price of this thing is not cheap, twice as much as that of wheat. Now Old Liu will make a fortune."

"Oh, if I had known I would have followed suit."

If you had known that money is hard to buy, winter is about to enter, and nothing can be grown in the soil. Only the first batch of potatoes will catch up.

I am afraid that my brothers will live in hardship, but I am also afraid that my brothers will drive a Land Rover. Especially in a feudal society with a small-scale peasant economy, if something happens to a family, basically people from all over the country will know about it.

The farmers who had grown potatoes before suddenly became the envy of the village.

Especially for those who plant a lot, the yield per mu is 50 dan. Planting ten acres means 500 dan. What was the concept of five hundred dan of grain in ancient times? Which ordinary farmer can save so much grain? That’s good.

Really big business.

All of a sudden, those relatives who had not been around for a long time began to visit frequently. If there was a boy in the family, as long as he was over twelve years old, the matchmaker who came to propose marriage would almost break the threshold.

In winter, there is basically nothing else to do in the countryside. When you are idle, you always have to talk about something. Therefore, these "big households" who were the first to plant potatoes became the focus of everyone.

Farmers who have never enjoyed such treatment feel proud and proud. How long ago did they also enjoy such a feeling of being surrounded by stars?

On the other side, those aristocratic families also regretted it. If they had known that they could not suppress it, they would not compete with the court. Now not only did they make the court unhappy, but the Kuhaha people in the village also looked like enemies when they saw them.

excuse me.

"Dad, how about we also grow potatoes?"

"Plant it, plant it, and next year half of the land will be used to grow potatoes."

"Dad, it's only half? Why don't we plant them all? The potato yield is fifty dan per acre, while the wheat yield is only a few dan. There's a tenfold difference."

"It's stupid to think so. Next year, all the potatoes will be planted. Will those merchants still charge such high prices? Things are rare and valuable. There is no need for our family to take risks like those Kuhaha."

No matter what those aristocratic families thought, potatoes were gradually popularized in the Tang Dynasty this year.

With the arrival of the first heavy snow, it also indicates that the fifth year of Zhenguan is approaching.


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