What was most important in the agricultural era?
It goes without saying that it is something that can fill the stomach. After all, food is the most important thing for people.
Throughout the ages, which emperor has not worked hard for the common people to have enough to eat.
As long as he can prevent the people under his rule from starving to death, he will be one of the rare kings who will be famous throughout the ages.
Yang Fan actually said that he had discovered a new kind of food. How could this not surprise Li Shimin and make him excited?
Although he was in agitated mood, Li Shimin still carefully verified and asked: "What is the yield per acre of this kind of food? Can it be eaten in large quantities?"
Yang Fan smiled slightly and held his head high: "After this kind of crop has been improved in a certain way, the yield will be at least forty stones per mu. This crop can be used to fill the stomach and be used for cooking. It tastes great and is easy to store; this
Things that can make the people full are worth the same as gold. Now that the auspicious auspiciousness has come, I will offer it to Your Majesty on this special day. Please spread it throughout the world to benefit the people..."
The awesome guy explained it loudly, and when he was about to enjoy the cheers, he found silence, and secretly cursed these old guys for not knowing how to cooperate.
However, everyone was dumbfounded at this time.
You must know that the grain output at this time was only about two shi per acre, and anything up to three shi was considered a top-quality grain field.
Now Yang Fan says that a crop yielding forty shi per mu is simply a fantasy.
Is this guy stupid? Why does he keep talking nonsense?
Although everyone didn't believe Yang Fan's words, everyone's eyes couldn't help but look at the large water tanks.
Li Tai snorted coldly, gritted his teeth and scolded: "You are a yellow-haired boy, your limbs are not diligent and you can't distinguish between grains. You don't understand farming at all. How can you cultivate such high-yielding grains? You know that Tai Chi Hall is
This is an important part of the empire, how can you be allowed to bully the emperor with your lies and lies?"
Yang Fan was speechless and pushed back: "Your Highness has a noble status, but of course his limbs are not diligent and his grain is not separated. He even needs servants to carry him to go to court. What qualifications do you have to accuse Yu before the matter is clear? Besides,
Whether it is true or false is up to His Majesty to decide..."
"You..."
Li Tai's face turned red, he pointed at Yang Fan and was speechless. He was so angry that he almost fainted.
As the saying goes, you don't expose others' shortcomings. Why does this stick always like to expose its own shortcomings?
Every time you meet this bastard, nothing good happens.
Moreover, this guy looks stunned, but he is very articulate, and every word he speaks can make people angry to death.
It's so shameless!
Li Shimin completely ignored Li Tai's embarrassment, nor did he care about the looks of the ministers watching the show.
He knew Yang Fan's character well. If it was a joke, this kid would never be so persistent.
A pair of tiger eyes were shining, staring at several water tanks, and asked in a deep voice: "Are they the plants like flowers and plants in the water tanks? Which parts do they feed on?"
Yang Fan pointed with his hand: "The stems and fruits are in the soil..."
That’s right, what Yang Fan grows in the water tank is the potato of later generations.
Potatoes have been around since ancient times and have supported human survival for thousands of years, but their origin is in South America.
This kind of food was introduced to the Central Plains only after more than ten centuries. Of course, what is grown here is exchanged from the system.
In later generations, potatoes were the fourth most important food crop in the world, after wheat, rice and corn, and were widely grown around the world.
It is an integral part of the food and cooking culture of various countries.
In fact, potatoes have many names, and they are called differently in different countries.
For example: the Italians call it jicama, the French call it jicama, the Germans call it pear, the Americans call it Irish jicama, and the Russians call it Dutch potato;
After being introduced to the Central Plains, it was called taro or Yangshan taro in Yunnan and Guizhou, Guangxi was called Fangui sweet potato, Shanxi was called yam egg, and the Northeastern provinces mostly called potatoes.
In view of the confusion in the name, later botanists gave it a universal scientific name - potato.
However, at this time, potatoes were a new species in Datang, and of course they had not yet been named.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Li Shimin was impatient and wanted to dig up the soil, but was stopped by Yang Fan.
This made Li Tai feel that the opportunity had come again, and said jokingly: "Uncle Zhongyi is not afraid that my father will expose your scam in front of you, right?"
Then he laughed proudly.
Li Shimin was also a little confused. He stared at Yang Fan closely, looking for a reasonable explanation.
Yang Fan said calmly: "There was something wrong with the place your Majesty dug just now..."
Through Yang Fan's explanation, Li Shimin finally understood that the three large water tanks were planted with potato seedlings, adult seedlings, and potatoes that could be harvested.
It was the seedlings that Li Shimin wanted to dig up just now.
If we don't explain clearly, when His Majesty Li Er is alone, eight heads will not be enough to chop him off.
After the introduction, Yang Fan looked at Li Shimin proudly.
Only then did everyone suddenly realize.
However, before Li Shimin could take action, he was stopped by an official: "Your Majesty is rich in gold, and today is a special day. How can you dirty your Majesty's hands? How about I let an old minister find out on your behalf?"
Turning around, I saw that this man was in his fifties, with rough skin, thick eyebrows and big eyes. He looked much stronger than ordinary officials.
This person is from Guo Siben, the minister of Sinong Temple, a third-grade official.
Guo Siben, courtesy name Longji, was born in Jiexiu, Taiyuan, and came from a distinguished family. He was the tenth grandson of General Guo Huai of Cao Wei, the second son of General Zuowei of Sui Dynasty, and the second son of Zhending Hou Guo Yan. During the Zhenguan period, he served as Minister of Sinong Temple.
This person actually has some connections with Li Shimin, because his wife, the eldest grandson Siniang, and the eldest grandson Wugao are aunt-nephew.
On the other hand, the two are still somewhat related.
Although Li Shimin also wanted to take action himself, it was difficult to refute Guo Siben's face.
He glanced at the ministers who were talking about it and said, "Very good. My dear, I am proficient in farming, so I can tell if I recognize this thing? See if it is really as mysterious as this guy brags. Be careful, but
Don't break it."
"Old minister obeys the order..."
After speaking, Guo Siben smiled directly at Yang Fan, cupped his hands and said: "I didn't expect Uncle Zhongyi to be a scholar of heaven and man at a young age. He even dabbled in farming. I admire it. I wonder if you can explain to someone how to dig this thing?"
If others greet you with a smile and show enough respect, you must smile back.
For a moment, I had a good feeling about this Sinong Temple Qing who looked a bit rough but spoke politely and elegantly.
Yang Fan clasped his fists and said: "How dare you be so praised by Si Qing? Si Nong Si Qing is a senior leader in the farming studies of the Tang Dynasty. He knows the growth and cultivation of crops in the Tang Dynasty. He is really a man of hard work and a pillar of the imperial court.
, I will definitely leave my name in history from now on, and I will never be as good as this kid."
As soon as these words came out, Guo Siben burst into tears. He didn't expect that someone would notice him.
Although Guo Siben's family background is very prominent, he was born in the Taiyuan Guo family, one of the eight famous surname families in the Central Plains during the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
In the first half of my life, I was full of retribution, but I was always depressed and frustrated.
In the first half of his life, he was a minister of the Sui Dynasty. During the Wude period, he took refuge with Li Tang but was not reused.
During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, because of his outstanding talents, he was appreciated by Li Shimin and entered the highlight moment of his life.
In order to repay Li Shimin's kindness, Guo Siben kept a low profile and did not compete for fame and fortune to participate in the struggle between the DPRK and China. He only devoted himself to the study of farming.
Over the years, Guo Siben traveled all over the country, collecting and improving crops from various places, recording detailed information on climate and water patterns in various places, and made great contributions to cultivating high-yielding crops in the Tang Dynasty.
Yang Fan's words made Guo Siben extremely grateful, letting him know that there were still people who knew the importance of their work at Sinong Temple.
I also know that these people have not been forgotten by people.
In the eyes of other courtiers, although he, the Minister of Sinong Temple, is a third-rank official, he is more often called a mud-legged man by them.
Now that Yang Fan was so affirmative, Guo Siben immediately became a confidant.
Everyone in Chang'an City calls Uncle Dao Zhongyi a stick, but it seems that he is just following what others say.
Li Shimin glanced at Yang Fan approvingly and nodded secretly.
This guy usually seems a bit carefree, but he still has some knowledge.
He actually knows how to treat practical talents with courtesy, yes, yes...
While everyone was thinking about their own thoughts, Yang Fan continued to boast: "This thing absorbs the beauty of heaven and earth and collects the essence of the sun and moon, so the yield is extremely high, and it is extremely delicious..."
"Master Siqing is a senior figure in the field of farming in the Tang Dynasty. He has a deep understanding of crops. He should know that the more noble something is, the more pretentious it is. But this thing is not that delicate. You can just use farm tools to dig it. The fruits of this thing are buried in
Soil, just be careful."
At first, Guo Siben listened carefully and cautiously, fearing that he would miss something.
But after Yang Fan praised the crops for a long time, he told him that he could dig them as he pleased.
Is the gap between before and after too big?
It immediately made Guo Siben dumbfounded, but it was worth asking people to quickly prepare the tools for excavation.
But how did Guo Siben know that the reason for boasting the advantages of Malingshu was other than actually helping Datang.
More importantly, Yang Fan wanted to use potatoes to achieve a certain purpose.
Only by deeply shocking everyone can Yang Fan gain the greatest benefit.