roccoschili Chapter 131: Promoting Sweet Potatoes 1
Chapter 131: Promoting Sweet Potatoes 1
Zhao Liangchen took out the remaining sweet potato from his arms and handed it to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I roasted this before entering the palace. It's still hot. Please try it. This is the simplest way to eat sweet potatoes."
The emperor frowned as he looked at the wrinkled, earthy yellow sweet potato in Zhao Liangchen's hand. Although he had not yet taken power and felt frustrated in government affairs, no one dared to deprive him of his daily life. He had been living a life of luxury since childhood, and every dish he ate was delicious. This was the first time he had seen such ugly food, and it looked so unappetizing.
He asked doubtfully, "Can this thing that looks like a clod of dirt be eaten?"
Zhao Liangchen knew that the emperor needed eunuchs to test for poison in everything he ate. At this time, there were only two of them in the hall, and even Liu Jin was guarding outside the door. The emperor would not dare to eat without anyone testing the poison.
He broke off a small piece of sweet potato and put it in his mouth: "Your Majesty, please eat it with confidence."
As he broke open the piece, the sweet aroma of the sweet potato emanated. The emperor leaned in and smelled it; it seemed quite fragrant.
He half-believed and half-doubted, he also broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth. A soft, sweet taste spread on the tip of his tongue. The emperor nodded and said, "It tastes good. You said that growing this does not require good fields? Since there is such good food, why don't ordinary people grow it?"
Zhao Liangchen: "Your Majesty, these sweet potatoes were brought here by foreigners. Ordinary people cannot afford them. Even if they buy one or two to try, they don't know the habits and yield of this plant and will not rashly use their precious land to grow it.
This requires vigorous promotion by the imperial court, so that the people can see with their own eyes how delicious the crops are, and then they will rush to plant them.
Chanzhou suffered a flood, and the fertility of the land decreased. Planting ordinary crops would definitely reduce the yield. It would be better to try planting this new variety. If even the land in Chanzhou that experienced the flood has a good yield, then other lands will be even more suitable for planting. Especially in the bitter and cold border areas, if the defenders there can plant crops to be self-sufficient, the court will not have to spend a lot of money every year to allocate military rations, so that the national treasury will be more abundant.
Only when the treasury has money can the emperor make decisions that benefit the country and the people without hesitation. This is a virtuous cycle."
After listening to them, the emperor read the plans over and over again, then paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. These all sounded very good, but he was not sure whether the officials, especially the four regent ministers, would support the plan if he proposed it. He did not know who the enemy behind him was, and he was afraid that person would sabotage him secretly. If he vigorously promoted the planting of sweet potatoes in Chanzhou, but it was sabotaged by someone with ulterior motives, and ultimately failed to achieve the expected results, wasting the people's land, he would have to take the blame in the end, and it would be difficult for him to rule the country.
He wants to play it safe at this juncture.
After walking back and forth a few times, he looked at Zhao Liangchen and said, "Can't we let Su Jijing do this secretly?"
Zhao Liangchen shook his head: "Your Majesty, Lord Su's ability is limited. He has to recruit men for military training and take care of people's livelihood and disaster relief. He is really overwhelmed. Moreover, without the guidance and orders of the court, the people will definitely not be willing to accept new crops, and it will be difficult to promote them.
I know what you are worried about, don't worry, what you are worried about will not happen."
He explained the reasons Su Qin had given him to the emperor in detail: "Your Majesty, if you are worried at that time, you can send someone with high status, position, and prestige whom you trust to Chanzhou to personally supervise this matter. That way, even if someone tries to sabotage it, they won't dare to make any big moves, and there won't be any impact."
After hearing this, the emperor looked at Zhao Liangchen with a scrutinizing gaze: "Who told you all this?"
Not to mention that he thought of it on his own. After knowing each other for a few years, he knew Zhao Liangchen's character very well. With his knowledge, he definitely could not come up with such a good idea, nor could he say such words.
Zhao Liangchen did not panic, and said calmly: "I dare not deceive the emperor. These are not my ideas. They are all my teacher's ideas. Even the plan was written by my teacher and I copied it."
The emperor was puzzled: "Mr. Zeng? Does he understand farming?"
Zhao Liangchen: "Do you still remember that I asked the teacher's granddaughter to sell the cloth you gave me as a reward?"
Emperor: "What does that have to do with this?"
Zhao Liangchen explained, "The teacher's granddaughter has been in contact with those foreign merchants since that incident, and often buys fresh food from them. She bought this sweet potato and made it for the teacher. The teacher liked it very much, so she went to ask around and heard that many of the city's nobles were trying to grow it. It's said to be easy to grow, with high yields.
Once, his granddaughter was worried, saying that the land in Chanzhou had been affected by floods and that the grain production would definitely decrease next year. She was worried every day about her hometown and the villagers who were starving. The teacher remembered this idea and wrote these plans. He knew that only an imperial decree would promote this matter in the fastest and best way, so he asked me to bring it to the palace.
This statement was something they had discussed when they were at home. Su Qin knew that the emperor would not believe that this idea was from Zhao Liangchen, and she did not want the emperor to notice her, so she pushed the blame onto Mr. Zeng. Anyway, as a great scholar, it was very easy for Mr. Zeng to write such a small thing.
Mr. Zeng also didn't want others to pay too much attention to Su Qin and cause unnecessary trouble, so he was willing to protect her.
After listening to this, the emperor nodded in belief. If Zhao Liangchen didn't have that brain, then Zeng Lao definitely had it. He had wanted to win over Zeng Lao before, but unfortunately he had refused.
He said indignantly, "You said many officials have sweet potatoes?"
Zhao Liangchen nodded. "Not only officials, but also wealthy businessmen, all want to grow new things to broaden their horizons. However, this kind of thing is not considered elegant, so the rich eat less. Some people grow it and raise livestock instead of eating it themselves."
The emperor was furious when he heard this: "A group of officials who receive court salaries have such a crop that benefits the people, but none of them thinks of working for the people's welfare. They use good food to feed livestock. This shows that in their hearts, the people are not as good as their livestock. This is simply absurd.
If Elder Zeng hadn't brought this up today, I don't know how many opportunities I would have missed to improve the lives of the people."
He was right. The rich and powerful only use the good things for their own benefit. Who would consider the common people? If the common people can grow crops, how can they demonstrate their noble status?
The Emperor: "Did Mr. Zeng say which minister to ask for this matter?"
The emperor rarely leaves the palace all year round, so he has no chance to see sweet potatoes. Therefore, the emperor cannot propose this plan himself, nor can he issue an order directly. An official must submit a letter and the plan must be discussed by all officials.
Zhao Liangchen nodded: "Teacher said that the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of agricultural affairs, so it is most appropriate for an official from the Ministry of Revenue to propose it."
Ever since the last case of embezzlement of disaster relief funds, the positions of left and right assistant ministers in the Ministry of Revenue have become vacant. There must be a lot of people vying for these two positions. No matter which camp they are in, people want to nominate their own people. The faction of Prince Liang also nominated their own people, but did not make it too obvious. The emperor also secretly chose someone close to him to compete.
In the end, Prince Liang's men were appointed as Left Vice Ministers, and the Emperor's men were appointed as Right Vice Ministers. Since the left was the most respected position, it seemed that Prince Liang had taken the initiative, but the Ministry of Revenue still had the Minister Chang Shanqi.
Before, considering that he was old and in a semi-retired state, he almost didn't care about anything. But this time, the incident in the Ministry of Revenue almost ruined his reputation. Therefore, now he has to be involved in everything about the Ministry of Revenue, so the power of the Left Vice Minister has been much smaller.
The emperor nodded: "Okay, I know what to do."
After Zhao Liangchen finished speaking about this, he brought up another matter: "The emperor has sent a letter back from Chanzhou. Lord Su has already selected thousands of private soldiers, but the silver he sent earlier is insufficient, so the selection has been suspended. He also requested that the emperor send a trusted and capable person to be the general. After all, Wu Qian and the others are young, and their fathers are not very capable. It's okay to manage a small number of people, but if there are more people, they may not be able to convince the people."
The emperor was also worried about money. His private treasury was now empty, and using the national treasury to support his private army was out of the question. He frowned and asked, "Has the batch of goods that were sent out before not been sold yet?"
Zhao Liangchen: "We're almost ready. After today's snow stops, we'll hold an auction in a few days. We'll definitely be able to make a lot of money then."
The Emperor: "Then we'll send the silver directly to Chanzhou as soon as it arrives. As for manpower... do you have any recommendations?"