In the era when Li Zhaotong's "memory" came out, usually, when many people mentioned rubber, the first thing that came to mind was the rubber tree, and many people knew that the origin of the rubber tree was in the Americas.

However, there are probably not many people who can name gum-producing plants other than rubber trees.

But in fact, there are not only one kind of rubber trees that can produce natural rubber on the earth, but more than 2,500 species!

Of course, among the more than 2,500 kinds of plants, only a few have collection value.

Rubber trees and rubber grass are among them.

Rubber grass, together with Brazilian rubber tree and silver gum chrysanthemum, is known as the world's three major gum-producing plants.

Moreover, rubber grass is the only plant that can produce high molecular weight rubber in temperate regions, and it is distributed in Xinjiang, China, Kazakhstan and parts of Europe.

It is not very demanding on the growing environment and can be easily grown in temperate regions, thus avoiding dependence on a single plant rubber tree.

Its roots also contain a lot of starch, inulin, which can be fermented to produce fuel ethanol.

Rubber straw products are also safer than rubber trees and do not cause allergic reactions in humans.

Rubber grass is also known as Russian dandelion, or TKS for short.

In the time and space to which Li Zhaotong's "memory" belongs, it was discovered during a campaign organized by the Soviet government to find rubber plants.

The official discovery date was 1930, when botanists discovered the species in the Karatau Mountains of the Tien Shan Mountains in southern Kazakhstan. It was found that its roots contained a large amount of natural rubber, and the rubber extracted from its roots was not inferior to the rubber produced by rubber trees.

Subsequently, the Soviet Union began to cultivate it on a large scale in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus and other places.

In 1931, the first batch of rubber raw materials produced by the Soviet Union was about 2,500 tons, and Kazakhstan was the main raw material base.

Before World War II, rubber grass plantations in the USSR produced two hundred kilograms per hectare, and the cost of production was only half that of foreign countries.

During World War II, restrictions on rubber production and trade in rubber trees forced the Soviet, German, and U.S. governments to become more determined to grow plants that produce natural rubber on their own soil.

At its peak, rubber grass production in the Soviet Union supplied about 30 percent of the domestic rubber market, and cultivation continued until 1956.

In the fifties of the twentieth century, China conducted research and research on wild rubber grass in Xinjiang, with the main purpose of solving the shortage of natural rubber supply in China.

Later, due to the end of the war, the price of natural rubber fell, and the research and development and application of rubber grass were shelved by various countries.

However, when Li Zhaotong's "memory" passed, with the development of the economy, the shortage of natural rubber became increasingly scarce, and the price rose, so that people once again focused on other rubber-producing plants, and the research of rubber grass once again appeared on the historical stage.

For example, on December 12, 2018, Continental Technologies announced the completion of the "TKS Rubber Laboratory" with an investment of 35 million euros and 11.6 million euros of financial support from the local Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The laboratory will focus on the cultivation and extraction of rubber grass as a new raw material for tires to replace rubber trees grown in the tropics. The company plans to start mass production within five years to reduce imports of conventional rubber from the tropics.

Although, when Li Zhaotong's "memory" traveled, the planting and extraction process of rubber grass was not very developed, but it was completely enough to get Daming, not to mention, the system was not a product of that era, as long as Li Zhaotong had enough life to go to krypton, what level of technology, the system also had a way to get it.

After all, the system is able to play with time, soul and lifespan, and engage in time-traveling, and the technological level of its maker can only be described as unfathomable.

Therefore, the question of whether there is a planting and extraction process of rubber grass in the system is a completely false proposition.

The real key is whether Li Zhaotong has enough life to go to krypton.

……

"Virtuous nephew, is this rubber really as amazing as you say?"

Emperor Hongzhi really couldn't believe that the strategic significance of this rubber would be comparable to ironware, because iron tools have appeared for so many years, and its importance is self-evident, but rubber, which has not appeared at present, how can it be compared to ironware?

If it can be compared to iron, why has it never appeared?

Emperor Hongji did not understand.

"Your Majesty, this was not said by the little nephew, but by the sage Lao Tzu."

Li Zhaotong is also shameless, because he can't say why!

Rubber, he has not seen it, or he has only seen it in the "memory" of fusion, and the owner of his "memory" is just an ordinary person, although he knows that rubber is common in life, but let him say the strategic significance of rubber, I am afraid he can't say why.

Therefore, Li Zhaotong really has no way to explain the strategic significance of rubber.

So, he had to move out the very useful shield of the sage Lao Tzu.

Anyway, he's used to it, no more this time, no less this time.

Even if the sage Lao Tzu really exists, if you want to shoot him to death, you won't wait until now.

In short, Li Zhaotong is already a dead pig and is not afraid of boiling water.

"What did the sage Lao Tzu say?"

The sage Lao Tzu's shield is indeed full of lethality, Li Zhaotong moved out, even Li Dongyang, who had known rubber for a long time, couldn't help but look sideways.

"Hmm."

Li Zhaotong nodded, and continued to make up lies without blushing and heartbeat:

"Your Majesty, the sage Lao Tzu also said, in fact, rubber grass is not the best gum-producing plant, the real best gum-producing plant is actually in the distant Golden Continent, there is a plant called rubber tree on the Golden Continent, that is the plant that produces the most gum.

It's just that now I don't have the ability to go to the Golden Continent for the time being, so I have to settle for the next best thing and choose this rubber grass to use first. ”

"It's the Golden Continent again, it seems that this Golden Continent is really a chosen place!"

Emperor Hongzhi sighed, and then, he remembered something:

"By the way, nephew, how are you cultivating the corn seeds I gave you?"

It has been a few months since Emperor Hongzhi handed over the corn seeds he got from Uruz Reis to Li Zhaotong, and Emperor Hongzhi is still very concerned about the growth of corn.

"Your Majesty, the corn is already setting ears now, and the little nephew estimates that in about another month and a half, the corn will be harvested."

Li Zhaotong has been paying attention to the situation of corn, after all, it is not easy to get that small bag of seeds, if corn can be promoted as soon as possible, it will be a great good thing for the people of Daming and for the growth of his life expectancy!

"It's going to be another month and a half!"

Emperor Hongzhi had some regrets.

"Your Majesty, if you want to eat, you don't need to wait for a month and a half."

The month and a half that Li Zhaotong said is the storage period of corn, and the corn at that time has dried up bracts, disappeared the milk line of the grains, and the black layer appears and the water content is very low, which is different from fresh corn.

Fresh corn, in fact, will be ready to be picked and boiled for eating in about ten days.