After entering the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, the north of the Ming Dynasty turned completely cold. Especially in the morning and evening, it is necessary to wear thick clothing. The climate in China is more extreme, dying of cold in winter and hot in summer. Only on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, because of the low latitude and high altitude, can it be regarded as spring all year round. Of course, there is also the higher Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is not hot in summer, but the average person has difficulty breathing, and it is also very cold in winter.

Except for the two plateaus and the hot southern tropics, most of the other regions have cold winters and hot summers. The difference is that the south is wet and cold in winter and hot and humid in summer. In the north, it is dry and cold in winter and hot in summer......

But strangely, this extreme climate with cold winters and hot summers is very good for agriculture. The summer heat can bring enough accumulated temperature to the crops. And the cold of winter can freeze locusts and other pests to death. If there is a rare warm winter, it is easy to have an outbreak of insects the following year. But in general, the winter is cold, and the land is still abundant......

Most of Europe, especially Western Europe, has very pleasant temperatures, but not for crops. Fortunately, the current staple food of Europeans is rye, which is as tenacious as a weed (in fact, rye is a hybrid of weeds and wheat, which is naturally "wild"), but it is not so demanding. If it is replaced with more delicate rice and wheat, it is estimated that there will be a famine at both ends in three days.

This, of course, refers to the situation in the backward agricultural era. Marin's modern agriculture is not afraid of such situations. For example, the temperature in Europe is mild, and pests that may not freeze the crops will not die. But it doesn't matter, Marin knows how to use simple pesticides such as Bordeaux liquid and stone sulfur mixture, and also knows how to configure pesticides with pyrethrum ingredients, so he is not afraid of any insect plague at all. Only drought and flooding are providential, and even in the era of advanced science and technology in later generations, there is nothing to be done. As for ancient times, it was even more heavenly.

Therefore, the feudal emperors of all dynasties will sacrifice to the sky for a good harvest and pray for good weather and rain. And the turtle god Xuanwu is the god of the main wind and rain, and the big turtle offered by Ma Lin will be regarded as the top auspicious.

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However, compared to the sweet potatoes offered by Marin, what a big turtle is simply not worth mentioning......

At the Shuowang Dynasty meeting on November 15 of the lunar calendar, Zhengde and the ministers discussed the sweet potatoes that were about to be harvested, and the monarchs and ministers agreed to participate in the sweet potato harvest ceremony together after the 20th of November 11.

To be honest, because the sweet potatoes are buried deep in the ground, although the yield is very high, the monarchs and ministers can't see it. So, although many ministers have visited, they have not seen any signs of a good harvest. Moreover, in order to ensure the yield of sweet potatoes, Marin also asked people to pinch off all the flowers of sweet potatoes to avoid sweet potatoes from flowering and fruiting and rhizomes from stealing nutrients. However, this makes the ground part of the sweet potato look even more wilted.

Therefore, when the Ming monarchs and ministers gathered in Xiannongtan on November 20, only Ma Lin was full of confidence. As for the monarchs and ministers of the Ming Dynasty, most of them did not believe that sweet potatoes could produce high yields. Even if he believes in Marin's righteousness, he thinks that Marin may be bragging. Of course, Zhengde believes that although Marin has exaggerated the yield of sweet potatoes, it should not be a problem for the yield per mu to exceed that of ordinary rice and wheat. Before the harvest ceremony began, Zhengde was even thinking about how to help Ma Lin get away with his promise if he didn't fulfill it......

After all, the "turtles", plate armor and war horses offered by Marin are quite practical. After taking the benefits of others, you can't turn your face and fix people at the right time......

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Before the harvest ceremony, Yang Tinghe found the soldiers guarding the Xiannong Altar and asked seriously if Ma Lin had made any "small moves" these days.

The so-called small action is to bury more fruits in the soil in advance, and there must be more dug up in this way. During the "Great Leap Forward" period, the units that "put satellites" used this method -- although they invited their superiors to inspect them, the people who put the satellites deliberately harvested the whole rice and wheat from other fields, and then temporarily inserted them into the "standard demonstration fields" before the arrival of the superiors, and then harvested and weighed them in front of the inspecting leaders...... As a layman, how can you see it? In this way, the "satellite" was successfully released......

Xiannongtan belongs to the royal sacrificial place, and soldiers have been stationed for a long time. If Marin has a small move, he can't hide it from them. After receiving a negative reply from the soldiers stationed there, Yang Tinghe signaled for the harvest ceremony to begin......

Because sweet potatoes have been raised to the height of "divine food", the harvesting process cannot be taken lightly. Before the harvest, Zhengde, as the emperor, first led the ministers to kneel down to the heavens and ask for the blessings of the heavens, so that the Ming Dynasty could truly harvest the divine food. Then, everyone came to the edge of "one acre and three points of land", surrounded the three red potato fields, and watched the results......

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After the important princes and ministers of the Manchu Dynasty stood down, Ma Lin began to command the full-time farmers in the Xiannong Altar, holding short wooden sticks to dig sweet potatoes......

Yes, it is not possible to dig sweet potatoes by hand with sharp iron. Otherwise, it is easy to hurt sweet potatoes. So, when digging sweet potatoes, Marin asked the farmers to use short, slightly sharpened sticks (the head is still relatively blunt to avoid poking the sweet potatoes) to dig the sweet potatoes.

Under the command of Marin's parents, the farmers carefully used short sticks to gently peel away the dirt from the side, revealing the pink sweet potato rind in the soil......

In order to protect the sweet potatoes as much as possible, after seeing the sweet potatoes, the farmers go directly to pick them up to prevent the sweet potatoes from being smashed with sticks......

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While the farmers were carefully digging up the sweet potatoes, Marin was a little nervous. Although he usually takes good care of the sweet potatoes in these three points of land and uses enough fertilizer, he is also afraid of accidents......

Fortunately, what Ma Lin said at the beginning was a conservative figure - the yield per mu is more than 1,000 catties, and he didn't dare to open his mouth to say a few thousand catties according to the standards of later generations. Otherwise, if there is an accident and the production is not reached, it will be a crime of deception.

What is the end of the crime of deception? That's going to kill your head! If there is an accident, even if Zhengde has a good relationship with him and is exempted from the death penalty, but don't even think about trade or anything......

Therefore, while the farmers were digging sweet potatoes, Marin stood on the side with a cold sweat on his forehead, looking very weak-hearted......

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In addition, Marin had also discovered something that made him very depressed before-the ancient acres were smaller than the modern acres......

After measurement, Ma Lin found that one acre of people in the Ming Dynasty was only 580 square meters, not 667 square meters in later generations. Therefore, with the mu yield of later generations, Ma Lin suffered a lot. If the final output is not up to standard, he will be guilty of "deception"......

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Fortunately, there were no surprises in the end. When the farmers put the cleaned sweet potatoes into the box and visually measured the amount, Marin had a bottom in his heart......

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"Weigh it!"

Shoufu Li Dongyang shouted, and suddenly, several strong officials from the household came over carrying a large scale pole.

Then, after several small officials let the iron hook of the big scale hook hook the top of the basket, they began to carry it and began to weigh it......

After several weighings, the household officials finally determined that a total of 623 catties of sweet potatoes were produced in these three points......