Although Xu Guangqi is old, his qualifications are not profound, and he was not admitted to the Jinshi until he was in his forties, and he was able to become the third official of the imperial court now, all because he was trembling and walking on thin ice while he had real talent and learning.

Therefore, after listening to Ji Qingwen's words, he was finally aroused in his heart with a long-lost passion, and said with a smile: "What a Ji party!" If Brother Ji really has this heart, could it be that I am the first member of the Ji Party? ”

Ji Qingwen's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he smiled: "Oh? I didn't expect Lord Xu to give me such a face. It just so happened that I also had a printing workshop under the name of Jiangnan, and asked them to hurry up to print a batch of 'party membership cards'. This Ji Party's 'Tianzi No. 1' party member is none other than you, Xu Guangqi! ”

As soon as Xu Guangqi heard Ji Qingwen say more and more, the more outrageous it became, and he hurriedly said: "Brother Ji, these few words are just casual words from you and me, and they are just jokes." But half a sentence can't be true. In recent years, the situation inside and outside the government and the opposition has been unpredictable, and it is better to be cautious in words and deeds. ”

Ji Qingwen nodded and said, "Don't worry, Elder Xu Ge, I'm just joking......"

But he suddenly remembered one more thing, and said "rude", so he turned around and rummaged in the luggage, found two booklets, held them in both hands and handed them to Xu Guangqi, and said: "Speaking of the printing workshop, there are really two books printed in the printing workshop here, please Xu Ge Lao to taste them." ”

Xu Guangqi stretched out his hand to take the book in Ji Qingwen's hand, and with the bright light, he was already in tears-it turned out that these two books were neither old books such as "Analects" and "Book of Songs"; It is also not a textbook for exam preparation such as "Commentary on the Four Books and Chapters and Sentences" and "General Interpretation of the Six Classics"; But it is two scientific books, "Geometric Original" and "Agricultural Administration".

Among these two books, "The Complete Book of Agricultural Administration" was carefully written by Xu Guangqi by absorbing Chinese and Western agricultural techniques, and combining his practice when he planted mulberry and farmed; The "Geometric Original" was painstakingly translated by Xu Guangqi and the missionary Matteo Ricci. Therefore, for Xu Guangqi, one of these two books is his biological son, and although the other is adopted, it is not much different from his biological one.

Therefore, Xu Guangqi held these two books, just like holding two children who were waiting to be fed, and his eyes were a little moist when his eyelids were a little slack, and he asked knowingly: "Brother Ji, could it be these two books...... You're ......."

Ji Qingwen said with a smile: "Elder Xu, don't be excited, this is what I promised Elder Ge to do." It's just that these two books were printed, but it's a pity that the readers will only buy some scriptures and commentaries for the imperial examination; The literate people, on the other hand, are keen to buy books, and the sales of these two books are really bleak. ”

Xu Guangqi stroked the covers of these two books and said, "This is also something that cannot be helped. However, what is introduced in these two books is a serious art of helping the people through the world. The old man doesn't want to be able to benefit now, but only wants to be able to leave a seed like farming, and after thousands of generations, it can benefit future generations, even if it lives up to the old man's hard work......"

Ji Qingwen said: "Elder Xu Ge doesn't have to be too pessimistic. In fact, this book is still circulating. Not to mention anything else, when I taught the descendants of weavers in the welfare workshop of the Suzhou Weaving Yamen, in addition to learning some Confucius and Mencius ways, I also hired a few teachers with smart brains to use these two books as teaching materials to teach children some useful knowledge, hoping to come in handy in the future. ”

When Xu Guangqi heard this, two turbid tears suddenly burst out of his eyes, and he choked up: "That's good, that's good." There is no shortage of characters in my Ming Dynasty who are familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics, and if there are a few dolls who can learn some real talents, they will definitely make contributions to the court in the future! ”

Xu Guangqi's words were sincere, so that Ji Qingwen couldn't help nodding yes, but he couldn't agree with the words "making contributions to the imperial court" - you must know that according to the normal historical process, when the Ming Dynasty was succeeded by Emperor Chongzhen, there was only less than 20 years left of Guozuo; And even if you add the chaotic period of Nanming, there are not many days to run......

So Ji Qingwen suddenly had a dangerous thought, and asked tentatively in a low voice: "Has Elder Xu Ge ever thought about what if my Ming Dynasty dies like this?" ”

Xu Guangqi obviously didn't expect this, and after hearing Ji Qingwen's words, his face showed a panicked expression that he couldn't hide: "Brother laughed when he said this...... It's a joke...... Don't talk about it again in the future......"

Ji Qingwen really didn't want to dwell on this topic anymore, so he turned his words and pointed to the "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration" in Xu Guangqi's hand and said: "Elder Xu Ge, there are such things as sweet potatoes mentioned in your book, which seem to have been introduced to China, but I am in Jiangnan, why have I never seen it?" ”

Ji Qingwen knew that the great drought at the end of the Ming Dynasty, especially in places like Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu, often did not harvest rice, wheat, soybeans, etc., and this was the most important reason why the civil unrest in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty was never quelled. To solve this problem, the most important thing is to solve the problem of food and food. The key to solving this problem lies in the introduction of high-yielding, drought-tolerant crops such as corn and sweet potato. In fact, the main reason why the Qing Dynasty after the Ming Dynasty was able to feed a population three or four times that of the Ming Dynasty without necessarily developing much was the introduction of several high-yield crops.

Xu Guangqi scratched his head and said, "Sweet potatoes are said to be produced in the South Seas, and they were brought to the Central Plains by the Westerners by sea. However, it is said that sweet potatoes are not native crops in the West and South Seas, but are produced in a place called America (that is, the American continent), so seeds are very rare. At that time, the old man only learned about such a crop from the missionary ship, and he tried to plant a few trees. It's a pity that when I joined the profession, I abandoned farming. If my brother is interested, you can go to my old house in Songjiang Mansion to see if the sweet potatoes I planted more than ten years ago have survived. ”

Ji Qingwen was embarrassed: "More than ten years...... Even if you don't do it well, you'll die, let alone a few sweet potatoes......"

Xu Guangqi also looked embarrassed and said, "This is difficult." Or how about the elder brother go to find Zheng Zhilong and think of a way? Although Zheng Zhilong is half-hearted and not kind enough, he still has the ability, you pointed out the direction and asked him to find a few plants, and he was still very able to do it. ”

Ji Qingwen nodded and said, "Xu Ge is really good at people. I'm worried that Zheng Zhilong has a backbone in the back of his head, and he is unwilling to sincerely do things for me and the court, so I always keep him. ”

Xu Guangqi continued: "Brother, my Ming Dynasty also dominated the sea during the Yongle period, and now the Spaniards, Portuguese, and English people on the sea saw the banner of Zheng He's husband, and they didn't run away?" It's a pity that later, my maritime politics were abandoned, and I no longer have the courage I used to be. However, from the old man's point of view, as long as I restore peace one day, I will still go to the sea again. And such a heavy responsibility may also fall on the shoulders of the elder brother. The first thing to do is to rebuild a sailor of the imperial court, and then there will be no need to be afraid or rely on Zheng Zhilong's strength. ”

Ji Qingwen also considered the establishment of a sailor and a fleet.

However, the sailor is different from the army on the road, there is no successful experience of Qi Jiguang to refer to, and Zheng Zhilong is an unreliable ally, so the ships, tactics, establishment, etc. used by the sailor, Ji Qingwen is now black-eyed, and has no concept at all, so there is no substantive action.

And the only thing that is certain is that this is another thing that requires huge financial, material, and human resources, which Ji Qingwen can't do on his own now, so he can only bury this matter in his heart for the time being and secretly make some preparations.

Therefore, after listening to Ji Qingwen's current plan, Xu Guangqi also expressed his understanding of this, and said: "The elder brother thinks long-term and will inevitably do things solidly, and the old man will just talk about this matter first, but if the old brother really makes a move, the old man will naturally speak for the elder brother in the cabinet......