Wang Zuo looked at the file in his hand, and then at the dark-skinned middle-aged man in front of him.

"You are Wu Canghai?"

"Sinner Wu Canghai, knock to see the master!"

"As recorded in the file, you committed the crime of smuggling?"

"Alas!"

Wu Canghai sighed heavily and said: "The criminals are people from Guanzhong, Shaanxi, ten years ago, there was a great drought in Shaanxi, there was no harvest, and the criminals had no choice but to rob the granaries of the rich families in the county with their neighbors, and in order to avoid the arrest of the government, they hid all the way, and finally came to Quanzhou, met several smugglers, and followed them to the sea. After going to sea, the original name was no longer used, so he gave himself a new name called Wu Canghai. ”

Wang Zuo didn't care about his sad history, he just wanted to know if this person could get sweet potatoes and potatoes.

"Whatever the reason, smuggling at sea is a capital offense, but now there is a great credit in front of you, as long as you can find sweet potatoes and potatoes, you can atone for your sins!"

Wu Canghai's eyes showed a hint of joy and asked, "Really...... Really? ”

Wang Zuo thought for a while and said, "Don't worry, when the time comes, this official will personally come to the emperor to ask for your life, at least you will be spared the death penalty." ”

Wu Canghai nodded again and again, and then said: "Although the sinners have not heard of these two things that the adults said, but when I was in Nanyang, I saw a kind of foreigner's rations, which we called artichoke, that is, taro planted by foreigners, and its characteristics are somewhat similar to the potatoes that adults said. ”

"Taro?"

"Yes, it looks like taro, but it tastes very different."

"Artichoke, sweet potato, potato......"

There are words in Wang's left mouth, this artichoke sounds like it has nothing to do with sweet potatoes......

"Tell me more specifically, what are the characteristics of this artichoke?"

"It's about the size of an egg, the skin is brown, and the inside is whitish and yellow, and because it resembles a horse bell, some people call it a potato......"

"Potatoes?"

Wang Zuo's eyes lit up and asked, "Potato, sweet potato, are they called differently?" ”

Thinking of this, I immediately opened the emperor's handwritten letter and looked at it carefully.

"Sweet potato, red skin, small like an arm, big like a fist, taste the same as pear dates, sweet and delicious, raw and cooked can be eaten......"

It seems like...... Not quite right......

"Are you sure the epidermis is brown and not red?"

"Sure it's brown!"

Wu Canghai seemed to think of something, and suddenly asked, "The red skin that the legal person just said...... The sinners suddenly thought of something else. ”

"Oh, what's that?"

"The sinners have seen a crop in Luzon. Luzon is an island country with many mountains and few fields, and it is said that it was the Francos who brought a high-yielding crop and cultivated it widely in the local area to alleviate the local food shortage. ”

"What's it called?"

"We generally call them sweet potatoes."

"Sweet potato?"

Wang Zuo felt a big head, sweet potatoes, potatoes, artichoke, potatoes, sweet potatoes......

What is this?

"This official asks you, how can you open up channels and buy some of the Jingshi as soon as possible, whether it is asking for money or getting through various checkpoints, it is not a problem!"

"This ...... I'm afraid it's not easy. ”

Wu Canghai shook his head and said, "My lord doesn't know, the Francois attach great importance to his species and never give it to outsiders. ”

Wang Zuo nodded secretly, since it is a high-yield crop, foreigners are definitely reluctant to take it out and give it away, this matter is really difficult to do.

"Sweet potatoes can't work, but what about artichokes?"

Wu Canghai said: "The artichoke is easy to handle, and the criminals know some friends in Jiangsu and Fujian, and they can contact foreigners, as long as they have silver, those foreigners are willing to sell anything." ”

Wang Zuo hurriedly said: "Without further ado, as soon as possible!" ”

"Sinners will do it!"

In the afternoon of the same day, a six-hundred-mile expedited set off from Beijing and galloped all the way south.

At the same time, from Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan, groups of people began to migrate north.

As the saying goes, no one wants to leave the land where they were born and raised for no reason.

However, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty a hundred years ago, land annexation has intensified, and people have continued to lose their land, become tenants, and even become displaced people.

Now the imperial court promised that as long as they moved outside the Guan, they could get a large amount of land.

Moreover, the imperial court will also distribute daily necessities such as grain seeds and farm tools, and each walled city will be guarded by officers and soldiers to ensure the safety of the people.

Since there is no way to live in my hometown, it is better to go outside the customs and have a try.

Zhang Liuyang is one of them, three years ago the Yellow River flooded, there was no harvest, the township gentry took the opportunity to swallow the people's land, in order to get a bite to eat for the baby, had to sell a few acres of thin land at a low price.

Although the family of three barely survived, the loss of land and the loss of the foundation of life became more and more difficult.

The First Clan

Today, even the only two thatched houses have been sold, and there is no way to live, so let's just follow the government to Guanwai.

You can't watch your wife and children starve to death!

So, a family of three followed the grain transportation team, out of the Great Wall, and came to the grassland.

When they arrived outside the gate, officers and soldiers began to take over, and Zhang Liuyang's family was placed in the Yumuchuan camp.

"Zhang Liuyang!"

"In, in!"

A scribe held the book and asked, "You have a family of three, right?" ”

"Yes, and my wife and baby."

"How old is the baby?"

"Five."

"Five years old is enough, when the school is built in the back, remember to send your baby to study."

"Reading?"

Zhang Liuyang's face turned pale with fright, and he said hesitantly: "No...... Don't read it......"

The scribe had received a lot of such people, so he naturally knew his worries.

"If you are over five years old, you have to send it to the school, rest assured, there is no charge."

"Huh? No charges? ”

"Yes, there is no charge. You take the number plate and go to tent 138, and then there will be soldiers from the engineering institute who will come to build houses for everyone, and then you will follow and fight, not in vain, and you will be paid. ”

Zhang Liuyang took the number plate and led his wife and children to find tent No. 138.

There were two wooden beds and some basic household items, as well as a bag of yellow rice, and an iron pot outside the tent.

When Zhang Liuyang's mother-in-law saw the yellow rice, she burst into tears with excitement and hurriedly washed the rice and cooked.

A short time later, a pot of fragrant yellow rice was served.

The child was already hungry and picked up the bowl and munched on it.

Zhang Liuyang sighed and said, "Baby, this will be our home in the future." ”

"What are you sighing about, isn't this place much better than before?"

"You mother-in-law is so ignorant, no matter how bad your family is, it's also our family, here...... Here......"

"What's wrong here, have you ever eaten such good yellow rice at home?"

Zhang Liuyang stopped talking, lowered his head and picked up the rice.

For some reason, the yellow rice here is really fragrant.

Next, the people of the engineering institute drove truckloads of cement, sand, and stone to the camp, accompanied by craftsmen sent by the Ministry of Industry.

Zhang Liuyang and other young men were recruited to work in the past, and they were surprised to find that this thing was very magical, mixed with sand and stone, poured on a skeleton made of bamboo chips, and in just a few hours, it was as hard as iron.

On the grassland, houses rise from the ground.

Once the cement house is built, it only takes a few days to dry before moving in.

In this way, one village after another appeared north of the Great Wall and gradually expanded further north.