In the five years since Zhengde, sweet potatoes have entered thousands of households in the Ming Dynasty.

According to the latest planting area, there are more than 20 million mu in the country, and the average yield per mu has reached 25 stone with the increasing proficiency of planting technology.

Although there is still a distance from the standard of 6,000 catties per mu of modern agriculture, which is 40 stones, but in the era of no chemical fertilizer, the yield of crops cannot be increased, which is a natural law that cannot be crossed.

In fact, a large part of the high yield of modern agriculture depends on chemical fertilizers.

In fact, 25 stones per mu is also very good, if it is according to the tax ratio of 1 out of ten, this is 50 million stones.

Of course, in fact, there are not so many, one is because of the inevitable greed and loss in the tax collection process, and even sometimes a certain area is affected by a disaster, so it has to be reduced; Second, the country does not need to collect so many sweet potatoes......

Sweet potatoes are low in calories, which is a significant drawback.

In fact, the imperial court does not need much, but it should still be collected, and if the tax is not deducted, the motivation for private planting will be weakened.

Even if you can't eat it, you can sell it and provide disaster relief, in addition, in fact, many people don't know that sweet potatoes and sweet potato stalks can be fed to horses.

Sweet potatoes are rich in dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals, and when fed to horses in moderation, they are very beneficial to the health of horses and belong to excellent feed.

So the imperial court will still harvest sweet potatoes.

Of course, most of the sweet potatoes grown on 20 million acres of land are still eaten by the people, and the people do not have so many good lives, especially in some arid areas in the northwest.

In this sense, Zhu Houzhao has not encountered so many displaced people all the way from Beijing, and sweet potatoes have played a big role.

Therefore, Liu Jiancai spent his efforts to build a scale of 10,000 acres.

This is a kind of confidence, once encountering disasters and famines, people will not starve to death.

It was also in ancient times that Zhu Houzhao gradually understood the fear of the ancients about famine years, because of insufficient productivity, insufficient transportation conditions, and a drought in a region, once millions of people were hungry, where could they find so much surplus food? How many horses, how many people, how many carts do you have to transport them?

Therefore, Liu Jian proposed to go to see it, but Zhu Houzhao was still very willing.

As the emperor, he should implement this kind of engineering platform for local officials, and the place is not far away, so he chooses Licheng County under Jinan Prefecture.

Zhu Houzhao agreed to go the day after tomorrow.

Forget it today, after all, it is the emperor, and it is so easy to travel temporarily outside the palace.

And he also has today's things to do today, after all, so many people have come over, and it is not like listening to his chatter and letting people go immediately.

In fact, in Zhu Houzhao's concept, he should be the audience, and these local officials are the protagonists.

Anyway, he was out of the palace, and he had plenty of time, so he thought...... Then take some time.

So he said to the officials present: "Many of you don't have a chance for the biennial pilgrimage. Since I have come to Shandong this time, and the chief officials of various prefectures and counties are also there, then I should be patient. Listen to what the prefects have to say to me. Liu Jian, you said that these officials, big and small, are capable ministers, so I can order them at will. ”

"Of course Your Majesty can."

"Good. That...... Let's let this Linqu Guanzhi County finish talking first. There is no limit to the scope, no limit to the content, and don't consider that you are just a seven-grade official. Just say what you want to say to me, the emperor, in your heart. ”

The ministers who accompanied them were used to it.

Emperor Zhengde's move was never expected.

Even this, Guan Yanqing himself didn't expect that he would have the opportunity to speak directly to the emperor, so he was very nervous, and looked at Liu Jian with trembling lips, "Middle...... Zhongcheng, the lower official is this ......"

"Whatever your majesty asks, you will answer. You can just be sincere, what's so difficult about this? Your Majesty, you don't have to be afraid. ”

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Liu Jian with a smile, this high hat was worn by him, and it was not easy to get angry later.

"Good. Then Your Majesty, the minister will have the courage to speak today. ”

"Just say it."

Bang.

Guan Yanqing kowtowed, then straightened up his upper body and arched his hand, "The minister thinks that His Majesty has been on the throne for ten years, the national strength is thriving, and the number of displaced people in the world is decreasing year by year, especially in Shandong. Therefore, what I want to say to Your Majesty the most is not the field, not the case, but the etiquette. ”

"Lijiao?" Zhu Houzhao was a little surprised.

"Yes. The parrot can speak, and it does not leave the bird; Orangutans can speak, and they are inseparable from beasts. Today's people are rude, although they can speak, but they are not also the hearts of beasts? The ministers look at the strategy of His Majesty to govern the country, enrich the people and strengthen the army, and no emperor can come out of His Majesty's right. However, as the Book of Rites says, the reason why people are human beings, and not for birds and animals, is because of etiquette. Minister...... The ministers thought that His Majesty would pay attention to material things and ignore etiquette, and if it continued for a long time, it might be troubled. The ministers are of low rank and shallow knowledge, and if there is any offense, please punish your majesty. ”

"En......"

Zhu Houzhao looked into the distance, and he was also thinking.

Guan Yanqing is only a magistrate, but what he said doesn't seem to be right.

Because he came from an era of materialism, and in ten years, every detail of governing the country must have revealed his faith everywhere.

"What do you think?" The emperor asked the people around him.

Wang Bing replied: "The minister thought that this person was bold and arrogant. His Majesty did not emphasize material things and neglect religion. Don't you know the etiquette when you hear the truth, and know the honor and disgrace when you have enough food and clothing? Your Majesty has fed the common people, and then it is good to talk about etiquette. ”

"Guan Yanqing, how do you respond to this?"

The young man said: "After ten years of great rule in Shandong, there are more sweet potato wonders, although I dare not say ten percent, but eighty or ninety percent of the reserve warehouses are full of grain, and eighty or ninety percent of the people do not have to suffer from hunger. However, Shandong, as the land of Confucian temples, did not flourish in rituals. ”

"Your Majesty, this minister's fault is also." Liu Jian immediately confessed.

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand, he didn't care, "I have been emphasizing pragmatism for many years, but in the past few years, I have gradually felt that sometimes I should be pragmatic. Today you are free to speak your mind. ”

He himself felt that Guan Yanqing's words made some sense.

Material is important, but in the age of materiality, people must have a spirit to live. Otherwise, if you are full, you will be happy, and if you are hungry, you will be full, that is the life of a pig.

And he had twelve words and twenty-four characters of values at that time, so what kind of spiritual qualities should he, as the emperor, guide the people of the Ming Dynasty to have?

Spirit.

The power of these two words is far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

It can often burst out with tremendous power at that critical time of survival.

For example, should he give the 'Han' a more specific connotation to the nation, the concept of a complete nation, the concept of a sovereign state and territory? These are the basic elements of a modern state.

But in the 16th century, it was almost a blank slate.

This spiritual recognition of the same concept can strengthen the cohesion of a country in reality, and in the foreseeable future, it may also avoid the tragedy of the Han people losing the Central Plains again.

And Guan Yanqing was not angry when he heard that the emperor, and his heart was a little calmer.

The same is true for the others, they are basically afraid of Emperor Zhengde, because his prestige is too great, but after seeing it with their own eyes, they feel worthy of the name of the Holy Virtuous Emperor.

A small Qipin county decree really pointed out that the emperor's governance could be improved, and he could still live well.

This is the confidence that Sheng Shi gave to the emperor, because my merits are real, and you can't say a few words? Only Emperor Jiajing has been both a bitch and a memorial arch all his life, so he called Hai Rui to reveal it, and he went crazy directly.

So on this day, the governor of Jinan City, dozens of courtiers argued fiercely in front of the emperor. Although Zhu Houzhao was not directly involved, he listened carefully.

And more rural sages and literati who were unable to participate, but only heard about it, named this grand event as 'Monarchs and Ministers Watching the Ceremony', and it quickly became popular among the people.

Its connotation is the literati's expectation of a kind of holy monarch, and there are few such scenes from Qin Shi Huang to the present.

Maybe in a few decades, some people will be nostalgic for the beginning and reminisce about the past.