Two days later, Liu Yan rode out of the city and arrived at a village seven miles north of Qingzhou Prefecture, where Zhang Lei, the minister of agriculture, and Du Feng, the adviser, had arrived in advance, and the two were discussing something in the farmland outside the village with a group of farmers.

Miao Shao led a team of guards to guard the surroundings, and dozens of cavalry rode to the field, dismounted and walked into the ridge of the field, for fear of trampling on the seedlings in the ground.

Liu Yan also followed into the field, looking at the seedlings planted, but there was no joy on his face.

I saw that the seedlings in the field were all listless, and the soil in the field was also dry and powdery, and even a lot of cracked lines could be seen, which showed how little rain there was this year!

"Subordinates, see Lord Headquarters!"

Liu Yan waved his hand, asking Zhang Lei and Du Feng not to be polite, and then asked, "Have the sweet potato seedlings been planted?" ”

"It's planted, it's right ahead."

Liu Yan followed Zhang Lei, Du Feng and others to a farmland in front of them, where dozens of sweet potato seedlings had been planted.

Zhang Lei said: "Head Town, Du Feng was used as a serf by the Franco machine man in Luzon, and he learned a lot of skills in sweet potato planting, let Du Feng introduce it to the head town first." ”

"Well, good!"

Du Feng began to introduce: "Lord Zongzhen, this sweet potato planting is relatively simple, mainly divided into four steps: land selection and land preparation, treatment of seed potatoes, planting into the soil and later care. ”

"Land selection and land preparation is to choose cultivated land that is easy to drain and has a deep soil layer, and all the debris on the land should be cleaned up, and then the soil should be turned over to dry once, and then fertilizer should be applied in advance."

"As for the selection of seed potatoes, in fact, the plump sweet potatoes should be buried in moist sandy soil first, so that the sweet potatoes can be promoted

Sprouts, usually in six to seven days, sweet potatoes will give birth to shoots. Then cut the sprouted sweet potatoes into small pieces, with at least two or three young shoots on each piece. ”

"When planting, you dig a trench in the field, bury the seed potatoes in a shallow ditch, and cover them with a thin layer of soil."

"When you take care of it in the future, you should pay attention to the sweet potatoes not to get cold, and pay attention to drainage."

"In general, sweet potatoes are very hardy, but they are not waterlogged, as long as they are watered properly."

Liu Yan squatted down and carefully observed the sweet potato seedlings that had been inserted into the soil, and said, "You are talking about the method of planting and propagating sweet potatoes, and now this seedling is directly inserted into the soil?" ”

Du Feng said: "Yes, in fact, this seedling is after the sweet potato sprouts, gradually grown, in Luzon, are directly selected to grow seedlings, directly inserted into the soil planting, after planting, the soil is compacted, and then regularly take care of watering." ”

Liu Yan nodded, and said with a smile: "It's good to plant it, from today on, Consultant Du will have to work hard, with the people from the Ministry of Agriculture, they will have to eat and live here day and night, and this town will also leave a new army on guard here." ”

"Except for the farmers who help with the cultivation and the relevant personnel of the Ministry of Agriculture, no one is allowed to approach this place without a warrant from the town!"

Miao Shao, Du Feng, and Zhang Lei received orders one after another.

Then Liu Yan pointed to the four farmers behind the people and asked, "Those are the farmers hired by the Ministry of Agriculture?" ”

Zhang Lei said: "Those four people are a father and son of four, and they are farmers in this village, and this piece of cultivated land belongs to their family. ”

The subordinates looked at Consultant Du for a while and found that their land was more suitable for growing sweet potatoes, so the subordinates discussed with them

The land was expropriated. ”

"How?"

Liu Yan warned: "Don't let the people suffer because of trying to grow sweet potatoes. ”

Zhang Lei hurriedly said: "Don't worry, the subordinates have done this: this land will be requisitioned for one year, and the four of them, father and son, will participate as helpers, and each person will be given one stone ration per month. Half a year later, if the sweet potatoes are harvested, the Ministry of Agriculture will buy them at a price 20% higher than the price of grain at that time. ”

"If the sweet potato trial fails and there is no harvest, the Ministry of Agriculture will use the harvest amount of this land in a bumper year, and then increase it by 20%, and compensate with the grain price at that time."

Liu Yan nodded with satisfaction and said, "Very good, those who are officials must be people-oriented, otherwise they will harm the people!" ”

Zhang Lei, Miao Shao and others hugged their fists one after another: "Subordinates are taught!" ”

Then Liu Yan called the father and son to him, and the four of them obviously had never seen such a battle, so they knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Liu Yan.

Liu Yan ordered someone to pull the father and son up, and then said with a smile: "This time, you follow Minister Zhang and Consultant Du to work hard, and this town will never treat you badly." In the future, if this sweet potato is successfully promoted, your family can also plant the first batch. This town can assure you that sweet potatoes are absolutely high-yielding, and they are very tasty, and they are an important ration for my Qinglai town in the future, which can save the people from starvation! ”

The father and son thanked each other again and again.

Then Liu Yan, accompanied by Zhang Lei and Du Feng, came to a house not far away.

For the trial planting of sweet potatoes, the Ministry of Agriculture specially sent someone to rent a private house near the farmland as the residence of Zhang Lei, Du Feng and others

Place.

Liu Yan entered the house and took a look, only to see that there were a few wooden beds in the house, as well as some daily necessities and cooking utensils, and there was nothing else, it was very simple.

"I've wronged you, wait until the sweet potato trial is over, and the town will set up a banquet for you."

"Mr. Xie, Lord Zhen."

Then Liu Yan said to Zhang Lei: "Okay, Minister Zhang will go and get busy first, there are some things to ask Consultant Du in this town." ”

Zhang Lei was slightly stunned, and then he clenched his fists to receive his life, and when he went out, he also closed the door casually.

Du Feng was a little overwhelmed, standing aside and not knowing what to say.

"Hehe, relax, sit down first. This town is an interrogation, not an interrogation. ”

"Yes."

After Du Feng sat down, Liu Yan asked: "Let's talk about Xiao Luzon and Franc Jiren, be detailed, and tell me what you know and are familiar with, this town is very interested." ”

Little Luzon is actually the city of Manila, and at this time the Ming Dynasty used to call it Little Luzon, and the entire Luzon Island was called Greater Luzon.

In fact, Liu Yan is still relatively familiar with Luzon.

Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, Chinese merchant ships have often traded here. "Examination of the East and West" and "Foreign Biography of the Ming History" have special descriptions.

The difference between Greater Luzon and Little Luzon in the Ming Dynasty is from 1571 AD when Hanzhu Island in Luzon Prefecture was occupied by Spain.

Since ancient Luzon is rich in gold, abundant products, prosperous trade, has been in the five years of Hongwu to the eight years of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, three envoys visited the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming court also sent an envoy in 1405 to apply for employment.

In the third year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He, the eunuch of Sanbao, led a huge fleet to Luzon

, that is, according to the edict of Emperor Yongle, Xu Chai Lao, the leader of overseas Chinese in Jinjiang, was appointed as the governor of Luzon, taking over the political, economic, military and cultural power of the country, and began the period of overseas jurisdiction of Luzon by the Ming Dynasty. Although it only lasted about 20 years of Xu Chailao's reign, it is indeed a fact that the Ming Dynasty once ruled Luzon, and it cannot be refuted.

During this period, Xu Chailao spared no effort to carry forward the Han culture, implemented the rule of Confucian etiquette, disseminated the advanced technology of agriculture, fishery and industry in southern Fujian, and greatly promoted shipbuilding, textile, pottery, and tea planting, making contributions to the social stability, economic and trade development, and literary and artistic prosperity of Luzon.

It was also during this period that the number of Han Chinese in Luzon began to surge, but unfortunately, sweet potatoes were not taken seriously during this period and did not spread to the interior of the Ming Dynasty.

Then, in the 16th century, Spanish colonists invaded the northern part of the Philippines and met stubborn resistance in the Manila area. After the defeat of Suleiman (king) of Raja (king), Luzon was gradually conquered by Spain.

Of course, these are only the general historical situation, even if Liu Yan still remembers, but he does not understand the real situation in Luzon at this time.

Du Feng thought for a while, organized the language, and said: "Zongzhen, the current little Luzon is oppressed by the Franco, whether it is the local natives or the people of the Ming Dynasty who migrated to the past, they are all enslaved by the Francose and bear very heavy taxes and servitude. ”

"That's the case with the little old man over there, almost every month he works for the Franc man, and if he slacks off, he will be beaten. Xiao Lao once saw my Han family woman quilt with his own eyes

Gang-raped on the street, his family was executed not far away, and it was terrible! ”

Liu Yan frowned, and his heart was also full of anger, and he said: "What is the city defense of Manila, that is, Little Luzon, and what is the situation of the harbor?" ”

"Little Luzon was built later by the Franc machine people, on the basis of the Luzon royal city, expanded, reinforced, the city is different from the square city wall of my Ming Dynasty, but similar to the diamond-shaped appearance, there are many corner towers, there are two city walls inside and outside, there are several trenches outside, and countless artillery pieces are deployed in the city."

"Little Luzon City is backed by the harbor, and in the harbor is the fleet of sea ships of the Franc Robot, each of which is loaded with dozens of cannons, plus the artillery stationed in Little Luzon, and the stone city walls, those Franc Men once boasted that no one could break through Manila unless their gods came!"

"Humph!"

Liu Yan was also angry.

At this time, the Francophile entrenched in Luzon was actually a Spanish colonist, and Liu Yan asked about the strength of the Spaniards.

Du Feng said: "This little old man is not clear, but there are quite a few people in the city, and most of them use firearms, which are very sharp, no worse than the new army birds under the command of the head town." ”

In addition, the Franco-Mechanics also pulled up a group of native soldiers, although the equipment was very poor, but there were many people, it is said that there were more than 100,000 people. Those natives are good at using bows and arrows and poison darts, and they are very brave. ”

Liu Yan nodded, although he was very angry with the Spaniards in his heart, and he was not afraid at all, but he had to admit that with the current strength of Qinglai Town, as well as the situation inside and outside the Ming Dynasty, Liu Yan did not have the ability to make a fuss about Luzon.

“

Alas! Originally, he wanted to wait until the fleet was built, find a way to maintain friendship with Zheng Zhilong, and then trade with the Spaniards. Now it seems that this idea is a bit too wishful thinking, these two are cannibalistic jackals, one is a separatist warlord, the other is a colonist, and it is impossible for them to have friendly relations with the generals of the Ming Dynasty. ”

Liu Yan sighed and said, "This town is clear, if you think of anything in the future, this town will ask you at any time, and Consultant Du will go and get busy first." ”

"Yes."

After Du Feng went out, Liu Yan also came out to look not far away, only to see that everyone in the field was working, although there is a big drought at the moment, but the farmers in this village are still working hard, even if there is only a little harvest, and there may even be no harvest.

The people of the Han family are so hardworking, even hard-working, as long as there is a trace of the possibility of living, there is a trace of the possibility of being able to live, they will work hard like an old cattle.

It can be said that the Han nation is the most perfect, industrious, wise, and courageous nation in the world. But this nation, which is comparable to the silver men in the sky, is so full of disasters and difficulties.

For thousands of years, all kinds of disasters and all kinds of foreign enemies of the Hu nationality have taken turns to fight, all of which have crushed the Han nation and sucked blood! However, the Han nation has persevered tenaciously for 5,000 years and has not fallen!

"Only this time, can I organize the occurrence of the Jiashen National Disaster, and can I make the Han family reach the top again?"

Liu Yan originally lacked confidence in his heart, after all, under the vastness of history, no matter how strong his personal ability is, he will inevitably be crushed into the dust of history.

But when Liu Yan saw ahead, those farmers who were toiling the dry land, those

The soldiers of the new army who were on alert, Liu Yan's heart was full of fighting spirit and confidence: "With such people and soldiers, why worry about the great cause!" ”