Queen Mother, she just wants to lie down

Ruan Qing's eyes suddenly lit up when he saw this.

This expression is familiar to her. It is the expression that people naturally show when they talk about people or fields that they really like and are familiar with.

Yang San is indeed reliable. The friends he introduced are not only good at business, but also good at farming.

Qi Min Yaoshu is an ancient encyclopedia of agriculture. All officials in the Ministry of Household Affairs and decentralized officials must read this book.

But everyone read it because the court had strict regulations, rather than because they really liked it. Even fewer people were willing to do experiments after reading it.

In the thousands of years of Chinese history, the number of people who are qualified to be called great agriculturists is less than the number of two hands.

Ruan Qing really didn't expect that a person who was not a serious Daxi person would be good at this.

That's right, Ou Yiheng is not from Daxi. He is a noble from a small country affiliated to Daxi.

The country he is in is called Cairo, an island country near the southern coast of Daxi.

The country's population is only more than 600,000, distributed on more than a dozen large and small islands.

The Ou family is the largest noble in Cairo. Their family owns an island covering an area of ​​nearly twenty square kilometers.

There are two natural lakes on the island, as well as a large area of ​​natural pasture and a large area of ​​forest suitable for making boats.

This island is a natural pasture and the most suitable construction site for ship manufacturing.

The Ou family is the best family of craftsmen in Cairo, and their shipbuilding skills are unparalleled in the world.

It was with this unique shipbuilding skill that he became the largest aristocratic family in Cairo and the only duke in Cairo who was not demoted. He was hereditary and could not be replaced.

Generally speaking, small countries with unique technologies like this are easily annexed.

But Cairo is close to Daxi. From the day Daxi was officially established as a country, it took the initiative to surrender and become their vassal state.

We are willing to supply ten large ships and various seafood products to Dashi free of charge every year.

All other businesses take Daxi first.

However, Daxi was not allowed to interfere in their internal affairs, restrict their business dealings with other countries, or attack them.

If any country attempts to attack them by force, they will not hesitate to donate the shipbuilding blueprints to the other three countries for free in order to gain protection.

In addition to Daxi, there are three countries in this world whose strength is not much different from Daxi.

As well as many small country tribes that depend on the four countries for survival.

They never cause trouble, always respect the big countries that live next to them, and do not make enemies with other countries.

In this way, this small country has existed for hundreds of years. The land of Daxi has changed several dynasties, but they are still standing.

Logically speaking, the eldest son of the Ou family, who grew up in such an environment, should have been an outstanding craftsman.

As a result, Ou Yiheng was interested in agricultural cultivation and business.

When he was a teenager, he eagerly read all kinds of related books and had an unparalleled enthusiasm for improving seeds, improving soil, and discovering new crops.

"I wonder what agricultural products Prince Ou has tested?" Ruan Qing stared at him and asked.

Daxi's current material level is between the Song and Ming dynasties. There are rich varieties of fruits and vegetables, including cotton, corn, etc., but there are no sweet potatoes.

There are many varieties of crops, but the only problem is that the yields of these crops are relatively low.

That is to say, it is lower than the average yield in ancient Chinese history that she knows. Ruan Qing suspects that there is a problem with the soil.

Of course, you can only know whether there is a problem with the soil by conducting an on-site inspection.

The poverty of the people of Daxi is inseparably related to the low crop yield.

Ruan Qing was determined to vigorously develop commerce. In addition to accelerating the circulation of goods, he also wanted to see if he could get some livestock and grain from other countries.

Except for Daxi, every other country has its own food specialties. If we can exchange what we have and introduce new grain varieties from various places, it may be possible to greatly improve and improve Daxi's food shortage problem.

Otherwise, if it cannot solve the problem of food and clothing for the people, everything else will be empty talk.

“The soil on our island is highly alkaline and is not suitable for growing crops, but my ministers are a little unfaithful and have been trying to improve seeds and soil since they were teenagers, but with no results.

Until the year before last, when I went out to sea on a ship, I discovered a new crop called sweet potato.

After I tasted it, I found that it not only tasted good, but also made me full, so I consulted the locals on how to grow it and brought back half a boatload of seeds.

I tried to plant a few acres of land on our island, and the results were successful. Not only was the planting successful, but the yield was also astonishingly high.

This year, I asked people to plant dozens of acres of land on the island, and the harvest was very gratifying.

If potato seeds are preserved well, all the idle land in Cairo should be able to be planted next year. "Ou Yiheng replied with a smile.

"Mr. Ou, if you are willing to come to see me with Yang San, does that mean you are willing to cooperate with us?" Ruan Qing suppressed the excitement in his heart and asked.

Sweet potato, she wants it, she wants it very much.

The yield of this thing is really high. With sweet potatoes, the food and clothing problem of the people of Daxi can be solved in less than two years.

The problem is that Ou Yiheng is not from Daxi. If she wants sweet potato seeds, she must be willing to give them.

"Of course." Ou Yiheng replied.

"I want sweet potato seeds, can you provide them?" Ruan Qing got straight to the point.

"Brother Yang showed me some Arabic numeral characters, which are very useful for our calculations.

If you are willing to pass on this knowledge to us, we are willing to exchange half of the sweet potato seeds. "Ou Yiheng said.

He was willing to come with Yang San to see Ruan Qing, but after seeing a few Arabic numerals given by Yang San, he was extremely obsessed with these numbers.

"Okay, this technique can be taught to you, but you have to agree to one request of mine. After you obtain this technique, it can only be used by your Ou family and cannot be taught to anyone else."

The application of Arabic numerals will definitely be compiled into a volume, printed into textbooks, promoted nationwide, and will also be spread to other countries.

But that will have to wait until Daxi's national power reaches a certain height, either to make all the countries surrender, or to unify the Central Plains, not now.

"can."

"Besides, Mr. Ou has been studying seeds and land for many years, and he must have great insights in this aspect. I wonder if you can tell me your opinion?" Ruan Qing asked again.

“I can’t speak of insights, but I do have some discoveries. The land on our island is alkaline soil, and apart from sweet potatoes, we haven’t found any other crops that can be grown.

In addition to the soil on our island, I have also taken soil from some crop-producing areas to do research.

Without exception, those soils are very fertile and at the same time consistent with the properties of agricultural plants. "Ou Yiheng said.

"I wonder how long Prince Ou will stay in Yong'an this time? If it is convenient, I would like to ask Prince Ou to help look at Daxi's soil."