Red Mansions: My Book is Cool

A steady stream of fist-sized sweet potatoes were dug out of the soil and piled up in the open space next to them.After a short time, it piled up like a hill.The people on the side were stunned, too shocked to speak.In a place with a large tabletop, strings can be dug out from the ground. How can the yield of sweet potatoes be so high?

But what is this sweet potato? It grows in the ground and looks weird. Everyone has never seen it before. Can this thing be eaten?If it can be used as food, that would be great!

The words of Emperor Yongjia flashed through everyone's minds. The birthday gift jointly presented by Prince Zhongshun and Lin Mingan was his favorite in his lifetime, and they all felt envious and jealous immediately.This is not only a birthday gift that satisfies the emperor, it is the kind of golden merit that can be transformed into a certain official position and title!

Prince Zhongshun ordered people to weigh the dug up sweet potatoes one by one, and then reported the size of the field. At that time, someone quickly calculated that the yield of sweet potatoes was five or six times that of rice and wheat. Moreover, this field , it's not Ueda, it's just ordinary Nakata.

"My lord, what is this sweet potato? How come it has never been seen in Daqing, and the production capacity is so high? Can it be eaten?" Hubu Shangshu asked excitedly.

"This sweet potato was originally an overseas product. After Westerners sailed to a strange continent far away and found it, they transported it back to the Western country to plant it. Then it was brought into Luzon, which was captured by them. When I was young, I worshiped a Gao Dao is a master, he has traveled all over the world, and he has seen this thing before." Lin Mingan stood up at this moment, and spoke eloquently, making up a story about the origin of this sweet potato to cover it up.

"Sweet potatoes are drought-resistant and easy to live. They can be planted in mountains, uplands, beaches, and sandy lands regardless of the soil quality. They can be planted twice a year. The combined production of spring potatoes and summer potatoes is several times that of rice and wheat. If you find out With experience and good planting, it can be up to ten times higher." Lin Mingan explained.

"Therefore, Ming An mentioned this thing to the king, saying that it can make the world free from hunger and discouragement, and hoped to do his part for the court and the people. This king thought about it, and sent someone to contact foreign businessmen, and issued an important order. After searching for rewards, a merchant finally brought back the sweet potato seedlings. The king immediately planted the sweet potato seedlings in the Huangzhuang of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to Ming An's guidance, he invited the most experienced old farmers to plant the sweet potato seedlings on various types of soil. Carrying out the experiment, now finally the emperor pays off!" Prince Zhongshun said.

"After this experiment is successful, I can separate the best sweet potato seedlings and send them to various places for planting. Those barren places, such as the Northwest, are not suitable for planting rice and wheat, but sweet potatoes should be able to grow alive. Then, the people in those places will no longer have to worry about hunger and hunger.”

"My lord, these sweet potato farmers are planting some in front of and behind their houses, and it can be worth half a year's ration. However, the farmers are afraid that it is not as delicious as rice and wheat." Lin Mingan said with a smile.

"Cough, Ming An, do you think farmers can afford white rice and refined noodles?" Prince Zhongshun sighed, "I know you are open-minded and modest, so you only tell the shortcomings of this sweet potato. But the rice and wheat are only so much. After the farmers paid their tax and rent, can the rest be freed to eat? Isn’t it half hungry and half full, mixed with beans and wild vegetables? I don’t know how much better sweet potatoes are compared to those wild vegetables! What’s more , this sweet potato tastes good too!"

As Prince Zhongshun said, he turned to the crowd and said: "To be honest, two days ago, the sweet potatoes from another field were harvested, and the chefs followed Ming An's advice and used sweet potatoes to make a lot of different dishes. The king tasted it, and thought it was delicious and novel, even the emperor liked it very much. Today, all the adults are here, and the king ordered someone to make a 'sweet potato feast', please try it too!"

Of course, this 'Sweet Potato Feast' is not only for eating sweet potatoes, but also a lot of fresh vegetables, chicken, duck, fish, mountain products, etc. on the Zhuangzi.However, the various foods made from sweet potatoes still opened everyone's horizons, and they were amazed.Because these foods have a novel taste, there are many varieties, and some production methods are still original in this era, and people have never tasted such a taste.

Fried sweet potato chips, baked sweet potato, sweet potato cake, shredded sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, sweet potato leaf cake, sweet potato soup, dried sweet potato, sweet potato porridge, sweet potato cake, sweet potato egg rice, sweet potato vermicelli, fried sweet potato leaf

While eating with relish, Lin Mingan took the time to introduce a few sentences from time to time:

"Sweet potatoes can also be eaten raw, and the taste is sweet."

"Sweet potatoes can also be used to make sugar, make wine, and make cornstarch. They also have medicinal effects in diet. However, eating too much sweet potatoes will cause heartburn. You can eat them with some pickles."

"Then divide them for planting, and in spring, you can cut the sweet potatoes into small pieces and plant them directly, without having to grow seedlings."

On that day, all the people enjoyed a lot of sweet potato delicacies. Those who were interested took a walk after a meal and walked around the whole Huangzhuang. Every sweet potato field was full of sweet potatoes. They secretly observed and calculated, and couldn't help but feel worried. Exclaim.

When he went to court the next day, Emperor Yongjia calmly asked: "My dear family, what do you think of this birthday gift that Prince Zhongshun and Lin Mingan presented to me?"

Everyone looked at each other and nodded in agreement.Whether they are on the side of the emperor or the side of the emperor, they cannot deny their contribution.

"The ministers witnessed the production of sweet potatoes with their own eyes, and tasted all kinds of food made from sweet potatoes." Hubu Shangshu said excitedly: "The yield of sweet potatoes is several times that of rice and wheat, and the taste is not far from that of rice and wheat. The minister observed, The sweet potato grows very well in the mountains where the soil quality is not good and the irrigation is not abundant. This is not possible with rice and wheat. This is a great thing that benefits the country and the people and will last forever. The minister congratulates the emperor, for People all over the world celebrate!"

"It is indeed a great joy!" Emperor Yongjia also agreed with joy, and suddenly the topic changed: "The sweet potato was proposed by Lin Mingan, Prince Zhongshun sent people to find the root seedlings, and planted successfully under Lin Mingan's guidance. My dear family, what do you say? , should they be rewarded for their contribution?"

All the ministers naturally agreed in unison.There is no way, the credit for this is too great, even if you want to object, you can't find a reason, and you can only give up if you are unwilling.

"Designation," Emperor Yongjia turned his head and said to Dai Quan without hesitation: "Prince Zhongshun and Lin Ming'an are concerned about the hardships of the people's lives, they are loyal and fulfill their duties, and they have introduced high-yield and improved seeds to benefit the country and the people. They have made outstanding contributions and are in line with my wishes. To the loyal ministers, you should not hesitate to reward them and set them as examples. Reward Lin Ming with the title of Marquis of An'an, which will be inherited for five generations without descending. Inheritance will not be replaced. In addition, each person will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold, a hundred pieces of colorful satin, and two villages with a thousand mu of land, as a reward for their meritorious service! Lin Ming'an will also bestow a Marquis's mansion, which can be passed on to future generations."

When everyone heard this decree, they were all envious, and looked at Prince Zhongshun and Lin Ming'an with burning eyes.

This Lin Mingan was so lucky!He is only in his early twenties, he has already reached the fourth rank, and his status is noble, and now he has become a marquis of super rank!Marquis, only one level lower than Duke, that is also the upper level of titles.What's more, his title was granted by the emperor to pass on to the fifth generation.With such a meritorious service, as long as the descendants don't die or commit heinous crimes, even if they fail, they can maintain the wealth of the five generations.And with Lin Mingan being so capable, his descendants wouldn't be too far behind, right?

What's even more enviable is that Lin Mingan's ability is unique, and no one can replace it!He is not involved in government affairs, not greedy for power, and takes his own rewards and benefits openly, no matter how prosperous he is, he will not arouse the emperor's suspicion, and his political enemies will have no way to attack him.It can be seen how powerful this person's xinxing strategy is!Seeing it, another family with bells and whistles is about to be born!

Most of the ministers who are qualified to come to court no longer hate being young.Some people compare their own family's evils with Lin Ming'an, and feel very heartbroken; some people lower their heads and think silently, their daughter is young and well-educated, she seems to be a good match for Lin Ming'an, right?It would be great to have such a son-in-law, how much glory can my family enjoy!Some people were thinking about Lin Mingan's lawsuit, wondering what the outcome would be.

Prince Beijing smiled and nodded to Prince Zhongshun to express his congratulations, but his heart was churning, and he barely suppressed the jealousy and hatred in his heart.What is the merit of Prince Zhongshun?It is true that he has done some things, but are those things difficult? Did he have to go out to sea to search and run around, and did he plant and experiment in the field himself?As long as he gives an order, someone can handle it properly for him, at least he will supervise it diligently!If he were the King of Beijing, he would be able to do better!It's a pity that he is conceited and talented, but he can't stretch his ambitions.He is better than Zhongshun in everything, but he does not have the identity of Zhongshun!Without Lin Mingan, who would know what sweet potatoes are, what they look like, where to find them, and how to grow them?It must be the emperor who favored his own younger brother and gave him this peerless achievement, it's hateful!

What's even more hateful is the Jia family, how did they raise their daughter so jealous and unvirtuous, otherwise Lin Ming'an would be one of them!King Beijing gritted his teeth and thought.

He also heard Emperor Yongjia say: "Zhongshun, your errand is only half completed now. You immediately send out experienced workers to sow sweet potatoes in various places. First, experiment with small pieces to see if they adapt to the local weather and soil conditions. If successful, go to the next In the second or third year, it can be promoted according to local conditions. You must pay attention to this matter."

"Your brother complies with the decree and will definitely live up to His Majesty's expectations!" Prince Zhongshun happily agreed, knowing that this is the emperor's elder brother giving him credit and adding glory to his reputation.

"Your Majesty," a censor couldn't help but stepped forward and said: "Prince Zhongshun and Lin Ming'an should be rewarded for their merits, but, Your Majesty, the lawsuit discussed in the court yesterday has not yet been decided!"

Emperor Yongjia looked around the court for a week, and slowly said: "Since Lin Mingan became an official, he has been loyal to the emperor and the people, diligent and considerate, and has made many contributions: from the wool loom, the wine making method, to the cement. , and now together with Zhongshun to introduce high-yielding fine seeds, just by this act, the people of the world will not be hungry and all people will benefit! What is even more rare is that he never gathers party, never greedy for power, and does anything wrong. Zhu Qing said Say, is such a person considered to be my humerus minister?"

"Of course it is, Your Majesty!" All the ministers responded in unison.

"But, Your Majesty." The censor held the attitude of "not surprising the words and endlessly", and was about to persuade him again.Even if you are a minister of the humerus, you can't take sides. This is about human relations and heaven, and there must be an explanation!

"Since I am the minister of the humerus," Emperor Yongjia suddenly said sharply: "How can I allow the unscrupulous villain to slander, plant and frame me, and want to break my arm!"