The Ming Dynasty started with caution

"The Ming Dynasty's maritime ban prohibits the import of foreign goods. The court has ordered that they be seized. Although ports everywhere have turned a blind eye, now that the news has reached the capital, your majesty will not ignore it."

"Now that the Earl of Changning has used foreign goods to "poison" the empress dowager, your majesty will probably be furious."

Xiao Jing whispered.

"Who is the imperial physician in the palace?"

"The chief judge of the Imperial Hospital, Imperial Physician Liu."

The empress dowager trusted Imperial Physician Liu very much and had already taken him as her personal physician. Yan Chengjin guessed a little.

After a while, the eunuch summoned him in.

Yan Chengjin entered the bedroom and saw a half-eaten roasted corn on the side. Half of it had been eaten...

"Where is the prince."

"Your majesty, the prince is still in Liangxiang and should be here soon."

Zhu Houzhao didn't know that the empress dowager was ill. This guy tried every means to rush to Liangxiang and insisted on riding the Ferris wheel before he was willing to leave.

He rushed back to the palace because he was afraid that Zhou Yu would spoil the corn, but he was still a step too late.

"I have a way, maybe let the empress dowager try it..."

The eyes of Emperor Hongzhi lit up, and Yan Chengjin ordered people to find a dozen eggs, beat the egg whites into a bowl, and brought it to Liu Wentai: "Please ask Liu Imperial Physician to try the toxicity."

Raw egg whites are not poisonous, but for the sake of caution, let Liu Wentai try it first.

Liu Wentai took a small sip with a golden spoon and nodded.

"The Yan family wants to use this as medicine?"

Yan Chengjin felt it necessary to popularize the knowledge of heavy metal poisoning, so that no one would eat it by mistake and not know how to solve it.

"Corn is not toxic, cinnabar and copper are toxic, and taking egg white liquid may solve it."

The concept of heavy metals was not understood by Emperor Hongzhi and others, and Yan Chengjin was concise.

Liu Wentai fed the egg white to the empress dowager, which tasted very fishy. The empress dowager couldn't help but retching after drinking two sips.

"Good medicine tastes bitter, please take it all."

The empress dowager held her breath and drank it all. Her complexion was relieved a lot. Empress Zhang helped her lie down and she fell asleep soon.

Emperor Hongzhi said to Yan Chengjin and Zhou Yu: "You two come with me to Fengtian Hall."

Fengtian Hall,

Emperor Hongzhi sat quietly on the throne, and on the imperial table was a piece of corn, which was the leftover of the empress dowager.

Yan Chengjin stood aside, and the cabinet ministers and the six ministries were all there.

Zhou Yu and the old Taoist knelt on the ground.

"I heard that this golden fruit is produced in Liangxiang. Yan Qing's family allows the Arabs to do business in Liangxiang?"

"Yes."

Foreigners need to be in compliance with the Ming Dynasty for trading. The French and Arabs are not included. Under the strict implementation of the Ming Dynasty's maritime ban, the French and Arabs came to the capital to do business, which was too blatant.

"Why is that?"

Yan Chengjin naturally wanted Liangxiang to become the righteous bird of the Ming Dynasty, so that merchants from all over the world would gather in Liangxiang, bring a wide range of goods, and make the Ming Dynasty stronger.

"I naturally want to feed more people. Although the Arabs and the French are hateful, they brought many exotic goods. The golden fruit is called corn, which is the same staple food as rice. It's just that the old Taoist added cinnabar and copper, and the queen mother was poisoned after taking it."

Rice?

The Hongzhi Emperor and Li Dongyang and others became serious.

Anything with the word "rice" can be eaten.

There are refined rice, brown rice, and broken rice in this world.

This is the first time I've heard of corn.

The old Taoist kowtowed quickly, and Zhou Yu felt wronged: "But I had someone try it before I presented it to the queen mother. To be honest with your majesty, it was me who tried it. I'm kneeling here..."

"Did the Earl of Changning try one?"

Zhou Yu nodded.

Yan Chengjin said: "That's it. The Lord Changning only tried one corn. The Queen Mother took half a corn, and the symptoms would show up faster."

After the Queen Mother took the egg white, the symptoms were relieved a lot. Yan Chengjin seemed to have studied this thing. Emperor Hongzhi asked: "How to eat this thing, how much is the yield per mu, and how to cultivate it?"

Yan Chengjin wanted to grind a corn into powder and make corn paste for Emperor Hongzhi to taste, but there were only six corns left, and it couldn't be wasted.

"This thing is the food of the Franks. Corn is to them like rice is to the Han people."

Yan Chengjin hit the point directly, "Just like rice is to the Han people" This sentence deeply touched Emperor Hongzhi and Li Dongyang and others.

It goes without saying how important rice is to the Han people.

Li Dongyang and others looked solemn.

Yan Chengjin has always been cautious, and he would not speak without evidence. This guy dared to make such a conclusion, which was almost right.

"As for the yield per mu, I don't know, but corn can be cultivated on dry land, the straw can be used to feed cattle and can also be used as firewood. Your Majesty can order the imperial envoy to try to cultivate it in Hainan. This thing is like oranges in the south and citrons in the north, and it needs to be planted in the south."

August is about to pass, and the weather in the capital is cold and frozen, and nothing can grow.

Hainan is like spring all year round. It is called the Silicon Valley of seeds and is a natural greenhouse.

For the Ming Dynasty facing the Little Ice Age, it is a treasure land to be reclaimed.

Three crops a year, corn can also be planted in winter, and the yield is not low.

It is completely used as a grain production base, comparable to Suzhou and Lake.

It is a waste to leave it overseas.

Bring corn to Hainan for planting, and in the spring of the following year, a large amount of seeds can be brought back to the Ming Dynasty, and then promoted during the spring plowing.

"But Hainan is now very barren." Yan Chengjin thought to himself.

Emperor Hongzhi thought for a long time. Although Hainan is the territory of the Ming Dynasty, it is no different from the chieftain. The court rarely appoints officials to Hainan, and most of them are managed by local chieftains.

The former Wenyuan Pavilion Grand Secretary Qiu Rui was from Hainan.

Even so, Hainan was still a wild land in his eyes.

Liu Jian said: "This person must not only be good at farming, but also deal with local chieftains, and it will take a lot of people to open up wasteland."

Li Dongyang and others nodded.

"I recommend Hanyuan Li Kang, and the refugees from Liangxiang can go there to open up wasteland."

Emperor Hongzhi looked straight at Yan Chengjin and said: "Mr. Yan, I ask you, you are not allowed to lie to the emperor, how sure are you?"

"Fifty percent!" Yan Chengjin said against his will.

This trip should be ninety percent sure, but he only reported fifty percent to Emperor Hongzhi.

Li Kang is different from others. He is not from a wealthy family, but from a farmer. Like Li Dongyang, he is a poor scholar. He is not like other Hanlin who knows nothing about farming.

When he was in the Hanlin Academy, he copied the most agricultural books and understood the seasons.

Emperor Hongzhi secretly added 20% in his heart, which was 70%, and said: "Pass on my order, order Li Kang to go to Hainan as an imperial envoy!"

Li Kang was a little flattered when he received the order. The one who came to announce the order was the eunuch Xiao Gonggong who held the seal of the Silijian, which made him feel that he was greatly valued. He was not afraid of being sent to Hainan, but being appointed by His Majesty really made him feel like a dream.

"This is not exile."

Li Kang nodded heavily and took the imperial edict.

Yan Chengjin took the imperial edict to Liangxiang and asked Zhang Xian to recruit 3,000 strong men to go to Hainan with Li Kang to open up wasteland.

The price is twice that of the workshop, and it will be returned after four months. Half of the wages will be paid first, and the other half will be paid after returning. After returning, you can still work as a worker in the Liangxiang workshop.

This phenomenon often occurs in the canal transport. After the merchants paid the wages, the sailors jumped off the ship halfway through the ship. This phenomenon is very common in the Ming Dynasty.

Yan Chengjin had to be cautious.

"The Tusi rebellion in Hainan is serious. I'm afraid that Li Kang, a civil servant, is not qualified to handle the situation."