The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty

"Going to sea?"

"High-yielding food crops?"

"What is all this?"

Zhu Houzhao asked with a confused face.

Tang Hao slowly said: "Your Majesty, the food crops of my Ming Dynasty are mainly rice in the south and wheat and corn in the north, right?"

After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao felt more and more confused, but he still nodded.

"Your Majesty, do you know the average yield of wheat, rice, and corn per acre?"

"Except for other factors, rice can be grown twice a year, with an average yield of about four shi per mu. Wheat is also divided into winter wheat and spring wheat, which is about four shi on average. Corn is much worse, with only two shi per mu."

After all, this is a matter of common sense. Although Zhu Houzhao has never farmed, he has a photographic memory, so he naturally understands it.

"Then if I told you that there are three kinds of food crops hidden on a continent overseas, which can easily reach a yield of twenty, thirty, or even forty stones per mu, what would you do?"

Zhu Houzhao stood up suddenly in shock, his body trembling with excitement.

The yield per mu is twenty stones!

The yield per mu is thirty stones!

Even the yield per mu is forty shi!

And there are three such grains!

What is this concept?

The current registered population of the Ming Dynasty is about 50 million, far exceeding that of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

However, it is precisely because of the large population and the continuous natural disasters in the Ming Dynasty that tens of thousands of people starve to death every year!

For example, there is a drought of locusts in the three northern provinces right now, and the people are so hungry that they have to change their lives to eat, just because there is no food!

If there is enough food, the population will not decline, but will soar!

What is a prosperous age?

How to evaluate prosperity?

population!

This is the final answer.

Zhu Houzhao wants to revive the Ming Dynasty, who can he rely on to complete it?

people!

A steady stream of people!

Whether it's fighting or farming, it all requires labor to achieve!

As long as there is enough food and enough manpower, Zhu Houzhao will definitely be able to revive the Ming Dynasty.

"Savage, do you know what you are talking about?"

"Could this be true? How do you know that?"

Faced with this series of questions, Tang Hao did not answer.

The Ming Dynasty really needed these three food crops.

Due to the different climate differences between the north and the south, wheat is mainly grown in the north. A young and strong man can get up to more than two hundred kilograms of wheat from one acre of land, which is about one or two stones.

The rice yield in the south is higher, but the higher yield is limited. On average, the average rice yield is about two hundred kilograms per mu, which is about two stones.

In the Jiangnan area, due to the numerous rivers, high water levels, and fertile soil suitable for rice growth, the rice yield per mu is relatively high, generally between three hundred and four hundred kilograms, which is about three to four kilograms.

In the Ming Dynasty, one stone weighed almost one hundred and twenty kilograms.

In later generations, rice production could easily reach more than one thousand kilograms.

But this is the Ming Dynasty after all, and the production technology is backward and far from being comparable to that of later generations.

This is the staple food for the people of the Ming Dynasty in the north and south. Wheat in the north yields one or two shi per mu, and rice in the south yields three or four shi per mu.

Therefore, a rough calculation shows that if a family in the north wants to maintain food and clothing, if they do not cultivate thirty to fifty acres of land, it will be difficult for several members of the family to have enough to eat.

A family in the south does not have ten acres of paddy field, so it is impossible for them to survive even if they think about it.

It is precisely because of the low output that there are so many hungry refugees.

But the crux of the problem is that the Ming Dynasty is in the Little Ice Age. The climate will only get colder and colder, and food production will become lower and lower. In the end, it will not be enough to feed millions of people, and then the dynasty will collapse!

The Ming Dynasty was an unfortunate dynasty, because China was in the Little Ice Age from the Yuan Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty.

The so-called "Little Ice Age", to put it bluntly, means that the earth's temperature has dropped significantly and natural disasters have continued in successive years, which has greatly reduced global food production, triggered violent social unrest, and sharp population decline.

During the period from Hongwu to Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, there were more than a thousand natural disasters, including floods, droughts, hail, locusts, heavy snows, and plagues... It made people desperate and numb!

During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the Fourth Little Ice Age officially entered. At that time, the temperature dropped sharply, and the entire winter in China was extremely cold. It lasted for decades, causing drought in the north, a massive reduction in grain production, and dozens of Years of violent social turmoil and war, and long-term famine were the fundamental reasons for the unlimited expansion of the war, and also successfully ruined the Ming Dynasty!

And now the Ming Dynasty has begun to show signs of success.

The most serious consequence of a drastic reduction in food production is famine!

In the first year of Zhengde, there was famine in Beiki, Shandong, Henan, Fengyang, Huai'an, Xuzhou and Shanghai.

In the second year of Zhengde, there was a famine in Su, Song, Jia and Hu prefectures.

In the fourth year of Zhengde, there were fourteen famines in prefectures and counties in Nanji, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, and Huguang.

In the fifth year of Zhengde's reign, Shuntian, Baoding and Hejian suffered from hunger.

In the seventh year of Zhengde, there was a famine in Shandong. In twelve years, there were twenty-four famines in the provinces, prefectures and counties.

In the eighth year of Zhengde's reign, Shuntian, Qingzhou and Kaifeng suffered from famine.

In the tenth year of Zhengde's reign, there was famine in Pingyang and Datong.

…

There is only a fleeting sentence left in the history books.

But behind these few words, there are hidden human tragedies such as thousands of people freezing to death and starving to death!

The people had no food to eat, so they could only dig wild vegetables and chew the bark of the trees. But after digging the wild vegetables and chewing all the bark, what should we do?

Eating each other's children and burning bones for cooking!

When people are hungry and mad, they are no different from wild beasts.

When famine occurs, a large number of refugees will be created. The court is unable to provide disaster relief, and there will be more and more refugees. As the refugees gradually "become beasts", they can only choose to rise up and gather in groups to make trouble in order to survive. Then, the beacon fire will burn all over the world, and the huge Ming Dynasty will collapse!

Tang Hao is a person from the future, he knows this very well, but he has never thought about it.

After all, human power cannot overcome nature. With his own strength, he is far from being able to change the fate of the entire Ming Dynasty!

He also thought that in his lifetime, he could lead the Ming navy to go to the sea, and go to the American continent with all his life's strength, and bring back all the precious grains such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, and corn, and leave some food artifacts for the people of the Ming Dynasty to keep them well fed and clothed.

Grain crops are important, and the American continent is equally important!

Putting aside new species such as potatoes, corn, and peppers, the American continent itself is a fertile land.

This is a continent blessed by God, where there are abundant products, fertile land, and a unique and suitable climate. From the perspective of geography, products, and climate alone, we have to admit that the American continent is even stronger than the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the people of the Ming Dynasty need it!

Therefore, Tang Hao needs to go there in person!

"Your Majesty, the news is true, but we don't know the specific route!"

"After thinking about it, I have to lead the navy to go out to sea and explore that continent!"