Chapter 424 Promotion (Part 2)
Half a month later, the people from Sinong Temple finally arrived in Lingzhou, and with them came well-preserved potatoes.
"Wu Encheng, who recorded the affairs of Sinong Temple, pays homage to Shaoqing!"
The middle-aged official leading the team quickly stepped forward and saluted Liu Ce solemnly.
"Wu Lu, you don't need to be polite. Did you bring all the potatoes?"
Liu Ce immediately asked. Ever since he heard Liu Guang mention potatoes, he has been very curious about potatoes. What kind of crop is it worthy of Ning Fu to let his uncle personally be responsible for promoting its planting?
"Bring it, it's in the car!"
Wu Encheng turned around and took out a rattan box from the car. When he opened it, it was stuffed with straw. He reached out and touched the straw and quickly took out a round potato.
"Master, please look, this is a potato."
Wu Encheng carefully brought it to Liu Ce and said.
Liu Ce looked at the potato carefully and saw that it was about the size of a fist, earthy yellow, and looked pitted, and there was nothing surprising about it.
"This thing doesn't look particularly delicious, does it?"
Liu Ce looked at it for a long time before speaking. According to the rumors told by Liu Guang, potatoes are extremely delicious. Only His Majesty the Emperor and a few ministers are lucky enough to taste the taste of potatoes.
"Shaoqing, don't listen to the rumors from the outside. Potatoes taste very bland, similar to steamed buns. Their only function is to fill your stomach. However, their yield is much better than that of wheat and rice."
"I see, then how do you plant this thing? Can it be planted directly into the ground?"
Liu Ce then curiously asked, if this potato was a seed, it would be too big.
"That's not true. Potatoes need to be germinated first, and then cut into pieces for planting. One potato can sprout many sprouts. We have tested these in the capital, and there will definitely be no problems."
Wu Eun-cheng patted his chest and promised.
Before they came to Lingzhou, they all learned about the growing habits of potatoes, especially Wu Encheng. He was already proficient in farming at Sinong Temple. When the potatoes were first delivered to Ning Fu, they were given to him to plant. It can be said that in
Throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty, Wu Encheng was the person who knew Tudou best.
"That's great. Let's go to the inn first and talk in detail after we settle down!"
Liu Ce felt relieved after hearing this. It was nothing more than promoting a new crop, and with the help of people like Wu Encheng, it shouldn't be difficult.
In the next two days, Liu Ce asked Wu Encheng and others about the growth habits of potatoes. After all, if he wanted to promote this thing, he, the young minister, must also understand the quality of this thing, otherwise there would be no promotion.
But the more he learned about it, the more shocked Liu Ce was. He finally understood why Ning Fu had put so much effort into promoting potatoes. The yield of this product was simply amazing, and it was drought and salt-alkali resistant. It was perfect for farming in the northwest.
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Wu Encheng also took advantage of the right temperature to start sprouting potatoes during this period.
The potatoes they brought this time were not many, because there were not many potatoes in the first place. The potatoes harvested before were divided into two, half was kept in the capital, and the other half was taken to Lingzhou by Wu Encheng and others.
Liu Ce made a rough estimate and found that after germination, the potatoes he brought could only cover seven or eight acres of land.
So Liu Ce discussed it with Liu Guang, and simply set aside a separate field next to Lingzhou for Wu Encheng and others to use for breeding. It is estimated that potatoes will be officially promoted in Lingzhou in the second half of the year.
As for how to promote potato cultivation, Liu Ce has already thought about it.
He ran outside the city again, then found Wu Wei and other veteran generals who had retired from the army, took them around the potato fields, and told them that these were high-yielding crops brought back from overseas by people sent by Ning Fu.
I want to try planting some in their fields first.
Wu Wei and others agreed without even thinking about it. After all, after they came to Lingzhou, they not only divided the fields and seeds, but were even exempted from taxes for five years. It can be said that they were all thanks to Ning Fu.
Now Ning Fu needs their help to grow something, which is simply not worth mentioning. Even if they don't know whether it is high-yielding, but out of trust in Ning Fu, they are willing even if they work for a year in vain.
With the support of people like Wu Wei, it can be said that there is almost no obstacle to the promotion of potatoes in Lingzhou.
After Wu Wei and others see the potato yield with their own eyes, they will definitely be more active in planting potatoes, thus motivating other farmers to plant potatoes.
Of course, Liu Ce will not be idle. When the time comes, he can ask Wu Encheng to specially cultivate potato seedlings and sell them to farmers willing to grow potatoes to speed up the promotion of potatoes.
In addition to Lingzhou, potatoes are also being promoted here in Beijing.
To be precise, Ning Fu set aside several imperial estates specifically for growing potatoes. Anyway, the imperial estates were his private property, and he could grow whatever he wanted.
When promoting potatoes, Ning Fu does not intend to use force, but inducements. Only when the people see the benefits, will they become more active.
For example, when potatoes are grown in Huangzhuang, the people only hear the name of potatoes but cannot see potatoes because potatoes are only in Huangzhuang. This will only aggravate the curiosity of the people.
There will even be no need for Ningfu to promote it at all. People will naturally try their best to find potatoes and plant them. Once they taste the benefits, more people will definitely be encouraged to plant them.
The only regret that Ning Fu felt was that there were still too few potatoes brought back from America. Even if he planted one crop, it would still not be enough to save all the seeds.
Fortunately, potatoes reproduce very quickly. One potato can sprout many sprouts, and when cut and planted, they can grow into plants. So by next year, they will probably be planted on a large scale around the capital.
The value of potatoes also made Ning Fu give one to the civil and military officials in the court, letting them know that overseas is not all barren and barren land, but there are also rich lands like America.
A mere potato can solve the food shortage problem that has existed in the history of the Central Plains. If we find some high-yielding crops, we may be able to stabilize the country of Zhou Dynasty forever. After all, as long as there is food to eat, the people will not risk rebellion.
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Therefore, under this situation, officials began to pay attention to America. When Ning Fu organized the second ship to America, he no longer secretly announced it directly in the court. Almost all officials agreed, and even
Some officials felt that the number of ships dispatched was a bit low.
However, Ning Fu finally decided to send five ships. After all, he had only gone to America once, and the route had not been completely figured out. It was also a lot of luck that Wu Sandao and the others were able to come back last time.
To put it bluntly, even if all five ships were lost on the road this time, Dazhou would bear the price.
Chapter completed!