"that's it!"

Several people stood up one after another and looked at the contents in the teacups, all of them were surprised.

"Your Majesty, is this... is... a pea?"

"Haricot vert……"

For a while, several people called it another name, while Zhu Guoqiang nodded and said.

"If you want people to survive, you must plant peas!"

"Grow peas? Survive? Is this possible?"

"Yes, it will become bloated if it eats too much."

Everyone looked at the blind pea in confusion. They were no strangers to peas. Although this thing was introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions, it had been introduced as early as the Han Dynasty, and it was just a cereal.

Picking up the peas on the plate, Zhu Guoqiang said when he saw them.

"With this, you may not be able to eat well or eat well, but you can be sure that you will at least not starve to death!"

Walking to the window, Zhu Guoqiang opened the window, pointed at the water droplets dripping down the eaves, which was the snow melting, and said.

"You see, no matter how dry the ground is, there will always be snow for several months in winter. In recent years, the weather has been cold and freezing, and the snow thickness has been more than a foot. Every spring, there is no shortage of snow in the ground.

Water, if there is a drought...well, it will have to wait until May."

Looking back at the people in the room, Zhu Guoqiang lowered his head and played with the peas in his hand and asked.

"Last year, there was a severe drought in Jinan. Why didn't famine occur in Tuntian Village at that time?"

Tuntian Village refers to the village where the strong men who guarded the city gathered after the land was granted to them last year. During the drought in Jinan last year, they did not starve.

"Many people have a lot of land. Every family has dozens of acres of farmland. But no matter how much land there is, if it didn't rain for two or three months last year, how much food could be produced from the land? Even though there was no harvest last year, one acre of land could still produce

It’s a harvest of thirty or forty pounds. Having more land does have some benefits, but this is what they planted last year!”

Last year, the young men were allowed to grow peas, which was only done occasionally, because it was not until the Jiannu retreated that hundreds of thousands of young men were sent to farm. Considering that these people only had two months of rations, in order to solve their ration problem, Zhu Guoqiang specially consulted

We contacted experts and finally brought millions of kilograms of pea seeds from the other side, and each household received dozens of kilograms. Experts recommended it not just because its mature peas are small cereals.

"Last year, Tuntian Village relied on peas with these characteristics to survive. You know, we only gave them two months of rations at that time, two months...it took more than two months from planting to maturity!

Well, more than 70 days!"

This is why experts recommend it - this is an early-maturing variety, and its growth cycle is about 70 days!

That is to say, if you plant it, you can get a harvest in just two months. In that special situation, peas become the best choice.

Another advantage is that it is drought-tolerant. It has stronger drought tolerance than many crops, with higher yield and protein content. It can grow normally in a drought environment with an annual rainfall of 250mm, and it is also relatively cold-resistant.

From these aspects, it is even more suitable for the environment of the late Ming Dynasty than potatoes. After all, the most extreme environment in the late Ming Dynasty was drought and lack of rain. Moreover, potatoes need to be stored in storage, while peas can be stored for a long time, and Chinese people have planted them for nearly two years.

Thousands of years. Unlike potatoes, from planting to harvesting, it is a new thing for most Chinese people.

Of course, potatoes will definitely be promoted in the future, but for now, let’s use peas for emergencies.

"More than seventy days!"

Looking at those humble beans in surprise, Song Xuezhu suddenly realized something.

"Your Majesty, I understand what you mean. If the people plant peas now, the peas will be ripe in early May. There is enough snow water in the ground now. If we plant them now, even if it doesn't rain for two months, we will be able to plant them now."

Although the fields are a bit dry, there is still some harvest, which is better than no harvest. If every household planted a few acres..."

Song Xuezhu's words made Deng Qian, Zhou Zhixun and others' eyes light up and they said anxiously.

"Then the people will have enough food. A few acres of peas can yield hundreds of kilograms. Even if the situation is bad, the whole family can hang on. It's better to hang on than starve to death!"

"As long as there are people who stutter, they won't cause trouble!"

"Even if someone makes trouble, no one will follow! Then Shandong will naturally be at peace!"

Everyone said something to each other, and then they all looked at the prince excitedly and complimented him.

"Your Majesty, this is a blessing from millions of living people!"

"Yes! The people of the world will be able to survive in the future, but it is all due to the crown prince!"

…

There was a lot of flattery for a while, and Zhu Guoqiang smiled and accepted it, but then Zhang Bingwen asked tentatively.

"Master, are these seeds enough? After all, ordinary peas may not ripen so quickly."

Although he didn't do much farming, Zhang Bingwen could tell that this kind of peas was different from ordinary peas. It took seventy days to mature, while ordinary peas would take at least more than a hundred days!

"Last year, Tuntian Village planted two crops. One crop was planted during the land transfer. Later, due to the failure of the summer grain harvest, they planted another crop in the autumn. Now every family has as little as two or three thousand catties. My idea is to start from the households who were granted the land.

Buy them there, and then distribute the seeds to various prefectures and counties, and distribute them to the people, so that they can grow peas. Each household does not need to plant a lot of peas, as long as they plant three or four acres."

"But, Your Majesty, the money to buy the seeds..."

"I will give money in the name of the palace. This... is the support of the people!"

That’s right!

This is the will of the people. Perhaps the thirteenth year of Chongzhen was the year with the most serious drought. When the 30 million people in Shandong survived this drought because of peas, they will definitely become their strongest supporters.

At that time, they will no longer have any emperor or government in their eyes, they will only have Prince De in their eyes!

"But, Your Majesty, if you hand over so many pea seeds to the government, if some officials, petty officials or local nobles take the opportunity to embezzle them, then..."

Song Xuezhu, who knew the rich nature of local officials, especially petty officials, had just finished speaking, Zhu Guoqiang sneered.

"Do they dare?"

Picking up the teacup from the coffee table, Zhu Guoqiang's eyes narrowed into thin slits, and then he sneered.

"In this world, there are many people who are greedy for money, but I don't believe that there are also many people who are not afraid of death. Xu Chu!"

He took a sip of tea and smiled at Song Xuezhu.

"Tell me, who in Shandong is not afraid of death enough to dare to touch my things!"

The prince's words made the four of them dumbfounded, but not at all!

The name of this man's murder has long been spread to Shandong. Xiaoling killed ministers, killed hundreds of officials, skinned and removed the grass, Ling Chi... How much a person wanted to die, so he dared to touch this man's things!

Although the man in front of them was extremely murderous, Song Xuezhu and others, who had experienced the battle to defend the city in Jinan, felt that this murderous spirit was the basis for the survival of this chaos.

In these troubled times, killing to stop killing may seem cruel, but it is the way for a man to survive in troubled times, and it is also inevitable for the people to live and work in peace and contentment. The kindness of women will only kill the people. Perhaps, this is what they are guarding.

The epiphany you only get when facing life and death!

"Well, please help me keep an eye on it. When I distribute the seeds, if there is a blind person who dares to swallow it, it will give me a reason to raid his home, destroy his door, spread the word, and say...

"

Putting the teacup gently on the table, Zhu Guoqiang sneered.

"Anyone who dares to touch a grain will have his whole family killed! Anyone who dares to touch a single grain will have the nine tribes killed. This is what I said!"

In an instant, the air in the room suddenly became cold and harsh. Song Xuezhu, Zhou Zhixun and the four of them stood up and bowed in response.

"I understand!"

Then they talked about some other things, mostly about their thoughts on Shandong. In fact, to put it bluntly, they talked about how to help the prince "take over" Shandong.

Of course, Zhu Guoqiang did not forget to tell them one thing - my son is going to open a palace and have a dental clinic, and he also invites scholars from all over the country to sign up. Anyone with talent can come, regardless of their origin or position. Of course, he also specifically told them that he would like to have a dental clinic.

Don’t shy away from relatives when raising others, and don’t avoid enemies when raising others! Just make bold recommendations. In fact, all you have to do is tell them - if you have any children, nephews or relatives, as long as you have talents, you can take care of them. Well, this is also corruption, but sometimes

, of course, in the end, they have to use them to spread the matter to the whole province with the help of officials.

Afterwards, Zhu Guoqiang naturally kept them in his house for a banquet. When they left, each of them gave a fruit basket. Although this thing is not valuable, you can eat grapes, watermelons, apples and other fruits in the early spring in the snow and ice.

, that is, even the emperor does not receive such treatment,

Watermelons in summer, grapes in early autumn, apples in autumn... Such generous gifts made Song Xuezhu and Zhou Zhixun burst into tears of gratitude. What's more, these fruits also include exotic "fairy fruits" such as bananas. Look at this unprecedented...

Fruit, they even thought for a time that it might even be the "fairy fruit" brought by the Crown Prince from the Heavenly Palace.

Could it be that these are the fairy fruits in Journey to the West? Can they live for a hundred years? No matter how bad things are, they can also prolong life?

"The prince has given such immortals to me and others, how can we repay the prince for his great kindness..."

Seeing them excited and showing their loyalty, Zhu Guoqiang was speechless for a while. It was just a basket of fruits...

Zhu Guoqiang knew that after the four of them returned home, in order to enjoy the fairy fruit, they not only gathered their family members, but also specially bathed and changed clothes, washed their hands and scented the fruit before they dared to enjoy it. They didn't even wash and peel it, perhaps because they were afraid of losing the fairy fruit.

gas.

This gut is so fat... there may be pesticides on it!

Of course, Zhu Guoqiang didn't know anything about all this.

After stealing half a day of free time, he rarely returned to the palace. Naturally, he began to enjoy the corrupt life of the privileged class. For a while, he only cared about national affairs. He had no time to enjoy life. Suddenly, there was dancing and music in the courtyard.
Chapter completed!