Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 568 Harvest and Marriage Alliance

In late April, after the Grain in Ear solar term and before the Summer Solstice, the wheat in the Yangtze River basin has already sprouted awns and is gradually turning yellow. There is only one month left before the wheat harvest. Meanwhile, in the imperial estates of the capital, the potatoes planted in early spring in February are now ripening and ready for harvest.

土豆这玩意的生长期是真短，早熟品种只要60到80天即可成熟，中熟品种要85到100天，晚熟品种则要100到120天。

Lu Jin wasn't sure when potatoes should be planted at this time, since they were the original varieties brought back from America and were somewhat different from those of later generations. So he had people plant each variety in batches starting from the Jingzhe solar term in the second month of the lunar calendar, with each solar term being a batch. They planted one batch after another, from Jingzhe, Chunfen, Qingming, Guyu, Lixia, to Xiaoman, for a total of six batches. Planting was completely stopped at Mangzhong.

After all, there is a folk saying: "If the Lesser Fullness is not full, do not plant during the Grain in Ear." This means that for most spring-sown and summer-harvested crops, the Lesser Fullness is already the grain-filling and ripening stage. Although they are not fully ripe, they are not far from being harvested. However, when the Grain in Ear arrives, it is not advisable to plant anything for early-maturing summer-harvested crops, because no matter what you plant, there will be no time to do so.

Potatoes happen to be a crop that prefers cool temperatures and dislikes heat. As long as the temperature is sufficient for germination without freezing, they can be planted. The optimal growth temperature for potato tubers is 16 to 20 degrees Celsius. If the temperature exceeds 25 degrees Celsius, the underground tubers will stop growing. Therefore, it's not true that the hotter the better; excessively high temperatures can actually lead to reduced yields.
In Lu Jin's imperial estate, the first batch planted at first grew very well, with lush potato vines and small white, pink, and purple flowers, which were quite beautiful.

The people in charge of managing the imperial estate were a few disabled veterans from Chaohu. Although they were born early, they were unlucky and were disabled and retired very early. The villagers were a group of semi-orphans adopted by Lu Jin.

They had been growing the potatoes well at first, but a few days ago, the earliest batch of vines started to wither and die. This startled them, and they thought they had killed the potatoes because they hadn't taken good care of them. But when they dug them up, they found that the potatoes hadn't died, but were ripe. So they quickly went to Lu Jin to share the good news.

Lu Jin had specifically instructed that if the potatoes were ripe, he should call on Lu Jin to come and dig them up himself, and also to measure the yield of these things in China.

Just then, Zhu Liangzu and Liao Yongzhong, who had been summoned back by Lu Jin's order, returned to the capital. Lu Jin then invited them to the imperial estate to dig potatoes together, bringing along their wives and children, as well as some high-ranking officials from the cabinet and the two academies who were available.

Originally, Qingming Festival was a time for spring outings and picnics. It is a traditional Han Chinese festival, not just for visiting graves and paying respects to ancestors. It is also a day for young men and women to go on spring outings and meet potential partners. The custom of going on spring outings during Qingming was abolished during the Qing Dynasty.

However, Lu Jin was too busy this spring and didn't have time, so he simply took advantage of the potato digging to invite several concubines and princes to the imperial estate to relax, so they wouldn't feel so bored staying in the palace every day.

In the farmland of the imperial estate outside the capital, the emperor, the prime minister, the general, the imperial guards, and Wang Zhen, an agricultural expert who was temporarily residing in the capital but had no official position, worked hard with hoes and quickly dug up the potato field. Mu Ying, who was already 11 years old, also followed behind with the four-year-old crown prince, each carrying a basket and picking up potatoes, then dumping them into a large basket.

Li Shanchang picked up a freshly dug potato, weighed it in his hand, and immediately laughed, "This thing is quite heavy. It looks like the yield per acre should be quite high, and the harvest time is so early. It is indeed a suitable crop for famine relief. If there is a disaster, potatoes can be replanted immediately. They will mature in just over two months. With this harvest, the disaster victims can get through the disaster year."

Lu Jin shook his head. "If we're talking about famine preparedness, potatoes are actually not as good as sweet potatoes. Potatoes are only suitable for spring and autumn planting, not summer planting. If there's a disaster in the summer, sweet potatoes are still the better choice. As for the yield per acre, we'll find out in a bit by weighing them."

Lu Jin had seen the giant potatoes of later generations, where a single acre could easily yield several thousand kilograms. But the potatoes in front of him were only the size of duck or goose eggs, with very few even reaching the size of a goose egg. One glance was enough to tell that the yield was definitely much lower than that of potatoes of later generations. Li Shanchang nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

A moment later, the fresh potatoes were weighed and the yield per mu was calculated. As Lu Jin had expected, the yield per mu in the field he dug was only 1420 jin, far less than in later generations. However, he was still very happy because this yield was much higher than that of Central America, the place of origin.

Feng Guoyong also said excitedly, "I heard from Marquis Bowang (Wang Dayuan) that the highest yield of this plant in Lizhou is only 1200 catties per mu. I never expected that after it was planted in our Great Ming, the yield per mu would be 220 catties more. It is truly fitting that our Great Ming has obtained this treasure."

Lu Jin also laughed and said, "The natives of Lizhou don't know how to smelt iron, how to use oxen for plowing, or how to compost and fertilize. The farming tools they use are still wooden and stone tools, similar in shape to the plows and hoes from thousands of years ago in China. They also don't know how to cultivate carefully. Therefore, even with the same crops, our yield per mu will definitely be higher than theirs."

"Our ox-drawn plows and iron plows can turn the soil a foot deeper, and we also apply enough base fertilizer, so it's only natural that our yield per mu is 200 jin more than theirs."

“That makes perfect sense,” Feng Guoyong and Li Shanchang nodded in agreement.

However, just as Lu Jin was feeling proud that the potato yield per mu in the Ming Dynasty was higher than that in the original production area of ​​Lizhou, a farmer next to him exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my god, this is incredible! Mr. Wang's land has a higher yield per mu than the one next to it, a whopping 1630 jin!"

"How much is the yield per mu?!" Lu Jin immediately ran over and asked.

The farmer immediately handed over a bamboo slip with the weight of each basket of potatoes recorded on it, and said again, "Your Majesty, this acre weighs 1630 jin. This is the weight of each basket, and they are still here untouched."

Lu Jin quickly calculated and found that the total was indeed 1630 jin. He couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Why is the yield of this plot of land so high? Is it the same variety as the one planted on the next plot? What's the difference between these two plots?"

The farmer quickly replied, "Both plots of land are planted with the same variety of crops, and they were even sown in the same batch. If there's any difference, the only difference is that this high-yield plot is managed by Mr. Wang."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately looked at Wang Zhen, who was smiling beside him, and asked, "Mr. Boshan is indeed a great agriculturalist. I wonder how you manage the land and why the yield is so much higher than this plot?"

"Hahaha, actually I didn't do anything special, just three things," Wang Zhen said, stroking his beard with a laugh.

"Which three items?" Lu Jin immediately pressed.

Wang Zhen immediately held up three fingers, “The first is to cultivate and mound the soil, the second is to apply manure and water as fertilizer, and the third is to pinch off the flowers to fertilize. With these three methods, the yield per mu can be increased by at least 10%. Your Majesty’s mu yielded 1420 jin, and my mu yielded 1630 jin, which is exactly 210 jin more, which is also normal.”

Lu Jin was even more impressed and said, "Old sir, you are indeed very knowledgeable in agronomy. However, of these three methods, I can understand watering with manure and applying fertilizer, but what is the reason for cultivating and mounding soil and pinching off flowers to fertilize? Old sir, you have never grown potatoes before, yet you know how to increase potato yield?"

Wang Zhen immediately shook his head before explaining, "Although I have never grown this before, it is quite similar to taro. Since they are both root vegetables, or what Your Majesty calls tubers, their cultivation methods should be similar."

"When I first saw this potato field, I found that the farmers here planted it on high ridges. After asking them in detail, I learned that this plant was for harvesting tubers, so high ridges were built and the soil was deeply tilled to leave enough space for the tubers to grow underground."

"Since the main purpose is to nourish the underground tubers, and this crop has such a high yield, it naturally needs more fertilizer than ordinary crops. Therefore, when the potatoes just sprout, manure should be added once."

"When the sweet potato seedlings grow to half a foot tall, I also find that some creeping stems will protrude from the ground. This is like the roots being too shallow and being exposed by rainwater. The roots cannot get enough nutrients, which will inevitably affect the yield. Therefore, at this time, we need to cultivate and mound the soil, cover it with an extra layer of soil, and press down the exposed roots or creeping stems with soil."

"The final pinching and fertilization is applicable to most crops. Melons and cotton need to be topped so that more lateral branches and flower buds can be encouraged, resulting in more melons, fruits and cotton bolls."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin nodded repeatedly. This was called removing apical dominance, something he had learned before, but he hadn't expected it to apply to potatoes as well.

Wang Zhen continued, “Although these potatoes don’t grow wildly and don’t need to be topped, I’ve noticed that they produce a lot of flower buds. Taro is the same way. If all the fertilizer is used for flowering, the taro underground won’t grow well.”

"So I drew on my experience with taro and pinched off some of the flower buds of this potato, leaving only a few flowers. Sure enough, the potato's nutrients were not wasted on flowering, and the underground tubers were able to produce much more."

"I see. I have truly learned a lot today. This knowledge is indeed interconnected. I never imagined that the experience of planting other crops could be applied to this exotic species from overseas. Mr. Boshan's discovery of a method to increase the yield of this plant is a great achievement. I must reward you handsomely today," Lu Jin said immediately.

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhen quickly cupped his hands and said, "I thank Your Majesty for your high regard, but I am already in my eighties and no longer care about material possessions. Staying here to tend to the potatoes is purely out of interest. If Your Majesty truly wishes to reward me, please grant me permission to stay on this farm for another two years. The tomatoes, corn, sunflowers, and other plants look quite fresh, and I have never tended to them before. I would like to stay here and observe them further."

"Hahaha, of course. You can stay here as long as you like. I would love for you to discover more farming methods suitable for China so that I can pass them on to the people and benefit all living beings."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhen immediately cupped his hands again and said, "Your Majesty is wise. With such a wise ruler on the throne, how can the Ming Dynasty not prosper? If I were decades younger, I would surely follow Your Majesty and make a difference for the people. It's just a pity that I'm too old to be of any use now, which is truly regrettable."

Lu Jin comforted him, saying, “Mr. Boshan, there’s no need to worry. Although you are no longer an official, you can still work the land. If you discover or improve any planting techniques, I will have them spread widely. You can still do things for the people.”

After saying this, Lu Jin immediately called out, "Is Li Zhen here?"

Li Zhen, the Left Vice Minister of Agriculture, had been waiting nearby. Upon hearing this, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I am here."

"Go quickly and write down the three potato planting and management methods that Mr. Boshan just mentioned, and distribute them to the three promotion bases so that they can follow suit." "Yes! Your subject will do it right away." Li Zhen immediately agreed.

After the potatoes were dug up and the yield per acre was measured, Lu Jin asked the farmers to select some large and good-looking potatoes to keep as seeds, while the rest could be used for eating. He also had the cook called over and personally instructed him on how to cook them. Then he washed his hands and took Zhu Liangzu and the others to the side to drink tea and talk about this year's war.

Lu Jin took a sip of tea before putting down the teacup and said, "Potatoes and corn are both good things. Yunnan and Guizhou are mountainous, and these two are most suitable for planting in mountainous areas. They also have high yields. With these things, plus the immigrant settlement, the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou are safe."

"When we set out this year, the potatoes should be ripe for another harvest. I will have the logistics personnel take a batch with them. Once you arrive in Yunnan, you can plant them there. They should be able to be planted in winter and harvested in spring and summer next year. Then they can be distributed to the people to plant."

The two nodded immediately upon hearing this, and Lu Jin then asked, "Have you both read the operational plan formulated by the General Staff?"

"We've seen them all," the two replied immediately in unison.

Lu Jin waved his hand, and Xia Yu immediately brought over a map and spread it on the table. Only then did Lu Jin speak.

"You two come here. You will gather at Dongting Lake, go upstream along the Yuan River, attack Guizhou first, and then enter Yunnan from the Bozhou region. There probably won't be any major battles in Guizhou, but things will be different once you enter Yunnan."

“You will advance directly from Puding and Puan to Kunming. Liang Wang will definitely block you in Qujing ahead, because Qujing has the natural barrier of Baishijiang River. The best way is to defend it. Otherwise, if you retreat, our army will be able to cross the river at will, and there will be no more such easy terrain to defend in Qujing.”

The two nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. Zhu Liangzu then asked, "I heard that the Prince of Liang of the Yuan Dynasty has a considerable army, numbering over a hundred thousand. Does the General Staff know who his generals are, and what tactics they typically employ?"

Lu Jin shook his head. "The General Staff only found out that there is a general named Dalima under Liang Wang. He is most likely the one who led the troops. However, he has no famous achievements. You should not be arrogant or complacent, but you also don't need to pay too much attention to the person leading the troops on the other side."

"After all, the Yuan Dynasty has already been destroyed. This Bazalawami is just clinging to life and can't cause any trouble. Besides, what about his hundreds of thousands of troops? How many people are there in Yunnan? Do you think he can support hundreds of thousands of elite troops? If he really had hundreds of thousands of elite troops, he wouldn't be content to be a regional warlord. Why didn't he move when we destroyed the Yuan Dynasty?"

The two nodded again upon hearing this, and then Lu Jin continued to give instructions.

"The Liang King's army will definitely hold the strategic pass of Baishijiang in Qujing. If you want to cross the river, there are two ways: either you can cross it from the front, or our army has the advantage of long-range artillery fire, which will not be a problem to cover the army's crossing of the river, but there is one thing to note."

"If we want to cross the river head-on, the vanguard should not rush to advance into the rear, so as not to become separated from the main force and be surrounded by the enemy. If the main force is then attacked by the enemy while crossing, it will be troublesome. Therefore, when attacking from the front, we must make sure that the elite troops who cross the river head-on establish a solid bridgehead on the opposite bank to support the continuous crossing of the main force. With our army's combat strength, as long as our army crosses the river safely, the enemy will have no chance of winning."

"The second method is to have the main force attract the enemy's attention from the front, while sending a detachment to go downstream to cross the river and infiltrate behind the enemy. Then, we can attack from both sides. The main force will launch a strong attack from the front, while the detachment will launch a sneak attack from the rear. The enemy will surely be defeated. Once we cross the Baishi River, we can fight our way to Kunming. The rest can be fought as before."

The two nodded again immediately, "We understand."

"Yes, and then there's this King Liang himself. Whether he's dead or alive, just wipe him out. There are still quite a few Semu people in Yunnan, so we need to clean them up this time as well. If we come across any of those Tianfang sect temples, we should demolish them all and kill all the sorcerers in them. As for the hundreds of thousands of troops under King Liang's command, we can just dismiss them as civilians after they surrender. We don't need to make things too difficult for them. Yunnan doesn't have a large population, and we'll need to migrate another batch of people there in the future."

"Finally, there's the Duan family of Dali. The Duan family has been used to being local tyrants. They are willing to bow down to the Celestial Empire and accept its investiture, but how can I allow a country within a country to exist? However, the Duan family still has a glimmer of hope and won't shed tears until they see the coffin. This battle is definitely inevitable, and the attack on Dali should not be underestimated either."

At this point, Lu Jin took out a 3D topographic map and introduced it to the two of them.

"Dali City is backed by the majestic Diancang Mountain and faces the azure Erhai Lake. It is shaped like a reclining dragon. Between the mountain and the lake, there is a narrow strip of land, and Dali is located in the middle."

"If you want to attack Dali City, it is definitely impossible to cross Erhai Lake head-on. You will be crossing mountains, so of course you can't bring your own boats. Crossing Diancang Mountain behind Dali will also be very difficult. Therefore, if you want to attack Dali, it is best to attack through these two passes, one above and one below."

"When the Mongols attacked Dali, they entered through Shangguan. You, on the other hand, came from the direction of Kunming, so it should be easier for you to attack Xiaguan this time."

"As for how to break through the pass, I probably don't need to teach you. We have so many cannons and are equipped with heavy armored assault troops. Our specialty is attacking cities and capturing strongholds. Of course, you can be more flexible."

"Although Diancang Mountain is high, it is not impossible for a small elite force to climb up the spurs near Xiaguan and circle around to the enemy's rear. They don't even need to attack from the enemy's rear. As long as they raise their flags and drums on the mountain and make a show of force, making the enemy think that their flank has been breached, they can shake the enemy's morale, and then it will be easier to attack from the front."

"Or you could gather some boats and send a small group of elite troops to sail around Erhai Lake to the enemy's flank for a feigned landing. This could shake the enemy's morale and tie down their forces."

"However, I am only giving you some suggestions. Once you get there, you can decide on the specifics of how to fight based on the situation."

"Yes." The two nodded immediately, and Zhu Liangzu then asked, "What should we do with this Duan family member?"

Lu Jin immediately said, "After you conquer Dali, regardless of whether the Duan family is willing to submit, the entire clan must be moved to the capital. All traces left by the Duan family in Dali, such as mansions, archways, stone tablets, temples, etc., anything with words on them, must be demolished and burned. From now on, there will be no more Duan family in Dali, and the capital of Yunnan Province will be Kunming."

"If the Duan family is willing to surrender, I will say that I am willing to spare his life and allow his entire clan to move to the capital. I can also take a Duan woman as my concubine and make him my relative by marriage. If he refuses to surrender, then he will be brought to the capital for trial and his fate will be decided."

Zhu Liangzu then nodded, "Your subject understands."

"Well, after we take Kunming and Dali, Yongzhong and Gao Yao will lead their troops to stay behind and guard them. Zhu Liangzu, you will lead the Imperial Guards to escort the Duan family and other prisoners back to the capital."

"In addition, there are the Pacification Commissions and Pacification Offices in the southern border areas of Dali. For the time being, we will focus on pacification. As long as they are willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty, we will first grant them the title of Tusi (chieftain) and they will pay tribute every year."

"Then I will continue to migrate people to Yunnan and promote the planting of new crops. Once we have established a firm foothold in Yunnan, we will slowly deal with those chieftains and gradually take control of those border areas."

“There’s one more thing.” Lu Jin tapped the location of Ruili, Yunnan on the map. “In this Luchuan Road, there is a local powerful family surnamed Si. They are not easy to deal with. Keep a close eye on them for now, in case these chieftains cause trouble.”

"Yes," the two immediately replied.

Seeing that Lu Jin had finished speaking to them, Li Shanchang also came over and made a suggestion, "Your Majesty, I have something to say, I wonder if Your Majesty would be willing to accept my advice."

"Please tell me, sir."

Li Shanchang immediately said, "Since Your Majesty is willing to take a woman from the Duan family of Dali as a concubine, why not take more? Firstly, the court wants to appease the chieftains of Yunnan and Guizhou, and it would be best if Your Majesty could form marriage alliances with them. Secondly, Your Majesty's harem already has few concubines, and you only have five children so far. Your Majesty is still so young, you should take more concubines and have more children."

Lu Jin nodded slightly upon hearing this. He was not too opposed to the idea, mainly because he currently had too few sons. He only had four sons and one daughter, the oldest of whom was less than four years old and the youngest son was only a few months old. If he only had these few children, how could he realize his plan to establish overseas fiefdoms?

"This matter is worth considering, so what is your opinion, sir?"

Seeing that Lu Jin did not refuse, Li Shanchang continued, "I believe that in addition to the Duan family of Dali, we can also consider several other prominent families in Guizhou, such as the Yang family of Bozhou, the Luo family of Bozhou, the Tian family of Sizhou, the Xi'an family of Shuizhou, and the Song family of Shuidong. If Your Majesty can form marriage alliances with these chieftains, you will surely make them submit immediately. The court can also use the principle of balancing barbarians to support and suppress them. With the addition of stationed troops and immigrants, we can ensure long-term peace and stability in Yunnan and Guizhou."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately nodded, "Sir, your words are wise and insightful, and this plan is indeed feasible. We will follow your advice."

(End of this chapter)