Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

"Father, how are the yields of these crops?"

This was Zhu Di's biggest concern.

I was also filled with curiosity.

He knew his father, the emperor, quite well.

When my father was young, he suffered a lot and deeply experienced the hardships of life.

I have the deepest impression of hunger.

That's why I've always been very attentive to farming.

At this time, the emperor actually sent people across the vast sea to a place they had never been before, to obtain crops.

These crops must be quite extraordinary, given the extensive preparations involved.

He wanted to see what kind of crop it was and what its yield was to make his father do such a thing.

At the same time, I also want to learn more about these crops.

For example, how does it taste? And how do you eat it?
Faced with his fourth son's question, Zhu Yuanzhang did not hide anything and replied:

"These crops, except for chili peppers, all have high yields."

Chili peppers are, strictly speaking, a vegetable, but they can also be considered a condiment.

It can be eaten directly or served with other dishes, making the food more flavorful.

If you don't want to go through all that trouble or are too extravagant, it can be used as a cooking ingredient.

For example, it can be stir-fried or used in cold dishes.

After the chilies are dried, they are slightly roasted in an ash pit, then crushed in a stone mortar and pestle, and with some salt added, they become a particularly flavorful side dish.

One spoonful is enough to make someone eat a whole pancake.

Planting about twenty plants in front of and behind the house is basically enough for the whole family to have vegetables.

It can be said that it can add some color to the lives of many poor families.

This stuff is very spicy; eating some in the dead of winter can sometimes make you sweat, which can provide some warmth.

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke about his understanding of chili peppers.

While saying this, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

After all, he ate a lot of spicy food in his later years.

It's truly an unforgettable delicacy.

Unfortunately, after returning to the Hongwu era, I was never able to eat it again.

The spiciness of dogwood and other similar products is completely different from the spiciness of chili peppers.

"The main thing to eat about potatoes is the root and stem."

It can be grown from south to north, is not picky about the land, and has a high yield.

If grown well, some places can yield five or six thousand catties.

Even seven or eight thousand catties is about the same.

Even on some hilly slopes, the yield can be over two thousand catties.

This ingredient can be used as both a vegetable and a staple food. You can slice or shred potatoes, or simply stir-fry them.

It tastes good mixed with sliced ​​meat and chili peppers.

It's also delicious when cut into chunks and stewed with beef, pork, or chicken and duck.

You can also boil or steam them directly.

This thing is just like a sweet potato; it doesn't need to be shelled or dried.

It's more convenient to eat.

You can also grind it up, remove the sediment, and make it into potato starch, which is just as delicious.

Zhu Di couldn't help but widen his eyes, completely astonished by what his father had said.

A brief blank moment occurred in my mind.

His mouth couldn't help but open wide.

What did Father Emperor say?
What was it that I heard?
Such a high output?
When production is high, it can reach seven or eight thousand catties.

What kind of concept is this?!

It's simply mythical, unimaginable!
As far as he knew, the annual yield of rice in the Ming Dynasty was only about 300 jin.

And this is still a good year, with good yields from good fields.

As for a bad year, and if the rice paddies are not good, the yield will have to be calculated even lower.

It weighs only a little over 200 jin (100 kg).

Now, we can actually hear about a crop that yields an astonishing 7,000 to 8,000 kilograms!
This is simply unbelievable!
This was an incredibly high output that he had never dared to even dream of before.

Who could have imagined that crop yields could reach such an exaggerated level!

It's like listening to a myth.

Most importantly, this stuff is convenient to eat, unlike rice and wheat which need to be hulled.

After the wheat is threshed, it still needs to be ground into flour and then made into food.

This saves a lot of trouble.

It can be both a vegetable and a staple food, meaning that you can eat steamed potatoes or stir-fried potatoes.

"Father, is all of this true?"

Zhu Di looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked a question.

His voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

Although he knew that his father would never lie to him or tell him nonsense on such a matter.

If the Emperor decided to send people across the ocean to find it, then this thing must be extraordinary.

However, he never expected it to be this extraordinary!

The output was so outrageous that he had no choice but to question it.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Of course it's true."

However, this does not mean that the production volume can be achieved right now.

Nowadays, the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn grown there are in a relatively primitive state.

Some locals have also begun to cultivate and domesticate it.

However, due to limited capabilities, the output falls far short of what we're talking about.

However, these things have enormous potential.

After bringing it back, we'll have our agricultural research institute staff plant and study it simultaneously.

At the same time, only by developing better fertilizers and exploring better cultivation methods can such high yields be achieved.

Zhu Di nodded.

Although it's not like you can just bring it back and plant it, and expect such a high yield, just knowing that it will reach such a high yield in the future is already very exciting.

"Father, what about corn and sweet potatoes? Are they all about the same?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, then shook his head and said, "Sweet potatoes are similar to potatoes, and in some cases, sweet potatoes even have a higher yield than potatoes."

This thing is also eaten by its root and stem. It can be steamed or boiled directly, or it can be sliced, dried, and ground into flour to eat.

When I first tried it, I thought the pancakes made with sweet potato flour were quite delicious and sweet.

However, after eating more of it, you'll find that it's still far inferior to wheat flour.

But its high yield makes survival the most important thing.

This stuff can also be used to make rice noodles.

Once made into vermicelli, it becomes incredibly delicious whether used in hot and sour vermicelli, or in various dishes like pork and cabbage stew with vermicelli.

Sweet potato leaves are also edible.

Corn is a true crop.

With large grains, good cultivation, and adequate fertilizer, yields of several thousand kilograms per acre are achievable.

When corn is young, it can be steamed, boiled, or stewed with meat, which is very delicious.

Once it matures, the corn kernels can be ground up.

It is ground to the size of millet grains and can be used to make cornmeal rice.

It can be ground even finer to make cornmeal, which is quite a good crop.

As for rubber, it is not a crop.

It is a type of tree, mainly used for making cuts in its trunk to produce a kind of glue. This glue has numerous uses.

In the future, with the development of steam engines and the increasing number of related machines, there will be even more places where rubber will be needed.

For example, it can be used in various applications, such as valves, sealing rings, and car wheels…

"Father, I request permission! I am willing to personally lead a team to bring all these things back to the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Di raised his voice and volunteered for battle, his voice filled with excitement and unwavering determination.

He said it, and he thought it too.

Before hearing these things from his father, and before knowing what potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, chili peppers, and rubber were, and what their important uses were, he might not have paid much attention to them.

But after learning these things from his father, his mindset changed drastically.

These things are so important!
It's so important that it simply can't be ignored!
That's why he reacted this way, wanting to personally go and bring it back to the Ming Dynasty.

Even if the road ahead is dangerous, even if the winds are high and the waves are rough, and even if we may not be able to come back.

He, too, had no regrets!
I'm willing to go through this!
As long as he can get these things back to the Ming Dynasty, it will be worth it even if it costs him his life.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not surprised by his fourth son's request; it was something his fourth son was capable of doing.

At the same time, I also feel a great deal of satisfaction.

The fourth one is indeed capable.

However, he shook his head decisively and said, "Fourth brother, you don't need to do this."

It's too risky, and the chances of survival are slim.

Opening new sea routes was not as easy as it seemed.

Such matters are best left to skilled seafarers.

There's absolutely no need for you to go.

You have so much more to do in the future; it's a huge waste of your talents to ask you to do this kind of work.

Zhu Yuanzhang was telling the truth; there was indeed no need for his fourth son to do these things.

It is truly a waste of talent.

"Father, may I ask... where did you learn about these things?"

After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Di looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and spoke.

He was genuinely puzzled by this matter; in fact, the doubts had already been swirling in his mind for some time.

However, in the past, I was able to keep it to myself and not think about it too much.

But at this point, he could no longer hold back; if he didn't ask, the doubts in his heart would be hard to quell.

It was as if his own father, the emperor, was omniscient and omnipotent.

There were so many pieces of news that we couldn't have imagined.

But Father Emperor was able to find out.

For example, the steam engine, chemistry, and now, the extraordinary crops or trees that Father Emperor has mentioned.

That place was so far away from the Ming Dynasty.

But the emperor was able to find out.

Not only do they know it, but they can also explain it in great detail.

They have an exceptional understanding and are extremely familiar with everything from production volume and origin to appearance, taste, and cooking methods.

It was as if the emperor had seen it with his own eyes, or even eaten it.

This is truly unimaginable.

Although he felt that there were some things he shouldn't ask, and that it wouldn't be good to ask them.

But this time, he really couldn't hold back.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "It's quite simple to explain. It's just that we had a dream before."

A very long dream, yet it felt incredibly real.

I dreamt of my Great Ming Dynasty decades later, and even more than six hundred years later.

I lived there for many years and witnessed many amazing things.

I saw how well the people over there were living.

These are all things we saw and heard in our dreams.

Zhu Di was stunned when his own father, the emperor, said this.

Clearly, he had never expected to receive such an answer from his own father, the emperor.

That was truly unexpected.

If this is true, then my father's dream is truly too magical and too realistic!
"Father, did you dream about your child?"
Will my child become the Great General Who Conquers the North in the future?
"Have any soldiers stationed on the northern frontier for our Great Ming, driving those barbarian tribes from the grasslands into chaos?"

Zhu Di couldn't help but ask.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "I dreamt about it, Fourth Brother. You are absolutely right. You are indeed the Great General Who Conquers the North of our Ming Dynasty."

And they certainly made a name for themselves.

After the death of the Great General, you became the northern shield of my Great Ming Dynasty.

He even led his army deep into the desert five times, routing the steppe barbarians and making them tremble at the mere mention of his name!

However, the title of General Who Guards the North is for your son.

All five expeditions deep into the desert were personally led by the emperor.

Of course, these were words Zhu Yuanzhang added in his mind.

It's impossible for him to tell his own fourth son.

It's not that I'm afraid the fourth brother will find out, but I'm afraid that if I tell him, I don't know what he'll think.

Excessive anxiety and unease.

That would be bad.

Some things can be said, but some things are too frightening to say and can easily make people overthink.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di's face immediately broke into a smile.

He laughed heartily and said, "Haha, that's good. I haven't let Father down, nor have I let Father and my elder brother down."

"You didn't embarrass us at all; you're really capable!"
Zhu Di was no less capable than his father throughout his life; this is how later generations viewed you, Fourth Prince!

Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Zhu Di was taken aback upon hearing this, a surge of heat welled up in his chest, and he quickly shook his head and said, "Father, I dare not compare myself to you."

"Haha, no need for that. Fourth brother, your abilities are far greater than you imagine."

Just go for it.

In the future, overseas will definitely allow you to carve out a vast world for yourself.

"For the sake of my Great Ming Dynasty, for the sake of my Han people, may our lineage flourish and spread the culture of our Chinese nation!"

……

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it was already July of the twelfth year of Hongwu.

At that time, a palace was under construction in Beiping.

Last year, Zhu Yuanzhang officially announced the plan to move the capital to Beiping and informed his officials.

While the officials did voice some opinions on this matter.

However, the sound was not loud, and Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen and others were also contributing.

Therefore, without him having to go through any trouble, the decision to move the capital to Beiping was made.

Finally, with the money, the reconstruction of Beiping was put on the agenda.

Everything is going smoothly.

This left Zhu Yuanzhang somewhat disappointed, feeling that those people were too cowardly and didn't dare to take the matter too seriously.

Otherwise, he could take action and let these people have a good try.

……

The sky was filled with dark clouds, and rain poured down incessantly, as if someone had poked a hole in the sky.

The rain has been falling for three days straight, and instead of stopping, it has become even heavier in the last half day.

Standing on the banks of the Yellow River, Xue Xiang looked at the rising waters with a mixture of excitement and worry.

Now, the Yellow River has been completely dredged by him.

The road had just been cleared when this heavy rain hit; it's uncertain whether it can withstand the test... (End of Chapter)