The first assistant of the poor family

Chapter 539 The Old Friend of Frangji【4000 words two in one chapter】

Zhu Houzhao pursed his lips, and asked tentatively, "I'll just eat one, will one make it?"

His Majesty the Emperor means that there are so many corns, eating one will not affect the promotion of planting, right?

Xie Shenzhi was a little dumbfounded, the dignified emperor had never eaten any delicacies from mountains and seas, but he was so eager for a corn.But this is not difficult to understand, after all, Zhu Houzhao has never eaten corn, and the potatoes that Xie Shen recommended to him before are extremely delicious.In other words, it was Xie Shen who brought Zhu Houzhao too high expectations for corn.

"Ahem, it's all right if His Majesty only eats one, it's just..."

Before Xie Shen finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao was overjoyed and said, "It's good if you agree, sir."

Xie Shen said helplessly: "The minister will cook a dish of boiled corn for His Majesty."

"Is it really boiled? Did you lie to me?"

Zhu Houzhao doubted it.

"It's really just boiled."

Xie Shenzhi couldn't laugh or cry, spread his hands and said.

"Then what are you waiting for, sir, go quickly."

Xie Shen nodded, cupped his hands and said, "I obey the order."

But Xie Shen said that Xie Shen left the Wenhua Palace and went straight to the Imperial Dining Room.

If the emperor wants to eat corn, he must be sloppy. The corn prepared in the imperial dining room is guarded by special personnel to ensure that there will be no problems.

When Xie Shen saw this most common food in later generations, he was so moved that he almost burst into tears.

All the royal chefs were surprised to see the old man Xiao Ge's appearance, and they looked at Xie Shen one after another.

Seeing a group of people staring at him, Xie Shen realized that he had lost his composure, and quickly said, "Ahem, ahem."

"Your Majesty wants to eat boiled corn, but you haven't taken one yet."

A young eunuch laughed and said, "Do as Xiao Ge said."

Naturally, it was impossible for Xie Shen to cook the fire himself, but there was no problem in directing the chefs to cook the corn.

Although the royal chefs disdain this, they think that boiled water is too untechnical. Is this the delicious method of Xiaoge's old mouth?

But they didn't dare to question Xie Shen's words, they obediently took a piece of corn and did so.

Although cooking corn is simple, the cooking time must be carefully controlled.If the cooking time is too long, the corn will easily become stale. If the cooking time is too short, the corn will have a raw taste.

Therefore, there is a lot of experience and knowledge here. Without Xie Shen's guidance, these imperial chefs might not be able to cook the corn perfectly.

Xie Shen is very satisfied with the cooked corn, the golden color makes it appetizing just from a distance.

How could a super foodie like Zhu Houzhao not be captured by such delicious food?

The corn is always hot, and Zhu Houzhao is not in the mood to wait.

Xie Shen hurriedly asked someone to put the cooked corn in a food box to keep warm, and then asked the little eunuch to trot to Wenhua Palace.

Even so, the corn was still a little cold when it was delivered to Zhu Houzhao's mouth.

There is no way, the Forbidden City is really too big, and the distance from the Imperial Dining Room to the Wenhua Hall is too far, and it will take an incense stick of work no matter what.

There will be no such problems in the Leopard Room. Zhu Houzhao is unwilling to stay in the Forbidden City, and there are more or less considerations in this regard.

"Look, Your Majesty, this is boiled corn."

Xie Shen pointed to a golden corn presented respectfully.

Of course, there are many ways to cook corn, which can be fried or grilled, but Xie Shen believes that boiled corn is the most delicious.

Only by boiling in clear water can the original mellow aroma of corn be released and the taste buds can be enjoyed.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't wait for a long time, so he couldn't care less about his demeanor and began to feast on it in front of Xie Shen.

At this moment, Li Dongyang and Tang Yin have already retired, and there is no one else in the hall except Zhang Yong and Xie Shen, so there is no need to worry about being seen as ugly.

Zhu Houzhao held a piece of corn and gnawed it like this. From the beginning to the end, there was not a single corn left, and there were still a few pieces of half-broken corn kernels stuck to the corner of his mouth.
Xie Shen turned his head away wisely, Zhu Houzhao touched the corner of his mouth when he saw the strange expression on his husband's face, and snorted the foreign object.

"Sir, the taste of this corn is not much better than that of potatoes."

Zhu Houzhao was still savoring the mellow fragrance of corn while speaking, and his eyes were shining with brilliance.

"I still want to eat one."

"Your Majesty!" Xie Shen remonstrated, "These are all seeds, they are the rations of our people in Ming Dynasty. How can your Majesty do this?"

Zhu Houzhao scratched his head guiltily and said, "Sir, if you can't do it, then I won't eat it."

Xie Shen said in a deep voice: "This corn is easier to grow than rice noodles, and it is suitable for poor people to fill their stomachs."

Corn may not be able to completely replace rice noodles, but to some extent it can be used as a means to suppress the price of rice noodles.

After all, the people of Ming Dynasty have already adapted to rice noodles, so it is impossible for them to immediately change their habit of many years and use corn instead.

"Well, I'm going to pass on the decree, and plant it in the capital first." Zhu Houzhao finally restored the majestic posture of His Majesty the Ming Emperor at this moment, and waved his hand: "Gu Dayong, draw up the decree."

Xie Shen admired Zhu Houzhao's vigorous and resolute actions.This kind of thing should be done sooner rather than later. The common people can eat corn one year earlier.

Although it is only a few decades ahead of schedule, this is precious time.

Now that the problem of land annexation can be dealt with, and the food problem has been solved, the crisis at the end of the Ming Dynasty may not exist at all.

Zhu Houzhao dictated, and Zhang Yongfen wrote quickly.

After Zhang Yong wrote the draft imperial edict, Zhu Houzhao asked him to read it again, making sure that it was what he wanted to express, then nodded in satisfaction and said, "Take it to the cabinet to show to Mr. Li Ge, and copy it if there is no problem." Report to the residence."

"The slaves obey the order."

Zhang Yong hadn't seen Zhu Houzhao so happy for a long time, and hurriedly copied the imperial decree in his arms and trotted out of Wenhua Hall.

Right now, there are only Zhu Houzhao and Xie Shenjun and his ministers in Wenhua Palace, and some things can be said without any scruples.

"How long do you think it will take for the corn to be fully planted?"

As a king, Zhu Houzhao has keen insight.He learned from Xie Shen's attitude that corn is definitely no less grain than millet, and it is definitely a great joy for the people of Ming Dynasty to be able to promote planting.

"Report to Your Majesty, it will take at least three years to fully promote it."

This is still a conservative estimate.We must know that the inertia of human thinking is difficult to correct.The first person to eat a crab tends to be considered a monster, as is the first person to eat corn.

If the people of Ming Dynasty can accept corn in three years, it will be a success.

"Oh, that's okay, not too long." Zhu Houzhao paused and said, "So, corn seems to be more suitable as a staple food than potatoes?"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Xie Shen cupped his hands and said, "Potatoes are better in dishes, but it's a little bit reluctant to make them a staple food."

Although potatoes are the staple food of Europeans, this is not the eating habit of Easterners, and Xie Shen can't accept eating only potatoes for a meal.

But corn is different. Orientals are obviously more suitable for choosing corn as their staple food than potatoes.Whether it is boiled or roasted, the mellow aroma of corn is extremely attractive.

Zhu Houzhao pondered for a moment as if thinking about Xie Shen's words.

He is active by nature, and it is true that he likes to have fun.But no matter what, he is also the emperor of the Ming Empire, rich in the world.

The people of the entire empire are what he wants to care about, and he must not allow starvation to occur everywhere under his rule.

Zhu Houzhao is not stupid, he knows that the crux of Daming lies in the food.Digging deeper is the land.

With the implementation of land equalization and the replacement of grain tax with money tax, this problem is being solved.But in terms of time, it is impossible to do it right away, so it needs to be two-pronged. It would be best if there is something to replace rice grain.

Corn, potatoes, this is simply a gift from heaven.

With these two things, people from poor families can afford to eat, and they will never go hungry.

Even if the feeling of fullness is not as strong compared to rice grains, at least it fills the stomach, doesn't it?

Zhu Houzhao wants to be a Mingjun, but he is not the Mingjun that the corrupt Confucian officials say.He doesn't need to sing praises. In his opinion, the only criterion for judging whether a king is a good king is whether he can make the people under his rule live a good life.Naturally, having a full stomach is the most important thing. If you can't even eat enough, what is the point of living a good life?

After pondering for a long time, Zhu Houzhao said with a solemn expression: "What you said really touched my heart. I thank you on behalf of all the people in the world."

Xie Shen smiled wryly in his heart.He believes that Zhu Houzhao is not pretending but really wants to thank him.But the leader thanks you, can you accept it?
"Your Majesty also disobeys the minister, and what the minister does is his duty. If the minister can't share the worries for the majesty, what is the use of the minister?"

Zhu Houzhao was very moved by Xie Shen's words.

Look at Mr. Xie, this is the official of the imperial court.

Then look at those so-called important ministers who spend their days on vegetarian meals in the court, all of them are thinking about their own little calculations.

If it weren't for the fact that there was no one available in the court, Zhu Houzhao really wanted to send away all these inactive old guys.

What the court needs is a young man with high spirits like Mr., not these old-fashioned selfish ghosts.

But the reality is that Zhu Houzhao can't do whatever he wants.He has tried his best to fight, but the result is embarrassing.

"As for the sweet potatoes," Xie Shen said in his heart, His Majesty is enjoying eating corn, but he forgot to mention such an important thing as sweet potatoes.

"Although it is not as good as corn and potatoes, it is still no problem for emergency food."

Xie Shen has no prejudice against sweet potatoes, that is, sweet potatoes, but it's really not very suitable as a staple food.It's okay to eat once in a while, but if you eat every day, the flatulence alone will make you collapse.

Otherwise, it would not just become something for poor people to fill their stomachs later.Compared with potatoes and corn, the status of sweet potatoes is indeed much worse.

"Well, I almost forgot, and there are sweet potatoes. How can these sweet potatoes be delicious?"

Xie Shen: "."

What else can he say?His Majesty the Emperor is really inseparable from food and drink.

That's right, food is the most important thing for the people. His Majesty the Emperor is thinking about the people, which is worthy of recognition.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, there are many ways to make sweet potatoes, but the most delicious one is roasted."

"Baked to eat?"

Zhu Houzhao's eyes almost sparkled.

"Well, roasted sweet potatoes taste better than roasted corn."

Xie Shen said dumbfounded.

"Then what are you waiting for, sir, quickly bake one for me. Uh, I'm instructing the imperial chef to bake one for me."

Zhu Houzhao suddenly remembered that his husband didn't want to cook, so he changed his words.

"The minister obeys the order."

With such a leader, Xie Shen is also very helpless.

Xie Shen instructed the royal chef to finish roasting sweet potatoes for Zhu Houzhao and then left the Forbidden City.

He was not in a hurry to go home, but went to the Huitong Hall.

The Honglu Temple was established in the Han Dynasty to receive foreign guests.After that, Honglu Temple was basically responsible for foreign affairs in all dynasties.

The Ming Dynasty also had the Honghe Temple, but the Honghe Temple in the Ming Dynasty was basically only responsible for court ceremonies, not specifically responsible for foreign affairs reception.This work is undertaken by specialized institutions in conjunction with the library.Of course, the Huitong Hall is only responsible for the reception, and there is also the Siyi Hall for translation.It can be said that a functional department is divided into two, and the division of powers and responsibilities is clearer.

He came this time specifically to meet his old friend Rodriguez.

The last time Franji traveled across the ocean to Daming, he brought potatoes, and this time he even brought corn and sweet potatoes.

Before the Zhengde Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty practiced survey and cooperation trade. Merchants from various countries could only bring goods to the Ming Dynasty through the form of tribute, and then accept the rewards from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to bring porcelain and silk back to other countries in this name.

After Xie Shen's reform, the Department of Shipbuilding of Wukou Commercial City also changed its functions.The emergence of the Bureau of Maritime Economics greatly stimulated private commerce and trade, which was completely broken by the exploration and cooperation trade pattern strictly controlled by the imperial court.

It was against this background that Rodriguez came to Daming and unexpectedly brought American crops.

Otherwise, it would take decades for the common people of Ming Dynasty to see these precious treasures.

This time Rodriguez went directly to the capital to present the corn and sweet potatoes to His Majesty the Ming Emperor.

Xie Shen was naturally kind to him, but it was his greatest wish to see the Emperor of Ming with his own eyes.

The person in charge of the huitong hall is not appointed separately, but by Honglu and Shaoqing.

Zhao Ji and Zhao Shaoqing were drinking tea in the official office at the moment, when they saw Xie Shen coming, they quickly got up to greet him and said, "I pay my respects to Mr. Xiao Ge. I didn't know that Mr. Xiao Ge came, but I was too far away to greet him, damn it."

Xie Shen smiled and waved his hands: "If you don't move, you are dead or alive. I am so hypocritical."

Zhao Jilian claimed it was.

Xie Shen came to the top and sat down, tapped his fingers and said, "I'm here this time to meet a man named Rodriguez."

Zhao Ji smiled and said: "This person just presented two things to His Majesty a few days ago. Your Majesty is very happy, and asked the next official to entertain him."

But in his heart, he was thinking about the origin of this business, and why Xiaoge Lao and His Majesty valued him so much.

"Well, where is this person now?"

"It's in the Huitong hall, and the next official will invite you here."

After speaking, he recruited a scribe and told him to call people.

Rodriguez was taking a nap in the house at the moment, heard the sound of small footsteps, opened his eyes and asked, "What's the matter?"

"My lord, please go to the office."

The scribe said respectfully.

"Oh? Okay, I'll come right away."

Rodriguez felt slightly unhappy.Daming is good everywhere, but the efficiency of officials is too low. They always look for him over and over again, but there is only one thing they really do.

(End of this chapter)