Chapter 359

Over a hundred million people!

Crushing the Great Zhou!

Ying Zheng swallowed hard, looking at the sweet potatoes and potatoes; at this moment, his eyes literally sparkled!

And who else but Ying Zheng had eyes sparkling like that?

Was there a single official present who wasn't excited and shocked?

Over a hundred million people!

That is over a hundred million people!

A population of over a hundred million is equivalent to over a hundred million commoners!

Now, the Great Qin has only thirty-something million people, yet they can already live so comfortably!

If the population reaches over a hundred million, how many people would be reclaiming wasteland? How vast would one's farmland holdings be!

And with farmland holdings and a population, one need not fear land going unrented; and with tenant farmers renting the land, it is equivalent to possessing servants!

With a population in the hundreds of millions, even if they were scattered like pepper, every single one of them could be allocated quite a few servants!

At this moment, truly everyone was excited!

However, amidst everyone's excitement, Ying Zheng finally noticed the corn!

You must know, Zheng He had placed the sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and wheat together!

Now he had seen the sweet potatoes and potatoes, and he already knew wheat himself; now, only the corn was unknown to him, something he had not seen!

"This corn..."

Ying Zheng gazed toward the corn!

Zheng He did not delay, directly handing him a roasted ear of corn!

And in terms of aroma alone, the corn completely overshadowed the sweet potatoes and potatoes!

Even while still roasting, many people were already unable to stop swallowing their saliva!

Now that it was brought out, for a moment, everyone's eyes were blazing with light!

Let alone the crowd of ministers; even Li Si, Zhuge Liang, and the others were wiping their drool incessantly!

Even Zuo Zuo Zongtang, who had already eaten this kind of thing, was much the same!

Roasted sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, roasted corn; these three things are absolute delicacies in any era!

As expected, when Ying Zheng took a bite, those eyes immediately lit up!

Although not as soft and sticky as the corn, nor as juicy as the sweet potato!

But... it possessed a unique aroma!

Extremely tempting!

In a short while, he had gnawed an entire ear clean.

Even that empty cob, he could not bear to throw away!

He was sucking the juice on the cob!

Fragrant!

Explosively fragrant!

He swallowed his saliva!

At this very moment, he really wanted to eat more!

But... it was gone!

Zheng He had only roasted one of each anyway; there was simply none left!

Seeing that Ying Zheng had finished all three items, Zheng He returned to the previous topic and asked Ying Zheng, "How is it? Can these things be eaten?"

"Ah?"

Upon hearing the question, Ying Zheng's old face instantly turned red!

At this very moment, his eyes were fixed on that basket of roasted sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, corn, and so on, blazing with light!

He still wanted to eat more!

He cast a glance; instantly, Zhao Gao understood his meaning and immediately ran over to take some!

But all of this was directly stopped by Zheng He!

"Hm?"

Ying Zheng furrowed his brows heavily, somewhat displeased!

At the same time, Zhao Gao, Wang Wan, Feng Quji, Wei Liao, and the others instantly stood before Ying Zheng, shouting angrily at Zheng He, "Bold!"

"What do you intend to do?"

Zhuge Liang, in a rage, waved his hand; instantly, Fu Hao, along with Yuan Chonghuan, all drew their swords!

"You... what are you doing!"

"Do you wish to rebel?"

Wei Wei Liaozi was both shocked and terrified!

Wang Wan and Feng Quji were equally shocked!

Ying Zheng furrowed his brows: "I merely wished to eat another sweet potato; is that not allowed?"

He was furious!

Looking at Zhuge Liang, Zuo Zuo Zongtang, Yuan Chonghuan, Fu Hao, and others, he was very angry, very furious!

These people were truly too excessive!

For him, the First Emperor, there was not the slightest bit of respect!

Zuo Zuo Zongtang directly bowed to Ying Zheng and explained:

"Spring is almost here. These are seeds for spring planting; tasting them is enough. If you want to eat more, no!"

He spoke these words, and Zhuge Liang, standing nearby, immediately stepped forward and said:

"Indeed so. These things are the foundation for strengthening Great Qin, the root that ensures all people under heaven will no longer starve. Even Your Majesty, the Emperor, has not yet seen them. For the Retired Emperor to taste them first is already an exception. Currently, before the spring planting begins and before Your Majesty returns, no one else may taste them."

"Otherwise, if you taste one and I taste one, and these divine things are eaten up, how can Great Qin become strong?"

Zhuge Liang spoke in anger. Li Si and Xiao He immediately stepped forward as well, bowing down before Seeing Ying Zheng!

Though they said nothing, their attitude was nonetheless quite clear!

"I..."

Seeing Ying Zheng opened his mouth. He wanted to say something, but... at this moment, he could only give up!

Then, he looked toward Zheng He:

"You said roasted sweet potatoes and roasted potatoes can serve as staple food. That is indeed no problem. I just ate these things and already feel full!"

"For an adult man, eating two roasted sweet potatoes and two roasted potatoes in one meal is enough to be full!"

"But... what about corn?"

"With a yield of only ten shi per mu, how can it serve as staple food?"

He asked these words. In truth, once the question was asked, it was already somewhat conscienceless!

Ten shi!

Speaking reasonably, this yield is already extremely exaggerated, alright!

You must know, Great Qin's millet yields only two shi per mu!

Corn has already increased the yield fivefold!

It is already extremely exaggerated, extremely outrageous, alright!

But... this question must be asked!

There is no other reason; he simply wanted to use this opportunity to suppress the arrogance of the rebellious son's faction!

Look at Zhuge Liang, look at Zuo Zuo Zongtang; how arrogant they are!

If they won't let us eat, then fine, but couldn't they have said it properly?

Just now, they were about to mobilize troops!

Do they not even regard him, the First Emperor, in their eyes?

Seeing Ying Zheng was too angry; no matter what, he must use this opportunity to suppress them!

However, as soon as this question was asked, Zheng He laughed: "Although sweet potatoes can fill the stomach and have a high yield per mu, they are... unsuitable for storage. Harvested in autumn, they can be stored for at most one winter!"

"Potatoes are the same; they are not easy to store!"

"But... corn can be!"

"Like millet, it can be stored for a long time!"