Chapter 142: Casual Conversation

Looking at the dozen-odd mature sweet potatoes dug up before him, Chongzhen, though mentally prepared, still felt somewhat disappointed.

Compared to the sweet potatoes produced under high-tech conditions in later generations after countless hybrid improvements, seedling cultivation, and fertilizer application, these sweet potatoes on the ground were clearly much smaller in size. It seemed the per-mu yield wouldn't be very high either, but it should still be considerably higher than other food crops. As long as they gradually learned the habits of sweet potatoes and cultivated them carefully, he believed the yield would steadily increase. As for the taste of sweet potatoes, that didn't matter—in the great famine years ahead, having something to eat was already good enough; who would be picky about flavor.

Wang Cheng'en and Liu Chao looked at the pile of oddly shaped things on the ground, skeptical of whether this stuff could really be edible as His Majesty claimed.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Cheng'en finally spoke up: "Your Majesty, can this thing really fill one's stomach? This old servant thinks it looks similar to the roots of large yellow ferns! Could it be medicinal herbs? If ordinary people eat it without being ill, will anything happen to them?"

Liu Chao also spoke up: "Your Majesty, how should these sweet potatoes be eaten? Only a dozen-odd mu were planted this year. Whether to expand planting still awaits Your Majesty's instruction."

Chongzhen laughed: "Don't underestimate these things. In the future, the staple food of the Great Ming's people will depend on them! The greatest advantage of sweet potatoes is drought resistance! The drought in the Great Ming is getting more and more severe now—starting from Shanxi and Shaanxi initially, it has now spread to Henan and Shandong. As I know, some prefectures and counties in the capital region have seen rainfall sharply reduced this year compared to previous years. This is a natural disaster, beyond human power to resist! What the court can do is to do its utmost to help the affected people have food to eat, and sweet potatoes are one of the sharp weapons! As for how to eat them, the main methods are washing and boiling them directly, or boiling, drying, and grinding them into powder to make steamed cakes. We won't try other methods for now."

Chongzhen glanced at Zhu Cilang and Changping, who were behaving like well-behaved children on the side, and laughed: "Cilang, take a few pieces and find a sheltered spot to roast sweet potatoes the way I described!"

Zhu Cilang and Changping bowed, then each grabbed a few sweet potatoes and dashed off, with several guards hurriedly following.

"As far as I know, planting sweet potatoes isn't difficult. Next year, we'll go all out to expand the planting acreage. If seeds aren't enough, send people to the hometown of the late Academician Xu to search—there should still be farming households planting them there. Best to move the whole family over. Liu Chao, immediately have someone dig up one mu of sweet potatoes right now to see exactly what the yield is!" Chongzhen instructed.

Liu Chao immediately ordered the estate steward to find people to come harvest the sweet potatoes, while Chongzhen, under the protection of Cheng Qianli, went to a courtyard in the imperial estate to rest. Wang Cheng'en followed along.

After drinking a cup of hot tea, Chongzhen said to Wang Cheng'en, who was standing in attendance: "Companion, how is the Eastern Depot operating now? Are its personnel diligent in their duties? Is there any overlap in their work with the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Wang Cheng'en bowed and reported: "To answer Your Majesty, since this old servant took charge, the Eastern Depot currently has Chiliarchs, section chiefs, and agents totaling eight hundred sixty-three, all selected elite talents from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. After several months of adjustment, operations have now returned to normal, with few slackers! There is occasional overlap with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but it doesn't affect the overall situation!"

Chongzhen nodded: "Since the Eastern Depot was reopened, the Grand Secretaries and senior ministers have submitted memorials time and again, all saying that reopening the Eastern Depot is not a blessing for the state. With the depot and guard revived, court officials are all uneasy and have no heart for public affairs. If the wrong people are employed, one slight misstep could repeat the mistakes of the traitor Wei, and they vigorously try to sway me into closing the Eastern Depot! But my mind is made up—all such memorials are being kept unanswered. Hmph! How could I not know their little schemes? They simply don't want a sharp sword hanging over their heads!"

Wang Cheng'en echoed: "To answer Your Majesty, this old servant has spent years watching the court coldly from the sidelines, and now I've finally gained some insight. I feel that on many major matters, the more court officials oppose something, as long as Your Majesty persists, the final outcome is more beneficial to the Great Ming! Conversely, the more officials vigorously push for something, the more harmful and profitless it is to the Great Ming!"

Chongzhen couldn't help but burst into loud laughter upon hearing this, pointing at Wang Cheng'en: "Hahahaha! You old rascal! How did you come up with such classic words! These words strike directly at the vital weakness of the current court! If those civil officials heard your words today, I'm afraid they'd fly into a rage and pounce on you to fight to the death! Hahahaha!"

Wang Cheng'en smiled smugly: "In the past, if they pounced on me, this old servant certainly wouldn't be their match! But if it were now, heh heh! My Eastern Depot isn't a bunch of vegetarian Buddhists either!"

After laughing for a while, Chongzhen said: "Companion, do you know why they actually do this?"

Wang Cheng'en shook his head: "This old servant only knows what they do, not why they do it."

Chongzhen sighed: "Actually, it's very simple. Everything they say and do is for the benefit of themselves or the forces behind them, rarely considering me or the people of the Great Ming! In their eyes, the Great Ming belongs to the Zhu family, not their family—why should they expend effort and worry planning for others? Even if the dynasty changes, for most court officials it's merely changing masters! As long as their high positions and generous salaries aren't affected, who wouldn't work for whichever family it is?"

Wang Cheng'en gnashed his teeth: "These bastards! This old servant wishes I could confiscate every one of their households! Send their families to the Music Bureau, to be slaves and maidservants for generations!"

Chongzhen waved his hand: "That's not necessary. Actually, when you think about it, it's only human nature... Traveling a thousand li to be an official is for wealth. For them, studying hard in obscurity, expending countless effort—isn't the ultimate goal to become an official? And being an official is for seeking wealth and profit. The world bustles, all coming for profit; the world hustles, all going for profit. Perhaps some still harbor feelings for country and people, never forgetting their original intentions from start to finish, but the original intentions of the vast majority were long lost amid extravagance and dissipation."

Wang Cheng'en asked in confusion: "According to Your Majesty's reasoning, these bastards have done nothing wrong?"

Chongzhen smiled: "Sitting in this position, managing well the realm left by my ancestors isn't actually too difficult. Mencius said: When a ruler treats his ministers with propriety, the ministers serve him with loyalty; when a ruler regards his ministers as his hands and feet, the ministers regard him as their heart and guts; when ministers regard their ruler as a dog or horse, the ruler regards them as commoners. What I need to do is simply give those who want fame their fame, and those who want profit their profit. But my precondition is that no matter what position you hold, you must do well what ought to be done. Civil officials govern a region, and the majority of people under their jurisdiction have food and clothing without worry; military generals campaign on the battlefield, both showing compassion for soldiers and winning battles. What I need to do is reward and punish clearly, so they have few complaints, and all difficulties will be resolved with ease!"

Wang Cheng'en shook his head: "What Your Majesty says sounds too simple! This old servant knows well Your Majesty's difficulties! Those who want fame are easy to handle, but those who want profit are hard! It's only been in the past two years that the privy purse has been a bit more ample—before that, where would Your Majesty find so much silver to give them? Your Majesty wouldn't even replace robes with torn edges; to save a bit of silver for state use, the Empress herself had to weave cloth to reduce expenses! This old servant sees it all and aches in my heart! I only hate that I'm incompetent and cannot help Your Majesty!"

As he spoke, Wang Cheng'en's eyes reddened.

Chongzhen was also moved with emotion. Before he had transmigrated here, the previous occupant of this body had been too harsh on himself. Clothing, food, housing, transportation—everything was kept minimal, all to squeeze out a bit of silver from between his teeth to support the Great Ming's various urgent needs. There was no choice—being inside the game, one naturally couldn't break the game. Only someone like himself, a later arrival watching from the sidelines, could know where to begin making changes.

Amid the sound of hurried footsteps, Liu Chao burst into the room excitedly, disregarding propriety and beaming as he shouted: "Your Majesty! Great news!"

Chongzhen knew it must be the per-mu yield of sweet potatoes that had come out, so he didn't blame Liu Chao, asking with a smile: "Has the sweet potato yield been weighed?"

Before Liu Chao could answer, Wang Cheng'en scolded him in a low voice with dissatisfaction: "Kneel and pay your respects! Have you, a servant, forgotten who you are?"

Only then did Liu Chao snap back to his senses. He hastily knelt and kowtowed to apologize: "Your Majesty, forgive me! This servant deserves death! It's truly because this servant was too overjoyed! Your Majesty, please don't blame me!"

Chongzhen stood up, walked over, reached out and pulled Liu Chao up, teasing with a smile: "You, Liu Chao, are someone who will leave a name in history. How could I blame you! Get up!"

With so many powerful eunuchs in the palace, when had the Emperor ever treated anyone with such courtesy?

Liu Chao was both frightened and deeply moved. His face flushed red as he scrambled to his feet, bowing awkwardly: "This servant's lowly body—how dare I let Your Majesty help me up! I'm afraid of defiling Your Majesty's person!"

Chongzhen was both exasperated and amused, and said: "Enough, enough! I'm not a woman—where would defiling my person come from! Hurry and tell me, exactly how much was produced?"

"This servant personally watched the farm households weigh it—one mu produced a full thousand jin! Your Majesty! Nearly ten dan! This servant has lived for decades and has never seen such a large yield from one mu of land!" Liu Chao was so happy his eyes narrowed into slits and his mouth nearly split ear to ear.

Wang Cheng'en had only known that sweet potatoes were being planted, but had let it go in one ear and out the other, never learning in detail what sweet potatoes actually were. Today was also his first time seeing the real thing.

When he heard that this thing could yield nearly ten dan per mu, he was so shocked his eyes bulged wide, his mouth hung open, and his face was full of astonishment.

No wonder—for so many years, people only knew that one dan of grain per mu was already a very good harvest, and that was only on the finest fertile fields. On poor, barren land, a few dou per mu was already considered decent.

After his astonishment, forgetting that he had just scolded Liu Chao for being discourteous, he stepped forward a few paces, grabbed Liu Chao by the collar of his robe, and demanded sternly: "Ten dan per mu? Liu Chao, don't you dare deceive His Majesty! Otherwise, I'll send you off to the Laundry Bureau!"

Liu Chao replied with a wry smile: "Old Ancestor, how would this servant dare speak nonsense? It truly is ten dan! If you don't believe me, go over and verify it yourself!"

Chongzhen was also quite pleased inwardly. He had originally thought a few hundred jin per mu would already be good, but unexpectedly it was around a thousand jin. The food problem he had been worrying about day and night finally had an additional channel of solution.

He smiled: "Companion, let go! What Liu Chao said is indeed true. As far as I know, if improved, this thing's yield could reach several thousand jin!"

Wang Cheng'en released his grip on Liu Chao's robe and bowed to Chongzhen to apologize: "This old servant was discourteous! Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Chongzhen smiled and shook his head: "Stop talking about punishment all day! You two both made unintentional mistakes! Besides, you are both people I trust—how could I fuss over trivial details!"

The two hurriedly bowed again to express their gratitude. Wang Cheng'en had long considered himself a member of the imperial household, and Liu Chao, hearing such candid words from the Emperor, was naturally deeply moved.

Wang Cheng'en spoke up: "Your Majesty just said this thing could reach several thousand jin? Has someone actually grown it before?"

Chongzhen nodded affirmatively: "Indeed someone has grown it, but that person passed away many years ago!"

He still felt some regret inwardly—he hadn't mastered knowledge in this area during his school days. If an agricultural expert had transmigrated over, growing several thousand jin per mu like in later generations wouldn't be a big problem, and then all problems would be solved.

Before Wang Cheng'en could continue pressing for answers, Chongzhen continued: "Liu Chao, as for how to store sweet potatoes, the late Academician Xu's books should have records. After spring comes next year, you must make arrangements to go all out in expanding the planting acreage. This thing is of utmost importance—you must be diligent!"