Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Zhang Shikang knew nothing about crop improvement. In his memory, it was nothing more than using chemical fertilizers to improve the growing conditions of crops.

It took decades for later generations to improve rice.

To the extent that Zhang Shikang once felt that it would take at least five years for Song Yingxing's 5,000 acres of experimental fields used to improve crops to see the effect of increased crop production.

He had even made mental preparations for this, after all, scientific research was destined to require high investment and a long cycle.

But now, in just over a year, Song Yingxing has grown potatoes that were originally the size of white-shelled eggs into the size of goose eggs.

what is this concept?

If calculated based on the size of the potatoes, it means that in just over a year, Song Yingxing doubled the potato production.

However, Song Yingxing still looked calm and humble.

"Your Highness, I believe that crop improvement can be divided into three directions.

First, select and breed good varieties. In the past year or so, I have planted three crops of potatoes. The seeds selected for each crop are different, and I have asked people to record the relevant yields.

Secondly, to improve the planting technology, subordinates surveyed the soil in Shuntian Prefecture, Shandong, Henan and even Shanxi and Shaanxi, tested the yield based on these soils, and observed and recorded the growth status of potatoes in different soils, as well as possible diseases and pests.

Third, use vegetable leaves, tree leaves and various animal feces to make compost. Your Highness has previously mentioned something called chemical fertilizer, and I think this is similar to compost products.

However, my subordinates discovered that using different compost materials will produce different effects on different crops.

I'm still researching this, but I think it's probably related to the different nutrients required by different crop varieties."

Song Yingxing gently explained the current research results and future research directions to Zhang Shikang.

Although his upcoming book, The Exploitation of the Works of Nature, is an encyclopedia of agricultural and handicraft industries, Song Yingxing's real research direction is still in agriculture.

After all, food is the most important thing for people.

When it comes to crop improvement, Song Yingxing did not use too many difficult-to-understand professional terms, so Zhang Shikang could fully understand it.

After listening to Song Yingxing's explanation, Zhang Shikang's eyes became excited again.

From a modern perspective, Song Yingxing made absolutely no mistakes in the direction of crop improvement, which is why he was able to achieve continuous results.

In particular, Song Yingxing was already experimenting with what kind of nutrients each crop needed, which is similar to the distinction between potassium fertilizers, nitrogen fertilizers, etc. in many chemical fertilizers in later generations.

There is also the impact of soil, climate, etc. on crops, as well as the prevention and treatment of possible diseases and pests.

What is science? What are scientific planting methods?

That's it.

"It is a blessing for all the people in the world that the Ming Dynasty has Master Song." Zhang Shikang gave Song Yingxing a thumbs up.

Thanks to Grandpa Yuan in later generations, more than one billion people no longer have to worry about not having enough food to eat.

The people of the Ming Dynasty have suffered for nearly three hundred years. Now with Song Yingxing and the strong support of him and the Ming court, great things can be expected.

Zhang Shikang suddenly had a greater ambition, which was to ensure that all 100 million people in the Ming Dynasty could have enough food to eat during his lifetime.

He had never dared to have this wish before.

Because it's too difficult.

It is so difficult that even with such advanced technology in later generations, China still achieved national poverty alleviation only gradually in the new century.

That is to say, in the two thousand years before that, or even longer, many ordinary people did not have enough food to eat.

The difficulty of this ambition even surpasses everything Zhang Shikang has done.

But now Zhang Shikang is still full of fighting spirit, because the people of the Ming Dynasty are still very different from those in later generations.

He has traveled all over the country in recent years. No matter where the war is, whenever he has free time, he likes to take a group of guards for a stroll in the fields.

Understand the local customs and habits of different places, and also take a look at the living conditions of the grassroots people in various places.

Compared with later generations, the most prominent characteristic of the people of the Ming Dynasty is diligence.

Of course, this does not mean that the people of later generations were not hardworking. It’s just that the people of the Ming Dynasty devoted almost all their time to their land except for sleeping and eating.

They really care about their crops all the time because they are everything to them, their hope and future are in them.

But for people in later generations, even in rural areas, farmers could not stay on the land all the time, because the income from crops only accounted for a very small part of their income.

This is the biggest difference.

Secondly, the political system is different. The Ming Dynasty court had far more control over the people than later generations. After all, it was a feudal autocracy.

As long as the people were not starved to death, in theory, the Ming Dynasty court could do many things that later governments could not do.

For example, forcing people to change to growing certain crops according to the local soil conditions, or forcing people to migrate to some sparsely populated areas to settle down and farm.

This is a huge problem that is unimaginable in later generations. If you dare to use force, the people will cause trouble in minutes, and holding rallies and parades will be the least of your worries.

Again, the current total population of the Ming Dynasty is less than one-tenth of that of later generations, but there is a lot of room for growth in grain production and arable land.

Furthermore, Zhang Shikang could also obtain more food and food producing areas through trade or colonization.

Based on the above four points, Zhang Shikang believes that there is still a chance for this ambition to be realized.

Nothing is difficult in this world as long as you are willing to climb. Chairman Mao is not deceiving us.

"I dare not take credit for it. It is all thanks to your Highness's support and the court's support." Song Yingxing said seriously.

He was very satisfied with the current situation. The court provided almost all the manpower and materials it could provide, which was incomparable to when he was in the south a few years ago.

In fact, he had the idea of ​​improving crops a long time ago, but just having the idea was not enough to realize it relying solely on his personal financial resources.

So he could only put his hopes on recording his ideas in the form of books and leaving them to future generations who had the ability to realize them.

It’s different now. The General Manufacturing Administration provides everything, and he is not too old yet, so he has enough energy to do it all.

At the same time, Song Yingxing understood in his heart that all of this was not what the court wanted, but what His Royal Highness Prince Wuying wanted.

Whether it was the previously improved spinning machine, cement, or glass, almost all of them were ideas given by His Royal Highness Prince Wuying.

As a scientific researcher, no one understands the importance of ideas better than him.

Therefore, whether it was him, or several other colleagues such as Wang Zheng and Bi Maokang, they all agreed that if we talk about the merits of everything in the Manufacturing Bureau, and even everything in the four major academies, the greatest merit must be and can only be made by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wuying.

Tang Ruowang, who was standing by, looked at the potatoes on the table with his eyes shining. After hesitating for a moment, he asked:

"May I ask, Your Highness, if I may bring these potatoes and their methods of improving crops back to my country?"

……