Cao Xianjian, the Grand Secretary, was an official in the pre-My Yue period. As one of the few technical officials in the Dayue period, he was retained after the collapse of the Yue State. There were many officials who stayed in the previous dynasty and continued to serve in the new dynasty, but few were quite proud in the court. Su Kairong was the first to count, and even if he was counting down, he would be considered him. As for the local county magistrate, it would be a different matter.

Cao Xianjian is still living a happy life now. In Maetsuki, he is an unpopular government office with little funding in a year, but he has to take a lot of blame. Once there is a bad harvest, floods, droughts, and production reduction, this big hat will naturally fall on his head.

Fortunately, even at that time, whether it was the emperor or the courtier, the Grand Marshal who took the blame honestly and did not fight or robbed was quite good, and he took the blame very well, so he kept it all the time.

The Taiping Army quickly broke through Yuejing City, and basically none of the officials in Yuejing City escaped. After some cleaning, Cao Xianjian, the left-behind farmer, became an official of the Ming Dynasty. Although he was nervous, he gradually discovered that his yamen seemed to be getting hotter again.

First of all, he had more money. He usually didn't dare to argue with the annual budget, but the funds allocated to him were really a lot. Of course, the money given to him by the Zhengshitang was not for free, but the condition was to let him study crops with higher yields. For this reason, he also allocated a large area of ​​land outside Yuejing.

Not long after being an official in the Ming Dynasty, Cao Xianjian discovered that what is very different from the previous dynasty was the style of the Ming officials. They seemed to have one common characteristic, that is, efficiency. No matter what they do, they will do what they say and do what they do.

This made him even more worried. He had been a senior manager for many years and had a lot of research on crops, but it was not a matter of overnight development, and it took a long time to do so.

Cultivating better seeds is a long process.

But he dared not refute. He used to be a slut, but now he is silently ready to take the blame again. However, after getting the money, he naturally has to do things seriously.

He summoned some of the farmers under his command, and found some very experienced farmers from the people and worked diligently. Most of the land in the Ming Dynasty planted wheat, sorghum, millet and other major grain crops. He first sent people to collect various kinds of these seeds everywhere, and then planted them carefully.

Every year when harvesting, Cao Xinjian would focus on the fields and let someone choose the best seeds. When planting the next year, he would plant these seeds and then repeat them. He even cross-pollinated these crops from different regions, hoping to have unexpected harvests.

For several years, he only took money but had no results. He was worried, but he did not wait for the guesswork or the blame. He paid the money every year. As the country's finances became better and better, he, the Grand Secretary and the Farmer's Office, received more and more money.

This made him feel embarrassed. He was more motivated when working. There were not many officials under the command of the Grand Secretary’s Farmers, and more of them were old farmers recommended from all over the country. With more money in Cao Xianjian, these people would naturally get more salary, and they would naturally be more motivated when working.

Compared to Cao Xinjian, these old farmers from all over the world are more simple. Although the Grand Secretary’s Farmers’ Office has prepared pretty good houses for them, these people would rather set up shacks to live next to these experimental fields, and take care of these crops as if they were taking care of their children.

Fortunately, in the fourth year, the seeds cultivated by the Grand Secretary’s Farming Office achieved trial planting in a county under the jurisdiction of Yuejing City, with a yield of 20% higher than in the past. In the fourth year, the land that originally had a yield of 400 kilograms per mu was harvested by 500 kilograms.

Although only one hundred kilograms per mu, if the seeds are promoted nationwide, the crops that are harvested every year will be a big number.

When the news came, Cao Xianjian was overjoyed and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he had no money spent. He only invested but had no output for three consecutive years, and the Grand Secretary and the Agricultural Office was under great pressure.

What Cao Xianjian didn't expect was that the emperor summoned him alone.

This was the first time that the emperor summoned him alone after the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

What he didn't expect was that after summoning, the emperor invited him to dinner. Not only him, but also his peasant officials, as well as dozens of old farmers, queens, and chief assistants from all over the country attended to accompany him.

The huge honor made Cao Xianjian in a trance state. Until he returned home, he had not yet come back to his senses. In the end, only four words remained in his mind.

That's what the emperor said.

"Still work hard."

Because of the results, Cao Xianjian, a senior manager, has become much harder in the court since then, and the amount allocated to him has become more and more. With the experience of cultivating seeds in recent years, everyone has worked harder. In the past two years, several new seeds have been launched.

And today, it was the second time that the emperor summoned him alone.

The Grand Minister's Agriculture is not a prominent person like the Six Divisions and Nine Ministers, but this time, His Majesty returned from Huzhu, he ranked him in the forefront, which made Cao Xianjian feel very stressed. Although new seeds have been launched in the past two years, the effect is not obvious. Is His Majesty dissatisfied?

"Mr. Cao is out of 60 this year, right?" Qin Feng asked casually. This Grand Marshal did a good job. Now the grain output of the Ming Dynasty has increased significantly compared with the previous few years, and the person in front of him has made great contributions. This person works diligently and is low-key, which is very suitable for Qin Feng's appetite.

Unexpectedly, Cao Xianjian was a little stunned and a little embarrassed when he was such an opening remark.

"Back to your Majesty, I am fifty-two this year!"

"Ah!" Qin Feng was very embarrassed at this moment. Looking at Cao Xianjian's appearance, he looked like he was in his sixties or seventies, but he was still in his early fifties. After thinking about it, he finally understood that the Grand Secretary in front of him was a senior official. Although he was considered a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty, this senior official often soaked in the fields and walked between the countryside, with wind and sunlight, and his appearance was much older than his actual age.

"Mr. Cao has worked so hard. Things need to be done, but you still have to take care of yourself. You are my treasure of the Ming Dynasty!"

Hearing the emperor say this, Cao Xianjian's nose felt sore, his eyes blurred, and his legs became weak, and he had already slid off the chair again. "I have to pay attention to His Majesty and entrust him with important responsibilities. He should do his best to do his best, even if he dies, he will not regret it."

Unexpectedly, a sentence made the old minister react so much. Qin Feng was a little unexpected and quickly signaled Eunuch Le to help the person up.

"Farmers are the foundation of the country. As the saying goes, you don't feel panic when you have food at home. The great farmers have made in recent years, so there is no need for those soldiers who are in a straitor on the battlefield. But you should take care of your health and relaxation, which is the way to do it! I am also counting on you to cultivate better crops for our Ming Dynasty!"

"I am ashamed that nothing has been achieved in the past two years." Cao Xianjian's voice choked up.

"No, no, I know very well that it is not easy to cultivate a better crop. It's impossible to be anxious. I heard that the Grand Secretary is trying to collect seeds from the land of Qi Chu?"

"Yes, I think that if there are more different seeds, there will be more different choices, and perhaps we can cultivate crops with higher yields." Cao Xianjian said.

"This is a good idea." Qin Feng smiled. "This can be asked by the Department of Commerce to help you think of a solution. The caravans under their command will travel around the world and bring you some seeds back. It's not a problem."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Well, I'm looking for you today, which is another thing!" Qin Feng glanced at Eunuch Le. Eunuch Le immediately took out several porcelain jars and several jars and placed them in front of Cao Xianjian one by one.

"Your Majesty, is this?" Cao Xianjian asked, looking at the porcelain jar in front of him.

"These are some seeds brought back from overseas by the Maritime Administration. There are several types. I think they are related to national economy and people's livelihood, so I'll come to you to have a look." Qin Feng said with a smile.

When Cao Xianjian heard this, he immediately opened the jar, poured some out one by one, and carefully explained it carefully, but his face showed a blank look, and he didn't recognize him either!

Qin Feng walked over, pointed to the porcelain jar that was ranked first, and said, "This one is the seeds of cotton. This is what I value most. Eunuch Le brought the cotton and cotton coat that Ning Zeyuan brought back."

A ball of soft white slightly yellowed thing was sent to Cao Xianjian's hand. After twisting it gently in his hand, Cao Xianjian's face immediately showed a look of surprise. When he touched the cotton coat, the strange color on his face became even thicker.

"Your Majesty, this is a cold-proof thing, and it must be much warmer than our current silk-filled cotton coat."

"That's it." Qin Feng said: "If this thing can be widely planted in my Ming Dynasty, it will be a great blessing for the people of the Ming Dynasty. Ning Zeyuan also asked about this thing, Xiguang, has a certain drought tolerance, and what he fears most is the rain and tide. When you take it back to breed, you must pay attention to this point."

"I remember." Cao Xianjian carefully collected the seeds.

Qin Feng walked to several jars, took out something from it, and weighed it in his hand, "This thing, called sweet potato, does not have any high requirements for the land. I heard that it can grow anywhere, and the yield is extremely high. Most of the places in our Ming Dynasty are now without food, but it may not be short of food in the future. At least, the land of Qin that we just captured is very short of food. This thing is planted as auxiliary grain, and the other is that even if people don't eat it, they can still feed livestock! This should not be very difficult."

As Qin Feng introduced to Cao Xianjian one by one, what beet seeds, cabbage seeds, pepper seeds, etc., there were more than ten kinds of them, and they were all sparse vegetables, and the emperor's attention was greatly reduced. It was better to make it, but if it couldn't make it, the emperor didn't seem to care too much.

There were a dozen new crops all at once, which made Cao Xianjian feel that the burden on his shoulders was heavier, especially the first few. If he wanted to rebel against the habit of a new crop, the Grand Secretary’s Farmers’ Office would probably be busy in the next one or two years.

However, for the Grand Secretary Farmers' Office, the busier the better. Cao Xianjian now has a little ambition. If he continues to cultivate good seeds and produce new crops, the Grand Secretary Farmers' Office will be more and more heavy in the court.
Chapter completed!