Wu Weigong is young, about seventeen or eighteen years old, with an obviously childish look on his face and a little baby fat.

However, he is tall, with a strong back and a strong waist, and he looks like a general.

That night, at the Wanghae Building in the inner city of Seogwipo Port where Yang Zhen was staying, he was not afraid of the stage when he saw Yang Zhen. He reported the good and bad news inside and outside the customs in the past few months to the people.

All the people who returned from the Eastern Expedition.

The good news is that Zhang Xianzhong was defeated, and it was not a defeat in the ordinary sense, but a great defeat.

In the autumn and August of the 14th year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to attack Xinyang, but was ambushed by Zuo Liangyu, who had learned the news in advance. Zhang Xianzhong himself was wounded and most of his troops were defeated.

Then, on his way to Yingshan, he was pursued by Wang Yuncheng, a general of Zuo Liangyu's tribe, with thousands of cavalry.

The remnants of Zhang Xianzhong's troops, whose vitality was severely damaged, were defeated in consecutive battles, and all their troops were injured or killed. In the end, only a few dozen cavalry were left to cover his breakout and escape.

This news is of course good news for many people in the rear area of ​​Jinhai Town and Denglai Town.

At least Wu Weigong reported it to Yang Zhen and others as good news.

For Yang Zhen, this is certainly good news, but he is not as happy as others around him.

Because Yang Zhen knew very well that the defeat of Xinyang and the defeat of Yingshan were not the end of Zhang Xianzhong's life. Zhang Xianzhong would continue to make a comeback in one or two years.

"Any other good news?"

Inside the Wanghae Building, the highest point in the inner city of Seogwipo Port, the lights were bright. After listening to Wu Weigong's narration, Yang Zhen looked at his slightly excited and yet childish face and continued to ask calmly.

"Yes, yes, yes, Commander-in-Chief, General Zhang of the Assistant Camp Affairs Office humbly reported to the Commander-in-Chief that all the camps in Jinhai Town, including the Denglai East and West Road camps, have completed their autumn harvest. The harvests of sorghum, rice, sweet potatoes, and potatoes have been good.

It’s a great harvest!”

"Well, let's not talk about sorghum and rice. For the sweet potatoes harvested in the autumn, how many kilos per hour of potatoes are there?"

"When I got back to the Governor, General Zhang of the Assistant Camp Affairs Office knew that the Governor was most concerned about this, so he asked someone to calculate an account early. This autumn harvest, the sweet potato yield is about 25 shi per mu, and the potato harvest is slightly less, but the yield per mu is about 25 dan.

They are all over twenty stone."

In fact, after Yang Zhen asked about the yield of sweet potatoes and potatoes, he felt a little regretful. He thought how did Wu Weigong know these things? If he wanted to ask, he should ask Chen Shunong, the governor of Tuntong.

However, what Yang Zhen didn't expect was that as soon as he asked the question and before he could take it back, Wu Weigong smiled and gave him the answer.

Yang Zhen was slightly stunned after hearing this, and quickly figured out the connection.

Wu Weigong was the eldest son of Wu Chaozuo and the nephew of Zhang Degui's successor Wu family.

Obviously, Zhang Degui regarded his step-sibling Wu's nephew as a real relative. He knew that Yang Zhen was concerned about the yield per mu of sweet potatoes and potatoes, so he calculated the relevant yields in advance.

"Okay, this is really good news. As the saying goes, if you have food in your hand, you won't panic. Although sweet potatoes and potatoes are coarse grains, they are also good things to save people and save lives at critical times."

After listening to Wu Weigong's report, Yang Zhen quickly calculated the yield of sweet potatoes in his mind. The yield was about 25 shi per mu, which is equivalent to about 3,000 jin per mu in future generations.

If calculated based on the number of reclaimed lands calculated at the beginning of this summer, if the yield per mu of hundreds of thousands of acres of cultivated land can reach about three thousand kilograms, then this autumn harvest will really be a bumper harvest.

When he thought of this, Yang Zhen's mood suddenly became very good.

This time they sent troops to the Japanese Nu Kingdom. In terms of land alone, they did not capture much, but the harvest in other aspects, such as gold, silver, food and materials, was quite a lot, enough for Yang Zhen to launch several more wars in the future.

However, when it comes to food supplies, Yang Zhen will never have too much, especially for food production in his own rear areas. The more output, the better.

Because only in this way can everything that Jinhaizhen has today be sustainable.

And only in this way can Yang Zhen's subsequent resettlement plan continue to be implemented.

This is because this is the second year that Yang Zhen has recruited people to reclaim wasteland in Jinhai Town to promote new crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes. If a large-scale bumper harvest is not achieved, then the enthusiasm for immigrants to plant potatoes in Jinhai Town will fade.

As a result, many of his subsequent plans will not be able to be carried out smoothly.

In fact, Yang Zhen has already made some arrangements in case of failure in promoting high-yielding crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes.

This eastward expedition to the Japanese slave country and the extortion of gold, silver, rice and other materials can be considered one of them.

But in addition, before Yang Zhen said goodbye to the Dutch fleet, while resting on Tanegashima, he had privately asked He Tingbin to use his status as an employee of the Dutch East India Company to extensively collect other foreign crops in Dayuan and Southeast Asia.

went.

Yang Zhen didn't know when corn was introduced to China, but he knew that it was very high-yielding, and like sweet potatoes and potatoes, it was very suitable for planting in the Northeast region.

Of course, Yang Zhen also knew that even if corn cultivation was promoted in the Ming Dynasty, its yield would not be as high as it would be hundreds of years later.

But even so, Yang Zhen believes that its yield will be much higher than that of traditional Chinese crops such as sorghum, wheat, and rice in the Northeast.

What Yang Zhen is most concerned about now is the yield of grain. As long as the yield is high and easy to survive, he will vigorously introduce and promote it. Other issues are not a problem.

Thinking of the sweet potato and potato yield issues in Jinhai Town in the rear area, Yang Zhen found Chen Shunong among the people accompanying him and asked him:

"Chen Tongpan, how is the autumn harvest on Yingzhou Island? How is the yield per acre of sweet potatoes and potatoes here on Yingzhou Island?"

"Back to the Governor, General Qiu Shen and Beiji have been busy supervising the autumn harvest recently. Now 90% of the 10% has been completed, and 10% can be harvested in the next few days. The harvest is certain.

It’s something.”

Faced with Yang Zhen's sudden inquiry, Chen Shunong, the governor general who had arrived in Seogwipo a day earlier to wait for Yang Zhen's return, immediately stood up from his seat and replied to Yang Zhen:

"As for sweet potatoes, the yield per mu of sweet potatoes, judging from the harvest situation, is higher here on Yingzhou Island than in other places mentioned by Deputy Wu. On average, the yield per mu of sweet potatoes is about thirty dan.

, the sweet potato is about twenty-four stones!

"According to the inference of Bei Zong, the yield per mu of sweet potatoes on Yingzhou Island is relatively high, which may be related to the relatively mild climate here, the longer growth cycle, and the relatively loose soil with high sand content."

"Haha, very good. However, I think that the higher yield per mu, mild climate and loose soil here are only on the one hand, and on the other hand it must be related to Chen Tongpan who is personally here to guide you!"

"This is not a humble position!"

When Yang Zhen heard that the average yield per mu of sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc. was higher on Yingzhou Island, he naturally felt even happier and immediately praised Chen Shunong without hesitation.

Although Chen Shunong immediately expressed that he did not dare to take the role, he felt extremely benefited and his face was filled with joy.

"It's your credit, it's your credit. There's nothing you shouldn't take credit for. But after this autumn harvest is completed, even if the reclamation affairs of Yingzhou Island are on the right track, you, the governor of the settlement, should go back with me.

Lushunkou, after all, you are the governor of the entire town!"

At present, there are 84 settlements on Yingzhou Island, with a total of 25,150 households and a total population of more than 125,000. Including the garrison, the population is close to 130,000.

Although Yingzhou Island is not small, the land that is easily cultivated and suitable for farming is limited after all. As far as the current population is concerned, it is basically saturated.

Now that Yang Zhen ordered the experiment of reclaiming wasteland and introducing crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes on Yingzhou Island, it has been successful. There is no need for people like Chen Shunong to continue to stay here.

Because in the future, both the northern part of Jinhai Town and the jurisdiction of Denglai Town will continue to expand the scale of immigration and reclamation, and the main town government will need to rely on Chen Shunong for more places.

Under such circumstances, Yang Zhen would naturally consider transferring Chen Shunong back to a place where he was more needed.

"Well, I obey your orders. However, after I leave, the farming on Yingzhou Island -"

"Don't worry about this. It's been almost two years since you came to Yingzhou Island. How can you not know who is capable and who is worthy of use under your command? After you and this governor leave Yingzhou Island, you will select someone to take charge of the farming on Yingzhou Island.

I will be promoted to the rank of official who is the governor of Tuntong and judge. I will stay here temporarily and continue to guide the farming."

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Although Yingzhou Island is nice and like a paradise, it is located on the sea and is too far away from the mainland of Jinhai Town.

When Chen Shunong was first ordered to come here, he felt a little lonely in his heart, so he was still happy to leave this place.

Just thinking about letting go of the Yingzhou Island reclamation business that he almost single-handedly started made him feel a little bit reluctant.

Fortunately, Yang Zhen was very considerate and asked him to personally select one of his subordinates to stay here. He no longer worried about one of his own going to tea, and the business he had built with his own hands would be ruined because of his departure.

After Chen Shunong received the order, Yang Zhen's farming arrangements came to an end for the time being, and then he turned his attention back to Wu Weigong.

"Zhang Xianzhong was defeated, and our Jinhai Town also had a bumper harvest. These are good news. So, what about the bad news?"

Yang Zhen knew the tempers of Zhang Degui, Zhang Chen, and Fang Guangchen very well. They sent people to Yingzhou Island again and again. There must be some bad news.

Especially this time they sent Wu Weigong. Since they had been waiting for them on Yingzhou Island for several days, something must have happened.

Wu Weigong was stunned by Yang Zhen's question. At this time, he scratched his head and said with some confusion:

"We don't have any bad news in Jinhai Town, but there is indeed bad news over there, mainly in Shandong. Governor, Shandong is in chaos!"

"Shandong is in chaos?"

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief, Shandong has been in chaos not long after the Commander-in-Chief led his army on the expedition in July. At that time, a group of refugees suddenly gathered in Shouzhang County of Yanzhou Prefecture to rebel. Within a few months, they occupied Yanzhou Prefecture and Dongchang Prefecture.

and Damingfu and other places, occupying the canal running from south to north, and intercepting water transportation from the south of the Yangtze River to the capital."

"Occupied the canal and cut off water transportation?"

"Exactly. It is said that the price of rice has soared from Tianjin Wei to the capital, and there has been a famine from Dezhou to Hejianfu. A large number of hungry people who do not want to join thieves have gathered on the West Road to eat."

"Oh? How is the situation of the hungry people on Zuodenglai West Road in the Wu Dynasty?"

"Hongzhi, my father has asked the Assistant Camp Affairs Office of the town government three times since August to transfer money and food for relief. Zhang Bing, the Assistant Camp Affairs Office, also consulted with Mrs. Fang for permission and sent food to Denglai West Road three times.

, and at the same time, we advocate the use of work-relief and local resettlement, and the current situation will be stabilized."

"That's good. Mr. Zhang, I advise them to do the right thing. Don't regard the hungry people who come to seek refuge as a burden. If we make good use of them in the future, they will be the best resource for us, Jin Haidenlai, to settle down and live in Second Town."

Knowing that the situation had not collapsed due to this great uprising that cut off water transportation from the north to the south, Yang Zhen felt a little more at ease.

Yang Zhen was vaguely aware of this uprising.

It's just that he originally thought that in this life he had moved so many refugees and hungry people from the Denglai area to resettle at sea, and the situation in Shandong or Beizhi would be better as a result.

But I never expected that the inertia of history was so strong that this great uprising still happened despite the interaction of natural and man-made disasters.
To be continued...