Chương 135: Everyone is excited

Guo Jia was already slumped over the table, pretending to be dead. Xi Zhicai nudged him, saying, "Fengxiao, don't sleep! There are still a dozen or so volumes to read..."

"Come on, take a break!"

Liu Ce placed the plate on the table in the middle.

"Try what I made!"

Everyone put down what they were doing and gathered around to watch.

There were a dozen or so things on the plate, roasted to a golden brown, that looked... rather unremarkable.

Xun Yu hesitated and said, "My lord, this is...?"

"It's delicious!"

Liu Ce picked up a roasted sweet potato and broke it in half. The golden-red flesh was revealed, steaming hot, and a sweet aroma instantly filled the air.

"This is called a sweet potato."

Liu Ce demonstrated, "Peel off the skin and eat the inside. It's fragrant, sweet, and filling."

He picked up another potato: "This is called a potato, it's the same, peel it and eat it."

Everyone took one, though they were still somewhat skeptical.

Guo Jia was the most enthusiastic; he grabbed the biggest sweet potato, peeled it, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Hmm!"

His eyes widened instantly.

"Sweet! Fragrant! Delicious!"

Others also tried it.

Fang Xuanling took a bite of the potato and savored the taste: "It has a soft texture and a natural fragrance; it's really good."

Du Ruhui nodded and said, "It's more fragrant than millet rice."

Tian Feng ate the most heartily, finishing a sweet potato in just a few bites, then reached for a potato and asked, "My lord, is this... really enough to fill you up?"

Liu Ce laughed: "What do you guys think? Are you still hungry?"

Everyone took a look and realized they weren't hungry anymore! After eating a sweet potato and a potato, their stomachs felt warm and full.

Xun Yu's eyes lit up: "My lord, if this could be widely cultivated..."

"Good question!"

Liu Ce clapped his hands and asked, "What is the current yield of millet and wheat per mu (unit of land area)?"

Ju Shou replied, "In times of favorable weather, the best fertile land can yield about three shi per mu. Ordinary land will yield just over two shi. In cases of drought or flood, it may only yield a little over one shi."

Liu Ce held up five fingers and shook them.

"Five stones?" Tian Feng guessed.

"At least fifty shi (a unit of dry measure)."

Liu Ce said with a smile, "Even more. If the land is fertile and managed properly, seventy or eighty shi is not impossible, and it may even reach eighty or one hundred shi."

puff--" Guo Jia spat out a mouthful of tea.

Fang Xuanling dropped the half-eaten sweet potato in his hand to the ground.

Xun Yu's mouth remained open for a long time.

Xi Zhicai dropped the potato peels from his hand all over the ground.

The hall was deathly silent.

A little while later.

"boom--" The hall erupted in chaos.

"Fifty bushels?!"

"My lord, you're not mistaken, are you?!"

"This... how is this possible?!"

Everyone was stunned.

The difference between a yield of three shi per mu and a yield of fifty shi per mu is like heaven and earth!

Fang Xuanling's hands trembled: "My lord, if it's true... the people of Youzhou will never go hungry again!"

Du Ruhui blushed with excitement: "The army's food supplies will be plentiful! There might even be surplus reserves!"

Guo Jia had already started doing the math: "Fifty shi per mu, five hundred shi per ten mu, five thousand shi per one hundred mu... My goodness!"

Xi Zhicai muttered, "If this were extended to the entire Youzhou..."

After they calmed down, Liu Ce slowly said, "That's right, it's true. These potatoes and sweet potatoes, planted next spring, will mature in about three months. And they're not picky about the land; they can be grown in dry land or on slopes, much easier to care for than millet."

Three months?!

Du Ruhui's voice changed, "Millet and wheat take six months!"

"Yes, three months."

Liu Ce said confidently, "Plant it during the spring planting season next year, and you can harvest it in the summer. After harvesting, you can plant another crop, making it two harvests a year."

"Two harvests a year... yielding over fifty shi per mu..."

Xun Yu muttered to himself, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table, his mind racing.

"That... that one mu of land yields a hundred shi a year... Youzhou now has millions of mu of arable land. If all of it were converted to agriculture..."

He couldn't continue calculating because the numbers were too staggering.

Guo Jia was so excited he was pacing around the room: "My lord! If this is true, Youzhou will be the granary of the world! We can support not only the people we have now, but also millions more refugees!"

Xi Zhicai's eyes lit up: "The army will no longer have to worry about food supplies! With soldiers well-fed, their combat effectiveness will double!"

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and ecstasy in each other's eyes.

As rulers, they knew all too well what food meant—it meant stability, it meant people's hearts, it meant everything!

Liu Ce then laughed and said, "However, this stuff can't completely replace millet and wheat. Eating too many sweet potatoes and potatoes can cause bloating, so you still need to eat them in combination."

My idea is to continue planting millet, wheat, and rice on the fertile land. I have a type of rice here that also has a high yield; ask me for some during the spring planting season. On the hillsides and infertile land, plant sweet potatoes and potatoes. This way, we can ensure staple food while significantly increasing the total yield.

"Our lord and the Marquis are wise!" the crowd exclaimed in unison.

At this moment, their admiration for Liu Ce reached a new level.

He can fight wars, govern a country, and even produce such high-yield crops... What kind of deity is this lord who has descended to earth?

Seeing everyone's excitement, Liu Ce felt a surge of pride.

That's exactly the effect he wanted—to give his subordinates confidence and let them know that working for him meant a bright future.

Xun Yu immediately replied, "Rest assured, my lord! Leave this matter to us, we will definitely handle it well!"

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Liu Ce clapped his hands and said, "Xuanling, do me a favor."

"Look among the refugees and see if there are any carpenters or blacksmiths who used to work, as well as skilled craftsmen from Youzhou. Invite them all over; I have a great use for them."

Fang Xuanling nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go and make the arrangements right away."

Having finished discussing the important matters, Liu Ce prepared to make his escape.

As he reached the door, he suddenly remembered something and turned back, saying, "Oh, by the way, I came up with some new stuff the other day—new wine, fine salt, and cheap paper. If you want to know more, you can go find Shen Wansan; it's free, and there's plenty."

After saying that, he patted his behind and left.

The hall was silent for a few seconds.

New wine!"

Guo Jia's eyes lit up with envy.

"It's free!"

Xi Zhicai couldn't sit still any longer: "Fengxiao, hurry up, finish processing these documents, then we'll go find Mr. Shen!"

Then Guo Jia jumped up: "Wenruo! I need to ask for leave!"

Xi Zhicai also stood up: "I'll treat you too!"

Xun Yu looked at the two of them with longing eyes, feeling both annoyed and amused: "Go on, go on, but remember to finish today's work before you leave."

"We guarantee we'll finish!" Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai said in unison, then buried themselves in their work—their speed was more than ten times faster than before.

Xun Yu shook his head: "You guys..."

Even so, he wrote faster—he also wanted to leave work early to try the new wine.

After leaving the governor's mansion, Liu Ce did not go directly back to his own residence, but instead went to Zhang Zhongjing's medical clinic.

Zhang Zhongjing opened a small clinic in Zhuoxian County, but it had quite a few patients.