Chương 266: The Core Meeting of the Highest Decision-Making Level in Youzhou

A few days later, at the Prince of Yan's residence.

Liu Ce summoned Jia Sixie to his study.

Jia Sixie is now in charge of agriculture in Youzhou. He goes to the fields every day and gets tanned, but he is full of energy.

Hearing that Liu Ce had summoned him, he came without even wiping the mud off his boots.

"Your Majesty," he bowed and said.

"Mr. Jia, please have a seat." Liu Ce took out several cloth bags from his system space and placed them on the table.

"Take a look at these."

Jia Sixie opened the cloth bag.

The first packet contained golden-yellow granules, each one plump and round.

The second package contained red dried fruits, some long and thin, some round, with a unique aroma.

The third package contained various seeds, some black, some brown, and some thorny.

"This is..." Jia Sixie picked up a golden grain and examined it closely.

"A millet? No, it's bigger and plumper..."

"This is called corn," Liu Ce said with a smile.

"It's a type of grain, drought-resistant, highly adaptable, and has a high yield. The yield per mu... is at least fifty shi (a unit of dry measure). It can be boiled, ground into flour to make cakes, and also used to feed livestock."

Jia Sixie's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the corn kernels on the ground.

"Fifty... fifty shi!"

Now, potatoes and sweet potatoes are grown in Youzhou... and the yield per mu is over fifty shi (a unit of dry measure), but that is, after all, an "auspicious omen".

Ordinary millet yields only three or four bushels per mu.

The corn was initially said to be fifty bushels...

"This is a chili pepper." Liu Ce picked up another red chili pepper.

"It's for seasoning, spicy, and appetizing. Adding a little to stir-fries makes them taste amazing."

He paused, then added, "However, some people may not be used to the taste, so let's try planting a small amount first."

Jia Sixie picked up a chili pepper, smelled it, and then carefully licked it.

"Hiss..." He gasped, "That's powerful!"

Liu Ce laughed and said, "And these too, are cumin, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns... all spices. Nowadays, when we cook, we only use salt and sauce, which makes the flavors monotonous. With these, the food will be several times more fragrant."

Liu Ce explained the key points of planting in detail: corn needs deep plowing, and the row and plant spacing should be appropriate... Chili peppers prefer sunshine and should be planted in sunny locations...

Jia Sixie listened with rapt attention, holding the seeds in his hands as if they were precious treasures.

His eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He was an agronomist and knew best the value of these new crops.

"Your Majesty, where did these... come from?"

"Overseas," Liu Ce lied without batting an eye.

"The caravan brought them back from the far west. You can try planting them. I've written the planting methods in this booklet, but you'll have to figure out the best way to grow them yourself."

He handed him a book.

Jia Sixie accepted it as if it were a priceless treasure, saying, "Your Majesty, I will certainly not fail in your trust!"

"Remember," Liu Ce instructed, "corn is the key. Start with a small-scale trial planting, and only expand if it's successful. Spices can be introduced gradually."

"Your Majesty, rest assured! I will certainly take good care of these seeds! This is a great thing that benefits the country and its people!"

Jia Sixie held the seeds as if they were gold, and walked away carefully.

Liu Ce watched his retreating figure and nodded in satisfaction.

Corn, chili peppers...

Once these two crops become widespread in Youzhou, the people's dining tables will be even more abundant.

Who knows, they might even be able to develop "Youzhou Barbecue" or "Spicy Hot Pot"...

He swallowed hard.

"Once the chili peppers from the Eastern Han Dynasty are grown, we must arrange the first hot pot made with Eastern Han Dynasty chili peppers."

...

In the third month of the fourth year of Zhongping, in the study of the Prince of Yan's residence.

The atmosphere was serious.

Liu Ce sat in the main seat, with Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Xun You, Jia Xu, Xu Da, Xue Rengui and other core members sitting below him.

This was a core meeting of the highest decision-making body in Youzhou.

There's only one issue: whether or not to expand the military.

Fang Xuanling spoke first: "Your Majesty, Youzhou is now at peace, there is no war in the northern border, and Goguryeo has been pacified. On the surface, it seems that we do not need too many troops. But in my opinion, chaos is coming, and more troops are always better than fewer troops."

Du Ruhui nodded and said, "Xuanling is absolutely right. Moreover, even with the troops from various prefectures, we only have a little over 130, 000 soldiers. This is more than enough for defense, but not enough for offense. If the world changes in the future, this number of troops will not be sufficient."

Xun Yu cautiously replied, "Expanding the army is acceptable, but it must not affect the people's livelihood. It must be done gradually. Expanding too much at once will cause problems with food supplies, weapons, and training, and will only become a burden."

Xun You stroked his beard and said, "I believe that expanding the army is imperative. Although the Xianbei have been defeated, they have not been completely wiped out; although Liaodong has been pacified, the surrounding small states are still observing. Youzhou needs stronger military force to deter all sides."

Guo Jia leaned back lazily in his chair, squinting his eyes, and said, "Let's expand. Anyway, we have money and grain. If we don't raise more soldiers, are we just going to let them rot? Besides, the King is about to become a father; shouldn't we leave some inheritance for his son?"

Xi Zhicai nodded and said, "Fengxiao is right. With chaos approaching, having troops in hand will keep us calm."

Xu Shu said, "Expanding the army is fine, but it must be done systematically. We can't just recruit people indiscriminately; we must do it according to established systems, and training, equipment, and logistics must all keep up."

Ju Shou said, "I think we can proceed in stages. First expand the cavalry, then expand the infantry. Cavalry is expensive, but it's useful in crucial moments."

Tian Feng said, "That makes sense. The quality of cavalry is more important than the quantity. We have horses, equipment, and generals. Expanding to 50, 000 cavalry shouldn't be a problem."

Chen Gong pointed out incisively: "After the army is expanded, how should the garrisons be arranged? How should the generals be deployed? These are all things that need to be thought out in advance."

Cheng Yu said slowly, "Gongtai is right. Expanding the army is easy, but managing it is difficult. Besides, this is not a small matter; there needs to be a plan."

Shen Pei coughed twice and said, "Expanding the army is fine, but it must be done covertly. Those people in Luoyang are watching us closely. If they find out that Youzhou has suddenly expanded its army by hundreds of thousands, they'll probably cause trouble again."

Jia Xu calmly replied, "We can recruit and train them in batches and at different locations. We can do it slowly under the guise of 'military agricultural colonies' or 'border defense reinforcements'."

Xu Da and Xue Rengui, representing the military generals, exchanged a glance, and Xu Da spoke first:

"Your Majesty, I believe we should expand. Our territory is now much larger, and we need troops to garrison parts of Youzhou, Bingzhou, and Goguryeo. Our directly subordinate army is indeed stretched thin."

"The Xuanjia Iron Cavalry, the Iron Pagoda Cavalry, and the Jingse Iron Cavalry are strong, but their numbers are too few. In the event of a major battle, the heavy cavalry will need to rest after each charge and will need to be rotated."

Xue Rengui added, "The infantry also needs to be expanded. The Mo Dao Battalion, the Trapped Battalion, and the Vanguard Battalion... are all elite units, but each battalion only has about three thousand men. If we can expand to five thousand or even eight thousand, our combat strength will increase exponentially."

"Moreover, training new recruits takes time. Now that Youzhou is at peace, it's the perfect time to train them. If we wait until things get chaotic, it will be too late."

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, engaging in a lively discussion, each with their own valid points.

As Liu Ce listened, he tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and soon he understood.