Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard.

This made Liu Bei and Li Ji look over there.

When Liu Bei was communicating with Li Ji, he never liked to be disturbed by outsiders.

As time went by, the guards and servants in Liu Bei's mansion all became aware of this rule, so let alone other trivial matters, even Mrs. Gan would not come to disturb them at this time.

"My lord, urgent news."

Xiahou Bo stood at the entrance of the courtyard, seeming to be suppressing some of his agitated emotions.

This made Liu Bei and Li Ji look at each other in surprise.

As the autumn harvest season approaches and the snowy winter follows, the situation in the Han Dynasty, which has been turbulent for nearly a year, has begun to enter a brief period of calm.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any urgent news.

"Come in."

Liu Bei, who was quite confused, spoke immediately.

Soon, Xiahou Bo strode in, saluted Liu Bei and Li Ji, and answered in a suppressed and excited tone.

"The people who went to the south of Jiaozhou to look for rice seeds have returned, and seem to have found the high-yield rice that Guo Shihou mentioned."

"what?!"

At this moment, Liu Bei stood up almost suddenly, with excitement in his eyes.

As for the search for rice seeds, in the second year of Zhongping when Liu Bei initially took control of Wujun, Li Ji began to send people to search for possible high-yield rice in Wujun.

No fruit.

After successfully building the sea-going ship, he began to spare no effort to search south for high-yield rice varieties. Based on his memory and some records of this era, Li Ji judged that there should be high-yield rice in the area south of Jiaozhou.

It can be said that in recent years, there has been a lot of research on the search for high-yield rice.

Both Liu Bei and Li Ji regarded it as the top priority and continued to search for him for many years. The total number of people sent overseas was as many as one or two thousand.

After repeatedly receiving news of failure, this was the first time Liu Bei heard of the results. How could he not be ecstatic? He immediately asked hurriedly.

"Where are the people? Where is the rice?"

"Waiting outside." Xiahou Bo replied.

"Then what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and let someone in..."

After Liu Bei finished speaking, he felt that this was still too slow, so he lifted the hem of his clothes that was in the way and walked out of the courtyard on his own initiative.

However, after taking two steps, Liu Bei suddenly turned around, pulled up Li Ji who was slowly getting up, and strode out of the courtyard together.

"Slow down, slow down, my lord."

Li Ji, who was almost dragged out, kept reminding Liu Bei, but it was obviously not very effective.

Li Ji knew the answer, so he was verifying the solution step by step. He understood that there must be high-yield rice south of Jiaozhou, and it was only a matter of time to find it, so he was not too excited.

But for Liu Bei, it was a mood of fear and gain, so he kept sending people out to look for it. Over the years, he prayed to God countless times to have mercy on the people, hoping that he could find high-yield rice as soon as possible.

Now, the results are finally out, how can Liu Bei not be filled with excitement. High-yield rice!
Even if the rice yield is increased by 30% compared to the level that has been initially promoted in Yangzhou, considering the arable land potential of Yangzhou, it can feed millions more people if it is continued to be cultivated for a few more years.

Once it is further promoted little by little in Jiaozhou, which is more suitable for growing rice, it may be able to feed nearly 10 million more people.

As Liu Bei pulled him out, he soon saw a man standing outside, wearing linen clothes and with a weather-beaten face.

The man was holding a rice plant on a tray in his hand.

After seeing Liu Bei and Li Ji, the man's eyes became sparkling and excited. He knelt down in front of Liu Bei and Li Ji from a distance and said.

"Greetings, my lord, Mr. Zikun."

As Liu Bei pulled Li Ji closer, his attention was completely attracted by the rice plant on the tray.

The rice plant was obviously not fully mature and had basically dried up. The rice ears hanging on it were still quite small, and overall one could still make out some green with a hint of golden color.

Liu Bei carefully picked up the rice plant and counted the rice grains one by one.

After counting the first time, Liu Bei's pupils shrank slightly, and he suppressed his excitement and counted the second time, and even the third time...

At this moment, Liu Bei's face turned red and his breathing became extremely heavy.

As a person from the lower class, Liu Bei was not extremely proficient in farming, but he undoubtedly knew exactly how much grain could be produced from an acre of land and how many rice grains were on a rice plant.

Even during the farming season, Liu Bei would personally go to the fields to plow a few acres of land to set an example for his subordinates and the people.

Therefore, Liu Bei estimated almost in an instant the approximate range of the increase in per-acre yield after this rice plant matured.

"Thirty percent! Thirty percent!! Zikun!"

Liu Bei spoke to Li Ji in a somewhat incoherent manner, but Li Ji easily understood that what Liu Bei meant was the increase in per-mu yield.

Immediately, Li Ji took the rice from Liu Bei's hand. Xiahou Bo next to him also brought an oil lamp over so that Li Ji could see the rice more clearly.

Just from the surface, Li Ji really couldn't tell whether this was the "Champa rice" in his memory.

However, if it is really Champa rice, Li Ji is very clear that its greatest advantage is not its yield, but its short growth cycle. Unlike the japonica rice that is becoming popular nowadays, which requires a six-month growth cycle, Champa rice only needs a hundred days to mature.

Therefore, if Champa rice is promoted in an all-round way, it would not be impossible to achieve two harvests a year in Yangzhou area, and even three harvests a year in Jiaozhou and other areas.

If Li Ji remembers correctly, in the original trajectory, the population of the Song Dynasty was able to break through 100 million from 80 million at its peak in the Tang Dynasty, and Champa rice played an indispensable role in this.

In addition, Champa rice does not have the relatively harsh growing conditions like other rice varieties. Not only does it have considerable drought resistance, but it can also be grown and survive regardless of the fertility of the soil.

While Li Ji's attention was focused on the rice plant, Liu Bei noticed that the great hero who recovered the rice seeds was kneeling on the ground and saluted, so he quickly helped him up.

Only after seeing the face opposite him clearly did Liu Bei hesitate slightly and then asked.

"Liu Ji?"

Liu Ji replied with excitement. "Liu Ji lived up to the kindness of the lord and Mr. Zikun, and finally...finally found the rice seeds."

At this moment, Liu Bei's eyes were also full of emotion, and he reached out and patted Liu Ji's shoulder heavily.

Liu Ji is also a member of Taoyuan. Unlike the other children, Liu Ji is a quiet and tough person who is not good at communicating with others. (End of this chapter)