Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

"Alright, alright, I understand!" Li Shimin pointed, "Jingde, you keep this, we'll take it back later."

Li Shimin shouted.

"okay!"

Yuchi Jingde swung his sickle, and when the blade sliced ​​through the base of the corn stalk, it made a crisp "crack" sound, and the thick stalk fell to the ground.

These corn stalks are almost twice as thick as millet or wheat stalks, with thick walls, making them heavy in the hand, unlike millet stalks which are light and easily broken.

The people present gradually began to understand what was going on.

The biggest worry for the Tang Dynasty in raising cavalry was finding fodder in winter and spring.

In the pastures of northern and northwestern China, the grass and trees wither and turn yellow in autumn and winter, and horses can only eat dry grass, causing them to lose weight quickly. It takes two or three months to regain their strength after spring.

In inland areas, horse breeding relies heavily on millet and wheat straw donated by farmers. Not only is the yield low, but the texture is also soft and not very filling for horses. They need to be mixed with beans to get enough nutrition.

But corn stalks are different; one corn plant can produce a thick stalk, and three thousand corn plants can be planted per acre.

They could collect three thousand poles, pile them up on the field like a small mountain, enough to feed several horses for a whole winter.

What's even more remarkable is that it serves two purposes.

Planting corn can yield thousands of kilograms of grain, solving the problem of feeding the people, and the stalks can also be used as fodder to feed the army's horses.

Unlike before, where land for growing grain and land for cutting grass were separated, thus not taking up arable land for nothing.

Farmers no longer need to travel far to the hillside to cut grass when raising cattle and horses. After harvesting corn, they can simply carry the stalks home, dry them thoroughly, and pile them in the woodshed. When it snows in winter, they can take them out to feed the livestock, saving a lot of effort.

Even Li Jing couldn't help but step forward and reach out to pinch the corn stalk.

It's firm but not prickly, with coarse fibers, making it chewy for horses and helping to grind their teeth.

He recalled the plight of the Northwest Frontier Army: last winter, heavy snow prevented the transport of fodder, and many warhorses became skin and bones, panting after just a few steps during spring training.

If corn is planted in the border garrison areas, and the stalks are kept after the grain is harvested, the winter and spring fodder will be secured, the warhorses will be able to maintain their strength, and they will be able to charge into battle the following year without being hindered by a lack of fodder.

As everyone watched the pile of corn stalks gradually grow taller, they gradually understood.

This corn was not only a famine relief food, but also the "grass" to feed the army, and the source of the Tang Dynasty cavalry's strength.

In the future, when we mention "horse breeding", we will no longer have to worry about the shortage of fodder.

With these corn stalks, horses can be fed well and soldiers can be trained to be strong. For the Tang Dynasty, which relied on cavalry to conquer the world, this was more valuable than harvesting a few more bushels of grain.

The little princess was holding a piece of corn, and although she knew that the old man couldn't eat it, she still found it very precious.

Princess Yuzhang squatted down. "Sizi, put this away for your sixth sister. These are seeds. We'll plant more corn to eat next year."

"Hmmmm~"

Others, who weren't cutting corn stalks, were also looking at the corn cobs.

Apart from Li Shimin, Cheng Yaojin, and Qin Qiong, none of the others had even seen it, let alone eaten it.

After the corn was packed away, the others looked at Xiao Ran.

"Let's look at this next!" Xiao Ran said, glancing at the potato beside him.
He bent down and picked up the five-pronged rake from the edge of the field.

The iron teeth were made according to his specifications, with wide spacing and blunt tips, so that they could easily dig through the soil without puncturing the potatoes inside.

He walked to the patch of ground where the stems and leaves had long since turned yellow, stared at the withered vines on the ground, located the roots, and inserted the tip of the rake into the moist soil.
With a slight dip of his wrist and a quick pry, the damp soil was turned up with a "whoosh," revealing several round objects.

It's a potato!
Some are the size of a fist, with a light brown skin.

Some eggs are small, with yellowish-brown shells covered in wet mud, like chubby babies just waking up from the soil, squeezed among the turned-up clods of earth.

"Wow~ It's a little potato~" The little princess went over and picked one up.

The other children also joined in.

Others may not know, but a few children have eaten potatoes.

Previously, Xiao Ran had only refreshed the menu a few times; the two little princesses had eaten roasted food, while the others had eaten stir-fried food.

I get excited when I see potatoes now.

"Uncle, weigh it and see how much one plant is." Xiao Ran looked at Li Shimin.

"Okay, let's weigh him!" Li Shimin called out.

Fang Xuanling, quick-witted and agile, took a slightly worn bamboo basket from his attendant.

This basket was previously used to hold ropes, rulers, pens, and ink. The bamboo strips are finely woven and the edges are polished smooth, making it perfect for holding potatoes without the small potato pieces falling in.

He placed the bamboo basket on the edge of the field and patted the dust off the bottom of the basket: "This is just right for carrying things; it's lightweight and stable."

Li Shimin smiled and bent down to rub Sizi's muddy little head: "Sizi, put all the potatoes from this plant into the basket. Handle them gently, don't break the skin, or they won't keep well."

"Mmm-hmm~" the little princess responded cheerfully, carefully placing the large potato she had just picked into the basket with her little hands.

The potatoes were still covered in wet mud, and she held them in her palms to prevent them from slipping.

Princess Chengyang squatted on the other side, picking up the tiny potatoes, about the size of quail eggs, and putting them into her basket one by one, counting as she did so: "One, two. This one is so small, like a pebble!"

Princess Yuzhang stood guard by the basket, occasionally straightening the crooked bamboo strips to prevent the potatoes from rolling out. Di Renjie and Yan Yao also helped dig out the small potatoes buried in the cracks in the soil and handed them to the children.

A few children participated, and others who wanted to lend a hand could only watch helplessly.

Li Shimin intended for the little princess to participate, and no one else could say anything about it.

In no time, all the potatoes from this plant were filled into the bamboo basket.

Li Jing quickly walked over, carefully picked up the bamboo basket rope, and hung it on the hook of the sandalwood scale.

The weights were already prepared. He slowly moved the weights until the scales were as flat as a field ridge, then looked down at the scale markings and said, "Erlang, these potatoes weigh twenty-four ounces!"

"Twenty-four taels?"

Li Shimin did some mental calculations. In the Tang Dynasty, one jin was sixteen liang, so twenty-four liang would be one and a half jin. He couldn't help but look at the potatoes in the basket. "One potato alone weighs one and a half jin?"

Li Jing nodded and added, "The largest one here weighs four taels, and the smallest only one tael."

Fang Xuanling immediately picked up the conversation, turning another page of the booklet in his hand: "Second Brother, based on one and a half catties per plant and three thousand plants per mu, one mu of potatoes can yield four thousand five hundred catties!"

Potatoes and corn seem to be spaced about the same distance apart.

Fang Xuanling and others could see it.

"Four thousand five hundred catties!" This not-so-loud voice exploded in everyone's hearts like a thunderclap.

Li Shimin's fingers suddenly tightened, the wet mud on the skin of the small potato he was holding rubbing against his fingertips, but the cool touch did not bring him back to his senses.

He stared at the potatoes in the bamboo basket, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

He felt that the corn yield of 1,200 jin per mu was a gift from heaven.

But these potatoes weighed 4,500 jin, which is more than three times the weight of the corn!
One mu of millet yields two hundred jin, and it would take twenty mu of land to equal the yield of one mu of potatoes.

He suddenly recalled the long lines of people queuing to receive relief grain during the drought in Guanzhong last year. Those eyes, which were starving, were now brightened by the potatoes in this basket.

He took a deep breath to calm his surging emotions, gently stroking the rough skin of the potato with his fingertips, as if to confirm that this was not a dream.

Fang Xuanling's hand trembled slightly as he gripped the booklet, the pen nib drawing a crooked line on the paper. He stared at the words "four thousand five hundred catties" on the booklet, checking them repeatedly: one plant weighs one and a half catties, three thousand plants, that's right, it's four thousand five hundred catties!

He looked up at the potato field, his eyes filled with unbelievable surprise.

If this yield were promoted in Henan and Hebei, how much more grain could be harvested each year?

How much tax revenue will the national treasury need to increase?
How much water conservancy can be built, and how many farm tools can be purchased?

His fingers flew across the booklet as he calculated, muttering to himself:

"If 100,000 mu of potatoes were planted in Guanzhong, it would be enough to feed a million people for a year."

The more he calculated, the more excited he became. He didn't even bother to wipe the sweat from his forehead, feeling a surge of heat in his chest that was about to overflow.

It was incredibly shocking to everyone else as well.

I dare not even think about it.

Now Li Lizhi, Princess Yuzhang, and the others understood why Xiao Ran valued potatoes and corn so much.

This output is truly terrifying.

The little princess rummaged around beside the basket, picked up the biggest one, and exclaimed, "Little Pouch-kun~ Seven Potato Duck~"

"Sizi, don't eat this yet." Li Shimin was truly reluctant to part with it.

"Xiao Ran, can other races achieve this yield?" Li Shimin's voice trembled with excitement.

"Uncle, I can't answer that for you, I don't really know either." Xiao Ran pointed to the ground. "Fifth Sister, Sixth Sister, and Si Zi know how I plant it, they were involved too."

"Whether others can produce this much is unknown."

“One mu is about the same as corn, with about three thousand plants. Even if it’s only one jin, let alone one and a half jin, the yield per mu is still three thousand jin,” Li Jing said.

“Each plant weighs one and a half jin, and even if each plant weighs half a jin, that’s still 1,500 jin per mu. We wouldn’t have dared to even dream of that before!” Fang Xuanling was even more excited than Li Jing.

The yield is from milled millet, rice, and wheat.

It would be hard to believe if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

The appearance of corn and potatoes on the ridges of Kaolao Village meant much more than just two additional grains for the Tang Dynasty.

Instead, it broke the "food shortage shackles" that had trapped the dynasty for hundreds of years.

It fundamentally rewrote the underlying logic of people's livelihood, military affairs, economy and social stability.

In terms of people's livelihood, this represents a leap from "seeking basic needs" to "being able to live a stable life."

Previously, the people of the Tang Dynasty relied on millet, wheat and rice for a living. The highest yield per mu was only about 200 jin. A family of five needed to cultivate 20 mu of land to make a living. In case of drought or flood, they had to flee famine or sell their children.

Corn can yield 1,000 jin per mu, and potatoes can yield 4,500 jin per mu!

From an economic perspective, this represents a shift in the national treasury's resources, moving from a state of "tight budget for disaster relief" to one of "having surplus capacity."

Previously, when there was a drought in Guanzhong, the Ministry of Revenue had to urgently transfer grain from Jiangnan. The cost of transporting grain by canal accounted for nearly 10% of the national treasury's annual revenue, and only 30% of the disaster relief grain reached the people.

Local officials often had to treat displaced people harshly due to food shortages, sowing the seeds of future chaos.

With high yields of corn and potatoes, the national grain reserves have more than doubled.

When there is a surplus of grain, it can also drive small-scale handicraft industries such as milling and storage, and even allow surplus grain to be traded in markets, making rural markets more active and giving the grassroots economy more resilience.

Previously, food shortages easily led to the emergence of refugees, and when refugees gathered, they caused chaos, requiring the government to expend a great deal of manpower and resources to suppress and resettle them.

Now that there is enough food and fewer refugees, local security will naturally improve.

When ordinary people tend to their few acres of land, grow high-yield new grains, and see that their children are well-fed and they have stored grain for winter, their sense of identification with the imperial court will be deeply rooted in their hearts.

This is not obedience forced by law, but rather trust earned through a "peaceful life".

In the longer term, these two new grains are also quietly changing the agricultural structure of the Tang Dynasty.

The focus has shifted from a "single grain system" relying on millet, wheat, and rice to a "risk-resistant grain system" with multiple grain varieties.

Even if millet production is reduced due to drought in a certain year, potatoes can still be harvested because they are drought-resistant.

Even if rice crops fail due to flooding, corn crops can still survive because of their tall stalks.

"Young master, are corn and potatoes demanding in terms of soil requirements?" Wei Zheng asked. "Can they be grown in Kaolao Village, or in other places?"

Xiao Ran looked at Wei Zheng and said, "Uncle, these two things are not picky about the land. The poor soil in the village that hasn't been fertilized much before could yield a lot of millet, but it can still produce corn and potatoes."

“Even on the slopes where there are some rocks, the corn stalks can grow quite thick, and potatoes buried in the soil can produce a few fruits.”

He paused, recalling the situation after the previous rain, and added, "Potatoes are susceptible to waterlogging. Last time it rained for two days in a row, and the roots of several potato plants rotted!"

"Corn is more resilient; even if the field is damp, the stalks don't easily fall over."

As he spoke, he pointed to the field ridges in the distance: "Land like the land in our Guanzhong region can definitely be cultivated."

"If we go to the northwest, where it's drier, the corn should be able to survive, and potatoes can also grow as long as we choose a place where there's no waterlogging."

“When I was planting with Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister, we didn’t specifically look for a good location. We just picked a random piece of land and still got this yield. I think it should work in other places as long as it’s not too extreme.”

Fang Xuanling smiled and said, "So, basically everything within the Tang Dynasty can be grown?"

That's about right!

"Good, good, good!" Li Shimin was so excited he didn't know what to say.

“These can be dug up now, I wonder how the others are.” Xiao Ran looked at the potatoes in other places.

"Then dig them all out, weigh them all, and take the average." Li Shimin took the five-pronged rake from Xiao Ran's hand. "Xiao Ran, let me do it!"

Li Shimin had to handle this personally.

"Uncle, be careful not to break it. If you damage it, this thing will rot easily," Xiao Ran reminded Li Shimin.

I understand Li Shimin's feelings.

"How should we dig this?" Li Shimin was not being careless; if the digging was damaged and the material couldn't be stored for the following year, it would be a huge loss.

Li Shimin felt even more sorry for Xiao Ran than Xiao Ran did.

Xiao Ran pointed and said, "The potatoes are in this mound of dirt. You have to dig around them, turn them up, don't just dig the potatoes directly."

"I understand!" Li Shimin dug very far, afraid of damaging it.

"Erlang, we can just dig with our hands, there are more of us," Yuchi Jingde said with a smile.

"Big Black's suggestion is good! We definitely can't break it by hand," Cheng Yaojin agreed.

"Alright, let's get started!" Li Shimin also wanted others to participate.

The little princess could have participated, but Xiao Ran held her back.

“We’re not going to do it, Uncle and the others can do it. Sizi is a little beauty, she doesn’t do this kind of thing,” Xiao Ran said with a smile.

"Hmmmm~"

The little princess didn't go, and Princess Li Lizhi (also known as Princess Yuzhang) stood to one side. The other children didn't participate either. (End of Chapter)