After playing with the sweet potato for a while, Zhu Xiang put it in his arms and planned to roast it and eat it later. He had no plans to promote it now.
The three most important artifacts for time travelers in later generations are sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, among which sweet potatoes are the most exaggerated.
Looking at the paper yield, sweet potatoes seem to have the highest yield. However, the water content of sweet potatoes is too high. In terms of dry matter, the dehydrated sweet potatoes are only one-fifth of grains, and the yield is about the same as grains.
Sweet potatoes have a low protein content, and their nutritional value after dehydration is not as good as that of grains. They also have coarser fibers. Although they can easily make you feel full after eating them, if you feel full after eating sweet potatoes, you will easily get diarrhea and become even hungrier.
And there is another disadvantage of sweet potatoes that is counterintuitive, which is that they have poor palatability.
Modern people only eat sweet potatoes occasionally, or eat them as staple food, so they only think that sweet potatoes are sweet and delicious. However, if sweet potatoes are eaten as a meal, it is difficult to pair them with other ingredients because of their strong taste. If you eat them every meal, you will get tired of them quickly.
In ancient times, what crops farmers planted had little to do with government promotion. Instead, when the government collected taxes, it would change what the farmers planted.
Just like wheat became the staple food of China after the economy developed in the Tang Dynasty and stone mills became popular in villages; rice developed unprecedentedly after the economic center was transferred in the Southern Song Dynasty; and when the population exploded unprecedentedly in the Qing Dynasty, farmers did not choose to use these three magical tools to replace traditional staple foods, of course there were reasons for that.
During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, officials tried to promote sweet potatoes in the mountains of the south, but farmers were not receptive. At the same time, officials in the north tried to prohibit farmers from growing corn on hillsides because it would cause soil erosion, but farmers were not receptive either.
The imperial court’s promotion did not increase the area of sweet potatoes, and the ban did not reduce the area of corn. What to plant on a piece of land is not decided by the imperial court, and it is not enough for time travelers to come. Farmers have their own wisdom.
Even during the Republic of China period, farmers should have spontaneously increased the production of high-yield crops to relieve famine, but the planting area of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn was only 5%.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the planting area of corn, sweet potatoes and potatoes increased unprecedentedly. This is because the use of agricultural machinery and chemical fertilizers has led to a surge in the output of traditional staple foods. After meeting the needs of the people, the planting area of traditional staple foods has shrunk, leaving room for planting other crops.
Zhu Xiang and other agricultural experts and history experts have repeatedly emphasized that foreign crops did play a certain role in the population explosion in the Qing Dynasty, but the role was weak, and the credit mainly went to the working people of China.
Some economic experts, taking advantage of the public's antipathy towards the Qing rulers, attribute China's demographic miracle to foreign crops, giving all the credit to external factors. This is essentially a derivative of the theory that foreign monks are better at chanting sutras.
The fact is, no matter in the past or in the future, no matter before or after the founding of the People's Republic of China, it is the Chinese people themselves who feed the Chinese people, not some foreign crops that come from a mechanical source.
Zhu Xiang cried for the arrival of potatoes, not only because potatoes filled the gap in China's current famine relief crops, but also because potatoes and corn could become staple food. China had one more staple food crop, which was of great significance.
Sweet potatoes, like pumpkins, are purely famine relief crops.
Of course, sweet potatoes still play a huge role in this era. As a high-yield crop for famine relief, any one of them can save countless lives.
In prosperous times, it doesn’t matter what farmers plant. When famine comes, one more kind of famine-relief crop can save countless starving people.
Sweet potatoes also go well with Nanqin.
Sweet potatoes like warmth, and the main production area of sweet potatoes in later generations is in the southern hills. Li Mu has been eyeing the land of Nanyue, but the output is not as good as the investment, so he only went to Baiyue for a tour, and did not really conquer the city.
It’s different with sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes, potatoes, pumpkins and soybeans can be grown on fragmented land in the mountains, with high yields, which can meet the daily needs of mountain people. In this way, mountain people will tend to settle down and build towns in the mountains.
After the mountain people settled down, it became much easier for the Qin State to attack and collect taxes, and it was able to bring the Baiyue under its jurisdiction.
All barbarian lands can only be brought under the direct rule of the central dynasty after they have been developed. The first priority of land reclamation is cultivation, and then education.
Zhu Xiang decided to pull out all the flowers and plants in Li Mu's garden in the city and breed sweet potatoes. After the sweet potato breeding was successful, the sweet potatoes were transplanted to the southern Qin mountainous area.
Qianzhong County and Nan County included the later Jiangxi region. Jiangxi has good water and heat conditions, but it is hilly and difficult to grow traditional crops.
Although he promoted terraced fields, the development of terraced fields also depends on geological conditions, and the fields that can be cultivated on most hills are very fragmented.
Now potatoes and soybeans are planted in these small fields, pumpkin vines are planted in front of and behind the houses of common people, and now sweet potatoes can be added.
The more types of food we can eat, the more at ease we will feel.
After Zhu Xiang made his plan, he felt mixed emotions.
There is sadness, there is ridicule, it is really heartbreaking.
Pingyang Jun Zhao Bao looked at the famine in Zhao State and hoped to obtain relief food, but this was most suitable for the current Southern Qin area.
But this sigh was fleeting.
Originally, members of the Zhao royal family, such as Zhao Bao, the Lord of Pingyang, and many scholars that Zhu Xiang had come into contact with, had never actually looked down at the real common people.
Because Zhu Xiang appeared, when they saw Zhu Xiang, they also saw the common people around Zhu Xiang.
It is the pain and the extravagant hopes that condense into the gift in Zhu Xiang's system.
The people of Zhao cannot eat sweet potatoes now, but they will be able to eat them sooner or later.
Just like cotton, there must be people in Zhao who are wearing cotton cloth now.
"My dear, wash your face and don't be sad." Xue Ji brought warm water.
After Zhu Xiang washed his face, he said, "I will fast for ten days to bid farewell to my old friend."
Xue Ji said gently: "Okay, I'll accompany you."
Zhu Xiang's clothes were originally plain, but Xue Ji still found him a set of linen clothes.
Although they didn't have to wear mourning clothes for Lord Pingyang, replacing silk or cotton clothes with plain linen clothes was also a token of their love from Zhu Xiang and Xue Ji.
While Zhu Xiang and Xue Ji were mourning for Lord Pingyang, the capital of Zhao State was in chaos.
In the original history, King Zhao died four years later.
Although there was no siege of Handan in this life, King Zhao was even more tormented and his health was not good.
When the King of Zhao succeeded to the throne, he appointed a crown prince. Because there was no siege of Handan, the crown prince did not die in terror. Everyone in Zhao believed that this crown prince would succeed to the throne in the future.
But perhaps there was something destined in the universe. The prince had grown up, but he died of illness this year.
The King of Zhao was devastated by this and died of illness.
In addition to the crown prince, the king of Zhao had two other sons, and the king loved Chunping Jun the most.
The title of the feudal lords in the Warring States Period has almost all been changed to "Hou", just like Yinghou and Yingjun are used interchangeably in historical materials. In folk tradition, they are called "Jun", but the actual title is "Hou", so Chunping Jun is Chunping Hou.
The official titles of Zhu Xiang and Li Mu recorded in official records were also "Marquis of Changping" and "Marquis of Wucheng".
Coincidentally, in Zhu Xiang's previous life, there was also a famous relative-in-law named "Marquis of Changping" named Wei Qing. It's a pity that Zhu Xiang didn't know Wei Qing's title, otherwise he would have said "what a coincidence".
When the crown prince of Zhao was still alive, his position as the crown prince was very stable. The king of Zhao had always hoped that Chunping Hou could assist the crown prince like Pingyuan Jun assisted King Huiwen of Zhao, so in 251 BC, the year before last, because Zhao Bao was often lucid and often confused, he left the position of prime minister, and Chunping Hou became the prime minister of Zhao.
However, Chunping Hou was not liked by the royal family of Zhao State and the ministers close to the King of Zhao.
Chunping Hou was indeed talented and favored by the King of Zhao, so he was rather reserved and proud. When he was young, he was close to Lord Pingyuan and Lord Pingyang, and he did not like people who flattered the King of Zhao.
When Zhao sent troops to the border of Chu to help mediate, in order to avoid Qin attacking Zhao, the Zhao court proposed to send hostages to Qin and repair relations with Qin at the same time.
They said that Prince Chu of Qin was once a hostage sent by Qin to Zhao, and that he did not have a good life in Zhao, so he must have hated Zhao. If Zhao did not send a hostage to Qin to express goodwill and submission to Prince Chu of Qin, Prince Chu of Qin would probably avenge himself and his close friend Zhu Xiang.
This is not nonsense.
In the past, King Zhaoxiang of Qin harassed both Wei and Zhao in order to vent his anger on Yinghou Fan Ju. I'm afraid that Lord Changping was even worse to Prince Chu of Qin than Yinghou Fan Ju.
The King of Zhao was very afraid of the Qin State and was persuaded.
The crown prince certainly could not go as a hostage, because the king of Zhao's health was sometimes good and sometimes bad, and the crown prince was ready to take the throne at any time. The king of Zhao could only choose between Chunping Hou and his youngest son Zhao Yan.
The king of Zhao originally wanted Zhao Yan to be a hostage, but Zhao Yan's teacher was Guo Kai, a doctor favored by the king of Zhao. The doctors around the king of Zhao all stood by Zhao Yan.
Furthermore, the prince was deeply wary of the King of Zhao's favor for Marquis Chunping.
Although the King of Zhao appointed Chunping Hou as the Prime Minister, hoping that Chunping Hou would become the next Lord Pingyuan, the Crown Prince was not King Huiwen of Zhao, and did not have the same tolerance as King Huiwen of Zhao, so he did not trust Chunping Hou.
What's more, it was King Huiwen of Zhao who began to employ Lord Pingyuan only after he became the king, not King Wuling of Zhao. This is completely different.
The crown prince has not yet ascended the throne, and letting another young master of Zhao be the prime minister is absurd to everyone.
Unfortunately, when King Zhao made this decision, Pingyuan Jun had already passed away and Pingyang Jun had become old and confused, so no one could stop him.
The knowledgeable people in Zhao State also hoped that Chunping Hou would leave Handan temporarily and come back after the Crown Prince of Zhao succeeded to the throne.
Zhao could not afford another internal strife. Only when Chunping Hou left Handan, the position of the crown prince of Zhao would be more stable. When Chunping Hou returned from being a hostage in Qin, the crown prince of Zhao would be generous and reuse his younger brother.
King Zhao was persuaded and tearfully sent Chunping Hou away from Handan to Xianyang.
Who would have thought that not long after Chunping Hou left Handan, the Crown Prince of Zhao died suddenly of illness; the King of Zhao was devastated and fell ill and passed away; at the same time, Zhao Bao was also devastated and followed the King of Zhao; the Queen of Zhao had died a few years earlier.
Now Handan was leaderless and in chaos.
The King of Zhao did not leave any will about who would succeed him. Some ministers believed that since only Prince Yan was in Handan, it was natural that Prince Yan would succeed him; some ministers believed that the King of Zhao appointed Marquis Chunping as the Prime Minister, which clearly showed that he valued Marquis Chunping the most besides the Crown Prince, and that Marquis Chunping was more talented, so it was more appropriate for him to succeed him.
So the body of King Zhao was left in the palace and ignored. The ministers of Zhao State quarreled with each other and sent people to look for Chunping Marquis, who had just left Handan not long ago.
Those who wanted Prince Yan to succeed to the throne naturally went to assassinate Marquis Chunping; those who supported Marquis Chunping went to protect him and escort him back to Handan to inherit the throne.
Pingyang Jun's family just watched coldly at this time, using the funeral as an excuse to stay out of it.
Pingyuan Jun's family had already returned to their fiefdom and no longer cared about state affairs.
At this time, there was no Lord Pingyuan and Lord Pingyang to turn the tide, and there was no Lin Xiangru and Lian Po to protect Zhao's internal affairs and foreign wars.
After he succeeded to the throne, King Xi of Yan was still brooding over the fact that King Zhao sent Lian Po to attack Yan, which led to the death of his father. He kept sending spies to watch Handan, hoping to find an opportunity for revenge.
King Yan was overjoyed and immediately sent Ju Xin to attack Zhao in a hurry.
There were many people in Yan who opposed the plan. They believed that Yan had not recovered after being massacred by Lian Po. Moreover, Yan and Zhao were allies and were mediating the civil strife in Chu. Looking at Qin, which was eyeing them from afar, how could Yan betray its alliance and attack Zhao
But when Prince Xi of Yan brought up the revenge for his father, the opposing ministers were unable to stop him.
Involving the word "filial piety", they prevented King Xi of Yan from avenging his father, which made King Xi of Yan unfilial. With this excuse for starting a war, it was nothing to betray the covenant.
Now it all depends on whether Yan can take advantage of this opportunity to take a bite out of Zhao. If Yan can win this battle, everything will be fine.
Ju Xin was a favorite of King Zhao of Yan and was originally a very powerful general. But after King Zhao of Yan died, he was marginalized by the new king and had not used troops for many years. He was now nearly seventy years old.
But his reputation remained, and people throughout the Yan State had great confidence in him.
At this time, Zhao State no longer had any famous generals, so even if Yan State sent troops hastily, it should have a greater chance of winning, right
The news of Yan State's military deployment soon reached Handan City.
Faced with external threats, those who were fighting for power in Handan City immediately calmed down.
In order to send troops to resist the Yan army, Zhao must now have a king. Since Chunping Hou has not returned yet, Prince Yan can only be the king of Zhao.
Thus, the civil strife that was about to break out in Zhao State was eliminated under the stimulation of the Yan State's army's approach, and Prince Yan ascended the throne as King of Zhao.
In fact, Chunping Hou had almost returned to Handan City. When he heard the news that Prince Yan had succeeded to the throne, he immediately turned his carriage around and fled to Qin State.
As soon as King Yan of Zhao ascended the throne, he faced a major crisis of having no generals available.
At this time, someone recommended an old veteran, Pang Nuan.
Pang Nuan was an important official of King Wuling of Zhao. After King Wuling of Zhao starved to death, like many people who only recognized King Wuling of Zhao's talents, Pang Nuan also left the court of Zhao and lived in seclusion among the people.
Pang Nuan originally lived in seclusion in Chu State, but now he has returned to Handan. Although Pang Nuan is nearly eighty years old and has no experience in leading troops in battle, he has a lot of military works. Judging from his works alone, he is a talented person who can lead troops.
Now that King Zhao has no generals available, he might as well try this veteran.
Although King Yan of Zhao had no confidence in this old man who was nearly eighty years old, he had no choice but to seek help from all possible means and summon Pang Nuan.
Pang Nuan was vigorous and eloquent, and he immediately won the favor of King Yan of Zhao.
So King Yan of Zhao appointed Pang Nuan as general to attack the State of Yan.
Coincidentally, Pang Nuan and Ju Xin were good friends when they were young and served under King Wuling of Zhao.
Ju Xin was attracted by King Zhao of Yan's order to seek talents and went to serve under King Zhao. After King Zhao's death, he has been in seclusion ever since. Pang Nuan left Zhao after King Wuling of Zhao's death and has also lived in seclusion ever since.
They all became famous when they were young, but then remained silent until now. When they were old and gray, they were valued by the king, appointed as generals, and led troops to war.
Wei Wuji also received news that the Yan army was approaching.
He was a good fighter, and his personal temperament and character were also very popular among the soldiers on the border. With Li Mu's letters as a medium, he soon replaced the original Li family's position in the three Yanmen counties and controlled the Zhao border troops at will.
After learning that Zhao was in danger, Wei Wuji thought that he was already a general of Zhao. Although the King of Zhao did not issue an edict to ask him to rescue, he should be prepared. So he prepared his army and was ready to rescue Handan at any time.
When Pang Nuan led his troops to set off, Wei Wuji asked his retainers to stay in Yanmen County, and he personally led three thousand elite soldiers and left Yanmen County without any order.
This surprise force, unknown to Pang Nuan and Ju Xin, brought an early end to the Yan-Zhao War.
Yan's betrayal of the alliance also had an impact on Chu.
The reason why Chu's peace talks were delayed was not that the two warring parties could not reach a consensus, but that the five countries of Wei, Han, Yan, Zhao and Qi that sent troops to "help" Chu in the peace talks wanted to gain benefits from the talks, and Chu failed to reach an agreement with them.
When King Xi of Yan sent Ju Xin to lead the troops, Yan and Zhao gave up the negotiations and hurried back to their countries, fearing that they would be attacked by the other side.
The remaining Wei, Han and Qi states saw that their own forces had weakened and that Lian Po, Lord Xinping of Qin, would come from time to time to see what they were doing, so they did not dare to waste time any longer and hurriedly took some money and slaves as bribes and withdrew their troops.
The long-stalemate peace talks of the State of Chu finally came to an end.
The peace talks agreed that the two sides would use the line from Gaoyou Lake to Chaohu Lake (later name) as the border, dividing the two Chus into South and North. The Jingzhao clan and all their supporters would go to South Chu, which would be equivalent to their new fiefdom.
However, the Jing and Zhao clans could not be called kings, but were called the Lords of Southern Chu. In name, they were still feudal lords of the King of Chu. Southern Chu was a vassal state of Chu. In the future, when Chu sent troops, the Lord of Southern Chu would also have to cooperate.
After the Chu State moved its capital, its core areas are now all along the Huai River. After the Southern Chu State was divided, it bordered the Southern Qin State in the south and was threatened by Li Mu's troops; it bordered the Dabie Mountains in the west and was threatened by Wang Jian's troops. The King of Chu divided the Southern Chu State to make it a barrier against Li Mu and Wang Jian.
After the King of Chu appointed Xiang Yan as their general, the Chu rebels suffered many defeats in battles and their power was relatively weak, so they had no choice but to accept this proposal.
But they demanded that Xiang Yan be appointed as a general to drive the Qin people from the north bank of the Yangtze River.
The King of Chu agreed to the request of Southern Chu and lent Xiang Yan to Southern Chu, appointing him as the general of Southern Chu and leading the army of Southern Chu to attack the cities occupied by Qin on the north bank of the Yangtze River during the chaos.
By the time the Southern Chu State sent out its troops, it was already April of the following year.
The rice planted by Zhu Xiang around Guangling City is about to be harvested, and the mulberry-fish pond model has also begun to show results.
Zheng Guo was indeed a water conservancy expert who left his name in history with the Zhengguo Canal. After hearing about the "Mulberry-based fish pond", he immediately incorporated the fish pond into his water conservancy canal network, creating a water conservancy canal network for irrigation, fish farming, and flood discharge for Guangling City.
And his cost management is also very good.
Although it will take at least three years to fully repair this water conservancy channel network, it does not mean that it can only be used after it is completed. Instead, one channel can be used as soon as it is completed, so it is being used now.
Although a good harvest was in sight in Guangling City, Zhu Xiang's reputation did not rise as rapidly as it had in Southern Qin.
He keenly discovered that the loyalty of Guangling City, from scholars to common people, to Qin was very low. Although they were very obedient now, they were still very repulsive to Qin.
This is normal.
The north bank of the Yangtze River had belonged to the Chu State for hundreds of years. Unlike the southern Chu State, Guangling City was not separated from the main business areas of the Chu State by the Yangtze River, and the personnel exchanges were very close, so the customs and folkways were completely integrated into the Chu State, and the recognition of the Chu State was extremely high.
Even though there was a famine in the State of Chu, due to the subsequent rebellion of the Jing and Zhao clans, the people of Guangling simply believed that it was the fault of the rebels.
Man-made disasters are caused by the rebels, and natural disasters are brought down by the gods as punishment for the rebels. The King of Chu is innocent.
As for the State of Qin, it had a very bad reputation in the State of Chu, and it took advantage of the situation to seize the city of Guangling. Therefore, the people of Guangling hated the State of Qin and did not consider themselves Qin people. They waited for the King of Chu to send troops to rescue them.
It was only after Zhu Xiang came that this "hatred" was reduced to "indifference".
Guangling was not the only city occupied by the Qin army on the north bank of the Yangtze River. There were sporadic rebellions in other cities, which were suppressed by the Qin army. After Zhu Xiang arrived in Guangling City, there was no rebellion by the people of Guangling, which shows that Zhu Xiang's reputation among the people was indeed high, and the people of Guangling had given Zhu Xianggong a lot of face.
Zhu Xiang was very clear about this.
The people of Guangling hated the State of Qin. If the King of Chu sent troops, they would definitely support the Chu army. After the Qin army had caught its breath in the State of Chu, it would be difficult for them to continue to occupy the city of Guangling.
Li Mu also realized that he had made a wrong decision, so he sent a letter to Zhu Xiang, asking him to return to Wujun as soon as possible.
After Li Mu learned that the peace talks with the State of Chu had ended, he ran to the deck of the warship and stood with his hands behind his back, feeling the sea breeze for a long time. He started coughing the next day and is now taking medicine.
Li Mu didn't think his previous judgment was wrong.
In his judgment, the Chu State and the coalition forces of the five countries will definitely continue the tug-of-war for a long time until both sides are exhausted and the five countries have obtained the desired benefits, and then the peace talks will end.
The Chu State was severely damaged and was certainly unable to manage the cities on the north bank of the Yangtze River, which were under constant threat from the Qin navy.
He originally thought that he had secured these cities.
Li Mu racked his brains but couldn't figure out why Yan State broke the alliance.
Well, the Crown Prince and King of Zhao died one after another, and the throne of King of Zhao has not been decided yet. This is indeed a good opportunity to send troops to attack the State of Zhao.
But this is not the time to use this opportunity!
When Li Mu got the news, Yan general Ju Xin was ambushed by Xinling Jun Wei Wuji, and was hit head-on by Pang Nuan when he was in a state of panic. He was attacked from both sides and had already been defeated.
After carefully watching the entire process of Yan State's military expedition, Li Mu, who was not a Yan person, started to have a headache because he simply saw that there was nothing right about Yan State's strategy.
Commonly known as, the eyes are irritated.
If he led the troops, he would definitely wait until Chunping Hou returned to Handan and when Chunping Hou and Gongzi Yan started fighting each other, and then take action secretly.
As long as the people who supported Chunpinghou and those who supported Gongzi Yan started fighting, even if an external threat came, the two groups would not stop easily. Because they had already torn their faces apart, whoever stopped first would definitely be liquidated, and they could not afford to take the risk.
The State of Yan could even send people to support the weaker party, promise to help it become the King of Yan, and then easily seize a few cities.
No matter how you think about it, it is impossible to send troops before Chunping Hou arrives at Handan to fight for the throne! Aren't you asking Zhao to end the civil strife immediately and nominate Prince Yan, the only one in Handan, as the King of Zhao!
Li Mu even suspected that there was a spy from the King of Zhao around King Xi of Yan, who deliberately gave King Xi of Yan such bad advice in order to preserve the State of Zhao.
I heard that the veteran general Ju Xin sent by Yan State this time once served under King Wuling of Zhao. Maybe I guessed right
The stupidity of Yan State caused Yan and Zhao to withdraw from the team that put pressure on Chu State, and the other three countries naturally had to withdraw their troops as well.
Without external pressure, Chu quickly entered into peace talks and now turned its attention to Qin.
Li Mu covered his head with both hands. It hurt so much.
For some reason, he recalled what Bai Qi had said when they were living together in Zhu Xiang's house in Xianyang and talking about military matters.
Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an, was very sad at the time. He racked his brains to understand why Zhao Kuo did that, which almost put him in a dilemma. Fortunately, Zhu Xiang came.
Li Mu finally understood Bai Qi's feelings.
What are you doing, people of Yan? Why are you so stupid? Can't you find a sober person among all the ministers
I'm not telling you not to send troops. Can't you send troops after the fight between Chunping Hou and Gongzi Yan? Are you rushing to help Zhao to unite against the enemy
Li Mu was in great pain.
(End of this chapter)