Chapter 1643: Really Good at Cheating

"Did I say something wrong?" Albrecht was stunned. "Everything I said is true. Time magazine even published an article offering guidance to your Daxia fishery, hoping you would reduce fishing for the benefit of people around the world. Of course, I don't know much about fisheries and animal husbandry, so I'd like to hear your opinion."

Albrecht was certainly a smart man. On the one hand, he proved that he did not have enough knowledge without reading books as Xiao Peng said, and on the other hand, he tactfully diverted the conflict, saying that he did not understand and was just repeating it.

Sure enough, after hearing what he said, Xiao Peng's expression brightened a little. He pointed at the tables around him and said, "Look, according to you, you can enjoy delicious meat and fish every day, while we Daxia people have to eat potatoes and lettuce every day. We're even ridiculed for eating some seafood... There's only one country in the world that has more aquaculture than fishing, and that country isn't any other, but Daxia! You haven't been to Africa, have you? I traveled around Africa and saw your media reporting all the time about Daxia fishing boats fishing in Africa. But what's the reality? Daxia's fishing boats in Africa don't even account for 5% of your European fishing boats! And that doesn't include the numerous IUU fishing boats in Europe! And we've become the target of ridicule? We Daxia people eat potatoes but not meat or fish, while you guys eat refined rice, meat, eggs, and milk every day? Albrecht, this gets to the core issue: Aren't we Daxia people human beings?"

Albrecht quickly waved his hands and said, "Xiao, calm down!"

Xiao Peng snorted coldly, "They're always attacking developing countries under the banner of 'science' and 'environmental protection', but they're really just pursuing their own interests. Isn't that too shameless?"

Albrecht said helplessly, "Xiao, we're just discussing this. Besides, no matter what those people say, your Daxia won't change, right?"

"Huh?" Xiao Peng was stunned after hearing this. He didn't know what Albrecht meant by this, but he quickly put on a confident look on his face: "That's right, our country will develop along its own path, and we won't change our path because of other people's dictates!"

Albrecht nodded. "That's all right. We're just having an 'academic discussion' right now. Of course, I'm not an academic. I just think potatoes are a good thing. I really enjoy eating them. If you could try using potatoes instead of wheat and rice, perhaps you could achieve a better outcome?"

Xiao Peng shook his head. "We Daxia people use only 5% of the Earth's arable land to feed 20% of the Earth's population. This is a miracle in itself. Don't you see this? Yet you trick us into eating potatoes instead... I'm not saying potatoes are bad, they're actually quite good. The most popular online novels in our country are time-travel novels. In any time-travel novel, especially those about returning to the Tang Dynasty, potatoes will 100% appear. It's as if as long as there are potatoes, there will be no more famine - but if you think about it, how ridiculous!"

"Many people in our country are under the impression that famine has never existed in Europe since ancient times, and the reason is that Europeans had potatoes. What they don't know is that potatoes actually entered Bactria and Europe at almost the same time - Spanish sailors introduced potatoes to Europe in 1536, Ireland in 1565, and France in 1785. Moreover, for a long time, potatoes were not used for food at all, but were regarded as exotic flowers and plants for viewing!"

Alfred asked, "When did the potatoes arrive in Daxia?"

Xiao Peng explained, "There's no definite date, but there's an approximate timeline. Japanese potatoes were brought to Nagasaki Port by the Dutch in 1598, and Daxia introduced them no later than Japan, even earlier than many European countries. According to the Xingping County Annals in Shaanxi Province, potatoes were already widely cultivated there in the 16th century! But..."

At this point, Xiao Peng paused and said, "Even with a high-yield crop like potatoes, Daxia, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, including the early years of its founding, constantly battled famine! Let alone you in Europe, how many people died of starvation during the Great Potato Famine when Ireland planted potatoes nationwide? Potatoes are high-yielding, but they can't be planted continuously! That would cause soil salinization and nutrient imbalance. Even more frightening, continuous planting, under the action of microorganisms, will cause phenolic acids in the potato pulp and roots, which not only inhibit crop growth but also cause disease! Wasn't the Irish Potato Famine caused by mold from continuous planting, which caused the potatoes to rot? It takes at least five or six years for the soil to recover after one year of potato planting! If continuous potato planting were truly universal, Daxia would likely have no arable land in thirty years! We're an agricultural country. We may not be as technologically advanced as today's developed countries, but when it comes to traditional agricultural experience, our ancestors were world leaders! Didn't they know potatoes are high-yielding? Then why didn't they plant continuously? Were our ancestors fools?"

Albrecht blinked. "Okay, I wouldn't have known about these things if you hadn't told me. But what did you just say? All writers in your country write like this? That's a little off, isn't it? It doesn't seem very rigorous!"

Xiao Peng shook his head again. "No, no, no. What I just said is that online novels are not formal reading materials. What kind of online novels are popular? Of course, whatever makes you happy is popular! Who cares if it's rigorous or not? It's like that TV series that Goryeo made. I forgot the name, but it was called a 'Historical Drama'. The general content was about the Tang Dynasty attacking Goguryeo, and how the Goryeo general Yang Wanchun held off the Tang army and even shot Emperor Li Shimin in one eye. This incident even caused the netizens of Daxia to curse. What are you cursing about? In the final analysis, it's because the people of Daxia themselves are not up to the task!"

"Why do you say that?" Albrecht was confused.

Xiao Peng explained, "It's very simple. The character 'Yang Wanchun' doesn't exist at all; he's a fabricated figure. But if you look at those Daxia online novels, any novel related to the Tang Dynasty will inevitably feature Yang Wanchun, and readers assume he's a real person. When the Koreans were filming the story, they simply said, 'We based this movie on your records,' to try to silence the Daxia people themselves—isn't that enough of a slap in the face?"

"Potatoes are indeed a good thing. When our country was hit by famine, we often relied on potatoes to survive the disaster years. We simply boiled the potatoes in water and ate them with the water to fill our stomachs. This method has indeed saved many people. But if we really used potatoes as the staple food? Let me put it this way, Daxia would have been on the verge of destruction by then!"