Chapter 49: Changing the Era to Zhongping
If Xi Zhicai was not blind, he would have noticed the great interest that Qiao Yan showed in yam.
She said she was talking about growing yam on the hillside, but in fact it was more like a verdict of the result than an inquiry.
Xi Zhicai just imagined that the surrounding hillsides were covered with yam, the skin of which would cause him to have rash, and then he felt a black screen in front of his eyes.
But on second thought, no matter how long the yam grows, the edible part is all underground, and all he can see is just a green field. It doesn't make him want to pack his bag and flee Leping.
He just thought about it and asked, "How do I grow yam?"
Yams are different from beans, wheat and other crops. At least as far as Xi Zhicai knows, he has never seen farmers systematically grow yam.
But it was obvious that Qiao Yan was not completely ignorant of this matter. The idea of planting yam was not proposed because he happened to catch it, but because it was indeed the most suitable choice for her.
She replied, "I met Mr. Yuanhua in Jizhou a few months ago. He mentioned the use of yam as medicine and the use of its tubers for reproduction. Because yam has the effect of replenishing qi and strengthening the spleen, he was quite concerned about this matter. One of his neighbors happened to have tried this, so I asked him a few questions at that time."
Xi Zhicai was completely unaware of Qiao Yan's frank expression. After Qiao Xuan became her excuse for lying, Hua Tuo, the miracle doctor who everyone knew had met her because of Zhang Jiao's three debates, also became a banner she used to pull up for herself.
But anyway, no one could go to Hua Tuo to ask whether it was true or not.
When she left Jizhou, Hua Tuo had already continued to travel around practicing medicine.
Xi Zhicai listened to her and continued, "Sir, don't worry. I'm not doing this for fun. According to what Mr. Yuanhua said, the yield per mu of yam is very high, and it is very filling. After all, there was not enough manpower to cultivate this mountain land before. Now that there is surplus food, why not give it a try? If this succeeds, I'm afraid it will save more than just this county."
"But speaking of it——"
Qiao Yan's eyes fell on Xi Zhicai's hand, which was still covered with rash, and asked, "Sir, is it only the skin of the yam that is problematic, or is it that the yam itself cannot be eaten?"
"Is there actually a difference?" Xi Zhicai asked blankly.
He had to admit that although he had extraordinary wisdom and strategy, he was really at a loss when it came to farming and medicine.
So that night, the "sample" that prompted Qiao Yan to decide to grow yam became an ingredient in the soup.
No matter how the cooking techniques of the Han Dynasty could not be compared with those of later generations, there was obviously nothing wrong with just making soup.
In order to prevent this strategist from getting hurt because of a small piece of yam, Qiao Yan was extremely careful and asked a doctor from the county to be by his side. He only allowed him to eat a small amount, and seeing that there was no allergic reaction, Qiao Yan felt relieved.
You should know that she chose to grow yam not only because it can resist famine, but also because of its medicinal value.
Xi Zhicai's early death must have been closely related to the fact that most people at that time were malnourished, and he also did not pay attention to his postnatal care. Qiao Yan would not dare to use medicine without a miracle doctor by his side, but he could try food supplements.
Now seeing that he was not allergic to this, Qiao Yan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
But saying that you want to plant yam is not something that can be achieved on the spot just by saying something.
She had previously felt that the process of growing yam was a bit troublesome, and it was just right to use it to smooth over the impetuous emotions of these black mountain bandits. Now she had to start doing more preparatory work for these troublesome matters.
For example, ground.
Even in modern times when fertilizers can be reasonably supplemented to restore soil fertility, the yam rotation requires an interval of two to three years, not to mention in ancient times when many conditions were scarce.
It would be considered good if the fertility could be restored to a level that can support the growth of yam within five to ten years.
But what Qiao Yan wanted was to quickly accumulate a batch of supplies that were both edible and medicinal. The fields that had been planted with yam could then be filled with soybeans to restore nitrogen, or simply rest for two years.
In this way, the high yield per mu of yam is enough to make up for the impact of this drawback.
What's more, in the late Han Dynasty when unpredictable things often happened, only what you hold in your own hands are the most practical.
Of course, this is true. Based on the fact that there were still some attempts to correct errors in the first year, Qiao Yan decided to divide the mountain land suitable for yam planting into two parts and plant them for two years.
This was also the first time that Xi Zhicai saw the terrain model made by Qiao Yan himself since he started giving advice to Qiao Yan.
He finally understood why Yang Xiu behaved that way at that time.
But when he saw this thing, it was not because he wanted to use this model to fight a war, but because of farming. For some reason, he always felt that something was wrong.
However, his attention was attracted by the high-precision replica of the terrain model, so he ignored this strange feeling.
"This is the area where we will turn the soil in the fall and winter of this year." Qiao Yan pointed to the area where she had marked it with a flag and said, "The rest will be used for planting in the second year."
This was also the first thing she planned to let those black mountain bandits do.
The cultivation of yam requires deep plowing and careful turning in the winter of the previous year, which requires these strong laborers to first clean up the area circled by Qiao Yan and mark the locations of the ditches in advance.
Of course, this is just the land, and the yam stems for planting still need to be found.
Fortunately, the Taihang Mountains are an environment suitable for the growth of yam, especially the area covered by Qinshui River and the Yellow River, which is the origin of the iron stick yam.
It is still August now, and it is not impossible to collect enough tubers for this batch of planting before the end of October.
While searching, those black mountain bandits also had to build a "warehouse" to store yam tubers for the winter, prepare enough fine sand, and prepare support materials to support the yam vines.
In addition, they also had to complete Qiao Xuan's temple before winter so that Captain Bao Hong could return to Luoyang.
With this calculation, the number of those Black Mountain bandits is just enough.
However, it is not quite right to always call them the Black Mountain Bandits. After all, these people are now the fish she has caught in the name of feeding them. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call them the Black Mountain Labor Reform Team.
Shortly after they were captured by the army and residents of Leping County, the remnants of the Black Mountain bandits who had remained in the Taihang Mountains were also tricked into coming down the mountain.
Of course, it might not be appropriate to say that they cheated. After all, Qiao Yan promised that if they completed the corresponding labor work, he would give them enough food to eat, and he had never violated the promise.
However, those who came down from Taihang Mountain had to be divided into several teams according to Qiao Yan's assignment, and they had no chance for direct contact with each other.
As a result, although their combined numbers could be said to be extremely considerable, they had no chance of seizing food and then defecting en masse.
Zhang Niujiao was a little depressed.
He was a little careless, but that didn't mean he couldn't see that the people who worked with him to build the temple here were actually quite satisfied with their jobs that allowed them to make a living. After all, the county officials invited by Qiao Yan distributed food according to their workload.
Under this fairly distributed food, even though he was once the leader of the Black Mountain bandits, he could not get an extra bowl of rice at mealtime. He could only follow the others and try to do his job as quickly and well as possible during the day.
Under such circumstances, no matter how he thought about it, he felt that there would probably be no chance to say anything to encourage them to escape together.
After all - if you can make a living by working, who wouldn't want to make money by relying on their own abilities?
Although most of the people who turn to thieves have some luck in their hearts and want to try their luck in this chaotic situation, when most of them are willing to choose to follow the rules, they will indeed become restrained out of the herd mentality.
But... well, the food is pretty delicious.
Zhang Niujiao commented very sincerely.
The temple, which had already been two-thirds completed, was soon topped off ten days later thanks to the efficient operation of the staff.
The "Temple Stele of the Former Grand Marshal Qiao Gong", "Inscription on the Yellow Axe" and three eloquently written tripod inscriptions written by Cai Yong were also sent to Jinyang City by Qiao Yan after Cai Yong copied them on stone. They were then completed by craftsmen with high carving skills and have now been sent back.
Qiao Yan stroked the words engraved on the stele erected in front of the temple and sighed silently in his heart.
There is no such person as Qiao Xuan in this world, but the evaluation of him as "strong but not cruel, powerful but not fierce, would practice benevolence when heard of, and would stay where righteousness is" will surely be passed down to future generations.
So what about her? What kind of evaluation will she leave in future generations?
Qiao Yan had no way of predicting the answer.
She only knew that she was on the path of steadily developing Leping, and she had no way of giving a clear answer as to what role this gradually developing Leping would play in the turbulent times that were not far from now.
But overthinking is useless.
After all, what she had to do now was to dismantle and break up the things that were originally used to build the temple and throw them into other projects.
So Zhang Niujiao was passing through Leping County. As soon as he saw Chu Yan who was learning to weave bamboo baskets, he was taken to the place where a warehouse was built to store yam.
According to Qiao Yan,
After all, it's a construction business, so practice makes perfect.
Zhang Niujiao felt that after the training in Leping, he might be able to develop from a bandit leader to a construction craftsman, and Chu Yan would most likely be able to start his career in the weaving industry.
What the hell is going on!
He finished the whole bowl of rice and listened to the manager say that the yam that would be planted in Leping County next spring would have a very impressive yield per mu. Otherwise, these potential thieves would not have enough food to eat.
Zhang Niujiao pricked up his ears and eavesdropped, but still found it a little unbelievable. But perhaps because he was captured by Qiao Yan and his men, he felt that it was not surprising for the young county marquis to do anything.
Maybe she can really do it.
So he thought about it and found another reason to stay here.
He had to first learn how to grow this special and high-yield plant, and then take the opportunity to escape with his people.
In this state of mind where he didn't know whether he was explaining his behavior or trying to convince himself, time first came to September of that year.
September was approaching the time when yam was ripe. Qin Yu and Xu Fu received the task from Qiao Yan to go to Huaiqing Prefecture, and returned to Leping in mid-to-late September.
There are quite a lot of wild yam in Huaiqing Prefecture. In addition to the mature iron stick yams that they carefully pulled out and brought back, they also harvested a handful of yam beans.
From the perspective of planting, this should be called bulbil, and can also be used for planting, but the yam grown in this way is mostly used as seed stems for planting, which means it takes one more year.
In this case, when there are enough seed stems, it is better to use the yam beans as a food supplement.
Later, after learning from Qiao Yan that yam beans also have the effect of strengthening the spleen and replenishing deficiency, this thing became Xi Zhicai's snack when drinking, and her eyelids twitched at the sight of it.
It was hard for her not to feel like she was watching someone drink an iced Coke, which meant it had no energy.
Fortunately, although Leping did not stop the research on the wine industry, it did not develop the winemaking industry. It was almost impossible to make Xi Zhicai drink too much in one breath.
While Qiao Yan was thinking about using yam peel to curb his drinking, he directed the laborers to place the yam in the warehouse that had been built earlier, and then piled it up with a layer of fine sand and a layer of yam, to be stored until next year.
After doing all this, it was already October.
It was also in this month that news from the capital arrived in Leping County.
Because the previous Yellow Turban Rebellion had a profound impact on all states in the world, the Han emperor, who was located within the Eight Passes, decided to change the name of the era to Zhongping to show his expectation of wiping out the remaining forces after the Yellow Turban Rebellion. It could also be regarded as a belated celebration of the execution of Zhang Jue and others, the chief culprit of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
But no matter whether it is for the above reasons or for the sake of a good omen, the seventh year of Guanghe now has another name, called the first year of Zhongping.
A change of era name often means amnesty, and it also means that most positions in Luoyang city will change.
No matter how much Bao Hong felt that he had little pressure and lived a comfortable life in Leping, he had to return to the capital as soon as possible because of his career ambition.
However, before leaving, Qiao Yan asked him to take a letter to Luoyang.
"What is this letter?"
"General Bao, please give this letter to the eunuch Bi Lan."
Qiao Yan pointed to the mountain area that had taken shape and said, "I heard from Mr. Yuan Hua before that yam doesn't need much water when it breaks through the soil, but when it grows luxuriantly, it needs sufficient irrigation. However, in this regard, Leping is not as easy as Huaiqing Prefecture."
"Central Chamberlain Bi Lan has some wonderful ideas about construction and craftsmanship. I would like to ask General Bao to deliver this letter so that I can ask him if he has any inventions that can be used here."
This was not a difficult matter, and Bao Hong agreed immediately.
But Bao Hong never expected that he would become a coolie by agreeing to do so, and Qiao Yan wanted to deliver the letter to more than just Bi Lan.
When he left Leping, his team also brought gifts for Fu Shou, Ma Lun, Liang Hu, and Taiwei Yang Ci...
Also, a box that he was to present to His Majesty, and a memorial written by Qiao Yan after consultation with several advisers.
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