Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 549 Yuheng's Grand Wedding, Full of Dangers (6,000 words)

"Your Highness, shall we pull off another heist?"

Zhang Han's voice still echoed in the study.

Zhang Zhen blushed slightly, speechless, and covered his face with his hands, not daring to face the gaze of others... Looking at Zhang Han's excited appearance, this son, jumping around like this, is embarrassing.

And what does it mean to "take him down one more time"?
How could you be so rude?

This silly child, does he think war is something fun? How can he speak of weapons so lightly?
Song Yan didn't blame Zhang Han. Apart from often presuming on his thoughts, he liked Zhang Han quite a bit, especially when Zhang Han accidentally brought him three million. He found Zhang Han even more handsome and even wished he could sleep next to him.

However, he was not an adult, so he eventually gave up.

Song Yan had long anticipated that Wanyan Guangzhi and Suochuoluo wouldn't actually deliver ten million taels of silver... Putting aside everything else, even if Suochuoluo and Wanyan Guangzhi, those two penniless bastards, skinned and sold their entire bodies, they probably still couldn't scrape together ten million taels of silver.

Of course, he has plenty of ways to get the other party to hand over the money or items of equivalent value.

Since he had already planned ahead, he naturally wouldn't get angry over such a matter. Seeing that Zhang Zhen seemed about to reprimand him, he quickly said, "General Zhang, there's no need to be angry. General Zhang is just being temperamental. I quite like his genuine nature, so please don't reprimand him. However, we don't need to pull off another heist. Although we have cavalry now, their numbers are ultimately not many. In open battle against the Xiongnu and Jurchen cavalry on the grasslands, we might not gain much advantage."

"Moreover, the freezing weather might cause unnecessary deaths and injuries among our brothers."

Mei Wu's lips twitched, but he couldn't help but speak up: "Actually, if it's just a small-scale war, it's not impossible. The Blackwater Tribe sent Nahetoya's betrothal gifts, three thousand superior warhorses, some time ago. The Zhang family will also bring back some warhorses from the Haixi Grassland. Although we still only have eight thousand heavy cavalry, they are the real deal, and each of them can be equipped with three top-quality warhorses."

Mei Wu felt a pang of heartache when he talked about those eight thousand heavy cavalry.

The cost of maintaining 8,000 heavy cavalry is greater than that of 80,000 infantry. The daily expenditure is astronomical. If Song Yan hadn't always managed to obtain the funds, these 8,000 heavy cavalry would probably have been disbanded long ago.

However, it must be said that the fighting power of the eight thousand heavy cavalry was truly formidable. Once the heavy cavalry legion formed ranks and charged, it was like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds, and nothing could stand in front of the eight thousand heavy cavalry.

"In addition, six thousand light cavalry were trained."

"These days, the arsenal has been producing nine thousand thunderbolts. If it's just a small-scale war, there won't be any pressure at all."

With 8,000 heavy cavalry charging forward and 6,000 light cavalry harassing the enemy with crossbows and thunderclaps, even if facing the Xiongnu army of 100,000 head-on, Mei Wu was confident that he could cut a gap in the enemy's formation.

"Not only the cavalry, but also the infantry, are much stronger than before."

"We've recruited 12,000 new infantrymen, and that's only after I've repeatedly tightened the recruitment criteria. Otherwise, I'm afraid there would be even more people coming to enlist." Mei Wu said, feeling somewhat emotional. Normally, when the country conscripts soldiers, the people are extremely resistant, and often it even requires mandatory orders for eligible people to serve in the military. But in Pingyang Anzhou, it's completely different. The recruitment notice had only been posted for a few days, and the number of people coming to enlist was already overwhelming.

People no longer turn pale at the mention of military service.

The reason is simple: serving as a soldier under Song Yan means you get three full meals a day and receive a full salary. That's all.

"These twelve thousand men, after several months of training, have become strong and have acquired the most basic marching and combat skills. All they lack is a bloody war. If His Highness Prince Yan is truly determined to launch a surprise attack on the Xiongnu, my suggestion is to have heavy cavalry charge into the enemy lines, light cavalry harass them, and infantry follow up from the rear, responsible for clearing and burning down the Xiongnu tribe's camps and killing the remaining ones."

After all, he was an old general, and Mei Wu was still quite enthusiastic about war.

In a short period of time, Maywood already had a rough outline of how to fight.

Song Yan chuckled and waved his hand again: "Not for now. To tell you the truth, although His Majesty has given me the authority to take the initiative, and even said that any territory I conquer can be designated as the Prince of Yan's fiefdom, I have no plans to expand my fiefdom this year... or even next year."

“Taking land is not just about conquering it; you also need to maintain control over it. If you only take the land but don’t actually control it, then it’s meaningless.”

Upon hearing this, Mei Wu, Zhang Han, Li Er, Lei Yi, and other military officers all showed some disappointment.

However, the eyes of civil officials such as Liang Guangzong, Gao Xingcai, Jia Yifei, and even Liu Yisheng brightened for a moment. They were really afraid that Song Yan would engage in reckless military campaigns. After all, although the fiefdoms of Anzhou and Pingyang were very large, the population of the fiefdoms was not large due to the climate and the fact that they had been invaded by foreign tribes for many years. This was Song Yan's biggest weakness at present.

If we only focus on fighting wars and neglect people's livelihoods, without giving them a chance to recuperate, even if Song Yan is a man of great talent and Mei Wu is a master strategist, we will ultimately be unable to avoid defeat and destruction.

After a brief pause, Song Yan continued, "On the way back to Pingyang, I carefully considered and formulated a three-year plan for Pingyang and Anzhou."

"The so-called three-year plan is the goal we want to achieve in these three years."

"The first plan is to restore the population."

“Anzhou and Pingyang are arguably the two largest prefectures in Ningguo in terms of land area, yet they have a combined population of less than one million, which is far too small.”

Almost everyone nodded in agreement on this point.

In ancient times, population was the most important strategic resource.

A larger population means more taxes can be collected, more soldiers can be recruited, and in many cases, population is the most important indicator of whether a dynasty is prosperous or not.

“For example, people who migrate to Anzhou and Pingyang are given land and tax-free for a certain number of years to attract people from other prefectures to settle in the fiefdom; or people in the fiefdom are encouraged to have more children, and if the number of children reaches a certain standard, a certain amount of tax will be reduced or exempted.”

"Mr. Gao, I'm entrusting this matter to you. I need you to draft a plan for me as soon as possible. You can decide on the specifics."

Gao Xing then stood up and said, "Your subjects receive the order."

"The second plan is to build workshops. All of my properties in Ningping will be relocated to my fiefdom. Most of the artisans and their families have already been brought here. The profits generated by these workshops will be the largest source of funds to support the fiefdom and the army. This is something that cannot be neglected and must be completed as soon as possible. Every day of delay will result in the loss of a large amount of silver."

"In addition to the original workshops, I will build several more. The products produced in these workshops will be of great use to the fiefdom... However, we can discuss this a little later."

"As for the location of the workshops, it is best to concentrate them in one area."

"If it's Anzhou, the best location would be at the border with Pingyang."

"The workshop matters will be handled by Fang Hai and Jia Yifei. If you encounter any indecisive situations, you can inform me."

The two governors rose and agreed.

"Everything inside the workshop must be kept strictly confidential, and all production technologies must not be leaked."

"You, Liu Sheng, will be in charge of keeping things confidential. These workshops are the most important targets for supervision. I know that nepotism is unavoidable, but if anyone disrupts the normal production of the workshops because of personal relationships, they will be dealt with severely."

Liu Yisheng grinned; the Embroidered Uniform Guards were very familiar with this kind of thing.

"The third plan, maternal grandfather, is that the artisans who produce the thunderbolts are now under your jurisdiction. I need to select a group of the best artisans from among them, as I have some new weapons to entrust to them for production."

Song Yan is preparing to manufacture guns and cannons.

Although the technology and craftsmanship of this era made it impossible to produce heavy machine guns, automatic rifles, and sniper rifles, flintlock rifles could still be manufactured with some difficulty. If it weren't for the difficulty in producing rifling, Song Yan would have been prepared to directly evolve to the era of bolt-action rifles.

The trebuchet can't be relied upon forever; after all, it's far too cumbersome, and its range and accuracy are unreliable… Song Yan can't create modern cannons, but he can certainly find a way to make small, lightweight tiger-squat cannons, rapid-fire breech-loading cannons, and Hongyi cannons with a range of up to two kilometers. In some respects, cannons, aside from requiring more materials, might even be technically simpler to manufacture than guns.

Song Yan has all the blueprints in his mind. If he hands them over to the craftsmen and they study them, it shouldn't be difficult to manufacture them.

Mei Wu nodded in agreement, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Mei Wu was well aware of his grandson's abilities in the field of physics. The armor worn by the Silver Armor Guards and Black Armor Warriors, as well as the weapons in the hands of the Mo Dao Team, were all forged from iron ingots produced by Song Yan's improved iron smelting method, making them far stronger than before.

And that thunderbolt is simply a powerful weapon for attacking cities and defending them in open battle.

I wonder what new thing my grandson has come up with this time; I'm quite curious about it.

“As for the fourth plan… Siyao.” Song Yan suddenly raised his head and shouted.

Not long after, footsteps were heard outside. The study door was pushed open, and Yang Siyao was standing outside. Everyone was quite familiar with Yang Siyao, since this woman would occasionally help the Prince of Yan with some matters.

Although her skills and thinking are still somewhat inferior to those of Jia Yifei, Liu Yisheng, Mr. Liang, and Mr. Gao, she is already considered extremely outstanding among women. Therefore, everyone has a fairly good impression of Yang Siyao and considers her to be His Majesty the Prince of Yan's... cough cough, His Highness's virtuous wife.

But what's going on with this Miss Siyao? Why is she holding a strange, flat, round fruit with a long neck, its color a mix of yellowish-brown, white, and green? It looks like some kind of fruit, but it's far too big.

For a moment, everyone was curious, wondering what the prince was doing.

Reaching Song Yan, Yang Siyao placed the object she was carrying on the desk with a thud. "Everyone, this thing is called a pumpkin." Song Yan exhaled, patted the object on the desk, his eyes gleaming with barely suppressed excitement.

Before Song Yan left Pingyang, the pumpkins were not yet ripe, so he entrusted the entire pumpkin patch in the backyard of the governor's mansion to Yang Siyao to manage.

and then?
The question marks above everyone's heads became increasingly obvious.

“This is a kind of grain, it’s edible,” Song Yan grinned and said again.

This finally piqued the interest of the crowd a little. In this era of food scarcity, having another food source was always a good thing.

"May I ask, Your Highness, what is the yield of pumpkins per mu?" Liu Yisheng asked, pursing his lips.

Song Yan looked at Yang Siyao, indicating that she should answer the question.

Being able to cultivate a high-yield crop is an immense achievement in this era, and Song Yan doesn't mind letting his woman share in some of the glory.

Yang Siyao's cheeks flushed slightly. She took a deep breath before gently opening her lips: "My lords, the prince planted half an acre of pumpkins. When they were harvested some time ago, they weighed a total of... 460 catties."

hiss.

In an instant, the entire study was filled with gasps of shock.

Four hundred and sixty catties was a number that Song Yan was not very satisfied with. After all, compared with the yield of seven or eight thousand catties per mu under the fertilizer application in modern society, a yield of nine hundred catties per mu was really embarrassing.

But this number was already astonishing enough for the ancients... After all, compared to the usual grain yield of a hundred or two hundred catties, a pumpkin yield of nine hundred catties per mu was nothing short of divine food.

In an instant, almost everyone in the study had a flushed face, their eyes widened, and deep in their eyes was shock, disbelief, and an unspeakable excitement and joy.

Heavy breathing echoed in the study. It should be noted that the people in this study were arguably the most outstanding individuals in the entire Anzhou Pingyang. They were either cunning strategists, learned scholars, or fierce generals who had conquered all directions. However, at this moment, almost no one could control the expression on their faces. All their eyes were fixed on the pumpkin on the desk, and their heartbeats seemed to have accelerated.

Even worse, some people sit in chairs looking completely restless, with their hands trembling as they hold their teacups.

Yield per mu: 900 jin.

Yield per mu: 900 jin.

Yield per mu: 900 jin!

That voice seemed to keep echoing in my mind.

If this were true, and if it were promoted, how many people in the vast Ningguo would be spared from hunger, and how many farmers at the bottom of society would not starve to death in the freezing cold?
Finding such a grain would be a truly meritorious deed, worthy of being hailed as the Sage of Agriculture, standing shoulder to shoulder with Confucius.

Song Yan simply smiled slightly. He knew how much this news would impact these people, and gave them ample time to process it.

After an unknown amount of time, everyone's breathing gradually calmed down. Jia Yifei took a deep breath and stood up: "Your Highness, if I may ask, is it true that the pumpkin yield is 900 catties per mu?"

“This is a small amount.” Song Yan nodded, confirming this point: “These pumpkin seeds were just scattered casually in the back garden. Apart from occasionally weeding, they were not taken care of very carefully. If they were planted in fertile soil and supplemented with manure, the yield should be even higher.”

These words made Jia Yifei tremble again: "May I ask, Your Highness, can this be used as a staple food?"

As expected of the former prefect of Pingyang, he quickly grasped the key point.

"No."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured on everyone's burning hearts.

Such a high-yield crop cannot be used as a staple food. This...this...this...for a moment, even a learned man like Jia Yifei did not know how to describe his feelings.

I felt completely empty, and even my face turned pale. If I hadn't known about pumpkins before, it wouldn't have been so bad, but now that I knew about pumpkins and how high their yield was, being told they couldn't be used as a staple food filled me with an indescribable emptiness and disappointment.

Jia Yifei felt that several strands of his hair were turning white.

“However…” At this moment, Song Yan spoke again: “However, although pumpkin cannot be used as a staple food, it can be used as a supplementary food. According to my estimate, it should be able to replace at least one-third of the staple food.”

Pumpkin is low in both protein and fat.

During the three years of natural disasters, many people survived one difficult year after another by eating pumpkins. However, even if they ate their fill of pumpkins, they would either be pale and thin or suffer from edema.

These words seemed to reignite a fire in everyone's hearts.

Even if it can't completely replace staple food, it would be great if it could replace half of it.

Moreover, in this day and age, many people are starving to death. For these people, what does it matter if it's a staple food or not? As long as they can fill their stomachs and survive, who cares about anything else?
"May I ask, Your Highness, how well have you preserved this pumpkin?" Jia Yifei took a deep breath and asked again.

"A whole pumpkin can be stored at room temperature for several months, but if it is cut open, it will only last for three to five days. If the pumpkin is sliced ​​and dried, it can be stored for up to a year. As for eating it, it can be stir-fried as a dish, or added to rice porridge, which is not only more delicious but also more filling. It can also be added to flour when steaming buns, or you can simply steam the pumpkin directly."

After a brief pause, Song Yan continued, "Over the next three years, I hope to promote the use of pumpkins in my fiefdom. However, there is one thing we must be careful about: we cannot use the existing farmland to grow pumpkins. We must continue to grow millet and rice, as these are the most important foods."

"As for pumpkins, they are extremely adaptable to the soil. They can grow by ditches, in front of and behind houses, next to pigsties, even in barren mountains and wilderness, and even in slightly saline-alkali soil where crops cannot grow, or gravelly soil that is dry all year round. It's just a matter of how much they will yield."

"What I hope for is that pumpkins can provide the people of my fiefdom with another food source. In their spare time, they can plant a few pumpkins in places where no other food can be grown, so that they can have a few more days of plenty after the autumn harvest. That's all."

"Fang Hai, Jia Yifei, the task of promoting pumpkins is also entrusted to you. You must make sure to explain it clearly to the people, and under no circumstances should the staple food be delayed because of pumpkins."

This time, the pumpkin weighed over 400 jin (approximately 200 kg), which should yield a considerable number of seeds, making it a potential product for wider distribution.

The two governors were overjoyed.

If the pumpkin crop can be successfully promoted, it will be a great achievement, especially for Fang Hai. He never expected that such credit would fall on his head so soon after arriving in Pingyang.

With the pumpkin incident behind them, Song Yan cleared his throat and spoke again:
"I also intend to build two institutions in my fiefdom. One is a nursing home, where any soldier under the Yan Kingdom who dies on the battlefield and whose parents have no one to rely on can enter the nursing home and be cared for by the Yan Prince's Mansion."

"An orphanage will be set up. Any soldiers of the Yan Kingdom who die on the battlefield and have no one to care for them when they are young can enter the orphanage and be cared for by the Prince of Yan until they reach adulthood. Their wives can work in the orphanage and their salaries will be paid by the Prince of Yan."

Gudong.

Many people silently swallowed.

This is truly a brilliant tactic. With such a strategy, the hearts of the soldiers in the fiefdom will naturally be with them, and the soldiers on the battlefield will have no more worries about their rear, so they will fight with all their might. The soldiers under the Prince of Yan are already brave, and this time they will probably be even more ferocious than before, truly creating an invincible and indomitable iron-blooded army.

This closed-door meeting has come to a successful conclusion.

The next period of time was dedicated to preparing for Song Yan and Luo Yuheng's wedding. With only three days left, almost everyone was busy.

The entire city of Pingyang was bustling with activity.

However... beneath this clamor lies a crisis that ordinary people cannot perceive.

Several scholars dressed as Han Chinese from the Central Plains appeared silently in the city. Although it was already autumn and the weather was getting cooler, they still gently waved their folding fans. They walked through the streets of Pingyang City, their eyes curiously looking around, as if they were just tourists visiting Pingyang.

One of the middle-aged men had an ugly scar on his face.

It looks like it was whipped with a horsewhip or something similar.

His name is Cheng Xu!

He was once the military advisor of Abal, the eldest prince of the Xiongnu.

But now, his master is dancing in Dongling City!

(End of this chapter)