I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 360 Teasing Yuan Shao
Since the Iraqi brought Champa rice seeds, they have begun to be planted on a trial basis in a small part of the Jiangdong region.

It's only mid-July now.

But the rice was ripe.

This shows that double-cropping rice will not only exist in theory, but is a farming method that can actually double the grain yield!

Zhang Zhao had seen countless storms, yet his expression remained uncertain at this moment.

Everyone knows what doubling grain production means!
The population doubled, resources became more abundant, and tax revenue increased...

Thinking about the future, Zhang Zhao suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of happiness.

It was just like when the old blacksmith heard that Liu Miao wanted to hire them as apprentices.

Things that we've been used to for thousands of years have changed at this moment.

The changes were so drastic that it felt like riding a warhorse across the plains, only to find that the horse's speed far exceeded one's control, leaving one with no choice but to charge forward blindfolded.

After all, grain production has doubled...

These four words were too heavy, so heavy that even if they were placed in the history books, they would be a weighty mark. Zhang Zhao was not sure whether he, and the Han Dynasty, were capable of accepting this gift.

It was this unease following immense satisfaction that began to weigh on Zhang Zhao's heart, leading him to wait patiently at the palace gates for Liu Miao.

At this point, having lost control of his warhorse, he needed a direction!
Holding the rice stalks, Liu Miao had already roughly guessed what Zhang Zhao was thinking.

Just like how an ordinary person would be happy to receive a hundred taels of gold, let alone a thousand, and would indulge in utter debauchery upon receiving ten thousand taels of gold, and would do everything they could and couldn't do...

But if he received 100,000 or 1 million gold, then all that would remain would be fear.

Liu Miao put his arm around Zhang Zhao's shoulder: "Lord Zhang, I remember that the person in charge of double-cropping rice is Yuan Huan, the Prefect of Danyang, right?"

"It is indeed Yao Qing."

Did he mention this when he gave you this rice?

"Well……"

When Zhang Zhao saw the rice stalks, he was so flustered that he completely forgot what Yuan Huan had said.

It wasn't until Liu Miao reminded him that Zhang Zhao remembered that Yuan Huan had indeed told him many other things.

Just as he was about to take a closer look, he saw Liu Miao slap Kuaihang on the butt: "Standing still pretty steady! Go pull someone out! Don't you have any sense?"

Kuaihang reluctantly walked to Zhang Zhao's side, and Liu Miao also laughed and said, "Come on! Lord Zhang! The palace gate is not the place to discuss matters! Let's go to a warmer place and talk in detail!"

Seeing that Liu Miao's expression remained unchanged, Zhang Zhao felt somewhat reassured.

When the fast horse arrived in front of him, Zhang Zhao saw the iron stirrups and the modified high-bridged saddle.

With Zhang Zhao's intelligence, he was able to quickly understand the specific uses of these two items.

"Is this what His Majesty has been working on in Yecheng these past few days?"

"So, what do you think, Master Zhang?"

Zhang Zhao placed one foot in the stirrup, yet his body moved with remarkable agility as he straddled the center of the saddle.

When Kuaihang saw a stranger on his back, he naturally shook it a couple of times in dissatisfaction. But those two shakes were enough to make Zhang Zhao marvel at the invention of the iron stirrup and the high-bridged saddle!

"The previous cloth stirrups were only for getting on and off the horse. They are far less reliable than this iron horse bench, which can even lift you into the air while riding!"

"And the high bridges at the front and back of the saddle make it so that when riding a horse, you don't feel the slightest bump! Wonderful! Wonderful!"

Zhang Zhao, riding on horseback, gradually became excited.

At the same time, the fear in Zhang Zhao's heart began to slowly dissipate.

Although stirrups and saddles have little to do with food, Zhang Zhao had a feeling that Liu Miao was already prepared.

If that's the case, then what's there to hesitate about?

Zhang Zhao regained his composure and, upon arriving at the palace, relayed all the instructions Yuan Huan had given him to Liu Miao.

"Two-season rice is indeed feasible, but there are still areas that need improvement."

"Yaoqing discovered that although Champa rice is an early-season rice, its yield is far less than that of local late-season rice."

"Moreover, its ears of rice are not as full as those of the local rice. According to Yaoqing, this should be because the Champa rice has not undergone the process of ear selection."

As early as the reign of Emperor Xiaozhao, the Guanzhong region had a position called "Rice Field Envoy".

The book "Fan Shengzhi" also records techniques for selecting rice grains, such as "take rice seeds, choose the tall ones, cut off one section, hang them in a high and dry place, and the seedlings will not wither."

The native rice varieties of Han China have actually undergone hundreds of years of variety selection, and their quality is far superior to that of the wildly grown Champa rice.

Especially since Champa rice was originally spread from south of Jiaozhi to Han China, it's normal that it didn't adapt well to the local climate.

To truly transform Champa rice into a rice variety suitable for Han Chinese areas, and to make it a crop with superior yield and quality per acre, is still a long and arduous task.

"Secondly, Yaoqing is worried that if a full-scale two-season planting is suddenly launched, it may damage the fertility of the farmland."

The fertility of the soil is limited.

Therefore, the practice of fallow rotation was already implemented as early as the pre-Han period. Later, fertilizers were gradually used, such as manure, silkworm excrement, silkworm pupa juice, bone broth, bean stalks, and river mud, which were widely used to maintain soil fertility.

Such fertilization would have been sufficient for the fields in the past.

However, with the promotion of double-cropping rice in the future, fertilizer will undoubtedly become a huge problem!

But when Liu Miao heard about this, he was not worried at all; instead, he was amused by it!
The demand has emerged, hasn't it?
Zhang Zhao didn't notice Liu Miao's smile, and continued talking about the solution Yuan Huan had given—

"The first step was to collect manure from the cities and towns, and to compost the surplus fish bones, shells, fish and shrimp from the fishing wharves in various parts of Jiangdong."

It is common knowledge that excrement is used as fertilizer.

Zhang Zhao had already considered this when he designed the city of Jinling. The other cities and towns generally followed similar approaches.

Fish bones, shells, fish, and shrimp are all byproducts of large-scale near-shore fishing.

Fish bones and shells can be used for composting, but as for fish and shrimp... since there is no way to preserve them, some of the catch will inevitably rot, so Yuan Huan also chose them as a type of fertilizer.

"But Yaoqing actually wants to try another method."

While manure is important, there's only so much manure available, and it's impossible to force people to defecate more every day.

Fish bones and similar fish-based fertilizers are expensive and, being confined to the ocean, cannot be widely adopted inland.

If we rely solely on these factors, the soil fertility may still be insufficient to meet the needs of two rice seasons.

"Yaoqing has heard that there is a saying in Nanyang: 'Winter rice and summer millet ripen with the seasons.'"

“In the Nanyang area, wheat and beans were once grown in two seasons. Moreover, planting beans could make wheat grow vigorously, so we thought about whether we could plant beans in autumn and winter to enrich the soil.”

Liu Miao understood immediately!
Green manure!
Compared to manure and fish bones, green manure is undoubtedly the most readily available and easiest fertilizer to promote.

Thus, as long as green manure is planted in autumn and winter, it is enough to keep the soil fertile and support the ripening of two rice seasons, thereby resulting in a surge in grain production!
At this moment, Liu Miao smiled knowingly again.

If it weren't for the promotion of double-cropping rice, which endangered the soil's fertility, the use of green manure probably wouldn't have started so early.

really.

Some things only need a gentle push, and many other things will happen naturally afterwards.

"I will award Yuan Huan a thousand taels of gold to commemorate his achievements!"

Zhang Zhao was completely bewildered when he heard Liu Miao's casual remark about the reward!

"Your Majesty, this is simply Yuan Huan's duty..."

"What's it to him? His job is to be an official, not to research how to fertilize! He made contributions in other areas today, so naturally he deserves extra rewards!"

Zhang Zhao's eyes were filled with resentment: "If this continues, people will probably stop studying the classics and instead focus on farming and craftsmanship."

"Hahahaha! Isn't that good? Zhang Gong, don't forget, studying or becoming an official means you can't grow a single thing to eat or manufacture a single item! In the end, aren't you able to rely on farmers or craftsmen? Isn't it good that others are willing to put their heart into studying those things?"

The world is bustling with people, all seeking profit.

The world is in turmoil, all driven by the pursuit of profit.

Liu Miao refused to believe that by spending a thousand taels of gold each time, he couldn't create a prosperous era!
Seeing this, Zhang Zhao didn't know what to say.

Compared to other monarchs who squandered their wealth on extravagance and debauchery, Liu Miao's practice of investing in various arts and crafts was clearly far superior.

Especially since the techniques used in this smashing are all for the benefit of the country and its people, no matter how much Zhang Zhao wanted to advise against it, he had to obediently hold back!

At the same time, Liu Miao added with a mischievous grin, "Actually, we can also buy them from Hebei!"

"Your Majesty!"

Zhang Zhao quickly stopped him.

"If Yuan Shao were to find out about the existence of Champa rice, then..."

"I want Yuan Shao to know!"

Liu Miao was completely carefree and relaxed.

"Doesn't he always boast about some kind of destiny? In that case, let him explain why the Champa rice appeared in the southern Han Dynasty, but not in the northern pseudo-Zhao Dynasty."

"Moreover, given Yuan Shao's personality, if he knew about the existence of Champa rice, he would probably follow suit... Hehe! I'd like to see how he ends up wasting his time in the north!"

Liu Miao seemed to already see Yuan Shao's dark brown face.

"When Yuan Shao confirms that the crops cannot be grown in the north and can only be grown in the south, he will surely think about the possibility of the southern grain production doubling."

"When that time really comes, does Lord Zhang really think Yuan Shao won't panic? Won't be afraid?"

Liu Miao was already indulging in fantasies!

"If Yuan Shao can lose his composure because of this matter, then the situation of the world will become completely clear!"

Ideally, Yuan Shao, upon learning of this, would disregard the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Kunyang and immediately send troops south!

While Liu Miao certainly needed to accumulate warhorses and resources, Yuan Shao's pain at losing tens of thousands of elite troops was undoubtedly more intense than Liu Miao's!
"Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao, grain production has doubled! I don't believe you can sit still when you hear this news."

(End of this chapter)