The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 583 The Americas since ancient times

Could potatoes and sweet potatoes have helped China's population surpass 400 million even during turbulent times?

Imagining the magnificent scene of 400 million people, Liu Bei excitedly said, "These two crops must be brought back to the Han Dynasty, at any cost."

At its peak, the Han Dynasty had a population of just over 50 million, and it was only just that it reached that number when it began to crumble, which was followed by the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

While the Yellow Turban Rebellion was partly due to the incompetence of the imperial court and the greed of the gentry, the fundamental cause was that the population exceeded the carrying capacity of the Han Dynasty's land, resulting in insufficient food production.

If the population at that time was only thirty or forty million, even if the aristocratic families were greedy, it wouldn't have triggered such a large rebellion.

But Guan Xing just said that potatoes and sweet potatoes can help the Han Dynasty feed 400 million people. What does 400 million people mean? That's eight times the peak population of the Han Dynasty!

The people of the Han Dynasty were very tolerant. As long as they had enough to eat, they would not rebel. As long as the people did not rebel, the Liu family's empire could remain stable for a long time.

For the sake of Liu's descendants and for the sake of the people of the Han Dynasty's food and clothing security, these two crops must be brought back.

Liu Bei continued, "Potatoes and sweet potatoes are not suitable for storage, which means that those planted in the same year must be eaten in the same year, is that right?"

Guan Xing said, "Nothing is absolute. Although potatoes and sweet potatoes are not easy to store, they may not be so when made into other things. Both can be made into vermicelli, dried and stored in a dry warehouse for three to five years without any problem. In addition, potatoes and sweet potatoes can also be used to feed chickens and pigs, and pork can be preserved with salt for one or two years."

"By the way, the Han Dynasty doesn't eat much pork now because it's too gamey and doesn't taste good. But if you castrate the pig like a eunuch, you can get rid of the gamey smell. Pork is the most commonly used meat in later generations. You can try it if you don't believe me."

When Guan Xing first transmigrated, he also planned to vigorously develop the breeding industry. However, he later discovered that raising chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep also required grain. The Han Dynasty didn't even have enough grain to feed its people, so how could it afford to raise livestock? Therefore, he had to give up for the time being.

However, if potatoes and sweet potatoes are brought back, this concern will disappear, as every household can afford to raise pigs and slaughter them during the New Year to improve their meals.

Liu Bei asked, "I've noted down the potatoes and sweet potatoes, but what about corn? What is corn like, and can it be used as a staple food like potatoes and sweet potatoes?"

Guan Xing nodded and said, "That's fine. The four staple foods in later generations are rice, wheat, corn, and potatoes. Potatoes are a type of potato, just mentioned earlier."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei's heart stirred, and he eagerly asked, "Tell me quickly, what's the situation with the corn? What's the yield per acre?"

He knew all too well what staple food meant. Although Zhang Qian brought back many crops that did not exist in the pre-Qin period from the Western Regions, the staple food of the Han Dynasty was still the five grains that everyone knew. But in later generations, only wheat and rice remained as staple food, and all other grains were kicked out of the staple food list. Instead, corn and potatoes were chosen as the new staple food. What did this mean?

Need I ask? It means that corn and potatoes are superior to staple foods like millet, yellow millet, and beans, right?

Having figured this out, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang all stared intently at Guan Xing. Under their gaze, Guan Xing picked up his brush again and began to draw. He drew a corn stalk and said, "Unlike potatoes and sweet potatoes, corn does not grow deep underground but on a stalk. A mature corn stalk is about the height of an adult, with a corn cob about half a foot long growing in the middle, covered with corn kernels."

"The yield of corn is generally around 800 jin per mu. Although it is a staple food, it has a coarse texture. Few people eat it in later generations. It is mainly used to make livestock feed. But no matter how coarse it is, it is still better than Guanyin clay. It is still very useful in years of famine."

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang rolled their eyes. "You good-for-nothing! Do you even need to listen to what you're saying? Can corn, no matter how coarse it is, be coarser than millet or sorghum? If it were, would it have been chosen as one of the four staple grains?"

Since it has replaced grains as the staple food, its taste must be pretty good, at most slightly inferior to rice and wheat. How can you consider such a thing as livestock feed?

Given the current production level of the Han Dynasty, it would be a luxury for the gentry to have enough staple food to eat every day, let alone ordinary people. But look at you, you actually compared staple food to clay, is there no justice in this world?

Guan Xing continued, "However, corn stalks and corn cobs are treasures. The corn cob is the part left after the corn kernels are removed. It is the carrier of the corn kernels. Both of these can be used as firewood to relieve the fuel crisis in people's homes, and they can also be ground into powder to feed livestock. It can be said to be a win-win situation."

"Peanuts are also a type of food that grows underground. They can be eaten as a snack but not as a staple food. Eating too many peanuts can easily cause health problems. However, peanuts can be pressed for oil, which can be used for cooking."

"Chili peppers, like garlic, are a type of condiment, equivalent to rice and wheat in the world of condiments. They are indispensable. Adding some chili peppers when cooking or making hot pot enhances the flavor..."

At this point, Guan Xing couldn't help but lick his lips; he missed the extra-spicy hot pot and oil-splashed noodles.

Liu Bei closed his eyes and tried to digest the information Guan Xing had just provided. After a long while, he opened his eyes, picked up a world map, and said, "This so-called Americas is isolated overseas. It may not be easy to get there. But no matter how difficult it is, we must bring back the three major staple foods: potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn. Only in this way can the people of the Han Dynasty eat their fill forever and never have to suffer from hunger again."

He came from the Central Plains, where the Yellow Turban Rebellion was most severe, and knew the consequences of food shortages. Without food, people would be displaced and resort to cannibalism. Thinking of the tragic scenes of starvation that littered the Central Plains in previous years, Liu Bei felt a tearing pain in his heart.

Zhuge Liang said, "We must take them back, but this matter requires careful planning and cannot be accomplished overnight. First, to reach the Americas, we must cross the entire ocean. The current ships of the Han Dynasty are clearly not capable of long-distance voyages away from land. We must also study larger and stronger warships."

"Secondly, as Anguo just said, the Amazon rainforest and the Amazon River are too dangerous. It's impossible for the Han Dynasty's ocean fleet to bring back anything on the first try. If even one out of ten fleets returns, that would be considered a stroke of good luck. So we have to proceed step by step. First, we need to cultivate Champa rice, then improve our warships, and then we need to encourage the gentry and common people along the coast to go out to sea to explore. We should tell them that as long as they bring back crops that the Han Dynasty doesn't have, they will be richly rewarded, and if they bring back staple food, they can be directly ennobled."

"The Americas are too far from the Han Dynasty. Only through the combined efforts of the imperial court and the people can we successfully reach them and return safely."

Exploration is deadly, and the probability of dying at sea is even greater on ocean expeditions. Because if something happens on the vast ocean, there is no way to escape and you can only wait to die. If you send only one fleet, you will most likely die at sea. The only way is to send several fleets to try to increase the probability.

If I send out a hundred fleets, surely one will come back?

Liu Bei nodded and said, "The Prime Minister is right, then..."

"Wait a minute, Anguo, what did you say earlier that the Native Americans of the Americas are descendants of the Shang Dynasty?"

"How could there be remnants of the Shang Dynasty on that continent? During the Shang Dynasty, let alone multi-span ships, they probably didn't even have dugout canoes. How did they manage to cross the ocean and reach the Americas? Was there some shortcut to the Americas?"

The presence of Shang Dynasty descendants in the Americas indicates that the region was part of the Han Dynasty's territory from the Shang and Zhou periods. If the Shang Dynasty descendants could go there, there's no reason why the rest of the world couldn't, right?

Guan Xing gave a thumbs up and praised, "Your Majesty really has sharp eyes and can grasp the key points in an instant. But how should I put it? First of all, the claim that the Native Americans are descendants of the Shang Dynasty has not been confirmed, so I can't guarantee it."

"Secondly, according to the speculation of later scientists, if the Native Americans were indeed descendants of the Shang Dynasty, they could only have crossed the Bering Strait."

Liu Bei quickly asked, "Where is the Bering Strait? Is it easy to cross?"