mtl008 Chapter 579 Fu Shiren's Report
Chapter 579 Fu Shiren's Report
Linyi rice?
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhuge Liang exchanged a quick, breathless glance, almost screaming with excitement.
They clearly remembered Guan Xing saying that Lin Yi was the Champa of later generations, and the rice brought back from Lin Yi was the Champa rice they had been longing for.
Liu Bei eagerly snatched the bamboo tube, forcefully pulled it open, and threw away the lid. He carefully poured out a small amount of rice and examined it closely in his palm. After a moment, he suppressed his excitement and said, "It is indeed whiter than the rice from the Han Dynasty, and the grains are also larger. What do you all think?"
As he spoke, he stretched his hand out in front of him and moved it left and right so that the ministers around him could observe it up close. Sun Quan, Zhang Zhao and others picked up a few grains to observe and taste them, and their expressions varied as they chewed the rice.
Zhang Zhao spat the rice aside and said, “Your Majesty, this rice is indeed slightly different from the rice of the Han Dynasty, but whether it is superior to the rice of the Han Dynasty still needs to be verified. After all, we can only know how it tastes after cooking and eating it, and we can only know how well it yields per acre after personally planting and harvesting it. Also, is this rice poisonous or has anything else in it? Could it be like the beer brewed by Marquis Shence, right?”
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Guan Xing. Guan Xing awkwardly touched his nose and looked up at the sky, while inwardly cursing, "Damn old man Zhang, you didn't even drink the beer I brewed, did you have to use this as an example?"
Everyone nodded in agreement. The most important thing about rice is that it is for consumption. It is important that it is filling and has no side effects. Otherwise, if it causes vomiting, diarrhea and general discomfort like Guan Xing's beer, what is the use of high yield?
To put it bluntly, the rice that Fu Shiren brought back was still in a primitive stage. Its appearance was not much different from the rice native to the Han Dynasty. It was far from being shocking at first glance, so it is normal to have such doubts.
Liu Ba chimed in, "In any case, it's a good thing that the Han Dynasty can grow more crops. If people can't eat them all, they can feed them to cattle. General Fu, could you tell us the specific process of how you obtained the rice?"
Liu Bei pressed on, "That's right, tell me quickly, how did you get the rice?"
Although the rice wasn't particularly impressive in appearance, it was brought back from Champa, as Guan Xing had mentioned. Since it was brought back from Champa, it must have something special about it, and he trusted Guan Xing.
Upon hearing this, Fu Shiren dared not be negligent and organized his thoughts before saying, "General Mi and I sailed at sea for over a month and arrived at Linyi, which is Xianglin County where General Fubo cast the pillar. When King Qu Lian of Linyi learned of the arrival of the Han envoy, he rushed to the seaside to greet him and showed exceptional respect, which dispelled our impulse to immediately send troops to recapture Xianglin."
"Afterwards, Zifang (Mifang) followed Qu Lian to the palace. To prevent Qu Lian from causing trouble, I was ordered to stay by the sea to ensure the fleet's retreat while surveying the surrounding terrain. However, after returning to the capital, King Qu Lian of Linyi did not cause trouble. Instead of being as obedient as before, he even sent people to deliver provisions to me, including the rice that Your Majesty had."
Liu Bei nodded and said, "You're right. Now is indeed not the time to retake Xianglin County. And then what?"
Fu Shiren continued, "Before setting sail, His Majesty instructed me to keep an eye out for new grain varieties, and I have never forgotten that. So when I saw rice, I kept an eye out for it, inquired about it, and then went to the rice paddies."
"By the way, the weather in Linyi is too hot. The weather in winter is comparable to summer in Zhuojun. As a result, rice ears are still growing. When I arrived at the field, I found that the rice had grown to more than half a foot tall and had already sprouted ears. However, the local natives are not good at farming. They sowed the seeds and then left them unattended, resulting in more weeds than rice in the field."
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock and couldn't help but curse, "These ignorant natives really wasted things! And what happened next?"
Most of the people present, including Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, had worked in the fields and were very aware of the importance of farming and weeding.
In addition, the winters in the Han Dynasty were extremely cold. Snow fell in most areas south of the Yangtze River, including Jiangling and Wujun, let alone the Central Plains.
In the winter of the Han Dynasty, the people could not plant crops even if they wanted to, because of the cold weather. The natives of Linyi could plant crops but did not. Wasn't this a complete waste of resources?
Such depravity was considered a crime by the emperor and his officials, and should be punished with direct imprisonment and exile.
On the other hand, the natives of Linyi, with such good conditions, just stayed at home sleeping and did nothing. How could this not make these Han literati who regarded the land as their lifeblood angry?
Fu Shiren continued, "Later, I took over that farmland, led troops to weed and tend to it, and personally harvested, threshed and dried the rice after it ripened, bringing it back to Your Majesty."
"Wait a minute..." Zhang Zhao interrupted, "You've only been at sea for a little over three months. It took you more than a month to go there, and even though you're more familiar with the roads and it will take you about twenty days to come back, that means the rice will be ripe in just over a month after you took over?"
Fu Shiren knew what he was going to ask, and quickly replied, "Yes, and I specifically asked. This kind of rice is not seasonal. It can mature in a maximum of two months after the seeds are sown, and can be harvested three or four times a year. However, the natives of Linyi do not know how to cultivate and do not understand the seasons. They themselves do not know how many harvests they can have."
"Hiss..." This time everyone was completely on the defensive.
A harvest can be completed every two months, and at least three harvests can be made every year, meaning three crops a year.
How fertile must this land be?
The natives of Linyi don't know how to farm; they just sow seeds and wait for the harvest. If this laid-back approach to farming can yield a harvest, then what if this land falls into the hands of Han Chinese who are skilled in farming...?
Since the land is so fertile, could we send a group of our clansmen to occupy it in advance and establish a land grab?
Now that the Han Dynasty has started land reform, all of their land has been confiscated. However, the land reform will not reach Linyi in the short term. In that case, can the losses of the Han Dynasty be made up for in Linyi?
Moreover, sending a branch of the clan to Lin Yi to establish a branch has its advantages. It allows the family to expand and grow, and it also provides an extra layer of protection against the family being wiped out in the event of a mishap. It's a win-win situation.
The eyes of everyone present flickered, and they all had the same thought, but their goal was not the rice, but the land of Linyi.
The Han people have a deep attachment to the land. In the past, they couldn't go to Linyi because it was separated by the 100,000 mountains. Now it's different because the sea route has been opened.
The Han people have an excessive attachment to the land; they covet any land that can grow crops.
Fu Shiren continued, "However, I have already cultivated twelve paddy fields, and have Zifang plant a crop every month to test the harvest time and specific yield of the paddy fields. It will take at most a year to test them. These are the records I made during the cultivation period. Please take a look, Your Majesty."
As he spoke, he reached into his pocket to retrieve his notebook, but after searching for a while without finding it, he remembered that the notebook was in the package he had thrown away earlier. Helpless, he turned around and went back to get it.
Fu Shiren took out the notebook and handed it to Liu Bei with both hands, saying, "This is a notebook that General Guan specially gave us before we set sail. With it, I can record things truthfully. Please take a look, Your Majesty."
Liu Bei took the notebook, opened it, and gathered around to look at it. He found that Fu Shiren's records were very detailed, even noting how many centimeters the rice grew each day, and he had even drawn sketches.
As Liu Bei looked at the field, he asked, "What was Zifang doing while you were farming? You weren't hiding in the capital all day indulging in pleasure, were you?"
He knew his brother-in-law's character well; it was unlikely he'd be willing to work the land.
Fu Shiren said with a complicated expression, "Zifang has a very good relationship with Qu Lian. It's all thanks to Qu Lian that he took the initiative to deliver grain and guide us."
Old Fu was a shrewd man. He first praised Mi Fang, then changed the subject and said truthfully, "Oh, by the way, Zi Fang slept with Qu Lian's daughter, and that Lin Yi princess is already pregnant."
"What the hell?" Liu Bei was so shocked that he threw the notebook away.