GBP Chapter 184 Sand
Chapter 184 Sand
Coming out of the training ground, the two ran into General Qi head-on. He changed his previous cold attitude and smiled at the archer Song Chunlin like a peacock spreading its tail.
Gu Fengyue walked between the two of them unnoticed. General Qi was not angry, but just asked Song Chunlin with a smile if he was interested in joining their army and training archers for him.
"He's not joining the army. This is the bow Chunlin used yesterday. Find a few trusted craftsmen and see if they can make something similar."
General Qi was just about to say that this bow was so amazing, but their craftsmen could only make similar ones. However, as soon as he picked up one, General Qi discovered the difference of this bow.
"This material looks like iron, but it's not iron. It's the first time I've seen such fine craftsmanship to make the parts inside it." General Qi looked at the bow over and over again, but couldn't figure out what material it was made of. Song Chunlin poked his head out from behind Gu Fengyue and looked at General Qi's puzzled expression. He thought, of course you can't tell what material this is. Even he himself doesn't know what material this bow is made of. Anyway, it should be an alloy or something, which cannot be made with the ancient iron smelting technology.
Song Chunlin didn't want to remind General Qi, since this man had disliked him before.
Although Song Chunlin was not coming, General Qi left with satisfaction after getting the opponent's bow. He wanted the craftsmen to make a similar one as soon as possible. If it had half the power of this bow, the original range could be increased by one third. Having a range one third longer than the opponent on the battlefield, that would be a great concept.
Gu Fengyue had a rare day off today, so he was dragged by Song Chunlin to survey the terrain.
Gu Fengyue knew nothing about farming. The two of them walked out of the north city and along the foot of the mountain, and finally stopped on a flat sandy land.
Looking at the barren sandy land, Gu Fengyue doubted Song Chunlin's words for the first time.
Gu Fengyue poked the ground with the sword in his hand. Good, it was all sand. "Are you sure you can grow anything on this kind of land?"
Song Chunlin said as a matter of course: "Of course, when have I ever lied to you?"
Song Chunlin pointed to a beach not far from here and said, "The sand over there is suitable for growing watermelons. The watermelons you have eaten are the ones with green skin and red soil, and they are very hydrated."
Gu Fengyue thought about it in her mind and it seemed that she had indeed eaten it. When Song Chunlin took it out, the watermelon was still ice cold. They were on their way at that time, and after eating a piece, she felt refreshed and energized.
"Let me tell you, watermelons grown on sandy land are the sweetest. I've also asked around here, and the rain isn't much, but it's enough to grow watermelons. As for potatoes and sweet potatoes, I see some people are growing them here, but the quantity is not large. If this is promoted on a large scale, the people in the surrounding cities won't have to worry about not having enough food to eat."
Song Chunlin even gestured excitedly: "The land over there is more fertile than here, so we can grow peanuts. We can grow cotton in places farther away where there are no mountains blocking the view. There is enough sunlight here, so the cotton yield will definitely be higher."
Gu Fengyue found it funny: "From what you said, I guess you won't be able to leave here for a few years."
Song Chunlin didn't think about this. He was so excited that he didn't consider that this was not the capital. His family members were all waiting for him to return to the capital. If he really dared to stay here alone for two or three years, his mother, Song Qin, would definitely come with her whole family and take him back.
Thinking of this, Song Chunlin's face wrinkled up. He squatted on the ground in frustration, a little irritated: "If my mother knew that I wanted to stay here for several years, would she want to kill me?"
Gu Fengyue also squatted down, her eyes level with his, and told him calmly: "Let alone you, even if it was me, I would probably be chopped into pieces by your parents. Who asked me to bring you here?"
Song Chunlin was dejected: "I died before I could accomplish my mission."
Gu Fengyue comforted him: "Don't be sad, we can leave the seeds and planting methods here, and find a few military households to plant them. You don't need to do it yourself."
When Song Chunlin heard this, he thought it was a good idea. After all, there was so much land that he definitely couldn't cultivate it all by himself.
"The most important thing right now is to drive away the Turks first and take back our city as soon as possible." Gu Fengyue said this not because he wanted Song Chunlin to do anything, but the speaker may not have any intention, but the listener may have taken it to heart.
Song Chunlin thought thoughtfully: "If their general died this time, would these people retreat?"
Gu Fengyue thought for a while and said, "Who knows? It seems that the Turks' attack this time is not just to steal food. Their ultimate goal must be all the cities here. Once all the cities fall into the hands of the Turks, the next one will be Linyuan City."
"Linyuan?" Song Chunlin thought of the huge Tianchi Lake, frowned, and thought about the possibility of assassinating the Turkic marshal in the middle of the night.
The two men went back along the same route they came. The weather was getting warmer, and many farmers were already plowing the fields along the roadside. Song Chunlin went up to ask and found out that they were planting beans and millet. Millet here refers to sorghum.
The local people still rely on beans and sorghum as their staple food. Bean leaves can also be eaten as vegetables, which are the crops that the local people prefer.
I learned that there are potatoes and sweet potatoes this year. Leaving aside the sweet potatoes, potatoes are quite suitable for the soil and climate here. It is said that the first batch of farmers who planted them had a good harvest.
An old farmer talked about this: "It is said that the yield of that thing can reach 1,000 kilograms per mu. This is the first time we grow it here. We have no experience, but we can still produce 800 to 900 kilograms. It is much more cost-effective than growing beans and millet."
Song Chunlin and Gu Fengyue both felt that this yield was too little, but when they thought about the first time they had seen potatoes, even with a planting manual, the climate and soil could not be the same everywhere, so it was normal for the yield to vary.
Song Chunlin asked the old farmer with a smile: "Grandpa, can you get some potatoes this year?"
The old farmer shook his head and said, "I can't get any. My son-in-law's family got some, just enough to plant one acre of land. Hehe, if he can take good care of the land this year, I can plant potatoes at home next year. I heard that potatoes are very filling."
It seems that the court's promotion work was done quite well. Potatoes and sweet potatoes could be popularized even in the border areas so far away from the capital. It can be seen that the emperor was still good and knew what was most important.
Gu Fengyue smiled: "Throughout the ages, the Emperor has always attached great importance to matters concerning people's livelihood. In order to promote your potatoes and sweet potatoes in the past two years, he has been arguing with those noble families. If such a high-yield product falls into the hands of the noble families, it will be very difficult for the people to get it."