There is a saying that when oranges grow in Huainan, they become tangerines, and when they grow in Huaibei, they become oranges.
If we spread potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corns all over the country without thinking, we would definitely die 80% to 90% of the time. We would get half the result with twice the effort, or even be in vain.
You must know that sweet potatoes and corn basically come from Central and South America. Before they were introduced to China, they were grown in Southeast Asia, which has a tropical monsoon climate.
Its most distinctive feature is high temperature and rainy weather.
So it was originally planted in Fujian, after all, the subtropical climate and tropical monsoon are inseparable.
You know, this is not about making a movie. Reality requires logic and rules. Even people are not accustomed to the climate, let alone crops?
Therefore, the emperor began to test the seeds around the capital and popularize them, and then selected improved varieties to spread to the northern provinces.
After all, compared to the south, the north needs a high-yielding grain variety.
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn are all high-yielding crops, but the first one to be eliminated is sweet potato.
Without him, sweet potatoes consume too much land and are difficult to cultivate continuously. They must be plowed and can only be planted as an emergency.
Potatoes and corn have become the main promotion targets.
In villages near the capital, corn is more popular.
Nothing else, because corn stalks can not only be used to feed pigs, but can also be used as fuel. They are very flammable and are convenient for heating and making fires.
With its diverse functions, it is naturally loved by farmers.
Moreover, corn is a grass plant, similar to ancient crops such as millet, and it is cold-resistant and drought-resistant.
More importantly, corn can also be ground into flour to make steamed buns, which is in line with the staple food habits of the people.
It is precisely because of this that, as time goes by, corn became the first crop to be promoted, followed by potatoes, and then sweet potatoes.
Liaohe mouth.
It's December, and the huge Liao River is covered with several feet of snow. What was once a vast waterway has now become an official road.
The snowflakes in Liaodong fell like petals. After a while, Cao Xi had a large amount of snow on his body.
Suddenly, the hunting dog exploring the road ahead barked twice.
He shook his shoulders and unloaded the heavy snow, then waved his whip and asked the draft horse to turn and move towards the other side.
"Wangwang——" but the two hounds were still barking.
Seeing this, Cao Xi had no choice but to stop the carriage, turn around and walk back.
The hound is the pathfinder, and he is also the pathfinder for the entire team.
A few dozen steps back, on the wide Liaohe River, a convoy consisting of a large number of sleds and horses stretched for several miles, two in a row, moving cautiously.
The hunting flag is placed on the sled, and the red word "明" is extremely conspicuous.
He walked hard and came to a sled.
In addition to the food and drink, the most conspicuous thing is the soft wool tent, and the guerrilla general transported this time is lying on it holding an umbrella.
"What's wrong?"
the guerrilla general said anxiously.
"Reporting back to the general, the dogs are barking. I'm afraid there is a hole ahead, or the ice is too thin. We can only go ashore and go around it."
Cao Xi bent down and said.
"Then go ashore." The guerrilla general said decisively.
Compared with the land, the river surface is wider, and you can lie flat without getting lost, so you can walk very quickly.
But again, the thickness of the ice surface varies, and there may also be human factors, such as hunters drilling holes to fish, which is also extremely risky, and hounds are the biggest guides.
It is also true that everyone's judgment about the hound is that they would rather take a detour than go through it, because it is too dangerous.
"yes!"
Cao Xi also breathed a sigh of relief. He had encountered him three or two times along the way, and this guerrilla was quite obedient.
On the way back, he saw his former companions.
The entire team consisted of five hundred sleds, a thousand or so horses, dozens of hounds, and driven by two thousand people, all of whom were from the Han Eight Banners who were sold in Shengjing City like him.
As prisoners, they are still doing hard work to atone for their sins.
There were a thousand people guarding them and accompanying them.
However, after all, they were once Han Chinese, and they were not treated badly. They just had to work often, such as this time transporting goods.
Supplies from the Bohai Sea will be sent from the mouth of the Liaohe River to Liaoyang, and then will be relayed by people behind and sent to Shenyang.
Because there were a lot of supplies, there were several teams like them, marching in sequence behind them.
This is the best choice after the Liaohe River freezes.
Soon, after several days, we finally arrived at the mouth of Liaohe River.
There is not a single ship on the sea.
There was only a little thin ice on the sea surface, so it was obviously not difficult to move. Cao Xi was stunned.
"You are finally here."
The general stationed at the mouth of the Liaohe River breathed a sigh of relief, and then called on everyone to unload the cargo.
It turned out that all the supplies were piled up in the castle.
"One hundred thousand pieces of honeycomb briquettes, 30,000 sets of cotton-padded clothes and shoes, 5,000 jars of wine..."
The guerrilla general took the list and asked people to count it carefully. He sighed: "There are so many things. It seems that it is necessary to prepare a few more teams..."
"That's right, there will be ships arriving in the next few days, so you have to hurry up."
However, when he saw the large amount of wine, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva, feeling thirsty.
It's a pity that the military judge on the side is keeping an eye on the supplies meticulously. He will have to reconcile the accounts later in Liaoyang, so he doesn't dare to mess around.
Soon, five hundred sleds were fully loaded and registered. A closer look showed that there were less than 30% of the supplies.
Cao Xi looked at the dark briquettes and couldn't help but his eyelids twitched.
In this frozen Liaodong, briquettes are the best fuel, much better than firewood.
There are fewer coal mines in Liaodong, or the Manchus do not have the habit of using coal, so coal still needs to be transported from Beijing. However, as long as the freeze thaws after the New Year, coal can be mined on a large scale.
Unfortunately, this is not what the prisoners can think of.
After a large amount of supplies were transported northward like ants moving, Shenyang's supplies gradually became abundant, and there was enough spare capacity to support Kaiyuan and Tieling on the front lines of the battlefield.
In fact, after the popularization of the hot kang, as long as there is enough firewood, it is difficult for anyone to freeze to death. The only problem is that the consumption is too large and it is necessary to go to the wild to chop firewood frequently.
But in a frontline castle like Kaiyuan, where do you have the troops and time to get firewood? We can only rely on Shenyang to transport coal for emergency relief.
Shenyang couldn't keep a single piece of the 100,000 pieces of briquettes, drinks, cotton-padded clothes, etc. and had to send them all north.
Chen Yongfu huddled in the room, where the ground dragon was burning hot. He took off a coat, looked at the continuous snowflakes outside the window, and couldn't help but sigh:
"The snow in Liaodong is different from that in Beijing. It falls in large tracts, is not dry yet, and is extremely humid..."
“It’ll be good if you can persist.”
Li Jiwu drank by himself and muttered, "By the way, what does the court want us to do?"
"Organize civilian settlement points."
Wu Sangui on the side said: "A lot of seeds have arrived this time. It is said that the imperial court specially prepared them for Liaodong."
"Yes, it's called corn."
