Chapter 179 The general trend of accelerating progress
Although several months had passed since Dong Cheng assassinated the Emperor and the Prime Minister, public opinion under Cao Cao was still quite heated.
Although most people follow the mainstream, they are not criticizing Yuan Shao and Dong Cheng.
But there are always some people who like to be unconventional and stand out, questioning whether this may be a trick set up by Cao Cao or even the emperor secretly.
But now, Cao Cao suddenly announced that General Lu Yan had discovered and grown an unprecedented new type of food.
It is not only rich in nutrients, but also has great taste in many ways. It is a staple food, a vegetable, and can also be used to make wine.
Its name is potato.
The most important thing is that potatoes are very nutritious and have extremely high yields. Fertile fields can produce twenty shi per mu, and even barren mountainous areas can produce several to ten shi per mu!
As soon as the news about Tudou came out, the Han Dynasty was once again in an uproar! It was even more violent than the assassination of Liu Xie and Cao Cao.
After all, food is the most important thing for people, and potatoes are related to the livelihood of countless people, so they receive unparalleled attention, which is also a normal phenomenon.
Chenliu County's general supervisor (workshop) has always produced new things, whether it is people's livelihood or military equipment, there are countless.
Many unheard of spices appeared before, and now a high-yielding staple food has been introduced, and its reputation has exploded instantly.
The reputations of Cao Cao and Lu Yan once again reached a new height with the advent of potatoes.
Even the emperor gave up his last resistance after hearing the news about Tudou, and calmly accepted the concubine Cao Cao gave him, which was Cao Cao's own daughter, Cao Jie.
Liu Xie's last power has been uprooted by Cao Cao. Coupled with the huge reputation brought to Cao Cao by the emergence of Tudou, Liu Xie can now be said to have been completely defeated.
After lying down, Liu Xie began to enjoy life seriously.
He even went to see the potatoes in person together with Queen Fu and Concubine Cao, and tasted the full feast of potatoes prepared by the supervisor.
...
Perhaps because Dong Cheng is dead and the emperor is at peace, Cao Cao's restraint on Liu Bei's three brothers is not as strict as before.
The three of them, Liu Bei, could even leave Xuchang and go to Chenliu County alone. But they could only go to Chenliu County.
The prosperity of Chenliu County is even better than that of Yingchuan County.
The smiles on the faces of the people all the time made the three Liu Bei brothers unable to calm down for a long time after seeing them.
Ahead is Chenliucheng,
Zhang Fei looked at the convoys queuing up to enter the city from a distance, and said with emotion to Liu Bei: "Brother, Lu Yan is really good at running the place!"
Liu Bei glanced at Zhang Fei dissatisfied and said: "When the potatoes come out, there will be countless people alive. Lu Qiaoqi is destined to be famous in history. Third brother, you must not be rude."
"Yes... I, Lao Zhang, will pay attention to it in the future." Zhang Fei did not argue this time, after all, Liu Bei's words were very reasonable.
Guan Yu was silent all the way, as if he was thinking about some difficult problem in his heart.
The three of them led the horses and walked into Chenliucheng.
After entering Chenliucheng, the three Liu Bei brothers felt as if they had entered a brand new world.
Along the main road, which is more than ten feet wide and paved with bluestone slabs, there are many buildings with a height of four to five stories.
The streets are full of people and traffic.
The surrounding shops have a dazzling array of products, but what's even more valuable is that many bookstores are overcrowded, as people are choosing books for themselves or their children.
Guan Yu, who had not spoken for a long time, finally said, "This is what a peaceful and prosperous age should be like!"
Gu Miao
Zhang Fei nodded and sighed: "The prosperous age in our hearts has been realized by Lu Qiaoqi..."
Yes, isn’t this the kind of world they pursue?
So, is it necessary to break this ideal peaceful age?
Liu Bei was keenly aware of the psychological changes in the two brothers, but he did not take any action.
At this moment, Liu Bei's mind couldn't help but think of the picture of the world that was almost deeply imprinted in his mind.
He murmured to himself: "My great Han Dynasty will spread throughout the world..."
...
According to statistics, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were 10 million households and a population of more than 56 million.
Then consider the large number of disciples, clans, guests, tribes, slaves and other people who are occupied or sheltered by powerful landlords.
In addition, most of the Xiongnu, Qiang, Di and Baiyue people who moved to the Han Dynasty were not included in the household registration statistics. Therefore, it is believed that the peak population of the Eastern Han Dynasty should have reached 65 million.
However, after the outbreak of the Yellow Turbans, wars broke out frequently in Guanzhong and Guandong, and the population dropped sharply.
On the contrary, the population of the southern states has increased to varying degrees.
For example, the population of Yangzhou increased by nearly 200,000, the population of Jingzhou increased from less than one million households to more than one million, and the population of Yizhou soared from one million households to 1.2 million households.
After the rebellion of Li Jue and Guo Si, and the ravages of Guanzhong by the Southern Huns, the population of Guanzhong was even less than 500,000, that is, less than 100,000 households!
Similarly, Yanzhou, located in the Central Plains, has seen its population drop sharply from one million households to 600,000.
When Boss Cao first captured Yanzhou, the population was enriched thanks to the surrender of Qingzhou Yellow Turbans.
Xuzhou has a small population, with only about 400,000 households.
When Cao Cao annexed Xuzhou, the number of households was even more miserable and there were only less than 200,000 households left...
Lu Yan vigorously rectified the powerful tyrants, opened farmland to attract refugees, and developed people's livelihood.
Yanzhou and Xuzhou followed the successful example of Chenliu County, and as a result, the population of Yanzhou and Xuzhou slowly rebounded.
However, even so, the population of Yanxu and Xuzhou, plus half of Yuzhou, under Cao Cao's rule was only equivalent to that of Yuan Shao.
But under Yuan Shao's rule, there were many wealthy gentry from aristocratic families, and they themselves had a lot of capital; while under Cao Cao, ordinary people made up the vast majority, almost all of whom were naked...
Therefore, in terms of quality, Yuan Shao's leadership is undoubtedly much better than that of Cao Cao, so in terms of overall strength, Cao Cao is still far behind Yuan Shao.
Improving people's livelihood and economy means making people rich. Only when the overall wealth increases can the Cao family's strength be enhanced.
While developing commerce and agriculture, increasing the population is also the fastest way to development.
The first factor restricting the development of population is food.
Now that Lu Yan has developed potatoes with a yield of twenty shi per mu, which is more than 2,400 kilograms of grain, it is foreseeable that Cao Cao will once again usher in a wave of explosive population growth!
Not only will the number of newborns increase dramatically, but people and refugees from other places will also use Cao Cao's rule as one of the first choices for migration.
If Cao Cao is really given more time to develop quietly, then in the future, Cao Cao will probably have no rivals in the entire Han Dynasty.
Therefore, the news that the magical food potato appeared under Cao Cao's rule made Sun Ce in the southeast and Yuan Shao in the north unable to sit still.
Yuan Shao mobilized troops from various places more and more frequently. The Shadow Guards Battalion B, who was responsible for monitoring Hebei, frequently sent back messages to warn. Because the messages were sent too frequently, a lot of eyeliners and shadow guards were lost.
Sun Ce began to assemble an army, preparing to capture the Lujiang River, the hub of the westward and northward march. His ambition to peer into Jingzhou and the Central Plains was clearly revealed!