Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 880 - 728 My Heart is Very Broad_3

Chapter 880: Chapter 728 My Heart is Very Broad_3

"For some reason, nearly half of the secret agents left by Prince Ning have been arrested by the Xiuyiwei recently. However, risking my life, I’ve finally acquired some items from Jiangnan, which might be the reason behind this,"

As the Iron-faced Man spoke, he took out two tubers from his sleeve, one large and one small, and placed them in front of Yu Jianshen.

The larger one was as big as a human fist, with a red skin; the smaller one was a bit smaller, with a yellow-brown color.

"The small one is called a potato, also known as the Fenyang potato; the larger one is called a sweet potato, also referred to as the Guanjun Potato."

With a solemn expression, the Iron-faced Man explained, "They’re said to have a high yield. As to how high, I haven’t ascertained the details. However, I’ve seen both of these items taking up nearly half the load on the grain ships at Sanmen Gorge."

Yu Jianshen looked at the items on the ground, his face showing signs of puzzlement: "What are these? Can they be eaten?"

Having grown up in the inner palace, Yu had seen rice and wheat, but he had never encountered such tuberous crops before.

"Not only can they be eaten, but they can also satisfy hunger."

With that statement, Dasiming entered the room from outside, her expression as grave as iron: "The average yield per mu for potatoes is forty-two dan, and for sweet potatoes, it’s forty dan. It’s said that before this winter began, the Jin royal family planted these crops on millions of mu of land and have now harvested tens of millions of dan."

Her gaze fell upon Yu Jianshen with an unpleasant air: "Waiting for the Jin Army to run out of food will likely be very difficult."

Yu’s complexion turned ashen instantly. For a moment, he doubted, thinking how could this be possible? Could there be crops with such a high yield in this world?

He was well aware of the yields of rice and wheat. The disparity he was hearing about seemed exaggerated.

However, Yu Jianshen knew Dasiming’s character well — she wouldn’t mention this in front of him if she wasn’t certain of the matter.

If they couldn’t wait for the Jin Army’s food supplies to run out, then his Prince Yi’s mansion would be completely cornered.

He couldn’t help but take a deep breath, suppressing the anxiety in his chest: "Is it possible to plant these crops near Xi’an as well?"

"It should be possible., but we lack seeds," Dasiming frowned. "I’ll try my best. The Great Jin Dynasty’s court has strict control over these two crops, making it difficult to transport them out of the country on a large scale. We also don’t know the cultivation methods. However, with dedication, there are still ways to manage it; the issue is—"

She turned her head, looking out of the grand hall of Prince Qi’s mansion.

The problem was that they now lacked both enough arable land and sufficient manpower—

The Jin forces from all four directions have already pressed close to Xi’an City, less than a hundred li away, and they had conscripted all able-bodied adults, even healthy women, solely for the purpose of constructing stronger stone walls and fortresses.

Yu Jianshen also understood her point, and his face turned pale with concern: "So there’s no way out at all? Are we to sit and wait for death?"

"I am currently planning a strategy to break through the stalemate!"

Dasiming sighed inwardly, but her face betrayed no emotion: "The only consolation for now is that this thing called potato has a poorer taste and should not be used as a staple food.

As for the sweet potato, it is indeed sweet and could even be described as honey-like in flavor. However, it’s said that sweet potatoes are more difficult to cultivate, and the court doesn’t have a large yield. They can’t possibly rely on these two crops to feed the million-strong army and the millions of laborers outside Xi’an City. Over time, it will surely shake the army’s morale."

After hearing this, Yu Jianshen looked somewhat relieved.

What he didn’t know was that, just sixty li away, the soldiers of the Henan Army, who had withdrawn from the battlefield for rest, were slurping a strange type of noodle from wooden bowls in their encampments.