"I was expecting this batch of potatoes to save my life, but now I don't need it. His Majesty sent some food, plus what was available in the city, and it was no problem for more than ten days. Since I can't use it, there's no need to show it, I have a hunch that something big will happen sooner or later. ”

"Huh?" When Li Siwen heard this, he was worried in his heart, he looked back at Dugu Jiu on the gazebo, and saw that he didn't mean to speak, so he hesitated for a moment and whispered: "Big brother, I, I seem to have done something wrong." ”

"Of course you're doing something wrong!"

"Huh?" Li Siwen was shocked and said, "You know everything?" What did Xiao Jiu tell you? ”

"Of course," Li Mu dragged another piece of dried meat and said, "Without Your Majesty's will, you will leave Dingxiang without permission, and you will violate the royal law, do you know?" ”

"Oh, big brother, just scare me." Li Siwen took this matter seriously, and quibbled: "Your Majesty said that there is no will to not let me go back to Chang'an, but he didn't say that he would not let me go back to Luoyang." Besides, I asked for most of the protection, and the most of the protection said whatever, won't I come back? ”

"Daduhu?" Li Mu raised his eyes and looked over, and said, "The King of Hejian County? ”

"Who else could it be!" Li Siwen said sullenly: "Originally, Xiang was our brother's territory, but as soon as most of them arrived, my official office became his official office, my mansion became his mansion, and even my government soldiers became his subordinates. Li Siwen burst into tears and said, "I came back this time to tell you about this, big brother, this is not good." The country we have laid is given away! ”

"What nonsense!" Li Mu glared at Li Siwen fiercely, and said: "Which is the country you have conquered, it is Your Majesty's country, how old is it, there is not even a door on your mouth?" ”

"Oh," Li Siwen held his mouth and muttered reluctantly: "I always feel that I can't say that." The city is guarded by the two of us, right? After the city was destroyed, we also rebuilt it, right? I've been busy for more than a year, and I'm collecting homeless people and running a market, but as soon as most of them arrive, everything becomes his, where can I reason? ”

Li Mu probably guessed what was going on, the Western Turks' force was too strong, and Dingxiang had to face the Western Turks' sphere of influence, and there must be a famous general in charge. Li Siwen is obviously not successful. But most of the Protectorate is located in Dingxiang, but it is not only because of this, most of them are also guarding themselves. Li Siwen is his own little brother, he obeys his words, there is no difference between his and his own, if he does not take away Li Siwen's military power, let him develop, and what will become of Dingxiang in the future, then it is uncertain. In case one day he has a heart of disobedience and leads the Turkic soldiers and horses into the mirror, Chang'an will face the embarrassment of the alliance of the bridge again, so from Li Shimin's point of view, he must do this to sleep peacefully.

Li Mu sighed and said: "The official is crushed to death at the first level, who let our brother and the official be young, let him go, except for the government and the government soldiers, what else did he do?" ”

"Not really." Li Siwen is not a liar, and said truthfully: "I am still in charge of the affairs inside and outside the city." Most of them don't go out, and they just ask about anything. ”

Li Mu's heart was a little relieved, Li Xiaogong really still protected himself, and he still did not participate in and did not involve anything that had nothing to do with his scope of responsibility.

"Does he know about potatoes?"

"You should know," Li Siwen thought for a while, and said, "After the harvest, I sent him a few bags, and he said it was delicious, and asked for another car." I told him when I went back to Luoyang, can I not know? ”

"I mean, does he know about the yield of potatoes?"

"I don't know." Li Siwen said firmly: "Only I know the exact yield, and others, even if they are farmers who grow potatoes, just know that there is a lot of yield." ”

Li Mu felt faintly uneasy in his heart, and asked again: "Does anyone else know about potatoes?" ”

"Uh......" Li Mu asked the point, Li Siwen smiled awkwardly, and said, "This is exactly what I want to say, big brother, I, I used potatoes and exchanged dried meat with the Turks." Li Siwen pointed to the bag behind Li Mu and said, "That's it." ”

Li Mu rolled his eyes speechlessly: "You, it's really a dog's stomach that can't hold two taels of sesame oil!" What's the smell? It's a good thing, I'm afraid people won't know it? ”

"Big brother, this can't be hidden." Li Siwen muttered aggrievedly: "When the potatoes are harvested, the mountains are full of people. It's impossible to hide it, no one is blind, and we can't wipe it all out, right? ”

"Uh" Li Mu pondered for a while, sighed, and said, "That's it, forget it if you can't hide it." Dingxiang is far away from here, and it will take a certain amount of time for the news to come, but His Majesty's side seems to be unable to hide it. ”

"What is there to hide," Li Siwen said indifferently: "According to my meaning, we have to ask for credit." Big brother, do you know how many catties this potato can produce in one acre of land? More than 2,000 pounds! Li Siwen compared a 'yes', and said, "What is this not an immortal seed?" The yield per mu is 2,000 catties, with this potato, will there be people who will starve to death in the future? ”

"Potatoes are not a panacea, although they are highly productive." Li Muyuan is not as optimistic as Li Siwen, because he clearly knows that even in the 21st century, with potatoes in the world, there will still be famine. The famous 'Irish Famine' was caused by the fact that only potatoes were produced in the region, and when the disease against potatoes began to spread, the inhabitants of the island of Ireland fell into an unprecedented famine because there were no alternative crops to serve as food.

Although it is not known whether the potatoes produced by the system have the ability to 'immune' against germs. But even if there is, after several generations of breeding, the breed will mutate. It is almost impossible to be free of disease. Root crops such as potatoes have an inherent disadvantage called 'heavy cropping'. When a plot of land has been growing potatoes for several years in a row, the potato yield decreases and the land becomes more and more barren. After a few years, even if you don't grow potatoes anymore and switch to other crops, the yield will be significantly reduced. In other words, it is very unrealistic to solve the food problem once and for all by growing potatoes.

And heavy stubble will lead to the reduction of some microbial beneficial bacteria in the soil, the resistance of potatoes themselves decreases, in addition to the perennial is such a few kinds of control agents, the resistance of pests and diseases will increase, the more later, the dose of pesticides will be larger, and the resistance of pests and diseases will also be enhanced, which has caused a strange phenomenon: pesticides are used more and more, but the effect is getting worse and worse, potato yield is getting less and less, the income is getting lower and lower, and a series of problems have appeared.

There is no solution to this problem, so even in the era before Li Mu traveled, science and technology were already very developed. Potato planting is also fallow intercropping, and potatoes are often planted in the Northeast for one year, changed to one year of corn, or two years of cropping, and there is almost no such thing as planting only potatoes.

The problem that has not been solved after a thousand years, Li Mu does not expect the Tang Dynasty to solve it at all. In addition, although potatoes have a high yield, they are not suitable for storage. Store potatoes like ordinary whole grains, and ensure that they have sprouts, because potatoes with sprouts are poisonous and inedible. In order to store potatoes on a large scale, it is necessary to dig cellars, which is at most a year and a half, and it is impossible to store them for a long time. Therefore, although potatoes are good, they can only be icing on the cake and cannot be used as a staple food.

Another disadvantage of potatoes is that they are an exotic. In essence, it does not conform to the eating habits that the Chinese have cultivated for thousands of years. Therefore, even after a thousand years, potatoes are eaten as 'vegetables' on the table of Chinese, and almost no Chinese will treat potatoes as a staple food and eat them instead of rice like foreigners.

Li Mu has high hopes for potatoes only because they are easy to breed and do not pick places. If it can be popularized, every household can plant a little bit and eat it in the same year, which can save a lot of food. It plays a complementary role, not a substitute role.

Li Mu spent half an hour talking to Li Siwen about this. Li Siwen was already stupid, especially when he heard Li Mu say that potatoes sprout and are poisonous, he couldn't help but worry: "Big brother, how is this good, there are still a large number of potatoes in Dingxiang, we don't have a cellar, and we don't know that it is poisonous, what if it sprouts and eats people to death?" ”

"Freshly harvested potatoes, what sprouts! Tomorrow you will fly the pigeon and pass the book back, and tell me about the poisonous cellar and the sprouts, what is too late? In addition, he specially instructed his younger brothers and sisters not to sell potatoes to the Turks anymore, and to keep them first. ”

"Big brother, aren't we brothers with the Turks? Potatoes are not expensive, don't be so picky. Li Siwen couldn't bear to say: "Big brother, I originally hated the Turks, but after more than a year of contact, I found that the Turkic people are the same as our people." It's all for a bite of food and clothing. It's winter, they have no food, and I don't know how many people will starve to death, we don't give them potatoes, they are hungry, maybe they have to fight, it's better to give them some potatoes to eat, as long as they have something to eat, they will be honest. ”

Li Siwen's idea coincided with the idea of the rulers of the Song Dynasty hundreds of years later. There is nothing wrong with exchanging peace for a small price. But today's Datang is not afraid of war, and when he is not weak, Li Mu is not interested in compromise. Food can be given, but you have to give it after you obey me, so that you can remember my kindness, not that I have to rush to give it to you, and you can live in peace, and the difference here is still very big.

"You just don't have a long memory, and if you don't have a bad heart, you look pitiful, and I look pitiful, but when they come to the door, they won't let us go just because we see them pitiful today. You can help, you can give, but you can't give it for nothing, you can't help it for nothing. Li Mu watched the fire gradually go out, took a shovel to shovel away the ashes, dug out the 'mud egg' and knocked it open, a fragrance came out, Li Siwen was hungry for a long time, tore off a chicken leg and shook it, and shouted: "Xiao Jiu, do you want to eat?" ”

"Don't eat it!" Dugu Jiu's voice floated in, if he didn't see how it was done, maybe he would have eaten it, but after seeing how it was done, he really couldn't eat it.

Li Siwen handed the chicken leg to Li Mu, Li Mu had already pulled the other one in his hand, motioned for him to eat it himself, took a bite, and continued: "Aren't the Turks from the tribe? If you are close to us, you might as well sell them half and give them a little, and if you have a general relationship with us, then you will 'settle the account with your brothers', and if you have a bad relationship with us, you won't sell it if you give money. Don't look at the potato harvest, next year it may not be this yield, and the landlord's family will have no surplus grain! ”

"Big brother is reasonable, I know how to do it." Li Siwen ate with a mouth full of oil, and he didn't know whether he really understood or didn't understand.

"There's no wine," Li Siwen clicked his lips and said, "Big brother, I thought about it for a while, and you're right." Potatoes are good, but they are not a substitute for grain. Let's just say that this bar, potatoes can't make wine, right? ”

Li Muxin said, in fact, potatoes can also make wine. It's just that the wine brewed is not very good, but at this time, it makes no sense to say this, so Li Mu nodded and passed in a vague way.

"Big brother, I want to tell you something." Li Siwen nibbled on the chicken legs, as if he mentioned it casually: "I want to come back, I still feel at ease by your side." ”

Li Mu stopped, glanced up at Li Siwen, and said, "I don't want to be in Dingxiang, because of the matter of most of the protection?" ”

"Not exactly. ww Li Siwen hesitated for a while and said, "The last time I fought, I felt that I, I was too wasteful. I don't have the ability to protect one side, I still follow you and help you do something, and that's what I can do. Big brother, you don't dislike me, do you? ”

"Dislike is not dislike, between our brothers, where can we say the word 'dislike'." Li Mu sighed and said, "It's just that I don't want you to follow me and live in my shadow." My brother is the one who is in charge. ”

"I ......" Li Siwen said in his heart, if I can be alone, will I not want to be alone? I can't do that, that's why I think this way. But when Li Mu said this, he couldn't say anything, pursed his lips and stopped talking.

Li Mu saw his thoughts and said, "That's it, it just so happens that there have been a lot of things in Luoyang recently." You have a lot of protection over there, and it's not a big deal, you stay and help me for a while, and when the matter stops here, if you still have this thought, then you stay, okay? ”

"Hmm!" Li Siwen saw that Li Mu didn't dislike him, so he was happy again, and seeing that Li Mu's chicken leg was almost finished, he quickly pulled another chicken wing and handed it over.

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and the autumn is slightly cool. The bonfire was set up again, and after many days of not seeing each other, the brothers naturally had a lot to talk about. In the dark, a little monk has been peeking here, the abbot old monk came behind him and patted him lightly on the shoulder, the little monk was startled and hurriedly saluted.

"Go, I can't hear anything from so far away, tomorrow you will go down the mountain, tell the female donor, her favor, the White Horse Temple is over, as long as the Hou Ye is in Luoyang for a day, the White Horse Temple will only be the head of the Hou Ye Ma is looking forward to the day, the situation is like this, the White Horse Temple can not go against the trend, but what, no one."