Chapter 228: Ideal
Editor: Atlas Studios
The yield of corn per acre was quickly calculated. It was 658 catties, merely 138 catties higher than that produced by the Mu family’s low-grade land in spring. Not only Qi Xiuyuan and Qi Haoran, but even Mu Yangling was not very satisfied with this.
However, there was less rainfall in the second season and the fields were only watered once. In addition, the sunlight was far inferior to the first season, so it was understandable.
Qi Xiuyuan kept all the harvested corn in the West Camp’s storerooms, filling two storerooms.
Of course, these corns could not all be used as seeds. They had to be screened. Moreover, they had to discuss how much to give the emissary to bring back to Lin’an Prefecture.
Minister Qin had written a secret letter to the emissary, hoping that he could bring all the seeds back. Even if he couldn’t, he had to bring most of them. Unfortunately, the letter was intercepted by Qi Haoran before it could reach the emissary’s hands. Then, it went to Qi Xiuyuan’s desk.
Qi Haoran had a perfect explanation for this. “I’m investigating the spies left behind. That person was riding a tall horse and was not from the relay station or the Imperial Court. I thought he was a spy, but who knew that he was Minister Qin’s man?”
Qi Xiuyuan picked up the envelope and looked at it. Seeing that the envelope had been opened, his brother had obviously read the letter. He asked, “Where’s that person?”
“He fell off his horse and died while attempting to escape.”
Qi Xiuyuan looked up at him and put down the letter. “Since he’s not good at riding, that’s none of our concern. Go back and keep an eye on the roads in Mingshui County. Make sure you don’t let those spies slip through. As for the emissary, I’ll explain it to him.”
Unconvinced, Qi Haoran said, “Big Brother, Qin Fang is too nosy. We have so many seeds, but he actually wants all of them.”
Qi Xiuyuan snorted and said, “So he might not live long. Go back. The seeds have been selected. The Shen family will come in a few days to take a third of their share. Be careful not to let the emissary know.”
“Big Brother, how much do you want to hand over to the emissary?”
“The remaining half.” Qi Xiuyuan said, “Jiangnan isn’t small either. However, it’s known for fishing and rice production, and has convenient water conservancy facilities. So, there’s really no need to plant corn there. On the other hand, things aren’t going well in Chuangui this year. I don’t know how much the Imperial Court is willing to share with them, but we definitely have to share some of the remaining half. There’s also Xingyuan Prefecture. Dai Wei and Lu Ji have already asked them to send someone over. I have to leave some for them. Also, in addition to the share allocated to the military households, I have to give some to the commoners…” Qi Xiuyuan had already planned in his heart. Even if there was really a drought next year, he couldn’t let people plant corn on all the land just to ensure harvest.
Therefore, wheat and rice also had to be planted. Most of the high-grade land and medium-grade land had to be used to plant wheat and rice. The rest would be used to plant corn.
Qi Haoran calculated in his heart and said, “Big Brother, I want to raise horses.”
“Aren’t you raising your ‘little pony’ now?”
“No, I want to raise a large number of horses.” Qi Haoran looked at him seriously and said, “Big Brother, the Hu cavalries are powerful. Previously, after we attacked the city, if our cavalrymen could keep up, their commander wouldn’t have escaped. If we want to take back our homeland, we have to train our cavalrymen. Although Hanzhong Prefecture was previously occupied by the nobles of the Jin Kingdom, they did raise a lot of pasture despite ruining plenty of good farmland.”
Qi Xiuyuan frowned at him. “This will disrupt the people’s livelihood…”
“Big Brother, I don’t want to occupy the people’s farmland to raise horses, but I want you to give me a piece of land to raise horses. Even Jingzhao Prefecture and Pingyang Prefecture have horse farms. Why can’t we build one in Hanzhong Prefecture?”
Qi Xiuyuan said, “The horse farms were all built by the country and governed by the Imperial Court. Why would you set up a horse farm in Hanzhong Prefecture?”
“The horses in Fen Prefecture don’t belong to the country, for instance. If the Imperial Court wants to buy horses, they even have to secretly do business with them. Big Brother, we have to beg for the horses raised by the Imperial Court to get them. If you ask for ten horses, he will give you one. In that case, it’s better for us to raise the horses ourselves. In less than five years, we can build a cavalrymen…” Qi Haoran’s eyes lit up. “Hanzhong Prefecture isn’t far from Jingzhao Prefecture. As long as there are horses, we can go back and forth the two places. We can even take a detour to Hua Prefecture to attack from the east. Attacking from both sides will give us a high chance of taking back Jingzhao Prefecture.”
Qi Xiuyuan’s hand on his lap couldn’t help but bend slightly. He tapped his thigh with his fingers and said after a while, “Do you have money?”
Qi Haoran raised his head and said proudly, “As long as you agree, I can get the money.”
Qi Xiuyuan chuckled and thought for a moment before waving his hand. “Alright, before the new magistrate of Hanzhong Prefecture takes office, I’ll circle out a piece of land for you first. That was originally used by a noble of the Jin Kingdom to race horses. It’s at the foot of Mount Elephant 30 miles northwest of Hanzhong Prefecture, spanning about 300 acres. Outside Mount Elephant is a grassland. However, there’s also danger there—there’s no barrier to keep the people of the Jin Kingdom and the Xixia Kingdom from entering and exiting. Whether you can keep the horses depends on you.”
Qi Haoran’s eyes lit up. Qi Xiuyuan continued, “I know that you and Zijin plan to use the money from doing business to help me feed my soldiers, but you should keep that money for yourselves. You’re all grown up now, so you have to have your own private savings. I have my ways.”
Previously, Qi Xiuyuan didn’t say it because he was glad that these two little ones were considerate and knew to share his burden. However, seeing that their own matters were in a mess and they had a bunch of things to do, he didn’t intend to tease them anymore.
Sincerity was what counted. The little money the two of them had earned was not even enough to fill the gaps between the teeth of the army. He was feeding 70,000-odd soldiers, not 7,000-odd. Their money would be gone in just a day if they were going to pay for his army’s rations.
Qi Haoran scratched his head and chuckled. He turned around to look for Fan Zijin, who was pounding the ground. “Why didn’t Cousin say so earlier? I’ve already informed Butler Chen to come back. If he had said so two days earlier, I would have asked him to use all that money to buy goods. That way, he wouldn’t have to transport the silver back.”
However, Qi Haoran’s eyes lit up. “That’s fine too. I’m planning to buy foals.”
Fan Zijin glared at him. “Don’t you already have a horse?”
“I plan to build a horse farm to raise horses.” Qi Haoran told him his plan and said, “I’ve already asked Bai Li to find someone who knows how to raise horses for me. When the time comes, I’ll bring people to the foot of Mount Elephant to build fortifications and houses. The horses will be raised there. That was where the Jin Kingdom’s nobles raced their horses previously. Even the pasture is ready-made. There are also many houses, which saves a lot of trouble.”
Fan Zijin stroked his head and asked, “Are you joking? Do you know how much a horse costs? How many can we afford? Besides, don’t we have to spend money on fodder? We’re poor now.”
Qi Haoran widened his eyes and looked at him. Fan Zijin couldn’t stand his round eyes and sat on the chair. “It’s fine if you want to raise horses, but not this year or next year. You have to give me time. Let’s do it the year after next. When I earn enough money, I’ll buy you hundreds of horses at once with sufficient fodder. What do you think?”
Qi Haoran counted with his fingers and shook his head. “No, it’s too long. After buying the foals, I still have to raise them for two to three years before they can be of use. I also have to train the cavalrymen. That’s too great a delay.”
“Haste makes waste.”
“It’s precisely because I know that time is precious that I want to take back my homeland in my lifetime.”
Fan Zijin glared at him. “Why do I feel like you’ve been possessed by General Yuan? All you think about is reclaiming your homeland.”
“General Yuan is someone I admire.”