In the Governor's Mansion, next to the water pavilion, Su Ping and Li Kun stared at the things in Su Yun's hands.
"Click"
Su Yun took a bite, and with a crunching sound, Su Yun ate the small piece cleanly.
"Is this a specialty of Jiangzhou?"
Li Kun looked up and down.
Su Yun shook his head at the two of them: "It's not really a specialty, this thing is called sweet potato.
Today I went to the city to play, and Mingyue bought it from an old man’s stall. The old man said that both of his sons died in the war. The family only has a few acres of thin farmland. In order to feed his grandchildren, the old man even sold it when his hair and beard were all white.
thing."
"Mingyue, go wash up and bring a few over. Our Governor Li and Governor Su were reprimanded and wanted to vent their anger by eating."
Mingyue covered her mouth and walked away with a smile.
Not long after, Mingyue came over with two maids and placed several trays on the waterside stone table.
In the tray, there were not only washed sweet potatoes, but also some seasonal fruits, apples, and pears, filling the tray.
Mingyue's cheeks were full of smiles: "The mansion is not rich either, so the two governors will make do with what they have."
Su Ping picked up a sweet potato and took a bite.
"Well, not bad, the taste is okay, sweet."
Li Kun also picked up one and bit off a large piece in two or three bites: "It's a bit sweet, quite crispy, and the taste is okay."
"Kacha kacha"
In a short time, the two of them had eaten most of the sweet potatoes on their plates.
Li Kun ate and put it in his arms: "I'll take it back and give it to Xiaomi to try. Her mother and I have never eaten anything so delicious. Well, I'll get some pears and apples too. Xiaomi will definitely be happy."
Su Yun rolled his eyes at Li Kun and said, "You are the commander of an army, and your salary is enough for his wife to eat and drink well. Why are you not willing to buy even an apple?"
Su Ping was also holding apples in his arms: "Er Yun, you are not a master. How do you know our difficulties? With so many generals and commanders under your command, it is inevitable to eat and drink on weekdays. You come and go, how can your salary be enough to supplement your family income?"
"Then do I want to give you some more money?"
Su Lu's voice sounded from behind.
The two of them jumped up in fright.
"I still have to go back and cook for her mother and daughter. I'm leaving first."
"Today, several brothers who have been promoted to ministers are inviting us to dinner. I can't afford to be late."
The two of them ran away quickly, one after the other.
After falling softly on the waterside pavilion, Su Lu glanced at the two people who had left, and asked Su Yun:
"Li Kun has finally gotten married. Su Ping is now so old that it's time for him to start a family. Xiaoyun, when you go around with the families of distinguished officials, you should also inquire more about Su Ping to see if there is any suitable girl for Su Ping."
Su Yun took a pear, took a bite of it, and spoke slowly.
"Of course there is a suitable one, but Su Laosan doesn't want to. The wife of Marquis Anyuan and the old lady from Duke Ningguo's mansion came to me to complain. Su Laosan has high eyesight and looks down on the girls in other houses.
"
Su Lu's eyes suddenly froze. He looked at the sweet potatoes on the stone table and ordered: "Mingyue, bring that over here and let me take a look."
Sweet potatoes are a good thing. They are produced in large quantities. They are eaten raw, cooked, cut into slices and dried in the sun, and ground into flour and steamed into steamed buns.
Mingyue picked up a sweet potato and handed it to Su Lu: "Your Majesty, the eldest lady and I went out to play today. We saw an old man selling sweet potatoes on the roadside, so we bought them all. Both of his sons died in the army.
Very pitiful."
Su Lu took a bite and saw that it was indeed a sweet potato. Although the taste was a bit off, not sweet enough, and not watery enough, it was undoubtedly a sweet potato.
"Oh, does the old man only sell sweet potatoes? Are there any other things for sale?"
Su Yun casually took out a round potato from his pocket and said: "There is also this one, but I can't eat it. The old man said this thing can't be eaten because it is bitter, but it grows by itself every year, and occasionally some will sneak in."
Inside the sweet potato.”
Su Lu took the potato, his face full of ecstasy.
Sweet potatoes and potatoes are two extremely high-yielding crops that are durable in storage and easy to transport. For Han, who lacked productive land, these were good things.
Su Lu told Tudun: "Tomorrow, follow Miss and Mingyue to buy all the potatoes and sweet potatoes from the old man's hand. Also, write down the names of the old man's two sons and search the entire army.
Find these two boys, keep them alive, and let the boss go home."
Qingfeng asked from behind: "What if only one is alive?"
"Then go home."
Su Lu said without hesitation that both brothers were in the army. Both of them were worried that no one would take care of their families if they died. If they refused to die in the war, their fighting power would naturally not be strong.
Su Yun looked at the potatoes in his hand: "Brother, these sweet potatoes are not bad. Why did you buy the potatoes?"
Su Lu took the potato from Su Yun's hand, which was not much bigger than his thumb, and raised it, his face full of pride.
"This is a good thing. It can be eaten as a vegetable or a steamed bun. It is easy to store and transport. It is a natural military ration."
…
Fifteen days later, Su Lu arrived in Shangshan County.
Before the driver entered the county government office, Su Ping and Li Kun came up with a group of lieutenants and generals.
Su Lu was lifted off the carriage and sat on the soft platform. He saw Zhou Yuan among a group of generals and lieutenants.
This Zhou Yuan was quite fast. He was asked to transport the military rations to Shangshan within thirty days. Unexpectedly, he was able to finish it in half a month. He was indeed a capable official.
After entering the county government office, Su Lu ordered the soft bags to be placed in the middle hall, and a group of generals and captains came in.
Su Lu asked Zhou Yuan, who was the last one to come in: "Old Zhou, how much military rations have you delivered so quickly?"
Zhou Yuan's face turned red, and he cupped his fists and saluted Su Lu: "This will let you know that Zhou Yuan has failed to meet your expectations this time and failed to deliver military rations."
Su Lu was stunned when he heard this: he failed to deliver military rations.
Su Ping yelled from the side: "Master Zhou said, if you want military rations, you will lose your life. Let me, Su Ping, see how many bags of military rations his head is worth, chop it up and exchange it for military rations."
Su Lu frowned and asked Zhou Yuan: "Why, Anton's tax burden this year has not been collected?"
Zhou Yuan had a bitter look on his face: "Your Majesty, Anton's harvest this year is too bad. The mountains are in chaos. Most of the crops have been ruined. The people have been carried away. They didn't plant well in summer and autumn, and they couldn't harvest well either. Everyone is so poor that they can't even open the pot."
, how can we collect this tax burden?"
"Taking a step back, even in normal times in previous years, if there were no mountains to cause trouble, everyone's harvest would not be much better. Anton has many hilly lands and relies entirely on the weather. In the past two years, there has been little rain, and everyone's harvest has not been good.
.”
Su Lu nodded. The biggest shortcoming of ancient agriculture was that it depended on the weather, and manpower could only do so much.
However, disobedience cannot be taken lightly.
"Zhou Yuan, you are disobeying your orders. Why do you think I dare not chop off your head?"
"thump"
Zhou Yuan knelt down and looked at Su Lu: "Your Majesty, it's not that I, Zhou Yuan, want to disobey. It's really the people of Anton who are living a miserable life. Your Majesty, if you have a way, you can solve the problem of food shortage in Anton."
, that means that thousands of families will give birth to Buddhas.”
Su Lu looked at Luo Xuan next to him: "Is there any military rations available in Xiting? If there is no food in Xiting, we don't even have to fight this battle."