Qiao Yan’s immense interest in yams was something Xi Zhicai couldn’t miss unless he was blind.

She said she was asking about planting yams on the hillside, but in reality, it seemed more like a verdict than an inquiry.

Xi Zhicai briefly imagined the yams on the surrounding slopes causing him to break out in rashes and felt a bit dizzy.

But upon further thought, regardless of how yams grew, the edible part was underground.

What he saw towering above was just a green patch, nothing that would make him want to flee Le Ping burdened with a skin condition.

He simply asked, “How are yams planted?”

Unlike yams and other crops, at least in Xi Zhicai’s understanding, farmers had never systematically planted yams.

However, it was clear that Qiao Yan wasn’t oblivious to this matter.

Her idea of ​​planting yams wasn’t because she happened to catch this crop; it was the most suitable choice for her.

She replied, “A few months ago in Jizhou, I met Mr. Yuanhua. Besides mentioning the medicinal properties of yams, he also talked about their propagation through tubers.

Since yams have the effect of tonifying qi and spleen, he was quite interested in this matter. Some neighbors of his had experimented with it, and I happened to ask a few questions about it at the time.”

Qiao Yan’s calm expression completely concealed from Xhi Zicai.

After using Qiao Xuan as her baseless reason, Hua Tuo, the famous physician known for his debate with Zhang Jiao, who had indeed met her,

Became another banner she used to bolster her argument.

But no one could go to Hua Tuo to verify the truth of her claims.

By the time she left Jizhou, Hua Tuo had already resumed his travels as a wandering doctor.

She continued, “Sir, you can rest assured that I’m not doing this as a mere pastime.

As Mr. Yuanhua said, yams have an extremely high yield per mu, and they provide a strong sense of satiety when eaten.

Given that there hasn’t been enough manpower to cultivate these mountainous areas in the past, and now we have surplus grain, it’s worth a try.

If successful, this endeavor might extend far beyond just this county.”

“However—”

Qiao Yan’s gaze fell on Xi Zicai’s hand, still affected by the rash, and she asked, “Sir, is it just the skin of the yams that bothers you, or can’t you eat the yams themselves?”

“Is there a difference?” Xi Zicai asked bewilderedly.

He had to admit that although he had extraordinary skills in strategic planning, when it came to farming and medicine, he was truly clueless.

So that evening, the “sample” that had facilitated Qiao Yan’s decision to plant yams became an ingredient stewed in soup.

No matter how primitive the cooking methods were in the Han Dynasty compared to later eras, simply boiling soup didn’t seem to pose any problems.

To prevent this strategist, who seemed to be digging his own grave, from having any issues due to a small yam, Qiao Yan extremely cautiously invited a county physician to be present and only allowed him to consume a small amount.

Seeing no allergic reaction, Qiao Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It’s worth noting that besides being able to alleviate famine, she chose to plant yams because of their medicinal value.

The early demise of Xi Zhicai was undoubtedly closely related to the prevalent malnutrition of the time, coupled with his lack of attention to self-care.

Qiao Yan dared not experiment recklessly with medicinal supplements without a skilled physician present.

However, dietary supplementation was worth a try.

Now that she saw he had no allergic reaction, Qiao Yan couldn’t help but relax a little.

But deciding to plant yams wasn’t something that could be achieved just by saying so.

She had previously felt that the process of planting yams was somewhat troublesome, which was perfect for tempering the impulsive emotions of these bandits.

Now she had to start preparing more for these troublesome matters.

For example, the land.

In modern times, under conditions where fertilizers can reasonably restore soil fertility, yams require a rotation period of two to three years, let alone in the ancient times with many shortages of conditions.

Being able to restore fertility to a level sufficient for yam growth within five to ten years was already considered good.

But what Qiao Yan wanted was to quickly accumulate a batch of supplies that could serve both as food and medicine.

The fields where yams were planted could also be filled with soybeans afterward to restore nitrogen elements, or simply left fallow for two years.

In this way, the high yield of yams could compensate for this drawback.

Moreover, in the unpredictable times of the late Han Dynasty, only what was in her hands was practical.

Of course, while this was true, considering that there would still be some trial and error in the first year, Qiao Yan decided to divide the suitable mountainous areas for yam cultivation into two parts and plant them over two years.

This was also the first time Xi Zhicai saw Qiao Yan personally make a terrain model since he started advising her.

He finally understood why Yang Xiu had reacted that way back then.

But when he saw this model, it wasn’t because he intended to use it for warfare, but because of farming reasons.

He couldn’t quite put his finger on why it felt off.

Perhaps he was simply drawn to the attention to detail of the highly accurate terrain model, which distracted him from this strange feeling.

“This area will need to be plowed during the autumn and winter seasons this year,” Qiao Yan said, pointing at the model.

“Area,” Qiao Yan pointed to the area she had marked with flags, saying, “The remaining part will be used for planting in the second year.”

This was also the first task she intended for those Black Mountain bandits to undertake.

The planting of yams required deep plowing and fine tilling in the previous winter, which meant these strong laborers had to tidy up the designated area marked by Qiao Yan and pre-determine the positions of ditches.

Of course, this was just the land; they still needed to find yam tubers for planting.

Fortunately, the Taihang Mountains were naturally suited for yam growth, especially in areas covered by the Qin River and the Yellow River, which were the original habitats of the iron rod yam.

Collecting enough tubers for planting before the end of October was achievable.

While searching, the bandits also had to build the “warehouse” Qiao Yan intended to use for storing the yam tubers over winter, prepare enough fine sand, and prepare materials to support the yam vines in the coming year.

In addition, they had to complete Qiao Xuan’s temple before winter so that Captain Bao Hong could return to Luoyang.

Considering all this, the number of bandits was just enough.

However, calling them Black Mountain bandits wasn’t entirely accurate anymore.

After all, these people were now fish caught by her under the guise of providing them with food.

Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call them the Black Mountain labor reform team.

Shortly after being captured by the military and civilians of Le Ping County, the remnants of the Black Mountain bandits who had remained in the Taihang Mountains were also coaxed down.

Of course, coaxing might not be the most appropriate term, as Qiao Yan’s promise was to provide them with enough food in exchange for their labor, which she hadn’t violated.

However, these people who had come down from the Taihang Mountains had to be divided into several groups according to Qiao Yan’s instructions, with no direct contact between them.

As a result, although their numbers were considerable when combined, they had no chance to collectively steal food and then escape.

Zhang Niujiao felt a bit frustrated.

He was a bit more daring, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t see that everyone involved in building the temple here was quite satisfied with the current work arrangement,

Especially since the county officials Qiao Yan had brought in distributed food according to their workload.

Under this fair distribution, even though he used to be the head of the Black Mountain bandits, he couldn’t get an extra bowl of rice at mealtime.

He could only try to work as quickly and efficiently as possible during the day, just like everyone else.

In such circumstances, he couldn’t help but think that there was probably no chance for him to incite them all to escape.

After all, if one could make a living by working, who wouldn’t want to earn money through their skills?

Although most people who turned to banditry were driven by a sense of opportunism, wanting to taste the thrill of plunder in chaotic times,

When the majority of them chose to follow the rules, they would indeed become more restrained due to peer pressure.

But… the food here is quite good.

Zhang Niujiao earnestly praised.

The temple, which had already been two-thirds completed, quickly reached its completion within ten days with such efficient manpower.

The inscriptions on the “Monument to the Late Grand Marshal Qiao”

and the “Yellow Mace Inscription,” written by Cai Yong,

As well as three lengthy inscriptions, had already been copied onto stone by Cai Yong and sent to Jinyang City by Qiao Yan to be completed by skilled craftsmen.

Now, they had been sent back.

Qiao Yan touched the engraved characters on the monument erected in front of the temple and couldn’t help but sigh silently in her heart.

Although there was no longer Qiao Xuan in this world, the praise of him as “firm but not ruthless, awe-inspiring but not fierce, known for his benevolence and always upholding righteousness” would surely be passed down through the ages.

As for her? What kind of evaluation would she leave behind in the future?

Qiao Yan had no way of knowing the answer to this question.

She only knew that she was walking on a steady path of development for Le Ping.

What role this gradually developing Le Ping would play in the turbulent times not far from now, she couldn’t give a definite answer.

But there was no use in overthinking it.

For now, all she had to do was to assign those who had originally built the temple to other labor projects after dismantling and scattering them.

So, as Zhang Niujiao passed through Le Ping County, he saw Chu Yan learning to weave bamboo baskets and was then taken to the place where the warehouse for storing yam tubers was being built.

According to Qiao Yan’s words —

Since it’s all in the construction industry, it might as well be considered a skill learned through practice.

Zhang Niujiao felt that, after training in Le Ping, he might be developing from a bandit leader to a construction craftsman, and Chu Yan also had a high probability of graduating from the weaving industry.

What a turn of events!

After finishing the whole bowl of rice, he listened to the steward talk about the expected high yield of yams that would be planted in Le Ping County next spring.

If it weren’t for this, they wouldn’t be feeding these potential bandits.

Zhang Niujiao listened intently, still finding it somewhat unbelievable.

But perhaps it was because he had been captured by Qiao Yan, he felt that nothing she did would be surprising, even as a young county lord.

Maybe she could really get it done.

So he thought for a moment and found himself another reason to stay here.

He had to learn first how to plant this special and highly productive plant, and then take the opportunity to escape with people.

In this process of explaining his actions or trying to convince himself, September of that year arrived.

As September progressed into the season when the yam was ripe, Qin Yu and Xu Fu received a task from Qiao Yan to go to Huaiqing Prefecture, and returned to Leping in the latter half of September.

There were quite a few wild yams in Huaiqing Prefecture.

Apart from the ripe yams they carefully pulled out and brought back, they also harvested a handful of yam beans.

From the perspective of planting, these should be called pearl sprouts, which can also be used for planting, but most of these grown yams are used as planting stems, which take about a year.

So, when there were already enough stems, it was better to use these yam beans as a dietary supplement.

Later, after learning from Qiao Yan that yam beans also have the function of invigorating the spleen and replenishing deficiency, this thing became a snack for Xizhicao to go with wine, making her eyes widen.

It was hard for her not to feel like she was watching someone drink ice-cold cola at this moment, feeling like it had no energy.

It was fortunate that although Leping had not stopped the research on the liquor industry, it had not developed the brewing industry either. It was almost impossible to let Xizhicao drink excessively in one go.

While Qiao Yan was thinking about using yam skins to suppress his drinking, he directed the laborers to place the yams in the previously built warehouses, and then piled them up with a layer of fine sand and a layer of yams, to be stored until next year.

After all this was done, it was already October.

It was also in this month that news from the capital reached Leping County.

Due to the previous Yellow Turban Rebellion, there had been earth-shattering effects on the various states and regions of the world.

The Emperor of Han, who was within the Eight Passes, decided to change the era name to Zhongping, to show his aspiration to suppress the remaining forces after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and perhaps it could also be considered as a belated celebration of the execution of Zhang Jiao, the leader of the Yellow Turbans.

But whether it was for the above reasons or for the sake of auspiciousness, in any case, the seventh year of Guanghe now had another way of calling it, called the first year of Zhongping.

Changing the era name often meant amnesty, and it also meant that there would be changes in positions in Luoyang City.

No matter how comfortable Bao Hong felt in Leping with little pressure, he had to return to the capital as soon as possible because of that bit of ambition.

But before leaving, Qiao Yan asked him to take a letter to Luoyang.

“What is this letter for?”

“Lieutenant Bao, please deliver this letter to Minister Bi Lan.”

Qiao Yan pointed to the already established mountain area and said, “I heard Mr. Yuan Hua say before that this yam doesn’t need much water when it breaks the ground, but it needs plenty of irrigation when the branches and leaves are lush. Unfortunately, Leping is not as easy as Huaiqing Prefecture in this matter.

“Minister Bi Lan has some extraordinary ideas in construction craftsmanship. I would like Lieutenant Bao to deliver this letter, so I can ask him if there is any invention that can be useful here.”

This matter wasn’t troublesome at all, so Bao Hong immediately agreed.

But Bao Hong never expected that his agreement would turn him into a laborer, and Qiao Yan wanted to send the letter not just to Bi Lan.

When he left Leping, his entourage also included gifts for Fu Shou, for Ma Lun, for Liang Hu, for Grand Commandant Yang Ci…

And, a box he was to present to His Majesty, along with a memorial jointly written by Qiao Yan and several advisers after discussion.