General Zhao smiled, "It's good to do this. It was good to open wasteland, but everyone felt that it was desolate here and was unwilling to buy the land here. Even if each person could get a reward of fifty acres, everyone wanted more money and didn't think about the wasteland that was opened here. With you, if you could grow food, perhaps more people would be willing to stay here."

This is the suggestion Li Yuanqing gave to General Zhao, but so far, the results have not been very effective.

The food and grass are transported from other places, and the consumption is huge on the way. If you can plant food on this vast land, you don’t need to mobilize all the food and grass from the pass. If the local area is not enough, you only need to mobilize part of it, which greatly saves manpower and material resources.

Therefore, after investigation, Li Yuanqing found some places suitable for reclamation, and let the prisoners clear the land and farm. Now that the land is open, we are waiting for the soldiers to stay voluntarily after the war is over.

"What the general said is, I'll give you a sample." Li Yuanqing smiled. After planting sweet potatoes, he began to grow corn.

There are fewer seeds of corn, and Liu Pan'er only sent less than 20 kilograms to Li Yuanqing.

Liu Pan'er told Li Yuanqing that intercropping of corn and soybeans can not only increase fertility in the land, but also increase yield and reduce pests and diseases.

Seeing the particles in Li Yuanqing's hand that looked like topaz, General Zhao asked: "Yuan Qing, what is this?"

Li Yuanqing replied: "Good General, this is corn, it is also a high-yield crop, which is relatively drought-resistant. A mu of land can also produce six or seven hundred kilograms of harvest. This is the amount after drying. It is easier to preserve than sweet potatoes and potatoes, and can be used as staple food. Corn can be eaten, corn stalks can be used as feed, mixed with soybeans, and can also raise land. However, there are not many seeds, so my wife didn't send me too much."

When he heard that he could be used as staple food and feed, with high yield and storage resistance, General Zhao was uneasy, "Can he really have such a high yield?"

Li Yuanqing smiled, "Facts are better than words. This is the yield grown in the south. I don't know how much yield is in the north. Anyway, I have a lot of money to buy land, and the fifty acres of land that can be allocated is enough for me to plant. If it succeeds, I believe that many people are willing to stay here. Only with more people can the northwest be solid and full of talents."

General Zhao deeply agreed, "Okay, with you as a good example, you should be able to succeed."

Li Yuanqing handed over the work to the old farmer who was responsible for managing the Zhuangzi, asked them to farm according to his requirements, and then accompanied General Zhao to walk around.

General Zhao was also rare to have a leisure time. Seeing Li Yuanqing following him, he asked, "Yuanqing, do you think we can get what we want this time?"

Li Yuanqing smiled and nodded, "Now we are winning steadily on the battlefield, which is a solid foundation for our Beijing negotiations. Now Your Majesty is firm and has enough food and supplies. If the other party does not agree, then continue fighting."

General Zhao laughed, "Okay, if you don't agree, continue to fight. After fighting for so many years, you have never been as happy and not as frustrated as you are now."

"Haha, I had to give the other party a reward even though I had won a battle. It was incredible to think about it." Li Yuanqing shook his head and laughed. Is the reputation of the Celestial Kingdom so good?

The best state is to make neighboring countries respect and fear.

General Zhao has been leading troops to fight, and his feelings are deeper than Li Yuanqing. Thinking of those depressing days, he wants to jump up and curse.

Fortunately, my brother-in-law got on the throne and was an emperor with great ambitions and hard work.

"Yes, it's really atrocity." General Zhao smiled, "But I will definitely not retreat this time. Lord Gu has a strong negotiation ability and a tough attitude. With us winning the battle ahead, Lord Gu will definitely be able to pursue the victory at the negotiating table."

Li Yuanqing nodded, "I hope this is the case. If we can act according to our previous plan this time, there will be no war in the northwest for ten to twenty years. After so many wastelands were opened, some of the soldiers stayed in the local area. The last general wants to resign from the general and return to Xunyang Prefecture."

General Zhao thought that on the day of his wedding, Li Yuanqing was ordered to be accepted by His Majesty to negotiate in the capital, and then came to the northwest to fight, which was really not easy.

General Zhao smiled, "Yuan Qing, I treat you as my nephew and younger generation. Stay here and you can be promoted faster. When I get older and can't lead troops to fight, this position is likely to be yours. Do you really want to give up?"

Hearing this, Li Yuanqing was not moved and smiled, "General, the Great Zhou Dynasty is full of talents, and Yuan Qing dared not make a contribution. Yuan Qing is not the only one who can defend the frontier in the northwest. However, it is not easy to train the navy and form strong combat power."

Hearing this, General Zhao was stunned, "Do you want to go to Xunyang Mansion to train sailors?"

Li Yuanqing nodded, "After the northwest stabilized, Your Majesty will naturally concentrate on training the navy. First, it is to crack down on pirates along the coast and some Japanese pirates pretending to be pirates; second, Hu merchants from all over the country came to Dazhou for trade, but the merchants in Dazhou rarely went out. Because there was no strong navy protection, they dared not go out. Our silk, tea and porcelain and other good things cannot be sold at high prices, and the huge profits in the middle were all earned by merchants from other countries."

Hearing this, General Zhao was stunned and looked at Li Yuanqing in surprise, "Yuanqing, I originally thought you could only fight, but I didn't expect you to know about trade. I also heard a Hu man say drunk in his early years that we should transport a piece of silk to Persia and other places at a price dozens or even hundreds of times the original price. Although the road is far away and difficult and dangerous, as long as you can transport things over, you can make a fortune and you will never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of your life."

Li Yuanqing nodded, "That's true. With more and more merchants going out, there is no complete tax collection system, and the opportunity to increase the treasury is wasted. I am familiar with the nature of the water and can train troops. When the war is over, the generals want to do this. Xunyang Mansion has many water and lakes, and there is also an outlet for the sea. It is the most suitable there, just close to Weichen's home. Whether it is official or private affairs, the generals can take care of it."

Li Yuanqing was grateful to General Zhao for his courtesy, so before leaving, he made it clear to General Zhao in advance and asked General Zhao to arrange in advance that others could find the right person to take over military affairs in the northwest after the war was over.

General Zhao had more thoughts in his mind, and his sister was the queen.

After the war, he, the general of the foreign relative, naturally had to return to Beijing and hand over the military power.

It is a great question to just give the military power to whom.

Even if it is not his direct line, the candidate cannot be hostile to the Zhao family.

General Zhao saw that His Majesty valued Li Yuanqing and trusted Li Yuanqing. In addition, Li Yuanqing had strong abilities, good character, and public confidence. He was relieved to hand over the army from the northwest into his hands.
Chapter completed!