The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 174

Seeing that the food in the military camp was running out so quickly, Xu Tian thought of the large amount of potatoes and grain that Buck had compensated him with, and simply advised the border general: "General, if there is always a shortage of food, why don't you lead the soldiers to grow food together?"

"Grow grain?" The border general paused.

When the adjutant saw Xu Tian say this, he smiled wryly: "We're all soldiers who go to the battlefield, how would we know how to grow food... Besides, what kind of food can be grown here?"

Xu Tian pointed to the 500 jin of grain: "These potatoes grow fast and have a high yield, so they are suitable for planting here. If you don't know how to grow grain, I can teach you."

The border general pondered deeply.

If the army grows its own food, then there will certainly be no need to worry about the imperial court not providing enough food in the future.

However, this batch of grain is to be transported back to Chang'an. If it is not enough, how will Xu Tian explain himself?

Thinking of this, he said to Xu Tian, ​​"Grand Tutor Xu, you need to take this grain back with you, so let's forget about it."

Xu Tian smiled slightly, shook his head, and said, "It's alright. These crops are meant to be grown anyway, so it doesn't matter where they are. If His Majesty needs them, once the grain is all grown, I will naturally give His Majesty double the amount. Rest assured, His Majesty will be overjoyed."

"really?"

“Of course.” Xu Tian nodded seriously. “Don’t worry.”

Seeing Xu Tian's reaction, the border general was relieved.

After Xu Tian saw that he had agreed, he turned around and went to the cart loaded with grain, carefully turning it over bit by bit.

He hadn't taken stock of the grain beforehand, so he didn't know its condition.

Looking at it now, the potato is quite large and not rotten at all.

Other carts carried wheat and some fruits from the Western Regions.

Suddenly, he saw a wheat seed that was different from the other wheat seeds.

These seeds are particularly large, much larger than other seeds, and also brighter in color.

Xu Tian immediately collected the wheat seeds, intending to try planting them later to see how their yield differed from other wheat seeds.

He then selected several dozen more potatoes that were moist and easy to grow and gave them to the border general.

The border general and his adjutant held the potatoes, their faces beaming with smiles.

Just as they were thinking about how to eat them, they heard Xu Tian say, "Let's plant these in the soil."

"...plant them all in the ground? Aren't they for eating?" The adjutant was dumbfounded.

He never imagined that these potatoes were meant for planting, not for eating.

He originally thought that those were the seeds to be planted.

"How do we plant these?" the adjutant asked.

"Wash them clean, then cut them open, put them in the soil, and water them," Xu Tian said.

"Is this... really possible?" The border general asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, that's fine." Xu Tian nodded with certainty.

The two exchanged a glance, and seeing his confident expression, they found themselves somewhat inclined to believe him.

"By the way, these potatoes need to have a sprouting opening. I'll demonstrate for you." Xu Tian said, taking the potatoes and then drawing his adjutant's sword.