Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Now it seems, could Luo Yanzhi be Luo Yanqing's father? The timing seems to match up...

If that's the case, then according to the saying "like father, like son," Luo Yanzhi's skills are not bad either...

"My cousin knows one of the two unique spear techniques of the Luo family. He wields a plum blossom spear and his spear skills are extremely formidable."

Qin Zhi said.

How does it compare to you?

"He's even better than me."

Qin Zhi's martial arts skills were already quite remarkable, but Luo Yanzhi is even more skilled than him, making him an exceptional talent.

"Back then, the Luo family became famous for their spear technique, which was modified from Jiang Wei's spear technique during the Three Kingdoms period. From Luo Yi and Luo Cheng to Luo Tong and Luo Zhang, the Luo family spear technique was passed down through generations and became even more refined and powerful. Starting with the brothers Luo Chang and Luo Ying, the Luo family spear technique evolved into two different styles."

"Luo Chang's modified Plum Blossom Spear technique was even more swift. He transformed all his spear techniques into an offensive style. Based on his continuous practice of the Returning Spear and the Seven-Petal Spear, he created a set of Plum Blossom Spear techniques. This set of spear techniques was mainly based on power, requiring speed and strength. There were not many moves, and it was basically possible to defeat the enemy in three moves. When this set of spear techniques was passed on to Luo Jian, Luo Jian passed it on to Tantai Yu and Zhang Churang. Finally, through Tantai Yu, this set of spear techniques and the Yuwang Spear technique were passed on to Li Cunxiao, which led to Li Cunxiao's reputation of never being able to return the spear three times on horseback."

"This man is someone Liangshan must have!"

The more Li Hanxiao heard Qin Zhi say this, the more he wanted to get his hands on Luo Yanzhi.

"Fortunately, our two families have been on good terms for generations. I have seen their plum blossom spear before and know its weaknesses. I might as well tell Brother Li first..."

"No!"

Before Qin Zhi could even open his mouth, Li Hanxiao interrupted him.

"In that case, even if I were to fight him and win, it wouldn't be considered honorable. Instead, I would be suspected of being a petty person. Firstly, he certainly wouldn't be convinced of my abilities if I used such methods. Secondly, if he finds out that you helped me, I'm afraid it will cause a rift between you brothers!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhi, known as "Golden-Faced Buddha," sighed with admiration, "A true man is upright and honorable! Brother Li is indeed an upright man."

"As a person, look at this vast expanse of water, which can be attacked or defended at will. However, if one does not act with benevolence and righteousness and does not follow justice, one will absolutely not be able to defend it!"

Li Han smiled and pointed to the pool, then suddenly remembered Chao Gai's place in Dongxi Village. So he said, "Brother, I just remembered something. Would you like to come with me to take a look?"

"I'm willing to accompany you!"

Thus, Qin Zhi, the "Golden-Faced Buddha," led by Li Hanxiao, crossed the marshland directly and rode his horse straight to Chao Gai's manor in Dongxi Village.

Upon arriving at Dongxi Village, Li Hanxiao discovered that Chao Gai's manor was constantly bustling with activity. Shi Yong, the "General Shi" who had been assigned to help Chao Gai, was leading a group of people to fence off a newly reclaimed field to prevent wild animals from damaging the crops in the future.

"Brother Shi Yong, where is Chief Protector Chao?"

Li Han smiled and rode forward to ask.

"It's the chieftain..."

"Oops! I forgot what to call it?"

Li Hanxiao immediately interrupted Shi Yong, saying that calling him the chief in this place was tantamount to introducing himself.

Shi Yong then realized what was happening, slapped his forehead, and said, "It's Manager Li, Manager Li! Look at my memory! Chao Baozheng is in the manor discussing the land purchase with the buyer. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't take you two with me. Please go ahead!"

"it is good!"

Li Hanxiao then led Qin Zhi directly to Chao Gai's manor, just as Chao Gai was seeing off the people who sold the land out of the manor, and the two groups bumped into each other.

"Oh! It's you two! Please come in! Serve some tea!"

Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," immediately summoned the two to his main room, ordered tea to be served, and brought out several plates of snacks and fruits.

"How much land has the village head acquired these days?"

Li Hanxiao asked.

“Originally, my estate had eighty acres of land. Later, I bought land and wasteland, and now it has a total of two hundred acres, but forty acres of it have not been cultivated.”

Chao Gai calculated for a moment, then answered.

"Two hundred acres is not a small amount, but you can never have too much land. If you can buy more, you should."

Chao Gai shook his head and said, "That won't do. The land near Dongxi Village is limited. All the good land is already owned, and there's very little wasteland that can be cultivated. We really can't buy any more."

"Alright, we have to take things one step at a time, so let's start slowly."

After Li Hanxiao finished speaking, he looked down and glanced at several plates of fruit, which were mostly plums, peaches, and pears.

However, something else on the plate caught Li Hanxiao's eye. The plant was cut into thin strips, in two colors: red and white. The white strips looked a bit like radish strips, while the red ones resembled the color of red dragon fruit from later generations...

Li Hanxiao knew that dragon fruit originated in Central American countries such as Panama, Cuba, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Colombia, and was introduced to China from Southeast Asia much later, so this thing could not possibly be a red-fleshed dragon fruit.

So, Li Han chuckled and grabbed one, chewed it, and tried to see what it was.

It's crisp and refreshing on the palate, with a slightly sweet aftertaste, somewhat like a carrot, but not quite as crisp.

Moreover, Li Hanxiao felt that this thing tasted like a plant he had seen in borscht in the north in his previous life—beetroot.

"Lord Bao, what is this?"

Li Hanxiao immediately asked.

Chao Gai smiled and said, "A few days ago, a group of merchants from the Western Regions Uyghurs came here, selling spices and wine vessels. They also brought this, which is a common vegetable there. I tried one and thought it tasted good, so I bought two baskets to try."

"Quickly, bring those two baskets out so I can see them!"

Li Hanxiao's hurried expression surprised "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai, but he still had the servants carry out the two baskets of things.

Li Hanxiao picked up one of each from the box and examined them carefully. The whole plant was smooth and hairless; the roots were large; the basal leaves were large, while the stem leaves were smaller; the flowers were small, and the seeds were flat and biconvex, one with a brown outer skin and the other with a red outer skin.

These are just regular beets and red beets!

Li Hanxiao felt like he had struck gold!

In later generations, sugar beets became an important economic crop. Their leaves and roots are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Sugar can be extracted from sugar beets, making them one of the main sugar crops in later generations.

Although sugarcane is used more, sugar beets are very cold-resistant and extremely suitable for planting in the north, which is perfect for the Shandong region where Liangshan is located.

Although Li Hanxiao remembered that there were later claims that "around the 3rd century AD, sugar beets were already being cultivated in the Yellow River basin of my country," and that the Taiping Huanyu Ji also recorded that sugar beets were introduced to China from the Arab country of Maltuz around the 5th century AD, it seemed that this was not true. After all, Li Hanxiao had lived in the Song Dynasty for so long and had never seen sugar beets at all.

It seems more likely that sugar beets were introduced between the 8th and 12th centuries AD. After sugar beets were widely cultivated in Persia and ancient Arabia, their cultivated varieties were then introduced from their place of origin to the Caucasus, Asia, eastern Siberia, India, China, and Japan.

However, the cultivation of sugar beets as a sugar crop began in the latter half of the 18th century, and has only a history of about 200 years in later generations.

The beetroots that Chao Gai bought from those Uyghur merchants were beetroots that had flowed in from the Middle East. However, they did not know that this stuff could be used to make sugar, but instead ate it as a vegetable, like a radish!

However, for Li Hanxiao, this thing was a highly profitable cash crop!

Sugar beets are quite cold-resistant, so they are more commonly found in places with relatively high altitudes where sugarcane cannot grow normally. Li Hanxiao is very familiar with the sugar-making process of sugar beets. In this era, sugar is not only a very scarce condiment, but it can also play a significant role in weapons research.

Originally, Li Hanxiao thought that if they wanted to make sugar, they would have to wait until they conquered the humid and sugarcane-growing areas of Jiangnan. Now it seems that this is completely unnecessary, as sugar beets are a good substitute.

"We can't eat this! We absolutely can't eat it anymore! King Chao, have forty acres of land specially designated for growing this stuff!"

Li Han smiled and said.

"This, is it meant to be eaten as a dish?"

Chao Gai asked.

"No, this stuff can be used to make sugar!"

"Make sugar!"

Chao Gai was somewhat skeptical. Although this thing tasted a little sweet, it didn't seem like something that could be used to make sugar. It looked more like a radish root!

In his later life, Li Hanxiao was a northerner. When he was a child, he visited a sugar beet factory, carefully observed the process, and still remembered the principles.

Beetroot is easy to grow and hardy. Simply scatter one or more beet seeds evenly on the ridge at a certain plant spacing and cover with a thin layer of soil to plant.

As for the sugar-making principle, it's quite simple. The beets, which are cut into thin strips, are transported by machine to a large water tank. The water temperature in the tank is maintained at about 70°C. This temperature effectively breaks down the sugar components in the beets, leaving most of the sucrose in the water.

To ensure proper contact, the shredded beets are typically placed on a rotating shaft to come into contact with the downward-flowing hot water. The resulting sugar water remaining in the tank is called raw juice.

Although there were no machine production lines in the Song Dynasty, the above steps could still be performed manually.

Finally, the sugar syrup is extracted and evaporated. However, the sugar syrup from beets is still brownish-red in color at this point, and it is not the same as white sugar in the traditional sense. It looks rustic and cannot be sold at a high price.

However, the ancients had already solved this purification problem long ago, and could use the "yellow mud water leaching method" to purify white sugar.

The main principle of the "yellow mud water rinsing sugar method" is adsorption and decolorization. This is a sugar-making method recorded in the Ming Dynasty book "Tiangong Kaiwu". It means that by rinsing crystallized brown sugar with yellow mud water, you can get "foreign sugar" that is as white as snow.

The method is quite simple: boil the sugar over a fire until it becomes a dark yellow syrup, then pour it into another vat to solidify into brown sugar. Prepare another vat with a clay funnel on top. Block the funnel opening with straw, pour the brown sugar into the funnel, and wait for the black sugar to solidify. Remove the straw, then pour yellow mud water over the brown sugar in the funnel. The black residue flows from the funnel into the vat below, leaving white sugar in the funnel.

The principle behind this is based on the adsorption properties of yellow clay, so similarly, other substitutes with this function can be used.

Although the white sugar produced by this method cannot compare with modern sugar, its appearance and taste are far superior to the sugar of that time.

Salt, iron, sugar, and tea are all highly profitable businesses. However, Li Hanxiao is currently not near the sea and has no salt mines or salt wells, so he really can't get salt. Iron is even more out of the question, and tea is a product of the south. Right now, only sugar can make him rich.

"It can't be explained in a sentence or two, King Chao. Listen to me, first get me the seeds for these things, plant them, and when they produce something, send someone to tell me. I will personally come and guide them in making sugar! This stuff is extremely important, so we must cultivate it properly!"

Li Hanxiao earnestly advised Chao Gai. Chao Gai knew that Li Hanxiao was far superior to him in both literary and military skills. Since he said that this stuff could be made into sugar, it must really be true. So he ordered someone to send down two baskets of beetroots and do as Li Hanxiao said.

"By the way, how's the house construction going?"

“If it doesn’t take winter, the current houses are fine, but the winter will definitely be cold and unbearable.”

Chao Gai replied.

"This won't do. Whether it's a shack or a mud house, people will freeze to death if it's not kept warm in winter. We need to speed things up, otherwise we won't be able to settle the refugees when they arrive..."

Li Hanxiao's words piqued the interest of "Golden-Faced Buddha" Qin Zhi, who then asked, "What does Chief Li want to do by attracting refugees?"

“Naturally, I would have them come to the manor to farm for me, and I would provide them with food and lodging, and even pay them wages, so that they would not be displaced.”

Li Hanxiao's idea was to provide work relief instead of food relief. If you just give food and money to the refugees, firstly, they can't survive, since they are in a foreign land and the world is not peaceful. Secondly, it doesn't solve the problem of time; they have no property or jobs, and they will still starve to death after they finish eating.

"Oh……"

Qin Zhi, the "Golden-Faced Buddha," didn't quite understand this model. After thinking for a while, he finally figured out the deeper meaning behind Li Hanxiao's actions.

"Brother Li, are you trying to teach someone how to fish?"

"I guess so, but I think if they can survive here, they might not want to leave."

Li Han smiled and said.

"What if many refugees come, and you don't have enough food and supplies? Wouldn't you be unable to make ends meet?"

Qin Zhi, known as the "Golden-Faced Buddha," had seen refugees before. These refugees weren't just young adults fleeing famine; they often brought their entire families with them. If you took in young adults but not their families, they would definitely object.

"You don't need to worry about that. First of all, whatever this person grows is mine, and I can sell it for money. As for the refugees, the men are responsible for farming, while the women and the elderly can do other things..."

For example, sugar making is something that elderly people and women with poor health can do. Later, when cotton is grown, it is carded and spun into cotton thread and cotton cloth using a spinning machine. These are all jobs that women are very good at.