Chapter 411: Promoting Potatoes

"Leather boots."

Niu Ben and the other generals immediately became alert.

Lu Fei then asked, "Your Highness, what are leather boots?"

Right now, the Qingzhou army all wore cloth shoes. The dark green uniforms did not look quite right with these shoes, so Xiao Ming planned to develop a leather shoe industry in Qingzhou.

After all, leather boots are more durable than cloth shoes, and with a layer of wool inside, they can keep soldiers warm. This way, soldiers would not fear the cold.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Developing the shoemaking industry could also create many jobs in Qingzhou and help absorb the flood of refugees. Besides, Xiao Ming had a complete process from raw cowhide to finished leather boots.

"It's hard to explain now. When the boots come out, you will understand," Xiao Ming laughed.

The generals sighed softly.

Besides the food problem, Pang Yukun spoke about the current situation of settling refugees, development in various counties, and the income and expenses of the region over the past year.

Overall, thanks to the support of many merchants during the northern campaign, Qingzhou’s finances were in surplus this year. The extra money was invested in infrastructure and public facilities.

For Xiao Ming, his advantage was spreading knowledge. So, education was especially important. The more talents there were, the more they could be assigned to various industries to promote development.

Next, Xiao Wenxuan reported on the government office itself.

After Xiao Ming suggested that officials should focus on their own duties and gave Pang Yukun a government office organization textbook, the office's functions were further detailed.

According to Xiao Ming’s plan, each prefecture office would be like a city government, with departments for construction, agriculture, commerce, etc., managing the region more precisely. This would reduce the concentration of power and prevent unprofessional interference.

"Hmm, overall, all matters in the region are progressing well. Not bad," Xiao Ming said excitedly. Then he looked at Li Kaiyuan and said, "Kaiyuan, I signed a commercial agreement in Chang’an this time. From now on, the royal lands, Wei Wang and Yong Wang will not tax the merchants. The merchants are free from heavy taxes. You must work hard to expand the profits of the merchants."

"The agreement is signed!" Li Kaiyuan almost jumped from his chair, excited. "Your Highness, is this really true?"

"Of course," Xiao Ming tapped on the table. "I am fully supporting your merchants. If you cannot bring me enough profit, be careful or I will punish you."

Li Kaiyuan laughed. "Your Highness, if the agreement is signed, the merchants’ profits will triple. Rest assured, if I can’t bring triple the profit, I am ready to lose my head."

Xiao Ming nodded. "Good, you know what to do."

Li Kaiyuan smiled happily. This commercial agreement was not just about tax exemption. At the same time, Qingzhou merchants were granted extraterritorial rights at the agreement signing location, meaning they were not subject to local laws, avoiding wrongful arrests by local officials.

Compared to tax exemption, Li Kaiyuan valued this more because there had been several cases of merchants being arrested and extorted by local officials. That was why Xiao Ming added extraterritorial rights in the agreement.

After understanding the basic situation of the region, Xiao Ming ended the meeting but kept Li Kaiyuan and Pang Yukun.

"Your Highness, did you keep us here because of the potatoes?" Pang Yukun asked.

Xiao Ming nodded. "Yes, the potatoes have arrived. Now we need to promote them. Your office is responsible for spreading potatoes to all parts of the region. Li Kaiyuan and I will try to sell some potatoes."

"Sell? Your Highness, even with three thousand acres and thirty-two shi per acre, that’s only ninety-six thousand shi of potatoes. The region itself cannot even use that much. Why sell?" Pang Yukun asked urgently.

He treated potatoes like a treasure and was very protective.

Xiao Ming had his reasons. Potatoes are not easy to store. Normally, they can be kept for a few months without sprouting. Once they sprout and turn green, potatoes become poisonous and cannot be eaten.

Also, Xiao Ming knew that when potatoes first appeared, they were a high-end food eaten only by nobles. That meant the price was not cheap. They should make money while potatoes were still new.

After Xiao Ming explained, Pang Yukun understood.

"How about this: sell sixteen thousand shi out of the ninety-six thousand shi, use some good potatoes as seeds for next planting, and use the rest as food for the army and academy?" Xiao Ming suggested.

Pang Yukun nodded. "Good. If the potatoes become famous, many merchants will come to buy next year’s harvest."

Li Kaiyuan thought about how much to sell the potatoes for. He said, "Your Highness, since the potatoes are delicious, why not sell them at thirty taels of silver per shi?"

"That price is dozens of times more expensive than rice. Merchants might not buy. How about this: the merchants post the potato news, and I will have the newspaper focus on potatoes. We will also put a giant potato symbol on the hot air balloon," Xiao Ming said.

The three agreed and returned to prepare.

Xiao Ming went back to the palace and wrote an article introducing potatoes. He also wrote about potato care, like not eating green sprouted potatoes and how to store them.

He did this just like before when he made the newspaper publish instructions for coal stove use, to avoid accidents caused by misuse.

After finishing, he sent the article to the newspaper for overnight printing.

Meanwhile, Pang Yukun went to the slave plantation. On this day, Kui Wu kept harvesting potatoes. Pang Yukun asked about the yield again.

This time, Kui Wu chose good quality potato seeds to plant. Because of uneven fertilizer, yields varied: some fields produced twenty shi, others more than thirty shi. Overall, it was still good.

Three thousand acres produced about ninety thousand shi.

Li Kaiyuan returned to the merchants’ association and immediately spread the news about potatoes among merchants. He also posted a notice at the merchant hall, officially launching potatoes as a new Qingzhou product.

The next day, when the newspaper came out, the word “potato” immediately became a hot topic in Qingzhou city. The giant potato symbol on the hot air balloon flying over Qingzhou attracted sharp merchants who immediately smelled business opportunities and hurried to the merchant hall.