Ch.268Knowledge (9)

Yelu Chucai and the young scholar with the same name quickly became close friends due to their shared family background.

They even met separately to talk after the chancellor Yelu Chucai finished his work at the House of Wisdom.

“So, Your Excellency originally had a different name?”

“That’s right. I was originally Yelu Zhilugu, but Lord Temujin gave me a new name.”

“I see you have such a background.”

The young scholar nodded.

“I feel like I’ve only talked about myself. May I ask about your circumstances?”

At the chancellor’s question, the scholar adjusted his posture before answering.

“I was originally about to begin my career as an official in the Jin Dynasty. However…”

The young scholar Yelu Chucai was a descendant of the Yelu clan.

However, since his grandfather’s time, his family had adopted the values of the Central Plains people rather than those of nomads.

Following this natural progression, they came to serve the Jin Dynasty.

Since both Yelu Chucai’s grandfather and father were high-ranking Jin officials, Yelu Chucai also took the Jin civil service examination.

He passed the examination with top honors and had planned to work for the Jin Dynasty like his father and grandfather.

“With the war between the Jin Dynasty and the Ulus, I suddenly became unemployed and spent quite some time studying Buddhism at a temple near the Great Capital.”

“You must have resented the Ulus.”

“No, that’s not the case.”

Though the young scholar claimed it was fine, his eyes told a different story.

The chancellor Yelu Chucai understood his sorrow and didn’t press further.

“That’s fortunate. Did you join the Buddhist order?”

“No, I simply stayed there and studied Buddhism as an academic pursuit.”

“Then would it be correct to say you specialized in religious studies?”

“In a way, yes. However, I became more interested in herbs and crops there, and I chose this path over Buddhism.”

The unemployed Yelu Chucai acquired much knowledge at the temple.

This was possible because Buddhism essentially served as the center of learning during this period.

For this reason, much knowledge was accumulated in temples, and Yelu Chucai, who had studied administration, was able to encounter new fields of study there.

“I see you have such a background.”

“Haha. Thank you for listening to my story, Your Excellency.”

The chancellor thought for a moment before addressing the young scholar.

“Since we’ve made this connection, may I ask how old you are?”

“I was just able to put up my hair this year.”

“Then you’re one year younger than me.”

Understanding this, Yelu Chucai immediately made a fist-and-palm salute and showed proper respect.

“I pay my respects to the elder of our clan.”

“Thank you. Since we’re from the same clan, would you mind if I consider you my younger brother?”

“It’s an honor to have Chancellor Yelu Chucai of Western Liao as my elder brother.”

After some additional conversation, they moved on to the main topic.

“I don’t know much about agriculture. However, I have the responsibility and duty to solve the food problem as ordered by Gurkhan. I heard that beans are good for soil recovery—do you know anything about this, Jinqing?”

Young scholar Yelu Chucai’s courtesy name was Jinqing.

Usually, courtesy names were used by clan elders or close friends, so it was appropriate for Yelu Chucai, who was higher in the family hierarchy, to call the young scholar by his courtesy name.

“Yes, elder brother. According to Buddhist texts and Western Region documents, beans are typically planted to restore soil fertility when farming.”

“Explain in detail.”

“Well…”

In the first year, millet or barley is planted first, followed by rice or wheat.

In the second year, beans or red beans are planted, followed by a short fallow period.

This way, three crops could be harvested in two years, making the overall efficiency 1.5 times better than before.

“That’s a good method, but it doesn’t seem more efficient than the double-cropping that Gurkhan has advocated.”

Gurkhan’s proposed method was to plant barley followed by rice.

Being unfamiliar with agriculture, Yelu Chucai naturally thought they could simply plant barley and rice again the following year.

“I apologize, elder brother, but after double-cropping, the entire field must rest the following year.”

“What do you mean?”

“As crops grow, the soil becomes dry and loses its vitality, making it difficult for fruits to ripen properly. Planting barley before rice to maximize efficiency is good, but if you use up all the soil’s nutrients in one year, even if you plant seeds the next year, you won’t get a proper harvest.”

Yelu Chucai, who knew little about farming, nodded at Jinqing’s explanation.

“I see. I overlooked that.”

“It seems Gurkhan made this decision to maximize grain production in anticipation of the war with the Song Dynasty.”

In fact, Yesugei was aware of this.

But his knowledge was limited to double-cropping information from games.

So he didn’t know about triple-cropping.

Unaware of this, Jinqing couldn’t imagine that the great Gurkhan wouldn’t know such things. So he made assumptions and continued.

“However, this would inevitably delay recovery after the war ends.”

“I see. Then what are your thoughts?”

At this, Jinqing rose to his feet.

He went to the study and returned with something from a book.

Then he showed it to Yelu Chucai.

“What is this?”

“It’s a crop I obtained from a Western Region scholar. It’s called clover there.”

“Clover…”

Yelu Chucai looked at the strange foreign plant with curiosity.

“Clover has strong vitality like a weed and grows quickly wherever it’s placed.”

“If it’s a weed, wouldn’t it deplete soil fertility?”

“That would be true for ordinary weeds. But this clover is more like a bean plant.”

“Are you saying it’s similar to beans?”

Jinqing nodded at Yelu Chucai’s question.

“It’s edible but contains toxins, so it’s best to avoid eating it.”

“Then it’s no different from a weed.”

“It may be useless to us, but this plant can be used as feed for horses, cattle, and chickens.”

“Feed… could it be?”

“Yes. I was thinking, what if we plant clover during the fallow period at the end of the last quarter after the three harvests in two years? Then…”

“Horses, cattle, and chickens would eat the clover and defecate.”

“That would make excellent fertilizer.”

At Jinqing’s words, Yelu Chucai’s eyes lit up.

He grabbed Jinqing’s hand and stood up.

“We must go to His Majesty right away.”

* * *

The magnificent city, Great Capital.

I was the emperor living the most splendid life in the Great Capital.

With absolute power in my hands.

“Yet there’s nothing I can do.”

I said this while watching my three wives enthusiastically shopping before me.

“This would suit my younger sister.”

“Oh my, elder sister. Thank you.”

“It suits you too, elder sister.”

Ho’elun, Sochigel, and Abd Chechek.

The three wives essentially lived like sisters.

They would often disguise themselves as nobles and go out with me for “civilian inspections.”

But these were essentially shopping trips in all but name.

“So you called me to be your sisters-in-law’s porter, brother?”

Seeing Munglig’s resentful expression, I gave an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry, but isn’t it too much for me to carry all this alone?”

I pointed to the numerous bags in my hands.

Munglig responded as if dumbfounded.

“Couldn’t you leave it to the Kheshig?”

“The Kheshig are there to protect my wives and me, not to be servants, right?”

What would happen if an assassin attacked while the Kheshig had their hands full with bags?

Naturally, they wouldn’t be able to respond properly.

So there was nothing more foolish than assigning the role of porter to bodyguards.

“You’re always so strict about these things, brother.”

“Is that praise or sarcasm?”

“It’s respect, brother.”

I chuckled at Munglig’s words.

Anyway, the pleasant(?) outing with the three women came to an end.

After the outing, my wives looked at me as if they were hungry.

“Shall we eat something?”

“I’m hungry.”

“I’m hungry.”

“…Then let’s return to the palace…”

“We’re on a civilian inspection, shouldn’t we know what the people eat?”

“That’s right!”

“The street food looks delicious.”

“…”

At times like this, they seemed like women in their twenties.

It was cute in its own way, so I couldn’t really complain…

“Brother, your smile is reaching your ears.”

“Pretend you didn’t see that.”

“Yes, yes.”

Anyway, we decided to look for a decent restaurant nearby with my wives.

“Shall we look for a crowded place, brother?”

“No, wouldn’t that inconvenience the people? Let’s find a moderately quiet place.”

When the emperor suddenly appeared, the people suffered.

Honestly, even though we disguised ourselves as nobles for our “civilian inspection,” it was still obvious.

In such a situation, going to a crowded place would inevitably lead to people recognizing us.

So we needed a suitable restaurant where, even if that happened, it wouldn’t cause major confusion.

“Understood.”

After saying this, Munglig gave instructions to the Kheshig with hand gestures.

The Kheshig, disguised as noble guards, began searching for restaurants.

“If we send the Kheshig, who will protect us?”

“For now, don’t worry, brother, I’m here. And there are others over there.”

Munglig said this while pointing to the rooftops.

Masked Kheshig revealed themselves.

“Isn’t it just a matter of time before they’re discovered with those masks and muscular builds?”

“Still better than not having them, isn’t it, brother?”

That’s true.

It was better to have them than not.

Anyway, after a while, one of the Kheshig approached me.

“There’s a suitable restaurant not far from here, Khagan.”

“What kind of establishment is it?”

“A place that sells noodles, dumplings, and fried dishes.”

In modern terms, it was like a casual dining spot.

It was a restaurant where ordinary people ate, making it suitable for our “civilian inspection.”

“Good. Let’s go there.”

We made our way to the restaurant.

When we arrived, the restaurant owner, thinking we were nobles, greeted us with respect.

“Welcome, my lords. How would you like your seating…”

“Show us to a suitable place.”

At Munglig’s words, dressed as a guard, the restaurant owner bowed repeatedly.

As he left, I looked around the restaurant and couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

“What’s wrong, brother?”

“It feels like one of those taverns that often appear in martial arts novels… Never mind. Don’t worry about it.”

Munglig rolled his eyes, not understanding my words.