Most of Liangzhou has a desert climate, with long sunshine and large temperature differences. There are frequent droughts, so there are not many crops suitable here.
But the advantage is that the sunshine time is long and the sunshine resources are sufficient, so it is more suitable for the cultivation of wheat and flax. At this time, there was not even corn in Yinzhou.
single!
Still too single! Not only are they single, but most of these crops are annual crops, that is to say, they can only be planted and harvested once a year.
Under such circumstances, coupled with the barren land in Yinzhou, the biggest problem has naturally become the people's hunger.
"How is the reclamation going?"
Liu Zheng asked Liang Erfu while riding his horse.
Liang Erfu said respectfully: "Sir, reclamation is a century-old plan. The people ignored the wind and snow, and thousands of acres of new fields were reclaimed in Yinzhou!"
Thousands of acres...
Liu Zheng nodded and said with a smile, "Do you have any other questions?"
Liang Erfu smiled bitterly and said: "Of course there are difficulties. Master knows that it is a good thing to have land, but there is a problem of insufficient manpower... Recently, those noble families have left a lot of idle farmland because of the resignation of tenant farmers, and they have bought slaves from other places."
"Oh? Is there still such a thing?"
Liu Zheng was happy when he heard this.
This should be considered in the past. Because of the situation caused by the liberalization of reclamation policy, it would be strange if the prominent families did not come to the county magistrate to put pressure on it. Nowadays, noble families do not dare to disobey the county princes, but due to the excessive cultivation of farmland, the tenant farmers who have been cultivating the land for these noble families have resigned, forcing these noble families to start buying slaves to cultivate the fields.
Of course, this is not a bad thing for Yinzhou.
In this era, population is the biggest dividend! Slaves can also consume and give birth, and Yinzhou will naturally develop accordingly.
but.
We can't just see the good side, we must also see the several problems that this matter has highlighted.
First of all, there is the problem of too few people in the sky. This is what Liu Zheng will solve next.
Secondly, there are a series of subsequent problems that will occur due to the influx of a large number of slaves into Silver State. For example, how to manage, this must be a reminder to the noble families. Also, will the entry of slaves bring plague? This is also a top priority! In this era, there are no vaccines or immune systems. People who have lived in each place for a long time will have different antibodies in their bodies when they go to another place, and it is easy to breed different viruses. This is the phenomenon of acclimatization.
In ancient times, there were several large-scale deaths caused by plague.
It seems like we should set up a medical department!
Liu Zheng rubbed his temples. Only then did he realize that managing a territory was so troublesome.
"After the heavy snow, we have to consider farming matters. Erfu, you can't stay in Yinzhou during this period."
Liu Zheng said.
Liang Erfu was stunned: "What do you mean, Master?"
Liu Zheng nodded and smiled: "You need to go out and purchase some crop seeds. Especially this time, I want you to go to the central Sichuan area and help me find things called red potato and potato!"
"Red potato? Earthy potato?"
Liang Erfu had never heard of it.
Liu Zheng chuckled and explained what the red potato looked like. In fact, this sweet potato is a sweet potato! According to Chinese historical records, sweet potatoes are an imported product and were introduced to China from overseas in the Ming Dynasty. actually not! Liu Zheng once read in "Qing Yi Lu" written by Tao Yi of the Song Dynasty, "There are many potatoes south of Wuling. They are connected in pieces and weigh dozens of kilograms. They are extremely sweet and fragrant. But because they are mostly in deep mountains and deep valleys, people Most of them feed themselves and are never sold to outsiders.”
In other words, sweet potatoes have always been available in China!
It's just that this crop has not received people's attention, let alone large-scale planting. Currently, it is still a wild vegetable.
As for Tuya, Liu Zheng actually didn't have much hope.
Because this is a potato, that is, a potato.
This is something truly native to South America. Liu Zheng cannot guarantee whether it has come to this land at this time. "Taro, also known as Huang Du, has creeping leaves like beans, a root as round as a chicken egg, and a white inside with yellow skin... It can be cooked or steamed. You can also boil taro juice and wash greasy clothes, and it will be as white as jade." In "Agricultural Policy" The first record of potatoes in "Quanshu" was already in the Ming Dynasty.
I don’t know when potatoes came to this space.
But there is no doubt that these two crops are suitable for planting in Yinzhou! There is no other reason. There is only one crop in Yinzhou, which is wheat. It is planted and harvested once a year. But potatoes and sweet potatoes can be grown twice a year, and the yield is amazing!
The production cycle of sweet potatoes is 160 to 200 days, but Liu Zheng can use his own technology to achieve two harvests of sweet potatoes a year!
The most important thing is.
Sweet potato is a crop that is relatively drought-resistant and rich in protein, starch, pectin, cellulose, amino acids, vitamins and various minerals. In other words, it is a crop with very balanced nutrition, even more than wheat. It can be used as the main food preparation!
Nowadays, the situation in the world is becoming more and more subtle, and there are many vassal kings.
If Liu Zheng wants to gain a foothold in this troubled world and even achieve something, he must have a large number of elite soldiers! To raise an army, you must first have food and grass! Just imagine, others harvest grain once a year, but he can harvest it twice. What is the concept?
"Go back and make preparations. Go to the County Marquis' Mansion to collect a thousand taels of travel expenses. Make sure you find one of these for me!"
Liu Zheng immediately ordered.
"Sir, the two blessings will definitely live up to your expectations!"
Liang Erfu didn't talk nonsense, and rode away with fists in his hands.
Liu Zheng rode a horse again and went around in a circle. He did not forget to visit the salt land that he had longed for.
This made him almost unable to hold back, and he had to study how to mine the lake salt and mine salt! But he still held back because he knew that now was not the time.
Things like salt are under the highest control of the Longyan Dynasty. If he mines it privately, it will inevitably cause shock to the government and the public. By then, he may not even know how he died.
Therefore, before mining these salts, he must have the power to protect himself!
There’s a long way to go!
Liu Zheng laughed at himself.
The most important thing now is to solve the farming problem. Liang Erfu went out to look for seeds this time, and it would probably take a long time to come back. There were no planes in this day and age. It would take at least several months to go back and forth to the south.
Therefore, he still has to solve the farming problem for now.
“If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools!”
Liu Zheng just said this today, so he naturally wanted to find a solution from this farm tool.
Drive!
Along the way, horses galloped.
"Sir, are you thirsty? Come down and drink some water!"
"Long Blessed Mr. Liu!"
"We, the whole family, would like to thank you for your great kindness!"
Along the way, looking at the weather, Liu Zheng was still inspecting the farmland. The farmers were all very enthusiastic. Liu Zheng was still very satisfied.
If the people's sentiments are like this, what should he fear?
This time, he came directly to the Cao family.
"Oh, the young master is here, and it is a sin for me to miss him from afar!"
Cao Zhen walked over to greet him. He seemed to be still drinking in the house. When he heard Liu Zheng's arrival, he immediately ran out in disheveled clothes.
"No need to be polite, Mr. Cao. I came here this time to see the Cao family's farm tool workshop."
Liu Zheng chuckled.
Cao Zhen looked excited: "Young Master must have something good to teach me!"
Cao Zhen raised his arms and shouted, and a group of servants followed behind and took Liu Zheng's horse aside. Cao Zhen personally took Liu Zheng to the farm tool workshop in the backyard of Cao's family. As soon as the county prince arrived, the entire Cao family was shocked. All the young ladies came to see what this famous young master of the Liu family was like.
For a while, the Cao family was quite lively.
Liu Zheng did not show up and greeted them.
This made several young ladies from the Cao family blush.
Cao Zhen didn't mind and said with a smile: "Where do you want to see first, Master?"
"just looking around."
Liu Zheng wanted to know about the farm tools of this era. For plowing, naturally he had to look at the plow first! There were many cattle and horses in Yinzhou, and the plow became the most important farming tool.
"Sir, this is the Zhiyuan Plow's workshop!"
In the workshop, some carpenters are working, and the wood is ready at the door.
Liu Zheng took one look and immediately laughed.
Got it!
Then start with this plow!
"Sir, is there something wrong?"
Cao Zhen looked at Liu Zheng's expression and asked.
Liu Zheng nodded: "The straight shaft plow is a bit backward and needs to be changed!"
"What?"
Cao Zhen was stunned.
The carpenters also put down their work and came out, looking at Liu Zheng with evil eyes: "Who are you, talking so shamelessly here?"
"This straight-shaft plow can do twice the result with half the effort. How can we change it?"
"Young kid, don't talk nonsense!"
The carpenters were very angry. This craftsmanship is their bread and butter. You want to change it if you want?
Cao Zhen was startled and said angrily: "Shut up, this is the county prince!"
The carpenters' expressions changed slightly, but they still snorted coldly.
No matter who it is, it’s impossible to question them!
The young ladies of the Cao family also laughed when they heard Liu Zheng's words. This straight shaft plow has been used by the Longyan Dynasty for more than a thousand years, and no one has thought about changing it. What is Liu Zheng doing?
Cao Zhen also smiled bitterly and said: "Sir, we can't change this! This year, Yinzhou has been reclaimed, and a lot of the Cao family's tenant farmers have left. Without the straight-hook plow, there will be no one to plant a lot of fields!"
Liu Zheng wanted to say that you deserve it. Who asked you to enclose so much land, but he still smiled on his face: "I said it was a change, I didn't say not to produce."
"How to change it?"
"Do you know about farm tools?"
Those carpenters are no longer doing their jobs. Are you questioning our expertise?
"Is there a field?"
Liu Zheng didn't waste any time and asked Cao Zhen next to him.
Cao Zhen immediately said that not far away, there was a fertile farmland in the backyard of Cao's family.
Liu Zheng asked someone to come to the field with a straight-shaft plow.
At this time, the young ladies, servants, carpenters, and the tenant farmers of the Cao family gathered around to watch the fun.
"What is he going to do?"
"Who knows!"
"Haha, this kind of young man can recite poems and compose poems correctly, but how does he know about farming?"
People scoffed.
Cao Zhen was also dumbfounded. He originally thought that Liu Zheng was here to deliver business to the Cao family, but he didn't expect that this young man was just here to play?
"Plow it over and show me!"
Liu Zheng ordered.
Cao Zhen sighed helplessly, ordered two oxen to be brought in, then set up the plow and plowed the field.
Liu Zheng shook his head frequently.
Two cows, no cows!
The operation is difficult and time-consuming!
Too heavy and laborious!
The cultivated land is too shallow and troublesome!
"alright."
The ox goes before the plow.
A group of people looked at Liu Zheng, waiting for his next instruction.
"Burn it."
Liu Zheng's words were astonishing.
Everyone changed their colors.
