Just as they thought, the land Tang Ping promised to rent to each family was indeed related to the food they donated.
This plain is not small. Almost every family is allocated thousands of hectares of land.
But more than a dozen aristocratic families only occupy more than 20,000 hectares.
You must know that according to later statistics, there are more than three million hectares of cultivated land in Egypt, two-thirds of which is about two million hectares in the Nile Plain.
More than 20,000 hectares is only one percent.
But even so, these aristocratic families are satisfied.
For the time being, they can only develop so much, and they can't take care of any more.
Then Tang Ping took them to the grasslands of North Africa. The grasslands at this time were really primitive, and they could see many ferocious beasts along the way.
However, Tang Ping was followed by thousands of cavalry, and even the largest wolf pack on the grassland only dared to stay away.
Although there are many ferocious beasts here, it is not difficult to graze as long as the land is fenced off and protected by armed guards.
In this place, Tang Ping does not restrict various aristocratic families. How much land they can enclose is their own business. Anyway, they can just collect 20% of the land and give it to the Tang government.
We had also made arrangements with various aristocratic families in advance that the Secret Service of the Tang Dynasty might make secret visits at any time. If any family concealed their harvest, they would not only have to pay a high fine, but their leasing qualifications would also be cancelled.
Even various aristocratic families can report each other. Once the report is verified, the disqualified land can be leased to the reporting family first.
In this way, under-reporting and under-reporting by major aristocratic families can be controlled to the greatest extent.
It can be said that the Datang Juhuasuan Land Viewing Delegation was quite successful, and all the aristocratic families were quite satisfied with the results of the inspection.
Then Tang Ping introduced the architectural plan here to everyone, so that these aristocratic families were gearing up and preparing to submit their own plans when they returned.
If we can win the construction order here, we can make a lot of money.
At this time, the Wang family looked at the map that Tang Ping gave everyone in their hands, and sighed: "The sea area we come to is called the Red Sea, right? It would be great if the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea were connected!"
"Yes, a big canal can be built here!"
One of the reasons for the demise of the former Sui Dynasty was the construction of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which was too eager for quick success and quick gains, resulting in a waste of people and money.
These patriarchs all lived from the Sui Dynasty to the present, so when they saw this location, they naturally thought of opening a canal here.
Tang Ping snickered in his heart, and then said with a grimace: "Who says it's not the case? As long as a canal can be opened here, our ship carrying grain and grass this time can sail directly to outside Damascus. You know, Damascus is only eight miles away from the Mediterranean Sea. It’s only ten kilometers.”
"It's a pity that Datang has invested too much manpower and material resources just in building the Ozhou Highway, and then it is about to prepare to develop the oil fields in Arabia. There really is no spare capacity to dig a canal here."
Sighing, he continued: "If a canal is opened here, it will be able to connect to the Mediterranean. When you go from Southeast Asia to Europe, you don't have to go around the entire African continent. You can collect tolls just by guarding this canal, and you can collect a lot of money." The bowl is full!"
We are all business people. Everyone knows how to choose whether to go around the African continent or pay the toll here and go directly to Europe.
"Ping Guogong, the Tang government doesn't have the energy to do it, so you can leave it to us!" The old man of the Wang family said with shining eyes: "As long as the government is willing to collect this toll with us, we aristocratic families can unite and put it together. This canal was dug out."
These aristocratic families have at least hundreds of years of heritage, and their hidden financial resources can be described as unfathomable.
If they united, it would indeed be possible to build a canal.
Tang Ping snickered in his heart, but he hesitated for a moment and said: "This... doesn't seem to be impossible, but if we all collect tolls together, how are we going to divide it?"
The elder of the Wang family looked at each other and other members of the aristocratic family, then walked aside to make a calculation.
After a while, he came back with his people and said: "50-50 split! We are responsible for digging the canal, and then we will split the future tolls 50-50 with the government?"
Tang Ping shook his head and said: "Fifty percent is too high, at most 30%! After you dig the canal, the subsequent maintenance and security work will be done by the Tang government? Just the garrison of troops on both sides of the canal will be indispensable. ."
"The 50% of the income collected by Datang requires a lot of investment in this, but you will just sit back and collect the money from now on. 50% is too high!"
"Thirty percent is not enough. Thirty percent is too little!" said the elder of the Li family, Tang Ping's cousin: "We have invested a lot for this first time. We will almost have to empty our family funds. How much will it cost?" Just look at the construction of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal by the Sui Dynasty."
"It's really only 30%. If I promise more than 30%, my cousin, you know, my second uncle will have to pluck out my skin when he goes back!" Tang Ping said pitifully.
"No, 30% is too little. If it's 30%, we don't know if it will take hundreds of years to recoup the cost, so it's better not to do it." The boss of the Wang family usually has a close relationship with Tang Ping, but when it comes to his family's interests, He refused to give in even an inch.
No matter how Tang Ping pretended to be pitiful or offered them a pie to calculate his income, they were unwilling to give in.
It is stated that they need at least 40% of their income.
Just when the negotiations reached a deadlock, Tang Ping said: "Steam engine technology, if you only need 30%, I will share the steam engine technology with you within five years."
I am about to develop Arabian Oil. In the future, gasoline engines will be the mainstream, and steam engine technology will not be so important.
Therefore, Tang Ping had discussed with Li Shimin early in the morning that after gasoline engine technology began to be invested, he would slowly open up steam engine technology.
But this is just not that important to Tang Ping and the Tang Dynasty government. It is different for these aristocratic families.
They can also buy a limited number of steam locomotives, so they naturally know the advantages over horse-drawn carriages.
Not to mention the warship they came on this time. The steam-powered warship was more than a little stronger than their sailboat.
This does not include the application of steam engines in other industries such as farming and mining.
If Tang Ping is willing to share steam engine technology, the strength of each family will inevitably increase greatly.
Hearing Tang Ping's words, the chiefs and elders of several aristocratic families breathed rapidly. Although several elders did not ask the patriarch for instructions, they also knew that such an opportunity was rare. After everyone looked at each other, they nodded firmly to Tang Ping. Ping said: "Okay, deal!"
