Yan Ling didn't care about what happened in the palace, even though an informant had already revealed it to him.
After handling the relevant matters, he returned to Ningbo Mansion.
This is his foundation. Once the world changes, this is what he can truly rely on.
He often looked up at the sky, watching the dynasty's luck across the world becoming increasingly thin.
He knew that that moment was getting closer and closer.
Since the Guoben War, the family has entered a period of rapid development.
Now, it is very powerful.
There are already factories all over the city.
The largest number of them is the textile industry, and brocade cloth is after all the leading product in this area.
In addition, there are also scattered factories such as glass production. Glass is also a product finally developed by Tiangongyuan after exhausting its efforts.
Although at this time, Yan Ling has passed the time of urgent need for money and has not been able to use it to make the first pot of gold, but fortunately, now he can also add icing on the cake. Who would think that money is too much? What's more, they can also increase the family's influence.
The most important point is that in the first year of Wuxing, the steam engine was finally successfully developed.
However, the original steam engine just developed is still very crude, and the energy it provides is not enough to be used in various fields. You must know that after the steam engine appeared in history, it took a hundred years of improvement before the steam engine that was widely used in later generations appeared. .
But even the original steam engine has surpassed Europe by many.
Especially because of the drag of the war, Western countries have invested a lot of money in the war. Many of their developments are far behind the original time and space, let alone their families.
And these primitive steam engines were not completely useless. They were transported to the mines and used to pump underground water.
Of course, it’s not just the few coal mines controlled by the family.
Private mining has always existed and has been banned repeatedly. As an important part of the interests of scholar-bureaucrats, the court generally would not ask more questions, and such things cannot be banned.
So in the later stage, Yan Ling also ordered his family to mine private minerals and get a share of the pie.
Over the years, they have also owned several gold and silver mines. Although the scale and quantity are far less than what the family harvested in Japan, after the steam engine was applied, the speed of groundwater extraction has been greatly improved, and in terms of efficiency, it is Far superior to the rest everywhere.
A further steam engine is under urgent research and development, and it is said that it has already been developed.
Listening to the introduction from the clan elder next to him, Yan Ling nodded with satisfaction.
It seemed that after he grasped the general direction of development, the family's development was quite smooth.
At this time, the carriage finally arrived at the boundaries of Fucheng.
He did not rush into the city, but first came to the town under the jurisdiction of his family. Over the years, because it has not been affected by major wars, and medical and other issues have been fully kept up, the population has increased greatly.
Comparable to some county towns.
In fact, these towns are very different from other towns in Ming Dynasty.
Each town has a complete range of functions, including doctors, blacksmiths, schools... everything is available, comparable to a small town.
As for the townspeople, although they cannot be said to be wealthy, they at least have enough food and clothing.
Looking at the rosy faces of the common people, Yan Ling couldn't help but praise:
"You guys did a great job."
The clan elders around him were flattered and lowered their bodies even lower.
They came to the fields again.
"How's the harvest lately?"
he asked the farmers working in the fields.
Seeing that the people in front of him were all dressed in extraordinary manners, the farmer knew that he had met a big shot, so he respectfully replied:
"Thanks to the blessing of King Jingping, the local weather has always been good and the climate is suitable. Rice grows very well. With two crops a year, there is more than enough wealth."
"However, the best thing is the sweet potato, corn and potato seeds that were distributed in the clan a few years ago."
Having said this, the farmer's face showed a visibly excited look.
"They can grow in barren lands and have extremely high yields, so here we generally replace the crops in poor fields with these, and the harvest has increased several times."
"If it had been two or three more years, I might not have enough money to buy a new house."
It's no wonder that the farmer was so excited. The American crop seeds distributed within the family have created great benefits for the townspeople of the family.
In fact, Yan Ling had already obtained sweet potatoes and other items as early as the Jiajing year.
However, in fact, the original seeds of sweet potatoes and potatoes were not as productive as later generations at that time, and they were not even much better than rice and wheat. Their strength lies in their tenacious vitality.
These crops are generally very adaptable. They can thrive in many places where crops cannot grow, which is what Yan Ling values.
Just in time, considering that if they were released too early, there would be a risk of a large number of exodus, so Gan Yan Lingjian hired some agricultural masters to carry out improvements from generation to generation.
Nowadays, several high-yield, adaptable and highly adaptable crops have been newly developed.
And when Wuxing was ten years old, Yan Ling finally decided to start large-scale planting.
The fertile fields were still used to grow rice and other crops. After all, these things were more in line with the appetites of the people of the Ming Dynasty and were considered "high-quality grains." However, the middle and lower lands began to plant on a large scale these grains and grasses that could survive the Little Ice Age.
The results can be seen now. Although it is due to Yan Ling's [Sitian Banner] controlling the climate, why is it not due to the contributions of these crops themselves?
Seeing the lush greenery in front of them, the farmers had smiles on their faces, and Yan Ling couldn't help but smile.
The group continued to move forward and observed many places, and they all met Yan Ling's requirements, which made him very satisfied.
Seeing the thriving look, he was very pleased.
The efforts that spanned two hundred years have finally yielded results and can protect peace in this troubled world.
"How many towns are under our control now?"
he asked suddenly.
The clan elder was stunned for a moment, and after doing some mental calculations, he quickly answered:
"In the past few decades or hundreds of years, the tribe has multiplied rapidly, and the population has continued to grow. They have joined other towns and converted them to ours. There are also some other towns. Seeing that the living conditions here are good, they have also taken the initiative to ask to join us."
"Therefore, in fact, we control a lot of towns. For example, in Ningbo Prefecture, except for the prefectural city and the county seat, almost all the others belong to the family."
"There are even clan soldiers patrolling. It can be said that it has been our territory for a long time."
Yan Ling nodded.
As the world began to become chaotic again in recent years, the size of his clan soldiers has also expanded.
Nominally, the township warriors are organized by each town. They are usually scattered in each town. They don't seem to be many, but once they are combined, the number actually reaches more than 1,500 people, all of whom are trained capable warriors.
Since even the military relies on the family, it goes without saying that the strength of control is.
He waved his hand, and the elder quickly came over.
He heard this big shot from Nanjing say in his ear:
"If you pass the order, from now on, all the towns under the family's control, whether judicial or administrative, will no longer obey the orders of the various prefectures and counties."
Looking at the surprised look on the elder's face, Yan Ling added:
"Don't get me wrong, it's not a rebellion. In name, we will still serve the Ming Dynasty as our leader."
"It's just de facto independence."
(End of chapter)
