Even though sweet potatoes have high yields, they also pay attention to planting methods and techniques.
This is a technical job.
Zhu Houzhao did not immediately arrange for large-scale planting in a certain place. On the one hand, he did not have enough seeds in his hands, and on the other hand, he felt that a mature set of empirical methods had not yet been summarized.
Because he vaguely remembered that when he was a child, the most suitable soil condition for growing sweet potatoes was not clay, but sandy loam, which was contrary to common sense.
If a large amount of publicity and promotion is carried out to the public when the method is incorrect, at least it will instill the wrong method and cause losses. At worst, if the effect is not good and the people's enthusiasm is not high, then it will be a bad thing.
Therefore, he told Yang Tinghe that it was never just promotion, but cultivation and promotion.
"Appropriate planting time, effective planting methods, soil quality, water volume, and sun exposure time all need to be compared and compared to get the results. I originally did some in Fujian, but I just couldn't wait to go to Beijing to find my daughter, so I haven't done all of them yet. It’s done. But there’s no problem with the planting work. I’ve seen people do it in Manchuria.”
Yang Tinghe also felt that there was a lot to do.
"In this case, I need to find a group of special people. Can Brother Meng be literate?"
"The villain doesn't know. But the little girl can read."
"It's better to be literate, and you can keep records. I will coordinate this. It is not difficult to find some smart and sensible people to come over." Yang Tinghe clasped his hands behind his back, "In addition, there must be a special place for official business and Store some information..."
These are all in his mind, there is no need to talk to an old farmer, just do it and tell him when the time comes.
"Let's not mention those for now. Today we are mainly going to select a few pieces of land."
"The villain obeys your orders."
In fact, production methods also affect cultural forms. Farming is definitely not without technical content. Aren’t there many young people in modern times who don’t know how to farm?
That's why the culture we derived is that 'a family with an elder is like a treasure'. During the years when farming was purely a matter of farming, the elders knew very clearly the details of the planting season, weddings and weddings, etc. With such a person, nothing was touched in the family. No matter how big or small things happen, there is always a rule. If you follow it, you will feel at ease.
Now that a fresh crop has arrived, some characteristics in the genes of the farming people have been stimulated - they need to quickly figure out how to grow it.
Zhu Houzhao also knew that this kind of thing should not be rushed. When something is planted in the soil, the time it takes to grow is determined, and it cannot be done by blowing air.
He planned to spend a few days to ask how the "security arrangements" were going, and that would be all.
Changing a country is not that easy.
Just like the situation faced by Wang Shouren.
In the second year of Zhengde, after the First World War between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia, the Tatar military strength was greatly damaged. Unable to guarantee security, the Mongols who originally stationed in the Muhetao area had no choice but to cross the Yinshan Mountains and migrate north.
During the imperial meeting in the third year of Zhengde's reign, the management of the Hetao was the most important issue for the court.
Hetao actually refers to Western Tao, Back Tao and Front Tao.
The Xitao Plain is on the left side of the "ji" shape of the Yellow River, which is today's Yinchuan Plain.
The back set and the front set are relatively easy to identify. They are the plain areas formed on the two corners of the 'ji' shape as the Yellow River goes up.
The Yellow River originally headed north, but suddenly changed its course to the east. It hit the Yin Mountain and couldn't cross it. At the foot of the Yin Mountain, the impact of the river gave birth to such a fertile area.
The front cover is the corner on the right side of the 'ji' shape, which is approximately where Baotou City is today.
In a broad sense, the Hetao includes these three areas. This place is not the desolate one in the northwest. It has lush green grass, thousands of miles of fertile fields, vast grasslands, endless cultivated land, dense water networks, and a mild and cool climate. It has been completely defeated since the Han Dynasty. After the Huns, Shuofang County, Wuyuan County and Yunzhong County were established here.
It can be said that from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, as long as the Central Plains dynasty was strong enough, it would regard this area as an important reclamation area. According to modern data, there are 11 million acres of arable land in the Hetao Plain, but it was definitely not that high in the Ming Dynasty because the level of land reclamation was not high enough, and it was not only about growing food, but also raising horses.
But even so, this is still a piece of Jiangnan.
As for the methods used by the past dynasties, there are no more than twelve words: immigrating to the border areas, cultivating fields to reclaim wasteland, and building water conservancy projects.
The difference lies in how each dynasty implements the immigration policies, and whether each person is given 30 acres or 50 acres for reclamation, which means the level of incentives is different.
In the hands of Ming Ting,
Zhu Houzhao did not carve out a separate province, but unified management of the Hetao Plain in the new form of a military administrative area.
Wang Shouren is the general person in charge of this place. The imperial court gave him the title of Minister of War. He controls the military and horses in the Hetao area and is also in charge of civil affairs.
The so-called civil affairs means building a city here. Agricultural civilization requires cities. Moreover, three cities were built at the beginning. Of course, there were some small cities before, but now Zhu Houzhao is very ambitious. He either doesn’t do it or does it well. He wants to drive a nail here, so no matter what it was before, the city must be rebuilt. .
Yinchuan Town will be built in the west, Shuofang Town will be built in the back, and Yunzhong Town will be built in the front.
The administrative seat of the Hetao Military District is located in Shuofang Town.
Subsequently, Wang Shouren reported to the court that two elite cavalry and two infantry guards should be set up in Shuofang Town, and one elite cavalry and infantry guard each in Yinchuan Town and Yunzhong Town.
These are played naturally.
If you agree, you have to pay.
Silver, cattle, and farm tools are all being transported here in a steady stream.
Of course, that includes population.
Wang Shouren vaguely remembered that when he was young, he once led his horse out of the fortress. He had carefully considered the Ming Dynasty's border defense. Now that he was really in charge of such a fortress in the south of the Yangtze River, it might be God's will.
In front of him is the official horse farm that was just built last year. The court named it Bei'an Garden. The grassland here is a real paradise for horses. When thousands of strong and translucent horses run together, it feels special. magnificent.
In addition to Bei'an Garden, Wang Shouren also advocated the construction of three horse farms here, Changle Garden, Dingle Garden, and Yong'an Garden. These are all horse farms of more than 10,000 acres, and the horses they breed are healthy and strong.
The reason why official horse farms are being vigorously built is that it is easier to buy foals than to drive people over, and it can also cooperate with the withdrawal of civilian animal husbandry, which has now been implemented nationwide.
On the other hand, some kind of 'marketization' of horses is also considered. Now that the horses from the official horse farm are in the hands of the border troops, the border troops have to pay. This was the rule three years ago. Moreover, due to the fierce withdrawal of livestock and animal husbandry, there is also a shortage of horses among the people, and the price of a horse has always been above 20 taels.
Therefore, with this god-given land to raise horses, the Hetao Military Control Area will soon have its first year of horse income.
Of course, the grassland belongs to the state, the personnel belong to the state, and even the 'start-up capital' also belongs to the state, so the money does not belong to private individuals. However, the Hetao Military Area was still in its infancy, and the court agreed that the money did not have to be turned over and could be used to build cities, raise troops, reclaim wasteland, and build more horse ranches.
Having money is the basic prerequisite for maintaining combat power and maintaining existence.
Under the instruction of the imperial court, the Hetao Military District and Gansu Town reached a contract. The three years of Zhengde were not counted. It had just begun. One year later, which is now the fourth year of Zhengde, the official horse ranch in the area was required to submit to Gansu Town. Twenty thousand war horses are provided, and the price of each horse is twenty taels, which is easier to calculate. Since it is a male-to-male relationship, the price will not be raised.
This is not easy to do. Wang Shouren has put a lot of effort into it over the past year. He came to Bei'an Garden just to check the breeding situation of these war horses. The poor quality of the horses is his responsibility. If you can't win with the horses, then This is the responsibility of Gansu Town.
In this way, the Hetao Military Control Area will get 400,000 taels of silver for such a sale!
There are no taxes yet.
That's why he was so confident in building cities, garrisoning troops, and raising horses.
"Bring a few horses and let's ride them."
As soon as he spoke, all the subordinates around him obeyed.
Wang Shouren got on the horse with the help of his subordinates. The warm wind blew against him. The blue sky, white clouds and a patch of green grass were really refreshing.
There is a poem from the Southern and Northern Dynasties that describes this scenery best: Cilechuan, at the foot of Yinshan Mountain, the sky is like a dome, covering the surrounding fields. The sky is blue, the fields are vast, the grass is blown by the wind and cattle and sheep are visible!
"Mr. Yangming, after selling 20,000 horses, we still have more than 6,000 horses left. How should we use them?"
Wang Shouren gave himself a nickname, Yangming.
"I plan to deliver a memorial to the imperial court. It's best to leave it to us. The Shuofang vanguard is fully staffed, but we still need a few horses."
With enough war horses, cavalry, and the food grown here, he has "military strength." There will be nothing in the fourth year of Zhengde, but in a few years, once the Tatars recover to some extent, they may cause trouble again. , so it would be best if he had already developed considerable strength before that.
"Isn't it said that the population is not enough?"
"Population is also very important. I have made it clear to the court." Wang Yangming responded loudly, followed by horses running with people.
According to his plan, he would first build a city, raise horses, and cultivate a certain amount of arable land. He would cultivate food to be self-sufficient as much as possible. If he could not be self-sufficient, he would buy or apply for one. When the horse farm had money income, the city was built, and he had a house, he would be fulfilled. population, and then land reclamation on a larger scale.
The so-called strategy means people, land, horses, and soldiers.
Soon, this place will become a place to station troops!
(End of chapter)
