Luoyang Academy.
A student hurriedly walked in. He first saluted the teacher, and then said with joy: "Sir, a giant Kun skeleton arrived in Luoyang today. The disciple just saw it. The skeleton is two feet high and seven or eight feet long. It is extremely huge. , should be the giant Kun that Zhuangzi mentioned back then."
"Zhang Cang, you don't go to study, don't discuss the classics of the sages, and instead go to look at the giant Kun skeleton, do you still have the heart to study?" The middle-aged man said with a steady expression.
He was so excited that Zhang Cang heard the words and said quickly: "Sir, please forgive me. The student knows his mistake, so he should study hard."
The middle-aged man shook his head slightly and said: "Zhang Cang, you are talented and intelligent. If you can study our sect's classics seriously, you can become a great sage in the world in less than twenty years. It's a pity that you have an unstable nature and like to study all kinds of miscellaneous things." Xue, it’s useless to restrain you here anymore, just leave!”
"Sir!" Zhang Cang was shocked and turned pale, and he hurriedly paid homage: "Sir, Cang knows that I am wrong. Please be merciful and don't drive me out of the school."
The middle-aged man shook his head slightly and said: "If I had not driven you out, what would you do if your heart was not here? There are many miscellaneous students in the academy. I have made an agreement with the mountain chief, you can go on your own."
Zhang Cang kept begging, but the middle-aged man didn't change his mind, and finally Zhang Cang had no choice but to leave. A few days later, Zhang Cang became a disciple of several miscellaneous families.
The miscellaneous families in the academy include several schools of thought such as Mohism, Gongshu, Arithmetic, and Agriculture. Although they do not have many official positions, they are supported by the royal family and occupy an important position in the academy.
After arriving here, Zhang Cang quickly became addicted to it and completely forgot about being kicked out of the school not long ago.
The bones of the two whales were transported by ship because the bones were so large that they could only be transported in several ships.
Everyone in the academy was shocked after seeing these huge bones. The royal family sent dozens of Wang family members to study these bones, as well as fish oil, giant kun whiskers and giant kun tendons together with scholars from Nongjia, Mo Shu, Gongshu and other schools.
Giant kun whiskers and fish oil were quickly used. There were many mechanical equipment in the court, and giant kun tendons were also used for tanning. As for those skeletons, the imperial court began to dispose of them and use them to try to make fertilizer.
To make fertilizer from giant Kun bones, the fat in the bones needs to be steamed out first, and the royal family attaches great importance to this.
Research and improvement of agricultural technology have always been strongly supported by the imperial court, but the progress and innovation of agricultural technology is not fast. The cultivation of improved seeds, the improvement of farming tools, and the selection of farming seasons. After all these years of development, both tools and farming techniques have actually come to a standstill.
Food is a necessity for human life, and agriculture is the foundation of the world. The Daqian court knew very well that agriculture was the foundation of the world, and only when agriculture prospered could Daqian be strong. Commerce can make the world rich, and strong soldiers can protect the country.
The imperial court has always attached great importance to these, but it is now difficult for agriculture to progress. If you want to increase food production, you can only rely on fertilizers.
Even though the royal family has been promoting development, land development will eventually stagnate, and Daqian will need to carry out deep cultivation on limited land. Even if farmyard manure is used, the fertility of the land will slowly decrease after years of cultivation.
The population of Daqian now reaches 70 to 80 million. If it continues to grow and the population of Daqian doubles, how can the land still support such a large population? I'm just afraid that the sky will collapse by then.
Our ancestor King Wen once said that if you want to increase yields, you need fertilizers, and the royal family is trying to experiment this time.
The royal family was concerned about agriculture, and the agricultural students were very excited. A large area of farmland was specially cleared for experiments. After the giant skeletons are processed, the grease is evaporated, the salt is washed away, and then the skeletons are ground into powder.
These bone meal are not used directly, but fermented together with farmyard manure. Because they didn't know the effect of these bone meal, Wang Shizi and many agricultural scholars mixed bone meal and farmyard manure in various proportions, and then fermented it.
After fermentation is complete, these fertilizers in different proportions are used in specially selected, already very poor land.
Various crops will be planted on these lands, and comparisons will be used to find the most suitable fertilizer ratio.
Outside Luoyang City, outside the manor in Shanglin Garden, a large number of farmers, magicians, and Wangs gathered here to farm. The sky was filled with dust and stench, and the entire area was like this. If those dignitaries, officials and celebrities came here, they would probably avoid it, but no matter whether they were Mohists, farmers or the Wang family, they would turn a deaf ear to them.
Whether it's ink or farming, most of them are working at the bottom and don't pay much attention to it. Wang's son has been trained since he was a child and has become accustomed to it. Although Wang is a royal family, Wang's son has eaten all kinds of things while growing up. suffering.
A group of people worked under the scorching sun, first spreading a layer of fertilizer and then starting to cultivate. At the same time, they had to keep detailed records of the fertilizer spread. More than a dozen cattle plowed under the scorching sun. Iron plows turned over the soil and dug fertilizer into the soil before sowing seeds.
The whole process was very skillful, and everyone planted different crops such as millet, wheat, and broomcorn millet on this land. I want to see how much these fertilizers can restore soil fertility. At the same time, we also look at how much the yield of various crops can increase under the influence of fertility.
Agricultural farming practices take at least a year each time, after all, these crops take a year to grow. After farming is completed, the lands are always guarded and recorded. Prevent these lands from being destroyed.
After complete records, after the grain matures, and after some comparison, you can compare the best proportion of fertilizers and which crops will have better effects.
In this era, agricultural scholars can only promote the development of agriculture in this way.
The development of agriculture has always been a concern of all countries, especially for ancient civilizations. The ancient Egyptians used the high tides of the Nile River to bring large amounts of fertile silt to develop agriculture. The Fertile Crescent in Mesopotamia is also based on rivers. But in ancient China, smart Chinese people had already begun to use fertilizers.
Incredibly, the use of fertilizers in ancient China dates back two thousand years. They were the first to discover the effectiveness of farmyard manure, and after that, they actually developed the technology of using whale bones as fertilizer.
It was also because of the emphasis on the development of fertilizers that the population of ancient China continued to grow and the splendid Chinese civilization was created.
——"A Study on the Origin and Contribution of Farmers, Mohists and Royal Family to the Development of Ancient Agriculture"
(End of chapter)
