Chapter 18 Highland Barley
Every winter in Mongolia, a large number of livestock die, many of them not from freezing to death, but from starvation. During the winter months, no one has anything to eat. Not to mention cattle and sheep. They can only rely on the fat they eat in summer and autumn to resist.
If livestock can be fed normally in winter, a lot of losses will be reduced. At the same time, it also allows more herders to survive.
Don't look at the Mongolians grazing and raising so many cattle and sheep. But in fact, Mongolians rarely eat cattle and sheep. What they really depend on for survival is the milk of cows and sheep. Eating meat is also a very luxurious thing for them. The cattle and sheep that freeze to death in winter cannot be eaten, which is a huge waste.
With green reserves, cattle and sheep can be fed normally. Without a large loss of cattle and sheep, the livelihood of herdsmen can be maintained. After the whole cycle, the number of people carried on the grassland will be even greater.
If the grassland has a larger population, it will be possible for the Ming Dynasty to establish official governance on the grassland.
King Yan said: "Are you Lian Zining? I am King Yan. I was entrusted by the consort He to come and see you."
When Lian Zining heard this, he froze. He immediately put down the things in his hands, bowed and said, "I'm going to pay my respects to His Highness King Yan. How do you do, my mentor?"
King Yan said: "He is not bad. He has just made meritorious service in Nanyang, and now he has been promoted to governor of Liaodong, which can be regarded as a high-ranking official. In this Northern Expedition, he is responsible for the logistics of Liaodong, which can be regarded as a high-ranking official."
When Lian Zining heard that He Xi was living a good life and rising steadily, he felt even more ashamed. He covered his face with his sleeves and said, "Student, I have let the teacher down."
King Yan said; "No, he told me that to solve the problem of long-term peace and stability in the grassland, two problems must be solved. One of them is solved by you. It shows that he has high expectations for you. He has never been disappointed. However, you What we have to do is something that has never happened before. It is natural that there will be some failures. But why don't you find him to solve the problem, or even find other people. With He Xi's name, there are probably many people in Daning who are willing to do it. Reach out.”
Lian Zining said: "Although students are stupid, they also know that there is no free lunch in this world. Whatever I gain here, I will ask the teacher to pay back. I didn't help him, and I am already ashamed. How can I be involved again?" Is he an old man?"
King Yan nodded, admired Lian Zining even more, and said, "Not bad. How is your research going now?"
Lian Zining said; "Whether it's good or bad, it's not good either."
King Yan said: "Tell me more about it, and I'll see if I can solve some problems for you."
Lian Zining said: "There are nearly 5,000 horses in this racecourse. I have sealed more than 100 cellars of green storage. Each cellar ranges from a thousand catties to five thousand catties. Today, only thirteen cellars have problems this winter. Success rate It’s pretty good. But there’s one thing I don’t understand. That’s the same operation. Why do some succeed and some fail? Did I seal it too?”
"If we don't figure this out, large-scale promotion may be very problematic."
Lian Zining has been in Daning for such a long time and has figured out many things. He must admit that the people who use green storage materials in the future will be those who cannot read a word. Therefore, the simpler the green storage process, the better.
But Lian Zining can't do this now.
Because there is a thing called luck, which affects the success rate.
He himself is not sure that he can get it right every time. How many people can master the skills he teaches?
In fact, green storage is a fermentation process. It's just that Lian Zining hasn't figured out some phenomena about microorganisms yet. Only then did such a situation occur, and the steps that were clearly researched were all correct. It can also be done. But there are always some that are bad and some that are good.
This is very distressing.
King Yan said: "You follow me back to Daning and take charge of this matter in Daning. Some things should be done first and then discussed. Even if there are some problems, it will not be too late to solve them in the future."
Lian Zining may be a bit perfectionistic and wants to solve all problems. But King Yan did not. He feels that this technology has reached this point and is already usable. As for the element of luck, just seal a few more cellars every summer.
After all, in this era, the price of labor is very cheap. In order not to starve to death in winter, most people are willing to increase their workload in summer.
Lian Zining wanted to say something, but he didn't dare to say it after hearing King Yan's unquestionable tone. At the same time, he also felt that he had no idea how to solve this problem. It's really going to be resolved, but I don't know when.
He might be willing to be lonely for many years, but delaying the emergence of this technology for many years would have too great an impact. Many people are waiting.
Including his teacher He Xi.
Lian Zining said: "I obey." When he said these two words, Lian Zining felt hot all over for some reason, and two lines of tears burst out of his eyes. Lian Zining quickly wiped it off and said, "My lord, please forgive me, I don't know what happened."
When he was misunderstood and suppressed, or when he was alone in eating horse food, he could remain calm and indifferent. But at this moment, he couldn't help it anymore.
He quickly said, "Your Highness, I also found something good." Lian Zining took out a few straws from the forage on one side and handed them to King Yan.
King Yan took a closer look and said, "Is this highland barley?"
King Yan is not a descendant, and he does not know the difference between grains. Zhu Yuanzhang took King Yan to the fields. It would be an exaggeration to say that King Yan was very proficient in farming. But we still know the most basic grains. However, the person who recognized this thing was that King Yan saw it by chance in the north. Otherwise, I don’t know him.
Because of this, highland barley is rarely grown in the Central Plains. On the contrary, there are many plants on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In the Yuan Dynasty, there were close contacts with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This crop was also brought to China. However, highland barley simply cannot compete with various crops in the Central Plains.
It has also become a very niche crop.
"It's highland barley." Lian Zining said: "I found that highland barley can be grown on grasslands, although not everywhere. Highland barley is cold-resistant and drought-resistant, and its growth time is short. It can be planted in one season in three or four months."
"I suspect that this thing can also be grown in Mobei."
King Yan was shocked and said: "Really."
Lian Zining said; "It can definitely be grown in Monan, but we have to try it in Mobei. There should be no problem."
The reason why Lian Zining discovered this. This is because Lian Zining was also experimenting with various forage grasses when he was making green barley. Lian Zining discovered highland barley in the wild. Although the yield of highland barley is very low, only a few bushels per acre, which is lower than that of millet and sorghum. However, when the seeds and straw are used as green storage, the effect is good.
As a result, Lian Zining's demand for highland barley increased. There are so many highland barleys in the wild. Lian Zining tried to grow it himself. Only then did I discover the benefits of highland barley. There was even a cold spring and frost formed on the ground. If it is other crops, there will be some problems. But highland barley can adapt to the climate on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is also highly adaptable to the climate on the Mongolian grasslands.
Only then did we discover the advantages of highland barley.
No matter how low the output is, for the Chinese, being able to farm and not being able to farm are completely different relationships. After all, there are actually quite a few rivers on the Mobei Grassland. Or it cannot be planted in many places. But even the land near the river is tens of millions of acres.
Although the output is small, it is still very important.
King Yan said: "Then you don't need to be here. Follow me to Daning."
In the eyes of King Yan, Lian Zining was a talented scholar in the country. How could such a great talent be wronged here?
Moreover, King Yan also lacked advisers, so he was determined to keep Lian Zining by his side.
The relationship between King Yan and Lian Zining in history is another matter, but starting from today, King Yan and Lian Zining began an almost lifelong cooperation. He Xi didn't know that he had brought his own disciples with him. In this way, he was cut off by King Yan.
It's just that He Xi took away Yao Guangxiao from King Yan, and King Yan got Lian Zining from He Xi.
With the two of them like this, I don’t know who is winning and who is losing.
Just when King Yan brought Lian Zining back to Daning, it meant that Lian Zining once again appeared on the political stage of the Ming Dynasty. And He Xi has been preparing for a long time in Liaodong.
