When I walked out the back door, I discovered a large field. Rice, wheat, corn, millet, soybeans, etc. are grown here. All common crops are available here. There is a yard next to the farmland. Chickens, ducks, and geese are raised in the yard. There are also cows and sheep grazing on the grass on one side.
After looking around, Wang Ruohai asked: "Zhizhi, what kind of place is this?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "This is a place dedicated to growing grain and raising livestock and poultry. We have selected grain varieties from various places that are suitable for growing here and planted them in separate areas. There are special personnel to watch over them. We compare the pros and cons of each grain variety and select the best ones. If successful, they will be sold to the people. The same goes for raising livestock and poultry. Select good breeds and then sell them to the people. The government won't do this kind of thing, and the people will be too slow to do it."
Wang Ruohai nodded and said nothing. This is a good thing, but in these troubled times, it always feels a little strange.
Wang Xiaolie knew that this matter was very important. In ancient society, it was very difficult to select and breed superior seeds. It often takes a long time and many generations of hard work to develop local improved varieties. If there are no special opportunities, it will be difficult to promote it to society. When entering the industrial society, even if you only use the most traditional methods, as long as you persevere, you will be able to achieve great results in a few years.
In the past life, as you go further back, people will find that the food and fruits they eat are changing with each passing day. Fruits from other places that have never been eaten before, new varieties that have never been heard of, suddenly become everywhere in a few years. When we first saw it, there was a lot of speculation. For example, fruit corn, some people say it is genetically modified, but in fact it is just a different variety. For example, some people say that colored cotton is genetically modified, but they don’t know that cotton is inherently colored. These are the results of breeding, and what they eat changes rapidly.
If the state comes forward to carry out unified breeding and promotion, improved varieties can quickly spread all over the world. The improvement of seeds is of great significance to crops. The progress of agriculture will promote rapid social progress.
Lu Qing pointed to a field next to him and said, "What is grown here? I've never seen it before."
Wang Xiaolie said: "This is grass cotton from the Western Regions. I heard that this kind of cotton is used to spin cloth in the Western Regions, and it is of the highest quality. But in the Central Plains, no one knows how to spin cotton, and only occasionally people plant it. I think Cotton can be grown like grain, and the yield is higher than that of hemp. I heard that the fabric is also better than hemp, and it will become popular all over the world in the future. So I specially found the seeds, planted them here, and slowly studied them."
"It turns out to be Caomian——" Lu Qing nodded.
At this time, there were two types of cotton. Kapok was generally grown in the south, and straw cotton was grown in the western regions. Cotton grass, also known as cotton in later generations, is a herbaceous plant produced in the Western Regions. Cotton has been used to weave cloth in the Western Regions for a long time, but the textile technology is immature and the cost is high. In addition, the communication between the Western Regions and the Central Plains was cut off after the Middle Tang Dynasty, and there were not many people from the Central Plains.
Wang Xiaolie saw cotton seeds a few months ago and was overjoyed. Does he know how important cotton is? To a large extent, it was the cotton textile industry that drove the Industrial Revolution. Even in China, the cotton textile industry during the Ming and Qing Dynasties was extremely important. I specially took the seeds and opened a field in Xinye to plant them. Even if it cannot be woven into cloth, it is still good to use it to make cotton-padded jackets in winter.
The fibers of cotton are relatively short, so it was difficult to use for China, which is accustomed to the textile technology of long fibers such as silk and linen. By the Song Dynasty, cotton had actually been introduced to the Central Plains. However, due to the immaturity of textile technology, it has not yet been promoted. The key is cotton weaving, and spinning is an important process.
China has already had spinning machinery, and a lot of improvements were made in the Song Dynasty. However, the raw materials spun in the past were long fibers and could not be directly used to spin cotton yarn. Insufficient spinning technology limited the promotion of cotton.
Historically, one or two hundred years later, Huang Daopo improved spinning machinery and promoted the rapid development of cotton in China. For Wang Xiaolie, as long as there is cotton, everything else is not a big problem.
Seeing that Wang Ruohai and Lu Qing were not very interested in cotton, Wang Xiaolie was a little disappointed. Obviously, the two of them had no idea how this crop affected human history. They just knew that it was part of Wang Xiaolie's various whims.
After walking for a while, Wang Ruohai looked at the fields and said to Wang Xiaolie: "There is everything here, and the plan is not small."
Wang Xiaolie smiled: "There is no way. Now we have to raise the army, and I don't want to squeeze money from the farmers, so I can only do everything. The more I do, the more money I make, and the army will have enough food and clothing. worry."
Lu Qing said: "It has been difficult for the court in the past few years, so we can only think of ways on our own. In a few years, when the court has money, military pay will naturally be distributed to the armies, and this will not be the case. Let the generals who lead the army make their own money. , what a behavior!"
Wang Xiaolie looked into the distance. After a moment of silence, he said: "It depends on whether the imperial court can make money. Now it seems that the imperial court does not even have the ability to protect itself. It will be very difficult for them to distribute money. Moreover, since the Holy Emperor ascended the throne, he has only been thinking about fighting with the emperor. Even when the military makes peace, people can’t see clearly.”
This is the most deadly. Since Zhao Gou ascended the throne, he has never had the same vigor as before. He just wanted to be the emperor and negotiate peace with the Jin army. Not thinking about defeating the Jin Army, but thinking about getting the Jin Army to recognize itself and divide the north and the south. For several years, Zhao Gou continued to send envoys to the Jin Dynasty, but the Jin army relied on its strong military strength and ignored Zhao Gou.
The soldiers and civilians across the country are thinking about resuming the Northern Expedition, but the emperor doesn't want to fight. What will happen? As a result, history has been unable to provide an answer. Zhao Gou would rather kill his most capable general than negotiate peace with the Jin Dynasty. How can one have a good impression of a person who fights a war?
Wang Ruohai sighed. In the past few days, he could tell that Wang Xiaolie was not an honest general. Although he did not rebel against the imperial court, he had no respect for the imperial court. After visiting Xinye, this feeling became even stronger.
Although Xinye is small, Wang Xiaolie has all the internal organs. If this place really develops, Wang Xiaolie will be able to expand rapidly if this or that company succeeds. With money and soldiers, Wang Xiaolie was what he is now.
Returning to the courtyard, Wang Ruohai looked at the busy crowd around him and felt an indescribable feeling for a moment. Now that Emperor Zhao Gou is captured by the rebels, the Jin army in the north is eyeing him, the people in the Central Plains are displaced, and powerful factions like Wang Xiaolie don't have their own ideas.
Wang Xiaolie led the two of them to the hall, sat down, and ordered someone to make tea.
After inviting tea, Wang Xiaolian said: "We will go back to Xinye City in the afternoon. You two will stay here for a few days. When the court gets news and the rebellion is put down, you can escort Shenyu eastward together. Relax, you don't have to go too far. What a worry."
Wang Ruohai said: "It is Ji Sheren who should be worried. The two of us are just accompanying each other, why should we worry so much? It's just that the world is in chaos now, and the Jin people are constantly invading from the south. As a people of the Song Dynasty, how can we feel at ease!"
Lu Qing said: "What the supervisor said is right, that's exactly what it is. In the past two years, I was stationed in the east and west capitals, and I saw many people living and dying. Alas, as a soldier, I can't protect the peace of the country. It's really shameful to say that."
Wang Xiaolie wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say it. As politicians, many people are blaming themselves. But as the emperor, Zhao Gou only thought about romance, and even forced his own soldiers to rebel. What can be said about such a world?
Only if you train your troops well and earn enough money can you become stronger and fight to the death with the Jin army. This court is really unreliable.
