After asking about the situation of the breeding farm and seeing Chen Qiudao's lack of interest, Wang Xiaolie said: "Senior Councilor, those of us who govern must understand these things. How many people are under our rule, how many households are farming, and how many are working? How many households are doing business? How much is their annual income, how much they spend, and how they live. If they want to live a better life, what do they lack and what do they want? Officials must think about what the people think and try their best to serve them Solve problems.”
Chen Qiudao said: "If so, wouldn't he be an official? Officials should teach the people to follow customs and not get stuck in these trivial matters."
Wang Xiaolie smiled and said: "Teaching people to keep their customs is true. But how to teach and how to change customs requires a lot of knowledge. Only by understanding the people under your rule can you do these things well. If you don't understand, you can't do it well. How to do things?"
Chen Qiudao said: "How to do it? Many sages have taught you. What is the purpose of reading the books of sages? It is to govern according to the principles in the books."
Wang Xiaolie turned his head and looked at the green trees next to him. There are several lotus trees planted in the pond. The lotus leaves are graceful and graceful, and there are buds emerging from the water, with a dragonfly sitting on them. There are fish coming and going, swimming among the lotus leaves.
After a while, Wang Xiaolie said to Chen Qiudao: "Consultant, this dynasty founded the country, practiced martial arts and cultivated literature, and governed the world with literature. Now half of the country has been lost, the people have been displaced, and the world is devastated. How can this country be governed by the principles of sages and sages? Woolen cloth?"
Chen Qiudao said: "The Jin people are brave and brave, and the treacherous officials in this dynasty are in power, which leads to this disaster! It is precisely because the treacherous officials do not follow the principles of saints and sages that we are here today!"
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "You are right. But for more than a hundred years since the founding of this dynasty, the north cannot defeat the Khitan, the west cannot conquer the Xixia, and the rise of the Jurchens has caused half of the country to be in danger. The people say they are happy, but in fact ordinary people are working hard One year can't be said to have enough food and clothing. Over a hundred years, there have been many years of treacherous ministers in power. Counselor, we can no longer serve as officials like before. In ten or twenty years, we will drive out the Jinlu from the north and restore the state. Central Plains. We also need to let the people have enough food and clothing to be truly good citizens in a peaceful and prosperous age. It won't work if you don't care."
After hearing this, Chen Qiudao's expression changed slightly. After a while, he said: "Zhenfu, it's not that I don't care. These days, I see that your thoughts are mostly on small things. You are the Zhenfu and you govern more than a dozen states. There are so many major things to take care of!"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Big things always start from small things. I am the governor, so I have to do these small things and set rules for officials again. Once the rules are established, I will not care about them. Nowadays, the world is in turmoil and the people are displaced. , how many tragedies have happened in the world! We need to reorganize the world and not let the people down. The world belongs to the people of the world. If you want to govern well, you must first be a person of the world!"
Chen Qiudao nodded: "The official understands the painstaking efforts of Zhen Fu. It's just——"
Having said this, Chen Qiudao sighed and said no more.
Wang Xiaolie stood up and said to Yang Shou, "Let's take a look at the cows you raise!"
Out of the yard, there is a large cowshed next to it. The cowshed was clean and tidy, with two rows of cows tied to the south and the north. Beside the cowshed, there are piles of prepared fodder. It's spring, there's lots of green grass, and bags of carrots.
After looking at the cows in the cowshed, Wang Xiaolian asked: "Are the cows here always tied in the cowshed?"
Yang Shou said: "This is not the season. Every day when the sun rises, cowherds take the cows out to graze. Today Zhenfu came, but they didn't let them out. In winter, they don't go out to let them out, they just keep them in the cowshed. inside."
Wang Xiaolie nodded and went to the cattle trough to look at the cattle's fodder. The fodder has been chopped, neither too long nor too short, and the cattle eat leisurely and peacefully.
Cattle and sheep, unlike pigs, must eat grass. Without enough fodder, they will get sick.
Yang Shou said: "There are generally two ways to raise cattle in the world. One is to raise cattle in a shed, which is called shed feeding. The other is to raise cattle in groups outside, living among water and grass. In the Central Plains, we all raise cattle in this way. Only The barbarians from the north are nomadic."
Wang Xiaolie said with a smile: "The northern barbarians live on the grasslands, so of course they can only be nomadic."
After looking around in the cowshed, Wang Xiaolie asked: "How many people do you need to graze a hundred cows here? How about daily care?"
Yang Shou said: "Thanks to the governor, only five people are needed to herd one hundred cows. Including daily maintenance, one thousand cows only need seventy herders. Raising cows in this way is more labor-intensive than raising cows one by one. Moreover, Well raised.”
Wang Xiaolie nodded. Said: "You not only need to select the best breeds, but also figure out how to raise cattle well. Many things become easier when you do them specifically, but it is much harder to let people figure it out on their own. By the way, what is the most difficult thing now?"
After hesitating, Yang Shou said: "The imperial court has always prohibited the killing of farm cattle, and the price of beef is limited to twenty cents per catty. The cattle in farmers' homes can only be exchanged for a little money after they die of old age, illness and disease. Cows usually mature by the time they are five years old. The best time to use them is between five and fifteen years old. When cattle die of old age, they have to be thirty years old. Many of the cattle in people's homes are over twenty years old. It is forbidden to kill farm cattle, so they can only raise them. There are a large number of such cattle among the people. Even if our cattle are raised, they are not sold well. The official suggested that the ban can be relaxed a little? If the cattle live to a certain age, the people can slaughter them freely. In this way, more meat can be sold. Now, the good cattle we raise will be easier to sell.”
After hearing this, Wang Xiaolie lowered his head and thought. After a while, Chen Qiudao asked, "What do you think, Councilor?"
Chen Qiudao said: "Once this ban is issued, farmers will be greedy for interest and kill their cattle, which will make it impossible to plow the fields. This dynasty has banned the slaughter of cattle, but private slaughter has never ceased. In peacetime, one cow only costs ten The money is not very expensive. The price of privately slaughtered cattle is the same as that of mutton, a pound of 100 yuan. Compared with the official price, the difference is five times. If we let it go, how can farmers resist not making this money? If there are too many, the price of cattle will rise and you will no longer be able to afford them.”
Wang Xiaoxing said: "A cow produces at least 40% of its meat. As Yang Tiju said, if the cows bred now weigh one thousand kilograms, they will have four hundred kilograms of meat when slaughtered. A hundred kilograms of meat will equal forty kilograms. Forget it. If you have enough money, you still have three ounces of money. What the counselor said is that it is not easy for people to buy cattle."
At this point, Wang Xiaolie suddenly said: "No. If the cow can be slaughtered, the price of the cow will rise. For example, if it rises to 30 kilograms, the people can sell the big cows they raise and buy calves without adding much money. In other words, it is just that the first cow is more expensive when buying, and it will be much easier to replace the cow later. In this way, people can use the cow for ten or fifteen years, and replace the cow when it is most powerful for work. "
Chen Qiudao said: "Zhenfu, the price of cattle has gone up, and cattle are worth a lot of money. At that time, there will be cattle thieves, and there will be disputes in the countryside. If you can't help but slaughter the cattle, it will cause endless trouble. thing!"
Wang Xiaolie shook his head. Said: "Those of us who are officials cannot be afraid of trouble. If it is beneficial to the people, then let it go. If it is not good for the people, then we will not let it go. We cannot be afraid of trouble and stop doing things."
After that, weigh it carefully.
Wang Xiaolie remembered that cattle in the previous life were divided into types: meat, draft, milk, meat and draft, dairy and draft, etc. Except for milk, other types of cattle are used for meat as much as possible. The reason why a cattle breeding ground was set up in Rangdong was because Wang Xiaolie remembered learning that Nanyang cattle were a famous breed of cattle in China. This breed is used as a butcher.
After thinking for a long time, Wang Xiaolie asked Yang Shou: "According to your ideas, if the ban is relaxed, what size of cattle should be slaughtered?"
Yang Shou said: "Cows mature at five years old, and the best time to use them is from five to fifteen years old. If the ban is relaxed, it is best to allow cattle to be slaughtered until they are ten years old. At this time, the meat quality is good, and they have been working for five years. Five In a few years, farmers can raise big cattle.”
Wang Xiaolie said: "If this is the case, the number of cattle needed will increase a lot. Can you supply it?"
Yang Shou said: "Yes. Such a cattle farm can raise a thousand cattle. It is not difficult to build a few more. Based on the 150,000 households in Dengzhou, if farmers replace one cow every ten years, they will need 15,000 cattle a year. We here We can provide 5,000 cows, plus the farmers’ cows giving birth to calves, which is enough.”
Wang Xiaolie said: "I remember this matter. Go back and think about it carefully, and you will have an answer within a month."
Under the policy of banning the slaughter of farm cattle, many beef foods have no ingredients, which makes Wang Xiaolie feel very uncomfortable. Extending the period of beef slaughter to ten or fifteen years will not actually affect farmers' use of the cattle as long as there is sufficient supply of calves, and it will increase the supply of meat. The most important thing is that there is an adequate supply of calves, so don’t be short of money to buy cattle.
He returned to the yard and asked about the situation of the breeding farm in detail. Wang Xiaolie was basically satisfied. Based on this, a set of standard management procedures is compiled, which can be expanded to other places. Not just cattle, but also horses, donkeys, mules, sheep, pigs, and even chickens. Even basic breeding theory, coupled with artificial insemination technology, can quickly change varieties.
In the previous life, China did not do this work until after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and breed breeding lagged behind the world's advanced level. The pig breeds used are imported from Europe. For sheep, cattle and other breeds, a large number of excellent breeds were also introduced from Europe to improve local breeds. The most impressive thing is that a large number of fruits are imported from Japan. It's not because the Japanese are good at breeding, but because China started late.
The first-mover advantage brought by taking a step early, those who come after will have to spend a lot of energy and time to catch up. The delay is more than a hundred years, and the gap brought about is astonishing. If you want to catch up, you must have enough patience and work hard enough.
In many things, it was because the Qing Dynasty had lagged behind the West that it took decades after the founding of New China to catch up. This is the power of time, not something wrong with the Chinese people or Chinese culture.
Many cultural people do not realize the power of time. Because China is backward, they think there is something wrong with the Chinese people or Chinese culture, and they put forward many strange theories. Wang Xiaolie remembered watching a program put on by a cultural figure in his previous life. I went to Europe, climbed the Alps, and saw a small shop with a history of hundreds of years. I was shocked at that time. Later, I took some entrepreneurs to Japan and said that those entrepreneurs were all bird people. They were chirping and disdainful. Later, when I went to a store, I asked the boss to come out and asked him to tell me which generation he was. When they heard that the owner of this small shop was the sixth generation, all the entrepreneurs stopped talking and were shocked. Then he said, although you are entrepreneurs, but like Japan, a small shop, passed down for generations, focusing on doing one thing, is no better than you birdies.
How strong is it? Because China has undergone great changes, many old stores have disappeared. Even though it has gone through great changes, there are still old stores with hundreds of years of history in China. What's weird? It’s not like China doesn’t have such a tradition or appearance. It's just that under special conditions, what can adapt to the mainstream of society is different.
To not lag behind the world, civilization has always maintained its strong vitality, but it does not rely on taking the first step. But learn with an open mind, be good at learning, and don't rest on your laurels. China has always been good at learning from others, until its cultural traditions were interrupted.
Using the memory of his past life, Wang Xiaolie can take the first step in many things. But the most important thing is the ability to keep learning. Only by maintaining the interest in learning and having the ability to learn can we ensure that civilization will not fall behind others.
