Shen'an Farm demonstrated a complete set of mechanized harvesting processes for Luo Zhixue and his team. The steam combine harvester produced by Hekou Machinery Company they used has excellent performance.
Powered by a high-performance steam engine produced by Tianjin Machinery Company, it integrates the two major processes of harvesting and threshing. During harvesting, the combine harvester continuously harvests and threshes rice. After threshing, the threshed rice flows out from the rear side. Farm workers only It needs to be constantly packed in sacks and put into pockets.
These sacks filled with grain will then be loaded into the carriage that follows.
The overall harvesting efficiency is very high, far from being comparable to manual harvesting.
After watching the harvest, Luo Zhixue also went to watch the plowing. They used a steam plow produced by Tangshan Machinery Company. Their steam plow also used an advanced steam engine produced by Tianjin Machinery Company.
This kind of steam plow is also huge and requires many people to operate it, but its efficiency is incredible. It is much better than oxen or horse plowing.
However, Luo Zhixue also knows that although the mechanized equipment driven by steam engines is highly efficient, the cost of use will not be low.
The main reason is that these mechanized equipment are very expensive and require complicated maintenance during subsequent use. They are simply not affordable for ordinary farmers.
At present, even in the Northeast region, which is most suitable for mechanized planting, only medium and large farms can afford these things, while some small farms and family farms with independent farmers cannot afford them at all.
Of course, the land area cultivated by these homesteaders in the Northeast is generally very large, often hundreds of acres. Therefore, it is impossible to use traditional cattle farming methods for farming. Horse farming is generally used.
And harvesting does not use human power, but uses a powered harvester.
Regardless of whether it is powered by steam engines or draft horses, the planting model in the Northeast is very different from that in Guanhai.
After all, there are fewer people and more land outside the customs. The only way to do this is to use horse farming, which is extensive planting and low harvest. It is impossible to adopt the intensive farming method represented by cattle farming.
Generally speaking, there are more people and less land in the pass, especially in major grain-producing areas such as Jiangnan, Northern Jiangxi, and Huguang in the south. It seems that there are many fertile fields, but the population is also very dense. It is impossible for an ordinary peasant family to have dozens of people at every turn. acres or even hundreds of acres of land.
When there is little land, the only way to increase the yield per acre is through intensive farming, represented by cattle farming.
This is a difference brought about by geographical environment and population density. It cannot be said that which way is better.
At least for the current Da Chu Empire, whether it is mechanized planting, horse farming, oxen farming, or even oxen, it can only be done by pure human power. In fact, these planting modes are widely available.
While the Da Chu Empire vigorously developed and promoted mechanized planting, it also vigorously developed and supported power-accumulating mechanical planting and horse plowing in the north and northwest regions.
In the southern region, cattle farming is encouraged and supported on a large scale, tax incentives and policy support are provided to cattle farms that breed cattle on a large scale, and workshops and small machinery factories that produce human threshers, various hoes, sickles and other agricultural tools are provided. Tax incentives and policy support, etc.
The Dachu Empire's support for agriculture was all-round and not limited to any one place.
There is also a lot of support for advanced technologies. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has been engaged in hybrid rice, and there is also a series of research on cultivating high-yield wheat and localized cultivation of corn.
There are more than a dozen research institutes directly under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry that study staple grains, fruits, vegetables and other crops. In addition, there are also some small-scale agricultural research institutions under the provincial agriculture and forestry departments.
And some results have been achieved one after another, such as the localized cultivation of some exotic crops, the most typical of which are corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes.
After all, these three types of crops do not have high requirements on the environment, land, or even water resources. They are all grown on dry lands and even mountains. After localized cultivation and large-scale promotion and planting, more land can be effectively used for farming.
For example, in the south
The region generally has hilly terrain, and there is not much arable land suitable for growing rice.
How to increase food production in the southern hilly areas?
Rice alone is not enough. Rice has very high water requirements. Breeding, chemical fertilizers, and increasing the number of cattle are all routine operations. The yield per acre has increased, but it will not change the fact that the cultivated land area itself is too small. Reality.
The only way is to build more water conservancy facilities and obtain more rice fields.
At the same time, the mountainous areas that lack water resources are also utilized to plant some drought-resistant crops, such as corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
You can also grow some non-staple food crops to increase your income, such as soybeans, peanuts, and fruit trees.
Through a variety of means, developing agriculture according to local conditions, increasing total grain production, and increasing farmers' income is the main strategic task of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Dachu Empire, and the entire empire.
So don't look at it. The Dachu Empire is developing very well in industry and commerce. There are many reports and the empire's senior officials are also paying close attention to it.
But in fact, the official investment of the Dachu Empire in the industrial and commercial fields every year is far less than the investment in the agricultural field.
In the early years of the Da Chu Empire, the Da Chu Empire launched a five-year agricultural development plan, investing 50 to 60 million Chu Yuan in succession. At that time, the central fiscal revenue of the Da Chu Empire was only about 100 million a year. That’s all.
After the first phase of the agricultural development plan ended, the Dachu Empire launched the second, third, fourth, and fifth phases, with massive capital investment in each phase.
By the time the fifth phase of the agricultural development plan is being implemented, the cumulative investment and the investment in the next year or so are expected to total more than 40 million yuan.
This is only central fiscal expenditure, excluding local expenditure.
These huge agricultural support funds will be subsidized to farmers through various methods such as agricultural production equipment, agricultural water conservancy facilities, and agricultural tax exemptions in disaster-stricken areas.
This is also why there are a large number of various small agricultural machinery companies in the Dachu Empire and they are developing very well, because the Dachu Empire has always maintained subsidies for agricultural machinery production companies.
[In view of the general environment,
Whether you are a large-scale modern agricultural machinery company that produces steam combine harvesters, a small and medium-sized agricultural machinery factory that produces power harvesters, or simply there is at least one in every county that produces common agricultural tools such as hoes and sickles. Small agricultural machinery factory.
As long as you produce agricultural equipment, you can receive financial subsidies, mainly in the form of tax exemptions.
Among all industrial fields, the agricultural machinery industry has the lowest taxes... Even after some places issue their own agricultural machinery support and subsidy policies, some agricultural machinery companies can even achieve tax exemption.
In terms of the construction of agricultural and water conservancy facilities, the Dachu Empire had already begun construction before the founding of the country, and it never stopped after the founding of the country.
Among them, the most famous one and the one with the largest investment is the artificial diversion project of the Yellow River. During the diversion process, water from the Yellow River was diverted to the north by digging diversion canals.
This alone has benefited the five provinces of Henan, Anlu, Jiangbei, Shandong and Hebei. It has not only reduced floods, but also allowed the two northern provinces to obtain more water resources and develop more fertile farmland.
The Dachu Empire not only carried out flood control and management of large rivers, but also actively developed various small-scale flood control and irrigation and water conservancy facilities.
Water irrigation wells and reservoirs have also been developed and built in many places.
This seemingly inconspicuous small-scale flood control irrigation, water wells and reservoir facilities, you can't see any effect on weekdays, or even take them for granted, but in the spring and summer rainy seasons, or in the dry season, they have a great effect.
Through a series of flood control and irrigation water conservancy projects that lasted for thirty years, you can hardly see the impact of the Little Ice Age in today's Great Chu Empire. The grain output in the Great Chu Empire is increasing year by year. There has never been a large-scale famine. In fact, people’s lives are getting better day by day, and the per capita food supply is getting better year by year.
high.
In reality, in the first thirty years of the Chu Empire, temperatures were colder than during the pre-Ming Dynasty, droughts were more severe, and there were more extreme climates.
Especially in recent years, twenty-six years after Chengshun, the temperature has been significantly colder than before, and there have been more extreme climates.
But none of these had any practical impact on the vigorous development of the Chu Empire.
Because the Da Chu Empire has complete flood control and irrigation water conservancy facilities, ordinary floods or droughts cannot threaten agricultural production. If a serious flood or drought occurs in a certain place that has not been seen in decades, then the Da Chu Empire also has complete disaster relief. measure.
Wherever there is a disaster, the government immediately exempts agricultural taxes and provides special funds to help with disaster relief and restoration of production.
At the same time, the Dachu Empire Grain Corporation was able to immediately transport grain from other places, opening up the supply!
Then the Ministry of Industry and local industrial management departments will immediately organize companies to recruit workers in the disaster areas!
Various financial resources from higher authorities will be allocated as soon as possible, and then a series of work-for-relief measures will be launched to carry out infrastructure construction in the local area.
Under such circumstances, even if the local farmers have no harvest throughout the year, it is impossible for you to starve to death, because the Dachu Empire has a guarantee measure, and that is immigration!
Even if other options fail, the empire will use the ultimate trick: immigration!
The people in the disaster-stricken areas were directly taken in and then transported to the domestic border areas with railways in the northeast or northwest, or directly transported to Southeast Asia or even the Americas by large-tonnage steamships for immigration.
Anyway, places with fewer people and more land have huge demand for population. No matter how many immigrants there are, they will still need them. Especially in Malacca and America, there are so many places.
If you are still willing to go to a more difficult place, the immigration process does not cost a dime. The official provides everything for free, including food rations until your first harvest.
If you go to ordinary places, the government can also cooperate with many government-run banks to provide interest-free loans, travel expenses, grain seeds, and first-year rations without worrying about it.
If you have money in your pocket and can bear the cost of immigration by yourself, then you can go to various good places as you like, such as the already developed Malacca, where you can also get free land!
Under various disaster relief measures, it was impossible for the local disaster-stricken people in the Dachu Empire to starve to death.
Of course, if you are unwilling to accept the official arrangement, have no money in your pocket, and insist on claiming that it is my freedom to starve to death, then there is no other way.
Behind the overseas immigration, we can also see why the Chu Empire insisted on a large amount of land when it expanded externally, and it did not build any slave plantations or the like.
The overseas expansion of the Chu Empire was different from that of European countries.
The overseas expansion of the Da Chu Empire was for more arable land and to feed more people. Therefore, after the Da Chu Empire conquered a place, it often carried out repeated raids to completely eliminate local organized resistance, and then carried out large-scale immigration. , and in the process used militiamen to expel the indigenous people, and finally occupied the entire land, and cultivated and multiplied the land.
There is no such thing as colonial rule or economic plunder.
The purpose of the Dachu Empire's overseas expansion was very pure: it wanted land but not people!
The overseas expansion of European countries is mainly for various economic interests, so they will focus on trade, route monopoly, colonial economic plunder, etc., which will lead to slave trade, slave plantations and other phenomena.
Based on the different fundamental purposes of the two overseas expansions, the overseas expansion of the Chu Empire and the overseas expansion of European countries were hugely different in many ways.
This is the difference in basic logic between the senior leaders of the Chu Empire and the senior leaders of European countries. The senior leaders of the Chu Empire were motivated by the idea of maintaining their rule for eternity.
Senior leaders of European countries, what is their basic logic for overseas expansion? for money!
The Dachu Empire's overseas expansion logic is actually similar to the same thing at home.
, why disaster relief?
Because they are afraid of creating refugees!
Otherwise, do you really think that the elders care about the life and death of the untouchables? They are not afraid that the great famine will lead to a large number of refugees, which will then evolve into the chaotic situation in the late Ming Dynasty.
The Great Chu Empire evolved from the rebel refugees in the late Ming Dynasty. Luo Zhixue himself was a refugee, and the natural market was on guard against this from beginning to end.
Therefore, the Chu Empire tried every means to prevent the possibility of a great famine, and then adopted a series of measures such as focusing on agriculture, water conservancy, and immigration.
The Northeastern development is actually based on almost the same underlying logic.
What is being developed in Northeast China?
Steel and various minerals? Although this is done, in fact, these are incidental. There are many steel and coal mines in the Chu Empire. To be honest, in terms of the current production capacity of the Chu Empire and the demand for steel and coal, it is not inferior to that in the Northeast. .
The Chu Empire's purpose of developing the Northeast was also very simple and pure. It was to develop the large black land on the Northeast Plain in the Northeast and grow food!
The Northeastern Plains, that is, the Liaohe Plain, the Sanjiang Plain, and the Songnen Plain. These three plains are extremely fertile, and there were no people there before. Once they are fully developed and cultivated, it means that the Chu Empire will have a large number of people out of thin air. Grain production.
In fact, just the Liaohe Plain and a small amount of land in the Songnen Plain that are currently under development have made the Northeastern region the largest grain supply base of the Chu Empire. The amount of grain supplied to the outside world every year has exceeded that of Huguang and Hantian. The sum of the provinces and prefectures.
As for Jiangnan, although the food production there is greater, the population is also more densely populated, and the external supply of food is relatively small.
The current development of the Chu Empire in the northeastern region is focused on further developing the Liaohe Plain and increasing the development of the Songnen Plain.
At the same time, preliminary research and development preparations will be carried out in the Sanjiang Plain.
In the sixth phase of the agricultural development plan, the development of these three plains in Northeast China will be a focus.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is counting on the development of this area to effectively increase the per capita grain production in the Dachu Empire.
The per capita grain production in the country has increased. Coupled with the widely imported grain from Nanyang, coupled with the meat and grain imported from India and the Americas, the domestic per capita grain consumption can reach the goal expected by the empire's top officials: per capita Four hundred kilograms of grain!
Based on the importance of domestically produced food, Luo Zhixue delivered a speech to further support and encourage agricultural production after completing his inspection of Shen'an Farm, once again emphasizing the empire's emphasis on food production and further expanding food sources to ensure per capita consumption of food. level.
After finishing the inspection of Shen'an Farm, Luo Zhixue continued to take the imperial special train northward and came to the northernmost city on the Northeast Railway line, Changchun, the provincial capital of Liaobei Province.
In fact, the provincial government of Northern Liaoning Province was not in Changchun at the beginning, but in Jilin further east. This was just because the Northeast Railway did not pass through Jilin, but passed through Changchun.
For the sake of transportation convenience and future agricultural and industrial development, the Liaobei Provincial Government directly moved the provincial capital from Jilin to Changchun after careful consideration.
However, the railway in Changchun has only been opened for half a year, so the industrial development of this place has not yet taken off. Not only in Changchun, but in fact, the industrial and commercial development of the entire northern Liaoning Province is not very good.
The population is too small and it lacks an industrial base. You said there are various mineral resources... Liaodong in the south has more, mining is more convenient, and various supporting facilities are complete. There is no need to go further north, where it is colder and the transportation is not good. It is convenient to go to Liaobei Province to do these things.
Therefore, the economic model of northern Liaoning Province in the past mainly relied on agricultural production.
However, the agricultural production in Northern Liaoning Province is different from ordinary agricultural production. There are actually not many homesteaders in Liaobei Province, because in the early years, few people were willing to immigrate to Northern Liaoning Province... There were only a few people, so naturally they could not produce a large number of farmers. The yeoman system.
In order to develop the local area, Liaobei Province attracted a large number of investments and attracted a large amount of capital in the agricultural field to enter Liaobei Province to open up various large-scale
farm.
As long as you are willing to come and invest in a farm, the land will be rent-free and various other preferential policies will be provided. Even agricultural taxes will be exempted for three times and two will be reduced.
Therefore, a large number of farms have been established in northern Liaoning Province, with investment from official capital and private capital.
Among them is the "Liaohua Farm" invested and established by Liaohua Agricultural Company. This farm is not only the largest farm in northern Liaoning, but also the northeastern region, and even the largest farm in the Dachu Empire.
This year, the rice planting area alone has reached more than 300,000 acres!
It also has a large area of soybean and wheat planting areas.
They also raised horses, pigs, chickens, ducks and other livestock, among which there were more than 50,000 Fengzhou horses alone.
And this Liaohua Farm is only one of the company's largest farms. In fact, the company also has farms in Liaodong and Heishui, and a large livestock base in Monan.
There are also several agricultural products and meat processing plants.
Liaohua Agricultural Company is the most powerful enterprise in the agricultural and livestock industry in the Chu Empire, with a market value of tens of millions of Chu yuan on the Jinling Stock Exchange.
In terms of scale and strength, it is no worse than those so-called large textile or machinery companies!
The company's headquarters base is naturally Luo Zhixue's key inspection place!
