Chapter 38 A Long Way to Go

Liangzhou has a desert climate with long sunshine and large temperature differences. It is often dry, so there are not many crops suitable for it.

But the advantage is that the sunshine time is long and the sunshine resources are abundant, so it is more suitable for the cultivation of wheat and sesame. At this time, Yinzhou did not even have corn.

single!

It's still too monotonous! Not only is it monotonous, but most of these crops are annual crops, that is, they can only be planted and harvested once a year.

Under such circumstances, coupled with the barren land in Yinzhou, feeding the people naturally became the biggest problem.

“How is the reclamation going?”

Liu Zheng asked Liang Erfu while riding his horse.

Liang Erfu said respectfully: "Sir, reclamation is a long-term plan. The people have reclaimed thousands of acres of land in the entire Yinzhou despite the wind and snow!"

Thousands of acres...

Liu Zheng nodded and smiled, "Any other questions?"

Liang Erfu smiled bitterly and said, "Of course there are difficulties. My lord, you know that having land is a good thing, but there is a problem of insufficient manpower... Recently, those prominent families have bought slaves from other places because the tenants have resigned and a large amount of farmland is idle."

"Oh? There's such a thing?"

Liu Zheng was delighted when he heard it.

In the past, due to the relaxation of the reclamation policy, it would be strange if the noble families did not come to the county mansion to put pressure on this situation. Now the noble families dare not disobey the county mansion, but because of the excessive amount of cultivated land, the tenant farmers who have been working for these noble families have resigned, forcing these noble families to start buying slaves to cultivate the land.

Of course, this is not a bad thing for Yinzhou.

In this era, population is the biggest bonus! Slaves will consume and give birth, so Yinzhou will naturally develop.

but.

We cannot just see the good side, we must also see the several problems that this matter has highlighted.

First of all, there is the problem of too many people and too few sky, which is what Liu Zheng is going to solve next.

Secondly, a series of follow-up problems will occur due to the influx of a large number of slaves into Silver State. For example, how to manage them must be reminded to the prominent families. Also, will the entry of slaves bring plague? This is also a top priority! In this era, there are no vaccines or immune systems. People who have lived in each place for a long time, when they go to another place, have different antibodies in their bodies, and it is easy to breed different viruses. This is the phenomenon of acclimatization.

In ancient times, there were several cases of large-scale destruction caused by plague.

It seems like we should set up a medical department!

Liu Zheng rubbed his temple. Only then did he realize that managing a territory was so troublesome.

"After the heavy snow, we will have to consider farming. Erfu, you can't stay in Yinzhou during this period."

Liu Zheng said.

Liang Erfu was stunned: "What do you mean, sir?"

Liu Zheng nodded and smiled, "You need to go out and buy some crop seeds. Especially this time, I want you to go to the Shuzhong area and help me find something called red potatoes and taro!"

"Sweet potato? Sweet potato?"

Liang Erfu had never heard of it.

Liu Zheng laughed and explained what the sweet potato looked like. In fact, the sweet potato is actually sweet potato! According to the records in Chinese history, sweet potato is an imported product, which was introduced into China from overseas in the Ming Dynasty. In fact, it is not true! Liu Zheng had read in the "Qingyi Lu" written by Tao Yi in the Song Dynasty that "there are many sweet potatoes in the south of the Wuling Mountains, and they are connected in pieces, some weighing dozens of kilograms, and they are very sweet and fragrant. But because they are mostly in deep mountains and valleys, people mostly eat them themselves and never sell them to outsiders."

In other words, sweet potatoes have always been available in China!

However, this crop has not received much attention from people, and has not been cultivated on a large scale. At present, it is still classified as a wild vegetable.

As for Tu Yu, Liu Zheng actually didn't have much hope.

Because it's a potato, that is, a potato.

This is something that is truly native to South America. Liu Zheng cannot guarantee whether it has come to this land at this time. "Tu Yam, also known as Huang Du, has creeping leaves like beans, round roots like chicken eggs, white inside and yellow skin... It can be boiled or steamed. Boil taro juice and wash greasy clothes, making them as white as jade." The first record of potatoes in the "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration" was in the Ming Dynasty.

I don’t know when potatoes came into this space.

But there is no doubt that these two crops are suitable for planting in Yinzhou! The reason is that there is only one crop in Yinzhou, which is wheat, which is planted once a year and harvested once. But potatoes and sweet potatoes can be grown twice a year, and the yield is amazing!

The production cycle of sweet potatoes is one hundred and sixty to two hundred days, but Liu Zheng can use his own technology to harvest sweet potatoes twice a year!

The most important thing is.

Sweet potatoes are drought-resistant and rich in protein, starch, pectin, cellulose, amino acids, vitamins and various minerals. In other words, they are a very nutritionally balanced crop, even more than wheat. They can be prepared as the main food !

Today, the situation in the world is becoming more and more delicate, with vassal kings everywhere.

If Liu Zheng wants to gain a foothold in this chaotic world, or even make achievements, he must have a large number of elite soldiers! To raise soldiers, you must first have food and grass! Just imagine, others can harvest food once a year, but he can harvest it twice. What does that mean?

"Go back and prepare. Go to the county magistrate's mansion to collect 1,000 taels of travel expenses. Be sure to find one of them for me!"

Liu Zheng immediately gave the order.

"Sir, Erfu will definitely live up to your expectations!"

Liang Erfu didn't waste any words, clasped his fists, and rode away on his horse.

Liu Zheng rode his horse alone again and took a turn. He did not forget to take a look at the salt field he had been thinking about.

This almost made him unable to hold back and he wanted to study how to mine the lake salt and well salt! But he still held back because he knew that now was not the time.

Salt is a substance that is subject to the highest control in the Longyan Dynasty. If he mines it privately, it will inevitably cause shock in the government and the country. By then, he probably won't even know how he died.

Therefore, before mining the salt, he must have the power to protect himself!

There is still a long way to go!

Liu Zheng laughed at himself.

The most important thing now is to solve the farming problem. Liang Erfu went out to look for seeds this time, and it would take a long time to come back. There were no airplanes in those days, and it would take at least several months to go to the south.

Therefore, he still needs to solve the farming problem.

“If you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools!”

Liu Zheng just said this today, so naturally he has to think of a solution with the farm tools.

Go go!

Galloping on horseback along the way.

"Sir, are you thirsty? Come down and have a drink of water!"

"Long live Mr. Liu!"

"Our whole family thanks you for your kindness!"

Along the way, looking at the weather, Liu Zheng was still inspecting the farmland. The farmers were very enthusiastic. Liu Zheng was still very satisfied.

With the people's will like this, what does he have to fear?

This time, he went directly to the Cao family.

"Oh, my Lord, you have come. I am sorry for not welcoming you. I am so sorry!"

Cao Zhen was welcoming him with open arms and seemed to be still drinking in the house. When he heard that Liu Zheng was coming, he immediately ran out in a disheveled state.

"Mr. Cao, there's no need to be so polite. I came here this time to see the Cao family's farm tool workshop."

Liu Zheng chuckled.

Cao Zhen looked excited: "Young Master must have something good to teach me!"

Cao Zhen raised his arm and called, and a group of servants followed behind, leading Liu Zheng's horse to the side. Cao Zhen personally took Liu Zheng to the farm tool workshop in the backyard of the Cao family. When the county marquis' son came, the whole Cao family was shocked. One by one, the young men and women came to see what this famous young man of the Liu family looked like.

For a while, the Cao family was quite lively.

Liu Zheng was not shy and greeted them.

This made the young ladies of the Cao family blush.

Cao Zhen didn't mind and laughed, "Sir, where do you want to see first?"

"just looking around."

Liu Zheng wanted to learn about the agricultural tools of this era. To plow the fields, he naturally had to look at the plow first! There were many cattle and horses in Yinzhou, so the plow became the most important farming tool.

"Sir, this is the straight-beam plow workshop!"

In the workshop , some carpenters are working and the wood is ready at the door.

Liu Zheng took a look and immediately laughed.

Got it!

Let’s start with this plow!

"Sir, is there something wrong?"

Cao Zhen looked at Liu Zheng's expression and asked.

Liu Zheng nodded: "The straight-beam plow is a bit outdated, it needs to be modified!"

"What?"

Cao Zhen was stunned.

The carpenters also put down their work, walked out, and looked at Liu Zheng unkindly: "Who are you? Why are you so arrogant?"

"This straight-beam plow can do twice the work with half the effort. How can we modify it?"

"Don't brag, little boy!"

The carpenters were very angry. This craft is their livelihood. How can you change it just like that?

Cao Zhen was startled and said angrily: "Shut up, this is the son of the county marquis!"

The carpenters' faces changed slightly, but they still snorted coldly.

No matter who it is, it is not okay to question them!

The young masters and young ladies of the Cao family all laughed when they heard Liu Zheng's words. The Longyan Dynasty had used the straight-beam plow for more than a thousand years, and no one had ever thought of changing it. What was Liu Zheng trying to do?

Cao Zhen also smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, this cannot be changed! This year, Yinzhou was reclaimed, and many of the Cao family's tenants left. Without the straight-beam plow, a lot of land will be uncultivated!"

Liu Zheng wanted to say that it was what he deserved. Who told you to enclose so much land? But he still had a smile on his face: "I said it was a change, not that we should stop production."

"How do I change it?"

"Do you know anything about farm tools?"

Those carpenters are even more unwilling to do it. Are you questioning our professionalism?

"Do you have any land?"

Liu Zheng didn't waste any words and asked Cao Zhen next to him.

Cao Zhen immediately said that there was a fertile field not far away in the backyard of the Cao family.

Liu Zheng asked someone to bring a straight-beam plow to the field.

At this time, the young men and women, servants, carpenters, and even the tenant farmers of the Cao family all gathered around to watch the fun.

"What is he going to do?"

"Who knows?"

"Haha, this young man is good at writing poetry, but how can he understand farming?"

People sneered.

Cao Zhen was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He originally thought that Liu Zheng came to bring business to the Cao family today, but he didn't expect that this young man was just here to play?

"Plow it once and show me!"

Liu Zheng ordered.

Cao Zhen sighed helplessly, ordered his men to bring two oxen, put the plow on them, and plowed the field.

Liu Zheng kept shaking his head as he watched.

Two cows, what a waste!

The operation is difficult and time-consuming!

Too heavy and tiring!

The cultivated land is too shallow, which is troublesome!

"alright."

The ox is walking and the plow is there.

A group of people looked at Liu Zheng, waiting for his next instruction.

"Burn it."