Chapter 1301 Control
Chapter 1301 Control
"In May, more than 100 bushels of rye were harvested in Yanzhi Mountain, Mayi, and Yuyang. In the spring, another seven acres of rye were planted in the mountains of Diaoyin County, and they will not be harvested until August." Cai Chengxian reported on this work that has lasted for several years. He said, "The farmers all said that if this crop is sown in spring, it is not as good as wheat. It is best to plant it over the winter so that it is not afraid of severe cold. Therefore, after selecting and planting in the golden autumn, it will not be sown in the spring of the next year."
"Allocate a batch of seeds from Mayi and Yuyang and send them to Liaodong as soon as possible." Shao Xun said, "The Shaofu also sent a prefectural secretary to lead more than ten gardeners, divided into two groups, and sailed north by sea. Choose a place at the foot of Maxish Mountain to plant rye."
"Yes." Cai Chengxian responded, and then said: "Your Majesty, I heard that the old land of Da County has been abandoned for a long time. Even if rye is planted in the fall, there will not be much harvest next year."
"Just rely on the weather for your harvest." Shao Xun said, "To this day, there are still many Hu tribes that do nomadic farming. How is this different? Just harvest as much as you can."
"Yes." Since the emperor's requirements were so low, Cai Cheng had nothing to say and just made the arrangements.
"How are the gardens in Jiaozhou?" Shao Xun asked again.
Cai Cheng secretly said that it was a close call. The emperor had indeed been keeping an eye on this matter. Fortunately, he had made preparations.
At his signal, a young man behind him took out a map and a thread-bound booklet, placed them on the desk, and then began to report.
Shao Xun took a look at the man, who looked to be in his twenties. He had just been introduced as Cai Cheng's nephew Cai Kuang, whose courtesy name was Dazhong. He was currently serving as the magistrate of Nanding Garden.
The so-called Nanding Garden was a seaside manor located in Nanding County, Jiaozhi County. It was the thirteenth garden under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu.
While listening to the report, Shao Xun flipped through the booklet and then took something from Cai Cheng.
"I don't know what this thing is called." Cai Cheng said, "Some merchants in Guangzhou say it is 'Nanhai cardamom', which is similar in appearance to the cardamom in Jiaoguang, but is actually different. Some merchants who are familiar with the foreign language say it is 'Jiajule', but I don't know what it means."
Shao Xun nodded.
"Kajula" is obviously a transliteration of a foreign word. Merchants from Jiaozhou and Guangzhou called it "Nanhai Cardamom" to distinguish it from the native potato cardamom. In fact, the two are completely different plants.
Shao Xun knew very well what this was: nutmeg, which was included in the famous thirteen spices in later generations.
Nutmeg and mace are both famous spices.
In the Age of Exploration, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper were the three main products, and shipping them back to Europe was extremely profitable. You can also make money in China, but the market demand is much smaller, so there is no huge profit.
If you want to increase market demand, it’s very simple, just increase meat production.
The Europeans adopted an agricultural model that combined farming and animal husbandry. They had farmland for growing crops, but after a period of time, as the fertility of the farmland declined, the grain yield decreased, so the farmland became fallow and turned into pasture.
Therefore, Europeans have the tradition of slaughtering livestock in late autumn, and making cured meat and ham is also a tradition. Once they come into contact with spices, they cannot live without them. Therefore, there is a broad market demand, which led to the myth of the Dutch, English and Portuguese East India Companies getting rich through the spice trade. Before the maritime spice trade, Arab merchants originally went to Southeast Asia to transport the spices, and then camel caravans transported them to Constantinople, where they were purchased and distributed by Venetian merchants. But those who know what happened later know it all.
Shao Xun thought about it carefully and thought that there might be some market for imported spices at this time. At least he liked more spices in the meat. Wouldn’t thirteen spices be fragrant?
But it is hard to say how big the market will be, because the proportion of planting in agriculture is too high, and the proportion of animal husbandry is very low, which is completely different from the European model.
However, under manor agriculture, the proportion of animal husbandry may be increased - but it's just "maybe".
"Nandingyuan plans to grow spices?" Shao Xun asked.
Cai Kuang stopped reporting and, encouraged by his uncle, replied in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I think both sugarcane and spices can be grown."
"Anyone who can make money, come here?" Shao Xun asked with a smile.
"That's right." Cai Kuang said.
Shao Xun smiled and nodded, but he actually didn't agree with it.
But now he has calmed down, and for many things, he holds the idea that even if there is no effect in the future, he should give it a start.
For example, the trade of spices and sugar cane did not have much of a market in this very ancient era, but let’s start with this.
Anyway, the Shaofu should be able to make money from this, so let's do it.
"What's the situation in Jiaozhou?" Shao Xun put down the nutmeg and asked.
"It's calm." Cai Cheng replied.
This means that the local tyrants and barbarian chiefs live their own lives behind closed doors, maintaining superficial respect for the imperial court, and the imperial court does not overly control these people, and everyone "lives in peace."
It is said that the current governor, Guanqiu Ao, brought with him two thousand White Tiger Barbarian soldiers from Badong and Fuling when he took office. These were the armed forces he could trust most in Jiaozhou. I just don't know how many are left now.
The number of diseases included in "Endemic Diseases: Jiaozhou" is still too small. It should be much better in the next version update.
In any case, the mortality rate of people in tropical and subtropical areas in the Daliang Dynasty he founded should be lower than in all previous dynasties. Given the reality of low medical standards, prevention is more important than anything else.
"Get Nandingyuan back on track as soon as possible." Shao Xun said, "I am still waiting for you to bring back the first shipload of sugar cane."
"Yes." The uncle and nephew answered in unison.
After Cai Cheng and Cai Kuang left, Shao Xun sat alone in the empty hall, quietly watching the sky outside gradually darkening.
The arrangements for the northeast direction have been almost completed. Conquering Murong Xianbei is only one part of his strategy. His main focus now is even on how to manage the five counties of Pingzhou.
Jiaozhou arranged a chain to slightly strengthen the connection between this foreign land and the Central Plains.
The next step is to make friends with time.
A strategic plan, like a plant sprouting, breaking through the soil, growing and finally blooming and bearing fruit, takes time to settle.
During this process, the crops may even encounter various tests such as drought, floods, frost and snow, which require farmers to take careful care of them.
The sun gradually set and the palace became dark.
Half of Shao Xun's face was hidden in the shadows.
Tong Qianjin couldn't help but look around at the palace gate. Why didn't the emperor make any movement for so long? Shao Xun chuckled, stood up, and shouted, "Let's go to the prime minister's house."
******
The palace was very deserted after nightfall.
After Shao Xun arrived, it added a bit of popularity to this place.
In the study, the Mengding tea was boiled and the fragrance filled the air.
Wang Yan took a sip and praised it as "good tea".
Shao Xun pondered for a moment and said, "Yi Fu, you have suffered a lot these years."
Wang Yan was startled and said, "This is my duty. Why does Your Majesty say this?"
"You don't have to say more." Shao Xun sighed, gently pressed Wang Yan's hand, and said: "When I was fighting for Lord Chen and Lord Liang, you were in charge of the Shangshu affairs and guarded Luoyang. Without you, how could everything be so easy?"
Wang Yan was silent.
In the early days, he and Jin Shang did have a cooperative relationship, just one master and one servant.
Without him, the emperor would not have been able to launch so many wars, and the rear would not have been so stable.
This is a fact.
"I'm too greedy..." Shao Xun picked up the tea bowl and took another sip.
Wang Yan waited quietly for him to continue.
"I want to hold more land in my hands, even if I can't control it for the time being." Shao Xun said, "For example, Liaodong."
Wang Yan suddenly realized.
The Liaodong that the emperor was referring to was obviously not Liaodong County, but the entire Liao area.
If the Pingzhou counties in the late Han Dynasty and early Cao Wei were still half-controlled and half-in control, nearly a hundred years later, Pingzhou had been completely out of control and could not even be controlled.
If the Daliang Dynasty wanted to govern, it would not be done overnight, and at most it could only control a small part.
From now on, it would be a success if we could regain actual control over Liucheng in the next twenty years.
Other places are full of local nobles and tribal chieftains. They recognize the piece of paper given by the imperial court as a bond of vassalage. If they do not recognize it, they will directly rebel.
In the early days of the dynasty, politics was relatively clear and military power was strong, so these tribes generally would not rebel. But it would become more difficult to say as time went on.
The emperor said this to him...
Wang Yan looked at Shao Xun, and seemed to understand something in his heart, but along with this enlightenment, he also felt a little angry, sad and even aggrieved.
"Yi Fu, the Wang family of Langya has been a family of nobles for generations, and their literary tradition is flourishing. If they can educate the Hu people, they will be successful in everything they do." Shao Xun said.
Wang Yan was silent.
"Yi Fu, I owe you, Jing Feng, and...Hu Tou." Shao Xun said softly, "There are no outsiders here today, so we are talking from the heart."
After a long while, Wang Yan sighed and said, "What does your majesty want to do?"
"There are still descendants of the Central Xia in Liaodong, who live in settlements to protect themselves. In the countryside, there are mostly Xianbei and Wimen, who are brave, aggressive, and ignorant. If more well-dressed young men settle down, the customs will surely change greatly." Shao Xun said.
Wang Yan smiled bitterly and said, "Not only were the Wang family of Langya exiled to the northwest, they were also exiled to the northeast."
Shao Xun was a little embarrassed when he heard this and immediately said, "There are still many descendants of the Wang family of Langya in Bianliang. I can issue an edict to pardon them."
"Your Majesty, have you made up your mind?" Wang Yan asked.
"I have made up my mind." Shao Xun said, and then added: "Hu Tou is my beloved, so I will not treat him unfairly."
Wang Yan didn't say anything.
If you really love your son, you shouldn't send him to such a desolate place.
Are the Dukes of Liangcheng, Wuyuan, and Yuyang favored? If they were favored, they should have stayed in Luoyang instead of being exiled to the border to guard the country, where they would have been swept away by the Hu people.
Furthermore, people like to stay in prosperous places.
In the past, Sima Yan made the vassal states of the various schools of thought cry and wail, and did everything they could to avoid leaving the capital. Life in the vassal states was completely different from life in Luoyang.
"Forget it." Wang Yan was a little bored.
His already old face looked even more decadent at this moment, as if all hope was shattered, and his whole spirit and energy declined at a very fast speed.
Shao Xun felt a little bit reluctant to watch this, and when he thought about the sisters Wang Jingfeng and Wang Huifeng, as well as the father-son relationship between him and Hu Tou, he could only sigh.
He could be cruel to outsiders, but he couldn't be so ruthless to his wife and children.
He slowly stood up and left the study.
Wang Yan sat alone inside like a sculpture.
(End of this chapter)