Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 741 Soil
Li Hang entered Huaiyuan County with his entourage.

Trekking all the way in the winter is really not easy.Moreover, this trip was really a bit dangerous, which made him, a veteran envoy who was used to running around all major forces, feel lingering fear.

He just wants to drink some wine now to relieve his fatigue.

The winter scenery in the countryside is a bit monotonous.

The fields are dusty, the stubble of the crops has been turned outside, and there are livestock pens everywhere on the field. The number of cattle has been greatly reduced. Most of them are bulls, steers and calves. Old cattle are rarely seen.

Most of these cattle in the circle are beef cattle, and there are fewer dairy cows, mainly for obtaining beef, tallow, horns and cowhide.

Horns and cowhide are military supplies, which can be tax deducted. Beef and tallow are handled by themselves, and they are usually sold.

The value of beef bones is also a lot.King Xia's "Supreme Instructions" stated that calcined livestock bones can be used as a kind of fertilizer called "phosphate fertilizer" and sprinkled on the farmland to make wheat grow well.

The combination of alfalfa, livestock, and wheat has such a wonderful effect.Alfalfa helps farmers "beg" a lot of nitrogen from nature. According to the principle of energy conservation, the total energy of the meat, milk, fat, beans, and wheat you produce should be more than that of simply growing wheat on the same arable land area. The total energy of the carbohydrates produced is high, not to mention that the crop rotation also reduces the losses caused by diseases and insect pests.

Li Hang didn't understand these principles, but he could tell that Lingxia's life was getting better.

"It's been a long time since I've been away from home, and I miss Shuofang Sheng Shao. This product is much more exciting than the spring wine and dew wine we drank in the south of the Yangtze River." Li Hang swallowed, and said: "Look at this vineyard, the scenery of the Northland, look be kind."

There is a system in the country, and there are house gardens in addition to the cultivated land. According to the situation of each place, it is generally about [-] to [-] mu.Of course, this figure is only theoretical. In some places, there are many people and little land, and the arable land is less than [-] to [-] mu, let alone a garden.But in Helong and Shuofang, there are few people in the past, so it is not difficult to do this.

In addition to building houses and houses, the common people's gardens in the Kanto region are basically planted with mulberry trees.But in Kansai, the situation is more complicated. Fortunately, in Guanzhong, there are many people who grow mulberry and raise silkworms, but almost every household in Shuofang and Helong grows fruit trees, especially grapes.

Grapes are good, sweet, and can make wine.Even now, winemaking is mainstream.During the years when King Xia ruled the Northwest, wine became very popular, and almost every village had a winemaking workshop.Occasionally, farmers will brew it themselves, but the quality varies, so it is not very common.

"You can take a break for the sacrifice of wine and have a few bowls of wine before leaving. Anyway, there is no rush for a day or two." A follower said.

Li Hang didn't stop, and continued to ride his horse forward, saying: "The business is important."

They were now past the country and very close to the city.

Here, the situation in the field is quite different.There are also cows in the stables, but the number of cows is greatly increased.It’s easy to understand why this happens. Farmers can’t finish their milk by themselves. They are mainly sold to urban residents. Considering the transportation distance, the closer to the city, the easier it is to sell.

A new workshop was built outside the city wall, and it was busy, and there seemed to be a lot of people.

Li Hang's sharp eyes seemed to see a familiar figure, and they also saw him.

"Isn't it Li Jijiu? My servant pays homage to all the officials." The shogunate envoy Jin Chongwen rushed over from a distance, smiling like a chrysanthemum.

"What is Miss Jin doing here?" Li Hang reined in his horse, looked at the workshop, and asked.

"Yang Yue and Yang Dutou made an expedition to Qibei and won a great victory, and won hundreds of thousands of cattle, sheep, horses and camels. The king was very happy and ordered to distribute rewards to the officials of the shogunate, prefectures and counties." Jin Chongwen replied.

"Could it be possible to divide the captured cattle, sheep, horses and camels?" Li Hang was also very excited when he heard the news, and in a good mood, he joked.

"How can it be?" Jin Chongwen said with a smile: "It's just a reward for some meat, I'll buy it here."

"What meat?" Li Hang asked.

"Ham." Jin Chongwen said: "There are both pickled and smoked ones."

Li Hang suddenly became interested.When he went to the west of Zhejiang, when Qian Liu entertained him, he had ham, saying that it was produced in Jinhua County, Wuzhou, and it was very delicious.Li Hang was full of praise after tasting it, but it was pork ham. Can beef and mutton be used to make ham?

"There is so much meat in Lingzhou now? Do you want to make ham?"

"There are more and more old cows. Now every autumn and winter in the countryside, every household slaughters cattle and sheep to make bacon. Over time, some people go out to collect cattle, slaughter them in their own factories, and make ham."

"I see." Li Hang has been an official for a long time, and he really doesn't know much about these folk daily lives.

At the same time, I am also very moved that one day, there will be so many cattle in Lingzhou that someone can start a workshop, slaughter them wantonly, and pickle and smoke ham.He has been to the Duzuo Academy, and he knows that the craftsmen in the Academy work together to make more equipment than a single blacksmith, and it is also much cheaper.

The ham factory should process beef much faster than the farmers.The price is hard to say, because farmers often don't count the time and labor they spend into the cost, and often sell it very cheaply, which makes people very speechless.

But how should I put it, the factory has manpower and space, can build a stove, smoke hundreds of hams at one go, and can build a large salt pond in which countless meats can be soaked. The advantages are not small.

And the appearance of the factory shows that there are more and more people in the city, and they also have money to buy things produced by the factory. This is the main premise.

After leaving the ham factory, Li Hang and his party entered the city.He went home first, took a shower, freshened up, changed his clothes, and hurried out of the city, heading straight to the Shao Family's other courtyard in the west of the city. It was already evening when he arrived.

Coincidentally, the dinner Shao Shude entertained him also had ham.

"The appearance of the factory is not something I can just order." Shao Shude, who had just got up from the daughter of Albus, was very talkative, and said in a somewhat complacent tone: "If no one buys it, the factory will not be able to continue. Naturally, only The ham factory in the southeast of the city was opened by Zhang Yanqiu's nephew. I told them earlier, what's the use of putting all the money in the warehouse? It's the best way to make money. Lingxia Lao Niu Yue There are more and more, and the tribes of the grassland are still importing cattle and sheep, and they have long been unable to handle it, so they can only go to the factory."

This kind of factory that appeared naturally made Shao Shude very happy, a hundred times happier than he himself ordered to open a factory.

It can be born naturally, which means that there is an objectively existing soil, which is more vital than the one you pull out to grow.

First of all, the first prerequisite is that there are too many cattle, so much that it is very difficult to deal with by traditional methods. We can only find ways to improve efficiency. This is the production supply side.

On the demand side, the large number of old cows on the market has made the price of beef lower year by year, and the "dumping" of grassland tribes has caused the price to plummet.At the same time, because Lingxia has been stable for many years, the output of grain, meat and milk far exceeds that of Henan and Hebei. There is no need for so many people to farm the land. More and more people are engaged in other industries, and the income obtained from these industries is enough meet their food, clothing, housing and transportation expenses.

You see, the market on the demand side has also emerged.

When the two conditions are ripe, many new things emerge and develop.Among them, solving the problem of food is the most fundamental, otherwise everyone needs to be driven to the fields to produce food, and no one will go to blacksmith shops, brick kilns, forest farms, carriage shops, etc., small handicraftsmen and workshops Unless the number of workers is expanded, the consumer group cannot be expanded, and industrial development cannot be discussed.

If there is no market, it would be good to have a small handicraft industry with a limited scale if you develop a woolen industry.

"Your Majesty thinks so far, I can't do it." Although Li Hang didn't understand it very well, he subconsciously praised it.

"Forget it, it's useless to tell you these things." Shao Shude laughed, and said, "How about going to Hangzhou?"

"Qian Liu rushed to attack Dong Chang, but Chang's power was not enough, so he retreated to the city. Ming, Tai, Wen, Chu and other states stood by and watched, and some even helped Qian Liu. I think Dong Chang's defeat is imminent." Li Hang said: "Huai On the human side, An Renyi, governor of Runzhou, and Tian Qu, governor of Xuanzhou attacked Suzhou; Qian Liu was defeated for a while, but he was unmoved and continued to attack Dongchang."

"Qian Liu is courageous." Shao Shude said.

"Qian Liu has something to say, he would like to honor the king with brotherly courtesy, and attack Yang Xingmi together." Li Hang said again.

"Destroy Dong Chang first, and let's talk about collecting the states in eastern Zhejiang." Shao Shude said: "Yang Xingmi occupies his counties in western Zhejiang, and Qian Liu will definitely not let it go. If he can make a difference in the southeast, it is not a bad thing. Zhong What can you say?"

"Zhong Chuan was apprehensive, but after seeing the conflict between Yang Xingmi and Huaixi Zheshuai, he made up his mind and didn't want to provoke Yang Xingmi. I'm ashamed that I didn't get his promise during this trip." Li Hang said.

He did not mention that on the way from Zhejiang West to Jiangxi, he was attacked and killed by bandits and almost died.Anyway, the Department of Public Security and Datong Maxing will report it, and the king will definitely know, but there is no need to complain about it at this time.

"Zhong Chuanshu is short-sighted and stupid." Shao Shude shook his head and said, "Yang Xing will attack him in secret in another day, let's see if someone can save him."

"Zhong Chuan really doesn't seem to be very ambitious, the dog who guards the house." Li Hang echoed: "If you don't pay attention, you will be merged by the secret line."

"Yang Xingmi hasn't done his job well internally. So many military leaders are fighting for their own strength, yet he dares to start a war on both sides at the same time. Sooner or later, there will be great disaster." Shao Shude said: "It shouldn't be on him, it should also be on his son. body."

Shao Shude was also a little annoyed with him, wouldn't it be good to attack Southeast?Is it worth it to help Zhu Quanzhong get chestnuts out of the fire?
"Your Majesty, why not send troops to take the Huainan states first?" Li Hang suggested.

"You have never led troops to fight, so you don't understand these things." Shao Shude shook his head and said, "The states in Huaixi are broken and cannot support the long-term battle of the army. Moreover, even if some states and counties in Huainan were captured, there is still a gap between them." The two towns of Eyue and Huaixi are not that simple. Zhu Quanzhong is still going to be attacked now. I wanted to lure him to attack Ruzhou, but he was not fooled. It’s okay, if he doesn’t come, I’ll go!”

Seeing that Pang Shigu pretended to be dead every day and did not go to battle, only to overhaul the fortress, Shao Shude did not intend to wait any longer.A few days ago, he just ordered that the Shaqi tribes not to disband and return, but to equip them with horses and go south to Heyang to obey the dispatch of the Huaizhou camp.As long as the big river was frozen solid, the whole army went south and went straight to Zhengzhou, first cutting off the retreat of the big Liang army in Heyin and Sishui.

Zhu Quanzhong suffered a loss last year, but the harsh situation prevented him from making effective adjustments.The Sishui Pass must be guarded, right?If you don't defend it, you will open a road and let Xia's troops on the northern line swarm into the flat Zhengzhou Plain, which will only get worse.

"You're tired from the journey, let's rest for a while." Shao Shude looked at Li Hang and said, "The twelfth lunar month is coming, so we can't still run outside."

"Working hard for the great cause of the king, why bother." Li Hang said with a smile: "I only want to see the whole loyalty disappear early and the world return to unity."

"Quanzhong can't turn himself over." Shao Shude also smiled and said, "If no one is willing to block him, after I capture Chen Xucai, I can go straight to Xuanwu and let the world see his ugly face."

"I'm waiting for this day." Li Hang said: "Hey, I'm so exhausted after listening to what the king said, I wish I could go out immediately and run for the king."

Both of them laughed.If the situation is like this, everyone can see it, Xia Jun's side is like this, and Liang Jun's side is also like this.

Li Zhong hurried in and handed Shao Shude a military report.

"Okay!" Shao Shude patted his thigh after reading it, and said with a smile, "The main force of the Weisheng army has already left Biyang and entered Caizhou. The first battle of this winter will begin soon."

(End of this chapter)