please make me king

Chapter 838 The Foundation
In later generations, the shortest growth cycle of ducks is [-] days; the growth cycle of broiler chickens is one to two months; and the general growth cycle of meat pigs is [-] days.

With the support of breeding, feed and scientific breeding, the production cycle of pork is about four times that of chicken and six times that of duck.

The growth cycle of native chickens is about four to six months; the growth cycle of male ducks is about four months, and the growth cycle of female ducks is about three months; the growth cycle of native black pigs is about one year.

The growth cycle of pigs is still two or three times that of chickens and four times that of ducks.

Therefore, when pork cannot meet the demand in future generations, the government will take measures to provide cheap chickens and eggs in time to meet the dietary needs of the people.

After comprehensively considering the advantages and disadvantages of chickens, ducks and pigs, Zhang Shun selected chickens and ducks as the breeding objects according to the current needs of preventing locust plagues.

Especially in this era, there are no scientific breeding measures and corresponding feed and vaccines. If large-scale centralized breeding, the plague problem cannot be solved at all.

Therefore, in this small-scale peasant society, it is a safer and more appropriate choice to encourage farmers to raise free-range.

The so-called "a five-acre house, with mulberry trees, fifty people can wear silk; chickens, pigs, pigs and dogs, if the time is right, seventy people can eat meat." This is a true portrayal of the society of this era.

However, Zhang Shenyan and Lu Weiqi served as officials and educated one party, basically "persuading farmers and mulberry farmers" on a household basis.

The general content is nothing more than: each family plants a few mulberry trees to raise silkworms; raises a few chickens and ducks to eat meat; if they are rich, support the family's children to study.

Zhang Shun put forward this proposition, and it was indeed supported by civil officials such as Zhang Shenyan and Lu Weiqi.

Lu Weiqi directly expressed his position: "My lord's words are very true. I can kill two birds with one stone. I will tell the magistrates and prefectures all over the place to comfort the people in time!"

"En!" Zhang Shun nodded, then thought of something else, and couldn't help adding, "If every household raises chickens and ducks, there must be insufficient chickens and ducks..."

Zhang Shun hadn't finished speaking, but Zhang Shenyan answered, "Your Majesty, you're worrying too much. A family of five will raise more than ten chickens and ducks, a few sheep, and a pig. How can there be a shortage?"

It turned out to take a typical family of five in this era as an example. There are two adults and three adults in the family.

So the men farm and the women weave. In their spare time, the old and the weak can raise some chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep, and plant some mulberry trees.

In addition to the rations produced by the cultivated land, the mulberry and hemp produced as a sideline can be used to make clothes, poultry and livestock such as chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep, and the meat and eggs produced can be used as the main source of protein.

So because Zhang Shun didn't have a thorough understanding of the society of this era, he made this kind of joke.

Zhang Shun originally thought that the method he proposed was very good, but he didn't expect that it was already common.

He thought that what he proposed was a pioneering measure, but Zhang Shenyan and Lu Weiqi thought that he was going to raise more chickens and ducks on the original basis.

Zhang Shun couldn't help being a little embarrassed when he heard the words. He thought carefully about the farmers he saw, most of them were like this.

If it gets richer, the population will increase to seven or eight people, and the family will have dozens of acres of land, and then raise a cow or a donkey as draft animals.

But before Zhang Shun could decide what to do, Lu Zhaolin hesitated for a while, and bowed to Zhang Shenyan and said, "I have something to say, I don't know if I should say it or not!"

As soon as Zhang Shenyan heard this, he knew that it was not a good word, but seeing that the child was quite polite, he said with a smile: "You should speak freely on official matters, how can you use public affairs for personal reasons?"

"I'm sorry!" Lu Zhaolin bowed to Zhang Shenyan again, and then explained, "I have a lot of contact with the people these days, and many people have sold more livestock and poultry such as pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, etc. to meet their rations because of poor harvests. use."

"Is the situation so bad now?" Zhang Shenyan and Lu Weiqi couldn't help being stunned upon hearing this.

No wonder these two people are like this, one of them has been away for many years, and the other is returning from a rich place like Nanjing, how do they know that the people are so difficult now?

Zhang Shun understood what was going on as soon as he heard it. This was what the textbooks called "the bankruptcy of the self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy"!

Don't listen to how beautiful the pastoral songs described by Zhang Shenyan and Lu Weiqi are, in fact, they still cannot get rid of their fragile nature.

For example, in a family with father and son as the core of labor, any serious illness or disability will severely damage the family.

Another example is that for a slightly wealthy family, if there is a natural or man-made disaster, the harvest will not be good for one or two consecutive seasons.Then you will be burdened with heavy debts, and if you are not careful, your family will be ruined.

It is obvious that the people under Zhang Shun's rule encountered the latter problem.

For one thing, many areas were once the places where other rebels fled, and I don't know how many families were destroyed;

Second, drought and flood have been erratic in the past two years, and many families have begun to make ends meet.

Even if these families are not bankrupt, most of them are on the verge of bankruptcy.

If there is no human intervention, these people in the Central Plains will soon have nothing, sell their sons and daughters, and become new refugees.

If the imperial court does not have time to provide relief, then this place will soon become the second northern Shaanxi and become a hell on earth!

The so-called "bones exposed in the wild" and "changing children to eat" will become cruel reality.

Of course, the actual history is even more bloody. Continuous droughts, locust plagues, coupled with wars and massacres, at least half of Henan's population has been lost.

The Central Plains, which has always been densely populated, still needs to immigrate from Shandong and the two northern and southern Beijings to enrich their household registration.

How did Zhang Shun know about this?He only knew that if the family-based small peasant economy under his rule went bankrupt, then he would not be far from bankrupt.

In this era, whether it is taxation, labor service, or military service, the family is the basic unit.

If the family is not enough to maintain, then the taxation, military service, and labor that maintain the foundation of the country are all over, and the country is also over.

How to do?Zhang Shun said decisively: "Mr. Zhang, Mr. Lu, without a home, there is no country. This is the fundamental plan of the rebel army!"

"I also ask the two gentlemen to send people to various places to verify quickly. If the people are really in distress, they must provide assistance in time!"

"I want to set up loans in various places to lend people cattle, seeds, farm tools, chickens, ducks, grain, etc., to help people tide over difficulties. This is one of them."

"I would like to set up a Food Administration under the Agriculture Department, full-time to adjust the grain of the army and the people within the means of expenditure."

"In good years, grain is cheap, and the food department collects grain, so as not to hurt farmers due to low grain prices; in bad years, the price of grain will be lowered to help the victims. If it is considered that grain and grass are not enough, it will be purchased in time to adjust, increase revenue and reduce expenditure, in order to eliminate it invisible, sir What do you think?"

Zhang Shenyan and Lu Weiqi couldn't help being surprised when they heard the words, and after thinking for a while, they responded: "King Shun is benevolent and righteous, and it is the luck of the people in the world to have King Shun rule the world!"

"It's just that this is a big matter. We need to investigate and discuss it, and make a charter before we dare report it to King Shun!"

(End of this chapter)