eastern european eagle

Chapter 6 Agricultural Production
Because the bittern was poured out, table salt can taste better than other places, which has also become one of the important export commodities of the chamber of commerce.

"Speaking of which, have they bought back what I want?"

For Peter's request, Alexander did not dare to neglect, and immediately replied.

"Your Highness, our people bought some artillery and firearms from Buda, Vienna and other places. It's just a small number, but we have recruited some craftsmen who can make firearms. I believe that artillery will be mass-produced in the future."

"Well," Peter agreed, and the next few questions ended quickly.Because he still has a lot of things to do.

Although Constanta is suitable for economic development, it is too close to the border.In case the Ottoman army comes over, it will be over, so we must be prepared for defense.

Currently, the population of the entire Dobroja region is 3, of which Constanta and surrounding areas account for a third.If there is no war, there will soon be more than 5 people here.

In Constanta, Peter began to build the defense system here very early.Including castles, artillery, soldiers and a series of jobs.Now a standing army of 500 people has been trained, and there are still 500 mercenaries recruited at the beginning.When necessary, there are conscripted militiamen and some vassals to help.Also has some artillery and a lot of ranged troops.

At the same time, Peter also used his knowledge to direct the workers to build a large building they had never seen before.A series of organizations including ditches and low walls made Constanta one of the most fortified cities in the Balkans.And Peter also began to prepare to form Wallachia's first navy. It seems that he will also have a place in the Black Sea.

Compared with countries such as Western Europe and Central Europe, the development of Eastern European countries is relatively backward.From Wallachia, Moldova to the principalities of Rus, the productivity still cannot be improved.In order to increase productivity, Peter confiscated all the land of the fugitive lords, leaving one-third of those who died but had families, and the rest were either given to free farmers or entrusted to new lords.These became the basis for Peter's rule of Dobroja. Don't think that it is so easy to centralize power, and it is impossible to move the East to the West.Moreover, the titles in Europe and the East are fundamentally different, and it would be a joke if you copy them mechanically.

Moreover, these lords are also loyal to him. They are responsible for handling the affairs of the manor in peacetime, and obey the call in war.Of course, Peter also proposed that as long as he paid the money, he would not have to serve.

Peter canonized several barons, including his three supervisors.Alexander, the head of economics, canonized as Baron Medialia, Boris, the head of civil affairs, was named Baron Pavlon, and Constantine, the head of military affairs, was named Baron Dumay.For these three loyal subordinates, Peter also kindly relieved them of their obligation to serve in the military. They can continue to serve in the military. If they don't want to go, they can pay an extra fee to be exempted.

Affected by trade, some manor owners began to circulate currency land rent, and farmers also became rich and freed through commerce.Compared with the vast land of Wallachia, Dobroga is considered the best for farmers.

Compared with Western and Central Europe, Eastern Europe has more applications for serfs.Wallachia is no exception. Among all the population, the serf population accounts for 10%, which is relatively low, while the number of slaves in Constantinople reaches one-fifth.

Peter doesn't feel that the application of serfs is anti-human. After all, in order to speed up the development, he also bought a batch of serfs from Hungary and Moldavia.But he proposed that as long as he saves enough money, he can restore his free status, and I am afraid they will never see such a humane lord in this lifetime.

For agriculture, Peter also made great efforts.Although the land here is very fertile, the production tools and methods are still very primitive, resulting in low production.So, Peter started with two aspects of production tools and fertilizers.

On the one hand, Peter sent people to nearby cities, recruited a group of skilled blacksmiths, and settled here.At the same time, a lot of iron ingots, wood, and some forging equipment were purchased...

After these blacksmiths arrived, Peter immediately arranged for them to work with the carpenters to manufacture a batch of curved shaft plows and various iron labor tools according to the drawings drawn by his ideas.

Compared with the straight shaft plow, the curved shaft plow has been greatly improved. First, the shaft has been changed from straight to curved, from long to short, and a plow disc is installed on the shaft head, which can rotate freely, which makes the operation flexible and saves manpower and labor. Animal power.Secondly, the Quyuan plow has added a plow share and a plow construction. By advancing and lifting the plow review, the plow arrow is controlled to go down or up, so that the plowshare can penetrate deep or shallow into the soil.The Quyuan plow also improved the plow wall, which is round in shape, which can push the upturned soil aside to reduce the resistance of advancement, and can overturn the soil clods to cut off the growth of weeds.Therefore, there was no improvement until the Qing Dynasty.

However, this thing invented since the Tang Dynasty has not been invented in Eastern Europe until now.It can be seen how backward the local production methods are, even far behind Western Europe.

As for the second one, it is somewhat resisted by farmers, and that is the use of farmyard manure.

As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, people already knew that field weeds can promote the growth of millet after they rot. "Qi Min Yao Shu" introduces in detail the method of planting green manure and the method of crop rotation between leguminous crops and gramineous crops; it also mentions the method of using crop stalks mixed with cow dung and urine, trampling and composting to make fertilizer .

However, Europe at this time, after the great decline in agricultural technology in the Middle Ages, still did not know this method.So Peter decided to help them himself.

The excrement of humans and animals was piled up and fermented, and then poured into the field under his order.This sparked protests from the serfs, who believed it would dirty their fields.But the protest was futile.

Moreover, their sowing is also hole sowing, not sowing commonly used by medieval European farmers.Sowing is indeed easy, but the seed distribution is uneven and the sowing is shallow.Because, the seeds scattered by human hands may sometimes get together, and sometimes some parts may be missed.If they are piled together, when the seedlings are growing, they will rush for fertilizer. As a result, none of the several seedlings that get together can grow well.And where the seeds are not sprinkled, it is easy to cause waste.

However, hole sowing is different. When sowing, the rows have already been divided, leaving a suitable growth space for the seeds.Before sowing, Peter also directed the serfs to use the salt water seed selection method to select good seeds with full grains.At the same time, the depth of hole sowing is deeper than that of sowing, which is more conducive to seed development.Therefore, this kind of sowing method has good effect and good yield.

But soon, it's harvest time.When the harvest began, Peter specially sent someone to count the output.As the bundles of wheat straw with ears were sent to the threshing floor, the serfs separated their hands and began to separate the grains.

After a busy month, the harvest of Peter's own land was complete.According to calculations, the grain production per acre of the entire Dobroja is about 180 to 220 pounds.

This output cannot be compared with that of the far east, but there is no problem in beating Europe.According to the data at this time, the ratio of sowing to output in the UK is 1:3, and that in Central Europe is 1:6.An acre of land can produce about 120 pounds, but here it directly reaches 200 pounds.

After harvesting and taxation, the grain owned by Peter directly filled the granaries of Constanta and Tulcea, and a considerable part of it was not filled.With so much grain, Peter and Dobroga under his governance became the wealthiest area in Wallachia.

With so much food, Peter sold some of it to obtain funds.

Because of the access to the sea, Peter's grain was sold effortlessly.They were directly loaded onto ships by the Chamber of Commerce and shipped to various parts of the Black Sea. However, at this time, there are various currencies in various places, and they need to be converted after they are sold.In the end, Peter received a total of 25 Wallachian ducats.

For selling grain, the Chamber of Commerce decided to take a risk.They knew that there was a serious food shortage in Persia and North Africa, and there was still a lot of gold that could not be sold.So they cooperated with some smugglers to transport the grain to Trebizond by sea first, and then transport the grain to various places by land.In the end, they all came back without any danger.

With the first success, those farmers were not opposed to splashing organic matter on the land.However, in order to take care of their emotions, Peter asked people to pile up leaves, straw, straw, etc., so that they could also become organic fertilizers.It depends on which one they choose.

(End of this chapter)