A Millennium Aristocratic Family Starting from the Shang Dynasty

Chapter 447 Population and Agriculture

The world has been at peace for a long time. Thanks to the development of farming technology and the long-term emphasis on hygiene, the population of Daqian has been steadily increasing.Even though the royal family has been guiding or directly exiling the population to the Western Regions, Southern Xinjiang, and Liaodong, the population of the Central Plains is still increasing.

The continued growth of the population has also begun to reclaim wasteland on a large scale. Many people have come to Jiangnan and Sichuan, which were originally low-development areas.

Luoyang, the capital of the gods, is located in a remote manor in Shanglin Garden.

This manor occupies a vast area and is the largest manor in Shanglin Garden, but other people are usually prohibited from approaching it.Only some members of the royal family and some peasants entered and exited.

Large areas of crops are planted in the manor, and some farmers are weeding and removing insects in the farmland. The green farmland looks full of vitality, and the entire manor is full of life.

Wang Sheng carefully picked up an ear of wheat. The ear had begun to turn slightly yellow. It was the time for grain filling. Although it was not yet mature, the visible grains on this ear of wheat were more than those of ordinary wheat ears. Out a lot.

"Sir, how are the yields of these wheat fields?" Wang Sheng carefully loosened the wheat ears and asked an old man beside him.

This old man has a strong build, thick joints, calluses on his hands and feet, and the linen clothes on his body are stained with a lot of mud. He looks like an old farmer.But how can he be an ordinary farmer to be so respected by a royal prince? This man is none other than the contemporary farmer leader, Zhao Guo.

"The yield of this acre of wheat field is more than three stone. If the manure keeps up and we serve it carefully, it can be three and a half stone." The old man said with a smile.

"Three and a half stones? Is this true?" Wang Sheng asked in surprise.Most of the wheat commonly grown in Daqian now has a yield of less than two stones, and it must be irrigated with good water. Now one acre of wheat can actually increase the yield by more than [-]%. If it is promoted, the world's grain output will be How much will it improve?Wang Sheng didn't even dare to think about it.

"Of course it's true!" The old man nodded slightly.

"Since the yield of wheat is so high, why not promote its cultivation? As long as this wheat is grown all over the world, there will be no hunger!" Wang Sheng asked strangely.

"Second brother, things are not as simple as you think." said a Wang family member standing behind the old man.

"Isn't it?" Wang Sheng asked doubtfully.

The Wang family member stepped forward and said: "Second brother, this wheat species is numbered Guiding Shang No. [-]. It has a very high yield. It can be said to be the wheat species with the highest yield now. However, it has a serious problem, that is, it needs fertility." Very high."

"How high?" Wang Sheng frowned.

"Three times that of ordinary farmland." Wang Yin said.

"So high!" Wang Sheng was also shocked: "If there is less fertilization, can the yield be higher than ordinary wheat?"

Wang Yin shook his head and said: "No."

"Not only is it impossible, if this kind of wheat is not fertilized enough, the yield will be inferior to ordinary wheat." Zhao Guo shook his head slightly, then pointed at the wheat ears and said: "If there is not enough fertilization, the inside of the wheat ears will most likely be shriveled."

"If we use good land for cultivation, we will naturally have a bumper harvest in the first year, and a high harvest in the second year, but in the third year the land will change from upper field to middle field, or even lower field."

After hearing this, Wang Sheng already knew that this wheat seed was worthless. The vast land and a large number of water conservancy projects had been built, but the number of cultivated fields only accounted for less than one-fifth of the country's acres, even if those deliberately hidden were included. There won’t be too many of them in the field.

This wheat seed consumes soil resources and can overuse the soil resources of the fields. At that time, the gains outweigh the losses.Now the imperial court promotes the rotational farming system, promotes manure, and promotes the planting of bean sprouts, in order to increase the fertility of the land and prevent the fertility of farmland from decreasing too much. "Although this kind of wheat is good, it takes too much effort." Zhao Guo sighed.

"Sir, if that's the case, why are you still planting this wheat seed?" Wang Sheng asked.

"Although this type of wheat requires a lot of land, it is also a good variety. We use this type of wheat to cross-breed with other wheat types, hoping to develop a type of wheat that requires less manure and has a high yield."

"Is it effective?" Wang Sheng asked quickly.

"Of course!" Zhao Guo laughed: "This is also the reason why I invited the royal family to come this time."

"Please give me some advice, sir!" Wang Sheng said with cupped hands.

Zhao Guo led everyone away from the wheat field here, then passed through a bean field, then passed through several corridors, and finally came to an independent courtyard.

"Your Highness, please take a look." Zhao Guo pushed open the courtyard door and moved out of the way to let Wang Sheng enter.

Wang Sheng entered the courtyard and saw a yard full of wheat planted. The ears of wheat swayed slightly in the breeze.

Wang Sheng stepped forward to check. Although the ears of wheat inside were not as big as the ones he had seen before, they were still larger than the ears of wheat grown in large areas today.

"Sir, what is the yield of this wheat? What is the required fertility?" Wang Sheng asked eagerly.

Zhao Guo smiled and said: "The yield of this kind of wheat is two and a half dan, and the fertilizer consumption is not much. If it is put into the field and [-]% more manure is used, it will be fine. If it is used in the middle field and the lower field, the yield will not reach two and a half dan." , can also reach about two stones, which will consume too much soil. But it is best to plant it in rotation with bean sprouts."

"Two and a half stones! Good, good!" Wang Sheng said happily.

Although the yield of two and a half stones is not as high as that of wheat seeds just now, it is still a quarter more than the wheat seeds grown now. If it is promoted and allowed to be grown by people all over the country, this will be equivalent to giving one quarter more people in the world. income, the court can also obtain more tax revenue.

"Sir, is there anything else we should pay attention to besides this high-quality wheat seed?" Wang Sheng asked again, fearing that this wheat seed would have some serious flaws like the previous ones.

Zhao Guo said: "There are some things to note. This kind of wheat matures ten days later than the previous wheat seeds, so harvesting and sowing is a little more tiring."

In this era, harvesting and sowing require manpower. If the harvest is delayed by ten days, there will be less time left for sowing.You need to seize the time to harvest, otherwise if it is late, you will miss the cultivation and it will be too late to plant the bean sprouts, and the yield of bean sprouts will be low.

"Of course, harvesting wheat late does not have its benefits. This kind of wheat seeds has fuller grains, which makes flour taste better when ground into flour and produces more flour."

The flour Zhao Guo mentioned is actually only eaten in this way by rich families, officials, nobles and other upper classes. In fact, ordinary people rarely grind wheat into flour, but choose to steam the wheat grains directly.This kind of rice is called wheat rice. It tastes bad and can even be called unpalatable.But in order to get more food, the people would rather eat like this than grind flour.

"Ten days of late harvest can produce a quarter more grain, and I will be protected by Haotian. Your husband is so talented that he can be named a marquis and leave a lasting legacy in history! Please come with me to the palace to meet His Majesty, sir!" Wang Sheng said.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Zhao Guo agreed directly.

(End of this chapter)