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Chapter 807 The Tsar’s Tentacles

In addition to ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, bleaching powder, and Prussian blue, Hong Tao also plans to try to produce several more agricultural fertilizers during his visit to the alkali factory.

When he first took the throne, he talked with Li Zhi about how to govern the country. Li Zhi naturally had various ancient sages' views, but he was not like that. He only had one sentence: Let the people of the Ming Dynasty have enough food, no matter good or bad, they must be full first, and the throne will be stable.

This answer may not be perfect, but in ancient times, no matter which dynasty it was placed in, it was definitely the most practical. Only by satisfying the people's hunger can one have the confidence to compete with internal political enemies and external powerful enemies.

To put it more exaggeratedly, the Ming Dynasty could have done without copper coins, treasure notes, or even silver as currency, and could have done without developing industry. As long as there was enough food, the country could still function normally, albeit with slightly lower efficiency.

Caring for agriculture is the second largest investment after the military in Hong Tao's more than ten years in power. Water conservancy projects have been built in various parts of the north for several years, and the output of sweet potatoes and sweet wheat promoted by the new policy has also increased year by year. Farms and cooperatives have sprung up in the four provinces, greatly mobilizing the enthusiasm of farmers.

But it is not enough. Relying on people and policies can only guarantee the lower limit, but cannot raise the upper limit. If you want to increase grain production, there are only two ways besides good weather and good harvests: expanding the area of ​​arable land and using scientific and technological means.

The former has been done all along, but due to the limited number of workers, there will not be much progress in the short term. As for the latter, we can only say that we have done a little bit, the effect is not bad, and there is still a lot of room for improvement.

However, due to the production capacity of chemical plants, it seems unlikely to promote fertilizers such as calcium ammonium sulfate on a large scale in a short period of time. So Hong Tao racked his brains to come up with several easy-to-produce, low-cost, and effective agricultural fertilizers to use as effective supplements.

The first is nitrogen fertilizer. There is no fixed name for it. Hong Tao named it calcium ammonium sulfate. Its raw material price is relatively low. It costs nothing except transportation costs. It is various discarded animal skins.

Melt these unwanted leather scraps with high-temperature steam, dry them, and crush them into a very good nitrogen fertilizer, which is equivalent to one-third of calcium ammonium sulfate. Don't think it's too little, because the cost is low, and it is enough to supplement chemical fertilizers.

As for where the waste animal skins come from, you can just look for them yourself. Pig skin, sheep skin, cow skin, etc. will all be fine. Whoever has the conditions can use them.

At this time, the shipping government with whaling ships could take the lead and set up a fertilizer factory to produce calcium ammonium sulfate using whale skin. This would not only solve the problem of part of the labor force, but also bring in some income and provide farmers with good products, achieving three goals at one stroke.

The second is phosphate fertilizer, which is made by processing various animal bones into bone meal, mixing phosphate rock and sulfuric acid to synthesize superphosphate. This is a fast-acting phosphate fertilizer that can be applied at any time according to the state of crops.

While processing bone meal, oil can also be extracted to make soap, which is another source of income. Fertilizer factories naturally use whale bones to make bone meal, and folks can also use various animal bones instead. The method is very simple and is most suitable for collective operation by farm cooperatives.

It was a pity that we couldn't see the finished product. Just when Prussian Blue was waiting to see the result, Bushitu, the great Taiji of the Tumed tribe, sent a trusted confidant with a delegation of Ulus people to the capital.

The Ulus delegation claimed to be sent by the Ulus emperor, but they could not produce a letter of credence and did not bring any tribute. The Ministry of Rites did not want to deal with them, but Bushitu's confidants said that the other party was indeed from the distant Ulus and that the Ulus was very powerful.

Yang Sichang was undecided when he heard this. He thought that Emperor Jingyang liked to interact with foreign countries very much, so he simply went to ask the cabinet chief Ye Xianggao for advice. Ye Xianggao was still a thief. He didn't know how to receive him, so he revealed the news to Wang An. As soon as Wang An heard that a foreign delegation had come that he had never seen before, he immediately asked Zhang Ran to go to the Yongding River Soda Factory to ask the emperor in person.

Ulus, Ganlus, and Luosha are all names given to the Russian Empire by the Han Chinese, which are basically transliterations from Mongolian. The Ming Dynasty, from the official to the common people, did not know where the Russian Empire was, nor did they feel the need to know.

But as an emperor of a great empire, the first Tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail I, had a much longer-term vision and wisdom. He had realized that the Ming Empire might be closely linked to the development of the Russian Empire, and decisively sent an envoy to find out the strength of the opponent first.

Are diplomatic missions equal to spies? Hong Tao can responsibly affirm that in ancient times, diplomatic missions sent by various countries had only two main tasks: diplomacy and intelligence.

After returning to the palace, Hong Tao did not summon the Russian delegation immediately. Instead, he called the Tumed guide who brought them to the Yangxin Palace, and used the excuse of rewarding him for his hard work. He also asked him some questions that sounded casual but were actually very crucial.

For example, where did the Russian delegation come from? Why did they enter the Tumed territory? What did they need to come to the Ming Dynasty? The Tumed guide was entering the Ming Dynasty palace for the first time. His eyes were filled with golden splendor, and his mind was filled with exquisite silk and glass wine vessels. He really answered all the questions and would tell you even if you were not asked.

According to him, the Russian delegation set out from a small town called Tomsk, which once belonged to a Mongolian tribe called Yustan. This tribe was always bullied by the Kyrgyz and Wala tribes, so they had no choice but to surrender to the Russian Empire in the west and seek asylum.

It was also with the help of the Russian emperor that a city was built near the Ob River, garrisoned by troops sent by the Tsar, and it continued to be a grazing ground for the Yustan tribe.

As for why the Tumed tribe knew so much and why the Russian delegation wanted them to lead the way to Ming, the guide grinned. The Tumed tribe did not originally live in the south of the desert, but in the North Sea (Lake Baikal).

After being conquered by Genghis Khan, they followed the Western Expedition Army westward and stayed near the Altai Mountains. The Ob River originates from the Altai Mountains. The Tumed tribe had contacts and even intermarriages with many local tribes, including the Yustan tribe.

Even though the Tumed tribe migrated to the south of the desert, many of their members still had their hometowns north of the Altai Mountains and in the upper reaches of the Ob River. Although it was impossible for them to go back every year, they never lost contact.

Since the Russian delegation set out from the city of Tomsk, the guide they found was most likely a local Yustan tribe herdsman, and it was natural that they would be led to the Tumed tribe.

But the guide of the Tumed tribe didn't really know what the Russian delegation was going to do. However, considering that the Ming emperor had given them so many good things, the guide privately revealed a piece of news.

The so-called precious furs carried by the Russian delegation were not actually that precious, and some were even temporarily exchanged from the Tumed tribe. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty was reminded not to be fooled, and if he wanted good furs, he could get them from the Tumed tribe.

(End of this chapter)