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Chapter 88 Sweet Temptation

"My ancestral home is indeed located outside the south gate of Quanzhou..." Li Zhi was a little confused as a monk, why he changed from talking about court policies to talking about family matters.

“Is there anyone locally growing sugar cane to squeeze juice and make sugar?”

"...Your Majesty, my family members have this business, but the things they make are far less sophisticated than Ouchi, and are very vulgar." This made Li Zhi even more confused. There was a sweets room in the palace specifically for The palace made all kinds of pastries and snacks, but it still couldn't satisfy the appetite of the tongue, so it had to pay tribute from the south?

"I know how to squeeze sugar better. The cost is low and the quality is high. The output can be equal to ten. Master Li, you might as well do the math. Is it feasible to support the clan in this way?" It's okay if you don't understand. Only then did Hong Tao show his cunning. He smiled evilly, like a hunter who has caught sight of his prey.

Real white sugar already existed in the Ming Dynasty, and the production principle was similar to that of later generations. However, the technology and equipment were relatively primitive and the output was relatively low. It could only meet the needs of the upper class and a small part of the export market, and was far from popular.

Sugar is actually more dependable than any other unique product.Human beings seem to be naturally fond of sweets and cannot resist such temptations.Anyone who is not too poor is willing to pay for the sweet taste.

Therefore, the domestic market for white sugar and its derivatives is huge, and limited by technology, almost no one has access to it. Once anyone can produce it on a large scale, they are basically robbing money.

In addition, the sugar industry in India and Europe is not developed, and there is almost no international competition. As long as a large amount of sugar of acceptable quality can be produced, many clans can be supported by exports alone.

The most important thing is that Hong Tao has played in this industry before, and played it in a big way. The entire industry chain is clear, and there is no technical difficulty at all in returning to the old industry.Coupled with the special status of the emperor, everything from funds to policies can be easily handled without asking anyone.

There is only one thing that cannot be solved at present and cannot be separated from it, and that is sugar cane.Large-scale sugar extraction must have a sufficient amount of raw materials. It is up to the emperor to promote sugar cane cultivation. Not to mention whether the courtiers will allow it, the local government may not implement it in place.

But there is always a road ahead. Li Zhi's hometown is in the sugar cane producing area, and there are indeed people there who are growing sugar cane.If he can convince his family to take the lead in planting sugar cane on a large scale, it won’t take more than a year or two at most, and many farmers around him will follow. Who doesn’t love making money?

On a larger scale, if there is a breakthrough, it can drive the entire sugarcane industry in Fujian, and then gradually affect the surrounding areas. Anyway, as long as there are people to harvest and the price is appropriate, there will be many farmers willing to grow sugarcane.

"This, this... this seems inappropriate. It seems to be competing with the people for profit." Li Zhi was immediately dumbfounded. The Ming Empire had always been based on farming and mulberry. It seemed a bit inappropriate for the emperor to suddenly use the imperial village to engage in industry and commerce.As for whether they can make sugar or whether they can compete with ten others, that is secondary.

"The imperial estate that supports the clan also has to pay taxes, so why should we strive for profit? Not only do I know how to make sugar, but I can also increase sugar cane production by at least [-]%. Write a letter to discuss with your family and close the sugar workshop as soon as possible. Find more wasteland to cultivate and prepare to plant sugar cane according to my method, specifically for the sugar extraction needs of Huangzhuang.

Not much, just try it for a year.If the profit is less than that of the sugar workshop, I will compensate you according to the difference. If the profit is more, it will increase the reputation of my imperial village and allow more local farmers to use wasteland to grow sugar cane. The extra income every year will also be considered as a contribution to my hometown. The parents seek welfare, and cooperation will benefit both parties! "It's bullshit to compete with the people for profit. Hong Tao bothered the officials to use these clichés to deal with it. Using the national treasury to feed a lot of idle people is not a struggle for profit? Every penny of the money in the national treasury is taken from the mouths of the people, and it is wasted. Why has no one made irresponsible remarks after all these years?
However, Li Zhi's concerns are not unreasonable. Huangzhuang can use more advanced sugar-pressing equipment and sugar-pressing technology to increase output and reduce costs. As a result, more and more small sugar-pressing workshops will be squeezed out.

But this cannot be regarded as competing for profits with the people. Large-scale sugar extraction will not only crowd out small workshops, but also create some new peripheral industries. Taken together, the new ones must be more than the old ones. Not only is there no competition for profits, but also new peripheral industries. It's a profit.

Then why do you have to keep an eye on Li Zhi? If nothing else, just catch up.There were many officials from Fujian in the imperial court, and many of them had some friendship with Li Zhi, so they could be useful.The families of these officials were also small landowners at last. They called on the local people to plant a large amount of sugar cane and sell it to the imperial village for sugar extraction, which was more effective than the emperor's imperial edict.

"I will obey the holy order... It's just that the sugar cane cannot be moved northward because of the warm weather. I would like to ask Your Majesty to clarify how the other imperial villages should operate, so that I can make preparations in advance."

It was not difficult for Li Zhi to call on his relatives to reclaim a large area of ​​​​the emperor's land and plant sugar cane. As long as he could make money, he could grow anything. It was all mulberry crops anyway, so no one could say anything strange.

In addition, as a close associate of the emperor, he has to follow up regardless of whether he succeeds or not. It is easier to get on the pirate ship than to get off, and there is no way out.However, there are a total of eight imperial villages used to house members of the clan, and only two are located in sugar cane producing areas.

"I have already put the three imperial palaces in Tongzhou and Tianjin to use. Let's wait and see about the three in Shandong and Nanzhili. The stalls cannot be too big. If I can't rely on the imperial palace to support the clan, it will be spared. Back and forth.”

Hong Tao has already made arrangements for the use of these eight imperial estates. The three imperial estates located in Shandong and South Zhili are too close to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and the local official group is too powerful. No new projects will be arranged for the time being, and corn will be planted on a small scale first. and cotton, instead of focusing on yield, focus on breeding high-yielding varieties.

Both of these exotic crops had been introduced to China for some time during the Ming Dynasty, but due to various reasons they were not cultivated on a large scale.

Among them, the situation of cotton is slightly better. This is also thanks to Zhu Yuanzhang. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he called for wearing less silk and more cloth, and vigorously promoted the cultivation of cotton. However, after 200 years, there is still no system, let alone no one. Large-scale textile industry.

The situation of corn is relatively bad. There are many theories about how it was introduced into China, so we will not discuss it for now.However, after entering China, due to water and soil problems, it was not as drought-resistant, insect-resistant, barren-resistant and high-yielding as in later generations, and the taste was not liked by the people of the Ming Dynasty, so it was only cultivated in small areas in some areas.

Now Hong Tao is about to start the optimal cultivation of cotton and corn. He can have special personnel conduct experiments in Huangzhuang regardless of the cost. As long as the method is correct, after five, ten, 20 or even more years of persistence, there will definitely be Better varieties emerge.

(End of this chapter)