Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

"I planted a thousand acres of sisal." Xian Kang replied. "It has been planted for more than four years, and the income is not bad."

The natives in Xiboni didn’t do any production. When they were hungry, they plucked some cassava from the ground or cut a sago palm to eat. When they were thirsty, there were coconuts and other fruits on the trees. They wanted to change their taste. , There are plenty of fresh fish in the river and the sea, and countless prey in the forest.Since the products are so abundant, the natives naturally developed an extremely lazy character.

The same is true for the Li, Miao, Yao, and Shanha ethnic groups who immigrated here. At first, the Duhufu wanted them to learn how the Han people worked, but after learning for a few days, they found that their previous farming methods were enough to ensure that the family After eating and drinking enough, these young people also began to enjoy the blessings, but one more thing than the natives was raising cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks according to their respective ethnic traditions.

Compared with ineffective students, Han immigrants are different.Although not everyone is a good farmer, thanks to the intensive farming accumulated over thousands of years and the geographical environment where four crops can be harvested in a year, once the Han immigrants gain a firm foothold, the terrifying amount of rice harvested each season will make the neighbors Indigenous countries regard it as a miracle.

However, human desires are endless.When there is no food, I think that one day I will be able to eat and drink without worrying about food, but after satisfying my appetite, I feel that the food is too much and too cheap to sell.Therefore, under the premise of ensuring enough food and drink, the Han immigrants in Xiboni naturally began to plant various cash crops.

What kind of cash crops?First of all, cotton, which is the most demanded by Zheng Fan, cannot be grown. It is not that there is a lack of water in Xibo mud, but that there is too much water in Xibo mud, which causes the humidity in the cotton field to be too high, so that the cotton bolls rot.Cotton is out of the question, and neither is jute, another fiber plant.Although jute likes a hot and humid climate, the planting environment also requires fertile and well-drained sandy loam.Although the soil quality of Xibo mud is fertile enough, it is not sandy loam, so it is not suitable for jute planting with weak soil strength on top of seeds.

Cotton is not good, jute is not good, so there is nothing to grow.Of course, the first is sisal. Although both sisal and jute have hemp in their names, they are both multi-fiber plants. The main raw material of the same hemp rope is, but one is agave plant and the other is Tiliaceae. Jute is, therefore, two completely different crops.Although sisal also likes sandy loam, it is not as strict as jute, so it can be grown in Xibo mud.

"Sisal is good. Now His Majesty encourages shipbuilding and mining, and hemp rope is indispensable."

"Your Excellency is right, and now I also regret planting less." Xian Tongyu said with a smile. "Like Sun Kejin's family, they won [-] mu in one go, and now they can be said to be making a lot of money."

Sun Kejin?Zhuge Fengye felt that the name sounded a little familiar, as if he was one of the first batch of veterans, but Zhuge Fengye didn't care, and just asked: "Aside from sisal, are there other species?"

"Yes, didn't the vassal get the seeds of the cinchona tree through Lu Songyi? I planted ten acres, and I heard that this tree is a treasure. Not only can it cure my own cold and fever, but the dry bark and branches can also be sold. The price is as much as the hospital charges.”

The cinchona tree is originally produced in Central and South America, which is called Nanyingzhou by Zheng Kezang. Its medicinal effect has long been known to the Westerners. In the early years, Western missionaries used it to cure the malaria suffered by Kangxi. After Spain reached a trade agreement, it purchased from the other party as soon as possible. It has also been planted in Dongning and Qiongzhou in recent years, but it takes more than ten years to grow a cinchona tree before it can be used as medicine, so Xiankang has not yet obtained specific benefits.

"I also planted [-] acres of mulberry trees." Xian Tongyu continued. "Mainly for the silkworms raised at home, and a small amount is also sold."

Some people may be surprised that the silk produced from Xibo mud will not have an impact on the domestic silk trade?This is taken for granted.In fact, China has never banned the export of silkworm eggs and mulberry saplings in history. India and the Western Regions had acquired silk weaving technology and silk production capacity as early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties of China, and this capability was introduced to Europe along the Silk Road. But it has never reached a scale, let alone hit China's silk export market.The same is true for Xibo mud. Due to the lack of good silk picking skills and silk weaving ability, the local earth silk does have markets in Yecheng, Malacca and the surrounding areas of Duhufu, but it only accounts for the relatively close to the market and the price of goods. The relatively cheap price could not satisfy the appetite of European merchants in terms of quantity and quality, let alone the impossible task of shaking domestic silk exports.

"I also planted dozens of acres of coconut trees," Xiankang continued. "Although Xibo Mud Coconut is not a rare item, a large number of coconut kernels are purchased in China. One coconut tree can bear fruit after five years, and one hundred coconuts can be picked every year. This is also a big profit. And the layer outside the coconut shell can be Rubbing ropes, mats, and baskets that are not afraid of sea water are also key purchases by the navy. Coconut sap can be used to make sugar and wine, and large coconut leaves are also used to build roofs or weave baskets, which can also be used at home .”

"Your little life is going well." Zhuge Fengye raised his wine glass and clinked a glass with him. "There are so many places where money comes in, so I also want to live in Xiboni after I retire."

Xian Tongyu's face suddenly darkened: "My lord, don't look at us as if we have a big business now, but we also have a lot of troubles. Among other things, the native slaves in the number two hundred are not very good If you are under control, you will die if you are lazy, you have to be whipped to work hard, and hiring these supervisors will also cost a lot of money."

Naturally, the supervisors have to use Han people to rest assured, but since everyone has a field to share, who would be willing to serve as a servant? Even those who don’t want to work, most of them rent out the land in Chaoyongbao and Xiboni Port Opening shops there or selling goods in Tujun and surrounding sultanates, so that planters like Xiankang can only hire Yao, Miao, and Li people as thugs, but this is not cheap.

"Also, those of us who came to Xiboni in the first batch now have children in groups. This child always wants him to study when he grows up, but there is no second private school in Xiboni besides Boys Camp, but Those in the Boys' Camp are just able to read and write." Xian Tongyu shook his head. "Also, we also want to return the fallen leaves to their roots, but what is your majesty thinking?"

Speaking of this, Zhuge Fengye had no choice but to persuade: "Your Majesty is still thinking about restoring the universe, and it won't be Nanmian's turn in a while, but your worries will definitely be considered by the Majesty, don't worry, take your time." Come on, take your time, it has become a climate in just ten years, and it will definitely get better in the future."

Xiankang also knew that talking to Zhuge Fengye might not be of any use, but it was sad that some things were kept in his heart and he had no place to say them. Now that he saw an old acquaintance, he naturally wanted to express it quickly. After he finished speaking, he would be fine.So, under the deliberate guidance of Zhuge Fengye, the two chatted about the past while eating, sometimes laughing and sometimes crying

When Zhuge Fengye returned to the guest room in the Duhu Mansion, the officer in charge of the Duhu Mansion who had already been waiting reported to him: "Master Zhuge, Mr. Duhu invites you to have a drink in the evening, and by the way discuss the matter of setting off to sacrifice the flag tomorrow."

It is not in Zhuge Fengye's itinerary to follow Xiboni Kaijun soldiers and horses to Lingyamen, but there are no regular flights between Xiboni and China. If he wants to go back, he must take Liu Xiang's boat, otherwise he will stay for another half a year , and now that Liu Xiang is going to accompany him to Lingyamen for a military cruise, he can only participate in Kaijun as a forensic witness.

"You tell Mr. Yin that you have had a good time meeting an old friend today, so I stopped drinking." Of course, the expedition is a big event, and there is definitely no need to discuss it now. It is nothing more than an invitation to eat and drink, but this is to attract people. Gossip, so Zhuge Fengye declined. "Tomorrow's expedition, I think the whole plan has been made in the Duhu Mansion. I, an unworthy descendant, will not use my ancestor's tiger skin to tell me what to do. I just need to give a specific departure time, and I will definitely not oversleep and miss the king's important event. "

"Master Zhuge is interesting. He ran out to meet some old acquaintances, but he didn't want to go to our dinner. My lords, tell me, it doesn't mean that you look down on us."

"My lord, Master Zhuge is a member of the fourth rank. It's normal that you and I can't see the mere sixth and seventh ranks." Zheng Changshi's words clearly meant that someone in the district was overestimating his capabilities. "Besides, he is the founding elder of the Nidu Protectorate of Xibo. Will he inform you of his old friend?"

"That's right, he is a veteran and a senior member of the clan, we can't compare," Ou Yongping didn't know what was wrong with Zheng Changshi, so he spoke in a strange way. "However, I doubt whether Mr. Zhuge belongs to the Pedestrian's Office. If it's not from the Pedestrian's Office, but from the Interviewing Office, it will be a big trouble."

The Pedestrian Office of the Tongzheng Yuan is responsible for conveying Zheng Kezang's imperial edict to the local area, and the Interview Office is a new agency established by the official name of the interview (disposal) envoy of the Tang Dynasty. The responsibility for investigating and impeaching the malpractices of governance is the Taiwan admonisher without the name of the censor.

Yin Zhendong rolled his eyelids: "What's the trouble? Even if Zhuge is from the Appeasement Department of the Tongzheng Yuan, what can he find out about us?"

Yin Zhendong sneered: "What's wrong with our governance, what kind of behavior is there to make the people weak, and as for the private return of the deal and the sharing of profits, our supervisor doesn't care, so why does the Tongzhengyuan intervene."

"That's true. We went to this hot place. We did everything we should do. Why should a former official be crooked? If this is the case, I will file an imperial lawsuit with him. If you think about it, the king may not be able to do it." Listen to what he has to say."

"What kind of court case, can you see the king?" Yin Zhendong glared at the person who spoke. "It's okay to look for trouble. As long as we do a good job in opening the county of Lingyamen, we will have no merits. To say that we are going to go is nothing more than changing a position. To be honest, I have long wanted to return to China."

"Your Excellency is right, the key now is to open up the county, as long as you can open up the territory, the king will not take my meritorious service like a dog."