Chapter 1137 Growing Cotton
After the beginning of spring, winter officially ends and spring plowing begins.
The Marquis of Pingcheng County had long made military exploits, and the emperor rewarded him with fifty hectares of land near Chang'an.
Although it is fifty hectares, at least half of it is good irrigated land, which may be a lot for future generations.
But for this era and Feng Duhu's identity, this is a relatively small number.
But there is nothing we can do about it.
When the late emperor took over the Shu territory, most of the land near Jincheng was owned by powerful people from aristocratic families.
Therefore, the imperial court did not have much land to give to meritorious officials, so it had to reward more gold, silver, grain, cloth and silk.
After the death of the prime minister, only fifteen hectares of land were left.
At the same time, intentionally or unintentionally, he also left a tradition to future generations:
The emperor rewards his ministers with more gold, silver, grain, cloth and silk, but less with land.
Although last year during the great reward ceremony in Chang'an, the emperor increased the land property of the prime minister's house to one hundred hectares.
But this number is still considered normal.
He Yan, a favored minister of Wei State, had amassed more than two hundred hectares of land for himself in less than three years.
As a prime minister who had not come after the Han Dynasty, at least in the eyes of the emperor, he only received a normal amount of land as a reward.
As a latecomer, Feng Duhu naturally did not dare to surpass the prime minister.
So I had to cut it in half and get fifty hectares.
From the 50 hectares of land, Feng Duhu specially selected 30 acres of land next to Baqiao to prepare for planting cotton.
The beginning of spring is not the time to plant cotton. You have to wait for more than a month.
But now it’s time to prepare the fields.
“Brother, why don’t you plant more?”
Today, there was no value. Following Feng Duhuang to the side of the Qiaoqiao, Zhao Zhongjian, looking at the farmers who were sorting out the fields, and could not help but ask.
As for cotton, it is indeed a good thing.
Four or five years ago, when my brother was in charge of Liangzhou, Sister Hua brought some seeds back from the south.
Brother asked people to try planting in Liangzhou. In recent years, within the Xinghan Society, several brothers have had more quilts at home, which are very comfortable to cover in winter.
There is still some cotton yarn in the army. I heard it is also made of cotton. It is used to stop bleeding and wrap injured soldiers. The effect is also very good.
In Zhao Guang’s view, good things like this should be promoted early.
But my brother didn’t know what he thought, and he never mentioned this matter officially.
Even in Liangzhou, it is only grown on the farms of Xinghanhui and cannot be seen in other places.
Originally Zhao Guang thought that his brother was looking for money for his brothers in the guild, but now it seems that it is not the same thing at all.
Thirty acres?
Is it enough?
Zhao Guang said with some regret:
“Brother, this is a huge source of wealth. Why was it given to the big families in Bingzhou and Hedong? Can’t it be left to our own brothers?”
“You know nothing!”
Even if Zhao Guang was promoted to General of the Southern Expedition, he might be able to show off his power in front of others, but in front of Feng Duhu, he was still a little brother who scolded him whenever he asked.
“Huili is now focusing its main energy on digging coal and iron in Yanmen and Jiuyuan, so how can we take care of this?”
Isn’t it easier to make money selling coal and iron than growing cotton?
Whether it is Jiuyuan or Yanmen Frontier Fortress, the winter there is very cold. Coupled with the climate blessing of the Little Glacier, the local garrison consumes an unknown amount of coal in winter.
After all, you can’t let the garrison imitate the Hu people and pick up dried dung and burn it to keep warm all year round, right?
More importantly, iron smelting requires a large amount of manpower, material and financial resources to be invested in advance.
As for planting cotton, we don’t know when the east will be conquered.
Who can wait?
“We can also plant it in Liangzhou, Guanzhong!”
Zhao Guang said somewhat unconvinced:
“Although the land my brothers have in Guanzhong is not too much, if you think about it, you can cultivate tens of thousands of acres.”
“Not to mention Liangzhou…”
Before he finished speaking, he was rudely interrupted by Feng Duhu: "So I said, you know nothing!"
“If this thing can really be grown at will, do you know why I haven’t promoted it in recent years?”
Feng Duhu glanced at this guy with disdain and pointed at the thirty acres of land in front of him:
“Cotton is indeed a good thing, but it is not easy to grow it well.”
“I won’t let anyone plant it, not to mention in Guanzhong, even in Longyou.”
“Even in the Kanto region in the future, no one can just plant if they want. If you want to plant, you have to be like opening a workshop. You need to pay for the qualifications in advance.”
Zhao Guang was startled when he heard this:
"Brother, why is this? Since it is a good thing and can replace both hemp and catkins, why not let it be used in more varieties?"
“Because it is difficult to grow, it requires water, fertilizer, and people, so most people can’t afford it.”
At this time, the quality of cotton is not very good, the yield is not high, and it does not have good insect control ability.
This is the conclusion that Feng Duhu came to after comparing the results with later generations after trial planting at the Xinghanhui Farm in Liangzhou.
Especially this thing, it will also occupy farmland.
If the Han Dynasty's current grain production had not increased by leaps and bounds, especially after taking Guanzhong, it would sit on two kingdoms of abundance, which would lead to the worry of low grain prices and hurting farmers.
Feng Duhu will probably have to suppress the cotton issue for a few more years, maybe even ten or dozens of years.
But no matter what, Shu, Guanzhong, and Longyou, the three main grain-producing areas of the Han Dynasty, will never be allowed to grow a large amount of cotton.
At worst, let Liangzhou do it.
However, since the local wealthy families in Liangzhou have the wool textile industry, they are not likely to have much motivation to develop the cotton textile industry.
Of course, if someone from Guanzhong or even Guandong wants to go to Liangzhou to develop the cotton textile industry, the imperial court will welcome it and treat it as enriching the frontier.
Because the more stable Liangzhou is, the more stable Longyou is, the barrier to the west of Guanzhong.
As for those in Kanto who want to grow cotton... Feng Duhu will tell them to die!
Let them taste the sweetness first, and then we will see how he kills these powerful Guandong families.
Just like weaving wool with wool, it seems that the barbarians can also benefit from it, but Feng Duhu’s real purpose is not for the benefit of the barbarians.
Although he agreed to teach the aristocratic families in Bingzhou and Hedong how to grow cotton, Feng Duhu did not teach them how to use cotton.
It doesn’t matter if they use cotton to weave cloth.
But if you want to further add value to cotton, you have to ask Xinghanhui first.
And even if it’s just weaving, can it be as efficient as the Xinghan Hui?
No matter how simple a joint workshop is, it is much better than a sporadic family workshop.
It doesn't matter if someone wants to regret it at that time. Anyway, the money paid when buying the qualification to grow cotton will not be refunded.
How about you go to Jiuyuan to open up wasteland and cultivate land?
They can give you double the land there, enclose the land as you like, and give you a workshop qualification.
Besides, even if you are selling cotton, it does not mean that you will not be allowed to make money. As long as you cooperate with the court, sell cotton at the set price, and do not drive up prices.
Do you really think that the exchange’s pricing power comes in vain?
All bulk materials or strategic materials will be based on the price set by the exchange in the future.
Grain, wool, brown sugar, silk, livestock, salt, iron…
Cotton will be no exception in the future.
If you want to challenge the pricing power of the exchange, you must first clear up the treasury reserves of the Xinghanhui and the imperial court.
At present, even if the two countries Wei and Wu use the strength of the whole country, there is no hope of succeeding in the challenge.
Let’s not talk about the entire territory of the Han Dynasty, but at least in the core area of the rule of the Han Dynasty, the government must have this control.
Of course, this is a long-term goal. To achieve this goal, the Han Dynasty will continue to strengthen the laying of official roads.
At least, like the former Han Dynasty, we must be able to spread official road and post pavilions all the way to the Western Regions.
This goal is very long-term and will take more than ten years or even decades to achieve.
But Feng Duhu had this confidence.
After all, in the past, digging mountains and paving roads could only be done slowly.
It’s different now.
As long as the world is unified, although it is still necessary to dig mountains and pave roads, the drilling holes will be cannon holes.
It is naturally impossible for Feng Duhu to tell Zhao Guang all about these grand plans and ambitions.
He simply said:
"If anyone in the guild really wants to grow cotton, you can just bring it up. There is plenty of land in Liangzhou, and the guild can provide cotton seeds."
If anyone is willing to make a contribution, Feng Duhu welcomes it.
Zhao Guang touched his head and seemed a little embarrassed:
“The younger brother just said it casually. Since the elder brother has already planned it, it must be reasonable. The younger brother can just follow the elder brother.”
“Back then, my elder brother didn’t have much authority, but he was still able to lead his brothers to make a fortune. Now, my elder brother is the head of the officials of the Han Dynasty. Who in the meeting dares to question my elder brother’s vision?”
Those who dared to violate the rules were almost killed in the great purges of the year before last and the year before last.
Feng Duhu made a "tsk" sound.
You say this as if you are a great dictator.
I want to explain, but think about it, what explanation can I give to this guy?
With his IQ, he would not be able to understand even if he said it.
Can't say it, but it will become darker and darker.
The two brothers were talking when they saw a woman walking towards them in the field.
The woman came to the two men and bowed to Feng Du: "I have seen the prince."
Feng Duhu nodded and signaled: "Get up."
“Thank you, Lord.”
“Li Xu, how is this land? Is it suitable for growing cotton?”
The woman is the third wife of the Xu family who married Li Mu's younger brother Li Tong.
Over the years, she has been a planting expert at Xinghanhui.
Over the years, Xinghanhui has never had to worry about food, and Li Xu’s contribution is indispensable.
Her husband Li Tong is a breeding expert of the Xinghan Society, and he can be said to be a husband and wife.
Over in Liangzhou, Li Xu has been in charge of the cotton planting experiment on the farm under the name of Xinghanhui in recent years.
At this time, Mrs. Li Xu heard Feng Duhu ask, nodded and replied:
“It’s okay to go back to the king.”
She just hesitated for a moment and then reminded:
"However, although the land in Guanzhong is fertile, cotton requires a lot of water and fertilizer. This land is on the edge of the Wei River. Although there is no shortage of water, it is best to apply sufficient base fertilizer before planting."
“You must apply fertilizer at least once when there are flower buds, and before and after flowering. Otherwise, if the fertility is insufficient, the cotton plants will be short and the cotton yield will be insufficient.”
Feng Duhu nodded:
"It's just fertilizer for thirty acres of land. You don't have to worry about it. You have to take care of this matter well. Plant as well as you can."
With Feng Duhu’s assurance, Mrs. Li Xu felt relieved: “I understand.”
Feng Duhu looked at the land and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
Why did he want the cotton demonstration field to be placed here?
Because anyone who enters the two passes of Chuyao and Tong from the west and east must pass through them.
In other words, whether you are coming to Chang'an from the east or leaving Chang'an to go to the east, you must pass through Baqiao.
Since you are coming from the east, you can’t miss the cotton as white as snow, right?
Zhao Guang on the side was a little stunned when he heard this:
“This cotton still needs so much fertilizer?”
Back when my brother was improving farming methods in Jincheng, one of the most important things was to apply more fertilizer.
In this case, you can cultivate for two or three years and then fallow for one year.
For others, they must cultivate fallow crops year after year.
Even so, the land planted by my brother still yields 20 to 30% more than others.
So even though Zhao Guang doesn’t know much about farming, he also knows that cotton’s fertilizer requirements are already ridiculously high.
Li Xu said in a serious tone:
"That's right. That's why I always advise the king not to plant cotton on a large scale unless the Han Dynasty can ensure enough food."
“Even if it is to be planted, the planting area must be restricted and cannot be allowed to be planted at will by the public.”
Grabbing land is still a trivial matter, the key is grabbing land.
If there is not enough fertilizer in the fields where crops are grown, food production will decrease.
With fertilizer, the fields can be cultivated continuously for three years.
Without fertilizer, fields can only be cultivated in rotation, with one year of planting and one year of rest.
This production reduction is not just a little bit, but a 30% to 40% reduction is the most basic.
Even with the current grain output of Han Dynasty, it is possible to reduce it by 50%.
Feng Duhu smiled and said:
“Don’t worry, farming and mulberry cultivation are the foundation of a country. Sufficient food will ensure the safety of the people. How can I not understand this?”
He looked at the field again and sighed slightly:
“So, we still need to vigorously develop and promote poultry and livestock breeding. If every household in the Han Dynasty can have a cow, there will be no need to use fertilizer as carefully as now.”
The excrement of poultry such as chickens, ducks and geese cannot be used directly, but it can be turned into cooked fertilizer through retting.
But poultry are too small after all.
The cow is different.
When I was a child in my previous life, cattle were not only the main labor force in the family, but also the main force in accumulating family fertilizer.
The dirt roads in the village and the excrement dropped by cattle will be picked up everywhere.
Old people in the village, sometimes without tools at hand, would even use clods of soil to surround the cow dung in a circle to show that the cow dung was owned by someone.
Hearing Feng Duhu's words, Zhao Guang didn't feel anything yet, but Li Xu's eyes were filled with admiration:
“The prince has actually done a lot for the people of the world.”
“Now the Han people have many pastures, and they can rent cattle and horses for the people. And as long as you are willing to work hard, you can have a cow at home.”
Over the years, Xinghan Hui has cooperated with the government, with the government as a guarantee, and then the cattle and horses will be leased from the cattle and horse farm under the name of Xinghan Hui.
Those who are willing to rent cattle and horses will need to pay extra grain to the Xinghan Association and the government.
Perhaps three years or five years, as long as a calf and a pony is born during this period, it can be regarded as your own home.
When the calves and ponies grow up, won’t the family just have a large livestock?
To put it bluntly, it means using grain to buy calves and ponies in installments.
It can be said that this policy has contributed a lot to the increase in grain production in Dahan in recent years.
Feng Duhu thought more and sighed slightly:
“It would be great if we had struvite. That thing is much stronger than the domestic fertilizer we use now. A sack of struvite may be worth an oxcart of domestic fertilizer.”
When Li Xu heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up:
“There are such strange things in the world? May I ask you, where did this struvite come from?”
"It's far away!" Feng Duhu said casually, "If we go out to sea from Jiaozhou, there should be many islands in the southeast."
It is a pity that Jiaozhou is not in the hands of the Han Dynasty.
“Huh? Is that so? You’re actually overseas?”
When Li Xu heard this, he immediately looked disappointed:
“Such a strange thing, the big man doesn’t have it?”
When Feng Duhu saw her like this, he couldn't bear it and comforted her:
“It can’t be said that it doesn’t exist at all. For example, in caves in deep mountains, where bats live in groups, it cannot be said that there is such a thing.”
“But the number is ultimately too small, and it cannot compare to the island.”
Struvite is a kind of guano accumulated by birds and animals. Because there are bats living in the cave, their excrement and corpses are mixed on the ground. Over the years, some struvite will also be formed.
However, the main place of production still depends on the islands.
Why did Feng Duhu know this?
Because it’s covered in geography textbooks.
Especially the small country of Nauru, which was built on guano. You don’t have to do anything. You can just dig up guano and sell it for a lot of money. How happy you are!
Feng Duhu's major is a certain type of civil engineering major related to geography, so naturally he knows it best.
Later I heard that in that small country, all the guano was dug up.
Even the Nauru Building built in Tuao was eventually sold due to poor management.
The dream of moving the whole country to Australia has been shattered, and national income is also much lower than before.
This news also made Feng Duhu, who had been worried about it since high school, happy for a while.
Damn it, I let you get something for nothing, are you stupid?
Feng Duhu couldn't help but feel a little sad when he thought about what happened in his previous life.
Others feel like they are separated by a lifetime, but I am really separated by a lifetime!
Li Xu, on the other hand, lowered his head in deep thought.
(End of this chapter)