January is the winter break season, and there are many festivals for people to relax and play. February 2 is Social Day, which is a day for rural people to gather and mobilize for the upcoming spring plowing.
Each festival is arranged for agricultural production activities, which is the characteristic of agricultural civilization.
There was less heavy snow this year than last year, with only one heavy snowfall. After entering February, the ice and snow melted, everything revived, willow branches sprouted, a few birds stood on the branches and chirped happily, and groups of ducks were flapping and swimming in the river.
, both sides of the Taiwan Strait turned green, and there was a vibrant scene everywhere.
On the north bank of the Weihe River not far from Xianyang County, Chen Qing, surrounded by a group of officials, came to a high point. Surrounded by wilderness, there were large wheat fields to the north. The winter wheat was growing vigorously, and farmers were busy fertilizing and weeding the fields.
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To the south is a river beach close to the river bed, which is nearly a mile wide and has no crops. However, it is now covered with the highest quality pasture alfalfa. This is a major event that Chen Qing has been paying close attention to in the past two years. It was his annual plan for the year before last.
After he drew up the plan, he handed it over to the Internal Affairs Hall for discussion. Once approved by the Internal Affairs Hall, it must be implemented. It has been implemented for two years the year before last and the year before last. The year before last was to start the war in Shaanzhou, Hedong Road and the northern part of Shaanxi Road. Last year was busy with overseas visits.
Lin'an and the war in the north of Hedong Road, so there has been no attention to the planting of alfalfa.
This year, it was because of the consideration of planting cotton that Chen Qing remembered this matter. It was the beginning of spring. When he was inspecting the spring plowing, he stopped by to check the progress of forage planting in person.
"Zhang Zuosi, I remember that this area used to be full of weeds!" Chen Qing pointed at the river beach and smiled.
Zhang Zuosi is Zhang Xiao. He has just returned from Hedong and continues to serve as counselor of the Internal Affairs Hall. His specific position is the Superintendent of the Zuo Department of Government Affairs. This is a reform that was only carried out this year. The jurisdiction of the Department of Government Affairs is too broad, and Jiang Yanxian really can't bear it.
, therefore, under Jiang Yanxian’s suggestion, the Government Affairs Department was divided into two. The Right Department of Government Affairs was responsible for criminal law, education, imperial examinations, population, civil affairs, diplomacy, epidemic prevention, etc., and the Left Department of Government Affairs was responsible for industry, commerce, agriculture and animal husbandry.
Jiang Yanxian continued to serve as the Superintendent of the Right Department of Government Affairs, and Zhang Xiao became the Superintendent of the Left Department of Government Affairs.
Zhang Xiao had been an aide to the magistrate of Xianyang and knew the situation in Xianyang very well. He smiled and said: "Your Highness is right. I have never considered developing animal husbandry before. I always felt that it was a grassland matter and there was no use for the beaches on both sides of the Wei River.
, left alone, the natural weeds are overgrown, but now it is different. In just two years, hundreds of miles of riverbanks on both sides have been planted with alfalfa. Not only can we raise sheep, mules, donkeys, cattle and horses, but we also found that we can also raise ducks and geese.
, the beans that grow in autumn are ground into powder and are good feed for pigs."
Another official added: "Alfalfa can also fertilize and solidify the soil. If it is widely planted along the Yellow River in northern Shaanxi, it can reduce the amount of soil washed into the Yellow River. It is said that it can also be used as medicine, and even the young seedlings can be eaten as wild vegetables.
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Chen Qing smiled and nodded, "It has many functions, so I decided to vigorously promote it. We have a foundation for the development of animal husbandry. This is not something I thought of in a hot head. It is actually the experience of Yuanzhou. Yuanzhou was the first to be financed."
The army designated it as a sheep-raising land and planted a large amount of alfalfa. Now it has become the largest sheep-raising land in Sichuan and Shaanxi.
But what’s interesting is that Wonju’s grain output is not low. Even if we go to Sichuan Road, the annual grain output can still be ranked in the top five. Why? Wonju uses the river valley to grow alfalfa to raise sheep, and sheep manure is the best
Although it was an unintentional move by Jin Bing to use fertilizers to improve the fertility of the land, by mistake, we found a way to produce grain, breed livestock and raise animals simultaneously."
Shi Yuan'an, the commander of the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department, said: "Your Highness is absolutely right. The grain output of Yuanzhou surpassed that of Qinzhou last year, ranking second only to Huangzhou in the Xihe Road prefectures. It's really surprising."
At this time, Chen Qing saw a shepherd boy driving a group of sheep grazing by the river. There were about a hundred sheep in the group. Chen Qing walked up and the officials quickly followed.
The shepherd boy had never seen so many officials and was a little frightened. Zhang Xiao comforted him for a moment, and then he gradually calmed down. Zhang Xiao brought him to Chen Qing.
"What's your name and where are you from?" Chen Qing asked.
The young man said timidly: "The villain's name is Wu Ping, and he is from Xiaowuzhuang in the south of the city."
"Have you read any books?"
"Study for a year."
"Then why don't you keep reading?"
The young man shook his head and said, "I can't read. We have more than a hundred sheep and ten cows at home. My father and brother are going to farm, so I have to feed the cows and sheep."
"A lot of people raise cattle and sheep in your village?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.
"There are so many, almost every household raises them, including in several surrounding villages. Nowadays there is goat grass everywhere, and cattle also like to eat it. My father said that there are too many people raising goats now, and they are not as profitable as before."
This is the effect Chen Qing wants, to bring mutton to the dining tables of ordinary people, improve the dietary structure, and greatly enhance the people's physique.
Chen Qing turned back to Zhang Xiao and said: "It shows that we are on the right path. We will vigorously promote it this year in the two major directions of Shaanxi Road and Sichuan Road. There should be enough seeds!"
Zhang Xiao nodded, "There are hundreds of thousands of kilograms of seeds!"
"Okay, let's continue promoting it!"
Leaving the north bank of the Weihe River, Chen Qing inspected the spring plowing all the way. Winter wheat and corn are grown in the Guanzhong Plain, which are harvested three times every two years, so spring plowing is a little easier. The main tasks are to take care of the wheat seedlings, weeding, loosening the soil, fertilizing, and then building water conservancy projects.
vehicles, dredging ditches, etc.
Passing through large wheat fields, Chen Qing entered Xianyang City and arrived at the third district of Xianyang, which is located in the northwest of the county. The locals call it Dachangfang. Dachangfang occupies a large area. It was originally a warehouse area, where military camps and the City God's Temple are located, and it is completely in the city.
The city was surrounded by high walls. Warehouses, military camps and the City God's Temple were all demolished. Nearly 30% of the land in the county was left vacant, and the military built more than a thousand houses there.
There were more than twenty internal guards standing guard in front of the gate, and everyone who entered or exited had to check their waistbands. Of course, Chen Qing's motorcade did not need to.
More than a dozen carriages entered the big craftsman's workshop, and rows of neat and identical rows appeared in front of them. More than a thousand square yards were built exactly the same. Each yard covered an area of one acre, and there were more than a dozen houses plus a yard.
, there is no house number or sign, and craftsmen live together. One family is a gunpowder maker, and the next door may be a crossbow maker.
If enemy spies sneak in to arrest someone, they will not be able to find the target at all. They will have to go from house to house and wait for them to be captured by the internal guards.
This kind of protective measure is not surprising at all. Throughout the dynasties, those skilled craftsmen have always been important objects of government protection. On the one hand, it is protection, and on the other hand, it is also control to prevent them from being tempted by the enemy's money and escaping.
The Grand Craftsman's Workshop is managed by the Ordnance Department of the Military Department, and the security is in charge of the internal security. Zhao Changsui, the commander of the Ordnance Department, introduced to Chen Qing: "There are vegetable markets, restaurants, teahouses, bookstores, shops, and schools here.
It has almost everything, it’s just a small closed county town with almost no connection with Xianyang County.”
"What is the biggest problem right now?" Chen Qing asked.
"Reporting to Your Highness, the biggest problem at present is that the craftsmen's workshop is full and cannot accommodate new people."
"How many newcomers are there?"
"Since the year before last, the number of Category A craftsmen has been increasing. Among the refugees who fled from the Central Plains last time, there were 544 Category A craftsmen. They were basically the master craftsmen of Qi State's weapons supervisor.
Focusing on making crossbows, knives and shields, the skills are very exquisite and rare."
Chen Qing asked: "Then how were these craftsmen finally placed?"
"Currently, the only counties that are placed in Gaoling County and have the conditions to build large craftsmen's workshops are Gaoling County or Jingzhao New City. The Military Department is considering building a second craftsman's workshop."
Chen Qing thought for a while and said: "Let's put it in Jingzhao! Jingzhao also needs people, but there is no need to build craftsmen's workshops. What I mean is that they live together together, but there is no need to build walls to isolate them."
"I understand the humble position, but what about here? Should we keep the status quo?"
Chen Qing nodded, "Because there are craftsmen from the Firearms Bureau here. They are craftsmen who are closely watched by the Jin Kingdom and must be strictly protected. That's why I came to inspect here today. Management and protection measures must not be weakened, but must be strengthened!"
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[It’s still two updates today, let Lao Gao take a breather.]