In the afternoon, Mrs. Chu put her eldest daughter to sleep, then looked at her little daughter who was sleeping soundly, then took the freshly brewed tea and went to the study.
The study door was not closed. As soon as Chu came closer, she heard King Xia's voice coming from inside: "Mrs. Zhu lowered her head and looked down!"
Chu took a sip, put down the teacup and teapot, and went to read next door.
Her younger brother Chu Shenping came back with the king and wrote her a letter, mostly praising King Xia for his bravery and resoluteness, his military skills as a god, and many other family matters and family affairs.
Mrs. Chu is a smart person and knows what her brother means, but she feels slightly uncomfortable in her heart.
When the city of Mengzhou was destroyed and she was kidnapped by King Xia, her family thought she was dead, but now they are counting on her again.
All this changed simply because she was attracted by the most powerful man in the world, who pampered her day and night and gave birth to two children.
After reading quietly for a while, Shao Shude and Zhang Hui came out.
Zhang Hui wore nothing underneath, only a thin gauze covering, and her flesh color was faintly visible. Her face was like red cloth, and she avoided Mrs. Chu's eyes, not daring to look at her.
Shao Shudejing sat down naked, covered in sweat. Chu put down the book and took a silk scarf to wipe his sweat carefully.
"You come with me to Luoyang." Shao Shude held Chu in his arms and said.
Mrs. Chu hummed, but her body quickly became tense, and then slowly relaxed. As the sun set, Mrs. Chu's chest reflected a greasy white light.
The road between Luobian and Luobian is not very easy to walk.
The wars were frequent, the damage was serious, and there was no time to repair it in the future, so it was like this.
In the past two days, the Bianzhou shogunate was discussing the repair of Luoyang and Zheng-Bian post roads. Shao Shude agreed, but asked them to directly refer to the first-class national highway between Meng and Huai and build an identical road.
Bianzhou was requisitioned to transport grain and grass, but there was no large-scale demobilization in Chen, Xu, Song, Bo and other states, so it is very likely that the construction of the first-class national highway from Zhengzhou to Bianzhou will begin soon.
There is an official village in the northeast corner of Luoyang Palace City, on the bank of the Han River.
Because it is Guanzhuang, there is no shortage of livestock and fields, and there are even facilities for grinding grains and oil. The personnel are also professional, and those who raise the livestock are all Tatars captured on the grassland, and those who farm the land are not released at the beginning.
A native of Bianzhou Tutuan, the craftsman who repaired the machine also came from Liang Jun’s Craftsman Camp.
Large areas of carrots, sea beets, rye, rye grass and other crops are planted in Guanzhuang, almost transplanting the original Jinxian Temple. If nothing happens, this Guanzhuang will become part of the palace in the future.
There is no way, Marshal Shao is so stupid that he wants to be the emperor and develop farmland in the palace city.
"Your Majesty, the sugar used in these candied fruits comes from sea beets." Wang Yanfan, the envoy of Luoyuan, introduced several plates of candied fruits.
"How about making sugar from sea beet?" Shao Shude picked up a piece of fruit and asked.
"We had a good harvest of sea beet last year, and we made a lot of sugar, which is very sweet," Wang Yanfan said.
"Has a new species been cultivated?" Shao Shude waved his hand after saying this and said, "That's all, time is still short, so I'm sure I haven't achieved anything famous yet."
Compared with the native species, the currently introduced sea beet has actually been improved once by the inhabitants of the Mediterranean coast. The sugar content of the roots and stems has been improved, but it is still incomparable to the beet that was further improved in later generations.
"In Henan, two counties in Luoyang distributed a batch of sea beet seeds to households and taught them to plant them." Shao Shude said: "This thing is drought-resistant and does not require land selection. A lot of land that could not be used before can be used."
After New World crops were introduced to the Old World, their initial yields were not high, and they had no advantages over traditional crops such as wheat. But why is it still significant? Because corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes can be grown in the past
The unusable wasteland, which is either relatively barren, dry or lacks water, or is hilly, cannot be effectively used, but potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn can be used. This is its positive significance, which is equivalent to expanding the area of cultivated land.
Of course, in the Chinese dynasty, this did not mean much. Because this was not the intensive cultivation of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were fewer people, more land, and enough arable land. There was no energy for intensive cultivation, so we could only do extensive cultivation. A household with a few acres of land was different from
A household with dozens or hundreds of acres of land must have different farming methods, which is very realistic.
But how can I put it, the overall cultivated land is sufficient, but there is an imbalance in some areas. For example, in the areas of Caozhou, Songzhou, and Weizhou, there are too many people, and the per capita cultivated land is small. It is also good to use some barren wasteland.
In addition to wasteland, sea beets can be planted in front of and behind farmyards, and along field ridges. In the past, mung beans may have been grown here, but now they are planted with higher value cash crops, which also has the meaning of regulating wealth distribution.
There is no shortage of grains and beans in the homes of rich people. Even if ordinary farmers plant mung beans on their field ridges, they will not be of much value and cannot stimulate the consumption desire of rich people. But sugar is different. The market demand actually always exists.
But the supply is always insufficient.
Sugar in the north is mainly maltose, which is made from grain starch. It is actually a type of maltose. Shao Shude had eaten it as a child in his previous life. The taste was okay, but it was different from real sugar.
As for honey, the production is actually limited and the price is very high.
Due to transportation costs, the price of sucrose in the south is still very high, and the supply is low. Ordinary wealthy people cannot buy enough.
Moreover, the sucrose yield at this time was also very low because the sugar content of sugarcane was too low. Shao Shude remembered that when later Europeans visited Tahiti in the Pacific during the Age of Discovery, they discovered a unique local sugarcane variety with a sugar content of
The sugar cane was surprisingly high, far exceeding the sugar cane they originally planted, so they began transplanting and improving varieties. It can be said that almost all sugar cane varieties in later generations have more or less the bloodline of Tahitian sugar cane.
Shao Shude didn't know what kind of sugarcane was grown in the south of the country, but he felt that the sugar content should be very low. Breeding is a systematic long-term project and is of great significance to agriculture.
Therefore, sea beet is meaningful, but it is necessary to continue to improve varieties and increase the sugar content of its roots. This is not enough to rely on the government alone. It is better to release some seeds to the private sector, expand the planting volume, and let the common people help improve it. It will take a long time.
Yes, it will always work.
European farmers along the Mediterranean coast have also improved sea beets from generation to generation. Shao Shude is sure that the original wild varieties must not have as high a sugar content as now.
"Let's do it this way. Send some to Guanbei as well. There is a greater need for beets there." Shao Shude made the final decision and made up his mind.
The people in Guanbei have gone through a difficult period of famine. Now the land rights are quite equal, the population is not ridiculously large, and the per capita resource possession is not low. There is no problem in survival, and they can work towards improvement.
He suddenly remembered the milk tea with salt added on the grassland, and could only sigh, what a lack of sugar. I have to stop you from working in the wrong direction, milk tea can only add sugar!
"Your Majesty, I heard a few days ago that some people call Lingzhou 'Shangjiangnan'. There is water and grass, millets, wheat and rice can be grown, and there are many cattle and sheep. Is it possible for the people of Bian Song to live like this?" Wang Yanfan
After leaving, Zhang Hui suddenly asked.
"It's a bit difficult." Shao Shude said: "To be honest, there are too many people, but improvements can be made. One household in Lingxia has sixty acres of land and three crops are rotated. The people in Bian and Song Dynasties can't do it.
Sixty acres, but thirty acres or even ten acres can also be used for farming and animal husbandry, it just depends on the scale. The key is how I collect taxes. If I only collect grains, beans, and silk, it will definitely not work. If I want to collect skins,
Wool is naturally feasible.”
"If your Majesty can make the people of Bian Song Dynasty prosperous and happy..." Zhang Hui came over and whispered in Shao Shude's ear: "I will promise you."
"What? There is such a good thing!" Shao Shude was shocked and looked at Zhang Hui in surprise.
After being nursed back to health by the medical officer of the Imperial Medical Office, Zhang Hui's complexion has improved a lot. It seems that physical problems need to be discovered early and nursed back to health early, and cannot be delayed for a long time, otherwise it will be difficult to deal with.
"I was originally the daughter of a governor, but my family was in trouble and I was displaced." Zhang Hui sighed: "If everyone lived and worked in peace and contentment, how could such a thing happen? If the king allows me to do it, what else can I not give up?"
"But this is not something that can be accomplished overnight..." Shao Shude frowned.
"There is no harm in doing it, Your Majesty. The people of Guandong are also the subjects of Your Majesty's rule. They are nothing more than each other. The people of Guanxi cannot only benefit." Zhang Hui said in a low voice: "As long as Your Majesty treats everyone equally, you can... you can advance the benefits."
Shao Shude laughed.
He originally wanted to win the hearts and minds of the people by improving the living standards of the people in Guandong. Even if Zhang Hui didn't say anything, he would gradually implement it. But this stupid woman actually came to the door by herself. What else is there to say? Just think about it.
Exciting.
"Li Yixian, come here!" After laughing, Shao Shude looked forward and said loudly.
Li Yixian seemed to want to report something, but when he came over, he probably saw that he was teasing Zhang Hui, so he hid behind a tree and pretended that he had never been there.
"Your Majesty, the deputy envoy sent to report that the new wood drying kiln has been built." Li Yixian reported.
"Good thing, I will leave for Mengzhou tomorrow." Shao Shude said.
To be honest, he doesn't have high expectations for the real level of this wood drying kiln. But this kiln was built at his request, and now that it's ready, it doesn't hurt to go take a look.
In ancient times, the wood used for building ships and building palaces was generally dried in the shade.
Wood that has just been cut and processed cannot be used because it is rich in moisture and will deform in the future, so it is necessary to dehydrate it and dry it in the shade. While drying it, you must also water it, because all parts of the wood are dehydrated.
The speed is different, which will also produce deformation.
The time for wood to dry in the sun is very long. For example, the wood used for shipbuilding usually takes five or six years, and the best wood for building palaces even takes longer. Later in the 17th century, the British Navy had a huge inventory of oak wood dried in the sun, which was stacked by year and managed by dedicated personnel.
But during wars and when social needs increase greatly, this wood is not enough and will be consumed soon. What should we do?
The wood drying kiln came into being, which was what Shao Shude asked to build. There was no way, the demand for Luoyang Palace was too great.