Chapter 2190 Gui Zi Scroll People depend on food, miracles
The imminent arrival of Shi Xiangyun and his entourage is just a slight distraction for Feng Ziying. Since there are countermeasures, Feng Ziying does not need to spend too much energy. What is more important now is that the potato harvest season is coming.
When Feng Ziying arrived in northern Shaanxi, the most important thing was to promote potatoes.
In his opinion, this is the most realistic problem to solve in northern Shaanxi, which is mostly barren and mountainous due to bad weather conditions. He does not want to achieve the jaw-dropping output of later generations, even if it is 30% or even 20% of the output, just by not choosing the land very much.
This advantage is enough to allow many people to survive without becoming hungry and homeless.
He told the state and county officials in the selected states and counties without reservation that the promotion of potato and even sweet potato and corn planting and cultivation will become the most important criterion for assessing the ability of local officials to govern in the future, even surpassing public security.
Education was second only to taxation, and he did not dare to put this matter above taxation.
Starting from July, several prefectures and counties in Yan'an Prefecture began to plant potatoes one after another. As the potato seeds and beans transported from Tianjin began to be distributed, areas ranging from a few hundred acres to over a thousand acres began to plant potatoes.
Planting was carried out, and some potatoes were planted in many areas that were not suitable for growing millet and wheat.
But this is a new thing after all. No one knows how much it will grow if planted, and the taste is still not as delicious as corn flour, so many people hold on to it.
The serious skepticism and suspicion are only due to the strong promotion of the government. No one dares to risk the disapproval of the world to oppose it. There are only a few hundred acres of mountainous land on the left and right. In the current situation, everywhere is dry and dry. Try it.
It’s not a big deal to try.
But Feng Ziying also knows that this is a matter of habituation. When starvation and hot potatoes are put together, fools know how to choose.
Feng Ziying even put down the seemingly more important military affairs and went straight to Mizhi, which was more moderate than the more remote Shenmu and Fugu. Feng Ziying wanted to take a look at the potato harvest here.
Returning to Mizhi, Feng Ziying could feel the change in the attitude of the officials and people of Mizhi County towards her.
If before, I only relied on some situations opened up in the military to make people like Xia Zhiling, Pan Ruzhen, Xu Junyang and Wu Degui have a little more respect and awe, then now, these people have completely attached themselves to me.
around.
The investigation of the Four Guards of Xi'an by the Censor of the Procuratorate even affected the government offices of Xi'an. The Guyuan Army entered Xi'an City, forcing the Four Guards of Xi'an to carry out a large-scale cleanup.
, were all seen by these local gangsters, and they realized that holding on to Feng Ziying's thigh was the smartest thing to do. What's more, Feng Ziying was also beaten out of Yan'an Mansion. Such a first-come-first-served opportunity, with this opportunity,
What's not to catch?
Xu Junyang noticed early on that Feng Ziying attached great importance to potato planting, although he was skeptical about Feng Ziying's mention that the potato yield per mu could reach more than fifteen stones.
After all, northern Shaanxi now mainly grows corn and wheat. The two seasons of summer, wheat and autumn millet combined are only about two stones. No matter how extraordinary these potatoes are, double them, no, quadruple them, one season.
That's four stones, which is equivalent to 600 kilograms in modern times, which is a huge deal. The key is that these potatoes are too unselective compared to corn and wheat that require a lot of irrigation.
And according to the governor, this thing can be grown two seasons a year, which means that one acre can produce thirty stones. How many people can it feed? This is too shocking.
In northern Shaanxi, where hunger is everywhere, this is simply a better way to make a living than growing gold.
Xu Junyang has seen that even though potatoes are not as resistant to hunger as corn and wheat, twice as many potatoes can almost equal one portion of wheat or corn. Even worse, three portions of potatoes can equal one portion of corn and wheat. Then
It’s also a great deal.
Standing in the field, Feng Ziying looked at the busy farmers, accompanied by Pan Ruzhen and Xu Junyang.
"This is the first harvest. Zhenpu, Junyang, please estimate how many stones this acre can produce? No, it should be how many kilograms. Potatoes are not suitable for calculation in stones." Feng Ziying put her hands behind her back.
said with a smile.
The Ming Dynasty followed the Ming system, and the weights and measures were complicated. Grain was measured in stones, but after drying, corn could be measured in stones, buckets, and liters. This was true for wheat, corn, and rice, but potatoes and sweet potatoes obviously could not be measured in this way.
There is a way to calculate it. If it is more scientific, we should consider using the city jin to calculate. Following the Ming system, one city jin is about one pound and two taels in modern times.
As for grains such as rice and wheat, one stone usually weighs one hundred and twenty kilograms, which is about one hundred and forty kilograms in the modern market. But for potatoes, this calculation cannot be made.
"Sir, it all depends on the result after the scale is weighed. To be honest, we didn't even count in our minds. After all, it was our first time to plant. Those people sent by Master Xu to help guide us all swore that it would definitely exceed two thousand pounds.
Well, if you calculate it in terms of stones, it’s eighteen stones. We can’t believe it.”
Xu Junyang glanced at Pan Ruzhen, and then said: "Suide, Fugu and Shenmu have also been planted, as well as Fushi, which is a little later than us. It is estimated that it will only be about ten days apart. If we average it out, we will finally know the yield."
Approximately how old it is."
"It seems that you don't have any confidence in your heart, and you don't really trust what Mr. Xu has painstakingly cultivated. I am a hundred times more confident." Feng Ziying raised her head and laughed, "How about we make a bet, if we exceed
If it’s two thousand catties, then you two should treat me well. If it’s not more than two thousand catties, then I’ll treat you two as well.”
Pan Ruzhen and Xu Junyang both agreed with a smile. This was a good opportunity to get closer to their boss, and of course they were happy to see it come to fruition.
The harvesting method is very rough, which means digging and setting aside seedlings. However, with the help of people sent by Xu Guangqi, a thousand people were very interested and wanted to see how many crops could be harvested from one acre of land.
.
When it started to get dark, the potatoes from the 30 acres of the experimental field were collected and roughly weighed. The amount exceeded 65,000 kilograms, even including the possibility that there might still be some residue after washing.
Soil and some undried water will never be less than 64,000 kilograms. On average, the yield per mu is more than 2,110 kilograms.
Feng Ziying roughly remembers that in later generations, the average yield of potatoes per mu was more than 3,000 to 4,000 kilograms, and there were even high yields of 8,000 to 10,000 kilograms. Even if three or four thousand kilograms were converted into one kilogram, it would be 2,500 kilograms to 3,500 kilograms.
More than one kilogram, one acre in later generations is six hundred and sixty-seven square meters per acre, and one acre follows the Ming system and is slightly smaller, so the yield of 2,100 kilograms per mu is already considered good. After all, this is the first
Of course, this has a lot to do with choosing good land and taking care of it very carefully.
If we really want to promote it on a large scale, it would be good to have 1,500 kilograms, but after two seasons, it is still more than 3,000 kilograms. Compared with planting corn and wheat, it only costs more than 500 kilograms and has to choose a site.
In comparison, it is really a big difference.
Pan Ruzhen and Xu Junyang couldn't believe such an astonishing yield. They even went to check it out in person to see if someone was deliberately trying to please Shangguan. However, only 30 acres of potatoes were planted in this area.
It was impossible to transport potatoes, and the potatoes that had been weighed were also there, solid and without moisture. Only then did Pan Ruzhen and Xu Junyang accept this reality.
You must know that the two of them have actually made some calculations in their hearts. Since Xu Guangqi and Feng Ziying value this thing so much, and they got it from Xiyi, maybe this thing can really have a high yield, but no matter how high the yield is,
It can't be outrageous. Eight hundred kilograms should be the limit. It will already change the agricultural production structure of a place, especially in places like northern Shaanxi that suffer from poor land, rugged mountains and poor irrigation. Filling the stomach is the biggest political achievement, but
If this thing is really popularized and production is not reduced, it will really become a reality that people in the three prefectures of northern Shaanxi will no longer go hungry.
Of course, this is also an ideal state, unless the court does not collect taxes or pay labor, but in any case, this thing is enough to change the fate of these poor people in northern Shaanxi.
Four places have been selected in Mizhi, including good land that is easy to irrigate, valleys with average conditions, slopes with poor conditions, and mountainous areas with the worst conditions, as pilot projects. Feng Ziying led a group of people to inspect these four areas on the spot.
The situation in the experimental field.
The best land has a yield of about 2,200 kilograms per mu. Feng Ziying and the others are the first to look at this piece of valley land, with a yield of 2,000 kilograms per mu.
One hundred kilograms, the yield on sloping land dropped sharply to about 1,600 kilograms, while the yield on mountainous land dropped directly to 1,200 kilograms. This may also have something to do with the manpower, but in any case, the experimental results have exceeded
The best imagination.
A total of 330 acres of land produces nearly half a million kilograms of potatoes. According to Xu Junyang, ten potatoes per person, which is about two kilograms, is enough for a strong man to get through a day without working.
.
This means that these 500,000 kilograms of potatoes can allow 8,000 refugees to survive for a month. This is almost a miracle. Just 330 acres of land can allow 8,000 refugees to survive for a month. If
Thirty-three hundred acres, or even thirty-three thousand acres, wouldn't it be enough to support tens of thousands of refugees for a year, and that doesn't even count as being able to grow crops for two seasons.
This is not a theoretical algorithm, but a result that can be turned into reality. Even Feng Ziying mentioned that the seeds may degrade in the second season and the yield will decline, but even if each round of planting is 90% of the previous round,
Even calculated at an 80% level, it is already a miracle.