Chen Jingke was very satisfied with Changsun Wugou's reaction. This was considered a little bit of bad taste for the time traveler.
However, he did not forget about the business and said: "Yes, these things are available in Yazhou."
"Let's talk about Yizhou Island. There are no large-scale mineral resources on this island, but its geographical location is too important. Guard the southeast gateway. If you want to develop Nanyang, you must develop here first..."
"The island has mountains in the middle, and a vast plain on the left, which is very suitable for farming. On the right is a narrow valley plain, which we call the longitudinal valley plain."
"The longitudinal valley plain is more than 360 miles long from north to south, four to five miles at its narrowest point from east to west, and more than ten miles at its widest point... The land here is barren and not suitable for farming."
"But if alfalfa and other pastures are planted here, it will be the best pasture, enough to feed 50,000 horses."
"Stop." Changsun Wuguo stopped him again and said, "Can horses be raised in the south?"
Chen Jingke knew what she was thinking, and there was almost a consensus that boats should be sent to the south and horses should be raised to the north. Now someone suddenly said that the south was suitable for raising horses, so naturally she didn't believe it.
But his answer was: "Of course, and you would never guess that the most suitable place for raising horses is in Datang."
Changsun Wugou rolled his eyes at him angrily and said, "Say, don't show off."
Chen Jingke did not dare to lose his temper with his mother-in-law, so he quickly said: "The most suitable places for raising horses are Shandong, Henan, Hebei and other places."
"The climate here is humid, the land is fertile and the strongest grass can be grown, and the terrain is flat enough for horses to gallop."
So the question is, why didn’t the Central Plains Dynasty raise horses here? Did they not know?
It's impossible, they know it better than anyone else.
"The reason why horses were not raised here in the past dynasties is because these places are the hinterland of the Central Plains, the most densely populated places. The land has been used to grow crops, so naturally there is no place to raise horses."
"Which is more important, humans and horses? I don't even tell you, but you also know that there is absolutely no such thing as converting cultivated land into pasture."
Changsun Wugou couldn't help but nodded, it was indeed true.
But there was a dynasty in history that did this, and that was the Yuan Dynasty.
The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty did not have so many worries. Kublai Khan designated the most fertile places such as Henan and Shandong as pastures to raise horses.
The rebel army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty never lacked horses, and this is the reason.
Enough war horses were obtained from horse farms in Henan and Shandong, and then they were used to form cavalry to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty.
I have to say, this is a bad thing.
Let’s talk about the south. It’s not that it’s not unsuitable for raising horses.
You must know that there are Baise horses in Lingnan and Yunnan horses in Yunnan. There is also Guoxiama, one of the three largest ponies in the world, which is also produced in the south.
There are also some other unknown horse breeds... When they were just liberated, the number of Baise horses alone in Guangdong and Guangxi was as many as one million.
Just because the terrain in the south is mountainous and lacks large plains, these horse breeds are relatively short in size and are not good at running long distances and cannot be used as war horses.
There is also evidence that ancient unified dynasties often stationed some cavalry in the south. For example, the Ming Dynasty once deployed tens of thousands of cavalry in the south.
In times of war, cavalry from the north would go to the south to fight, and sometimes they might stay for several years.
There are no records in history books of large-scale losses of war horses due to climate problems. Those war horses can adapt to the climate here and survive well, which proves that the climate in the south can be used to raise horses.
It's just that because the terrain is mountainous and lacks plains, it is impossible to raise war horses that are tall and have enough endurance.
However, it is possible to find a suitable pasture and introduce horse breeds from the north to breed war horses yourself. The Longitudinal Valley Plain of Yizhou Island is a suitable place.
The terrain here is long and narrow, surrounded by high mountains, and has a humid climate and abundant water resources suitable for the growth of pasture. It is more than 300 miles long and has enough space for horses to run and exercise their endurance and running ability.
The high mountains block the cold current, so the temperature here is generally above 17 or 18 degrees during the coldest time. The pasture can survive in winter, which can alleviate some of the pressure on silage fodder.
Even if it is true that some horses are not suitable for the southern climate and die of illness, as long as not all of them die, it is enough that some of them survive.
There is no shortage of horses in the Tang Dynasty now. They are raising horses in the south just for future planning. There is no rush. Just use the surviving horses to multiply slowly.
The reason why we chose the longitudinal valley plain instead of the large plain on the left side of the island is because the large plain on the left side is more suitable for human habitation, and it would be too wasteful to use it as pasture.
As the saying goes, you must first come with people.
The land in the longitudinal valley plain is barren, so it was most suitable to transform it into pasture in the era when there were no chemical fertilizers.
Alfalfa is known as the king of forage. In addition to its ability to adapt to a variety of environments, another reason is that it does not pick on the ground.
Planting it not only does not consume land fertility, but also has the effect of nourishing the land. This is somewhat similar to soybeans, but its effect of nourishing the land is not as good as soybeans.
Planting alfalfa to transform pasture in the longitudinal valley plain is a very good training base for war horses.
Finally, Chen Jingke concluded: "The Tang Dynasty is invincible in the world, and the northern grasslands have also surrendered to us. Now the Tang Dynasty has no shortage of war horses."
"But to prepare for a rainy day, we must consider the possibility and leave a backup plan for our descendants."
"Once things really develop into the situation we least want to see, the ranch on Yizhou Island can provide an opportunity to make a comeback."
Changsun Wugou also nodded with deep understanding. When the Tang Dynasty was first established, Jieli often got his neck stuck on his horse.
Li Yuan tried his best to collect 8,000 horses and designated a piece of land in Longyou for breeding.
It was these eight thousand horses that gave birth to the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty and created the most basic hardware conditions for the subsequent defeat of Jie Li.
Although there is no shortage of war horses in the Tang Dynasty now, as Chen Jingke said, it is necessary to prepare for a rainy day.
"I will tell Erlang about this and send some people over to try it out to see if it is feasible."
Chen Jingke just mentioned this. On the one hand, he just remembered this matter; on the other hand, it gave Li Shimin more motivation to start developing Nanyang as soon as possible.
For the development of Nanyang, Yizhou Island and Yazhou Island are the best outposts.
The main purpose of his visit today is the medical system. This is the most important thing at the moment and is also related to China's future strategy.
So he changed the topic back in time and said: "With salt and tea, plus the iron ore and copper mines in Yazhou, is it enough to solve the financial pressure and launch a medical plan?"
Changsun Wugou did not express his position immediately, but asked: "The backhand left by your elders must be more than this, so don't hide it, tell them all."
Chen Jingke shook his head one after another and said: "These are enough. You won't be able to do anything else in the short term. Let's talk about other things after you develop Yancha and Yazhou's copper and iron mines."
Changsun Wugou's expression changed, and he said sadly: "I've been so good to you, even my beloved little Sizi married you, but you actually... Auntie is so sad."
"Stop it." Chen Jingke said a little helplessly, but also a little funny: "You are striving to be a person for eternity. Can you please stop using this trick? It will be too damaging to your image if it spreads."
Changsun Wugou himself also laughed and said: "Haha... It's hard for a clever woman to make a living without rice. Without money, even if I want to fight for eternity, there is nothing I can do."
"Not even Erlang can do anything about this matter. The only person my aunt can rely on is you. Tell me, is there any other business that can make money quickly?"
She had said this, and Chen Jingke knew that he would not be able to survive if he did not come up with something, so he said: "There are also things that can make money quickly, such as bone china."
A touch of joy suddenly appeared on Changsun Wugu's face, and he asked: "What is bone china?"
Chen Jingke said: "When bone powder is added to the porcelain clay, the resulting porcelain is milky white and very exquisite and beautiful. We call it bone china."
"Beef and sheep bones are the best, and beef bones are the best. Adding 25% bone powder is bone china, and adding 45% bone powder is the best."
"The best bone china has a delicate and transparent texture, and a surface as moist as jade...but it has a shortcoming, which is that because the material contains impurities, it will have an inconspicuous light red color."
Changsun Wugu was greatly surprised and said: "Bone meal can actually be used to make porcelain? I would never have thought of it if you didn't tell me."
Chen Jingke didn't explain too much, and she didn't understand even if he said too much. He just said: "But the firing of bone china is not easy. I only know the rough ingredients. The specific results can only be determined by the craftsmen.
.”
Changsun Wugu said: "It is enough to know that bone powder can be used to make porcelain. At the worst, let the craftsmen try it a few more times."
Chen Jingke thought about the heights reached by porcelain in later generations, and said: "White porcelain and blue and white porcelain have the greatest development potential, allowing craftsmen to study more."
"The best porcelain I have ever seen is as thin as paper, as white as jade, as bright as a mirror, and as loud as a chime. It can even be used to make lampshades. It's a pity that I don't know how to bake it."
The development of porcelain in China has a long history. The earliest ones were brown porcelain and celadon. White porcelain appeared in the Han Dynasty, but due to poor quality due to technical reasons, it did not develop.
It was not until the Tang Dynasty that white porcelain technology matured rapidly and reached its peak during the Northern Song Dynasty. Later, the craft was lost due to wars.
The whitest white porcelain produced until the 21st century did not surpass the best white porcelain of the Northern Song Dynasty in terms of whiteness.
This is not bragging, but there are real objects unearthed for comparison.
Bone china was invented by the British through extensive experiments in order to imitate the characteristics of white porcelain in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is also the only type of porcelain invented by foreigners in the world.
Now it belongs to Chen Jingke.
As for blue and white porcelain, it is a type that was developed after white porcelain technology matured. It is also in the development stage at this time.
Chen Jingke said that white porcelain and blue and white porcelain have endless potential, and he was really not lying.
The key is that the production technology of these two porcelains is at a critical point of maturity. If Changsun Wujia invests resources in research, it should be able to produce mature products faster.
It goes without saying how great the gold-absorbing ability of mature porcelain is. The English name of China in the past life comes from this.
White porcelain and blue and white porcelain can be said to be the two most common and popular categories of porcelain.
If Changsun Wujie can produce mature white porcelain and blue and white porcelain, plus bone china, it will be a source of wealth that is no less than glass.
Naturally, she could see the business opportunities in it, so she solemnly wrote it down, and would find craftsmen to try making it later.
As for the medical system, she is even more tempted.
The most important thing is to establish virtue, the second is to perform meritorious service, and the third is to establish words. Even if it lasts for a long time, this is called immortality.
These are the three immortals mentioned in "Zuo Zhuan" and are the greatest pursuit of the Chinese people. Not only men have this pursuit, but women also have it.
As the empress, the eldest grandson Wugou set an example for others by setting an example for others, and she had already accomplished the task of building moral principles. She also wrote the "Principles for Women" herself, which is a set example.
There is only one word difference between "Female Rules" and "Female Commandments", but the content is completely different. The latter restrains and imprisons women, while the former encourages women to fight bravely.
"Old Tang Book·Biography of Empress Changsun": Later, I tried to write about the good deeds of ancient women and compiled them into ten volumes, called "Nv Principles", with my own preface.
It can be seen from this that "Women's Principles" is a book that praises and encourages women to have the courage to do good deeds.
It's just a pity that in the Song Dynasty, the constraints on women were further strengthened, especially after Neo-Confucianism, women were completely reduced to vassals.
Books that encouraged women such as "Principles for Women" lost their market and were soon lost.
But in the early Ming Dynasty, there were still fragments of the book left. Zhu Di's Empress Xu once commented on "The Rules for Women" and said it was an evil book. She also said that Empress Changsun taught bad women all over the world and that she was not worthy of her reputation as a virtuous queen.
By the way, the "Female Commandments" that has poisoned Chinese women for two thousand years was written by Ban Zhao of the Han Dynasty. She was the biological sister of Ban Gu and Ban Chao.
It can be said that Changsun Wugu has basically achieved everything he has done to establish his moral integrity, and what he lacks the most is his meritorious service.
Although she assisted her husband in becoming emperor and assisting him in governing the country, these were behind-the-scenes work that were greatly compromised.
And there were not many queens who did this in history, and what she did was nothing special compared to others.
However, if she can really complete the medical system, it will be a unique and great achievement, no less than the man's great achievement.
By that time, she said that she would truly live up to her name after an eternity.
What's more, Chen Jingke had put the complete plan in front of her and solved the financial problem for her. How could she not be tempted?
However, despite this, she still did not agree directly, but said: "It is a very important matter, and I have to discuss it with Erlang before I can decide... But you can let Sun Zhenren write the medical book first."
Chen Jingke knew that she was tempted, and also knew that such a big matter could only be decided after discussing it with Li Shimin, so he didn't say anything more.
"Okay, I'm waiting for your good news. Master is already writing the medical book, so I won't delay your use."
After that, Changsun Wujia asked about the medical system in detail, deduced various problems that would be encountered along the way, and looked for solutions.
The conversation didn't end until Xiao Sizi was impatient and kept circling at the door.
This time Chen Jingke and Xiao Sizi did not run and play like before, but practiced calligraphy.
As mentioned before, Chen Jingke practiced Zhao Mengfu's small regular script. When this type of calligraphy came to the Tang Dynasty, it naturally shocked Li Shimin and Changsun Wugu.
When Chen Jingke said that he would teach this kind of calligraphy to Xiao Sizi, they agreed without hesitation.
This font will definitely become popular all over the world in the future. If Xiao Sizi succeeds in practicing it, he will become a great calligrapher and go down in history with this font.
Originally, they hoped that Xiao Sizi would start learning when he was three or four years old, but Chen Jingke refused.
Such a little person couldn't even grasp the pen and practice calligraphy. If she didn't finish the calligraphy by then, it would actually make her hate calligraphy.
It was not until Xiao Sizi was six years old that he finally started teaching her calligraphy.
There is no other technique to practice calligraphy, just copy, practice, and practice over and over again. He wrote several copybooks for her to copy, and there was only one word on the copybooks, forever.
The famous Yongzi Eight Methods are the most common calligraphy methods.
In the next few years, this character will become the most written character by Xiaosizi.
Not only her, but Chen Jingke himself also copies several Yong characters every day to practice his calligraphy.
He stayed in the palace until the palace door was almost locked before leaving.
Changsun Wuguo asked Li Shimin to be invited to the Li Zheng Hall.
