Although what Li Yunze said was very tempting, and he was willing to believe Li Yunze's words.
But he didn't make any arrangements immediately on impulse. Instead, he got some rubber shoes from Li Yunze and arranged for the sergeants to try them out.
As for the Champa rice, they arranged for an envoy to go to Feng Ang in Lingnan to obtain it.
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and local powerful families, governors, governors, and local powerful families were separatist and independent. It was under this situation that Feng An occupied the land of Lingnan.
When the Tang Dynasty was first established, the country was weak and faced enemies on all sides.
Although Feng Ang ostensibly submitted to the Tang Dynasty, in fact he was still the local emperor of Lingnan.
Originally, Li Er had no intention of wasting time and energy in Lingnan before defeating the Turks, a formidable enemy.
However, if Champa rice does indeed exist, then the importance of Lingnan will immediately soar.
Food was the most important thing for the people, and there was always not enough food in the Tang Dynasty. And as the war subsided, the population would inevitably increase on a large scale, and more food would be needed.
Others can ignore it, but Li Er must take care of it.
The early appearance of rubber-soled shoes directly enhanced the combat capabilities of the Tang army.
In the past, the Tang army mainly wore straw sandals and cloth shoes. Even when marching, except for generals and captains who could wear leather boots, everyone else wore straw sandals.
Straw sandals wear out easily, so when setting up camp, you need to spend time repairing them or simply making a new pair.
After changing to rubber-soled shoes, not only do my feet no longer wear out, but I no longer need to get straw sandals when setting up camp. I can just soak my feet in water and sleep.
Not only the marching speed and marching distance have been improved, but the combat effectiveness of the sergeants has also been enhanced.
As for the wheels made of rubber, they have undergone a lot of experiments, and their load-bearing capacity far exceeds that of wooden wheels.
In addition, Li Yunze also brought out many products such as rubber raincoats, rubber boats, rubber gloves, and even hot water bottles.
What Li Er is most satisfied with are rubber shoes and rubber tires.
The former can greatly improve the combat effectiveness of the army, and the latter, combined with a four-wheeled cart made of steering and shock absorption systems, can greatly improve the military's logistics transportation capabilities.
As the horse emperor, Li Er valued these the most.
As a big fan of Wang Xizhi, Li Er took out the "Cao E Monument" copied by Wang Xizhi as payment to buy a large number of rubber products from Li Yunze and promised to provide many rubber saplings.
Li Yunze has no shortage of ordinary money, and he can even generously finance worthless things.
But if you really want something of high value, then you have to bring out something that Li Yunze likes.
Like Li Er, Li Yunze also likes Wang Xizhi's works very much. They have a cultural atmosphere when hung in his house.
In order to improve the combat effectiveness of the Tang army, Li Er did not hesitate to take out his favorite thing.
Li Yunze made it very clear that the growth and tapping period of a rubber tree is as long as seven years, which means the earlier it is planted, the better.
Before the winter had passed, General Li Xiaogong was appointed as the general manager and began to prepare to attack Mengshe Zhao and the barbarians further south who were suitable for planting rubber trees.
Li Er once curiously asked Li Yunze, "Why do you even need to sell rubber saplings when you can make a lot of money from Datang just by selling the finished products? When Datang has its own rubber plantation, that won't be the case."
I will buy your stuff again.”
Faced with this ignorant question, Li Yunze's answer was very simple, "I have so many good things that I won't be able to buy them all by the time you live in the mausoleum."
The industrial age faces the agricultural age, and it does not mean that it has countless overwhelming technological advantages.
When the spring of the third year of Zhenguan was approaching, Li Yunze's hotpot restaurant in No. 108 of Chang'an City was completed at the same time.
Then there was a large-scale banquet for the local people.
If there is a free lunch, no one will refuse it. Even noble families who have no shortage of it will take the initiative to try it out of curiosity.
For the people of Tang Dynasty who lacked food culture and either steamed, grilled or eaten raw, hot pot with too many seasonings was really attractive.
After the people in each village ate it, everyone was full of praise.
The people in Chang'an City are very concerned about face. Li Yunze invited guests to dinner, so they didn't come here for nothing.
This family brought some eggs, that family brought some dried meat, this family brought a chicken, and that family brought some dried goods, candied fruits, etc. as gifts.
The gift was not expensive, but it greatly surprised Li Yunze, who only wanted to wander around in this world.
This spirit may be the fundamental reason why the Tang Dynasty was able to conquer the world.
The simplicity of the people of the Tang Dynasty made Li Yunze's heart stirred up. Such people should be taken care of.
"His Majesty."
Li Yunze found Li Er and made his request, "Lijiazhuang wants to buy more fields. While expanding the scale of beef cattle breeding, it will also increase the supply of vegetables, fruits and other non-staple foods."
There is no doubt that this is a good thing, but Li Er still asked, "Why not grow food?"
It is indeed good to increase the supply of meat, fruits and vegetables, but the problem is that food is the real foundation.
"I have seen people who can eat a large bowl of rice in one meal, and they can eat a pound of rice in one meal." Li Yunze explained to Li Er with the mentality of popularizing science. "The reason is also very simple. They lack meat vitamins."
And the important supplement of oil. To put it simply, it is
There is no oil or water in the stomach, and there is no supplement of trace elements. We can only maintain life and exercise by ingesting more carbohydrates.”
"Humans are omnivores." Li Yunze said earnestly, "Just eating is not enough, you must have a rich variety."
Li Er looked at Li Yunze silently, and after a moment nodded, "Yes."
The annual spring plowing began, and Li Er used the money from selling the land to buy a large number of iron farm tools from Li Yunze, which were distributed by the government to people everywhere.
The Tang Dynasty naturally produced iron, but the output of their handicraft workshops was very low. Facing the huge pressure from the Turks, the iron was basically used to make weapons and armor.
If you want to improve the efficiency of spring plowing, cultivate more fields, and obtain more harvests during the autumn harvest, high-performance iron tools and plowing oxen are naturally indispensable.
In the past, we could only think about these things, looking forward to the craftsmen making more, and looking forward to the calves growing up as soon as possible.
But now, one acre of land can be exchanged for hundreds of iron farm tools or several cattle from Li Yunze.
Needless to say, there is no need to say much about iron farm tools. In the modern world, any factory that receives an order can provide a massive supply of materials in a short period of time.
Farming cattle is a bit troublesome, because few places in the modern world still use this backward farming method.
The cattle provided by Li Yunze are actually beef cattle in a strict sense.
He purchased young bulls from the pasture that were ready for sale, and then handed them over to farmers in Datang for domestication.
Although it is very difficult, the farmers of the Tang Dynasty are all professionals. They put nose rings on the noses of the bad-tempered young bulls, and they can barely use them even after intensive training for a period of time.
It only takes two or three years to completely transform from beef cattle into real farm cattle.
Spring plowing is also happening here in Lijiazhuang, but instead of grain, soybeans and rapeseed flowers are grown here.
Soybeans are native to China and are even one of the five grains.
It's just that it's not suitable to eat soybeans directly as food. The most suitable way is to extract oil.
Therefore, Li Yunze purchased many soybean seeds from the modern world for planting, which is a soybean variety that has a very high oil yield after many generations of domestication.
As for rapeseed flowers, their origin is on the continent of Europa.
Li Yunze did not go to Europe to look for spring rapeseed in this era. He also got spring rapeseed from the modern world.
The two crops with the highest oil yield are soybeans and rapeseed. Li Yunze is not just for producing oil, but also for promoting these good things in Datang, so as to take root and provide enough oil for the people.
The farmland area of Lijiazhuang already reaches tens of thousands of acres. In theory, taking care of such a large area of farmland requires a lot of hard work by a lot of manpower.
It is impossible to do this based on the existing human resources in Lijiazhuang.
Then, Li Yunze used the machine beast again.
The young people who received training drove various agricultural machinery to plow the land, sow seeds, etc. Their super work efficiency made everyone in Datang dumbfounded.
Li Erming secretly expressed that he still had many authentic works of Wang Xizhi there, and he just wanted to get some machine beasts.
Li Yunze didn't give it.
It’s not that I’m reluctant to part with them, these mechanical equipment also produce huge quantities in the modern world.
The real reason is that Li Er was more interested in using these mechanical beasts on the battlefield instead of in the farmland.
After all, he is the emperor on horseback, and all enemies look like nails, and all good things look like hammers.
After planting tens of thousands of acres of alfalfa, soybeans and rapeseed flowers, Li Yunze received Fang Xuanling who came from Chang'an City.
Fang Xuanling came here for two things.
The first thing was that after a long wrangling, the imperial court finally decided to pay Li Yunze to help dredge the river in Chang'an City.
As for the second thing, he wanted to borrow Li Yunze's machine beast to contribute to the spring plowing in Guanzhong.
"There is no problem in dredging the river." Li Yunze motioned to Fang Xuanling to invite tea. "The siltation of the river will breed mosquitoes, which will seriously affect the health of the people in the summer. I will do this with my heart."
Fang Xuanling picked up the tea cup and said in her heart, "The next step is to say no."
Sure enough, Li Yunze really said, "But it's not okay to borrow the machine beast for spring plowing."
After taking a sip of tea that was completely different from the Tang Dynasty flavor, Fang Xuanling immediately asked, "Why is this?"
"It's okay to help the people in Guanzhong with their spring plowing." A look of dissatisfaction appeared on Li Yunze's face. "But as far as I know, the spring plowing of the people in Guanzhong has basically been completed. Those who want my help are all from noble and powerful families.
A large and prestigious manor.”
In the early Tang Dynasty, because the population was small, it was possible to allocate land to the common people.
Whether it is Yongye field, Koufen field, or any other field, the land that each household can be allocated is basically within the scope of its farming capabilities.
Those who can really be allocated a large amount of land are naturally the noble families.
As for what the Xungui clan is, we only need to introduce the chaebols of Bangzi country.
They have a lot of land, but they don't have enough people to cultivate it.
As for tenants, at least when Li Er was the emperor, no one dared to do it blatantly.
In other words, due to the population reduction caused by wars in the late Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty now has no shortage of land, but does not have enough manpower to cultivate it.
In the past, noble families could only spend money to hire people to help with farming, or simply abandon large areas of land.
Now that they have witnessed the terrifying farming ability of Li Yunze's machine beast, everyone's eyes are red.
Fang Xuanling put down the tea bowl with a smile and said, "All of you are willing to pay, and it will not be in vain."
"You know, money is like a floating cloud to me. I never care about it."
Li Yunze, who had inadvertently pretended, waved his hand calmly, "You can use the machine beast if you want, but I have to decide what to plant, and when it is harvested, it must all belong to me. To put it simply, I pay for the contract.
As for their fields, it has nothing to do with them as to what I plant and whether I make a loss or gain during the autumn harvest."
This condition surprised Fang Xuanling: "What do you want to plant?"
"Alfalfa, soybeans, bean sprouts, and rapeseed flowers."
".Plant grass." Fang Xuanling twitched her eyes and sighed helplessly.
The entire city of Chang'an knew that the alfalfa grown by Li Yunze was used as pasture, but no matter how you put it, it was grass.
If you want to feed cattle, you just have to go to the mountains to cut grass. How can you use precious fertile land to grow grass?
"This matter." After pondering for a moment, Fang Xuanling spoke out, "I have to ask everyone before I can give an answer."
"It doesn't matter." Li Yunze picked up the tea bowl, "They came to beg me. When begging for help, you must have a begging attitude."