"Now the Nurgandusi area has been established as a province. According to the calculations of the Ministry of Agriculture, the cultivated area there is very large. If it can be fully developed, it will greatly alleviate the domestic food pressure. After the agricultural production in Jilin Province takes shape
, maybe the cotton planting problem can be effectively alleviated."
If the area of cultivated land is always fixed, then Zuo Mengeng can only give up cotton cultivation and ensure grain production.
However, the Xia Kingdom had already taken the first step of outward expansion and occupied the vast far north.
As long as the agricultural production problem there is solved and the Xia Kingdom no longer has to worry about food shortages, a large amount of land can be freed up for growing cotton.
The situation was like this. Although Xu Ji and Pan Yunlong were anxious, they had nothing to do.
Xu Ji simply went to Prince Xia's Mansion to visit his niece.
Pan Yunlong also had a lot of things to do when he came to Shandong this time.
"Pan and Xu's family have agreed to hold a wedding at the end of this year, and Zhongheng will be able to attend."
The marriage of Pan Xiaona and Xu Ruoxin is finally on the agenda.
The two of them are actually not too young, but they have been delayed because of too many things in recent years.
This time the war finally came to an end, and the business of the Artis Company under Xu Ruoxin's control stabilized again. Therefore, Pan Yunlong and Xu Ji agreed to get married by the end of the year.
"This is a very happy event, and my nephew will definitely come in person."
After receiving his promise, Pan Yunlong was extremely happy.
Zuo Menggeng's appearance at the wedding represents many things, and the Pan family's status will surely rise to a higher level.
Although he cannot be compared with royal relatives like the Xu family, he is still very prominent in the Xia Kingdom.
Zuo Mengeng felt sorry for Pan Yunlong.
"My uncle has the spirit of a dragon and a horse, and he has extraordinary talents and learning. It is a pity to travel in the countryside. I wonder if he would like to go out and do something?"
Pan Yunlong is also famous and has served as an official. According to Zuo Menggeng's personal observation, this person is definitely shrewd and capable.
The Xia Kingdom's territory is now getting bigger and bigger. Although it has been continuously training officials, the supply is still in short supply.
It would be a good thing if Pan Yunlong could become an official.
Upon hearing Zuo Mengeng's personal invitation, Pan Yunlong and Yourong Yan came.
"Even if Zhongheng doesn't say it, that's what I think. How about going to the government school to report in the near future?"
Even if Pan Yunlong is Zuo Mengeng's in-law, if he wants to be an official in the Xia Kingdom, he must undoubtedly go through the government school.
But unlike others, Pan Yunlong does not need to attend a junior government school, nor does he need to be tempered at the grassroots level.
"It's gratifying that my uncle's talent can be put to use."
Pan Xiaona is now an official, but at the grassroots level, as the county magistrate of Gaoyou County.
In order to control the floods in the Lixia River, he really went through a lot of trouble. But everyone saw the credit for his hard work. No one thought that a rich man could put down his body like this, which is admirable.
The Ministry of Government Affairs has already conducted an inspection and rated him very highly. Not surprisingly, he will be promoted to mayor at least next year.
Municipal officials in their twenties are quite eye-catching even within the Xia Kingdom.
The visits of Xu Ji and Pan Yunlong made Zuo Mengeng aware of the cotton problem.
The cotton grown in Xia and Daming today belongs to Asian cotton varieties.
This kind of cotton was introduced to China from India during the Western Han Dynasty. After thousands of years of cultivation, it has become a local variety.
But Zuo Mengeng knew that the quality of Asian cotton was not very high and would be completely defeated in the competition with other varieties of cotton in the future.
Upland cotton and sea-island cotton will dominate the cotton market in the future.
Both types of cotton are native to the American continent.
Among them, upland cotton has made great contributions to the industrial revolution in the West. It is also the cotton variety with the widest planting range and the highest yield in the world.
But in terms of quality, sea island cotton is the best.
Sea island cotton, that is, long-staple cotton.
The cloth woven from this kind of cotton is of the highest quality, is deeply loved, and has great competitiveness.
Both upland cotton and sea-island cotton were not introduced into China until modern times. Large-scale planting and production did not occur until after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
At this time, the cotton problem began to trouble Xia Guo, which gave Zuo Mengeng a new idea.
"Inform Prime Minister Chen immediately and find a way to contact the Spanish and Portuguese to purchase American cotton seeds."
Among the Xia Kingdom Central Committee, the person responsible for economic issues is Chen Zhi.
However, in recent years, Chen Zhi has been in Songjiang Mansion, presiding over the work there.
Zuo Mengeng decided to give him the task of introducing new cotton.
Today, the only ones with colonies in the American continent are the Spanish and the Portuguese. In particular, Mexico, the origin of upland cotton, is within the Spanish's sphere of influence.
The only way to get upland cotton was through the Spaniards.
However, there has never been any connection between Xia Kingdom and Spain. Zuo Mengeng is not sure whether it can succeed or not.
Maybe the Portuguese channel would be easier.
Portugal has always had business contacts with the Xia Kingdom, and even because of the Xia Kingdom, their relationship with the Dutch has eased a lot.
This made the Portuguese always grateful to the Xia Kingdom, so they wanted to buy some cotton seeds. It seemed that there would be no problem.
This is what Zuo Menggen thought of as the best solution to the cotton crisis at the moment.
Since the cotton planting area cannot be increased, we must think of ways to improve cotton quality and yield.
The jagged Chengguo is Gaoyou, and you can see the endless Pinghu Lake.
On the first day, the waves were desolate, and the clouds were scattered and scattered in the middle of the water.
The smoke tree hides the village dock in half, and a cormorant stands next to the fishing boat.
A smile can fly hundreds of miles in the wind, and a sail looks back to Yangzhou.
A seven-character rhyme poem expresses Gaoyou's status.
As one of the important nodes on the Grand Canal, Gaoyou has always been a key construction place in all dynasties.
Because the Grand Canal is the blood of the dynasty.
When the dynasty was prosperous, Gaoyou was equally prosperous.
But when the dynasty declines, Gaoyou will also fall into a trough.
In addition, there is another situation, that is, the survival mode on both sides of the canal has changed.
As an important city in the Lixiahe era, Gaoyou can be said to be plagued by disasters.
Every time there is a flood, this place will inevitably turn into a swamp. Countless people will lose their homes and become homeless.
Even in peacetime, the government had to dig canals and maintain dams, and they were overwhelmed by the heavy labor.
It can be said that as prosperous as this canal is, the people of Gaoyou will suffer as much.
After the Xia Kingdom occupied this place, they rectified the way the canal was operated.
Special commercial companies were responsible for the maintenance and operation of the canal, freeing the people from the oppression of corvee labor.
Although this is good governance, it also leaves many people without a way to eat during the slack season.
Over the past few years, the living conditions of the local people have not changed much.