This year's wheat yield per mu has increased again
Chapter 51: This year's wheat yield per mu has increased again
After a busy month, all the wheat in the military farm was harvested.
Chu Huaibei did not relax his vigilance and still ordered several generals to patrol according to the previous arrangement. The generals carried out military orders with solemn expressions. In previous years, there might have been one or two complaints, but this time there was not a single complaint. Moreover, they kept a tight rein on their subordinates and did not allow them to slack off.
During this year's wheat harvest, the Mongolian army didn't even notice a single person peeking out, clearly out of character. Something unusual must be wrong. Even the newly arrived Jin Hongye was infected by the tense atmosphere in the barracks and diligently learned how to manage the army and handle military affairs from several generals.
The booklet presented by Chen Sinong showed that the average yield of military wheat this year reached 130 catties per mu, nine catties more than last year. This was reassuring news. Chu Huaibei had thought that reaching last year's yield would be great. The snowstorm at the end of last year caused frostbite on the wheat, and although topdressing was done in time, he had no hope.
Now that it's confirmed that wheat production is still increasing despite the frost, Chu Huaibei's worries are somewhat alleviated. He wonders how many people in the northern border will follow her instructions. He hopes they all have a successful wheat harvest. Humph, these noble families are really quick to react, following the military settlement procedures. I imagine their harvest won't be bad either.
Just as Chu Huaibei guessed, the aristocratic families did have a good wheat harvest this year, with a general increase of 10% to 20%. This was especially true for those who switched to plow carts for sowing last year. Even after encountering a snowstorm, their income still increased by 20% over previous years. Not only were the aristocratic families happy, but their tenant farmers were even happier, as the increase in income meant that they would have more food in their hands after paying the rent.
With more grain in hand, in addition to selling it for money, there is more food left for food, at least they don't have to worry about being hungry or full, and the children at home can also have enough to eat. Looking at their children who are as thin as sticks, the parents smiled at the harvest, and secretly left the tears in their eyes on their sleeves, which was difficult to be noticed except for a pool of water stains.
They silently thanked the King of Zhenbei for his kindness to them, the ordinary people. He not only made many agricultural tools to improve farming efficiency, but also asked the Ministry of Agriculture to explain to all the people the secret of how to save wheat after frostbite for free. They didn't know how to express their respect for the king, so they could only pray to the Bodhisattva in their hearts every day to bless the King of Zhenbei with a long life.
Ever since the first year when the sixteen students' families followed the prince in sowing seeds with the new plow cart and achieved a bumper harvest, the remaining villagers in Zhangjia Village began to implement the prince's suggestions on farming meticulously.
Originally, after seeing the wheat leaves turn yellow due to the snow disaster this year, the villagers were so worried that they couldn't eat or sleep well. After learning that the officials from the Ministry of Agriculture were teaching free of charge how to save wheat after it was frozen, the whole village unanimously agreed to let Uncle Zhang take the village head and several villagers who were recognized by the folks to the Ministry of Agriculture's regular lecture place to study the methods carefully, and then teach them to the whole village after returning.
The few people who went out to study squeezed in among the crowd of people and tried hard to absorb new knowledge. After listening to the lecture three times, they slowly withdrew from the crowd, stood on the side of the road and began to recite the methods they remembered, checking whether they were correct. If there was anything they were not sure about, they would immediately listen again. After making sure that everyone had remembered it, they would take the ox cart back to the village.
As soon as he returned to the village, the village chief immediately notified everyone to gather at the threshing ground to ensure that every household knew the correct way to rescue the firewood.
The next day, the whole village took action and strictly followed the method taught by the Ministry of Agriculture to ferment fertilizer, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.
Following the military settlement's lead in fertilizing and watering the fields, Zhangjia Village enjoyed another bumper harvest this year, and the villagers celebrated the bounty. Relatives from the village who had married into distant mountain villages, upon hearing that their crops had not been affected by the snowstorm and had even increased compared to previous years, flocked to Zhangjia Village to inquire.
The villagers were also very open and honest, sharing everything they learned from the Minister of Agriculture with their relatives. They also told them to pay attention to the information of the military settlements and follow their practices. They would not go wrong. That was the land that the King of Zhenbei personally managed! The methods I teach you today are all taught by the King of Zhenbei for free to the people of the northern border. In addition to guarding the border and killing the enemy, the prince must also make time to pay attention to us people. Please pray to the Bodhisattva to bless the prince with a long life.
With word-of-mouth publicity, the people in the north soon learned how to ferment fertilizer and looked forward to a good harvest next year.
This year, Chu Huaibei personally wrote letters to the aristocratic families he had friendly relations with, asking his uncle/aunt not to sell this year's wheat for the time being, but to store it in the warehouse, as the royal palace would most likely pay for the purchase.
The reason was not stated. After all, no one can say anything about things that have not happened yet.
Chu Huaibei immediately submitted a memorial to the emperor regarding the military settlement method of fertilizing the fields, stating that this method had been tested last year with remarkable results, and that he was now presenting it to His Majesty, wishing a bumper harvest for Great Xia and that the emperor's wishes and the people's goodwill would be passed down through the ages.
Not to mention, Chu Huaibei felt that she had been writing memorials for two years and her ability to flatter had gradually improved. She wondered if the emperor had noticed her progress.
The emperor held Chu Huaibei's memorial and called the Minister of Works Zhou Zhili to ferment fertilizer according to the method in the memorial and then promote this method throughout the country.
Zhou Zhili held the memorial in his hand and really admired the King of Zhenbei. As a general guarding the border, he never wrote a memorial to the emperor to complain about the hardships of guarding the border. He just kept studying things that were beneficial to the people's livelihood.
A few days ago, the Third Prince received a letter from General Song, saying that because the Emperor had sent a thug, he had to deal with a lot of military duties and it was quite tiring. The Third Prince privately sent several letters of recommendation from the Imperial Academy to General Song's sons and nephews, and also subsidized a farm.
However, given the emperor's attitude towards the Prince of Zhenbei, it would be useless for him to submit a memorial to seek credit, so the Prince of Zhenbei simply didn't write one. This was understandable.
Zhou Zhili retracted his tactful thoughts and took his leave.
After testing, the Ministry of Works distributed the method to the various prefectures and counties. With such oversight from above, the prefectures and counties were hesitant to take control. Previously, when the curved plow was introduced, a group of prominent families in one prefecture and county colluded to keep the information secret, restricting its use to their own fields. They were later apprehended by inspecting officials sent by the imperial court, who immediately reported them to the emperor and severely punished them. With this lesson learned, the implementation of this benefit to the people was much smoother.
The climate in the south is suitable, and rice and wheat rotation is generally practiced, with two crops a year. In the southernmost border areas, three crops a year can be achieved. This consumes more fertility of the land. Now that there are better ways to fertilize the land, the people are full of expectations.
Some well-informed southerners, upon hearing that the wheat yield per mu in the northern military settlements was reaching 130 kilograms, were surprised and envious of the local people who could receive the farming guidance of the King of Zhenbei. They also heard that despite the snowstorm in the northern border this year, under the King of Zhenbei's guidance, most people's crops not only did not decrease, but actually increased compared to previous years.
There are also the curved plows, dragon-bone water wheels, plow carts, etc. issued by the government in the past two years. They were all developed by the King of Zhenbei and first used by the people in the northern border. Only then was a memorial submitted to the emperor, allowing the people in the south to use them as well.
The common people were not as well-informed as the noble families, but they knew that the utensils they were using now were all first made by the King of Zhenbei. They became even more curious about this war god who guarded the northern border. Whether they were sincere or not, more people hoped that the Bodhisattva would bless the King of Zhenbei with a long life.
That day, Sun Mingsi received a letter from Jin Yi, and he had already sent people throughout the south to spread the news of the per-acre wheat yield in the northern border and the various farming tools developed by the King of Zhenbei. Since they all used the products developed by his Huaibei family, how could he only remember the benefits of the court? Besides, what he told others was the truth, which could withstand scrutiny and testing.
Even though Huaibei hadn't said a word about the previous injury, he still noticed something unusual. So on the second patrol, he insisted that Huaibei take Eleven with him. Sure enough, when Eleven reported back afterwards, he bluntly said that someone was trying to harm the prince. Fortunately, Eleven flew to save Huaibei and blocked an arrow for him, otherwise he would have been injured worse.
No matter who it is, since they are so afraid of the King of Zhenbei, then he will add fuel to the fire and let Huaibei's reputation among the people rise to a higher level. The mastermind will jump out when he can't help it. He believes that his people can protect Huaibei.
Sun Mingsi denied the possibility of the emperor taking action. The current emperor was very afraid of death, so how could he possibly want Huaibei's life? Without the King of Zhenbei in the northern border, who could take his place? His few useless subordinates? I'm afraid the emperor is scolding these useless people.
That leaves only the Mongols and the three princes' followers in the court. The possibility of someone being bribed by the Mongols cannot be ruled out, but so far, Huaibei has not found any evidence of collusion, so either they are hiding too deeply or they are going in the wrong direction.
Whether there are people in the court who are involved in this matter or not, they will naturally show up when the time comes.
Sun Mingsi wrote back to Jin Yi, asking him to keep an eye on a few people in Fengjing. If anything urgent happened, he could make his own arrangements. He had done a great job disrupting the emperor's appointment of the northern border generals. That little incident might turn out to be a good thing in the future.
In addition to asking the Minister of Works to popularize the method of fermenting fertilizer, the emperor also summoned the Minister of Revenue, Xu Mingda, and asked him to prepare military rations for the northern border, which was still one million shi.
Under the emperor's stern gaze, Xu Mingda nodded in acceptance. Leaving the hall, he pondered that perhaps there had been some mishap with the military rations before, simply suppressed and unknown. He needed to brace himself; he had to get things done first.
He now had two important tasks, both related to the North: one was this year's military rations, and the other was this year's cotton-padded clothes. Fortunately, he had plenty of time and manpower, and he didn't want to experience the task of producing 200,000 cotton-padded clothes in a month again.
After leaving the palace and returning to the Ministry of Revenue, Xu Mingda sent his servant to Jufulou, a small restaurant in Fengjing that always came up with new and delicious dishes. Recently, they'd introduced two popular dishes: white-cut chicken and braised lion's head. Xu Mingda had a special fondness for white-cut chicken; he'd been eating it for two days straight, and today was the third day, and he still hadn't gotten tired of it.
I don’t know how the chef of this restaurant makes the chicken so tender. The chicken skin that he used to dislike to be greasy is now crispy and chewy. With the sauce from his restaurant, he feels that he can eat it for another two days!
The waiter had been coming so often recently that he recognized his face. He hurried over to ask what dish Minister Xu had ordered today. The waiter wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "My master ordered a boiled chicken, a fish ball soup, a vegetable dish, and a bowl of rice."
"Okay, please wait a moment, I'll go tell the kitchen right away." The waiter swiftly rushed into the kitchen and brought out a food box in a short while. After opening the food box and confirming it, the waiter left some silver and quickly hurried back.
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