No matter how hard a family works, the busy farming season is only for a short period of time. Each family can only cultivate a few acres of land at most, and there is really no way they can cultivate more than that.
The Qing Dynasty still had a lot of arable land, but lacked the surplus labor to cultivate it.
The improvement of agricultural tools was of extraordinary significance to agriculture in the Qing Dynasty.
After returning from the imperial estate, Emperor Kangxi prepared to discuss the promotion of the new agricultural tools with his ministers.
However, this is not an easy matter.
The new farm tools require iron.
Although firearms and cannons existed during the Kangxi era, they were not the mainstream.
The musket is not good. It has firepower, but it can't fire continuously. You use it once, load a bullet, and you'll probably die before you even kill the enemy.
The cannon was quite powerful, but it was difficult to mass-produce.
Traditional weapons were mostly bows and arrows, crossbows, and swords, so iron, strictly speaking, could affect a country's military strength.
The reason why iron was controlled by successive dynasties and ordinary people were not allowed to mine iron ore privately was that iron could be used to make weapons.
"Your Majesty, these new agricultural tools are indeed useful, but if they are to be promoted throughout the country, a large amount of iron ore will be needed. Large-scale iron ore mining is not conducive to the stability of the Qing Dynasty. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider."
Emperor Kangxi was displeased with these words. Did the Qing Dynasty become unstable after the promotion of new agricultural tools? That was a gross underestimation of him as emperor.
During his years as emperor, the voices against the Qing dynasty and the call for restoration of the Ming dynasty had become very weak, but he refused to believe it and insisted on promoting this new type of agricultural tool.
"Liang Jiugong, go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and see if Dai Zi has arrived. If he has, call him over. If he hasn't, go and find him for me."
In the thirteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Geng Jingzhong in Fujian responded to Wu Sangui's rebellion and invaded Zhejiang. The imperial court dispatched Prince Kang, Jieshu, as the Grand General to lead the Qing army to Fujian and Zhejiang to suppress Geng Jingzhong. Dai Zi, a commoner, accepted the invitation to join the campaign.
In the fifteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Dai Zi was awarded the title of Daoyuan (a high-ranking official) for his meritorious service in recapturing Jiangshan City.
After Geng Jingzhong's rebellion was quelled, Dai Zi followed Jie Shu to Beijing and was summoned by Emperor Kangxi.
Knowing that he was skilled in poetry and prose, Emperor Kangxi appointed him as a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy. He and Gao Shiqi entered the Southern Study at the same time, and soon after, he was transferred to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
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