Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4750 Rice Field Crab
Ma Zhou and Fang Jun have known each other for a long time. They share the same ideals and are close friends, but in comparison, his respect for Fang Jun is more than friendship. The reason is that Fang Jun's creative ideas from time to time can often resolve extremely embarrassing situations with a light touch.

For example, the invention and improvement of firearms enabled the Royal Navy to roam the seven seas and be invincible on the water.

For example, improving the salt-making method and completely breaking the monopoly of the aristocratic families on the salt ponds...

Although this "rice field river crab farming technology" seems to be not difficult at all, even an illiterate old farmer can easily get started, but the broad prospects it contains make Ma Zhou excited and excited.

His greatest ambition in life was to enable the suffering people to have a happy life. He deeply understood that to let the people live a good life was not only to reduce rents and taxes and rectify the administration, but also to achieve great progress in agricultural technology.

The massive influx of rice from overseas into the Tang Dynasty greatly alleviated the food crisis in the Tang Dynasty. More people could have enough food to eat, which was a great thing. However, as an official, one should be prepared for danger. Now the navy is powerful and invincible, so it can "buy" more rice and transport it back to the Tang Dynasty. But what if one day the navy declines and overseas ethnic groups rise, making it impossible to transport more rice back to the country? Wouldn't such a huge empire have to return to the days of food shortage?
By then it would not be a simple matter of "regression". At the end of the Wude period, the population of the Tang Dynasty was more than two million households. Of course, due to years of war, the population was hidden and not included in the household registration, but in any case it would not exceed three million households. Now, with the smooth progress of the land measurement, the land and population hidden by the aristocratic families are gradually surfacing. It is roughly estimated that there are about six million households and nearly 40 million people in the Tang Dynasty this year. In more than ten years, this number will definitely double, and the population of the Tang Dynasty will be unprecedentedly close to 100 million.

How much food does a population of 100 million consume?
Once rice from overseas can no longer be imported into the country continuously, where will the huge population find food?
Therefore, no matter how much rice is imported from overseas or whether it becomes moldy and rotten in the Changping Warehouse, the grain production in the Tang Dynasty must be guaranteed to be above a safe warning line. This requires improving grain farming technology and increasing grain production.

The "rice field crab breeding technology" invented by Fang Jun may be an opportunity. If it can be promoted vigorously, the prospects are unlimited...

"Stop dreaming!"

Fang Jun understood Ma Zhou's thoughts and gave him a blow. He pointed at the fence erected at the edge of the rice field in the distance and said, "River crabs will crawl everywhere. Not only do we need to dig crab ditches and raise and reinforce the ridges, but we must also place obstacles on the edges of the rice fields to prevent river crabs from escaping. In addition, the rice fields for raising river crabs must have sufficient water sources and the ridges must not leak. It is best to form micro-currents in the rice fields. The weeds in the rice fields alone cannot support enough food for the river crabs, so they need to be fed special food. River crabs can get sick, so we need to keep the water source clean and purify the water quality regularly..."

The more Ma Zhou listened, the darker his face became.

These necessary conditions have become a huge limitation for raising river crabs. Looking around Guanzhong, how many rice fields can have such suitable conditions?

Since it can only be implemented in specific areas, it will not bring much benefit to the overall situation, and will eventually become a method for the powerful and wealthy to make money.

"Bang!" After throwing the river crab into the water, Ma Zhou turned around and walked out of the paddy field with a look of disappointment. He walked barefoot along the ridge of the field and came to a thatched-roof pavilion at the end of the field. He took the rag from his follower to wipe his feet clean, then entered the pavilion and knelt on the wooden floor, staring at the kettle bubbling with steam on the small stove in front of him in a daze.

Fang Jun followed closely behind, took off his straw raincoat, washed his hands and feet with clean water, and sat cross-legged opposite Ma Zhou. The personal soldiers took out some cakes from the food box and placed them on a small table. Fang Jun personally took the kettle to make tea.

The weather is cool and breezy, the mountains and rivers are picturesque, and the rice fields are like waves. I drink hot tea with sweet cakes, point out the current situation and criticize the ills of the times, and feel very comfortable.

Ma Zhou took a sip of tea, looked at the rice fields from near to far, and said with emotion: "Now is the time for rice to fill with grain. In another month, it will be another bumper year. Back then, this place was full of rocks and sand, but in just a few years, it has become the best paddy field that feeds more than 10,000 people. I am far inferior to Erlang in governing the people and farming. Even this Jingzhao Yin relies on Erlang's influence."

Fang Jun narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Mount Li in the misty rain. The misty water was rippling, and the mountains were green, full of the immersion and rendering of an ink painting: "I don't really have any big ambitions. What I do now is just being pushed forward by this era. I don't covet power, but I always want to contribute to this country and the people on this land with what I have learned in my life. No matter how far I can go in the end, when I take my last breath in the future, I will not regret looking back on the past. This life is enough."

Countries will collapse and overturn under the wheels of history, power will disappear in the smoke of time, only the mountains and rivers will remain the same, and only the people will last forever.

He didn't care whether the Tang Dynasty would fall apart and change dynasties as in history, nor did he care whether the Li Tang royal family could pass on from generation to generation with the same bloodline. He just didn't want the people to be forced to wander and live in misery during the process of dynasty change.

Let the Chinese people have fewer deaths in the process of power change, and have more food to eat during the years of natural disasters and man-made calamities... that would be enough.

But if one wants to get things done at any time, the first thing is power. This is the reason why he is still in the court. Otherwise, he would have been a free wanderer, traveling around the world to see this unpolluted, pure and original picturesque land. Why would he fight for power with a group of greedy people?
Looking at the convoy approaching slowly from a distance, Ma Zhou smiled and said, "This is exactly why I admire you. With your qualifications, achievements, and abilities, you can be the only one in the court. The so-called civil-military dispute is nothing but a joke. As long as you exert your strength, how can Liu Li resist you? But for the sake of the stability of the court, you would rather have an official position without a job, and work hard to create a stable situation of confrontation between civil and military. Just this kind of mind is unmatched in the court."

"Hey, it's not as noble as you say."

Fang Jun smiled and waved his hands: "I'm just lazy, and I know myself. When it comes to high-level planning and policy-making, I may have some ability, but I'm far from enough when it comes to handling specific matters. Not only am I not as good as you, Prince Bin, but I'm also far inferior to Pei Xingjian, Cui Dunli and others. You're working tirelessly in the front, and I just need to support you from behind and prevent others from ruining your achievements."

No one is omnipotent. The only omnipotent Zhuge Liang was exhausted to death...

Fang Jun knew that his strength lay in his insight into historical development, so he was able to formulate policies and plan development at a higher level. In short, this was "empty talk". Ma Zhou, Pei Xingjian, Cui Dunli, and even Xue Rengui and Liu Rengui were better at "pragmatism". Combining the virtual and the real, and being consistent inside and outside, this was the best development model.

Ma Zhou looked at the Crown Prince who was getting off the car in the distance, and whispered to Fang Jun, "Then you should support me well. This time, the Buddhist and Taoist sects are increasing taxes, so they must first measure and estimate the land and assets of the two sects. The two sects have been unprecedentedly docile and low-key, but there are too many aristocratic families who have 'donated' land and real estate to the Buddhist and Taoist sects for various reasons such as tax avoidance. Once these lands and industries are discovered, they will be stripped away or even confiscated. How can those aristocratic families let themselves be slaughtered? A huge storm is inevitable. I can't withstand it. I can only rely on you."

Although Buddhism and Taoism are constantly making money, they are, after all, outsiders of the mundane world. What they pursue are different from those of the mundane world. If they have other goals to pursue, they can completely give up the pursuit of wealth.

But the aristocratic families are different. The reason why they have been passed down to this day and can continue to be passed down is nothing more than "power" and "profit". As long as these two fundamental things are touched without corresponding compensation or threats, they will inevitably fight back in anger.

Guanzhong is different from Hedong, Shandong, Jiangnan and other places. If the situation is turbulent, the army can be used to suppress it. In this land where aristocratic families have been nurtured and multiplied for thousands of years, the slightest carelessness will cause a huge storm. If the capital is unstable, the whole country will be in turmoil. Who dares to take such a responsibility? Who can take such a responsibility?

Fang Jun frowned in dissatisfaction: "You are the Jingzhao Yin, and you grabbed the job of raising taxes this time. You will bear the consequences yourself. Why are you pushing me into the pit?"

Ma Zhou laughed: "Why can a gentleman be deceived? Because a gentleman has a moral bottom line and cares about too many things, so it is easy to be manipulated. You are the same, because you care about this country and the people, so you will never allow anyone to mess up Guanzhong and ruin the hard-won stability."

Fang Jun's face darkened: "You said I was a gentleman, should I thank you?"

"You don't have to thank me, but there are only a handful of people in this world who I, Ma Zhou, can praise as a 'gentleman'. Erlang should be proud of himself."

"If you are so shameless, why not show it off in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? It will also let this flower in the greenhouse see the face of a senior official of the country."

Ma Zhou smiled happily: "You are the prince's guardian. It is your duty to teach His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. What does it have to do with me? In short, you must keep a close eye on Guanzhong, especially Chang'an City. There must be no chaos. Whoever dares to make trouble must be punished. You may as well be ruthless and kill more people. The purpose is to kill the chicken to scare the monkey."

Fang Jun sighed helplessly, "The situation is complicated now. Everyone in the court can see it clearly. Most people don't dare to move. Anyone who dares to move at this time is either a noble or a royal family member. We can't just kill them if we catch them, right? You better be careful, otherwise if you make too much noise, I won't be able to handle it."