Fenghou

After Chong Huan saluted and left, Chen Qing smiled at Lu Wei again: "Tell me about your transaction today in detail! I'm very interested."

9 Chapter Forty

January is the winter break season, and there are many festivals for the common people to relax and play. On the second of February, it is She Day. All festivals are arranged for agricultural production activities, which is the characteristic of farming civilization.

This year’s snowfall is less than last year, only one heavy snowfall. After entering February, the ice and snow melted, everything recovered, willow branches sprouted buds, a few birds stood on the branches and chirped happily, and groups of ducks in the river were splashing and swimming. , both sides of the river turned green, and there were vibrant scenes everywhere.

On the north bank of the Weihe River not far from Xianyang County, Chen Qing came down to a high point surrounded by a group of officials, surrounded by wilderness, and to the north was a large wheat field. The winter wheat was growing vigorously, and the farmers were busy fertilizing and weeding the fields. .

On the south side is the river beach close to the river bed, which is nearly one mile wide. There are no crops, but now it is full of the best quality pasture alfalfa. This is a major event that Chen Qing has been paying attention to in the past two years. After he drew up the plan, he handed it over to the Internal Affairs Hall for discussion. Once the Internal Affairs Hall approved it, it must be implemented. The year before and last year had been implemented for two years. The year before last was to start the war in Shanzhou, Hedong Road and the northern part of Shaanxi Road. Last year was a busy visit Lin'an and the war in the north of Hedong Road, so they have not paid attention to the matter of planting alfalfa.

But this year, Chen Qing was reminded of this matter because he was considering planting cotton. It coincided with the beginning of spring, and when he was inspecting the spring plowing, he came to check the progress of pasture planting in person.

"Zhang Zuosi, I remember that this side was full of weeds before!" Chen Qing pointed to the river beach and smiled.

Zhang Zuosi is Zhang Xiao. He has just returned from Hedong and continues to serve as the counselor of the Internal Affairs Department. His specific position is the Governor of the Left Department of Government Affairs. This is also a reform that was carried out only this year. The jurisdiction of the Department of Government Affairs is too wide. Jiang Yanxian really can't bear it. Therefore, under Jiang Yanxian's suggestion, the Department of Government Affairs was divided into two, the right department of government affairs was responsible for criminal law, education, imperial examinations, population, civil affairs, diplomacy, epidemic prevention, etc., and the left department of government affairs was responsible for industry, commerce, agriculture and animal husbandry.

Jiang Yanxian continued to serve as the governor of the right department of government affairs, and Zhang Xiao was appointed as the governor of the left department of government affairs.

Zhang Xiao was a staff member of Xianyang County Magistrate, so he knew the situation in Xianyang very well. He said with a smile: "Your Highness is right, I have never considered the development of animal husbandry before, I always think it is a matter of grassland, and the riverbanks on both sides of the Wei River are useless. , let it go, the natural weeds are overgrown, and now it is different. In just two years, the riverbanks on both sides of the bank are full of alfalfa. Not only can you raise sheep, mules, donkeys, cattle and horses, but you can also raise ducks and geese. , and the beans grown in autumn are ground into flour, which is still good feed for pigs.”

Another official added: "Alfalfa can also fertilize and strengthen the soil. If it is widely planted along the Yellow River in northern Shaanxi, it can reduce the amount of soil being washed into the Yellow River. It is said that it can also be used as medicine, and even the tender seedlings can be eaten as wild vegetables. .”

Chen Qing smiled and nodded, "It has many functions, so I decided to promote it vigorously. We have a foundation for the development of animal husbandry. Bing designated it as a place for raising sheep, and planted a large amount of alfalfa, and now it has become the largest place for raising sheep in Sichuan and Shaanxi.

But what is interesting is that the grain production in Wonju is not low. Even if you get the Sichuan Road, the annual grain production can be ranked in the top five. Why?Wonju uses alfalfa grown in river valleys to raise sheep, and sheep dung is the best fertilizer to improve soil fertility. Although it was Jin Bing's unintentional move, we discovered a way of grain production, breeding and animal husbandry by accident. parallel paths. "

Shi Yuan'an, order of the Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, said: "Your Highness is right. Yuanzhou's grain production surpassed that of Qinzhou last year, and ranked second only to Huangzhou among the Xihe Road prefectures. It is so surprising."

At this time, Chen Qing saw a shepherd boy grazing a flock of sheep by the river. There were more than a hundred sheep in the flock. Chen Qing walked up, and the officials quickly followed.

The shepherd boy had never seen so many officials and was a little frightened. Zhang Xiao comforted him for a while, and then he gradually calmed down. Zhang Xiao brought him in front of Chen Qing.

"What's your name, where are you from?" Chen Qing asked.

The young man timidly said: "The villain's name is Wu Ping, from Xiaowu Village in the south of the city."

"Have you ever read a book?"

"Read it for a year."

"Then why don't you read on?"

The young man shook his head and said, "I can't read it. There are more than 100 sheep and ten cows at home. Dad and elder brother are going to farm. I can only feed the cows and sheep."

"A lot of people raise cattle and sheep in your village?" Chen Qing asked again with a smile.

"A lot of them. Almost every household raises them. There are several surrounding villages. Now there are sheep grasses everywhere, and cattle like to eat them. Dad said that there are too many people raising sheep now, and they don't make as much money as before."

This is the effect Chen Qing wants, so that mutton can also be served on the tables of ordinary people, improve the dietary structure, and greatly enhance the physique of the people.

Chen Qing turned to Zhang Xiao and said, "It means that we are on the right path, and we will vigorously promote it this year. There should be enough seeds in the two directions of Shaanxi Road and Sichuan Road!"

Zhang Xiao nodded, "The seeds weigh hundreds of thousands of catties!"

"Okay, let's keep promoting!"

……

Leaving the north bank of the Weihe River, Chen Qing checked the spring plowing all the way. Winter wheat and corn were planted in the Guanzhong Plain, and they were harvested three times in two years, so the spring plowing was a little easier. The main tasks were to take care of the wheat seedlings, weeding, loosening the soil, and fertilizing. vehicles, dredging ditches, etc.

Passing through a large wheat field, Chen Qing entered Xianyang City and came to the third district of Xianyang located in the northwest of the county. The local people call it Dajiangfang. Dajiangfang occupies a large area. It was originally the location of the warehouse area, military camp and Chenghuang Temple. It is completely in the city. Surrounded by high walls, the warehouses, military barracks, and Chenghuang Temple were all demolished. Nearly 1000% of the land in the county town was vacant, and the military built more than [-] houses inside.

There are more than [-] internal guards standing guard in front of the gate. Everyone who enters and exits must check the badge. Of course, Chen Qing's convoy does not use it.

More than a dozen carriages entered the Great Craftsman's Workshop, and rows of neat and similar ones appeared in front of us. More than 1000 square yards were built exactly the same. Each yard covered an area of ​​one mu, and a dozen houses plus a yard There is no house number or sign, and the craftsmen live in a mixed place. One family is a gunpowder maker, and the next door may be a crossbow maker.

If enemy spies sneaked in to arrest people, they couldn't find the target at all, so they could only ask one by one, waiting for them to be arrested by internal guards.

This kind of protective measures is not surprising at all. Throughout the dynasties, those highly skilled craftsmen have always been the important objects of government protection. On the one hand, it is protection, and on the other hand, it is also control, preventing them from being lured by the enemy's money and fleeing.

The Great Craftsmanship is managed by the Armaments Department of the Military Department, and the security is in charge of the internal guards. Zhao Changsui, the commander of the Arms Department, introduced to Chen Qing: "There are vegetable markets, restaurants, teahouses, bookstores, shops, and schools. Almost everything is available, it is a small closed county, and has almost nothing to do with Xianyang County."

"What's the biggest problem right now?" Chen Qing asked.

"Reporting to Your Highness, the biggest problem at present is that the artisan workshop is full and cannot accommodate newcomers."

"How many newcomers are there?"

"Since the year before last, the number of Class-A craftsmen has been increasing. Among the refugees who fled from the Central Plains last time, there were 540 Class-A craftsmen. They are basically the military supervisors of the Qi State. They mainly focus on manufacturing In terms of bow and crossbow, knife making and shield making, the technology is very exquisite, which is very rare."

Chen Qing asked: "Then how did these craftsmen end up?"

"Currently, it is located in Gaoling County. The only counties that have the conditions to build a big craftsman's workshop are Gaoling County, or Jingzhao New City. The Department of the Military Department is considering building a second craftsman's workshop."

Chen Qing thought for a while and said, "Let's put it in Jingzhao! Jingzhao also needs people, but there is no need to build artisan workshops. I mean to live together, but there is no need to build workshop walls to separate them."

"Understand, what about here, or keep the status quo?"

Chen Qing nodded, "Because there are craftsmen from the Firearms Bureau here, they are craftsmen who are under the watchful eye of Jin Guo, and they must be strictly protected, so I will come here today to inspect, and the management and protection measures must not be weakened, but must be strengthened! "

Chapter 941 Advice

After leaving the Great Craftsman's Workshop, Chen Qing led a group of officials to the third weaving workshop in the same city. He had already approved the high-end cotton cloth. At this time, he was more concerned about the production capacity of mid-range cotton cloth.

Gu Xin, the chief steward, heard that King Yong was coming again, so he hurried out to greet him.

"Are you resting today?" Chen Qing found that the workshop was very quiet, there was no sound of looms, and no one could be seen. The windows that were opened last time were all closed.

Gu Xin nodded, "We are going to stop fine linen weaving and switch to cotton weaving. We will take two days off today and tomorrow to make up for the vacation we owed before. The day after tomorrow everyone will start learning cotton weaving."

Chen Qing frowned slightly and said, "Didn't it mean that the cotton must be mixed with grass cotton to spin the thread? Do you have enough grass cotton?"

"A batch of grass cotton was just shipped from Gaochang yesterday, three thousand catties, it should be enough for learning weaving."

"Where is it, I want to take a look!"

"In the warehouse, Your Highness, please! Senior officials, please!"

Gu Xin led the crowd to the warehouse, and saw that the large warehouse was full of straw bales the size of wine jars, and more than 100 young women were squatting on the ground to carefully select them.

When the young women suddenly saw a large group of officials walking in from outside, they stood up in fright.

"Gu Guanshi, what are they doing?"

Gu Xin smiled wryly and said: "We found that the three thousand catties of grass cotton are actually of different varieties, some are of high quality, some are of low quality, so we have to pick them out and try weaving again."

"What is the impact of different varieties?" Zhang Xiao asked from the side.

"This one……"

Gu Xin couldn't answer, he turned around and waved, "Xiaomei come up!"

A little lady came out, it was Yang Xiaomei, the most skillful weaving hand I saw last time, Chen Qing smiled and said: "Xiaomei, long time no see!"

Yang Xiaomei was a little embarrassed, and stepped forward to give Chen Qing a blessing, "Xiaomei sees Your Highness, thank you for your kindness!"

There is a reason why she is grateful for the love. She invented the mixed weaving method, which greatly reduced the weaving strength of wood cotton and made large-scale weaving of wood cotton a reality. Chen Qing rewarded her with a yard for supporting her parents.

Chen Qing smiled and introduced to everyone: "The two pieces of cotton cloth we saw were spun by this little lady. She is very skillful and smart."

Yang Xiaomei hurriedly bowed to everyone, and Chen Qing asked again: "We are all curious, what effect will the quality of grass cotton have?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, there is a big difference!"

Yang Xiaomei took three pieces of grass cotton and handed them to Chen Qing, "There are only three kinds at present, the middle one is definitely not good, the fiber is too short, it is not as good as wood cotton, the left one is also not good, the fiber is also short, the right one is better, But it is still worse than last time, I think the last batch is the best, the fiber is long, and it is easy to interweave with the cotton."

Gu Xin's face was a little ugly. Yang Xiaomei meant that this batch of straw cotton was not up to standard. To say it was a little better was an understatement, and she still said no.

Chen Qing asked, "Where did you buy the grass cotton last time?"

Gu Xin looked distressed and said: "Last spring, I purchased from a Sogdian. The problem is that it has been too long, and I can't find this person."

"Is there any cottonseed?" Chen Qing asked.

"Cottonseed?"

Gu Xin thought for a while, then nodded again and again, "There are cotton seeds, we peeled them for a long time, and finally put them in an urn. I also said that I will plant them myself in the future."

Gu Xin ran to the corner, rummaged for a long time, and finally came with an urn in his arms, "It's still there, well preserved, and there's a full urn!"

Chen Qing nodded and said to Zhang Xiao: "It seems that we are going to start planting grass cotton. This matter is under the leadership of the government. Ask the Sogdians more to see if anyone knows how to plant it. We can try it ourselves!"

Zhang Xiao nodded silently, "The humble job will make arrangements!"

Chen Qing said to Gu Xin again: "I don't blame you for the failure of this batch of straw cotton. Everyone has no experience. These straw cotton can be used to make cotton quilts, but you still have to find a way to buy the straw cotton from last time, otherwise Just have to wait until autumn, see what I mean?"

Gu Xin took a deep breath and said, "The villain will definitely get Cao Mian as soon as possible!"

……

On the way back to Jingzhao City, Zhang Xiaoxiao asked, "I found out that His Highness values ​​cotton cloth, so this is the second time I've come to the weaving workshop. What's the reason?"

Chen Qing smiled and said: "The replacement of fine hemp with cotton cloth has two main meanings. One is the cancellation of hemp fields, which can increase the cultivated land by [-]%. We have mastered the source of wood cotton, just like salt, even if we only earn [-] Wen for a piece of cotton cloth, it will increase our financial revenue by more than millions of coins every year, so everyone is looking forward to it.”

Zhang Xiao was silent for a moment and said: "Actually, I have already learned about this from Counselor Jiang, but I still want to persuade Your Highness, be careful!"

"Why?" Chen Qing was stunned.

"Your Highness never thought about it. One day in the future, those in power will take advantage of the advantage of monopolizing cotton to exploit the people? It may be 120 yuan a catty now, but in the future it will rise to [-] yuan a catty. What will happen? The people will buy it. Sorry, I can only destroy the land to grow hemp, and suddenly there is not enough food, will it cause chaos in the world?"

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said, "What about Zuo Si's opinion?"

Zhang Xiaowei smiled and said, "Keep the first item, just delete the second item."

"how to get to?"

"It's very simple. The south grows wood cotton, and the north grows grass cotton. Even if the people can't afford wood cotton cloth, they can exchange grass cotton for wood cotton and spin and weave cloth by themselves."

Chen Qing nodded: "I understand what you mean. The key is that the government should not monopolize cotton. Once the production of cotton cloth increases and gradually replaces linen, every household in the south will plant cotton trees in front of and behind their houses, just like planting cotton. Like mulberry trees, as long as the wood cotton is cheap enough in the market, it doesn’t matter whether we grow grass cotton or not in the north.”

"This is what I want to persuade Your Highness. Clothes are necessary for everyone. The government must not monopolize cotton, let alone rely on it in exchange for finances. There will be big troubles in the future."

"Thank you Zuo Si for reminding me, I will definitely think about it!"

……

In Daming City, two caravans gradually approached the city gate one after the other. The caravan walking in front came from Jingzhao. The goods were a thousand sheepskins. The owner was Han Feng, a man in his 30s. It is Wang Shuang's confidant, after half a month's trek, he finally arrived in Daming City.

After entering Hebei Road from Fuyangxing, they were taxed a lot along the way. In Xiangzhou, a group of soldiers who did not know how to live or die wanted to inspect the goods, but they were frightened away by Han Feng showing Wan Yanchang's silver medal.

The caravan behind is a medicinal herb caravan. Han Feng met him in Hedong City, and he also went to Daming Mansion to sell medicinal materials. Wan Yanchang had a strict order that all medicinal merchants are exempt from tax, and the army is not allowed to harass them. Despite the order, return this medicinal herb The caravan still pays the same tax, but is not harassed.

The owner of this caravan, surnamed Qian, is a short and fat businessman in his fifties. He often goes to Yanshan Mansion, but this is the first time he has been to Daming Mansion, and the road conditions are not familiar, so the two caravans went together and entered Hebei. Finally, the officers and soldiers were like bandits along the way, but no real bandits were encountered.

You can only choose one of the two. You will not encounter officers and soldiers if you take the small road, but you will easily encounter bandits. If you follow the official path, you will not encounter bandits, but you will definitely encounter officers and soldiers.

Of course, as long as the money is given, basically there will be no fear of life.

"Brother Han!"

The short and fat proprietor Qian chased after him riding a donkey and said with a smile: "After entering the city, how about staying overnight together? We are not familiar with the famous city."

Han Feng hesitated and said, "Brother Qian can go to the Wanjia Inn in the west of the city. That store is not bad. It's not far from the city. I'm going to deliver goods to the owner, so I won't stay at the inn."

"Brother, go directly to the master's mansion?"

"Yes! I've been on the road for too long, and I have to deliver the goods immediately. We'll contact you later, and I'll buy my brother a drink."

"Okay! You can come to the inn to find me at any time. If my brother wants to go back to Jingzhao, maybe we can be together again."

"Brother Qian is going to Jingzhao?"

Owner Qian nodded, "I found that sheepskins are quite profitable on Hebei Road, and I want to go to Jingzhao to buy a batch of sheepskins. My brother has so many sheepskins, I'm jealous!"

Han Feng chuckled, "I'll come to the inn to find you later, maybe we can go back together."

The two entered the city, but this time they were not interrogated. Qian Dongzhu entered the Wanjia Inn not far from the city gate, while Han Feng led the caravan straight to the Marshal's Mansion.

Proprietor Qian looked at Han Feng's back as he walked away, and gave a wink to one of his subordinates, who understood and immediately followed him from a distance.

Chapter 942 The Wind

"Good stuff!"

Wan Yanchang caresses the smooth and delicate iron shell lightly, just like touching the skin of a young woman. The luster and texture beauty brought by high-purity pig iron, as well as the exquisite casting technology, make those who love Song Dynasty artworks Wan Yanchang was fascinated by it.

He immediately decided that this was the real Iron Fire Thunder, not the crude Fire Thunder fragment from before.

Wan Yanchang has always suspected that the guard of Datong City is fooling himself. He knows that the smelting technology and casting technology of the Song Dynasty will never have such a crude iron quality, as if it has been buried in the soil for thousands of years, and it will be broken with a hammer. It was broken, it was obviously a piece of tin can made by nomadic craftsmen in the grassland, it is normal to appear in Datong City.

It's just that he didn't have evidence, so he suppressed his doubts in his heart. Now that he saw the real Tiehuolei, he immediately preconceived and confirmed his guess that the fragment was fake.