After the cannon fodder father and daughter married into the family, the whole family regretted it

From that day on, Fang Tong was arranged to go to various county towns and villages under the county towns to preach every day with Captain Lu.

Talk about how to prevent wheat jaundice, what to do if problems are discovered, etc.

Fang Tong was actually a little confused. Why would they ask him for such a thing? Wouldn't it be more convincing to arrange for a clerk from the government office to speak?

After all, the other party is an official.

But Fang Tong also vaguely felt that this was a good thing, especially for him.

So he didn't refuse.

He traveled around the counties of Huai'an Prefecture for a whole month and had no time to go home.

"Dear uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, all those who are here today are ordinary people, just like me, who make a living by farming."

Fang Tong spoke in plain and down-to-earth language, which confused the villagers who were originally called to listen to the official's lecture.

If they hadn't seen a few sword-wielding yamen runners standing behind Fang Tong, they would have thought they were being fooled.

"I used to be like everyone else, thinking that farming depended on the weather. If God was kind, we'd have a good harvest this year, and my family would have enough to eat. If not, we'd have to tighten our belts and get by."

"If you can make it, you can continue farming next year. If you can't, your life will be over."

Fang Tong put his hands on his hips and explained the thoughts of ordinary people clearly in just a few words.

Many villagers below nodded.

That's right. For example, during the disaster a few years ago, many people in their village starved to death. Some people even fled with their families in an attempt to find a way to survive, but died on the way.

Life is so difficult for ordinary people.

"I used to think that farming was just like that. No matter how hard or tiring it was, you just had to grit your teeth and do it."

"Later, my daughter and son started to study. I thought that as a father, I couldn't be too bad, so I learned to read from them. After learning to read, my daughter loved to find some agricultural books for me to read."

"In the past few years, I've learned some things from books, and combined with my own thoughts, I feel that when it comes to farming, besides relying on fate, you also have to rely on human efforts."

"Take the curved plow, for example. Have you heard of it?"

Fang Tong paused deliberately.

If anyone is smart, they will shout.

"I've heard of it. I've even seen it in the county carpenter's shop. My old plow still works, so I couldn't bear to buy a new one."

"I have one at home. It really saves effort and can plow the land deeper."

A few years ago, Fang Tong handed the drawings of the curved plow to the imperial court, which promoted it vigorously after trying it.

Some things don't produce immediate results, especially things that cost money. For ordinary people, they always have to think about them more.

But if they can let most people know that such a thing exists, they are already halfway to success.

"This curved plow was invented by me. Of course, I learned it mainly from reading books." Fang Tong continued.

"With this new plow, plowing the land takes much less effort. Anyone who has cows at home knows that one cow can do the work of two or three strong men."

"Land that is carefully cultivated will definitely yield more than land that is extensively cultivated. If you apply more fertilizer to a field with weak soil, it will become fertile land in two years."

"I'm sure everyone understands these principles. I've been wondering, aren't these farming methods invented by humans? Don't they make farming easier and increase the yield?"

"So, we don't just leave farming to fate."

"I think farming is a science. You have to study and think about it so that you can grow better crops. For example, the imperial court even set up the Sino-Agricultural Temple to manage farming, which is pretty much what it does."

Fang Tong's words sounded a bit crude to educated people, but ordinary villagers who could not read could understand them at once.

Many people are thinking.

There is some truth to that.

Diligent people apply more fertilizer and water the land, and they can harvest more. Lazy people sometimes can't even harvest a single seed.

Therefore, farming depends on both God’s will and human effort.

People can't just be diligent when farming, they have to think and use their brains.

Everything is afraid of thinking!

"So I thought, what's the biggest fear in farming? Natural disasters! Like droughts, floods, locusts, diseased wheat seedlings, and so on."

"But are these natural disasters completely unavoidable and the losses impossible to mitigate? Not necessarily."

"Old people in the village who have been farming for decades can often read the sky and estimate the weather for a period of time, whether it will be sunny or rainy."

"If there are consecutive sunny days, we have to carry water to irrigate the fields. If there is a lot of rain, we have to go to the fields in advance to prepare for drainage."

The villagers nodded in agreement.

"So these natural disasters have signs. What we can do is to detect the signs and take timely measures."

"For example, the wheat jaundice this time..."

Fang Tong laid a lot of groundwork and finally got to the point.

Tell them that the court’s help with prevention and control has ended, so can the wheat still grow well?

Not necessarily yet, it depends on what happens next.

Everyone can continue to prevent and control it, and learn about related things. Even if it is not useful this time, it will be useful in the future.

He also explained the signs of wheat powdery mildew and damping-off, and urged everyone to report any signs they saw to the village chief, who would then report to the head of the village, who would in turn report to the imperial court.

Of course, he also mentioned some remedial measures that should be taken if something is found to be wrong.

These are all summarized from books, but they are said to be of little use.

In the words of the book, the world they live in is still too backward and they cannot effectively fight against nature.

But the road is made by people.

As long as they keep thinking and experimenting, there may be a chance.

Of course, Fang Tong didn't say anything about this.

After talking about various diseases, Fang Tong also talked about the issue of solar terms.

This is his own summary, which he learned from the elders in various villages and verified, and it is still relatively accurate.

Everyone listened with great interest.

Never before had anyone from the imperial court given them a speech in which they discussed farming in such detail.

At most, they would encourage farmers to work harder during spring planting and not be lazy. Or, if they had any new and exotic seeds, they would give them to them.

As for how to plant it, the court seemed to assume they could do it themselves.

But the experience of farming was also explored by the common people from generation to generation.

Fang Tong read in some books that wheat, rice and other crops were originally grown wild.

In short, his long speeches won the favor of the villagers.

After he finished speaking, the village chiefs would always warmly invite him to their homes for dinner.

They thought this young man was amazing, knew a lot, and every word he said hit the nail on the head.

Fang Tong doesn't make the decision on matters like eating, so he pushes Chief Constable Lu to the front.

Captain Lu was speechless. Fang Tong was the good guy, and now he was the one who got the lead for eating for free? But he didn't say anything.

After visiting all the counties and villages and finally arriving at Mushan Village, Fang Tong completely let go.

These are all his own people, so he speaks more simply and directly.

The villagers secretly looked at the yamen runners, their hearts pounding with emotion.

Fang Tong from their village has really made it big. Even the chief constable from the capital listens to him! Oh my god, this is too impressive.

The old village chief was also proud of it.

He had made arrangements with everyone in advance, so as soon as Fang Tong finished his speech, everyone applauded in unison.

By the time he finished speaking, the palms of the villagers were all red.