Su He took the civil and military officials of the Qin Palace to the largest farm outside Hanzhong City.
The rice here is completely mature, plump and golden, and the sight of the golden ears makes people feel happy.
Qian Fuwen, the Minister of Household Affairs, accompanied Su He.
He introduced to Su He: "Your Highness, King Qin, lost a lot of labor because of the war last year.
There is a shortage of labor during spring plowing.
In most of the rice fields in Hanzhong Prefecture, spring plowing was delayed by about a month, and harvesting began only after October last year.
Last year's wheat and rice yields were about the same as normal.
After the fields were divided in Sichuan, farmers became more motivated and the average yield per mu increased by 10%.
Rice and wheat production in Hanzhong County and Baoji Prefecture did not increase last year, mainly due to the missed farming season.
Fortunately, we have built large, medium and small reservoirs and canals in various places, and the food harvest did not fail last year.
The weather this year has been very good, and the farming season has not been missed. In most areas of Hanzhong County and Baoji Prefecture, rice and wheat have been harvested.
The weather here in Hanzhong is a bit abnormal, and the rice planting was delayed for more than ten days."
Before Su He came, he had seen the average grain yield per mu reported by various places.
The average wheat yield per mu is 400 jins, the average rice yield is 450 jins per mu, and the average sweet potato yield is 1,800 jins per mu.
There are no chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or high-yielding seeds.
Achieving such a yield is the result of intensive farming and the application of biogas fertilizer and farmyard manure.
The rice harvest is a little late at this time.
Su He expected that the yield per mu of the rice fields in front of him would be even lower.
They now use the long-standing lunisolar calendar in China, which determines each year and each month by observing the sun and moon.
In order to correct the time deviation of the earth's revolution, there are also leap months.
Su He has asked Tian Jiapeng to compile a more accurate lunisolar calendar.
The calendar used now was called the lunar calendar in later generations.
The main function of this legislation is to guide agricultural planting, and a year is divided into twenty-four solar terms.
It is about one month later than the Gregorian calendar used by later generations.
"Your Highness King Qin, where is the sickle?"
Tian Wenheng, the newly appointed Minister of Civil Affairs, asked with a puzzled look on his face.
Su He looked like Tian Wenheng, so he promoted this man and prepared him to take over as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
That is, Tian Wenheng has a quality that is very lacking among today’s officials in the Ming Dynasty - selflessness.
His reputation has always been bad in official circles.
When employing people, Su He pays attention to their performance regardless of their heart. No matter what his sincerity is, he only needs to show the qualities he recognizes.
Su He would promote this person without hesitation.
Even if this person is pretending, as long as he keeps pretending, it will be the same as the real thing.
He promoted Tian Wenheng and Qian Fuwen based on this idea.
Qian Fuwen had no official reputation except that he did not formally participate in the imperial examination.
With the ability he has shown, there is no problem in serving as the Minister of Household Affairs. Su He will of course promote him.
"Tian Aiqing, most farmers in the countryside now use sickles to harvest.
The farms and villages under the direct management of the Qin Palace were harvested by military personnel, and oxen were used to pull harvesters."
Graphite crucible steelmaking output has grown steadily and blast furnace ironmaking output has continued to increase.
In this era, steel represents productivity.
The machinery factory had enough cheap raw materials and began to expand its scale.
A large number of harvesters, threshing machines, rice mills, and flour mills were produced.
Their prices are affordable even to rich farmers in the village.
These agricultural processing machines have spread to the countryside.
Zhang Youfeng, Minister of Education, suggested:
"Your Highness King Qin, it is not good to use machines to harvest.
How can we experience the hardships of farmers if we don’t cut rice with our own hands?
I suggest that we go to the fields ourselves and experience the hardships of harvesting rice."
Su He waved his hand and stopped him: "This is not necessary. The main purpose of bringing you here today is not to let you experience harvesting rice.
Harvesting rice by yourself is just a show.
Officials in the Ming Dynasty often put on a show and personally went to farm and harvest.
The Ming Emperor also personally led a group of officials to worship heaven and sow wheat himself.
This does not affect at all how hard they exploit the people."
Su He thought this kind of show was completely unnecessary.
"The harvester is coming.
If you watch this scene carefully, you must have a certain understanding of mechanical agriculture."
Many officials followed Su He's gaze.
A group of white-haired old men in their forties or fifties drove an ox cart to the rice fields.
Wang Zhuang, the farm manager, saw His Royal Highness King Qin and so many high-ranking civil and military officials coming to the farm.
He walked over cautiously, bowed to Su He, and after bowing he said:
"The humble minister Wang Zhuang is the steward of Hanzhong Farm. I welcome His Highness the King of Qin and all the gentlemen to come and inspect my place.
We officially harvest this rice field today."
"It seems to me that the people harvesting rice are all elderly people. Can they complete the task of harvesting rice?
Why are there no young people to harvest the rice fields?"
Su He was also surprised by the situation here at Hanzhong Farm.
Why are they all old people and no young people exist?
The farm is land directly managed by the Qin Palace. They are all agricultural workers, and the land on the farm is not distributed to the farmers.
The role of the farm is mainly to regulate and support.
Today's farms are used to regulate the crop market and test new varieties and planting techniques.
If you force the public to promote new seeds and new planting techniques, they will be very resistant.
But there are farms as demonstration areas, allowing people to see the power of new technologies.
It will become very easy to promote new technologies later.
In order to prevent flood disasters, major rivers need to have flood discharge locations.
Major farms are located in these key areas and serve as priority flood discharge areas.
When Wang Zhuang heard His Highness King Qin's question, he carefully answered:
"Your Highness King Qin, after you conquered Sichuan, the Ministry of Revenue arranged for the refugees originally collected to be distributed to Sichuan.
They can be allocated their own land in Sichuan.
All the young people on the farm rushed to Sichuan to get their own land.
The people staying on the farm now are elderly people who have lost their families.
They were on the farm, doing whatever work they could.
Now they can harvest it using machines.
When spring plowing begins, there will be a shortage of labor.
I have already reported it to the superiors, but I guess His Highness King Qin has not seen it yet.
There are many more farms like ours.”
Su He nodded, indicating that he had remembered this.
"I'll make a note of this first and will arrange personnel to go to the farm. Go harvest the rice quickly and don't delay the storage of the grain!"
Su He plans to prioritize some naturalized natives on the farm so that they can be completely naturalized.
Let them intermarry with the Han people on the farm, and integrate them into Han people through the powerful fusion power of Chinese civilization.
After hearing the instructions from His Highness King Qin, Wang Zhuang immediately led the people of Hanzhong Farm to drive ox carts to the fields to harvest rice.
The rice fields are not completely dry now. The cattle's hooves stepped on the rice fields and fell into the mud.
As a farm cow, the old scalper has already adapted to this situation, and it is traveling quickly in the rice fields.
The old scalper dragged the harvester and quickly harvested the rice in the rice field.
The old man who was driving the cattle saw that the blade of the harvester was a little high.
He stopped the big ox and adjusted the height of the harvesting machine's blade.
"shelf."
He shook the reins, and the old scalper continued to move in the rice fields.
The sharp blade of the rice harvester easily cut the rice straw.
They are combed by the rice harvester and neatly dumped on both sides of the harvester.
Farmers on the farm behind began to bundle up the fallen rice.
It is carried to the ox cart at the rear and taken to the farm's drying field, where there is a threshing machine to thresh the rice.
Zhang Youfeng looked at the scene of the harvester harvesting rice and said in shock:
“It has become so easy to harvest rice now.
These elderly people can use machines to harvest rice easily.
Farm women in ordinary people's homes can also use harvesters to harvest rice.
In this way, the remaining young people can devote themselves to more heavy physical work."
Qian Fuwen stood next to Zhang Youfeng, and after hearing his words, he said:
“It’s not possible now, the price of harvesters is too high, and the price of cattle is also high.
Ordinary people simply cannot afford a harvester, so they still choose to use hard work and sickles to harvest their own fields.
But now there are also some rich farmers who buy harvesters and others can rent their services.
Many people use a small amount of money to let rich farmers help harvest their fields."
Su He heard the conversation between the two of them and said:
"Qian Aiqing is right, the cost of harvesters is too high and the efficiency is somewhat low.
When people harvest their fields, they still rely mainly on human labor.
People's traditional thinking is that their labor is not valuable, so if they are asked to pay for harvester services, even those with a little savings would be reluctant to do so.
Now that I don’t want to go to the fields to harvest with a sickle myself, I hire a harvester to help.
Mainly the wealthy households doing small business in the village and the former gentry.”
Su He told the investigation reports from various places.
Nowadays, the usage rate of harvesters among the people is very low.
Not to mention a simple harvester like today.
Even the highly automated harvesters of later generations.
When the income of farmers in China generally increased, the price of mechanical harvesting was very low, so farmers chose to use harvesters.
The most widely used machines in the countryside are threshing machines and rice mills.
The efficiency of manual threshing is too low, and threshing must be completed in a short time.
If you don't take advantage of the good weather to complete the threshing work and dry the grain, the grain will easily become moldy.
Pounding rice is too tiring and inefficient.
The villagers would rather use this time to go out to work than grind rice themselves.
They hand over the rice and wheat to small rice mills in the countryside, which can be processed in ten minutes.
Su He took the civil and military officials to watch the mechanical harvesting of rice for a while.
He said to everyone: "Let's go to the wheat fields ahead to see how winter wheat is grown."
After Su He finished speaking, he first boarded the carriage and headed to the winter wheat planting base.
Other officials also boarded the carriage and followed Su He's carriage.
There were many civil and military officials. According to their positions and grades, several people rode in a carriage.
Tian Wenheng was sitting in a wide carriage. The dozen or so people around him were all six ministers or ministers.
The Minister of Health is the Queen Empress, and she is not here today. The other Ministers and Ministers are here.
He clasped his fists at the crowd and asked, "I am very talented and have little knowledge. I don't know what winter wheat is?"
Everyone here, does anyone know what kind of crop winter wheat is.
I have lived for more than thirty years, but I have never heard that wheat can be grown in winter.
Winter wheat should not be winter wheat.
I heard that sweet potatoes are grown in a place called America in the East.
Is winter wheat also produced in the East? It is wheat from the East, referred to as East wheat."
Zhang Dezhi, the Minister of Household Affairs, agreed with this analysis: "I think Tian Shilang is right, wheat cannot be planted in winter.
This should be wheat from the East. I don’t know what the yield of this wheat from the East is.
If they can really achieve the yield of sweet potatoes, then all the people in the world will be really lucky."
As senior officials of the Qin Palace, they knew what it would mean if there were high-yielding varieties of wheat?
It will be easy for the Qin Palace to overthrow the Ming Dynasty.
Su He's carriage was driving in front, with Wang Zhongce, Su Wuniu, Li Fengming, Wen Jingming and other senior civil and military officials on board.
Wang Zhongce kept thinking about winter wheat after getting in the car.
He asked Su He: "Your Highness, King Qin, the Academy of Sciences has produced winter wheat."
Wang Zhongce knew about the existence of winter wheat. It was the first time he heard from Su He that wheat should be planted in winter.
He thought this was a fantasy, how could it be possible to grow wheat in winter.
Not all the wheat planted will freeze to death, it will completely waste people and money.
Wang Zhongce persuaded Suhe to let farmers plant winter wheat on a large scale. Heavy losses would affect the people's support for them.
However, Su He said that he would give it a try first to make sure that winter wheat could be grown before he would consider promoting the planting of winter wheat on a large scale.
Before attacking Sichuan, Su He sent Su Changsheng to the main wheat-producing areas, Henan, Shandong and other places.
Look for experienced and literate farmers, and collect improved wheat seeds from various places.
In Hanzhong and Baoji, we found two fields suitable for wheat cultivation and conducted trial planting of winter wheat.
Strictly follow the comparison method.
Each field is experimented with different planting methods and seeds.
Through the stupid method of exhaustion, we figured out the winter wheat planting technology.
Suhe cannot directly come up with the winter wheat planting technology of later generations.
In later generations, seeds were improved, fertilizers were abundant and various, and fertilization methods were scientific.
The weather is also getting warmer.
It's completely different now. We're in the Little Ice Age, and the weather is colder than normal.
The wheat seeds here are all ordinary seeds, and there are no complex types of fertilizers.
The accumulated temperature of the land is also different from that of later generations. It is impossible to grow winter wheat using the same planting technology.
Winter wheat planting technology was gradually extended to all parts of the country, mainly in the Huanghuai region, in the late Qing Dynasty.
There is no winter wheat planting technology at present, so we can only rely on our subordinates to slowly explore.
Su He heard Wang Zhongce's inquiry and replied happily: "Li Dajiang began to harvest winter wheat in April and May.
He has been observing wheat yields under different conditions and finding winter wheat planting techniques suitable for the current weather.
In order to ensure that winter wheat is absolutely safe and will not produce toxic or harmful substances.
He made the prisoners on death row eat different types of winter wheat for several months, and also asked doctors from Hanzhong Hospital to assist.
Finally, I found a winter wheat variety that has high yield and is suitable for consumption.
Li Dajiang has made great progress in exploring winter wheat planting technology.
He has now developed a winter wheat growing technique.
We are going to start planting winter wheat today, and I will take everyone to see how to grow winter wheat."
The four-wheeled carriage with a spring device walks on the wide cement road, and the pedestrians in the carriage do not feel the bumps.
They chatted about winter wheat and soon arrived at the winter wheat planting base.
Su He got out of the car and saw thousands of acres of wheat fields that had been plowed.
There are many prisoners here wearing prison uniforms, driving cattle and planting wheat through automatic wheat seeders.
The winter wheat planting base is a strictly confidential unit.
This is one of Suhe's trump cards to help China survive the Little Ice Age.
Enough food can also ensure that the people at the bottom have enough to eat.
If the people of China have enough to eat, they will not rebel against the government.
The only things that need to be kept secret are the patents produced by growing winter wheat and the methods for researching winter wheat.
Nor is it to guard against feudal dynasties like the Ming Dynasty.
The targets that Su He wants to guard against are the European countries whose technology has now reached the front of China.
Winter wheat planting technology, after promoting winter wheat.
This is an open common crop cultivation technology that can be obtained by any force with some means.
However, the methods and data for studying winter wheat are precious information that cannot be exchanged for anything.
The winter wheat seeds they distribute are only suitable for use in the Qinling and Huanghuai regions of China.
In other eastern wheat growing areas, this kind of seed is not suitable for growth.
If the technology is leaked, the West can develop its own winter wheat varieties.
Li Dajiang, the person in charge of the winter wheat planting base, has been informed in advance that His Highness the King of Qin will bring hundreds of civil and military officials to inspect the winter wheat planting.
Li Dajiang had been waiting in front of the base, and he saw Su He and others getting off the bus.
He walked to the front of Su He, bowed, and said respectfully:
"Wei Chen Li Dajiang welcomes His Highness the King of Qin to inspect the wheat planting base.
Welcome all colleagues to visit the wheat planting base."
He was a farmer digging in the fields, but he didn't expect to receive such courtesy from Su He.
A scholar dies for his confidant, and he wants to repay Su He with his research results.
"Li Aiqing, please stand up. Your contribution is great and you will definitely become famous in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
Winter wheat is planted on a large scale, and you will be the first contemporary person to enter the ancestral temple to worship."
Su He looked at Li Dajiang and was very satisfied with him.
Li Dajiang is from Henan.
He is thirty-seven years old and is a talented scholar who has failed many times.
He offended the powerful people again, causing him to be unable to survive in the city.
I can only go back to the countryside to work in farming, and I specialize in farming in the countryside. The knowledge gained from books is combined with practice, and my planting technology is better than that of many old farmers.
He studied many agricultural books in ancient times, and the yield per mu of farmed land was higher than that of ordinary people.
Li Dajiang also taught his skills to others and gained high prestige locally.
Su Changsheng searched for farming talents, and his men brought Li Dajiang and his family to Hanzhong.
Su He introduced Li Dajiang to the civil and military officials.
"This is Li Dajiang, academician of the Academy of Sciences, director of the Wheat Research Institute, and head of the winter wheat planting base.
The title of first-class earl, academician of the Academy of Sciences enjoys the treatment of a first-class official."
Many officials looked at Li Dajiang in surprise.
They didn't expect that this humble old farmer turned out to be a count.
Being granted the title of high noble requires considerable merit.
No matter how much taxes a businessman pays, he can only be a lord, and there is no way to become a viscount.
The Academy of Sciences is directly under the jurisdiction of the Qin Palace, and many people do not know its role.
Unexpectedly, the academician level of the Academy of Sciences is so high, and academicians enjoy first-class treatment.
Now there are only three first-grade civil and military officials in the entire Qin Palace.
Prime Minister Wang Zhongce is in the first rank, Deputy Governor of the Dudu Mansion, Su Xiong, Governor of the Sichuan Dudu Mansion, is in the first rank, and Li Fengming, Chief of Staff of the Dudu Mansion is in the first rank.
The Prince of Qin's palace had a powerful cabinet prime minister and a noble system, so Suhe canceled many titles. First-grade officials were the highest official treatment.
Su He looked at the civil and military officials who were all shocked.
"Academician Li, tell everyone about winter wheat, and let the civil and military officials judge whether you, as an academician of the Academy of Sciences, should be named."
"I obey my orders."
When Li Dajiang heard Su He's order, he began to explain winter wheat to everyone.
Winter wheat is wheat grown in winter.
This kind of wheat is very tenacious and will not die even if it is trampled in winter or buried in frost and snow.
After the next spring, the growth will be more vigorous.
In April and May, winter wheat will mature and be harvested.
After clearing the wheat field, sweet potatoes or various vegetables can be planted in the wheat field.
After listening to Li Dajiang's story, Tian Wenheng opened his eyes wide and said in surprise: "Academician Li is really a genius, he can actually grow wheat in winter.
The wheat harvest can begin in the following summer.
After the wheat is harvested, there is no delay in planting other grains.
This can maximize land utilization.
This means that we in the north can grow two rounds of food just like the double-cropping rice in the south, and can feed a larger population.
I feel that conferring only one earl cannot convince the public.
Please ask His Highness the King of Qin to confer the title of Academician Li, at least as a marquis."
Li Dajiang quickly said: "His Royal Highness King Qin wanted to make me a Duke, but I refused.
At present, winter wheat planting has not been expanded. I don’t know what the specific situation will be after large-scale planting.
I deserve to be rewarded in advance."
Su Wuniu asked curiously: "Academician Li, if winter wheat can be harvested in May, can we plant one more season of spring wheat?"
Li Dajiang responded: "According to my experimental results, it won't work here in Hanzhong County and Baoji Prefecture.
The weather is too cold now and the fields do not have enough accumulated temperature.
It’s not very good in Henan. I estimate that winter wheat and spring wheat can be grown in the south and north of Shandong.”
Su He listened to Li Dajiang's answer, which was also the same as his impression in his previous life.
Henan and areas with higher latitudes than Henan in later generations.
After planting a season of winter wheat, corn is now planted.
Corn has not been introduced yet, so we can only try to plant sweet potatoes to ensure food production.
"My dear friends, winter wheat is the foundation of our country.
I will lead you to personally experience planting winter wheat."
Su He took the civil and military officials and began to go to the fields.
Currently, the winter wheat planting here at the base uses cattle-pulled automatic wheat seeders developed by the machinery factory.
Their main task is to pour winter wheat seeds into the hopper of the seeder.
This simple process will never be a hindrance.
Su Wuniu poured these winter wheat seeds into the hopper of a wheat seeder.
Watching the cattle pulling the wheat seeder, planting winter wheat on the ridges of the field.
He suddenly saw a figure that looked very much like his son Su Lin.
Su Lin was imprisoned, and Su He specifically told him that Su Lin should be educated through labor reform and that he should not be allowed to grow crooked.
Family visits are prohibited.
He saw Su Lin, who was young, carrying a bamboo basket on his back, struggling to scoop up seeds with a ladle, and pouring the seeds into the hopper of the automatic wheat seeder.
There is no rebellious expression on his face now, and he has been transformed very well.
Suhe symbolically sowed winter wheat for a while.
He took Li Dajiang and approached the room.
"How is the yield of winter wheat? Are there enough seeds to promote wheat on all farms this year?"
When Li Dajiang heard this question, he answered seriously: "Your Highness, King Qin, the output of winter wheat is similar to the current output of spring wheat, there is not much difference.
The specific situation will not be known until large-scale planting is carried out.
We have enough winter wheat seeds in storage.
In two winter wheat planting experimental fields in Hanzhong and Baoji, we experimented with 69 wheat varieties.
And give different care to each kind of wheat.
Through controlled experiments, winter wheat varieties with high yield, cold resistance and lodging resistance were selected as winter wheat varieties for promotion.
Other breeds, some cannot tolerate the cold of winter.
Some grow too slowly, and if you grow this kind of winter wheat, you cannot grow sweet potatoes.
The yield of most winter wheat is too low, which is 200 to 300 kilograms less than the average yield per mu of conventional wheat.
Most of the test results can be observed during the growth period of wheat seedlings, and these varieties are completely unable to adapt to winter growth conditions.
We immediately eradicated these failed varieties and replanted them with other successful varieties.
These replanted winter wheats are harvested later.
But its wheat seed quality is the same as that of early-planted winter wheat.
The wheat varieties stored in our winter wheat planting base are enough to meet the needs of winter wheat planting in parts of Baoji Prefecture and Hanzhong."
Su He was completely relieved when he heard that there were enough winter wheat seeds.
Ordered farms suitable for growing winter wheat, under the guidance of Li Dajiang's team.
Comprehensively promote the cultivation of winter wheat using the same methods as promoting sweet potato cultivation.
