Chapter 1749, don't think too little of the granary
In the study room of Qianqing Palace in Beijing.
"Your Majesty, Cansu II of Egypt killed all the officials who clamored to take back half of the ownership of the Egyptian canal."
"It seems that he should know how much he weighs by now."
Zhu Fu smiled and reported to Emperor Hongzhi that the situation in Egypt had changed.
"Haha~"
When Emperor Hongzhi and the ministers heard this, they immediately laughed happily.
It makes you drift, confused about your own situation, and you even want to take back half of the canal ownership of the Ming Dynasty. This means that you need to contain the Ottoman Empire and the Persians from this position, otherwise they will directly send troops to turn you into a colony.
"Egypt's life is not easy now. The Ottoman Empire's army is about to reach the Egyptian canal. They will suffer a lot in the future."
"They asked for this. The Ottoman Empire itself is very powerful. The reason why it couldn't defeat Egypt and Persia was mainly because the current Sultan Selim I of the Ottoman Empire had just come to power, and he was not in the right position. He was consolidating himself. With his status and power, he has no time to concentrate on dealing with them."
"Now that his status and power have been consolidated, he can mobilize a large number of troops. Coupled with the arms and weapons sold by our Ming Dynasty, it will not be so easy for the Egyptians and Persians to resist."
"Will this make the Ottoman Empire stronger?"
"Don't worry, when Egypt and Persia can't hold on, our Ming Dynasty will take action. The three-legged situation in the Middle East must be maintained. This is in the best interest of our Ming Dynasty."
"Well, it makes sense. Once anyone in the Middle East becomes powerful, it will harm the interests of our Ming Dynasty. The three-legged alliance is the best situation for our Ming Dynasty."
"There are still deep conflicts and grievances between the Ottoman Empire and Europe. They cannot send all their forces to the Middle East."
Everyone discussed the situation in the Middle East with smiles on their faces. No matter what, Ming's interests are the core, and it is definitely right to focus on this point.
"Your Majesty, when it comes to Europe, I think we, the Ming Dynasty, can continue to expand to the west?"
Liu Jin looked at the huge world map in the Shang Shu's room, and his eyes quickly focused on the land in Eastern Europe.
This piece of land would be a famous granary in later generations.
The black soil in Ukraine is one of only three black soils in the world. It is very fertile and is the breadbasket of the entire Europe.
Of course, no food is produced here now. This is the pasture of the nomadic Crimean Tatars. To be honest, it would be a waste of this fertile land to be used for grazing.
The westernmost border of the Ming Dynasty has reached the Ural Mountains, bordering the Kazan Khanate and the Principality of Moscow. At the same time, it has also occupied the South Caucasus region, where it has been operating for many years. The land has become the bridgehead from Ming Dynasty to Europe, and life is prosperous and very stable.
In addition, Hezhong Province and Northwest Province have also developed. They are not only the granaries of the Ming Dynasty, but also the meat warehouses and pastures of the Ming Dynasty.
The food produced here in a year is enough to feed the entire Ming Dynasty. Every year, tens of millions of cattle, sheep and horses are transported to the pass through the railway and shipped to various parts of the Ming Dynasty.
This is already one of the four major pastures of the Ming Dynasty. Together with the Northern Grassland Province, Australia, and the Southern Golden Continent Grassland, it is also known as the four major pastures of the Ming Dynasty. It produces a large amount of cattle, sheep, horses, and wool needed for the textile industry.
These laid the foundation for the Ming Empire's westward expansion.
Apart from anything else, if the Ming Empire continued to use troops in the west and expanded westward to Eastern Europe, the Ming Dynasty would not need to dispatch food from other places at all. It could get enough food, meat and food directly from Hezhong Province and Northwest Province.
The required war horses.
This is also the reason why Ming Dynasty has been working hard to manage these places, not only to consolidate the border areas, but also to prepare for the next step of westward expansion.
"Continue to expand westward?"
When everyone heard this, they immediately became energetic.
As expected, Liu Jin still liked to expand as always when he was the first assistant. The Ming Dynasty's land was already so huge, but Liu Jin still didn't think it was enough and wanted to continue to expand westward to seize the Eastern European plains.
This style of doing things is really very Liu Jin, because Liu Jin has always advocated external expansion. In Liu Jin's words, no amount of land is too much, the more the better.
Even if you can't use this land now, you may be able to use it in the future. Anyway, you should take advantage of your strength to occupy more land. Even if it is uncultivated or empty, you can occupy it first.
"Liu Jin, please explain in detail."
Emperor Hongzhi nodded and said.
To be honest, Emperor Hongzhi does not have a strong desire to expand the land now. After all, the land of the Ming Dynasty is indeed very large.
It is already a bit difficult to take charge now. That is to say, with the telegraph, we can quickly control and direct various places. Otherwise, managing such a huge land is indeed a headache.
"Your Majesty, the lands in Eastern Europe are now mainly the Principality of Poland and Lithuania, the Principality of Moscow, the Crimean Khanate and the Kazan Khanate. In addition, part of the land in the south is occupied by the Ottoman Empire."
"The reason why I advocate that Ming Dynasty continue to expand westward is mainly because the land north of the Black Sea is the most fertile black land in the world. There are only three pieces of black land in the world. Here is one, and our Ming Dynasty's Liaodong is one.
There is also a piece of land here in North Huanghuangzhou."
"The black land is the most fertile land and the land most suitable for producing food. In addition, the terrain here is flat and open, which is very suitable for growing food and developing agriculture and animal husbandry. If we can conquer it and manage it well, our Ming Dynasty will definitely be able to add more
A granary."
Liu Jin came to the huge world map and began to explain in detail.
Emperor Hongzhi, Ji Zhong, Wang Shouren, Han Wen and others also listened carefully, nodding their heads while listening.
The black soil of Liaodong Province in the Ming Dynasty is now famous all over the world. The fertile land of Liaodong has created the large granary of Liaodong. Liaodong has only been developed for more than ten years.
Grain production is getting higher year by year.
The land here is most suitable for the development of agriculture. The black soil is very fertile and the terrain is open and flat, suitable for large-scale mechanical planting. The soil is very thick and suitable for deep plowing. In addition, it is very cold in winter, so a large amount of
Pests and diseases were killed by the freeze, which also resulted in very few pests and diseases occurring in crops in Liaodong.
Farming is very worry-free. Mechanical plowing, mechanical sowing, and then waiting for mechanical harvest are enough. There is no need for intensive farming like here in Guannai.
The land in the pass has always been intensively cultivated, but even if you work hard in the fields every day, the food produced is limited, because the land is not as fertile as Liaodong, and there are many pests and diseases, especially locust plagues, which often occur.
And because it is further south than Liaodong, all kinds of weeds are overgrown, and the winter in Liaodong is cold, and there are far fewer weeds that can adapt to the cold climate. As for various pests, in winter, heavy snowfall
If it is covered, it will basically freeze to death. If it doesn't freeze to death, it will be plowed mechanically in the next spring. If it is plowed out and frozen a few times, it will probably die.
When it suddenly becomes thick enough, you can plow deeply and dig the top deep into the ground to directly turn it into fertilizer.
The land within the pass, whether it is the North China Plain, the Yellow-Huaihai Plain, or the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain, does not have the unique and superior conditions of Liaodong. It is nothing more than extensive large-scale agriculture like Liaodong, and more
It still requires intensive cultivation to reap the rewards.
The importance of food is self-evident.
Food is the only way to be stable!
Emperor Hongzhi knew this very well. In the past, he was most afraid of any famine, because when there was no food to eat, anything could happen.
That's why the imperial court needed to prepare granaries in various places to store food, and use it to provide relief to the victims in times of famine.
Now according to Liu Jin, this land north of the Black Sea is actually another Liaodong region, which makes everyone very excited.
There is definitely no shortage of granaries for everyone, the more the better.
The Ming Dynasty's population is expanding rapidly, and it needs more and more food. Only with more food can we be more secure.
What's more, if this place is like Liaodong, it also means that large-scale mechanized planting can be carried out, and a large amount of food can be cultivated without too many people.
The importance of food is naturally not highlighted when there is food to eat enough, but once there is no food, food becomes more expensive than anything else.
The people of the Ming Dynasty are indeed living a good life now. There is endless food, and it is very cheap. They use a lot of it to make wine, feed livestock, etc. That is because the Ming Dynasty now has large granaries such as Liaodong, Hezhong, and Nanyang, so the food
Can't finish it.
But in the past, the Ming Dynasty was very short of food, and major famines would occur almost every one or two years, either drought, floods, or locust plagues.
Once that time comes, coupled with the unscrupulous grain dealers hoarding food and driving up the price of food, food will become extremely valuable. Countless people will starve to death, the bark of the trees will be eaten away, and the ground will be full of hunger. It is definitely not fake to exchange food for food.
It's something that actually happens time and time again.
People in the Ming Dynasty have a deep attachment to food and know the importance of food very clearly.
You don't have to have gold or silver, but you must have food, because only when you have food in your hands, your heart will not be empty.
This is even more true when combined with future generations.
The current population of the Ming Dynasty is only over 100 million, but in the future, the population of the Ming Dynasty may be 1 billion or 2 billion. Naturally, it will not work without enough land and food.