Chapter 284: I eat meat, but you can also drink soup
"The king will not take what you have for nothing. You can choose to exchange it for money, or for food or cloth. If you don't want it, after you defeat the Huns, no matter how many cattle and sheep you give to me, I will return the original amount.
In addition, I can give you 50% more." Zhao Kuo said.
If he were just treated as a vassal or slave, Zhao Kuo would choose to directly rob him, but since he has been accepted as a Zhao person, this gap must not be opened.
In addition to normal taxes, you cannot get a penny more. As a monarch, once you open this hole, and then go through layers of bureaucratic obstruction, and reach the people, you can only be forced to sell their land.
Those bureaucrats are much more ruthless than the monarch. The monarch is worried about the country at his feet, but the bureaucrats don't care. Even if all the people in the world revolt, they are not afraid.
They can also rely on suppressing rebellion to get promoted. If the suppression fails, they only need to move their buttocks, kneel down and kowtow, and they can continue to be officials.
"By the way, if any of you don't want to continue grazing and want to switch to farming, you can also change it to farm tools, or... weapons." Zhao Kuo suddenly remembered that Zhao State still had some obsolete weapons, and added.
The tribal leaders in front looked at each other. They had no doubts about whether Zhao could defeat the Xiongnu, but they were a little uncertain about the extent of the victory.
If the Huns can be defeated in a short time, then their acceptance of Zhao Kuo's conditions will not only have no impact, but will also be of great benefit. But if the time drags on for a long time and the tribe loses so many cattle and sheep, it will inevitably be affected.
"My Tiege tribe agreed." After a few breaths, Tiege took the lead and said.
Immediately afterwards, other tribes nodded in agreement.
They knew in their hearts that Zhao Kuo gave them a choice on the surface, but in fact they had no choice. Zhao Kuo could have forced the expropriation without asking for their opinions. Now he discussed it with them and was willing to exchange it at equal value, which had already given them a lot of face.
Already.
During the previous snowstorm, Zhao Kuo spent a lot of effort to rescue them. After Zhao Guo recruited troops, they all followed the regulations and sent people honestly. There is some friendship between the two sides, and this friendship cannot be lost.
Zhao Kuo winked at Liu Ping, and Liu Ping immediately understood what Zhao Kuo meant, leaned over and said, "Your Majesty, the banquet should be ready."
"Everyone, please." Zhao Kuo stretched out his hand and said.
Everyone was a little flattered and quickly bowed and saluted. This was the first time for monarchs in all dynasties that someone had entertained them.
At the banquet, Zhao Kuo also learned about some things about each tribe.
These tribes are not monolithic, but are divided into various tribes. Each tribe has many large and small tribes. The large ones have a population of over 10,000, while the small ones only have a few hundred people. There are also many conflicts between them.
Because Rong and Di were born to submit to the strong, they did not reject Zhao.
And they yearn for the Central Plains very much. Although they have never been to the Central Plains in their lives, under the influence of their ancestors, the Central Plains has become synonymous with prosperity. In their hearts, the Central Plains is full of gold, and many people hope to move there.
Living in the Central Plains.
For such a person, Zhao Kuo could only smile in his heart and give him full satisfaction, but he would not regret it later.
Of course, most people are still unwilling to give up the land where their ancestors have lived for generations.
"I will ask the farmers and the culinary academy to send some people over to study how to make the grass grow bigger and fatter. By the way, I will also find a way to make the milk and goat milk products easier to preserve, whether to make them into milk powder or something, so that they can be transported to the Central Plains.
.When the time comes, all the milk and goat milk you can’t drink can be sold to the government.”
Zhao Kuo established the Cooking Academy not for pure appetite, but to make unpalatable things delicious and inedible things edible.
Take soybeans, for example. Before the invention of tofu, nobles rarely ate soybeans because soybeans didn't taste good and were very fishy. Eating too much would cause flatulence, so only commoners would eat them.
However, soybeans do not eat the soil, and the rhizobia in the roots can also fertilize the land. Even in disaster years, they can still have a good harvest, helping the people survive the famine and make it easier to survive. Therefore, many countries stipulate that every household must plant it.
A certain number of acres of soybeans to cope with disaster years.
Not only can the beans be eaten, but the straw can be used to burn firewood, and the leaves can also be eaten when they are young. People call the nobles carnivores, and Guizhou heads are called grass-eaters, and the grass is bean leaves.
After tofu was made, a lot of soy products were produced, and soybeans were served on the tables of the nobles. Many nobles liked white and tender tofu, as well as tofu brains. Zhao Guo made a lot of money by making tofu.
Less money.
The status of soybeans has skyrocketed, ranking alongside millet and wheat. This year, almost all the land mined by Zhao Guogang has been planted with soybeans, without any push from the government.
What became popular along with tofu is the cooking academy, which has always been criticized. It was looked down upon by many people in the past. Now many nobles send their own chefs to go to the academy for further education. They don’t just want to invent something delicious, as long as they can learn more skills.
Already.
Then they discovered another benefit: no matter what delicious food the Kitchen Academy invented, they could try it.
As a result, the Chef College became even more popular. From a branch with the smallest number of students, it successfully turned into a college with an average number of students.
The grasslands are dominated by grazing and dairy products are rampant. It is difficult to preserve the fresh milk. If you cannot drink it all in one day, you will throw it away. There will be a lot of fresh milk tomorrow.
But the people in the Central Plains couldn't drink it at all.
If it can be made into milk powder, or other dairy products such as cheese, the shelf life does not need to be too long. It can be transported to Handan, Yecheng and other places for sale in about half a month. It can be sold to most areas in the Central Plains in one month.
If the shelf life can be two months, it can be sold to all regions except Jiangnan.
Not only can it greatly increase their income, but it can also provide people in the Central Plains with better nutrition.
In addition, wool, cow hair, etc. are all useful. Even if it cannot be made into a woolen sweater, it can still be used as a pad in shoes to keep warm. It is better than freezing your toes off.
Sheep dung and cow dung can also be used for composting to increase food production. Hundreds of thousands or millions of cattle and sheep together can produce a very considerable amount of dung, which can strengthen a lot of land.
Cowhide and sheepskin can also be made into armor, shoes, hats, etc. The production technology of Zhongyuan is far better than that of Rongdi. Rongdi only knows how to simply pat, dry, and wear it on the body, and rarely processes it. Zhongyuan
It can be made into a variety of exquisite clothing and shoes.
Zhao Guo purchased raw materials at low prices, made finished products and sold them at high prices. They were able to make a lot of money, and they could also drink some broth after following them.