"I'm so lucky!" Liu De also praised after hearing this.
"I wonder how much land my husband has?" Liu De also sat on a bluestone by the river and asked.
"The old man's family has three hectares of fields, but unfortunately only one and a half hectares are upper fields, and the rest are middle fields and lower fields..." the old farmer replied.
Liu De nodded and saw that this old farmer's family should belong to the typical owner-peasant class at this time.
Liu De still knows the so-called upper field, middle field and lower field.
The land in upper fields is fertile and does not need to be left fallow. It can be cultivated year after year, so it is the favorite land of farmers. Unfortunately, there are not many such fertile lands, and due to the limitations of agricultural technology, the fertility of many upper fields gradually depletes after years of cultivation.
Reduced to middle field or even lower field.
As for the middle field, after two years of farming, it must be left fallow for one year. Otherwise, the land will not be fertile enough and the crops planted will not grow well at all.
Go to the fields and work for one year and rest for one year.
However, the wisdom of the working people is infinite. I don’t know who discovered it first. Planting soybeans on fallow land not only does not waste the land, but also effectively fertilizes the land. Therefore, generally fallow land will be planted with soybeans.
Soybeans.
However, the Han people attach great importance to corn. At this time, even wheat was a heresy in the land and was not a staple food, let alone soybeans.
Generally speaking, agricultural and sideline products such as wheat and soybeans are not worth much.
As for wheat, the poorest families at the lowest level may use it as food in disaster years, but soybeans are generally used as livestock feed at this time, unless the year is really bad...
Liu De also knew the reason for this situation.
The reason is simple - it is caused by the backwardness of cooking technology and food culture.
At this time, the cooking techniques of chefs were relatively primitive, and they basically had no other tricks besides cooking, steaming, and boiling.
Moreover, things like mills had not been invented at this time.
Therefore, things like steamed buns, steamed buns, noodles, rice noodles, tofu, and tofu curds all do not exist at this time.
Regardless of wheat or soybeans, if you want to eat them, you can only cook them.
Everyone who has eaten wheat and soybeans knows how bad they taste after being cooked!
Especially soybeans, which can cause bloating after consumption...
Therefore, the tofu invented by Liu De's cousin Liu An is truly a great invention that will benefit the present and future generations!
"My father-in-law, how is the harvest?" Liu De asked again, "Are there any difficulties at home?"
"Thanks to the Holy Emperor, last year's harvest at the old man's house was pretty good. One acre of land yielded more than four stones of corn!" The old farmer was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth when talking about last year's harvest. However, he became a little distressed afterward.
He said: "But last year, one stone of corn could only be sold for 40 yuan..."
Liu De was also indifferent.
Compared with the Warring States Period, the agricultural technology and land yields of the Han Dynasty have made great progress.
In the early years of the Warring States Period, Li Kui once said during the Wei State Reform: Nowadays, one man has only five households to manage a hundred fields, and the annual harvest is one stone and a half...
By the time of the Han Dynasty, the yield of farmland had generally increased to three stones per mu. For example, during the reign of the late emperor, Chao Cuo once said in his famous article "Gui Su Shu Zhong": Today, in a family of five farmers, there are no less than two servants.
Those who can cultivate no more than a hundred acres, and the annual harvest from a hundred acres is three hundred dan.
The agricultural yield per mu in the Han Dynasty more than doubled compared to the Warring States Period!
However, although agricultural technology has advanced, the problems faced by farmers are still the same problems Li Kui encountered back then.
If the grain is cheap, it hurts the farmers; if the grain is expensive, it hurts the farmers.
There was a bumper harvest, but grain prices fell, so the money farmers received was not as good as in normal years.
When disaster strikes, the harvest is bad, and food prices rise. Farmers cannot afford food and seeds, so they have no choice but to sell their fields, children, and eventually go bankrupt.
Throughout China's feudal society of more than two thousand years, countless heroes and talented people have tried their best to solve this problem, but they have only been able to treat the symptoms rather than the root cause.
Of course Liu De cannot surpass those great names that shine in the long history.
However, Liu De stands on the shoulders of these giants.
Therefore, he sees further.
After fully absorbing the thoughts of politicians of all ages, and after more than ten years of tempering in his previous life, Liu De had vaguely found a way to alleviate this problem to the greatest extent.
So he comforted him and said: "Old people, there is no need to feel sad. The Holy Emperor is always paying attention to the sufferings of the people in the world, and is already making preparations to deal with the problem of low grain prices that hurt farmers. The days to come will definitely get better and better!"
"Really?" The old farmer's eyes bulged out, but the reputation of the emperor of the Han family was still strong, so he immediately said happily: "If this is really the case, the old man will be relieved. The emperor of the Han family is still facing us!"
Liu De felt a little sad after hearing this.
The farmers who live on the land beneath their feet will always be the backbone supporting this country and nation.
But from ancient times to the present, there have been very few rulers who truly took the suffering of farmers and the lives of the people into their hearts.
Just like in later generations, who shout to serve the people every day, how many people really have the people in their hearts?
Just like today, Cheap Daddy's thoughts are probably more on the princes of Guandong than on the people. Even Liu De himself did this mostly to build his reputation and did not really regard the sufferings of the people as his own sufferings.
!
But the people at the bottom have always regarded the rulers at the top as their saviors, until the rulers' credibility is exhausted and the people can no longer bear to be bullied and deceived.
"Let's handle this matter well!" Liu De thought, and his attitude also changed.
"You haven't asked me what your last name is yet?" Liu De asked with his hands raised.
"A humble name is not worthy of respect!" The old farmer said with a carefree smile: "It's just that the noble wants to know, and the old man doesn't dare to hide it. He has a humble surname and has lived in this pass for generations..."
After bidding farewell to the old farmer surnamed He, Liu De, accompanied by Zhang Tang, visited several more farmhouses.
What I saw was both good and bad.
However, the best-off farm families only have cattle at home and a large labor force, so they have more grain reserves.
And those from poor families are in extremely miserable condition.
For example, in a farming family, the husband was seriously injured while doing corvee work. After he came back, he managed to recover, but became disabled. From then on, all the burdens of the family fell on the wife. Thanks to the diligent wife of that family,
After hard work, they raised three sons and two daughters, but the family was completely destitute and owed more than a thousand dollars in debt. Generally speaking, it is difficult for farmers to pay off their debts, and sooner or later they will become someone else's.
Sharecropper or slave.
Liu De really couldn't see it, and he had the habits he brought from later generations, so he ordered people to fetch more than a thousand copper coins and gave them to the peasant woman to pay off the debt.
The family was naturally grateful and kowtowed. The peasant woman even intended to give her young daughter to Liu De, but Liu De refused.
After leaving that house, Liu De felt quite heavy.
You must know that this is Guanzhong, under the emperor's feet. The emperors of the Han Dynasty in the past dynasties have worked diligently to win over people's hearts, doing little corvee and underpaying taxes, and constantly reducing the burden on farmers.
But farmers are so fragile, and an accident can lead to the destruction of a happy family.
Just like this family, everything was fine at first, but once the pillar of the family fell down, the whole family was immediately in disaster. Unless that person's wife supported him, otherwise, it would have been the selling of sons and daughters.
"Zhang Tang..." Liu De turned around and asked: "You think, if I help them, will their situation get better?"
"Your Highness is kind and virtuous, the situation of this family will definitely improve greatly. Within a few years, it will be a well-off family!" Zhang Tang lowered his head and said.
"Haha..." Liu De knew that Zhang Tang had misunderstood. Zhang Tang would definitely give special care to this family in the future, including exemption from taxes and labor.
Liu De was too lazy to care about this.
However, there was a question lingering in his mind.
"I can help one family, ten families, but I can't help the whole world!"
………………………………
Huhu, thank you all, it has been listed on the historical category recommendation list 00
In addition, I have good news for everyone. I predict that there will be strong recommendations next week 00
Well, who urged me to update again, **am I addicted?
