These words calmed Lysenko's nervous heart a lot. "It is an honor for me to help another country develop agriculture. But your achievements also surprised me. You used a variety of methods to make food in a swamp." Increase production. At first, I even doubted the data, but it turns out that you did produce a large amount of food, thus sustaining the survival of tens of thousands of people. This is your achievement. I really want to know what methods you used."
"You want to hear it?"
"Of course, maybe I can learn some new knowledge from you. You know, the Alliance really needs to increase food production."
Yang Mingzhi nodded. No matter who Lysenko is, he is the president of the Academy of Sciences. He can be a pseudoscientist, but most people in the Academy of Sciences are real experts. Tell Lysenko his experience, and maybe Lysenko can relay it to those experts. .
"Then let me just talk about it. I ordered the soldiers and civilians to collect their own excrement, as well as the excrement of poultry and livestock, to use it as fertilizer. Later, we used peat that can be found everywhere in the area to produce primary ammonia and pour it into the fields, and in the swamps We looked for suitable silt to further fertilize the fields. We even made ammonium nitrate, which was used partly as a fertilizer and partly as a weapon."
"Oh, it's incredible! You! You are actually producing fertilizer."
"Yes. After all, we need a lot of explosives, and some types of fertilizers can themselves be used as military explosives. After all, the swampland has the most basic industrial capabilities and a group of industrial talents. Since the completion of the fertilizer plant, our food has been Increase production on a larger scale.”
Of course Lysenko knew that the use of chemical fertilizers could lead to high grain yields, but the Soviet Union's current fertilizer production was stretched thin. Due to the war, the original new fertilizer plant construction project was shelved indefinitely, and the original fertilizer plants also began to produce explosives.
The entire country has mobilized almost all industrial power for war, and the country's capital and technological investment in agriculture have shrunk significantly.
It is such a dilemma that the vast majority of collective farms must use traditional farming methods. As for chemical fertilizers? It does not exist at all.
So, without chemical fertilizers, can we use some technical means to achieve high yields of crops?
This is what Lysenko is proud of!
"General, you must know that agriculture in most areas of the alliance is cultivated according to traditional methods. The swamps you and your comrades operate use chemical fertilizers, which is really a gratifying example. I know that you mainly cultivate It’s potatoes, this excellent crop can always produce high yields in harsh environments.”
"Yes, we can grow wheat, but when we think about the wait for wheat to be harvested for a year, the plan has to change. Only potatoes can be harvested within three months."
Lysenko nodded: "If you can freeze the potato tubers in advance, its growth cycle will be shortened and it will also bring high yields during harvest."
"Oh? Is this true?"
"It's true." Lysenko smiled confidently, "This is called vernalization. Farmers in Tsarist Russia used this method to harvest wheat early. I focused on this phenomenon, and after careful research, I obtained Major scientific research results. I can responsibly tell you that almost all crops, if we give them low-temperature freezing in advance, can induce them to accelerate growth. You should understand that most of the Soviet Union’s land is cold, and the long winter makes us We must make use of the limited warm period to harvest more, and we must accelerate the growth of crops, just like we accelerated industrialization during the 1525 period. Only by doing this can we bring about national prosperity."
"Almost all crops?" Yang Mingzhi disagreed. Perhaps freezing wheat seeds can speed up the growth of wheat.
Yang Mingzhi's understanding of agriculture was very limited. After listening to Lysenko for a long time, he suddenly felt that winter wheat is often sown in North China in October every year. It often snows in the North China Plain in November, and the wheat has just sprouted.
It is covered with snow. It is said that auspicious snow heralds a good harvest. The wheat seedlings covered with snow will bring about a bumper harvest in the coming year.
Is this also a kind of "vernalization treatment"?
Wheat is like this, so can potatoes be like this. Yang Mingzhi felt that Lysenko was too optimistic, so in order to avoid embarrassment, he had to follow his words, so to speak.
"Freeze it? Comrade Dean, you reminded me that the potatoes we harvested last year have been stored in the warehouse. Almost every potato has gone through the cold of winter. Maybe this is what is called freezing? By the end of February this year, we found that the land
It has loosened up and the temperature has started to get warmer. We started planting at this moment, and as a result, we had a bumper harvest in May!
I have always felt that this is because of the use of fertilizers and people's careful care. Perhaps, it is actually because we inadvertently used the vernalization treatment you advocated that we had a good harvest."
"Of course! Absolutely!"
Lysenko suddenly felt like he had been shocked. He stood up so suddenly that half of the red wine in the goblet was spilled.
This person's bluster really frightened Yang Mingzhi: "Comrade Dean, don't get excited."
"How can I not be excited, Comrade General, you have provided me with a success story. I really need success."
There are some things that Lysenko really doesn't want to tell the outside world. That is his "vernalization treatment technology" that is regarded as a universal magic weapon. There have been some problems in its application this year.
The autumn grain harvest in the Soviet-controlled areas is about to begin, and a large number of agricultural technicians have entered the fields to inspect. Statistics obtained by Lysenko indicate that this year's grain (mainly wheat) output can reach up to 35 million tons.
Comparing the output of 95 million tons of grain in 1940, Lysenko pessimistically believes that the grain production capacity in the alliance-controlled areas has shrunk to one-third of its pre-war level.
"Vernalization treatment" is used in many collective farms. This year, I am afraid it will not bring about a gratifying increase in production.
Lysenko has already thought of countermeasures, either claiming to the whole society that the biggest reason for the sluggish grain production is that the enemy has occupied most of the grain-producing areas, and the second is that this year's climate is generally cold. There is only one thing, his scientific research results are
Absolutely correct, there is no doubt about it!
Regardless of the effect of the chemical fertilizers used by General Belekov on increasing potato yields, the general also used the "vernalization" method after all.
A wonderful case has emerged, and Lysenko feels that he can use this case to silence the opponents!
Throughout the alliance, Lysenko will always have academic enemies. A large group of people denounce him as a pseudoscientist and a complete liar.
If you cut off the legs of a mother animal, the offspring will have certain leg defects. If you continue to cut off the legs of the offspring, the leg defects of the next generation will become more serious. Generation after generation of cutting off and reproduction will eventually lead to
Breeding little beasts without legs.
The Lysenko Group stubbornly agrees with this set of genetic theories and denounces those pioneers who support genetic science as "anti-Soviet elements."
His success was almost entirely due to Stalin's support.
After all, for Stalin, before World War II, his personal prestige in the country was limited. At this time, Lysenko, the leader of the Soviet scientific community, respected Stalin as he respected his father, and even knelt down and kissed Stalin's toes, happy
Stalin, who had many supporters, had no reason not to support this genetics expert.
Especially during the Great Purge, Stalin eliminated a large number of dissidents. Lysenko was his spokesperson in the scientific community, and many scientists were purged.
Suddenly fewer people openly questioned Lysenko, and more people chose to tolerate it.
Lysenko finally achieved the highest status in the Soviet scientific community, but he also knew that standing in a high position was always full of dangers. Once he lost the support of the leader, those opponents would inevitably stand up and attack him.
Because Lysenko is just a scientific worker.
He gradually felt that he was beginning to encounter a crisis of trust. If the food production could not be high, then...
Lysenko tried his best to suppress his inner worries and tried to be optimistic on the surface.
However, years of wheat harvest data will eventually prove that his theory is a fallacy. He cannot bring about an increase in grain production for the alliance. The only thing that can bring about an increase in production is the widespread use of chemical fertilizers!
Especially now, the alliance needs a large amount of food to save the hungry people. Now, the huge food gap almost depends on American aid.
There are still about two weeks until the wheat harvest, and the "vernalization treatment" theory has not yet gone bankrupt.
Lysenko tried to remain optimistic and faced Yang Mingzhi with a confident face: "General, the full wheat harvest will be in two weeks at the latest. I went to see the wheat fields near Novosibirsk, and the situation this year is very good. Although the wheat seems to have matured late.
One point, the overall earing condition is very good. I’m sure it will be a bumper harvest this year.”
"Good harvest! It's so wonderful." Yang Mingzhi poured wine for himself, and even filled up Lysenko's wine glass. He raised the goblet: "I wish you great success, and I wish the alliance a great victory."
After talking a lot about agriculture with Lysenko, Yang Mingzhi went to the dining table to get some snacks and even nibbled on a fresh apple.
Smart soldiers all know that the military rations required in a long war are by no means as simple as bread and canned meat. People who eat these things for a long time will still get sick. If some lemons and oranges can be added to the military rations, people will really stay healthy.
Yang Mingzhi didn't know where the Academy of Sciences got apples, blood oranges and other fresh fruits. Anyway, they were already on the dining table. It was wrong not to eat them.
The hungry people turned the buffet into a gluttonous feast. Yang Mingzhi noticed that everyone had a big appetite, including his wife. She was really carrying out his orders and was actually tearing into the roast lamb with all her heart.
At the end, Yang Mingzhi suddenly felt hungry, and he was probably the one who had eaten the least.
…
The buffet that was supposed to be elegant has changed. Look at the diners, they are really leaning in and out.
Yang Mingzhi patted Second Lieutenant Grischenko's belly maliciously, feeling as if a stone had fallen inside.
"Comrade Second Lieutenant, how much have you eaten tonight?!"
"I don't know, maybe there's a pig?"
"No, I see you are already a pig. Listen, eating too much is not a good thing."
"You are right to criticize." Grishenko pointed lightly at the star fruit that was still stuffing cream cake into his mouth: "Sir, you should look at your wife. She finished eating the mutton and then went to eat cake. She
He is so thin and small, if he continues like this..."
"It's time to shut her up!"
Starfruit was forcibly stopped eating by her husband, even though the girl was really like a child, whining for more cakes.
"You girl, if you eat any more, you will become a fat pig!"
"Alas! It's you who lets me eat more, and it's you who doesn't let me eat more."
"New orders now! Shut up!"
Yang Mingzhi no longer cared about that much, so he pulled his wife and retreated. Perhaps the action was a little too extreme. As soon as he pulled his wife aside, her face suddenly changed, and then she punched him in the chest.
"Ah! What's wrong with you!" Yang Mingzhi was shocked.
"I'm choking! Hurry! Shoot me quickly."
"That's crazy!" Yang Mingzhi suddenly raised his head: "Grishenko! Wait a while before fiddling with your belt buckle! Bring me a glass of water."
At the critical moment, the restaurant staff responded quickly. After drinking a glass of warm water, Carambola felt like he had entered heaven and everything was so beautiful.
But her scar healed and she forgot about the pain, also because human beings' instinctive pursuit of sweets will not end when they are full.
Among all advanced creatures, probably only humans have the sugar-loving gene. Star fruit succumbed to its instinctive desire for sugar and wanted to continue stuffing cream cakes into its stomach.
"Brother! At least, at least let me finish the cream!"
"That's enough, I've never seen you so willful, that's it for now!"
"Well……"
It was such an unsmiling episode. At this moment, all the food on the table had almost disappeared.
Lysenko came closer and said: "Comrade General, your wife likes cream cakes very much? This is not a problem. If you want, I can order the canteen to make this every day."
"Forget it! That thing can turn my lovely wife into a fat person, and I don't like it at all." As he said that, Yang Mingzhi stroked his wife's little head with a gentle warning: "What do you think?"
"Well... let's forget it."
The Academy of Sciences actually spent a lot of money for this buffet. Lysenko was actually very happy that the general and his wife did not intend to make excessive demands on the catering, so that the Academy of Sciences' funding situation would be better.
After all, many ingredients have been transported thousands of miles for this meal, especially those fruits produced in southern Russia and the Caucasus. Now just harvesting is at risk.
After the banquet, Lysenko's reception was over, and the next step was the general's own business.
After finishing their meal, everyone walked to the main door of the guest house. The doors and windows were now closed, and the cool breeze blew in through the cracks in the door. The coolness made Yang Mingzhi a little worried.
It's really hot inside the guest house, and it's even warmer than spring. There is a huge temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, and people are at risk of catching a cold when they suddenly go cold and hot.
Lysenko approached again: "Comrade General, my work is over now."
"Ah? You..."
"Don't worry about anything. You will go to your Pripyat Arms Design Bureau. Your residence is also there. Please rest assured that we will never neglect a general."
Yang Mingzhi nodded, Li Senko should have arranged everything. He suddenly asked a lot: "How is my new house? Is it centrally heated? Is there a big bed for us and my wife to rest?"
"Yes! Of course there are, even soft beds with springs."
"Oh! How wonderful!"
Being able to sleep on a soft bed is really a cure-all for a long journey. Yang Mingzhi actually doesn't care about soft or hard beds, but his wife, from her rosy smiling face, it can be seen that she is full of expectations for the future life.
"General, please wait a moment, the car will be here soon. Of course, if you are willing, the journey is not far."
"It's better to walk. We ate too much to eat. Besides, my guards and I should be together." (To be continued)