There are three granite islands more than 20 kilometers off the southern coast of Peru. Because there are abundant fish near the islands, the density of seabirds is very high. Millions of years have left a 45-meter-thick layer of feces on the islands.
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Peruvian guano can be said to be a better fertilizer than chemical fertilizers. According to later scientific analysis, guano contains approximately 15% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus, and 3% potassium. It is a natural compound fertilizer.
According to records by European agriculturists in the mid-19th century, using Peruvian guano as fertilizer could triple crop yields.
According to records, Peru has exported 13 million tons of guano to European and American countries since 2001, which can be said to have completely monopolized the Western fertilizer industry. Conservative estimates suggest that in the first year of being shipped to the West, Peru exported 13 million tons of guano to European and American countries.
The production of tens of millions of tons of grain was increased. And after the grain was consumed, the fertilizer was recycled, and it is unknown how much grain production was increased.
It can even be said that without Peruvian guano, Western countries would have fallen into serious food shortages before the advent of chemical fertilizers.
For something like this that changed an era, Li Zhi certainly wanted to use it on a large scale.
More than 10 million tons of guano in Peru have been taken by Li Zhi. Of course, it is still difficult to develop these guano resources in South America, and Li Zhi has not yet opened a shipping lane across the Pacific Ocean.
But Li Zhi remembered that there are also millions of tons of guano resources in the Xisha Islands. If all the guano resources in the Xisha Islands are developed, Li Zhi's food production can be greatly increased.
In the original history, the Japanese stole a large amount of guano from the Xisha Islands in the early 20th century and transported hundreds of thousands of tons of it. This shows how precious this resource is.
When the resources in the Paracel Islands are exhausted, Li Zhi can go to Peru to mine guano.
Li Zhi smiled and said: "From now on, your Zheng family fleet will be responsible for transporting guano from the Paracel Islands, Taiwan, Shandong, Tianjin and Liaodong."
Zheng Chenggong was stunned and said: "My lord, the ships in my fleet are all sailing ships. Due to the monsoon, we can only go back and forth from Xisha once a year. It is probably not cost-effective to transport bird droppings."
Li Zhi nodded and said: "It is of course unrealistic to transport bird droppings on a sailboat. We have to transport it by ship."
Compared with sailing ships, which can only make one round trip per year with the help of monsoon winds, ships can shuttle across the ocean all year round, greatly reducing transportation costs. Only with the low transportation cost of ships, is it possible to transport guano across the ocean. So
After steamship transportation became very developed in 1840, Peruvian guano was used on a large scale.
Li Zhi patted Zheng Chenggong on the shoulder and said: "I will invest in twenty large ships to establish a national guano transportation company and leave it to you, Zheng Chenggong, to manage. I have prepared these ships and are waiting for your people to board them.
!I heard that your Zheng family has lost a lot of people. From now on, all the sailors who have not been lost from your Zheng family will work on the ship."
"You manage this transportation company for me, and I appoint you to guard Xisha."
"The monthly salary standard of the Zheng family's sailors is on par with other shipping teams under my command!"
When Zheng Chenggong heard Li Zhi's words, his face flushed with excitement. How could a young man not be excited when he suddenly got promoted and made a fortune?
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On September 16th, Lei San stood in front of the "Guano Fertilizer Store" with a huge sign, hesitating.
There was a pungent smell in front of the guano shop, which made Lei San feel nauseous.
Although newspapers have repeatedly promoted the benefits of bird droppings, as the first person to eat crabs, Lei San is still a little undecided. The bags of bird droppings look dark and nothing special, really.
Can it increase the yield per mu by 10% or even double as the newspaper said?
This batch of guano was the first batch. The clerks in the store didn't seem to get used to the smell. They all stood at the door of the store to get some air.
Seeing Lei San, the shopkeeper came up to him and said, "General, are you going to buy guano soil to make fertilizer for the farms in Liaodong?"
Although Lei San did not wear an officer's uniform, the aura of a serious officer he carried was immediately recognized by the well-informed shopkeeper. With a single opening of his mouth, the shopkeeper knew Lei San's origins.
Lei San looked at the shopkeeper and asked, "Can this guano soil really increase the yield per mu?"
The shopkeeper took out a piece of "Tianjin Daily" from his sleeve. Turning to the second page, the shopkeeper pointed to an article and said: "Look, this reporter interviewed the Duke of Guo, and the Duke of Guo said,
This guano soil is a compound fertilizer, rich in nitrogen and phosphorus elements that wheat needs. Apply one hundred pounds per acre as base fertilizer, then use twenty pounds as seed fertilizer, and twenty pounds as top dressing, and the yield will increase by at least 50%!"
The shopkeeper smiled: "General, you don't have to believe me, but you still don't believe what the Duke said?"
Lei San came to buy guano after reading that article. Seeing the shopkeeper read the newspaper again, he nodded.
The shopkeeper asked out of curiosity: "General, how many acres of land do you have in Liaodong?"
Lei San was a man of few words and did not want to say a word more. He did not answer the shopkeeper's irrelevant questions.
Seeing that Lei San didn't answer him, the shopkeeper smiled and said: "General, this guano soil was transported from the Xisha Islands thousands of miles away. The Duke of Guo selected a refugee from Henan who gathered in Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province.
Thousands of people were sent to the Xisha Islands to dig out guano, and Zheng Chenggong was selected to guard the Xisha Islands and specialize in transportation. It was extremely difficult to get it."
"Not many people come to buy guano fertilizer nowadays. To be honest, General, you are the first one. The store's superiors have stipulated that the first month is half price! We sell the guano soil that was originally two cents per catty for one penny per catty.
General. General, how much do you want to buy?"
Lei San stood in front of the guano shop and thought for a while, then asked: "I bought this guano, how can I transport it to the Liaodong farm?"
The shopkeeper said: "The Duke has thought of it for you merchants! There is a newly opened carriage and horse shop next door. One carriage can transport 1,200 kilograms. The carriage is transported to Dagu and transferred to shipping.
After arriving in Jinzhou, go to the pier to find a carriage and horse shop, and then use a carriage to transport it to the general's farm."
"After all the miscellaneous calculations, one pound of bird droppings costs about one penny. When the Duke's railway is repaired in the future, the freight will be cheaper."
Afraid that Lei San would be frightened by the expensive freight, the shopkeeper added: "Although the freight is expensive, it is definitely worth it. If General, your field output does not increase by 50%, my small shop will close down!"
Lei San said calmly: "I'll buy fifty taels of guano soil first and try it!"
Seeing Lei San buying fifty taels in one go, the shopkeeper was stunned, and turned to look at his assistant. The shopkeeper secretly thought that this was a high official, and the farm should exceed at least one thousand acres.
The shopkeeper turned around, the smile on his face became brighter, and said: "No problem, General, you sit down first, and I will load the car with your bird droppings."
Lei San really couldn't stand the stench of this guano shop, but his character didn't like to embarrass others, so he would not directly talk about the stench problem. He just said lightly: "I won't sit down. I'm going to buy something else."
Please load the car for me. I will come over in an hour and give you the money then." chaptererror;
