Chapter 150: Close to the Sun

There are two methods, one is what Yang Chen had thought of before, and the other is what he learned from the Qing Dynasty.

Although the Qing Dynasty was a foreign race that ruled the Central Plains, there were many criticized problems in the process. It was known as the Signatory Dynasty, and in the later period it became the spokesperson for the great powers. However, as a dynasty, it still had its merits.

For example, vigorously promote agricultural books!
The agricultural teaching in the Qing Dynasty was very unique. In order to cultivate more population, they imitated Zhu’s school and taught people in various places how to grow food.

The orders from above were issued, but the people below carried them out in a very chaotic manner.

The original intention was to teach people how to grow food in a serious manner, but in the end it evolved into using the method of growing crops in flower pots to teach people how to farm.

This situation resulted in everyone in the Qing Dynasty having something to say about farming.

When people from Great Britain came, they felt that the atmosphere in farming throughout the Qing Dynasty was quite extreme. Regardless of whether the land could be used for farming or whether it was suitable for farming, they would dig a hole and bury the seeds in it.

As long as you have two handfuls of soil, you can grow two cucumbers.

As the number increased, the quality also improved miraculously, so that the population of the Qing Dynasty reached 40 million.

To put it bluntly, the essence of changing the farming method is to ensure that the people have something to eat so that they don’t have no choice but to eat tree bark and Guanyin soil.

If the people can make the best use of every acre of land to exchange for food, they will not rise up in rebellion and overthrow the current rule.

This was an era when technology was not well developed. Unless they were powerful and wealthy, they could not see the outside world at all, so their desires were naturally not so high.

The two books now appeared in the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao respectively. Zhu Yuanzhang also waved to Yang Siyi to come forward and read them together.

There were only Yang Chen and Zhu Gang below. They looked at each other, one was very curious about the other, and the other felt a little reserved towards the other.

Zhu Gang had inquired about Yang Chen’s identity. On the surface, the young man’s background seemed very clean and there was almost no doubt about it. The only thing that could be doubted was that it was too innocent, so innocent that it seemed as if it was fake.

According to his sixth sense, Zhu Gang believed that this friend must be related to his father, so he asked his elder brother Zhu Chong and younger brother Zhu Di. However, the moment they learned that neither Zhu Da nor Zhu Biao had told him his identity, they both kept silent.

Zhu Di was also a smart man. He clearly remembered that Yang Chen had imprinted his teachings in his mind and must never let something similar to what happened to Xu Da happen again.

He was exposed with just one sentence, let alone talking about him. Old Zhu also gave some reminders after understanding the situation.

Looking at the two books, although their weight is no different from other books, I always feel that they are of great significance and as heavy as Mount Tai.

He judged:
“The content compiled by Brother Yang is of great significance to the Ming Dynasty. If the effects of farming combined with fertilizers are brought about, the population that the Ming Dynasty can support can at least increase by 30 to 40 percent!”

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn’t help but get excited and raised his eyebrows to look at Yang Siyi.

He used to be a farmer, so he naturally knew how to cultivate the fields and understood the actual yield of grain. When it came to farming, Lao Zhu was absolutely unambiguous.

“Minister Yang, do you think that according to what is written in this book, we can achieve the 30% or 40% that Biaoer said?”

Yang Siyi thought for a moment and then replied:

“According to the above methods of changing farming methods, I think we may be able to achieve the effect that the prince mentioned. The Ming Dynasty is vast and boundless, with mountains, rivers, and plains. The climate conditions in every place are different. But as long as we follow the solar terms and use chemical fertilizers and these methods, once the effect can be confirmed, let alone providing for 30% to 40% more people, even 50% may not be impossible!”

Anyone who has played Age of Empires knows that if you want to make your country strong, you need all kinds of food. There are many ways to obtain food, including gathering, farming, or even hunting.

Even if you own a large area of ​​land, there are still people who are willing to use multiple methods to obtain food.

The method proposed by Yang Chen actually had similar records in the Western Han Dynasty.

According to the “Qimin Yaoshu”, “Grain fields must be changed every year, and if you want to get good hemp fields, don’t use old wastelands.”

The general meaning of these two sentences is to emphasize that the crop types in grain fields need to be changed every year to avoid continuous planting of the same crop which leads to soil degradation and accumulation of pests and diseases. It points out that crops such as hemp and grains should be planted in fertile new fields and avoid being planted in old fields or continuously cropped fields in order to maintain soil fertility and crop yields.

Without exception, they all point out the importance of crop rotation and equal cultivation.

In addition, there were similar summaries in the Song Dynasty.

The Book of Agriculture written by Chen Xu in the Southern Song Dynasty mentioned that crop rotation can conserve the land, keep the soil fertility fresh, diversify the crops, hope for a good harvest, adapt to local conditions, rotate crops reasonably, rotate and fallow, and make sustainable use of the land.

These books generally emphasize the element of adapting to local conditions. Unfortunately, all agricultural books are in the hands of the powerful and wealthy, who use their influence to monopolize the dissemination of books, making it so that the common people are completely unaware of the existence of these books.

In contrast, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty were well aware that people would rebel if they were hungry, so they promoted it vigorously.

In addition, the Qing Dynasty had a rich variety of species at that time, and the powerful class used the trade monopoly to access the products of the industrial revolution overseas. Various fertilizers and inventions that could increase grain production were traded to the Central Plains.

During the Yongzheng period, the north was able to implement a farming model of four crops in three years or three crops in two years.

There are many types of farming in the Guanzhong region. Wheat and peas are harvested in winter, and the area is not idle during the summer. Then, wheat is planted in autumn, thus achieving a three-year, four-crop rotation farming model.

This is true in the north, not to mention the south. After the Ming Dynasty experienced the Little Ice Age, the climate recovered and the overall warming was like a powerful medicine for the Qing Dynasty. The already warm and humid climate in the south became even more suitable for farming.

In the Qing Dynasty after the Yongzheng period, it was common practice to harvest rice and wheat fields twice a year.

In the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, which are close to Southeast Asia in terms of latitude, a farming model of three crops a year, namely wheat, rice and lettuce, has been formed.

Annual grain output has increased by more than a quarter compared to the Ming Dynasty!

Why was the Qing Dynasty able to do this while previous dynasties failed?

There are three reasons
First of all, there is the influence of climate. I won’t say much about the Little Ice Age in the Ming Dynasty. The ice and severe cold moved southward and no one could do anything about it.

The second is that the summarized books have not really been disseminated to the people.

The culture of the Central Plains is splendid and colorful, and each era has different technical summaries. During the Yongle period of Zhu Di, the knowledge of thousands of years was summarized and compiled, and money was spent to write the “Yongle Encyclopedia”, although these four words were ruined by many people in later generations.

If only the powerful people of the time were willing to spread the contents to the people, perhaps the end of the Ming Dynasty would not have been so tragic.

The third factor is naturally the technological factor.

The economic base determines the superstructure. During the Ming Dynasty, the Western world had gradually opened the door to mankind’s yearning for the world of science and technology under the enlightenment of the Renaissance.

By the Qing Dynasty, modern Western technology had become popular, and more scientific methods were being adopted to increase grain harvests. Coupled with the emergence of fertilizers and other magical tools, the basic conditions for achieving two or even three crops a year were naturally met.

After pondering the importance of these things, Zhu Biao followed Yang Siyi’s words. “If the people could see the increase in grain production brought about by these two books and fertilizers, I can’t believe how many more incense temples there would be for Brother Yang among the people.”

Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyes sparkled with brilliance.

“We will unite all the friends we can with the people. I don’t believe anyone will be able to compete with me for power and profit. All those guys with bad intentions will be defeated!”

Yang Siyi complimented:

“What your Majesty said is absolutely true!”

He was referring to the powerful and wealthy people in the Ming Dynasty.

Why were these gentry unwilling to give up the land? Wasn’t it because they monopolized advanced knowledge, used small tricks to make the land fertile and the grain harvest abundant, and then used this bowl of rice to make the farmers work hard for them?

Ordinary people who only have a few acres of land cannot survive on their own if they encounter a major disaster. On the contrary, it is different for the big landowners.

Whenever there is a major disaster, they start to act like evil, buying up the best means of production at the lowest prices and even tying up the lives of entire families of common people.

What Lao Zhu hates the most is these, because to a certain extent, these are all his lands!

He was the one who conquered the country, so why should he allow these guys who persecute the people to occupy it?
There has to be someone or an organization to occupy this land. Since he is the emperor, why can’t he be the judge?
As for the gentry, Zhu Yuanzhang thought that he had done enough. He had given them money, people, land, and status. What else was there to be dissatisfied about?
Old Zhu was filled with joy and felt that Yang Chen looked more and more pleasing to the eye today. Even his tone of voice became much gentler, which was completely different from his previous appearance.

“Besides the two books, what else is special about this strategy?”

“Of course.” Yang Chen said as a matter of course.

“The best strategy I mentioned just now is the immigration policy. The location of this immigration is the American continent, which is thousands of miles away and connected to the Central Plains Ming Dynasty. As for the middle strategy, I think in addition to promoting fertilizers and agricultural books, we can also open up a simple and convenient immigration route, which the Ming Dynasty can do.”

Zhu Biao seemed to understand the meaning of this, and asked carefully:

“From what Brother Yang said, this middle strategy is also immigration?”

Yang Chen nodded:
“Yes, the two books are mainly auxiliary. Secondly, it is still about immigration. The expedition to the American continent is difficult and dangerous. It is impossible to immigrate all the Ming navy. The people are the main thing. However, most of the people in the Ming Dynasty have never been to the sea in their lives. If there is a big storm or a naval battle, the people who have never been on a ship will definitely vomit and have diarrhea and feel dizzy. Some people may even die from discomfort.

For this reason, I suggest that Zhongce’s immigration strategy should consider exploring the southern and western regions of Ming Dynasty.”

Speaking of the south and the west, Zhu Gang thought of the unconquered country that his father had told them about before, so Hu said inexplicably:
“Yang Yushi, overseas colonization must be done in places with abundant resources. How could you let the Ming Dynasty advance south and west?

My father once told us that the main force of the Ming Dynasty will definitely be in the north in the future, and the southern seas are mostly small countries, so they are listed as countries that will not be conquered. “

As soon as he finished speaking, Lao Zhu’s face changed.

During a conversation not long ago, he clearly remembered that Yang Chen pointed at him and said that Zhu Yuanzhang was a man without vision. He made many useless rules, but within a few decades, the timeliness of his policies became obvious.

In the end, his descendants will be restricted and unable to show their talents.

Especially for this unconquered country, his idea at the beginning was very simple.

These countries are far away across the sea and in isolated corners. If the Ming Dynasty launches an attack, the supplies will certainly be insufficient. In addition, the land is full of miasma, poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, which can be regarded as an ominous sign.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on top, holding his forehead and thinking:

“This child can’t speak, so why not just stay quiet?”

“Your Majesty, you did say that you would list the small countries in the South China Sea as those that you would not conquer. The reason is very simple. Your Majesty believes that this place is short of resources and has a backward culture. In addition, the money spent in the conquest process cannot be earned back from here, so it is a losing business.”

Instead of saying that his thinking was backward as expected, he spoke very objectively. Zhu Biao looked at Yang Chen differently and wondered why this kid wasn’t so sharp-tongued today?
When no one interrupted, Yang Chen continued his analysis:

“The real place of the Chinese strategy colonization I mentioned is an archipelago in the South China Sea called Luzon.”

When Luzon was mentioned, Yang Siyi stood up and spoke.

“Your Majesty, I know about Luzon. A few years ago, they organized many ships from Southeast Asia to reach Ming along the old trade routes. I was the one who arranged the reception at that time.

Since the Song Dynasty began to engage in trade, and even during the Yuan Dynasty’s rule over the Central Plains, many sailors from the Central Plains have come here. In order to survive in such a barren place as Fujian, many people chose to take trading ships to Luzon. As far as I know, Luzon has always been in a state of conflict, and there has never been any strong leader who could unify the country. “

Yang Chen looked at Yang Siyi with admiration. He didn’t expect that this guy knew so much about Luzon. He was worthy of being the old man who served as the Minister of Revenue.

According to the timeline, it took at least until the late Yongle period for the Sulu Kingdom to gradually grow and occupy most of Luzon’s territory. Even so, Luzon had too many islands and its civilization was too weak, so it was impossible to achieve a great unification like the Central Plains by relying solely on local forces.

A century later, Magellan led the Spanish fleet on a circumnavigation of the sea and arrived in Luzon. Relying on its powerful firepower, Spain swept away all local civilizations. From then on, Luzon became the first territory of the Southeast Asian countries to be colonized by the Western powers.

This colonization lasted for nearly three centuries.

Yang Chen proposed to colonize Southeast Asia at this time for no particular reason, simply because he did not want this piece of fat meat to fall into the hands of others.

The Spaniards were able to colonize Luzon across half the globe for three hundred years, so why couldn’t the Ming Dynasty take over this country built at the doorstep of its territorial waters? Not to mention that the people of this country have always been destined to be slaves. This was not a joke by Yang Chen, but a fact.

He clearly remembered that later calculations using modern technology revealed that one-tenth of the country’s economy was derived from its own people working as servants overseas.

If they had any backbone, why would they let their own women work as servants all over the world?
Now, while these “savages” are occupying the Feng Shui treasure land and doing nothing, the Ming Dynasty can easily seize it. If it is not included in the Ming Dynasty’s territory, Yang Chen will feel guilty about it.

“Why would Censor Yang want the Ming Dynasty to capture such a chaotic place?” Zhu Gang asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Not only him, Zhu Biao also felt very confused.

“Yes, Brother Yang, this place is as chaotic as Japan. If the people of Fujian hadn’t gone there, I’m afraid they would still be living a life of eating raw meat and eating blood. If it weren’t for their spices and various specialties, the people of Fujian wouldn’t come here to make a living.”

Yang Chen hesitated for a moment before saying:

“You will understand what I said. You can imagine this place as a Guilin as big as Jiangsu. Jiangsu is too small. Anhui should be added. Luzon is also not small in area.

As a small country in Southeast Asia, Luzon has a unique climate environment. As a country where all of its areas except the north are within the ten degrees of the equator, its climate is hotter than the entire Central Plains. The Little Ice Age had little impact on this place. At the same time, there is abundant rainfall. Unless there is a historic tsunami with strong winds and heavy rains, it will not affect the local ecological environment. ”

“Um, Censor Yang? May I ask what the ten degrees of the equator are?” Zhu Gang was very confused. He could understand them separately, so why couldn’t he understand them when they were combined together?
“Third brother, the equator means the place close to the sun.” Zhu Biao explained for Yang Chen.

(End of this chapter)