Chapter 185: The Shocked Guo Jia
Zhang Yu returned to Jiangdong, and this time he went out for only two months.
In two months, Zhang Yu gained more than 300,000 points.
Zhang Yu dared to build roads, this point is also an important reason.
Points can be exchanged for food directly, so Zhang Yu has the confidence.
"My lord, why are these people still opening up wasteland on a large scale? You must know that the farming season has passed, so what's the point of opening up wasteland at this time." Guo Jia asked.
When I first entered Kuaiji County, it was already more than May, and the general farming time had passed.
The rice has already been sown, and it is too late to open up wasteland at this time.
"My lord, it's not easy to divert water on this mountainside, why is there someone opening up wasteland?"
Guo Jia had more and more questions. Zhang Yu liked to investigate everywhere along the way, and Guo Jia also followed.
Zhang Yu walked some places and started to reclaim a lot of land after seeing the spring sowing.
Of course, Zhang Yu also has a plan, because the seeds are limited in the first year.
Zhang Yu exchanged 1,000,000 points for sweet potato seeds, and the system will give 100,000 units of seeds, that is, vines. After that, he wants to add more points, one vine for each point.
So the seeds are limited, mainly because Zhang Yu is not willing to spend too many points, because there are still many things that need to be exchanged.
"Some of these lands are planted with sweet potatoes and potatoes, and some are planted with tea," Zhang Yu said.
"Sweet potatoes, potatoes?" Guo Jia asked.
"Yes, these are two edible plants that can be used as staple food. The most important thing is that the yield can be increased by more than 20 to 30 times." Zhang Yu said.
Guo Jia was stunned for a moment.
The output is increased by dozens of times, what is the concept, that is, the same piece of land can feed dozens of times more people.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the population skyrocketed, and in the Qing Dynasty, it increased by hundreds of millions. An important reason for this was the promotion of sweet potatoes.
"My lord, can it really increase grain production by dozens of times?" Guo Jia asked in surprise.
Zhang Yu nodded. This sweet potato not only increases production, but is also easy to manage. It can be grown in many places, and the requirements are not as high as rice.
Guo Jia's heart surged, what kind of concept is this.
Kuaiji County can feed a lot of people, and they don't even have to worry about food in the future.
This Kuaiji County will no longer be a remote place, but will soon prosper.
Knowing Zhang Yu's strategy, Guo Jia continued to recruit refugees from various places, and with enough food, his strength soon became stronger.
Suddenly, Guo Jia felt that coming to Kuaiji County was a very good choice.
Zhang Yu took Guo Jia and some guards to continue walking in the field, which led to a small hill.
On the top of the mountain, there are tea gardens that have been opened up. Some of these tea gardens have been planted with tea trees and have grown taller.
"This year's autumn tea can catch up." Zhang Yu said looking at the hills.
Guo Jia followed Zhang Yu around and found many novel things.
Guo Jia was amazed by the Quyuan plow and the water wheel in the field. These are great inventions, and they can increase the existence of food several times.
The reason is very simple. Let’s talk about Quyuanli. Originally, one person can grow five acres, but with Quyuanli, it may be tens of acres. This increases the planting area and increases the output.
After wandering around outside, Zhang Yu finally returned to the prefect's mansion.
"Feng Xiao, you are finally here. I have been happy for several days to receive the letter from the lord." As soon as he entered the prefect's mansion, Xi Zhicai greeted him happily.
"Zhicai really didn't deceive me. This Kuaiji County is really different from other places." Guo Jia said.
"Haha, okay, let's go in and talk, and call Zibu and the others over," Zhang Yu said.
Xi Zhicai bowed to Zhang Yu and said, "Master, as soon as I heard that you have returned, Zibu and the others have already arrived."
In fact, Zhang Zhao and the others also usually work in the prefect's mansion, but there are too many management matters, and they often go to the scene in person, so they are often not in the prefect's mansion.
A few people went in, Zhang Zhao and Xiang Heng were already waiting inside, but they were still busy with their hands, until Zhang Yu came in,
They stopped what they were doing.
After Zhang Yu introduced them to each other, he entered the topic.
"Zibu, please tell Fengxiao the current situation in Kuaiji County." Zhang Yu said.
Zhang Zhao began to introduce that the population of Kuaiji County has not increased much, only tens of thousands.
However, there are a lot of land reclaimed according to the statistics.
According to Zhang Zhao's statistics, Kuaiji County can support at least several times the population.
"My lord, look, what is this." After introducing it, Zhang Zhao took out the paper on the table and said.
Zhang Yu had actually seen the paper, but he was not surprised at all.
"My lord, the paper is really made, and it can still be written normally. From now on, we will never need bamboo slips again." Zhang Zhao said excitedly.
Zhang Yu calmed down a lot, but Guo Jia was not.
He had heard about paper. Cai Lun was from the Eastern Han Dynasty. He invented paper, but that paper was useless at all.
But the paper that Xi Zhicai took out had words clearly written on it.
Guo Jia stood up, rushed over, and took the paper.
"This is paper, it's really paper, and the texture is so good." Guo Jia took the paper and stroked it, his face was excited.
Guo Jia was very excited. Although paper has been invented for a long time, it has been unable to be used for writing, but now he saw paper that can write normally.
"Zhicai, how much is this paper worth? How long will it take to make it?" After getting excited, Guo Jia calmed down and asked.
"Haha, Feng Xiao, don't get excited. If this paper is produced on a large scale, the price will be cheap. At present, it is a bit more expensive because it is produced less, but no matter how expensive it is, it is much cheaper than the bamboo slips." Xi Zhicai said.
When Guo Jia heard it, he knew that this was definitely a great invention.
After Guo Jia was excited, Zhang Yu arranged to expand the paper mill until it could supply the entire Dahan market in the future.
Zhang Zhao then reported, "My lord, our method of drying salt has also achieved great results. The salt produced for the first time was more than a hundred thousand shi. This efficiency is so high that I have never seen it in my life."
Having said this, Zhang Zhao also became excited.
I didn't expect that the effect of drying the salt once would be so great.
This salt field can be exposed to the sun once every two months, and there are only so many salt fields at a time. If a few more salt fields are opened, the county of Kuaiji alone can supply the entire Dahan market.
Throughout the ages, this salt has been one of the most profitable industries.
In ancient times, this salt was often used to feed the imperial court.
But in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it was not the imperial court's monopoly on salt and iron, which gave them a chance.
Upon hearing this, Guo Jia hurriedly asked, what is the sun-drying method.
When Guo Jia finished listening, he was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
"It's really shocking that the world has such a way. I'm afraid the entire salt market will be subverted." Guo Jia said in shock.
Zhang Yu calmed down a lot. It is not surprising that the success of the salt drying method can change the entire pattern of the big man.
However, Zhang Yu is currently unable to sell salt on a large scale. This will inevitably be counterattacked by salt merchants from all over the country. Zhang Yu is still developing his strength.