Chapter 491: Preparation

Yancheng. Reading

While Beidi was brewing a vicious plan, Zhao Xu, Liu Fu and a group of officials were inspecting the horse administration and official farms in Yanzhou.

"Your Highness, the war horses in this horse farm are the strongest ones among the captured war horses, and the mares are also strong and shiny. During this period, this horse farm alone has bred 800 foals." An official introduced Zhao Xu.

He is Shen Shixing, the head of the Agricultural Department of the government office.

While Liu Fu and other officials were listening to his lectures in the Administrative School, they were also using what they learned from the school to reform the government office.

For example, this Agricultural Department is an institution that has just been established.

The officials of the Agricultural Department have many responsibilities.

In addition to being responsible for horse administration, officials are also responsible for going down to the countryside to teach the planting methods they learned from the school to the people, and promote per-acre yields.

At the same time, there is also the responsibility of coordinating all the land in Yanzhou and planning crop planting.

At present, the people of Yanzhou are generally still self-sufficient small peasant economies where men farm and women weave.

In addition to growing some grain, each family also needs to grow mulberry and hemp.

After all, food and clothing are the most important of all. Wheat and rice fill the stomach, and mulberry and hemp provide silk and linen.

However, Zhao Xu has not yet asked the Agricultural Department to change the traditional production methods of the people.

The Agricultural Department mainly plans the official farms and the fields for production and cultivation.

"Eight hundred? That's good, but their survival rate must be guaranteed." Zhao Xu said.

In ancient times, the land was vast and the population was sparse.

So it is not difficult to find a place in Yanzhou that is not suitable for farming but suitable for grazing.

"Your Highness, don't worry. This stable will be sprinkled with quicklime once every half a month, and allicin is also mixed into the hay intermittently. The foals are very pleasing." Shen Shixing pointed to a lively foal in the stable and said.

Zhao Xu stopped to watch and smiled.

The methods of quicklime disinfection and feeding allicin are all mastered by officials from the Administrative School.

In addition to these methods, the students of the current administrative school are still studying some of the local methods he provided to promote the agricultural development of Yanzhou.

Inspected the horse farm.

Zhao Xu and the officials went to Guanzhuang again.

Different horse farms have large grasslands, while the officialdom directly under the royal palace seems more crowded.

When he arrived, the shepherds of Fuguanzhuang were driving a large number of cattle and sheep into the circle.

Most of these cattle and sheep were robbed from the Black Iron King's tent during this battle, and some were robbed when Bai Shang and his men attacked Ningjindusi.

Now, these cattle and sheep have become the foundation of Yanzhou's animal husbandry.

He will teach officials professional animal husbandry techniques to make Yanzhou's animal husbandry grow and develop.

"Your Highness, Guanzhuang is now undergoing transformation to achieve the ecological cycle agriculture that Your Highness said." Shen Shixing said.

The other officials were not surprised by this unfamiliar term when they heard it.

Because the King of Yan explained it to them when he was giving a lecture.

Zhao Xu nodded. This was the focus of his inspection of Guanzhuang.

The ancient agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline production and fishery were obviously extensive management.

If there is no change, large-scale agricultural production will not be possible.

Seriously speaking, agriculture can provide a lot of raw materials for industry. Rice can be used to make wine, cotton can be used to weave cloth, and animal oil can be used to make soap.

So it is impossible to make industry prosperous without agriculture.

A good cook cannot cook without rice.

Therefore, he attaches as much importance to agriculture as industry, which complements each other.

So, in order to make Yanzhou's agriculture large-scale, he started from Guanzhuang and launched ecological circular agriculture.

This concept has long been popular in contemporary times.

It is just a reasonable use of waste produced by animals and plants.

For example, the pig-marsh vegetable model.

First, build a biogas pool to let pig manure and urine flow into the pigpen, so that the biogas fertilizer can be used to grow vegetables, and the biogas liquid can be sprayed on the leaves to prevent pests.

In addition to the pig-marsh vegetable model, there is also the fish-mulberry-chicken model, raising chickens in mulberry fields, and feeding fish with chicken manure and silkworm manure.

Of course, there are other models. Guanzhuang is divided into different areas based on these different models, establishing circular agriculture and expanding production.

Walking around Guanzhuang, Zhao Xu saw some newly built biogas tanks.

The principle of the biogas tank is very simple, that is, dig a pit, build a pool with blue bricks and cement, and leave an exhaust hole to discharge biogas.

In addition, there are chicken coops next to mulberry fields and cattle sheds next to ponds.

These are all newly renovated Guanzhuang.

"In the future, the meat for the soldiers will be handed over to you. If they have no meat to eat and trouble you, I will not care." Zhao Xu said to Shen Shixing.

Shen Shixing knew that the King of Yan was joking, but he was talking about serious matters, so he said: "I will definitely increase the output of the officialdom every year."

"Well, it's good that you have this determination." Zhao Xu laughed with Liu Fu and others.

After strolling for a morning, Zhao Xu returned to Yancheng.

Then he went straight to the granary.

Since receiving the letter from Dong An and Mi Yan, he decided to prepare for a rainy day and nip the hidden danger in the bud when the powerful family did not completely strangle him in terms of trade, food, minerals and other issues.

Strive to make the fiefdom completely isolated and able to support two or three years.

In terms of food, agricultural production in the four northern counties has basically recovered.

Among the four counties, Yan County and Shanggu County have recovered the best, after all, he was the first to accept these two counties.

In addition to being self-sufficient, the people of the two counties basically have surplus food to sell in the past two seasons this year.

He asked Liu Fu to buy them at market prices.

In addition, when he attacked Jinzhou, he asked the Xie family to exchange grain for artillery, and asked for a year's rations for the population at that time.

Some time ago, Chang Wei went south and swept through the three southern counties and seized a large amount of grain and grass from the Yuan family and the wealthy clan.

Now these grains and grasses are stored in the Yanjun granary.

Liu Fu calculated that this food was enough to last Yanzhou a year without food.

Now, all of Yanzhou is under his command. Winter is about to turn to spring, and farming in the seven counties has resumed. Yanzhou's food self-sufficiency is basically no problem.

But even so, he always had to check the granary from time to time.

This is the cornerstone of Yanzhou's stability and should not be taken carelessly.

After inspecting the granary, Zhao Xu, Liu Fu and other officials went to the government office.

Although Beidi is eyeing it, the development of Yanzhou cannot be delayed because of this. What needs to be done must still be done.

After all the officials sat down, he said: "In today's inspection, generally speaking, there have been some achievements in large-scale infrastructure construction during this period, but it is not enough. In addition, different counties should be developed according to their advantages, such as those with more water networks. There are many fish farms in the counties, and there are many kinds of food in the places with many fertile fields. The counties near the sea can fish and dry salt..."

While Zhao Xu was talking, Liu Fu and others were taking notes, for fear of missing a word.

They had to admit that King Yan was much smarter than them.

Acting according to King Yan's words is sometimes more useful than what they tried their best to think of.

An hour passed, and Zhao Xu talked about agriculture in the major infrastructure construction.

Then he wanted to ask Liu Fu about the production camp and farming, but suddenly there was a "boom", which startled everyone.