Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 908 Sugar and Wood
In the afternoon, Mrs. Chu put her eldest daughter to sleep, looked at her younger daughter who was soundly asleep, picked up the freshly brewed tea, and went to the study.

The door of the study room was not closed, and as soon as Mrs. Chu approached, she heard King Xia's voice coming from inside: "Madam Zhu lowers her head and looks down!"

Mrs. Chu spat pervertedly, put down the teacup and teapot, and went to the next door to read.

The younger brother, Chu Shenping, came back with the king and wrote her a letter, mostly praising King Xia for his bravery and fortitude, his skill in using soldiers like a god, and there were also many family matters and family affection.

Mrs. Chu is a smart person and knows what his brother means, but he feels a little uncomfortable in his heart.

When the city of Mengzhou was broken and he was taken away by King Xia, the family treated her as dead, and now they are counting on her again.

All these changes were simply because she was taken by the most powerful man in the world, doted on day and night, and gave birth to two children successively.

After quietly reading the book for a while, Shao Shude and Zhang Hui came out.

Zhang Hui didn't wear anything underneath, just a tulle, and the flesh color was faintly visible.Her face was like a red cloth, avoiding Chu's eyes, not daring to look at each other.

Shao Shude sat down naked, covered in sweat.Chu put down his book, took a silk scarf and wiped his sweat carefully.

"You follow me to Luoyang." Shao Shude said, holding Mrs. Chu in his arms.

Chu groaned.But the body tensed up quickly, and then slowly relaxed.As the sun set, Chu's chest reflected a greasy white light.

The road between Luo and Bian is not easy to walk.

The wars are frequent, the damage is serious, and there is no time to repair it in time in the future, so it is like this.

In the past two days, the Bianzhou shogunate was discussing the repair of Luoyang and Zhengbian post roads. Shao Shude agreed, but asked them to directly refer to the first-class national road between Menghuai and build an identical road.

Bianzhou was requisitioned to transport some masters to transport grain and grass, but Chen, Xu, Songbo and other states did not launch large-scale conscripts, so it is very likely that the construction of the Zhengzhou-Bianzhou section of the first-class national highway will start soon.

There is an official village in the northeast corner of Luoyang Palace City, on the banks of the Dian River.

Because it is a Guanzhuang, there is no shortage of livestock and fields, and even facilities for milling and oil extraction.The personnel are also professional. The livestock are all captured Tatars on the grassland. The Bianzhou Tutuan peasants who were not released at the beginning are the farmers. The craftsmen who repair the machines are also from the Liangjun Craftsman Camp.

Large areas of carrots, sea beet, rye, ryegrass and other crops are planted in Guanzhuang, almost transplanting the original Jinxian Temple.If there is no accident, this official village will become a part of Miyagi in the future.

There's no way, Marshal Shao is so humble, he's about to become an emperor, and he still wants to build farmland in Miyagi.

"My lord, the sugar used in these candied fruits comes from sea beets." Luo Yuan Envoy Wang Yanfan asked someone to bring a few plates of candied fruit, and introduced.

"How about making sugar from sea beets?" Shao Shude picked up a fruit and asked.

"Last year, sea beets were harvested in abundance, and a lot of sugar was produced, which is very sweet," Wang Yanfan said.

"Has a new species been bred?" Shao Shude waved his hands after finishing speaking, and said, "Forget it, the time is still short, and there must be nothing famous yet."

Compared with the native species, the sea beets introduced so far have actually been improved once by the inhabitants of the Mediterranean coast, and the sugar content in the rhizomes has increased, but they are still not comparable to the further improved beets of later generations.

"Distribute a batch of sea beet seeds to selected households in Henan and Luoyang counties, and teach them to plant them." Shao Shude instructed: "This thing is drought-resistant, and does not pick the land. Many lands that could not be used before can be used."

After the New World crops were introduced to the Old World, their yields were not high at first, and they had no advantage over traditional crops such as wheat.But why is it still meaningful?Because corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes can be planted on previously unusable wasteland. These lands are either relatively barren, or dry and water-deficient, or hills and hills, which cannot be effectively used, but potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn can be planted. This is its positive meaning. It is equivalent to expanding the area of ​​cultivated land.

Of course, in Guochao, this is of little significance.Because of this, it is not the intensive planting of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are few people, a lot of land, and enough arable land. Without the energy for intensive cultivation, extensive planting can only be done.It is very realistic that the farming methods of a household with a few mu of land are different from those of a household with tens of mu or hundreds of mu of land.

But how to put it, the overall arable land is sufficient, but some parts are still unbalanced.For example, there are too many people in Caozhou, Songzhou, and Weizhou, and the per capita cultivated land is less. It is also good to use some barren wasteland.

In addition to the wasteland, sea beet can be planted in front of and behind the farmyard and beside the ridge road.Mung beans may have been grown here in the past, but now they are planted with higher-value cash crops, which also has the significance of regulating wealth distribution.

There is no shortage of grain and beans in the homes of rich people. Even if ordinary farmers plant mung beans on the ridges, the value is not great, and it cannot arouse the consumption desire of rich people.But sugar is different. The market demand has always existed, but the supply has always been insufficient.

The sugar in the north is mainly maltose, which is made of corn starch. In fact, it is a kind of maltose. Shao Shude had eaten it when he was a child in his previous life. The taste is not bad, but it is not the same as real sugar.

As for honey, the output is actually limited and the price is high.

The price of sucrose in the south is still high due to transportation costs, and the supply is relatively small, and ordinary wealthy people cannot buy enough.

Moreover, the sugar production at this time is also very low, because the sugar content of sugar cane is too low.Shao Shude remembers that when the later generations of Europeans went to Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean during their great voyages, they discovered a unique local sugarcane variety with an astonishingly high sugar content, far exceeding the sugarcane they originally planted, so they began to transplant and improve the variety. .It can be said that almost all sugarcane varieties in later generations have more or less the ancestry of Tahitian sugarcane.

Shao Shude doesn't know what kind of sugarcane is planted in the south of the country, but he thinks that the sugar content should be very low-breeding is a systematic and long-term project, which is of great significance to agriculture.

Therefore, sea beet is meaningful, but it needs to continuously improve the variety and increase the sugar content of its rhizome.The government alone is not enough for this matter, it is better to release some seeds to the people, expand the planting amount, and let the common people help improve it.Over time, it will always have an effect.

European farmers along the Mediterranean coast have also improved sea beets for generations.Shao Shude is sure that the original wild varieties must not have high sugar content.

"Let's do it like this. Guanbei will also send some, because the beets are more needed over there." Shao Shude made up his mind and made up his mind.

The people in Guanbei have survived the difficult period of famine. Now the land rights are quite equal, the population is not too large, the per capita resource possession is not low, there is no problem in survival, and efforts can be made to improve it.

He suddenly remembered the milk tea with salt on the grassland, and he could only sigh, what a lack of sugar.I have to stop you from going in the wrong direction, milk tea - only with sugar!
"Your Majesty, I heard a few days ago that some people called Lingzhou "Shangjiang Jiangnan". There are water and grass, corn, wheat and rice can be grown, and there are many cattle and sheep. Is it possible for the people of Bian Song Dynasty to live such a life?" Wang Yanfan After leaving, Zhang Hui suddenly asked.

"It's a bit difficult." Shao Shude said: "To be honest, there are too many people, but improvements can be made. The people in Lingxia have [-] mu of land per household, and three crop rotations. The people in Bian Song Dynasty can't do it for one household Sixty mu, but [-] mu or even ten mu of land can also be used for farming and animal husbandry. It is nothing more than the size. The key is how I collect taxes. If I only collect grains, beans, and silk, it will definitely not work. If I am willing to collect leather, Wool, of course."

"If Your Majesty can make the people of Bian Song Dynasty rich and happy..." Zhang Hui came over and whispered in Shao Shude's ear, "I will promise you."

"What? There is such a good thing!" Shao Shude's spirit was shaken, and he looked at Zhang Hui in surprise.

After being recuperated by the medical officer of the Imperial Medical Office, Zhang Hui's complexion improved a lot.It seems that physical problems should be discovered early and recuperated early, and can't be delayed for a long time, otherwise it will be difficult to clean up.

"My concubine was originally the daughter of the governor, and my family was in turmoil, and I was displaced." Zhang Hui sighed: "If everyone lives and works in peace and contentment, how can such a thing happen. If the king can do it, there is nothing I can't give up."

"But it didn't happen overnight..." Shao Shude frowned.

"Your Majesty, it's okay to do it. The people in the Guandong are also the people under the King's rule. It's nothing but each other, but the people in the Guanxi can't benefit from it." Zhang Hui said in a low voice: "As long as the King treats everyone equally, you can... you can advance the benefits."

Shao Shude laughed.

He originally wanted to win the hearts of the people by improving the living standards of the people in the Kanto region. Even if Zhang Hui didn't say anything, he would gradually implement it.But this stupid woman came to the door by herself, what else can I say, it's exciting to think about it.

"Li Yixian, get over here!" After laughing, Shao Shude looked forward and said loudly.

Li Yixian seemed to want to report something, but when he came over, he should have seen himself making fun of Zhang Hui, so he hid directly behind a tree, pretending that he hadn't been here.

"Your Majesty, Deputy Envoy Feng sent someone to report that the new wood drying kiln has been built." Li Yixian reported.

"Good thing, I'm leaving for Mengzhou tomorrow." Shao Shude said.

To be honest, he did not have high expectations for the real level of this wood drying kiln.But this kiln was built at his request, and now it's ready, it's okay to go and have a look.

In ancient times, the wood used in shipbuilding and palace repair was generally dried in the shade.

The wood that has just been cut and processed cannot be used, because it is rich in water and will deform later, so it is necessary to dehydrate it and dry it in the shade.While drying in the shade, water should also be poured on it, because the dehydration rate of each part of the wood is different, which will also cause deformation.

Wood takes a very long time to dry in the shade.For example, the timber used for shipbuilding usually takes five or six years, and the high-quality timber for building palaces is even longer.In the later 17th century, the British Navy had a huge inventory of oak shade, which was stacked according to the year and managed by a special person.But when wars and social needs increase, this wood is not enough, and it will be consumed soon. What should I do?
The wood drying kiln came into being, which is what Shao Shude asked to build.There is no way, the demand for Luoyang Palace is too great.

(End of this chapter)