Chapter 1432 - 1339: Agriculture (Part 1)

The Huaxia people have a natural love for food, and no matter how difficult life gets, they never give up the pursuit of culinary delights.

As early as Han times, the court discovered that the yield of wheat per mu was higher than that of millet, so they advocated the planting of wheat, but after hundreds of years, little progress was made.

After Zhao Hanzhang ate wheat porridge, she unilaterally concluded that the lack of wheat promotion in the past was because wheat porridge was less palatable than millet porridge.

It was not until Zhuge Liang invented mantou, combined with the dumplings that began to gain popularity in upper society after Eastern Han’s Zhang Zhongjing, that the proportion of wheat planting started to increase among the populace.

However, because removing the husk and grinding wheat demanded considerable manpower, millet continued to dominate as the chief grain among the people.

It wasn’t until the world fell into chaos, with consecutive years of famine, that people temporarily abandoned taste and turned to high-yield crops like wheat and soybeans.

Now, with the world at peace, people have resumed planting millet, but this time, wheat plantation rates are higher than those of millet. Even rice planting rates have begun to rise under the court’s promotion.

One reason is that wheat and rice yield more per mu than millet, and another is due to Zhao Hanzhang’s years of promoting stone mills and water mills. Especially after ascending the throne, she demanded that every village have a stone mill, and ordered each state and county to establish small and medium-sized water mills where there was water, to facilitate the populace.

The water mills not only make rice pounding easy and labor-saving, but also make flour grinding fast and inexpensive.

Yet, there are always places the court cannot reach, so profit-driven mills started appearing among the folks, powered by livestock or water.

They earn a hard living.

When Zhao Hanzhang heard about it, she praised their diligence and ingenuity in court, and published Fu Tinghan’s designs for small water mills in the newspaper, sparing many aspiring entrepreneurs from unnecessary twists and turns.

This resulted in more people planting wheat.

Landowners, families, and officials like Zhao Hu, Wang Dao, and Ji Yuan immediately dismissed millet and planted large amounts of more delicious, higher-yield wheat and rice.

Compared to ordinary people, they aren’t short of labor for fine grain processing, and because they can bear greater risks, they even privately contacted the Ministry of Agriculture to buy and plant high-quality seeds ahead of everyone else.

The Ministry of Agriculture needed a lot of data for research, so they didn’t refuse, as long as buyers signed a contract ensuring the seeds wouldn’t leak, they sold them.

The planting data would eventually be reported back to the Ministry of Agriculture.

After two years, there were successful plantations as well as failed ones, but overall, successful ones outweighed the failures.

However, given the low return rate of agriculture, even if only one mu out of ten is wasted, the losses surpass the benefits brought by high-quality seeds, so everyone became more cautious, unlike their initial enthusiasm for the Ministry of Agriculture’s seeds.

This time, Shen Ruhui came to the palace to complain and also to promote the newly researched Luoyang South No. 2.

"Few people recognize and plant high-quality seeds, so the data we collect is minimal, extending the research timeline, especially for rice. I found that rice yields rise more than wheat, yet its variation is also large, as Luoyang’s area is cold and dry, with many places unsuitable for rice cultivation." Shen Ruhui wished to conduct research in Jing Chu or southern Yu State.

Zhao Hanzhang saw that he seemed quite interested in rice and asked: "Shen Aiqing, are you specializing in rice now?"

"Not exactly, but I find rice cultivation quite interesting," Shen Ruhui said. "At the temple, six out of ten are researching wheat, three are focused on rice, and one handles miscellaneous tasks, so I feel there are already enough people researching wheat."

Moreover, due to Zhao Hanzhang’s wide recruitment of scholars, even illiterate old farmers with insightful planting strategies can receive a stipend from the Ministry of Agriculture, making the temple quite crowded.

Without Shen Ruhui’s stringent management, the Ministry of Agriculture could almost rival the Observing Things Department in numbers, a terrifying thought.

Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment, agreed to allow Shen Ruhui to conduct experiments in Jing Chu during rice planting, but did not permit him to stay long term, "I will have Wang Yifeng arrange an experimental field for you, put forward your conditions, and take a few more people to record data when you go."

After a pause, she continued, "Although Jing Chu is indeed suitable for rice planting, there are places in the south better suited, I’ve heard that the far south is hot, and even in winter it remains warm like spring and summer, where these regions can have two rice planting seasons a year."

Shen Ruhui first wondered, "Can the soil fertility support such planting?"

Zhao Hanzhang smiled, "Adding fertilizers naturally will suffice, we are dealing with experimental fields, seeking speed and sufficient nutrients, not worried about soil exhaustion. The public can freely choose, our goal is to improve per mu yield, not only chase total quantity."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ruhui reconsidered southern regions, pondering, "Your Majesty, do you mean areas around Jiaozhou?"

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "Jiaozhou, and areas like Guangzhou He Pu County and Zhu Ya Island, all meet the conditions."

Shen Ruhui hesitated, "But those places are full of miasma and barbarians, if I go..." Isn’t this risking his life?

Zhao Hanzhang gently reassured him, "Aiqing, try out Jing Chu first. As for Guangzhou and Jiaozhou, there’s no rush, Zhao Shen went there over a year ago, I believe that soon the Ministry of Agriculture will be able to test wherever needed."

Zhao Shen was unaware of Zhao Hanzhang’s confidence in him; he had just climbed a mountain, and the soldiers with him had trembling knees, the mountain was too steep...

The guide stood aside, looking at Zhao Shen with a teasing look.

Zhao Shen, eyes shining, gazed at the mountain across, exclaiming, "What a mountain!"

Upon seeing the water flowing down the ravine, he couldn’t help but exclaim again, "What water!"

Zhao Shen knelt to drink the water; it was cool and slightly sweet, refreshing the heart, his eyes brightened, shouting, "Come drink, I’ve lived over twenty years, and this is the first time I’ve tasted such sweet water."

The soldiers, hearing this, hurried forward to drink; their eyes brightened, and the fatigue on their faces waned.

One soldier exclaimed, "If this were in Luoyang, such small streams on the mountain would have dried up, and even if they haven’t they’d be frozen, it couldn’t be directly drunk. The weather here is really strange, not snowing in winter, yet so cool and warm, with greenery everywhere."

Zhao Shen said, "The world is full of wonders, there are even more magical things, following me, you’ll see your horizons expanding."

Soldier: ...Actually, they didn’t feel the need to expand their horizons, glancing at the green landscape; they didn’t share Zhao Shen’s enthusiasm, only feeling like crying.

Wondering when they would ever leave.

But Zhao Shen was in no rush; seeing everyone was tired, with a water source here, he allowed them to rest on the spot. He took an Eight Diagrams Plate and walked around, pondering awhile and sighing, "A treasure land of feng shui. If a cave mansion were built here for cultivation, life would be satisfying."

The guide listened from the side, heart tingling like it was scratched by chicken feet, aching to ask, but dared not.

After finishing his tasks, Zhao Shen pulled out the gazette he received earlier, frowning slightly, "I know the new spinning machine, but what is a sewing machine?"