Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 563, barren fertile fields
"It's good to have food~"

"To be honest, I am very worried that everyone will have no food to eat in the future."

"In Tianjin and Beijing, too many, too many people have entered factories or worked in workshops. In Beizhili, there are many, many fields that have not been cultivated."

"It's a pity that no one is planting the good fertile land. I'm worried about whether there will be a food shortage in winter."

When Mao Qi heard it, he also said worriedly.

"Nobody farming?"

"How is this going?"

As soon as Zhu Houzhao heard it, he immediately cheered up and asked quickly.

"Your Highness, it's a very simple answer. Everyone farms for the landlords. They work so hard all year round that they can't even eat enough to eat. If you work in factories or workshops, you can easily get three or four in a month." Two silver, and many places also include three meals a day."

"It's also about doing things. Do you think everyone will choose to farm? Or work in a factory?"

, Moltke replied.

"I don't know about other places. Just around the capital and Tianjin, there are large, large areas of land that are barren, and no one cultivates them. What a good field. In the past, people rushed to plant them, but now they are all cultivated by no one. .”

"Those landlords and Lao Cai were dying of anxiety, crying and calling for people to go back to plant their fields, but no one paid any attention to them."

"Everyone is not stupid. Farming can't even eat enough. Who will go farming."

"No one is farming here, what will everyone eat in the future?"

When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he immediately realized the seriousness of the matter, so he frowned.

"That's why I worry about whether there will be another famine here in Beizhili when it's winter."

Mao Qi nodded and said.

"It can't go on like this. Tian can't panic, it has to be planted with food, otherwise if there is a famine at that time, it will be a big question."

Zhu Houzhao frowned immediately.

No one expected that with the development of capitalism and the large-scale rise of factories and workshops, no one is farming here in Beizhili, and a lot of fertile land has been abandoned.

"Your Highness, don't worry, there will be no famine."

Liu Jin smiled and said confidently.

All of this is actually within Liu Jin's expectations, and the development of capitalism will inevitably have a huge impact on agriculture.

The impact has two main aspects, one is that it will reduce the number of people engaged in agriculture, and the other is that it will change the structure of agricultural planting.

Factories, workshops, etc. need a large number of workers. The cement factories, textile factories, shipyards, coal factories, steel factories, etc. in the Beijing-Tianjin area have a very large demand for labor.

There are many factories in the entire Beijing-Tianjin area, ranging from a few hundred to as many as tens of thousands of people.

Originally, the capital only had a population of one million. In just a few years, the population of the capital has exceeded five million.

The original capital city has long been unable to accommodate people, and there are a large number of emerging towns around the capital city with a large population.

The same is true here in Tianjin. Tianjin, which was originally a small city, has developed rapidly in recent years, and its population is even larger than that of Beijing.

The scale of Tianjin New City is already very large.

Where did this increased population come from?
All of them came from places like Beizhili, Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan, because the income in the Beijing-Tianjin area is higher and life is easier, which will naturally attract more people.

Most of these people used to be farmers. If they stopped farming, those fields would naturally be barren.

"Old Liu, tell me in detail."

Zhu Houzhao looked at Liu Jin and asked.

"The reason why these fields are barren is because everyone knows that farming is not worthwhile. After a year of exhausting farming, in the end, it is just a cheap landlord's old fortune. My family can't even eat enough. pause."

"But working in factories and workshops is different. Not only can you have enough food, but you can also earn money. Anyone will make a choice."

Liu Jin thought for a while and said slowly.

"Yes, I used to be a farmer. It's indeed what Mr. Liu said. I'm like a cow all year round. I'm exhausted, but I can't even eat enough."

"Half of this kind of food will be handed over to the landlord, and the remaining half will be handed over to the government. There is not enough food left."

Mo Qi also followed suit.

"That's it~"

Zhu Houzhao nodded slightly.

"The barrenness of the fields is not terrible. The landlords are most anxious. They see their fields barren. They either lower their rents to attract people to farm."

"The other thing is to find a way to farm by yourself, or find a way to grow more fields with less manpower."

Liu Jin continued.

"Farm by yourself?"

"More fields with less manpower?"

After Zhu Houzhao heard this, he was immediately puzzled.

"Moltke, what did you mainly rely on for farming in the past?"

Liu Jin smiled, turned to Mao Qi and said.

"The main thing is to rely on manpower. We are all poor people. It is difficult to have a cow in a village. Only landlords have cows."

Mao Qi said.

"That's right. It's very laborious to farm by manpower. The key point is that it's also very slow. In the same field, there is a big difference between whether there are cattle or not."

"If there are cows, one person, one cow, can be turned over soon."

"If it depends on people, even several people can't be a cow."

Liu Jin nodded and said.

"Yes, yes, cattle are much more powerful than humans, and they are also more expensive, but cattle are too expensive. We used to be poor and couldn't afford them at all."

Hearing Liu Jin mentioned the key point, Mao Qi nodded quickly and said with deep understanding.

"Your Highness, if there are fewer people in this kind of field, then these landlords will use more cattle and horses to farm, and they can cultivate more fields with less manpower."

"Besides, people here in Beizhili don't farm anymore, so we can also move people from other places here."

"Such as places like Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan."

"In the high loess slopes of Shaanxi and Shanxi, where there are few fields and more importantly, there is little precipitation, the imperial court can completely move people from these places to North Zhili and let them farm."

"Henan has less land and more people. Every time there is a disaster, Henan is prone to problems. If the people here are relocated on a large scale, and let them come to North Zhili to farm, it can greatly alleviate the population situation in North Zhili. question."

"At that time, coupled with the promotion of the use of cattle and horses for farming, the fertile land in places like Beizhili will definitely not be barren."

Liu Jin smiled and continued.

The ecology of places like Shaanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan is very fragile, because these places have a long history and a large population, and the contradiction between people and land is very sharp.

It's okay to say that the weather is good, but if there is something wrong with it, there will be flames of war.

The peasant uprisings in the late Ming Dynasty basically started from these places, and they happened wave after wave, and they never meant to subside.

In the final analysis, the contradictions between people and land in these places are too sharp.

Now it happens that there are no human races in the fields on the north Zhili side, so the population from these places has been relocated.

And in the future, with the expansion of colonization, Daming can continue to move more people to the world outside of Daming to ease the conflict between people and land.

"This is a way~"

Zhu Houzhao nodded slightly after listening.

The last time he went to reward the armed forces with Liu Jin, he had been to Shanxi and Shaanxi, and he had seen poverty in these places.

The land here is full of ravines, very dry, and the land is very scarce.

But in such a place, the population is very dense, and everyone is scrambling to plant the land.

At that time, Liu Jin told Zhu Houzhao that the people here would be relocated if possible in the future. The environment here is too bad.

"In addition, we can mobilize food from other places."

"This year we have a good weather in Daming, and the food in all parts of Daming can be harvested, so we don't have to worry about no food at all."

"What's more, now that our Daming sea trade is so developed, we can still buy food from places like North Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia."

"Especially in Nanyang. The climate in Nanyang is very suitable for rice planting. The yield is very high, and it can be harvested several times a year. In the future, we can immigrate to Nanyang on a large scale, and we can't finish the food we grow casually."

"There is also Ryukyu Island. This year, with Ryukyu City as the center, several new cities were built on Ryukyu Island, and a large amount of land was reclaimed. The rice grown here has a very high yield, which is enough to easily meet the needs of Beijing and Tianjin. food needs."

"In addition, the high-yield sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes we brought back from the Golden Continent are already being planted. After the large-scale promotion in the future, there is no need to worry about the food problem."

Liu Jin is very confident about this.

If there is still a famine in this way, then there is really nothing to say.

With high-yield crops, increasingly developed ocean transportation and trade, and the development of Ryukyu Island and the Nanyang region, there is absolutely no need to worry about food.

"I'm relieved. Seeing these fertile fields go to waste, I always feel bad."

After listening to Liu Jin's analysis, Zhu Houzhao felt relieved.

"Don't worry, these fields will be planted with crops soon. Now that the price of cotton has risen sharply, isn't it a good time for them to grow cotton?"

Liu Jin said with a smile.

How could the fields be barren?
It may be possible in other places, but it is absolutely impossible in Daming.

It is impossible for the talent of farming deeply rooted in the bones and soul to see these fertile fields go to waste.

There are always more solutions than difficulties, and these anxious landlords and rich people will always find a way to solve this problem.

"Moo Qi, some of the crops brought back from the Golden Continent are already mature, how are you going to sell them here?"

Soon Liu Jin turned his gaze back to the pepper field and corn field in front of him, thought for a while and asked.

This is very important. The crops brought back from the Golden Continent will eventually be promoted on a large scale, so this first batch is still very important. We must find a way to make everyone like these crops from the Golden Continent.

　Do you have any good solution to this problem?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)