Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 551
Four days later, Fan Ning arrived in Yangzhou. Yangzhou has developed extremely rapidly in the past two years since it was a cargo transfer center two years ago, especially along the river. There are more than a dozen large docks and hundreds of giant warehouses.

Fan Ning's Three Thousand Stones sailed on the canal in a boat, and the canal was full of boats. A fleet of ships carried heavy cargoes to the north, covered with thick tarpaulins. It was hard to tell what kind of cargo it was, but it was very important. It may be various tropical fruits shipped from Ryukyu and Luzon, or the first season of rice in Luzon.

There are too many ships in the canal, and the navigation becomes a bit slow. Looking into the distance, there are large rice fields on both sides of the canal, and there are exquisite small villages in the distance.

Double-cropping rice has long been popularized in Yangzhou, with a high yield of [-] jin per mu, twice that of wheat.

At this time, Fan Ning suddenly saw a large piece of corn by accident, which surprised him, and Yangzhou also started to grow corn.

The year before last, Fan Tieniu had a bumper harvest of corn. Last year, he planted all corn on his [-] mu of land, and homeowner Liu also planted corn on his [-] mu of land. The corn they planted had another bumper harvest last year. The corn kernels produced amounted to a thousand catties, which immediately caused a sensation in Pingjiang Mansion. Pingjiang Mansion quickly reported it to the court, and the court was extremely shocked. Prime Minister Han Jiang and Fu Bi personally rushed to Pingjiang Mansion with dozens of officials to inspect it.

When it was confirmed that the corn yield was real, the entire government and the public were excited about it. Drought resistance and high yield are simply food prepared for the dry land in the north. Starting this year, each county on Shaanxi Road and Hebei Road has selected a certain amount of land to start experimenting. For planting corn, Fan Tieniu was awarded an earl and rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver. Director Liu was also awarded a viscount for his meritorious promotion.

Another of his products, pumpkins, has also been promoted in the Jiangnan area. It was launched in Beijing last fall, and the price of a pumpkin is as high as ten guan. However, it is estimated that after the large-scale harvest starts this year, the price will plummet.

Fan Ning did not expect Yangzhou to start growing corn. Of course, Fan Ning knew that food production is the key to population growth. The Song Dynasty promoted Champa rice and greatly improved agricultural technology, so that the population exceeded [-] million. The emergence of high-yield crops such as , potatoes, etc., the population increased to [-] million.

Now that corn and pumpkins have appeared, will the population of the Song Dynasty exceed 5000 million in a few decades?This created population conditions for overseas colonization.

Fan Ning met Zhu Pei's second uncle Zhu Xiaolin in Yangzhou. Just two years ago, when Fan Ning had just started to build Xingang, Zhu Pei's grandfather Zhu Yuanfu finally passed away due to illness. Returning to his hometown to observe filial piety for his father, Fan Ning and Zhu Pei also rushed back to Wujiang to sacrifice in the summer of the previous year
The imperial court stipulated that the shortest period of Ding You for officials was two years. Of course Ding You did not mean living in a hut next to the tomb of their relatives for two or three years. Spend a two-year worry period.

There are not so many strict rules for ordinary people. They follow the customs of various places. The Jiangnan area is more pragmatic. It's just that every memorial day will rush to the tomb to worship.

Three months after his father's death, Zhu Xiaolin went north to Yangzhou to start his business. Zhu Xiaolin was mainly engaged in warehousing, shipping and shipbuilding.

He has strong capital as a guarantee, and with the information he received from Fan Ning in advance, he purchased a large amount of land along the Yangtze River in Yangzhou, built three large docks that can dock thousands of stone ships and [-] huge warehouses, and owns five hundred Shi and Qianshi have thousands of tank ships, becoming the largest owner of inland storage and shipping in the Song Dynasty.

In addition, Zhu Xiaolin also bought the powerful Yang's shipbuilding workshop in Jingkou, which can build hundreds of ships every year, and can also manufacture sea-going ships of more than ten thousand stone.

"A-Ning, look at that big ship!"

Zhu Xiaolin pointed to a huge ship on the pier and said: "That is the king of the ship built by our shipyard last year, the Fengxiang, a [-] stone paddle boat, and [-] airtight cabins, which can sail in the depths of the sea. The kid stole it."

The appearance of the dock and the application of airtight cabin technology made the shipbuilding level of the Song Dynasty unrivaled in the world. The sea ships built can withstand the storms in the Indian Ocean and are very popular among Western businessmen.

Fan Ning lifted his spirits, "Second uncle can already build a sea-going ship of [-] stone?"

"Last year, only one ship was built. It was not a matter of ability, but because we wanted to make a name for ourselves. Therefore, this ship was built with great effort, and the materials were not stingy. The front end is equipped with a bumper, which is stronger than ordinary Wanshi sea ships. It is two or three times stronger than a military ship, so we call it the King of Ships."

Fan Ning laughed, "I just need a boat, so give me this boat!"

"But this is Akihito"

Zhu Xiaolin stopped in the middle of speaking, and there was a kind of gloating in his heart. At first, he refused to sell it, but Ming Ren insisted on buying it, and now he is favored by Fan Ning, so he deserved it.

Zhu Xiaolin laughed and said, "Then you can take this boat directly to Quanzhou."

Fan Ning hesitated and said, "I still want to go to Wujiang to pay homage to the old man."

"It doesn't matter. I'll let the boat go to Mingzhou to wait for you. After you go to Wujiang, go directly to Mingzhou to board the boat."

Fanning nodded, "This is a good idea!"

After bidding farewell to Zhu Xiaolin, Fan Ning continued to go south by boat. After paying homage to Zhu Yuanfu, he will embark on the road to Nanyang.

Ten days later, the [-] shi paddle boat arrived in Quanzhou, together with Fan Ning and thirty alternate officials. As Fan Ning's Nanyang strategy continued to advance, the two large islands south of Luzon Prefecture alone had to Four counties will be built, one will be built on Natuna Island, and two counties will be built at the entrance of the Strait of Malacca.

In addition, there is Irian Island, which is not yet inhabited, and even the Australian mainland, which is only separated from Irian Island by a strait. Once the colonization starts, a large number of officials and people are needed here, and he must make reserves.

The big ship docked slowly on the pier. Someone had already rushed to the Jinglue Mansion to report. The deputy envoy Li Mu and his staff member Sun Xuance stood on the pier to welcome Fan Ning and the new officials.

"Your envoy has worked hard, has the imperial court approved the expansion of Jinglue Mansion's power?" Li Mu asked with concern.

Fan Ning nodded, "We handed over the power of Japan and Kunzhou to the Zhizhengtang, and they agreed to expand our power. Yu Xiaonian will soon be transferred back to the capital to serve as the young minister of Honglu Temple. What happened in Kunzhou."

"That's good, we can concentrate on managing the Southeast Asia."

"I also thought about it. You take the officials back and resettle them first. I will rest for two days today and tomorrow, and I will leave for Xingang the day after tomorrow."

Gongsun Xuance next to him laughed and said, "Your envoy is too anxious!"

"There is no rush! The Srivijaya Strait is full of pirates, and Western merchants have suffered heavy losses. After a few more months, the trade line will be broken. We must use thunderbolts to deal with Srivijaya in order to guarantee our interests."

"That's right, Mingli came to complain yesterday. A fleet of them went south and encountered pirates blocking the way off the coast of Luzon. They had to turn around and come back. Now the pirates are getting more and more rampant. If they don't attack them, they will kill them at the door of their house. gone."

Fan Ning explained a few more words, handed over the officials to them, and he went home with a few entourages.

Compared with two years ago, Fan Ning's family has undergone many changes. The main reason is that the number of heirs began to increase. Ouyang Qian gave birth to a son the year before last. Not long after, concubine Aya also gave birth to a son. Last year, Zhu Pei became pregnant. , gave birth to a daughter in autumn, Fan Ning now has three sons, two daughters and five children, and the whole family has become extremely lively.

Of course, the eldest daughter Fan Zhener is the most favored among them. Fan Zhener is already six years old and still loves small animals and horseback riding. Apart from Fan Ning, her closest relative is her silly uncle Zhu Zhe. I have a special affection for small animals, and the number of small animals in the house has gradually increased. Last year, a few monkeys came from nowhere and settled down on the hill. In the winter of the previous year, a dozen geese and swans flew from the pond to spend the winter. There are also herds of deer and squirrels, embellishing the whole mansion with vitality.

After returning home, Fan Ning accompanied his daughter to ride a horse, and then returned to his study, he was really a little tired.

The study door opened, and Aya came in with a cup of tea. Seeing that Fan Ning was a little tired, she whispered, "Why don't you go to bed and sleep for a while!"

Fan Ning took a sip of tea and smiled, "I'm not sleepy either, just close your eyes and rest for a while."

"Then I won't disturb the officials!"

She was about to withdraw, but Fanning took her hand, hugged her and sat down in his arms, and Aya snuggled into her husband's arms docilely.

"How is Xiaoyu now?"

Xiaoyu is Aya's younger sister. Last year Aya went back to Japan to visit relatives. Her family is a tenant farmer in the countryside of Hizen country. Her family is poor and she can't even eat enough.

But since Aya became Fanning's concubine, she gave all the 5000 taels of dowry silver that Fanning gave Aya to her natal family, and Aya's parents quickly became well-known local landlords, and Fanning simply subsidized her brother. My sister-in-law opened a cloth shop in Nagasaki, specializing in the distribution of cloth from Fan's weaving workshop, and the business was very successful.

Last year, Aya went home to visit relatives and brought her youngest sister, Yuzi, to Quanzhou. She is currently living in Fanning's residence. She is only 15 years old and learning Chinese and tea art.

"Yazi is very smart and can already speak Chinese. My wife likes her very much and doesn't want her to go back to Japan."

Fan Ning nodded, "Depending on her own wishes, she doesn't want to go back. It's not bad to stay in the Song Dynasty. She will find a good family to marry in the future."

"By the way, sister-in-law wrote a letter, saying that she would come back to visit mother in two days."

The sister-in-law that Aya mentioned is Fan Ning’s younger sister, Fan Jing, who married Zhu Qi last fall. Zhu Qi and Lu Min both passed the Jinshi examination in this year’s Enke, one with 370 and one with 440. birth.

Sima Guang, who was in charge of the Ministry of Officials, heard that Zhu Qi was Fan Ning's brother-in-law and a student of Ouyang Xiu, so he arranged for him to be the assistant teacher of Yingtianfu Guozijian. Fan Jing and her husband are currently living in Yingtianfu, while Lu Min is serving as Kunshan County Captain.

Although both of them were candidates for ninth-rank officials, after all, they had real jobs and had the background of Fan Ning, so they could become full-time Beijing officials after serving one term.

Fan Ning heard from Zhu Pei that his sister might be pregnant, so he nodded, "I'm going to Nanyang the day after tomorrow, so you should take good care of her for me."

(End of this chapter)