Han official!

Chapter 75 Hehuang
“Technology is indeed the primary productive force.”

Guo Jie sighed, "The changes brought about by the Pear Tree are not only the increase in the amount of cultivated land from fifty acres to one hundred acres, but also the significant reduction in production costs. This is the greatest change brought about by technology."

The five thousand acres of land he acquired actually required a hundred oxen to plow.

Now, only fifty cows are needed to cultivate the five thousand acres of land in Jinchenglu.

The market price of a cow is 10,000 coins. Every hundred mu of land can save 10,000 coins of raising one less cow.

Five thousand acres of land is worth five hundred thousand coins.

Fifty thousand acres of land is five million coins.

One hundred thousand acres of land reached an astonishing ten million yuan.

In addition, there are the costs of wood for building the cattle pen, fodder for raising cattle, and tools such as oxen, rods, and stables, as well as the cost of medicine for treating sick cattle. All these expenses add up to a huge amount of money saved.

All the changes.

Just because of a small pear.

A new ox-drawn plow invented by Zhao Guo.

In Guo Jie's view, Zhao Guo was the most important person in Jinchengli.

At the edge of the farmland in Jinchenglu, there is a canal for diverting water, which passes through a thousand acres of land. The fields under cultivation are not the crooked fields shaped like fish scales in counties and prefectures, but are all neat and tidy strips of land.

The source of the weir is the weir, which is connected to the tributary of the river. When it is time for irrigation, the weir is opened to allow water to flow directly.

All the fields are top-quality irrigated fields, which is also an important criterion for dividing beautiful fields.

First, it is easy to irrigate, and second, the land is fertile.

If there is no water in the fields, even the most fertile land cannot grow corn and the seedlings will dry up and die.

Guo Jie took Ji Shaogong and Zhao Guo and sat on the ridge of the field. Next to them were the mulberry seedlings planted this year. When they sprouted next year, they could be used to raise silkworms and weave cloth.

The Han people are always good at making use of every piece of land. They plant mulberry trees on the edge of the fields to raise silkworms, and they also provide a bit of shade when they rest after working in the hot summer.

The fields of Dahan are divided into large acres and small acres.

The large acreage was close to 500 square meters. Sang Hongyang was thoughtful and clearly wrote in the letter to the county official temple that the large acreage was 500 square meters, not 500 mu, to avoid the situation of allocating it to a small acreage.

Although the officials of the border county government and temple admired Guo Jie for fighting a tiger with his bare hands and establishing a village in the border county, it was impossible for the large acreage to be reduced to a small acreage. With Sang Hongyang's letter with black characters, all future troubles were avoided.

The fields in Jinchengli are all large, and one thousand acres of land covers an area of up to 500,000 square meters.

It's endless and you can't see the end at a glance.

In the vast fields, from time to time, two oxen and three men pulling a plow would appear, leading the oxen, plowing the fertile fields and sowing corn seeds.

"In the first month of the year, plant spring wheat, peas, melons, and gourds."

Zhao Guo looked at the busy farming scenes in the fields and felt indescribably happy. He picked up a handful of soil, put it in his mouth and tasted it carefully, as if he was eating yokan, horse-brewing wine and other delicacies for nobles.

His face was a yellow-black, not the pampered white of the earth. He had been tanned the same color as the yellow earth from working in the fields all day. He continued cheerfully, "Mustard, sunflower, shallot, shallot, water chestnut, ginger, assorted garlic, mugwort, and taro."

Guo Jie looked at the fields where farmers were busy farming. They were all one thousand acres of land that belonged to him. He smelled the fragrance of soil mixed with grass. The water of the fast-flowing tributary of the river next to him, named Jincheng River, sent out bursts of water vapor and the smell of fish and shrimp.

Smoke rises in the distance.

From time to time, the sounds of chickens crowing and dogs barking could be heard.

There is also the mooing of cattle working in the fields.

An indescribable joy, peace and tranquility filled Guo Jie's heart.

Guo Jie, Ji Shaogong, and Zhao Guo lay on the ridge of a field, beneath the mulberry trees. As Zhao Guo recited some agricultural proverbs like an announcement of a dish, they gradually fell asleep, snoring softly. Guo Jie's mind kept replaying an adapted poem.

The spring breeze makes the tourists intoxicated, and they compare Jincheng to Yangzhou.

"call--"

During the feasting time (13:30-14:15), the sun was at its hottest in spring. The sun shone on his trousers, making him feel warm. Guo Jie exhaled and woke up, feeling lazy.

"Husband."

Yishuo had been waiting nearby, kneeling in the covered wagon on the other side of the fence. She said with a smile, "I've been so busy sorting out the accounts of the aristocratic estates you mentioned, and treating the villagers. I never thought you'd be so content."

Common people lack medical care and medicine, and they have to endure illnesses.

If you can get through it, you will survive.

If you can't survive, you will die.

Only the rich and powerful can afford medical treatment.

The Queen Yishuo was not only good at treating illnesses, but was also a famous doctor who treated dukes and marquises.

Less than half a day after Yi Shuo arrived in Jinchengli, her reputation far surpassed that of Ji Shaogong, who had been staying there for a long time. The villagers almost worshipped her as if she were Shennong, Bian Que and other ghosts and gods.

"Haha."

Guo Jie smiled and said, "Madam, you have come at the perfect time. I have something to discuss with you."

He stood up and looked at the north bank of the river. His gaze moved westward little by little, finally landing on the west gorge of the Jincheng River Valley.

Guo Jie said solemnly, "When Ganfu's soldiers are proficient in horse fighting, we will fight the Xiongnu who attacked Jincheng. However, before we fight the Xiongnu, we should first train our troops west of Xixiakou. Then, we can follow the Yellow River out of Xixiakou and into the Huangshui River, a tributary of the Yellow River, to seize another important river valley from the Qiang people, the Hehuang Valley."

Hehuang Valley, where Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province, is located.

Xining is 200 kilometers away from Lanzhou. When Guo Jie inspected the project, he took a three-hour bus ride from Lanzhou to Xining.

There were no roads in the Han Dynasty, only winding mountain paths, gullies and canyons.

However, there is a tributary of the Huangshui River.

Water transportation has always been the most convenient means of transportation for business and war. People and horses need to rest when they are tired, but ships do not need to. They can travel day and night and can always move along the waterway.

It takes three hours to drive, but if you take the Huangshui River waterway, you can reach the destination in one day and one night.

Ji Shaogong said worriedly, "The Han government and the temples are short of horses, and the people of Jincheng are even more short of horses. The soldiers in the village have no war horses, and they can never be trained into the elite troops that Gan's father wants."

"Haha."

Guo Jie couldn't help laughing again: "On the west side of the Hehuang Valley, there is the best horse farm in the world, Xihai!"

The West Sea is Qinghai Lake, the largest saltwater lake in Han territory.

By conquering the Hehuang Valley, not only can we obtain the best horse farms, but also the best salt-making land.

In ancient times, salt was actually a disguised form of taxation.

Guo Jie owned the Hehuang Valley, which gave him access to a steady supply of excellent war horses and the right to tax. It could be said that it was another undeveloped treasure land.

"However, the Hehuang Valley is different from the Jincheng Valley."

Guo Jie said, "The Hehuang Valley is home to numerous Qiang tribes, large and small. We need to conquer it piece by piece and eventually make it part of the Guo clan's estate. It's too early to say anything about that. Jincheng Village only occupies a thousand acres of land, which is still eighty percent short of the five thousand acres needed to support a hundred village soldiers."

(End of this chapter)