I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 639 Imported Pigs and Sheep
With the intervention of the local government, more than 50% of the cotton fields in the Jiangnan area have begun to implement cotton-rice rotation to adjust soil fertility.

Some counties that are prone to drought (mountainous areas in Fujian and southern Zhejiang) simply switch to corn, yellow rice, soybeans and other drought-resistant crops.

Especially yellow rice, which is one of the five grains, is widely distributed in the north. It was cultivated in Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Monan grasslands and Liaodong in the New Ming Dynasty.

Because this stuff is drought-resistant enough and has a higher yield than millet, people like to grow these crops in dry lands without the government having to tell them.

The same is true for the implementation of cotton-rice rotation farming. Although the government has been promoting publicity in the early stage, and the court has also adjusted the tax rate on cotton fields to encourage people to engage in rice rotation farming, businessmen are pursuing profits, and the people are naturally pursuing profits.

But it doesn’t matter. In fact, there is no need to say too much about the benefits of cotton-rice rotation. The people themselves have suffered several losses and have learned to be smart.

Cotton fields are depleting soil and breeding pests and diseases. Repeated attacks will inevitably lead to large-scale production losses.

In the spring of this year, the work of the Ministry of Agriculture went more smoothly. With the coordination of villages and towns, people in Jiangnan planted cotton where cotton should be planted and rice where rice should be planted.

If it is not suitable to grow rice, then directly switch to high-yielding drought-resistant crops such as corn and yellow rice.

The imperial court controlled the chaotic cotton fields in Jiangnan, and cotton production could predictably decrease rapidly.

Of course, this is only for cotton spinning merchants. The actual output should be considered to have returned to normal levels, and it has been much higher than before.

When cotton production decreases, businessmen naturally have to make up for it, otherwise cotton cloth production will also be affected. Wool from the Monan grassland has naturally become a substitute.

This also stems from the advent of new cotton spinning machines, which can be operated by hydraulic and steam engines, and can replace manual twisting by machines.

The price of grassland wool has risen rapidly. As soon as last year's wool arrived in the south, Jiangnan cotton merchants took notice.

Yangzhou was stuck at the transportation hub from the canal to the Yangtze River. It was not completely abandoned at this time, but it had long since stopped taking the main canal upstream, and had instead switched to sea and river transportation (natural canals).

A large amount of grassland wool is directly traded in Yangzhou City.

"I want all of this wool and one, two and six cents of silver!"

"I'll pay you one, two, seven!"

"One or two or eight dollars!"

"..."

One to two six cents refers to the unit price, which is much higher than in previous years.

Fortunately, this is not due to rising prices in coastal areas and the ups and downs caused by the spread. It is purely because the cotton spinning industry in the Ming Dynasty has developed too fast. The advent of steam cotton spinning machines is equivalent to stepping on the accelerator of the cotton spinning industry.

Not only are Chinese cotton merchants dumping cotton fabrics around the world, but they are also engaging in frantic involution internally, which invisibly raises the purchase cost price of wool and cotton.

Of course, even so, these businessmen still make some money.

Britain's eagerness to carve up India with China was actually influenced by Chinese cotton.

Although the impact has not been directly affected, many British businessmen have already been vaguely aware of it.

On the other hand, in Yinzhou, because the distance is too far, the Spanish in Mexico will not be greatly affected for the time being, although this is not good news.

As Jiangnan cotton merchants continued to bid up and grab goods, the purchase price of wool soon rose to two taels of silver per load.

The wool merchants from the north were all delighted and grinned from ear to ear.

It was just this round trip, deducting the road freight, and everyone made a lot of money. Even this wool is still in short supply for the cotton spinning merchants in Jiangnan.

Countless wool merchants in the north have made up their minds to continue purchasing Mongolian wool from the grasslands during this trip. It would be best to obtain the monopoly rights from the government.

Otherwise, there would be so many orders from the south that we wouldn’t be able to eat at all.

The imperial court promoted cotton-rice rotation farming to ensure grain production in the south of the Yangtze River, but inadvertently made grassland wool a commodity in short supply.

Not only was the wool market in the south initially established, but the economy and commerce of the Monan Grassland became increasingly close to that of the Han Dynasty.

……

Shanghai.

A British merchant ship arrived at the port. This was obviously an official order from the imperial court. Otherwise, the British would not have gone all the way to Shanghai, but would have traded in Coconut City.

Several officials from the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture also brought several old officials to the port to hand over the goods.

These old officials were specially hired by the Ministry of Agriculture and were proficient in raising pigs and chickens. They could be promoted to official positions if they performed meritoriously.

First, several old officials came forward to check and accept the ship. They did not think there was a smell in the cabin, but asked the British to drive out the pigs and sheep in the cabin quickly to prevent them from getting sick.

"Huh~huh~huh!"

"Mea~~!"

Hundreds of pigs and sheep were driven out of the cabin by the British, and they were obviously a little nervous.

However, these are normal phenomena. Even if people have been floating on the sea for so long, it is inevitable.

Several officials from the Ministry of Commerce who did not understand farming were amazed when they saw the herds of pigs and sheep that had been driven out.

Fortunately, those sheep are not very different from the sheep in China, but the pigs are obviously different, not only in the size of the pigs, but also in the color of the fur.

An official from the Ministry of Commerce exclaimed: "I can't believe that there are such pure white pig breeds in this European overseas land?"

The domestic pigs raised by people in the Ming Dynasty and the New Dynasty were actually completely different from the large white pigs that were widely raised in later generations.

According to the naming of later generations, the people of the Ming Dynasty now all raise a type of pig called Chinese native pig.

The biggest feature of this kind of native pig is that it looks like a bandit (just kidding), and has a higher body fat rate, and the pork belly it makes tastes great.

Zhejiang's Jinhua ham uses the "Wujin pig" among Chinese local pigs.

Several senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture came forward to carefully observe each pig and sheep, even opening them to see the teeth, hooves and hair: "Mr. Lin, everything has been inspected properly. These pigs and sheep are all the breeds His Majesty wants, and there are no harmful diseases. It's just that It must have been floating on the sea for a long time and needs to be raised for a period of time before breeding can be carried out.”

Lin Wenxi from the Ministry of Agriculture nodded: "If that's the case, then it's no problem. We all want these pigs and sheep."

The British businessman responsible for the handover was very happy: "China and Britain are allies, and we, the British East India Company, will certainly not deceive our allies, who are also our business partners."

Zhu Yijiong purchased these pigs and sheep through the British. He did not know where the large white pigs and high-quality sheep of later generations came from, so he could only ask around through the British, Dutch, and Portuguese.

But he was lucky. Although the real large white pigs of later generations have not yet been bred, the British have already created an early hybrid breed. This kind of pig is called Yorkshire pig.

This is a typical lean pig with a lower body fat rate than the native pigs in China, but its biggest advantage is that it is easy to feed, and its production speed and reproduction speed are faster than those of the native pigs.

The new Ming dynasty reformed the salt and iron tax laws, fully implemented the method of dividing every acre into an acre, and vigorously promoted the planting of potatoes and sweet potatoes in mountainous dry lands.

The benefits this brings, in addition to the rapid increase in population and the increase in overseas immigration rates, are the people's pursuit of quality of life.

After all, as long as you are willing to work hard, you will never be short of food. If you really can't survive, you can still sign up for the government's overseas immigration.

Taiwan, Luzon, Guangnan, and Yecheng are all open for immigration, as well as Liaodong and Monan in the north, and Tibet and Sichuan in the south are long-term immigration areas. As long as you are willing to sign up, you can allocate land and settle there.

As people's lives improve, they will begin to pursue material pursuits.

In the past, when people bought meat, the people would be happy if the butcher cut more lard.

But in recent years, many developed cities have begun to like eating lean meat.

Most of them are from Jiangnan Prefecture and County. Zhu Yijiong introduced British Yorkshire pigs from overseas, not just to eat lean meat, but to increase their reproduction and slaughter speed.

Under the supervision of officials from the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture, and after paying the balance, the sheep and white pigs from the UK were first sent to the Animal Breeding Station of the Ministry of Agriculture in Nanjing.

Later, these sheep and white pigs will be sent to Tamluo County in the north. With the establishment of Liaoning Province, it is no longer a horse breeding base.

The new horse breeding base has now been moved to the grasslands of southern Liaoning and Monan, also in preparation for the upcoming battle against Mobei.

Tamna County was converted into a livestock breeding base, specializing in breeding and crossbreeding experiments for cattle and sheep.

The so-called breeding and cross-breeding literally means cross-breeding various livestock to see what can be produced.

The outstanding ones will continue to be bred, and the outrageous ones will be killed and eaten for meat, or they can be sent to Nanjing to show the emperor's curiosity.

This batch of sheep and white pigs, the sheep are mainly used for breeding experiments with Chinese sheep, while the British white pigs are mainly used to breed their growth rate for slaughter and the number of piglets after breeding.

Today's Tamna County, according to statistics at the end of last year, the registered population just exceeded 80,000. Nearly one-third are Han immigrants, and the rest are North Koreans who migrated from the Chief Secretary of Seoul.

In the entire Tamna County, after several years of education, all Korean people have been registered with Chinese names, and their children have started learning Chinese since childhood.

There was even a county academic administrator specially set up here. Over the past few years, four county schools were built one after another, and they were even allocated imperial examination quotas.

……

Forbidden City.

Zhu Yijiong was reviewing the memorial when he suddenly scanned an annotated letter. When he opened it, he saw that it was submitted by the cabinet: "The prince is sixteen years old and has already passed the coronation ceremony. It is appropriate to appoint the crown prince and concubine."

In the former Ming Dynasty, Lao Zhu set the age of marriage for men at sixteen and for women at fourteen.

During the Manchu rule, there were no major changes, except for slightly relaxing the age limit for men to eighteen, and for women, symbolically to fifteen.

If you are over the age, you must get married, otherwise you will be forced to get married by the government, and you will also be charged taxes and fines.

This is not purely harsh, but stems from the sharp population decline after the war. In order to encourage population growth, legal provisions for weddings and funerals were made.

Of course, there must have been some relaxation in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty. Even from the mid-Ming Dynasty, concubinage became "legalized" (people did not hold officials accountable).

In the new Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yijiong revised the new laws and made changes to weddings and funerals, but not too much.

This is not only to respect ancient traditions, but also to adapt to world colonization. Foreign colonization is impossible without a population.

But he didn't want to, so he let the ministers seize this point and remind the emperor in a subtle way: It's time to choose a concubine for the prince!
In the royal family of the former Ming Dynasty, the marriage age of princes was generally between thirteen and seventeen, and no older.

Zhu Yijiong thought carefully for a moment and wrote Zhu Zhu: "Yes. Let the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites first negotiate the regulations."

The prince's wedding is the same as the emperor's wedding. It has been decided when the internal funds are allocated to the treasury. The money can only be provided by the treasury, and the internal funds will not pay a penny.

After all, the prince is the crown prince of the country, and the prince's marriage is also related to the dignity of the country. Its political significance is as important as the actual continuity of the country.

Zhu Yijiong put down the memorial and continued to review other memorials.

It was not until a few days later that Prince Zhu Boxi, who was studying at the Nanjing Military Academy, learned the news.

There is a grassland in the military academy specifically for the prince and other princes and students to practice riding and archery skills.

The second prince, Zhu Boyu, was sweating profusely and came to the outskirts of the grassland: "Brother, why are you sitting here? The instructor rarely lets us go back early today. Come on, I heard that Qiyun Society has a Cuju football match today. It's better to go now." I can make it in time to watch the show.”

Cuju flourished since the Song Dynasty and reached its peak in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Women's Cuju performances even appeared in the Ming Dynasty. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that they were afraid that people would gather to rebel, so they banned it completely.

Nowadays, in the Ming Dynasty and the New Dynasty, folk Cuju has naturally been restored.

Emperor Zhu even went to see several Cuju performances organized by non-governmental organizations, and the term "football" was spread from there.

As for the Qiyun Society in Nanjing, it is not the Qiyun Society of the Song Dynasty, but a young man from a wealthy family who formed a team in his spare time and became famous in one battle.

Zhu Boqi raised his head and looked at the sky: "No, the emperor can go and see by himself! I want to stay here for a while."

Zhu Boyu also heard that something was wrong now: "Brother Huang, is he in a bad mood? But what happened?"

Zhu Boxi did not hide anything, but said with a depressed look: "My father is going to choose a concubine for me..."

Although he was just drafting the articles of association, it still made him feel quite uncomfortable to have such a major marriage matter controlled by others.

Zhu Boyu's face was suddenly full of "surprise": "Huh? Could it be that the princesses chosen by my father for my brother are all 'beauties' with strong backs and strong waists?"

Zhu Boqi was originally depressed, but when he heard this, he choked for a moment: "Ahem...how is it possible? This time, my father, the cabinet, and the Ministry of Rites are choosing a concubine for my brother. How can it be possible to choose someone with a strong back and a strong back?" "

Zhu Boyu smiled and said: "If it's not the case, then why is the emperor so depressed? Is it possible that the emperor likes to be a tough guy and is embarrassed to tell his father? If so, the emperor doesn't mind informing the emperor on his behalf. And don't worry, my father is too. He is not an unreasonable person, and I will definitely not refuse these small requests from the emperor."

Having said that, he started to stand up.

This frightened Zhu Boqi, and he couldn't care less about his depression. He quickly stood up and stopped him: "Who said I like a tough guy? Don't talk nonsense."

Zhu Boyu was surprised again and said: "If you don't like being strong and strong, then why is the emperor so depressed here? Does the emperor have... such unspeakable hobbies?"

Zhu Boqi's head turned big, and when he, the emperor's younger brother and classmate, interrupted him, he forgot why he was depressed.

Zhu Boyu looked at the other party's increasingly darkened face and smiled again: "Brother, don't be angry. Brother Huang is just joking with you. Although Brother Huang cannot understand Brother Huang's mood at this moment, he has also heard his husband say, In this life, one must learn to be content with what one has. Since the father has decided to choose a concubine for the emperor, the matter is already inseparable. It is useless for the emperor to be depressed here. It is better to find more happiness like the emperor's brother. thing."

Zhu Boqi shook his head: "My brother is the prince, how can I pray for contentment and happiness like my younger brother?"

Zhu Boyu said: "We have it now. If we don't go, we really won't be able to catch up with the Qiyun Club. This is the most famous team in Nanjing now, and even the royal family and I can't see it very often."

This is mainly because Zhu Yijiong doesn't like to abuse his privileges, and he doesn't have much interest in football. The previous visit was to promote Cuju activities among the people.

A certain national football team in later generations... we are embarrassed to mention it.

Zhu Boxi originally wanted to refuse, but then he thought about it. He, the emperor's brother, was right. What his father and the emperor had decided was done as if he could resist.

As the prince of a country, his marital power was not in his hands.

Thinking about it this way, why is he still depressed?
When it's time to eat, when it's time to drink, his father will choose a concubine for him, and he won't suffer any loss anyway.

Zhu Boqi finally nodded: "The emperor's brother is right, he is doing it for his brother's sake."

Zhu Boyu said anxiously: "Then leave quickly! If you don't leave, you will really be unable to catch up."

Zhu Boqi: "..."

The relationship between the crown prince and the second prince of the new Ming Dynasty was much more harmonious than that of the nine sons of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

They can even make some dirty jokes with each other. Apart from the fact that they are not too old, the advantage of the eldest son inheritance system is that it is difficult for other princes to shake the crown prince's throne.

If there is no conflict of interest and throne, the relationship between brothers will naturally not turn into enemies.

It was precisely based on this principle that the Manchu Qing Dynasty established secret princes, and did the opposite, giving all the princes an illusion of opportunity.

But in fact, from the beginning to the end, the secret reserve has always been an internal decision.

Everyone knew about Qianlong, who was founded by Yongzheng, even before he ascended the throne. And Jiaqing... this guy is the youngest and has outlived the old immortal Qianlong. Daoguang and Xianfeng behind him are each more abstract than the last.

(End of this chapter)