Out of the boundary of the merchant Zhuangzi, it is the land in Nanyang Zhuangzi.

The scene in this field is completely different from the situation in Shangchengzhuang. It is still the dirt road, but less than 100 steps out of the boundary stone, the road surface gradually becomes flat, some potholes sink down the place and the stone is pressed to the soil, unlike the two road sections that have not had time to be repaired in the merchant village, as long as the rain falls, there is thin mud everywhere, the muddy water can not pass the ankle bone when stepping on the foot, the horse stepping on the ox kicking the wheel and then being sunburned, the hard mud of the knot is either high or low or bumpy and low, which is worse than the dog gnawing. Walking on such a road, there is no need to direct the horse to turn left and right, the horse saves strength, and the person is relaxed, and even the mood is a little happy.

But this is not the most fundamental difference between the two Zhuangzi. The most obvious change is that the wheat here is no longer densely planted, and there is not even a place to settle in the fields. The fields here are all divided into ridges, and looking at it makes people feel refreshed. Each ridge is about three feet wide and narrow, and only three rows of wheat are planted on it; Between the ridges, there is still a one-and-a-half-foot ditch. With the furrow, it is not only convenient for the small water infiltration irrigation in the wheat field, but also convenient for the deep topdressing under the ridge platform to increase the utilization rate of fertilizer, and also improves the lighting and ventilation of the wheat field, and effectively reduces the diseases and pests of wheat...... And the benefits of ridges and furrows don't stop there. With ridges and ditches, drainage and waterlogging resistance are easy during the rain-concentrated season; At the same time, because the ridged field rises and falls like a wave, increasing the surface area and receiving more solar radiation, both the daytime temperature and the nighttime heat dissipation are more efficient than flat land farming, the temperature difference between day and night is greater, and the soil moisture is lower, which is naturally more beneficial to the growth of plants. In addition, the undulating ditch can effectively reduce the wind speed, reduce wind erosion, and the roots of wheat are rooted on the ridge, which greatly promotes the development and growth of the root system, and the lodging resistance of wheat has been greatly improved, so the wheat on this land grows lush and vigorous.

Looking at the rows and rows of wheat in the land that were neatly arranged like soldiers being inspected, Shang Cheng felt a sense of pride in his heart. In this gratifying scene, there is also a credit to him! He even felt that this credit was not comparable to the military exploits he had made in expelling the foreign captives from the border to fight against the Turks! Didn't he fight against the Turks so that his relatives could live in peace and stability? Isn't this wheat field in front of you a material guarantee for a peaceful life? According to the new cultivation method, one acre of land can increase grain output by 30 percent, but if all localities follow this method, how much grain can be increased each year, and how much more population can be fed by this grain?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of his own Zhuangzi. When they moved in, they had already missed the spring planting, and they couldn't catch up this year. Only after the wheat is harvested, then slowly comb it in the same way. He had already explained to Yue'er that when the farmers were at leisure, they would rebuild farm tools, build canals, and build river embankments......

Thinking of the seed, he suddenly remembered something. Two days ago, when he was chatting with the housekeeper, he overheard that Longshang wheat is generally grown in the Central Plains. This kind of wheat, which is native to the Xianyang area of Chang'an, is a cut above the Jicheng wheat in Yanshan in terms of drought and cold resistance and general yield. He told himself that he must write a letter as soon as possible, tell Lu Ji and Qiao Zhun about this, and ask them to do an investigation on the Yanshan side first, and wait until the spring of next year to find a few more places to plant the two kinds of wheat for comparison. If Longshangmai is better, then vigorously promote it in Yanshan!

Speaking of "promotion", he immediately remembered the difficulties encountered by the imperial court this year when promoting new agricultural tools and new practices.

The Ministry of Industry's pamphlet promoting the "two new" has been printed in the letterpress method, and a few days ago, Chang Xiu sent someone to give him two copies. The booklet is well printed and the illustrations are clear, but the text makes him want to scold his mother when he reads it! This is not the top score, is it necessary to write a simple expository essay into a good essay? With these few Jinshi-level strategies, Chang Wen deserves to suffer!

However, even if the pamphlet is written in an easy-to-understand manner, it is difficult for the "two new" to be truly promoted. The matter is clear, all over the Great Zhao, except for the bitter cold places like Yanshan, where else is it easy to change the farming tradition? Like the Central Plains in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, it is the birthplace of Han culture, and has been richer than other places since ancient times; Bashu in the southwest region, during the Warring States period, was developed by the Chu State and the Qin State successively, and it is the second area with the reputation of "the land of abundance" after the Guanzhong Plain; Not to mention the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain in the southeast, "Dongting is familiar with the world" and "Suhu is familiar with the world", where the two major granaries are located, it is even more impossible to change what new methods and new agricultural tools are casually changed because of a booklet from the government. What's more, the promotion of the "two new" is still implicated in the investigation of the hidden field and the household, and Zhang Pu and Zhu announced that they investigated the hidden field and the household, and offended all the homesteaders from head to toe in a year. Moreover, according to Shang Cheng's general understanding, even in the rural areas of the Gyeonggi region, middle-aged households who can barely get by and lower households who have to rent some land account for the vast majority of homesteaders, and they are not enthusiastic about the "two new" initiatives. The reason for this is, firstly, because the local squires do not take the lead, and secondly, because they have no money in their hands. Not only does it cost money to replace new farm tools, but it also costs money to practice new practices. The new methods are more elaborate and complex than the old ones, which means more effort is spent on the land; But where does the strength come from? Only when a person has eaten enough can he have strength. That is to say, if you want to find more food in the land, you must first consume more food, and the food ration of the vast majority of farmers is not enough to eat for the end of the year, so where does the food that needs to be buried in the ground come from? The grain had to be bought at the market. It costs money to buy grain, but these farmers who live by counting rice boxes and noodle cabinets have no money in hand, so they can only forget it. They can't just take on a debt first in order to get a few more grains, right? Who would dare to borrow money? Without new farming tools and new practices, they can barely get by, but if they can't pay their debts, it will be troublesome, and even if they don't end up in the desolation of selling their fields and houses, they won't be able to turn over for at least several years. In such a comparison, who would change the farming tools and change the method? As for the "two new" in Yanshan, it is another matter. Yan Shanwei suffered from successive military disasters and droughts, and the imperial court has been providing relief, which includes not only the rations for life, but also seed grain, large livestock, and a simple place sheltered from the wind and rain, and of course, all kinds of agricultural tools. Yan Shanwei took advantage of this loophole, and "subsidized" the farmers in disguise by distributing new farm tools and rations, so the promotion of the "two new" would be so rapid. But this kind of means can only be understood but not spoken, and there is no way to carry out large-scale promotion, and the Ministry of Industry wants to copy and apply, so don't even think about it......

Shang Cheng was walking on a horse, while thinking about the problems of the two new promotions. He felt that this was a problem that could not be properly solved in a short period of time. However, the benefits of the "two new" are obvious and indisputable. With the passage of time, more and more people will accept new farming tools and new methods, and more and more people will put them into practice, and perhaps in ten or twenty years, they will be able to replace the current farming habits......

Now, he has walked not far from Zhuangzi in Nanyang, where the road is divided into two branches, crossing the bridge to the west is the official road, and to the south is the place where he is going to visit......