Zhou Jin left with excitement, because His Majesty was very happy because of these inventions, and praised him, and his future became bright.

Maybe he didn't know what changes these little things had caused to social life, but Luo Zhaoyun could have a premonition.

Of course, the hydraulic forging machine is the thing he attaches the most importance to, productivity determines the relationship of production, this is Ma Zhe's classic thesis, very reasonable, only the productivity of this society has been improved, the material can be greatly improved, and the social outlook can gradually change and push to the rich and strong.

When Zhou Jin left not long ago, Taichang Temple was under the jurisdiction of the court, and Zhang Xingcheng was ordered to ask for a meeting and wait for the summons outside the imperial study.

According to qualifications, this official can only enter the palace alone to meet with him if he is from the fifth grade, and he needs to report something to Taichang Siqing and Shaoqing in order to have a chance to play.

However, Zhang Xingcheng has the special will of His Majesty, and he can regularly come to report on the matter of raising pigs, sheep and livestock.

Luo Zhaoyun asked Zhang Xingcheng to be responsible for raising a batch of castrated black pigs, from last year's autumn breeding, to today has been ten months, those black pigs have reached a weight of one hundred and fifty pounds, fat and strong, beyond the size of the black pigs in the past, all thanks to the castration technology mentioned by His Majesty.

Pigs were called pigs in ancient times, and the people also raised them, but the number was not much, because ordinary people had no extra rations, and people could not raise them, so it was more difficult to raise pigs, and cattle and sheep were mostly grass-eating livestock, but they would raise more.

In addition, because the ancient people's feeding technology was immature, there was no reason for castration, resulting in the boar as it grows, the male secretes too much, is energetic, is active and sleeps less, the meat grows slowly, not to mention a fishy smell, which is not liked by the aristocracy. Whether it is in the palace, or dignitaries, or large squires, they all eat beef and mutton, chicken and duck meat, and rarely eat pork.

Tao Hongjing, a great physician during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, once said: "Pigs are the most used, only meat is not edible."

In the Song Dynasty, the royal family spent a lot on beef and mutton, and when it came to the Song Dynasty, in order to control the royal expenses, he proposed to introduce pork. However, this year, mutton consumed more than 434,000 catties, while pork only consumed 4,000 catties, which was only a fraction. It can be seen that although Song Shenzong said that he introduced pork into the imperial kitchen, he was just talking, and he himself did not like to eat pork.

Pork in the Song Dynasty, are regarded as a very cheap meat, a small number of consumer groups, that is, ordinary people, occasionally fight tooth sacrifices, to Su Dongpo, research out a "Dongpo meat" dish, through some special processes, the meat is cooked, the use of marinades, etc., to remove the fishy smell, become more delicious.

But this practice is not very popular, because the aristocracy disdains to eat like this, and feels that they lose their status. Ordinary people can't get together so much meat foam, marinades, side dishes, etc., and the cost is too great, so it's better to buy beef and mutton directly.

Pork was really popularized, but it was only at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty that the castration technology was used for black pigs, and the feeding techniques were improved. As for the white pigs eaten in later generations, it was introduced from Europe to China in the sixties of the nineteenth century, and every household began to raise white pigs, gradually replacing black pigs.

Luo Zhaoyun instructed the eunuch to summon Zhang Xingcheng into the imperial study.

"Meet Your Majesty."

"Zhang Qing, don't be polite, come over today, but those black pigs, the largest batch has already been raised?"

Zhang Xingcheng praised: "Shengming but Your Majesty, as Your Majesty expected, the first batch of black pigs raised, has reached the peak of weight, in the last few days, the weight has not increased, and it is easy to be restless, the minister thinks, you can get out of the circle, no need to raise again." ”

"How much weight have you reached?"

Zhang Xingcheng arched his hand and said: "Back to Your Majesty, these thirty heads are all about one hundred and fifty catties, which is more than double the weight of the black pig before. ”

Luo Zhaoyun pondered for a moment and said: "Find some slaughtering knife hands, slaughter a few black pigs, and keep all kinds of pork and offal according to the list I listed, I will feast hundreds of officials and eat pig-killing dishes!" ”

"I understand." Although Zhang Xingcheng hesitated in his heart, he didn't know what this pig-killing dish was and whether the pork could be eaten, but on the surface, he didn't dare to intervene more, and just do it according to His Majesty's holy words.

"How's the sheepfold outside the city going?"

"Back to Your Majesty, there are already 7,000 sheep, at present, from the Western Regions, the grassland, Liaodong to trade Hu merchants continue to increase, they heard that the imperial court to buy sheep, so the Hu merchants brought more sheep, different breeds, according to Your Majesty's instructions, after we purchased, except for a few for the royal meals, more are milking sheep, pulling wool, making dairy products, wool is in a group of stock, waiting for further instructions from Your Majesty."

When Luo Zhaoyun heard this, he smiled slightly and said: "It's good, goat milk and milk can be sent into the palace, and the rest I plan to establish a milk factory and a goat milk factory, first in the capital, to order and sell fresh milk to large households with economic conditions." As for wool, I also have other plans, and the loom will come out soon, and when the time comes, we can make wool and then sweaters. ”

This manufacturing industry, it can be said, can cause a lot of economic changes, such as sweaters, wool demand is too large, then the sheep industry will be improved, in addition to farming, the Central Plains can open some farms, and at the same time increase trade with the grassland, the Western Regions.

In the past, the grassland had no other materials except cattle and sheep, and continued to go south to rob the Central Plains, and the Central Plains Dynasty was not good at trade, and even the posture of a great power, often with rewards, rather than equal trade, some looked down on the little money of Fanbang.

If some free trade markets are established, and tea, silk, grain, porcelain, and coins from the Central Plains are exchanged for cattle, sheep, and wool from the grasslands, they will be able to achieve an economic partnership and good trade relations, which is conducive to the diplomacy of the state.

Therefore, Luo Zhaoyun also attaches great importance to this matter, and said to Zhang Xingcheng: "Raising cattle and sheep and hoarding wool is also very important, be sure to pay more attention, if you do it well at this time, your achievements in the future will be no less than leading troops to fight and conquering cities." ”

Zhang Xingcheng was also a little excited when he heard this, he is currently only an official in charge of raising livestock, in the Jiuqing Temple, he is considered a medium and small official, Jiuqing compared with the three provinces and six departments, there are marginal, and they are all sent to do something that is not very closely related to the government and government. He is only thirty years old, and he also has the idea of being a pillar of the court, becoming a bachelor of Hanlin, and becoming the prime minister of the court.

"Minister Zhang Xingcheng, you must do a good job, please rest assured." Zhang Xingcheng swore that he was going to do his best and die.