The next recruitment work was really much smoother, and seeing that the recruitment point was full of maple sugar compressed biscuits and salted dried fish, and the selected recruits were allowed to eat, many rumors were self-defeating.

Although the taste of grilled dried salted fish is not very good because there is no cumin powder at present, it is much stronger than nothing. Moreover, maple sugar compressed biscuits mixed with maple syrup have a sweet taste, which is an absolutely indescribable enjoyment for ordinary Europeans in this era!

In this era, I am afraid that only nobles have the opportunity to be late for sweets often, and ordinary people have no chance to eat sweet things at all. For the average person, the only chance to get in touch with sweetness is probably when you eat fruit. Ripe apples, for example, are the only chance that many ordinary Europeans have access to sweetness......

Now, the soldiers of the Beihai army can eat sweet biscuits almost every day, how can it not be exciting?

Of course, in fact, the soldiers of the Beihai Kingdom usually don't eat maple compressed biscuits every day. Because, strictly speaking, compressed biscuits are a wartime food that can only be used. Usually, everyone still eats brown bread. Then, add Chinese fast food. That one is much richer than compressed biscuits, and it is more nutritious.

But these little guys in southern Germany who participated in the recruitment didn't know, they thought that eating sweet compressed biscuits was an emperor's enjoyment. As the joke says - the emperor must drink two bowls of soy milk every meal, drink one bowl, and pour one bowl......

Under the temptation of delicious food, the counter-propaganda of those princes could hardly stop the enthusiasm of those little brothers in the mountains of southern Germany. After a few meals of sweet biscuits and grilled salted fish, some of the young men who were not selected also refused to leave at the recruiting office......

In desperation, the person in charge of the recruitment department contacted the local authorities with carrier pigeons and asked for a disposal plan......

As soon as Marin read the report, he happily ordered - bring it all back! Even if you can't be a soldier, you can bring it to the Americas as an immigrant. It just so happens that there is a shortage of people over there......

……

As time goes on, the arrival of September heralds the beginning of the autumn harvest in parts of southern Europe. Of course, at the same time as the autumn harvest, there is also the North Sea Country in the north......

The autumn harvest in southern Europe is due to the warm climate and low latitude here, and the planting is earlier than in the north, and the autumn harvest is naturally earlier. The autumn harvest in Beihai is purely due to the application of phosphate fertilizer......

However, despite the large number of provinces in the North Sea State, only five provinces, East Friesland, West Friesland, Oldenburg, Schleswig and North Münster, use the new fertilizer. In other areas, volcanic ash is only partially used. Therefore, only these five provinces will start the autumn harvest in September. In other provinces, it will have to wait until October......

At this time, Louis XII, who was in the city of Naples, was also very concerned about the autumn harvest. Mainly, look at the effect of volcanic ash......

After taking possession of the Kingdom of Naples, Louis XII dug up large quantities of volcanic ash from the Kingdom of Naples and transported it back to the mainland, where it was tested in Provence, in southwestern France, near Italy, mainly for the use of barley fields belonging to some of the estates belonging to the royal family.

Today, the barley harvest in Provence is almost underway. So, Louis XII was now very concerned about the barley production over there......

If the results of the previous small-scale experiments in Paris coincide, then France is desperate to take the Kingdom of Naples. If there is a difference in the results, Louis XII will have to consider whether it is a concession......

……

While Louis XII was anxiously waiting, one day the carrier pigeon came with the news......

"Your Majesty, great joy!" The Count of Durt, who was in charge of intelligence under Louis XII, waved a secret letter and happily trotted over to report to Louis XII.

Louis XII also stood up and asked anxiously:

"How? How's it going? ”

After relieving himself, Count Durt reported:

"According to the report of the royal estate on the outskirts of Provence, after using volcanic ash, the yield of barley there has increased from more than 2,200 pounds per bonier (the ancient French area unit, equivalent to one hectare) to more than 3,300 pounds (equivalent to about 220 pounds per mu), and the improvement effect has reached half!"

When Louis XII heard this, his face showed ecstasy. It's only a 50% increase, but it's good news. After all. If you lift 1,100 pounds per bonnier, 10,000 bonniers will lift 11 million pounds. This amount of improvement is completely enough for France to start a large-scale war. Even if tens of thousands of war horses are dispatched, there is no worry about insufficient food and grass. Moreover, even if there is no war, so much extra food can be sold for money......

The only drawback, presumably, is that the Kingdom of Naples has limited production of volcanic ash and cannot supply it to all of France, but only to the French crown to the needs of the French crown.

But that was enough, and Louis XII wished that the royal family would be strong and the other great nobles weakened. The royal family had enough money and food to ensure absolute control over the Kingdom of France.

The arable land belonging to the French crown is probably tens of thousands of bonniers. If volcanic ash were used, it was foreseeable that tens of millions of pounds of more grain could be produced each year. With so much food, it can definitely support France to launch a large-scale war against Spain......

Even if you don't fight Spain, you can fight Austria. In any case, France had long taken a fancy to the rich Netherlands, if it could take it away from Austria......

At this moment, Louis XII was full of pride and longing for the future. At the same time, he also strengthened his determination to fight the Spaniards to the end - for the volcanic ash of the Kingdom of Naples and for the hegemony of France, he must fight hard!

……

In fact, Louis XII did not know that not all volcanic ash was so fertilizing. It also happened that the French obtained several volcanoes, and the volcanic ash there happened to be suitable for fertilizer for crops. However, not all volcanic ash is suitable for fertilizer, and some volcanic ash is even harmful to crops because it is rich in toxic substances. In addition, the newly erupted volcanic ash cannot be used as fertilizer immediately, and needs to be mixed with local and ordinary soil for many years to become fertile soil. Even, some of the volcanic ash soil has a variety of plants growing on it for many years. After the plant dies, it decays and becomes a highly nutritious putrid impurity, which accumulates from generation to generation and naturally becomes more fertile.

But the French didn't know that the volcanoes they had chosen happened to have large areas of volcanic ash fertile soil. Then, they were convinced that the volcanic ash soil was the best fertilizer.

Just like the volcanic ash in Iceland that Marin is now developing, because Iceland is cold, there are not many plants that can grow on the volcanic ash soil, and there are few deputies, so it is not a good volcanic ash. However, before sending these volcanic ashes to the following, Marlin added a lot of "materials" to it, such as potash and apatite, which enhanced the effect, and it was no worse than those volcanic ashes with good fertilizer effect......

……

Louis XII had no idea of the various possibilities of volcanic ash. He also thought that as long as it was volcanic ash soil, it was a good fertilizer.

By this time, he had made the ash of the volcanic ash the only reliance on France's rise and domination of Europe. At an internal meeting in the presence of only a few cronies, Louis XII excitedly shouted:

"For the volcanic ash! For France! ”

Clearly, Louis XII was prepared to fight Spain......