At the end of October, Bianliang began to get cold.

The weather changes suddenly, it is the middle of winter, although there is no snow, it can roar out of the field, awe-inspiring cold wind.

Compared with spring and summer, Bianliang's luck is much less, and there is an off-season.

The pace of pedestrians in the streets and alleys is also a little faster than in the past, a little more hurried, a little less elegant, and even a little less leisure when drinking tea.

The grass outside the Constitutional Yuan has completely withered, and only the evergreen trees, which are like spring all year round, are still swaying in the cold wind.

Zhao Jun is still dealing with government affairs.

These days, he has gradually become familiar with political affairs, and he is also very comfortable in dealing with problems.

Even if you encounter a problem that you don't understand, if you talk to King Lu Yijian and them, you can understand it with a little thought, but compared to Lu Yijian, they are still far inferior to them.

I am much worse in terms of political sense and experience.

So much so that today, when I needed to consult Lu Yijian again, I was teased by Lu Yijian: "How about it, it's not easy to sit in this position." ”

"It's really harder than I imagined, but the fundamental purpose of my compromise is to remove the stumbling blocks that hinder the development of modernization, not to make the Han people suffer, you also have to remember this, don't be crooked."

Zhao Jun replied so lightly, making Lu Yijian choke and leave in a huff.

But although he replied, it was also very uncomfortable.

Only when you really sit in this position can you appreciate the difficulty of sitting in this position.

Those in power are concerned about the security of the country's political power and the stability of society, so they are bound to make compromises in many places.

For example, if you are an insurrectionist, you don't have to care about the attitude of the court and the big landlords. Huainan is drought, there is no harvest, and the people can't survive, so we will rebel.

Kill all those corrupt officials, kill all the big landlords who hoard grain, and rob their grain, in order to survive, why care about whether the country will perish?

But from the standpoint of the Song Dynasty, although the big landlord class is hateful, it will at least help the imperial court maintain local rule, as long as they do not rebel, then the imperial court will turn a blind eye to many things.

Moreover, because the big landlord class has spokespersons in the court, the court will tend to favor these big landlords when making real decisions, even if it wants to appease the place, it is difficult.

Even at the last moment, we have to worry that these big landlords, who have a lot of land, food, and people, will rebel, and they dare not do anything with them.

In this way, the court was formed in the eyes of the people to be dark and corrupt, and it was a dynasty that should be destroyed.

In the eyes of the court, the people are full of people, thugs, and thieves.

The two sides look at the problem from different angles, and it is difficult to unify ideologically, so it is naturally difficult for each other to understand each other's difficulties.

Up and down for two thousand years, in terms of feudal society alone, only Zhu Yuanzhang can be regarded as half-knowing and half-ignorant of this.

It is said that he knew this because he basically did not spare his hands in dealing with large landlords and corrupt officials, maintaining the political clarity of the early Ming Dynasty and alleviating the land annexation in the early Ming Dynasty.

To say that he did not recognize this is that even he himself belittled the Red Turban Army as a thief, and said that the Yuan Dynasty lost its rule because the politics were too lax.

Obviously, when I sat in that position, I decided my head with my ass.

It's a pity that Zhu Yuanzhang's descendants did not inherit his attitude of continuing to attack corrupt officials and big landlords, and they were finally fooled and lame.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was not only difficult to purge the officialdom, but also unable to collect taxes.

Zhao Jun, as a descendant, should actually consider the problem from the perspective of the people.

But at least not yet.

The main reason is that Western Xia and Liao are still a hidden danger.

If you want to make a bold move and learn from Zhu Yuanzhang and the attitude towards corrupt officials and big landlords during the New China period, if you do it now, it will be the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Inside, there will be countless rebels and rebels in droves, and externally, there will be Western Xia and Liao countries eyeing each other.

At that time, under the internal and external troubles, it is impossible to say that it is really possible for the Liao State to learn from the Qing Dynasty, enter the customs and go south, and occupy the Central Plains.

So Zhao Jun is still forbearance at the moment, forbearance in order to take care of the overall situation.

Again, that's the same sentence.

Taking care of the overall situation will be a joke when many young people in later generations listen to it, but when you really get to that position, you will find that sometimes it is good to have a way to take the overall situation into account.

It's hard to even take into account the overall situation.

"It's not easy to turn the ancient concept of heroic history into a people's view of history, the rebellion is precarious, and sitting in the position of the ruler is also walking on thin ice, no wonder for thousands of years, countless Zaifu said that this position is too high to be cold."

Zhao Jun finished approving today's government affairs, put down the brush in his hand, rubbed his temples, and felt more tired than in high school in his previous life.

Charcoal has been lit in the house.

The weather is getting colder and colder, winter is coming, and Bianliang doesn't know how many people will freeze to death.

"Cotton seeds have been found."

At this time, Wang Zeng got up and walked up to Zhao Jun with a slash and said to him: "Fan Yong got on the slash, and they successfully brought back more than 8,000 catties of cotton seeds from the Western Regions. ”

"Oh?"

Zhao Jun hurriedly said: "Is it the African cotton I am talking about?" ”

"It should be."

Wang Zeng said: "It is indeed a different variety of cotton from our native land, and it was cultivated during the Wei Dynasty of the Eastern and Western Dynasties, and the Tang Dynasty has already appeared as a more valuable cotton clothing." ”

Wang Sui also walked over and said: "The old man rummaged through the historical materials and found that the Tang Dynasty had also promoted this kind of cotton, and tried to plant it in Hebei and Henan, but it seemed that it could not be planted. ”

"Actually, when Hanlong used to talk about this kind of cotton, the old man also remembered this item. I deliberately searched for historical materials and found that from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty, there was no shortage of inland planting, but this kind of thing could only be planted in the Western Regions. ”

Sheng Du turned his head sideways and asked, "Maybe there are still a few cotton planting areas in some places in Hebei, and even a large number of seeds, but can it really grow in the Central Plains?" ”

Nowadays, the Great Song Dynasty is not static, such as the imperial court ordered the northwest Fan Yong and Qingtang to open a mutual market, and purchased a large number of cotton seeds from the Western Regions.

The location of Qingtang is in the area of Xining City, Qinghai in the later generations, because the Western Regions were blocked by the Western Xia during the Song Dynasty, resulting in the Central Plains and the Western Regions cutting off contacts, although cotton was introduced in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, but it was not promoted in the Central Plains.

Qingtang happened to be the ancient "Silk Road" South Road and "Tangbo Ancient Road" must pass through, after the Western Xia cut off the Western Regions, the Song Dynasty could still communicate with the Western Regions through Qingtang.

Therefore, Zhao Jun proposed to conduct more business activities with Qingtang some time ago, exchanging grain, salt, weapons, armor and other materials needed by Qingtang for horses, cattle and sheep, and cotton.

Now it's finally working.

It's just that everyone is skeptical about Zhao Jun's promotion of cotton.

The main reason is that in ancient China, there was actually local cotton, called Asian cotton, this kind of cotton yield is low, difficult to plant, since the Western Han Dynasty, it is only in Guangdong, Hainan and other coastal areas of small-scale planting.

The introduction of the Northern and Southern Dynasties is African cotton, which has high yield and strong adaptability, and is also a cotton variety promoted by Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Dynasty.

But as cotton, it also needs four main conditions: abundant heat, sufficient light, sufficient water and fertile land.

So even if it was introduced to China, it still didn't adapt immediately.

The Tang Dynasty once tried to promote, planting in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, but unfortunately failed, the planting could not live, even if the planting lived, the yield was not high, and the economic effect was not large.

Therefore, people don't understand how this thing should be promoted.

Zhao Jun heard everyone's words, shook his head with a smile: "During the Tang and Song Dynasties, cotton was not popularized on a large scale, the main reason was that during the Xiaoice River period, the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the climate became colder, the rainfall line moved south, and the north became increasingly arid and cold, making cotton difficult to grow. ”

"I remember that Han Long said before that the end of the Han Dynasty and the end of the Ming Dynasty both perished because of the Xiaoice River period, what is this Xiaoice River period?"

Lu Yijian was also interested, remembering that Zhao Jun mentioned it when he said that Sanyi would return to the river.

Zhao Jun explained what the Xiaoice River period was, and then said: "This Xiaoice River period in the Tang Dynasty is the third, and the fourth time is to the Ming Dynasty, that is to say, we just caught up with a good era, and we are at the end of the third Xiaoice River period, and it will take more than five hundred years before there will be the fourth Xiaoice River period, which will be an opportunity for our rapid development." ”

"If that's the case, wouldn't it be that at least five hundred years, all parts of the Great Song Dynasty will have good weather and good weather?"

Wang Zeng's eyes widened.

"Thinking too much."

Zhao Jun glanced at him and said: "There will still be natural disasters, but the climate in the north is not so cold, and the crop yield in the north will not suddenly drop significantly." ”

Cai Qi stroked his beard and said: "In this case, does it mean that Hebei, Shaanxi and other places can continue to farm?" ”

"Yes."

Zhao Jun nodded: "As long as the threat of Western Xia and Liao is solved, Shaanxi and Hebei will slowly recover." ”

The current situation in the Great Song Dynasty is that due to the over-reclamation of the Guanzhong area in the Tang Dynasty, the Guanzhong area is close to barrenness and the population is very small.

Due to the proximity of Hebei to the Liao State, a large number of people migrated southward, and the local area was dominated by military tuns.

According to historical records, at that time, the population of Qinfeng Road and Yongxing Military Road in the whole of Shaanxi and half of Gansu was only more than 8 million, and it was mainly concentrated in the Loess Plateau, and the number of people in the Guanzhong Basin was not large.

The two roads in Hebei, Hebei East Road and Hebei West Road combined, are only more than 6 million.

During the Tang Dynasty, there were more than 10 million people in Hebei.

On the other hand, the population of Jiangsu and Zhejiang has exceeded 20 million. Henan, Gyeonggi, Huguang and Sichuan all have populations of more than 10 million, and the south of the Yellow River has clearly become a major concentration of people.

There are two subjective reasons for this, one is the border between Western Xia and Liao, and the people moved south. Second, during the third Xiaoice period, crop yields in the north declined.

However, the third Xiaoice River period in the early Song Dynasty ended, so if the threat of Western Xia and Liao could be solved, Hebei and Guanzhong could rebuild water conservancy, and it was not impossible to reclaim it.

Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Wang Zeng muttered: "It would be great if Guanzhong and Hebei could be reopened." ”

"Also the end of the third Xiaoice period means that cotton can be planted?"

Wang Sui also asked.

"Yes."

Zhao Jun nodded: "But you should still adapt first." ”

Lu Yijian wondered, "Why? ”

"Haven't you been adapted to the cultivation of the Yellow River basin before? It shows that planting also needs to be done step by step, although we have tried to plant since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, but it was not promoted until the Yuan and Ming dynasties, and there is a certain reason. ”

"What do you mean by the localization adaptation process you talked about earlier?"

"Yes."

"So what should I do?"

"After the cotton seeds arrive, they will be sent to Guangzhou, Hainan and other places for trial planting, and then promoted throughout the road, which may take several years."

Zhao Jun thought for a while and said: "Guangzhou, Hainan and other places are originally subtropical regions, with abundant water and fertile land resources, but as long as the experiment can be successful there, it means that cotton can take root and sprout in the south, and when the northern climate warms up to a certain extent, cotton will slowly spread from south to north." ”

"Won't this crowd out the cultivation of farmland?"

Lu Yijian frowned and said.

If cotton were to be widely cultivated in the South, it would obviously be a shock to the crops in the South.

As I said earlier, the south is now the main population area.

The reason why the Song Dynasty was able to maintain its rule was that the southern part of the country produced the Champa rice agricultural revolution, which caused a huge increase in grain production in the south, so that grain from the south was transported to the north and sent to Bianliang through the canal, and then transported to Hebei and Shaanxi.

If cotton is widely spread in the south, Lü Yijian is worried that it will cause cotton to crowd out farmland and plant, which will greatly reduce grain production.

Zhao Jun said without hesitation: "Yes, from the Southern Song Dynasty to the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions are the main grain-producing areas, where there is known as Su Changshu, the world is full of words. Since the Ming court was deceived into forbidding the sea, the southern gentry secretly went to sea to do business, and they needed cash crops such as mulberry, linen, and cotton to make silk, linen, and cotton clothes for sale. A large amount of farmland was converted into mulberry and hemp cotton fields to produce economic effects, resulting in a nationwide food shortage, which also became a foreshadowing of the fall of the Ming Dynasty. ”

"Then you're still promoting in the South?"

Lu Yijian was puzzled.

Zhao Jun looked at him and said, "Are you going to give up eating because you are too full to eat?" The fundamental reason for the shortage of grain is that the big landlord class hoards grain in order to achieve the goal of buying low and selling high. It is not that the Song Dynasty was short of grain, as long as this problem was solved, or the productivity continued to increase, so that the grain production increased highly, and it was reasonable to turn part of the farmland into cotton fields. ”

"But now that productivity has not improved, and the problem of large landlords hoarding food has not been solved, what should we do?"

Lu Yijian frowned.

"Small-scale planting can be carried out first, and after the experiment is successful, it can be greatly promoted without allowing farmland to be converted into cotton fields."

Zhao Jun said: "Cotton is not very picky, and unlike rice, it needs to be kept in the water field to maintain a continuous amount of water. Cotton can be produced on the slopes of the mountains as long as it is watered frequently and the sun is maintained. In the future, when the productive forces will increase, there will be a rich variety of grains, and there will be no shortage of grain, nor will there be a variety of cash crops. ”

"I see."

Lu Yijian thought about it, then turned his head and said to Wang Zeng: "Guangdong Road Transfer Envoy Zeng Lin seems to be your protégé." ”

Wang Zeng nodded his chin slightly and said: "In the first year of Tianxi, I was framed by Wang Qinruo, and I was dismissed as a waiter in the Ministry of Rites. ”

"Lao Wang, then I'll leave this matter to you."

Zhao Jun said.

Wang Zeng glanced at Lu Yijian, and got another errand.

(End of chapter)