Chapter 1586 What is better than the cold


    ??Although it has basically entered spring, the cold wind still howls and refuses to stop, desperately stabbing the knives into the gaps in the clothes and armor.


    ?Fei Qian couldn''t help but wrap himself up in a big cloak, but he felt that the brocade cloak couldn''t suppress the wind...


    It seems that every Little Ice Age was a disaster for the farming people.


    While the mild climate lasted, the civil and military forces of the entire dynasty were happily eating, wearing, and using their clothes. Not only did they not think about expanding outward as much as possible to obtain more resources, but they also tried hard to get rid of the burden of using troops from the outside world. The Eastern Han Dynasty The same is true for the Ming Dynasty.


    When the temperature dropped, the northern nomads had to gather and head south in order to survive. One side is muddling through, and the other is fighting for survival. The morale of the two armies is probably more than doubled at the beginning. After the standing soldiers of the farming nation on the front line of defense are defeated, it will often snowball. It is also difficult to reverse the defeat.


    ?Of course, if there was no King Li Chuang in the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen might have been delayed, just like if there was no Dong Zhuo, Liu Bian might have been able to live a few more years.


    External factors are very important, but internal factors are even more important.


    Now, Fei Qian is preparing to strengthen the internal factors for the Chinese nation, so that future generations will have more means and more preparations when facing hardships.


    Why do time travelers tend to act confident in the beginning?


    Because the time traveler knows the general direction of the future at the beginning. However, as time goes by, this sense of direction will gradually deviate and disappear. When history takes a different path, travelers are just like ordinary people, and they are somewhat concerned about the future that is no longer clear. fear.


    For example, cotton.


    ??In this valley north of Chang''an, the small dam built specifically before winter has already broken some of the ice. The water flow is mixed with broken ice, flows down the valley, and then rushes towards the Guanzhong Plain. The finely crushed ice shards shone with colorful light under the sun, illuminating the emerald green color in the valley.


    Zaozi Jingzheng was standing outside the valley, leading a dozen agricultural and engineering students to greet Fei Qian.


    A bachelor''s degree in agriculture is actually a position that is very suitable for poor families. Firstly, these ordinary positions are looked down upon by children of noble families, and secondly, ordinary people do not know enough to hold them, because the standards for political performance are very straightforward and clear, and if you do well, you will be loved by ordinary people. It has become a ladder for many poor families who want to re-enter politics.


    ?As for Bachelor of Engineering, there are many craftsmen from the Huang family, and some people from the Moh family are appointed.


    Therefore, from a certain perspective, the Bachelor of Agriculture and the Bachelor of Engineering are undoubtedly the two probes that General Fei Qian used to penetrate into the bottom of the Han Dynasty. Whether they can become two important pillars in the future depends on future development.


    Fei Qian jumped off his horse, and under the protection of his guards, he and Zaozhi entered the valley together.


    There are watch towers around the valley, roadblocks and fences at some intersections, and irregular patrols, not for anything else, but to avoid the kind of ignorant farmers in later generations who dig hundreds of thousands of fruits and vegetables...


    ??It is true that the farmer is guilty of being ignorant, but does he who is lax in keeping watch over the farm innocent?


    After entering the valley, there is a camp blocking the entrance. Behind the camp are planned areas planted with various plants. On the right side, close to the mountain wall, there are two two-story wooden houses and a large There is an open space with some equipment placed on it, which is obviously the place where the Bachelor of Engineering is located.


    ?The road underfoot is paved with **** and gravel and has been compacted. It appears to be very dry and smooth, and walking on it does not raise much dust.


    After entering the camp, Fei Qian sat down in the hall and glanced slightly.


    ??The camp is very simple, and even some places are still made of large wooden piles, which have not yet been completely transformed into bricks and stones.


    Originally, this valley was the site of the palace that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty chose to be responsible for planting. However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty mostly built this palace to show off his martial arts and did not pay much attention to it. Therefore, naturally this so-called most advanced agriculture in the Han Dynasty was The base was just a flash in the pan, with no deeds or achievements left behind.


    However, in the hands of Fei Qian, it has regained its vitality. Semi-permanent camps are still under construction, mainly using leisure time. After all, the most important thing is still the cultivation and planting of new plants, as well as the technical information. Organizing and teaching these things is far more valuable than building an exquisite palace.


    "Zijing, I''m sorry..." After Fei Qian waited for everyone to sit down, the first thing he did was to stand up again, saluted Zaozhi again, and said solemnly, "Zijing''s power is comparable to expanding soil. , It is indeed a blessing for the Han Dynasty!”


    ??Zao Zi quickly avoided the table and bowed, saying, "I just don''t dare to do it."


    Fei Qian stepped forward to help Zaozhi up, and then said to the other agricultural, engineering and engineering students in the hall: "In ancient times, all the people had fields for farming, and the light of the lamp passed down the crops. Shun plowed, Yu also farmed, Zhou Dian and the Han family , the prosperity of the country! Farmers and workers are the foundation of the country, you must bear in mind the great responsibility, the merit is in the country, and the merits will last forever!"


    The bachelor of agriculture and the bachelor of engineering, who had been injected with chicken blood, responded in succession, bowed again, and then stepped back, leaving the space to Fei Qian and Zao Zhi.


    Fei Qian took off the crown on his head, handed it to Huang Xu who was standing aside, and then said: "Zijing, what I just said was really not a polite word. Cotton was planted this time. Your name is , it must have been passed down through the ages... By the way, I brought some specialties from Sichuan and Sichuan. Remember to go home and take a look when you have time... Okay, let''s not talk about this anymore. Here''s the cotton, let me take a look..."


    Before Zao could say any more thanks, Fei Qian changed the subject.


    Maybe Zao Zao doesn’t think so himself, but Fei Qian knows that cotton can be said to be an important material to resist the cold. With cotton, humans can adapt to colder areas...


    You must know that the climate before the Little Ice Age was very warm. For example, it is like Vietnam, Laos and other places in later generations. One or two single clothes are enough all year round. But now suddenly A place like this has become the three northeastern provinces. How can these ordinary people live without warm clothes for a lifetime or even several lifetimes?


    ?Before there was air conditioning, everyone was warmed when it was hot, and everyone was cold when it was cold. Because when the weather was hot, everyone was hot. When it was hot, you couldn’t wear anything, and you couldn’t peel off your skin, right? But when it gets cold, the poor people who don’t have extra clothes will definitely suffer. And the rich people are naturally not so afraid. Anyway, they can wear a few more layers, like eight layers of clothes. In fact, it is too cold in the first place. There are no cotton clothes, just You can add layer by layer...


    Therefore, when a large-scale cold wave came, firstly, after the great war in the north, the population dropped sharply. Secondly, many poor people could not stay and fled one after another. Therefore, the Jin Dynasty after the Three Kingdoms naturally could not maintain its status in the north. Rule, and in the following period, the countries established in the north of China were all the regimes of nomadic people wearing cattle and sheep skins.


    So the cotton grown now can be said to be a little new hope to change this situation, a little precious fire. Of course, this fire still needs to spread out and burn more vigorously.


    Zao Ren only brought up some cotton that had been harvested for the whole season, with a look of reminiscence on his face, and said: "This is the newly planted one last year... We didn''t know at first that we would use this..."


    Zao just smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I used to grow wheat and rice before. It must be that the method was not very right. In the end, I couldn''t plant a few grains... It was really... Later, after the lord went to Sichuan and Sichuan, Longyou again A Semu man came and brought some other seeds, and this is where there is some progress... Twenty-seven acres were planted last year, and this year we should be able to expand the number to a hundred acres..."


    "Semu man?" Fei Qian took the cotton and thought about it, "Oh, it was mentioned in Gongming''s briefing at the time, but why didn''t it say that this Semu man also had seeds?"


    Zao just shook his head and said: "I''m not sure about this, but at that time, the Semu man kept saying that he would hand over the seeds in front of the lord, but he only took them out after hearing that the lord had arrived in Sichuan. …”


    “Can a strange thing live here?” Fei Qian frowned.


    Zao was silent and did not respond.


    ? Fei Qian lowered his head and looked at the cotton, thought about it again, and said, "Forget it, it can be regarded as a contribution. Let''s see it when you have time..." After saying that, Fei Qian focused on the cotton.


    The cotton buds in my hand are not as white, fluffy, or as big as I remembered in later generations, but they still feel light and warm.


    The slightly yellowed cotton yarn is not long and not soft enough, which means it takes more effort and time to weave, but in this era, this kind of cotton is already the best...


    ?Of course, at this point in time, the best cotton in the entire world is not found in Asia, but in the Americas...


    Perhaps after having cotton, we can try to cross the Bering Strait?


    In ancient times, it was said that Asia and America were actually connected. Even now, if the Little Ice Age comes, the Bering Strait will be frozen, and maybe you can walk across it directly...


    ??Then maybe corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and, of course, American gold and silver...


    For a time, Fei Qian''s thoughts spread and he became a little dazed.


    Having said that, America has so many resources, why hasn’t a huge dynasty been formed?


    Fei Qian pinched the cotton in his hand, which was smaller and much yellower than in later generations, and suddenly felt something. In the final analysis, it was still a question of domestication.


    In the Americas, there is a lack of domesticated agricultural crops, and there are no plants that have been continuously domesticated for a long time, such as wheat and rice. Corn is the main food crop in the Americas. The original corn ears are only as thick as a finger, the yield is very low, and there is a hard shell on the outside of the corn kernels. By the time Europeans arrived in the Americas, corn had been domesticated by Indian farmers and became about one-third the size of today''s ears of corn. Other crop varieties are also difficult to domesticate, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, pumpkins, etc., which are not as high-yielding as they are now. The original sweet potato was only slightly thicker than a human finger, and not as big as later generations.


    After all, purposeful domestication and unpurposeful selection are two completely different concepts. If you see good fruit and pick it first and eat it, there will naturally be no subsequent good fruits.


    "The ancient ancestors found wheat among the weeds, and then continued to plant it from generation to generation, selecting the best from the best, and then we have the current Zhuanghe..." Fei Qian solemnly placed the cotton on the table and said, "And now We have this... Let’s start from now on... We need varieties with bigger flowers, more velvet and longer... Once a year is still a long time, let’s see if we can grow it in the greenhouse..."


    "In addition, we also need some crops that can grow in the cold winter..." Fei Qian continued, "In this way, with cotton, cold-resistant crops, cattle and sheep, it can be closed into a plant suitable for cold climates. The food chain, well, can provide the people of Han Dynasty with something they can harvest for a year even in cold weather..."


    Why is it difficult for nomadic peoples to develop a brilliant civilization?


    ?Of course, if someone insists on interfering with the Yuan Dynasty, there is nothing to say...


    To have a civilized society, there must be a lot of fine division of labor, and people who are always in a state of labor cannot sit down and think about cultural civilization. Therefore, nomadic people, even if they are strong for a while, will disappear. In the long history, only by sticking to farming areas can more food slowly precipitate and spark the flames of civilization.


    In cold areas before, fur could only be used to keep out the cold, but now there is a plant that will be cheaper and more convenient in the future to keep out the cold. This will invisibly expand the scope of farming...


    “Cold-resistant?” Zao frowned and said, “Isn’t winter wheat enough?”


    Fei Qian shook his head and said: "Winter wheat lasts too long, and it is not really cold-resistant. If it encounters a cold spring, some people may freeze to death..."


    "So..." Zao pondered for a moment and said, "Why don''t you try growing some millet?"


    “Millet?” Fei Qian repeated and thought for a while.


    As for broomcorn millet, because its taste is worse than that of millet and its yield is less than that of millet, most of it has been replaced by millet. And because of the yield, some places don’t even grow millet, but wheat and beam.


    However, millet is the first crop to be domesticated by the Chinese people, and because millet is more resistant to drought and barrenness, it has stronger growth ability and has an advantage in competing with weeds. The growth period is short, the plants are short, and it consumes less land than There are less millets, so it is relatively more suitable to be cultivated as a crop adapted to high-cold areas.


    “I’ll choose millet!” Fei Qian decided, “First find a place here to try planting, and then go to Yinshan Mountain. If Yinshan Mountain can adapt, then you can go further north...for example, the Jiuyuan Changshan area..."


    While he was talking, a soldier suddenly ran over excitedly and reported loudly: "General Qi, there is news from Heluo that an angel is coming!"


    (End of this chapter)