Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 714 Changing the Planting Structure

After Hua Lei, Rong Jin and Pan Wan discussed it, they decided to plant it in the official fields of the provincial capital to ensure the yield first and then promote it vigorously next year.

In addition, in Xichang, many places grow autumn soybeans. In the Great Sheng Dynasty, soybeans, yellow beans, mung beans, and black beans were collectively called Shu. They were grown in various places, but the yield was relatively low.

Hua Lei had read the written materials from Xichang Prefecture in previous years. In Xichang, due to the poor soil and poor irrigation, the soybean yield, which was not high to begin with, became even lower, with an output of only about 170 to 180 kilograms per mu, far lower than the 350-plus kilograms per mu of wheat.

However, I don’t know whether the people here prefer to eat green soybeans, or whether they are out of inertia and don’t want to make changes. They have never thought about switching to growing other crops.

When there is not enough rice, I like to add beans to make some bean rice and bean cakes. I have been growing soybeans for decades.

In the previous life, Hualei had also eaten soybeans. At the beginning of summer, he peeled the beans out of the shells. The beans were about the size of half a thumb. He added some oil, salt and green onions and stir-fried them. They were very delicious and could be eaten with rice or as a snack.

Sometimes, Hualei would go camping with other friends. They would use this bean, add bacon, bamboo shoots, peas and other ingredients, stir-fry them, and then steam them with rice. The taste was amazing.

If you don't want to eat the green beans, wait for them to mature naturally, peel them, dry them, and use them to make various snacks. People in the Jiangnan region use them to make fennel beans, which taste very good.

Although soybeans taste good, their yield is too low now. Continuing to grow soybeans is not beneficial to people's livelihood or tax revenue.

You know, in the Great Sheng Dynasty, the tax grain was based on the actual output of the fields. If the soybean yield per mu was low, the tax grain paid would be much less.

Although Xichang Prefecture has been developing water conservancy projects this year, dredging ditches, and digging ponds and wells, irrigation should not be a problem.

In addition to the fertilizer bags that people piled up for the flower buds earlier, there should be fertilizer available after a while. If we continue to plant soybeans this year, the yield should be better than last year.

However, compared with wheat, the per-acre yield of soybeans is still not advantageous. Should we guide people to switch to growing wheat, which has a relatively higher per-acre yield?

If the people were willing to grow wheat instead, the government would receive more tax grain. So Hualei went to ask the officials in the government for their opinions.

However, after a round of discussion, most officials seemed to prefer to continue planting soybeans. If officials were so lazy and inflexible, how much more so would the illiterate people be? Hualei was a little disappointed.

After considering for a few days, Hualei decided to plant soybeans and wheat at the same time for the sake of tax grain from Xichang Prefecture and to increase the output of the fields.

In the homes of ordinary people, at least two-thirds of the fields that were previously used to grow soybeans should be planted with wheat this year. If the crops are rotated in this way, the output of the same field will be higher.

If people feel that the soybeans they grow are not enough to eat, they can reclaim wasteland or plant some in front of or behind their houses.

No tax is required for the first three years of reclaimed land, and no tax is required for soybeans planted in front of or behind one's house.

Moreover, when the wheat is ripe, if the people really prefer soybeans, Hualei can exchange soybeans with the people in the name of the government.

Hua Lei and Rong Jin have also discussed this, and they think that such a decree might be more acceptable to the people, but it might cause them some trouble.

He sent his own ships to several prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River to buy some rice and soybeans, then exchanged them with the people for wheat, and then sold them to other prefectures.

However, there is also a possibility that if people try to eat pasta, they may gradually accept it, which is the best. However, this requires a process, so there is no rush.

As soon as the decree was issued, the people of Xichang Prefecture spread the news. The grain tax was exempted for three years of land reclamation, and if rice was not enough, wheat could be exchanged for rice or soybeans. This was great, and the people all liked to eat rice.

At the same time as this decree was launched, if the people needed to make new farm tools to grow wheat, they could go to the village chief's house to learn how to make square harrows and plow carts.

Earlier, Hualei had distributed her own copy of "Stones from Other Mountains" to the county magistrate, which contained the production methods of the square rake and the plow.

With the help of the Nufang Office during this period of time, samples of agricultural tools have been given to each county government office. The county magistrate has also promoted them to the villages below and sent them to the village chiefs' homes.

The production method of the square rake farm tool is relatively simple. As long as there is someone in the village who knows a little about carpentry, he can make it, so it is not difficult to popularize it.

Although the plow cart has some technical difficulties, it is still being produced by the crossbow workshops in military camps and workshops in every state and county. It should not be difficult to gradually promote it.

It is most suitable to use a square harrow to prepare the land and a plow to plant wheat. With the improvement of efficiency, there will be time to open up wasteland. If the people really cannot make new agricultural tools this year,

Hualei could also rent farm tools to the people for free, and after they had a harvest, they could use the wheat to offset the low rent.

This was great news, and they no longer had to worry about anything. As a result, the enthusiasm of the people to open up wasteland was unprecedentedly high.

The people of Xichang, who seldom planted wheat, began to plant wheat vigorously in their own fields. They also planted a lot of soybeans in front of and behind their houses.

The crop planting structure in Xichang Prefecture is changing unconsciously.

Hualei asked Qingxia and Qingqiu to plant soybeans on the wasteland he bought, which would be more convenient if the people needed to replace the soybeans.

In order to popularize rapeseed cultivation, although there were not many rapeseed seeds, Hualei still allocated a portion of rapeseed to each prefecture under Xichang Prefecture.

Let the official fields of the state capital and county town be planted with some crops. On the one hand, it allows each state and county to accumulate planting experience, and on the other hand, it is also to avoid putting all eggs in one basket.

Xichang Prefecture is a large area, and the geographical topography and climatic conditions of each prefecture are different. The climate of the southern prefectures is similar to that of Hainan and Guangdong in the previous life, while the weather in the northern prefectures is a bit like that of Xinjiang and Gansu in the past.

If the rapeseed is only planted in Changlanzhou here in the government office, if there is a drought or flood, all the rapeseed will be wiped out.

For the subsequent planting, Hualei has taken every aspect into consideration.

Two months passed by unknowingly, and the sedge seeds that were randomly scattered on the wasteland had grown very lush and could be harvested as compost.

When Hualei was about to be harvested, Bailiyun's deputy Bailin found Hualei at the government office and brought her a letter from Bailiyun.