Chapter 589 Constituent Assembly (Part 2) (End of Part 2) (Chapter 4k)
"With permanent lease rights, public farmers are willing to improve their land and improve agricultural technology. Their output will increase, and the land rent you share will be more, right?"
"Stop talking nonsense." Count Nataniel snorted from his nose, "There are only so many fields. It has been the same per acre for hundreds of years, and the output has increased. Don't talk nonsense, okay? Agriculture is difficult. .”
Armand smiled slightly, returned to his seat, took out a stack of bound pamphlets, and distributed them to the left, middle and right seats in turn.
Holding the pamphlet and walking past the three people who were listening, Armand was stunned for a moment because of the unfamiliar face, but then he handed the pamphlet to Ruphire with a smile.
Opening the brochure, Lu Feier saw the bold words "Qianhe River Valley Agricultural Survey Report" at first glance.
"Please look at the second page of the brochure in your hands. In the same Naoan River Basin, the wheat yield per mu in the Golden Plains reaches 120 pounds or even 140 pounds. Why do we only have 80-90 pounds here?
In the two hundred years since the Kush moved into the Thousand River Valley Kingdom, the wheat yield per mu in the Thousand River Valley has increased from 40 pounds to 80 pounds. Now, it is necessary to rotate high-yielding rice crackers to increase the yield per mu to 90 pounds.
In other words, in three hundred years, not only has there been no progress, it has even gone backwards.
What happened at that critical node? Wasn't it because of feudalization and the large-scale conversion of tribal people into serfs?
Why can't we do what our ancestors could do a hundred years ago? ”
Armand walked slowly to the nobles who owned vast real estate in Pingyuan County: "Counts, you have enough land. As long as the yield of a part of the land is increased, it can bring huge long-term benefits, and there is enough
Permanent lease rights allow public farmers to invest and improve agricultural technology. For you, this is a sure-profit deal.
If the land yield increases from 90 pounds to 120 pounds, your income will not only increase by 30%, but will double, because no additional management is required.
You know, the next step is to elect the county magistrate and the township magistrate. If you spend a lot of time on agriculture every year, I'm afraid it will be difficult for His Royal Highness and the future county magistrate to consider you, right? ”
Several earls were disdainful at first, and then their expressions slowly began to change. After hearing the news from the county magistrate and the township magistrate, they straightened up.
Clowen immediately felt that something was wrong, and immediately grabbed their arms and asked in a bad tone: "Improve agriculture? Can you guarantee that it will increase from 90 pounds to 120 pounds? Improve and improve, the more you change, the cooler it gets!"
"It's very simple." Armand held up a page from the booklet in his hand, "Change from wheat to rice, from wheat to wheat-green manure/beans-rice crackers-potato roots crop rotation.
Rice crackers can be eaten without stone grinding and only require sieve shells. Beans and green manure are used to fertilize the land. Potato roots are fed to livestock and can be eaten by yourself.
But this requires farmers to take care of themselves. If it were not their own land, would public farmers put in so much energy and time?
Look at the results of our Langsand County. Last year alone, the production increased by 20%. The market also had more than 10% more meat, eggs, milk and other agricultural and sideline products than in previous years. Do you think that the food supply in Rapid City after the military disaster came from? Where did it come from? ”
At this time, even the little nobles in the middle table began to whisper.
"What's the use of saying so much?" Herman crossed his legs and leaned on the back of the chair. "Our mountains are so cold and the land is so barren. We have to plant wheat every other year. Where can we grow rice crackers?"
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Faced with Hermann’s questioning, Armand flipped through the pamphlet and walked towards Seizinger at the end of the first row: “Count Enrico, the agricultural director of our Holy Sickle Monastery, invented a new Enrico rotation method, which is specially used to plant crops. In the mountains, four crops are grown in each field in the following order: beans, wheat, green manure, and barley.
Thirty acres of land is enough to feed a group of up to three adults and three children. Wheat is used to make bread and barley is used to make wine. It can also raise cattle, pigs, sheep and chickens to provide meat, milk, eggs and other agricultural and sideline products.
Am I right, Count Seizinger? ”
While secretly cursing Enrico in his heart for finding him troublesome, Seizinger put on an ugly smile: "I contracted a manor at home to the Holy Sickle Monastery and signed a gambling agreement. It will be available in the autumn." to the results.”
"Your Excellency Herman, you also know that the mountains are barren, and it is difficult to improve living standards by relying on the traditional tax model. It is impossible for you to move all the mountain people to the plains.
If grain production increases in Pingyuan County, the price will definitely fall, and you will be able to rely on livestock, furs, timber and minerals from the mountains in exchange for more grain.
If transportation issues are considered, private checkpoints are no longer allowed. Except for North County, other mountainous counties have waterways that can reach plain counties.
Mortar roads are also about to be built in Northshire, I don't understand why you are against it? ”
Heman was stunned at first. He rolled his eyes and muttered something for a while. Then he suddenly put down his legs, leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes to rest.
All the other nobles knew that they were not going to speak out against it.
Sampoli, who was almost convinced at first, suddenly turned his eyes and exclaimed as if he had reacted: "That's not right, the rice crackers and potato roots need to be steamed. You almost got in."
Upon hearing this keyword, the nobles who were still hesitating suddenly realized and immediately shouted.
"I just said there is no such good thing."
"I almost got fooled by this kid."
If rice crackers need to be cooked, firewood is needed, but there are not enough forests in cities and plain areas, so firewood must be transported from farther away.
Common people cannot afford this cost, but nobles can.
However, the benefits brought by the increase in production are only slightly greater than the losses caused by the withdrawal of forest privileges.
"Langsand County has many forests and is close to the mountainous counties where timber can be transported by water. Naturally, you can do this. What should we do in Hotam County, Lower River County, and Kasha County?"
"We have also considered this issue. Please turn to the fifth page for an introduction to peat." Armand said with a smile. "The price of briquettes per ton is 18 to 20 dinars, while the price of firewood per ton is 18 to 20 dinars." To about 26 dinars, if the market scale expands, the price can be lower
One ton of briquettes can be used for cooking rice crackers, heating water and heating for about one year, and it can be used for two years if it is used only for cooking rice crackers.
A ton of firewood lasts less than 6 months. In addition, we do not have to use briquettes entirely.
We will spend another 20,000 gold pounds to continue dredging the waterways of Daze Township. Timber and ore from the three northern and southern Mound counties can enter Pingyuan County through the Ibe River waterway and canal. ”
The nobles began to become noisy. They put their heads behind the chairs and talked in low voices in twos and threes. Those who were in favor and those who were against were even split.
As time went by, two nobles even tore off their robes and severed diplomatic relations on the spot, and the public opinion in favor gradually became louder than the public opinion against it.
The nobles are not monolithic, especially as the mountain nobles and the plain nobles do not deal with each other.
Grain production increases and grain prices fall, which is definitely good for importers.
Seeing Armand's smiling side face and the whispers of many nobles, Lufei laughed along with him.
This little brother is quite good, and he actually convinced these stubborn nobles little by little.
"Sorry, please allow me to interrupt."
Lufer turned her head sharply and looked at Venise who stood up in disbelief.
Regardless of Rufeier's anxious tugging at the hem of his clothes, Venise, as a member of a famous family in France, couldn't help but point out a mistake to these people:
"With all due respect, the empire's food market is limited, and has been overwhelmed by the food from the Coastal Flesh Royal Court. You have increased your food production, but cannot sell it outside. You spend a lot of time, but what you get is limited."
"Are you?" Horn, who was sitting on the throne, looked at him with a smile. This was not arranged by him. "I am Venise Gagendos." Venise bit down on the name Gagendos very hard.
Catherine stood up and smiled bitterly: "These three are Al scholars who came to visit because of their reputation, so I arranged an auditorium for them."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we are just listening, we are not supposed to talk, we are leaving right away." Staring at Venise fiercely, Lufeil, whose face was red, tugged on the corner of his clothes.
"It's okay, it's okay." Armand was not angry at all. He laughed and walked over to invite the three of them to sit down again. "It makes no sense. If you have any questions, I can naturally answer them for you. Please see Chapter 10 of the booklet. Two pages.”
Sitting down gratefully, Rufei said to Abaz beside him: "Page 12."
Holding a pamphlet called Agricultural Report, Abaz glanced at it casually and couldn't take his eyes away when he turned to the twelfth page.
He was still absent-minded at first, but gradually his eyelids were so wide that they almost reached his eyebrows.
As soon as Armand opened his mouth, Arbaaz took off and jumped nearly half a meter high: "Have you mastered the technology of purifying brown sugar?!"
"Abaz! Why are you like this?!" Rufei almost found a crack in the ground and crawled into it.
"Yes, we have mastered the technology of brown sugar purification." Armand was still lifeless and continued to affirm Abaz's statement, "Not only that, we are also conducting tariff negotiations with Black Snake Bay to reach a customs union or duty-free zone.
As you all know, Black Snake Bay is short of food. We use food in exchange for brown sugar from Black Snake Bay, and we process and purify it into white sugar, and then sell it to the Kingdom of France.
Unlike the collapsed grain market, sugar is an absolute seller's market, and supply exceeds demand. If grain is exchanged for sugar, and sugar is exchanged for money, there will be enough foreign exchange to support our internal reform and construction.
In addition, we can also establish food processing workshops to process perishable foods, such as canned fruits, dried salted ham, etc.
You all know how short of fruit the shepherds in the gravel plains are, let alone the Northern Bearfort Territory.
In addition, after the implementation of permanent lease rights, farmers will need start-up capital. We will form the Sacred Arms Agricultural Bank with the Megdi Chamber of Commerce and the Royal Franchise Trading Company to provide loans to farmers on the basis of religious orders.
Then the order must place a large-scale order for iron farm tools, including rakes. Isn't this a huge order for the iron smelting workshop in North Mound County? ”
"Cough cough cough...huh?"
The dwarf representative on the right seat was still yawning. Hearing the last sentence in a hazy state, he suddenly ejected from his seat and started.
The eyes that were about to close together suddenly widened: "How big is the order?"
"An order for three million public farmers."
"I support permanent leasehold rights!" The mine owner lord and the dwarves immediately rebelled.
After hearing Armand's words clearly, the originally neutral mine owners and dwarf workshop owners immediately came to Armand's side.
Seeing Armand talking freely, Horn and Meliati both showed a happy smile on their lips.
The little carrot head who used to play tricks with garlic has now grown up.
In fact, the perpetual lease seems simple, but behind it lies Horn's most important intention, which is to liberate agriculture.
If agricultural surplus output cannot supply enough industrial and urban populations, then industrialization will be impossible.
From a political perspective, strengthening the economic power of farmers was strengthening the power of Horn.
Because Horn's real supporters are the three million public farmers and laborers in the Thousand Valleys, but currently they have no willingness or ability to give their support.
Although what Horn is currently doing is not to untie the shackles, at least it has loosened their bonds, and it has added fuel to the engine of alchemy and gear industrialization.
Changing rice crackers and washing potato roots requires cheap fuel, right? Then there is a market for peat.
Do iron smelting vats and heating stoves need fuel? There is still a market for peat.
So if food is to be commercialized and marketed, does it require frequent transportation and exchange? So do we have to build roads and waterways? Do I still need mortar?
Now that we are going to build a road, do we still need to recruit construction workers? Do we need to recruit coachmen for transportation? Do small shopkeepers and merchants still need to be involved in the sales process?
Not to mention the sugar industry, whose main foreign exchange products are used to earn foreign exchange.
Then the scale of the three basic light alchemies of mortar, sugar making and peat will inevitably expand with the expansion of the market, and then the power of labor will be strengthened.
The increase in the size of labor is not additive, but multiplicative, because these products are industrial chains.
A sugar workshop requires three plantations and a slime alchemy workshop, a mortar workshop requires five quarries to supply sandstone, and transporting products requires porters, right? Want a businessman? Want an accountant?
As the economic strength of these groups becomes stronger and stronger, through correct guidance and political means, they can smoothly transform into a political and military voice.
The simplest thing is that after the change from wheat to rice is implemented, when Horn, as a national trust, can cut off the peat supply of a county with one sentence, guess who the county chief will listen to?
"We have understood the suggestions of the representatives." Meliati's voice was not loud, but she suppressed the discussion of all the noble representatives, "Please wait for the results in the afternoon."
…………
At the end of the day-long Constituent Assembly, the delegates walked out of the palace in twos and threes.
Several vendors from out of town were still discussing the new charter pillar at the door, inscribed with the newly released Article 4 of the Constitution.
Among the crowds leaving the Central Palace, Armand was carrying the mahogany suitcase reserved for senior monks. As soon as he walked out of the arch, he heard the sound of rapid footsteps behind him.
"Wait, little monk, wait." A clear female voice came from behind.
Armand turned around and saw the female companion of the Ayr who had interrupted him at the meeting before, pressing the hat on her head and running over in a hurry.
"What can I do for you?"
"That's it. I'm sorry that my companion interrupted your speech many times." Lu Feier lifted her hair from her temples and lowered her head shyly, "I would like to treat you to a meal to express my apology."
"Well, actually I made an appointment with my friend..."
"You can come together." Lu Feier rolled her eyes, "Actually, I want to write a little about the deeds of the Salvation Army, because there are many related rumors in the empire. Maybe you can help me refute the rumors?"
After thinking for a moment, Armand immediately put on a polite and diplomatic smile, took Ruphiel's hand and shook it: "Then it's better to be respectful than to obey. Let me introduce myself. My name is Armand, Armand-Jean Richey." Stay · Kesai ”
"My name is Ruphiel, Ruphiel Larkin."
(End of chapter)