Chapter 50, Souvenirs of Medieval Travel
"...This...how do I say this? You don't have to blame yourself like this, Doraemon. Everyone has his own destiny. As long as he survives, there are infinite possibilities. No matter what, these people are all because of you. With our efforts, we have escaped the massacre of the Black Death. As for how to live next, it depends on their own abilities - after all, we are not their parents, and we do not have so many unshirkable natural obligations..."
Seeing Doraemon's troubled expression, Wang Qiu couldn't help but come up to comfort him and said, "...Although you often work as saviors with Nobi and the others, it doesn't mean that it is your responsibility and obligation to save every world. . If it is stipulated that to save a person's life, you have to take care of him for the rest of his life, then I can guarantee that everyone will only care about themselves in the future, and no one will dare to help others anymore..."
"...Yes, I think so too." Professor Guo took a sip of wine and agreed, then came up with an idea, "...I remember when we were in the late Northern Song Dynasty, didn't you come up with a Can we grow amazing crops again in Europe? ”
——When Doraemon and Professor Guo traveled through the time and space of the Northern Song Dynasty and contacted various forces to besiege the Jin soldiers, it happened that the remnants of the Western Liao army in Yelu Dashi were trapped in the grassland and lacked food and grass. Therefore, Doraemon took out Developed a 22nd century high-tech crop [seven-day quick-growing wheat] for the Khitan people in Mobei Sowing seeds on the grassland - this [seven-day fast-growing wheat] is a cold-resistant, drought-resistant and barren-resistant super crop jointly developed by scientists from various countries through genetic engineering in the early days of the future world's development of the Antarctic continent. It can adapt to a variety of harsh climates, and is especially cold-resistant. It is drought tolerant and is said to grow even on icebergs.
Relying on this incredible high-tech crop, the remnants of the Khitan army quickly harvested a large amount of food from the grasslands, thereby alleviating the shortage of military rations.
However, the situation in medieval Europe was slightly different - it was not natural factors in climate or soil that led to the food supply crisis, but the disappearance of agricultural labor and the collapse of agricultural production caused by the Black Death: If the plague raging in rural areas was not solved, then Even good seeds are useless.
"... I'm afraid it won't work. Even the best crops require people to sow and cultivate them. In the era of the Black Death, even this was difficult to achieve, because governments in various countries had disintegrated and collapsed, and even the order in the city was Everything is generally out of control, and no one can organize agricultural production in the countryside.”
Doraemon thought for a moment, but finally shook his head, "...even though [Seven-Day Quick-Growing Wheat] grows fast, its yield per unit area is pitifully low, and may not be as good as the oats and barley grown by Europeans in the Middle Ages. , it was originally planted on the grassland where crops could not be grown, so it is particularly conspicuous. If it is not used for reclamation, but is sown on mature land, it will simply waste the cultivated land. Moreover, this thing is not resistant to heat and waterlogging. It will fail to produce crops if it is flooded, and it has poor resistance to diseases and insect pests. Not suitable for Europe's relatively humid maritime climate
In fact, given the situation in European countries in 1348, rather than introducing any new species, it would be better to continue with the original routine. But the question is, when the Black Death continues to spread and cannot be extinguished, who has the ability to resume agricultural production under the scythe of death? ”
——Although the Black Death spread in Europe in 1348, there were no particularly significant natural disasters, and the original water conservancy and irrigation facilities were not abandoned. As far as agricultural production and food supply are concerned, the real test is actually the governing ability of the ruling authorities and the organization of the country.
If the Soviet Union in Stalin's era or New China in Mao's era could deploy the human resources of the whole society in a highly effective manner and organize the surviving urban population to "go to the mountains and countryside" at the first time, then it might be possible to restore part of the food supply. Production can nip the impending famine in its bud - after all, many mouths that need to eat have been wiped out by the plague.
However, if the political system of medieval Europe, which was loose, stacked, and divided, wanted to organize the urban population to go to the countryside to reclaim land and resume production, not to mention whether the pampered nobles wanted to do this, even if Come to think of it, those abandoned cultivated lands also have their own owners. Just issues such as land ownership and feudal inheritance rights can cause a lot of armed conflicts, and citizens with personal freedom may not be willing to farm the land obediently - because it is too difficult to enter the city. After a long time, they may no longer be able to farm. How to find "agricultural technicians" to teach them farming skills is even more of a disaster. In short, whether it is the church, the nobility, the royal family, or the city council that presides over this matter, because there are too many troubles involved, the result will inevitably be thankless. Therefore, even if the rulers have anticipated the impending famine, they will most likely choose to wait for the famine to break out and then see how many people can survive... Anyway, no matter how many paupers starve to death, they will not be able to starve these "noble" people. "People" isn't it?
Even so, they still think the best of human nature - with the conscience and love of money of those Venetian profiteers, maybe they are already planning how to take advantage of this famine year to hoard and wildly increase food prices to make a hundredfold profit. Woolen cloth!
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
"...Hey, is it such a trouble? In fact, maybe you can try reverse thinking."
Listening to everyone's discussion, Ma Tong opened her mouth and bit a wine glass in confusion, then lay down on the Tatami rice in a slovenly manner, letting a wisp of sake flow along her lips onto the tatami, "...Dora A. Dream, I only need to rely on you In that [Magic Encyclopedia Dictionary], invent a [Fat Grain Technique] or [Hibernation Technique] so that those who can't eat can temporarily stop eating like hibernating snakes. Wouldn't that solve the problem?"
Well, since we don't have anything to eat, why don't we hibernate together? Senior Sister Ma Tong, your reverse thinking is really weird!
——This weird idea was so offbeat that there was a brief silence in the box: everyone felt that something was wrong with this idea, but they couldn't tell what was wrong... and had to remain silent for a while. .
Finally, the little girl Shizuka Minamoto, who was still very winking, laughed a few times and took the initiative to change the topic:
"...Haha, anyway, things like famine cannot be solved in a short while. Today is the day to celebrate Doraemon paying off the loan shark. Let's talk about some happy things! For example... By the way , you have traveled to so many places in medieval Europe this time, I went to such a romantic place like France, so why didn’t I think of bringing some souvenirs back as ‘souvenirs’ for everyone (Japanese tradition is to bring gifts when you return from a long trip). When it comes to France, it is definitely the first thing that comes to mind? It's perfume and wine!" she said deliberately.
"...French perfume? Pfft! Miss Shizuka Minamoto, it was 1348 when we went there! The legendary French perfume is not even there yet!"
Wang Qiu spurted out the sake in his mouth and shook his head repeatedly, "...Perfume was first invented in ancient India and Persia, and in medieval Europe, the Italians established the first batch of workshops to produce perfume. . But France’s perfume craftsmanship has been very backward until later. Suddenly prosperous, the lavender fields in Provence only appeared very late in history... The reason why the French concentrated on studying perfume was because they mistook bathing for the source of the disease after the Black Death, so they actually closed the bathroom Never take a shower for the rest of your life.
But people will stink if they don't take a shower, and Europeans don't seem to be perverted to the extent that they regard smell as beauty. Such a harsh living environment naturally makes perfume a necessity in life. The French first imported perfume from Italy, but later felt that this was not cost-effective, so they managed to poach Italian perfume craftsmen and set up their own perfume workshops, laying the foundation of the French perfume industry. During the Napoleonic Empire, Emperor Napoleon, who loved science, encouraged French scientists to invest in the research of organic chemistry, so that the French perfume industry began to lead the world trend until the 21st century..."
He wiped the wine stains at the corner of his mouth with a tissue and explained to Minamoto Shizuka, "...During the era of the Black Death, due to the narrow consumer market and backward technology, even Italian homemade perfumes were rare. The quality was also very poor, as far as I could see, it was used in European courts at the time. High-quality perfumes are basically imported from India and Persia, and Indian products with aphrodisiac effects are more popular. If you really like it, I can get you a few bottles, but with all due respect, it depends on your age. I mean, it’s really too early to use that thing...”
"...What? Imported from India? A little too early for me? Oh! God -"
In response, Minamoto Shizuka blinked her eyes first, then suddenly turned red, "...Is it the legendary Indian... sacred oil?!"
"...Yes, it's almost that kind of thing. The smell is very pungent and weird. Most modern people won't like it. It's better to take a flower petal bath!"
Wang Qiu shrugged and replied to her, "...As for French wine, you can get as much as you want, and it is absolutely natural and green and pollution-free. It is not the kind of sugar water mixed with alcohol and pigments. The next time I go back there, , I will ask Li Wei to get a few barrels for you all to try... Hey, speaking of it, relying on the money collected from him, we have a lot of money here. While eating and drinking and celebrating with each other, Levi, wearing the title of 'Paladin', stayed alone in that backward world with no one around him to talk to, not even his pregnant wife who had been with him for several years. , were sent to the future hospital in the 22nd century to wait for delivery, and he must feel very lonely now when he is not around! ”