Chapter 186: Advising farmers [Part 1]

The sea ship was relatively simple. Under Zhao Jin's suggestion, three sea falcon ships were retired gloriously, and the commander of the Dengzhou Navy recently took a concubine.

However, this sea falcon ship is indeed very dilapidated and needs to be overhauled and renovated for two months before it can be used again. Moreover, the sea falcon ship is not carrying a large capacity. After all, it is a warship, and the Northern Song Dynasty's coastal defense policy is offshore defense, so the sea falcon ship is not loaded. In addition, two sea ships with 300 materials are repaired.

However, the situation is quite different from what Zhao Qin expected. Not to mention that there were five sea boats in two months, the five sea boats could only accommodate 113 people and seven days of food and fresh water. As for the goods, they could only accommodate 1,000 kilograms of tea and twenty boxes of ceramics, 200 pieces of silk, cloth, and silk!

"What's going on? Why are you loading such a little stuff? Not to mention going to Japan, it's very difficult to go to Goryeo! But the craftsmen below cut corners?" Zhao Feng said this, his eyes were full of fierceness.

The answer to Zhao Jin was not Qian Yanyuan, but Hu Fuchen's son Hu Keji, who is also the representative of the cooperation between the wealthy family in Yizhou and Zhao Jin. "Prince, the people have investigated this matter. It is not the craftsmen of the Dengzhou Navy who cut corners. It is really that the Dengzhou Navy is too dilapidated! I have not been in charge of Japan and Goryeo for many years. The recent war has to be traced back to the Battle of Baijiangkou in the Tang Dynasty. After hundreds of years of peace, there is no commerce, so it can only be like this!"

"I heard that many vassal merchants bought Dasong sea ships in Bianliang. Could it be this kind of thing?" Zhao Qian asked his doubts.

Hu Keji said: "The prince said this. Caomin also saw this when he was traveling to Fujian. It was just that the shipbuilding skills were good. However, there was a big gap between the north and south in Mingzhou, Quanzhou, Fuzhou and other places! The prince could buy sea boats in Mingzhou, but wait for the construction and then send them. At the earliest, he was afraid that it would be June next year!"

Nearly a year and a half? Zhao Chen has this time! If he can't get some results, he will probably not be able to stay in Qingzhou for a long time.

"If the boat is smaller, it's smaller! After all, this is the first time. As for Mingzhou... Forget it, it's better to rely on the shipyard in Dengzhou. Give them money to continue building sea ships. If the quality is not good, it depends on the quantity to support it!" Zhao Qian said gritting his teeth.

Hu Ke knew his position. Although he didn't agree with it very much, he still wisely did not choose to refute it. He nodded silently and stepped down.

After dealing with this matter, Zhao Jin had to "support farmers". In ancient times, the so-called encouragement of farmers was to farm in the fields, set an example, and persuade the people to farm well. But now, this kind of encouragement of farmers is no longer needed. Think about the people who have just experienced hunger, who are shameless and brave and work hard to cultivate?

What Zhao Jin had to do was to go to the fields to review the fields. There were not many officials with him, so he acted as a prison errand, Zhou Qin, the magistrate of Yidu County, and the powerful general Wang Gui. In addition to the five yamen runners, there were only twenty iron armored soldiers.

When we arrived in the fields, Zhou Qin and the magistrate of Yidu County were both dumbfounded. Is this really the King of Changsha of the Song Dynasty?

Zhao Qian came out of the car, his official uniform had been changed, he was wearing a short linen cloth like an old farmer in the field, and a pair of straw sandals on his feet. He walked to the edge of the field, took off the straw sandals, and walked straight towards an old farmer.

At the beginning, the old farmer was quite restrained. Although Zhao Jin was wearing old farmer equipment, his entourage and the respect of the county magistrate all showed that Zhao Jin's identity was not simple.

In just a moment, the old farmer started to chat and laugh with Zhao Qin. Zhou Qin and the magistrate of Yidu County couldn't help but walk up and listen, and found that Zhao Qin's words were simple, but they both made people feel like they suddenly realized or hit the nail on the head.

It’s like when it comes to farming, Zhao Jin believes that rice should not be cultivated blindly. Although rice is delicious, its yield is not enough and requires intensive cultivation. In other words, if the same person grows rice, he can only take care of more than ten acres of rice. If he grows dry rice, it is not the case. He can take care of thirty acres of rice.

Even though Zhao Jin had some problems with him, he still did not reduce Zhao Jin's position in the hearts of the old farmer.

After walking around, Zhao Qian returned to the Yidu County Government office and was covered in sweat and mud. Zhao Qian didn't want to wash up anymore, so he sat in the seat of the original Yidu County magistrate. The magistrate and Zhou Qin sat down on both sides.

"I inspected the whole circle today. Although the seeds are a bit short, because many of them are tenants, those big farmers have done their best in this matter, but the interest rate is too dark! The black-hearted one actually had a bucket of seeds that they had to pay back three stones of grain last year! A full three times the profit! Why are you a county magistrate who has not reacted at all?" Zhao Qian became more angry as he said it later, and the limu desk hitting his fingers sounded "bang".

A mu of ordinary land yields only two stones per mu, and a bucket of seeds can be used to cultivate three acres of land, which means that you can make half of the profit after you borrow it. No wonder Wang Anshi wanted to do that green seedling method later, which made people angry and resentful. It was really too much money to steal!

The magistrate was quite tough in this matter. "The prince has always been like this. The price of the big households is very fair! It is better than letting farmers not even seeds! And the farmers have no objection. Why should you be so careless, Prince?"

Zhao Qian was so angry that he wanted to slap the magistrate, but the magistrate said that Zhao Qian would wake up. Now the powerful family is still very powerful, and even if he wants to do the Qingmiao Law, wouldn't he be able to see that Wang Anshi's Qingmiao Law was a slanderous disobedience by the officials below, which led to the anger of heaven and people?

Is Zhao Qian even more awesome than Wang Anshi? To solve this problem, we need to cultivate a group of capable lower-level officials, otherwise they will eventually become evil policies for the chaotic people under the obstacles of large households.

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Qian said: "With that being said, the people have just experienced a severe drought and have no spare food in their hands. Such a high interest rate is probably going to be exhausted and fishing!"

After hearing this, the magistrate nodded, restored his previous respectful expression, and said, "What the prince said is very true!"

After this matter, Zhao Qian had no intention of staying in the Yidu County Government Office. He could see that the magistrate was a supporter of the big family. He was afraid that he was a big family in Yidu County, or had a complicated relationship with the big family in Yidu County.
Chapter completed!