Enter the Tang Dynasty with space

Chapter 223 Financial Progress

All the businesses of Byzantium were on the right track, and Heraclius was very pleased, so he simply handed over some state affairs to Yang Zheng, and he was relieved to be the shopkeeper.

Yang Zheng, on the other hand, completely copied Datang's system.

The army implements a compulsory military service system, and almost all the original soldiers are sent home. After retirement pensions are paid, they are allowed to participate in local economic construction.Some outstanding soldiers were reorganized by Yang Zheng into the Byzantine Police Guards to perform police tasks in Constantinople and other places.Therefore, Byzantium's military reform was very successful. Without such a big burden, Byzantium's military expenditure was undoubtedly greatly reduced, and Byzantium's finances, which were constantly in deficit, immediately became large negatives and small negatives.

When the financial situation improves, there will be a sigh of relief for fiscal expenditures.The first thing Yang Zheng wanted to ensure was the development of Byzantine agriculture, so all the money he saved was invested in agriculture by Yang Zheng. Although every household planted crops, there was not enough manpower to maintain the crops. up.The crops grow very fast, and if they are not taken care of well, the harvest will definitely be affected.

Yang Zheng began to aggressively recruit laborers in the surrounding areas of Byzantium. Although it was not very attractive to the Tang people, to those Franks and other barbarians, 100 Wen a day was still very attractive.The purpose of recruiting these laborers is to train them and then help the Byzantine people take care of the crops.

In a few days, the number of workers reached 20. For European countries with small populations, this number is simply exaggerated.Yang Zheng quickly distributed these people to the Byzantine countries through space. At the same time, the supervision of labor was also very strict. If anyone caused sabotage, he would be arrested immediately.

With the help of laborers, the agricultural production has become more and more satisfactory. Under the nourishment of the spring water in the space, the crops are growing very healthy and gratifying.

The most widely planted area is bagu, and now three months have passed, and many places have begun to produce bagu, which makes the farmers all smile.The immigrants from the Tang Dynasty were not very excited. They began to break tender bread and cook it at home. Others followed suit after seeing it, and everyone's life became more colorful for a while.Of course, this still needs to be restricted. If we eat tender corn, the grain production will definitely be affected.So Yang Zheng quickly issued an order to let everyone take it easy, eat for a few days, or take a rest, and wait for the corn to mature.

The situation of the rice is also optimistic. Basically, the ears of rice have come out, the grains are long and full, and the rice stalks are thick and thick, which looks refreshing.Compared with the situation in previous years, the Byzantines admired Yang Zheng even more. The rice harvest was basically a certainty.Yang Zheng ordered the rice fields to be transformed into fish, shrimp and crab. These sideline businesses brought Byzantines not only an improvement in their lives, but also a direct economic supplement.Every day, farmers can earn dozens or hundreds of cash, which will shock the hearts of the common people, ensure their lives, make their feelings for the country stronger, and support the country's leaders more urgently, so , Yang Zheng's reputation has penetrated into the hearts of the Byzantine people. Who brought the Byzantine people to life today?It's Yang Zheng!
Other crops also grow amazingly. Soybeans, sorghum, sweet potatoes, and yams have shocked everyone. With such good crops as support, Byzantium’s granary will be full this year, and the lives of the people will definitely be better than in previous years. out many times.

A month later, the Byzantine crops began to ripen one after another.

Reports came from all over the place, and Yang Zheng was very pleased to see that with space, no matter where he was, the crops could be grown very well.

The crops were ready to be harvested, and Yang Zheng immediately dispatched a large number of officials and manpower to supervise and guide the Byzantine people to harvest the crops. Now that Byzantium was in urgent need of food, there was no reason to be careless.

However, Yang Zheng's worries were a little unnecessary. After so many years of hardships, the Byzantine people now cherish these hard-won food.

Yang Zheng also entered the space from time to time to observe everyone harvesting crops.

The plump soybean granules are returned to the warehouse, and the yellow color makes people love it. This kind of soybean is extremely nutritious, high in protein, rich in fat and other elements, and watered by spring water in space, it is indeed extraordinary.

The golden-yellow corn-bread sticks were also taken home, and they were hung up in strings. Each stick was more than 20 centimeters long and full of grains. People who have eaten tender corn-bread know the greatness of this new crop, so they put The corn sticks were hung up as if they were gold and silver jewels, and every household was watched every moment, for fear that they would be stolen.

Then came the harvest of rice. The ears of rice watered by space springs were extremely long and the grains were so big that some people had already tasted it. The fresh rice could hardly eat up their tongues.Seeing people harvesting grains and taking them home and being grateful to the Byzantine authorities, Yang Zheng was also very satisfied. As a ruler, it was not easy to capture the hearts of the Byzantines so quickly.Thinking about Li Shimin, if he hadn't come to Datang by himself, he probably wouldn't be having a good time right now.

Sorghum is the main crop for winemaking, and its yield is also very large. Compared with the organic sorghum of later generations, the current sorghum is undoubtedly more organic.Originally, sorghum was still one of the people's food, but now that there are other grains, sorghum is probably eaten less, brewing fine wine, earning money, and every family in Byzantium will have a steady stream of income.

After these crops were harvested, the artichokes and sweet potatoes began to be harvested again. The smooth and huge fruits made the Byzantines laugh out loud. How could they have imagined that they would eat such food today?The nutritional value of yams and sweet potatoes is very high. They can be used not only as staple food, but also as a dish, which makes people love it.After trying something new, the Byzantines immediately listed Yang Zheng as a god-level figure, because as soon as Yang Zheng came, the people of Byzantium immediately lived a good life. Is this phenomenon accidental?Obviously not, the eyes of the masses are discerning, with such a wise and powerful crown prince, why don't the Byzantines have a good time?

Entering October, all the crops have been harvested, and Byzantium's agricultural industry has been formed. In the future, it only needs to continue according to the current order, and add some peanuts, broad beans, and peas in an appropriate amount, and Byzantine agriculture will become more perfect.

The granary of the national treasury was also filled. The total grain output of the country exceeded 5000 million shi, of which the treasury was filled with 5000 million shi, and the rest of the grain was distributed by the people themselves.The current total population of Byzantium is more than 500 million, and the per capita food possession is still more than 6 shi. The spring of the Byzantines has finally come.

With food, the situation in Byzantium was immediately turned around.Byzantium is not fighting now, and these grains can be exported. Naturally, there is no advantage to the Tang Dynasty, but it is different for countries such as Frank, Dashi, and Lombardy. These countries either expand their national power too much, or their land is barren. The need for food is considerable.

Yang Zheng's request was also straightforward, all food was exchanged for gold, and gold is equally precious in any country.

Soon, Prime Minister Papan of the Frankish Empire visited the Byzantine Empire in person.

In the Byzantine palace in Constantinople, Ashinasher came in and reported: "His Royal Highness, Papan, the envoy of the Frankish Empire, has come to visit and has arranged to rest at the post house. I don't know what instructions your Highness has."

"Papan? Hehe, the action is fast enough. I found out that Byzantium has a bumper harvest of grain so quickly. I guess this guy is here to purchase grain. You can tell him that you can directly trade grain with gold. Let him find out the specific price. Prime Minister Constantine discusses." Yang Zheng smiled, and Yang Zheng also knew the situation of the Frankish Empire very well, it was no wonder that the huge empire was expanding everywhere, and there was not enough food.

"Yes, Your Highness."

After a while, Ashinasheer came again: "Report Your Highness! The envoy of the Great Food Kingdom, Abate, is visiting and directly asks to see you!"

"Here's another one, you go and tell him that food is fine, as long as he can afford gold, by the way, let him stop sending spies to Datang and Byzantium to inquire about information, I will catch one when I see it, in case someday If things don’t go well, I will let the army fight across the river, so that Umar can’t eat and sleep well!” Yang Zheng was a little annoyed by the cannibal’s obsession, this smart nation kept learning from failures and tried to make a comeback .Although the Tang police and the Byzantine police repeatedly saw through their tricks, they continued to dispatch spies.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The transactions with the Frankish Empire and the Dashi Empire went very smoothly. Yang Zheng obtained nearly ten thousand gold through the transaction, which greatly stimulated Byzantium's finances.

At the same time, the animal husbandry in Byzantium also began to flourish. Cattle and sheep began to be slaughtered one after another, and their heads were extremely fat. Every household began to eat delicious food, and excess meat began to circulate in the market.

With food and meat to eat, the lives of the Byzantines changed drastically, and every household had extra money. With money, everything was much easier to do.

The business of the Byzantine Empire began to prosper, which not only stimulated domestic demand, but also expanded its foreign trade. Byzantium had no advantage over the Tang Dynasty, but it had a considerable lead over other neighboring countries. After all, it inherited the Roman Empire. Partly brilliant, Byzantine products are relatively cheaper than Datang products, so there are still many customers.

Take silk for example. In the past, Byzantine silk seemed to have a strong color of the Roman Empire, but under the instruction of Yang Zheng, it began to develop in the direction of peace, beauty and luxury.

Another example is glass. Now Byzantium can also produce glass with higher purity and better brightness. The use of glass has also been widely promoted. Today's glass is even widely used in house decoration, furniture inlays, and beautiful cars and boats. In fact, it can be said that the demand has increased greatly. Datang glass is so expensive, so Byzantine glass has become popular. Relatively speaking, Byzantine glass is relatively cost-effective and suitable for many middle-class people. Datang glass is undoubtedly Luxury.

At the end of the year, Yang Zheng listened to the work reports of the ministers with satisfaction. Byzantium's financial deficit was completely wiped out, but there was also bad news from Sicily. The Lombard Empire was greedy for Sicily's prosperity and had sent troops to attack Sicily. island.

(End of this chapter)