Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 148
The prisoners got used to the life of Wuyang Guard in less than three days.

Their life is actually very simple. They get up on time at 06:30 every morning, have breakfast, and then start working, mining when they need to, and reclaiming wasteland when they need to.Toss until noon, well, you can have lunch, then rest for an hour, avoid the most vicious sun, and then continue to work until 05:30 in the afternoon, finish work on time, and then go to dinner, the rest of the time will be by They dominated.Of course, they are still doing hard labor and cannot go out freely. If they want to go out, they must apply and be accompanied by someone, and then they can go out.Of course the work here is very tiring, but if you have enough to eat, you don’t expect to eat well. At least if you are full, you can still drink a bowl of broth every now and then. At least it's much better than being a bandit in the mountains!Soon someone went to Yang Menglong, saying that there were still many brothers in the mountain, and they were willing to volunteer to go up the mountain, and bring down those brothers who were still hiding in the mountain and chewing bark to enjoy the blessing... Uh, no, it was hard labor.For this kind of request, Yang Menglong naturally readily agreed, and generously announced: If the bandits in the mountains can be persuaded to come down and surrender, the sentence will be commuted by half a year to one year!Everyone cheered and cheered. Those with a little prestige in the cottage usually went out to the mountain, risking being hacked by the bandits, and persuaded the bandits who stayed in the mountain to go down the mountain and surrender.

About a week later, bandits came down one after another to surrender and go to hard labor.There is no way, Yang Menglong is too cruel. During the Battle of Shahe, he wiped out all the young and strong people in the thirteen villages of Tongbai Mountain. The worst thing is that Wuyang Guard has also blocked the way down the mountain, so they can only hide on the mountain and gnaw on the bark. The guy who persuaded them to surrender did look much better than when he was in the mountains, so everyone was doubtful and followed him down the mountain.The magistrate of Tongbai County was overjoyed. As a result, the public security in Tongbai County has been greatly improved. With this achievement, there is hope for promotion!
As a result, Wuyang Guard has thousands more people.Although most of the bandits who came down the mountain were old and weak, women and children, Yang Menglong didn't dislike them either. The old people couldn't do heavy work, so he let them herd cattle and feed chickens. We can also arrange for the weaker ones to clean the streets.The kid who was less than eight years old was kicked into school by him——still wearing crotch pants, not honestly going to study, and running all over the mountain with bare buttocks!As for those women, just help with washing and cooking, anyway, there are plenty of jobs to do!He also specially ordered that the bandits who have become families do not need to be separated, and the family should live together. This move made the bandits grateful to him, and they naturally worked harder.

After a while, the wheat has been dried, and the distribution of grain has begun. At last, every household has food in the rice tanks that have been empty for a long time, so they don't have to rely on Yang Menglong's support.As for Cheng Ji's 20 shi of wheat, the delivery has already been completed. Unfortunately, Mr. Cheng is injured, and there is no way to transport the wheat to other places for sale, so he has to deposit it with Yang Menglong first.However, there is no need to worry. Dried wheat can be stored for a long time, and the price of grain is set a day. If you wait for a while to sell it, you will not suffer any losses, on the contrary, you will only earn more, so he is not in a hurry.However, he has asked Mr. Feng Shui to choose a good place and start building a large grain storage.This grain depot can hold at least [-] shi of grain. It is considered a huge project, absorbing a large number of refugees, and the entire construction site is in full swing.After Cheng Ji recovered from his injury, he inspected the construction site accompanied by Yang Menglong. He saw hundreds of workers sweating profusely, laying walls, mixing mortar, and moving bricks. With this kind of progress, the warehouse can be built before winter begins!"

Yang Menglong chuckled: "Then you will see rice noodles piled up like a mountain in the warehouse, and the money is rolling in!"

Cheng Ji laughed and said, "If that's really the case, then Cheng can't be more satisfied!"

Yang Menglong said: "It's definitely possible! By the way, Lao Cheng, I have something to clarify with you first."

Cheng Ji cupped his hands and said, "General, please speak."

Yang Menglong felt a little guilty: "Well... we will sow potatoes tomorrow. This is the first time we try. I... I don't have any confidence in my heart. If the yield I promised is not achieved, you have to be tolerant. After all, this is It’s the first time!”

Cheng Ji was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly: "Of course, of course! I wonder how much the general expects to produce?"

Yang Menglong tilted his head to estimate, and said uncertainly: "If everything goes well, there should be more than a dozen stones per mu, right? Well, in the end, it's all caused by unfamiliar hands. Once you become familiar with it, the production will naturally increase! "

Cheng Ji said: "The yield of more than ten stones per mu is still very scary! The seeds will be sown tomorrow, right? I wonder if I can go to the field to see?"

Yang Menglong said: "Maybe, of course!"

Early the next morning, the military households were busy.Dozens of cattle were driven out of their pens, hitched to plows, and began to plow the fields.Dozens of cows worked together, and the scene was quite spectacular. Amid the shouts of the military households, the mud waves were turned over on both sides, and the fields were plowed.The next job is simple. Thousands of military households, refugees, and bandits in hard labor swung their hoes, smashed the soil, and prepared the land according to Yang Menglong's instructions. The ridges should be as smooth as possible.Someone picked up a load of manure and sprinkled it into the ground. This was to fertilize the ground.Someone also dug deep small ditches in the ground and filled them with hay and the like. Then, with a loud yell, several large carts rolled over with large logs placed on them. There was gray powdery stuff piled up in the barrel, but I didn't know what it was, but the smell was very pungent anyway, and wherever the cart went, everyone covered their noses and fled.Cheng Ji was surprised and asked Yang Menglong: "General, what is this? Why is it so pungent?"

Yang Menglong said: "Phosphate fertilizer!"

Cheng Ji still didn't understand: "What is phosphate fertilizer?"

Yang Menglong said: "It's a very effective fertilizer. Whether it can increase production depends entirely on it." He rolled up his sleeves and jumped into the field, calling: "Bring me the phosphate fertilizer!"

Immediately, someone endured the pungent smell and picked out the phosphate fertilizer.These phosphate fertilizers have just come out of the tanks buried in the ground. When the tanks were first opened, they were so pungent that people within tens of meters were so suffocated!Yang Menglong didn't mind, grabbed a handful from the bucket, and said to everyone: "Look, this is phosphate fertilizer! Sprinkle it into the soil ditch, mix it with hay, then return it to the soil, and make a nest on it to plant Put the potato seedlings... don't let it come into direct contact with the potato seedlings, because its fertility is very strong, if you touch them directly, the potato seedlings may be killed in turn, and we will be in vain!" Demonstration while talking, let go Several handfuls of phosphate fertilizer were filled back into the soil, and a small nest was made, and a wheat orange was inserted in it to indicate that a potato was planted.He did it clumsily, but after his demonstration, everyone still figured out the specific steps and just followed them.

Chen Baihu picked up a handful of phosphate fertilizer, and was a little worried: "My lord, is it really okay to apply these things to the field?"

Yang Menglong narrowed his eyes and said, "What's the problem? What could be the problem?"

Chen Baihu was too frightened to say anything, and honestly instructed everyone to fertilize and fill the soil according to Yang Menglong's demonstration.

Cheng Ji saw it and muttered to himself: "First potatoes, then phosphate fertilizer, there are so many patterns... Interesting, really interesting!"

Yang Menglong’s tricks are not limited to potatoes.Since the number of potato seeds was limited, and he was unwilling to leave the land idle, he had hundreds of acres of land dedicated to planting vegetables, including Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, and garlic, and he planted them all.Now experienced vegetable farmers are leveling the vegetable fields, and they will plant seeds next time.The efficiency here is relatively high. There are many people, so the work will naturally be faster. By the time the sun rises, a large piece of land has been cleared.At this time, someone picked up a load of sprouted small potatoes, which are about the size of a toe. Everyone worked in pairs, one took a handful of potatoes, and the other dug out the nest with a hoe. The potatoes were put down with the sprouts facing towards the ground. Go up and put it back into the soil immediately. Even if you have planted one plant, everyone was not very skilled at the beginning and the efficiency was not very high. However, they soon mastered the skills and cooperated better and better, and the efficiency naturally increased.Thousands of people worked together, and the lively scene was exciting. Mr. Tian and a group of squires watched from a distance, feeling sour in their hearts. These poor soldiers have really made a name for themselves through hard work!Some people also sneered, potatoes, what kind of good thing can potatoes be?The yield is so low that you will lose all your money by growing it!After the introduction of potatoes in the Ming Dynasty, some officials promoted it in local areas and forced farmers to plant it. As a result, the farmers rebelled. The harvest from growing this thing was pitifully small, and it was just like growing wheat!It's a good thing that this stupid young man has to plant [-] acres of potatoes in one breath, but he's going to lose money!
Yang Menglong never considered whether he would die at a loss.In his opinion, no matter how low the yield of potatoes is, it is several times stronger than that of wheat. As long as the method is proper, the yield will not be low.He squeezed his chin, admiring the spectacular scene of thousands of hoes being swung up and down at the same time, feeling a sense of accomplishment in his heart.It is a pity that there are still fewer cattle, otherwise the efficiency will be higher.

Cheng Ji seemed to be able to read his mind, and said: "In a few days, 120 cattle and [-] poor horses will be delivered, all of which are energetic."

Yang Menglong was so happy that he wanted to somersault on the ground: "So many! Old Cheng, you are my savior! With so many cattle and poor horses, I can safely and boldly send people to Qinyang to reclaim the military fields. Ready to plant winter wheat!"

Cheng Ji smiled slightly and said, "Your Excellency, you are serious. We are partners. We are all prosperous and we are all hurt. Naturally, I must hurry up to do what the Lord ordered!"

Yang Menglong nodded in satisfaction: "That's right, that's right, I like your energy... Hey, who the hell, you don't need money to use phosphate fertilizer, do you? Put less!" Just about to praise Cheng Ji, but saw someone phosphate fertilizer I didn't know if I played too much, but the praise suddenly turned into a roar!

Cheng Ji could only smile wryly.

(End of this chapter)