I

  Chapter 720 717 [Pig Raising Earl and Cultural Prosperity]

  Chen Xisong showed his waist card, and the guards of the imperial city immediately let him go, and took him in to drink tea and wait.

  The female officer quickly went to report, and within half an hour, Chen Xisong was allowed to meet the emperor.

   There are currently less than ten officials with this kind of treatment. Among these people, Chen Xisong is the only fifth-rank official, and he can go to the Forbidden City to face the saint at any time.

   "Your Majesty, Mr. Chen is here."

   "Let him in."

  Chen Xisong quickly entered the side hall, and said with a happy face: "I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

   "Sit down." Zhao Han said with a smile.

   "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  Chen Xisong has long been familiar with the road, and sat down on the bench, as if he came to drink tea with an old friend.

  Zhao Han asked curiously: "What gain?"

  Chen Xisong couldn't wait to say: "Your Majesty, it's a pig...ah, no, it's to persuade the Secretary of Agriculture to breed good pigs."

  The original Agricultural Encouragement Institute has been upgraded to the Agricultural Encouragement Department, with three institutes under the jurisdiction of the Animal Husbandry, Fruit and Vegetable, and Grain Institutes. Specially responsible for cultivating fine varieties and guiding local officials to promote high-quality crops and livestock.

  Zhao Han asked: "What's a good way?"

  Chen Xisong said: "This new pig is large in size, matures early, grows fast, has a docile nature, and is easy to fatten."

   "That's really a good pig, how did you breed it?" Zhao Han asked enthusiastically.

  Every time Chen Xisong enters the palace, Zhao Han looks very happy. The female officials and maids in the court also like to see Chen Xisong, the emperor must be very talkative today.

Chen Xisong said: "After I came to Nanjing, I was still in the Quannong Institute, and I was already breeding pig breeds. Jianghuai pigs have big ears, Hebei pigs have thick skin, Shandong pigs have short feet, Liaodong pigs have white heads, and Henan pigs have a mild taste ( Not fishy), the ears in the south of the Yangtze River are small, and the pigs in Guangdong are fat and white...The pig breeds in different places have different characteristics. Therefore, the ministers and others crossed them separately, and selected their good offspring before breeding."

Chen Xisong spoke faster and faster, eloquently saying: "The best pig breed bred is to cross Taihu Lake's 'Big Painted Face' with Jintan's 'Rice Pig'. 'Big Painted Face' is big, strong Thick, thick-skinned, moderately fat and thin, the disadvantage is that it grows slowly, and it is also called "sand pig" or "thick-skinned pig" in the folk... The offspring of the big painted face and the rice pig have maintained the advantages of the big painted face and become fatter and give birth to offspring. There are also more. After three or four generations of cross breeding, the characteristics tend to be stable, and Chen et al. call it 'Misha pig'."

Suddenly, Chen Xisong stood up excitedly, paced back and forth, and said, "Misha pigs are already excellent, but there are even better ones! Crossbreeding Misha pigs with Guangdong gray and white pigs will show results in the first litter. The new pigs grow fast and are still big. Sows can be bred after half a year. The first litter will give birth to at least ten piglets, and the second litter will produce more piglets. The sow with the most litters, one litter Eighteen piglets were born! And the characteristics are also very stable. Compared with the big painted face, the pig skin has become thinner and the fat has grown a lot!"

  Fat is not a disadvantage in ancient times, it is a very pleasing advantage.

  Chen Xisong took out a piece of paper from his bosom, and the female officer forwarded it to Zhao Han: "Your Majesty, please give the new pig a name!"

   Zhao Han finally read this paper, but saw that the pig name column was blank, and the rest were written about the characteristics of pigs: large body, thin skin, fat meat, short feet, small ears, black and white, pure white, pure black. It matures quickly, has many litters, and is easy to fatten. It is actually the top grade of pigs.

Zhao Han commented with a smile: "Wufu Minfeng, Guotai Minan, let's call it 'Cathay Pig'. It can be promoted in Jinling Mansion first, so that the large pig farmers around Nanjing City can each buy a few piglets and try it out. The big pig farmers have tasted the sweetness, and they will take the initiative to breed next year. Ordinary farmers will be jealous when they see it, and this Cathay pig will be popularized.”

   "Your Majesty is wise!" Chen Xisong flattered immediately.

Zhao Han thought for a while: "You have worked really hard these years. If the land of Datong is able to produce abundant grains and six animals, you will also have a great contribution to it. I can't treat you lightly, so I will call you the uncle of the farmer. Those who have meritorious deeds, if you make a list, they will be rewarded as appropriate."

   He was also rewarding before, but this time he was so generous that he even made an earl directly.

   "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward!"

  Chen Xisong was overjoyed. Raising pigs and farming actually made him an earl.

  The reason why Zhao Han is so generous is that pigs are too important. The second senior brother has long been the main source of meat for the Chinese people.

  The barrows did not start in the Song Dynasty. They existed as early as the pre-Qin period, but they were promoted on a large scale in the Song and Ming dynasties.

   "Book of Changes" has a saying: "The tooth of the pig is auspicious".

  In human terms, a castrated pig will become docile, even though it has sharp teeth, it will not cause any harm.

   "Book of Rites" has a cloud: hogs are called rigid hyenas, and dolphins are called fat.

   Pigs that have not been castrated, have thick skin and rough hair, and are called hogs. A castrated pig with fat fat and round buttocks is called dolphin.

  The word for "jia" means an uncastrated pig (hog) with a roof built on it. With a roof and pigs, it's a home.

  Small farmer’s house, build a pigsty and raise two to three pigs. Pour in the leftovers, and hustle some hogweed. You don't need to take care of it, and you can sell it in half a year or a year. Pigs also **** a lot, which can be used as farm manure, and there is enough fertilizer for growing grain.

  Small farmers have benefited a lot from all these things. No wonder pigs were called "black gold" in ancient times (mostly black pigs in China).

  China's pig breeding technology and pig breeding technology have always been world-leading.

  European Roman pigs are hybrids of South China pigs introduced in the Tang Dynasty.

  The Yorkshire pigs in the UK have not yet appeared at this time. In the early 18th century, Guangdong pigs were introduced into the UK and crossed with Thai pigs and British pigs. The large white pig, which is the most widely distributed in later generations, almost occupies the pork market all over the world. It is a re-crossbreed of Yorkshire pigs in the United Kingdom and belongs to the mixed descendants of Chinese Guangdong pigs.

  The "Cathay Pig" named by Zhao Han combines the characteristics of Taihu Sand Pig, Jintan Rice Pig, and Guangdong White Pig, but it is more inclined to Taihu Sand Pig in appearance.

  The more Zhao Han thought about it, the more he felt better. He took up a pen and wrote down the eight words "Five grains are abundant, six animals are prosperous", and said: "Hang it up at the Yamen of the Department of Encouraging Agriculture, let's find a craftsman to carve a sign!"

  Chen Xisong bowed and retreated, walking with wind.

  Yubi Mobao, go to persuade Nongsi to hang up, who the **** dare to make a mistake?

   Ministry of Rites.

  Chen Maosheng has entered the cabinet as prime minister, and the Ministry of Rites is now in charge of Wang Tiaoding.

  The emperor's decree came, and the canonization of the earl was a major event, and it had to be handled by the Minister of Rites himself.

   "Advising the farmer?" Wang Diaoding felt very strange.

  Liu Mai, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites, said with a smile: "I heard that Chen Langzhong raised a good pig, and His Majesty was very happy, so he made him an earl. This matter is rare in ancient and modern times. I am afraid that it will spread throughout Nanjing in a few days."

Wang Tiaoding said: "The persuading agricultural department has made a lot of achievements. They promoted Chinese cabbage. It is now a winter delicacy for high-ranking officials and ordinary people. In the past two years, I heard that after corn and sweet potatoes, the persuading agricultural department is promoting it again. Potatoes. Presumably this is a good pig, and a new breed of pig has been bred, and pork may be cheaper in the future."

  Liu Mai nodded and said: "If this is the case, it can be said to benefit the country and the people."

  Liu Mai also belongs to the Veteran School, and was originally a boy from Yongyang Town, Luling County. Not only has profound qualifications, but also has made outstanding achievements. He is the first right minister in Guangdong and is fully qualified to serve as a minister.

  Liu Ziren, who had just entered the cabinet as a prime minister, was the first Zuobu political envoy in Guangdong. Both of them are surnamed Liu, and their hometowns are not far away. After describing the genealogy, we can talk about a brother from a distant family.

   Isn't there a relationship?

   There are many such situations, so they are intricately intertwined. Jiangxi officials not only have three major factions, but also various small groups.

Wang Tiaoding said: "Let the people below engrave Chen Langzhong's earl's seal. Before Chen Gelao (Chen Maosheng) entered the cabinet, he had already decided to advance his school age. I don't think there is any need to discuss it. Just go directly to His Majesty." .”

  Elementary school entry age, originally set at 7-10 years old, can enter school during this period.

  Chen Maosheng intends to advance the school age to six years old, which will benefit poor children.

  Those wealthy families who value education often give their children enlightenment at the age of five. By the time I started elementary school at the age of seven, I could already recognize a lot of characters, and my academic performance immediately left the poor children behind.

  In the past few years, many former scholars who were not qualified to be officials have begun to teach themselves new courses. Then, he was invited by a wealthy family to be a private teacher, giving his children extra lessons with a high salary. In this way, the academic performance of the rich and noble children has left the poor children behind as a whole.

  Compared with the past, the results of entrance examinations in various provinces now show that there are more and more students from wealthy families.

  What Chen Maosheng can do is to advance the school age so that poor children can start their education earlier.

   There is another phenomenon that makes Chen Maosheng very helpless.

  Local officials are getting looser and looser on the issue of children's schooling. Not to mention the mountainous areas, even in the county towns, because of the abolition of free lunch, there are many children who do not come to study, and the local government is completely turning a blind eye.

  When Chen Maosheng was the minister of the Ministry of Rites, apart from formulating general strategies, he could only manage the inside and outside of Nanjing.

  He often travels in low clothes, wandering around in and out of the city. Once it is found that school-age children are not studying, some officials will be punished. Chen Maosheng ordered three chiefs of etiquette departments in Jiangning and Shangyuan counties to be dismissed one after another.

   This incident caused Nanjing local officials to complain endlessly. The head of the ritual department in charge of education, the first thing he did when he took office was to check on out-of-school children. Those who are over ten years old don't need to worry about it. Those under ten years old must study. Whoever doesn't let their children study will have the county magistrate severely punish their parents.

  Nowadays, in and around Nanjing, school-age children under the age of ten have an enrollment rate of 70%, not to mention 100%.

   But the quality of education is getting worse and worse because there are too many students.

  In the city of Nanjing, the number of schools is constantly increasing, and the classrooms are full. There are dozens of people in a class, and the teacher can't take care of them at all. Many schools in the low-level neighborhoods are purely sheep-herding teaching, and the teachers don't bother to care about sleeping in class.

   But, no matter how stupid you are, after three years of primary school, you can still write letters in vernacular, and reading vernacular novels is not a problem at all.

  The direct result of such education is that popular books in Nanjing are selling well.

   Most of the children who finished elementary school went to work as apprentices, or to find other jobs. It's hard to earn some wages, and you haven't got a family yet, and you don't have any other entertainment, so let's get some novels and newspapers to read.

  There are book rental shops in Nanjing, where you can rent novels back after paying a deposit.

   You can even rent newspapers for very low rent. They are all market tabloids, full of vernacular articles, and even serialized popular novels.

  In the entire Jinling Mansion, tabloid newspapers in the market have developed rapidly, and more than 40 newspapers have been opened one after another, including those that have closed down. And there are celebrity gossip news, such and such a brothel has selected the oiran, and which famous actor has appeared in Goulan or a theater, etc. Young people who don't read much but can read like to watch this kind of news.

  (end of this chapter)