My British Empire

  Chapter 18 My land listens to me

   This was the first time for Edward to see a group of people kneeling in front of him without reservation. Even though he had seen thousands of people kneeling before the emperor on TV, he personally felt that this was the first time!

   This feeling is very wonderful, giving Edward the pleasure of completely controlling the fate of others! This feeling is very strange, people are addicted to it unconsciously!

   After a while, Edward changed from this feeling

   out.

  Is this how ancient Chinese emperors felt when facing their subjects? No wonder so many people are scrambling to get that seat, it's really fascinating!

  Edward followed Howard Charles, the housekeeper of the manor, as he walked past the serfs prostrate on the muddy ground step by step, thinking slowly.

  The butler Howard Charles is the second son of a noble knight. Not only did he lose his right of inheritance since he was a child, but he is also too thin to be a wandering knight. He can only engage in the butler industry to gain status and survival.

  Howard Charles is relatively thin, the hair on his head is combed shiny and meticulous, he is of medium height, his eyes are in a straight line, his cheeks are slightly concave, he looks like a shrewd person!

  Edward and Howard walked in front, followed by sisters Elizabeth and Luna, and of course Baron Smith and twenty knights.

  Why did Elizabeth follow? According to her explanation, it was to protect Edward. This sentence made Edward speechless, but when he remembered that she was often bored in the palace, Edward couldn't help but agreed!

  So when Elizabeth jumped up excitedly, Edward made a contract with her for three chapters.

  First: You can't go out without Edward's approval!

  Second: You must listen to Edward's words when you go out, and don't disobey them!

  Third: Do not tell anyone what happened outside!

  If Elizabeth violates any of the above three items, she will be sent back to Windsor Castle immediately and will not be allowed to go out for one year.

  In Elizabeth's angry lips, Edward reached this agreement with her.

"Your Majesty, our Windsor Manor is currently cultivating about 1,200 acres!" Howard's voice was full of magnetism, "Not only do we have 53 adult laborers and 56 children under the age of 14, we also breed 20 acres. Four draft horses and 136 sheep!"

   "And the mill in the manor can earn 100 pounds a year by crushing wheat grains for the nearby villagers every year!"

  At this time, it is impossible for ordinary farmers to own mills, and they can only use them at the expense of those who own them. For example, Newton accompanied his grandma to the mill and saw the windmill mill, so he built a small mill by himself.

  At this time, the people who owned mills were either nobles or great local gentlemen. The ordinary gentlemen and self-cultivating farmers had no conditions to run them by themselves.

   "And besides feeding and drinking to the serfs, we generate a total income of 1,500 pounds every year!" Howard's voice was full of pride.

  Edward could understand Howard's pride, because at that time, such a large manor usually only made a profit of 1,200 pounds a year, but he abruptly increased it by 300 pounds, which was enough to prove his ability!

   "Then Mr. Steward! How much food can we harvest in a year?" Edward is now immune to money, but he is short of food, so he couldn't help raising the question of food.

"Your Majesty the King, at present, 100 acres of wheat have been planted, and about 700 bushels have been harvested; 800 acres of rye have been planted, and 11,200 bushels have been harvested; 200 acres of oats have been planted, and 1,200 bushels have been harvested; soybeans have been planted on 100 acres, Harvested 458 bushels!" Immediately, a series of numbers shot out of Butler Howard's mouth like a machine gun.

  In England, 1 bushel is equal to 8 gallons, which is equal to 4 pecks (UK volumetric unit of measure), which is equivalent to 36.3688 liters (metric system).

   To put it bluntly, one bushel is equal to 36.3688 kilograms, which is about 73 kilograms if converted into the measurement we are familiar with.

  Take rye, which has the largest yield, as an example, about 1,100 catties per acre. This is the net yield, and it is also the highest yield recorded at this time.

According to the calculation that one acre is equal to six mu, one mu can only produce about 170 catties. At that time, the yield per mu in Shaanxi, which was barren in the Ming Dynasty, reached 300 catties, and the yield per mu in Jiangnan area at that time even reached 500 catties. Desperate numbers of people.

  Because of the frighteningly low yield of planting in England! The time for crops is generally to plant grains such as barley in autumn, and to harvest in the next summer, which spans more than half a year.

  So this is why the population of the entire European continent is smaller than that of the Ming Dynasty, and the arable land area is more than that of the Ming Dynasty, but the price of food is high and there is not enough food.

  Edward came to Windsor Manor today to guide the work, so when Elizabeth returned to the villa in the manor to rest, Edward came to the farmland under the scorching sun at noon.

  It was only a short distance of about one kilometer to the farmland, and Edward was already very tired. Although he was not in good health, Edward could only endure silently in order to maintain the majesty of the king.

  Edward looked at a vast field, and the two fields presented different scenes. One was already filled with the smell of green wheatgrass, while the other was still bare and full of weeds. Edward knew that this was the two-field farming method popular in Europe.

  The two-field system is one of the crop rotation methods popular in Europe since the Middle Ages. It was prevalent in Europe before the 18th century AD. The method is to divide the arable land into two parts, one part is cultivated every year, and the other part is fallow, and they are replaced year by year to maintain the fertility of the land, and the crops are also rotated.

  Edward looked at the wheat field and said nothing, feeling deeply moved in his heart. I am here today because knowledge determines destiny, and knowledge can change history!

  Edward turned his head to look at the butler Howard who was following him, and said, "Howard, have you heard of the three-field system?"

   "Ah! Your Majesty, I have never heard of this word. Does it have anything to do with the two-plain system?" Butler Howard was a little puzzled by Edward's words.

  The three-field system means that it divides the cultivated land into three cultivated areas: the fallow land, the spring sown land, and the autumn (winter) sown land with approximately equal areas. Crops are also rotated across zones, with spring crops either barley or oats or beans, and autumn (winter) crops either wheat or rye. Cultivated land and crops are rotated year by year, with a three-year cycle.

  The three-field system was enforced in the feudal manor. The cultivated land owned by farmers is in the form of long and narrow strips of land, interspersed with the land reserved by the lords in various cultivated areas; the types of crops planted each year and the farming time are mandatory, and farmers have no right to arrange them; the fallow land and the cultivated land after harvesting , are used as public pastures for common use.

Compared with the two-field system, the three-field system can be harvested twice a year, and the area of ​​fallow land is reduced from one-half to one-third, which is not only conducive to reducing the risk of agricultural disasters or poor harvests, but also conducive to the utilization of cultivated land and labor force The rate of increase, so the level of agricultural production is higher than the two garden system.

   "Howard! I decided to implement the three-field system here" Edward said something that surprised Howard.

   "But Your Majesty..." Howard was interrupted by Edward when he was about to say something.

   "Don't say anything more, my land listens to me!"

   Thanks to the person 1111, zero1234

   , Lili 599

  (end of this chapter)