Chapter 24 Talking about Agriculture

Although the oldest of these children is 14 years old and the youngest is only 10, by letting them work so early, Maximus does not feel that he is exploiting child labor. After all, this is not a developed modern society, but the ancient Western world dominated by Rome. , here they do not have a carefree childhood, but only suffering and oppression. If they do not want to become animals that make money for slave owners, they must grow up as soon as possible and fight bravely.

Returning to the front yard, Maximus saw Pygris leading the coachmen and the pack horses and was about to walk out of the yard.

"Be careful when you go out and come back safely!" Maximus reminded.

"Captain, only the people from the first brigade are going out today. The other three brigade are said to be staying here." Pigris said in a low voice, he was a little confused.

The discussion was just completed yesterday and will be implemented today. Spartacus is quite vigorous and resolute... Maximus thought to himself and said with relief: "It's okay, it will be like this in the future. When one brigade goes out, the other brigade will practice in the camp. "

After Pygris left, Maximus went to the roof of the main building again. He saw the gladiators serving as team officers in the camps around the farm shouting, cursing, beating and kicking, and finally managed to get rid of his recruits. Gather together, and then give each person a wooden stick and ask them to carefully chop down the tree stump whose trunk has been cut down...

Chopping human stakes - this is the basic training of gladiators, and it is now used on new recruits.

Maximus wanted to go to the camp and watch the new recruits drill, but he had other things to do now.

…

Volanus entered the room and saw Maximus sitting on the edge of the bed.

Volenus had only joined the uprising team for two days, and the only high-ranking person he knew was this young man. When he told his story in the yard the night before, the young man's relief made him somewhat fond of him.

Before Volenus could say hello, Maximus stood up and came over: "Wo... Vorenus, you are here. Sit down first." With that, he pressed Volenus Sit on the edge of the bed.

"Uh... Captain, what do you want from me?" Volenus asked flattered.

"You have been the steward of the farm for many years, so you must be very knowledgeable about farm affairs." Maximus looked at him expectantly.

"I don't dare to say that I understand them all, but as long as they are handled by me, I am quite familiar with them." Volenus didn't know why the other party asked this, so he answered more cautiously.

"That's great, I have some questions to ask you." Maximus said, picked up a stack of papyrus from the wooden table next to him, opened a few pages, then looked at them, and asked : "Do you usually apply fertilizer when you farm? Where does this fertilizer come from?"

Volenus did not expect that this was what the other person asked. He was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "Of course it needs to be fertilized. Even the most fertile land will reduce its yield after planting food several times, so we must give it some fertilizer." The land then adds nutrients.

There are several types of fertilizers, the best is guano, but the guano is too rare and not enough. I heard that there are farms in the Latium area that specialize in breeding thrushes and thrushes, and collect guano for sale, and the price is not low... The second is Human dung, then sheep dung, donkey dung, horse dung last, but it is suitable for pasture...

After the feces is collected, it cannot be used in farmland immediately, otherwise the wheat seedlings will die. It must be made into a pile of dung first, and it must be protected from exposure to the sun. After a period of time, it can be spread on the fields to increase the yield of crops. There are dung piles built near many farms. I wonder if you, captain, have noticed..."

Volenus talked eloquently, but Maximus was very shocked: It seems that the content in this book is true. The method of retting is not unique to our Chinese ancestors. Although the Romans do not know the principle, but This method has also been summarized through practice to promote high grain yields.

Maximus calmed down, opened a few more pages, and then asked: "This book says that the value of all crops grown on 100 grams of land is the highest, grapes, which can be used to make wine; Next is the watered vegetable garden, then the willow forest, then the fruit garden and grassland, and finally the grain... Why are the returns from growing grain so poor? "

Volenus said without thinking: "Chief, the reason is very simple. Today in Italy there is a large amount of food from Sicily, Africa, Asia Minor and other provinces, oh, and Egypt... The food merchants in these provinces are in Rome. Under coercion, grain prices are set very low. Therefore, apart from eating them at home, the Italian people will only lose money when selling the grains on the market. Therefore, most wealthy people do not grow grains, but plant grapes, fruit trees, olives, and livestock. ...This is how you can make money. The reason why there are still some wheat fields in Campania is because the fertile land here allows for high grain production, and the Samonei people in the neighboring mountains are in urgent need of food and can still make some money.”

"So, the massive influx of grain from Roman provinces into Italy was the main reason for the massive bankruptcy of farmers in Italian towns?" Maximus then asked.

"Farmers in the whole of Italy? This... I don't know for sure, but I know that some farmers in Capua did get into debt and lost their land. Farming not only requires seeds, but also requires many tools, including cattle, horses, plows, and hoes. , Sickles... Farmers cannot make these things themselves and need to buy them from the market. But if they cannot sell their grains, they cannot get the money to buy these tools. They can only borrow money from others if there is a severe drought. The grain harvest is bad, and even grain seeds for next year have to be borrowed from others.

But this money is all usury! In this way, the debts get more and more, and in the end they can only sell their land to repay the debts. Some people sell their land and the money is not enough, so they have to sell themselves... Alas, in today's world, it is not easy for farmers to live! "Volenus sighed.

Although Maximus had already thought about this, he was still a little happy because the author of this book was Cato. From the self-narration on the first page, he was convinced that it was Cato who caused the destruction of Carthage. Even if it was Cato, Tu wrote in his later years, thirty or forty years ago, which means that this kind of experience of Italian farmers had already occurred thirty or forty years ago.

Maximus breathed out softly, glanced at the papyrus in his hand, and asked in a deep voice: "This book also says that male and female slaves can be mated and have children like animals, and then trained from an early age. , and then sell it... Is anyone really doing this kind of slave industry? "

Volenus was silent for a moment and replied: "I once heard the original master say that there were indeed nobles in Rome carrying out such slave trade, because the captive slaves were often not obedient, and the skilled family members Slaves are more popular, and of course their prices are more expensive... In fact, I was also a domestic slave, because my parents were originally slaves of the master's family. "

Although these days, Maximus has seen and heard a lot of the cruel exploitation and oppression of slaves by slave owners in this era, and has become accustomed to it. At this moment, he still feels tight and uncomfortable in his chest. In his previous life, he had learned about Cato, the Roman senator who had been shouting "Destroy Carthage" on Baidu. Although this man had a stubborn personality, he believed in the Stoic school, lived a quiet and stoic life, emphasized rationality, and paid attention to everyone. Equality, but look at what he wrote in the book: "...the tools used on the farm are divided into two types, those that can talk and those that cannot talk, and slaves belong to those that can talk..." And so on, Cato is still like this, other Romans Not to mention the nobles.

The evil slave society! ...Maximus couldn't help but curse in his heart.

"Captain...Captain, what is this book in your hand?" Voronus asked cautiously out of curiosity.

"This is "On Agriculture" written by Marcus Porchius Cato. I found this book from the room after we captured the manor." Maximus said, and also The papyrus in his hand was handed over.

"Is it the Cato family in Rome?! I have long heard from my original owner that this Roman noble family is best at farming." Volenus took it with joy and immediately looked at it seriously.