Chapter 53: agricultural outlook

After confirming the cooperation with Hansel, Paul Greiman began to consider the agricultural issues in the territory.

The first is land ownership. In name, all the land in the Arda Territory belongs to the Greiman family, just like all the land in the ancient world belonged to the emperor, but the actual cultivated land used for agricultural production belongs to the following: Nearly One-third of the arable land directly belongs to the Lord's Mansion, and all the output on the land belongs to the Greiman family, and more than one-third of the land is owned by the big landlords and squires in various villages and towns (including the retainers of the Greiman family). Occupy, pay taxes to the lord's mansion every year, the remaining output belongs to themselves, and less than one-third of the land belongs to a large number of self-cultivating farmers or small landlords.

According to the general routine, the Earl should carry out a violent or moderate land redistribution reform, so that every farmer in the territory can have a piece of land that can support himself and his family, so that the tiller has his own land, and then everyone sings Lord's name. But what Paul is looking forward to is not the happy idyllic life under the small-scale peasant economy, but the industrialized large-scale production of machines, and the small-scale peasant economy is one of the major obstacles on the road to industrialization.

First of all, the small-scale peasant economy tied a large number of farmers to small pieces of land, which restricted the formation of free labor force, and the lack of labor force would limit the speed of industrial development.

Secondly, the self-sufficiency and instability of the small-scale peasant economy make the majority of small-scale peasants live in poverty and have no power to buy more consumer goods, which narrows the market and hinders the development of the commodity economy.

Thirdly, the small peasant economy is weak, it is difficult to purchase expensive machines, and it is also unable to adopt other new technologies or carry out large-scale soil improvement and water conservancy, which is not conducive to increasing the output of cultivated land.

Finally, the long-term existence of small plots of land will also hinder the strengthening of agricultural division of labor, constrain the expansion of cash crops, and delay the progress of commercialization of agricultural products.

All these factors will prevent the development of industrialization. Not to mention the negative role of the small peasant economy in the modern history of the Chinese dynasty, a comparison of the impact of the modern land systems of France and Britain on the industrialization of the two countries can explain many problems.

After the bourgeois revolution broke out in France, the old feudal land relations were destroyed, and the land of the nobility and the church was deprived and distributed to the peasants, making them small landowners. This was of great progressive significance at the time and also increased the enthusiasm of the peasants , promoting economic development. However, due to various reasons, this small-scale peasant economy based on private ownership of small pieces of land has lasted for more than 100 years in France. The small peasant economy has gradually become a fetter of industrial development, delaying the historical process of France's transformation from an agricultural country to an industrial country. This is one of the important reasons for the relatively slow economic development of France in the late 19th century.

But Britain is different. Although the enclosure movement, which has been compared to "sheep cannibalism", has caused countless farmers to lose their homes and lose their homes, the period was full of violence and oppression, which caused countless tragedies, but it objectively provided favorable conditions for the industrial revolution in Britain. . Farmers who lost their land moved to cities to make a living, which accelerated the process of urbanization and provided cheap free labor for industrial development. The enclosure movement made a lot of land that was divided into small pieces into one piece, so that it is more convenient to plant new crops, add good fertilizers, use better tools, reform irrigation systems, and adopt advanced farming methods—all of which Small farmers and small households cannot bear it alone, thus greatly improving the overall output of agricultural production.

This is also one of the important reasons why the scientific development in France in the 18th century was also fruitful, but the Industrial Revolution first occurred in Britain.

Therefore, Paul not only did not want to "equalize the land", but also wanted to further centralize the land. The land owned by the Lord's Mansion and the major landlords is concentrated enough in terms of ownership, but it is still relatively scattered geographically. He needs to coordinate the land replacement of all parties, and promote land transfer and management concentration through a series of policies and regulations, and promote The establishment of large-scale farms and the promotion of agricultural mechanization, as well as the construction of large-scale water conservancy projects according to the distribution of cultivated land. For those farmers and small landowners, using violent means to deprive them of their ownership is not within the scope of Paul’s consideration. His background and education in his previous life made him unwilling to betray his “spiritual class”. Since it already exists, as a supplement to the large farm economy, the unit output under the same conditions is even higher. After all, China's intensive farming has many advantages in feeding a population of more than one billion. He intends to establish organizations such as farmers' associations and cooperatives on a village basis. The mansion will pay for the purchase of agricultural tools, cattle and other production materials, and rent them out to self-cultivating farmers at low prices to help them improve their labor efficiency.

As for the labor force needed for industrialization, he focused on another large group in the territory—serfs. Slavery exists in this world and is very common.

Ironically, the church that Paul despises and fears is the biggest opponent of slavery. One of its important concepts at the beginning of its establishment is that all people are equal under God. There have been a few abolition campaigns, but in the end they were all overwhelmed by the resistance of vested interests. As the top church leaders and the nobles of various countries became more and more in line with each other, this concept gradually remained in the slogan.

But the Earl does not intend to just shout it as a slogan. Subjectively, he cannot accept the existence of slavery. Objectively, the development of industry requires a lot of labor, so it is imperative to abolish slavery in his own territory. UU Reading www. uukanshu.com

For the serfs directly under the lord's mansion, Paul intends to give them freedom, let them go or stay, and the remaining ones will be trained as agricultural workers in their new farms. As for the serfs owned by the major landlords, if they do not let them go, then wait for the wheels of history to crush them.

As for the agricultural labor force lost due to the abolition of slavery, it can be supplemented by the promotion of new farm tools. Machinery or equipment that are useless on narrow land can be effectively used in new large-scale farms. Paul intends to make Rotheram plows, Crosskill breakers, saw-toothed harrows, drills, reapers, threshers, and other agricultural machinery that can be manufactured with the present state of technology and only by means of Animal power can work, which was a sharp weapon in the agricultural revolution in England in the 18th century.

Another way to increase land yield is the four-field crop rotation method. This planting system is to divide all cultivated land into four farming areas, and plant turnip, barley, clover, and wheat in the four farming areas. in turn. It abolishes land fallow, and the arable land after crop harvest is not used as grazing land, but the grazing land is changed to arable land, which expands the crop planting area; it plants leguminous forage and uses livestock manure to speed up recovery and improve soil fertility, which is beneficial to the increase of crop yield. Steady growth is conducive to the long-term rational use of cultivated land, and it can also provide high-quality house feed for livestock; it promotes the transformation of livestock feeding from grazing to house feeding, and is conducive to the improvement of the production level of animal husbandry.

There is also the cultivation of improved seeds, but Paul doesn't quite understand this, so he can only wait until the relevant agricultural experts are recruited to implement this matter.

Paul firmly believes that after the above-mentioned series of reforms, the agricultural output of Ardaland will definitely be greatly improved, so that more labor can be released and supported, paving the way for future industrialization.