The most arrogant in history

Chapter 820 Ecological Disaster.

Ye Kun got off his horse, asked for an engineer shovel, and dug up the ground for Ye Weiwei to see:

"Look, the grass here is only 20 centimeters above the surface, and the top is a mixture of sand and soil. If you dig deeper, it's just yellow sand.

Growing crops here is barely possible in the first year, but it also requires sufficient rain; in the second year, the crop fields will turn into yellow sand. And such yellow sand will slowly spread like psoriasis, turning the prairie into a desert. "

Jiang Yourong also said: "Such sandy soil cannot retain moisture and is not suitable for growing crops."

Ye Weiwei argued, "We can build some ponds to store water and use it for irrigation during droughts."

Jiang Yourong rolled her eyes. "You're the only one who's smart, right? It's impossible to build a pond with this kind of sand. The water in the pond will all seep away in three days."

Ye Weiwei shrugged, admitted defeat, and said:

"So, the soldiers and civilians on the grassland all rely on the imperial court for their food?"

"Most of them were supported by the imperial court. But the prairie also provided the imperial court with many cattle, sheep, horses, wool, dried milk flakes and milk powder, kumis, animal skins, and so on."

Ye Kun nodded: "Look at those Xiongnu people, they are short, it's because they don't have enough food and too little carbohydrate intake, which affects their growth. If we don't take into account horse riding and archery, the Han people and the Hu people have an advantage in height and physical strength when fighting, so there is a saying that one Han can defeat five Hu people."

Ye Weiwei nodded: "Father is really knowledgeable. No matter what the matter is, he can analyze it into its root cause."

Huo Qing escorted the emperor northward, clasped his fists and said:

"Your Majesty, in fact, from the Yinshan Camp to the Yanran City, our soldiers have also opened up some farmland to grow vegetables and grain. In some places, the harvest is quite good, and they can even protect themselves."

Ye Kun smiled and said, "I know that too. It's not that there is no arable land in the prairie, but there is very little arable land. If everyone works harder and thinks of ways to improve the environment and build some small vegetable gardens, it will be fine.

I don’t agree with the blind and large-scale development of cultivated land. Because large-scale cultivated land requires huge investment, it will also cause ecological deterioration and trigger ecological disasters, which will not be worth the cost in the end.”

The ancients had no concept of ecological protection.

Moreover, the forest coverage rate was very high in ancient times.

At this time, the forest coverage rate in China was still 50%.

In other words, half of the country's land is covered with forests.

The ecology of the northern prairie is pretty good.

Several hundred years ago, Emperor Wu sent out the two greatest warriors of the empire, including the Flying General, to inflict heavy damage on the Xiongnu, causing a sharp decline in their population, which has not fully recovered in all these years.

The smaller the population, the smaller the impact on the ecology.

A few years ago, Ye Kun went on an expedition to the North Sea and completely wiped out the Xiongnu tribe. The thorough immigration and expulsion made the northern prairie extremely empty and uninhabited.

Although Han people have been migrating here continuously in recent years, the utilization rate of the grassland is only 20 to 30 percent.

Most of the northern country is natural grassland with wild goats, rabbits and wolves.

Huo Qing nodded and said, "In fact, the current Northern Kingdom only has a population of several hundred thousand people. They can't eat much food."

“Regarding the development of arable land, it can be done in an orderly manner and with scientific farming.”

Ye Kun took up the task again: "There is a conflict between population development and improving living standards, and environmental and ecological protection. Taoism says that man and nature are one, which actually means that humans and nature live in harmony. This is a big topic that requires long-term research and continuous experiments.

The food supply of the North is entirely dependent on the inland areas, which will be a heavy burden in the future. As the population grows, the demand for food will increase. Properly developing arable land and exploring food self-sufficiency is also a topic.

Huo Qing nodded: "Your Majesty is right, our task is still very arduous."

The team ran on the grassland.

Ye Weiwei was the most excited and galloped on her horse.

Pei Guoming followed Ye Weiwei and never left her side.

After traveling more than a hundred miles a day, we arrived at a small town on the grassland.

There are mountains nearby, and this small town was built by mining rocks from the mountains.

The small town is named Xinlongcheng, covers an area of ​​about one thousand acres and is home to more than three thousand people.

There are only two hundred troops stationed there, and the rest are Han immigrants.

Once you enter the small town, you will find that it is just like the mainland and has no northern characteristics.

Everyone speaks Chinese and wears Chinese clothes.

There are primary and secondary schools, hospitals, post houses, and even a teahouse and theater for everyone to entertain and relax.

The only problem is that the sanitary conditions are not very good because there are many cows, sheep and horses in the city.

The county magistrate of Xinlong City, along with all the officials, garrison troops, and representatives of the people, welcomed Ye Kun into the city and arranged Ye Kun and others in the county government office and the post house.

Ye Kun only brought his female family members and hundreds of guards into the city. The other guards and people escorting supplies camped outside the city.

The county magistrate of Xinlong City is also a retired general who used to follow Qin Erwu.

At the posthouse, the county magistrate reported his work and asked, "Your Majesty, General Qin is in the Tianzhu Peninsula. Is he in good health now?"

"Old Qin is very good, and he has great fortune."

Ye Kun smiled: "Last time, Lao Qin was sick and dying. I was scared. Fortunately, God showed mercy and brought him back to life. Now he is alive and well and has married two Indian concubines."

"Ah, General Qin is almost sixty years old, and he can still marry two concubines?" The county magistrate did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Two concubines can't serve him well, so I guess we need a few more."

Ye Kun smiled and waved his hand, "How many people are there in New Dragon City now?"

"There are 200 soldiers stationed here and 3,300 permanent residents. However, this is a major transportation route, with merchants constantly coming and going, as well as officials, transport teams, and the imperial court and the Ministry of War. In the summer, thousands of people come in and out every day."

“Is the food gap big? What is the self-sufficiency rate?”

"There are four large ranches and two small farms around us. The self-sufficiency rate of grain is only half. The self-sufficiency rate of vegetables is 80%." The county magistrate paused and continued:

"However, we provide the imperial court with tens of thousands of cattle, sheep and horses every year, as well as a lot of milk powder and milk tablets, and furs... Overall, we have not hindered the imperial court, but have created wealth for the country."

"Very good, you guys are awesome."

Ye Kun nodded in praise, and then asked, "Have we Han immigrants gotten used to the life here? Have we fully learned how to herd and take care of livestock?"

The county magistrate grinned and said, "We have learned it a long time ago. In the past, we had some Xiongnu slaves to teach us how to herd and take care of cattle and sheep. Now, we basically don't need those slaves anymore. They have all been sent to the coal mines to dig coal.

We Han people are the smartest. There is nothing we cannot learn. Moreover, we brought farming techniques to the prairie.”

Ye Kun nodded: "I will rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, you will accompany me to the farm to check the situation."

Ye Kun was very confident about the ranch here and didn't need to go and see it.

But Ye Kun was not very reassured about the farm.