Zhao Bing thought more and more, his mind became more and more confused, and he felt a little at a loss. But instead he smiled. As a time traveler, he knew more about the future of the world, which made him more trouble, and he was determined to avoid the "pits" in history. However, he often conflicted with the current concepts, causing himself to fall into a dilemma.

After understanding this, Zhao Bing felt relieved. The process of history has changed with his "work", and history is moving forward after all, and it has its own laws. So what he wants to do now is a pioneer, not a verdict of history. Now he has brought some ideas and affairs into this history in advance, and has already subtly changed the development trajectory of society. Perhaps the pitfalls in the historical process will not appear at all. Why should he worry about it and make things difficult for himself!

Without confusion, the following conversation became easier. Last year, Zhao Bing ordered the trial planting of cotton in some areas on both sides of the Yangtze River, which was related to the development of the country and the welfare of the people, so he asked Liu Chenweng about this.

Liu Chenweng sighed. After receiving the imperial edict, he began to promote cotton planting in Jiangdong with the help of cotton farmers from Qiongzhou, but the development was not smooth. Many farmers lacked awareness of new crops and were not very enthusiastic about planting, so they could only pilot it in public fields first, planting 10,000 mu of cotton in total, and harvesting about 1.7 million kilograms of cotton in autumn, with an average yield of about 200 kilograms per mu.

After the cotton was harvested, it was not known how to use it, so it was still stored in the official warehouses in various places. The local governments who managed the public fields were also dissatisfied because cotton could not offset the taxes, and no one bought them, and exchanged them for silver. Cotton planting encroached on grain fields, but farmers who rented public fields still had to pay taxes to the court as much as possible, which made them unsatisfied and unwilling to plant them again next year.

Zhao Bing nodded after hearing this. He also understood that the emergence of a new thing always requires a process of understanding and acceptance, and people today have little understanding of it. As a later generation, he knew very well that cotton, as one of the most important crops in the world, cotton fiber can be made into fabrics of various specifications, suitable for making various types of clothes and industrial cloths.

In addition, cotton fabrics are firm and wear-resistant, anti-fouling, waterproof and mildew-proof. They make them comfortable to wear due to their rapid moisture absorption and moisture removal, and have good warm-keeping performance. The characteristics of large cotton production and low production cost make cotton products relatively cheap, which can replace the current high-priced silk fabrics and poor warm-keeping performance linens, thereby solving the clothes problems of ordinary people.

In addition, the main and by-products of cotton have high utilization value, and cotton can be said to be a treasure in the whole body. It is not only the most important fiber crop, an important oil crop, a grain crop with high protein content, textile, fine chemical raw materials and important strategic materials. Therefore, promoting cotton planting, increasing yields, and doing a good job in comprehensive utilization can increase farmers' income and meet the needs of national economic development.

Zhao Bing is not surprised that cotton is facing difficulties in planting and promotion. In addition to the low awareness of farmers, another important reason is its economic value. For ordinary farmers, when choosing which crop to plant, two core factors need to be considered: whether the court recognizes that this crop is qualified to pay taxes, whether the landlords are willing to accept this crop as land rent; whether this crop can be sold at a good price on the market.

The second factor basically depends on the first factor. The tax law implemented in the Song Dynasty is the "two-tax system", which can pay money or grain, but the object of paying grain does not include cotton, which determines that these crops cannot be sold at a good price in the market; if they cannot sell at a good price, it means that farmers cannot use them to pay taxes, and they will not plant them on a large scale, and landlords will not accept tenants to pay land rent. Farmers naturally have no enthusiasm for planting.

Zhao Bing knew that it would be difficult to solve the problem of cotton planting and promotion, and even the promotion and planting of new crops in the future. This required a series of support policies from subsidies, acquisitions, etc. After cotton was planted, it would also have to face the problem of how to process and use it until it was accepted by the people and the market. However, the current imperial court has no policy reserves for this.

However, cotton planting is a strategic issue, and Zhao Bing cannot take it lightly. It takes a long time to wait for the imperial court to introduce encouragement policies. So it is better to do it yourself first, even if you suffer some losses, you cannot stop. So he decided that the cotton planted this year will be purchased by the inner government, and the unprocessed lint is temporarily set at 1,500 yuan per catty, and the purchase will continue next year, so as much as you want.

When they heard the price offered by the emperor, Wang Yinglin, Liu Chenweng and others were shocked. At present, one acre of high-quality fertile land can produce four stones of rice, and the medium-quality field is about two stones. At present, the price of rice per stone is about twelve guan, and the average income is about twenty guan, which of course is pre-tax income. According to the price set by His Majesty, the income of cotton can reach about thirty guan, and the water and soil requirements for growing cotton are relatively low, which is very attractive to growers.

"Your Majesty, will you be too hasty to buy it at such a price?" Wang De, as the steward of the inner government, of course, had to care about expenses. According to the current output, the inner government would have to spend 3 million guan to collect cotton, but how to use it is still unknown. He couldn't help but ask worriedly.

"We must suffer some losses first when promoting the cultivation of cotton. Now that the court is in financial difficulties, let's take it first!" Zhao Bing said.

"Your Majesty... the inner government has a lot of expenses, and the imperial court borrows the expenses every year, and the arrears cannot be returned on time. It will be difficult for the inner government to continue over time!" Wang De said with a sad face.

"Cough... Your Majesty, why don't you postpone the promotion of cotton planting?" Wang Yinglin's old face turned red, and he felt embarrassed. The court has been unable to implement balance of income and expenditure for so many years. He had to borrow money from the emperor whenever he had something to do, but he had never actively returned it. Now His Majesty is doing money for the court, which makes him feel quite embarrassed and coughed.

"Cotton planting is a major event that benefits the country and the people. The people and some court officials do not understand the meaning of it. But in the long run, we do not care about the gains and losses of a city and a place in war, and we should also not care about temporary interests when managing the people. It is nothing if I suffer a little loss!" Zhao Bing waved his hand and smiled.

"Your Majesty's eyes are beyond our reach!" Xie Fangde said.

"Yes, Your Majesty never cares about personal gains and losses, and is a role model for us!" Liu Chenweng also politely said.

"Haha, don't praise me anymore. I feel sorry for the money I spent!" Zhao Bing waved his hand and smiled bitterly, "Cotton can be spun and weaved cloth, cotton seeds can be used to press oil. With the promotion of sowing area and the increase in output, the price will gradually drop. Then our people can make cotton quilts and cotton clothes to keep warm, and soldiers can also avoid being frozen. While allowing everyone to wear clothes, they can also save part of military spending, which is beneficial to the country and the people."

"In addition, cotton needs to be spun into thread and weaving cloth requires a lot of labor. In this way, refugees can be summoned to workshops for work, and rural women can also use slack farm weaving cloth to subsidize household income. Although it will not make the people rich, it can also increase the income of the people and provide food and clothing." Zhao Bing said, "At the same time, we can take advantage of the situation and vigorously promote cotton planting in newly harvested areas, which can attract the people in Jiangnan to move to the two Huaihe areas in an orderly manner and solve the problem of immigration. When it is profitable, a large number of merchants will also establish weaving factories in production areas and traffic in cloth, which will increase the financial income of poor areas and reduce the burden on the court."

"Well, what Your Majesty said is reasonable." Wang Yinglin said, "Now the Lianghuai area is vast and sparsely populated, and a large amount of land is idle. It can be promoted in Lianghuai. I think cotton can be paid as taxes, so that it can attract the people of Jiangnan and Hakka to flow to Lianghuai, and at the same time alleviate the difficulties of the inner palace!"

"Okay, but this time needs to be discussed in detail, and you should not be too rush!" Zhao Bing said, "Public fields and imperial villages in the Lianghuai area can be tried on a large scale first, and the finished products will be made before trial sales. The court will introduce corresponding policies to encourage them. Take advantage of the situation and guide the people to plant. You must not be too rush!"

"Haha, it's because I'm impatient!" Wang Yinglin said with awkward smile.

"Now, the people and merchants will have doubts about new things, and forced implementation will backfire. If cotton is produced in large quantities, the processing capacity is insufficient, and it is stored in the granaries and occupies a lot of money, even I can't bear it. At that time, it will inevitably lead to a decrease in the price of cotton, and the people will not be profitable, and they will inevitably abandon the seeds, which will cause the merchants to go bankrupt, and the losses will be greater at that time!" Zhao Bing analyzed.

"What Your Majesty said is exactly. I am still worried that Your Majesty will be very arrogant and will force you to promote it. I will feel at ease!" Liu Chenweng said with a wry smile.

"The common people are greedy for profit. When cotton planting can make profits, they will definitely join the market. At that time, they will follow them without the court's order." Xie Fangde said.

"Mr. Dieshan said it is not false, so the court still has to take care of some things. Nowadays, the maritime trade is booming, and the volume of trading of porcelain, tea, and silk is extremely large. Some areas are rushing to the ground regardless of the situation, occupying land to build kilns and porcelain, abandoning crops in arable land, and planting mulberry trees and tea trees. We must be wary of this issue. Once a large number of fields are abandoned and planted, the grain output will decline, it will threaten the stability of the country. When famine and soldiers are hungry and hungry, and refugees are everywhere. Therefore, local governments should stop those who destroy farmland and encourage the use of barren mountains to grow tea, and build porcelain factories in land that is not suitable for cultivation!" Zhao Bing said.

"The problem raised by Your Majesty is that it should arouse our vigilance. In order to pursue political achievements and expand tax sources, some local officials do not pay attention to water conservancy and transportation, and the repair and construction of embankments have neglected the possible serious consequences." Wang Yinglin nodded.
Chapter completed!