Eagle Byzantium

It turns out that it is not geographically suitable to cultivate wheat in the newly conquered plateau areas such as Ikonium and Kayseri. Therefore, while promoting wheat, Anna also personally issued an order: vigorously encourage the development of the livestock industry, and the local plateau There are many areas and forage suitable for livestock grazing, and excellent fodder plants such as cattail, clover, and alfalfa are planted in the borders of the wheat fields.

That's why Anna found a painter and asked him to draw a light-color painting of herself and Gawain holding a lamb, to set an example for the border residents and farmers on the plateau.

After it was over, several craftsmen in the corner of the palace were engraving the colored paintings drawn by the painter, preparing to print them in large quantities on Seleucia paper and post them on various wooden posts in the country so that the people could see them. My husband and I love cute animals like sheep. Wool, cheese, horns and mutton are all treasures, and they will bring rewards to the farmers who raise them. The same goes for cattle.

However, Gawain was most concerned about the raising of horses. After finishing painting, the two of them went to the inner room with curtains, sat on the same couch together, and persuaded the attendants and maids around them to start. The couple discussed this topic first.

Anna's idea was to use the Reform Society to send supervisors to urge border residents to maintain their security, allocate quotas according to villages, and collect foals on an annual basis.

Gawain pondered for a moment, stood up from the couch with his hands behind his back, walked around on the hall floor a few times, laughed dumbly, and then rejected Anna's idea, "I crossed the sea from Italy to fight in Anatolia until now. War Horses of the Red Hand Division It takes a lot of money to maintain a cavalry horse, which is usually equal to the cost of two to three infantrymen. Then Anna, you can calculate, as I told you before, how many farmers it takes to support one infantryman. Woolen cloth?"

Anna, who was stroking her belly with one small hand and starting to calculate with the other, quickly reported the answer, "In the past, it took the output of ten farmers to supply a hoplite with wages, rations, armor, helmets, gloves, weapons and... Leather clothing. Now the agricultural reform in Tarsus is progressing rapidly, and it has gradually been reduced to the point where only seven farmers can supply the needs of one heavy infantry."

"In this case, how many farmers are needed to raise a foal?"

"About fifteen people."

"That is to say, it takes at least five families to have such a large number of boys." Gawain sighed, "In addition, horses are the most delicate animals. Once something goes wrong, they will get sick and die immediately. This is the reason why the Kingdom of Tarsus is still here today. The principle of using horses for work and plowing is only used in post offices, model sanctuaries farms and road transportation. Because of the location. Then it is not difficult to imagine that these five families raise a foal, and the adults and children have to go around the foal, which basically means that most of the farm work is wasted, which is far less troublesome and labor-saving than raising cattle. , if the 'continue to protect Ma' policy continues, it will trigger a popular uprising, which is basically a stupid policy. "

"I know what you said, but you said it's better to raise cattle and sheep, but you can't ask your red-handed soldiers to ride cows and sheep into the battlefield." Anna said angrily.

"That's not necessary. In fact, horse breeds can be improved, but it will not be effective in a short time. Instead, the original Roma people living in Iconium can make use of it." Gawain then revealed the answer.

Anna frowned, "Tell those Turks to raise horses?"

"Yes, they are all born herders. For them, this kind of thing is as natural and simple as the Germans wielding hoes to plow the fields, which is enough to ensure the efficiency of foal reproduction and survival. Use tax exemptions and incentives to win over them, In Ikon, Iconium, Lesser Antioch Turkey and the entire Cappadocia have established several large-scale pastures to provide nearby wheat and alfalfa fields, allowing the Turks to live in large groups. They raise herds and collect horses every year and deliver them to the military camps, just like they do to salt households. This is much more effective than forcing farmers to keep their horses.”

These words made Anna deep in thought, and then she calculated, "In this case, there would be 70,000 Turkic herdsmen mobilized."

"Well, if these 70,000 people raise all the horses in the plateau and the territory in a centralized manner, half of them will farm and raise animals tax-free to support themselves, and the other half will specialize in horse herding and maintenance, and formulate a reasonable reward and punishment format, plus subsidies from the treasury, one year At least 10,000 new horses can be produced, Among them, there are three thousand war horses. This will be sufficient for self-support within three years, and then we can start to make a profit." It seems that Gao Wen is very confident in this method of raising horses, which will not delay agricultural production and can also be used by professional herdsmen. Improve the breeding rate and survival rate of war horses.

Anna herself had nothing to refute. She held her waist and tried to stand up from the couch, indicating that Ma Zheng's secret discussion had come to an end, and then it would be implemented. Then with long hair, she walked to the long table at the four corners in the middle of the hall. This long table was specially made with bronze legs and reinforced iron frames. On the table was a huge mercury plate with a map of the entire Levant, The rivers, mountains, roads, cities, and fortresses of Anatolia, Thrace, Greater Bulgaria, Dalmatia, and the Peloponnese are all clearly condensed into it, and they are almost the details of half of the world known. .

Anna, who was watching all this intoxicatedly, took out a few Zeno chess pieces from the box next to the table, and carefully placed them where Kayseri, Nasa, and Iconium were. Such red chess pieces There seem to be more and more of them. They occupy most of Cilicia, the entire Seleucia and Cappadocia, and a small half of the Roma Plateau. They look like angry animals running towards the Holy Sea. bull.

Anna laughed, "What's the next strategy?"

Gawain was a little tired after acting as a model in the painting for a long time, but he didn't want to spoil the fun, so he stared at the big silver plate and whispered to his wife: "Nothing special, since we can establish trade relations with Theodore through the Iconium trade route, there is no need to follow the emperor's idea and fight to the death on the Sivas Plateau - we send a secret envoy to Amasya again, wouldn't it be better for everyone to divide the Sivas Plateau and Merik's territory in peace? Chaldia will be given to Theodore, and Sivas City can also be given to him. We want Caesarea and Melitene, so that no one has a conflict of interest." After speaking, Gawain also took out a few red Zeno chess pieces from the box and placed them on the position he pointed to just now. In this way, from Anna's perspective, almost half of Anatolia turned red.

"Within three years, we will nibble away at these areas while pacifying and digesting them, so that all the Turks will be driven out of Anatolia. Then the remaining enemies will be the Armenian Kingdom of Marash, and..." Before Gawain finished speaking, Anna's soft pregnant body pressed against his arm, holding his fingers, and arranged the remaining red chess pieces in the box in a row, from Iconium to Nicaea and Brusa, and then the last piece was placed at the location of Constantinople. (To be continued ~^~)