Eagle Byzantium

Anna half-knelt in front of him, holding the big barbarian's knees, her eyes regained her determination, "No matter how difficult it is, we must continue to do it, five years, ten years, until the moment of success in Tarsus comes." After she finished looking at the bread and salt on the plate, she looked again She smiled gracefully and said, "My previous wish to eat citrus has come true. Now the entire citrus orchard in Tarsus has received a bumper harvest. I haven't eaten the rice you mentioned yet? So don't give up. You will give me a good harvest." The Agriculture Secretary gives orders and I obey them.”

"Choose a new location and continue building the rice farm!" Gao Wen's eyes were filled with fighting spirit again.

"There are still a lot of rice seeds left in the straw bales, but they are no longer suitable for planting anymore," Zhao Zhao said.

"Then plant buckwheat and wheat first, and we will fight next year!" Gawain stood up and said with clenched fists.

A few days later, a new landmark was erected in an area northwest of Armas City, next to gentle hills and meandering rivers. Gawain stood high in a white fine linen robe, accompanied by Anna and Zhao Zhao. Beside him - under the hills, many mobilized peasants with pensions, wearing straw hats and holding farm tools, stood there, surrounding Caesar and the great patron. Under the scorching sun, Gawain insisted on treating everyone Mobilization speech:

"My fellow citizens, Romans, many of you have just survived that tragedy. As far as I can see from here, I can still see the tragic black smoke rising from the seaside and the ruins of the former farm. This is Maybe it's the devil's fooling us, but it's definitely not the Lord's punishment for us. The rumors are unbelievable. The only reason for our failure is that we didn't do well enough. The flat and vast wilderness swamps of Cilicia must be conquered by us. It takes conquering, once the rice is there There will be a great harvest here, and the country of Tarsus will become a truly prosperous country that is the envy of other ethnic groups in the world. This is not for me personally, but for the welfare of the entire country. I want to revive these two farms, right here, this. It is a revenge battle against the devil. We must win. I want to set up a landmark here. Next to it is a lowland swamp, but because it is in the lee, it cannot be drained by windmills, but I will spend five hundred byzants. Come with gold coins and build four towers A large keel waterwheel is used to use machinery and manpower to dig out the mud in the swamp, and then use slave workers to lay stones with you to draw lively and clear water from the Zephyrim River to form a small stone canal. and lakes, you were first The land surrounding it is planted with buckwheat. Their adaptability is very strong and can support your rations for half a year. Until next spring, I will distribute rice seeds, cattle, and plow horses to you on time, completely free of charge. By then you We work hard with water trucks to lift the water from the stone canals to the high fields. Soon, the paddy fields will be covered with this low hill like fish scales. You will plant rice seedlings with the slave workers, and then wait. In two to three months, you will be able to harvest with the slave laborers. At that time, I will leave all the rice to you. Then of course you will understand that this crop represents high yield and abundance, and you will become rich instantly. , believe me, believe the gospel of St. Paul.”

After the words ended, all the peasants with the stipend were in high spirits. Half of them were infected by the patronage. In this era, few noble lords would lecture and guide such a humble class like them like Gawain. The other half were Attracted by the favorable conditions, although the destruction of the two previous experimental farms was too tragic, if there is the temptation of a bumper harvest and high yield, people are always eager to "try it again."

In the midst of the discussion, Zhao Zhao respectfully handed a translated document into Anna's hands. Anna nodded, and then handed it into Gawain's hands.

"Dear Romans, wealth is never easy to come by. Here is my good friend and a respectable agriculturist, Zhao Zhao from the Imperial Song Empire. A native of the Imperial Song Dynasty, he traveled thousands of miles Come to Tarsus so that we can all Eat well, what kind of spirit is this? This is the real clergy, far better than the group who celebrates Mass and Holy Communion. Everyone said that Mr. Zhao Zhao (in German, has power and knowledge). Does the person, also called Mr., support it?”

"Okay, support!" The peasants in the front row cheered and high-fived enthusiastically, and Zhao Zhao was very touched by the simple enthusiasm that soon became overwhelming.

Then, the "Six Instructions for Paddy Fields" was posted in front of people. It was written in simple and easy-to-understand Greek and German, and was posted on a temporary wooden post. It recorded six precautions:

First, dig a deep well in the farm now. When sowing next year, take the rice seeds out of the warehouse and soak them in the cold water of the deep well after ventilation to prevent the occurrence of "Fire Field" disaster;

Second, when the wind stops, use modified columbuses to intensively sow the seeds. This can prevent the rice seeds from being blown away by the sea breeze before being planted in the soil;

Third, while transplanting the rice seedlings, scarecrows and fake eagles must be set up beside the fields, and civilian army patrols must be dispatched to fire cannons from time to time to prevent birds from the Taurus Mountains from pecking and damaging the seedlings;

Fourth, before and after the rice matures, the heat from the land rises. When it meets rotten wood, it will cause waves of phosphorus fire to wander around. Once a fire breaks out, the rice will be destroyed and people will die. Therefore, the women and children of the farm must be mobilized to pick up and throw away all the rotten wood, and carry it with them. Windproof lanterns travel day and night, and once the phosphorus fire sees the lantern fire, it will naturally go out;

Fifth, each farm will set up a herbal medicine clinic, with four doctors stationed in each farm. People from the large hospital will be selected and dispatched by the Grana love medical officer of Seleucia to ensure the health of the farm personnel;

Sixth, entrust Mrs. Kaleadiou to urgently make a batch of linen curtains and hangings, distribute them to farms, and force people to use them when sleeping and at home to prevent the recurrence of the epidemic.

Soon, the holy peasants felt clear and encouraged. The craftsmen hired from Tarsus by the swamp had begun to build the trough of the waterwheel and the wooden frames raised one by one. The rest of the peasants were in a constant stream, using cattle and horses to pull vehicles to transport wood and bricks to the landmark. On the side of the temporary road, Zhao Zhao was sweating profusely, communicating with the members of the Self-Reform Society, and giving them the basic knowledge of farming.

Gawain, who was overlooking all this on the top of the hill, looked particularly tall in the sunset.

Anna came over and nestled in his arms, looking at everything that was revitalized in front of her. "Many times, what we fear is not God, but this group of determined and unyielding ant-like people, this group of creatures."

"In this world, we are the only creator gods. I will soon ask Mr. Zhao Zhao to introduce more bamboo and cotton from Arabia and India." Gawain exhaled and held Anna's hand.

A messenger cavalryman rushed into the farm workshop with a cloud of dust, and shouted nervously to the patron on the hill, "Antioch's princely army has crossed Samosata and penetrated into the Marash Mountains!" (To be continued ~^~)