Chapter 104 Fisheries Development Xi'anping County is located near the mouth of the Hunhe River. As the only county town within the scope of the Liaodong Mountains, it is the only main road leading from Liaodong County to Lelang County, and is also the current reception point for refugees from Liaodong. It has become the undisputed largest county in Liaodong except for the county seats, replacing the once prominent position of Wen County. Countless supplies flow here every day, and a large number of refugees also pass through here. Thousands of elite soldiers are on standby, various areas are strictly set up, and numerous checkpoints can be seen everywhere, making this place completely hidden in the fog. Even though a large number of people and merchants traveling between Liaodong County and Lelang County passed through here, they could only follow the established routes and could not detect any abnormality at all. "The location of Xi'anping County is too critical and important, and its geographical location is unique, so it must be carefully constructed." Tian Ze stood on the coast, looking at the fishing boats coming and going in the port, and couldn't help but feel deeply moved. The estuary on the south side of Xi'anping is in the shape of an "concave" character, which is simply an excellent natural coast created by the magic of nature. The port here is even larger than that of Xiangping, and there is an endless stream of ships coming and going. Chen Gong, who was standing beside him, gazed at the prosperous and lively scene in front of him, his heart filled with pride and satisfaction. You know, all of this was the result of his hard work. Recalling when he first came, this was just a small county town with a population of only four or five thousand people. The local people were poor and lived in great hardship. The county town was dilapidated and decayed, not even much better than the original Wen County.
However, nowadays, it has transformed into an important town. "Let's go to the fishing boat factory and see the condition of the newly built fishing boats." Tian Ze's main purpose for coming this time was for the fishing boats. After successfully conquering Goguryeo, Tian Ze controlled a large number of gold, silver, copper and iron ore veins, and copper coins were no longer in short supply. After years of continuous research, the technologies of coke and blast furnaces have achieved breakthroughs and are becoming more and more perfect. The development of Liaodong's coal, iron and steel industry and manufacturing industry can be described as rapid. The cultivation of economic crops such as cotton and mulberry was also widely promoted due to the existence of the "seed extraction technique", and it was not afraid of the cold climate conditions in Liaodong, providing a large amount of high-quality raw materials for textiles, weapons manufacturing, sugar making, etc. In order to maximize land utilization, the people under Tian Ze's rule even planted sorghum, which was easy to survive, in some marginal lands that were difficult to use effectively, with the mentality that it was better to have some land than nothing. With the help of the occasional spiritual rain from Tianze, the growth of the sorghum is quite satisfactory. On weekdays, this sorghum can be processed into livestock feed, used to feed poultry and livestock, or used to make wine. There has also been a huge breakthrough in the construction industry. After several years of dedicated research, a cement formula with better quality and lower price has finally been developed. It not only gets rid of the dependence on volcanic ash, but also further reduces costs, laying a solid foundation for large-scale infrastructure construction in Liaodong. However, progress has been slow in areas such as animal husbandry and fishing. Although Liaodong has a large area, it has a large population. In order to feed this large population, most of the land is naturally used for higher-profit farming projects rather than breeding. Due to the limited grasslands, priority had to be given to the breeding of war horses, so the scale of cattle and sheep breeding was always difficult to expand. Although Tian Ze had secretly opened border trade with the Xianbei, because both sides had many concerns and fears, the Xianbei were mostly willing to trade captives who were considered a burden, and the number of cattle, sheep and war horses was not large. Especially after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, a large number of people flocked in like a tide, and even pork became in short supply, causing the price of meat to soar all the way and has not fallen to this day. Although the scale of domestic pig farming is expanding rapidly and will soon be able to fill the meat gap, Tian Ze believes that pork alone is far from enough. Moreover, cows can be used to cultivate the land and sheep can be used to weave wool, and both can produce milk, so the development of animal husbandry is imperative. Tian Ze has already thought of a solution to the grassland problem, which is to develop the Korean Peninsula or the Northeast Plain and reserve some grassland for breeding and grazing. But that will only be achieved in a long time, and distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.
In order to solve the problem of meat supplementation in the short term, Tian Ze turned his attention to fisheries. Fish, which is rich in protein, is also a good choice to supplement meat and is relatively low in cost. Liaodong is close to the sea and has many lakes. Given the limited land resources, raising fish and fishing are undoubtedly the best ways to raise meat on a large scale. While walking towards the fishing boat factory, Tian Ze asked, "How is the current progress of fishing technology?" "The palace has arranged for craftsmen and some experienced fishermen to work together to develop and improve some fishing tools, and has carried out special training for fishermen in various villages. Initial results have been achieved," Chen Gong said respectfully. "That's good. Fishing near water, especially at sea, is risky. Safety knowledge and necessary protective measures must be fully popularized and implemented. Ensuring human safety is the top priority." When he first traveled through time, Tian Ze was also puzzled. Why did the people living by the river and the sea still live in extreme poverty and even couldn't get enough food to eat? Couldn't they rely on fishing to make a living? Although he did not understand the reason at the time, Tian Ze believed that this idea was probably not much different from "Why not eat meat porridge?" The people are not stupid. Why would they leave the fish alone and eat grass roots and tree bark? Later, after in-depth conversations with some fishermen and local people, Tian Ze gradually understood some of the reasons. On the one hand, famine is usually accompanied by severe drought or floods, which seriously affect the water quantity or quality. Rivers in many places are almost dry, and even if there are fish, they have long been caught and eaten by hungry people. On the other hand, fishing is not as easy as imagined. It is not the case that you can just pick up a net and go to the river and successfully catch fish. You may work for a long time and spend a lot of effort but get very little. The cost-effectiveness is really too low. These tools also cost money. Most people who want to fish may not have a fishing net, so they can only use a spade or a fishing rod. If you fish at sea or in large rivers, the risks you face are extremely high. If you are not careful, your body will sink in the water or be eaten by fish. In addition, the mountains, rivers, seas and lakes are all under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu. Local officials may not agree to your private fishing, and you may have to pay various complicated taxes. The caught fish cannot be preserved for a long time, and few people are willing to buy them, and the prices are extremely low. Without seasoning to remove the fishy smell, fish tastes too fishy, has too many bones, lacks oil, and does not give a strong sense of fullness. Ordinary people do not like it and would rather choose to eat wild vegetables than fish. The interweaving of multiple factors has led to this frustrating situation. Under Tian Ze's rule, he is now able to produce and supply salt in large quantities and at low cost. He also grows large quantities of onions, garlic and other condiments, which he sells to the people at low prices, allowing the people to earn some money. In addition, the government vigorously promoted the various benefits of eating fish, which gradually changed people's eating habits. Using a large amount of salt to pickle the fish can effectively prevent the fish from rotting and spoiling, and can be stored for a long time and transported over long distances. This allows the fish to be sold at a good price, and the fishermen have a stable source of income. The mountains in Liaodong are high and the emperor is far away. Tian Ze had already shut the mouths of the emperor, He Jin and Zhao Zhong. He directly exempted the few taxes from the fishermen, and the local government actually only collected one tenth of the taxes. "The Liaodong Mountains have a well-developed water system and there are some lakes. We can try small-scale fish breeding and catch fish regularly for consumption by nearby residents," said Tian Ze. "Don't worry, my lord. Gong and Zini are already doing their best to arrange it. But river fish are still not as fat as sea fish. Sea fish have more oil and can be caught in large quantities. As you said, after making it into fish meal, it has endless uses." Chen Gong exclaimed. Animal husbandry has always been the weak point of Liaodong. In order to solve the problem of feed for these livestock and fish, Chen Gong racked his brains and put in a lot of effort. There is nothing wrong with feeding them with edible food, but the cost is too high. It is better to use some low-cost, preferably almost no-cost feed, such as fish meal made from marine fish. Fish meal can not only be used to feed livestock and aquaculture, but also as high-quality fertilizer. The most important thing is that it is not difficult to make and the cost is low. It is simply the most ideal feed in Chen Gong's mind.
"The sea is a huge and almost inexhaustible treasure, with countless fish and shrimp, but with our current technological means, it is difficult to fully develop and utilize it." "If we really have a certain ability and means of deep-sea fishing, we no longer have to worry about the supply of meat for the people." Tian Ze sighed deeply as he looked at the magnificent sea. (End of this chapter)