In the past, Marin worked in sales for a period of time. Although he was not particularly outstanding, he also managed to develop a flickering mouth that could speak well.
Medieval Europe was a society with very limited information. Even the smart Mrs. Mary can only be said to be much smarter than ordinary people, but she is not an opponent of Marin who has been baptized by massive information.
In the story made up by Marin, he himself became a boy with "clear bones" and a halo of the protagonist, and was caught by the learned ascetic monk and great sage named Einstein (Khan...). After a simple test, this sage named Einstein passed on all his knowledge and knowledge to Marin...
"You mean, it only took that great sage a month to pass on all the knowledge to you?"
"Yes!" Marin wanted to say it was two or three months, but one month after he left home, he took in Kahn and Kohler. After that, the two bastards are clear, so it is not easy to make up...
"In just one month, what can you learn?" Mrs. Mary was not so easy to fool.
"Uh... Master Einstein taught me a lot of things, let me digest slowly, and I have only digested part of it now."
"What you said just now is all part of your digestion?"
"It's far more than that. What I just said is just some knowledge, and there is a lot of useful scientific knowledge!" Marin pretended to be complacent. Because, a 16-year-old boy should be like this.
"An example?" interjected old Hoffman.
"Well, the problem of cattle."
"Cow?" Old Hoffman felt a little strange.
"Well, yes. We know that in Europa, most people use draft horses to plow the land instead of cattle. The main reason is that cattle have a strong temper. Those young, energetic bulls, because of their temper, It is impossible to force them to plow the fields. If they lose their temper in the field, they cannot continue to plow the land. Only some old cows and cows can be used to plow the land because of their mild temper... "
"It's like this. Although the cost of raising cattle is very low, they have too much temper and are difficult to tame for farming. The draft horse has a mild temper and obeys commands. Therefore, although the cost of raising draft horses is much higher than that of cattle, people are still more willing. Use draft horses to plow the land. In a herd of cattle, three out of 10 cows can be used for plowing, which is considered good." Old Hoffman agreed.
It is true that Europeans do not know how to use bull nose rings and cannot tame those young and violent bulls. But the temper of the cow is very stubborn, even if it is a cow with a good temper, sometimes the cow's temper comes up and the puller can't pull it. Only a very strong knight can pull a stubborn ox.
But the East is different. During the Warring States period, the Chinese people came up with the trick of using cow nose rings, so that the grumpy cow had to be obedient. Because the pain nerves are developed in the nose of the cow, and when the nose ring is pulled, the cow suffers from pain and has to be led by the nose.
It is precisely because the Orientals can easily lead the cattle by the nose, and can easily drive the cattle to plow the land. Therefore, the east has developed cattle farming. However, Europeans have never been able to find an effective way to tame cattle, so they had to use horse farming. As for cattle, only a small number of good-tempered ones are used for farming. After all, cows usually only need to eat grass. Unlike draft horses, they often need to eat feed, and the cost of feeding is relatively high.
This situation also led to another result, that is, Europeans raise more horses and do not pay much attention to cattle. Even, people can raise cattle to kill meat, and some also raise cows. The Orientals, because of the cost of feeding, are more used to raising cattle. Moreover, cattle are regarded as treasures. In ancient China, the government strictly prohibited the slaughter of healthy cattle, otherwise they would be imprisoned. However, in ancient China, because of the abundance of cattle breeding, there were very few people raising horses, which also caused a serious shortage of horses and cavalry in ancient China, making it difficult to fight against the large number of cavalry of the nomadic peoples in the north. Can only passively defend, unable to counterattack.
However, the cost of raising horses is very high. War horses need to be fed every day, and draft horses also need to be fed frequently. Unlike raising cattle, you only need to add some concentrates such as soybeans and eggs when you consume too much physical energy when plowing the land. In other seasons, you can just get them to graze on the grass. Even in winter, eating hay will do. Therefore, the cost of raising cattle is much lower than that of horses.
Just like Hoffman Manor, in order to cultivate 1,200 acres of land, 25 draft horses had to be raised, which cost a lot of money. Every day, just feeding 25 draft horses costs hundreds of pfennigs in feed money, not to mention the five war horses that are paid more.
"However, I heard from my teacher that in the far east, people raise cattle in every household to plow the land..."
"How is this possible? You know, the temper of the cow is very violent. The Iberians (Spanish) even specially organized a bullfighting competition, which shows how difficult it is to tame the cow. Generally, there are only 3 cows suitable for raising 10 cows. Cultivated land. The rest are either killed for meat, or used as dairy cows. Or, they are juvenile calves." Hoffman found it incredible.
"It's like this in Europe. However, my teacher has been to the 'Ming' empire in the far east, where he learned a simple method to make cows obedient, making most adult cows (those who are too irritable) Except for nervous bulls, of course, this kind of bulls will be honest if they are castrated), they can be pulled down to plow the land, and they are very obedient."
"Is there really such a magical method?" Old Hoffman was moved. The cost of raising 30 horses at Hoffman Estate is too high. Every year, these draft horses need to spend a huge sum of two or three hundred marks to feed (specifically, a draft horse consumes less than 4 pfennigs per day on average, while a war horse consumes 10 pfennigs per day). As for the Hoffman estate, the annual income is only more than 600 marks. In addition to the family's food and drink expenses, there is basically not much money left in Hoffman Manor every year. If we can replace most of the high-cost draft horses with cattle (we still need to keep a few horse-drawn carts), we can save at least one hundred or tens of marks of feed money every year.
In fact, for the whole of Europe, the cost of raising draft horses has always been a big problem for farmers. The draft horse needs to be fed, and European food is so expensive, it is really not worthwhile. However, although the cost of raising cattle is low, there are too few "honest cattle" that may be used to cultivate land...
Not only the old Hoffman was moved, but the knowledgeable Mrs. Mary also became a little short of breath:
"Marin, do you really understand this method?" As the "Queen Dowager" in charge of the family's financial power, Madam Mary is very sensitive to costs.
"Of course, if you don't believe me, you can take a look at the ox cart and the ox I'm riding. I used the oriental method to put nose rings on the two oxen, and they were very obedient along the way."
"Nose ring? What's that?" Old Hoffman and Mary asked at the same time.
"It's a small thing that can make a cow obey. The nose of a cow is very afraid of pain. If you put a nose ring in the nose of a cow, as long as you touch the nose ring, the cow will feel pain, and then you have to follow orders honestly..."
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go and see!" Old Hoffman immediately stood up, lifted the skinny Marin like a chicken, and went to the barn. And Mrs. Mary and several other children quickly followed.
When we arrived at the cowshed, everyone immediately watched the two cows with nose rings. Then, the old Hoffman reached out and pulled the rope connected to the nose ring, and tugged. The big black cow "Li Chen" who was pulled in pain uttered "moo" twice in dissatisfaction. But it has nothing to do with it being in the hands of old Hoffman.
"Look, this cow is staring at me, as if very dissatisfied. But, you still have to listen to me!" Old Hoffman shouted happily.
"By the way, Marin, how did you put the cow's nose ring on the cow's nose? You know, the cow is very tempered. If you hurt it, you won't kill you with its horns?" Adler asked aside. He had wrestled with cattle before, and he knew that cattle were not easy to mess with when they lost their temper. Even if he was as strong as him, he was almost injured by a cow. According to Marin's physique, it is impossible to hold down a big black bull like "Li Chen".
"This is very simple. Put some spirits in the feed of the cows and make the cows drunk. Then, tie up the drunk cows, and then casually perforate them..."
"Can it still be like this?" Adler and the others were a little stunned...
"Nonsense, don't you do it like this? Are you afraid of being pierced by the bull's horn?"
"Sure enough, it is the knowledge imparted by the great sage, so powerful!" Mrs. Mary couldn't help sighing.
Before, the shrewd Mrs. Mary had some doubts about the authenticity of Marin's words. But when she saw the big black bull "Li Chen" and the calf "Dallas" tamed by the bull's nose ring, she had to believe that Marin had received knowledge from an expert. She watched Marin grow up, and knew how much Marin weighed. There is no other explanation for such a "powerful" method other than what an expert taught.
Then, Marin was in the Hoffman Manor, and he became a "disciple of the great sage"...