After signing the agreement, Marin originally planned to return to the Wadden Islands. Because, he didn't go back for several months. Seeing that the new year is coming, he plans to rush back to spend his old age.
However, Prince Philip held him back and asked him to give some more advice. For example, how to build the economy of the Teutonic Knights...
Prince Philip is not worried about the military. Because, he planned to ask his two elder brothers for help, and asked them to support a group of officers to help him take charge of the army. However, in terms of building the economy, the three Prince Philip brothers actually have nothing good to do. But along the way, Prince Philip found that Marin was a very thoughtful person, so he asked Marin for advice.
You know, Prince Philip once knew that Texel Island, Marin's territory, was originally a remote and remote village, but after Marin passed away, it took only one or two years to build Texel Island into a He has acquired a very wealthy territory, and he can still spend more than 80,000 gold coins to support him as the head of the regiment. Therefore, Prince Philip admired Marin very much for his ability to engage in economics, and even admired him a little.
Marin didn't answer him immediately, but thought for a long time, and asked the prince to send someone to check the information...
Through the internal information of the Teutonic Knights, Marin learned that the Teutonic Knights currently only have 36,000 square kilometers of land and a population of 300,000. You know, the data also shows that in 1402, the land area of the Teutonic Knights was 170,000 square kilometers, and the population was as high as 1 million.
However, after the Battle of Tannenberg, the Teutonic Knights lost a large amount of territory, and the Livonian Knights became autonomous again and broke away from the control of the Knights. So, it got to where it is now.
However, 36,000 square kilometers of land is not a lot. At least, this data made Marin envious. Moreover, data shows that out of the 300,000 population in the country, about 200,000 people are gathered in the four major Hanseatic cities, as well as the towns and villages near the four cities. In other places, the land is sparsely populated.
Marin knows the climatic conditions here, which are between the temperate marine climate and the cold temperate continental climate. The winter here is much colder than in Western Europe. At least, Western Europe is warmed by the warm North Atlantic Current, and the average winter temperature does not drop below zero. And here, because there is no warming effect like the North Atlantic warm current, and the West Siberia region blows cold air from the Eastern European prairie from time to time. Therefore, the temperature here in winter is generally around minus nine degrees, which is colder than that in Western Europe at the same latitude.
However, this coldness is not too cold, at least, compared with the Northeast of China, this coldness is far worse than the old nose. Moreover, the temperature here in summer is not bad, with an average of 17 degrees and a maximum of 20 degrees. Of course, the temperature here in summer cannot keep up with the average temperature of HLJ Harbin in July, which can reach 23 degrees.
Therefore, rice, wheat and other crops that need to be stimulated by high temperature can be grown in summer in Northeast China, but not here. Because the accumulated temperature in summer is not enough.
Therefore, the only crops suitable for planting here are cold-resistant rye, potatoes, sugar beets, and flax. However, the soil here does not seem to be fertile enough, and the harvest does not seem to be as good as that of Hoffman Manor. Probably, the soil fertility is insufficient.
However, Marin was not happy to want Philip to reveal the skills of using manure. So, he started to think elsewhere...
In this era, European trade was relatively large, that is, grain, salt, fur, timber, spices, livestock, and textiles...
Among these things, textiles have the highest added value. Because it is woven from wool, which contains labor. Moreover, the profit of the sale is still very good.
However, the wool spinning industry is currently mainly concentrated in the Flanders region of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. However, the British wool spinning industry has just started, and Flanders is the most developed. However, at the beginning of the Western European wool spinning industry, most wool was imported from England. Therefore, the profit of raising sheep is quite good.
Moreover, wool prices rose in Western European markets as the UK stopped wool exports. Even in the UK, the supply of wool itself is somewhat in short supply. In Flanders, because the British stopped exporting wool, many textile factories also closed down. Therefore, in recent years, the Flemish region itself has begun to raise sheep.
However, Flanders is small in size and has a large population. Moreover, there are many farmlands in the area. Therefore, it is difficult for the sheep farming industry to rise in Flanders.
However, the demand for wool is so great. Therefore, the British later used their brains and started the "land enclosure movement". Although, the enclosure movement harmed the interests of many poor farmers. However, it revitalized the British economy and brought a lot of tax revenue to the British government. Because, whether it is the transaction of wool or the export of textiles, it can bring a lot of pound tax and export tax to the British official. Therefore, the British economy is gradually rising, and the British government has money to engage in great voyages...
There was so much open space in the Teutonic Order that it was perfect for raising sheep. Of course, if you want to raise sheep in Eastern Europe, you must solve a very important problem-that is, the problem of winter feed for livestock.
Because of the lack of overwintering feed, many European herdsmen in this era had to slaughter a large number of animals and pickle them with salt before overwintering. Otherwise, the overwintering feed is not enough to eat...
Of course, if it is a grassland area, there is no such problem. Because there is a lack of forage in European farming areas, and even hay is scarce in winter. Unless, it is a grassland area, there is enough forage.
As it happens, the Teutonic Knights own a large area of unowned grassland. However, only a lot of areas near the coast and near the big rivers were put on horses, cattle and sheep. And many inland areas are still undeveloped...
Thinking of this, Marin suggested to Prince Philip to vigorously develop the breeding of sheep for wool in the Teutonic Knights. Because, at present, the market for European wool is very good.
"Raising sheep? I know this, but I heard that it is difficult to obtain feed for sheep in winter. Before winter, many farmers start to slaughter sheep and pickle them with salt..." Prince Philip also knew about the low-class people. In life, I know a lot.
"Your Highness, it is in the Rhine River area, where there are few lands and a lot of people, and there is not enough fodder. But in the inland area of the Teuton, there are so many barren grasslands..."
"How do the sheep live in winter?"
"Build a forage house, let the farmers harvest the forage before winter, pile it into the forage house, and when winter comes, take it out to feed the sheep..."
"The grass still needs to be harvested for storage?" Prince Philip was a little surprised. In Europe, people in the Middle Ages were not used to stockpiling pasture. When it comes to winter, I like to slaughter sheep and marinate...
"Of course, otherwise, what should we do if the sheep starve to death in winter? Not only do we need to store fodder, but we also need to build simple sheep sheds to keep out the cold in winter. Otherwise, in the cold winter in Eastern Europe, the sheep will freeze to death with all their long hair..."
"Okay, I've learned a lot. But, raising sheep is really promising?"
"Of course, you can send someone to Flanders to ask if there is a shortage of wool..."
"Er... I wish I'd heard about the wool shortage in Flanders..."
"That's it?"
"How to promote sheep raising?"
"It's very simple, enclosure!"
Then, Marin started with a smile like a little devil, and explained to Prince Philip the method of enclosing the land...
However, Marin's enclosure method is very different from the British enclosure, and it is also much milder.
The British enclosure was the aristocrats forcibly occupying the farmland of the peasants. The enclosure that Marin said was to encourage the Teutonic knights to enclose those uninhabited public wastelands.
In addition, Marin suggested that those areas with relatively poor land and low food production should also be circled. Only keep those relatively fertile land near the river as arable land. Using barren land to grow food, the income is very poor. But there is no problem with herding sheep.
In other words, Marin asked Prince Philip to enclose all the public wasteland and some barren cultivated land in the Teutonic Knights, transform them into pastures, and raise sheep on a large scale.
Sheep can provide not only wool, but also meat and batches, with high economic benefits. Moreover, management is also more convenient. At most, some labor is needed when shearing sheep, delivering ewes, and harvesting pasture reserves. Usually, it is enough to send serfs to drive the sheep to graze. Even, shepherd dogs commonly used by the British can be introduced to help herd sheep and guard.
And as the price of wool in the market is rising steadily, the profit of raising sheep is very high...
At the same time, allowing the Teutonic knights to enclose the land will also allow these Teutonic knights to gain a lot of benefits, making them more supportive of Prince Philip and more loyal.
Moreover, the Teutonic Knights are different from other European countries. In the Teutonic state, nobles and knights also had to pay taxes. Therefore, the more land you enclose, the higher the financial revenue of the Teutonic state will be. This is also beneficial to the economic development of the Teutonic state, and allows the Teutonic state to spend more money to hire Swiss mercenaries...
In fact, Marin originally planned to raise sheep on his own territory. However, his territory is too small and the population is small. Now, his territory adds up to more than 300 square kilometers, which is not as big as a fraction of the Teutonic state. As a visionary, Marin also hopes to develop industry. The most basic industry of industry is the textile industry. The development of the textile industry can promote the invention of machines. With machines, society will have greater progress.
Moreover, the tax revenue brought by the textile industry is also very considerable...
Marin found from the information provided by Prince Philip that although the Teutonic Knights had shrunk a lot in size, nearly half of the country had not yet been developed. If it can be used to herd sheep, I don’t know how many sheep can be raised...
If Marin develops the textile industry in the future, instead of raising sheep by himself, he can import wool from the Teutonic Knights, and then produce wool textiles to sell to other countries and regions. Once you come and go, you can also collect a lot of import taxes and export taxes, and you can also provide jobs for a large number of people and solve their living problems...
In short, encouraging the Teutonic country to raise sheep in enclosures is not only beneficial to the Teutonic country, but also very beneficial to Marin's future development of the textile industry in its own territory and promoting economic development...