King of Mercenaries

Chapter 80: winter wheat

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In the days after the harvest, how to sell the surplus grain has also become a major issue on the island.

Aside from the church’s 200 yogurts of rye, Marin and his men had a total of 2,800 yogurt rye fields (the other 200 yogurts planted oats), producing a total of 8.4 million pounds of rye. However, the population of the island is only 6,000. Even if the average annual consumption of 500 pounds of rye per person is only 3 million pounds, there is an excess of 5.4 million pounds.

After thinking about it, Marin decided to take out 5 million pounds and sell it. A pound of rye is worth 1 pfennig, 5 million pounds, worth 5 million pfennigs, equivalent to more than 83,000 ducats.

Originally, Marin planned to sell directly to the Wiggins Chamber of Commerce. However, Kohler, who had a walk outside and learned a lot, told Marin that food prices in Europe are very unbalanced.

Kohler heard from a Jewish businessman that grain prices in Europe are the cheapest on the Eastern European plains. In Lviv, Poland (now part of Ukraine), the price of rye is only 0.5 pfennig per pound because of the rich black land, while in Germany, the price of rye is 1 pfennig per pound; in England, it is 1.5 pfennig ( Pennies) per pound; France and Germany are similar; but in Spain during the same period, the price of wheat is very high. It is said that the price of rye in Barcelona is as high as 2 pfennigs per pound, and the price of wheat is as high as 10 pfennigs per pound. The Italian region was originally an important grain-producing area. But because of the two years of war, food prices have also started to soar, compared with some in Spain...

In other words, if the rye was shipped to Spain, the profit could be doubled. Having said that, Marin was also depressed. Because—he has no ships for ocean voyages...

It was a long sea journey to transport rye to Spain. Not only to be careful of the wind and waves of the Atlantic Ocean, but also be careful of the attacks of pirates. These days, the sea is not calm. Taking the sea route, there is a high possibility of being targeted by pirates. Unless, your ship is an armed merchant ship.

However, Marin now has only a few small boats and cannot go far at all...

In desperation, Marin endured the pain and decided to sell the wheat to the opposite England. England is very close to Texel, only a few hundred kilometers away. Although Marin doesn't have a big ship, he can hire a larger merchant ship to take the wheat to England for sale.

Grain prices in England were high, with rye retailing at 1.5p a pound. Even at wholesale prices, there are 1.2p a pound. If it is sold in Germany, it can only be wholesaled at a price of 0.8 pfennig at most. If you take it to England, you can get half the price.

Of course, because of France's sanctions against Texel, Marin could not use the name of Texel to transport grain to England.

For this reason, Malin specially sent Kohler to buy a few impoverished small Jewish businessmen, and let them come forward to form a "North Sea Chamber of Commerce" in Amsterdam. Then, in the name of the "North Sea Chamber of Commerce", sea ships were hired to transport the rye to England for sale.

Although the British imposed an import duty of 6 pence per pound, these were nothing compared to the price gap between England and Germany.

Moreover, the British currency is relatively valuable, which is about the same as the most valuable imperial currency issued by the Holy Roman Empire. Unlike the princes of northern Germany, who made bad money indiscriminately. For example, the silver content of an imperial pfennig is about half that of a British penny. The local Finneys issued in Trier and Cologne, etc., contain far less than 25% silver, almost turning into copper coins...

In the United Kingdom, because of the unity of national decrees, the right to mint coins belongs to the royal family, and the British royal family is not as shameless as the French royal family, so the coins minted are relatively worthwhile. Therefore, the British economy has always been stable. It is also a good way to trade with Britain.

Neither the British nor the French discovered that this so-called "Beihai Chamber of Commerce" was actually owned by Marin. Therefore, the economic sanctions imposed by the French have come to nothing...

It's no wonder that Marin has experienced the economic tide of the later generations of China. Although he is not good at things like taking advantage of loopholes, he is out of the middle ages. Sanctioned by the French, Marin simply changed the "shell" of the goods on Texel Island, and the French caught them blind...

These days, there are no special agents or spies in European countries, and transportation and communication are extremely inconvenient. Something happened on Marin's side, even if it was blatant, it would take a long time for France to know. What's more, Marin did it quietly, and the French wanted to figure it out. God knows it will take until the year of the monkey.

After disposing of the remaining rye on the island, Marin began to think about the next arrangement.

Today, in addition to the original 3,200 Ugrams of arable land on the island, Marin arranged for serfs to reclaim 3,200 Ugrams of arable land. For this batch of cultivated land, except for 100 Ugrams to be distributed to Schwarz, 50 Ugrams to be distributed to Frundsberg. The other 3050 yogurts are all Marin's own farmland.

In order to reclaim the cultivated land, Marin used serfs to fill up a large swamp and dug many diversion canals to obtain so much cultivated land.

In fact, more land on the island is suitable for cultivation. However, Marin is currently understaffed, with only a few thousand serfs. In this era, farming is purely manual without mechanization. Therefore, without enough manpower, it is useless to have more land.

And Texel Island is only 20,000 Ugrams in total. Counting the beaches, hills, and grasslands, the cultivated land of 6,400 Ugrams has reached its limit. Because the fresh water on the island is enough to irrigate so many fields.

Islands are different from land. On land, as long as there are big rivers to support them, fresh water resources can never be exhausted, and every inch of land can be fully utilized. On the island, the freshwater system is separate and independent from the mainland.

While Texel has no shortage of fresh water, it's not unlimited either. It is the limit to be able to irrigate the irrigated land of 6400 Yugram. No matter how much, that can't be done. Otherwise, Marin would definitely reclaim half of Texel's land as arable land.

As is the custom of Europeans, they are used to the fallow system. In winter, medieval Europeans generally did not plant crops. Because they want to let the land "rest and thrive".

In fact, Europeans need to let the land restore its own fertility because they don't know how to fertilize. The Huaxia people are different. In the south of China, they have always planted two crops a year.

Except for two to three crops of rice a year in the southernmost part of the country, most of the rest (mainly in the south-central region) are actually planted in rotation with rice and wheat. Winter wheat is planted in autumn and wheat is harvested in early summer. Then, the rice is planted and harvested in autumn.

Because Chinese people have always known to use manure (nitrogen fertilizer) and plant ash (potassium fertilizer), even if they keep using the land, they still get a lot of harvest every year.

So, when others decided to let the land grow grass, Marin planned to plant winter wheat...

In medieval Europe, farmers used to plant only one crop per year. It is usually sown in spring and harvested in autumn. There are also varieties of winter wheat, but after Marin heard about the growth cycle of winter wheat, he almost wanted to scold her...

Because the winter wheat in the Middle Ages in Europe was planted in late autumn and early winter, and the growth cycle can make people vomit blood. Because, although the winter wheat in Europe in this era was also planted in October and November, the harvest season will not be until July and August of the next year...

And Marin clearly remembered that the winter wheat in his family was clearly harvested in May in the previous life. After harvesting, first apply some manure to the ground as a base fertilizer before planting rice. Then, in October, the rice can be harvested too...

However, the cheating European winter wheat of this era actually takes two more months to grow than the winter wheat of later generations, making it too late to plant other crops in late spring and early summer. After the winter wheat is harvested, the land can only be put on hold for a few more months, waiting for the next round of winter wheat planting, resulting in a serious waste of land. However, considering that Europeans still practice large areas of fallow land, it is not surprising that this waste...

Wheat is different from rye, and in Europe, the price of wheat is much higher than that of rye. In Germany, a pound of rye costs only 1 pfennig. And a pound of wheat is as high as 5 pfennigs. The price difference between the two is as high as 5 times. Later, this gap will become even larger, reaching as much as 7 times.

Wheat is different from rye. Rye is easier to care for. It can be cultivated extensively and requires less water. Wheat, on the other hand, is much weaker than rye, and requires more water for irrigation than rye.

Europeans in the Middle Ages cultivated extensively. They usually simply turned over the fields with light plows, sprinkled rye seeds, and watered them, and then they left. Then, just sit and wait, relying on the sky to receive...

The technologies that Marin previously promoted on the island, such as "hole planting", deep plowing, weeding, and fertilization, are actually used for intensive farming of wheat. Now, the serfs are more familiar with it.

Therefore, when planting 500 yogurts of winter wheat, it went very smoothly. However, because of the use of native European varieties in the Middle Ages, the next harvest of wheat will have to wait until July and August next year, which is very embarrassing...

However, considering the high price of wheat, even if a farming season is wasted, the price of wheat is 5 times higher than that of rye, which is enough for Marin to earn more.

But Marin is not satisfied with this. If there is a winter wheat variety with a shorter growth period, Marin can even replant a round of soybeans after the winter wheat is harvested. In this way, Marin can not only get a lot of soybean oil, but also get better feed than oats for the horses. Moreover, soybeans can fix nitrogen and increase soil fertility. The land that has been planted with soybeans is then used to plant winter wheat, and the land will be significantly more fertile...

However, if you want to obtain winter wheat varieties with a shorter growth period, Europe currently does not have them. Marin has not learned agricultural technology, and he will not breed excellent wheat varieties. Therefore, he can only consider going to Daming in the east to buy winter wheat varieties with a shorter growth period, as well as "universal" soybeans... Therefore, a great voyage is still necessary...

Moreover, Marin suddenly remembered that it seemed that winter wheat needed potassium fertilizer. Potassium fertilizer can help winter wheat resist cold and increase yield. Germany has relatively rich potash reserves. Germany was once the world's largest potash exporter. It seems that there are several large potash mines in the Harz Mountains. Marin began to wonder whether he should send someone to buy those potash mines as potash reserves. After all, relying on plant ash as potassium fertilizer, the content is too low...