Chapter 53: Agricultural Prospects
After confirming his cooperation with Hansel, Paul Grayman began to contemte the agricultural issues within his territory.
Firstly, regardingnd ownership, nominally allnd in the Alda territory belonged to the Grayman family, simr to how allnd in ancient China belonged to the emperor. However, the actual distribution ofnd used for agricultural production was as follows:
Nearly one-third of the arablend was directly under the lords manor, and its produce belonged entirely to the Grayman family. Slightly more than one-third was upied byrgendowners and gentry in various viges and towns (including vassals of the Grayman family), who paid taxes to the lords manor annually, keeping the remainder of the produce for themselves. The remaining third was owned by a significant number of self-farming peasants or smallndowners.
Following the usual pattern, a Count like Paul would typically initiate a violent or mildnd redistribution reform, ensuring every farmer in his territory had a plot ofnd to sustain themselves and their families, achieving the ideal of the tiller owns thend, and then basking in universal acim.
However, Pauls aspiration was not for a happy pastoral life under a small-scale farming economy. He envisioned industrialized,rge-scale machine production, and small-scale farming was one of the major obstacles on the road to industrialization.
First, the small-scale farming economy bound arge number of peasants to small plots ofnd, restricting the formation of freebor. Theck ofbor would limit the speed of industrial development.
Second, the self-sufficiency and instability of the small-scale farming economy meant that the small farmers lived in poverty,cking the means to purchase more consumer goods. This led to a narrow market, hindering the development of themodity economy.
Third, the weak economic power of small-scale farmers made it difficult for them to afford expensive machinery, adopt new technologies, or undertakerge-scale soil improvement and irrigation projects. This was detrimental to increasing the yield of arablend.
Finally, the long-term existence of small plots ofnd would hinder the intensification of agricultural specialization, restrict the expansion of economic crops, and dy themercialization of agricultural products.
All these factors would impede the development of industrialization. Not to mention the negative role of the small-scale farming economy in the modern history of China, evenparing the impacts of modernnd systems in France and Ennd on their industrialization reveals a lot.
After the French bourgeois revolution, the old feudalnd rtions were destroyed, and thends of nobles and the Church were confiscated and distributed among peasants, making them smallndowners. This had great progressive significance at the time and even increased the enthusiasm of the farmers, promoting economic development.
However, for various reasons, this small-scale farming economy based on smallnd private ownership persisted in France for over a hundred years. Gradually, it became a shackle on industrial development, dying Frances historical transition from an agricultural to an industrial nation. This is one of the important reasons for Frances rtively slow economic development in thete 19th century.
Ennd, however, was different. Although the enclosure movement, likened to sheep eating people, caused countless peasants to lose their homes and be destitute, filled with violence and oppression, it objectively provided favorable conditions for the Industrial Revolution in Ennd.
Peasants who lost theirnd moved to cities for livelihood, elerating urbanization and providing cheap, freebor for industrial development.
The enclosure movement consolidated many previously fragmentednds intorger plots, facilitating the nting of new crops, the application of better fertilizers, the use of improved tools, the reform of irrigation systems, and the adoption of advanced farming methodsthese were beyond the capabilities of small farmers and significantly increased the overall agricultural output.
This is one of the key reasons why France, with simrly fruitful scientific developments in the 18th century, did not see the Industrial Revolution ur first, unlike Ennd.
Therefore, Paul not only did not intend to equalize thend, but also wanted to further centralize it.
With the coboration with Hansel confirmed, Paul Grayman turned his attention to solving the agricultural issues in his territory.
Thend owned by the lords manor and variousrgendowners was sufficiently centralized in terms of ownership, but geographically dispersed. Paul needed to coordinate with all parties fornd exchange, promotend cirction and centralized management through a series of policies and regtions, encourage the establishment ofrge farms, promote agricultural mechanization, and buildrge-scale irrigation projects ording to the distribution of arablend.
For the self-farming peasants and smallndowners, using violent means to strip them of their ownership was not in Pauls considerations. His upbringing and education in his previous life made him unwilling to betray his spiritual ss. Since they already existed, they would serve as a supplement to therge farm economy, with a higher yield per unit under the same conditions, after all, the intensive farming practices of ancient China fed a poption of over a billion and had many advantages.
He nned to establish organizations like agricultural associations and cooperatives at the vige level, with the lords manor funding the purchase of farming tools, oxen, and other production materials to be rented to self-farming peasants at a low cost, thereby helping them improvebor efficiency.
As for thebor force needed for industrialization, he set his sights on anotherrge group within his territorythe serfs. very existed in this world and was quitemon.
Ironically, the Church, which Paul both despised and feared, was the biggest opponent of the very system. One of its important founding principles was that all men are equal under God. After the Churchs status was widely recognized by various countries, it vigorously promoted several abolitionist movements. However, these efforts ultimately failed due to the resistance of vested interests, and as the Churchs higher echelons increasingly aligned with the nobility, this ideal gradually remained only a slogan.
But Count Paul did not n to just pay lip service; subjectively, he could not ept the existence of very, and objectively, industrial development required argebor force. Therefore, abolishing very within his own territory was imperative.
For the serfs directly under the lords manor, Paul intended to grant them freedom to choose whether to stay or leave. Those who stayed would be trained as agricultural workers in his new farms. As for the serfs owned by thergendowners, if they were not freed, they would have to face the crushing wheel of history.
As for the agriculturalbor force lost due to abolition, it could bepletelypensated by promoting new farming tools. Machinery and equipment that were useless on narrownds could be effectively used in newrge farms.
Paul nned to manufacture agricultural machinery such as the Rotherham plow, Crosskills clod crusher, serrated harrows, seed drills, reapers, threshing machines, and more. These could all be manufactured under current technological conditions and operated merely by animal power, being the key tools in Britains 18th-century agricultural revolution.
Another method to increasend yield was the four-field crop rotation system, which involved dividing all arablend into four parts. Each part would be nted with turnips, barley, clover, and wheat, respectively, and rotated annually.
This system eliminated fallownd, and the cultivatednd after harvest was not used for grazing. Instead, pastures were converted into arablend, expanding the area for crop cultivation. It involved nting leguminous pasture and applying livestock manure, which elerated the restoration and improvement of soil fertility. This not only facilitated a steady increase in crop yield but also ensured the long-term and rational use of arablend and provided quality feed for livestock. It encouraged the transition from grazing to stall feeding in livestock farming, which improved the production level of animal husbandry.
Then there was the cultivation of improved crop varieties, but this was an area Paul was not very knowledgeable about. He could only wait to recruit relevant agricultural experts to implement this aspect.
Paul firmly believed that through the above series of reforms, the agricultural output of Alda territory would see a significant improvement. This would free and support morebor, paving the way for future industrialization.