Chapter 154: The Way of Excrement and Urine

Nations often perish through weakness, but the Han Dynasty fell despite its strength.

The demise of the Han Dynasty is an incredibly complex matter, far beyond what this simple sentence can encapsulate.

However, this statement reveals a truth: the Han Dynasty's military system was a double-edged sword, causing considerable harm to the dynasty itself.

Emperor Wu of Han secured centuries of peace for the Han Dynasty, but the massive military expenditure simultaneously emptied the national treasury.

In reality, the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing had already sown the seeds of trouble, but Emperor Wu simply bore the brunt of it.

In the early days of the Han Dynasty, the land was extremely impoverished, and the Han court lacked the ability to collect taxes from the land. They simply drastically reduced land taxes, but to maintain fiscal revenue, they shifted to collecting poll taxes.

This led to a significant decrease in the price of land purchases because, with reduced taxes, the land tax to be paid was very low, one in thirty, and some years even had tax exemptions.

While this stimulated production, wealthy officials, landlords, and merchants began buying land in large quantities.

Compared to the wealth brought by land, the poll tax was negligible. At the same time, concealing land, tax evasion, unregistered households, and so on emerged. The actual population of a household was often several times the registered number, all dependent on the large landlords.

Coupled with the currency used for tax collection and the official selection system linked to currency, by the Eastern Han Dynasty, the large landlords' estates had 'ponds teeming with fish and livestock, providing everything requested.' They built walls for defense and even had their own armed forces.

Thus, powerful clans and gentry rose to prominence.

In contrast, the lower-class people lived in dire straits, unable to survive, eventually leading to the Yellow Turban Rebellion. However, behind the Yellow Turban Rebellion, there were shadows of the gentry, just as behind Liu Xiu's Red Eyebrow Army stood many great landlords.

Therefore, the vast majority of peasant uprisings ended tragically, either benefiting the great landlords or transforming into great landlords themselves, never finding the key to break out of the cycle.

Yuan Xi didn't know if he could resist foreign tribes with the strength of one province, but he certainly couldn't learn Emperor Wu of Han's methods. The Han Dynasty nearly collapsed under that strain, let alone a mere You Province?

Therefore, Yuan Xi came up with the idea of nationwide ditch digging and took the opportunity to eliminate Gongsun Zan and reshuffle You Province, turning as much land as possible into military settlements, official land, and community land to minimize the influence of the gentry.

Between the cities, most of the land was protected by barricades and camps, making it difficult for enemies to plunder.

Of course, this concept could not be completed in just a few years, but Yuan Xi believed that as long as he continued to manage it, in ten, twenty, or a hundred years, You Province would be full of fertile fields, rivers, and fish ponds, instead of becoming the land where nomadic tribes would rise.

As Zhao Yun was leaving, Yuan Xi said, "This matter involves long-term planning and cannot be disclosed to the outside world for the time being, lest it be exploited by others."

"As for training cavalry, it can only be done further away, near the territory of the enemy, which can also serve as reconnaissance."

Zhao Yun nodded upon hearing this, and then Yuan Xi said, "In the next few days, I will take Sun Li and patrol on horseback towards Yijing."

"I will wear a distinctive helmet so that within a few days, interested parties will inquire about it."

Zhao Yun was startled, then understood and said, "It's somewhat dangerous."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "You can't catch a wolf without putting a child out as bait."

Zhao Yun immediately understood and said, "I will send someone to inform Dezhou and Ziyi."

Yuan Xi smiled upon hearing this and said, "You truly understand me, brother. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the confidence to take such a risky move."

After seeing Zhao Yun off, the two women, having heard their conversation, knew that Yuan Xi was going to take risks again, and their faces showed worry, making the atmosphere oppressive.

Yuan Xi joked with a smile, "Compared to the countless troubling matters, this time I have three great generals to assist me, which is already quite easy. I can't just not contribute any effort."

"It's the progress of that manure composting method that is slow, which is what worries me."

Cao Xian, for some reason, thought of her embarrassing situation for several days when she first arrived and said, "Can that filthy thing really become fertilizer for the land, as you say, my lord?"

Yuan Xi nodded, "Definitely. It just needs exploration, lacking some key elements."

The invention of manure composting technology in the Song Dynasty was one of the landmark events that made Jiangnan the land of fish and rice.

The earliest definite records that can be found are Chen Fu's 'Book of Agriculture' and Lou Shou's 'Poems of Cultivation and Weaving,' which record that the Jiangnan region of the Southern Song Dynasty had already used human manure as fertilizer.

Wang Zhen's 'Book of Agriculture' and 'Liaofan's Four Lessons' record that during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Jiangnan farmers 'all set up latrines in their homes, and when they were full, they would take them out and store them in pits. Those who could not build pits at home could also set up pits at the head of the field, built with random bricks, to store manure in them.'

From that time on, the foul-smelling substance that everyone hated became the gold in the soil that everyone competed for.

The treatment of manure fertilizer requires long-term accumulation of experience, and certain methods are also needed to ensure that it rots without harming the land.

Yuan Xi had never personally farmed in his previous life, but he had heard that most of the septic tanks in later generations used chemical reactions, which is obviously impossible to do now, so he can only use traditional methods.

If naturally fermented, liquid manure often needs to be stored for more than half a year before it can become usable mature manure, which is too long.

To speed up this process, there was the steaming manure method of the Yuan Dynasty.

Yuan Xi only remembered that when the earth's energy warmed up, deep pools were dug to gather manure, sealed and fermented, or thatched houses were built on open ground, and all manure, urine, ash, soil, garbage, chaff, straw, and fallen leaves were piled in them, covered with soil, so that they would heat up and rot inside the house. If that didn't work, fire could also be lit at the bottom and around it, in other words, heating it up.

In addition to this method, there were also the 'braising manure method' and the 'cellar manure method' later on, all of which were the crystallization of the wisdom of the working people.

However, the idea was simple, but the operation was somewhat difficult. Even farmers who had been farming for many years could not say for sure when the manure fertilizer was most effective, and the fertility also depended on the harvest of the crops.

Therefore, after Yuan Xi made requests to the agricultural officials of Beixin City, they were also at a loss.

Seeing the bamboo slips with the reports from the several officials that Wu Zhao brought out, all saying that progress was very slow, Yuan Xi thought that farming was indeed not a simple matter.

At this moment, he missed Chen Deng, who was proficient in farming, even more. If the latter wasn't currently in Xuzhou, beyond his reach, Yuan Xi even considered having someone kidnap him.

Right now, he could only hope that the officials under him would make a breakthrough. As long as this method became popular, the people would compete to collect manure, which would also greatly improve the situation of random dumping of feces and urine, and would also be a major improvement for the city's sanitation and epidemic prevention.

Ancient China paid considerable attention to hygiene. The "Zuo Zhuan" records that in the sixth year of Duke Cheng, someone had already discovered that sewage might bring diseases to people, so sewage discharge was necessary to protect people's health.

The "Tanglü Shuyi" (Tang Code Commentary) clearly stipulated that residents were allowed to sprinkle water on the streets, but if they sprinkled excrement or garbage on the streets, they would be punished, with the most severe punishment being sixty strokes of the heavy rod.

In comparison, Europe, until the development of chemical technology, had almost no good way to deal with feces. The British envoy who went to meet Emperor Qianlong even made a special record when he saw the method of composting manure in Jiangnan.

Especially in medieval Europe, even in big cities like London and Paris, feces and urine were dumped everywhere. There was no shortage of surprises falling from the sky, forming a beautiful landscape.

In order to avoid stepping on feces, people invented high heels. In order to prevent being hit by feces falling from the sky, people used umbrellas or cloaks to shield themselves.

According to the historians of Charles II, at that time, the British royal palace's study, bedroom, cellar, and chimney were all full of feces.

At that time, many castles had a deep pit dug in the basement to hold feces. After it was full, it was filled with planks and soil, and then filled in layers.

According to records, the cause of death of Duke Jing of Jin was "About to eat, bloated, went to the toilet, fell in and died." It was said that he accidentally fell into a manure pit and drowned.

A similar famous event also occurred in medieval Europe, but with more people involved.

At that time, Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia, and Conrad I, Archbishop of Mainz, in Germany, had a fierce conflict over territory.

The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I was busy conquering Italy, and in order to avoid fires in his backyard, he sent Crown Prince Henry VI to mediate the grievances between the two.

The bishop of Erfurt also contributed his castle as a venue for Henry VI to mediate between the two sides.

Because both parties were of noble status, many great nobles of the empire also came uninvited, resulting in too many people, which caused the floor of the second floor to be crushed by the crowd, and the falling crowd smashed through the floor of the first floor, and then fell into the basement of the castle.

The basement of this castle was a cesspool, filled with countless feces, so at least sixty great nobles were drowned.

This incident was later known as the "Erfurt latrine disaster." It is said that this castle was the later famous St. Peter's Cathedral.

When Yuan Xi read this passage of history, there was one thing he couldn't understand.

It would be one thing if the doctors believed that not taking a bath could prevent diseases because of the rampant diseases in Europe, so they didn't pay attention to hygiene, but what about the city's drainage system?

It is said that the earliest sewer in Europe can be traced back to Paris in the fourteenth century after the Renaissance, and even later in London and the like.

But it is said that the ancient Romans had already invented an important urban drainage system, and the city of Rome was clean and tidy, but their descendants abandoned these things?

In China, unearthed cultural relics from the Warring States period show that there were drainage system pipes at that time.

However, since the Tang Dynasty, China's sewer system has not been perfected and developed due to various reasons, and it regressed even more in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, leading to latercomers surpassing it.

The relocation of the old Chang'an was largely due to the low-lying terrain. Although there was a drainage system, it could not flow out, causing the groundwater to deteriorate. "Tasting it, all was salty."

Yuan Xi shook his head when he thought of this. No matter what, to make changes to life, it is necessary to make breakthroughs not only in technology, but also to advance simultaneously in economy, knowledge, and even living habits. It is really a long and arduous task.

The West finally caught up completely with the Industrial Revolution. The soil and catalyst of science have both accidental and inevitable factors. Yuan Xi did not think that his own strength could create a scientific system in the present era. He could only try to take the first step in reclaiming wasteland.

Literacy to enlighten the people.

At least, artisans and artists can get the status and treatment they deserve, and ordinary people can also read and write, so that scholars, farmers, workers, and merchants are not so distinct.

In the long thousands of years, only one percent of the people can read and write. If the other ninety-nine percent of the people can read, acquire knowledge, and start thinking, how much faster will the progress of this society be than before?

As for changing the social system, Yuan Xi gave up. This is simply not something he can do alone. He is not a savior, he is just an ordinary person.

He would be satisfied if he could end the troubled times as soon as possible, the world would be peaceful, society would return to order, and the criminal law could be used.

He asked Wu Zhao to find a red tassel and tie it to his helmet, and then called Sun Li to prepare to take the scouts out of the city.

When Sun Li came over, Yuan Xi saw the undisguised smugness on his face and wanted to kick him.

In the half a year that he was away, Sun Li's wife was already pregnant!

Yuan Xi's mentality was unbalanced. I didn't get married, but you're doing well. You have the next generation before you're even fifteen!

The two rode their horses and led dozens of scouts towards Rongcheng, which was dozens of miles away, the closest of the three cities to Yijing.

Wu Zhao and Cao Xian sent Yuan Xi out the door, and only returned to the mansion after they could no longer see him.

Cao Xian looked a little disappointed and said, "The lord only came back for half a day, and now he's leaving again."

Wu Zhao said softly, "The lord is destined to change the world. He belongs to everyone, not just any one of us."