The Black Tiger Island was easily taken over by Ang Lee and his men. All the pirates who stayed behind were captured, which meant that the entire Black Tiger Sea Area was under Ang Lee's control. Two of the five pirate groups in the Black Dragon Sea Area had been wiped out. They were one step closer to completely eliminating the pirates in the Black Dragon Sea Area.
After taking over the Black Tiger Island, the first thing to be done was to educate the pirates so that they could reflect on their mistakes and transform them into normal people.
However, in order to prevent too many captives from becoming difficult to control, Ang Lee planned to send most of the pirates on the Black Wolf Island and the Black Tiger Island to the vicinity of Tianguang Port and transfer more soldiers over.
Of course, not all the pirates could be taken away. At least dozens of them had to be left behind to cooperate with the soldiers of the Tang dynasty to stabilize the situation here. This was to prevent the Black Dragon Island and the other three groups of pirates from receiving the news that the soldiers were stationed in advance, which would bring changes to Ang Lee's plan.
At this time, there were more than a hundred pirates on the Black Tiger Island, and three hundred soldiers of the Tang dynasty. Ang Lee planned to stay here for a day and take a hundred soldiers and nearly a hundred pirates to the Black Wolf Island tomorrow evening. It was enough to leave two hundred soldiers of the Tang dynasty and a very small number of pirates on the Black Tiger Island. Defending the Black Tiger Island was not a big problem. Ang Lee planned to concentrate his men on the Black Wolf Island so that he could focus on eliminating all the pirates.
The natural conditions of the Black Tiger Island were much better than those of the Black Wolf Island. There were more buildings on the island and the distribution was very reasonable. The most important thing was that the Black Tiger Island was self-sufficient. The island had a complete plantation and breeding industry. There were also fishing boats in the port that could go fishing nearby. The pirates here would not only go out to rob, but also fish near the Black Tiger Island. They produced food to fill their stomachs, and went out to rob to improve their living standards and make their lives more comfortable.
After arriving at the Black Tiger Island, Ang Lee heard that there were plantation and breeding industries on the island, so he immediately asked the captured pirates on the Black Tiger Island to lead the way. Ang Lee wanted to see for himself how good the industries on the Black Tiger Island were.
"There are hundreds of mu of arable land. Amazing! Almost one mu per person. It's enough to feed themselves. "
Ang Lee looked at the hundreds of mu of farmland in front of him and said.
More than half of these fields were planted with grain crops, while a small portion was planted with vegetables and fruits. The Black Tiger Island was located in the tropics and had high temperatures all year round. Therefore, there was no need to worry about the weather factors here. They could plant crops all year round and the yield was very impressive.
"Assistant Minister Li, there are also sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn here? It seems that these crops are already very common overseas. Even the pirates' islands are planting them. "
Chen Long looked at the variety of crops and said with a smile.
The reason why these crops could spread so quickly was naturally because these crops were high-yielding. Pirates also liked to pursue high-yielding crops. Although the Black Dragon Island had a few hundred mu of land, it was an island after all. A few hundred mu of land wasn't a lot. In limited land, it was naturally more suitable to plant high-yielding crops. Moreover, high-yielding crops like sweet potatoes and corn were very easy to take care of. Naturally, these pirates liked them even more.
Ang Lee glanced at the crops here. Just the sweet potatoes alone were 30 mu of land, occupying a full 10% of the land. Of course, the land here wasn't divided according to mu. The island's terrain was cramped and couldn't be compared to the fertile land of the Tang dynasty. The land here was irregular. Ang Lee could only estimate the mu of each crop based on his feeling.
The growth of these sweet potatoes was very pleasing. It could be seen that the quality of the soil here was also relatively good. Only better soil could cultivate better sweet potatoes. Although sweet potatoes were resistant to barrenness, too barren soil would also have a great impact on the yield of sweet potatoes. The more fertile the soil, the more sweet potatoes would grow and the higher the yield. It was very wrong to specially prepare barren soil for sweet potatoes just because they were resistant to barrenness.
The planting area of corn was the same as that of sweet potatoes. It was also about 30 mu. At this time, the corn had already grown into ears. It was estimated that they would be able to harvest in another month. 30 mu of corn should be able to harvest about 10,000 jin of corn kernels. This amount was really not small. It was enough for nearly 300 pirates to consume for a month. If it was combined with other food and drink, it wouldn't be a problem to consume for several months. In addition, corn wasn't the only staple crop on Black Tiger Island. There were many more varieties. Corn was ripe twice a year and could satisfy the consumption of two months. Sweet potatoes were enough to last three to four months. These two crops were more or less enough to satisfy the half-ripe food needs of the pirates. In addition, they also planted peanuts, potatoes, wheat, and other crops. The harvest of all these staple crops was enough to fill the stomachs of the pirates on the island. At the same time, there was also a lot of surplus. The surplus could be sold to the surrounding fishermen and exchanged for the products they needed from the fishermen. They wouldn't rob the fishermen nearby and would only rob the merchants passing by. The purpose of their robbery was to make a fortune. They wouldn't be interested in low-value goods.
"Assistant Minister Li, look! These potatoes aren't small! There are at least two jin of potatoes under this seedling. One mu of land can produce at least five hundred jin of potatoes. The quality of the soil here is too good. It's better than most of the soil in the Tang dynasty. How can this insignificant island have such good soil? "
Chen Long said as he looked at the large potatoes.
The soil of this small Black Tiger Island was surprisingly fertile. This made Ang Lee very surprised. There were only a few reasons for the fertility of the island's soil. The first was that manmade fertilizers were mixed into the soil. The second was that there were a large number of birds nearby. The birds needed to rest on the island. A large amount of bird feces could greatly improve the soil and make the island's soil very fertile. Another reason was that there were volcanoes near the sea. When the volcanoes erupted, volcanic ash would scatter in all directions. These volcanic ash were excellent fertilizers that could greatly improve the soil and make the island's soil very fertile.
There were only a few reasons for the fertility of the pirate's soil. As for which reason, it wasn't difficult to investigate. There were a large number of seabirds near the island. Bird feces was indeed a main reason. There were no active volcanoes nearby, so the possibility of volcanic ash was not high. Of course, there might have been volcanoes that had erupted before, but they were temporarily silent.
As for transporting fertilizers from other places, it was almost impossible. The people living on this island were pirates. These pirates wouldn't bother to transport fertilizers. Their main business was to rob merchant ships. Farming was just a side job. It wasn't worth it to pay such a high price.
In short, bird feces should be the biggest reason. Bird feces contained a large amount of nutrients that could greatly improve the soil and make it very suitable for planting crops.
Black Tiger Island was a relatively large island nearby. Before the pirates settled down, it should have been a resting place for seabirds. A large number of seabirds gathered on the island, and a large amount of bird droppings was enough to completely change the quality of the soil. When the pirates came here, they obtained a very fertile land, which could be considered as the pirates' luck.
"These potatoes are really not small. The soil is also good. It's all good black soil."
Ang Lee said with satisfaction.
"Assistant Minister Li, these peanuts are also good. Each one has three peanuts. One mu of land should be no problem for three hundred pounds. There are more than ten mu here. Harvesting four to five thousand pounds of peanuts should be a piece of cake."
Chen Long said happily as he plucked a peanut and looked at the fruit that was full of peanuts.
These peanuts were also about to mature. Like corn and other crops, peanuts were also a high-yield crop. In addition, peanuts could be eaten raw. Although sweet potatoes and corn could also be eaten raw, the taste was obviously not as good as raw peanuts. The pirates planted a variety of crops, obviously intending to balance the nutrition. If they only ate one kind of crop, they would definitely get tired of it after a long time. Eating a few more crops could balance the effect and not get tired of it easily.
With a total of nearly three hundred mu of land, these crops that could be considered as staple grains occupied more than two hundred mu. The remaining land for vegetables was the least. However, the variety of vegetables was not small at all. There were about thirty to fifty varieties, almost one mu of land for each variety. There were as many kinds of vegetables as there were acres of land. After all, the growth cycle of vegetables was short. If too many were planted, they would rot before they could finish eating them. Planting more varieties would allow one to taste different vegetables and eat them more comfortably.
However, according to Ang Lee's calculations, the amount of land operated by the pirates was obviously a little too much. Whether it was staple grains or vegetables, the amount of crops planted exceeded their consumption. There was at least a 50% surplus.
"There are so many vegetables and grains. Can you finish them all?"
Ang Lee looked at Strong Tiger, who lowered his head and didn't speak, and asked.
Strong Tiger was already Ang Lee's prisoner. Naturally, he didn't dare to show the slightest disrespect to Ang Lee. He answered honestly, "There will be a lot left. However, our Black Tiger Island also has a lot of livestock, chickens, and ducks. These vegetables and grains that we can't finish can be used to feed the livestock, chickens, and ducks, providing us with meat. The feces can also be used to fertilize the land."
Li An smiled. He was just thinking about bird droppings. There was more than bird droppings on the island. There were also droppings from livestock and poultry. These droppings could be used to fertilize the land and make the island's fields more fertile.
"You are professional farmers on the island. Aren't you living a good life? Then why are you still pirates! Aren't you bored to death? "
Chen Long asked in a bad mood.
Strong Tiger smiled awkwardly and said, "I was confused for a moment. I just wanted to get rich."
"If you want to get rich, then go rob!"
Chen Long scolded.
Li An walked to a cabbage field and looked at the thriving cabbages with a gratified smile on his face. The growth of these cabbages was very pleasing. It could be seen that the pirates here were also good at planting. Cabbages were not sweet potatoes that could grow normally when placed in the ground. Cabbages were very susceptible to insects and diseases. If they were planted too closely together, they would not grow. If the fertilizer and water management were not in place, they would not grow well. In short, it was very troublesome if they did not handle it well. The pirates here had good skills. They could actually handle these vegetables so well. It could be seen that they had put in a lot of effort. Just by looking at the neat cabbages, it was very good.
Next to the cabbage fields were chili peppers, a specialty of America. Ever since this crop was introduced to the Great Tang, it had immediately become popular with the people of the Great Tang. Almost all the provinces and counties of the Great Tang were growing chili peppers, and with the development of the Maritime Silk Road, chili peppers were quickly being planted overseas. Now, even the extremely remote Black Tiger Island was growing chili peppers. From this, one could see just how much the people loved chili peppers.
Next to the chili field were soybeans and mung beans. These two crops were native to the Tang dynasty and were very common crops. Beans could grow bean sprouts and could also be ground into soy milk. It was a very nutritious food and could even be regarded as a staple food. After all, soybeans and mung beans could be stored for a long time after harvesting. However, these two crops were only planted in an area of one mu each. Perhaps the pirates had other ways to get soybeans and mung beans!
Further ahead, Li An saw cucumbers. There was an entire acre of cucumbers. At this time, the cucumbers were already bearing fruit. Some of the cucumbers had already turned bright yellow and were considered old. It was probably because there were too many cucumbers and the pirates couldn't finish them all. This caused a certain degree of wastage. However, the old ones could be planted, so it wasn't considered a waste.
In front of the cucumber field was the luffa field. Luffa and cucumbers were both vine plants. Moreover, luffa's climbing ability was better than cucumbers, so it needed a bigger shelf. These shelves needed to be set up by the pirates.
There was a bamboo forest on Black Tiger Island. There were enough bamboos in the bamboo forest. After these bamboos were cut down, they could be used to set up shelves. Because there were a lot of bamboos in the bamboo forest, the pirates didn't lack the materials to set up shelves. The fields were full of climbing shelves.
The cucumbers' shelves were slightly simpler. They were just two rows on the left and right. The luffa's shelves were bigger and more complicated. Not only were they higher, but all the shelves were connected to each other. All the shelves were completely connected, forming a large whole that could be used for the luffa to climb.
In the distance, there were also pumpkins, watermelons, and other melons. These melons were larger and were placed further away.
Because the island was located in the tropics, there weren't many seasons. Therefore, in order to let themselves eat all kinds of vegetables at all times, the pirates carried out planting in batches. Every kind of vegetable and fruit was planted in batches. For example, cucumbers. Some could already be picked, but there was a row that had just been planted. There were also many that only had a few leaves. In short, they were planted in batches. There was a period of time between each batch to ensure a long enough harvest period.
"Assistant Minister Li, the watermelons are ripe. Let's pick a few to try!"
Chen Long looked at the big and round watermelons in the distance and said.
Ang Lee naturally had the same idea. He nodded and said, "Then pick a few. Pick the good ones."
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