Li An actually told everyone that the wild boar's diet included leopard cubs and small wild dogs, which subverted everyone's understanding. After all, they had never seen a wild boar eating a small wild dog, nor had they heard of such a thing. Even many of the older guards were puzzled when they heard this.
However, many people had the same expression on their faces, that was doubt and disbelief. They felt that Ang Lee was joking. How could a wild boar eat a wild beast? Was there no big wild dog beside the small wild dog to protect it? As long as there was a big wild dog to protect it, how could a wild boar have the ability to kill a small wild dog?
Moreover, in the impression of most people, wild boars were vegetarians, just like domesticated pigs. They all relied on vegetarians to grow, but they did not know that wild boars were much crazier than domesticated pigs when they ate meat. It was estimated that if they could beat a tiger, it would not be a problem to eat the tiger's meat. As long as it was something that could be eaten, the strong stomach function of wild boars could tolerate it.
Of course, if he had not seen it with his own eyes, Ang Lee would have found it hard to believe. In his later life, Ang Lee liked to watch the program "Man and Nature" very much. In it, there was a scene where a wild boar killed a small wild dog and ate it. Ang Lee was a little skeptical about life after watching it.
It was not a big deal for a wild boar to eat a small wild dog. In the program "Man and Nature", many animals that usually gave people the impression of being vegetarians actually ate meat. Moreover, their methods were extremely cruel.
For example, male baboons liked to eat small deer very much, and they ate it very cruelly. When half of the small deer was eaten, the small deer was still alive. No matter how hard the mother deer tried, it was difficult to save her child. The small deer could only watch its body being eaten bit by bit. The fear and pain in its heart could be imagined.
In addition, while gorillas were vegetarians, they also liked to prey on monkeys. They would work together to surround the monkeys, and then try their best to kill them and eat them.
In addition to wild boars, gorillas, and baboons, in nature, there were more animals that seemed to be vegetarians but actually ate meat.
"Has Assistant Minister Li really seen a wild boar eating a small wild dog?"
Li Yu was the first to stand up and ask questions.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Yes, I have indeed seen a wild boar eat a small wild dog. Moreover, it was when the small wild dog was still alive. It ate half of the small wild dog. Isn't it very cruel that the small wild dog is still alive?"
This was not false. Although Ang Lee had not seen such a scene in nature with his own eyes, he had seen it in his later life. Therefore, it was definitely not a lie. he was telling the truth.
It was true that wild boars ate small wild dogs. Sometimes, the female wild dogs could not do anything. When a wild boar ate a small baboon, a large group of female baboons were nearby, but they could not attack the large boar. They could only watch their own kind being eaten by the wild boar. Of course, the strong male baboons would also eat the small wild boar. This was fair. Everyone ate each other. You ate my cub, I ate yours. It all depended on who was stronger.
............... I heard that there are many wild boars there. "
Li Yu knew that Ang Lee spent his childhood in Ying Zhou. At the same time, he also knew that there were many wild animals in the mountains near Ying Zhou. Wild boars were not rare.
Ang Lee had to tell a little lie this time. He nodded and said, "Yes, I saw it in the mountains near Ying Zhou. However, I hunted the wild boar that ate the small wild dog and sold it at a good price in the market."
"Wow, the wild boar is so fierce!"
An imperial grandson said.
"No matter how fierce the wild boar is, it still became our meal. Wow, it smells so good!"
Tang Er naughtily stuffed a piece of wild boar meat into his mouth and chewed gently with a satisfied expression.
"Haha, the fierce wild boar became our meal. Hahahaha!"
The imperial grandsons suddenly became happy. Nothing could make them happier than eating fragrant wild boar meat.
These children were still young and could not participate in hunting. When they grew older, they would be able to go out and hunt. The excitement of hunting would definitely arouse their interest, especially after successfully hunting a wild beast. It would give them a great sense of satisfaction.
"You are so proud of eating wild boar meat. If you hunt a wild boar by yourself, you will be so proud of yourself."
Ang Lee touched Tang Er's little head and said with a smile. Then he asked, "Do you know how many small wild boars a wild boar can give birth to at one time?"
"Five or six."
"Seven or eight."
"A dozen."
The imperial grandsons scrambled to answer.
Ang Lee nodded with satisfaction. "You are all right. A wild boar can give birth to more than four cubs at one time. At most, it can give birth to more than twenty cubs. Moreover, it can give birth twice a year. At most, it can give birth to more than 50 cubs a year. Isn't it amazing? "
"The wild boar is amazing. It would be better if it could give birth to more cubs. Then we can have endless wild boar meat."
Li Shi said.
This answer made Ang Lee think deeply. Li Yu next to him also moved his eyes. They all knew very well that the number of wild animals in Mount Li was decreasing greatly. Five or six years ago, when Li Yu first came to Mount Li for hunting with the imperial family, there were more wild boars and other wild animals in Mount Li than there were now. But now, the number of wild boars in Mount Li was obviously decreasing. If the guards were not lucky and cooperated with each other to hunt, they might not be able to catch a wild boar.
The sharp decrease of wild animals was directly related to the continuous increase of the population of Chang 'an. However, it was not because of the food shortage caused by the increase of the population. On the contrary, as the population of Chang' an continued to increase, there was no shortage of food. On the contrary, as the population of Chang 'an continued to increase, there was no shortage of food. Instead, there was more and more abundant food.
Therefore, since there was no shortage of food and drink, why did people extend their evil claws to wild animals in the wild? This naturally involved the pursuit of delicacies. How could ordinary ingredients compare to wild game? Especially wild animals from the mountains, the taste was very delicious. People with money and status all liked to eat wild animals from the mountains. Therefore, the demand for wild animals in the mountains was high, and the price rose again and again. Since the price of wild animals was very high, many poor people were naturally very willing to come to the mountains to hunt. As long as they caught a wild animal, they could exchange it for a lot of money. Why not?
However, as the number of wild animals continued to decrease, hunting in recent years became more and more difficult. Many times, hunters went into the mountains for an entire day and could only go back very disappointed.
This was similar to the overfishing of later generations. In a society with developed navigation, there were many fishermen by the sea. Everyone relied on going to the sea to make a living. However, as the fishing equipment became more and more advanced, the number of fishermen who caught increased, which eventually led to the extinction of wild marine fish. Many very delicious marine fish were fished out and people could no longer eat wild marine fish.
The reason why there was such a tricky situation was because everyone was selfish. They all wanted to catch more for themselves. Even if they caught very small fish, they would not release them. In this way, they would naturally not be able to eat fish in the future.
However, smart people quickly thought of a way. That was to adopt the method of artificial breeding. They put wild economic fish in net cages and the net cages were their own. Generally, they would not be caught until they grew very big. Therefore, the demand of people to eat wild marine fish was naturally solved.
However, these were artificial bred wild marine fish after all. There was still a difference in quality compared to real wild marine fish. It was still very difficult for people to eat real wild marine fish. As a result, the price of real wild marine fish could easily increase by ten times, a hundred times, or even a thousand times.
Therefore, in order to satisfy more people to eat delicious seafood, many wild animals could only be artificially bred. As a result, large numbers of wild animals were cultivated to satisfy people's desire for good food.
"In recent years, the number of wild boars in Mount Li has been decreasing. The price of wild boar meat in Peace Square has increased by ten times. Will our future generations not be able to eat wild boar meat in the future?"
Li Yu voiced his concern.
Ang Lee nodded gently and said, "If large numbers of people are allowed to enter Mount Li to hunt, wild boars may really become extinct in the future. At least, they will gradually become extinct in the area around Mount Li."
"Then, do we have any way to solve this problem? We can't really eat all the wild boars in Mount Li, right? Pheasants and wild rabbits are also decreasing in number. "
Li Yu also hoped that in the future, there would not be any wild animals near the Capital. If that happened, they would not even have the opportunity to hunt.
Of course, as a member of the Royal Family, he should be able to think of establishing a protected area and sending troops to protect the nearby mountains and rivers. He would not allow ordinary people to enter the mountains to hunt. This would indeed solve the problem to a certain extent. However, this would definitely cause objections among the people. This was equivalent to cutting off a portion of the people's livelihood. This would definitely cause a backlash.
Moreover, it was precisely because many hunters entered the mountains to hunt that the famous restaurants in the Capital sold wild game. If a protected area was established, the supply of wild game in the Capital would immediately be cut off. The consequences would be severe. Many wealthy people would think that the Royal Family only cared about themselves and would not let them have a taste of fresh wild game.
Ang Lee said almost without thinking, "If we want to solve the problem of protecting the wild animals in the mountains and at the same time satisfy the needs of the restaurants in the Capital, the only way is to artificially breed wild animals. Only by artificially breeding on a large scale can we solve this problem. This is the only way."
"Artificially breeding wild animals? Is this really feasible? Will the bred animals still taste like the wild animals? "
Li Yu asked with a frown.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "As long as the artificial environment is not very different from the wild, we can completely produce animals that are similar to the wild on a large scale. At that time, we can supply a large number of restaurants and restaurants in the Capital."
This was a very common phenomenon in the later generations. Almost all wild animals were commercially bred by humans. Of course, particularly precious wild animals were not allowed, such as pandas, tigers, lions, and so on. They could not be eaten as food. Whoever ate them would be breaking the law.
In the Tang dynasty, there were no protected animals. Tigers and pandas were eaten freely. Even the halls and chairs of many bandits were covered with tiger skins. It could be seen that in the Tang dynasty, it was not a problem to eat tigers and other rare wild animals. Moreover, killing tigers was called a hero, not a crime.
"If we can really carry out large-scale breeding, it is a very good idea. Assistant Minister Li's idea is very good."
It could be seen that Li Yu was very supportive of Ang Lee's idea.
Of course, since ancient times, it was not unprecedented to breed wild animals. As a royal family with supreme power, they liked to breed all kinds of wild animals since ancient times. Even foreign tribes would send precious wild animals to please them. In the Tang dynasty, the royal family bred all kinds of wild animals. However, these were all small-scale. They were for the royal family to enjoy. It was equivalent to building a zoo, not for the market. The number of wild animals bred was too small. If they wanted to meet the market demand, they must carry out large-scale breeding.
For large-scale breeding, there were more problems to be considered. The breeding of the royal zoo only needed to take care of the wild animals. It did not matter how high the cost was. If large-scale commercial breeding was to be carried out, the cost and safety issues would have to be considered.
If the cost of breeding was too high, many people would not be able to afford it. It would also be a waste of social resources. The safety issue was to prevent the occurrence of plagues.
If the royal zoo bred two tigers, it could be taken care of very carefully. The possibility of the two tigers suffering from plagues was very low. If commercial breeding was to be carried out, there would be thousands or tens of thousands of tigers in a breeding park. With so many animals gathered together, once one of them got sick, would it spread to the others? Then, it would spread indefinitely. In the end, tens of thousands of farmed wild animals would all die. In this way, wouldn't the breeders suffer a great loss?
In the later generations, many chicken farmers raised thousands or tens of thousands of chickens. However, when a chicken plague came, thousands or tens of thousands of chickens would all die of illness. In this way, the chicken farmer would suffer a great loss. All the investment would go down the drain. One could imagine the pain in his heart.
Therefore, if large-scale breeding was to be carried out, whether it was breeding pheasants or pigs, it must be prepared to defend against plagues. Only in this way could the interests of the breeders be better protected. Thus, more people would be willing to work hard to breed wild animals. This would serve the general public and improve the living standards of the people of the Tang dynasty.
Of course, while breeding, the combination with planting should also be considered. In this way, the benefits that could be obtained would be greater.
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