My British Empire

  Chapter 39 Cattle farming from England

"My dear Majesty Edward, I will soon marry your uncle, Baron Thomas Seymour, on May 3rd, and I hope you will come to Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire to attend our wedding—love you Catherine. Pal!" When Edward saw this letter, he had mixed feelings in his heart, even though he had expected it in his heart, he still felt uncomfortable.

   It's like your father married you a stepmother, but after your father died, your stepmother married your uncle, which made Edward a little embarrassed.

  Thomas Seymour was Edward's uncle, the son of Sir John Seymour. Also Edward's mother, Queen Jane Seymour, and younger brother of Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset.

  With the help of Queen Seymour, Thomas Seymour also successfully served as the commander of the English Channel Fleet in 1544. After Edward ascended the throne, in order to thank Queen Seymour for her upbringing, he was made a baron.

   Seeing that he had been in the navy, Edward discussed with Duke Seymour, and then made him Lord of the Navy again, and let him enter the Privy Council.

  In fact, Edward estimated that his second uncle married Queen Catherine not only because of the revival of old love, but also because of her huge dowry.

  She was married to Edward Borrow, 2nd Baron Borrow of Gainsborough at the age of 17. Edward died in the spring of 1532.

   And in 1534 she married John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer of Snape, North Yorkshire. John Neville died in 1543.

  If you think about the inheritance of the two nobles, plus the accumulation she has accumulated over the years as queen, it is conservatively estimated that there will be a dowry of at least 30,000 pounds.

   While in the home of Henry VIII and Aragon Catherine's daughter Princess Mary (later Mary I), Catherine Parr attracted the attention of the king. After the death of her second husband, the wealthy widow developed an affair with Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, brother of Queen Jane Seymour.

  But the king liked her very much, so she had to accept the king's love and marry Henry VIII.

  In fact, marrying a rich widow is a very popular way of development among nobles. This behavior of Thomas Seymour will not only not be ridiculed by people, but will even make the nobles envy and hate.

  Wars were frequent in the late Middle Ages, and many aristocratic men died on the battlefield. In addition, the average life expectancy of people at that time was short, resulting in frequent succession and handover of feudal territories, and the number of heiresses increased greatly.

  According to the usual practice, if a noble family has only one legal daughter, she can let her inherit the family property and title alone. If there are more daughters, one person will inherit the title, but the family property will be divided equally.

   Those who have no legal children return the territory to the monarch or lord. For nobles who have always valued property and family status, the estate of an heiress or widow is more attractive than emotion and beauty.

  The most typical one is the 20-year-old cousin of Henry IV. In order to obtain the title and fief, he even held a wedding with the nearly 80-year-old duchess, which made people laugh and cry.

  Edward is not optimistic about this marriage. A marriage based on money is destined to be unhappy.

  Today is April 28th, 1547, and they got married on May 3rd, hey! The time is wrong!

  Edward remembered that they seemed to get married six months after the death of Henry VIII in history. Why was it earlier? Is this the butterfly effect?

  After detailed understanding, Edward calculated a common result in time-travel novels—the butterfly effect.

   No matter what, when it should come, it will always come! Edward shook his head, covered himself with the quilt, and fell asleep soundly!

  The next day, just after eating breakfast, Edward rushed to the wasteland non-stop, where regular land reclamation work was in full swing.

  When Edward arrived, the whole wilderness had been ignited. The burning weeds, thorns, dead branches and fallen leaves on the wasteland danced quickly in the flames. They would be the first batch of fertilizer for this land.

  Afterwards, the serfs tied the plow made yesterday to the shoulders of the heavy-drawn horses. They formed groups of two, with one holding the rein and the other holding the plow, and slowly started the road of reclamation.

   Today is the day when the manor expands and grows. Butler Howard has already arrived and is supervising the work of the serfs. In fact, there is nothing to supervise, because old Jack is helping.

  When Edward saw this, he couldn't help but ask Howard beside him.

   "My dear Mr. Steward, why not use cattle to open up wasteland?"

"Your Majesty, you don't know that cows are not easy to tame, especially bulls. If you want them to cultivate the land well, it's no less than letting the barbarians in the north learn manners!" Steward Howard came up with a vivid metaphor. It shows that the bull is stubborn and difficult to train.

  The barbarians of the north refer to the Scots located in the north of England. At that time, because England was often at war with the Scots, it was a derogatory term for the Scots by the English.

  The large-scale use of horse farming in Europe was after the 12th century.

   It is actually more costly to raise horses than cattle. The opinion of agronomists in the 13th century was: "Horses eat more oats, horses have nails, and cattle do not need these. Therefore, the cost of raising horses is 4 times higher than that of cattle. Moreover, cattle are more docile and old. Sell ​​a butcher to eat beef, but horses can only be sold for skins, and even for a period of time, horses were not allowed to be slaughtered. Therefore, the value of horses is more expensive, while the preservation of cattle is higher.”

  In addition, the origin of the profession of Bi Mawen of Monkey King is also related to raising horses. Everyone knows that a horse is a delicate animal, and it is more likely to get sick. According to the agricultural books of our country, tying a monkey in a stable to make trouble with it is a measure to prevent getting sick.

  That's why Mr. Wu Chengen gave Monkey Monkey King the official title of "Bi Ma Wen".

  But the advantages of the horse are also very prominent. First of all, it has a wide range of uses, such as camel riding, pulling, civil and military use. In speed and conspicuous pastimes, the horse also has a great advantage over the ox. The speed is the specialty of the horse. In the 16th century, French farmers highly praised horse farming: "The work done by a horse in a day is three times or even four times that of a cow." For farmers, plowing the land quickly is of course a good thing.

  But for a manor owner like Edward, the cost of raising horses is definitely higher than raising cattle, and raising horses is not cost-effective.

  But the conclusion that horse farming is faster than cattle farming, in different societies, the answer is not exactly the same. Cultivating land is a collaborative labor between humans and animals, and the ultimate efficiency is the result of the joint efforts of the two, which cannot be determined solely by horses or humans.

In the 1950s, the Soviet writer Yilin said in "The Story of the Five-Year Plan": "The horse is the most gluttonous and greedy of all machines. It will chew up half of the farmers' fields. In the Ukrainian grasslands, farmers His horses cost him fifty quid a year—as much as he spends on his family."

  So Edward gave them another trick to subdue the bull-piercing the nose.

   Thank you for the great support of the Prussian nobles, and thank you for the reward yesterday. This is an update for you

  (end of this chapter)