"The Jiuze Canal has finally been completed, and Jinyang can now avoid drought." As the head of the household, Duan Qin also worried about water conservancy construction. When the news came, he was really relieved. With water, a large area of fields can be full of seeds, and the grains will not be lost.
"It's just Jinyang." Liang Feng didn't have much joy on his face.
Jiuze Lake is the largest lake in Bingzhou between Xihe Country and Taiyuan Country. The purpose of this project is to divert Fen water and lake water to irrigate the surrounding land.
In order to repair the Jiuze Canal, Liang Feng specially dispatched 20,000 servants and hundreds of officials, spending an unknown amount of manpower and material resources. However, even with the full support of the Governor's Office, half a year is still too short. Now completed, only the channel towards Jinyang direction. In other words, the new canal can irrigate only part of the land in the Taiyuan Basin. This is far worse than the Zhengguo Canal and Dujiangyan mega-projects that can be passed down for hundreds of generations.
What's more, Jinyang is the only place suffering from drought
"How are the deep wells in Jizhou and Sizhou?" Liang Feng asked.
Even if it doesn't rain, the water resources in the ground won't disappear suddenly. If a deep well can be drilled, the basic living conditions of the nearby villagers can be guaranteed. This is also extremely critical in times of severe drought.
"Several wells have been dug successfully. All counties are thinking of ways to at least ensure that the people have water." Duan Qin sighed, "The problem is that the water level of some rivers in Jizhou has dropped, making it impossible for boats to pass through."
It's not a big deal. Since the spring drought, the number of merchants coming to Haixing Port has decreased by half. People's livelihood will be affected, and the economy will naturally shut down. Luckily last year, Xingang used grain for settlement. All states and counties along the route have set up granaries, and there is a lot of grain in storage. Otherwise, just lack of food can kill people.
Liang Feng frowned slightly: "With the new canal, Bingzhou can barely guarantee the summer harvest. In other places, depending on the disaster situation, we need to reduce or exempt the land tax. Send someone to investigate. If Jizhou continues to be dry, we will organize laborers to dig river channels and repair roads. Try to requisition those people who suffer from drought. Let them pay for work and have food to eat."
All of this is to stabilize people's hearts. Tax exemptions allow people to stay at home and not be forced to flee the famine by cruel officials. To repair canals and roads, it is possible to complete large-scale infrastructure ahead of schedule while spending large sums of money on food relief. If it is normal, tens of thousands of people are used to build roads and canals in one go, and it is very likely to lead to civil upheaval. But it is different during disasters. Everyone knows that this is a way to survive, but it is better to organize manpower. Moreover, the decline of the river provides convenience for the construction of the canal, and the excavated river sand and gravel are also the materials for paving. Wouldn't it be mutually beneficial
"You have to be cautious about this. The disaster year is different from the past. If one is bad, it will bring disaster." Duan Qin was not so relaxed. In the disaster year, people's tolerance is also different from the past, coupled with the influx of a large number of refugees, once the officials mishandle it, it will be worse immediately.
"It's better than letting the people flee." How could Liang Feng not know the trick? It's just that things have come to this point, can save one is one.
"Other places where there are conditions for cultivation, we must replant millet. Even if the severe drought continues, summer cultivation cannot be completely ignored. The drought relief methods sorted out by the agricultural officials must be passed on to the counties!" Miss potatoes, sweet potatoes and other crops in future generations. It is drought-tolerant and has a huge yield. If it can be planted, I don’t know how many lives it can save. Now, however, there are only a handful of farming experiences to rely on.
After several years of cultivation, the technology mastered by the state agricultural officials has also begun to enrich. During the spring ploughing, a set of measures to combat drought was summed up. For example, deep ploughing the land; crushing the straw and paving the ground to protect the soil moisture; replacing water with fertilizer to increase the supply of fertilizer; and massive watering during the jointing and grain-filling stages of cereals to promote ear formation. In fact, all these things have long been mastered by farmers. It's just word of mouth, and it will always be limited to a small area. In Bingzhou, all experiences were written into books, which were distributed layer by layer, preached by agricultural officials, and taught the people.
Farming is the top priority of the farming society, no matter how important it is, it cannot be overemphasized. Fortunately, most of the grass-roots officials in the three prefectures were admitted by the system department or the Chongwen Three Courts. As long as the officials are diligent and the policies are well-informed, there is no hope of controlling the impact of the drought.
It's just... And the troubles facing the state are not just astronomical. This drought has affected most of the states and counties in the Northland. Once a large-scale disaster is formed, the three states under his rule will become the fat meat coveted by the enemy. That's when the trouble is.
Now, I can only do my best to get through the difficulties...
The days are getting hotter day by day, the spring goes to the summer solstice, and the busy farming season begins again. However, this year, almost all the winter wheat harvests in the northern region have been lost, and many places have replanted millet, but Tiangong is still not beautiful, the severe drought does not stop, and the rain has not fallen.
In the wailing of Li Shu, May came and the drought reached its peak. The Yellow River, Luoshui, Yangtze River, and Hanshui, these great rivers that nurture thousands of people, are all exhausted, and the shallow ones can cross the water.
When disaster strikes, war begins. During the severe drought in eastern Liaoning, Cui Yu, the governor of Pingzhou, joined the Yuwen Department to attack the Murong Department. After the Duan Department got the news, he stepped in to help. The Yongzhou Xingtai, which once pulled up 100,000 soldiers and horses, revived again, and revolted in Qinzhou to crusade the Huns and puppets. Even the rebels in Jingzhou began to riot, attacked the prefectures, drove away the prefect Wang Cheng, and established himself as a governor.
As the hinterland of the Central Plains, Yuzhou and Yanzhou have another appearance.
It's probably useless to stay here. Sitting in the tent, Shi Le stared at the faint candlelight in front of him, thinking heavily. For the past two months, he has been leading troops to sweep Yuzhou. Previously, Wang Mi's followers had occupied many cities, and several counties were recaptured by the Jin army, so there were quite a few places to fight.
Break through the fortified walls and enter the Kou County Mansion. During this period of time, just the surname Sima, he killed hundreds. Not to mention other officials and nobles. At the beginning, he also received a lot of money. But as the drought worsened, the situation changed.
All the powerful families moved south to Yangzhou. The rest avoided the deep mountains, and the barriers were heavy, which were very difficult to overcome. As for the Shu clan and those small towns, even if they were shot down, the food and forage they got were quite limited. As for the common people, those who could escape have already escaped. Most of Yuzhou fell into the hands, but the predicament was not resolved, but it became more difficult because of the expansion of the army.
Next, how to go
The drought has lasted too long, and it hasn't rained yet in May, so this year's harvest is not expected to be expected. That was the case when he fled from the famine and left Bingzhou. Not to mention this year, I am afraid that next year will also be extremely difficult.
And the soldiers under him can't wait two years. To feed these hundreds of thousands of mouths requires a large amount of money. If he can't think of a solution, and the military's heart is scattered, how can he defend the place he has laid down
Maybe it's time to gather some scholars to help him with government affairs. Shi Le was also a hindsight and discovered the usefulness of those officials. No one is in charge, and the land occupied is just a piece of white land. Fighting hard, I want money but I have no money, I want food and I have no food. What's the use
But now, it's too late. The land is dry and the rivers are cut off. Even if people are organized to cultivate, there will be no harvest. Can rely on, only to grab.
Should we go south to Yangzhou and attack the capital of Jin, or should we take Jingzhou and fight against the rebels? It would be nice if Qinzhou was not in chaos. Liu Yao would also support him with some money. But now that Han is too busy to take care of himself, how can he care about him, the Great General of the Eastern Expedition? Let yourself be in chaos in Yu and Yan, or to contain Bingzhou...
Thinking of this, Shi Le's eyebrows tightened and he thought of a place.
Back then, he raised troops together with his benefactor Ji Sang, and the first to attack was Yecheng. Therefore, Shi Le was all too familiar with the city defense of Ye City. Unlike other prefectures, Yecheng is the main road connecting Bingzhou to Jizhou. I heard that Jizhou operated shipping last year and got a lot of money and food, most of which were shipped to Yecheng by ship. If the city of Ye can be conquered, perhaps there will be enough food to support the soldiers for a year.
His military strength is far better than that of the past, and he is more familiar with geography, so he should be full of confidence. However, the fact is that even if he thought of this idea, Shi Le was still unable to make a decision. It was only because Yecheng was too close to Bingzhou. The cavalry that defeated the rebel army and killed Ji Sang arrived in Ye City in just a few days. If the city cannot be conquered within a few days, I am afraid that it will be attacked from both sides.
To fight or not to fight
While thinking about it, there was a sudden noise outside the tent.
It's already night, how can there be any noise in the barracks! Shi Le got up immediately and strode out of the tent: "What's going on?!"
"General Qi, it's a riot in the civilian camp..." The guards guarding the tent hurried forward and said, "There are already soldiers there, so it shouldn't be a big problem."
There were many civilians in the Shile army, most of them were the people who surrendered after the city was broken, and some refugees. It is only by carrying grain, grass and weapons that they can support the army to sweep Yuzhou.
However, Shi Le is old in battle, and he knows that these people are timid and afraid of things, and the wind and grass will change. Therefore, every time you set up a camp, you must separate the civilian camp and the barracks to avoid mutual influence and the occurrence of camp roars. A commotion of this scale is really nothing to worry about, and it will soon subside.
However, looking at the campfire with a bonfire in the distance, Shi Le suddenly had an idea. Yes, it would be difficult to attack Yecheng by force. But what about the surprise attack? Moreover, even if they can't grab food and grass, they can break through Yecheng, and they can also cause chaos in the nearby prefectures. Then take advantage of the situation to go north and enter Jizhou, which is also a way out. If the plan doesn't go well, retreating dozens of miles will be the old camp in Yanzhou. Is it better to attack and defend than to stand still
As for the dangers... If you want to survive in a severe drought, what is this danger
There was a sneer on his lips, and Shi Le turned around and put the curtain in the tent.