Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

Because Zixuan and others had seen it in person before. Therefore, the first batch of construction sites were in areas with steep rivers and prone to problems. Most of the people from the county government were sent out to monitor the progress of the project at various locations.

In terms of manpower arrangements, of course the principle of proximity is followed. The villages close to the river section are directly responsible for the construction of this section, which can save a lot of trouble. In addition, some of the sergeants stationed at the border were also seconded by Zixuan. These defenders were led by a partial general, and this partial general was one of the guards around the emperor. Li Mingrui specially sent him here just to make it convenient for Zixuan. This place is too important, and it is too far away from the capital. In case of an emergency, it would be too laborious to go back and forth for instructions. Therefore, according to the emperor's special decree, Zixuan has the power to make arbitrary decisions when the situation arises.

The defenders have been here for two or three years, and the general has a very good relationship with Zixuan, so he directly transferred two thousand sergeants to help build the dam.

In this way, along the banks of the Noni River and the Taoer River, there are more than a dozen construction sites, all of which are busy with work.

In this era, although there is no such thing as cement, people's wisdom is infinite. People mix glutinous rice slurry into the mud, which makes the mud particularly sticky. Furthermore, the local soil has a lot of saline and alkaline soil and is inherently sticky. In this way, after the mud dries, the solidity will be relatively good.

There were not that many local stones, so someone specially bought stones from outside to build embankments. This is also the one that costs the most money.

Of course, Zixuan is not idle either. He goes to various places every day to check the progress of the project. Under the warm spring sun, it turned into black charcoal within a few days.

Thanks to the concerted efforts of everyone and the help of the sergeants, the first batch of these key areas was completed in more than ten days. It happened that the grass in the field also grew up, so Zixuan decided to stop for the time being and let the people clean up the grass in the field first.

Since the planting, it has rained twice, and it has not rained since. Nowadays, some places are slightly dry. Fortunately, the aqueducts are all ready-made, so it doesn't take much work, so the crops in the fields are growing pretty well.

Today, Zhendong County is full of fertile farmland. After several years of hard work, a lot of land has been reclaimed. In addition, the varieties grown by farmers have also become much richer, and various cash crops are grown. People do not just grow corn and sorghum as they did in the beginning.

Looking at the fresh green in the ground, the farmers feel that no matter how hard they work, it is worth it.

Taking advantage of the farmers' break from weeding, Zixuan led the sergeants and people from the county to start digging the moat. This place used to be the Northern Yuan Kingdom and there was no moat at all. Now that Zixuan and his wife have spent so much effort here and managed the place very well, of course they must increase their defense efforts. Otherwise, if Beiyuan Kingdom comes over one day, wouldn't it be prepared for others?

Zixuan discussed with everyone that the moat should be dug wide and deep. In this way, it can play a defensive role. Of course, they also brainstormed and prepared to set up some mechanisms at the bottom of the river to use as weapons for future defense.

This time, Zixuan went into battle in person and worked on the construction site with everyone.

"Sir, if you are tired, go and take a rest." A strong man next to him saw Zixuan digging in the soil and stepped forward and said.

"It's okay. I can do this job as much as I can. If there are more people, do more, so it can go faster." Zixuan wiped the sweat with his sleeves, and then continued to dig in the soil with his head down.

"To be honest, I have never heard of any county magistrate being able to dredge mud with us. You really don't need this." The government servant on the side also said.

These days, people in the county government are busy on the construction site. But no one complained, just because Zixuan never fell behind no matter what he did, and he endured hardships and hardships with everyone. These days, everyone can see that the magistrate is tired, dark and thin. So even though the work on the construction site was tiring, no one complained about being tired, because the county magistrate didn't even say he was tired.

Zixuan straightened up and looked up at the sky. The weather this year was really abnormal. Even on a rainy day like May 13th, not even a drop of rain fell. If it weren't for the fact that there are so many lakes available, many crops would have died due to drought this spring. What he hopes for most now is that there will never be a flood. These projects can be done in vain, but there will be no real trouble.

Several women were walking in the distance. It turned out that Jinghan had brought some women from the county to deliver food. Jinghan organized many women in the county to boil water and deliver meals to the workers. They set up a big pot in the open space in the city. They had to prepare a lot of meals every day and then deliver them to the construction site.

"Everyone, please take a rest, the food delivery guy is here." Zixuan shouted.

In fact, there is no need for Zixuan to shout, everyone has seen that at this time these days, Jinghan will bring someone to deliver food. Everyone has long been used to it, so some people have already stopped and sat down to rest.

Jinghan was dressed in coarse cloth, and her head was wrapped in floral cloth. Such a neat outfit actually makes her look even more charming as a young daughter-in-law.

Some of these women pushed carts, some carried burdens, and some two of them carried barrels together. Everyone walked along. When they arrived, someone shouted loudly, "It's time to eat, come over and eat."

So these workers came in a swarm, received their own meals one by one, and ran to the side to eat.

Zixuan took two steamed buns and a bowl of vegetables from Jinghan's hand and said with a smile, "You look like a farmer's daughter-in-law dressed up."

"She's just my little daughter-in-law, how can she look like her?" Jinghan also laughed. "It will take a while for the moat to be completed, right? You're here every day. Is everything okay at the county office? Don't delay the serious business." Jinghan never interfered with Zixuan's official affairs, so she didn't know about these things.

"It's okay, County Magistrate Zhao is watching over him. This season is not too busy. During the year, he is only busier after the autumn harvest, and the rest of the time is fine. Besides, the people here are simple and simple, and there are very few When a case occurs, there are naturally few complaints of injustice. Zhao Xiancheng and a few people can take care of it," Zixuan said while eating steamed buns.

Jinghan quickly brought a bowl of water and handed it to Zixuan, "Drink some water, don't choke. You have lost weight and become darker these days. You have to take care of yourself. If you are tired, just rest for two days before doing it again." ." Jinghan looked at the dark and thin Zixuan in front of her, feeling naturally distressed.

"Stop talking about me, aren't you the same? Look at you, you have finally become white in the past two years, and now you are tanned again." Zixuan drank the water, handed the bowl to Jinghan, and then said. "If you follow me, you won't enjoy the blessings for a few days, and you will always suffer."

Jinghan smiled, "What does this mean? I'm already doing very well. Look at those peasant women, which one of them doesn't have to work when they open their eyes in the morning and can't rest until dark? Nowadays, I I am already very satisfied.”

"By the way, help me think about it when you have time. What kind of mechanism can be put into the moat, just in case it needs to be used in the future." Zixuan reached out and pushed a strand of Jinghan's hair away from her temples and tucked it behind her ear. "Go home. I don't have time to spend time with my son these days. It's time for my son to miss you." Zixuan still couldn't hold it back and reached out to touch Jinghan's cheek. "You've lost weight too."

The couple were talking here, and some people nearby couldn't help but look at it curiously, "Look at our master and madam, we have such a good relationship. It makes people feel warm in their hearts when they see it." A yamen servant Said so.

"You boy eat your food honestly and watch what others do? Mrs. Lin, is that something ordinary women can compare to? To say that women are not inferior to men is not wrong at all. They are called heroes among women, and they are worthy of us. Sir, these two are a perfect match," said an older man next to him.

"Well, I agree with what Brother Zhang said. Without my wife's efforts over the years, how could our poor place be what it is today? Look at it now, if nothing else, there is no one in every household who doesn't have some. "How much money do you have left? It's nonsense to say it's a few thousand taels, but if you say a few hundred taels, you can afford it," the officials said while they were free. "This time we are building a dam and a moat. Why are everyone so cooperative? Aren't we afraid that if something happens, our family fortune over the years will be ruined? Whether it's a flood or an attack from the Northern Yuan Kingdom, if If we are not prepared, we will be even worse than before.”

As soon as this was said, everyone nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's the truth. Look at these people, they know who is right and who is wrong. Mr. Lin and his wife are almost like gods in the hearts of the people. I just don't know that Mr. Lin is still there. In the past few years, if he leaves and another corrupt official comes, it will be hard to say. "

"So, if you can earn as much as you can in the past few years, you can save some money for the family. When Mr. Lin leaves, there won't be such a good official. If only the imperial court could keep Mr. Lin here. How good is it? Our people here will enjoy it." Everyone expressed their feelings.

In fact, people are like this. They know best who treats them well. The common people all have a scale in their hearts, and they all have their own standards for right and wrong.

"Okay, after dinner, get to work quickly. After we finish here, there are still many sections of the river to be repaired." An older man said.

Everyone hurriedly ate the food in their hands.