Royal Road

"Jiuze Canal was finally completed, and now Jinyang will be free of drought." As the head of the householder, Duan Qin did not worry less about water conservancy construction. When the news came, he was really relieved. With water, a large area of ​​acres can be full of ears and seeds, and there will be no grain loss.

"It's just Jinyang." Liang Feng didn't have much joy on his face.

Jiuze Lake is located between Xihe Country and Taiyuan Country, and is considered the largest lake in the territory of Binzhou. The purpose of this project is to divert the water from Fen and the lake to irrigate the surrounding land.

In order to repair the Jiuze Canal, Liang Feng specially transferred 20,000 servants and hundreds of officials, spending an unknown amount of manpower and material resources. However, even with the full support of the Provincial Government, half a year is still too short. What is completed now is only the channel towards Jinyang. In other words, only part of the land in the Taiyuan Basin can be irrigated by the Xinqu. This is far worse than the giant projects like Zheng Guoqu and Dujiangyan that can be passed down for generations.

What's more, Jinyang is not the only place that suffers from drought?

"How about the deep wells in Jizhou and Sizhou?" Liang Feng asked.

Even if it does not rain, the underground water resources will not disappear suddenly. If a deep well can be drilled, the basic living conditions of nearby villagers can be guaranteed. This is also extremely critical during severe droughts.

"Several wells were successfully drilled. All counties are thinking about at least ensuring the people's draft." Duan Qin sighed, "The problem is that the water level of some rivers in Jizhou has dropped, making it impossible to pass ships."

This is not a big problem. Since the beginning of the spring drought, the number of merchants coming to Haixing Port has dropped by half. People's livelihood is affected, and the economy will naturally be shut down. Fortunately, last year, Xingang used grain for settlement. All states and counties along the route have set up granaries, and there are a lot of grain storage. Otherwise, just lack of food can kill people.

Liang Feng frowned slightly: "With the new canal, Bingzhou can barely guarantee the harvest in summer. In other places, land tax should be reduced or exempted according to the disaster situation. Send people to check if Jizhou continues to be dry, organize the servants to dig rivers and repair roads. Try to requisition the people who have suffered from the drought. Let them pay for work and have a meal."

All this is to stabilize people's hearts. Tax exemption allows the people to stay at home with peace of mind, so that they will not be forced to flee by cruel officials. To repair rivers and canals and roads, it is possible to complete large-scale infrastructure in advance while spending a large amount of food aid. If it is in peacetime, tens of thousands of people will be used to build roads and canals, which will most likely lead to civil upheavals. But it is different during the disaster. Everyone knows that this is a way to survive, but it is better to organize manpower. Moreover, the decline of river water has facilitated the construction of the canal, and the dug out of river sand and gravel are materials for paving roads. In this way, wouldn't it be mutually beneficial?

"You need to be cautious about this matter. The disaster year is different. If it is a bad one, it will cause disaster." Duan Qin was not so relaxed. In a disaster year, people’s ability to withstand is also different from the past. Coupled with the influx of refugees, once officials lose control, it will immediately get worse.

"It's better than letting the people be displaced." How could Liang Feng not know the key? It's just that this is the end. One can save one.

"In other places where there are conditions for farming, we must replant millet. Even if the severe drought continues, summer farming cannot be completely ignored. The drought resistance methods compiled by the agricultural officer must be spread to the counties!" Every time, Liang Feng will I miss potatoes, sweet potatoes and other crops in later generations. It is drought-tolerant and has a huge yield. If you can plant it, you don't know how many lives can be saved. But now, only a handful of farming experience can be counted on.

After several years of cultivation, the skills mastered by the state's agricultural officials have also begun to enrich. During spring plowing, a set of drought-resistant methods was summed up. For example, deep plowing the land; crushing straw to pave the land to protect the moisture content of the field; replacing water with fertilizer to increase fertilizer supply; and irrigating a large amount of cereals during the jointing and filling stages to promote ear setting. In fact, all these things have long been mastered by farmers. It's just word of mouth, and it's always limited to a small area. In Bingzhou, all the experience was written into the book, decentralized layer by layer, preached by the agricultural officer, and instructed the people.

Farming is the top priority of the farming society, no matter how important it is, it cannot be overstated. Fortunately, most of the grassroots officials in the three prefectures are admitted by the Economics Department or the Chongwen Third Academy, and there is no vice of appointing officials and not doing anything. As long as the officials are diligent, the policies are well-organized, and the impact of the drought is controlled, there is no hopelessness.

It's just that... the trouble that Binzhou is facing is not only in the sky. This drought affected most states and counties in the Northland. Once a large-scale disaster is formed, the three states under his control will become fathoms coveted by the enemy. It was trouble then.

The current plan is to do everything possible to tide over the difficulties...

It gets hot every day, spring goes to summer solstice, and the busy farming season has entered. However, this year, almost all winter wheat in Northland has no harvest, and millet has been replanted in many places, but the sky is still not beautiful, the drought is endless, and the rain has not fallen.

Amid Li Shu’s wailing, the drought reached its peak in May. The Yellow River, Luoshui, Yangtze River, and Hanshui, these large rivers that nurture the people, are all exhausted, and the shallow ones can wade through the water.

When natural disasters arrive, war begins. In the severe drought in eastern Liaoning, the governor of Pingzhou, Cui Yan, joined the Yuwenbu to attack the Murongbu. Duanbu stepped in to help out. Yongzhou Xingtai, which once pulled up a hundred thousand soldiers and horses, has once again come back from death, and rises in Qinzhou to conquer the Xiongnu and the pseudo-Han. Even the rebel soldiers in Jingzhou began to riot, attacked the state and county, drove away the governor Wang Cheng, and established a captain on his own.

As the hinterland of the Central Plains, Yuzhou and Yanzhou are another aspect.

I'm afraid it's useless to stay here. Sitting in the tent, Shi Le stared at the faint candlelight in front of him, thinking deeply. In the past two months, he has been leading troops to raid Yuzhou. In the past, Wang Mi's tribes occupied a lot of cities, and they were recaptured by the Jin army. There were really many places to fight.

Break through the fortified walls and enter the Kou Prefecture. During this period, he killed hundreds of people with the surname Sima alone. Don't talk about other public officials. Initially, he also received a lot of money. But as the drought worsened, the situation changed.

Many powerful families moved south and went to Yangzhou. The rest escaped into the mountains, with many barriers and it was very difficult to overcome. But even if the common people and those small cities were laid down, the food and grass they could get was quite limited. As for the people, those who can escape have already escaped. Most of Yuzhou fell into the hands, but the predicament was unresolved. On the contrary, it became more difficult because of the expansion of the army.

What is the next step?

The drought has lasted too long. It has not yet rained in May, and this year's harvest is estimated to be impossible. It was the same when he fled the famine and left Bingzhou. Do not say this year, I am afraid that next year will be extremely difficult.

And his soldiers can't wait two years. It takes a lot of money to feed these tens of thousands of mouths. If he doesn't want to find a solution, and the army is distracted, how can he defend the place he has laid?

Maybe it's time to gather some scholars to help him take care of government affairs. Shi Le also found out the usefulness of those officials. No one is in charge, and the land occupied is nothing but white land. I worked hard to fight down, asking for money but no money, and asking for food but no food. What else is it useful for?

But now, it is too late. The land is dry and the river is dry, even if people are organized to cultivate, it is impossible to have a harvest. The only thing I can rely on is to grab it.

Is it going south to Yangzhou and attacking the capital of Jin State, or will it take Jingzhou to fight the chaos? It would be good if Qinzhou didn't mess up. How did Liu Yao also support him with some money and food. But now Han Guo is too busy to take care of himself, how can he care about him, the Great General of the East? Put yourself in trouble in Yu and Yan, or to contain Bingzhou...

Thinking of this, Shi Le's eyebrows clenched and thought of a place.

Back then, he and his benefactor Ji Sang raised their troops together, and the first to attack was Yecheng. Therefore, Shi Le was very familiar with the city defense of Yecheng. Unlike other prefectures, Yecheng is the main link between Binzhou and Jizhou. I heard that Jizhou operated ocean shipping last year and got a lot of money and food, most of which were shipped to Yecheng by ship. If you can break through Yecheng, you might have enough food for one year.

His military strength is far better than that of the past, and he is more familiar with geography, and he should have been confident. However, the fact is that even if he thought of this idea, Shi Le was still unable to decide. Only because Yecheng is too close to Binzhou. The cavalry who defeated the rebels and killed Jisang arrived in Yecheng in just a few days. If the city cannot be attacked within a few days, I am afraid it will be attacked from both sides.

To fight or not to fight?

I was thinking about it, and suddenly there was a noise outside the account.

It's night now, how can there be any noise in the barracks! Shi Le immediately got up and strode out of the account: "What's the matter?!"

"Tell the general, it's a riot in the civilian camp..." The guard guard hurriedly stepped forward, "There are already soldiers going, so there should be no serious problems."

There are many civilians in the Shile Army, most of them are the people who have been accepted after the city is broken, and there are also some refugees. Only relying on them to carry grain, grass and weapons can support the army in sweeping Yuzhou.

However, Shi Le is always in battle, knowing that these folks are timid and fearful, and the wind and the 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 screaming. The commotion of this scale is really not a cause for concern, and it will soon subside.

However, seeing the campfire burning in the distance, Shi Le suddenly had an idea. Yes, it's hard to get a storm of Yecheng. But what about surprise attacks? What's more, even if you can't grab the food and grass, you can break the city of Ye, and it can also cause chaos in the nearby states and counties. Then, taking advantage of the situation, going northward and entering Jizhou is also a way out. If the plan does not go well, step back a few dozen miles and you will be Yanzhou Laoying. Advancing can attack, retreating can defend, isn't it better than sitting dead?

As for the dangers...want to survive the drought, what is this danger?

With a sneer on his lips, Shi Le turned around and picked up the curtain to enter the account.