Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

During the period from when the displaced people were initially settled on the reclaimed fertile land after water conservancy development, to when the first batch of grain was produced from that land, those displaced people still needed financial assistance from the government.

Those displaced people had no stored grain themselves. If the government didn't support them until the first batch of grain matured, then those displaced people would only starve to death, dying just before the harvest.

This period of consumption was also something Li Ji needed to consider, and it was also an exceptionally large expenditure.

Therefore, Li Ji's calculations truly took into account that if all the cultivated land in Wu Commandery was fully developed, the number of people that could be accommodated would be more than five times the current number, completely exceeding the current scale of Runan Commandery and Nanyang Commandery, which have over two million people, reaching a number of around four million people.

Moreover, based on the unique climate advantages of the Jiangnan region, the grain produced in Wu Commandery would be extremely abundant, truly initially approaching the ideal state of "When Tai Lake is ripe, the world is fed."

However, based on the current situation…

"Currently, Wu Commandery can only accommodate a maximum of six hundred thousand displaced people to ensure that money and grain will not collapse next year. Therefore, at least two hundred thousand displaced people need to be diverted to other commanderies in Yangzhou."

Li Ji stated the problem and then looked at Jia Xu, who was lowering his head as if he couldn't hear.

"Wenhe, now I need to be stationed here to supervise the work-relief program. These two difficult problems can only be solved by you. I believe that with Wenhe's ability, you can accomplish them with ease."

"You flatter me too much…"

Jia Xu couldn't hold back any longer and spoke.

"Zikun, you flatter me too much. If I could produce calves, I could give the lord a few cows, but asking me to gather enough oxen within a year for six hundred thousand displaced people to cultivate the land, how can I find them?"

Oxen were scarce commodities.

In any village in the Han Dynasty, they were treasures worshipped by the surrounding villages.

If you ran to a village to steal someone, even if you were caught, you could still be handed over to the authorities, but if you ran to steal an ox and were caught, you would definitely suffer and be beaten to death directly.

If it were a hundred or so, Jia Xu could still think of a way, but that was a huge number needed for six hundred thousand displaced people to cultivate the land.

Even if three hundred people shared one ox, making that ox work until it foamed at the mouth, at least two thousand oxen would be needed.

Impossible!

Undoubtedly impossible!

Jia Xu directly lay flat and gave up, determined not to accept such an impossible task, lest there be some pit waiting for him if he couldn't complete it.

"Is there really no way?" Li Ji asked with a sigh.

"No way," Jia Xu replied.

"Even Jia Wenhe is powerless?" Li Ji asked again.

"My ability is truly limited, and I have no solution."

Jia Xu was almost lying down when he said this.

This made Li Ji's face look worried. He got up and paced back and forth in the camp, sighing repeatedly, constantly murmuring with a look of exhaustion.

"In that case, what should we do?"

"Especially since most of the cultivated land will be reclaimed for the first time. Without oxen, how difficult is it to reclaim fertile land with manpower alone?"

"Having land without oxen is a misery…"

…

These words, heard by Jia Xu, also made him quite helpless.

Considering various factors, this problem could not be solved at all.

Perhaps there would be many oxen near the northern border, but how could those oxen be collected and sent to Wu Commandery?

Not to mention bandits running rampant along the way, even the checkpoints set up by the government along the way would take a share when they saw a large herd of cattle.

After layers of exploitation, even if one or two thousand oxen were barely collected in the northern border, only one or two hundred would be left when they arrived in Wu Commandery.

Just as Jia Xu was feeling more and more helpless and was about to bid farewell to Li Ji, Li Ji suddenly spoke.

"Alas, forget it. I will slowly figure out the matter of oxen. There must be a solution, so I won't force Wenhe. However, Wenhe must not make any mistakes in figuring out how to properly settle the two hundred thousand displaced people in the remaining commanderies of Yangzhou."

Jia Xu breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously replied, "This matter is also quite difficult, but there may not be a way to break the situation. Please allow me to go back and think about it for a while."

"Wenhe, rest assured, the imperial court has already ordered Yangzhou to settle the displaced people fleeing from the disaster, and ordered the lord, as the Inspector of Yangzhou, to supervise it," Li Ji reminded.

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu's face immediately relaxed, and he said, "With 'righteousness' in hand, it will be much easier. I have ways to make those commandery administrators actively beg to settle the displaced people."

"Then I will trouble Wenhe," Li Ji cupped his fist and said. Jia Xu also returned the greeting, and then left the camp with a rather heavy heart.

After all, the matter of oxen was indeed a big problem, and it was related to the harvest of the entire Wu Commandery after the displaced people were settled next year, which was of great importance.

However, as Jia Xu stepped out of the camp, a gust of the unique stench of the displaced people's camp blew in.

Jia Xu suddenly woke up, slapped his thigh, and exclaimed that he had been fooled!

"Li Zikun didn't intend to hand over the matter of oxen to me from the beginning, but deliberately said so, and then let me actively accept the task of persuading the commanderies of Yangzhou to accept the displaced people…"

"What a cunning Li Zikun, I've been fooled!"

At this moment, hearty laughter came from inside the camp, and Li Ji was no longer in the worried state he had been in just now, saying.

"Wenhe, be careful on the road. After you hand over the matter of distributing grain in the displaced people's camp tomorrow, you must go to the other commanderies of Yangzhou as soon as possible to solve this matter, and don't delay."

"Hmph!"

Jia Xu's face was sullen, and he only felt that the distress that Li Ji had deliberately pretended to be just now had now completely transferred to his own face.

But as things stood, Jia Xu obviously had no chance to regret it, and even returning to Li Ji's camp would only be greeted with even more hearty laughter.

Immediately, Jia Xu could only stride away directly, and transferred all the resentment in his heart to the other commandery administrators of Yangzhou.

Listening to Jia Xu's departure, the smile on Li Ji's face in the camp was almost impossible to hide.

For Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the tactic of provocation was naturally always effective; for Zhao Yun, a detailed explanation would prevent him from shirking his duties; as for Jia Xu…

It was necessary to first make a relatively excessive request, and then slightly reduce it, presenting a request that was not so excessive, and Jia Xu would naturally be more likely to accept it.

Moreover, Jia Xu, with resentment in his heart, would probably be a little more diligent than usual, so he wouldn't pretend to be embarrassed in the displaced people's camp, but would actually lie flat every day and fish for benefits, stealing his salary.

Since Liu Bei had completely won over the hearts of the people in the displaced people's camp, Jia Xu's task in the displaced people's camp was actually only to secretly monitor and guide the internal public opinion to avoid riots, which could be described as leisurely.

Thinking of the Embroidered Uniform Guard often reporting that Jia Xu stayed in the camp all day drinking tea, drinking until his stomach swelled before wandering around the displaced people's camp, how could Li Ji tolerate such a leisurely life?

'If we can't lie flat together, then everyone doesn't have to lie flat.'

Li Ji said silently, and then took out his usual record-keeping bamboo slip from his sleeve, writing the two large characters "Oxen" on it, and then noting "Seaboats" below "Oxen."

Li Ji knew clearly the reason why Jia Xu declined the matter of oxen.

With the darkness of all parties in the Han Dynasty today, even a pair of mandarin ducks passing through the checkpoint would have one put in the pot!

If you want to transport a large number of oxen across the border, even if you implore the emperor to issue an order, the emperor might even take half of them first and send them to the imperial estate for cultivation.

However, Jia Xu subconsciously considered it based on human nature and reality, and couldn't think of a solution.

But for Li Ji, the answer itself already existed.

That was seaboats!

As long as the seaboats on the shipyard side were completed, they could completely bypass the layers of checkpoints by sea and reach Wu Commandery directly from the northern border. Even if this sea route was opened, Wu Commandery would completely solve the long-standing problem of warhorses.

Relatively speaking, the part of collecting oxen in the northern border, which Jia Xu thought was the simplest in this difficult problem, became the most difficult part for Li Ji to solve.

In addition, Li Ji also added the three characters "Curved Plow" on one side of the oxen.

The Han Dynasty now uses a long straight-shaft plow, and Li Ji even personally went to the field to try using it, and found that this long straight-shaft plow was not flexible in turning, was laborious to plow, and was relatively inefficient.

Li Ji remembered that there was a "Curved Plow", and Li Ji also remembered the general structure and outline, and could completely hand over the concept to craftsmen to improve, improve the long straight-shaft plow, and then improve the plowing efficiency of the oxen.

However, Li Ji wrote all kinds of considerations concisely and succinctly in the record-keeping bamboo slips, so as not to have any omissions in the future, but he did not rush to solve them, but went to rest early.

The most important thing now is always "work-relief."

From tomorrow onwards, Li Ji will need to direct the many petty officials and scholars to start selecting suitable young adults in the displaced people's camp, and then start diverting the displaced people in the displaced people's camp, officially starting "work-relief."

A large number of complicated problems in all aspects need to be solved by Li Ji little by little.

Similar to the important but not urgent matter of oxen, Li Ji only recorded it and pushed it back to be gradually implemented and resolved when he was free.

In the following three to five days, Li Ji not only personally handled various important matters in the displaced people's camp, but also personally walked through the entire displaced people's camp, supervising and guiding the scholars to select displaced people.

Soon, batches of displaced people left the displaced people's camp under the leadership of the scholars, and the entire Wu Commandery was almost operating at high speed to cooperate with the start of "work-relief."

As batches of displaced people left the displaced people's camp, the number of displaced people inside the displaced people's camp finally began to decline rapidly.

After all the scholars and minor officials had selected the first batch of suitable displaced people for "work-for-relief" and left, the number of displaced people inside the entire camp dropped to about 40,000 in a very short period of time.

This reduced Jian Yong's pressure dramatically, and he even indulged himself by sleeping for four hours straight.

The remaining displaced people were all lonely, elderly, weak women and children. There were no able-bodied adults among their families who had fled here together, so they were naturally not suitable to participate in the "work-for-relief" program.

(End of this chapter)