Liaodong has had good weather for six years.
Maybe it's really gone from peak to peak. Wu Nian's expectations did not come true. From the end of the year to February and March, there were three light rains in Yingqing Prefecture and Guangchuan Prefecture, and they only moistened the surface layer of the soil.
The water level in the river is getting shallower and shallower.
There are more and more wrinkles on the heads of ordinary people.
Beishan Fort.
With the transfer of military and political affairs in Wu Nian, Wu Nian left as he worshiped his ancestors. This ordinary little castle became more and more inconspicuous.
outside the city.
A large number of fields were scattered with sad-looking people.
Under Wu Nian's rule, there were no military households, only common people. There are not many big households in Beishanbao. Almost every household has a field.
The advantage is that the distribution is even, but the disadvantage is that the ability to resist risks is extremely poor.
"We're going to suffer this year. Most of the crops in this kind of conditions will not survive." Zhang You stood on the field with a hoe, looking at the dry fields and the crops, and sighed.
He is Zhang Sheng's family, and he has a son who works as a soldier by Zhang Sheng's side. But his roots are still in Beishan Fort, where he makes a living by farming with his wife and family.
As an old farmer, he is all too familiar with this situation. If you're lucky and it rains next, that's fine. If you are unlucky, there will be no harvest.
"No matter how bad things are, you have to plant. If you plant, you will be able to produce food. If you don't plant, you will have to eat the northwest wind." Zhang You's wife wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed.
"Why."
Zhang You sighed and nodded.
"That's right. From now on, we have to save our food rations. As long as the whole family eats the minimum standard of food every day, we can survive. Especially if we eat less, let our children and grandchildren eat more."
Zhang You turned to his wife and said.
"If there is no harvest this year, even if we calculate the daily rations like this, I'm afraid we can only last until March or April next year. How will we survive the rest of the day?" my wife sighed.
This is because Beishan Fort has had good harvests every year in these years. Even if it supports the army, every household has a surplus of food.
This is what this kind of field is like.
There will be a bumper harvest one year, a drought or something else, and the people can survive. But if there is a drought for two consecutive years, basically every household will be clean.
"Let's talk about it then." Zhang You smiled bitterly and shook his head.
...........
Jinghai County.
Although Goguryeo, Fusang, and Chu were far away, merchants still transported food from the sea to make money.
Wu Nian's plan for a rainy day was indeed the right thing to do.
Now the whole Liaodong knows that this year will probably be very difficult. The price of grain throughout Liaodong has begun to rise.
Although the prices offered to merchants were very high before the year of Wu, now they look ordinary. But Wu Nian took action first and made an agreement with these businessmen.
It is also reputable and has no debts. Therefore, after these merchants arrived in Liaodong, they immediately delivered the grain to the prefect Lu Sheng.
Because there is so much food, the granary in Jinghai County can no longer hold it. Lu Sheng asked Liu Wu to send troops and transport half of them to Jiang County.
As soon as the merchants' ships docked, they were served by one-stop service. Liu Wu's soldiers watched the whole process.
Li Tianbao's navy was also mobilized to patrol the sea and protect merchant ships. no way.
Before, it was a precautionary measure, but now it is a life-saving weapon.
These foods are life-saving.
In the magistrate's yamen. Lu Sheng was wearing a black dress and sitting on the main seat. Below him were a large number of officials, who were working on their abacus to calculate the amount of grain they had purchased during this period.
After a while, an official from the household, sweating profusely, took a piece of paper and handed it to Lu Sheng. He bent down and said, "Sir, this is the total number."
Lu Sheng quickly reached out to take the white paper and began to read it. There was both joy and worry on his face. The writing is clearly written in black and white.
Erase the loose ends and don’t say anything. This group of merchants transported food from the sea. To say more is more, to say less is really less.
There are 5.23 million jins of rice and 2.3 million jins of wheat. Altogether, there are 7.5 million catties of grain.
It seems like quite a lot.
But there are really few special codes.
According to Wu Nian's army food level. A soldier eats at least half a catty of grain every day. Wu Nian now has 130,000 to 40,000 soldiers under his command, calculated as 100,000.
You need to eat at least 50,000 kilograms of grain every day. I have to make 20 million a year.
The population of Yingqing Prefecture and Guangchuan Prefecture is between one and two million. Not counting children, a year's rations cost at least 200 million.
Of course, you can also make porridge, as long as you don’t starve to death.
and. This also requires a prerequisite. Yingqing Prefecture and Guangchuan Prefecture really have no harvest this year.
All in all, these 7.5 million grains may seem like a lot, but they are actually not much.
But there is nothing we can do, the ship's carrying capacity is really limited. The sea is so broad.
"Spread the news immediately. Raise the price of food even higher. As long as they can transport it, our generals will eat it. Give them real money and silver. They will never be short of a copper penny."
Lu Sheng's forehead was dripping with cold sweat, he raised his head and said to the official of the household.
"Yes." The official responded and immediately went down.
"I hope everything goes well." Lu Sheng stretched out his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and thought to himself.
This high-sea trade is very risky. Now Wu Nian is the enemy of Meng Yuan and Chu at the same time. Moreover, the Goguryeo people also looked covetously at Liaodong.
This time, in preparation for a rainy day, Wu Nian launched his attack in advance, and no one stopped him.
Now that Liaodong is clearly in drought, all parties may use their strength. Vigorous blockade of food. no way. All parties have vast territory and abundant resources.
There's a drought here, there's help there.
There were only two mansions here in Wu Nian. All of a sudden, there is a drought. Isn’t it just at the mercy of others?
Those who have ambitions for Liaodong will probably laugh out of their dreams.
............
Jiang County. The weather is getting hotter. There are gradually fewer pedestrians on the street.
Fu Han General's Mansion. In the study room. Wu Nian sat on the main seat, followed by the chief historian Liu Zhixing and the prefect Zhang Haiping.
"Chen Jiagui received news. It was said that the Queen Mother of Goguryeo ordered to block food and not allow food to leave the country. There is no news from Chu State, but it is likely to be the same."
"The Mongolian people seem to be contacting the pirates at sea to block us. They are not allowing merchant ships to come in."
"Every one of these people around me wishes that I, Wu Nian, would die in the drought. Although we took precautions and got seven to eight million kilograms of grain, we can breathe a sigh of relief. But in the long run, I am afraid that the food will be full. lose."
Wu Nian was sitting on the main seat, drinking a cold drink and speaking in a very serious tone.
This war is easy to talk about. When we meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins.
But a clever woman cannot make a living without rice. Now the entire Fuhan General's Mansion officials are in a state of distress.
The Meng Yuan people, the Goguryeo people, the Chu people, and the Fusang pirates were all tigers and wolves, and they all wanted to get a piece of his pie.
Wu Nianzheng discussed countermeasures with two civil officials. This wave has not subsided and another wave has arisen. A soldier came in from outside and reported: "Report to the general. The county magistrate came to report. It is said that people from two villages outside the city were fighting over water sources. Two people died and dozens of others were injured."
"What did you say?!" Wu Nian slapped the desk in front of him, stood up, and said sternly.
