After Dong Hu met Ouyang Xuan, he learned the reason why all members of the Perak Army were stationed in the fields this time. It turns out that Ouyang Xuan had no intention of farming outside the mountains. Now the Pili Army has launched large-scale farming in the mountains. If the food from these farms is used sparingly and combined with the harvest from hunting, although it can meet the needs of development in the mountains, it still cannot support large-scale military operations. Large-scale farming requires a large amount of grain as seeds, but the Perak Army does not have enough surplus grain, so of course it is impossible to farm on a large scale. However, the food obtained by the bandit suppression team, especially Huang Dagen's unexpected harvest in the Wugen Mountains, far exceeded his expectations. This food was not only enough to support the development and combat operations of the Perak Army, but also provided sufficient food for the reclamation of new wasteland. . He was also deeply impressed by the way the Wugen Mountain people responded to the harassment. He immediately discussed with Li Shuang, Yu Zhu, Lu Dezhi and others and decided to launch large-scale farming outside the mountains.
For the Pili Army, the current development out of the mountains undoubtedly carries huge risks, especially as the farming period is not only long, but also extremely vulnerable to attacks by external hostile forces. However, if the Perak Army wants to develop and grow, it must take root in the plains through farming, and then accumulate and fight against the Mongols' strategic resources such as food and population. Currently, there are about 17,000 people under the control of the Pili Army. This number can reach more than half of the population controlled by the four county governments under the Chongqing Prefecture. Of course, the population of the Perak Army was not included in the official statistics of the Chongqing Prefecture. The outside world still believed that the Perak Army only had a few thousand Qiang, Tibetan and other foreigners. It is not surprising that there are so many people in the Perak Army. On the one hand, this is because the government's population statistics have never been accurate. In order to evade taxes, powerful landowners and local officials often hide their population and land. At present, governance in western Sichuan has collapsed, and the government's population statistics are even more inaccurate. The population under the rule of the Perak Army was large, and mainly because of the war, the people left the fertile fields in the plains and fled to the mountains to save their lives. After Ouyang Xuan arrived, Jiguan Mountain became a paradise, and it has attracted many refugees in the past six months.
Although more people are more powerful, more food is needed. The increase in population has also highlighted the food problem of the Perak Army. According to Li Shuang's estimation, the current food reserves, combined with hunting, fishing, and gathering dried fruits, can barely last for one year. However, if the army is deployed on a large scale, it will not be enough. Although the 60,000 acres of newly reclaimed land in the mountains this year can be sown, due to the relatively cold climate in the mountains and insufficient light, there is only one harvest. Even if the weather is good, it is estimated that the grain output will not make ends meet, not to mention the booming construction, industry, mining and downstream industries. A single step of military action requires massive amounts of food.
The reason why Ouyang Xuan made up his mind to go down the mountain to develop and farm was because he judged from the current situation that this was the best time. Currently, Pu Zhezhi is leading the elite Sichuan army and the main force of the Xichuan Mongolian army to compete for the city of Chengdu, and the main banditry within a fifty-mile radius of Hengyuan Town has been eliminated, creating a stable environment for the farming. The current decline in the plains of western Sichuan is mainly due to several large-scale burnings and killings by the Mongols and the occasional raids by rangers. It is also related to the government's extortion and rampant banditry. The destruction of agricultural production leads to food shortage, which in turn causes the population to starve to death, and the massive death of the population leads to the cessation of agricultural production. This forms a vicious cycle, and villages and fertile fields become paradises for wild beasts. The large number of ferocious beasts such as wolves, wild boars, jackals, etc. not only injure people, but also destroy and eat crops with wild sheep, deer, wild ducks, pheasants, etc. In severe cases, they may even cause no harvest and even lone Perak soldiers. He was also attacked repeatedly. Now the Mongolian army and the official army have no time to care about it, and most of the bandits have been wiped out. The small group of bandits who have slipped through the net dare not come to stroke the beard of the Perak Army. As for the unborn beasts, there is no need to worry, because the Perak Army has long regarded hunting as part of their daily military training. Even if these beasts do not destroy crops, they will be hunted on a large scale by the soldiers of the Perak Army. In addition to training military skills, they can also provide valuable meat.
In terms of season, although the current early spring is still cold, it is starting to get warmer, which is a suitable season for sowing. In terms of spring plowing material preparation, in addition to a large amount of buckwheat, sorghum, wheat, and barley seeds, the Pili Army even prepared rapeseed, beans, and rice seeds. In order to ensure the production of agricultural tools, the Pili Army even stopped some arms production and used industrial production to ensure spring plowing. As for the land, it is not a problem. The Wugen Mountains and plains were originally covered with fertile fields, but the Mongols' long-term burning, killing and looting turned these fertile lands into ownerless wilderness. You only need to burn the wormwood and small trees. Sows can be sown, and the ashes are excellent fertilizer.
Only the labor problem is slightly troublesome. The number of migrant workers and guards responsible for building Hengyuan Fort has exceeded 2,000, not including the labor for firing cement and transporting. While the top brass of the Pili Army were hesitating, it was Lu Wen'an, the manager of the engineering company, who made everyone decide to farm. As the person in charge of the construction of Hengyuan Fort, he mentioned in his report to Ouyang Xuan that due to the cold weather, the foundation and frame poured with cement concrete would take half a month to dry completely, and only after drying could he continue to pour the city wall. Although he Some personnel have been transferred to other processes, but there is still a large amount of idle labor. Lu Wen'an's words made Ouyang Xuan very happy, and he immediately decided to transfer the surplus personnel to farm fields without affecting the progress of the fort building. According to the order, among the soldiers of the Perak Army, except for the reconnaissance company and the guard company that perform military tasks, the rest of the soldiers also participated in the farming. After all, although it is true that Yokoyuan Fort is the number one project and military training is also very important, food is even more critical.
The plan of the top leadership of the Pili Army for grain production is: to reclaim 60,000 acres of slope land in the mountains, with an estimated yield of 150 kilograms per mu, it is estimated that 9 million kilograms of grain can be obtained; to reclaim 10,000 acres in Wugen Mountain, with a yield of 200 kilograms per mu, can yield 2 million kilograms of grain; in the plains, The area has reclaimed 10,000 acres, which can produce 3 million jins of grain at an average of 300 jins per mu. This year's autumn harvest can add 14 million jins of grain, which is enough for the Pili Army's economic development and military operations. In fact, the above-mentioned yield per mu is only a conservative estimate. Because the newly reclaimed land has sufficient fertility and a large amount of plant ash produced by burning wasteland, the yield of this autumn harvest will definitely exceed the estimate. You should know that Wugen Mountain and plain areas can achieve two crops a year. Through reasonable arrangements, winter sowing and summer harvesting, spring sowing and autumn harvesting can be achieved. The total grain output of the two seasons in a normal year can reach more than 600 kilograms per mu. It's just that it's spring sowing time now, and the newly reclaimed land in the Wugen Mountains and plains of the Perak Army can only harvest the autumn crop this year.
