"Lihua, when the war in Yizhou is over, I will go to Hongnong to take you back to Chang'an."
The next day, Yuan Ke sent Yang Lihua back to Hongnong.
Xu Miaoyun from the Xu family in Donghai did not leave. She stayed with Yuan Ke. Everything was Yang Lihua's conspiracy. She understood that Yuan Ke was a man. When she was away, Xu Miaoyun was here, and she could relieve her loneliness.
However, Yuan Ke did not have time to favor him.
In the following period, Yuan Ke sat in Hanzhong and began to restore farming matters in various counties in Hanzhong. He also introduced farming policies from Chang'an, Luoyang, Bingzhou and other places into Hanzhong and vigorously promoted farming.
New species were introduced into Hanzhong.
Hanzhong County is located in the Hanzhong Plain, with gentle terrain, humid climate, and the Han River flowing through it, making the land here fertile and suitable for farming.
It is another extremely precious fertile soil.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, the great ancestor, built the plank road openly and secretly in Chencang based on the foundation of Hanzhong, and then defeated Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, and conquered the world.
Yuan Ke also adopted the farming system used by Cao Cao in history, vigorously promoted farming and grew food.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, wars continued frequently, and warlords' melees greatly damaged the social economy.
In history, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, production in various places declined, the land was barren, and the population dropped sharply.
"White bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no rooster crow for thousands of miles."
It was a desolate scene full of devastation, food was extremely scarce in various parts of the Han Dynasty, and countless people died of starvation.
Because of this, princes everywhere attached great importance to the restoration of farming.
In order to restore the economy and obtain food, Cao Cao invented the farming system.
In fact, it's not just Cao Cao.
Many local separatist forces have established large-scale farming in their own territories.
The same is true for Yuan Shao in Jizhou.
Tao Qian of Xuzhou also established the Diannong Xiaowei to be responsible for farming affairs within his jurisdiction.
Gongsun Zan, the warlord of Youzhou, also built a city in Yijing and vigorously hoarded grain.
.......
It’s half a month again.
Hanzhong, outside Nanzheng City.
Accompanied by Yang Hui, Yang Song, Cheng Yaojin and others, Yuan Ke inspected the local farmland conditions.
In a farmland, the people were busy at this time.
"Yang Hui, how is the farming situation in Hanzhong specifically?"
Yuan Ke asked.
"My lord, under your leadership, I have vigorously promoted farming. Up to now, there are nine counties in the county, Nanzheng County, Chenggu County, Xicheng County, Baozhong County, Mianyang County, Anyang County, Jing County, Shang County Yongxian County and Fangling County have successfully completed re-cultivation."
Yang Hui reports.
"Farming matters are related to the life and death of officials and people, so they must be worn. Yang Hui, as the prefect of Hanzhong, you should understand that this is your top priority in the future."
"Grow the fields, grow food, and store food!"
"Do you understand?"
Yuan Ke asked.
"My lord, I understand."
Afterwards, the group came to Louzhuang.
clatter!
clatter!
clatter!
After entering the village, Yuan Ke and his party discovered that the people in this village happened to be eating.
Yes, they just finished their farm work.
At noon, just enough time to rest.
Yuan Ke went door to door and asked about the situation of each family, asking them whether they had received subsidies for growing grains, and at the same time, he also asked them about their difficulties in life.
Afterwards, he promised to solve the problem.
Among them, the biggest problem is farmland irrigation.
There is Dujiangyan in Bashu, but there are few such water conservancy and irrigation projects in Hanzhong.
"Yang Hui, who is the agricultural officer of Hanzhong County?"
Yuan Ke asked.
"If I return to the Lord, the agricultural officer will be Yu Wenshuo."
"He is also a nobleman!"
Yang Hui said.
"Send someone to bring him here. I will meet him at Mawangmiao Village on the banks of the Han River."
Yuan Ke said.
"yes!"
The group of people strode to Mawangmiao Village.
It didn't take long for Yu Wenshuo to arrive, covered in dust.
"Chen Yu Wenshuo pays homage to Da Sima!"
This man is a gentle scholar, in his forties, and should be a cultural person.
"Okay, get up."
Yuan Ke said.
"Thank you Da Sima!"
Yu Wenshuo said.
"I wonder what orders Grand Sima has when he summons his subordinates?"
he asks.
"I was just inspecting farming matters. I found that the local people were discussing farmland irrigation. I specially called you to ask about this matter."
"You tell me first."
"Why is the Han River right in front of us and its water not introduced into the farmland of ordinary people to irrigate the fertile fields?"
"Is there any difficulty?"
Yuan Ke asked.
"My Lord, you don't know something. In fact, Hanzhong County now has more than a hundred water diversion weirs, especially Hanzhong Sanyan is the most famous."
"The three weirs in Hanzhong are: Shanhe Weir, Wumen Weir, and Yangzhen Weir."
"It's just that now, these diversion weirs have been in disrepair for a long time, so many places are ruined."
“But the mountain and river weirs can still be irrigated.”
Yu Wenshuo immediately handed over his hand and reported.
"Oh? It has been in disrepair for a long time? Why not repair it? The fertile soil in Hanzhong is thousands of miles away, and it is a grain-producing land no less than Bashu. Farmland irrigation directly affects the grain harvest?"
"Yu Wenshuo, but your peasant government office has given away all the money for repairs?"
Yuan Ke asked.
"Da Sima, I am wronged."
"I also want to be greedy, but since I have been a farmer official, I have never seen any money for repairs. And as far as I know, not only Emperor Xiaoling, but also the imperial court has not given any money to Hanzhong Nongguan Yamen since Emperor Xuan. Money has been allocated to repair the diversion weir."
"As a result, these water diversion weirs have lost their function."
Yu Wenshuo immediately reported the truth truthfully.
"What?"
"How could this be?"
Yuan Ke asked.
"Da Sima, firstly, the court did not pay attention to it. Secondly, the money for repairing the water diversion weir is very large."
Yu Wenshuo explained.
"Tell me first, how much money will it cost to repair these canals?"
Yuan Ke asked.
"Da Sima, I have calculated that there are 122 water diversion weirs in Hanzhong County and about a thousand large and small canals. If these are initially repaired, approximately three million taels of silver will be needed."
"If we want to repair everything, it will cost about eight million taels."
"It took five years!"
Yu Wenshuo said softly.
"Moth, three million taels of silver? This number is indeed not a small amount."
Yuan Ke understood why successive Han emperors did not repair the water conservancy projects in Hanzhong.
In the middle and late period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, finances were tight and the emperor was extravagant and wasteful. The court had no extra money to repair these water conservancy projects.
"It's exactly what Da Sima said."
"These coins are indeed very large."
"However, I have calculated that it can be managed in batches. With only one million taels of silver in the early stage, plus local corvees, farmland irrigation can be temporarily restored within two months. But it cannot prevent floods."
"I boldly ask Grand Sima to allocate funds to repair these water conservancy projects for the sake of the world and the people of Hanzhong. As long as they are repaired well, the grain harvest of at least three levels can be increased."
"If these grain harvests were converted into money, it would be far more than one million taels of silver."
Yu Wenshuo said and saluted Yuan Ke.
"Yang Hui, Zhou Teng, Li Su, you are all senior officials of Hanzhong County. Can you tell us what you mean?"
“Do these water conservancy facilities need to be repaired?”
Yuan Ke threw the ball to Yang Hui and others.
"Da Sima, repairing these water conservancy projects is indeed a major event that benefits the country and the people, but it is also true that the county government has no money."
"If we have the money, we are willing to repair it."
Zhou Teng, the county magistrate, raised his hand and said.
"Yes, Da Sima, it's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice."
Li Su also cried poor.
"Yang Hui, as a prefect, what do you mean?"
Yuan Ke asked.
"Your Majesty, I also agree with the construction of water conservancy projects and the repair of water diversion weirs to irrigate farmland and increase food production."
Yang Hui raised his hand and said.
"As for the source of the money, I borrowed it from the wealthy merchants in Hanzhong County in the name of the government, and will return it to them in the future when I have the money."
"good!"
"This is a great idea."
"Yang Hui, you will personally supervise and take charge of this matter. You can also subcontract the canal repair project to these businessmen as appropriate."
"You tell these businessmen that the court will not forget their merits."
"Yu Wenshuo is responsible for coordinating the repairs. If there are any quality problems with the project in the future, I will raid your home and destroy your nine tribes."
"Understand?"
Yuan Ke gave orders.
"I accept your order!"
Yu Wenshuo said.
