Xu Xing received Li Shimin's warning, and he immediately saluted and said, "I obey."
"Well, not bad, then you can lead the way. I think the farmland near Zibo County is doing well. Have many people migrated here?" Li Shimin asked curiously.
"Yes. Many people have migrated from mountainous areas and other places with insufficient fields. At present, the distribution of fields and other work have been put in place. This year's grain output has increased by 70% compared with the whole year." Xu Xing Report immediately.
"It's done well. Ensuring food production is one aspect, and making the people live a better life is another aspect. Are there any requirements for people to farm now?" Li Shimin asked curiously.
It is strange to say that he, Li Shimin, has actually not been involved in government affairs for almost two years. Although he does watch, he only takes a general look and gets a general idea. Li Ke is doing the specific matters.
He was not interested at all at that time, but now that he suddenly became the Supreme Emperor, Li Shimin was interested in these things.
Of course, he was just interested and wanted to know something, but he didn't want to get involved at all.
Nothing happens and I feel light! This kind of inquiry is more like a journey. Watching Datang getting better little by little makes me feel happy.
But if asking these questions is for court affairs, that may not be the case.
"No more. Now the imperial court has implemented a new policy this year. In addition to requiring people to sell a certain amount of grain, there are no longer any mandatory requirements for people to grow anything."
"The purpose of requiring the people to sell a certain amount of grain to the Tang Dynasty is to ensure the food planting area of the Tang Dynasty and avoid food shortages. As for the remaining people, they can grow whatever they want."
"Nowadays, the people's farming structure is more flexible. For example, many people have planted the corn that has been promoted this year. These corns can also be regarded as a kind of food. Although the texture of cornmeal is rough, it is not as good as staple food such as wheat and rice. , but I heard that the yield of corn per mu can also reach one thousand catties!”
"Moreover, corn stalks can be used as feed for draft horses, cattle, sheep and other livestock in winter, which is very good. However, according to the instructions from the Ministry of Agriculture, corn must be rotated every few years." Xu Xing gave the answer immediately.
"You did a good job, but when I walked to the road before, I saw a lot of people returning collectively with farm tools. What's going on?" Li Shimin asked again.
"It is a water conservancy project arranged during the slack period. It is expected to last for many years, and the imperial court has given a special allocation." Xu Xing replied immediately.
"Building water conservancy? What kind of water conservancy is being built here?" Li Shimin was stunned for a moment. He really didn't know much about this.
"It's about the Yellow River. According to documents jointly issued by the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Land and Resources and other departments, some water conservancy experts from the Ministry of Construction have been surveying the Yellow River channel throughout Shandong Province."
"The Yellow River has changed its course several times in history, and due to soil erosion in the Loess Plateau upstream, the Yellow River carried a large amount of sediment to the lower reaches. According to the county annals of these counties near the Bohai Sea, a lot of land in these counties now has this amount of land. It is caused by the impact of sediment carried by the Yellow River for hundreds of thousands of years."
"The current river bed of the Yellow River is also rising, and the Yellow River may change its course in the future. If it changes its course by then, it may cause huge losses."
"So now some areas have begun to survey and widen some river channels. Based on the terrain of the river channel, we will consider whether to establish an alternate channel for the Yellow River." Xu Xing said quickly.
Li Shimin was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Li Ke had thought so far ahead and was now exploring the course of the Yellow River.
Shouldn't the normal approach be to build water conservancy projects in the current rivers and deal with the sediment in the current rivers? Are we just going to take backup measures?
But what Li Shimin didn't know was that, not to mention the harm caused by the number of times the Yellow River diverted its course in history, the number of people who died each time was a huge number.
Now that the Tang Dynasty has stabilized, it is impossible for Li Ke to just sit back and watch this happen.
Fortunately, the current course of the Yellow River in the Tang Dynasty changed from the Tianjin outlet in the Western Han Dynasty to the current Yellow River outlet in later generations.
However, after flowing for a thousand years, this river changed its course again to the north and returned to the Tianjin outlet in the Northern Song Dynasty. Then it changed its course again in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it entered the sea from Binhai County, Yancheng, Jiangsu Province.
It was not until 1855 that the Yellow River changed its course and became the modern Yellow River.
It can be said that in the entire land of Shandong, the Yellow River has harmed countless people.
Since Datang now has this strength and the ability to prepare for a rainy day, Li Ke must have investigated it in advance, mainly to let people in water conservancy and other fields pay attention to it.
Even if the current Yellow River will not change its course for four hundred years, after Li Ke reforms the Loess Plateau upstream, maybe the Yellow River will be completely stabilized.
"Well done. It is indeed right to prepare for a rainy day. However, while preparing for a rainy day, the people's wages for work cannot be delayed. The most important thing is to strictly investigate the behavior of the people below who withhold rations, monthly payments, etc." Li Shimin explained two things. sentence.
"yes!"
While asking along the way, Li Shimin followed the other party into Zibo County.
This county is not big, but Li Shimin was very pleased to see the people on the road. These people were all wearing good linen clothes, and their faces were full of smiles.
At the very least, Li Shimin did not encounter many people who were sallow and thin. Although these people could not gain weight, they were not sallow or thin. Obviously, after the people had enough to eat in recent years, their bodies were naturally much stronger than before.
The point is that Li Shimin saw many children playing on the road, and many of them actually carried some poems and some thousand-character texts in their mouths so that they could hear things.
In the past, children from ordinary people's families had no chance to come into contact with these things. Obviously, many of their children here have gone to school.
"What is the proportion of people in Zibo County going to school?" Li Shimin asked.
"It has increased a lot compared to last year. Since His Majesty's national unified examination last year, many people have sent their children to school this year. Especially because of His Majesty's speech when he ascended the throne some time ago, many people have also sent their children to school. "
"It's just that for most ordinary people, more boys than girls are sent in, and most of them are boys." Xu Xing hesitated and said.
"This is indeed a problem, but some of Li Ke's current policies are right. He has given many women official positions in the court. With the expansion of these female official positions, the people of the Tang Dynasty will send more and more girls to schools. ." Li Shimin nodded.
