March is coming to an end, and the weather is getting hotter day by day. The reorganization of Li Yanxian's original troops is proceeding in an orderly manner. The busy spring plowing season in several states has passed, and the government slowly begins to relax.
In the back office of the Zhenfu Envoy Division, under the tall ginkgo tree, Wang Xiaolie chatted with Chen Qiudao and Chen Yuyi.
A soldier came over, crossed his hands and said, "Reporting to Zhen Fu, Yu Huan and Zhang Jun would like to see you."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Let them come over."
Not long after, Yu Huan and Zhang Jun came in and stepped forward to sing the promise.
Wang Xiaolie said: "Are you two ready? Calculate the days and it's time to set off. It's best to reach an agreement in time. After autumn, we will start delivering food and grass to the Hedong Rebels. Although they have built forts, opened up wasteland and planted crops, The land doesn’t really produce much food.”
Yu Huan said: "Zhen Fu, we are ready. This time I come to say goodbye to Zhen Fu. We expect to go tomorrow."
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "This is the best. Before setting off, think more carefully about everything and prepare more things. Ding Jin, at first glance, is rough and arrogant, but in fact he is meticulous and takes money very seriously. If it doesn't work, we Give him some benefits.”
Yu Huan and Zhang Jun crossed their hands: "I will finally understand."
After saying that, Yu Huan added: "There is a Luan Qingshan, who is now highly appreciated by Ding Jin's men. When he was in Beiwu Town, he had a leg rotten to save some female prostitutes. A woman named Yunu in Xiangyang City, and We are familiar with Luan Qingshan, and we want to take Yu Nu along with us."
Wang Xiaolie said: "I still remember Luan Qingshan. This man was originally a sergeant in our army. He escaped because he did not obey the strict military discipline. Judging from what he did in Beiwu Town, he still has some chivalry. It is said that it was Ding Jin. Appreciation may not necessarily translate into words. You just have to figure it out."
Yu Huan and Zhang both agreed.
If Wang Xiaolie knew that Yu Huan forced Yu Nu to go, he would definitely disagree. But as an envoy to the town, how could he know everything? Yu Huan took the lead in this matter. If he said he wanted to take it with him, he would take it with him.
Watched the two people leave. Wang Xiaolie said: "Ding Jin was in the Songshan area. He originally blocked our northern road and separated us from the Jin Army. Now it seems that it has blocked our connection with the Hedong Rebel Army."
Chen Yuyi said: "It is better to take this opportunity and annex Ding Jin. This will avoid a lot of trouble."
Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "We recently merged Li Dutong's department. Even if Li Dutong was made his deputy, there was still a lot of gossip. If we annex Ding Jin again, there will be too much gossip. At least for a year or two, don't do this. Intend."
Chen Qiudao said: "Xue Cheng came back and said that the Hedong Rebel Army really selected more than 10,000 combat-effective troops. But they claimed that they often said tens of thousands, and some even dared to say hundreds of thousands. According to what they said, The total number is probably less than 500,000. The number of people is too large, and it will be a lot of inconvenience for us to support them. Isn't it——"
Wang Xiaolie waved his hand: "With the living conditions of the Hedong Rebel Army, it is impossible for there to be too many retired soldiers. Xue Cheng said that there were more than 10,000 soldiers, but he only said it based on his impression. It would only be after reorganization. In fact, there can be no retired soldiers. A few thousand people would be good. Don't worry about these details. Most of the rebels are located in the south of Taiyuan Prefecture, just behind the two capitals, and their strategic position is extremely important. With them, the Jin people will not be able to rule Hedong Road within a few years. For us For us, this is the most important thing. No matter how many there are, we cannot raise them. We can only transport as much surplus grain as possible from Ruzhou to help them when they are in lean times. There is no river in Ruzhou connected to the Xiang and Deng areas. If we can’t transport grain and grass, we can just support the Hedong Road.”
There is Fangcheng Mountain blocking Ruzhou and Dengzhou in Gujie, and the river is blocked. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, he once wanted to dig a canal across Fangcheng Mountain to connect the north and the south. It took a lot of manpower and material resources, but failed in the end. It was not until nearly a thousand years later that the canal was built, but it was still not navigable. There were no waterways in this era, so transporting food was not cost-effective. Food will not be trafficked in situations other than war, regardless of cost.
What Wang Xiaolie said about supporting the Hedong Du army was to use the grain and grass that could not be transported from Ruzhou to help them during the lean period. The two places are too far apart, and Wang Xiaolie's limited strength makes it impossible to raise them all.
Chen Qiudao and Chen Yuyi rarely interfere in military affairs now. They don't talk much about this matter, only mention it a few words.
Wang Xiaolie said: "Look at April, the wheat has grown. In less than two months, it will be the harvest season. I heard that many people in nearby counties and counties have to harvest wheat and then plant rice. They Is it too late?"
Chen Qiudao said: "It's not easy. Everyone is used to growing food for one season, but if we switch to two seasons, we will naturally be in a hurry."
Chen Yuyi said: "I heard that Jianghuai likes to harvest wheat and plant rice. They harvest two crops a year and are very rich. When the wheat is harvested in the north, the people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the south have nothing to do. So they take a boat and go north to help harvest wheat there. These people There is no charge for helping to harvest wheat, just half of the wheat.”
Wang Xiaolie said with a smile: "For half the wheat, the wages are not cheap. The court always collects taxes for one season. In the eyes of many people, this season's wheat is free, and the wages are generous. But there is another point, which shows that harvesting wheat The time is very short and I am really busy.”
People of later generations were accustomed to two crops a year or three crops every two years. Continuous cropping of wheat and corn, wheat and rice, rice and rape, etc. was very common. However, historically, it was not until the Song Dynasty that the two seasons of rice and wheat appeared on a large scale, and by the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, it was only limited to the Jianghuai area. As for the two-cropping rice and three-cropping rice in the south, they appeared even later. If you want to plant rice at this time, there are no suitable rice seeds, and the land is not tight.
At this time, people were willing to continue cropping rice and wheat. The main reason was not the lack of land, but the fact that they only collected taxes for one season. If there is a rice tax, the wheat would be tax-free. If there is a wheat tax, rice will be tax-free.
After sighing for a while, Wang Xiaolie asked: "We have agricultural officers who specialize in guiding people to grow grain. I heard that we have achieved a lot. What was the grain output in the states under our rule last year? How much can we produce from one acre of land if we grow wheat? ?How much can you produce by growing rice?”
Chen Qiudao said: "According to our statistics, if it is only planted for one season, one acre of rice here in Xiangyang will yield two stones and eight bushels, and one stone and five bushels of wheat. Dengzhou is slightly lower, with two bushels less rice and almost the same wheat. The same is true in other areas. .Only in Tangzhou and Ruzhou, one can harvest eight buckets of wheat from one stone."
Wang Xiaolie nodded. Said: "I have always been worried that collecting three buckets of taxed grain per acre is too much. Judging from this output, the people can still have a lot of food left. We need to find more ways to make the people do farm work faster and with less effort. .”
The yield per mu of rice is high, but it also requires a lot of manpower. Under Wang Xiaolie's rule, one household basically controlled forty acres of land. If there are more farmers with less land, we will attack the powerful landlords. Most farmers have land, so they are relatively relaxed. In fact, if we are growing rice, a household cannot grow it on forty acres of land. According to last year's statistics, a family of five would be very struggling to get 30 acres of land. People who are not particularly hard-working will not be able to grow it. Ideally, one household should have between 20 and 25 acres. If you grow wheat, it will be about thirty-five acres.
Chen Qiudao said: "The population between Xiang and Deng has never been densely populated, and many lands have been abandoned for a long time. The town governor has exempted all miscellaneous taxes, and the people have tasted the benefits in the past two years. Everyone has to grow more grain and sell more money. Only two Continuous cropping of rice and wheat has become popular since 2000."
Wang Xiaolie sighed: "The low price of grain hurts farmers. If we harvest more grain, the price of grain will inevitably drop. This is not a good thing. From this year onwards, during the harvest season, the government will offer the lowest price. After collecting the tax on grain, , if the price of grain is lower than this minimum price, the government will purchase it. Although the government may lose some money, it is always good for the people."
This was a food price protection policy in the previous life, which played a very important role in stabilizing rural order. Although the official will spend more money, it is worth it in general. This method is also a means of injecting money into rural areas to stimulate farmers' consumption.
Wang Xiaolie felt that there was a great lack of money in society at this time. As long as official means are appropriate and care is taken not to cause inflation, printing paper money can be a huge wealth. As the economy develops, this will remain the case for a long time. However, with the introduction of money, it is necessary to ensure that there are sufficient goods in society, and that people cannot be unable to buy things with money.
