Chapter 242 Water and Drought

Chapter 242 Water and Drought

Chapter 242 Water and Drought (Part )
When it comes to water conservancy projects, there are roughly three categories. Fortunately, Guangchengze has all of them.

The first is the ditch.

Canal is where water resides.

Rivers are created by nature, while canals are dug by man.

Simply put, it means digging ditches and diverting river water for irrigation.

Guangchengze is a huge wetland with seven large rivers and more than a dozen small rivers flowing into it, with a huge water supply.

Nowadays, many cultivated fields rely on ditches for irrigation. This is the simplest and most traditional water conservancy project, which began to appear in large numbers during the Qin and Han dynasties.

Canals are divided into two types: gravity canals and pumping canals.

In the former, the water surface is higher than the farmland, and after the ditches are dug, the water will flow by itself.

In the latter, the water surface is parallel to or lower than the farmland, and water needs to be pumped by water trucks.

While Shao Xun was walking around just now, he was thinking about a question.

This is the spring flood season, and the river water level should have risen sharply, but some water trucks are no longer able to operate and the water level is terribly low.

This is a "national project". The waterwheel was made by the craftsmen of the Shaofu and has not been used for long, so there are no quality issues.

In fact, you can see with your own eyes that if there is no spring flood, it will be a big problem.

The second type of water conservancy project is called "pi".

Pi is a pond.

陂 can be interpreted as 池. 陂 refers to the barrier outside and 池 refers to the water stored in it.

Simply put, it is an artificial reservoir.

There are too many lakes in Guangchengze.

Historically, until the Tang Dynasty, Guangchengze was formed into land after more than 300 years of siltation during a small ice age, and its area has shrunk a lot, but Ruzhou still has 36 ponds, among which Huangpi (not Huangpi in Hubei) in Liang County is the largest, irrigating thousands of hectares of farmland - in fact, most of the 36 ponds are located in Liang County.

One artificial lake (Huangpi) irrigates 100,000 mu of farmland, which shows the excellent agricultural resources here.

At this time, Guangchengze was much larger than in the Tang Dynasty, with more abundant water resources. It could be said to be a primitive and wild swamp. After several years of artificial development, only a small part of it had been tamed.

After Shao Xun walked around, his anxiety eased a little, and he said to Chu Huo, "If a severe drought comes, the river may dry up, and ponds are particularly important. This is the largest pond you have built, right? What is its name?"

Chu Huo turned his head and asked.

He arrived late and did not participate in the water conservancy projects in previous years. After getting the confirmation, he looked at Shao Xun and said, "This is the 'Shaogong Pond', which can irrigate more than a thousand hectares of farmland. The new farmland opened in late autumn last year was irrigated entirely by this pond. If there is an emergency, the farmland is not far from here, and the garrison soldiers can be mobilized to carry water to irrigate the land."

"This..." Shao Xun was stunned.

When I was boating on the lake with Lan Ji last year, it didn’t have a name yet. Why is it called “Shaogongbi” now?

But this pond is really beautiful.

There are bamboos and lush forests along the lake, wild flowers everywhere, and even large mulberry forests. In some places, there are stone steps and docks, and you can take a boat to the Zhilanyuan in the distance.

At this time, there were already some boats fishing on the lake. After the beginning of spring, the rivers thawed and the fish became fat. Some of the fish were caught and boiled into soup, which was distributed to the laborers and soldiers to give them more strength.

Shao Xun no longer worried about this issue.

To the northwest of Shaogongbi are large tracts of wasteland, which were reclaimed last year, totaling 1,300 to 1,400 hectares.

Millet was planted this spring and was cultivated by Shi Le's captives in Hebei. There were more than 7,000 of them, who were organized into the second and third battalions of the Jizhou Tuntian Army, and the Yicong Army sent several hundred people to temporarily guard them.

Shao Xun originally planned to give the land to retired farmers from the Three Gardens in Luoyang for cultivation, but they estimated that they would not be able to come south until autumn, so he first gave it to the captives to plant a crop and make the wasteland fertile.

"If there is a severe drought, I don't know if these millets planted in spring can survive until the autumn harvest." Shao Xun said, pointing to the farmlands where sparse millet seedlings had already grown.

Everyone looked at each other in surprise and doubt.

Minister Chu Huo was only doing his duty, and he gave a reminder because he saw that there was little rain this spring. But no one really took it seriously, as he was thinking that there might be heavy rain in the coming days, causing huge floods.

But Duke Luyang came rushing over in a hurry, which made him a little uneasy and he became nervous subconsciously.

No way - is there really going to be a severe drought?

"Alas, at this time, the Xiongnu still won't stop and want to fight!" Shao Xun sighed and couldn't help cursing: "Instead of doing their best to fight drought and protect crops, they insist on fighting. Fight, fight, fight, you mother and slave! When I lead my troops north, I'll kill a lot of people and see if you still want to fight!"

He really couldn't understand Liu Yuan now.

If there is a serious drought, Bingzhou will definitely be affected, at most the degree will be slightly less severe.

Agricultural production has been greatly affected, yet you still want to fight a war. Are you sick?

Of course, he also knew that this might be the difference between agricultural thinking and nomadic pirate thinking.

When encountering a disaster, some people's first thought is to fight the disaster with all their strength and reduce the losses, while others think about making up for the losses inside the dike by robbing others to make up for the losses outside the dike.

Even if Liu Yuan himself was clear-headed, the underlying tone of his regime was destined to be a bandit mentality.

"My dear, you should be thankful." Chu Huo considered his words and said, "We planted winter wheat last year and will be able to harvest it in two or three months. Even if there is a severe drought, it will not come all at once. We will work harder and supervise day and night to ensure a smooth summer harvest."

Shao Xun breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he really shouldn't add negative energy to his subordinates, so he smiled and said, "Mr. Chu is right. Even if there is a severe drought, I expect the worst in midsummer. The wheat can be harvested in May, and we must secure this batch of grain."

"Yes." Everyone looked slightly better.

"If there is a severe drought in the summer, this batch of winter wheat will really save lives. Master Shao is prepared for a rainy day and has a wise insight. He is truly a benefactor to thousands of people." said Mao Bang, the Secretary.

Shao Xun habitually touched his head, then thought that Mao was 28 years old, no longer the crying child with an injured ankle, so he withdrew his hand and said with a smile: "You are the only one who can talk, isn't it corny?"

Mao Er said seriously, "Before Master Shao came, there were very few people in Sizhou who planted winter wheat. Now there are many. Not only have we harvested more food, but we can also avoid drought. I don't know how many lives we can save. Isn't this a favor?"

After Mao Er said this, everyone else had their own thoughts.

Drought means poor harvest, poor harvest means hunger, hunger means unrest, and unrest will make more people unable to farm in peace...

If this continued, within two years, the fields would be covered with bones and people would eat each other.

From this perspective, Duke Luyang at least saved countless lives in Sizhou, so it is not an exaggeration to build a shrine for him.

"I would rather there wasn't a severe drought," Shao Xun said with a sigh.

The Central Plains has been in turmoil for years, and the population is not large to begin with. If this continues, how many people will be left in the North?

Just as the power vacuum will be filled by someone, the land vacuum will also be filled by someone.

The country was only in existence for a few decades, but dozens of groups of Hu people had already migrated south from the northern grasslands.

Once they have filled up Bingzhou, Youzhou and Yongzhou, they will advance towards Sizhou, Jizhou and Yuzhou, moving deeper into the interior step by step.

The total number of men, women, young and old in the five Xiongnu tribes under Liu Yuan's rule would not exceed 500,000.

But do you really think that defeating these 500,000 men, women and children is the end? In fact, the Hu people have continued to move south in recent years.

The population ratio in Guanzhong has reversed. Shao Xun didn't know whether it was the first time in history that the number of Hu people exceeded that of Han people. It was an obvious fact that Han people in Guanzhong were flowing out to Henan and Nanyang, while Hu people were constantly moving in, and the ratio continued to slowly become unbalanced.

If we want to pacify Guanzhong in the future, I wonder how much effort it will take to assimilate these Hu people.

The entire Northern and Southern Dynasties, perhaps it was after such a "changing of cages and replacing of birds" that the entire north underwent a painful three hundred years of integration.

If enough of the main ethnic group's population could be retained at this time, perhaps the integration would not have to be so long and painful.

"Just do your job well. Report to me immediately if anything happens." Shao Xun waved his hand and left.

"promise."

******
Guangcheng Palace is located on the top of Kongtong Mountain. There is a small square outside the palace. It is not large in area, but it is very exquisite with its carved railings and jade bricks.

Under the warm spring sun, Shao Xun lay in a chair, thinking silently.

Something happened in March: the governor of Jingzhou and King of Gaomi, Lue, passed away.

After his death, Sima Yue, who had originally planned to return to the capital in two months, could no longer sit still and immediately entered the capital via Xingyang with more than 20,000 soldiers and horses.

In recent years, Sima Yue's power has declined rather quickly.

First, Fanyang King Sima Hu died suddenly, and then Xincai King Sima Teng was killed by Ji Sang.

Now King Gaomi Sima Liao has died of illness.

The lineage of Sima Yi's fourth brother Sima Kui also began to decline.

The only ones who still hold power now are Sima Mo, the King of Nanyang who is stationed in Guanzhong, and Grand Tutor Sima Yue himself.

After Sima Yue entered the capital, the first thing he did was to resign from his post as governor of Yanzhou and take over as minister of justice.

Wang Yan became the Grand Marshal.

He also appointed Wang Dun as the governor of Yangzhou, and Shangshu You Pushe Shan Jian as the governor of Jingzhou, stationed in Xiangyang.

In addition, with Wang Bing as the General of the Left Guard and He Lun as the General of the Right Guard, the two most powerful imperial guards were under their control - the General of the Right Guard, Pei Kuo, was dismissed, in other words, he was purged.

And this is most likely just the first step in the cleansing storm that Sima Yue is about to carry out.

He had been away from Luoyang for too long, and there were too many officials and imperial guards who pretended to obey him but actually disobeyed him. It was not too late to clean them up now. If it was too late, things would become much more difficult, or even impossible to clean them up at all.

Shao Xun only received this much information for the time being, but it was enough for him to analyze for a long time.

"The Grand Tutor still needs Wang Yan." The palace maids washed some mulberries, and Yang Xianrong let them scatter. She personally brought a plate and placed it on the table, saying softly.

"He is Situ now, not Taifu." Shao Xun said.

When he first came to Luoyang, Sima Yue was the Minister of Works.

He returned to Beijing one year and seven months after fleeing to Xuzhou and became a tutor.

This time, after wandering between Xuchang, Juancheng, Puyang and Xingyang for two years, he returned to Beijing and became Si Tu again.

I don't know what the trouble is.

Wang Yan followed him and also took turns in holding the three highest positions, from Shangshu Zuo Pushe to Sikong, then Situ, and now Taiwei.

"Are you worried?" Yang Xianrong asked, lying on the table without any image, looking at Shao Xun.

"I am indeed worried." Shao Xun said helplessly: "If I were Situ, I would indeed think about cleaning up the court and the imperial guards, but now is really not a good time."

"Why?"

"Once the purge begins, it will be hard to stop. By then, everyone in the court will be in danger, and the morale of the imperial guards will be low."

Yang Xianrong fiddled with a mulberry and asked, "You are in Guangchengze, with more than ten thousand people around you, what are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid Liu Yuan will take advantage of the situation and attack us." Shao Xun said, "This year there will probably be a severe drought. The whole of Henan will not have a complete crop failure, but there will definitely be a huge crop failure. If there is still war, how will the people survive next year?"

When a drought strikes, the most dangerous time is not the current year, but the next year.

Because there was still some food stored that year, which was enough to get by, but what about the second year?

According to experience, a locust plague is likely to occur after a severe drought. If a locust plague breaks out on a large scale next year, it will be a fatal blow.

Shao Xun wondered if Henan was the worst hit this time?

He has been thinking about this question in recent days.

Historically, the final fall of Luoyang was closely related to the severe famine.

This was certainly related to the fact that the grain transport was cut off by Liu Han's army and taxes from other places could not be transported to the capital, but the continuous outbreaks of locusts around Luoyang were definitely also a major factor.

Henan is probably the hardest hit area in this drought.

Compared with Henan, the situation in Bingzhou, Jizhou, Yangzhou and Jingzhou may not be as serious.

It is really God's will to destroy the Jin Dynasty. There is nothing we can do.

Even God doesn't help you! Have you done something to make God very unhappy?
The natural disaster caused Luoyang, which could have been barely defended, to completely collapse, and the power comparison between Jin and Xiongnu changed significantly - in an agricultural society, the damage caused by drought and locust plagues may far exceed the losses on the battlefield, which is a pure dimensionality reduction attack.

"In this world, everyone is just trying to protect themselves. As long as we can hold on until May and slowly harvest the wheat, what are we afraid of?" Yang Xianrong asked, tilting her head to look at Shao Xun.

"Guangchengze alone cannot defeat the Xiongnu." Shao Xun joked, "If Luoyang cannot be defended, I am afraid I will take you and run away."

"Take me...and run alone?" Yang Xianrong asked softly.

After saying this, his face turned slightly red.

Shao Xun stretched out his hand and slowly approached Yang Xianrong's lips.

"You..." Yang Xianrong wanted to shrink back, but it seemed as if she didn't have any strength left and was completely frozen.

Shao Xun wiped the mulberry juice from the corner of her mouth and said, "I will definitely take you with me."

Yang Xianrong's face was as red as it was on the early morning of New Year's Day last year.

"Have you thought it through?" Yang Xianrong asked in a muffled voice, burying her face in her arms.

"What have you thought about?" Shao Xun was puzzled.

Yang Xianrong turned her head, looked down the mountain, and said softly, "If you provoke me, all those messy women in the family will be dismissed."

Shao Xun's hand retracted quickly as if he had been electrocuted. He put it behind his head, looked at the white clouds in the distance, gently rocked the recliner, and stopped talking.

A mist formed in Yang Xianrong's eyes.

She really felt a little aggrieved.

She is from a noble family, and she is the queen. She has condescended to show her favor to you, but you are still not satisfied...

But soon, she remembered what Shao Xun said to her amid the flashes of swords and sabers in the Taiji Hall: "Don't be afraid."

She also remembered that when they fled to Liang County, Shao Xun wore armor and held a sword, standing outside the door for a whole night to comfort her frightened heart.

She also remembered that during the Spring Festival, Shao Xun used his chapped fingers to prepare firecrackers for her in the cold wind.

She also remembered that he told her personally, "What happened before will never happen again."

Yang Xianrong was a little confused again.

"Life is unpredictable." Shao Xun suddenly said: "For example, this Xianglan——"

As he was talking, Shao Xun stood up and walked to the railing, pointing at the orchid outside, and said: "Growing between spring and summer, it is elegant and beautiful, with outstanding grace. However, after summer turns to autumn, the days become shorter. When the autumn wind blows, the years are all gone..."

"Are you laughing at me?" Yang Xianrong glared at him.

"I'm talking about myself." Shao Xun walked up to her and whispered, "Life is unpredictable, and no one can predict what will happen in the future. I have a lot of things to do, and I am ambitious. I am also a bit soft-hearted, and I want to save this world and save the lives of many people. I don't know how long the war with the Huns will last, and maybe one day I will be defeated and die. Just like this fragrant orchid, it was lush and lonely at first, and it was outstanding, but in the end it fell into the mud, and its fragrance was not fulfilled."

"I really don't dare to provoke Queen Hui. I'll take my leave now. I have to go check on the dike later."

"The dike was built under the supervision of Empress Hui, and it may save many people. I am deeply grateful."

After saying that, he turned around and went down the mountain.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, he quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Yangyang hasn't figured it out yet, so why not go and sit with Princess Fanyang?

Of course, this is a joke.

Shao Xun quickly arrived at the Silver Spear Army’s base and began training the soldiers.

There is no way to deal with natural disasters. We have done what we can.

If possible, he hopes that this year's theme will be drought relief, but this is obviously wishful thinking.

The history of mankind is a history of war.

Fighting each other is the main theme.

If the Huns are coming, then let them come. At worst, we can just kill them. Let people like Liu Yuanhai who are taking advantage of the situation see that your people are a bunch of shit.

(End of this chapter)