Chapter 595 High-yield Crops
Chapter 595 High-yield Crops
The camp was very quiet. No children were seen running or playing, but in the distance one could hear the faint sound of reading.
Xiao Xia was a little surprised, and Wei Zheng quickly explained: "There are many scholars in the refugee camp. It is a bit unrealistic to ask them to farm, so I organized them to teach children to read and write. It has been a few months, and the effect is quite good."
Xiao Xia nodded. No wonder the camp was so quiet. The naughty boys all went to study.
He came to a big tent and through the gap in the tent door, he saw nearly a hundred children sitting in the tent. Each of them was sitting on the ground. In front of each of them was a small table with yellowed and rough paper on it.
Wei Zheng whispered, "There are a lot of reeds here. We use reeds to make paper, wool to make pens, and inkstones and ink are all homemade. In this way, we have the conditions to organize children to study. We have opened more than a thousand reading and literacy schools, and 100,000 children have the opportunity to read and learn."
Xiao Xia secretly praised him, saying that he was worthy of being a famous minister in history. Others only saw the disaster relief, but Wei Zheng saw the opportunity to popularize education.
Xiao Xia nodded and said, "We need to strengthen and consolidate, not just go through the motions, and let the children really learn and remember. For example, there are tens of thousands of big tents here, and you can write a few words on each big tent and let the teacher take the students to visit the big tents. This will be more effective than boring reading."
Wei Zheng bowed quickly, "Your Highness, your words are so precious. I will learn from them!"
After leaving Wendeng County, Xiao Xia went to inspect the nearby official fields. The official fields in the four counties of Shandong Peninsula had been forcibly requisitioned by Xiao Xia and used for cultivation by refugees, and were temporarily managed by the Military Farm Office.
The official fields were filled with organized refugees, all busy planting something that didn't look like wheat.
Li Jingqiu, deputy director of the Military Farm Administration, quickly explained, "Your Highness, we grow wild peas here. The yield per mu is very high, up to 800 kilograms, which is very effective for disaster relief. In addition, pea stalks can be used as feed for livestock, and planting beans can also fertilize the fields. After planting beans for three years, this land will be very fertile."
Xiao Xia nodded, "Besides wild peas, what else can we grow?"
"Your Highness, we also grow yams!"
Xiao Xia's eyes lit up, "What is the yield per mu of yam?"
"We need to look at the details carefully. The area around Wendeng County in Donglai Prefecture is rich in yam. It is said that the highest yield per mu is 5,000 kilograms, and the lowest is 2,000 kilograms."
Xiao Xia said happily: "This is a treasure for disaster relief, it can be promoted on a large scale!"
"Your Highness, we have put our heads together and are trying to find a solution. County Magistrate Zhao of Wendeng County said that there are medicinal farmers in their county who grow yam, and the yield per mu is several thousand kilograms, but they have always used it as medicine and never thought of using it as food. Later, we said that people are starving to death, so why bother about the difference between food and medicine."
Xiao Xia nodded, "The last sentence is right. If people are starving to death, they don't care about the difference between medicine and food. As long as they can fill their stomachs, it's fine. Yams can produce several thousand kilograms per mu. Although it is not easy to grow, as long as you put your heart into it, you can do it well. Deputy Envoy Li, you must promote yam and plant it in large quantities. If you do a good job, I will appoint you as the governor of Beihai County."
Li Jingqiu was overjoyed and bowed quickly, saying, "I will definitely live up to your highness's high expectations!"
After inspecting the refugee camp, Xiao Xia turned around and went to the military camp. Currently, there were 70,000 soldiers stationed in Donglai County. In addition to the 30,000 naval forces brought by Xiao Xia, there were 10,000 troops to assist in managing the refugees. Another 30,000 were the elite troops selected by Xiao Xia from the 200,000 rescued troops.
The emperor also knew about the 30,000 troops. Although it seriously violated the agreement they signed and exceeded the upper limit of 150,000 troops, in order to let Xiao Xia assist him in the second eastern expedition, Emperor Yang Guang also tolerated it and pretended to be unaware of it. Xiao Xia came to the camp. The army was training the formation. A cavalry of thousands of people was attacking the formation. Under the command of the flag, the formation kept changing the formation, and finally cut the thousands of cavalry into dozens of small pieces.
The army's formation and personal martial arts are actually the same thing. The army as a whole can be regarded as a person. Various changes in formations are changes in martial arts. The more thorough the training, the more skilled the army's formation will be, the stronger the martial arts will be, and the soldiers' courage will be doubled. Whether dealing with enemy cavalry charges or infantry fights, the powerful lethality of the formation will be fully revealed.
Xiao Xia watched the martial arts arena for a while before following Zhou Fashang to the commander's tent.
Zhou Fashang's greatest characteristic was his loyalty, and his greatest weakness was that he did not understand officialdom and was not as good at flattering as Yuwen Shu, so he was sent to Lingnan for more than ten years.
Emperor Yang Guang also disliked this kind of dull and ignorant general in the early days. Only in the later period, after he was betrayed repeatedly, did he realize the value of loyalty and began to use Zhou Fashang.
Unfortunately, it is too late now. Xiao Xia's trust and importance of Zhou Fashang made Zhou Fashang feel grateful for his recognition, and he was also loyal to Xiao Xia.
"Your Highness, are you going to send troops to join the war this time?" Zhou Fashang asked.
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "It depends! I don't know if the epidemic in Goguryeo has subsided. It's almost April now, and there is no trace of Goguryeo people to the west of Yalu River, whether it is the army or ordinary people. I suspect that the northern part of Goguryeo is also deserted."
"So Your Highness suspects that the epidemic in Goguryeo has not been completely eliminated?"
Xiao Xia nodded. He did have this worry. Generally, a plague would rage for several years and it was rare for it to be eliminated so quickly.
Zhou Fashang was puzzled and asked, "If that's the case, why did the emperor want to march east again? Isn't he afraid of another large-scale epidemic?"
Xiao Xia shook his head. "I don't know what the emperor is thinking. Maybe he thinks that this is the weakest moment of Goguryeo and he can destroy it in one fell swoop. As for the risk of plague, compared with the huge benefits of destroying the country, the emperor thinks it is worth a try."
Xiao Xia’s guess was absolutely correct. This was what Yang Guang was thinking. In the face of the huge benefits of destroying the country, the risk of plague was not worth mentioning.
Zhou Fashang sighed for a while and said, "Actually, what I am worried about is the internal situation. The failure of the first Eastern Expedition has accumulated a lot of dissatisfaction. Bandits from all over the country have begun to occupy counties. It is obvious that there are local forces supporting them. The piled up dry wood has been poured with oil, just waiting for a fire. The emperor's second Eastern Expedition is undoubtedly a burning torch! The emperor can't see through it. Yu Shiji, Pei Yun and other treacherous ministers really deserve to be cut into pieces."
Xiao Xia secretly admired that Jiang was indeed an experienced person. Although Zhou Fashang did not understand officialdom, he was able to see through the current situation. Historically, the emperor's second eastward expedition led to Yang Xuangan's rebellion.
Yang Xuangan's rebellion was inevitable. The first disastrous defeat had completely destroyed the emperor's credibility and authority. More and more powerful and noble aristocrats no longer took the emperor seriously. Yang Xuangan's rebellion was actually an outburst of strong dissatisfaction among the powerful and noble aristocrats. Even if there was no Yang Xuangan, there would have been Zhang Xuangan and Li Xuangan.
Xiao Xia nodded, "This is why I stationed troops on the Shandong Peninsula. I just want to leave a way out for the people of the world."
(End of this chapter)