Chapter 791 Rushing

Chapter 791 Rushing

Chapter 791 Rushing
Gaoyang’s summer grain harvest this year was not very good.

There are many reasons.

One is that last year's floods caused the soil quality to deteriorate, affecting the harvest.

The second is the lack of sufficient agricultural tools and oxen.

The third is that few people know how to grow wheat, and suddenly switching to winter wheat will cause many problems.

This is not something that can be accomplished by a time traveler simply saying "teach".

Who will teach?
How well does he teach?
How many people are needed to teach? Are there so many people to teach?
Do others understand what he says and are willing to listen to it?
What should we do if the people of Gaoyang resist?
What should I do if I have a bad impression of wheat and don’t want to grow it?
What to do if the teacher is not attentive and the learner is too stupid?
There are too many problems, which are destined to be just a half-cooked meal. Everything needs time to be digested slowly.

There was originally a way to remedy the low summer grain harvest, which was to plant miscellaneous grains in June. Many people knew how to do this and did not need to be taught, but it was unfortunately destroyed by the flood.

Therefore, although the people of Gaoyang had harvested a crop this year, it was difficult for them to survive until the end of the year, not to mention what to do when the harvest was poor next year. Therefore, those who had just settled down last year were ready to move again, wanting to take their only food and either go to Henan to beg, or flee east to Youzhou or even to Murong Xianbei.

"Finally we got them under control."

After late August, the rain gradually decreased, and finally stopped in early September. Shao Xun breathed a sigh of relief, and then led the people of Gaoyang to sow the second season of winter wheat - this year should be better than last year... right?

Mao Bang changed into a coarse linen suit, and his legs were covered in mud.

The master and his disciple stood by the Fenshui River, watching the people still working in the sunset.

After the autumn planting, they will plant some turnips. It doesn't take much effort, just plant them as you like.

When you are extremely hungry in winter, picking some and eating them may save your life.

There were still more than 7,000 households and 30,000 people left in the four counties of Gaoyang. Each family received 40 hu of grain in relief, and combined with their own surplus grain, mixed with some wild vegetables and grass roots, they could probably barely hold out until the first month of the year.

The new crops planted in autumn will not be harvested until next May. There are still four months in between, so they have to figure out how to survive.

Turnips can solve part of the gap, and wild vegetables and fruits and vegetables may solve part of the gap after the spring, but there is still a lot to go. Perhaps we still have to squeeze a little more from the already insufficient food and save it for the most difficult period before the wheat harvest in May.

Life is so difficult.

When the last ray of light in the sky was about to set, the people were dizzy and dazed with hunger and it was almost time to finish their work.

"Plop!" Several people suddenly knelt down in front, including an old man, a young couple and a boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old.

"This is..." Shao Xun was a little surprised.

The commander of the imperial guards, Huang Zheng, stepped forward, pulled the man up, and pushed him back slightly.

"Your Majesty," the old man said in a trembling voice, "My son is already fifteen years old, and it is time for me to follow you to the battle, to repay you for saving my life."

Shao Xun was a little surprised at first, and then fell silent.

There may be a desire to repay a favor, but there are other factors as well, such as reducing the number of mouths to feed.

These little boys eat so much that I can’t even get enough of them. Their appetite is amazing.

If Shao Xun could accept him, the relief grain would be much more abundant. Although it would still not be enough to eat, they could get through the most difficult period in a half-hungry state by eating leaves, grass roots and wild vegetables - if the winter wheat could be harvested successfully in May next year.

The common people have no other options.

This is not cold-bloodedness, but a desperate attempt to give the younger son a chance to survive.

As long as King Liang accepted it, could he really just watch him starve to death?
He has an eldest son and daughter-in-law at home, so there will be someone to take care of him in his old age and see him to the end of his life, and there will be grandchildren to continue his bloodline in the future. This is the best solution out of desperation.

"Forget it, I'll accept this boy. Let him be an auxiliary soldier first, and then I'll grant him land later." Shao Xun sighed and said.

"My king, please accept my son." Several families in front came over with their sons. Most of them were in their teens, but some were in their twenties.

Shao Xun nodded to Huang Zheng, indicating that he should accept it, and then left.

******
On September 15th, Shao Xun arrived in Hejian and met with Jizhou Governor Liu Chou, Governor-General Yang Jian, Youzhou Governor Yuan Chong, and Governor-General Lu Shen who were summoned to the scene. He also reappointed the officials of Hejian County.

The former prefect of Hejian failed to provide effective disaster relief.

The imperial court transferred 500,000 hu of millet from Qingzhou here, but a batch of it was accidentally exposed to rain and became moldy and spoiled.

This matter can be big or small.

The moldy food has been distributed and the victims have eaten it...

But the problem is that the prefect tried to conceal it, and almost succeeded if Shao Xun hadn't come.

The new governor was Liu Ying, a clerk of the Longxiang shogunate and a native of Yan State.

This is Lu Zhi's man. Shao Xun thought about it and felt that Old Lu was in a bad state recently, so he decided to give him a hand.

"Gaoyang received 400,000, Hejian received 800,000, Zhangwu received 400,000, Boling received 1 million, and Changshan and Zhongshan received 100,000. The total amount of relief grain is 2.7 million hu. It may not be enough, but it is enough to save the lives of most of the victims." Shao Xun said, "I offended many people in order to get this grain. I must use it well." "Fanyang and Yanguo counties in Youzhou also received 1.5 million hu of grain. This grain is not only for your relief, but also for rebuilding the frontier military equipment."

"Most of Guangning has been lost. Don't rush to retake it. Defend Shanggu first. At this time, if you force yourself to attack the Xianbei, you may suffer a great defeat and Shanggu will not be safe. How many people does Su Zhongyi have left?"

"Reporting to the king." Youzhou Governor Lu Chen reported: "There are still more than 9,000 people and more than 100,000 cattle, sheep and horses left."

Su Zhongyi is the son of Su Shuyan. He was formerly the commander of Huaihuang Town in Guangning. He was defeated by Tuoba Xianbei a few months ago and retreated to Juyong Pass in Shanggu.

Lu Shen had been the governor of Guangning before the Xianbei invasion, so he could only feel lucky. If he had remained in office, it would have been hard to predict what would have happened, since the new governor had died in battle.

"Let him come to Changshan to graze." Shao Xun said, "Ask Su Zhongyi to give me another thousand strong men. I will use them very well."

"Yes." Lu Shen and Yang Jian responded in unison.

Since the King of Liang did not mention whether to give a garrison commander, we should just do it blindly. First, allocate a piece of land that is enough for these 9,000 people to graze. It is not a good thing to always squeeze into that poor place of Shanggu.

In addition, among the more than 9,000 people, there are only about 3,000 adult males. If another 1,000 strong men are taken away, Su Zhongyi is really finished. It will take at least ten years for him to recover.

However, this matter is rather tricky. They have to cooperate secretly and secretly notify local counties to prevent Su Zhongyi from causing chaos.

Once a rebellion occurs, it must be suppressed immediately.

If he doesn't cause trouble and just endures this, Su Zhongyi won't have the capital to cause trouble.

"The Yuwen clan is insatiable and greedy. Even in years when the grass is plentiful and the livestock is thriving, they will still plunder." Shao Xun added, "Although their people are cruel and cunning, they did not go south with all their strength. How can we not resist? When Yuyi Town encountered a large enemy force, Juyongguan would not send troops to rescue. Beikou Town would fight the bandits for ten days, while Jingsai Town would just watch from the sidelines. All these problems are quite serious and it is easy for the enemy to defeat them one by one."

"I'll say it again today. The war in Youzhou will be coordinated by the governor Lu Shen. If anyone doesn't contribute, do you think I can't do anything to you?"

Yes, some people just think that Shao Xun can't do anything to him, so they just wait and see.

They didn't oppose it openly, but there was a big difference between being attentive and not attentive. The town commanders were all warlords, and everything mattered to them, so it was unwise to fight for someone else's territory.

You Tong had done a mediocre job before, but Shao Xun was worried that he had been in Youzhou for too long and had complicated connections, making him difficult to deal with, so he transferred him away. If he had been in charge of military affairs for a long time and the court ordered his transfer, what if the local military and civilians asked for his release?

It is still unclear whether Lu Shen can control the situation, after all, he has only been in office for a few months.

Shao Xun decided to give him some more time. If it doesn't work, he would decisively replace him and let Li Chong come over - Li Chong and Lu Shen each have their own advantages and disadvantages, the former is capable, and the latter has influence in the local area.

From this we can see that his trip to Jizhou was not entirely for disaster relief.

One reason is that I promised the victims last year that I would take a look at the post-disaster reconstruction this year - don't even mention this. I thought I would receive gratitude and praise from the victims, but now it seems like there is another flood, which is completely tormenting.

Another reason is the border defense of Youzhou.

Tuoba Xianbei was a powerful force spanning the Yanshan Mountains and Yinshan Mountains, and the entire prime land of the southern desert grassland was in its hands.

In addition, they also occupied part of Henan and traditional Han areas such as Dai County.

The vassal territories were even larger, and the Yuwen Xianbei were their in-laws.

In short, there are many places where they can strike.

Youzhou, Jizhou, Bingzhou, Yongzhou, Qinzhou, and Liangzhou were all within their attack range, stretching for thousands of miles from east to west - conversely, there were also many places where they could attack.

Shao Xun also heard an uncertain piece of news: Zhang Mao of Liangzhou was isolated due to blocked roads, so he sent an envoy to Shengle to declare himself a vassal.

He did not surrender to Liu Han but to Tuoba Xianbei because the latter had defeated the Xiongnu many times and had strong fighting capacity. Also, the Xiongnu had almost taken over Qinzhou and might threaten Liangzhou, so he made plans early.

Of course, Zhang Mao's unstable position and his attempt to consolidate his power were also reasons. After all, the Tuoba clan could extend its hand to Liangzhou.

Shao Xun did not want to take the initiative to attack Tuoba Xianbei for the time being, but it was necessary to reorganize the Youzhou border system.

This place is facing too much pressure. If things go wrong, it may be attacked by the four Xianbei tribes: Tuoba attacks Shanggu and Fanyang; Murong attacks Beiping; Yuwen goes south to plunder the counties, especially Yan State and Fanyang; and what about the Duan tribe - what if they rebel?
Now Jizhou has suffered disasters for three consecutive years, the people are in great misery, and the place is in great chaos. All these will fuel the ambitions of others.

His coming can more or less intimidate and win over some people. Even if the effect is not good, it will always have some effect.

If he did not come and just sat in Bianliang or Pingyang and issued orders, it would be of no use. On the contrary, it would disappoint the scholars in Hebei and might even lead some hesitant people to join the bandits.

There are some things that you can't be afraid of trouble.

You need to let the elders of Hebei see that you have not given up on them, that you still care about them and that you value them very much, so come in person...

In late September, Shao Xun left Hejian and went south to Anping and other places to check the planting conditions of winter wheat. At the same time, he gathered the refugees - those who had become wild were defeated, and the rest were gathered - and brought to Yecheng for reorganization on the spot.

Almost at the same time, he issued an order: except for sacrifices, those who brewed wine would be beheaded, and those who brewed sweet wine would be exiled to Liukelan and Xinxing.

At this time, Lu Zhi fell ill in Yecheng.

(End of this chapter)