After entering May, the counties and counties in Yuzhou are ushering in the wheat harvest season one after another.
It is a pity that Sizhou and Yanzhou do not have such a good thing. They are either harassed by enemy cavalry, stuck in the past, or for other reasons, so they still sow millet in the spring for the autumn harvest.
The same is true in Heyang County.
When Shao Xun came to Heyang Nancheng, it was already the sixth day of May.
His departure made everyone in Luoyang breathe a sigh of relief, while the people of Heyang warmly cheered his arrival.
Cheng Yuantan, the commander of Heyang, Hou Feihu, the governor of Heiji, Hao Chang, the captain of the Tuntian military academy, and Yang Bao, the captain of the Du branch, surrounded him and climbed to the top of the city.
"How many people are there in Heyang?" Shao Xun looked at the seedlings that were growing well and was very happy and asked.
"There are no ordinary people in the north city, there are more than 1,700 households in the middle city, and there are no less than 6,000 households in the south city." Cheng Yuantan replied.
"Not much less than last year."
"Some people came again this spring."
"From where?"
"Jijun, Hanoi."
Shao Xun understood.
Hebei is indeed the most densely populated area in the Jin Dynasty.
It seems to have been the case since the Later Han Dynasty, and by the Tang Dynasty, it accounted for at most one-third of the world's households. Even if other places developed later, Hebei still accounted for more than 20% of the world's household registrations.
Hebei's economic strength exceeds its population ratio, far better than that of Henan and Guanzhong.
This is called the foundation of hegemony.
We cannot let Shi Le occupy the whole of Hebei comfortably, otherwise, without farming, his strength will easily catch up with you who has been farming for several years.
"Gather all the refugees and resettle them. If there is not enough land, collect wasteland from both sides. If there is not enough land, go to the southern foot of Mangshan Mountain for farming." Shao Xun ordered.
Cheng Yuantan nodded repeatedly and said: "It is best to expel the Xiongnu to the north. The north bank of the river is fertile soil and can support tens of thousands of people."
Shao Xun looked at the vast river again.
Kawanaka Nagisa seems to have completely stabilized his position.
Not only are there people growing grain, raising crops, and tending fruits and vegetables in Gaozhu, Mazhu, and Taozhu, but there are also people on some unknown islands with a few to dozens of households.
These people have very little arable land, and the food is not enough for their family. In addition to raising yellow croaker (carp), they can only use some corner of the land to grow some grains such as soybeans and mung beans.
Fortunately, the men at home took turns to go to battle and guard the three cities. The government would allocate part of the food as military pay, so they could barely survive.
Is this kind of life good? Of course it is not good. But compared to the precarious life of a refugee, it is much better.
Strong men fight, healthy women farm, children help raise fish, grow beans, cut grass and raise livestock, and the elderly can even go to build warehouses and sell their labor force. Although life is hard, they are very grateful. The quality of life is indeed compared -
—Compare yourself to others and compare yourself to your past self.
Heyang Beicheng on the north bank of the river looks like a major military town.
The county government is located there, but there are few people to drive around. There are soldiers everywhere and golden drums and flags everywhere.
"It seems that some fields have been opened up in Beicheng?" Shao Xun pointed to the north bank and said.
There were a few people herding horses and sheep there, and there were cavalry on guard in the distance. It seemed that if something happened, they would immediately send a warning and have people withdraw with their livestock.
Beicheng is a large city, about one mile away from the Yellow River.
This area is relatively safe and can theoretically be used for farming, but currently it is mainly used for grazing.
"Ming Gong, I invited some farmers from Guangchengze to sow alfalfa seeds last year." Cheng Yuantan said, "Ren Ding, the seeds were all sent by Queen Hui."
Shao Xun nodded.
Yang Xianrong has two major businesses in Guangchengze. One is to continuously develop the fields and plant rice, and the other is to plant various types of pasture (mainly alfalfa) and raise livestock.
To be honest, it's a bit of a joke.
Rice is usually sent to Xuchang at the end of the year, and Shao Xun uses it to reward officials, generals and soldiers.
The livestock raised were regularly sent to Xuchang to be eaten by the Shao Mansion and hundreds of soldiers.
Shao Xun always raised his own soldiers generously. Not only did he have plenty of rice and noodles, but he also ate meat regularly. The consumption of several hundred soldiers was actually quite large.
In terms of eating, he was completely taken care of by the sheep.
Sometimes I sigh, why can't I just be brave and refuse the rice and livestock given by others?
If you think about it carefully, you may be used to it.
As long as there are no problems with a program, just keep running it and don't make random changes. Yang Xianrong is so easy to use, so I used it to death.
The same seems to be true for aristocratic families. Taking care of the rear is so useful that it gradually paralyzes you, and then blends together, making it difficult to cut.
However, after Shao Xun and Yu Wenjun got married at the beginning of last year, Yang Xianrong seemed to have gradually stopped playing tricks.
She began to transport rice and sell it through the water systems extending in all directions in Liangxian, Xuchang, Xiangcheng and other places, making a lot of profits.
Xiangcheng Princess Simaimao sometimes bought livestock from Yang Xianrong and sold them through the donkey shop.
This business model is good, but what puzzles Shao Xun is, why don't these two sisters-in-law fall out? It's strange, when did Yangyang become so easy to talk to?
"Maybe you can open some fields in the city." Shao Xun said: "It's close to the city, and we can take care of it. If the Huns dare to come and trample the crops, send cavalry to kill them, let them lose some lives here, and over time they will not dare to come.
.”
"Goodbye, Ming Gong." Cheng Yuantan said, "I will arrange for people to plant beans this month."
"If we build a city in Hebei in the future, we will always use this system." Shao Xun looked at several generals and said.
"As commanded."
"I have brought all the cavalry with me this time." Shao Xun added: "The Yi Congjun will go to Beicheng tomorrow. We will discuss it and give the Xiongnu a show of strength first."
After transferring the 500 cavalry from Kaocheng (from the Yanzhou family), the Yi Cong Army now has 3,700 soldiers and nearly 8,000 horses. It has been trained for many years and is a relatively capable force.
But they are capable, but the number is still too small.
If you move here, there will be no cavalry over there, which is very annoying.
Until now, Ma Zheng only has 5,000 horses, all of which were bred and grown in Guangchengze.
This speed was so slow that he wanted people to help raise horses and expand the population.
At a time when there are fewer people and more land, you can actually give it a try.
The agricultural model of mixed agriculture and animal husbandry can use more land - human energy is limited, and a family of five can cultivate more than 100 acres. If the agriculture and animal husbandry are mixed, the pasture on the wasteland can be converted into
harvest.
This is exactly the opposite of the Huns' production model.
Their main occupation is grazing, and their side occupation is farming. Food "depends on the harvest of heaven".
I can farm as my main job, herd as a side job, and my livestock can be harvested "by God".
Thinking of this, Shao Xun felt that the Huns' agricultural production model may not be so backward.
At the very least, they can turn large tracts of mountainous and hilly pasture unsuitable for farming into income.
The large-scale use of these mountainous hills by the Han people was only after the introduction of sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes did not occupy a large amount of farmland. They only used hills and slopes that could not be used before, and the yields were quite high.
Before the introduction of sweet potatoes, grazing was a good way to utilize them.
Contrary to what most people think, the Hu people actually pay special attention to moist mountains, because they are very good pastures, better than dry grasslands - of course, moist grasslands are best, but this is rare.
Historically, the most important pastures in Xixia were in the Helan Mountains, Tiandu Mountains, Hengshan Mountains, and Yinshan Mountains, rather than the endless Hetao grasslands, which is evident from this.
"Shun Ling." Shao Xun waved.
Cai Cheng stepped forward quickly.
"Queen Hui, please send someone to Luoyang. I have something important to handle." Shao Xun lowered his voice and said.
"No." Cai Cheng's expression remained unchanged and he turned to leave.
The number of people in the Luoyang Basin is getting smaller and smaller year by year, and countless farmlands are abandoned. Now you can even build large-scale pastures, as long as you are not afraid of being robbed.
In addition, a group of people can also be resettled and granted free land, but there is a mandatory requirement: raising horses.
I don’t believe it anymore. As long as the base number goes up and the geometric growth occurs, can I still have fewer horses than your grassland tribe?
****
On the sixth day of May, Shao Xun watched another drill of 2,400 people from the Black River Army.
This unit was mainly composed of Dingzhuang from Heyang, and some officers came from the Tuntian Army. Later, a group of martial arts students were added.
In the previous battle at Heyang, the performance of the Heiyi Army was average and the losses were not small.
After more than a year of correction and training, the situation has greatly improved.
"Originally, I just wanted to use Heyang people to defend Heyang, but now I have changed my mind. From now on, the martial arts students will allocate a group to the Heiyi Army to lead the troops. Practice well and don't slack off." Shao Xun pointed at the two thousand people standing in the wilderness.
Many soldiers ordered.
"No." Hou Feihu was overjoyed.
As a veteran of the Black Silk Army when it was formed, Hou Feihu felt that his status among Shao Master's disciples had skyrocketed.
This is luck.
If a person has the ability, he also needs luck.
"The Huns in Hanoi have gathered a lot of troops. What do you think they want to do?" Shao Xun asked.
"The general feels that the Xiongnu will not attack the three cities of Heyang. Those soldiers are just here to monitor." Hou Feihu replied.
"What's the basis?"
"The leader of the army of the Wild King is Liu Ya, the Xiongnu Anxi general." Hou Feihu said: "This man uses troops in a very orderly manner. He does whatever the superiors ask him to do, and rarely goes beyond his duties. Since the Wild King stationed troops, he has only raided the outskirts of the North City. There was no forceful attack, so I will boldly speculate that the Huns have no intention of attacking the three cities of Heyang."
"Oh?" Shao Xun looked at Hou Feihu with interest and said with a smile: "Are you still thinking about the enemy general's temperament?"
Hou Feihu smiled and said: "Know yourself and know the enemy."
"After Wang Queer leaves, I will hand over the three cities of Heyang to you. Can you hold on to them?"
"Although the last general has limited talents, he will never let the Xiongnu go further south."
"When the army gathers together, how should we fight?"
"Master Shao may try to attack the Wild King."
"How to try?"
"First send troops to Zhiguan to attack the Xiongnu and rescue them. Attract the Xiongnu soldiers from Hanoi, then avoid the real situation and use the weak to attack the wild king."
Shao Xun patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "It's good that you are willing to use your brain. But this plan is too risky. Once it fails, it will easily endanger the three cities of Heyang. Furthermore, what can I do if I take down the wild king? Can I plant it? Can the land still be used for grazing? Don’t always focus on the famous cities of Dayi. Some unknown small cities are even more critical.”
Hou Feihu nodded in agreement.
"However, your plan is not without merit." Shao Xun said again.
Hou Feihu was puzzled.
"As far as mobilizing enemy troops is concerned, it has some merits." Shao Xun said: "Since Liu Ya behaves well, let him behave well until death."
"Master Shao wants to..." Hou Feihu asked.
"Let me ask you, how long does it take to build a shallow earth city?" Shao Xun asked.
"It takes a few months, right?"
"No, six thousand people, twenty days will be enough." Shao Xun laughed and left.
"City Yanzhou, City Yanzhou, the city is above Wuyuanyuan..." When there was no one around, Shao Xun hummed softly: "Shepherd cattle and sheep in the day and catch animals at night, and go to the new city a hundred miles away..."
"Come here!" Shao Xun stopped and shouted while walking.
Cai Cheng came over in a hurry: "Ming Gong."
"In the name of the Xuchang shogunate, an order is sent that the powerful sons of the gentry clans in the two prefectures of Henan, who are skilled in bow and horse, can go to Heyang. In addition, those who are good at riding and shooting from among the soldiers and their nephews should be selected and sent to Heyang." Shao Xun said: "I want to build a new army."
"What's the name of the army?" Cai Cheng asked.
"Catch life."
Chapter completed!