On July 17, the first year of the Divine Turtle in the Jin Dynasty (317), Liang Xiang Yuchen, who received the five-hundred-mile urgent message, took a boat south as soon as possible and arrived in Chenjun on the 20th.
As one of the first counties to resettle refugees, the five counties of Chenjun have developed over the years and now have more than 30,000 households and a population of 160,000 to 70,000.
Over the past few years, farmland that was once abandoned has been restored to cultivation.
The mulberry orchards that were once dying from drought and locust attacks are gradually recovering.
The once uninhabited countryside is now inhabited by chickens and dogs.
After the wheat harvest in May, each battalion, team, township, li, Wubao, and manor planted various kinds of grains according to the system established by Liang Gong, and they could be harvested in early September.
When Yu Chen came here, he saw seedlings growing in ridges, fruits and vegetables all over the countryside, and cattle and sheep wandering in the riverbank grassland.
This is Liang Guo’s old foundation!
The counties and townships that Mr. Liang carefully cared for for several years and slowly recovered were also where he had the confidence to quarrel with the scholars.
"See the Prime Minister." On the bank of Suiyang Canal in the outskirts of Chen County, the prefect Hao Chang bowed and saluted.
Yu Chen returned the gift.
Hao Chang was born in the Hansu gentry clan in Hebei Province and was part of Sima Ying's old tribe. For many years, he has always been known as a warrior, although he was trained in both civil and military skills when he was young and was not a rough and tumble man.
But he does lack the experience of managing local counties. When Liang Gong asked him to be the governor of Chen County, it can only be said to be nepotism - try to give the most trustworthy people to take charge of the place.
Following Hao Chang was Chen County Magistrate Tian Mao.
This gentleman is from Chang'an and is a disciple of Duke Liang. He is twenty-five years old this year and his nickname is Baozhi. He served in the Silver Spear Army for three years. Later, because Duke Liang lacked local officials, he was transferred out and first worked in Chen County.
He has been an official for two years and is familiar with government affairs. He was quickly promoted to county magistrate a while ago.
There is a reason why he was promoted so quickly.
On the one hand, he is one of the few students of Mr. Liang who has a high level of education and has good handwriting.
On the other hand, he is handsome and personable, and is very eye-catching among the rough guys in the Silver Spear Army.
Of course, the above two reasons may be ignored.
In fact, he is Liang Gong's niece and son-in-law. The truth is as simple as that.
Yu Chen couldn't help but look at Tian Mao twice. He was born as a merchant in Chang'an. He studied martial arts in Liang County for four and a half years, led troops to fight for three years, and worked as an official for nearly two years. This is a rich resume.
After retracting his gaze, Yu Chen looked at Hao Chang and said, "It's really surprising that Chen County has such a scene today."
There are many roads on both sides of Suiyang Canal, and the fields are full of crops. Even the field ridges are filled with beans.
Some fields are specially planted with mulberry trees, and there are silkworm houses in the fields.
This is relatively rare. As far as Yu Chen knows, it is a habit of Nanyang Le family to facilitate the collection of mulberry and raising silkworms.
"Thinking back to seven years ago, when locusts were all over the place, Henan's mulberry trees were almost destroyed." Yu Chen looked at the lush mulberry trees not far away and said with emotion: "Liang Gong had the patience to clean up bit by bit, and now he can see the results.
.”
After saying that, Yu Chen happily came to the mulberry forest by the river and gently stroked the tree trunk.
The slopes by the river are full of fruits and vegetables of all kinds.
"Is this a Yue Gua?" Yu Chen asked, pointing to a green fruit and vegetable the size of a fist.
"Exactly." Tian Mao stepped forward and replied, "In the past, I was stationed by the Ru River. After training, I often ate this melon. It is said that it was introduced from the land of Wuyue."
Yu Chen nodded and looked towards a small pond.
This pond was obviously dug manually and is connected to the Suiyang Canal.
There are lotus roots in the pond, and the lotus leaves are swaying gently in the wind.
The fish bubbled and splashed past the lotus root.
Aquatic vegetables are also planted in the shallow water beside the pond.
Yu Chen raised his head and looked towards the other side.
Behind the endless fields, villages looked at each other in the distance. It was almost evening, and smoke was rising from the cooking pots.
Children were playing at the end of the village, competing with each other with wooden swords.
There are only a dozen or so children, but they already have official positions such as "General", "General Chariots and Cavalry", "General General Caiguan", etc. Actually, everyone is a general...
In the bamboo forest behind the village, tired birds returned to their nests and chirped.
Jujube trees, elm trees, and mulberry trees are planted in front and behind each house.
The sheep were tied under the tree, lowering their heads to gnaw the grass and even the bark of the trees, until they screamed and were pulled back into the pen by the farmers.
Another shepherd boy rode on the back of an ox and walked across the narrow wooden bridge toward his home.
Some people have already prepared dinner.
After a busy day, the young men sat under the big tree next to the drying yard, chewing and talking and laughing...
Yu Chen suddenly felt a sense of unreality.
Before that, he had just read the official letters sent from Yecheng and other places. The pages were full of shocking words such as "The sky is full of locusts," "The crops are in great damage," and "Crying for food."
When I arrived in Chen County, I saw another picture of a distant and peaceful countryside.
Is this really the same world?
In addition, he also found that Chen County was full of villages, not Wubao or manors. Although he had known this for a long time, after all, he had served as the domestic history of Liang Dynasty, and his main task was to gather and resettle the refugees, but he would see Chen with his own eyes.
The county is still very shocked by this appearance.
Since the late Han Dynasty, scholars have regarded manors as a place to live and settle down. Today, villages have become increasingly hard to find. Wubao and manors are everywhere. But in Chen County, everything is reversed. There are only a dozen or so Wubao manors left.
, the refugees who were once resettled in battalions and teams slowly took root.
After the establishment of the Liang Kingdom, teams (fifty households) became villages, camps (five hundred households) became li, and the scope of rural areas was re-divided, with each having its own chief, township sergeant, and township chief.
I heard that in a certain place in Hebei, every household is guaranteed one guarantee, and it may be extended to Henan in the future.
Seeing the big from the small, Liang Gong's determination to build his own foundation is really firm.
Thinking of this, Yu Chen sighed a little.
Many scholars still feel that Duke Liang must be theirs, and they should really visit Chenjun, Nanton, Xincai, Runan and other places.
Earth-shaking changes have taken place in the local area. After several years of experience at the bottom, Liang Gong's disciples are fully capable of taking over official positions at the county level.
There are no constraints from wealthy families.
There is no gentry to stumbling upon.
The county magistrate directly communicates with the township head.
The township chief was originally a camp official, and he knew the ten villages in the township very well, and could directly find the ten former subordinates (team leaders) - it sounds a bit militaristic, but the refugees were previously governed according to military law.
This is the "manor" that belongs exclusively to his son-in-law, a very large manor covering several counties.
"Liang Gong has ordered that the ten counties of Liang State collect additional grains and beans and send them to Qingzhou and Jizhou for disaster relief." Yu Chen turned around, looked at the prefect Hao Chang, and asked with a serious face, "Is it possible to collect ten dendrobium grains from each household?"
arrive."
Hao Chang thought for a moment.
It can definitely be done. The people in Chen County have a surplus of food, and they can squeeze out ten bushels of dendrobium. It is not a big number, but he is an experienced person and knows that this number can be negotiated.
Then he said: "When Liang Palace was being built, Chen County had already transported 300,000 dendrobiums of grain. We are recruiting again this year, and the burden is a bit heavy."
Yu Chen glared at him.
Hao Chang looked at Yu Chen calmly without changing his expression.
Yu Chen turned and left.
The staff received the hint from his eyes, walked over, bargained with Hao Chang, and finally settled on the figure of seven bushels of grain and beans.
The five counties of Chenjun can provide more than 200,000 dendrobium grains for disaster relief. After collection, they can be shipped to Bianliang and then transported to Qingzhou along the Jishui River, with little loss along the way.
Yu Chen did not stay in Chen County for too long.
On the 23rd, he arrived at Nandun, and the prefect Wei Jun came out of the city to greet him.
There was a very large palace in Nanton. After some discussion, it was decided to transfer 150,000 hu of grain from the palace to Qingzhou. Wei Jun, the governor of Nanton, collected grain from the countryside to fill the palace.
On the 25th, Yu Chen went to Xincai County and collected 80,000 hu of grain.
On the 28th, I went to Runan County and collected 600,000 dendrobium of grain...
****
"Amei, why are you here?" On the construction site of Guanfeng Hall, which has been suspended, Yu Liang was directing the soldiers to collect the building materials and store them. However, he saw his younger sister Yu Wenjun from a distance, who was escorted by Cai Cheng, the minister of the palace.
"Brother, my husband said that Si, Ji, Qing and other states were hit by disasters, and I couldn't sleep at night. Have you ever—" Yu Wenjun left the guard, took a few steps closer, and asked softly.
"My grandpa has gone south to Chen County and other places to collect grain." Yu Liang looked at his sister's slightly anxious expression and felt a little uncomfortable.
Before she got married, my sister was still very considerate of her brothers and sisters. She often studied "Shi Shu" and occasionally cooked some cakes and meals for them. When she was a female celebrity, she could not forget them.
But once you get married, these are exclusive to the husband.
I have no brains, and my husband spends all day long while my husband is short. No matter how angry I am, my husband will smile with a few words of coaxing.
This time the locust plague spread to all the counties, and Liang Gong was very worried. He may have mentioned a few words in the letter home to his sister, and this silly woman became anxious and wanted to solve her husband's problem.
He's so stupid and doesn't know how to fight with a smart person like Mr. Pei.
But he had to admit that his sister was very lucky. Mr. Liang really liked her, and this might be her only advantage. Helpless!
"You don't have to worry about this." Yu Liang said, "Tomorrow I will go back to Yingchuan and meet with all the county officials. If the Yingchuan scholars take the lead, the wealthy people in Yuzhou will not shirk the situation."
Yu Wenjun lowered his head and thought for a moment.
Although she is not very proficient in political affairs, she still understands the temperament of scholars. Are they really willing to pay for their food so happily?
She looked at Yu Liang and said, "Brother, you have to put more thought into this matter."
Yu Liang waved his hand impatiently and said, "Amei, the most important thing for you is to take good care of the world - take good care of the children. There are some things that I know how to do and you don't need to teach me."
When my father is away, he is the leader of the Yingchuan scholars. I just want to go back this time to see if his words are effective.
"Yes." Yu Wenjun lowered his head happily after hearing his brother's words.
She always listens to her father, brother and husband habitually.
It was actually not her style to take the initiative to come to Yu Liang this time. It was just that her husband had told her many times to have her own opinion and take responsibility. She did not want to disappoint her husband, so she mustered up the courage to discuss it with her brother.
"The sun is shining brightly, let's go back and rest." When he saw the beads of sweat on his sister's forehead, Yu Liang sighed, and then motioned to Cai Cheng to take his sister back.
Cai Cheng didn't move.
Yu Liang was stunned for a moment, his expression not very good.
"Cai Shangshu, return to Guanfeng Hall." Yu Wenjun reacted and ordered.
"No." Cai Cheng asked the guards to drive the carriage over and escort Yu Wenjun back to Guanfeng Hall.
Yu Liang left angrily.
The sun was scorching hot, and he was as sunburned as an African. He walked on the construction site, inspecting everywhere.
While patrolling, I sighed to myself that probably no Yingchuan scholar worked as hard as he did, whether it was water control, blacksmithing, or house repairs.
After sighing, he started thinking about raising food again.
It is true that the scholars of Yingchuan would not pay the grain happily. Wen Taizhen said that he could take a look at the progress of grain collection in the ten counties of Liang State, and he was convinced.
If Liang Guo could collect more than 1.5 million hu of grain, and use this to suppress the grain, the persistence of Yingchuan and even Yuzhou scholars would not have much meaning, and they would not dare to ask for too much price.
If he handles this matter quickly, not only his father will be impressed, but Liang Gong will also praise him.
In this way, many things can be solved easily. At least it can protect him from the damn hot sun and lose all his scholarly demeanor.
Chapter completed!